AKRON

Police seek man charged with assault
AKRON: Police have issued a warrant for a man charged with felonious assault after his girlfriend was attacked Sunday night.

Michael J. White, 38, of Ellsworth Drive in Akron, is accused of punching, choking and robbing the 33-year-old victim, police say.

The woman was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Convenience store robbed at gunpoint
AKRON: The Circle K at 1608 East Ave. was robbed at gunpoint Sunday evening, police said.

Witnesses told police the robber entered the station shortly after 9:30 p.m.

The man had a handgun and demanded money.

Police seek suspect in stabbing at bar
AKRON: A 29-year-old man was stabbed Sunday outside a North Akron bar, police said.

The man reported being stabbed several times during an altercation with another man in the parking lot at Lynn's Bar, according to police.

A warrant has been issued for Edward D. Gulley, 27, of Seward Avenue.

Kiwanis Club to host luncheon programs
AKRON: The Akron Downtown Kiwanis Club is hosting its weekly luncheon programs at noon on Thursdays in July.

The cost for each program is $12 per person.

The speaker schedule is as follows at the Portage Country Club, 240 N. Portage Path:

• July 3: Richard Rebadow, senior vice president of economic development for the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce.

• July 10: Rick McQueen, assistant director of the Akron-Canton Airport.

• July 24: Don Barrett, a pocket-watch enthusiast.

• July 31: Judge Robert Gippin, Summit County Common Pleas Court.

The July 17 Roundtable, featuring Edna Landua, former managing director of IMG Artists, North America, is at Tangier restaurant.

For reservations, call 330-678-3200.

For details, go to http://www.acorn.net/akronkiwanis. State auditor to talk
at United Way lunch
AKRON: State Auditor Mary Taylor of Green will be the keynote speaker at the United Way women's leadership luncheon July 9 at the Martin Center at the University of Akron, 105 Fir Hill.

A reception begins at 11 a.m., followed by lunch at 11:45 a.m.

Taylor, a former legislator and Green council member, was elected auditor in 2006. She was the only Republican to win a statewide office.

Cost is $20 per person or $150 for a table of eight.

For more information, call 330-643-5533.

UA Press will have
new director Aug. 1
AKRON: Thomas Bacher has been named director of the University of Akron Press.

Starting Aug. 1, he will oversee the acquisition of manuscripts, the production of books and marketing.

He comes to UA from Purdue University, where he has been director of its press since 1997. He also has worked at M.E. Sharpe Inc. in Armonk, N.Y.; the Greenwood Publishing Group in Westport, Conn.; and Cambridge University Press in New York City.

He received a bachelor's degree from Hiram College, a master's degree from Kent State and a master's in business administration from Purdue.

The 19-year-old UA Press has published more than 75 books of poetry, law, politics, society, Ohio history and other topics.

Group to hold
annual brunch
AKRON: The Akron Council of Negro Women, which has provided $65,000 in University of Akron scholarships over 26 years, will hold its annual brunch at 11 a.m. Aug. 23.

The event will be at the Akron Urban League, 440 Vernon Odom Blvd., and the speaker will be Gwendolyn Boyd, executive assistant to the chief of staff at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and past president of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

The brunch will include vendors, music and prizes.

For ticket information, call Carla Mundy at 330-865-7711.

AKRON SCHOOLS

City schools spend less than projected
AKRON: The Akron school board closed the books on fiscal year 2008 in a special meeting Monday and passed a temporary appropriation to pay expenses over the summer.

Treasurer Jack Pierson told the board that the district spent a little less last year than the $266.2 million projected and raised a little more than anticipated.

The district finished the fiscal year, which ended Monday, with expenses that were less than 1 percent below projections and revenue that was 0.6 percent more than anticipated.

Pierson said that the steep rise in fuel prices this year didn't throw off his budget.

''We projected high because of that,'' Pierson said. ''We're concerned about the budget for this coming year because of the high fuel costs.''

Fiscal year 2009 begins today and runs through June 30.

AURORA

History society
to receive grant
AURORA: The Aurora Historical Society has been selected by the Institute of Museum and Library Services in Washington, D.C., for its Connecting to Collections Bookshelf program.

