Staff Reporter

Mantua - On Thursday, March 3, lifetime St. Joseph, Mantua, parishioner, Br. James Peter Trares visited the Parish School of Religion students and thanked them for the statue of St. Joseph and the cards which were recently sent to him. He also spoke about his novitiate year experience in...

Burton - The senior nursing students in Community Health Nursing at Kent State University at Geauga planned and implemented a community health and wellness fair on Wednesday, March 16th at the Geauga Campus in Burton. Several community agencies participated, including:  the Department on Aging with a balance screening, Visiting...

Windham - Windham Library is proud to announce the winner of our “Guess the Number of Tootsie Rolls” contest.  Jonathan Clark is our lucky winner and, along with the tootsie rolls, he gets a big Irish mug to fill with whatever he wants. Congratulations Jonathan Clark. For more information, call...

Garrettsville - Zoe Swenson and Adam Norris won their respective divisions for the 4th grade PTO chess tournament.  Congratulations to them both!  The tournament was held over their lunch break for several weeks, and they recently competed in the finals. For the boys, Chad Angermeier came in second while Nathanael...

Hiram - Hiram College’s Theatre Department opened the doors of its new Renner Black Box Theatre on campus last weekend with sold-out performances of the 1967 hippie-rock musical, HAIR. The new theatre, built in a space formerly occupied by three art studios in Frohring Art Building, was just recently completed....

Windham - Windham Village met for their regulary scheduled meeting recently with all council members present. Fiscal Officer Lloyd Billman presented the expenditures for the month of February. They were $155,492.52 with a bank reconciliation of $524,008.46 with all funds reconciled. Council President Linda Rininger reminded council member that every...

Hiram - Hiram College will be holding its first annual Relay For Life, student-run event located at Charles A. Henry Field on April 1, 2011, starting at 6 p.m. until April 2, 2011, at 12 p.m. Hiram College’s official Relay For Life website has been running since late October...

Big Brothers & Sisters Needed On-Going Big Brothers & Sisters of Portage County is currently in need of Big Brother Volunteers. We have boys waiting in all parts of the county for someone who wants to spend time with them. Please call us today at (330) 296-6655 or visit our web...

Windham - The weather was pure northeast Ohio in springtime--damp, cold, windy, gray--but the mood was upbeat as a dozen-plus Ohio Army National Guard personnel and a near-equal number of interested civilians gathered at Camp Ravenna (known to most of the locals as “The Arsenal”) for a ceremonial ground-breaking...

The month of March certainly has made statement so far – snow, ice, rain, sun; the weather sure has been difficult to handle. However now that Spring is here, I am hopeful that the worst is behind us. Unfortunately, some of us have already had to deal with some...

Twentieth Century Club has had two meetings in March with the programs switched from one to the other. Confused?, we were not!. On March 3rd we were at Mary Furillo’s home (as nice as always) with Margaret Clapp co-hosting. Does everyone remembers Margaret’s carrot cake from the club cook book? Well she...

Green things are appearing here and there about the estate.  Except for the crocuses--or is it croci, plural, you know--most of these items are a mystery to me.  No, I lied; I recognize the snowdrops too.  Pity they had to bring snow along as well.  This green outburst is...

Over the last few weeks this has been a frequent question at the Newton Falls Public Library. “What happened to the recycling bins which used to be by the Community Center?” Our staff confessed we didn’t know, but we would find out. We contacted the Newton Falls City Manager’s office...

Now that the High School bowling season is completed, the Teen Texas Shoot-Out League has begun.  A number of good scores have been posted already – Howie (Taz) Moore started the first week with a 611 series and followed it up this week with 245-195-225 for a 665 series,...

Emotions run high regarding Ohio Senate Bill 5, by which Ohio Governor John Kasich and fellow Republicans propose to cut costs by restricting public employees’ right to collective bargaining. The proposed limits would affect about 350,000 public workers in Ohio, including teachers, police and firefighters. Senate Bill 5 would ban...

