Your Morning Matters: Close encounters of the Valley kind

Good morning and welcome to your Morning Matters.

It's Thursday, July 8, 2021, and on this day in 1947, it was reported that an unidentified flying object crash-landed in Roswell, New Mexico in what became known as the "Roswell UFO incident."

And this was not just some idle rumor. No, what made this incident special was that Roswell Army Air Field actually issued a press release stating a "flying disc" was recovered from a nearby ranch. And that news release was published on the front page of the Roswell Daily Record newspaper. Subsequently, I'm guessing after the Pentagon got wind of the unusual admission, a new press release retracted the first one and said that it was merely a weather balloon that was recovered.

The Valley has had its share of UFO — or unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) as they are now called — reports over the years. In 1966, Portage County Deputy Sheriff Dale Spaur was investigating an abandoned vehicle when he spotted something in the sky he couldn't explain. He followed it east for 86 miles to the Pennsylvania line. Along the way he was joined by East Palestine Police Officer Wayne Huston as he headed through the Valley. According to Cleveland Scene, it was "determined that the object the four police officers saw that morning was the planet Venus refracted through fog."

According to AppalachianGhostWalks.com, a group of onlookers spotted a UFO near Salt Springs Road on Sept. 19, 2000. The crowd in front of Sheetz "could clearly see six different craft, which seemed to shoot up into the sky, and then back down again, a maneuver beyond the capability of any known conventional craft." One man called 911 and "the operator transferred his call to the Youngstown Airport … The tower operator stated that he had nothing on radar to explain what [the man] had reported seeing."

The History Channel show "UFO Hunters," suggests "something very strange was seen over Ohio in 1994" and "Sergeant Toby Meloro of the Liberty Township Police Department was one of the first to respond." Meloro is now chief, by the way. And during the show he said "the object he saw looked like a large, pulsating light." And a National Weather Service radar operator confirmed the case, saying "I've never seen anything move so fast."

Keep those eyes on the skies. And let's make today count.

Here's what you need to know about the Mahoning Valley today:

The word "Revitalize" on the marquee of the iconic Foster Theatre is doing a lot of work. For starters, the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation picked it to replace an enduring advertisement for pornographic films back in June.

Now the faded and chipped marquee represents the first phase in YNDC's plan to renovate the building. Reporter Jess Hardin tells us how we can chip in to help fix it.

Pandemic facts

• In the U.S.: 33,764,672 confirmed cases; 606,179 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University & Medicine at 6 p.m. July 7.
• In Ohio: 1,113,006 confirmed or suspected cases; 20,366 deaths.
• In Pennsylvania: 1,213,321 confirmed cases; 27,718 deaths.
• In the Mahoning Valley: 22,415 confirmed or suspected cases in Mahoning County; 16,590 in Trumbull; and 9,052 in Columbiana.
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: Closed at 34,681.79, up 104.42 points, or 0.30 percent.

Other matters

With the help of a $1 million gift from Leonard J. "Lenny" Fisher, Akron Children's Hospital Mahoning Valley will begin a project to expand the emergency department on its Beeghly campus. Mahoning Matters

Attention foodies: The Mahoning Valley Historical Society will debut "Youngstalia: Italian Foodways in the Mahoning Valley" in its monthly Bites and Bits of History online video presentation at noon on July 15. Mahoning Matters

About a month ago, the delta coronavirus variant first identified in India made up about 6% of cases in the U.S. Now, new national data predicts the highly contagious variant will make up about 52% of cases. Here's what we know. Mahoning Matters

Youngstown Police Department patrol officers who serve in a special unit — like the Bomb Squad or dog handlers — have had their training curtailed during the summer because of a shortage of officers on the road. WKBN

Poland's South Main Street District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, but there had been no marker to recognize that until Tuesday. WFMJ

Local auto sales jumped 27.5% in June, according to the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers Association. There were 5,245 new and used vehicles sold to buyers living in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties last month. The Business Journal

The Mahoning County Board of Elections refused to certify three candidates to the November ballot: John White as an independent candidate for Youngstown mayor, Elaine Ginnetti as an independent candidate for the Struthers council's 2nd Ward seat and Jeffrey Opencar for 2nd Ward councilman in Campbell. The Vindicator [May encounter paywall.]

In case you missed it

If you wear a mask while working out, here's some good news. A small study suggests there's no harm in masking-up during exercise for most people. Mahoning Matters

Your comments matter

"LeVar Burton all the way! Hoping to see some stellar guest hosting episodes."

— Dalton Bosze on the Jeopardy! guest host lineup, which includes "Reading Rainbow" host LeVar Burton.

Registered readers can comment on a selection of our stories, and all readers can comment on stories on our Facebook page. Opinions published here do not reflect the views of Mahoning Matters.

Event of the day

John Reese Trio will perform as part of Boardman Park's Music in the Park series at 7 p.m. at the park's Maag Outdoor Theatre. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and snacks. Concessions are not available this season.

To see what else is going on around the Mahoning Valley, check out Mahoning Matters' event calendar here, or click the Events tab on the top menu at mahoningmatters.com.

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This story was originally published July 8, 2021 at 6:55 AM with the headline "Your Morning Matters: Close encounters of the Valley kind."