The grant provides the historical society with more than $1,000 in books and resources about conservation and preservation.

The collection will be in the society's museum in the lower level of the Aurora Memorial Library, 115 E. Pioneer Trail.

The museum is open from 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and by appointment. For information, call 330-995-3336 or e-mail aurorahist@alltel.net.
CANTON

Democratic officials
to help pump gas
CANTON: State Sen. John Boccieri, a 16th District Congressional candidate, and U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel will help customers pump gas and discuss rising fuel costs this morning.

They will be at the Sunoco station at 1601 Tuscarawas St. W. in Canton from 10:45 to 11:30 a.m.

Boccieri, D-New Middletown, and Emanuel, the Democratic caucus chair, will explain their short- and long-term plans for relief from high fuel costs.

Boccieri will face state Sen. Kirk Schuring, R-Jackson Twp., in the November election for the chance to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Ralph Regula.

YMCA headquarters
to reopen downtown
CANTON: The headquarters of the YMCA of Central Stark County will remain in downtown Canton.

The organization's board of trustees had considered moving the offices, but instead will establish temporary offices on 30th Street Northwest until the downtown location is renovated.

Renovations at 405 Second St. N.W. could begin as early as August.

A more energy-efficient building is scheduled to be completed by December 2010.
CANTON SCHOOLS

Lease is canceled,
pay raises OK'd
CANTON: The Canton school board voted Monday to cancel the lease that would have allowed the Community Treatment and Correction Center to move to Martin School, 1253 Third Street S.E.

The board also approved salary increases for all administrators except the superintendent and treasurer.

For the 2008-2009 school year, administrators will receive a 1.5 percent salary increase and be required to pay 5 percent of the cost of their medical insurance premiums. In the following two years, they would receive raises of 1.75 percent and 1.95 percent contingent upon district finances. Their medical insurance contributions will rise to 8.5 percent and 10 percent in the last two years of the contract.

The pay increases match those in the current contract for the district's teachers.

— Nancy Molnar
CLEVELAND

MetroHealth joins
no-smoking ranks
CLEVELAND: If you're heading to MetroHealth Medical Center, leave your cigarettes at home.

Beginning today, smoking is banned at the hospital, the 10 Cleveland-area medical centers it runs and their parking garages and sidewalks as well as in cars and trucks on the hospital system's grounds.

That means all of Cleveland's big three hospitals — the Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth and University Hospitals Case Medical Center — now forbid smoking, inside and out as well as in vehicles on their property.

''The hospital is a place of health and wellness, so we have to insure a healthy environment for both our patients and our employees, as well as family and friends who come to visit,'' Dr. Sherrie Williams, a pulmonologist and medical director of MetroHealth's smoking cessation programs, said Monday. ''So it's time.''

Until today, visitors, employees and others could light up in designated areas outside buildings on most of the hospital's campuses. MetroHealth's Old Brooklyn campus, which includes the Senior Health & Wellness Center, went smoke-free in February.

To help employees and patients adjust, MetroHealth is offering free smoking-cessation classes.

The Cleveland Clinic and University Hospital banned smoking from their buildings and grounds in 2005.

And last year, the Clinic stopped hiring employees who smoke.

Other Ohio companies that refuse to hire smokers include Cleveland health insurer Medical Mutual and Scotts Miracle Grow Co.
— Plain Dealer
GREEN

Council OKs notice
on former meth labs
GREEN: Residential property owners, including hotels in the city, will have to notify prospective buyers if the property was a former methamphetamine lab.

The City Council passed the measure this week.

There are structures in the city where meth labs have been discovered, according to Ward 4 Councilwoman Christine Croce, the president of council.
— George W. Davis
Development code
revisions continue
GREEN: If all goes as planned, Green's revised land development code could be in effect by Jan. 1.

Planning Director Wayne Wiethe told the Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday night that his goal is for the five-member commission to complete its work by August or September for the City Council's review.

Wiethe, who previously gave the commission three of the 10 chapters to review, provided another two chapters at the meeting. It will receive the remaining chapters in July, he said.

He added that the goal of the revisions is to make the code easier to understand.
— George W. Davis
LAKE TWP.

