People Helping People is a list of charitable causes in our area that need donations or volunteers. The Beacon Journal has not investigated these causes, so donors should verify their worthiness and the tax-deductibility of contributions.

A link to a form for submitting requests to People Helping People can be found at www.ohio.com/charity, along with tips on researching charities and a list of causes already published.

Questions about submitting information? Call Mary Beth Breckenridge, 330-996-3756.

ASPIES Greater Akron Inc., 2101 Bigelow St., Akron, OH 44314-2521, is an all-volunteer organization that assists children and adults with autism spectrum disorders and their families.

The organization is seeking volunteers, donations of raffle items for events year-round and Acme receipts for purchases through Feb. 4, which benefit ASPIES through the grocer’s Community Cash Back Program. Receipts can be mailed to the ASPIES office.

To obtain more information or to volunteer, contact Joy Spencer-DeZordo at 330-745-5115 or joy@aspies.org.

Battered Women’s Shelter of Summit & Medina Counties, 974 E. Market St., Akron, OH 44305, offers support and education to women and men who have been victimized through domestic violence. It also provides community outreach and education to area organizations and schools.

It is seeking the following:

• Donations of personal and household items to be distributed to shelter residents. Items needed include pajamas, socks, underwear, slippers, robes, coats, umbrellas, alarm clocks, dishes, cups, hair dryers, kitchen towels, pillows, sheets, blankets and throw rugs.

• Donations of general, consumable items used at the shelter, such as laundry soap, hand soap, dish soap, household cleaning supplies, trash bags, diapers, lotions, shampoo, bottles, batteries, light bulbs, cold medicines, sanitary napkins, tampons, kitchen towels, dish rags, bath towels, small appliances, twin sheets, waterproof twin mattress pads, small microwave ovens and paper products, including toilet paper, tissues and paper towels. Gift cards are also welcome.

• Donations of nonperishable foods or meats that can be frozen.

For information, visit http://uwsummit.org or call the United Way Volunteer Center, 330-643-5512.

AKRON

Beacon Journal hours

AKRON: The Akron Beacon Journal’s Public Service Counter will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Christmas Eve.

The counter will be closed Christmas Day, but will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday.

The paper’s Customer Service Call Center will close at 1 p.m. Christmas Eve. The call center will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Christmas Day.

The call center will return to its regular weekday hours of 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday.

Gunman sentenced

AKRON: An Akron man has been sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted of felonious assault in a shooting incident in March.

Melvin Prince Jr., 23, of Virginia Avenue, was convicted of the crime in a Summit County jury trial last week.

On March 23, prosecutors said, Prince and a second suspect were waiting for a man outside a home in the 1600 block of Wingfoot Way following a music video recording session.

The man was called outside and shot in the stomach, but managed to call police on his cellphone after driving off the suspects with a can of pepper spray, prosecutors said.

Drug charges filed

AKRON: Two men and a woman were arrested in connection with drug-trafficking charges Monday night after Akron police received a report that a home invasion robbery had taken place in the 1200 block of Miriam Street.

Police said the residents reported that three armed men kicked in the side door of the home and headed to the basement, where they confronted one of the occupants.

The intruders then ran back up the basement steps and fled when the resident said he didn’t have anything worth stealing.

Akron police Lt. Rick Edwards said that after the residents invited responding officers inside the home to explain what happened, the officers saw drug instruments and drug packaging materials in plain view.

A search warrant was obtained after the occupants admitted using drugs, Edwards said, and officers seized 29 grams of heroin, $3,185, five digital scales, 34 syringes and a bulletproof vest.

Arrested on various drug charges were: Tristan S. White, 33, of Miriam Street; Jack V. Blaurock, 31, of Miriam Street; and Ashley G. Kling, 26, of Bronson Drive in Tallmadge.

Arson suspected

AKRON: Akron police and firefighters responded to a suspected arson Monday at a vacant Diagonal Road home that was the scene of a November homicide, police said.

The fire appears to have started in the dining room. Smoke damage was reported in all interior rooms.

The home was the scene of the Nov. 12 shooting death of Vernon Appleton, 24, of Virginia Avenue, Akron.

Police said the suspect in that slaying, Marriece Ellis, 24, whose last known address was on Boulevard Street in Akron, remains at large. He is wanted on charges of aggravated murder, and a reward is being offered by the U.S. Marshals Office Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force.

Anyone with information on Ellis’ whereabouts, or information on the suspected arson, is asked to contact the Akron police Detective Bureau at 330- 375-2490; the U.S. Marshals Service at 866-WANTED; or Summit County Crimestoppers at 330-434-COPS. Callers can remain anonymous.

NEW PHILADELPHIA

Directors elected

NEW PHILADELPHIA: The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District board of directors elected Harry Horstman president and Joanne Limbach vice president for 2015.

Horstman, a Scio resident, was appointed to the board in 2002. He is a retired teacher and school administrator. He also served 35 years as camp manager of Camp Aldersgate on Leesville Lake.

Limbach, of New Philadelphia, was appointed to the district’s board in 2013. She had previously served on the board from 1996 to 2006. She has been a teacher, Tuscarawas County commissioner, Ohio tax commissioner and worked as a consultant on government affairs.

Other members of the board are: Richard Pryce of North Canton, David Parham of Atwood Lake, and Gordon Maupin of Orrville.

The district stretches from Akron to the Ohio River, with properties in Summit, Stark, Wayne and Medina counties.

LAKE TOWNSHIP

Board reappointment

LAKE TWP.: Township trustees on Monday reappointed James Miller to a five-year term on the township’s Board of Zoning Appeals.

The board also approved the 2015 Police Dispatching Service Agreement with Nimishillen Township at a cost of $2,400 per month, noting there was no increase in cost.

Trustees will hold their 2015 reorganizational meeting at 3 p.m. Dec. 31 to pay bills and conduct any final business for 2014.

STARK COUNTY

Eyesore to come down

CANTON: Stark County commissioners on Tuesday approved paying $25,000 to Joseph A. Jeffries Co. to demolish a building at 497 Walnut Ave. NE so the former food stamp distribution office property can be used for parking.

Commissioner Janet Weir Creighton said the work will eliminate a downtown eyesore.

Commissioners also voted to allow a $10 fee to be added to civil and criminal filings in the general division of Common Pleas Court to pay for security upgrades. The money is to be spent on equipment and supplies but not personnel.

The board agreed to have the sheriff’s office dispatch deputy dog wardens via the same 800 megahertz radios that safety forces use.

Dog Warden Jon Barber said the change will not necessarily save money, but will improve operations.

Use of the county radio system allows dog catchers to communicate more easily with their dispatcher and each other, he said. They previously relied on cellphones.

STATE NEWS

Polar bear cubs die

COLUMBUS: The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium says two polar bear cubs born there over the weekend have died.

