Staff Reporter

As I started to think about how the five senses impact a wine tasting, I was challenged to find out how touch impacts wine. You can always touch a wine and hopefully you will feel that it is wet and in some cases you may even feel a little...

The Twentieth Century Club met at the home of Mary Furillo  on November 17th.  Members answered roll call by answering "Do you believe in angels?" The program for the evening was presented by Maxine Nimtz on The Bishop’s Wife, a novel by Robert Nathan that was made into a movie...

We’re off to see the Wizard…er,  the Christmas trees…um, Christmas lights…uh, all of that stuff….Load ‘em up!  Move ‘em out!  We’re off to the John S. Knight Center for the big Christmas roundup (Too many re-runs of “Rawhide” on the TV) A small but convivial group climbed into the LAF/SOMe...

Ravenna - Ravenna Balloon A-Fair's Annual Lighted Christmas Parade will take place 7:00 p.m. Saturday, December 3, 2011. Downtown Ravenna closes its streets and opens its doors for everyone to see our hometown all lit up, from the twinkling decorations to the hundreds of lights decorating the nighttime parade. Leading off...

Mantua - Crestwood area boys and girls ages 10 to 14 are invited to participate in the local level of competition for the 2012 Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship.  This is a fun, free activity for area youth to compete in a Free Throw (foul shot) competition for...

Christopher Perme of Perme Financial Group, Garrettsville, recently came to the Personal Financial Literacy class of teacher Jake Derr at James A. Garfield H.S. hoping to help the  group of mostly seniors avoid making many of the most common financial mistakes of those  newly-launched on the stormy seas of...

The Warren Republican Women's Club 75th anniversary year is in full swing.  Our December 1, 2011 meeting will be a special affair.  We will be holding an auction with all proceeds to benefit the Toys For Tots campaigne.  Auction items will include crafts, gift baskets and baked goods.  Money...

Garrettsville - James A Garfield Schools is hosting the Smile Programs mobile dentist in January.  Children can use their insurance, Medicaid, or apply with grant forms for dental care at no cost.  There are also subsidized fees for those who choose to pay for preventive care. Tooth decay is the...

Newton Falls - The students at the Newton Falls High School gathered Friday 11-11-11 to remember and honor members of our Armed Forces past, present, and future. Starting off the ceremony, several dozen local veterans filed into the auditorium one at a time while each of their names and branch...

Nelson Twp. - Nelson Township Trustees met for their regularly scheduled meeting last week with trustees Joe Leonard and Jim Turos, and J. David Finney  the fiscal officer. Trustee Bill Wilson was not in attendance. The minutes were approved as presented. Finney presented the bills and wages along with a...

Christmas Raffle Tickets On Sale Now The JAG All Sports Boosters are hosting their 2nd annual Christmas Raffle. This year there will be 3 prize categories: 1st Apple iPad 2, 2nd Apple iPod touch, and 3rd $100 cash. The drawing will be held on Dec. 16, 2011 at 1/2time of boys varsity BB...

So…I missed the Rotary meeting on the 24th.  They were working away at their Reverse Raffle and Silent Auction…as they have been for some time;  get your tickets now.  The array of donated items and services  should make for spirited bidding and a good time for all.  It’s a...

Kevin Autry is a new and much younger member of the 1949-’53 Ford Mercury Club. He is the forty one year old new blood that each and every antique car club in this country is in desperate need of these days. How often have you heard it said that...

Freedom Township - The Regular Meeting of the Freedom Township Board of Trustees was called to order by Chairman Hammar at 7:30 pm on Thursday, October 20, 2011. Present: Trustees James Hammar, Roy Martin, John Zizka; Rosemary Nicholas, Fiscal Officer; Jeff Derthick, Zoning Inspector, Charles VanSteenberg, Road Supervisor. Also...

Members of 20th Century Club of Garrettsville met October 20 at the home of Joan Kropp.  Jan Chalker was her co-hostess.  Women answered roll call by naming a piece of world art that they admired.  The program featured Garrettsville's own world-famous Joe Leonard and his wood carvings.  Joe brought...

