West Side News & Notes
By Stephanie Kist
West Market Street squared
away
HIGHLAND SQUARE — The construction work on West Market Street in the Highland Square area has been completed nearly a month ahead of schedule, according to city of Akron officials.
The city, as part of its Highland
Square redevelopment project, began construction on
West Market Street between Portage Path and Casterton
Avenue Aug. 9, anticipating completing the work in late
December. As of Nov. 27, the work was done, and
all on-street parking in Highland Square is now open
and available.
Parallel parking is available
on the north side of West Market Street, and some angle
parking on the south side.
The work involved in this project
included:
• construction of a 16-inch
water main on West Market Street;
• relocation of the 8-inch
water main from North Highland Avenue west to a new
utility easement;
• removal of the existing
brick crosswalks at North Highland Avenue and construction
of a new brick crosswalk at the new entrance to the
West Hill Branch Library and retail complex, which are
currently being built;
• resurfacing of West Market
Street from Portage Path to Casterton Avenue; and
• new pavement markings
that include a new center turn lane and revised parking
layout.
Construction will continue on
the new parking lots north of West Market Street that
will add an additional 180 parking spaces in Highland
Square. This work is scheduled to be completed before
the end of December, according to city officials.
A landscaping contract will be
under way in the spring that will include landscaping
parking lots, buffering for nearby homes and planting
new trees.
Schindler to receive Bishop
William Cosgrove Award
WEST AKRON — The Rev. Paul
Schindler, pastor of St. Bernard Parish since 1982,
is the 2006 recipient of the Bishop William Cosgrove
Award.
Schindler will be presented with
the award at the 28th Annual Catholic Commission Dinner
Dec. 1 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Sebastian’s Zwisler
Hall, 476 Mull Ave. The theme of this year’s dinner
is “Empowering People Through Justice and Peace.”
Tickets for the dinner are $40
and can be reserved by calling (330) 535-2787.
“Father Paul is an extraordinary,
humble priest who has devoted his whole life to the
poor, hungry, homeless and new immigrants of Akron,
as well as the people of El Salvador,” said Tom
Allio, executive director of the Catholic Commission.
“He affirms the God-given dignity of all those
he encounters. No one has been more courageous in the
numerous stands he has taken for peace, human rights,
social and economic justice.”
Schindler has served the community
of St. Bernard’s for 25 years. He anticipates
returning to missionary work in El Salvador after June
2007.
Schindler was the coordinator
of the Diocese Mission
Team from 1974 to 1982. He oversaw the recovery of the
bodies of four churchwomen who were murdered in 1980
in El Salvador.
Schindler attended St. Ignatius
High School in Cleveland and has a degree in history
from Borromeo College Seminary and a degree in theology
from St. Mary Theological Seminary.
He has done post-graduate work
at The University of Akron in the area of adolescent,
adult and community guidance.
He was ordained to the Roman
Catholic priesthood in May 1967. He served as associate
pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Wadsworth from 1967
to 1972 and was president of the Wadsworth Minsterial
Association from 1970 to 1972.
Sharon mourns loss
of long-time resident
SHARON — The Sharon community
is mourning the loss of Marian Rodgers, 90, who died
Nov. 14 at Hospice of Medina County at The Inn.
A Medina County resident all
her life, Rodgers was a Sharon resident for the past
34 years. Thanks largely to her efforts, the Sharon
Center Public Square Historic District, including the
“commons” and six surrounding buildings,
was granted listing on the National Register of Historic
Places in 1980. She also was instrumental in helping
to establish the Sharon Community Trusts in 1984, an
organization dedicated to serving the Sharon community
by providing grants to worthy groups through funds and
property donated to the trusts. She served as its secretary
for 20 years.
Rodgers was a member of the Sharon
Heritage Society, a past president of the Sharon Women’s
Club, a member of the Sharon Zoning Commission, where
she served as secretary for 12 years, a member of Pythian
Sisters and Grange. She was a graduate of the Actual
Business College in Akron and belonged to the Wadsworth
Trinity United Church of Christ.
Rodgers is survived by sons John
(Lynn) and Charles (Ruth), of New Mexico; daughter Becky
(Roy) Whipple, of California; seven grandchildren; one
step-grandson; 11 great-grandchildren; and a daughter-in-law,
Sandra Rogers, of Medina. She was predeceased by her
husband, Paul, and sons, David and Thomas.
Memorials in her name may be
made to The Sharon Community Trusts, P.O. Box 91, Sharon
Center, OH 44274 or to the Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation, in honor of her great-granddaughter, Quinn
Rohrbach.