Zoo spokeswoman Patty Peters says both cubs likely died Saturday, the day they were born to Aurora. Staff observed the births while monitoring the mother’s activity from a camera.

The zoo said Monday the first birth, recorded at 5 a.m., appeared to be stillborn. A second cub was born about two hours later, but apparently died that afternoon.

The cubs were 7-year-old Aurora’s first babies. She and her twin sister Anana have mated with the zoo’s 27-year-old male polar bear, Nanuq.

Zoo curator Carrie Pratt says the births were a major step in the zoo’s breeding program, as staff now know Aurora can reproduce.

Peters says it’s also possible Anana is pregnant.

— Associated Press

‘Zombie Nativity’ nixed

CINCINNATI: A suburban Cincinnati township ordered a man to kill off his large “Zombie Nativity” scene.

Sycamore Township has sent Jasen Dixon two notices of zoning violations. Officials said they received complaints about debris at the home and upon inspection concluded the nativity violates rules on size and placement of yard structures.

Dixon also was told to remove debris. He faces legal action if he doesn’t comply by Friday.

Dixon manages a haunted house attraction and decided to create a zombie nativity, which he considers a holiday decoration. It has a white-eyed creature in the manger where the baby Jesus would be in traditional Christmas nativities.

Township administrator Greg Bickford says he couldn’t care less about the zombies, but the size of the front-yard structure is not permitted.

— Associated Press

Akron police are looking for a man involved in three purse snatchings over the past two weeks in West Akron.

The first robbery occurred around 2 p.m. Dec. 12 in the 1900 block of West Market Street.

A man approached a woman as she was walking to her car in a parking lot. He grabbed her purse and pulled it from her shoulder.

The second robbery occurred around 2:30 p.m. Dec. 17 in the 800 block of West Market.

The man opened the woman’s car door and grabbed her purse from the front seat. She and the perpetrator struggled over the purse before he gained possession and fled.

The third robbery occurred around 10 a.m. Monday in the 700 block of West Market.

A woman was walking when a man punched her in the stomach and took her small red purse. When the victim tried to grab him, he punched her again before fleeing down Grand Avenue.

Police released a composite drawing of the suspect but not specifics about his description.

Anyone with information is asked to call Akron detectives at 330-375-2490.

An 18-year-old Akron woman has been charged with aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary after police said she arranged to meet two men last weekend through an online dating service.

Police identified Lashon L. Hamilton of Brown Street as being involved, along with a man who has not been identified, in two armed robberies within two hours.

After meeting the victims with a man she claimed was her “brother,” Hamilton and her accomplice robbed the two men at gunpoint, police said Tuesday.

The first incident occurred about 11:30 p.m. Friday in the 2100 block of Sixth Street Southwest. Police said Hamilton and her accomplice robbed a 31-year-old man, taking an Xbox 360, a gold necklace and $8.

Police said the man subsequently identified Hamilton.

Detectives were investigating a second incident that occurred shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday near the intersection of Brown and East Thornton streets.

After the alleged victim reported picking up a woman and a man claiming to be her brother, they stole the victim’s car, police said.

The car, a tan 2007 Mazda 3 with Ohio license plate number FHK9460, is still missing.

Akron Police Lt. Rick Edwards said anyone with information on the suspects or the stolen car is urged to call the Detective Bureau at 330-375-2490.

Edwards said Hamilton was booked into the Summit County Jail. More charges are expected.

He said detectives were working to identify her alleged accomplice.

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

CANTON: A petroleum engineer asked Stark County commissioners Tuesday to consider opposing the route of a proposed natural gas pipeline that he believes will go near his property.

David Eigel of Nimishillen Church Road in Lake Township told the board his concern about the proximity of the planned Nexus pipeline is based on it being a large, high-pressure line.

“These lines do periodically rupture for various reasons, whether it’s corrosion or welding defects and that type of thing,” Eigel said.

He said studies show a “death zone” within 1,000 feet of such pipelines in the event of a rupture.

Eigel compared the transmission line with a 42 inch diameter and 1,400 pounds per square inch of pressure to smaller distribution lines with 40 to 300 pounds of pressure per square inch.

He said his aim is for the Nexus pipeline to share the path of the proposed Rover pipeline that has the same destination in Canada.

“One thing that we want to be very clear on is we are not against the pipeline,” Eigel said. “We are not against fracking; we are not against drilling. I have spent my whole career in that industry. Our goal is really narrowly focused on just rerouting this around populated areas.”

In recent days, some officials and residents of other areas along the proposed route — New Franklin and Green in Summit County; Lake Township in Stark County; and Montville, York and Litchfield townships in Medina County — have expressed similar concerns.

Authority to approve the pipeline rests with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Stark County Commissioner Thomas Bernabei said the board would confer with its administrator and legal counsel to determine what role it might play in the issue.

Nancy Molnar can be emailed at nancymolnar2002@yahoo.com.

Stephanie Chew didn’t think much of it when her daughter asked to borrow her computer one afternoon, but what the 11-year-old used it for turned into much more than she imagined.

Olivia, a fifth-grader at Lincoln Elementary in Cuyahoga Falls, used the computer to make a flier asking for book donations for Akron Children’s Hospital and requested that her mother post her handiwork on Facebook.

“From there, it just kind of snowballed,” Stephanie Chew said. “She asked that I put it on Facebook, and then asked that I make 30 copies of the flier for her class. Her teacher, David Karam, thought it was a great idea and had her share the idea with the whole school.”

Olivia was featured on the school’s daily announcements to talk about the book collection as well as the school’s annual singalong. By the end of the week, Olivia had collected 650 books, which she dropped off Tuesday at Akron Children’s Hospital along with her mom and a classmate, Alyssa Tiffe, 11.

“I’m really impressed with the teacher,” Stephanie Chew said. “But I am also incredibly proud of my daughter. She has to do a service project for Girl Scouts and isn’t even planning on counting this. She just wanted to do it.”

Olivia’s inspiration for the project came from a personal perspective.

“My mom’s friend had a baby who came a month early,” Olivia said. “It made me think of all of the kids who couldn’t come home for Christmas because they were in the hospital, and I wanted to do something to help make those kids feel better.”

Hospital spokeswoman Holly Pupino said Children’s normally tries to get as many kids home for the holidays as possible. This year, however, there has been an influx of patients who are battling the flu.

“It made me feel really good to help the other kids,” Olivia said. “My goal was also 100 books, so it feels good to have beat it by so much.”

Pupino said the books —there are picture and chapter books, some new, others used — are going to be used in the hospital’s Reach Out and Read Program.

“The new books will go to our primary care offices, where children ages birth to 5 receive a free book at their yearly appointments,” Pupino said. “The pediatricians explain to parents why reading at such a young age is important to development and make sure parents know to encourage it.

“The other books will be kept [at the hospital] for our inpatients,” Pupino said.

