Staff Reporter

Mantua - The seventh bi-annual Mantua Christmas Tour of Homes kicks off this weekend. Four area homes are on the tour, including the home pictured above. Owner Christina Thompson and cousin, Cara Jean Somoskey with the help of other family and friends, decorated to the theme ‘Christmas at home...

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...

Windham Twp. - Windham Township Trustees met for their regularly-scheduled meeting last Thursday with trustees Dann Timmons, Brian Miller and Jesse Wirick, along with fiscal officer Jayme Neikirk, in attendance. The meeting was called to order and guest Betty Clapp, president of the board of trustees of the Portage...

Here’s your chance!  You can make an investment that will return at least $4.00 for every $1.00 invested and the more you use it the more you get back. Sound good?  Great!  All you have to do is support the 1-mill levy on the ballot this November 8 providing funds...

The Rotary Club of Mantua announces its seventh Biennial Christmas Tour of Homes, November 4, 5, 6 and 11, 12,  13.  The usual Friday hours have been changed this year to 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. while the Saturday and Sunday hours remain the same:  Saturday, November 5 and...

Nelson Twp. - Nelson Township trustees met for their regularly-scheduled meeting last week with Trustees Joe Leonard, Bill Wilson and Jim Turos along with Fiscal Officer J. David Finney in attendance. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Joe Leonard and the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag...

Garrettsville-Hiram Rotarians are out and about again, with their annual--well, mostly--roadside clean-up on St. Rte 82 between Garrettsville and Hiram.  You know the line,”the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”?  Well, it sort of applied  in this instance.  Those that were able to show up--they definitely showed...

Middlefield - Mrs. Mona J. Trybus of Middlefield has been named the 2011 recipient of the prestigious Chapman Award. Each year, the Geauga County Library Foundation bestows this award on an individual who, through his or her actions, has best promoted the interests of reading and books. Mrs. Trybus’ devotion...

Hiram – Let’s face it. We live in a celebrity-obsessed culture. We’re fascinated by Charlie Sheen’s meltdowns, Lindsey Lohan’s on-going rehab saga, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s libidinous adventures and crave the latest scoop on the Kardashian clan. Even in a tough economy, celebrity magazines continue to enjoy robust sales, as Americans...

Bettina’s Antiques and Miniatures Company, located at 264 West Main Street, recently opened its  doors for business. Owner Sue Sheppard said owning a Victorian tea room was her heart’s desire but Ravenna already had one of those so she decided to go with her other love, antiques and miniatures....

“It’s for the kids, we will be there!”The Middlefield Police and Fire Departments held the second annual “Middlefield Car Show” event as a fund raiser for the “Shop with a Cop” program. The event was well attended and raised as $4,955. The “Shop with a Cop” program is a unique...

Hiram  –  On Saturday, October 29, 2011, the Weekend College program at Hiram College, along with the Office of Graduate Studies, will celebrate the 35th anniversary of Weekend College by hosting the first annual Adult Learning SuccessFEST to inspire interested adults to make a commitment to return to college. The...

Hiram, – The Garfield Institute for public Leadership at Hiram College will host a celebration of the legacy of James A. Garfield, Saturday October 15th at the National City Christian Church, 5 Thomas Circle NW, Washington DC. The event, part of the Hiram’s observance of the 150th anniversary of the...

Last week in the 11:00 Trio League, Collin McGurer rolled his first 600 series ever, a very nice 613.  Collin rolled 191 and 198 the first two games and then started the third game with 6 strikes in a row on his way to a 224.  Collin came into...

Last Friday the winless Bombers took the field against a much-improved Waterloo football program. The results of the game were very disappointing for the host Windham Bombers, a 40-0 loss to the Vikings. The Vikings defense held Windham to just five first downs and 124 total yards. Meanwhile the...

There are so many social networking sites now that it is amazing how people are changing something so basic and putting it on a networking site. For example, I have found sites where you are on a website attending a cooking class while in your own kitchen. Or another...

October is my kind of month.  It’s interesting. The harvest is winding down; those shocks of corn so prized by decorators are actually passe’ .  Nobody uses them any more, unless they’re Amish, of course.  Corn pickers are where it’s at as far as harvesting corn is concerned.  They’re also...

Our caller said, “I really enjoy audio books, but my CD player broke. I would like to try something other than a CD one. Is there another portable way to listen to books?” Many members of the Newton Falls Public Library staff also enjoy listening to works by their...

As medical science continues to find ways to help Americans live longer, it also requires us to examine some of the challenges of people living longer lives. The biggest, from both an emotional and financial point of view, may be providing ongoing care for a disabled adult. By the numbers According...

Since mushrooms have been in the news of late, we thought we would try to enlighten our readers about one of the most unusual and extremely important organisms in nature. Ominous sounding names like Destroying Angel, Deadly Galerina, and Poision Pie, are obviously poisonous; but Sulfer Tuft,  Jack O’Lantern,...

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, September 15, 2011. Present: Trustees James Hammar, Roy Martin, John Zizka; Rosemary Nicholas, Fiscal Officer; Jeff Derthick, Zoning Inspector, Charles VanSteenberg, Road Supervisor. Also...

Windham - The Windham Historical Society is back in business after the stunning success of the Windham Bicentennial celebration in July, in which the Society was an active partner. The next meeting is Monday, October 17 at the Brick Chapel on North Main Street, where year-long activities will be planned. Tentative...

Garrettsville -  Garrettsville Chamber of Commerce holds a $750 cash raffle with proceeds from the raffle going to scholarships for J. A. Garfield and Hiram College students. This year’s grand prize is $750 along with an added second prize food basket from local merchants and a third prize fun...

Middlefield - By community request, the Middlefield Library will be hosting the “Middlefield Mayoral Candidate Forum” on Wednesday, October 12 at 7:00 pm.   Learn the candidates’ platform and views. The forum will consist of three rounds: opening statements, question and answer session, and closing statements.  The public may submit...

Hiram - In the Mayor’s report to Village Council,  Mayor Bertram thanked all who have offered condolences after the death of his business partner and law associate Dennis Zavinski, who was killed in an automobile accident on  SR 14, in Streetsboro, September 10, 2011. On Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at...

Area community events

What an amazing Summer we had. A good mixture of temperatures, a great mix of sun and rain and a few days just hot enough to perk up the vines. Unfortunately, this Summer has flown by and we are quickly greeted by Fall! While Fall is not my favorite...

The Windham Bombers dropped their fourth straight game of the season and their 11th dating back to last year. Unfortunately for the Bombers 41-0 loss to the undefeated Rootstown Rovers is not the worse news. Regrettably, the schedule is not in the Bombers’ favor this week as the Southeast...