Here’s how area charter schools answered questions when contacted for information about school managers, school boards and board meeting times.

Operated by public schools

Akron Digital Academy — 335 S Main St., Akron. Called Jan. 23 and spoke with Superintendent David Bowlin, who offered to send requested information via email. Reporter sent two emails. No responses received.

Schnee Learning Center — 2222 Issaquah St., Cuyahoga Falls. Called Feb. 18 and left voice mail. No response.

Massillon Digital Academy Inc. — 930 17th St. NE, Massillon. Called Jan. 16 and left message for Janie Egan, the superintendent’s secretary. No response.

Falcon Academy of Creative Arts — 2900 State Route 43, Mogadore. Called Jan. 21 and spoke with Kelly Tate, program coordinator assistant. Tate forwarded call to Principal Margo Snyder; left voice mail. No response.

Greater Summit County Early Learning Center — 2141 Pickle Road, Springfield Township. Called Jan. 21 and spoke with Dr. Sarah Jackson and Teresa Graves. They provided all information and offered to be a source for stories.

Operated by corporations

Charter School Specialists

Akros Middle School — 265 Park St., Akron. Called Jan. 30 and received some information, but was then asked to leave name and number for the superintendent. No call received. Called Feb. 6 and spoke with Superintendent Christina Burchfield, who said to call Charter School Specialists. Called Charter School Specialists Feb. 11 and left a number. A representative from Charter School Specialists returned the call that day and left message saying he would call the next day. No call received.

GEMS Global Network

Believe to Achieve-Canton — 101 Cleveland Ave. NW, Canton. Called Feb. 4. The man who answered said “no,” to all questions except one. When asked for names and contact information for board members, he said: “I don’t trust you with that information.”

ICAN Schools

Akron Preparatory School — 1200 E Market St., Suite 3360, Akron. Called Jan. 30 and was told to contact the main office in Cleveland. Called ICAN Schools, and recording said to leave a message. Voice message was left. No return call received.

Canton College Preparatory School — 2215 Third St. SE, Canton. Called Feb. 6 and was transferred to Susan (no last name given), an intervention specialist, who had some answers. She transferred call to voice mail; message was left. No return call received. Email sent Feb. 11 to Heather Stevens, executive director of school accountability at ICAN Schools. No response.

Imagine Schools

Imagine Akron Academy — 1585 Frederick Blvd., Akron. Called Jan. 21 and spoke with Jeanette Twitty, office manager, who asked, “What do you do with this information?” Reporter was put on hold. When Twitty returned, she said Superintendent Wendy Hubbard, “would not like to give out any information because that’s something she hasn’t heard of.” Reporter offered to fax the request. Twitty responded, “OK, you can fax it over. If she’s interested, she’ll give you a call back or fax it back. If she’s not interested, you won’t hear from her.” No response. Second call Feb. 3, Twitty told the reporter: “Like I said before, we are not interested in participating. Please don’t call back again.” Reporter visited school website and sent email via the “Contact Us” service. On March 25, Imagine Schools in Arlington, Va., responded with all the information.

Imagine Leadership Academy, also known as Imagine Romig Road Community School, 2405 Romig Road, Akron. Reporter called Feb. 3 and left voice mail. Edward Hayes Jr., a lawyer for Imagine Schools, sent an email Feb. 6 saying he has learned from several schools that The NewsOutlet was “seeking public information. We are in the process of gathering the information that you have requested so that we may forward it to you.” On March 25, Imagine Schools in Arlington, Va., responded with all the information..

Imagine on Superior — 1500 Superior Ave. NE, Canton. Same as Imagine Leadership Academy.

Summit Academies

Summit Academy Akron Elementary School — 2503 Leland Ave., Akron. Email requesting information for all Summit Academy schools sent Jan. 9 to the management company. Received all requested information via email Jan. 14 from David A. Norman, chief communications officer at the management company.”

Summit Academy Akron Middle School — 2791 Mogadore Road, Akron. Same as above.

Summit Academy Community School for Alternative Learners-Canton — 1620 Market Ave. S, Canton. Same as above.

Summit Academy Secondary - Akron — 464 S. Hawkins Ave., Akron. Same as above.

Summit Academy Secondary - Canton — 2400 Cleveland Ave. NW, Canton. Same as above.

White Hat Management

Garfield Academy — 1379 Garfield Ave. SW, Canton. Called Feb. 3 and was referred to the management company. Email requesting information sent Feb. 3 to Shannon Allen at White Hat Management. No response received.

Life Skills Center of Canton — 1100 Cleveland Ave. NW, Canton. Email requesting information sent Feb. 3 to Shannon Allen at White Hat Management. No response.

Life Skills Center of North Akron — 1458 Brittain Road, Akron. Called Jan. 16, spoke with administrator Steve Garton, who referred reporter to a phone number at management company. Reporter called White Hat Management and was referred to Shannon Allen and transferred to her voice mail; and left a voice mail. No response received. Email requesting information sent Feb. 3 to Allen. No response.

Life Skills Center Of Summit County — 2168 Romig Road, Akron. Called Jan. 14 and spoke with Monica Speights, coordinator for school improvement. She asked for reporter’s name and number and said she would call back. No call received. Email requesting information sent Feb. 3 to Shannon Allen at White Hat Management. No response.

Brown Street Academy — 1035 Clay St., Akron. Email requesting information sent Feb. 3 to Shannon Allen at White Hat Management. No response.

University Academy — 107 S. Arlington St., Akron. Same as Brown Street Academy.

Independent schools, or management company is unknown.

Beacon Hill Academy — P.O. Box 285, Mount Eaton. Called Feb. 4 and spoke with a secretary who took a message for the principal. Call not returned.

Main Street Preparatory Academy — 388 S. Main St., Akron. Send an email Feb. 3 requesting information. No information received.

Project Rebuild Community School — 1731 Grace Ave. NE, Canton. Called Jan. 10 and spoke to Joseph Cole, superintendent/principal, who answered everything except for board member information. Cole said he would fax the information on board members. Information was not received.

The Next Frontier Academy — 4663 Anderson Road, South Euclid. Called Feb. 14 and spoke with Principal Tarik West, who provided everything except board member information. West said board member information would be available at the website of the school sponsor, Tri-County ESC. No board information is listed on the site.

Towpath Trail High School — 275 W. Market St. Akron. Called Feb. 14 and received all information from Andrew Talcott, director of media.

Because of the overwhelming challenge, not all schools were called. These are the area schools not contacted: Colonial Prep Academy, 2199 Fifth St. SW, Akron; The Edge Academy, 92 N. Union St., Akron; Liberty Preparatory School, 741 Winkler Drive, Wooster; Middlebury Academy, 88 Kent St., Akron; Rittman Academy, 100 Saurer St., Rittman; STEAM Academy of Akron, 1350 Virginia Ave., Akron.

Information provided by the NewsOutlet.

The Big Lubinski is transforming himself into the Smaller Lubinski.

Richard Lubinski is on a mission to slim down and fatten the coffers at the Ronald McDonald House at the same time.

In a YouTube video that he hopes will go viral on the Internet, the man who turned 37 years old on Saturday, pokes fun at his own weight and issues a challenge to viewers to help him raise money for Ronald McDonald House of Akron at the same time.

“The reason I’m making this video is because I’m fat and need to lose weight,” Lubinski said at the beginning of the video.

Weighing 335 pounds when he started the 100-day weight loss challenge, Lubinski acknowledged that he had a big weight problem.

“Yea, that is huge,” he said.

Since starting the diet in February, the Twinsburg man is down 35 pounds to about 300 pounds and has raised around $1,000 in pledges out of a goal of $10,000 for Ronald McDonald House of Akron, where families of sick children stay during hospitalizations at Akron Children’s Hospital.

Lubinski, a real estate agent with Stouffer Realty, is also president of the Red Shoe Society of Akron, a group of young philanthropists and business people who work to support Ronald McDonald House.

