Ohio
Some Northeast Ohio Catholic churches begin merger
There is still a shortage of priests in Northeast Ohio as the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown continues its plan to merge churches.
It’s a plan that the late Bishop Murry began to roll out before he died.
“When I was ordained over 37 years ago, we had about 150 active priest, now we are facing a decline,” says Monsignor John Zuraw of the Youngstown Catholic Diocese.
Zuraw says it’s been a challenge.
“In 2024, there are 42 of us that are ministering within the six counties of the Diocese of Youngstown,” Zuraw said.
Stark, Portage and Trumbull Counties began to merge on July 1. In Canton, Saint Peter and the Basilica of Saint John the Baptist are now known as The Basilica of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Peter Parish.
Tom Sosnowski started attending the St. John Basilica in 1977 and says the change was needed and should not have been a surprise.
“A person was not expecting it? That was really silly,” Sosnowski said.
He told me it’s pretty obvious that the population Downtown has dwindled.
“Don’t have enough priests. I mean, if they did, still one would wonder about the financial viability of paying two priests and having two parishes; that becomes a rather expensive proposition. It’s expensive enough to maintain two buildings, especially two large buildings. They’re doing that, though,” he said.
In Niles, St. Stephen’s Church and Our Lady of Mount Carmel joined to form St. Pope John the XXIII.
Under the plan, a priest may be pulling double duty, overseeing multiple parishes with staggered services. The church buildings will remain open.
“The merged units, especially help where there’s not a multiplication of meetings, but rather there’s one finance council meeting, there’s one parish council meeting. So that does, in fact, save some time, it saves some energy,” Zuraw said.
LISBON, Ohio (WKBN)- We could find out as soon as Wednesday whether or not funding will be coming to help repair the Lisbon pool.
Mayor Pete Wilson says he spoke with State Representative Monica Robb Blasdel.
He says their $150,000 request was added into the state capital expenditures bill, which is expected to be voted on Wednesday. The Mayor says he was told the vote is a formality and that the funding will be approved.
He says with this funding, they hope to have the pool open next year.
WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) — Trumbull County Commissioners at Tuesday’s weekly workshop meeting discussed the possibility of enacting an additional 2.5% reduction in property taxes for people occupying homes.
Although no decision was made, all the commissioners agreed it was a good idea.
The owner occupancy deduction was one option enacted last year by the Ohio Legislature to lower property taxes.
The other option was the homestead deduction for homeowners 65 or older or permanently disabled. The owner occupancy deduction is the smaller of the two.
The commissioners indicated they hope to vote before July 1.
The deduction would save homeowners $25 for every $1,000 in property taxes but will mean less money for the townships, school and Trumbull County.
Ohio
Mass shooting at Ohio festival that wounded 12 stemmed from dispute between rival groups, police say
A mass shooting that left 12 people wounded on Saturday afternoon at a summer festival in Ohio stemmed from “a dispute involving two rival groups,” according to police.
Gunfire rang out just after 5:30 p.m. near the Old West End Festival in Toledo from two gunmen, one from each group, police said. A dozen people were hurt, with the oldest victim being 61 and the youngest 14, police Lt. Dan Gerken said Saturday, noting most were in their early 20s.
Toledo Police Chief Michael Troendle said Tuesday that a dispute between rival groups led to “a foot chase,” a physical altercation and one person producing a firearm and shooting before someone from the rival group did the same and returned fire.
“While investigators believe some of the victims are intentionally targeted, the majority of those injured appear to have been innocent bystanders caught up in this senseless act of violence,” Troendle said during a news briefing.
Police estimate that three of the victims were involved in the incident, while nine were caught in the crossfire. All of the victims are expected to survive, with nine already having been released from the hospital, Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said at the Tuesday briefing.
Toledo Fire & Rescue Chief Allison Armstrong said bystanders helped in the aftermath of the shooting by administering tourniquets to the injuries of the victims and providing them with comfort.
“While that act showed us the worst of humanity, what followed in the moments after showed us the very best,” Armstrong said.
Detectives have continued conducting interviews since the incident and “identified several persons of interest,” Troendle said. The gunmen police believe to be responsible are between the ages of 18 and 24, and still at large, he said.
Before the shooting, a deputy sheriff at the festival was about to check a bag when someone grabbed it and ran off with it, Troendle said, adding that police are “still trying to piece all that together.” It is not clear who the bag belonged to, or if the firearm was used in the shooting.
Since the shooting, Troendle said that investigators have recovered and are examining two firearms that are believed to be connected to the shooting.
“While there’s still work to be done, I can tell you that investigators continue to make progress,” Troendle said.
Kapszukiewicz said moving forward, young people need to be held accountable for their actions.
“The reality is they did something that deserves punishment and accountability, and when our police find them and arrest them, they will be held accountable,” he said about the gunmen.
Kapszukiewicz also said he thinks the city should finish hosting the Old West End Festival, which was halted a day early after Saturday’s shooting. He said late summer or early September would be a good time to “put a bow on that weekend.”
Changes, including strengthened curfews and more opportunities to check bags, are being discussed for events like the Old West End Festival, Kapszukiewicz said.
“Our heart is broken, and it will take time to work through what happened, and to seek to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said.
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