Staff Reporter

Garrettsville - The First  Annual G-Men Classic High School Bowling Tournament was held on Saturday, January 29th at SkyLanes. A packed house of hundreds watched sixteen teams consisting of the top boys and girls in Northeast Ohio bowl for the championship trophy in each division. The boys from Massillon Perry defeated...

Mantua - Mantua Youth Wrestling took First Place at the Portage Lakes Varsity Tournament on Saturday, January 22, 2011. This tournament was a six team round robin that included: Springfield, Coventry, Akron Copley, Portage Lakes Wrestling Club and Barberton. This was the first time in Mantua Youth Wrestling’s history that...

Windham - The students in Windham High Schools’  Design & Illustration classes participated in the NAACP Art Show as a part of the organization’s  annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Breakfast held in Kent , Ohio. All Portage county students were invited to contribute artwork depicting Dr. King’s life and...

Nelson Township - The Nelson Township trustees met for their regularly scheduled meeting with the fiscal officer and two of the three trustees present. Trustee Bill Wilson was unavailable. Fiscal officer Dave Finney presented bills and wages to be approved. Finney also stated that the first electronic IRS payment...

Windham - The Windham Lions Club recently invited Windham Mayor Rob Donham to give an outline of what the village plans for the future are. An interesting talk was enjoyed by the members as the mayor took them from his inauguration to present day Windham. His remarks reassured everyone...

Newton Township - The January meeting of the Board of Trustees opened at 7:30pm with all members present. Business was as usual with reports from the zoning director, the sheriff’s department, and cemetery news. The road crew reported two new street signs and two stop signs that had been...

Windham - The Windham Historical Society has become the repository of many of the artworks of world famous woodcarver Huber King, who spent his entire life in Windham. King received numerous awards in juried competitions, including his American Bicentennial carving, pictured above, which he boldly entered into a British...

Windham Township - The Windham Township Trustees held a public meeting prior to their  regularly scheduled meeting to discuss proposed zoning changes.  The zoning proposal brought out about 25 residents who wanted to have their say about the zoning issues. After about an hour of discussing flag lots, lot...

Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary caught a glimpse into an appalling abyss with Roger Cram’s presentation on the hidden world of human trafficking, something that few are aware of and fewer still wish to acknowledge, confront or take adequate measures to end.  While calling the U.S, “the ostrich nation”, he offered statistics...

I’ve had enough! Enough of eating fast food because I am too tired to cook after a long day. Enough of doing the funky Egyptian chicken dance around the bedroom after I put on my jeans just so I can breath. Enough of being tired and run down all...

Summerfest Wedding Deadline April 29 The Summerfest committee accepting entries for couples who would like to get married or renew their vows at Summerfest 2011. Send your story on why you would like to be Summerfest’s First Couple to: Summerfest’s First Couple, c/o Weekly Villager, PO Box 331, Garrettsville, OH 44231...

Garrettsville - The Village of Garrettsville recently purchased  a 2011 Ford F550 4X4 Dump Truck which will replace the 1974 Ford F700. This is the first dump truck the Village has purchased since 2001. The ‘74 F700 will be offered  for auction on Ebay for anyone interested.   On the...

Garrettsville - Roger and Connie Angel opened the doors of Dairy Queen early Wednesday morning as they hosted the first meeting of the Garrettsville Area Chamber of Commerce for 2011. A review of the treasurer’s report was first up and it was announced that the sale of the 2011 Chamber...

Hiram - After lengthy delays since mid-November, Portage County Commissioners finally held hearings to consider the annexation of approximately139 acres from Hiram Township to Hiram Village last week. The proposed annexation would pave the way for private developers to build retirement housing on the parcel of land originally set...

Newton Falls - The officers of the Newton Falls Police Department were honored Friday during an annual awards ceremony luncheon held at the Covered Bridge Restaurant’s banquet hall. Department members and invited guests gathered to recap the various events of 2010 and to give tribute to the everyday heroes...