While his own 100-day weight loss challenge will end around Mother’s Day, he hopes to eventually drop another 75 pounds.

He has been working out regularly at the Akron General Medical Center’s Health & Wellness Center in Stow on Allen Road.

Lubinski, married and the father of three children, hopes others will take up the challenge and start their own mini fundraising drive to help Ronald McDonald House.

Anne Collins, executive director of the Ronald McDonald House of Akron, said the house is in the fundraising stage of a planned $10-million expansion that will take the home from the current 20 rooms to 60 rooms.

The expansion of the house is part of the Akron Children’s Hospital building on the Promise Capital Campaign in which it seeks to raise $60 million, Collins said.

So far, about $3.3 million has been raised for the Ronald McDonald House project, said Collins, who praised Lubinski for his efforts.

“We think it’s wonderful,” she said. “It is a win-win. It is good for Rich. And it is great for our house.”

Last year, 13,000 people stayed at the Ronald McDonald House in Akron on Locust Street but 6,000 people were turned away, Collins said.

“I give him much credit,” she said of Lubinski’s weight loss challenge.

Lubinski said he wants to get word out via the Internet that there is a need to help Ronald McDonald House.

“They do so much,” he said.

For more on Ronald McDonald House of Akron go to www.rmhakron.org. For information on the Red Shoe Society of Akron go to http://www.rmhakron.org/en/how-you-can-help/red-shoe-society.

There are also Facebook pages for Ronald McDonald House and the Red Shoe Society.

To donate directly to the Ronald McDonald House, send checks to Ronald McDonald House at 245 Locust St., Akron, OH 44302, attention: Anne Collins.

To see Lubinksi’s video go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyLaRLJURrc&feature=em-share_video_user.

To contact Lubinski, email him at richlubinski@gmail.com or call him at 330-622-0501.

Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.

FAIRLAWN: Protests from a local competitor did little to stop the Fairlawn Planning Commission last week from approving preliminary plans for a car wash on Cleveland-Massillon Road.

John Mallo, the owner of Montrose Auto Spa, was represented by attorney Robert Konstand at the planning commission meeting.

The dominate issue at the meeting was traffic and sidewalks.

Mayor William Roth said he wants to ensure pedestrians can move freely in the area.

Keeping the area free of traffic congestion was important to everyone including Konstand, who will be presenting a traffic study, and lighting and sidewalk plans to the planning commission in two months.

Konstand said the $2 million automated car wash is expected to employ eight to 12 workers and would be on 1.70 acres. Mallo wants it open by winter.

Kurt Loos, the owner of Montrose Laserwash on Brookmont Road, is opposed to the proposal.

His attorney, Stephen Pruneski, said they are concerned about traffic and the rezoning that was needed to move the project forward.

Loos said “this isn’t about competition,” but he is worried about the impact the car wash would have on his business.

“If you keep adding car washes, the number of people that go to each car wash keeps getting smaller,” Loos said.

He pointed to Conrad’s Tires on Ridgewood Road that was built last year.

“They [Conrad’s] copied me exactly,” Loos said. “They built an exact copy of my car wash last year and now I have one within sight of me that is going to decrease my numbers.”

Loos said he isn’t sure if he’s going to appeal the rezoning or not.

Konstand said Loos is entitled to challenge the rezoning.

“I understand where they’re [Loos] coming from,” Konstand said. “But we’ve done everything we were supposed to do.”

Randles said he doesn’t want to get in the way of businesses having the opportunity to locate in the city.

“Its direct competition for them,” Randles said. “Its competition on their doorstep, but our role as government isn’t to decide if we got too many car washes.”

The Rev. Tim Armstrong, founder and senior pastor at Mansfield’s Crossroads Community Church, has been identified as the candidate to become the next senior pastor at The Chapel.

Armstrong, 50, was selected from a pool of 200 applicants. He will spend the next five weeks getting acquainted with the people who make up The Chapel family and the Akron-area community. On May 4, the congregation — which worships at campuses in Akron, Green and Wadsworth — will vote to decide whether he will become their next pastor.

“The more time we spend with [Armstrong], it keeps affirming that he is a good candidate to be our next pastor,” said Todd McKenney, chairman of The Chapel’s board of trustees. “He’s had 18 years of experience in one place — building a church community — which is evidence of faithful servant leadership. Of all the applicants, he was No. 1 for preaching and teaching, which is a strong tradition at The Chapel. He’s a very good fit for us.”

The local nondenominational church, which draws about 5,000 to worship services, has been without a senior pastor since the Rev. Paul Sartarelli stepped down in January 2013 to pursue a calling from God to a new ministry. Sartarelli and his wife, Susan, are now working to plant a church in the Cincinnati area (Fresh Winds Church in West Chester Township).

Since then, the congregation has been led by the church's five-member pastoral leadership team, which includes three campus pastors and has been led by an interim staff leader.

A 12-member search committee was commissioned last February by the board of trustees to begin looking for a senior pastor. The committee, with the help of a search firm, collected 200 applications as part of a national search. Armstrong emerged as one of two finalists and was subsequently identified as the first choice by the search committee and recommended to the congregation by the board of trustees.

“My wife [Michelle] and I have prayed about the opportunity to preach the word of God and reach the Akron area for Christ and we sensed the calling of God. When you sense the calling of God, you really can’t do anything but accept it,” said Armstrong. “The first time we went to The Chapel, we felt at home. We are seeking the Lord’s will and we are sensing this is where the Lord wants us to be.”

Armstrong said that while he accepted the invitation to be The Chapel’s senior pastor candidate, it has been difficult to consider leaving a church that he started 18 years ago, after earning a graduate degree in theology at Dallas Theological Seminary. The Mansfield native also earned an undergraduate degree in pre-seminary studies at Cedarville University.

The nondenominational Crossroads Community Church was started with 30 people. It has grown into one of the largest congregations in Richland County, attracting more than 2,000 people to weekly worship services.

“[Armstrong’s] approach to preaching and his philosophy of the pulpit are strong indicators that he will be a good fit for The Chapel. He’s a Bible teacher — his sermons are based on what the Bible says,” said the Rev. Jim Mitchell, interim staff leader at The Chapel. “He’s got experience as a senior leader. He has great character and integrity and a sense of pastoral warmth. I think members of our congregation will see him as a good, solid candidate.”

The Armstrongs were married in 1991. They have 16-year-old twin daughters, McKenna Kate and Isabelle Grace and a 9-year-old son, Jack Hudson.

As part of his candidacy, Armstrong will be available at church events beginning April 22. He will preach at all services on May 4, the same day that the congregation will vote.

If Armstrong is confirmed, he will become the fifth senior pastor in the nearly 80-year history of the church, succeeding Sartarelli; the Rev. Knute Larson, the Rev David Burnham and the late Rev. Carl Burnham. The Chapel’s main campus is located at 135 Fir Hill in Akron.

“It’s very humbling to be called by another board and another church,” Armstrong said. “We are trusting in the Lord’s design and we will be obedient to his call. Our goal is always the same — to impact and serve the people.”

For more information about The Chapel, a video introduction of the Armstrongs and sample sermons by Armstrong go to www.the-chapel.org. More information about the Mansfield church can be found at www.crossroadswired.com.

Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com. She can be followed at www.twitter.com/ColetteMJenkins.

Authorities are investigating the discovery of an unidentified person in a burning vehicle on Yukon Avenue near Stoner Street.

Authorities responded to a call received at 11:12 p.m. Saturday reporting a sport utility vehicle fully engulfed in flames, Akron Police Lt. Rick Edwards said. After the fire was extinguished, a body was found in the vehicle.

As of Sunday evening, the victim had not been identified, Edwards said.

The victim’s name will not be released until a positive identification is made and family members are notified, a spokesman for the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office said.

An autopsy is scheduled for today.

Akron Police Capt. Dan Zampelli said no additional details were available Sunday. The incident remains under investigation.

