I’m sending out an SOS … for pizza.

It’s not that I can’t find any. This is, after all, the Mahoning Valley and pizza is one of the things that we do better than 98.6% of the United States.

But despite spending 30 years living and working here — and eating more than my share of pizza from Warren, Youngstown and various other points on the map — my pizza-loving heart belongs up north.

No, not Ann Arbor, Michigan. Are you crazy? Who would spend money up there if they didn’t already live there and had no other choice?

I’m talking about Jefferson, in the heart of Ashtabula County, just to our north.

I grew up on Colucci’s Pizza, which I consider one of life’s great delicacies. I can’t explain it, other than to say that whatever they do, it’s the single best pizza I’ve ever had.

Just about anyone who spent their formative years in or around Jefferson will vouch for me on that. For some of us, Colucci’s Pizza just tastes like home. If nostalgia can be a taste, this is it.

Those living locally still go there and those who’ve moved to various places far from home go back whenever they’re in town.

But all that changed in the wee hours Wednesday morning, when Colucci’s and Mr. Hero next door — another “must have” — were destroyed by fire. I awoke to a text and photo from my friend and former colleague Shelley Terry, who happens to live across the street from the pizza shop. Even in retirement, Shelley has a nose for news.

Early word is that Colucci’s plans to rebuild, but it’s going to be a while until we can get that special blend of sauce, crust and generous toppings that takes us back to our youth. There will be dozens of bitterly disappointed members of the Jefferson Area High School’s Class of 1985 coming to town next weekend for a 40-year reunion.

For the last six years, I could count on a pie from Colucci’s when Ohio State played Penn State. An ongoing wager with my former boss Sharon Sorg went my way every year thanks mostly to the Buckeyes and, to some extent, the questionable coaching of James Franklin.

The date was already circled on my calendar and I was looking forward to another tasty mushroom-and-sausage pizza — all mine because no one else in my house likes mushrooms.

But now what?

So I’m turning to you, Mahoning Valley readers. As I mentioned, you can almost throw a rock in any direction in the Mahoning Valley and hit a pizza shop that the locals swear is the best pizza around. I’ve tried more than a few over the years and I’ve never been disappointed, but it looks as if I need a new go-to pizza for a good, long while.

I have only one rule: No national chains.

I’ll eat Pizza Hut, Domino’s and Papa John’s, but I can’t get terribly excited about pizza that everyone from Calabasas to Columbus is eating. The best restaurants are local, no matter what you’re having — but especially when it comes to pizza. I want a slice that tastes like something you can’t get anywhere else. In other words, it has to have its own character.

And don’t tell me to check out Dave Portnoy’s pizza reviews. It’s bad enough that Fox Sports hired him for its Big Noon Kickoff shows. The last person I want to see when I’m getting ready for an Ohio State football game is that unrepentant Michigan shill. It’s bad enough that Lee Corso has now retired from ESPN’s College GameDay broadcast, yet we’re stuck with its version of Portnoy — Desmond Howard.

But I digress. This is about the best pizza I can find in the Mahoning Valley. I’m still reeling from the news about my hometown pizza and I’m in search of something new to take its place for a while.

Let me know what you like and I’ll give it a try.

Ed Puskas is editor of the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator. Send him your pizza recommendations at epuskas@tribtoday.com. You can also reach him by phone at 330-841-1786.