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Funds OK’d for mental health jail employee

YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County officials have taken another step toward improving mental health care within its criminal justice system. Mahoning County Commissioners at their meeting Thursday approved the allocation of $60,000 in opioid settlement funds to the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board to support the hiring of a forensic mental health navigator. The MHRB employee will be stationed at the Mahoning County Justice Center and will serve as a liaison between the jail, inmates and the county court system. The navigator position has been in discussion since earlier ...

Boy, 6, dies after being shot Monday afternoon in Youngstown

YOUNGSTOWN — A 6-year-old boy died after being found shot inside a home in the 500 block of Plum Street on the near West Side Monday afternoon. The Youngstown Police Department issued a press release Tuesday morning stating that police were called to the home at 4:09 p.m. for a shooting. When they arrived, they found the boy shot inside a bedroom and began life-saving measures until paramedics arrived. The child was transported to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the release states. Youngstown police detectives and its crime scene unit were called to ...

Getting their ducks in a row

STRUTHERS — The Struthers Rotary Club unleashed 1,500 rubber ducks Saturday at Yellow Creek Park for its 16th annual event. “Everybody can buy a duck for only $5,” said Ryan Goist, former Rotary Club president. “We drop a bunch of rubber ducks down here in Yellow Creek. The winner of ...

NAACP wants elections board to move to Cobbin building

YOUNGSTOWN — The president of the NAACP Youngstown/Mahoning County Branch wants the county board of elections to move to the W.J. Cobbin Office Tower on the city’s North Side, but the board’s director said the facility doesn’t meet its needs. In a Monday letter to the board, James Brown, the NAACP local president, wrote Cobbin Tower, where the organization is headquartered, “deserves serious consideration. Based on the information available, the facility appears to satisfy the board’s stated specifications while also offering substantial benefits to the citizens of Mahoning ...

Man pleads guilty to aggravated robbery and kidnapping

YOUNGSTOWN — James Blackwell, 26, pleaded guilty Monday to aggravated robbery with a gun specification and two counts of kidnapping in a Nov. 3, 2025, incident in Youngstown in which he was accused of walking up to a car and telling a woman he was going to kill her if she did not give him ...

McGuffey Day returns for once-in-a-century celebration

Staff report YOUNGSTOWN — On Saturday, McGuffey Centre organizers will revive McGuffey Day, a signature community tradition, as part of the center’s centennial celebration. The event will take place 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at McGuffey Centre, 1649 Jacobs Road, Youngstown. McGuffey Day will be more than an anniversary celebration. It will be a community homecoming bringing together generations of former campers, athletes, employees, volunteers, neighborhood families and supporters while celebrating the children and families McGuffey serves today. “Reviving McGuffey Day is about ...