Nearly 46 years after being wounded in Vietnam, Peter Halas applied for and received a post-traumatic stress disorder disability from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The former Akron resident is not alone.

Dr. Edgardo Padin-Rivera, chief of psychology and PTSD expert at the Louis Stokes VA Cleveland Medical Center, said many Vietnam vets are applying for disability as they remember more about their combat experiences.

In Halas’ case, he already had a disability from physical wounds he received in Vietnam. He was injured by a land mine in 1968.

But his PTSD disability was awarded only recently after specific memories came back while talking about the war with VA counselors.

Padin-Rivera said there are 326,530 Vietnam veterans with a PTSD disability — a figure that is climbing every year.

As veterans age, the ways they had to defend against memories of combat begin to fade and they become more troubled by their war experiences, he said.

“It is about emotions of vulnerability and helplessness,” he said. “And this brings up memories of those time periods when they felt vulnerable and helpless and those experiences have to do with war experiences.”

So when veterans go to the VA for medical care, they are asked questions about their mental health, Padin-Rivera said.

“Now that we are asking the question, they begin to talk about it,” the psychologist said. “We try to make it OK for them to talk about this and do away with the stigma of mental health. We saw this with World War II vets and are seeing it with the younger generation of vets from Iraq and Afghanistan.”

The memories came back to Halas, 68, as he began talking to VA counselors about his military service.

He wrote about one incident in support of his PTSD diagnosis: “Fire fight for a day and a half, seeing fellow comrades wounded, some mortally by taking a direct hit by mortars ... Then being told to clean up blood, bones, organ splatters from inside of vehicles.”

Halas said he’s had anger issues over the years and now realizes it was part of the PTSD.

“You don’t realize it until you start thinking about it,” he said.

Halas — who retired from Cavanaugh Building Corp. in Akron and moved to Temecula, Calif., in 2011 — said he now receives about $1,400 a month for his PTSD disability, in addition to the $1,600 a month he was receiving for his war injuries.

He’s also trying to straighten out the official record on his service awards.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has changed his DD-214 to reflect one Purple Heart, but Halas says he received three, and a Bronze Star, for his service.

He’s still working on getting the file corrected and said he wants to leave an accurate account of his military experience for his family.

“It wasn’t important before, when I was a young kid,” said Halas, who attended Copley High School. “Now I am an older person and I think about it, those things are important. I damn near gave my life for it.”

Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.

The Oak Clinic for Multiple Sclerosis is partnering with the Akron RubberDucks baseball team to pitch the message about MS and other disabilities to area elementary schools.

The project is being shepherded in part by registered nurse Lauren Buehrle, Trish Jones and Sue Arnold, and involves visiting schools in Stark and Summit counties.

“Our project begins with a 30- to 45-minute presentation to children centering on a book called My Grampy Can’t Walk, which was written by Vanita Oelschlager, who along with her husband, Jim, founded the Oak Clinic,” the release reads. “Orbit, the mascot for the RubberDucks, would be with us also.

“We talk about the disease of multiple sclerosis, tolerance of those with disabilities, and philanthropy and giving back to the community. Finally, we talk about the 1K Diamond Run that will take place before the Akron RubberDucks baseball game on Sunday, April 27 and invite the students to be a part of it. They will solicit sponsors for their run and in turn, receive a ticket to the game!”

Representatives of the clinic, located in Green, will present each teacher with a signed copy of the book and will return on April 10 to collect the proceeds and distribute the game tickets. Students will get activities and prizes before the 2:50 p.m. game.

Spaghetti dinner

The Celebration of Life Cancer Benefit, in the works while Rootstown resident Mary Long Blankenship was still alive, will still go on from 4 to 8 p.m. April 26 at the Ravenna VFW Post #1055, 6000 New Milford Road, Ravenna, according to planners.

The aim? To help Mike, her husband of 20 years, with medical bills and other expenses.

Mrs. Blankenship was a member of Field High School’s class of 1985 and Immaculate Heart of Mary Church at Newman Center in Kent, and the mother of two. She was diagnosed in June with acute myeloid leukemia and died Jan. 24. She was 46.

Cost of the spaghetti dinner is $10 for adults, and includes a DJ, drawings and raffles (Magic Mountain family 4-pack, autographed items from sports teams, Quail Hollow Resort deluxe room and $50 gift card for its steakhouse, and more). It’s free to children 10 and under.

For more information or a reservation, please call Brenda Rice at 330-947-3598. Donations also accepted at FirstMerit Bank (any location) in care of the Mary Blankenship Memorial Fund.

A big thank you

When last we chatted about the urgent need for a van for Copley resident Lill Ford and her 10-year-old daughter Michelle, who has multiple and severe disabilities, fundraisers were underway and a 2006 minivan with 90,000 miles on it had been secured.

Now for the rest of the story as shared by dedicated advocate Margaret Rininger:

“As of February 24, 2014, the debt for the van has been paid in full! Money that was raised in excess of the cost of the van will be used to install a simple wheelchair lift and/or help with the repairs that may come up … An extreme weight has been lifted off of Lill, and she now can continue to focus on caring for her disabled daughter.

“Only through your [donors’] prayers, concern and financial support was this accomplished, and we are so grateful to God and to you. It is truly difficult to express thanks especially to the many donors for the van who have wished to remain anonymous. Thank you to those people and to those who have contacted me with different ideas of how to go about the task of financing a car … Thanks to VanDevere Auto for allowing an early payoff without penalty … Thank you to all who were able to raise a prayer or send a kind, encouraging word …

“Lill has been overwhelmed with gratitude and has often expressed to me through tears that she just doesn’t know how she can thank everyone. I know that she has been praying for each and every one of you as will I.”

Happy Day fundraiser

The Happy Day Parent Council is sponsoring a spaghetti dinner fundraiser 3 to 7 p.m. May 10 at Happy Day School to help raise funds to purchase a van and other medical necessities for 2-year-old Paxton Hemberger, the son of Christina Matthews and Todd Hemberger. Paxton was born prematurely, suffered from three brain bleeds, then was diagnosed with periventricular leukomalacia with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy.

“Paxton is unable to walk or crawl,” his aunt Dona Bica said. “He now has a GJ [feeding] tube to get his nutrition and medication … His other diagnoses consist of failure to thrive, cortical vision impairment, seizure disorder, dysphasia and dystonia … With his frequent medical appointments, proper transportation is essential.”

Cost of the dinner is $10. Also on the menu? A bake sale, 50/50 raffle, Chinese auction and more.

The school is located at 2500 Brady Lake Road, Ravenna. Here is a link to Paxton’s benevolent fund: www.gofundme.com/72r8y4.

Jewell Cardwell can be reached at 330-996-3567 or jcardwell@thebeaconjournal.com

Harriet Morris was having trouble making ends meet.

The 42-year-old Cuyahoga Falls woman, a divorced mother raising three sons, had $1.35 in her purse, $2 in her checking account and $1 in her savings account.

Although she earned $270 a month as a keypunch operator at Roadway Express in Akron, recent illnesses and medical expenses had taken a toll on family finances. She was worried about feeding the boys, paying the bills and making the rent at 604 Francis Ave.

“I thought things couldn’t get any worse,” she admitted later. “I had almost decided everything was against me.”

Then one night in 1964, her luck changed.

She was in her bedroom about 9:30 p.m. when she heard a commotion down the hallway. Her son David, 16, was running around, excited about something.

“Mom! Mom!” he yelled. “Look at all this money!”

Harriet rushed to her son’s room and froze in disbelief. A small fortune in currency was spread across the bed next to a dusty brown suitcase.

David pointed to the closet and explained that he found the suitcase under loose floorboards while retrieving a fallen ring that had rolled through a crack. He pulled the bag from the secret compartment, realized it wasn’t empty and flung it open to see what was inside.

He and his brothers, Donald, 13, and Paul, 8, had heard adventure tales about hidden treasure but didn’t expect to find one in their home.

