Your Morning Matters: After further review, penalty flag first flew in Youngstown

Good morning and welcome to Your Morning Matters.

It's Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020, and today I'll embark on a recurrent Your Morning Matters pre-Super Bowl tribute to the Valley natives who have made key contributions to the game of football. Like Dwight "Dike" Beede who was born this day in 1903.

Dwight was the first football coach at Youngstown State University (then Youngstown College). A key founder of the football program in 1938, he earned many honors in his 35-year career, including being named Small College Coach of the Year in 1957 when 5-year-old Jim Tressel was merely Small Future Coach of the Year.

But here's how Dwight really left his mark: He helped create the game's first penalty flag.

In early gridiron days, a horn was actually used to signal a penalty, while the traditional whistle stopped play after a down. Dwight had problems distinguishing between the two in the heat of football battle, so he came up with a plan: He asked his wife, Irma, to sew squares of red and white cloth together around a lead fishing sinker to give each flag weight.

The first penalty flags were used in Youngstown on Oct. 17, 1941, at the Youngstown College-Oklahoma City game. An official kept his flag and later used it at an Ohio State University game. Later, the Big Ten officially adopted it.

So every time a penalty flag is thrown, think "Youngstown!" And thanks to the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County for help with the research!

Here are more of the things you need to know about what's happening in the Mahoning Valley:

Congress members from both sides of the aisle are backing Lordstown Motors Corp.'s application for federal dollars to retool its plant to build electric vehicles.

Two senators and eight House representatives from Ohio on Wednesday issued a letter to U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette urging an Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan be awarded to the electric vehicle startup, according to a release from the office of U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th.

Other matters

A Boardman manufacturer claims a "catastrophic" cybersecurity breach allowed hackers to steal more than $1.7 million. The company, Boardman Molded Products, is now suing its IT provider, Involta LLC of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for negligence, malpractice and breach of service. The civil complaint was filed Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. Mahoning Matters

News of a drop in drug overdose deaths in Ohio is being met with cautious optimism. According to state data, there were more than 4,800 fatal drug overdoses in 2017, the highest number on record. In 2018, the number fell for the first time in nine years, to about 3,700. Still, one official warns some reports showed that overdose deaths ticked back up in 2019. Mahoning Matters

Warren Police Chief Eric Merkel said the officer accused of lying about a shooting in Howland doesn't represent the city's police department. Noah Linnen now faces felony criminal charges, and on Wednesday, the Warren Police Department fired him. WKBN

More police woes: In Boardman, officer Patrick Klingensmith has been placed on paid administrative leave after being charged with domestic violence, endangering children, obstructing official business and dereliction of duty. The charges stem from an incident that occurred Dec. 15. WFMJ

Former Braking Point owner Ryan Sheridan received a sentence of 90 months in prison plus three years probation and must also pay more than $24 million in restitution. Sheridan was convicted on a six-count federal indictment last fall featuring counts of health care fraud, drug conspiracy and money laundering. WFMJ

More ambulances needed: Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown said American Medical Response, the city's ambulance company, will add two more full-time ambulances into service starting Friday. This follows reports the Youngstown Fire Department rescued a 16-year-old from a pond Monday and had to transport her to the hospital because no ambulance was available. The Vindicator

Strong relationships between universities and the business community can encourage Japanese investment and development in places like the Mahoning Valley. Noriyuki Shikata, an associate with the program on U.S.-Japan Relations with the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University and a minister with the embassy of Japan, lectured Tuesday at YSU. The Business Journal

In case you missed it

Boardman Township zoning commissioners unanimously rejected a request to rezone two parcels across from the future home of Meijer on Lockwood Boulevard, citing concerns about traffic and commercialization. Mahoning Matters

Your comments matter

"And the trustees will simply ok it like they do everything, never considering public input."

— Kenny Brindle, on Boardman Township zoning commissioners unanimously rejecting a request to rezone two parcels across from the future home of Meijer on Lockwood Boulevard.

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This story was originally published January 23, 2020 at 5:52 AM with the headline "Your Morning Matters: After further review, penalty flag first flew in Youngstown."