By Marilyn Miller

A framed white towel with a black “L” embroidered in the center hangs on the wall in an office of the Summit County Sheriff’s Department.

The “L” is for Lori, as in Lori Galloway, and the towel speaks to her accomplishment.

As the sheriff faced a budget crisis requiring across-the-board cuts in the jail and elsewhere, Galloway conceived a plan two years ago to save thousands of dollars.

An employee of the county’s finance and budget department, she wondered if local hotels might have linens that could be donated.

“Lori asked if she could send a letter out to various hotels, motels and all the places that use towels, wash cloths and bedding and ask for donations to use in the jail,” said Sheriff Steve Barry. “It turned out to be a very good idea.”

She sent out more than 20 letters, and so far the donations have saved the county about $10,000 since the project began. Some remain to be logged into the county.

“I just told them we are in financial constraints and we recently heard that when they deem a towel no longer good for guests they throw them away, so I asked if they would consider passing them along to us for the inmates,” Galloway said. “We started getting not just towels, but washcloths, sheets, pillowcases and even luggage carts.”

“We even heard back from the University of Akron when they took over Quaker Square. I was surprised that there were some pretty nice towels they were giving away to us. The towels are definitely nicer than what our budget could afford, and we buy in bulk.”

The main contributors to the towel project are the Sheraton Suites and Value Place. Even with the donations, however, she said the county still runs out of washcloths and towels and has to make purchases.

“We’re scrimping everywhere we can,” Barry said. “We sanitize the towels before we use them. Nothing is passed out to the inmates without being sanitized first, including the free blankets we get from the federal government’s Department of Defense.”

Galloway said every expenditure is examined.

“This year, we saved about $25,000 by reducing the number of trash runs in the jail. We’re not emptying trash cans when they are only half full. That way, we only used half as many trash bags used in 2013.”

Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.

By Marilyn Miller

At the Summit County jail, the gym is silent and the library empty.

For those locked up for alcohol or drug violations, there no longer are meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.

There are no GED or art classes from Kent State University.

No anger management program.

There are no Sunday worship services and fewer visitations.

The one thing where there is a notable increase is assaults on inmates and guards.

The county sheriff is in a financial crisis, and the ramifications are clear at the jail.

“We are severely understaffed. There’s just not enough staff to handle all the prisoners,” said Sheriff Steve Barry.

A wing will be closed and prisoners of all types moved closer to one another — or released — to match staffing.

Voters defeated a proposal in November that would have raised the county sales tax by a quarter percent to help with law enforcement costs. The issue, which would have raised about $20 million annually for 10 years, originally was proposed to also fund construction of a downtown arena. It was soundly defeated.

Since the deep recession of 2008, county budget cutbacks and reduced funding from the state, the sheriff has not been able to fill vacancies created by departures.

“In 2009 we lost 30 deputies to layoffs, now the number is so low that we have to utilize overtime just to keep the jail at a bare bone in staffing,” Barry said. “Safety has always been my No. 1 concern.”

He has been reluctant to share specific numbers for fear of making guards vulnerable. That is, until deputies said: “Do you think inmates don’t know there’s a shortage when they see one or two deputies covering an area where there used to be four or five?” said Barry.

There are 21 pods in the jail, each able to house 24 to 48 inmates. Capacity is 671, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

However, there are 150 jail deputies and 19 supervisors.

That loss of the free-time programs has affected discipline.

“Those outlets were sometimes used as leverage with the inmates, to help handle discipline problems, but now we have nothing to bargain with anymore,” said jail commander Maj. Dale Soltis. “It creates a volatile atmosphere, much more than it used to be.”

Barry said tempers have flared and people are getting hurt. Deputies do not carry firearms, but instead wear a belt equipped with a taser gun, pepper spray and a radio.

“We’ve had several pretty serious assaults,” he said. “About three or four weeks ago an inmate stabbed another in the head with a homemade weapon. He sharpened up the wooden piece of a toilet plunger.

“Six weeks ago a deputy was bitten by an inmate. Then we had a deputy attacked about six months ago when he was checking the door near an inmate. He was seriously assaulted and required hospitalization and follow-up care. The inmate had him against a railing on a second-floor tier and was beating him. He was knocked back, but managed to avoid going over the rail.”

Barry said the deputy’s radio had been knocked across the floor, so he couldn’t call for help. It was another inmate who alerted other guards.

There’s no flexibility, because the budget shortfall affects the entire sheriff’s office.

The number of detectives has dwindled from 12 when Barry was a detective to four.

When court is in session, several jail deputies may be occupied shuttling and guarding inmates.

As for placement of inmates, juveniles cannot be in the line of vision of adults, let alone housed with adults.

A hospitalized inmate requires around-the-clock watch, and the county has to pay the medical bills. This month, an inmate had a heart attack and another had a baby.

To control those costs, the sheriff and judges negotiated a deal a year ago that identifies “viable candidate” inmates with major medical conditions and allows for their release, according to Greg Macko, chief of corrections.

“It not only frees up the fact that we don’t have to pay the hospital bill, but also frees up a deputy because then we don’t have to guard them,” Macko said. “Obviously if you have someone in jail for murder or aggravated robbery the judges aren’t going to authorize those releases. The furlough is for nonviolent felonies or those charged with misdemeanors.”

Will the county place another tax issue on the ballot to help the sheriff’s department?

“I don’t see that happening anytime soon,” Barry said. “We don’t feel the public sentiment is there and it’s very expensive to advertise.

“We just don’t have any resources left,” he said.

Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.

Monday: Effects of jail budget cuts on inmates

Tuesday: Letting people out

CLEVELAND: Ohio’s environmental regulators and a federal agency that maintains Lake Erie’s shipping channels are at odds again over dumping sediment in Lake Erie.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is proposing to take sediment from the Cuyahoga River and Cleveland’s harbor and dump it into the lake — just months after backing off from the same idea after the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency objected.