Harriet Morris owned only one dress. She had a car that needed repairs. Her sons needed winter coats.

Oh, how she would have loved to spend that money.

Instead, she stuffed the cash back in the suitcase and called police to report finding “$3,000 or $4,000 that isn’t mine.” Then she drove to the station and turned over the money. How many people would have done the same thing in her situation?

“I couldn’t go to sleep after that,” she told the Beacon Journal. “I walked the floor all night. I need the money and I hoped it would be mine.”

Harriet learned the next day that her estimate was way off. The suitcase actually contained $21,259 in small bills (nearly $163,000 today).

It also held a clue to the original owner. The name Joseph Calcagno was found on an envelope.

Officers counted the cash and returned it to Harriet, who put it in a safety deposit box at First National Bank on the advice of her attorney Orval Hoover, the former law director of Cuyahoga Falls.

“My guess is there will be several parties who’ll contact us,” Hoover told the Beacon Journal. “The legal rights are questionable at the moment, and it will be a question for the courts to decide in event someone makes a formal claim.”

The national media seized on the story. Harriet and David were featured in newspapers across the country and their photograph appeared in Time magazine.

Landlord Thomas LoCascio, an assistant manager at the A&P store in Midway Plaza, lived next door to the Morrises on Francis Avenue and filed a legal claim to the money because it was found on his property.

LoCascio bought the house for $7,000 two years earlier from Nunzio Calcagno of Oakland, Calif., who had inherited it. Nunzio’s father, Antonino Calcagno, and uncle Joseph Calcagno had lived together there for decades.

Joseph, a gardener for the city of Cuyahoga Falls, owned the house from 1928 until his death in 1957 at age 78. He willed the estate to his brother, Antonino, a former groundskeeper at Breath­nach Country Club, who died in 1961 at age 85.

Nunzio, who traveled to Ohio to claim the money, said his father and uncle were penny pinchers, and like many people who lost money during the Great Depression, had a mistrust of banks.

“They were still like in the old country,” Nunzio said. “They bought day-old bread at half price. They grew their own grapes and made their own wine.”

He recalled that his Uncle Joe made a cryptic statement in the hospital before dying.

“He tried to tell us,” Nunzio said. “But all he would say was ‘Don’t sell the house. The house is rich. You’ll all be rich someday.’ ”

Nunzio Calcagno said he searched the home before selling it but never thought to look under the floorboards.

Attorney Wesley B. Smith, representing LoCascio the landlord, told the media: “We contend that the money was intentionally placed under the boards by someone and then forgotten.” Under Ohio law, he said, mislaid money belonged to the homeowner.

Morris attorney Hoover countered: “It wasn’t mislaid. Someone put it there knowingly.”

Lawyer A.P. Feldman, representing Calcagno, said: “The money can’t be classed as lost or mislaid. Joe put it there. He didn’t lose it there under the closet boards, certainly, and he didn’t mislay it there, either.”

Meanwhile, Harriet Morris, who served as a WAC in the Pacific in World War II, waited. She wanted the money but she wanted it legally.

She had refused to go on welfare and was embarrassed when anonymous donors gave more than $70 to the family. Harriet was flooded with phone calls and letters from people who read news articles about her honesty.

“Some people called me up and told me how dumb I was to turn it in,” she told the Beacon Journal. “And someone wrote me a letter calling me the most stupid woman in the world. I guess a lot of people think that way. But all I know is that the money wasn’t mine, as much as I would like to have it.”

Besides, if she had kept the money, she could have been charged with larceny if the real owner ever turned up.

For nearly two years, the money remained in the safety deposit box. Finally in 1966, Summit County Probate Judge Nathan Koplin approved a settlement.

Heir Nunzio Calcagno was awarded the bulk of the cash — $13,859 — while landlord Thomas LoCascio received the smallest sum — $400. Harriet Morris collected $4,200 and son David got $2,800.

The Morrises gained less than $4,667 — about $34,000 today — after subtracting attorney fees and income taxes.

Still, Harriet said she was “very well pleased” with the settlement.

“I plan to pay off some debts and buy the children some clothes that they’ve needed,” she said. “I’ll put the rest into a savings account. I hope I can put in $500 at least.”

If she had to do it again, she said she would still report every penny to the police.

“At least I can go out now and spend the money without constantly looking over my shoulder for someone coming to take it away from me,” she said. “What would be involved in sneaking around to spend it just wouldn’t be worth it.”

Anyway, she had a story that her family would remember for the rest of their lives.

Harriet Morris proved that honesty always pays — even if it pays only a fraction of the total sum.

Copy editor Mark J. Price is author of The Rest Is History: True Tales From Akron’s Vibrant Past, a book from the University of Akron Press. He can be reached at 330-996-3850 or mjprice@thebeaconjournal.com.

AKRON

Kiwanis meeting

AKRON: Anthony Margida, chief executive officer of the Akron Global Business Accelerator, will speak at the Downtown Kiwanis Club’s luncheon meeting at noon Thursday at Portage Country Club, 240 N. Portage Path.

Margida has more than 30 years of experience developing and commercializing new technologies and creating or helping to start new companies.

Tickets are $15 at the door. To make a reservation, contact Katie Rennard at 330-643-5517 or by email at krennard@
uwsummit.org.

Health fair

AKRON: Hiram College nursing students will partner with Cascade Village to provide a health fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Cascade Village, Akron’s oldest public housing site, offers 242 mixed-income apartments at 212 E. North St. in North Akron.

The students have spent the last 12 weeks helping the residents as part of their community health clinical rotation.

The health fair in the development’s Community Center will have multiple booths spotlighting subjects such as heart-healthy foods and exercises, nutrition, child wellness and diabetes awareness.

Food, drinks and prizes will be available. The mascots of Hiram College and the newly named Akron RubberDucks Double-A baseball team also will make special appearances.

For details, call 330-253-9494.

Divorce recovery

AKRON: A Divorce Recovery Workshop will begin at The Chapel, 135 Fir Hill, at 7 p.m. April 10.

The seven-week seminar is for anyone dealing with divorce or separation.

For information, call Shirley at 330-315-5449 or register online at http://the-chapel.org/drw.

COPLEY

Candidate forum

COPLEY: The Federated Democratic Women of Summit County will have a forum for candidates in the May 6 primary from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at St. George’s Fellowship Centre, 3204 Ridgewood Road.

All Summit County Democratic candidates in the primary have been invited. The event is free and open to the public.

After the forum, the group will have its regular luncheon meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Lunch is $14 and requires an RSVP.

RSVP for lunch by calling Ernestine Hayes at 330-864-8280 or Renee Greene at 330-867-4329 or reenie477@yahoo.com. The deadline is today.

FAIRLAWN

Cancer support

FAIRLAWN: The Prostate Cancer Support and Education Group will hold its next meeting 7 p.m. April 9 at Stewart’s Caring Place, 2955 W. Market St., Suite R, Fairlawn.

The meeting is free and open to the public.

SUMMIT COUNTY

Avant-Garde show

COPLEY: The Summit County Spring Avant-Garde show will be held for two days next month at St. George’s Fellowship Centre, 3204 Ridgewood Road.

Vendors are handpicked to ensure a unique lineup of artists and crafters. Nearly 100 participants will showcase handmade items.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit the local nonprofit cancer wellness center, Stewart’s Caring Place.

The show will run 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 12 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 13. Admission is $3; children younger than 12 are free.

For more information, visit www.avantgardeshows.com.

This Week

Today

Volunteer Fair — 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Suites, 1989 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls. Sponsored by AARP and the Summit County United Way. Refreshments and discussion about volunteering. To register, call 877-926-8300.

Friday-Sunday

Women For Women Ohio “Office to Evening Clothing Sale” — 4-8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Fairways of Twin Lakes, 1519 Overlook Drive, Kent. High-quality women’s clothing, new and gently used. www.w4wo.org.

