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New leaks add to worries at election board

YOUNGSTOWN — Two more water leaks in a five-day period at the Mahoning County Board of Elections has the board’s director concerned it’s just a matter of time before serious damage occurs. The leaks into a room that houses the board’s poll books occurred Friday and Tuesday, said Director Tom McCabe, with the first one destroying six boxes of absentee envelopes. McCabe said: “We’re fortunate it hasn’t caused major damage, but we’re getting closer. The board is lucky nothing has been destroyed, besides the boxes of envelopes, but it’s only a matter of time.” This ...

Ex-city clerk of courts opposes case dismissal

YOUNGSTOWN — The attorney representing Sarah Brown-Clark, a former Youngstown clerk of courts seeking back pay, told a judge the city’s request to dismiss the case is “improper” and “premature.” James Vitullo, Brown-Clark’s attorney, wrote in a response to the city’s dismissal request that his client’s “complaint states valid claims under Ohio law, and she is entitled to proceed to discovery and adjudication on the merits, as such claims are particularly appropriate for resolution on a full factual record, not at the pleading stage.” Brown-Clark filed the ...

Galloping pony takes Austintown police for a ride through township

AUSTINTOWN — Not every police chase involves a subject in an automobile. Austintown officers got a taste of what an exciting Monday evening might have looked like in the days of founders Calvin Austin and John McCollum. Their quarry was not a suspicious character in a sedan but rather a self-propelled single-horse-power vehicle with no passenger. Yes, about 8 p.m., police responded to a resident report of a pony running loose on Staatz Drive. An Austintown dispatch center report chronicles the adventurous animal’s harrowing 15-minute romp through town. Austintown Dispatcher ...

Serial arsonist sentenced for city fires

YOUNGSTOWN — Will A. Jones, 60, pleaded guilty recently in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to 14 counts of aggravated arson and was sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison. Jones set fires to three homes containing 14 people Nov. 22 and 23 not far from each other on the city’s South ...

Youngstown committee OKs work to new bar

YOUNGSTOWN — Work is ongoing at a long-vacant building near the Youngstown State University campus to open under the Pogo’s Pub name, which was used several years ago. The city’s design review committee on Tuesday approved requested exterior improvements to 214 W. Rayen Ave., where the bar is planning to open. The work includes replacing three windows, painting, an exterior sign, lighting, an enclosed patio and fencing improvements. Beth Baker, speaking for Pogo’s Pub, said: “This business has been closed for a very long time. A lot of improvements are needed.” Hadi ...

Austintown police land grant for cold case tech

AUSTINTOWN — Police may have the advantage in a cold case after receiving a state grant. On Monday, the Austintown Police Department informed trustees that it had received a $24,900 Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Genetic Genealogy Grant from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services. Lt. Dan Burich on Tuesday said the grant will be used to perform specialized testing on DNA evidence from an undisclosed cold case. “We look into all cold cases regularly. We have about eight or nine, and every one is assigned to a detective. They’re never tucked away in a box and forgotten,” ...