Friday, July 26, 2019
A group of Democrats conducted a news conference Thursday outside the closed Northside Regional Medical Center in Youngstown to bring attention to President Donald Trump's broken promises to the Manhoning Valley. The event came on the two-year anniversary of Trump’s rally at the Covelli Centre when he urged area resident not to sell their homes. "Do not sell it. We’re going to get those values up. We’re going to get those jobs coming back, and we’re going to fill up those factories or rip them down and build brand new ones," he vowed. One speaker, a laid-off Lordstown GM worker from Campbell, said when Trump gave tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations, he “made it easy” for GM to idle the local plant." in addition, he said, Trump’s comments about the Lordstown closing have been “very insensitive.”
After an inspection report of the Kinsman Lake dam in 2016, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources asked the owner, Kinsman Lakelands Association, to hire an engineer and address several issues related to the ability of the dam and causeway to withstand floodwaters. The association, made up of homeowners in the Lakelands neighborhood near the dam, did not carry out the requirements, ODNR said Thursday. A part of the earthen causeway overtopped and washed out Saturday morning after about 7 inches of rain fell in 24 hours, eliminating the only roadway into and out of the Lakelands neighborhood, resulting in residents being evacuated by another route. Association President Skip LaPlante said he was not familiar with the “required remedial measures” in the report but said the dam itself is not the reason the causeway overtopped and washed away Saturday morning.
The president of Youngstown’s firefighters union, Charlie Smith, says the city administration is putting “lives in danger” with its proposal to eliminate two battalion chiefs through attrition and waiting to improve a poorly-functioning radio system.The department is already down four firefighters from about 18 months ago and reducing the number of battalion chiefs is a major concern, Smith told The Vindicator. That position helps to reduce the risk of firefighter injury and death, said Smith, who is a battalion chief. But Fire Chief Barry Finley said the reduction is not a safety issue.
Hubbard's 61st annual St. Patrick Parish Festival will run from Thursday to Aug. 4, offering homemade food, rides, contests, musical entertainment, bingo and a grand prize raffle of a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab 4x4 worth $50,000. Admission is free, and participants can purchase a wristband for the festival rides. The House Band will perform Thursday and the Fabulous Flashbacks are scheduled for Saturday.
A Mahoning County grand jury has indicted 18-year-old Anthony James Kaczmark, who is accused of threatening the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center earlier this year. The teen is charged with inducing panic and making false alarms, both felonies. Police say Kaczmark called MCCTC on Feb. 27, threatening gun violence and the presence of a bomb in a backpack. After the threats were made, MCCTC was placed on lockdown, and officers from several departments responded. No bomb was found.
Dabraylin Hawkins, 23, of Youngstown, faces gun, felonious assault and aggravated robbery charges after police said he tried to rob Home Savings Bank on Belmont Avenue Thursday morning. Hawkins did not take any money, but exchanged gun shots with a uniformed Liberty police officer who was working off-duty security for the bank. Hawkins was hit twice, and fled to the nearby Belmont Cemetery, then was
apprehended in the parking lot of Jimmy’s Italian Specialties.
Mill Creek MetroParks is suing Green Township and its trustees to acquire a little more than an acre of township-owned land near Calla Cemetery for an ongoing recreational bike trail project. The eminent-domain suit, filed Thursday, offers $6,500 for the two parcels, which combined are valued at $15,100, according to the Mahoning County Auditor’s Office. Township Trustee George Toy said the MetroParks
"have talked to us a couple times, and what they presented to us we felt was unacceptable to the township and the community. It’s a shame Mill Creek MetroParks has gone this far – to sue another government identity.” This is the MetroParks’ 12th eminent-domain suit filed since November, according to court records.
Nearly $900,000 in flood relief grants and loans have been awarded to Mahoning County residents and businesses, federal representatives said Thursday.The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded $499,203 in individual assistance grants – for home repairs or other noninsured needs after the May 28 storm and flooding – since a federal disaster recovery center opened July 12 in Boardman. More than 750 county residents have sought federal assistance, including more than 300 people that have visited the center, FEMA spokesman Gerard Hammink said. Meanwhile, the U.S. Small Business Administration has approved 16 disaster recovery loans totaling nearly $400,000 of about 150 applications made thus far.
Stambaugh Auditorium has received a $25,000 grant from the Charles W. Darling Family Endowment Fund of The Youngstown Foundation to help fund the replacement of the building’s massive outdoor steps and the restoration of its facade. The work will restore the edifice to its original grandeur and ensure that its architectural and historical significance is preserved, according to a press release from the venue. The auditorium has undertaken a capital campaign to raise the nearly $5 million necessary to complete the project.
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