Katie Nix can be reached at 330-996-3216 or knix@thebeaconjournal.com. She can also be followed on Twitter at www.twitter.com/KatieNix_ABJ.

MEDINA

Filbin, Dorothy, 82, of Brunswick. Died Sunday. Carlson.

Linson, June E., 85, of Wadsworth. Died Monday. Hilliard-Rospert.

Reichardt, Doris J., 88, of Wadsworth. Died Monday. Hilliard-Rospert.

PORTAGE

Lucas, Carolyn L., 46, of Windham. Died Tuesday. Mallory-DeHaven-Carlson, Garrettsville.

STARK

Frey, Elenor Baird, 87, of Canton. Died Monday. Spiker-Foster-Shriver.

Parsons, Douglas C., 70, of Canton. Died Monday. Spiker-Foster-Shriver.

Poteet, Arna J. (White), 84, of Alliance. Died Tuesday. Cassaday-Turkle-Christian.

Smith, Darlene A., 76, of Canton. Died Monday. Hilliard-Rospert, Wadsworth.

Snyder, Ron, 71, of Alliance. Died Sunday. Sharer-Stirling-Skivolocke.

Spencer, Theresa, 82, of Massillon. Died Thursday. Paquelet.

Stanley, Joseph R., 57, of Jackson Township. Died Saturday. Heitger.

OTHER

Wise, Mara-Lena, 98, of Columbus, formerly of Canton. Died Saturday. Spiker-Foster-Shriver, Canton.

olice officers Bryan Glass and Paul Griffith exited the cruiser outside a home in West Akron.

They popped the trunk and grabbed their gear, which was stuffed into four unmarked red plastic bags.

The two officers get maybe one or two calls like this each year — always on the same day just before Christmas.

At the front door, a puffy white ball dangling from Glass’ crimson hat jiggled each time he knocked.

The door opened to three siblings and a barking springer spaniel.

“Ho, ho, ho, young lady,” Griffith, who retired from the force in 1991, said to the youngest child. “We’re the Santa Claus Police.”

Tuesday morning, dozens of uniformed officers made more than 50 similar house calls across Summit County.

Since first organized in 1926 by Akron’s Victim Assistance Program, the “Gifts of Hope” program has provided thousands of holiday bundles to emotionally disrupted — and often financially strapped — families.

The gifts are donations from well-wishers and community members, some with personal knowledge of the anguish caused by abuse and loss, explained Leanne Graham, executive director at Victim Assistance.

“They call and ask to provide a nice holiday for a family in need,” Graham said.

Outside her office on Furnace Street, police cruisers shuffled in and out of the parking lot. Officers drove in from Copley, Tallmadge, Akron, the University of Akron, Munroe Falls, Cuyahoga Falls and other departments.

They loaded gift bags into trunks and back seats. Then, like Santa Claus, they disappeared into the neighborhoods.

“I mean, look how great this is,” observed Graham, pointing to the city names painted on the vehicles. “There are five jurisdictions in this parking lot right now.”

Gift of honor

Graham’s staff handed baskets to police officers and scratched family names off a list.

Meanwhile, the Rev. Bob Denton — Akron’s police and fire chaplain and a longtime victims’ advocate — prepared another set of gift baskets inside the Safety Forces Chaplaincy Center on the other side of the parking lot.

For the past five years, the “Gifts of Hope” program has delivered this other set of baskets — filled with brownies, peanuts, jelly, specialty candies and gourmet pies — to retired and disabled police officers and firefighters, or their widows and families.

“The idea behind it,” Denton said, “is ‘we remember.’ ”

The cop-to-cop gift program has expanded from 75 gift baskets last year to 150 this year.

For some still active on the force, honoring those who served before is part of the gift.

“It’s as much if not more of a blessing to me as it is to them,” Tom Pozza, Munroe Falls police chief, said while sharing a coffee with Denton and other volunteers.

For Sgt. Marc Trundle, lending a hand to Denton’s effort is a way to stay connected to colleagues.

“I call him my little elf,” Pozza joked, resting a hand on Trundle, who stood about 6 inches shorter.

Trundle began volunteering after he retired from the Tallmadge police department 4½ years ago. As a retiree, he had expected Pozza to show up at his house with a gift.

“But I never see him come around with a basket,” said Trundle, who happily settles instead for a light-hearted exchange with old friends.

Good time to be seen

Denton is also looking forward to providing a meal to Akron-area police officers and firefighters who are working Christmas Eve. From 3 p.m. until 3 a.m. Christmas morning, the Chaplaincy Center will serve prime rib, cookie and side dishes donated by Ken Stewart’s, West Point Market and Akron Family Restaurant.

Morale boosters like the gift giveaway and the holiday meal become crucial as the emotional toll of protecting and serving has become more visible, Denton said.

He measures the burden police and firefighters carry by the increased hours he and his counselors spend talking about drugs, marriage and other issues.

“The counseling has just exploded in the last year,” Denton said. “I think we’re coming to realize the impact on the officers and families.”

Meanwhile, officers and support staff acknowledge that, because of a rash of high-profile, racially charged stories about excessive use of force by white police officers, there has never been a more crucial time for police to show the community that they care.

“It’s nice that they can be seen in the community,” Graham said. “Unfortunately, there is so much negativity going on right now with police officers.”

Back in West Akron, officer Glass made his presence known as he stuffed a heaping red plastic bag below a Christmas tree and went back to his cruiser for another.

When he returned, a 7-year-old girl stood in her pajamas, waiting for him.

“Here you go, sweetie,” Glass said, handing over the last bag.

“Is this mine?” she asked.

The little girl smiled for a long time afterward, even after her older brother told her she would have to wait until Christmas morning to open the bag of toys.

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

HUDSON: Some call it the “December Dilemma” — whether to celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah in an interfaith family.

But there is no such quandary in the home of Amy and Eric Chupack; they celebrate both.

And the fact that the last day of Hanukkah falls on Christmas Eve this year isn’t changing the way they do things.

“We are still celebrating Hanukkah at home, with the boys opening a small gift each night and lighting the candles on the menorah each night,” said Amy Chupack, 39. “Santa will come to our house with another gift for the boys and we will celebrate Christmas with my family.”

Chupack, who is Lutheran, and her husband, Eric, who is Jewish (Reform), have been married 17 years. Before they married, they agreed to celebrate only Jewish holidays in their home and to raise their children in the Jewish faith tradition.

Six or seven years ago, that arrangement changed, when the Chupacks agreed to incorporate Christmas. It started with a neutrally decorated live tree (that Eric Chupack got from a local tree farm), adorned with blue lights and silver and white accents (all colors that represent Hanukkah).

Hanukkah, a minor holiday on the Jewish religious calendar, commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian-Greek army and the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem more than 2,000 years ago. By lighting candles for eight nights, Jews celebrate the rededication of the Holy Temple and the miracle of a small amount of the oil lasting for eight days.