The federal agency believes the sediment from the river is no longer polluted and can be safely put in the lake, which is about $5 million cheaper than putting it in a disposal facility near downtown Cleveland.

Ohio EPA is opposed to that plan. It disputed a statement released by the Army Corps that said the agency’s scientists had confirmed that putting sediment in the lake “is not expected to result in significant adverse” environmental impacts.

Ohio EPA Director Craig Butler told the Plain Dealer that he was disappointed that the Army Corps again wants to put “contaminated material” in the lake. He said the sediment could increase toxic PCB levels in fish by 10 to 20 percent.

Butler said the Army Corps used a lesser standard to determine that sediment was safe.

Lt. Col. Karl Jansen, commander of the Buffalo District of the Army Corps of Engineers, said in a statement that he stood by the finding and the methods used.

Ohio’s attorney general sent a letter last week to the Army Corps calling for a public hearing on the issue.

The Ohio EPA and Army Corps also disagree on whether the federal agency could dispose of the material in Lake Erie without a permit.

The two sides have said that they would work on finding new ways to get rid of the tons of silt that is dredged from the harbor in Toledo and dumped into the lake.

State lawmakers last spring approved spending $10 million to research alternative uses. Butler has set a goal of reducing or eliminating the dumping of sediment dredged from Toledo’s harbor into the lake within five years.

Beacon Journal staff report

Police are investigating an incident involving a 14-year-old male who was robbed of his cell phone while walking home from school.

The teen was walking on South Firestone Boulevard near Brown Street about 2:30 p.m. Friday when a van pulled up next to him and two males got out and approached him. One suspect had his hand in his waistband, as if he had a gun, while the second patted the teen down and took his cell phone and charger. The duo then got back into the van and fled, while the teen went home and called the police, according to a report released Monday by the Akron police.

Police described the suspects as black males. One was 16 to 17 years old, about 5 foot 7 inches and 140 to 150 pounds, with dreadlocks. He was wearing a denim jacket with a cloth hood and had slightly protruding teeth with a small gap between the top, middle two teeth. The second suspect is 17, with no further description available. A third male was possibly the driver of the silver or gray van.

Police asked that anyone with information on the incident call the detective bureau at 330-375-2490.

Akron police say two recent robberies involved a couple who claimed to be brother and sister.

The first robbery involved an online dating service.

A 31-year-old man reported a woman he met online came to his residence in the 2100 block of 6th St. Southwest Monday morning with a man she called her brother.

Within minutes after the two arrived, three men entered the home and robbed the victim at gunpoint of an Xbox, a gold necklace and $8.

The second robbery was early Saturday morning near the intersection of Brown and East Thornton streets.

The victim reported he picked up a woman on Virginia Avenue, who had her brother with her. She asked the victim if he could drop her brother off and he agreed, but as they were driving the brother put a gun to the man’s head and demanded that he stop the car.

The victim was ordered to sit in the front passenger seat as the man drove the car. He demanded the victim’s wallet but when he saw there was no money in the wallet he demanded the victim go to an ATM and withdraw cash. When the victim stated he didn’t have any money in the bank, the man forced the victim out of the car near South Main Street and Russell Avenue and drove off.

The car is still missing. It is a tan, 2007, Mazda 3 with the Ohio license plates FHK9460.

AKRON

Robbers strike twice

AKRON: Akron police say two recent robberies involved a couple who claimed to be brother and sister.

The first robbery involved an online dating service.

A 31-year-old man reported a woman he met online came to his residence in the 2100 block of Sixth Street Southwest on Monday morning with a man she called her brother.

Within minutes after the two arrived, three men entered the home and robbed the victim at gunpoint of an Xbox, a gold necklace and $8.

The second robbery was early Saturday morning near the intersection of Brown and East Thornton streets.

The victim reported he picked up a woman on Virginia Avenue, who had her brother with her. She asked the victim if he could drop her brother off and he agreed, but as they were driving the brother put a gun to the man’s head and demanded that he stop the car.

The victim was ordered to sit in the front passenger seat as the man drove the car. He demanded the victim’s wallet but when he saw there was no money in the wallet he demanded the victim go to an ATM and withdraw cash.

When the victim stated he didn’t have any money in the bank, the man forced the victim out of the car near South Main Street and Russell Avenue and drove off.

The car is still missing.

The vehicle is described as a tan 2007 Mazda 3 with the Ohio license plates FHK9460.

Carwash robbery

AKRON: Akron police are searching for an armed black male suspected of robbing another man at a carwash in Ellet on Saturday morning.

The incident occurred at a carwash on South Canton Road at 8 a.m. Saturday. The 44-year-old victim told police that the robber approached on foot, brandished a gun, stole his wallet, then fled on foot.

Police said the robber is in his mid to late 20s, about 5 feet, 10 inches tall, and weighs roughly 165 pounds.

The suspect wore black jeans, a yellow coat and a black skull cap.

Police asked that anyone with information on the incident call the detective bureau at 330-375-2490.

Teen’s phone stolen

AKRON: Police are investigating an incident involving a 14-year-old male who was robbed of his cellphone while walking home from school.

The teen was walking on South Firestone Boulevard near Brown Street about 2:30 p.m. Friday when a van pulled up next to him and two males got out and approached him.

One suspect had his hand in his waistband, as if he had a gun, while the second patted the teen down and took his cellphone and charger.

The two then got back into the van and fled, while the teen went home and called the police, according to a report released Monday by the Akron police.

Police described the suspects as black males. One was 16 to 17 years old, about 5 feet, 7 inches tall and 140 to 150 pounds, with dreadlocks.

He was wearing a denim jacket with a cloth hood and had slightly protruding teeth with a small gap between the top middle two teeth.

The second suspect is 17, with no further description available.

A third male was possibly the driver of the silver or gray van.

Police asked that anyone with information on the incident call the detective bureau at 330-375-2490.

Arson investigation

AKRON: Akron authorities are investigating a report of a suspected arson in the 200 block of Cranz Place.