Massillon Lions Club presents “State Fair” — 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday at the Lions Lincoln Theatre, 156 Lincoln Way E., Massillon. Popular music by the men’s chorus, vocal and instrumental ensembles, solos, dance and comedy. Benefits club efforts on behalf of sight and hearing conservation, and community projects. $9. Call Bryan Stuck at 330-309-1900 or email bstuck@sssnet.com.

Friday-Saturday

Wooster Rotary Auction — Auction of antiques and collectibles begins 4 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday, open two hours early each day for preview, Wooster High School auditorium, 515 Oldman Road, Wooster. Two Swarovski chandeliers will be sold during featured item portion of the auction, 3 p.m. Saturday. Free admission; food available for purchase. www.woosterrotary.org.

Saturday

Akron Chapter of Jack and Jill of America Beautillion Militaire — 5 p.m. at Quaker Station, 135 S. Broadway, Akron. Seven young men will be presented and receive college scholarships. $47. 330-283-5318.

PAWSibilities, Humane Society of Greater Akron FurrEver in Blue Jeans — 6:30-10:30 p.m. at Black Wolf Hall, 3099 Graham Road, Stow. Dinner with vegetarian and vegan offerings, homemade desserts, music, games, dancing and auction items. $20 pre-sale at PAWSibilities, Humane Society of Greater Akron, 7996 Darrow Road, Twinsburg. $25 at the door.

Akron Rotary Centennial Celebration Dinner — 6 p.m. at the Hilton Akron/Fairlawn, 3180 W. Market St., Akron. Appetizers, dinner, dessert, champagne toast, cash bar. Dave Lieberth, emcee. $100. www.akronrotary.org.

Dashing For Dreams Adult Easter Egg Hunt — 7 p.m. at the Wing Warehouse Sports Bar & Grill, 2215 E. Waterloo Road, Akron. The Granted Wish Foundation fundraising event with more than $5,000 in prizes. The Canton Charge Girls will appear. After hours social at the sports bar with prize raffles and a 50/50 drawing. Early registration $10. 330-244-9474 or www.grantedwish.org.

No Muffin Left Behind Sale — 9 a.m. to noon at the Akron Canton Regional Foodbank, 350 Opportunity Parkway, Akron. Main Street Gourmet products for sale at $1.25 per pound; a portion of the proceeds and all unsold products go to the Foodbank. First come, first served; cash and credit cards, no debit cards.

Acker-Moore’s Welcome Spring Craft Show — 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at American Legion Acker-Moore Memorial Post, 3733 Fishcreek Road, Stow. More than 35 artists and crafters, with Ladies Auxiliary Easter Bake Sale and Raffle. Free admission. All proceeds go to servicemen and women and their families.

Spring Craft Show — 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Nick Amster Workshop, 266 Oldman Road, Wooster. Crafters, demos, drawings and food. Proceeds support the individuals attending the Nick Amster Sheltered Workshop Inc. Free admission. 330-345-7979, ext. 209.

I Thee Wed Bridal Show — 10 a.m. at the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum, 800 McKinley Monument Drive NW, Canton. Fashion show, brunch and basket raffle. $30, reservations required. 330-455-7043.

Up Side of Downs Dinner, Dance & Raffle — 6-11 p.m. at LaMalfa Party Center, 5783 Heisley Road, Mentor. Buffet with carving station, open bar, pastry table and entertainment by Marino Brothers. $75. For tickets, go to www.usod.org. For information, call Leslie Burke at 216-798-7652 or email leslieb@usod.org.

Sunday

A Chorus For a Cause presents “Dreams” — 3:30 p.m. at First Christian Church, 6900 Market Ave. N., Canton. Special appearance by HandPrints Signing Choir. Benefits Canton Challenger Baseball. $15. Tickets available from chorus members, Challenger Baseball members, at www.achorus
foracause.org or at the door.

ETC School of Musical Arts Spring Gala — 3 p.m. at Cuyahoga Falls High School, 2300 Fourth St., Cuyahoga Falls. Performances from ETC’s show choirs. Reserved seats: Adults $16, seniors and ages 12 and under $11. General admission $11. Tickets at www.seatyour
self.biz/etc. For information contact ETC at etcchoir4@aol.com or 330-923-2000.

Back On Your Feet Walk for Family Promise of Summit County — 2 p.m. at 111 Voris St., Akron. 1-mile walk to raise money for homeless families. For information and registration, call Pauline Egan at 330-253-8081 or email pauline@familypromise
sc.org, or go to www.firstgiving.com/64527/back-on-your-feet.

Plan Ahead

Victims Rights Week Luncheon — 11:30 a.m. April 8 at the Greek Community Center, 129 S. Union St., Akron. Karhlton Moore, executive director of the Office for Criminal Justice Services, will speak. Prepaid reservations required, $25. Reservation deadline Wednesday. 330-376-0040 or www.victimassistance
program.org/events.aspx.

Canton Fine Arts Associates Springtacular Style Show and Luncheon — 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 11 in the Wilkof Courtyard of the Canton Museum of Art, 1001 Market Ave. N., Canton. Spring offerings from Christopher and Banks at Belden Village Mall, and It’s A Dusey Boutique in Jackson Township. $25. Reservation deadline Friday. Call Carol Paris at 330-453-7666, ext. 105.

The Hungarian Cultural Center of Northeastern Ohio Easter Cabbage Roll Fundraiser — Pre-order only by Friday. Pick-up is 2-6 p.m. April 8 at St. John’s Byzantine Church, 36125 Aurora Road, Solon. $18 per dozen. Rolls are prepared by the cooks of the Hungarian Cultural Center. Order by calling Linda at 440-248-4530 or Mary Jane at 440-352-9504.

Send information about social and charity events to The Scene, c/o Lynne Sherwin, Features Department, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309. Or email lsherwin@thebeaconjournal.com with “The Scene” in the subject line. Event notices should be sent at least two weeks in advance. Merits of all organizations have not been investigated by the Beacon Journal, so potential donors should verify the worthiness of a cause before committing.

WAYNE

Angle, Cecil E., 65, of Wooster. Died Saturday. McIntire, Bradham & Sleek.

OTHER

Kratzer,William F., 89, of Ashland. Died Saturday. Matteson, West Salem.

Palmer, Ruth I., 88, of Sebring. Died March 27. Walton-Schrader, Alliance.

Publicly funded, privately run charter schools consume more than $900 million in state and local tax dollars. A comprehensive evaluation has been difficult. Today’s story is the second in a three-day series. It is a part of a multiyear project to create a database and authoritative stories so parents can make informed choices and the public can understand this form of government privatization.

SunDAy: Many charter schools

lack transparency.

TUESDAY: Public school districts use local funds to transport charter-school kids.

BATH TWP.: Police are seeking information following the shooting of a former Navy SEAL in a parking lot Friday night.

Christopher Mark Heben, 44, of Medina County, was shot outside Mustard Seed Market, Bath Township Police Chief Michael McNeely said.

After Heben was shot in the stomach, he followed the vehicle carrying the shooting suspect but began to feel ill and drove himself to the Bath Township Police and Fire Department to seek treatment, McNeely said.

The chief said Heben was hospitalized at Akron General Medical Center, but the hospital said Monday it had no record of him being a patient there.

McNeely said the incident began when a car struck Heben as he walked in the parking lot and he and the driver exchanged words.

Heben then began to walk to the Mustard Seed but realized he had forgotten his wallet. When he walked back to get his wallet, the chief said, the suspect vehicle pulled up next to him and then Heben realized he had been shot.

“He doubled up in pain,” the chief said, then he jumped into the car and followed the suspect vehicle.

Heben described the vehicle he was chasing as a gray, low-profile sports car with a raised spoiler on the trunk, black rims and dark tinted side and back windows, McNeely said. It drove north on Cleveland-Massillon Road and last was seen near a ramp to Interstate 77, but it was not known if it entered the freeway.

