President Joe Biden presents the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration, to then-Private First Class Kenneth J. David, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a brief synopsis of the top 10 stories from the Tribune Chronicle as chosen by the newspaper staff. A separate list of the top business stories will run in the weekend edition of the Tribune Chronicle.

NUMBER 10

The new year will begin with early voting starting Tuesday for a Feb. 3 special election to recall Cortland Mayor Deidre Petrosky after calls for her to resign have gone unheeded.

Each of two polling locations — Cortland Christian Church and the Cortland Masonic Lodge — will get 16 voting booths, two poll books and two electronic scanners, said Trumbull County Elections Board Director Stephanie Penrose.

Early voting starts Tuesday at the board of elections office at 2947 Youngstown Road SE, Warren. Early voting will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Jan. 9, as well as Jan. 12 to 16. The board is closed Jan. 19 for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day federal holiday with early voting resuming Jan. 20 to 23 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Early voting is 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 26, 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 27, and 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28 to 30. Early voting is 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 31, the Saturday before the special election, and 1 to 5 p.m. Feb. 1.

Those who aren’t registered can do so until Monday to be eligible for the special recall election, Penrose said.

Penrose said she believes this is the first special election in Cortland since the 1990s.

City residents Jerry Bayus and Rita Dodd said residents have been upset by many decisions made by Petrosky and the controversy that arose when council did not support her selection of Sean Ratican as city service director.

Bayus said there are too many contracts handled by Petrosky that they get “blindsided by,” citing a recent garbage contract as an example.

Bayus, Dodd and other residents at past meetings said the petitions were circulated because of concerns about how Petrosky has acted at meetings this year, noting her “unprofessional way of working with council and overseeing operations of the city,” what she has said both publicly at meetings and in emails to council, and leaving some meetings during citizens’ comments.

Petrosky has refused to resign and denies the allegations by the residents.

NUMBER 9

Bazetta Township’s 16-month battle with the county auditor over $160,000 in funds lost to scammers finally reached its conclusion on Dec. 15.

That is when Bazetta Fiscal Officer Stacy Marling announced the township received the $80,857 from Trumbull County Auditor Martha Yoder, which was court-ordered and made on the last possible date permitted under the court’s ruling.

The township also received $8,497 in statutory interest to help defray attorney fees the township incurred from legal proceedings, a news release from Marling stated.

The payment came months after Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Sarah Thomas Kovoor ruled Yoder was to pay the township $80,857 in taxes collected by the county for police, fire, emergency medical services, local government fund taxes, gas taxes and statutory interest.

Yoder challenged the verdict, but a decision in the 11th District Court of Appeals backed it, saying state law leaves no room for excuses, even in a cybercrime.

The problem started in summer 2024, when township trustees passed a resolution allowing Marling to request early payment of 2023 second-half real estate taxes, as allowed by Ohio Revised Code.

In August 2024, the county treasurer settled accounts with the auditor for taxes collected since February. That included money owed to Bazetta. However, hackers had broken into the fiscal officer’s email when multi-factor authentication was off, the court said. Using that email, the criminals told the auditor’s office to switch the township’s deposit bank from Huntington Bank to Green Dot Bank.

An employee in the auditor’s office made the change. Over several weeks, more than $160,000 in township funds went to the fake account.

The township discovered the scam when expected payments never arrived.

Law enforcement recovered all but $80,857, which is what Yoder was ordered to repay.

NUMBER 8

The year began with Girard Army veteran Ken David receiving the Medal of Honor — the nation’s highest award for valor — from former President Joe Biden. He was the only living recipient to receive the honor, which came more than 50 years after David saved the life of his comrades in Vietnam.

In May of 2020, David was awarded the U.S. Army’s second highest commendation of valor, the Distinguished Service Cross. It was then that an effort was renewed to have him awarded the Medal of Honor.

He also has been inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.

