South Side News & Notes
By Stephanie Kist
Citizens set priorities at
Regional Town Meeting
DOWNTOWN AKRON — Approximately 900 Northeast Ohio residents set public priorities for regional competitiveness that touched on areas including education, business development, work-force training, government collaboration and regional land use during Voices & Choices’ Regional Town Meeting Sept. 16 at The University of Akron.
The group of residents, which
was demographically representative of the 16-county
region, according to organizers, spent all day at James
A. Rhodes Arena deliberating about solutions to challenges
facing Northeast Ohio’s economy and building consensus
around where they think
leaders should focus resources to help the region better
compete in the world economy.
Top-ranking solutions that citizens
said they believed would have the most impact on the
region included:
• advocating for Ohio to
shift how it funds public schools and increase funding
for higher education;
• investing in internship
and mentoring programs to provide students with work
experience focused on businesses’ needs;
• establishing a region-wide
association of planning agencies to coordinate regional
planning and land use;
• advocating for Ohio to
provide health-care coverage for all to reduce the burden
on businesses; and
• expanding and creating
small-business incubators.
The meeting culminated the 20-month
Voices & Choices grass-roots initiative to engage
citizens and leaders in
revitalizing the regional economy.
Organizers divided citizens into
tables of 10, with one laptop computer stationed at
each table. A citizen at each table fed his or her group’s
opinions into the computer, with that input delivered
instantly to a central “theme team.”
The theme team continually monitored
the incoming data and captured the common ideas coming
from all participants.
At points throughout the day,
citizens voted on top priorities using touch-pad polling
devices. Participants were able to walk away with a
full report of outcomes at the end of the day. (To download
this report, visit www.voiceschoices.org.)
By year-end, the Fund for Our
Economic Future, which originally initiated Voices &
Choices, will produce a regional economic competitiveness
agenda that will outline steps that citizens and leaders
may take to address the
region’s challenges and improve the economy.
Later this year, Voices &
Choices will launch an online dialogue for input on
the agenda.
Recycling center closing
for season
STOW — The Summit/ Akron
Solid Waste Management Authority (SASWMA) will close
its Household Hazardous Waste Recycling Center, located
at 1201 Graham Road, for the 2006 season Sept. 27.
Summit County residents only
can bring paints, motor oil, cleaners, batteries and
computers to the center free of charge on Tuesday afternoons
from 1 to 4 p.m. and Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to
9:30 p.m.
No waste from businesses, churches
or schools is accepted.
Residents also can recycle tires
for a cash fee of $1 per tire (limit of 10 tires
per vehicle). Tires can be passenger or light truck
only and on or off the rim.
Televisions are recycled for
a cash-only fee. Televisions with 36-inch screens and
larger, including all console televisions, are recycled
for $10, and those smaller than 36 inches are $5 each
with a limit of three.
Opening day for 2007 will be
April 3. For details, call (330) 374-0383 or visit www.saswma.org.
Sheriff presents open house
GREEN — The Summit County
Sheriff’s Office will host an open house Oct.
14 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Green Training Facility,
located at 2825 Greensburg Road.
The family event, which is being
organized in cooperation with the Veterans of Foreign
Wars District 8 Drug and Safety Awareness program, will
feature tours of the facility and demonstrations by
the S.W.A.T. Team, Defensive Tactics, K-9 Unit, Bomb
Squad robot and Mounted Patrol.
Information on the I-Safe, D.A.R.E.
and senior citizen programs, jail and patrol operations,
the major crime scene unit and narcotics also will be
presented, as well as displays of the S.I.D.N.E. (impaired
driving simulator), the P.T. Cruiser, the bomb truck
and other vehicles and equipment.
The event is free and open to
the public and will include refreshments. For additional
information on the event, contact Dale Soltis at (330)
899-5400.
— By Maria Lindsay
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