Relay for Life event
raises $85,067
LAKE TWP.: The American Cancer Society Relay for Life of Lake Township surpassed its goal by raising $85,067 on June 20-21 at the Lake Youth Football Stadium.

Relay for Life is an 18- to 24-hour event that brings together teams from local businesses, schools, churches and families to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Team members take turns walking or running on a track.

For details about Relay for Life, call 800-227-2345 or go to http://www.cancer.org.

NORTHEAST OHIO

PUCO to hear views
on possible gas hike
COLUMBUS: The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has scheduled seven local public hearings to give consumers an opportunity to express their views about Dominion East Ohio's application to increase its natural gas rates.

Hearings in the Akron area will be held at 1:30 p.m. July 31 at the Ocasek Government Office Building, 161 S. High St., Akron; 7 p.m. July 31 at Canton City Hall, 218 Cleveland Ave. S.W., Canton; and 12:30 p.m. Aug. 4 at the Lausche State Office Building, second-floor auditorium, 615 W. Superior Ave., Cleveland.

For details about the company's application, go to http://www.puco.ohio.gov, click on the link to ''Docketing Information System'' and enter case number 07-829-GA-AIR.

STARK COUNTY

MRDD board gets
a new member
CANTON: Larry Marcus has joined the Stark County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.

Marcus, 49, has been the vice president of finance for the Stark Development Board since April 1999 and has been responsible for various government loan programs for small businesses.

He is a past president of both the ARC of Stark County, where he served from 2001 to 2007, and the Workshops Inc., where he served from 2000 to 2006. He has been a member of the Canton Regional Chamber's Business Excellence Committee since 1996, and a member of the Rotary Club of Canton since 1999.

The Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities supports more than 2,700 individuals in Stark County with mild to profound mental retardation or developmental disabilities.

Park district plans
Adventure Camps
PERRY TWP.: The Stark County Park District is sponsoring two summer Adventure Camps for children 9 to 15 years old.

The camps on July 22-25 and Aug. 5-8 will be held at the David Fichtner Center for Outdoor Education in Hartville and at Walborn Reservoir in Marlboro Township.

The sessions will run from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday through Thursday and conclude with a Friday family campfire and hike.

Activities include fishing, archery, canoeing, boating safety, nature crafts, plant identification and more.

The fee is $20 for Stark County residents and $25 for out-of-county residents.

Parents must provide transportation to and from the sites.

Applications are available at the park district's Exploration gateway, 5712 12th St. N.W, or call 330-477-3552.

SUMMIT COUNTY

Pastor to serve
on committee
AKRON: Pastor Jeffrey A. Dennis, senior pastor of the Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Akron, has been named to the Citizen's Advisory Committee of Summit County Children Services.

Dennis is the president of the Akron Unity Partnership, a collection of churches committed to partnerships in the interest of holistic community development. He also is the founder of the Akron Pastors' Project, a program that raises the level of awareness and education within the clergy community regarding drug abuse, chemical dependency and mental illness.

Dennis serves on various nonprofit boards in the Akron area and has a bachelor's of theology and a master's in arts in practical theology from Ashland Theological Seminary.

Graffiti Art Project
for teens wins award
AKRON: Summit County's 2007 Youth Employment for Success Graffiti Art Project has received an achievement award from the National Association of Counties.

The project was one of 359 nationwide to be honored.

Youth Employment for Success is a program that provides academic support, leadership development, job training and subsidized employment to youths ages 16 to 18.

The Graffiti Art Project was created at the Summit County Spay-and-Neuter Operation Center, a facility located in a trailer behind Summit County Animal Control.

It was the second achievement award for the program. It also was honored for a mural created in 2006.

''I am very proud of all of the youth participants who came together to create this award-winning art project,'' County Executive Russ Pry said in a statement. ''These young citizens should take great pride in knowing that their work was nationally recognized.''

The 2008 YES Summer Art Project is scheduled to begin in late July and will center on photography.

TALLMADGE SCHOOLS

School board hires assistant principal
TALLMADGE: The school board has a approved a two-year contract for Robert Kearns to be an assistant principal at Tallmadge Middle School.

Kearns, who will make $73,230 a year, joins the district from Youngstown schools, where he was a middle school principal.
— M.A. Ferguson-Rich