“Much love and many thanks to everyone for all of the well wishes!” Heben wrote on his Facebook page Sunday.

“It definitely keeps me going! I’ve been up walking around, yesterday and again this morning. The nurses are telling me to ‘take it slow’.....YEAH RIGHT! Had the NG tube taken out at 10pm last night, felt like a new man and actually got 3 hours of sleep last night. I’m gonna take this dressing off in a bit. I’ll post a few more pics soon. I’m good to go!”

Hundreds of people offered support over the weekend. His Facebook page, Christopher Mark Heben, Fmr. US Navy Seal, has more than 14,000 likes.

His most recent post on Facebook resulted in more than 300 comments.

“Prayers and a speedy recovery to you, CMH. HOO YAH , warrior! Now get up and MOVE!!!” one man wrote.

According to the Montrose Auto Group website, Heben is working with the company to promote the dealerships in its “No Customer Left Behind” campaign.

According to the website, Heben served in Iraq, Africa, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“Following the termination of Osama Bin Laden, Chris emerged as the national media’s most featured special operations subject matter expert, appearing in hundreds of interviews on over-the-air television, cable news networks, and national and regional radio networks including NPR, providing expertise and relevance on a variety of topics relating to the special operations community,” the website said.

Heben could not be reached for comment.

McNeely said police are reviewing numerous videos from local businesses to determine if the crime was recorded.

Anyone with information about the incident or who witnessed the altercation is urged to call Bath Township Police at 330-666-3736. Detective Dan Lance also can be emailed at dlance@bathtownship.org.

Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.

As a board member of four publicly funded charter schools in Akron and Cleveland, Charlotte Burrell will watch this year as $5.3 million in taxpayer money passes through her financial reports.

She knows most of it will go to White Hat Management ­— a private, for-profit Akron-based company that runs 32 charter schools in Ohio. But unlike an elected school board member who can obtain intimate details about spending, her hands are tied. What White Hat does with the money, she said, is beyond her control.

She does, however, control “unrestricted net assets.”

She pointed to the line item on a budget at a joint board meeting in February for two of the charter schools — University and Brown Street academies. Of $2.1 million in expected yearly funds, unrestricted dollars for both schools totaled roughly $1,500, or less than 0.1 percent.

“That’s what we concern ourselves with the majority of the time,” she said.

She’s satisfied, so long as a school treasurer — employed by White Hat — says the money spent by White Hat adds up.

So, who is in charge of the nonprofit, publicly funded Ohio charter schools that 20 years ago did not exist? This school year, more than $900 million in state and local tax dollars — some of it approved by local voters — will be transferred from local schools to charters.

In Ohio, charter schools are required to satisfy strict federal guidelines as nonprofit organizations under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code, including board autonomy. If the board is not independent of the company, the IRS is supposed to throw up a red flag.

But state law allows private companies to throw out nonprofit boards that challenge them.

At many White Hat-operated schools, this already has happened. Last summer, boards in Akron and Cleveland expressed dissatisfaction with White Hat, so White Hat forced them out and new boards were formed.

The three unpaid board members who attended the February meeting said they were recruited by White Hat to serve. They turn over 95.5 percent of funding to White Hat, which then hires the staff, pays the bills and gives rent to its for-profit affiliates that own the tax-exempt school properties.

Board members recruited

Burrell said she has been asked by White Hat to serve on four school boards. “White Hat asked me,” fellow board member Jean Lee agreed.

David DuBois, the other board member present, shared a similar story with Beacon Journal and NewsOutlet reporters, who visited the February meeting at University Academy on South Arlington Street.

DuBois said Nancy Brennan, daughter of White Hat founder David Brennan, asked him and his wife to serve. And they did. “Our daughter and her daughter were close friends and went to school together [at Our Lady of the Elms] for eight years,” he said.

DuBois’ wife served as board president of University and Brown Street, then called Hope Academies, before Burrell took over this school year.

Burrell continues to serve other White Hat-managed schools: another K-8 school in Cleveland and an Akron Life Skills center for students ages 16 to 21 who fall behind.

“How long have I been on the board?” she asked, looking across the table toward the boards’ attorney and a White Hat employee, who each confirmed that it’s been at least five years.

“I don’t keep track of that, as long as I’m enjoying what I do,” she said.

White Hat says it recruits board members only if asked to by an existing member or the sponsor.

“Sometimes we have one or two people that would like to start a school, and they don’t have enough for an entire board. So they want to, they talk to, other board members or ask us to help recruit board, um, recommend board members,” said Maggie Ford, chief academic officer at White Hat.

Ford said the company doesn’t manage the boards. When told about the situation in Akron (board members said White Hat asked them to serve), Ford said she had no knowledge that her company might have selected a board that hires her company.

She also said she has never heard of a Brennan recruiting board members. “And Nancy doesn’t work here.”

An attempt to reach Nancy Brennan was unsuccessful, but White Hat’s lobbyist, Tom Needles, called and said he would speak for the company.

“It takes a lot of effort to identify the right kind of board members to serve. … White Hat is no different than other [education management organizations] in seeking out qualified and committed board members who care about the community and their families. I would say that that’s true statewide.”

Asked if there are any issues with the company selecting board members who then hire the company, he said: “You might be reading too much into it. There is an ongoing interest among several different parties to found schools that serve a discernible need. … We view this as a very collaborative objective that has first and foremost the students’ needs at heart.”

IRS has rules

The IRS’ checklist to qualify for federal tax-exempt status draws a bright line between the charter-school governing board and the management company hired to run the school. The company should not create the board or recruit the members, and any evidence of boilerplate contracts from one school to the next suggests the company may be in control.

Richard Schmalbeck, a Duke University professor of law and a former tax law attorney, said the description of relationships between private companies and Ohio charter schools may be problematic.

“The charter schools appear to be run by a for-profit organization,” he said.

Because the private company creates and owns the nonprofit school, then recruits a governing board that would give a favorable contract to the private company, “There may be a private benefit problem. Charities are supposed to operate exclusively for charitable purposes, and not for the purpose of advancing for-profit business ventures.”

Schmalbeck is disappointed but not surprised that the IRS, buried in applications, might carelessly grant tax-exempt status to a nonprofit created or controlled by a private company. “If these facts are accurate and fully disclosed to the IRS, I think the IRS should withhold 501(c)(3) status,” he said.

Ohio law requires schools to obtain 501(c)(3) status. The federal government allows 27 months to apply. Some charter schools are created and disappear in less than two years.

University and Brown Street were created by a White Hat attorney in September 2011, or 28 months ago. The board for each school, represented by the same attorney, had yet to file as of mid-March.

White Hat questioned

Last year, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) barred the creation of four White Hat schools when the state determined that boilerplate contracts would strip too much power from the boards.

“So directors who owe their position and continued appointment to White Hat are voting a lucrative operator contract to White Hat. Since a community school is a public entity, ODE feels this is not permissible,” ODE’s Mark Michael wrote in an email rejecting White Hat’s applications.

This was a rare event, though, because the legislature has shifted direct regulation of charter schools from the state to school-choice friendly groups known as sponsors — such as Buckeye Community Hope Foundation, a two-time sponsor of the school at 107 S. Arlington St.

Initially sponsored by ODE and known as Hope Academy University Campus, the state handed over control after State Rep. John Husted — now secretary of state and a recipient of at least $139,033 in campaign contributions from the Brennans — sponsored legislation that effectively stripped ODE oversight.

Buckeye Community Hope then took over. Peggy Young, director of the group’s Education Division, takes the position that the boards have ultimate authority.

“We’ve seen boards fire management companies, so in that sense they have ultimate control of the school,” Young said.

However, when 10 school boards attempted to fire White Hat, it didn’t work out so well. Because White Hat had trademarked school names and bought up real estate through affiliate companies, the renegade boards couldn’t force White Hat out of the building.

All but one has since contracted with another private company, this one a Delaware-based affiliate of a Florida company founded by a former White Hat employee.

