Stacy Turner

Hiram - At the last meeting of the Hiram Village Council, Police Chief Ed Samec reported that his Department received three grants in February. The first grant, from Ohio Criminal Justice Services, will outfit Hiram PD patrol cruisers with two in-car digital dash camera systems. The second grant, from...

Mantua - At their last meeting, the School Board voted to approve the revised District calendar for the 2015-2016 year. In the revised calendar, the first day of class for students will be August 18th, 2015, with the last day of first semester ending on December 22nd. Classes for...

This was the third meeting of the group, which includes a collaboration of local mayors, city and township officials, and community organizations from Aurora, Garrettsville, Hiram Village, Hiram Township, Mantua Village and Mantua Township. Their mission is to connect these contiguous communities via improvements to the Portage Parks District Headwaters Trail, which runs through each locality.

“Through it all, I want to be a blessing to those who suffer from the havoc of Parkinson’s by walking the over 2,180 miles of the Appalachian Trail,” Garrettsville native Don Havener said. “It’s my goal to try and raise $100 per mile for the Ohio Parkinson Foundation, an organization that has been such a blessing to my brother during his five year struggle with the disease”.

Given reductions in state spending on education, the State of Ohio has implemented state-guaranteed transitional aid to districts with declining enrollment. This “guarantee” means that the State of Ohio offers a promise to pay each district the amount of state funds the district had received in the previous year. “On the flip side,” remarked Jill Rowe, Crestwood District Treasurer/CFO, “it also means that the state feels that the district should not be getting 36% of the revenue it received in the previous year, but that the state will pay or “guarantee” the district these funds in good faith.”

Mantua - At the last meeting of the Crestwood School Board, a brief discussion occurred at the start regarding the proposed 2015-2016 school year calendar. The proposal put forth recommends that the first day of instruction for students begin on August 19th, with the last day of instruction held...

With new items added regularly, you never know what treasures await at Mantua’s Secret Attic on East Prospect Street in Mantua. The shop is open Wednesdays through Fridays from 10 am - 6 and Saturdays from 9 am - 3 pm. For more information, visit the shop’s Facebook page.

Mantua - In her report, Mayor Linda Clark announced the unofficial report that issue 42 passed by 12 votes. She remains cautiously optimistic until the absentee and provisional votes are counted, but stated, “I want to thank the voters for their support of issue 42 and a very big...

Mantua - For the second year in a row, Patty Timbrook, Visual Art Teacher at Crestwood Intermediate School, lead her students on a field trip to experience the art studios at Kent State University and Hiram College, exposing them to both college and potential careers in the arts.  This...

In light of the recent school shooting in Seattle, Washington, Crestwood District Superintendent David Toth shared the information about safety procedures at the start of this month’s School Board meeting. Toth shared, “I got into this field to educate kids, not necessarily to talk about guns in schools, but unfortunately, it’s a reality of the time. That being said, we do multiple drills here at the Crestwood District, to try to be prepared for as many situations that we can to protect our students and staff.”

At the start of the last regular Council meeting, Hiram Mayor Lou Bertrand swore in Firefighter Austin Bracken to the Hiram Fire Department. Firefighter Bracken, a Garrettsville native is currently in EMT school. Upon completion of the EMT program, he will serve the Department in that capacity as well.

In Mantua, Black Friday means more than just scooping up the latest deal, or the official start of the Christmas holiday season. It’s also the much-anticipated day that the bridge at the South end of the Village on State Route 44 officially re-opens.

Trustee Schulda suggested that if adequate funds are available, Trustees should also consider paying off the remaining portion owed by the Township for the Hiram Fire Department’s new truck.

Regarding the Center School committees and volunteers, Trustee Festa commented that he was, “not thrilled that non-professionals were added to the Assessment Committee.” Trustee Festa plans to discuss it with Todd Peetz from Regional Planning, but is, “looking forward to the next phase.”

In addition, in honor of Veterans Day, flags representing each branch of service were flying high at the Mantua Veterans Memorial. This was the first Veteran’s Day observance at the Memorial, which was dedicated last Memorial Day.

Mantua - As many people know, Lieutenant Ken Justus and his K9 partner Vader have been working successfully to keep the Mantua community safe on behalf of the Mantua Police Department. Due to the overwhelming success of that partnership, the department would like to add a second K9 unit...

The next regular meeting of the Mantua Village Council will be held at 7 pm on Tuesday, October 21st. The meeting will be preceded at 6 pm by a Town Hall meeting regarding the upcoming street improvement levy, which will be on the ballot for village residents in November. Residents are strongly encouraged to attend this informative meeting.