Judges close Mahoning County Courthouse even though power was out for less than two hours

By David Skolnick | June 26, 2019 at 12:05a.m.

County auditor, commissioner say judges made right decision

YOUNGSTOWN

The power was out for less than two hours Tuesday at the Mahoning County Courthouse, but judges closed the building for the day citing uncertainty as to when electricity would be restored.

A power outage was reported about 8 a.m. Tuesday, caused by a squirrel in a substation, said Christopher Eck, a FirstEnergy spokesman. The power, which affected 21 downtown customers, was restored at 8:50 a.m., he said.

But county officials said the power didn’t come back on at the courthouse until about 9:45 a.m.

The common pleas judges met shortly after the power went out and were told by FirstEnergy that it wouldn’t be back until about 11 a.m. or noon, said Anthony D’Apolito, the court’s administrative judge. When the power went out, people were evacuated from the building.

“We were going to close it until noon or 1 [p.m.],” he said. “We had jurors and support staff there, and we were given an estimated time. They give you an estimate, and you don’t know if it will be later. We didn’t want people to come back with the power still out. It’s better to err on the side of caution.”

In this case, the power was restored earlier than the estimate.

The courthouse closing postponed a number of court hearings, including the murder trial of Johnny Ray Wallace, who is being re-tried for a November 2017 shooting death in a South Avenue bar. A jury couldn’t reach a verdict in an earlier trial.

The judges have control over the operations of the courthouse even though other county agencies – including the auditor, treasurer, recorder and clerk of courts – are located there.

“We went to the other officeholders in the building and said, ‘Here’s what we’re doing,’” Judge D’Apolito said.

County Auditor Ralph T. Meacham, who worked part of Tuesday at the empty courthouse, said: “I can’t fault the judges for calling it a day because you don’t know how long [the power is] going to be out.”

The nearby county administration building never closed as it has a backup generator unlike the courthouse, Meacham said.

County Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti, who was informed about the courthouse closing by a Vindicator reporter, said the judges made the correct decision.

“You can’t work in the dark, and they closed the courthouse,” she said. “You can’t have court without power. I don’t blame them” for closing.