A female homeowner reported that someone threw a lit bottle of gasoline onto her porch twice — once at 4 p.m. and then again at 9 p.m. Friday.

The first fire didn’t spread and extinguished itself.

On the second attempt, firefighters responded and put out a small fire.

Authorities said Monday that they have a possible suspect identified.

No charges had been filed.

Quaker Square fire

AKRON: Akron firefighters suspect an electrical fire at the University of Akron’s Quaker Square Residence Hall on Monday morning started in a heater in an eighth-floor room.

Sprinklers put out the fire, which started around 9:40 a.m.

Fire and smoke damage was limited to one room, but authorities are still assessing the extent of the water damage.

Students had left for the holiday break and were not in the building.

There were no injuries reported.

University officials are in the process of identifying the affected rooms and notifying students.

Trash schedule

AKRON: The city’s trash service will have a one-day delay the next two weeks because of the holidays.

There will be no trash service Dec. 25 in observance of Christmas, with service resuming Friday and Saturday.

There will be no service Jan. 1 in observance of New Year’s Day, with pickups starting again Jan. 2 and 3.

The city’s holiday trash pickup will be Jan. 2 through 7.

Akron residents may place extra trash in the form of wrapping paper and boxes alongside their trash carts on their normal collection day.

Residents who want to put a larger volume of household trash as opposed to boxes and wrappings should call Akron’s 311 Call Center at 311 from any residential phone in the city or 330-375-2311 to pre-schedule one of the three special pickups allotted to each household per year.

The city will also collect Christmas trees after the holidays.

Trees are to be placed alongside trash carts on the normal collection day.

KENT STATE

Dean appointed

KENT: Kent State University has named James L. Blank as the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

He had been serving as interim dean since Nov. 1, 2012.

A neuroscientist, Blank has worked at Kent State for more than 25 years.

Prior to serving as interim dean, he was professor and chair of the Department of Biological Sciences.

“He is that rare person who combines success as a scientist with a firm and deep understanding of the humanities,” said Todd Diacon, Kent State’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.

NORTHEAST Ohio

Hospital restrictions

AKRON: Akron-area hospitals are discouraging children from visiting hospitalized patients and urging anyone with illness to stay away as flu cases increase in the region.

Anyone with fever, cough, chills, sore throat, headache, muscle aches, vomiting and diarrhea is asked not to visit patients, according to a news release issued Monday by the Akron Regional Hospital Association.

The visitation restrictions apply to these area hospitals: Affinity Medical Center in Massillon, Edwin Shaw Rehabilitation Institute in Cuyahoga Falls, Akron General Medical Center, Lodi Community Hospital, Alliance Community Hospital, Aultman Hospital, Aultman Specialty Hospital, Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center, Medina Hospital, Mercy Medical Center, Regency Barberton, Robinson Memorial Hospital, Select Specialty Hospital Akron, Select Specialty Hospital Canton, Summa Akron City Hospital, Summa Barberton Hospital, Summa Rehab Hospital, Summa St. Thomas Hospital and Western Reserve Hospital in Cuyahoga Falls.

Akron Children’s Hospital is developing its own seasonal visitation guidelines.

STARK COUNTY

Pantry holiday hours

CANTON: Stark County Hunger Task Force will be closing its emergency pantry on Thursday and Friday in observance of the Christmas holiday.

The pantry, located at 408 Ninth St., will resume regular business hours beginning Dec. 29 from 9:15 a.m. to 3:35 p.m.

For additional information, call 330-455-6667.

KSU holiday hours

JACKSON TWP.: Kent State University at Stark will be closed Wednesday through Jan. 1.

During this time, all administrative offices, the library, the bookstore and the conference center will be closed.

Offices and buildings will resume normal business hours Jan. 2 and the bookstore will resume normal hours on Jan. 5.

MEDINA

McInerney, Linda R., 71, of Wadsworth. Died Sunday. Hilliard-Rospert.

Rufener, George Keith, 78, of Wadsworth. Died Saturday. Hilliard-Rospert.

Teresko, William, 92, of Hinckley Township. Died Sunday. Hilliard-Rospert, Wadsworth.

PORTAGE

Meredith, Buford James “Tootie” III, 68, of Ravenna. Died Thursday. Bissler & Sons, Kent.

Messino, Susan, 59, of Kent. Died Saturday. Bissler & Sons.

Smithberger, Shirley L., 77, of Randolph. Died Thursday. Wood-Kortright-Borkoski, Ravenna.

STARK

Ammond, Clyde R. Jr., 82, of Massillon. Died Wednesday. Paquelet & Arnold-Lynch.

Baker, Ralph E., 90, of Massillon. Died Saturday. Paquelet.

Conti, Janice A., 82, of Massillon. Died Thursday. Paquelet.

Murdock, David S., 60, of Massillon. Died Wednesday. Paquelet.

OTHER

Moneskey, Darlene R., 48, of Akron. Died Friday. Adams Mason.

CANTON: The Board of Education has voted unanimously to name its new athletic stadium after the New Orleans Saints owner who has committed $10 million to help pay for it.

Monday’s decision not to keep the Fawcett name on the venue between McKinley High School and the Pro Football Hall of Fame drew criticism from five people who attended the school board’s 8 a.m. meeting.

They included Eric Resnick, a former school board member, and Mary Cirelli Fawcett, a former City Council member.

Resnick said it was “wrong” to remove the Fawcett name in favor of someone who is not tied to the community.

The former councilwoman said she was married for 8½ years to the late Richard Fawcett, a great nephew to the late John Fawcett, the athlete and school board member for whom the stadium is named. She said some 60 people had opined against the name change in a Facebook poll she took.

Mayor William J. Healy II said the structure that now exists is called Fawcett Stadium, but that it will be replaced by another. He suggested that the school board wait until construction before calling the new facility Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

“This will be a new stadium,” he said. “It will be a new configuration. It will have new uses.”

Board Vice President Ryan Brahler agreed with that perspective.

“I’ve always been told this is going to be a new stadium,” he said.