David, 75, was drafted into the Army in 1969 and arrived in South Vietnam in January 1970. He served in Delta Company of the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry. The unit came under attack just before 5 a.m. May 7 from the North Vietnamese Army atop a mountain in the A Shau Valley of Vietnam near the Laotian border. Six American soldiers were killed in the attack.

Fourteen U.S. soldiers — all wounded — made it out alive when the 90-minute barrage ended. Among them was David, who is credited with saving the lives of 13 of his comrades.

David, the group’s radio / telephone operator, laid down suppressive fire to draw attention away from wounded American soldiers. The first rescue helicopter arrived about an hour into the fight. When it began to draw enemy fire while trying to land, David drew the attention back to himself by screaming and waving at NVA soldiers, according to military records.

David was wounded during the fight. He said shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade hit him in the back, and both of his eardrums had been blown out. He was hospitalized for five months.

David spent the past year speaking at area schools, nursing homes and military events, and received numerous awards and proclamations from local and state officials.

NUMBER 7

The diverging diamond project at state Routes 46 and 82 in Howland was completed in October, which was more than six months ahead of its scheduled completion in summer of 2026.

The early completion was good news for motorists who endured detours, ramp closures and traffic headaches since the project began in September of 2023.

Howland was in ODOT’s plan for a new diverging diamond location since appearing on ODOT’s 2015, 2016 and 2017 Highway Safety Improvement Program Urban Non-Freeway priority lists. Per the state’s safety study, “159 crashes occurred at the Route 46 and Route 82 ramp intersections between 2012 and 2016.” ODOT officials said the project was one of the biggest — at $20.4 million — to be launched in 2023 in the Mahoning Valley.

Its completion made it the third diverging diamond in the state — with the other two in Columbus and Toledo.

No major problems with the new traffic pattern have been reported so far, which could be because of clear signage and directional arrows as motorists exit Route 82 onto Route 46 in both directions.

NUMBER 6

U.S. District Court Judge Benita Y. Pearson has banned the plaintiffs and defendants in the three federal Ursuline High School lawsuits from making any further commentary on blogs or elsewhere pending the completion of the lawsuits, which allege Ursuline officials failed to protect students.

Citing the “substantial probability” that further commentary outside of court on the lawsuits filed by the Chandra Law Firm against Ursuline High School and other defendants in recent months could prejudice the defendant’s rights to a fair trial, Pearson ordered Dec. 18 that the plaintiffs in the lawsuits and their counsel are “prohibited for the duration of these cases, from directly or indirectly making public statements, appearances or publications of any kind in any medium regarding these lawsuits or disparaging the character or credibility of any defendants therein.”

The order also prohibits the defendants and their counsel from doing anything of that nature. Both the plaintiff and defense attorneys were also ordered to “remove all blogs or other posts relating to (the lawsuits) from their firm’s website

The Chandra Law Firm has filed three federal lawsuits naming Ursuline High School and others associated with the school as defendants since September and one lawsuit in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

The first lawsuit alleged hazing of an Ursuline football player by other Ursuline football players, while the second lawsuit alleged sexual harassment of a female Ursuline student by an Ursuline football player. The third lawsuit alleged misconduct against an openly gay Ursuline freshman boy. The fourth lawsuit alleged that warnings to school officials about a planned physical attack on a female Ursuline student during the lunch period were not enough to prevent the attack.

The initial lawsuit alleging hazing led to the cancellation of Ursuline’s football season and the unpaid suspension of head football coach Dan Reardon. All of the lawsuits are still pending, but it has been reported a settlement is in the works for the first one.

NUMBER 5

A 4-year-old child injured in a house explosion in Liberty on June 7 died of his injuries Aug. 26. His father, Justin Braun, 34, died at the scene of the explosion that occurred around 9:30 p.m. at a home at the corner of East Montrose Street and Northlawn Drive. A third victim survived, but was critically injured.

Liberty fire Chief Doug Theobald said after the explosion that a shift lieutenant was conducting a public service call at Walmart when he heard the explosion and immediately contacted people at the fire station to report a structure fire. He said the lieutenant, who was first on the scene, determined it was an explosion, and there were injuries.

