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The Portage County Sheriff’s Office arrested and charged a juvenile driver with failure to comply, theft of a motor vehicle and driving without an operator’s license. One passenger, a minor, was charged with marijuana possession and released, and a second juvenile passenger was also released.

When Triangle Dry Cleaners shut down in 2005, it left behind harmful chemicals that have the potential to harm Kent residents and render the property useless for redevelopment. 

Jeff Hoover, the longtime area high school basketball official, is calling it a career after working boys and girls games since the 1990-91 season.

Remembering those we’ve lost in Portage County

When 7-year old Blake Michel was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), a rare form of cancer that mainly affects children, people in the Kent community sprung into action to help his family and raise funds for his treatment.

Mantua Village Council Member Chuck Peterson has resigned, citing conflicts with his work schedule as a union officer.

Late last year, dozens of Kent Theodore Roosevelt High School students walked out of the building during school hours to protest what they believed was the mishandling of sexual harassment allegations against at least one district employee.

Remembering those we’ve lost in Portage County

According to a recent survey of Portage County by Flat Wireless, there are 2,135 houses with 6,142 people underserved or unserved by broadband internet service providers (ISPs). The bulk of these are in the rural portions of eastern and northeastern Portage County. Broadband Now, an independent ISP watchdog based in Los Angeles, estimates 12% of Ohioans do not have high enough speeds.

Hotels and motels provide revenue for cities, but they also take a toll in the form of false fire alarms. Every time an alarm goes off, a local fire department responds, and each one presents a potential safety risk if there’s a real fire at the same time. 

Remembering those we’ve lost in Portage County

In Aurora, Ward 5 City Council Member Kathi Grandillo lost her battle with cancer on Jan. 18. And Aurora Board of Education President Gerald Kohansky died Jan. 24. In Garrettsville, Village Council Member Tom Collins died on Jan. 26 from Covid. 

In a Valentine’s Day decision, Franklin Township’s Board of Zoning Appeals and township trustees approved a plan from Heritage Development, in Moreland Hills, to build 85 new single-family homes on 40 acres of the former golf course on state Route 59.

It had become a bi-annual tradition. As sure as the election cycle itself, for the last six years, the Waterloo Local School District put a levy question on the ballot. And all 13 attempts, residents turned them down.

The Portage County Board of Elections announced the official slate of candidates and issues that voters will see on the May 2022 ballot. Here’s a rundown of the Republican and Democratic ballots, as well as the 10 issues around the county that are up for vote.

“Run it again!” Ruf would say as you sheepishly made your way back to the huddle. Because Ruf believed you could do better, even if you didn’t believe it yourself.

Remembering those we’ve lost in Portage County

A 59-year-old Suffield man, Donald Small, has been charged with murder after deputies found his wife dead from knife wounds at their Winterhaven Drive home on Monday, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Across Portage County, new solar installations are going in each month, and electric vehicle charging stations are popping up across the northern half of the county. 

I love a good mystery, and if there’s a touch of humor and eccentric characters, all the better!

Here are some recent good reads.