West Side News & Notes
By Stephanie Kist
Social networking site program
scheduled
BATH — Revere Community CARE and Copley-Fairlawn Community CARE are joining forces to present a program — “Facing Up to the MySpace/ Facebook Generation” — concerning safety on social networking Web sites.
The program will take place April
23 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Summit Room at the Akron
General Health & Wellness Center — West, 4125
Medina Road. This free program is for adults only.
The featured speaker will be
Don Philabaum, president and chief executive officer
of IAC, a world-wide provider of private social networking
solutions for groups and organizations. Philabaum has
written two books as well as numerous articles and reports
about social networking communities.
The program will address how
parents can help their children safely participate in
social networking communities and teach parents how
to coexist in a virtual world with their children. Parents
will learn how to create MySpace and Facebook accounts.
Attendees will receive a copy of the report “Facing
Up to the MySpace/Facebook Generation.”
The I-Safe (Internet Safety Program)
curriculum in the Revere and Copley-Fairlawn school
districts also will be discussed.
For more information about the
program, call (330) 659-4750 or (330) 664-4831.
Section of parkway, trail
to close
WEST AKRON — As of April
9, Sand Run Parkway in Sand Run Metro Park has been
closed on a day-to-day basis between Sand Run and Revere
roads. The closure will be in effect for up to two weeks.
A short section of the 6-mile
Parkway Jogging Trail will be closed throughout the
two-week period as crews replace two existing culverts
and add a new culvert for a coming parking area near
Revere Road.
For more information, call (330)
867-5511.
Rally to address global
warming
DOWNTOWN AKRON — The Step
It Up Akron Rally, which originally was to take place
in front of the Federal Building, now will be held at
Buchtel Commons on the campus of The University of Akron
(UA).
The rally, set for April 14 from
noon to 2 p.m., will be one of 1,140 rallies planned
across the country by Step It Up 2007, a national grassroots
initiative seeking legislative action to reduce carbon
emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
Set to speak at the local rally
are Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic or a representative
of his office; the Rev. Diana Swoope, associate pastor
of Arlington Church of God; the Rev. Mark Frey, senior
pastor of Bath United Church of Christ; U.S. Rep Betty
Sutton (D-District 13), of Copley; and Alvidas Jasin,
a representative from Climate Project, a team of
volunteers trained by former U.S.
Vice President Al Gore to educate others on issues pertaining
to global climate change, according to organizers.
Entertainment will include folk
singer Alex Bevan and singer/songwriter Rachel Roberts.
Environmentally friendly services and products will
be on display from a host of businesses and nonprofit
organizations, including UA’s Department of Chemical
and Biomolecular Engineering, Green Energy Technologies,
e-Waste, Sierra Club and NaturaLawn of America.
Students from UA’s Engineering
Department will display their “High Mileage”
car and possibly their “Challenge X” vehicle.
FirstEnergy will have a display on the corporation’s
Carbon Sequestration technologies.
The rally will be preceded by
a showing of “An Inconvenient Truth” at
10 a.m. in the auditorium of the Akron-Summit County
Main Branch Library, 60 S. Main St.
Both the rally and showing of
the movie are free and open to the public, and people
of all ages are invited to attend. For more information,
visit www.stepitupakron.org.
Hydrant flushing season starts
April 15
GREATER AKRON — The city
of Akron Water Distribution Division will conduct a
water-main flushing program within the Akron, Coventry,
Fairlawn, Mogadore, Montrose and other water retail
service areas to help maintain water quality and to
increase and evaluate the amount of water available
for fire-fighting purposes.
The Water Department will flush
hydrants from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Sunday through Thursday
nights.
Beginning April 15, the Water
Department also will flush hydrants on dead-end water
mains in various locations throughout the city and JEDD
areas.
Discoloration to water is likely
to appear. Water users are urged to check their cold
water for discoloration prior to drawing water for cooking
and for use in washers and dishwashers.
If discoloration is found, the
water user is advised to discontinue use until the water
clears. For more information or assistance, call (330)
375-2420.
Victim Rights Week includes
special events
AKRON — Two events will
take place during Victim Rights Week, April 22-28.
A candlelight vigil will take
place April 22 at 6 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal
Church, 1361 W. Market St. in West Akron.
Then, on April 24, a luncheon
with guest speaker Marc Dann, Ohio attorney
general, will take place at 11:45 a.m. at the Greek
Community Center, 129 S. Union St. in Downtown Akron.
For a reservation, call (330)
376-0040.
Low-cost pet altering available
through Heaven Can Wait
CUYAHOGA FALLS — Heaven
Can Wait Rescue & Adoptions, in conjunction with
Precious Lives Animal Hospital, announces reduced costs
for the spay or neuter of any animal rescued from the
Summit County Animal Control Facility.
Any member of the public who
has purchased a cat or dog from the county is qualified
to receive discounted spaying or neutering from Precious
Lives.
Prices are as follows: for cats,
neuters are $30 and spays are $40, while for dogs, neuters
are $50 and spays are $70. Other discounted services
are available upon request.
To have a rescued pet altered
at these low costs, visit the Heaven Can Wait Adoption
Center, 2765 Front St., to purchase a voucher during
hours of operation, which are Tuesdays through Thursdays
from 4 to 7 p.m., Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. and
Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m.
Pet owners will need to provide
receipt of purchase from the county, and all vouchers
are cash-only transactions. Vouchers are then redeemable
at Precious Lives Animal Hospital in Akron. For more
information, call Heather Nagel at (330) 328-8699 or
visit www.heaven-can-wait.com.
Call for historical Highland
Square photos,
memorabilia
HIGHLAND SQUARE — In celebration
of the Highland Square neighborhood, the Highland Square
Theater Corp. is searching for Highland Square “alumni”
who lived in the area during the 1930s, ’40s,
’50s or ’60s and would like to share photographs
and memorabilia for the “Highland Square Memories”
scrapbook project.
The book and long-awaited Highland
Square Calendar will be available at the upcoming Highland
Square Reunion, a fund-raiser to save the Highland Theater,
April 21 at 7 p.m. at a location to be announced.
To have photos and memorabilia
scanned, call Lisa Bostwick at (330) 865-8422 or via
e-mail at lbostwick@neo
.rr.com.
The public is invited to attend
the wine and cheese reunion.
To make a donation, visit www.savethehighland.com.
Bill would give townships
authority to set speed limits
COLUMBUS — Townships in
Ohio may get more say in setting speed limits on their
own roads if a state senator’s efforts are successful.
State Sen. Tim Schaffer (R-District
31) sponsored a bill (Ohio Senate Bill 48) that would
transfer some of the authority for setting speed limits
away from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).
[See related story on Page
10.]
Speed limits on township roads
currently are set after a traffic study is done by the
county engineer’s office and approved by ODOT.
Municipalities have greater authority than townships,
but must follow ODOT guidelines. Schaffer’s bill
would still require townships to conduct a traffic study
to determine if there is a need for any speed limit
changes.
ODOT officials are opposing Schaffer’s
bill, citing uniformity is necessary for safety reasons.
The effort to give townships
more control on local speed limits has been attempted
unsuccessfully in the past, according to Ohio Township
Association officials.
The bill is currently still being
discussed in the Senate Highways and Transportation
Committee. It has yet to receive a hearing.
— By Maria Lindsay
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