Daylight savings time will come to an end this Sunday at 2:00 a.m. For years the slogan of “change your clock, change your batteries” has been used to help people make a lifesaving decision.

Along with setting your clocks back one hour, the Boardman Township Fire Department reminds all residents to change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

A fully functioning smoke detector allows for early detection of a fire and will give you much-needed time to escape safely. The Boardman Fire Department recommends having smoke detectors on each level of your home and in sleeping areas.

We also recommend the use of carbon monoxide detectors. These detectors are the only way you will be able to detect increased levels of carbon monoxide in your home. We encourage residents to have these installed outside of sleeping areas and on every level of your home.

In addition to changing the batteries twice a year, we would like to see residents test their smoke detectors monthly to make sure they are working properly.

Finally, we recommend replacing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors every 10 years.

If you have any questions, please contact the Boardman Fire Prevention Office. We’re happy to assist in any way we can.

Halloween Trick-or-Treating will take place in Boardman on Wednesday, October 31 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Please keep in mind these safety precautions:

• Make sure kids’ costumes are loose-fitting and flame-resistant.
• Avoid masks that obscure vision.
• Young children should always be accompanied by an adult or older sibling.
• Carry a flashlight and put reflective tape on costumes so children can be seen.
• Examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before eating them.
• Accept only factory-wrapped treats. Avoid eating homemade treats made by strangers.

The Boardman Township Trustees will be conducting their annual Leaf Pick-Up Program beginning Monday October 22 and ending Friday November 16.

The 2018 Program will follow the same schedule for leaf pick-up as it has in the past. Please click here for a complete list of pick-up days for each road. Leaves are to be placed in recyclable brown paper bags and brought to the curb for pick-up by the Township Road Department. The paper bags are available for purchase at local retail stores.

Due to the Veteran’s Day holiday, no leaves will be picked up on Monday, November 12^th , but they will be picked up on Tuesday, November 13^th.

If you have any questions, please contact the Boardman Township Road Department at 330-726-4190.

Would you like to learn how to plant, care for and maintain trees? Now is your opportunity.

Western Reserve Land Conservancy and Holden Forests & Gardens have partnered to provide Sherwick Tree Steward Trainings. Training residents to maintain existing and newly planted trees is critical to the success of  our collective reforestation work.

Please take advantage of the first time a training like this has been offered in the Mahoning Valley. Classes are FREE! Check out the schedule of classes below, and RSVP by calling 330-726-4181 or emailing tdavignon@boardmantwp.com

Support for this educational program provided by the Community Foundation of Mahoning Valley. Funding for the Tree Planting portion provided by the Downtown Youngstown Partnership through the Raymond John Wean Foundation Neighborhood Success Grant.

Special thanks to all of our partners: Downtown Youngstown Partnership, Youngstown CityScape, Western Reserve Land Conservancy, Holden Forests & Gardens, Ohio State Extension and Greenprint Partners.

 

 

The Boardman Fire Department avenged last year’s defeat by beating the Police Department 13-12 in the 5th annual Battle of the Badges 9/11 charity softball game.

Ironically, that was the same score in last year’s game when the Police Department came out on top. The rivalry between the departments is a friendly one, and all for a good cause, as donations collected at the game will go to support the Boardman Safety Services Memorial.

 

The heavy storm that came through the township Friday, August 10 caused extensive flooding in some areas of Boardman. If you experienced flooding at your home, the Township needs your help in gathering important information.

The Mahoning County Emergency Management Agency, in conjunction with the Mahoning County Commissioners and Boardman Township Trustees, are requesting that any residents who sustained flood damage from last Friday’s storms contact Help Network of Northeast Ohio’s 211 service.

Residents will be asked to provide the following information:

• Name
• Address
• Phone number
• Type of structure (single family house, apartment, etc.)
• Own or rent?
• Estimated depth of water
• Insurance coverage, if any

This information will assist the damage assessment teams in knowing which areas and neighborhoods sustained flooding. It is the Township’s hope to get enough information to qualify for State and Federal Assistance.

Residents should contact Help Network of Northeast Ohio by dialing 211 between the hours of 9:00 am and 9:00 pm now through Thursday, August 16. Information can also be emailed to ReportFlooding@boardmantwp.com

 

Here are some resources that may help you if you’ve sustained flood damage:

• Visit the Drainage and Flooding Issues page on this website
• View and download an extensive Red Cross publication entitled “Repairing Your Flooded Home”
• View and download the Ohio Department of Insurance fact sheet “After the Flood”
• View the Ohio Department of Insurance’s online Severe Weather and Disaster Preparation and Recovery Toolkit

The Boardman Police Department has received several complaint calls about an “IRS collection scam” that seems to be targeting our specific area.

Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a gift card or wire transfer. Victims may be threatened with arrest or suspension of a business or driver’s license. The callers often claim that local police will be at their door within the next day if they do not comply.

In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting. Victims may also be told they have a refund due to try to trick them into sharing private information. If the phone isn’t answered, the scammers often leave an “urgent” callback request. The calls seem to come from numbers within the US, but usually originate from fraudulent call centers from outside the country.

In addition to taking the steps below, check on any elderly or at risk relatives and friends that may be susceptible to a scam like this. Usually, hanging up on the caller will prompt them to move on to the next number. Any interaction with them usually brings additional calls and continued solicitations.

Awareness and prevention are the keys to protecting yourself. Because of the overseas locations of these groups, it is very difficult for law enforcement to recover any funds once they are sent.

The IRS will never:

• Call to demand immediate payment over the phone, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you several bills.
• Call or email you to verify your identity by asking for personal and financial information.
• Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
• Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
• Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone or e-mail.
• Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money or to verify your identity, here’s what you should do…

If you don’t owe taxes, or have no reason to think that you do:

• Do not give out any information. Hang up immediately.
• Contact the IRS Fraud Center to report the call. Use their “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” web page at https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml. You can also call 800-366-4484.

If you know you owe, or think you may owe tax:

• Call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS workers can help you.

Stay alert to scams that use the IRS as a lure. Tax scams can happen any time of year, not just at tax time. For more, visit “Tax Scams and Consumer Alerts” at https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-scamsconsumer-alerts on IRS.gov.

Boardman Township will have an initial meeting in regards to the Township Zoning Code update on August 6. A full comprehensive update to the Zoning Code has not taken place since 1948, when it was first enacted. We invite Boardman residents to learn about some of the recommended changes and share their input.

At the meeting, the consultants will share recommendations for major changes to the Zoning Resolution. They will gather public input and feedback prior to drafting the new Zoning Resolution.

All the preliminary information can be found at https://www.buildingabetterboardman.com. The code evaluation report will be posted at least a week in advance of the meeting.

Please join us:

Monday, August 6^th
7:00 p.m
Boardman Township Government Center
8299 Market Street

Boardman Township firefighters have already begun to train at the new training tower at the Main Fire Station on Market Street at Stadium Drive.

In these photos, we see them practicing placement of ground ladders and aerial ladder operations for victim rescue. These skills need to be maintained in order to effectively rescue victims in a timely manner. Firefighters’ efficiency at their tasks can make a huge difference when lives are on the line and every second counts!