Ohio church hopes $1.3M project helps revive area

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) - A northeast Ohio church hopes the construction of a $1.3 million parish hall will help revive the declining neighborhood where 2 of its parishioners were killed in separate crimes.

The Vindicator newspaper (http://bit.ly/BYvtc ) reports the bishop and the mayor were on hand Tuesday as St. Dominic Roman Catholic Church in Youngstown broke ground for the project. The church became a focus of crime-fighting issues after two killings.

In 2010, a 75-year-old man was killed as he and his wife left the church. The suspect has been convicted and is awaiting sentencing in the killing, which prosecutors describe as a case of mistaken identity.

Months earlier, an 80-year-old parishioner had been killed in the church parking lot in a suspected robbery. The trial for that suspect has been delayed.

Information from: The Vindicator, http://www.vindy.com

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Ohio church hopes $1.3M project helps revive area