Garrettsville - Bulletin: the James A. Garfield Quiz Masters appeared this past Saturday on the WEWS Channel 5 Academic Challenge program at 7:00.  Interesting mix of competitors--Indian Valley (Gnadenhutten, Tuscarawas County), Canton Central Catholic and Garfield.  Quite an extensive viewing area the station has from which  to draw participation. ...

Garrettsville - The rumors have been spreading like wildfire. Yes, it is true. Now that the ink is dry, Monica has given us her blessing to let you know that it is official -- Miller’s Family Restaurant will be moving to a new location. Miller’s, which recently celebrated its 15th...

Newton Falls - The council members gathered at the community center with the mayor, city manager, and city clerk last week for a special work session. The law director was not present. After the Pledge of Allegiance, Mayor Waddell opened the workshop, instructing those present that this was a time...

Have you or someone you know been touched by cancer? Would you like to have this person remembered in a quilt? I am making a Relay for Life quilt that will be raffled off at the Newton Falls relay. This is a quilt to honor those who have been...

Burton - At 7 pm, Mayor Blair called the Burton Village Council Meeting to order.  All councilpersons were present. The police chief’s report was submitted to the council.  The report submitted covered November and December 2010.  There were 317 calls in November and 325 in December along with six arrests...

Freedom Twp. - Highlights of the January 20 meeting of the Freedom Township Trustees include the following: Zoning Inspector Derthick said he will be meeting with the Prosecutor regarding a storage trailer problem. He also said at another location the owner has been given until the end of July to...

Windham - Windham Village met for their regularly scheduled January meeting  with all members and fiscal officer present.  In the mayor’s report the mayor stated that the library is nearly  moved into the Renaissance Family Center and they are working on finalizing the agreement with the Portage County District...

Garrettsville - Do you need a little motivation to lose weight, diet properly and exercise? Community EMS Boot Camp is a weight-loss challenge in the form of two physical fitness tests over a three-month period for only $20. Each participant will receive a commemorative T-shirt upon completion of Boot...

The 13th Annual Portage Environmental Conservation Awards Dinner will take place Saturday April 9 and will feature a reception with music by Mitch Reed, hors d’oeuvres featuring local foods, a buffet dinner, a silent auction and more. The Portage Park Foundation is seeking nominations for potential awardees to be honored...

Summerfest Wedding Deadline April 29 The Summerfest committee accepting entries for couples who would like to get married or renew their vows at Summerfest 2011. Send your story on why you would like to be Summerfest’s First Couple to: Summerfest’s First Couple, c/o Weekly Villager, PO Box 331, Garrettsville, OH 44231...

Hiram - A crowd of residents (including the Hiram College alumni pictured here) opposed to the annexation of township land by Hiram College gathered Friday evening outside the Garfield Institute in Hiram. Their goal was to raise the visibility of this issue with Hiram College Board of Trustees...

As you may have seen, we host and attend many wine-related dinners throughout the year. And, as you might imagine, plenty of wine is consumed. Many participants attend, and throughout the night, it becomes apparent there is some liability inherent in having people consume wine at a social function...

Rotary Report Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary soldiers are putting together the program for the February Family Week activities.  A great addition will be the participation of Dr. Bittence, she  of the coming Robinson Memorial-associated medical facility in Garrettsville, who will be available to “meet and greet” as well as offering a mini...

Star for this week in the 11:00 Trio League was Kurt Bokesch.  Kurt had games of 173, 178 and 154, and took high series honors for the week with a very nice 505 series.  Kurt’s average is 115.  High game for the day was rolled by Ryan Ambler, with...

Portage County - As many of our readers know, I have recently been elected as a County Commissioner.  Along with Maureen Frederick and Chris Smeiles, my job as Commissioner is to oversee the operations and budget of the county including employees and facilities.  This column will provide updates of...