Speaking as a member of the board’s finance committee, Brahler said Fawcett needs $75 million worth of repairs.

“The Canton City Schools do not have the funds to maintain a stadium that’s this old,” said Board Member Richard Milligan, who also serves on the Finance Committee.

He said the city was “blessed” to have a partner like the hall of fame bring resources to the community.

Like its predecessor, Benson Stadium will be the site of the NFL’s annual Hall of Fame Game and local football games.

The naming resolution says the memory of John Fawcett will be honored with displays inside the stadium and the hall of fame.

Canton Parks and Recreation has a new one-stop online reservation system.

Users will be able to reserve shelters and sign up for recreational programs from their own homes.

Not all services will be immediately available online, but the majority of offerings can be reserved and purchased by going to www.cantonohio.gov/parksandrecreation.

The new system is hosted by Active.net.

The online reservation system was promised by the Canton Park Commission and the Canton Joint Recreation District as part of their merger.

Park shelters in Canton can also be reserved without deposits.

Full payment will be required when reservations are made.

In 2015, outdoor shelters will cost $40 for residents and $50 for nonresidents. Outdoor shelters with kitchenettes will cost $50 for residents and $60 for nonresidents. The indoor shelter, Garaux on Raff Road, will be $150 for residents and $200 for nonresidents.

Shelters can be reserved up to one year in advance.

Users are asked to visit the city website and create accounts, a one-time step, to make transactions easier.

All customers who create accounts online by March 1 will be entered in a drawing with prizes.

You can create an account online at http://apm.activecommunities.com/cantonparks/home.

It’s been a mixed year for northern monkshood, an at-risk plant with purple flowers that grows in just one spot in Summit County.

The news is “not all good… but it’s not all bad,” said biologist Rob Curtis of the federally endangered plant that grows in a corner of the Gorge Metro Park between Akron and Cuyahoga Falls.

The total number of plants dropped to 166 this year, he said.

That’s a big drop from 2013’s total of 273, he said.

This is one of the lowest totals of monkshood plants since 2005.

But the 166 plants were bigger, more robust and healthier than the plants from the previous years, he added.

They actually produced more biomass — roots, leaves, branches and flowers — than the 273 plants did in 2013.

This is an encouraging sign, he said.

The number of plants in the Gorge dropped from 659 in 1980 to 13 in 2000 before rebounding with park district help.

The northern monkshood grows in one area of the Gorge park that provides a specialized micro-habitat — with all of the plants near each other near a wet but sheltered rocky overhang.

The northern monkshood — once called wolfsbane because the poison it produces was used to kill wolves and scare off werewolves — is found only in Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin and New York. It is found at only a few sites in Ohio. Some monkshoods are commonly found in gardens.

The area in the Gorge park has been enclosed by a fence to keep hungry white-tailed deer away and to protect the plants from woodchucks, slugs, caterpillars, invasive plants and human intruders. Road salt remains a threat.

Today the park district is being a little less protective of the monkshood and is allowing the monkshood to grow more naturally and to compete with other plants, Curtis said.

“It’s not completely hands off, but the monkshood is on its own a little more,” he said. “We appear to be in a very stable phase.”

He said 2011 was the best-ever year with 297 plants. But the plant was hit by an unknown disease that caused the plants to wilt and die before producing seed. It might have been a fungus but that is unclear, Curtis said.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture tried unsuccessfully to determine the cause of the die-off.

“We feared that we might lose the whole thing, all our plants. We weren’t sure if anything was going to come back,” he said. “It didn’t look good.”

The following year, the park produced only 239 plants. That total climbed to 273 in 2013 before dropping this year.

Efforts to clone the monkshood at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens to boost its numbers in the wild has had less-than-stellar results.

The zoo cloned 150 plants in the laboratory over the years, but efforts to get them to grow in Summit County repeatedly have failed, he said.

The park district planted 15 cloned northern monkshood in 2006, 59 in 2007 and 69 in 2008. None survived.

Most of the cloned plants died the winter after they were planted, although a handful reappeared in the spring and then died, he said.

No clones were planted in the park system in 2009 or 2010.

In late 2010, the zoo planted seven clones in a Cincinnati garden on zoo grounds. They survived. Two clones from those plants were transplanted to the park in 2011. One survived another year. One died.

But the cloning efforts are continuing and the park has requested 58 new plants from the zoo, Curtis said.

New, fresh genetic materials from the monkshood were delivered by the park district to the Cincinnati zoo last spring, he said.

Zoo researchers are looking at taking more time for the plants to adapt to growing in the laboratory to growing outside in the wild, he said. The plan is to let them get bigger and stronger before transplanting them, he said.

It is unclear when the next monkshoods will be cloned in Cincinnati or when they would be ready to be transplanted into the Gorge park, he said.

The park district has invested about $12,000 for the monkshood cloning work done by the Cincinnati Zoo over the first five years, said Mike Johnson, chief of resource management for the park district.

Partners in the cloning project include the Akron Garden Club and the Holden Arboretum east of Cleveland in Kirtland.

Summit Metro Parks is also seeking other suitable locations in Northeast Ohio where the plant might thrive. It is working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.

AKRON: Doug Piekarz might not speak Klingon, but he easily draws parallels between the zoo’s wildlife and life forms Captain Jean-Luc Picard dealt with aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise.

“If you’ve ever watched flamingos, they are the Borg without the mean streak,” Piekarz casually drops into a conversation, assuming everyone understands the “Collective” mentality, whereby decisions are made as a single entity.

The Akron Zoo’s new president and chief operating officer insists the glow-in-the-dark poster in his office with the slogan “Boldly go where no one has gone before,” taken from the opening credits of the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation, also applies to his experiences at the zoo over the past 17 years.

“I used to write science fiction in high school. My mind still works that way,” he said.

He plans to shoot for the stars as long as that’s what zoo visitors want.

L. Patricia Simmons, the zoo’s first and only other CEO, hired Piekarz away from the Bronx Zoo, the largest urban zoo in the country in 1997 to be zoo curator.