Garrettsville - The Portage County Engineer’s office is responsible for safety and maintenance for the two bridges on Liberty Street. The County Engineers have closed the Liberty Street Bridge between Center St and Park Ave. and the sidewalk/bridge near Water St and Liberty St. after their annual bridge inspection on...

The James A. Garfield High School Hall of Fame returns.  Honorees in this year’s class total six, with one a holdover from a previous flight who will finally face the music (Fight Song, anyone?)after being deferred  from a previous ceremony. Who are these worthy individuals?  Read on. First up : Daniel...

West Farmington - Caraline Nelson, daughter of John & Diane Nelson, of Burton, Ohio, was installed to lead the W. Farmington Rainbow Assembly #116 of the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls during its spring term as Worthy Advisor.  Cara has chosen “Veggie Tales” as her theme for...

Hiram - The Planning and Zoning Commission met on March 1st  at 7 p.m. A motion to support Village Council’s Amendment of Ordinance # 2011-01 was offered and passed by the Commission. Village Zoning Inspector Dominic Gualtieri was asked to inspect and notify in writing all owners of dumpsters...

Newton Falls - On the first day of spring, council members gathered briefly at the community center for the second regular meeting of March. All officials were present with the exception of Councilwoman Johnson and Councilman Luonuonsuu who were excused for the evening. After the Pledge of Allegiance, Mayor Waddell...

Hiram - AVI Fresh and Hiram College are excited to announce the inaugural Platinum Chef Ohio, Battle for the Buckeye State.  Five colleges and universities; Hiram College, Kenyon College, Malone University, Tiffin University and the University of Mount Union; will battle it out in the kitchen for the title...

Freedom Township - Items of interest and importance discussed and acted upon at the March 3, 2011 meeting: Mr. VanSteenberg spoke of flooding that occurred in the township. A culvert on Hewins Road collapsed. They put in a new plastic culvert and the road is now  open . He is...

A Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, May 3, 2011. Those residents of Geauga County who would like to vote an absentee ballot should make arrangements now. In order to request an absentee ballot for the Election, registered voters must fill out an absentee application. Each request must have...

Nelson Township - Nelson Township Trustees met for their regularly scheduled meeting recently with all trustees and  the fiscal officer present. The fiscal officer presented bills and wages; he also gave a funds status report along with real estate tax money from the estate of Robert W Norris.  The...

Garrettsville - Do  you  think you can sing?  Do you like to be on stage performing before others? Are you available April 17th, May 15th and June 26th 2011?  If your answer is yes to all of the above, then I have a gig for you. Garrettsville Summerfest announces...

Portage County -  On Monday, April 4, Portage County residents are invited to attend a public meeting at Maplewood Career Center to discuss whether the county should build the new County Court House in the city of Kent or explore the ability to place this court house in another...

Big Brothers & Sisters Needed On-Going Big Brothers & Sisters of Portage County is currently in need of Big Brother Volunteers. We have boys waiting in all parts of the county for someone who wants to spend time with them. Please call us today at (330) 296-6655 or visit our website...

Garrettsville - The James A. Garfield Mass Media Class under the direction of Mrs. Tina Downing in conjunction with The Weekly Villager, is pleased to announce their first edition of the “Hi-Crier”. Look for this quarterly publication produced by talented Garfield students who will share school...

Portage County - In celebration of Ohio 4-H Week, the thirteenth annual window decorating contest was held. The 2011 contest theme was “4-H, A Pathway To The Future.” Fourteen different clubs entered the contest. Six clubs throughout the county competed against each other and eight clubs in the city of...

Garrettsville put on its best green last week as folks were determined to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with style during the Second Annual St. Patrick’s Day Celebration sponsored by the Garrettsville Area Chamber of Commerce. The event brought everyone out of winter’s hibernation to celebrate the holiday that has...