West Side News & Notes
By Stephanie Kist
Don’t forget your ID
at the polls
SUMMIT COUNTY — The upcoming November General Election will be the first time voters will be required to verify their identity before voting.
Voters now must bring identification with them to the polls on election day.
Identification may include:
• a current and valid photo identification;
• a military identification that shows the voter’s name and current address; or
• a copy of a current utility
bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or
other government document that shows the voter’s
name and current address.
A reminder from the Board of
Elections or a voter registration notification is not
an acceptable form of identity.
Voters who do not provide one
of these documents will still be able to vote by providing
the last four digits of their Social Security number
and by casting a provisional ballot.
Voters who do not have any of
the above forms of identification, including a Social
Security number, still will be able to vote by provisional
ballot after signing an affirmation swearing to their
identity under penalty of election falsification.
Fiscal office Web site gives
pending levy information
SUMMIT COUNTY — Voters
living in Summit County who would like specific information
about how levies on the Nov. 7 General Election ballot
would affect their property taxes may visit the Summit
County Fiscal Office Web site to find out.
Visit www.co.summit.oh.us/
fiscaloffice/index.htm and
click on “Pending Levy Information.” Scroll
down to the “Pending Levy Information” section
and click on the “click here” button beneath
the words “Pending levies may effect your taxes
...”
On the next screen, type in a
parcel number, address or the name of the property owner
to see information about the pending levies.
Voters will be able to see the
amount their annual taxes would increase if the levies
they will see on the ballot pass. If the levy is a renewal,
an increase of $0 is shown. The year in which a property
owner’s taxes would first be affected also is
shown.
Information about current levies
being billed also is available.
Final town meeting for
unclaimed funds taking place Nov. 3
FAIRLAWN — Summit County
Fiscal Officer John Donofrio’s office will host
the last 2006 town meeting for residents to discuss
county unclaimed funds.
Similar to the Ohio Department
of Commerce Division of Unclaimed Funds,
the Summit County Fiscal Office serves as trustee of
the county’s unclaimed funds and processes valid
claims upon receipt of a notarized claim form. The Fiscal
Office is responsible for making a list available to
residents.
Staff members will be on hand
to help residents search for their names at Summit Mall
in front of Starbucks tomorrow, Nov. 3, from 11 a.m.
to 3: 30 p.m.
Donofrio reminds residents they
do not need a paid professional finder to file a claim
with the county or the Ohio Department of Commerce.
Funds held in the Summit County
Fiscal Office Unclaimed Fund account include: fiscal
office vendor payments; fiscal office real estate tax
overpayment; clerk of courts fees and costs; juvenile
court fees and costs; probate court lost heir accounts;
and sheriff’s sale proceeds.
Fiscal office staff compiles
and updates a list containing owners’ names and
the amount of unclaimed funds paid into the Fiscal Office
Treasurer Division within the past five years.
“My office looks forward
to returning more than $2.3 million to its rightful
owners,” Donofrio said. “So far, we have
located over $31,000 in state unclaimed funds for residents
and more than $773,000 in county unclaimed funds since
January 2006.”
Currently there are 7,220 items
posted to the Fiscal Office Web site at www.co.summit
.oh.us/fiscaloffice.
An online claim form is available. Those without Internet
access may call the office at (330) 643-2335 to have
the form mailed.
Red Cross seeks heroes
to honor
GREATER AKRON — The American
Red Cross, serving Summit and Portage counties and the
city of Wadsworth, is seeking heroes who saved or sustained
a life to honor in the Red Cross “Acts of Courage”
awards dinner March 6, 2007, at Tangier restaurant in
West Akron.
If you or someone you know has
saved or sustained a life using lifesaving techniques
such as water rescue, cardiopulmonary resuscitation
or first aid; saved someone from choking; or pulled
someone to safety from a life- threatening
situation, call the Red Cross at (330) 535-2351 and
ask for a nomination form, or e-mail zavodneyj@usa.redcross.org
for more information.
Nominees do not necessarily have
to be Red Cross trained or certified.