He didn’t allow the small zoo’s lackluster appearance, few animals and nondescript exhibits to deter him when Simmons asked him to come to Akron to help her “build a zoo.”

“I love to create. I could just see the possibilities as I walked through the park. I walked in here believing we would be building a zoo,” he said.

The zoo at the time was in the midst of construction plans for its Tiger Valley attraction and Piekarz was expected to oversee expansion of the largest exhibit ever built at the facility.

“We had many more people coming to the zoo, but it made us wonder what was next. We had to sit down with the community and say ‘what is it you want from us?’”

This is a mantra that continues today — a legacy of sorts to take the zoo in the direction the community prefers.

But if the constant smile on his face is any indication, Piekarz is excited about the challenges he will face beginning Jan. 1, when he takes over the helm of one of Akron’s most popular attractions. Annual attendance records at the zoo have soared from just over 100,000 in 1997 to more than 389,500 in 2013.

Piekarz credits his grandfather with instilling in him a love of nature as a young child.

His grandparents owned a small cabin in upstate New York’s Catskill Mountains where he vacationed with his parents and three siblings.

“He was the quintessential natural naturalist,” Piekarz said. “I explored my first beaver dam with my grandfather.”

After graduating from Rutgers University with a bachelor of science degree in Animal Science, Piekarz gained invaluable experience moving through several programs in the Bronx Zoo’s cooperative education program, including zoo horticulture and its relationship with its animal inhabitants.

“When you put an animal in a naturalistic environment you want to make sure that the animal is comfortable and that the environment is resilient,” he said.

Prior to his appointment, Piekarz was vice president of planning and conservation for four years. He earned a master’s of science degree in biology, ecology and evolution from Montclair State University.

One of the goals he has set as president is satisfying horticulture lovers by expanding the property’s botanical gardens and improving its landscaping. He intends to continue promoting green practices and sustainability at the zoo and in community businesses.

Piekarz has a keen interest in creating “citizen science” programs to foster animal welfare awareness to the average person such as the National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count of which he has been involved since 2000.

The zoo will sponsor a similar community program in 2015 called Project Frog Watch to give scientists a better understanding on the health of the 12 species of frogs in the area to get ahead of a disease already seen in South America that is capable of wiping out an entire species in a year.

But first on his “must do” list will be overseeing the expansion of parking areas. Currently, on days when the zoo attendance breaks 2,500, more than its 616 parking spaces can handle, visitors are forced to go to inconvenient overflow parking areas.

“Parking is one of our biggest visitor concerns,” he said.

Piekarz offers only hints about fulfilling a wish zoo patrons have asked for since zoo icon, chimpanzee Joe CoCo came to town in the 1950s. They want to see monkeys back at the zoo again.

“Our strategic plans over the last few years indicate people have missed the gibbons and langurs,” he said hinting of a new and exciting experience in store for zoo visitors.

Piekarz will earn a $120,000 annual salary with bonus allowances for meeting specific goals.

Those figures have not yet been determined by the zoo’s board of directors, said David Barnhardt, director of marketing and guest services.

Piekarz and his wife, Kimberly, and their three daughters live in Lake Township. The couple have been married for 23 years, but have been friends for 32 years.

He said they met as teenagers on their high school track team where they competed in discus and shot put.

“When you get your dream job in the place that you love, it can’t get any better than this,” he said.

Kathy Antoniotti can be reached at 330-996-3565 or kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter at: @KathyAntoniotti and on facebook: www.facebook.com/KathyAntoniotti

Only a fraction of Ohio schools have registered for a free tool that would allow tipsters to help keep schools safe from gun violence.

The Ohio Department of Education last week launched the Safer OHtip program, a hotline that accepts calls or texts from anyone with concerns that a student, who might be exhibiting erratic behavior or has been bullied, may be capable of committing violence.

Calls or texts sent to 844-SaferOH (844-723-3764) are filtered by analysts at Ohio Homeland Security’s Threat Assessment and Prevention (TAP) Unit. The state agency, at no charge to the school, assesses the threat and passes along any pressing information to local law enforcement.

Though all schools benefit from the program, those that register ensure that Homeland Security has the appropriate contact information for local police and fire departments. Also, promotional posters and pamphlets may be requested from the state.

So far, 180 schools, or a fraction of Ohio’s thousands of private and public schools, have registered at safer
schools.ohio.gov for the free service.

Nearly a third of these schools signed up last Monday when the state announced the program.

By Friday, daily registrations in the program dwindled to eight.

“The safety of our boys and girls remains the top priority of our schools,” State Superintendent Richard Ross said in a release announcing the program. “The SaferOH tip line provides another resource for schools and school districts in their continuing efforts to provide a safe and secure educational environment.”

Local schools that have signed up include five school districts (Coventry, Jackson, James A. Garfield, Kent and Perry), a charter school (Life Skills High School of North Akron), Carlin Elementary School in Ravenna and four private schools (RiverTree Christian & Childcare in Massillon, St. Patrick Elementary in Kent, St. Augustine in Barberton and Spring Garden Waldorf in Copley).

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

The weather forecast for Christmas is one of extremes.

The highs forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday are well into the 50s and even flirting with 60— about 20 degrees above normal.

Then it changes.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for the Akron-Canton area, saying that a strong cold and wet front will pass through Wednesday night and, depending on the temperature, could bring snow.

Either way, it will be wet and blustery, with a high-wind warning a possibility, according to the weather service.

Rainfall over the next few days could exceed an inch, an amount that would make 2014 one of the 10-wettest on record.

The track of the storm will determine when and if the rain turns to snow.

The weather service is calling for some snow in the Akron area early Christmas morning into Christmas Day.

Authorities in Cuyahoga County have indicted seven members of an alleged burglary ring that hit affluent homes in nine Northern Ohio counties, stealing goods valued at more than $220,000.

