AKRON

Man is sought
in game-store theft
AKRON: Police are looking for an Akron man in a robbery at a local game store.

Police issued three warrants charging aggravated robbery by Derrick Jerome McCoy, 29, of Noah Avenue, stemming from an Aug. 15 incident.

Police said a man and a female accomplice were playing games at Toby's Skill Games on Romig Road until the business closed at 2 a.m. When asked to leave, police said, the man pulled a gun, demanded money and fled with an undetermined amount of cash.

Police said Fontella Avery, 33, of White Avenue, was charged last week with three counts of aggravated robbery. She is believed to be McCoy's accomplice.

Anyone with information about McCoy's whereabouts is asked to contact police at 330-375-2490.

AKRON SCHOOLS

Dedication planned
at Robinson school
AKRON: The community is invited to attend the dedication ceremony for Robinson Community Learning Center at 5 p.m. Sept. 4.

The school at 1156 Fourth Avenue is the ninth building dedicated as part of the $800 million citywide project.

For more information, call Linda Green at 330-761-2785.

BOSTON TWP.

Trail runs planned
in Cuyahoga Valley
BOSTON TWP.: The Cuyahoga Valley National Park Association will host five trail runs this fall in the Cuyahoga Valley.

The distances will be three to six miles and the details of each run will remain a secret until the evening of the event. The runs will be staged in October.

All levels of runners and walkers are invited.

The runs will be scored competitions with points awarded and prizes for the top male and female participants.

The fee is $5 per run or $25 per team of runners 14 or younger. Older teams must pay $5 per runner.

The friends-of-the-park group is accepting registration that includes association membership, pullovers and $5 gift certificates. Check out http://www.cvnpa.org.

CANTON

City will pay
to clean 5-acre site
CANTON: The city will spend $750,000 from the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund to remove dust particles remaining from lead smelting at the former National Iron & Metal property.

City Council on Monday approved the work on five acres of the site now know as the Stein Industrial Park.

The state grant is expected to cover all necessary work on the land, located between Belden Avenue and Waynesburg Drive Southeast.
— Nancy Molnar
CANTON SCHOOLS

Board approves
less spending
CANTON: The Canton school district is expected to spend about 17.5 percent less in the fiscal year that began July 1 than it did in the previous year.

The school board on Monday approved appropriations of more than $151.2 million, a decrease from last year's $183.4 million.

Revenue is estimated at $152.9 million, about 9.2 percent below the previous year's nearly $168.3 million.

Most of the reduction in appropriations is due to changes in federal funding and the winding down of the district's rebuilding program, Treasurer Tim Pickana said.
— Nancy Molnar
COPLEY TWP.

Student achieves
best ACT test score
COPLEY TWP.: Ryan Brennan, a senior at Copley High School, was one of only 19 college-bound students in Ohio and 162 nationwide to achieve a 36, the highest possible composite score, on the ACT administered in June.

About 33,500 students from Ohio and 410,000 from across the country took the college-entrance exam, which consists of tests in English, math, reading and science. A writing test is optional.

The average national composite score was 21.1.
GREEN

Airport receives
funds for runways
GREEN: The Akron-Canton Airport is getting another $944,028 in federal funds for its runway extension.

The grant from the Federal Aviation Administration was announced on Tuesday by U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio.

The grant is among 14 given to Ohio airports totaling $3.7 million.

The airport is extending its northeast-southwest runway from 7,600 to 8,200 feet. The airport reported on Aug. 12 that the project was halfway done.

To date, about $35 million has been pledged to the $62 million project that is scheduled to be completed in late 2010 or later.

KENT

Indiana man hired
to be KSU executive
KENT: A former administrator at Indiana State University has been named vice president for finance and administration at Kent State.

Gregory S. Floyd was vice president for business affairs and finance at Indiana State from 2002 until July. Before that he was assistant vice chancellor and director of business affairs at Indiana University from 1984 to 2002.

At KSU, he will replace Yank Heisler, special assistant to the president, who served in the business position for a couple of months after the departure of David Creamer, senior vice president for finance and administration, in May.

Floyd received his law degree, master's in business administration and bachelor's degree from Indiana University.

Beginning Sept. 15, he will oversee university budgeting, auditing, financial affairs, facilities planning, public safety, campus operations and transportation.