Panel explores‘Wet Weather
Issues’
WEST AKRON — A panel of
environmentalists will delve into “Wet Weather
Issues” Nov. 16 at 6:30 p.m. under the auspices
of the League of Women Voters of the Akron Area (LWVAA).
The panel discussion, which is
free and open to the public, will take place at Shady
Hollow Shelter in Sand Run Metro Park. Topics will include:
combined sewer overflow, landslides in the Cuyahoga
Valley, contamination of streams that feed into the
Cuyahoga River, water retention and detention basins,
sewer rate hikes and “What’s Happening on
Power Street?”
Moderated by LWVAA Natural Resources
Committee member Christine Freitag, the panel will include:
John Lund, vice president of CTI Enviromental Inc.,
engineers in water and earth science; Greg Bachman,
Summit County engineer; Mike McGlinchy, manager of the
Akron Public Utilities Bureau; Kevin Skeri, an ecologist
with the Cuyahoga Valley National Park; and Joan Hug-Anderson,
of the Summit Soil and Water Conservation District.
For more information, call LWVAA’s
natural resources chairperson, Mary Lou Gault, at (330)
923-8833.
Public hearings set on
changes to West Akron METRO route
DOWNTOWN AKRON — METRO
Regional Transit Authority will have public hearings
Nov. 9 at 2 and 7 p.m. at the Akron-Summit County Main
Branch Library, 60 S. Main St. The purpose of the public
hearings is to receive public comments on the restructuring
of METRO’s Route 4, “Delia/Fairlawn.”
METRO proposes to terminate service
to Fairlawn and points beyond Frank Boulevard on West
Market Street. Service is also proposed to end on Mull
Avenue between White Pond Drive and South Hawkins Avenue.
These modifications would
provide increased frequency to senior buildings (Center
Towers and White Pond Villa), schools (Brown Mackey
College) and medical facilities (Summa’s outpatient
facility) on White Pond Drive, according to METRO officials.
Passengers needing access to
Fairlawn would be able to connect with Route 1 at West
Market Street and Bryden Drive.
The route would start at the
Summa facility on White Pond and continue to Center
Towers. From there, the route would travel White Pond/Frank
Boulevard to West Market Street. At that point, the
route would continue on its existing path to Bryden
to North Hawkins Avenue. The route would travel downtown
via its existing alignment.
The proposed changes, if approved
by METRO’s Board of Trustees, would go into effect
Jan. 15.
Public hearings allow interested
persons or agencies to appear and voice their comments
on the social, economic or environmental effects of
such changes in METRO service. Written comments also
will be accepted through Nov. 10 by mail or hand delivery
at METRO RTA, 416 Kenmore Blvd., Akron, OH 44301 and
via METRO’s Web site, www.akronmetro.org.
Interested parties also may contact
Kirt Conrad, director of planning and development, at
(330) 762-7267, ext. 3004, or kirt.conrad@akronmetro.org
for further information on the proposed changes.
Akron
Zoo hatches brood
of endangered fish
AKRON — The Akron Zoo has
hatched a brood of a rare and endangered fish, silver
fulu.
The silver fulu is extinct in
the wild, and there are believed to be fewer than 250
in North America, according to zoo officials.
Ten silver fulu babies were discovered
Sept. 21, and a second brood of seven more were discovered
Oct. 7. The Akron Zoo is now home to a total of 26 of
these fish.
Silver fulu, native to Lake Victoria
in Africa, came to the zoo in February after the Akron
Zoo joined the Lake Victoria Species Survival
Plan (SSP).
The SSP is a breeding program
affiliated with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums,
of which the Akron Zoo is an accredited member.
Silver fulu are small, slender
fish measuring about 2-1/2 inches long and weighing
less than 2 ounces.
Silver fulu are mouth brooders,
meaning the female lays the eggs and keeps them in her
mouth until they hatch, then “spits” them
out when they get too large for her to keep in her mouth.
Some of the adult fulu are on
exhibit in the zoo’s Barnhardt Family Welcome
Center. The parents and babies are being kept off exhibit
for the time being so the animal care staff can keep
a close eye on them.
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