METRO DIGEST || Storm outages

Storm outages

WARREN

Ohio Energy crews late Friday still had to restore power to 760 customers who lost power in Friday’s storms.

As of 10 p.m., Liberty, Hubbard Township and Brookfield had the most customers without power.

In Mahoning County, 179 customers were without power as of 10 p.m., with the majority of those in Goshen.

Vehicular-homicide case

YOUNGSTOWN

The woman accused of killing a 39-year-old Pennsylvania man in a July traffic crash on the East Side appeared for her arraignment hearing Friday in municipal court.

Bond for Laechelle U. Oliver, 26, of West Dewey Avenue, was set at $5,000 on each of her misdemeanor counts of vehicular homicide and vehicular manslaughter. Municipal Court Judge Carla Baldwin entered not-guilty pleas to both on her behalf.

Oliver said Friday she plans to retain her own attorney.

Her vehicle reportedly collided with a motorcycle driven by Shawn Christopher Allen, 39, of New Castle, Pa., on July 17 near the intersection of Oak Street and Himrod Avenue. Allen died from his injuries. U.S. Marshals arrested Oliver on Thursday.

Investigating baby’s death

BOARDMAN

Township police are investigating the death of a baby on Gertrude Avenue. The death was reported about 7 p.m. Thursday. Police said additional information is not being released at this time.

4-vehicle crash injures 1

BROOKFIELD

One person was reported in stable condition in St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital Friday evening after being involved in a four-vehicle crash in the westbound lanes of state Route 82 near Addison Road earlier in the day.

The 1:17 p.m. crash closed down the westbound lanes, but they reopened at 2:38 p.m., the Ohio State Highway Patrol reports.

Route 626 to be closed

NORTH LIMA

State Route 626 in Beaver Township will be closed just south of state Route 164 for one week beginning Monday.

The closure will run through Oct. 1 to accommodate construction of a roundabout. The detour will be state Route 165 to state Route 7.

Man cited in OVI case

YOUNGSTOWN

Reports said officers cited a South Truesdale Avenue man Thursday for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence after registering a blood-alcohol content more than four times the legal limit.

Travis Donaldson, 47, recorded a BAC of 0.337 after he was pulled over at about 6:10 p.m. at Oak Street and Lane Avenue on the East Side after almost rear-ending a city police cruiser. The legal intoxication limit in Ohio is 0.08.

Arson-warrant arrest

YOUNGSTOWN

U.S. Marshals on Friday arrested a man on arson warrants from the city fire department. Justin Peek, 22, of Youngstown, is charged with two counts of arson involving a fire Sept. 5 at a home in the 500 block of East Boston Avenue on the South Side. The charges are felonies. Peek is in the Mahoning County jail.

2 guns, safe stolen

YOUNGSTOWN

Reports said a man reported two handguns missing from a Champlain Avenue garage Thursday. The man told police the guns were in a safe in his garage and the safe was taken sometime between Sept. 13 and Thursday. Missing are a .38-caliber revolver and a .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol, reports said.

Arrested on drug charges

YOUNGSTOWN

Reports said officers arrested Rashod Perry, 22, of Campbell, on charges of possession of drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia after he got into a minor accident about 11:15 a.m. Thursday at Wesley and Connecticut avenues on the West Side.

Police searched his car after they determined his license was suspended and found suspected marijuana, three opiate-based painkillers and $2,200 cash. He was taken to the Mahoning County jail.

Grant for MCCTC

CANFIELD

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, announced a $138,500 Appalachian Regional Commission grant to the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center for live fire training equipment.

At least 44 people will receive training as firefighters, 600 current firefighters will receive regular or advanced techniques certifications, and 25 other workers will receive safety certificates from the program. In addition to ARC funds, the state is providing $18,005, and local sources will provide $120,495, bringing the total project funding to $277,000.

Funds to fight opioid crisis

YOUNGSTOWN

Ohio North East Health Systems Inc., 726 Wick Ave., is receiving $185,000 in federal funding to help combat the opioid crisis.

