South Side News & Notes
By Maria Lindsay
Downed line disrupts
morning traffic, service
GREEN — Steese Road between Shriver and Massillon roads was closed to morning traffic March 7 after the raised bed of a city of Green Highway Division salt truck snagged a low-hanging electric line and pulled down its supporting pole.
According to city officials,
the incident occurred at 6:15 a.m.
while road crews were salting in preparation for morning
traffic.
The line came down across the
road between Queen of Heaven Church and Green Intermediate
School. Service was disrupted, according to nearby building
occupants.
The section of road was closed
until 2:30 p.m. while electric company crews replaced
the pole.
Guns, marijuana found in
Green home
GREEN — Summit County sheriff’s
deputies, responding to a call about an unconscious
Kingston Road resident, discovered a large stash of
firearms and drugs in the man’s home March 4.
Green Fire EMS and deputies were
called to the home after his brother found Robert Eye,
63, on the floor inside his home that evening.
Deputies responding to the call
discovered marijuana being grown in the basement, as
well as a bundled package in the freezer, more than
100 firearms, ammunition, explosives and blasting caps.
According to reports, the Summit
County medical examiner ruled the next day that Eye
had died of natural causes.
Uniontown man arrested
for local bank robbery
UNIONTOWN — Bryan Scott
Akins, 39, formerly of Uniontown, was charged with robbery
March 1 after the Akron Police Department received a
tip about a recent string of bank robberies. Akins was
spotted in West Akron and was arrested after a brief
foot chase.
He has been charged with robbery
at Charter One Bank inside the Acme store in Ellet,
and charges are pending for robberies at National City
Bank, 3333 Massillon Road in Green; US Bank, 693 S.
Canton Road in Uniontown; and Fifth Third Bank, 911
Graham Road in Stow.
Akron resident appointed
to state BOE
COLUMBUS — Ohio Gov. Ted
Strickland appointed Heather Heslop Licata, of Northwest
Akron, to the Seventh District seat on the State Board
of Education (BOE) last week.
The seat recently was vacated
by Tom Sawyer, of West Akron, who replaced Kimberly
Zurz to represent Ohio’s Senate District 28.
The State BOE creates policy
and makes recommendations for elementary through high
school education in Ohio.
“Heather’s approach
to educational issues reflects the utmost importance
of a quality, affordable education at the local levels,”
Strickland said. “She has been a leader in educational
and community activities in the Akron area, and I know
she will draw from these experiences as a member of
the State Board of Education.”
The 19-member State BOE consists
of elected and appointed members. Eleven members are
elected from their districts, and eight are appointed
by the governor. The chairs of the education committees
of the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate
are ex-officio members.
Licata is a mother of two children
in the Akron Public Schools system. She grew
up in Akron and earned a bachelor’s degree from
Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., in 1989.
Licata has served in leadership
roles in several community organizations, including
the Akron Council of PTAs and the King School PTA as
corresponding secretary, first vice president and president.
She is currently the president of the Litchfield Middle
School PTA.
She also is a member of the Akron
Children’s Hospital Board of Trustees, the Akron
Children’s Hospital Women’s Board, Summit
County Children Services’ Citizens Advisory Committee
and the Litchfield Building Leadership Team.
“Gov. Strickland has made
education the chief priority in his Turnaround Ohio
plans, and I look forward to working with him and the
Board of Education to tackle the critical issues facing
K-12 education in Ohio today,” Licata said.
— By Stephanie Kist
Rally will address global
warming
DOWNTOWN AKRON — On April
14 from noon to 2 p.m. in front of the Federal Building
on the corner of Market and Main streets, area citizens
will join citizens in communities across the country
to participate in a rally on global warming.
The Akron rally is one of 710
rallies taking place across the country by Step It Up
2007, a national grassroots initiative seeking legislative
action to reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
The Summit County Step It Up
2007 rally is being organized
by volunteer citizens in an effort to draw local attention
to the environmental threats posed by global warming,
raise awareness about ways in which global warming can
be diminished or halted and engage citizens to influence
the enactment of legislation that reduces carbon emissions
by businesses.
The rally will feature business,
community and government leaders who will address current
and future efforts to stop global warming, according
to organizers.
There will be a specific focus
on ways in which citizens can play a role to address
this issue.
The rally is free and open to
the public, and people of all ages are invited to attend.
— By Stephanie Kist
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