— By Rita Jean Wagar
Applications for recycling
grants now online
SUMMIT COUNTY — The Summit/Akron
Solid Waste Management Authority (SASWMA) recently announced
that Community Development Grant, Market Development
Grant and Scrap Tire Grant application packages are
now available online.
The Ohio Department of Natural
Resources’ Division of Recycling and Litter Prevention’s
competitive grant funding is targeted at Ohio’s
local governments, businesses and nonprofit organizations
for projects that will develop the infrastructure for
material collection, material processing and product
manufacturing, resulting in the development of recycling
markets, and to implement litter cleanup projects, according
to SASWMA officials.
For information about eligibility
and funding criteria, visit www.ohiodnr.com/recycling,
then choose from the following applicable link:
• 2007 Community Development
Grant/2007 Market Development Grant Application; or
• 2007 Scrap Tire Grant
Application.
The Division of Recycling &
Litter Prevention will host an informational meeting
about the 2007 grant programs Dec. 2 from 10 a.m. to
noon at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Building
E, 1st Floor, the Assembly Center, East Room, in Columbus.
For more information, contact
SASWMA Recycling Manager Marcie Kress at (330) 374-0383.
Nominations sought for
2007 Women of the Year Awards
DOWNTOWN AKRON — For almost
30 years, the Women’s History Project of the Akron
Area Inc. has highlighted the continuing contributions
women make to the city, the county, the region and the
nation with its Women of the Year Awards.
Nominations are now being accepted
for the 2007 awards. Individuals and organizations are
encouraged to identify women who have contributed to
the community by nominating a woman or women in one
of 11 categories.
Nominations are due Dec. 18.
The nomination process is free. A description of the
award categories and a nomination form are available
to download from www3.uakron
.edu/schlcomm/womenshistory/.
The Women of the Year Awards
will be presented at a dinner March 1 at The University
of Akron Martin Center, marking the beginning
of Women’s History Month.
For more information, contact
event coordinator Deb Lemire at womenshistory1@
uakron.edu or
(330) 929-3382.
Dinner for Copley Outreach
postponed
COPLEY — The benefit dinner
sponsored by the Copley Heritage Day Committee for the
Copley Outreach Center Dec. 10 has been postponed.
Purchased tickets will be honored
when the dinner is rescheduled, or ticket holders may
contact the committee via www.heritageday.homestead
.com for a refund.
New 2007 dog and kennel licenses
now available
SUMMIT COUNTY — The 2007
dog licenses will be available for purchase as of tomorrow,
Dec. 1, according to Summit County Fiscal Officer John
Donofrio’s office.
Renewal applications have a permanent
dog number assigned and were mailed to registered dog
owners by today, Nov. 30.
To keep an assigned number, dog
owners also can obtain a renewal form at the Fiscal
Office Services Department, 1030 E. Tallmadge Ave.,
in Akron.
New dog license registration
forms also are available online. Log on to www.co.summit.oh
.us/fiscaloffice,
select “Documents and Forms” and scroll
down to find dog and kennel registrations under “Services
Department.” Print the applicable form, fill it
out and mail with the remittance.
Dog licenses cost $8. A statutory
late fee of $8 will be charged for applications received
after Jan. 31. The kennel license cost is $40 per license
and includes five tags.
Annual Charles Salem Award
readied
DOWNTOWN AKRON — Sixteen
years after his death, Charles Salem is still remembered
every year for his humanitarian work in and around Akron.
The city of Akron Office of Community
Relations is seeking nominees for the 12th Annual Charles
Salem Humanitarian Award to be handed out at a Martin
Luther King Jr. Day Program Jan. 14 at 5 p.m. at Temple
Israel, 133 Merriman Road in West Akron.
A graduate of John Carroll University,
Salem, who died in 1990, became an educator at The University
of Akron (UA). As a teacher, he was an encouraging mentor
for his students and enjoyed interacting with young
people in a classroom atmosphere, according to city
officials.
Salem also was director of admissions
at UA for three years but felt his calling was teaching.
He also wrote and performed his own musical compositions,
wrote poetry and authored articles for academic journals.
Twelve years ago, a commission
began honoring Salem’s name and good works with
this award that goes to an Akron resident and recognizes
outstanding community service, high ethical ideals,
fairness, goodwill and friendship.
Those interested may obtain nomination
forms through the Office of Community Relations by calling
Billy Soule at (330) 375-2660. Forms also may be downloaded
from the city of Akron Web site at www.akron.oh.us.
Forms are due no later than Dec. 22 to Billy Soule,
assistant to the mayor for Community Relations, 200
Municipal Building, 166 S. High St., Akron, OH 44308.
Nominations also may be faxed
to Soule at (330) 375-2468.
Editor’s note:
For holiday-related News
& Notes, see Page
33. For police-related News
& Notes, see Page
20.
|