Also, Asian Service Action and Axesspoint Community Health Center Inc., both in Akron, will each receive $285,000 from the federal government.

The money came from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“There isn’t a community in the United States that hasn’t been touched by the opioid crisis,” said U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th. “This funding is badly needed by countless families in my district, Ohio and all across the nation.”

Impound lot fees to rise

LIBERTY

Township trustees voted 2-1 this week to approve increasing the police impound lot fees from $25 to $75.

There will also be a new after-hours fee of $150 to allow people to pick up their vehicle outside of the 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays business hours.

Fiscal Officer Steve Shelton, however, said the original fee was sufficient and the new rules will hurt residents who have to get their car back because they had a minor traffic accident.

Interim police Chief Toby Meloro said 90 percent of people who have their car towed engaged in criminal activity ,such as drunken driving or driving with a suspended license.

Trustee Jodi Stoyak, who voted no, said the trustees should have consulted Shelton first, and said a new bid package should be prepared. Sorice Towing of Girard is the only towing company the township used and it was paid between $40,000 and $60,000 last year, she said.

Underage sex-sting cases are bound over

CANFIELD

Criminal cases for eight men nabbed weeks ago in an underage sex sting operation have been bound over to a Mahoning County grand jury.

The men all appeared for preliminary hearings Friday in county area court here, including James Norkus, 24, of Salem, a Kirkmere Elementary School teacher placed on unpaid suspension after his arrest.

A grand jury will now decide whether to indict those eight, who all face felony counts of importuning, attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and possession of criminal tools.

One of the 12 men arrested in the sting, Naji Alsagoo, 25, a Saudi Arabian national studying at Youngstown State University on a student visa, did not appear in court, so the judge issued a warrant for his arrest.

Court officials suspect he has fled back to his home country, according to 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner.

2 women are stabbed

WARREN

Two city women reported being stabbed in separate incidents early Friday.

A 69-year-old woman suffered a severe cut at her home on Iddings Avenue Northeast at 2:30 a.m.

The woman left her vehicle and walked to her porch, where a male attacked her. She realized at 4:45 a.m. she was bleeding and called a friend to take her to the hospital. The wound was an inch deep and small, but police didn’t specify its location.

An hour later, a 24-year-old woman reported being stabbed at a home on Douglas Street Northwest by her ex-boyfriend’s girlfriend.

The victim said she went there to wait for her child’s father, but she and the other woman argued, resulting in the stabbing.

Police said the victim had cuts on the side of her face, cheek and right arm.

Youth health fair set

YOUNGSTOWN

The Red Zone Foundation and The Red Zone LLC. are hosting a youth health and wellness fair from 1 to 4 p.m. today at Wilson Elementary School, 2725 Gibson St.

In an effort to drive healthier lifestyles among youth, the organizations are donating 300 bicycles to qualified participants. Maurice Clarett, Red Zone Foundation founder, is spearheading the initiative.

“I believe healthier lifestyles, both physically and mentally, need to be ingrained in children as early as possible,” he said.

The event will include health and wellness vendors as well as food and entertainment.

Minister sentenced for sex with minor girl

EAST PALESTINE

A 49-year-old minister from New Life Outreach Church in East Palestine has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Rodney McManus was in court Friday morning, where he was found guilty of having sexual contact with an underage girl over a period of several years, according to 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner.

Authorities say McManus was involved with the juvenile between the ages of 13 and 16. The behavior began in 2013 and went on for several years.

McManus also is having his clergy license revoked.

Water filtration system

FOWLER

Elementary students in Mathews School District won’t have to drink bottled water in a few weeks after a new filtration system is installed to remove arsenic from the water.

Superintendent Russell McQuaide told 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has approved the installation of the $19,591 filtration system at Currie Elementary School, where it was first determined in early 2016 that levels of arsenic in the water supply had reached 11 parts per billion.

Although the most recent tests exhibit arsenic levels that don’t require an alternate water supply at the school, McQuaid says he’ll continue making bottled water available until the new filtration system is installed.

He expects the system will be installed Oct. 12, when classes are not in session, and will be online by Oct. 15.