Theobald said an initial rescue attempt was called off by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) because of live ammunition and fireworks.

Residents in other parts of Liberty, as well as Girard, Hubbard and Youngstown, heard the explosion and felt their homes shaking, reports state. Theobald said fire officials in other communities reported hearing two loud booms and homes shaking.

An initial investigation revealed that illegal fireworks were being made inside the house or garage, which led to the blast.

The home was demolished in October, according to Liberty trustee Arnie Clebone.

NUMBER 4

Six people were killed June 29 in a plane crash in Howland shortly after takeoff from the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.

A three-page National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report into the crash stated that witnesses on the ground heard a “noticeable pitch change in the engine sound.”

The report states that witnesses were 1 to 2 miles northwest of the crash location and reported hearing a change in the engine sound and said the plane “never appeared above the tree line and that the engine was roaring.” The report states the plane reached an altitude of “only about 100 feet.”

Moments later, “they heard the sound of trees breaking, followed by a loud explosion, and observed smoke rising from the area where the airplane had gone down,” the report states.

Among the parts of the plane that were retained for further examination by investigators were both engines on the 1984 twin-engine Cessna 441 Conquest and both propellers, which were examined at each manufacturer’s facility with oversight from the NTSB.

The plane departed for a flight to Bozeman, Montana, at 6:52 a.m. with Joe Maxin, 63, of Canfield, as pilot and Timothy Blake, 50, of Hubbard, as co-pilot. The four passengers were Veronica Weller, 68; James (Jim) Weller, 67; John Weller, 36; and Maria Weller, 34, all of Hubbard.

James Weller was president and CEO of Liberty Steel Industries Inc. Veronica was his wife and John was their son. Maria was John’s wife and the couple’s daughter-in-law.

The plane “impacted trees in a heavily wooded area which separated a major portion of the left wing,” the report states. A large amount of the plane came to rest upside down. And the cockpit, cabin, right wing and separated section of the left wing were “heavily damaged by the postcrash fire,” the report states.

Maxin was lead flight instructor at the Youngstown Flight School, which was created in early 2024 at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna. He also was a former member of the board of directors of the Western Reserve Port Authority and was serving the port authority as director of compliance, reviewing contracts and assisting with grants and other things.

No final report on the crash has been released.

In early December, the estate belonging to Maria Weller filed a civil complaint against the plane’s pilot and the company where he worked.

According to the document filed in the Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, Julianna Margala, the estate administrator and sister of Maria Weller, filed the complaint against Meander Air LLC and Nicholas Maxin, administrator for the estate of Joseph Maxin, the plane’s pilot.

The lawsuit is pending in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.

NUMBER 3

Former Vienna Township fiscal officer Linda McCullough was sentenced July 29 to eight years in prison at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville for stealing from the township’s coffers. She served as Vienna’s fiscal officer from 2019 to early 2024.

Additionally, she was ordered to pay court costs and make restitution to both Vienna Township at $120,371, and the state auditor’s office, to which she owes $11,746.

McCullough’s sentencing came a month after her trial was supposed to begin. She instead pleaded guilty to all 10 charges against her, which included two counts of theft in office, one count of telecommunications fraud and seven counts of tampering with records.

The charges stemmed from indictments in October 2024 and February of 2025, which accused McCullough of using her elected position to pay personal credit card bills, as well as individual and private business expenses at several stores.

Ahead of her sentencing, McCullough asked the court for mercy, noting that while she wasn’t good at expressing her feelings or opinions and her personality could come off to some as cold and uncaring, she was “really sorry” for what she had done.

J. Gerald Ingram, her attorney, said theft in office for the amount in her case is deemed a third-degree felony, but for plain theft of the same amount, it would be a fourth-degree felony.

Vienna trustee Phil Pegg said at her sentencing hearing that McCullough may claim that she acted on behalf of the township’s safety services, but she destroyed them and tried to destroy the community with her actions.

Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Cynthia Rice said McCullough’s first three counts were merging, and the state elected to prosecute on the first one. The tampering with records charges, which made up counts four through 10, did not merge, as the offenses were committed with separate motivations to conceal her actions.

Pegg said McCullough has appealed her conviction and sentence to the 11th District Court of Appeals, so a planned lawsuit against her to recover money the township lost on late fees, penalties and interest from payments she failed to make is on hold.

Pegg said some of the money the court ordered her to pay back has been paid, mostly from her government pension, but more is still owed. He said a financial audit from the state auditor’s office has not been released yet so trustees do not have a final tally of what was taken.

NUMBER 2

After six years of bitter court battles and legal wranglings, the Leavittsburg Dam finally started being demolished on Oct. 28. Trustees said it could take until June before the demolition work is complete.

In June, Warren Township trustees voted to stop fighting the demolition after a series of court rulings did not go their way and they decided it was too expensive to appeal the ruling to the Ohio Supreme Court. Trustees said at the time that the MetroParks’ legal costs were being paid by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, which voted to approve the demolition in December 2024 because of safety concerns.

Trustees had already spent $50,000 fighting the dam’s removal, according to Warren Township Trustee Chairman Ryan Yoho. When the township dropped its fight, trustees urged the county commissioners to continue fighting. The commissioners in February joined trustees in a lawsuit and injunction filing.

It was estimated an Ohio Supreme Court appeal would have cost an additional $50,000. Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, an appellate court and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Review Appeals Commission all ruled against the township’s appeals, allowing for the demolition to move forward.

Residents of Warren Township were opposed to the demolition because of concerns over pollutants entering the Mahoning River and making their way into the water system. They also were concerned about flooding.

However, residents in Braceville wanted the dam removed, hoping to alleviate flooding in their township.

Warren Township fire crews were stationed along the Mahoning River in Leavittsburg Dec. 26 to get a car removed from the water. A spokesman for the Warren Township Fire Department said the vehicle is believed to have been submerged in the water for some time and is now visible because the water level in the Mahoning River is lower because of the dam work. The spokesman said they suspect more vehicles and other items will begin appearing as the water level goes down.

NUMBER 1

Commissioners on Nov. 7 finished listening to pleas from the county’s various department heads who mostly asked for more funds to operate in 2026.

It was deja vu as commissioners in 2025 attempted to operate on an austere general fund budget, cutting requests because the county projected a $64.5 million budget for the year.

The commissioners office cut its own budget in 2025 by approximately $3 million to ensure there would be enough to complete the year. Looking toward 2026, the commissioners are looking at having an equally tight budget.

Trumbull County Human Resources Director Alexandra DeVengencie-Bush told commissioners at the time of the budget hearings that health insurance costs are expected to increase to just over 10.7% for 2026. She earlier recommended department heads to include a 14% increase in their budget estimates for health care costs, because that was the level of increase the county had to pay for health care costs in 2025.

Commissioners spent much of 2025 asking its department heads to spend only on necessities and cut back as much as possible because of projected budget shortfalls.

With six more payrolls to go in 2025, commissioners spent the afternoon of Sept. 30 determining what would be needed by various departments to complete the year. They were estimating the departments were approximately $1 million short of what they needed to complete the year with balanced budgets and commissioners agreed to use the county’s cash reserves to do so.

Trumbull County has $13,911,252.29 in cash reserves, which represent about 20% of the county’s total budget. However, counties generally are recommended to maintain between two and three months of their total payroll in reserve to ensure good financial balances throughout the year.

At the beginning of 2025, Trumbull had approximately $15 million in cash reserves.

Commissioner Denny Malloy reminded his fellow commissioners in late September that so far this year, the county has gained approximately $300,000 per month more in sales tax revenue than was projected at the beginning of the year.

However, Commissioner Tony Bernard warned there is no guarantee the final three months of the year will continue seeing this level of sales tax revenue. Bernard cautiously warned that 2024 saw decreases in the amount of sales tax revenue coming into the county during the final quarter of the year compared to the first nine months.