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On the record – Austintown

WHAT: Township trustees meeting Monday

PRESENT: Monica Deavers and Robert Santos

ABSENT: Steve Kent

The board:

• Approved the roof of the Wedgewood Park Pavilion to be replaced by Boak & Sons at a cost of $4,000;

• Approved $4,650 for concrete removal in Wedgewood Park to be done by Evergreen Lawns;

• Approved the use of Wickliffe Circle Park by the Wickliffe Circlwe Christmas Committee for the annual tree-lighting ceremony Dec. 1;

• Heard an announcement from the zoning director requesting the public be cautious of where they place political signs so they do not create a sight obstruction for drivers. The director said his department will pull all signs that create an obstruction.

• Emily Scott

On the record: Austintown

WHAT: Board of Education meeting Thursday

PRESENT: Kim Smrek, Kathy Mock, Fred Marcum, Harold Porter and Don Sherwood

The board:

• Accepted the resignation of Fitch High School teacher Victoria Wilson, Austintown Elementary School paraprofessional Anna Kuzma, medical assistant Rebecca Parry, food service professional Liz Homes, food service professional Courtney Hall, food service professional Jenine Mitchell and Austintown Middle School band director Jeremy McClaine;

• Approved the appointment of James Penk as Grade 7 assistant principal at AMS for three years;

• Approved the appointment of Britney Zarlenga as a grade 5 math and science teacher, with a starting salary of $42,600, and Krista Moltchan as K-12 technology teacher, with a starting salary of $40,737;

• Approved the transfer of Jennifer Paris from Austintown Middle School Grade 7 science to Grade 8 science to replace Victoria Wilson;

• Approved the appointment of bus driver Bradley Carter, bus driver Ryan Stanton, bus driver Carole Colbert, sweeper Larry Rhodes, Austintown Intermediate School paraprofessional Leah Schettino, paraprofessional bus aide Andrew Pappagallo, AES special education paraprofessional Nicole Karker, AES paraprofessional Tabitha Chaney, medical assistant Heidi Matula, food service professional Cindy Marzullo, food service professional Lisa Winters, food service professional Jennifer Smirz, food service professional Tracy Pauline, food service professional Tiffany Petrello, food service professional Melanee Patton, food service professional Jennifer Bair and food service professional Jodie Hanna;

• Approved a student trip for the Fitch choir and marching band, which will travel to Virginia Beach, Va., from April 20 to 23, 2023;

• Approved the parent and student handbooks for this school year.

On the record: Austintown

WHAT: Township trustees meeting on Monday

PRESENT: Steve Kent, Robert Santos and Monica Deavers

Trustees:

• Heard from police Chief Robert Gavalier who explained that the Austintown Police Department will not be going out of its way to enforce state interstates in accordance with House Bill 206 that passed this year. The bill would allow township police departments with a population between 5,000 to 50,000 to enforce traffic offenses on interstate highways within the township if that township’s board of trustees approves, effective Sept. 23. The vote on whether to implement HB2 06 will come to a vote at the next trustee meeting. Gavalier said due to short staff and the amount of speeding on township roads they won’t make it a focus to run traffic enforcement on interstate highways in the township. Instead, they’ll occasionally use their drug dogs for highway drug interdictions;

• Heard resident concerns about Wedgewood Park attracting “criminal activity” and needing to be kept in good condition. Board members said they’ll have the parks department open the park in the morning and alert the police to lock the gate at nightfall. Board members also agreed to repair a roof on one of the pavilions along with repairing some of the damaged cement at the park;

• Declared four single-family dwellings to be nuisance properties determined to be insecure, unsafe and structurally defective by Austintown Township’s fire inspector. The demolitions will be completed by the Mahoning County Land Bank using grant money from the Building and Demolition and Site Revitalization Program: 1122 Ohltown Road, 499 Ohltown Road, 68 E. Liberty St., and 76 E. Liberty St.;

• Approved a separate fund for the $7,000 recently received from opioid settlement revenues that can be used by the police department’s Opioid Crisis Unit to train officers to use and to purchase Narcan;

• Approved adding new equipment to upgrade the electrical box system, part of which goes underground and is located near Austintown Fire Department Station 3 on 2650 Raccoon Road. This allows AT&T the ability to improve internet, cable and services in the community;

• Approved Austintown Senior Center, in cooperation with Austintown Generational Enrichment (AGE) nonprofit fundraising organization, to use the nonprofit designation for grants to secure funds for grant writing for their upcoming projects including their Mastectomy and Blue Coat projects;

• Heard from Ruby Rodriguez of the GRW Austintown Junior Women’s League about some of the activities it has in the coming weeks. They will be collecting 500 pounds worth of bottle caps to use for the building of a park bench. The women’s league also will be hosting a Trunk or Treat later this year. For more information contact club President Peggy Bennett pbennett@zoominternet.net.

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