Trial rescheduled

Trial rescheduled

SEBRING

The trial that had been scheduled for Monday in the case of James V. Bates of Salem, charged with violating laws regarding notification of Sebring water customers of high lead levels in the drinking water, will be rescheduled.

Bates, 61, of Carey Road, is Sebring’s former water-system operator. He is accused of failing to timely notify Sebring water customers in late 2015 and early 2016 of excessive lead levels in Sebring’s drinking water.

Judge Patricia Cosgrove, who was assigned to hear the case last week by the Ohio Supreme Court after Judge Diane Vettori of Mahoning County Area Court here recused herself, will instead have a pretrial hearing at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The hearing in the Sebring court will be to address pending motions in the case and possibly reschedule the trial date.

Paloski announcement

YOUNGSTOWN

Canfield Township Trustee Joe Paloski announced he is running in the Democratic primary for Mahoning County commissioner.

Paloski, who’s served as a trustee since January 2016, will challenge two-term incumbent Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti in the May primary.

Paloski recently resigned as program coordinator for Ohio State University Extension’s SNAP-Ed, which teaches Mahoning County residents about proper nutrition, saying he wanted to avoid any conflict because some program funding comes from the commissioners’ office. Feb. 7 is the filing deadline for the May 8 primary.

Fake prescription slips

WARREN

A Warren physician has notified the Warren Police Department that people have used fake prescription slips and been forging his signature in an attempt to obtain prescription drugs.

Dr. Jason Rupeka, whose office is at 2218 E. Market St., reported he was notified of people trying to fill prescriptions between Friday and Monday using a type of prescription slip he doesn’t use. He said the signatures on the slips are “clearly” not his, and he was out of town and did not write prescriptions during that time.

A male tried to fill a prescription this way at the Giant Eagle in Austintown, but the pharmacy did not fill it, Dr. Rupeka told police. Another attempt was made at the Walgreens in Austintown, he said.

Damage to store

WARREN

An estimated $5,000 damage was done to the Dawlah Discount store, 1104 Palmyra Road SW, by a customer who became irate in the drive-thru lane, came inside the store and started a physical confrontation with an employee.

The suspect asked for items in the drive-thru but only turned over $1. After being told that wasn’t enough, he came inside and confronted the employee.

During the 9 p.m. scuffle, a glass display case was knocked over, damaging glassware, computer monitors and other items.

OCVN program

CANFIELD

Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist program training will be offered through Mahoning County Ohio State University Extension Office starting Monday.

Soils, botany, entomology and environmental stewardship are only a few of the topics that will be covered in training along with input from speakers and resources for your use.

After training, volunteers will be paired with parks, nature centers and other locations to provide service and insight learned from the program.

Applications for the OCVN program can be found at http://go.osu.edu/naturalisttraining. Trainings will take place two Mondays per month and three Saturdays from the end of January through May 19. The cost for this program is $175, which includes the manual, refreshments, meals, speakers and more. For questions, call the extension office, 490 S. Broad St., at 330-533-5538.

Wellness Day event

YOUNGSTOWN

Area Walmart stores will be hosting the first Walmart Wellness Day event of the year from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The free health screening event provides residents an opportunity to learn about blood glucose, blood pressure, body mass index and low-cost immunizations. In select locations, customers also can take advantage of free vision screenings.

Walmart is introducing a virtual reality experience in select stores to assist with smoking cessation. This free resource is intended to be a step toward quitting tobacco.

This event comes on the heels of the company announcing it will be the first national pharmacy chain to offer free opioid disposal solution at all pharmacy locations that allows patients to responsibly dispose of medications in their trash.

Resume class canceled

YOUNGSTOWN

The resume-writing class for adults scheduled for 6 p.m. today at the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County’s main library career and job center has been canceled.

Agenda Friday

McDonald Village Council, 9 a.m., community room, 500 Ohio Ave.

AGENDA runs daily. Items for the column should arrive at The Vindicator Regional Desk at least two days in advance.