Today, the Chupacks’ home is decorated with red, white and blue lights outside. Candles dot the windows and snowmen and several menorahs are placed throughout the house. A train chugs around a track that surrounds an artificial Christmas tree topped with a Star of David.

The Chupacks believe that exposing their children — Sam, 14, and Dylan, 9 — to both faith traditions helps enrich their lives.

“It gives them a chance to learn about both and to learn to appreciate that faith is an important part of life,” said Eric Chupack, 42. “Even though we’re raising them Jewish, they are comfortable when they go to church and celebrate family events like baptisms and weddings. Some people seem to think that exposing them to both will confuse them — I don’t think it does because this is who we are.”

Sam and Dylan agree that they understand their mom’s family is Christian and their dad’s family is Jewish. They identify as Jewish and are members of Hudson’s Temple Beth Shalom, where a majority of the families are interfaith.

“A lot of our friends celebrate both, so it’s not unusual,” Sam said. “Sometimes we go to Michigan and celebrate Hanukkah with my dad’s parents and we go to my mom’s parents to celebrate Christmas. It’s more of just getting together with family.”

The Chupacks and other interfaith families reflect a growing trend of more Americans marrying outside their faith. According to a 2013 Pew Research study, the Jewish intermarriage rate of 58 percent reflected a jump from just 20 percent prior to 1960. Among non-Orthodox Jews, the intermarriage rate is 71 percent.

“For our children, it’s pretty much the norm. Our families are OK with it, and we are OK with it — so it isn’t an issue,” Eric Chupack said. “I think it’s important to respect Amy and her faith tradition. Marriage is give-and-take and this works for us.”

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

Gas guzzlers and road warriors rejoice: You can now buy a gallon of regular for under $2 at service stations in the Akron area.

At least 15 stations as of late Tuesday afternoon in the Akron area were selling regular gas for $1.97 to $1.99 a gallon, according to the website Gasbuddy.com.

“It’s a good price,” said Charles Johnson, 65, who had just finished fueling his minivan at the Speedway off South Arlington Road near Interstate 77. The Speedway constantly was packed with customers filling their vehicles with $1.99 gasoline.

“I’m hoping it will go down lower,” Johnson said. “It was 17 cents a gallon when I first started driving.”

At the nearby BP gas station, customers also were happy with the price dipping below $2 a gallon there.

“I would think it would stimulate the economy,” Dan Dennis, a 49-year-old Clinton resident, said as he filled a large company-owned commercial van.

Gasoline prices have continued to fall in recent months, following the sudden, steep plunge in the cost of crude oil from more than $100 a barrel to the mid-$50 range.

Prices are more than $1 a gallon cheaper than a year ago, according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report, which tracks pump prices. AAA as of Tuesday said the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the Akron area was $2.22, down from $2.41 a week ago, $2.77 a month ago and $3.27 a year ago.

The national average was $2.38 a gallon Tuesday.

In the Akron metro area, the average price of a gallon of gas peaked at $4.14 on May 4, 2011, according to AAA.

Prices have dropped even as demand for gasoline has increased in recent months, the American Petroleum Institute reported. The Washington-based trade association said total U.S. petroleum deliveries in November averaged 19.9 million barrels daily, the highest level for the month in seven years.

Domestic gasoline demand last month averaged 9.1 million barrels a day, the highest levels for a November since 2007, API said.

“It is because of domestic production” that oil and gasoline prices are down, said Chris Zeigler, executive director of API Ohio in Columbus.

The increased use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, combined with horizontal drilling in petroleum-rich shale has boosted U.S. petroleum production and directly caused prices to drop, Zeigler said.

“The overall global supply has increased,” he said. OPEC, in particular Saudi Arabia, has continued to pump large amounts of crude oil as well.

Kelly Benner stopped at the Speedway along South Arlington Road to buy soda. The 35-year-old said she had filled up her Chevrolet Cavalier at the station Monday and paid $2.05 a gallon.

“It felt amazing” to buy gas at that price, she said. She said she wasn’t upset not to get gas at under $2 a gallon.

“I’m good. I’m OK with it,” Benner said.

Rich Givler stopped at the BP station off South Arlington to fill the 33-gallon tank on his GMC Yukon SUV.

“It’s better than $4 a gallon,” Givler, 62, of Jackson Township, said while noting that his large Yukon gets about 20 mpg on the highway. It wasn’t too long ago that it took more than $100 to fill the Yukon’s tank, he said.

“Between me and my wife, we put over 50,000 miles [annually] on our vehicles,” Givler said.

He said he also has a boat, now in winter storage, that has a 50-gallon fuel tank.

“I’m almost ready to drag it out and fill it up at these prices,” Givler said.

Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com.

As Hanukkah comes to a close, Laura Hood is celebrating what she considers her personal miracle.

Since 2007, Hood suffered from debilitating seizures that a powerful mix of medications couldn’t control.

Hood, 47, of Akron, is one of the first people in the nation to get a new device implanted in her brain that monitors for signs of seizures and sends impulses directly to the source to quiet the storm.

Before undergoing brain surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in April, Hood suffered seizure activity as often as five times a day.

Now she experiences two or three auras a month that end before a full seizure begins.

“I feel it coming on very faintly and then it stops,” she said.

The NeuroPace RNS System is a “smart device” that monitors the brain’s activity, interprets the signals and provides stimulation when needed for patients’ intractable seizures.

The NeuroPace RNS is an improvement from other systems that provide stimulation without regard to the individual’s unique brain activity, said Dr. Dileep R. Nair, section head of adult epilepsy at the Cleveland Clinic and an investigator in the trial for the device.

“We teach the device to look for the specific pattern that patient has that’s associated with a seizure,” Nair said. “We try to stop that activity from moving anywhere else.”

More than 2 million Americans have epilepsy, a neurological condition with unpredictable seizures, or sudden surges of electrical activity in the brain, according to the Epilepsy Foundation.

The majority of people can control their epilepsy with medications, Nair said. But for about 30 percent of patients, anti-seizure drugs alone aren’t effective.

“In this group, the options really have been to see if they are epilepsy surgery candidates,” he said.

But resecting the portion of the brain where the seizures originate isn’t always possible, particularly if the region is vital for movement or speech or if multiple parts of the brain are involved, Nair said.

For Hood, her seizures began about six months after she and her husband, Michael, got married at Temple Israel, where they met. She was a Hebrew teacher and he was a building manager.

While in the hospital after her first seizure, she struggled to remember recent events and important people in her life, even her husband.

“Who is that nice man?” she asked her mother, Elaine Williamson.

‘Horrific’ feeling

Over the next several years, medications failed to control her seizures, including a major episode that caused her to go into cardiac failure.

Every day, she experienced auras, a strange feeling “like a very, very horrific dream you’re having,” she said. “You can feel it coming on your body.”