His salary will be $225,000 a year.

NORTH CANTON

Council discusses
development funds
NORTH CANTON: Despite an appeals court rejection, residents and City Council Monday devoted 45 minutes to revisiting a bid to take back money set aside for economic development by the city's Community Improvement Corp.

The 5th District Court of Appeals a week ago upheld the city's decision not to certify petitions collected by former Councilman Chuck Osborne to let voters decide whether to return $1.1 million to the city's coffers. The city argued the petitions had incorrect information in them.

Resident Glenn Saylor Jr. asked the council why, in light of the current tight budget, the city hired a law firm to fend off the petition drive.

The city hired the Columbus-based Bricker & Eckler, which specializes in election law. Osborne represented himself.

Council President Daryl Revoldt said the tab is still being finalized.

''When it comes to economic development, this council is not afraid to seek outside expert advice,'' Revoldt said.

City administrators maintain that the money set aside for economic development is a sound investment.

Chamber of Commerce President Randy Smith commended council for ''leadership on tough issues.''
— Dottie McGrew
NORTHEAST OHIO

Post office hours
for holiday weekend
AKRON: Special holiday hours will be in effect at area post offices over the Labor Day weekend.

The Akron Main Post Office, 675 Wolf Ledges Parkway, will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday.

The Chapel Hill Mall branch, 2000 Brittain Road, Akron, will be open from 9:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. today but will be closed Saturday.

The Copley branch, 3850 Ridgewood Road, Copley Township, and the South Arlington branch, 1237 S. Arlington St., Akron, will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. today but will be closed Saturday.

The downtown Akron branch, 209 S. Main St., will be open from 8:30 a.m. to noon today but will be closed Saturday.

The East Akron branch, 1763 Goodyear Blvd.; the Ellet Branch, 2390 Wedgewood Drive; the Maple Valley branch, 1518 Copley Road; and the North Hill branch, 574 E. Cuyahoga Falls Ave., will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and from 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday.

The Fairlawn branch, 2711 W. Market St., and the Firestone branch, 2001 Brown St., Akron, will be open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and from 7 a.m. to noon Saturday.

The Five Points branch, 634 W. Exchange St., Akron, will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. It will be closed Saturday.

The Kenmore Branch, 2394 East Ave., Akron, will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. today. It will be closed Saturday.

All branches are closed Sunday and Labor Day.

House candidate
adds dog to staff

The newest member of congressional candidate Bill O'Neill's campaign staff has four legs.

Lucky, a cocker spaniel, is in charge of volunteer amusement and will help with debate preparations, the campaign said.

The campaign used the announcement about Lucky to poke fun at U.S. Rep. Steve LaTourette, whom O'Neill is challenging for his 14th district seat in the Nov. 4 election.

''You can't teach an old dog new tricks,'' the campaign's news release said. ''And that's why Bill O'Neill is running to bring change to Washington.''

O'Neill, a Democrat, is a retired appeals judge.

The 14th district covers all of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake counties and parts of Summit, Portage, Cuyahoga and Trumbull counties.

Two area sportsmen help McCain effort

Two area residents were named county chairs of Sen. John McCain's sportsmen coalition.

The coalition will work to emphasize McCain's dedication to protecting Americans' right to gun ownership and promote hunting, angling and shooting traditions, according to the Republican's campaign.

The area chairs are Ed Moody of Louisville and Howard Calhoun of Akron.

More information on the coalition is available at http://Sportsmen.JohnMcCain.com.

PENINSULA

Volunteers needed
for Polar Express
PENINSULA: The National Park Service and the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad are seeking volunteers to help stage The Polar Express from Nov. 17 through Dec. 20.

Volunteers are needed to read the story about a young boy's trip to the North Pole on the train, serve cookies and hot chocolate and assist in creating a festive holiday mood.

The trains will run from Akron and Independence.

For more information, contact ranger Pamela Machuga at 330-657-1914. PLAIN SCHOOLS

School board hires
strings instructor
PLAIN TWP.: The Plain school board has hired Jaime Madrigal as a GlenOak High School strings instructor.

She will be paid $20 an hour.

In other matters, lunch prices will remain the same for the current school year at all schools.

Prices are staying the same because of the volume of students purchasing lunches.

— Betty O'Neill-Roderick
PLAIN TWP.