The 73-count indictment was announced Monday, and two area men, David A. Quinones, 31, of Stow, and Gregory R. Cochran, 39, of Kent, were named by prosecutors as the alleged ring leaders.

“These guys were organized, skilled and knew how to hit these places,” Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor James Gutierrez said.

Quinones and Cochran were charged with operating a criminal enterprise under the state’s racketeering laws. Also charged as members of the burglary ring were Antonio Caraballo, 31, Abel Guzman, 35, and Justin Taylor, 35, all of Cleveland, and Robert Schepis, 33, of Medina.

A seventh suspect, Joseph Sabo, 74, of Cleveland, acted as the fence for the ring, buying the items they stole, prosecutors said, and then reselling them from his booth at the Streetsboro Flea Market.

The lengthy indictment accuses the men of committing 39 burglaries in Cuyahoga, Summit, Stark, Portage, Medina, Lorain, Lake, Huron and Wood counties during an 18-month period, from November 2012 to May of this year.

Prosecutors said the total value of the stolen goods was $221,051.

Quinones and Sabo were arraigned Monday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. The others are scheduled to be arraigned at various times through Jan. 6.

According to details of the indictment, Quinones organized and directed the ring after learning “the methods and means of residential burglary from his deceased father, Jose Quinones.”

Prosecutors said the elder Quinones also influenced his son’s friend, Cochran, to join the criminal enterprise.

David Quinones and Cochran “would focus on larger homes in high-end neighborhoods with a preference for homes located in cul-de-sacs or on streets leading to cul-de-sacs,” the indictment claimed.

One or more homes would be targeted on the same street or in the same area using Google maps.

“Friday and Saturday nights were preferable,” the indictment went on to say, “since that is the night most people would go out. The members would gain entry by forcing open a door leading into the garage, rear doors or windows.”

Once inside, the suspects always targeted the master bedroom first, and usually used a pillow case from the home to haul away the stolen property, prosecutors said. They said more than 1,500 items were seized by law enforcement officers with a search warrant used on Sabo’s booth at the flea market and his Spring Road home in Cleveland.

Prosecutors said the identification of the alleged ring was the first case investigated by the Cuyahoga County Organized Crime Task Force. It was formed last year with funding from the state Attorney General’s Office.

It takes a lot of electricity to run plants to process natural gas and separate liquids from the Utica shale.

And that’s good financial news for Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. and its subsidiaries.

Another utility that stands to benefit from Ohio’s Utica shale boom is Columbus-based American Electric Power.

FirstEnergy has seen its shale-related electric use jump by 70 megawatts from July 2011 to July 2014.

It is also planning to boost electric production to the shale-drilling industry in a big way in coming years.

The shale-related projects from 2015 to 2019 will account for 1,100 new megawatts of electric load growth in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, said Charles E. Jones, president of FirstEnergy Utilities.

This is equal to the amount of electricity used by 500,000 new houses. It is also comparable to the power generated by the Perry Nuclear Power Plant east of Cleveland in Lake County. One megawatt is enough electricity to power from 600 to 1,000 houses.

Ohio Edison is projected to see 125 megawatts of that gas-related growth, according to FirstEnergy estimates.

FirstEnergy’s Ohio Edison Co. has completed a $3.6-million, 138-kilovolt line to a Utica shale processing plant near Youngstown.

The company is also making $3 million in substation upgrades to support a gas-processing plant in Columbiana County.

FirstEnergy is projecting that 1,100 construction workers will be needed for the new projects in 2015.

Electric sales by FirstEnergy companies could also increase even more in the future if the proposed ethane cracker plants in the Ohio Valley are built, as they would trigger new chemical plants that are also big users of electricity.

Cracker plants turn liquid ethane from the shales into polyethylene — a key feedstock for the petrochemical industry.

“Rapid growth in the shale gas industry is transforming communities and creating new jobs and economic opportunities throughout our service territory,” Jones said in a statement. “Part of the gas industry’s success relies on its ability to access safe, affordable and reliable electric power, and we are committed to meeting the demanding requirements of this fast-growing segment.”

FirstEnergy is investing about $250 million in transmission projects across portions of its service areas to meet the rising electric demand driven by the shale gas industry in the three states. This includes high-voltage substations and transmission lines to support gas-processing facilities and pipeline compressor stations. Most of the drilling is powered by diesel engines, not electric.

Growth areas

FirstEnergy companies are serving 12 of the giant gas-processing plants — two in Ohio, two in West Virginia and eight in Pennsylvania.

Those improvements are part of FirstEnergy’s previously announced $4.2 billion Energizing the Future initiative through 2017. New transmission infrastructure benefits all customers in the Utica and Marcellus shale regions by strengthening the infrastructure and boosting electric reliability across the system.

“These projects will benefit local communities in two ways,” Jones said. “New electric infrastructure will directly support the build-out of the shale gas industry and the resulting economic activity across the region. And by upgrading our local power infrastructure, we can help these communities attract other energy-intensive industries while ensuring the highest levels of service reliability for every electric customer.”

Isolating outages

Those new projects included building a newly completed substation at the Kensington gas-processing plant in Columbiana County.

It includes a special configuration called a “ring bus” that’s capable of isolating an outage on the transmission network, ensuring continued operation of the Utica East Ohio plant. The technology can reduce the number and duration of power outages across a wide area by isolating the Kensington plant from other local electric customers and provide greater flexibility to manage the local electric system in light of the major power needs of the Kensington plant, FirstEnergy said.

The Akron-based energy giant also recently completed building a 3.5-mile transmission line to serve the Pennant Midstream processing plant in Mahoning County’s Springfield Township.

The new line connects with an existing 138-kilovolt line in Mahoning County and allows for future expansion of the Pennant plant that separates natural gas into dry and liquid components and uses large amounts of electricity.

The planned improvements extend into other FirstEnergy company services areas: Mon Power in West Virginia and West Penn Power, Penn Power and Penelec in Pennsylvania.

