West Side News & Notes
By Stephanie Kist
Smith convicted of
wife’s June murder
DOWNTOWN AKRON — Adam Smith, 26, of Hemlock Hills Drive in Akron, was found guilty by a jury of two counts of murder, one count of tampering with evidence (a third-degree felony) and one count of domestic violence (a first-degree misdemeanor) Nov. 16.
Smith was sentenced by Summit
County Court of Common Pleas Judge Patricia Cosgrove
to 15 years to life for murder and three years for tampering
with evidence, to run consecutively. She sentenced him
to six months in Summit County Jail to run concurrent
for domestic violence. If ever released from prison,
she sentenced him to five years of parole.
Smith indicated he would appeal
the verdict, according to Summit County Prosecutor Sherri
Bevan Walsh.
On June 7, Smith claimed he walked
into the bedroom of his and his wife’s Timber
Top apartment as his wife was trying to kill herself
with a knife. His wife of seven months, Nicole Pantaleano,
24, was found naked, on her back, on the floor next
to her bed and covered in blood.
During Smith’s testimony
at trial, he described the events immediately preceding
the murder. He claimed his wife accused him of not helping
her and then stabbed herself. He described himself as
feeling “abandoned and betrayed” and felt
“overcoming.”
Smith’s story on the night
of the murder was that he left his apartment to go to
Dunkin Donuts on Steels Corners Road at 3 a.m., leaving
the door unlocked so as not to wake his wife. He said
he returned 20 minutes later to get his wallet, which
he had forgotten, and the front door
was open. He claimed two black men with short hair and
black shirts, each about 6-feet-3-inches tall, were
there and ran out of the apartment when he entered,
cutting Smith on the hand.
New professional ballet
company to serve
Northeast Ohio
AKRON — Children’s
Ballet Theatre, under the artistic direction of Christine
Meneer, is transforming into a professional company.
Effective immediately, the new name is Ballet Theatre
of Ohio.
The hiring of professional dancers
will raise the bar on all future productions, said Valerie
Renner, marketing manager for the company.
Audiences will get the opportunity
to preview the company in February 2007 at the Akron
Civic Theatre. This series — titled “Ballet
Under the Stars” — will feature a tribute
to Heinz Poll, Meneer’s teacher and mentor who
was the former artistic director and founder of the
Ohio Ballet. Ballet Theatre of Ohio will perform two
of Poll’s most well-known ballets — “Summer
Night” and “Adagio for Two Dancers.”
Also featured on the program will be two world premieres
choreographed by Meneer.
Meneer said it is very important
to her to educate audiences and continue the legacy
that Poll created in Akron.
The formation of an auxiliary
board is in process; individuals interested in becoming
part of this should call (330) 688-6065.
— By Roger Durbin
Holiday is opportunity to
learn health history
GREATER AKRON — Thanksgiving
is a great time, when close relatives are gathered around
the table, to explore your family health history, according
to Akron Children’s Hospital officials.
The U.S. Surgeon General declared
Thanksgiving “National Family History Day”
in November 2004. This year, cancer genetic counselors
throughout Ohio have joined forces in support of the
third anniversary of this initiative by encouraging
Ohioans to learn more about their family trees.
“Common diseases like cancer
often have genetic roots,” said Dr. Catherine
Ward, a geneticist at Children’s Hospital. “For
instance, people with close family members with breast
cancer often have increased cancer risks.”
Doctors and genetic counselors
can help people with a family history of cancer clarify
their specific risks and tell them what steps they can
take to avoid the disease, but first they need an accurate
understanding of their family health history.
“It helps to ask several
relatives in different generations about family history,”
Ward said. “Doctors
are generally more concerned about diseases that occur
in more than one close relative.”
Ward recommends that family members
ask each other the following questions:
• Which serious illnesses
have relatives had?
• What caused the death
of deceased relatives?
• At what age did relatives
develop these illnesses or conditions and at what age
did they die?
• What is your family’s
country of origin, ethnicity and religious heritage?
The U.S. Surgeon General has
developed a Web-based tool for organizing and updating
family health history (www.hhs.gov/familyhistory).
Up to three generations of family health history can
be entered and organized in a chart format or traditional
family tree design. The health history can then be printed
and shared with a family physician. If the doctor finds
reason for concern, he may refer the patient to a genetics
specialist.
Winking Lizard to host Tips
for Tots
PENINSULA — The Winking
Lizard in Peninsula will sponsor its annual “Tips
for Tots” event Dec. 14. From 5 p.m. to closing
time (10 p.m. for the kitchen and 11 p.m. for the bar),
all tips received by the serving and bartending staff
will be donated to local families in need for the holidays.
The Winking Lizard is located
at 1615 Main St. (state Route 303). For details, call
(330) 657-2770 or visit www.winkinglizard.com.
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