Archive

The Perfect Pet of Portage photo contest is back for another year. Owners can nominate their pets and vote to name the Perfect Pet of Portage County. Proceeds from the competition will benefit the Portage Park District Foundation and the Madonio Animal Trust. 

Kayakers — and kayaker wannabes — have a new place to paddle, thanks to a recently installed kayak kiosk at Wingfoot Lake State Park in Suffield.

At the time he was inducted into the Windham Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995, Marty Hill had 27 years, 388 wins and another trip to the state tournament still ahead of him.

Portage County water customers who need their meters replaced will again start seeing a 50% surcharge on their bill, which had been waived throughout the pandemic.

The week of May 1 brings us a whopping seven different choices for open mic entertainment.

Remembering those we’ve lost in Portage County

The Portage County Board of Elections announced the hours it will be open to the public following the May 3 election to resolve any problems with absentee and provisional ballots. 

Because of muddy conditions, a Sunday evening field fire near 184 State Route 44 in Randolph spread to about 23 acres before firefighters could extinguish it.

A massive Sunday morning power outage in Kent was caused by a squirrel.

Two Sunday afternoon water line failures shut down a Kent water tower, sent 150,000 gallons of water cascading down Fairchild Avenue and caused brown water to flow from hundreds of city faucets.

Remembering those we’ve lost in Portage County

Friday, April 22, was unlike any day Marty Hill had in the last 47 years. “I told my wife when I woke up, ‘I feel weird,'” he said.

On Friday, I announced we are considering starting newsletters in nearby cities and asked for your input on which ones. A portion of our readers live just outside of Portage County, and we received useful feedback from them. 

On Tuesday, head to 1947 W. Market St. in Akron for the open mic night at the Mercedes Tavern hosted by John Markovich. This event begins at 7 p.m. with signups at 6:30 p.m. Great atmosphere with good music and friends to meet or make.

The Kent City Council voted unanimously this week to once again close Franklin Avenue to car traffic to provide more outside seating and give a boost to nearby businesses.

Remembering those we’ve lost in Portage County

Tucked inside a plastic bag that itself was weighed down with a baggie of rice was a flyer with antisemitic propaganda. The front of the page contained images of a dozen high-ranking members of President Biden’s administration, falsely alleging they are all Jewish. The back falsely claims that six “Jewish corporations” own 96% of the media. 

I was glad that Wendy gave my great-great-grandfather, Samuel Olin a mention in her Streetsboro’s 200th Birthday article as he donated the land for the Evergreen Cemetery.

Across Portage County, taxpayers are financing perhaps dozens of take-home vehicles for city, village, and township officials, according to interviews with a sampling of local governments. It’s a perk their bosses say is necessary to do their jobs properly, even if it would be cheaper just to pay mileage. Often the vehicles are for emergency services personnel.

The weather is warming. The flowers are blooming. The birds are chirping.
Spring, at long last, has finally emerged in Northeast Ohio. And in the spirit of the long-awaited transition to the season of rebirth and happiness, now would be a good time for a lighter Round 2 and to give readers another peek behind the curtain of life as a journalist. Enjoy!