Mon Power is planning to spend $136 million on a substation to support MarkWest Energy’s Sherwood processing plant at Sherwood, W.Va.; a second substation to support MarkWest’s Mobley processing plant at Mannington, W.Va.; and a new transmission line near Sherwood, W.Va.

Projects elsewhere

American Electric Power has seen “significant industrial growth” in shale-related areas in Ohio and other states, said spokeswoman Melissa McHenry.

Its industrial sales in Utica shale counties grew 21.2 percent from 2012 to 2013. Industrial electric growth in shale areas in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Oklahoma grew by 14.6 percent from 2012 to 2013, the company said.

AEP’s quarterly growth in Ohio’s Utica shale jumped in the last five quarters by 23.7 percent, 56.3 percent, 49.3 percent, 54.5 percent and, most recently, 36.4 percent from the previous year.

AEP serves parts of the Utica and Marcellus shales plus the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford shales in Texas and the Woodford Shale in Oklahoma.

FirstEnergy’s Jones said he is confident that two of the proposed ethane crackers will likely be built, and that will dramatically hike electric use even more in the future.

Cracker plants

The projects most likely to be built are Royal Dutch Shell’s plan for a cracker costing $2 billion to $4 billion at Monaca, about 35 miles northwest of Pittsburgh on the Ohio River.

The company has not committed to building the facility, although the project is progressing with engineering and design.

The 340-acre Beaver County site was selected in 2012 over sites in Ohio and West Virginia.

The plant would process about 105,000 barrels of ethane per day.

The other project likely to be built in Jones’ view is from two Brazil-based companies: Odebrecht and Braskem.

They are eying a 300-acre site outside Parkersburg, W.Va., for the $3 billion plant that would be served by a FirstEnergy subsidiary.

It is known as Appalachian Shale Cracker Enterprise.

The large crackers would each use between 300 and 400 megawatts of electricity, Jones said.

The impacts of that cracker, if built, would likely be felt as far away as Akron with new chemical plants being built, Jones said.

Smaller crackers have also been proposed by companies in Ohio’s Monroe County and south of Wheeling in West Virginia.

The economic boom that could result from crackers being built in the Ohio Valley is huge, Jones said.

“It does have that kind of potential,” he said.

Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.

Many of the low-level offenders who will be released from the Summit County Jail are the trusted inmates who work in the kitchen, help in the laundry room and clean up.

Those are the “trusties,” in jail vernacular.

Letting them go may resolve problems with the inmate-to-deputy ratio, but it won’t help the budget shortfall that has forced Sheriff Steve Barry to reduce staffing and begin releasing or turning away offenders.

“They are [trusties] because they don’t cause any trouble, can be trusted and can work independently,” said jail commander Maj. Dale Soltis.

Not only do they benefit the jail, but they also receive perks for good behavior.

“They want to be trusties,” said the chief of corrections, Greg Macko. “They get extra food, extra free time and free phone service. They used to get extra visits, but those were eliminated with some of the visitation cutbacks.”

“We actually have a contract with the food service that we have to supply them with 19 trusties just for the kitchen services,” Macko said. “We try to get no less than 30 trusties, enough to help in the other areas to do the cleaning.”

Their good work generates credit toward their jail time.

One trusty said that service credits and free time are the biggest advantages.

He works in the kitchen.

“For every 30 days you work you get three days taken off your jail time. I was sentenced to a year: Six months for receiving stolen property and another six months for petty theft,” said Rudy Higgins of Cleveland.

“What I really like is that you get to work and stay occupied,” he said. “I like to work.”

Higgins, 48, said he’s been in and out of jail most of his life — starting when he was a juvenile.

“I did the worst stuff in my life when I was younger, then scaled down to only misdemeanors but my sentences are getting longer because they look at me as a career criminal,” he said. “I’m ready to get out of here and get on with my life. I’m tired of being here. That’s what I focus on, working hard and getting out.”

Trusties also have more freedom, including an unlocked cell.

Low-level misdemeanor offenders are housed in a dormitory-style setting.

It’s an open area with beds upstairs and chairs, tables, microwave and a television downstairs. There are usually 30 to 40 male inmates housed there.

Sheriff Barry said trusties have in the past painted, mopped and waxed floors.

“That’s when we had up to 50 or 60 trusties,” the sheriff said. “We used to have morning and evening trusties and a midnight shift, and we had enough deputies to stay with them and watch them. We went from eight trusty deputies to four. Those days are long gone.”

To keep a supply of trusties, the county has expanded the qualifications.

“We had to change the criteria,” said Macko. There are now three levels: “Those we can take anywhere — they can go outside and clean — those who cannot leave the building but can come upstairs where it’s outside security, and then those who can work in the kitchen but can’t leave the secured area.”

Still, though, only low-level offenders qualify.

Higgins has heard there may be some early releases, and hopes he will be one of the ones chosen, but he fears he might be one of the ones held back.

“They will still need trusties,” Higgins said. “I just hope my long criminal record in the past won’t affect my future. I don’t want to stay in jail just because they don’t have enough people they can trust to work and they need me here.”

Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.

By Marilyn Miller

The Summit County sheriff, short on funds for county jail operations, expects to start tapping inmates in January, telling them they can go free, and turning others away.

The question is: Which ones?

The answer will affect law enforcement, from the courts to patrol officers watching area highways.

“I don’t want my officers going through the motion of making arrests if the jail isn’t going to take them, so we have to find out how this affects us,” Akron police Chief James Nice said.

“Let’s say you have a DUI, if a driver under the influence would be jailed in the past but not now, then the troops need to know that. And then we need to have a plan for that. I just need to know that when they shut down that wing how does that affect who we are bringing in.”

Akron pays for 100 beds at the jail, so it has priority.

Stow Municipal Court judges want to know how to handle low-level repeat offenders who deserve time in jail, but under the rules would be released.

“The judges there said they know of a man who has been arrested 26 times and knows the law so well that he never steals anything that adds up to over $500 and makes sure he never puts his hands on a security [guard], because those factors would escalate the theft charge from a misdemeanor to a felony,” said Summit Sheriff Steve Barry.

