METRO DIGEST || School art exhibits

School art exhibits

NILES

The Art Outreach Gallery at the Eastwood Mall Complex has started the 2019 school art exhibits featuring artwork by students from Mineral Ridge and Hubbard high schools.

The exhibition began today and will run through Feb. 24. The student reception is scheduled from 6 to 7 p.m. Feb. 26 at the Gallery. Josh MacMillan of Hubbard High and Julie Edwards of Mineral Ridge High are exhibiting their student’s artwork.

The showcase of student artwork is made possible by the partnership of the art teachers, school administrators from the participating schools, the Art Outreach Gallery and the mall.

Sex offender arrested

YOUNGSTOWN

Members of the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force arrested Dustin Wynn, 22, Thursday in a Struthers apartment for failure to update his sex offender registry in Berkeley County, W.Va.

Wynn is a lifetime registered sex offender due to a 2013 Colorado conviction for sexual assault on a child. Wynn was transported to the Mahoning County jail pending extradition proceedings.

Arrest in robbery

BOARDMAN

An arrest was made in a robbery that took place Jan. 31 at Speedway on Midlothian Boulevard, according to police reports. U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested Michael Cole, 23, of Boardman, on a charge of aggravated robbery at the intersection of Mahoning Avenue and North Dunlap Avenue on Youngstown’s West Side, the reports said.

Cole approached the counter at Speedway and lifted his shirt to show a gun, an employee told police. The employee locked himself in a back room, and Cole ran away.

Payment approved

YOUNGSTOWN

The city’s board of control approved a final payment of $3,506.25 to a company for a computer program that monitors prevailing wages on Youngstown’s public contracts.

The payment was approved Thursday to LCPtracker of Orange, Calif. Law Director Jeff Limbian, a board member, said the city “found little value in it” and canceled the contract. Instead, the city will manually check prevailing wages, he said.

Separation agreement

LIBERTY

The school board approved a separation agreement with Blott Guy PK-6 teacher Christina Smith at Thursday night’s meeting. Smith will remain on staff through the end of December. Superintendent Joseph Nohra said the agreement between the board and Smith was amicable, and he was advised by the district’s legal counsel not to divulge details of the decision.

Also Thursday, the board approved creating bank accounts that will be used for transactions for the Guaranteed Clean Energy project, which aims to make the school’s facilities more energy efficient. One aspect of the project will be changing all the light bulbs to LED light bulbs to cut costs, which will be done within the next few weeks, Nohra said.

Coalition commended

BOARDMAN

Township trustees issued a proclamation commending the Coalition for a Drug Free Mahoning County at Thursday’s meeting. The police department partnered with the organization to increase enforcement along the township’s Market Street corridor.

“We worked closely with you to try to find a way for us to focus on certain areas in the township that we’ve been struggling with,” said Trustee Larry Moliterno.

Angela DiVito, coalition director, thanked the police department, saying the officers “made us look like champions among our peers.”

Sentenced in drug case

WARREN

John E. Gooch Sr., 37, of Wick Street Southeast, was sentenced to nine years in prison Thursday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court after being convicted at trial of three drug charges.

A jury found him guilty of cocaine possession and two counts of aggravated drug possession. The other drugs seized were fentanyl and Carfentanil.

Cash of $1,265 seized that day will be forfeited to the county prosecutor’s Law Enforcement Trust Fund and Howland Township, Judge Ronald Rice ruled.

A Howland police officer made a traffic stop on Gooch’s vehicle Oct. 16, 2017, on Ridge Road at Draper Street Southeast.

The officer smelled marijuana and searched Gooch, finding suspected heroin. Another search at the county jail uncovered suspected crack cocaine in his clothing.

Female entrepreneurs

WARREN

Women in any stage of the entrepreneurship journey, from idea to product, will get insight on how to build, grow and find success in their business as they network with other women, connect with resources and learn from successful area entrepreneurs at a conference sponsored by YWCA Mahoning Valley and Youngstown Business Incubator. The event will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the YWCA Mahoning Valley’s Warren Office, first floor, Community Room, 375 N. Park Ave.

Bond deferred

YOUNGSTOWN

Bond was deferred Thursday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for Stephon Hopkins, 22, on charges of aggravated murder and attempted murder.

Hopkins was arraigned before Judge Anthony D’Apolito. A county grand jury secretly indicted him Jan. 10, and he surrendered Monday. Hopkins pleaded not guilty.

Hopkins is charged in the Nov. 18 shooting death of Christopher Jackson, 21, and the wounding of another man in a car on Bennington Avenue. Another defendant, Lorice Moore, 22, is already in custody.

Howland schools

HOWLAND

Howland schools are getting some help from the bank in order to make payroll. Treasurer Rhonda Amorganos told 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner, the district is borrowing $1.5 million in tax anticipation notes to cover payroll until tax revenue comes through later this spring.

She says since little funding comes from the state, the majority of their funding must come from taxpayers, and the collections don’t match up with the costs.

The treasurer says interest on the loan could cost up to $18,000, but that amount should drop because she anticipates the district will be able to pay off the loan early.

Cause of death pending

WARREN

A ruling on the cause and manner of death of a man found along Halladay Avenue Southwest on Saturday night is pending further studies, including toxicology, the Trumbull County Coroner’s Office says.

An autopsy was conducted on the body of Joseph C. Nall, 50, of Laird Avenue Southeast, and it indicated no obvious trauma and no gunshot wounds, the coroner’s office said. It takes about two months to get toxicology results.