Epilepsy surgery to remove the portion of her brain where the seizures started wasn’t an option because that region is responsible for her memory.

“If they removed a portion, then she would have no short-term memory at all,” her husband said.

Hood quit her job in sales, gave up driving and began staying close to home for fear of having a seizure or frightening aura.

“I miss working so much,” she said.

Hood has relied on her husband, mother and longtime family friend Micki Wise of Akron to take her to and from appointments and other places.

When her doctors at the Cleveland Clinic said a new device might help her, she and her family were eager to try it. She became the first patient at the hospital to get the NeuroPace RNS after it earned Food and Drug Administration approval.

“I was glad there was an option,” Hood said.

The NeuroPace RNS can be offered only at advanced epilepsy centers, such as the Cleveland Clinic, that can conduct invasive brain testing in which electrodes temporarily are implanted in the brain to pinpoint seizure activity.

“There’s a whole process that leads up to seeing if a patient is even a candidate,” Nair said.

Device in brain

The device consists of a stimulator implanted in the skull under the scalp and leads imbedded in the brain. Up to two focal points for seizure activity can be targeted.

A wand is held against the scalp to transfer data wirelessly from the NeuroPace RNS to a computer so it can be analyzed by doctors and adjusted as needed. A specialized magnet also can be waved by the head to “mark” in the data when the patient experiences seizure activity.

The neurostimulator costs about $37,000, not including the surgery and necessary pre-testing, according to a NeuroPace spokesperson. Most major insurers, including Medicare, cover the device.

The battery lasts about three years before it must be replaced.

In a clinical study, 55 percent of patients with the Neuro
Pace RNS System had their seizure frequency reduced by 50 percent or more over a two-year period after getting the device, Nair said.

“We were able to offer something for patients who have a very devastating epilepsy who had no other options,” he said. “This is an example of a new generation of devices.”

Hood’s husband said they’re hopeful her doctors soon can wean her off some of her medicines, which make her groggy all the time.

“It’s a real-life miracle,” Wise said.

Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/CherylPowellABJ.

A line of severe thunderstorms stretching north and south across most of Ohio was making its way northeast through the Columbus area at about 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Medina and areas west are under a high-wind warning, and areas south and east of Akron are under a severe thunderstorm watch.

The front is expected to hit the Akron-Canton area in late evening, bringing gusts up to 55 miles an hour and ushering in cold air, causing the temperature to drop about 20 degrees in a matter of hours.

The National Weather Service has issued thunderstorm warnings for central Ohio south to Portsmouth and warned that the storm will intensify as it moves north.

People Helping People is a list of charitable causes in our area that need donations or volunteers. The Beacon Journal has not investigated these causes, so donors should verify their worthiness and the tax-deductibility of contributions.

A link to a form for submitting requests to People Helping People can be found at www.ohio.com/charity, along with tips on researching charities and a list of causes already published.

Questions about submitting information? Call Mary Beth Breckenridge, 330-996-3756.

Baskets of Love at Akron Bible Church, 783 Brown St., Akron, OH 44311, operates an emergency food pantry and hot meal program twice weekly throughout the year.

It is seeking volunteers to help with the food pantry, donors willing to pay a utility bill for the pantry for a month during winter, volunteers to help serve lunch Tuesdays and Thursdays, and groups to sponsor a hot lunch once every other month.

For information, contact Henri Etta Fletcher-Lockhart at 234-200-9575 or fletcherhenri@gmail.com.

The ministry has a Facebook page: www.facebook.com/BasketsOfLoveAtAkronBibleChurch.

People Care Pet Pantry, 2994 Sandy Lake Road, Ravenna, OH 44266, helps people with low or no incomes feed their pets so they don’t have to give them up. It also gives donated items to homeless people to help keep them warm and clean.

The pantry is seeking volunteers and donations of money, dog blankets, dog coats and any gently used or new pet item.

Information and drop-off locations are at http://peoplecarepetpantry.webs.com, or contact the pantry at 330-389-5116 or peoplecarepetpantry@yahoo.com.

Student Nutrition Activity Programs Foundation, 967 Martin Road, Mogadore, OH 44260, is seeking monetary donations to help it provide programs, online education resources and activities that educate and motivate students to adopt more healthful habits and increase physical activity.

For information, contact Betty Kern at snap.fit.kids@gmail.com. The SNAP Foundation’s website is www.pe-fit.com.

PORTAGE

Ensinger, Mary E., 80, of Ravenna. Died Monday. Mallory-DeHaven-Carlson, Garrettsville.

Hall, Stephen D., 57, of Windham. Died Monday. Mallory-DeHaven-Carlson, Garrettsville.

STARK

Strickler, Kristine M. (Burnell), formerly of Alliance. Died Sunday. Cassaday-Turkle-Christian.

Suttle, Susan K., of Canton. Died Sunday. Paquelet, Massillon.

Zupp, Kristina, 35, of Perry Township. Died Sunday. Paquelet, Massillon.

OTHER

Adams, Floyd G., 91, of West Farmington. Died Friday. Mallory-DeHaven-Carlson, Garrettsville.

Tritt, Margaret M., 92, of Bellevue, formerly of Valley City. Died Monday. Bauer, Valley City

AKRON

Volunteers sought

AKRON: There is still a need for volunteers for First Night Akron this New Year’s Eve.

The final orientation session is scheduled from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Monday at the Akron-Summit County Public Library, 60 S. High St.

Openings remain for bus tour guides, emcees, helpers at activity stations and tracking attendance at venues.

Online applications are available at www.firstnightakron.org/volunteers.

MEDINA COUNTY

Wife shot with pellets

MEDINA: Sheriff’s officials in Medina County say a man who shot his 75-year-old wife with birdshot as she sat in a recliner told deputies it was an accident that occurred when he was checking a shotgun to see if it was loaded.

The Medina County Gazette reports the woman was struck in the head Sunday when the shot came through a wall at their home in York Township. She was taken to Summa Akron City Hospital, where she remained in serious condition Wednesday.

Her husband, 77, told deputies he got the gun from a closet because he wanted to use it to scare off geese from a pond on their property, and the weapon went off.

The Sheriff’s Office says it’s under investigation as an accident.

— Associated Press

NORTHEAST OHIO

State designation

COLUMBUS: The Portage Lakes are now the Purple Martin Capital of Ohio.

Gov. John Kasich has signed legislation making this long-sought designation official. Eight members of the Portage Lakes Purple Martin Association went to Columbus to witness the bill signing.

“This has exceeded our wildest dream,” Larry Hunter, president of the group, said in a news release. “We went from one nesting pair in 2000 to the Purple Martin Capital in 2014.”

State Rep. Anthony DeVitis, R-Green, had pledged during his re-election campaign to try to get the legislation passed before the end of the session. He said the legislation will “bring increased awareness of the value of the Purple Martin in the Portage Lakes area.”