“It’s not an overcrowding issue. We are actually under capacity — but severely understaffed,” Barry said. Because there is no money to add staff, he has “no choice but to take that other side down, and that’s our jail population.”

Voters in November rejected a county sales tax increase that would have generated about $20 million a year for 10 years.

Starting Jan. 4, Barry will shut down the jail’s west wing and reduce the capacity from 671 to 522, for a loss of 149 beds.

“Some likely nonviolent candidates for release would be people charged with passing bad checks or credit-card fraud for small amounts, and possibly low-level felonies such as drug users, as opposed to those charged with trafficking in drugs, who would not be released,” the sheriff said.

If additional releases are needed but all that remain are high-level felons, the county will move inmates to other jails — but will have to pay for their housing.

There are old rules in place.

Before an expansion in the mid-’90s, the jail was overcrowded and under a common pleas court order that established which inmates should be released first. That order remains active, but Barry has had meetings with judges for additional input.

Greg Macko, chief of corrections at the jail and legal counsel to the sheriff, said the sheriff has no choice.

“We had a state jail inspector who said we need more staff. We had 20 some violations but nine of them were directly or indirectly related to staffing,” according to Macko.

He said a national expert examined the situation and said: “Your staffing is inadequate and if you don’t get the personnel, you have to shut down two units.”

“The voters left the sheriff with no choice when Issue 12 did not pass,” Macko said. “He went to the county and officially asked for more money and the county told him they didn’t have it.”

County and municipal judges have different concerns. County judges deal with felons.

Administrative Common Pleas Court Judge Tammy O’Brien said the sheriff’s office is recommending lower bonds for some low-level felonies, allowing more to go free but at a personal cost if they fail to show up in court.

“They are less of a flight risk and less of a risk to the community,” O’Brien said. “The sheriff’s department is going to start flagging those cases and asking the judges to reduce the bond or give them a signature bond because the jail just doesn’t have the capacity to hold them.”

Maj. Dale Soltis, commander of the jail, said about 60 percent of the 600-some inmates are there awaiting sentencing.

In addition, O’Brien said the sheriff is urging jail alternatives, such as halfway programs and house arrest.

“The judges will be looking at less controlled sanctions before just releasing inmates to the street with no monitoring,” O’Brien said. “We also have to reconsider some inmates who may not be a threat to the community but a threat to themselves, like the heroin addicts. They are jailed for their own protection.”

“There are tools in place to assess the risk to the community but human behavior is not always predictable, so we do our best not to put the safety of the community in any danger, but we don’t have crystal balls either,” O’Brien said.

“We’re not trying to scare people,” Sheriff Barry said. “We’re just trying to lay out the facts and what the reality is, and the reality is we have no choice but to start releasing inmates.”

Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.

CUYAHOGA FALLS: A foundry with plants in North Canton and Michigan is consolidating and moving its operation to the city next month in a $3.4 million project that will bring in at least 60 jobs.

City Council this week approved a Community Reinvestment Area Tax Incentive (CRA) for Harbor Castings, which amounts to a property-tax abatement of 50 percent for 10 years.

Harbor Castings will move into the facility currently occupied by SGS Tool Co. on Bailey Road. SGS is moving to a new home on Marc Drive.

Development Director Diane Sheridan said it was great news to learn another company was all set to take over the soon-to-be-vacant property, and the additional jobs coming into the city are welcomed.

“Having Harbor Castings choose Cuyahoga Falls as their new home is extremely exciting,” she said.

Chief Executive Officer Charles Lane said he grew up in the Falls, is a local 1979 graduate, and served as president of the Cuyahoga Falls Little League — where he managed teams even after his own sons were grown.

“We are excited about this opportunity in the Falls since it will allow us to move all operations under one roof which should strengthen the company and its ability to continue to compete and grow in the future,” he said in his CRA application to the city.

The company was founded in North Canton in 1974. It makes metal castings for the aerospace, defense, military and commercial markets.

“We actively pursue keeping manufacturing jobs here in the United States, actually challenging our customers to give us a shot before they place work overseas,” Lane said in his application.

The company’s current investment/ownership team bought the North Canton plant out of bankruptcy in 1992, saving dozens of jobs. In 2000, it bought the Muskegon, Mich., plant out of bankruptcy, saving another 19 positions.

“Since 2000, we have grown from $1.5 million in sales to $9.5 million in sales per year,” Lane wrote.

About 60 full-time permanent jobs with a payroll of $2,530,000 will be transferred to the new location. Another 20 temporary jobs with a payroll of $300,000 will be created.

The project, which should be completed by March, includes renovating the Bailey Road site with additional walls, air conditioning and a high-pressure gas line as well as upgrading the electric.

Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/paulaschleis.

High winds capable of downing trees, power lines and holiday lights are expected to sweep through the Akron-Canton area beginning late Wednesday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

In a bulletin issued late Tuesday, the weather service said a powerful low pressure system will sweep up from the Gulf of Mexico and into the Ohio Valley, strengthening as it passes over the Great Lakes.

To the south, the system spawned what is believed to be a tornado in Mississippi, leaving one person dead and at least two injured. Another tornado may have touched down in Louisiana.

Farther west, heavy snow is expected in Illinois, creating concerns for air travel through Chicago O’Hare and Midway airports, through which 4.2 million travelers pass every holiday season.

Temperatures across Ohio will surge into the 60s on Wednesday, then drop as high winds and thunderstorms begin in late afternoon. Gusts in excess of 55 miles per hour are possible in the northern half of the state.

The weather service said the winds could affect ground travel, especially for high-profile vehicles.

A high-wind watch is in effect for all of Northwest Ohio east to I-71, including Medina, Ashland and Richland counties, and all of the counties along the Lake Erie shore.

For the remainder of Northeast Ohio, the weather service has issued a weather outlook that says a high wind watch or warning is possible.

Snow showers may develop early Christmas Day, and become a mix of snow and rain in the afternoon.