News

State probes 2 Valley schools over testing irregularities

Local News September 5, 2026

The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce has launched investigations of Southside Academy in Youngstown and Newton Falls Elementary School over irregularities in state testing procedures last spring. The two Mahoning Valley schools are among 52 statewide that ODEW announced Friday it is now targeting. In July, the department launched an investigation into spring testing results at Columbus City Schools after the district self-reported “anomalies” at two high school buildings. As part of that ongoing investigation, DEW officials said they took the proactive step of ...

On the record: Howland

Local News September 5, 2026

Howland WHAT: Board of Education August organizational meeting PRESENT: Julie Altawil, Jeff Pegg, Brianne Perry, Abigail Reynolds and Kelly Vennitti. The board: • Approved a donation of music CDs to the district’s music department. • Approved the disposal of obsolete and nonfunctional items across various district facilities, including appliances, furniture, classroom books and projectors. • Amended Eddie Williams’s one-year limited contract from monitor at Howland Glen Primary School to cook/cashier at Howland Glen for the 2026-27 school year. • Issued a ...

Brookfield marks 50 years of recreation

Local News September 5, 2026

BROOKFIELD — It was the summer of 1976 when Brookfield Township Community Park off Stewart Sharon Road officially opened to the public, providing a place for families to enjoy recreational activities and the outdoors. The 30-acre park includes numerous ballfields, concession stand/pavilion, walking trails and Jenny Junction Playground. Trustee Shannon Devitz said the park has seen many improvements and additions in those 50 years, including most recently approximately $35,000 in American Rescue Plan funds for adding disc golf to the park. “We had people in the community asking ...

President McKinley shot at Buffalo Exposition by anarchist

Local News September 5, 2026

120 Years Ago, 1901 transcribed as originally published in the Youngstown Vindicator: “The president may recover. An Anarch fires upon the Chief Executive at the Buffalo Exposition this afternoon. Two bullets take effect. The wounds are in the stomach and his condition is serious – the assassin is a stranger – the president now lies in the hospital at the Pan American grounds in a comatose condition. Assassin caught.” “Buffalo, Sept. 6. – 4 p.m. – President McKinley was shot twice in the stomach here this afternoon in the Temple of Music. Condition is serious. Two ...

Pell grant expansion provides new opportunities for job training

Business September 5, 2026

Sydney Webb scrimped and saved to pay for an eight-week certified nursing assistant program at a North Carolina community college. On top of the $255 registration fee, the 26-year-old bartender also had to pay for a background check, scrubs, a stethoscope, special shoes and a state ...