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Remembering those we’ve lost in Portage County

A referendum on whether Kent should erase criminal penalties for possessing up to 200 grams of marijuana will likely go before voters after the Portage County Board of Elections validated 13 more votes in a contested ballot initiative.

A ballot initiative to decriminalize recreational marijuana in the city of Kent is not quite dead. On Friday the Portage County Board of Elections directed its staff to review three “part-petitions” containing a total of 59 signatures prior to the board’s next meeting on Nov. 23.

Three Portage County police chiefs fielded questions from residents Thursday about police policies around use of force, community oversight and mental health crisis intervention. 

Brimfield Township broke ground on an $8.2 million fire station that trustees hope will get them through the foreseeable future. The project is underway near the intersection of state Routes 18 and 43.

Kent City Council voted to approve several board appointments at Wednesday’s meeting but left one position on the Architectural Review Board open.

Remembering those we’ve lost in Portage County

Our big family Thanksgivings of yore are still fresh in my mind, the mirth and merriment of the turkey feast inevitably followed by a chorus of snoring as one family member after another, bellies full, drifted off to sleep in front of a television. Life was good.

My 8-year-old daughter tested positive for Covid last week, but she was far from alone — 55 of the children attending Leighton Elementary School in Aurora (plus an additional four teachers) tested positive for Covid in the last two weeks alone. One school, nearly 60 Covid positive cases.

Residents of Chadwick Drive in Kent pleaded with city council members on Wednesday to become more engaged in the planning of a proposed 1,000-resident housing development that Kent State plans to build on the site of the former Allerton apartment complex.

The city of Kent expects to begin construction early next year on a new City Hall, with help from $9.1 million in bonds the city will issue and sell. 

Moments after accepting Bill Steiner’s resignation as director of the county recycling center, county commissioners named acting director Dawn Collins as his permanent replacement.

Remembering those we’ve lost in Portage County

Portage County Solid Waste Management District Director Bill Steiner is resigning effective Friday, Nov. 12. The board of commissioners will decide whether to formally accept his resignation at its next meeting on Nov. 18.

Mantua Township is getting a $2.2 million roundabout at state Route 82 and Chamberlain Road to improve safety at one of the most dangerous rural intersections in the state of Ohio. 

Remembering those we’ve lost in Portage County

After reading about a proposed 1,200-capacity outdoor amphitheater in Streetsboro, many Portager readers wrote in with concerns that only 100 parking spaces are planned — especially since there would be overflow space for 600 more patrons.

Aurora schools reopened Leighton Elementary on Monday, with a new “masks mandatory” policy, after administrators closed the school Friday because of a coronavirus outbreak. 

Remembering those we’ve lost in Portage County

Since 2005, per city ordinance, Streetsboro residents have paid 2% more each year on their water bills in addition to whatever the county charges. That won’t change. But, looking at imminent capital expenses and meter replacements, Finance Director Jenny Esarey says 2% isn’t enough.