Young saw that as the board maintaining control.

“I’ve had boards do that. They move next door. They have the students. The records,” Young said.

The old buildings didn’t stay empty. They have students and teachers, and board members who say they were recruited by White Hat.

And their attorney, Amy Goodson, whose name is on incorporation papers for several White Hat-managed schools, said it’s “pretty typical” that lack of wherewithal forces boards to enter contracts with big name companies.

“What happens is, I can’t say broadly, but in the case of University and Brown Street, those were education models that White Hat creates,” said Goodson, who is paid by the board. “It’s kind of a chicken and an egg thing because you have to have someone start this.”

Burrell is unaware of her predecessors’ disapproval of White Hat. To the contrary, it’s been “fabulous” working with White Hat, she said.

When asked if she could provide some of the financial information that prior boards continue to seek in court, she replied: “That comes under the management company, not the board. So you would have to interview those persons at White Hat.”

Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com. Contributing to this story were NewsOutlet reporters Matt Hawout and Sara Rodino.

TheNewsOutlet.org is a collaborative effort among the Youngstown State University journalism program, the University of Akron, Cuyahoga Community College and professional media outlets including, WYSU (88.5-FM) and The (Youngstown) Vindicator, The Akron Beacon Journal and Rubber City Radio (Akron).

Publicly funded, privately run charter schools consume more than $900 million in state and local tax dollars. A comprehensive evaluation has been difficult.

This three-part series launches a multiyear project to create a database and publish authoritative stories so parents can make informed choices and the public can understand this form of government privatization. This project will be led by the Beacon Journal and the NewsOutlet, a student-journalism lab headquartered at Youngstown State University in association with the University of Akron and Cuyahoga Community College.

Here are the installments in this first series:

Part 1: Many charter schools lack transparency.

Part 2: Close ties between for-profit management companies and the boards raise questions about tax-free, nonprofit status.

Part 3: Public school districts use local funds to transport charter-school kids.

A Cuyahoga Falls man was given a four-year suspended prison sentence and two years of probation after pleading guilty to felonious assault in an incident last fall outside the Lux Nightclub and Ultra Lounge in downtown Akron.

Joseph R. Glover, 37, was scheduled to stand trial Monday in Summit County Common Pleas Court before Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands, but the case was resolved with his plea to a second-degree felony.

Under state sentencing guidelines, such a charge carries a potential sentence of two to eight years in prison.

Prosecutors had asked Rowlands for a six-year prison term, but the victim, Christopher Burgess, addressed the court and said he would go along with what the judge decided to do.

The incident occurred Nov. 8, prosecutors said, after a bouncer kicked Burgess out of the club. He then passed out on the sidewalk off West Exchange Street.

As Burgess slowly got up after being roused by the bouncer, a crowd began to form. Prosecutors said Glover emerged from the crowd and punched Burgess from behind, knocking him unconscious and breaking the right side of his jaw.

Prosecutors said Burgess apparently suffered a second facial fracture from striking the pavement.

Summit County court records show Glover pleaded guilty in 2004 to one count of attempted aggravated assault and one count of simple assault. He served eight months in prison and a term of probation following his release.

Ed Meyer can be reached at 330-996-3784 or emeyer@thebeaconjournal.com.

The IRS provides its employees a list of questions to be asked if a charter school applies for nonprofit, tax-exempt status. Some answers may “indicate possible problems.”

The IRS says the answers to the 74 guidance questions as they pertain to individual applications are not public record.

Below are some of the questions, and how White Hat schools compare.

1. “Did the management company apply for the charter, form the corporation, draft the by-laws, mail in Form 1023, or send the check for the user fee?”

Ohio incorporation records show that many White Hat-operated charter schools and for-profit management companies that oversee charters were created by John F. Martin, whose address is that of the law firm of Brennan, Manna & Diamond in Akron.

2. “If the school has legal representation, is it the same as the management company?”

In the case of West Academy, Life Skills of Cleveland and some other White Hat schools, legal counsel serving the boards also serves White Hat through Brennan, Manna & Diamond.

3. “Were other management companies considered? Did they submit bids?”

Board members serving multiple schools said they have not considered a company other than White Hat.

4. “Does the management company provide comprehensive services?”

Board members who were interviewed said White Hat is responsible for all operations. Contracts entered as evidence in a lawsuit involving some schools indicated that more than 95 percent of school revenues went to White Hat’s affiliates.

5. “Were multiple [nonprofit] applications filed at the same time, involving schools managed by the same management company?”

Amy Goodson, attorney for several school boards that employ White Hat, will simultaneously file multiple applications for several schools. “I find it most efficient that when I have multiple new schools to sit down and file them all at once,” she said.

6. “If there are other similar schools who are applying at the same time, are the provisions in the agreements identical (boilerplate)?”

Documents creating these schools, and on file with the Secretary of State’s Office, are nearly identical and were often submitted, usually on the same date, by attorney’s from Brennan, Manna & Diamond.

7. “Does the school provide free advertisement of the management company’s name on the website or facility?”

The parent website for all White Hat-managed schools features a silhouette of a white hat. The website is copyrighted by White Hat Management. On related websites, copyrights are listed for “The Academies,” the K-8 schools, and “Life Skills,” the dropout recovery programs.

8. “Is the school allowed to keep any improvements it makes to the curriculum?

In an ongoing lawsuit in which several school boards have taken issue with White Hat Management, the company has taken the position that curriculum reflects the work of the company and therefore is proprietary.

9. “Are the termination provisions biased in favor of the management company?”

If the boards do not renew contracts, White Hat’s position in court is that it owns most of the assets, including the building. The board, then, is forced to find a new location.

10. “Does the school have any rights to the curriculum if the management agreement is terminated?”

In the court case, White Hat officials claim the curriculum to be propriety.

11. “If management company requires the use of a name by the school, does the school have any rights to the name if the management agreement is terminated?”

The names of several White Hat-managed schools are trademarked by WHLS of Ohio, LLC, a Nevada company with the same mailing address as White Hat’s downtown Akron office.

12. “Do any of the school board members have, or have they had, a family or business relationship with the management company or any of the owners of the management company?”

David DuBois is a friend of Nancy Brennan. Their daughters attended the Elms together. David DuBois and his wife accepted an invitation from Nancy Brennan, daughter of White Hat founder David Brennan, to serve the schools.

13. “Are the board members selected or appointed by the management company?”

Several board members indicated that they were approached by White Hat. Some schools that have undergone name changes, and have had paperwork handled by White Hat, kept the same boards.

14. “Are they members of the local community, including parents, teachers and community leaders?”

No interviews with board members indicated that any had enrolled their children at a White Hat school. Some board members serve schools in other metropolitan areas or other parts of the state.

15. “Is the board involved in the active oversight of the management company, the operations of the school, and major decisions concerning the school?”

Interviews with board members and contracts with White Hat suggest that the company makes most decisions.

16. “Does the board have the authority to set and approve the following major school policies: budget, curriculum, admissions procedures, student conduct, school calendars, and dispute resolution procedures?”

In court documents, a contract between White Hat and the Brown Street Academy in Akron says that the school treasurer is permitted to amend the budget, submit it to the board for approval, “which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or denied.” The contract also gives the company control over enrollment and recruitment.

17. “Does the board have any responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the school?”

Records show White Hat handles day-to-day operations.

18. “Are the school’s administrators, teachers and similar key personnel employed by the school?”

The Brown Street contract says that the management company, or “operator,” employs all personnel, with the approval of the board.

19. “Does the school have the authority to hire and terminate school administrators, teachers and similar key personnel?”

Although the contract says that the hires and dismissals cannot be done without securing board approval, recently dismissed and newly hired employees at two schools were announced at a February board meeting after White Hat had completed the personnel changes.

20. “Is the management company a liaison between the school and the chartering authority?”

The sponsor, or charter authority, said they often work directly with White Hat to ensure compliance.