“Helping them prosper in their natural habitat will greatly contribute to the Purple Martins’ ability to reduce the need of using harmful chemicals to control insects in our community,” he said.

The association hosts several activities a year to educate the community about these beneficial birds.

STATE NEWS

City expands effort

COLUMBUS: The host committee hoping to land the 2016 Democratic National Convention for Columbus has extended its efforts to social media.

A website called “Bring it Columbus” provides links for people to share their excitement for Columbus with key figures in the decision-making process. Ohio’s capital is competing against Philadelphia and the New York borough of Brooklyn for the chance to host the presidential nominating event.

Republicans have selected Cleveland for their convention.

Cheerleaders for Columbus can send Twitter messages through the “Bring It” website or hashtag to Democratic National Committee members and other influencers of the process. Those include President Barack Obama, along with former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, a possible candidate for president in 2016.

— Associated Press

License reinstated

COLUMBUS: The state casinos agency has reinstated the license of an ex-Cleveland casino employee fired for failing to pay for a $1.84 energy drink.

Last month’s decision by the Ohio Casino Control Commission came just days after a Cleveland appeals court told the commission to reconsider the case.

In 2012, the commission fired dealer Anthony Zingale from Cleveland’s downtown Horseshoe Casino after he bought a Red Bull drink while on break, paid for it, then apparently voided the sale.

Commission spokeswoman Jessica Franks said Tuesday that Zingale is now free to apply for jobs at any Ohio casino.

— Associated Press

Plaintiff firefighters in a protracted federal lawsuit have challenged a court monitor’s ruling that for the first time would have permitted promotions in the Akron Fire Department based on seniority and training.

The plaintiffs filed an objection with U.S. District Judge John Adams on Wednesday afternoon, saying the court monitor’s decision “denied them due process, exceeded his authority, and will cause further discrimination to the plaintiffs.” They are asking Adams to stop Akron from making any promotions until he rules.

David Cohen, the court monitor whom Adams appointed, released a decision last week approving an agreement between Akron and its fire union that would allow promotions by seniority and training rather than by an exam. Cohen said in his decision that “the benefits of approval are clear and wide-reaching and important.”

At the same time that Akron and the fire union were brokering the deal for a new method for promotions, Cohen was working with the city and the plaintiff firefighters on developing a new promotional test for the department that wasn’t discriminatory, as the last exam was found to be.

After Cohen’s decision on the agreement, Akron posted for promotions under the new process and also through the new exam being crafted by the city and the plaintiffs in the federal court case.

Because a promotional exam hasn’t been given in 10 years while the lawsuit challenging the last test has been making its way through court, Akron’s officer ranks have been depleted. The city has been relying on acting officers who aren’t paid as much and don’t have as much training as permanently promoted officers.

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @swarsmithabj and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/swarsmith.

About 50 residents of Monroe County in southeastern Ohio were back in their homes in time for Christmas after a contractor successfully capped an out-of-control natural gas well.

The evacuation order that had been in place for 10 days was lifted about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday by Monroe County officials.

Texas-based Wild Well Control had re-established surface control of the Triad Hunter-owned Stalder 3UH well about an hour earlier.

The announcement that the families were waiting for came in a four-sentence statement from spokeswoman Bethany McCorkle of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. No more natural gas is being released from the well, near Sardis, and no injuries were reported at the well, she said.

McCorkle said stopping the leak required the installation of a new wellhead.

Triad Hunter LLC, in a statement from its parent company, Houston-based Magnum Hunter Resources Corp., confirmed that the well is under control and has been capped temporarily.

The company had drilled and plugged the well in late 2013 while other wells were drilled on the same well pad. Crews were getting the well ready for production when the blowout occurred because of high pressure within the well, the company said.

The well was producing 97 percent methane that went into the air, it said. There was no other environmental damage at the site.

According to Triad Hunter, initial well-control operations involved excavation around the wellhead to properly evaluate the condition of its flange and a piece of equipment called the night cap. Fresh water continually was sprayed on the wellhead to reduce the chance of ignition of the natural gas. Initially, attempts to push the night cap back over the flange with a track hoe and a crane were unsuccessful.

Wild Well Control then began the process of replacing the wellhead assembly. As part of this process, individual casing strings were cut in a number of different places. The new wellhead then was installed and the well was shut in.

The new system was tested before the safe announcement was made, officials said.

McCorkle said the state will conduct a full investigation to determine what caused the blowout and to ensure proper mechanical integrity of the well before the company can resume operations.

The company said the pad site will be brought back to its original condition, and the company anticipates that all wells on the Stalder pad will begin production in January.

Magnum Hunter said it believes there has been no damage to the overall structure or integrity of the Stalder 3UH well and that the problem did not affect the three other Utica Shale wells and one Marcellus Shale well on the pad.

Magnum Hunter also said its insurance coverage will be adequate to cover whatever losses were incurred during the blowout.

The Dec. 13 blowout had led to the evacuation of about 25 houses within a 1½-mile radius from the site. The fear was that the natural gas could explode.

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

TALLMADGE: On Nov. 18, Danielle Wahl wrote the most important Facebook message of her life:

“I was wondering if you gave up a daughter for adoption in 1986,” the 28-year-old Cuyahoga Falls woman typed. “If so, I think that I am that girl.”

She braced herself for rejection as she sent the message to Georgjeana Seal, 48, who was living just a few miles away in Tallmadge.

“Adoption stories don’t always end up being ‘happily ever after,’ ” Wahl said.

But the very next day, Seal’s own Facebook account was exploding with joy over “wonderful, life-changing news.”

“I am not going to share it yet,” Seal told friends and family in that Nov. 19 post, “but be happy for me because my heart has just doubled in size from God’s love. I’m just so happy with life right now.”

Four days later, Seal was reunited with the daughter she felt she had to give up.

That’s when the women learned that despite their separation, their paths has crossed more than once. They even spoke with each other while participating in the same theater program at Tallmadge High School.

Wahl said she is still “blown away” by her personal miracle in this season of miracles.

“I don’t know how to describe it. I am thankful that I have found her and that she accepted me,” she said.

An adoption story

Wahl had been searching for her birth mom for about a month, but this story begins much earlier.

It was Sept. 24, 1986, when Seal said she had to make a heartbreaking decision: Whether or not to place her newborn daughter up for adoption at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, with the promise of a better life than Seal could provide her at the time.

“It wasn’t easy. I wasn’t sure if it was going to stay with that decision after she was born,” she said.

Against the advice of the nurses, she walked to the nursery to hold her baby, a then-blonde, blue-eyed girl. But the act only strengthened her resolve.

“I knew it was the right thing to do for her and for me,” Seal said. “I couldn’t care for a child. I couldn’t care for myself at that point. I had to get my life in order.”

Seal said her own life was too fragile. She had gotten married at a young age, but the couple split. She started dating another man, who left her after she got pregnant.

