Staff photo / R. Michael Semple Paul Niemi of Logan Avenue NE in Warren stands next to a large maple tree in his front yard that came down during Sunday’s storms. The tree’s branches took down the gutters on the front porch of his next-door neighbor’s house. Trumbull County EMA Director John Hickey said he sent pictures of the damage to the National Weather Service in Cleveland so they can determine if it was a tornado.

WARREN — Lee Manios, owner of Franklin Healthcare, said in his 30 years in business, he has never had to close the store, but following a severe thunderstorm Sunday afternoon that caused damage to his business on East Market Street, he had no choice.

He and other business owners in the 1100 block of East Market spent time Monday clearing debris and dealing with flooding and roof damage.

“Road closed” signs were posted for a section of East Market on Monday as debris and tree branches and glass were on parts of the road. Manios said he plans to open Tuesday, but posted a sign on his door “Closed due to storm. Opening ASAP.”

He said on Sunday afternoon, he received a call from his employees of the alarm going off after the large glass windows at the front of the store were broken out from large pieces of debris from other nearby buildings. Manios said he will need a new roof.

“I have been here for 30 years and have the best people. My employees saw what happened and called me. When I got here, they were already here moving stuff. There was rain coming inside and stuff all over the parking lot,” he said.

Manios said people told him the blue awnings and siding from the River Gate High School across the street had blown off and hit the store’s glass windows. He said a portable toilet was blown into a nearby parking lot.

Manois said he did not have power Monday, but plans to look at security camera footage to see what happened. He said in addition to water inside the business, there is also severe damage on the roof with debris landing there.

“This building is a fortress, but there was stuff blown into our back rooms. We have found a lot of glass and debris inside. Whatever happened Sunday, it happened quickly. From what people tell me, it came out of nowhere,” Manios said.

He said he spoke to residents in the nearby neighborhood who claim they saw a small funnel in the air with a lot of debris.

Manios said he believes something happened beyond strong winds from the storm.

“This is the first time in my 30 years since I have been here that I have had to close, outside of holidays,” Manios said.

RIVER GATE

Across the street, several RestoWorks trucks were in the parking lot of River Gate High School and workers were on the building roof. The company deals with disaster restoration.

Jason Cooper, director/ principal at River Gate High School, said the storm tore off a 24×24 foot section of the building’s roof and mangled the siding on the western side of the school.

He said several trees on the property also were knocked down and a steel dumpster was picked up and knocked over on its side.

“The area of the building that got hit we have been doing construction on for new classrooms. We have some water damage,” Cooper said.

He said the school has no classes for the summer so they will have time to get things taken care of, which he said was mostly roofing and siding.

OTHER DAMAGE

Mariano Longo, owner of Downbeat Musical Arts Center next to River Gate High School, said he found the portable toilet in his parking lot.

He said he was at the store Sunday when the storm hit.

“I was in the building working when the storm happened. I heard what sounded like a freight train sound. When I looked outside I could see it was a bad storm. It was happening so fast. It’s fortunate that no one was injured,” Longo said.

He said he needs to check the building’s roof for damage, but otherwise the rest of the building is fine.

Longo praised local residents who came to the area to help with the cleanup.

“They rallied together to help where they could,” Longo said.

Power crew workers were busy on nearby Iddings Drive, where a large tree had fallen over in a yard near the intersection of South Street. Resident Amy Pecorelli, who lives nearby, said she did not see anything but noted how dark the sky got before the storm began.

“I was outside and went inside quickly. The winds were picking up,” she said.

EMA DIRECTOR

Trumbull County Emergency Management Agency Director John Hickey said he received calls Sunday about that section of East Market Street and the Sky Way Drive-In area off North Leavitt Road in Warren Township. Hickey said he went to both locations to assess the damage and will send photos and information to the National Weather Service in Cleveland for review.

He said the Sky Way Drive-In was mostly damaged by a metal fence but the movie screens and projector building were fine.

Hickey said the East Market Street area seemed to be where most damage occurred. Hickey said he also had emails from Niles officials about trees and powerlines down that knocked out power in parts of the city.