21. “Does the management company have the right to attend or vote at board meetings?”

A representative of and employees of White Hat attend each meeting. They do not vote.

22. “Is the compensation based on total income, including all fees, grants, contributions and unusual receipts?”

Management fee is a flat percentage (95.5 percent) of total state and federal revenues.

23. “Does the management company keep most or all of any funds raised for the school?”

In its court case, White Hat maintains that the board pays the company with public funds to equip and operate the school. Those funds become private money as a result, and White Hat then owns most of the assets.

24. “Does the management company or an affiliate provide any ancillary services to the school, such as ... facility or equipment leasing, technology contracting, furnishings, fixtures, textbooks, food, transportation, etc.?”

White Hat, through domestic and out-of-state affiliates, owns several properties that house its schools.

25. “If leased from the management company or an affiliate of the management company, is there a reason the facility is not leased directly by the school?”

The contracts give the management company the authority to secure and pay for the location.

26. “Are any of the agreements for services contingent upon the simultaneous execution of the management agreement, or do any agreements automatically terminate if any other agreement is terminated?”

The contract with Brown Street suggests that all functions of the school are subject to the agreement.

The victim whose body was found Saturday night in a burning vehicle on Yukon Avenue in Akron has been identified as a Marshallville man.

Robert Workman III, 30, suffered extensive burns, but the cause of death remains under investigation pending additional forensic studies, a spokesman for the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office said late Monday afternoon.

Workman is from Deerfield Avenue in Marshallville, a village in the northeast section of Wayne County. The agency’s news release on the preliminary autopsy findings had no additional information about the death.

Akron Police Lt. Rick Edwards, the department’s spokesman, said the incident remains under investigation and no further details were available Monday evening.

Police responded to a call at 11:12 p.m. Saturday reporting a sport utility vehicle fully engulfed in flames on Yukon near Stoner Street on the city’s west side.

After firefighters responded and put out the fire, the victim’s body was found inside the vehicle, Edwards said earlier.

Anyone with information about the incident or the fire is asked to contact the Akron police detective bureau at 330-375-2490.

Information also may be provided anonymously by calling Summit County Crimestoppers at 330-434-COPS(2677), or by texting TIPSCO, plus the tip, to 274637. Tipsters may qualify for a cash reward.

Ed Meyer can be reached at 330-996-3784 or at emeyer@thebeaconjournal.com.

The number tells the story of a winter that will not end.

And that number, 69.5, is no April Fools’ Day joke.

It represents how many inches of snow had been measured at the National Weather Service office at Akron-Canton Airport through the end of March.

That is the most snowfall since the winter of 1977-78, when a record-setting 82 inches fell.

A total of 10.2 inches of snow was measured in March, making this the sixth snowiest winter season.

That standing could change if there are snowstorms in April. According to the National Weather Service, no snow is forecast over the next several days, but a blast this month would not be totally unexpected. The most snow recorded locally in an April was 20.9 inches in 1987.

Rounding out the top five snowiest years are: 1960-61, 81.5 inches; 1962-63, 75.2 inches; 1974-75, 72.7 inches; and 1950-51, 72.3 inches.

Ohio’s public school buses are traveling farther each year to pick up fewer kids, and it’s costing taxpayers more money.

It’s an unintended consequence of school choice. State officials have forced traditional public schools to crisscross their cities to pick up and deliver children to privately run charter schools, often while cutting transportation to their own kids.

The cost for the door-to-door service is significant: About 44 percent more per child, according to an analysis of statewide data.

A child attending a traditional public school and transported on a district bus cost on average $4.30 per day in 2012. The average cost for a charter-school student: $6.18, or $1.88 more per day.

Since then, 22,000 more children have enrolled in charter schools, the state has stopped helping school districts buy new buses and other state transportation assistance has failed to keep pace with costs.

In effect, the cost for transporting kids to the privately run schools has come out of the pockets of local taxpayers.

Charter school advocates know it’s a big expense for school districts, but there is little evidence that they have offered much support in the legislature.

“Transportation is probably the second or third largest issue for all public schools,” said Ron Adler, president of the Ohio Coalition For Quality Education, a school choice and charter advocate. “It’s a problem not only for charters but it’s a problem for districts. In our view, whatever it is today, it’s going to be worse next year because of the cost of fuel, because of the state funding.”

“It’s a financial juggling act for everybody,” said Adler, who added that his organization has never calculated how many charter students get a ride to school or how many public school students must walk.

Charter schools can receive state subsidies to provide their own transportation. But the majority, 391 of 406 charter schools, prefer to push that obligation onto local school districts.

And school districts can’t keep up with the demand for equipment and logistics software, so they’re turning to private bus contractors. Districts don’t have to buy buses, but they pay more per mile.

A private contractor on average charged districts $5.45 per child to go to a traditional school and $12 to a charter school. The difference is the distance: Charter-school kids on average must travel more than two miles, or twice as far.

When a school determines that a student’s travel requirements are excessive, it can pay a stipend to parents. Those have tripled for charter-school parents since 2005, from 1,732 to 5,365 in 2012, but fallen by a third for children attending traditional schools, from 1,243 to 814.

Stipends are about $233 each.

Charter school advantage

In Akron, students who live within two miles of a school must walk. Even if a child enrolls across town in an Akron school, such as the Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts or the downtown science and technology middle school, parents must arrange transportation.

However, enrollment in a charter school (many of which advertise free transportation) usually guarantees a ride at the expense of Akron schools — a district that is attempting to economize by closing or merging school buildings.

Akron has closed 19 schools in the past decade as 21 charter schools have been added.

In Akron this year, for example, there was a direct relationship between the addition of busing for charter school students and the cancellation of busing for its own public school students.

Affected were 198 Akron freshmen who received Metro bus passes through a 37-year-old desegregation program. Their passes are being phased out, and the $400,000 savings has been diverted to Petermann, a private bus company that is adding routes to accommodate nine new charter schools in Akron.

To bus more than 600 charter students last year, Akron paid Petermann nearly $900 more per pupil than it cost the district to bus its own.

It’s not that Petermann is less efficient. The Cincinnati-based company spends 12 cents less to transport a student one mile, but charter school children travel farther. The additional distance cost Akron $551,018 in 2012.

Statewide ride

In contrast to shorter rides to and from traditional public schools, Ohio’s bus fleet — district and privately owned — traveled 15,627 miles farther each day in 2012 because of longer routes for charter students. That equates to an added expense of $84,817 daily (about the price of a new bus) and $15,267,089 yearly (about what Akron, Canton and Youngstown spent together).

Because almost all brick-and-mortar charter schools are in urban districts, those districts are paying most of the price.

In the past, the state provided two types of assistance: One to replace aging buses, and the other to defray the costs of operating those buses.

The state, which at one time appropriated between $9 million and $33 million annually for bus purchases, zeroed-out that account in 2010.

From 2005 to 2012, state reports show total transportation costs jumped from $620.6 million to $730.6 million, about an 18 percent increase; much of the increase can be attributed to increased fuel costs.

About $300 million of the total cost is paid by local schools, and the state has increased its support only 8 percent during that period.

Akron illustrates the mounting costs.

The district transported 770 charter school students last year; 167 on its own buses and the rest by hiring Petermann for $1.5 million. The difference: Akron spent on average $1,251 annually per child to bus its own and gave Petermann $2,149 to bus a charter student.

That’s an improvement from 2009 when Akron handed over all charter-school students and paid Petermann $2.3 million because charter schools insisted their children be transported at a specific time. The company billed more than $3,000 per student that year. The year before, Akron paid nearly double.

“They insisted on having time frames in which we could not meet,” said Debra Foulk, business manager for Akron schools. “They all wanted to go with the same time my kids had to get there. So we moved them all over to Petermann.”

And meanwhile, Akron must pay Petermann when it bills for higher fuel costs, but Akron can’t bill the state for the same. The added expense drains general revenue funds that must be replaced by local taxpayers.

Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com.