She was in North Carolina, with no family. A friend helped her return home to Cuyahoga Falls, where she lived with an aunt, sleeping on a mattress on the living room floor.

“I packed whatever I could into a two-seater car,” Seal said. “That’s all I had.”

As she looked into the eyes of her daughter, she wanted so much more for her.

“I wanted to make sure she would have a family that could give her what I could not give her,” Seal said.

On Oct. 22, 1986, baby Danielle was adopted by Gary and Laura Shook of Tallmadge, a couple that had tried without success for 10 years to have a child of their own.

“I was the center of my parents’ world,” Wahl said.

Recalling her full and loving childhood, a tearful Wahl noted that her birth mother gave her adoptive parents their greatest gift.

Growing up

Wahl lived the life that Seal had dreamed for her: She was active in dance, cheerleading and theater. She went to St. Martha’s School in Cuyahoga Falls and graduated from Tallmadge High in 2004. The next year, she danced for the Cleveland Force professional soccer team.

But Danielle was about to lose the woman who raised her, the woman who had always been there for her, the woman she called “my rock.”

On Sept. 12, 2007, Laura Shook died of cancer. She was 57.

“She was at every performance, every show, everything I was in. She helped me get through high school because high school was very hard,” Wahl said. “She would double- and triple-check my homework. We would stay up long nights, until 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning, just to make sure I did everything correctly.”

After Shook died, Wahl had to experience major life events without one of the most important people to guide her.

In 2012, she married her high school sweetheart, Dan Wahl. The next year on Danielle’s birthday, they welcomed their daughter, Loralei Elizabeth, into the world.

“I can’t describe the love that you feel as a mother,” Danielle said. “You will never be able to understand it until you have your own child.”

In addition to being a wife and mom, she kept busy running her own dance company, High Voltage Dance in Akron, and working part time at Mosholder Realty in Tallmadge as a secretary.

Chance encounters

Seal had also moved on with her life. She remarried and had two more children, though the daughter she gave up was always in the shadows of her mind.

During daily routines, little girls would catch her eye. She might walk through a grocery store and spot a child of the right age standing in line at the register.

“It wasn’t consuming, but I thought about it,” Seal said. “Sometimes I would get sad thinking of what I gave up and what I was missing.”

She remembers once looking at the cast from the Tallmadge Dynamics Community Theatre, wondering if her nameless baby was on the list.

She was closer than she realized.

In April of 2011, Wahl choreographed The Wizard of Oz, the spring musical at Tallmadge High School. Seal’s daughter, Nicole, played a munchkin in that production.

And earlier this year, Seal fitted Wahl for a costume for a production at the Hower House in Akron.

Frank Chaff IV, a longtime theater director in Tallmadge, was amazed at the coincidences. He taught drama at the high school for more than 40 years, directing Wahl in several productions.

“I think it’s interesting that they have been so close to each other a number of times and seem to get along and work together,” he said. “It’s almost like they were getting to know each other without knowing.”

Reunited

Wahl began the search for her birth mother on Oct. 22 — the date that the Shooks adopted her.

“I did it mostly out of curiosity,” Wahl said. “I went on an adoption forum to see if she was looking for me and put any information I had out there.”

Through a forum on AdopteeConnect.com and Facebook, she figured out Seal’s name.

Mother and daughter reunited Nov. 23 over a cup of coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts near the Tallmadge Circle.

After 28 years, the first thing Wahl said to her birth mother was thank you.

“I had a birth mom who knew exactly what she wanted and what she needed to do,” Wahl said. “It was the right choice.”

Seal said Wahl turned out to be the beautiful and strong woman that she always dreamed she would be.

Now they are eager for the next chapter in their lives.

“If this turns into a friendship, then so be it,” Wahl said. “I don’t believe that one person can have enough love.”

Seal said she is looking forward to building a friendship with her daughter.

“It’s another person to love,” she said. “What’s wrong with that?”

Heather Beyer can be reached at HMBeyer@aol.com.

That live Christmas tree you’re adoring soon will be ready for recycling. Here’s what to do after you take off the decorations:

Summit County

Summit Metro Parks will recycle Christmas trees through Jan. 31. Trees, cleaned of all decorations and tinsel, may be dropped off at five locations:

• Little Turtle Pond at Firestone Metro Park, 2400 Harrington Road, Akron.

• Brushwood Area at Furnace Run Metro Park, 4955 Townsend Road, Richfield Township.

• Main entrance (rear parking lot, near the sled hill) at Goodyear Heights Metro Park, 2077 Newton St., Akron.

• Treaty Line Area of Sand Run Metro Park, 995 Treaty Line Road, between Merriman Road and North Portage Path, Akron.

• Big Oak Area of Silver Creek Metro Park, 5199 Medina Line Road, Norton.

Visitors can look for signs that identify each drop-off area in the above parking lots. The park district typically gets about 2,000 trees, which it turns into mulch for use in the parks.

For information, call 330-865-8065 or visit www.summitmetroparks.org.

Akron: Leave your tree at the curb on regular trash days.

Barberton: Leave at curb on designated days by wards: Wards 5 and 6, Jan. 12; Wards 1 and 4, Jan. 13; and Wards 2 and 3, Jan. 14.

Bath Township: Leave small trees with regular trash for pickup. Trees more than 4 feet tall must be cut and tied.

Boston Heights: Leave by the roadside on Mondays through January.

Copley Township: Leave at curb before 7 a.m. Jan. 5.

Cuyahoga Falls: Leave at curb Monday through Jan. 3 or Jan. 5-9.

Fairlawn: Drop off at designated site near the Fairlawn compactor at 3294 Fairlawn Service Drive, off South Smith Road, any time.

Green: Place at curb on regular trash days or leave trees out by 6 a.m. Jan. 3 and Jan. 10 for recycling. Residents also may take trees to the city’s recycling center, 5383 Massillon Road, from noon to 5 p.m. weekdays.

Hudson: Leave at curbside by 7 a.m. on scheduled pickup days (by quadrants) from Jan. 12 through Feb. 6. Residents of private lanes must place trees at the curb of the nearest public street. For schedule, visit www.hudson.oh.us and enter “mulch” in the search box to find information on the Merry Mulch Program, or call 330-342-1750.

Macedonia: Leave at curb on regular trash days. City residents also may leave trees on the brush pile at 9000 Valley View Road.

Mogadore: Residents should contact individual trash haulers.

Munroe Falls: Leave at the curb by 7:30 a.m. Jan. 14.

Northfield: Leave at curb on regular trash days.

Northfield Center Township: Leave at roadside on regular trash days.

Norton: Drop off at Mulch Makers, 3307 Clark Mill Road, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

Reminderville: Leave at curb on regular trash days. Trees should be cut in half.

Richfield: Leave at curb through January. Residents should call the Road Department at 330-659-9201, ext. 5, to make sure trees are picked up.

Richfield Township: Place on tree lawn through January.

