Latest news with #ToddWerth
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New wellness center to support local first responders
BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN) — Mahoning County is getting a new wellness center to support first responders. The Clarence R. Smith Mahoning Valley First Responder Wellness Center was announced at the Boardman Township Trustees meeting Monday. It will provide a centralized space to support the mental health of police, fire, EMS, and dispatch personnel. 'It's a very unique property that's kind of a stand-alone, very quiet,' said Boardman Police Chief Todd Werth. The new wellness center property sits tucked away on Raupp Avenue in Boardman and township trustees have dedicated $253,000 dollars to fixing the place up. It will eventually provide a centralized space for wellness training, education and mental health care. 'First responders are very hesitant to seek help themselves. Again, they're in the business of helping other people, so this is an opportunity to kind of proactively work with first responders ahead of time and try to address issues before they become issues,' Chief Werth said. The location will serve the 58 responder agencies in Mahoning County and eventually support agencies in Trumbull and Columbiana counties as well. Chief Werth hopes it will serve as a bridge between existing programs and first responders and their families. 'All the agencies in Mahoning County that already do a phenomenal job providing support, we're going to be able to leverage them by having them at the center,' Chief Werth said. Mahoning County commissioners also committed $464,000 of opioid settlement funds to complete phase one of the project and a nonprofit is being established to run the facility. 'We couldn't have done it without the Mahoning County Commissioners' help. They've donated a large portion to begin this project and we're just very excited to get started and provide a center,' said trustee Steve Yacovone. 'This is another arm that actually will benefit the citizens out in the street because our responders will be more rested, taken care of and being able to address the things they need to address,' said Mahoning County Administrator Audrey Tillis. The center is named after Clarence Smith, who donated the property to the township upon his death. 'I think it's just fitting- that was a house that he lived in, the property that he donated – that we named it after him for the wellness center,' Chief Werth said. Chief Werth said he hopes to have the center up and running by National First Responders Day on Oct. 24. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Boardman expands driver training grant county-wide
BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN) – Boardman is expanding its driver training grant to all eligible students within Mahoning County. Police Chief Todd Werth announced Friday that the township's $147,885 grant to help train young drivers will be expanded to cover students within all of Mahoning County who qualify. He said that the township recently got permission from the state to offer the grant money outside of the township. The money was awarded last year through the Drive to Succeed program from the Ohio Traffic Safety Office of the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Students will receive $475 to help fund the approximate $500 cost for driver training, which includes 24 hours of classroom instruction and 8 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction, all of which is mandated for 16 and 17-year-olds who want to drive. Students should contact their respective schools to express interest in the program. Arepresentative of the school can then contact Boardman Police Sergeant Paul Grimes(pgrimes@ or 330-726-4177) about interest in the program. Grant eligibility includes the following: The student must be enrolled and in good standing at their respective Mahoning County-based high school or have a letter from their local school district approving them for homeschooling and meet other eligibility requirements. The student must be age 15 years and 5 months or older prior to the start of driver training. The student must have a minimum grade point average of 2.0. The student must be ingood standing including no habitual truancy, no habitual absences, and no excessivedetentions for tardiness or being late to class, or other disciplinary issues. Financial need must be proven by the student and family and will be determined byguidelines established by the Ohio Department of Education Office of Nutrition National School Lunch Program and used by their High School Food Services Department. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