Hiram – Parents hungry for information to help their teenaged children make their college choices can get the answers to their questions when Hiram College hosts “College Camp: A Training Program for Parents,” from 9 a.m. to Noon on Saturday, November 19, in the Kennedy Center located on the...

Well, I think that this makes it official.  “Family Circus” is certainly one of the most innocuous cartoon strips featured in the funny papers and today--Halloween--the oldest of the children--Jeffy, I think his name is--says to his mother, “Daddy said that if I want to be something REALLY scary,...

Ravenna - Robinson Memorial Hospital is positioning itself as a forward-thinking, 21st-century countywide health care provider. During the open house of its new state-of-the-art surgical services department on October 25, the hospital also showcased its plan to phase out its antiquated management structure. Renovated Surgical Services The $20 million renovation project...

Garrettsville - In October the Garrettsville Eagles Club, F. O. E. 2705 sponsored the second annual golf outing to benefit the National Diabetic Research Center. The event was co-chaired by Matt Eisenman and Brian Mullins and generated $2,000 for the Center. In spite of the inclement weather, eleven teams...

Columbus – The Village of Newton Falls was honored for its achievements during the past year at the 2011 AMP/OMEA Annual Conference. Finance Director Tracy Reimbold  was honored for her outstanding service to the AMP Board of Trustees and the village was re-elected by AMP membership to a seat on...

Windham -  Windham Board of Education (BOE) met for their regularly scheduled meeting with board members Darryl McGuire, Melissa Roubic, Danny Burns, Bill Hickman, with Treasurer Dawn Altman, and Superintendent Gregg Isler  also in attendance. Board member Terrie Altiere was excused to attend a family funeral. Melissa Roubic gave the...

Middlefield - Mary Ellis, bestselling author of Amish fiction, will sign books at Sparrow Christian Bookshop on Friday, Nov. 18 from 2-4 p.m. Mary grew up close to the northeastern Ohio, Amish community in Geauga County, where her parents often took her to farmer’s markets and woodworking fairs. She loved...

The last football game of the season has a tendency to be some what bittersweet for the seniors, especially those that are players, cheerleaders, and band members, but Friday’s game gave the senior band members an event to remember. The Garfield Band made history when they played their halftime...

Portage County Water Resources has received a $1,000 Ohio EPA environmental education mini grant to increase public awareness of the county’s water and wastewater treatment plants. The county was one of ten Ohio organizations to be awarded Ohio EPA environmental education mini grants totaling $42,813. Portage County Water Resources will...

Newton Falls - A local young person will be headed to Nashville, Tennessee to compete in the 2011 National Bible Bee this November 16-19. Hannah-Abigail Toth excelled in Bible memorization and studied enough to secure one of 300 top scores from across the country during the Local Bible Bee...

Nelson Twp. - Nelson-Garrettsville Community Cupboard (NGCC) will soon take over the food operations of The People Tree, effective in February. The cupboard is an outreach of the United Methodist Church working in conjunction with The People Tree. They are neighbors helping neighbors to shut the door on hunger...

Mantua - The Crestwood “Scarlet Guard” Marching Band will travel Thursday November 10, 2011 to participate in the Bands of America Grand National Championships. This is recognized as the premier marching band event in the nation. Annual spectators and participants exceed 100,000 annually to attend this highly competitive event....

Burton - Usher in your holiday season at the elegant Friends of WomenSafe Christmas Tea.  Enjoy nibbling on dainty sandwiches, freshly-baked scones with clotted cream and jam while hearing the life story of Amelia Earhart and shopping a Chinese auction offering a variety of enticing certificates, baskets and unique...

Start Something! Volunteer Today! Call Today Big Brothers & Sisters of Portage County is currently in need of Big Brother volunteers. There are boys waiting in all parts of the county for someone who wants to spend time with them, mentor them and help them reach their potential.  Please call today...