Sagamore Hills Township: Leave at curb on trash days.

Silver Lake: Leave at curb Jan. 5-16.

Springfield Township: Residents are urged to dispose of trees at Metro Parks locations. Trees also may be taken to Woodland Mulch, 2194 E. Waterloo Road, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

Stow: Take trees to 5070 Stow Road (Stow Community Gardens), across from Silver Springs Park, until Jan. 20. Trees will be chipped into mulch that will be offered free to residents at a later date.

Tallmadge: Residents should take trees to Brimfield Aggregate, 4200 Sunnybrook Road, Brimfield Township. It is open year-round.

Twinsburg: Leave at curb on regular trash days through January. Trees also may be left at a designated site at Gleneagles Golf Club, 2615 Glenwood Drive, during daylight hours.

Stark County

Private haulers: A number of private haulers and landscaping companies will recycle trees. Some charge for the service. Residents should contact private haulers for instruction.

For more information, call the Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne Joint Solid Waste Management District at 800-678-9839 or go to www.timetorecycle.org.

Alliance: Trees should be cut and bundled in 4-foot pieces and left at curb on regular trash days.

Brewster: Leave at curb Jan. 5-16, or take to the yard waste drop-off area at the street garage.

Canal Fulton: Leave at the curb on Wednesdays during January. Trees also may be dropped off at the city’s Street Department, 950 Water St., behind the garage.

Canton: Leave at curb.

Canton Township: Residents only may drop off trees behind the township garage, 4711 Central Ave. SE, throughout the year.

Jackson Township: Drop off from dawn to dusk seven days a week at site on Fulton Drive, west of Jackson High School, throughout the year.

Lake Township: Drop off at the recycling station, 1505 Midway St. NW, from dawn to dusk daily.

Lawrence Township: Leave at roadside through Jan. 12. Residents also may take trees to the township garage recycle area at state Route 93 and Weygandt.

Louisville: Drop off any time at the Nimishillen Township garage, 4915 N. Nickelplate St., Nimishillen Township, at the north entrance closest to the railroad track.

Marlboro Township: Drop off behind Township Hall, 7344 Edison St. NE, through January.

Massillon: Drop off next to the city garage, 401 Walnut Road SW, from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays.

Minerva: Leave on curb through early January.

Navarre: Leave on tree lawn through January. Also, residents may take trees to the bin at the wastewater treatment plant on Hudson Drive from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays or 8:30 to 11 a.m. weekends and holidays.

Nimishillen Township: Drop off any time at the township garage, 4915 N. Nickelplate St., at the north entrance closest to the railroad track.

North Canton: Leave at curb on trash days. Tops should be cut off if trees are taller than 6 feet.

Perry Township: Drop off at the Road Department, 1500 Jackson Ave. SW, any time.

Pike Township: Take trees to bin at 7134 E. Sparta Ave. until mid-January.

Plain Township: Drop off at Fire Station No. 4, 2855 Easton St. NE, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays through Jan. 9. (Closed on Dec. 27). Yard waste also will be accepted.

Tuscarawas Township: Drop off at recycling facility, 956 Manchester Ave. SW, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day, ­year-round.

Medina County

Any county resident can take trees to the Medina County Central Processing Facility, 8700 Lake Road, Westfield Township, from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays or 7 a.m. to noon Saturdays.

Brunswick: Leave at curb on regular trash days during first two weeks in January. If trees are over 6 feet, they should be cut in half.

Lodi: Leave at curb on regular trash days. Trees should be bundled in 3-foot sections, no more than 50 pounds.

Medina: Leave at curb through Jan. 9.

Seville: Leave out on regular trash days through Jan. 10.

Wadsworth: Place trees at curb until mid-January.

Portage County

Aurora: Leave at curb on regular trash days.

Franklin Township: Leave at curb through first two weeks in January.

Garrettsville: Leave on the tree lawn during January.

Hiram: Leave by the roadside during January.

Kent: Leave at curb Jan. 12-23. Also, Kent residents can drop off trees at the yard-waste transfer site on Plum Street any time.

Mantua: Leave at curb. One free bulk pickup (including Christmas tree) is allowed per month. Additional pickups cost $15 each.

Ravenna: Leave at curb through January.

Streetsboro: Leave at curb for pickup Jan. 5-9.

Wayne County

Private haulers: A number of private haulers and landscaping companies will recycle trees. Some charge. Residents should contact private haulers..

For information, call the Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne Joint Solid Waste Management District at 800-678-9839 or go to www.­timetorecycle.org.

Creston: Leave at curb on regular trash days.

Dalton: Leave at curb through early January.

Doylestown: Leave unbagged trees at curb for pickup by 7 a.m. Jan. 12.

Orrville: Put on tree lawn for pickup Monday through Jan. 16.

Rittman: Leave at curb on regular trash days.

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton this month awarded more than $1.3 million in grants and restricted funds for the third and fourth quarters of 2014.

The awards primarily went to nonprofits working to counter homelessness and improve early childhood education and health care for residents of Stark County and the surrounding area.

The largest award, $450,276, went to the Early Childhood Resource Center for the foundation’s continued support of the SPARK program. The Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids initiative prepares youngsters ages 3 and 4 for kindergarten.

The foundation’s board also approved a restricted fund totaling $250,000 for expansion of SPARK in Stark County.

“We continue to collaborate with our community partners on creating a pooled fund for this effort,” foundation President Joni Close said in a prepared statement.

Other grants awarded were:

• Aunt Susie’s Cancer Wellness Center, $5,000 for a program that provides assistance to women fighting cancer.

• Canton Calvary Mission, $45,000 (over three years) for an after-school program serving Gibbs Elementary and its neighborhood in Canton.

• Canton City Health Department, $24,000 for the Stark County Institute on Equity THRIVE (Toward Health Resiliency for Infant Vitality and Equity), in an effort to reduce infant mortality.

• Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio, $16,200 for a new client tracking system.

• Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Stark County, $100,000 for software and staffing for a new Homeless Management Information System.

• Mercy Medical Center, $147,000 (over two years) for operating support and a panoramic X-ray unit for the dental clinic/

• Mercy Medical Center, $4,200 to support the Mercy Service League’s Harvest Ball.

• Ohio Business Roundtable, $5,000 in grant-writing support for the state of Ohio’s Preschool Expansion Grant application.

• Prescription Assistance Network, $175,000 (over two years) for operating support.

• Stark County Agriculture Society, $75,000 for the grandstand renovation project at the fairgrounds.

• Stark County Regional Planning Commission, $8,000 for partial funding of the Continuum of Care Planner.

• Westark Family Services, $10,000 (over two years) for geriatric case management.

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton was established in 1996. It works on the needs of the poor and underserved by studying poverty, nurturing the growth of communities and emphasizing youth and family, and measuring the results of its efforts.

For information, go to www.scfcanton.org.