Canton puts out fire
in township home
PLAIN TWP.: The cause of a fire Thursday morning in a Plain Township home remains under investigation.

The home, a single-family residence in the 2600 block of 34th Street Northeast, is on the line between the township and the city of Canton.

Canton firefighters responded about 1:30 a.m., Plain Township Deputy Fire Chief Don Snyder said.

Canton called the township department when firefighters realized the house was not in their jurisdiction.

''They had it out by the time we got there,'' although there was still work to be done, Snyder said.

Ron Lewis, the occupant, was not injured. Two cats died in the blaze.

Snyder said his department was also called to the home last Friday to assist in a power outage.

The fire caused an estimated $50,000 in damage to the building and its contents, Plain authorities said.

The cause will be determined by Plain authorities, Canton fire officials said.

No parking on Broad
during games OK'd

PLAIN TWP.: Trustees approved a no-parking ban on Broad Avenue N.W. during games and other events at Fawcett Stadium.

Residents of Broad Avenue presented a petition at Tuesday night's meeting requesting the ban.

Also Tuesday, trustees reviewed plans for a walking/jogging path that will run along Marquardt Avenue and be connected to the Stark Park District trail system.

Trustees also approved a preliminary site plan for a new park off Schneider Street.
— Betty O'Neill-Roderick
STARK COUNTY

County looks to sell
430-acre property
CANTON: Three county employees have been charged with the task of finding the best way to sell a 430-acre Stark County farm.

County commissioners Thursday gave the small committee the job of deciding whether the land should be auctioned, listed with an agent or sold for the highest offer among sealed bids.

Commissioner Tom Harmon said the proceeds could be used to improve the ''deplorable'' energy efficiency of nine county buildings.

The auditor's office has appraised the property, in Navarre and Perry and Bethlehem townships, at $1,285,000.

He said previous boards of commissioners have held onto the property in the hope it could be the site of a major economic development that could lead to creation of jobs.

Harmon recounted the list of unrealized proposals for use of the site: light industry, a prison, an amusement park, a sports facility, a casino, college, an airport and fairground. Some of the land is leased to a farmer.

He said a private owner would be more likely to find the highest possible use for the land than the county.

Commissioner Todd Bosley said the potential for energy savings would outweigh any negative effect of selling the property in a slow real-estate market.

Also Thursday, commissioners decided to contract with McCoy Associates Inc. of Akron to study the possibility of merging operations of the county's highway engineer and sanitary engineer. The study will cost $24,570.
— Nancy Molnar
STOW

Silver Springs Park
hosts 2-day festival

STOW: The Stow Summer Sunset Blast will be held from noon to 11 p.m. today and Saturday at the Silver Springs Park on Stow Road.

The event features a bungee trampoline, a mechanical bull, an Ironman Challenge and other games.

The Beatles tribute band Hard Days Night will play at 7 p.m. Saturday. There will be a fireworks display at 9 p.m. Sunday.

The event is free.

SUGAR CREEK TWP.

Wilderness Center
in need of golf cart
SUGAR CREEK TWP.: The Wilderness Center is seeking a new or slightly used golf cart for help in transporting the handicapped.

The cart would be used to access trails during nature classes and special events or to take a trail ride.

Call 330-359-5235 or 1-877-359-5235 for more information.

local
TWINSBURG

Fundraising dinner
to honor slain officer
TWINSBURG: Area businesses, residents and the city are combining forces to put on a fundraising dinner Sept. 4 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Twinsburg in memory of slain Twinsburg police officer Josh Miktarian.

The event would also benefit the Twinsburg Police Department and students interested in following in Miktarian's footsteps.

Chef Brandt Evans of Blue Canyon Kitchen Tavern is overseeing the reception of 45 area restaurants that will serve their signature dishes. There will also be a silent auction and a Chinese auction.

Tickets are priced at $45 per person and there will be a limit of 600 tickets sold. The goal of the committee is to raise $45,000, with $25,000 to be used to create the Joshua T. Miktarian Memorial Scholarship to benefit high school students interested in studying criminal law and $20,000 to purchase a trained police dog for the department.

Tickets are being sold through the Twinsburg Recreation Department.

Miktarian, 33, who was married with an infant girl, was found shot to death next to his police cruiser on July 13.