Halloween is months away, but Cedar Point is already scaring up some thrills for its HalloWeekends.

The park and Midnight Syndicate — the Northeast Ohio musicians who pen frightful soundtracks for haunted houses nationwide — have announced that they are once again teaming up for the Sandusky amusement park’s scary fall weekends.

The haunted musicians will take up residence on Friday nights and on Saturdays and Sundays from Sept. 15 to Oct. 29 in the park’s Jack Aldrich Theater.

The last time Midnight Syndicate performed at the park was in 2014.

The new show, Midnight Syndicate Live!, will be a horror-themed multimedia concert that will blend live music, theater and film.

“We’ve developed a new, even better show that we can’t wait to unleash on audiences,” said Midnight Syndicate’s Edward Douglas in a statement. “Our new venue, the Jack Aldrich Theater, is a perfect fit for what we want to do. It will allow us to create an intimate and thrilling experience that guests won’t soon forget.”

The group last performed in the park’s former IMAX movie theater that was torn down to make way for the Valravn roller coaster.

“Working with Cedar Point in 2014 was a great experience across the board, so to be able to team up with them again, especially as a part of Midnight Syndicate’s 20th anniversary celebration, is perfect,” added fellow Syndicate member Gavin Goszka.

Charles Bradshaw, who is in charge of live entertainment at Cedar Point, said it is great to have the scary act back in the line up.

“We’re excited that Midnight Syndicate is bringing their live and immersive stage show back to Cedar Point this fall,” Bradshaw said. “Fans of their mesmerizing music loved their previous run at HalloWeekends — and they’re going to love this latest production.”

To create the new show, the group says it is working with special effects legend Robert Kurtzman, of From Dusk Till Dawn fame, and his Creature Corps, David “House” Greathouse and Beki Ingram, both of Faceoff, and director Gary Jones, whose work includes Army of Darkness, and 529 Films and EFX-TEK artist Mark Rakocy.

Craig Webb can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal or 330-996-3547.

AKRON

Immigration forum Saturday

AKRON: Have questions about immigrants and refugees in Akron?

City Council members Rich Swirsky and Marilyn Keith are co-hosting a forum Saturday to answer questions about changing federal policy and what’s happening in Akron.

Speakers from the International Institute and World Relief will speak and answer questions.

The forum is 10:30 a.m. until noon at First Assembly of God Church, 1175 W. Market St.

CANTON

TV drama to be shot locally

CANTON: A new television show starring Hilary Swank and Greg Kinnear will be produced in the Canton area and Northeast Ohio, the Canton Repository reports.

State Rep. Kirk Schuring, R-Jackson Township, announced the news Tuesday that the The One Percent will be filmed here thanks to expanded film tax credits approved by state lawmakers last year, the newspaper says.

The Starz drama focuses on the story of a struggling farmer, according to entertainment websites. Filming isn’t expected to start until 2018.

“This is major league stuff,” Schuring said.

COLUMBUS

Medina lawyer sanctioned

COLUMBUS: A former part-time Medina city prosecutor was given a one-year stayed suspension and placed on probation Wednesday by the Ohio Supreme Court.

Richard Barbera, who is now a solo attorney, was sanctioned for violating professional conduct rules for Ohio attorneys because he mismanaged his client trust account and failed to cooperate with investigators from the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.

The court, however, found that Barbera didn’t misappropriate any client money or harm any client.

Barbera is a former member of the Medina County Bar Association Certified Grievance Committee, which considers complaints against attorneys.

The court stayed Barbera’s suspension on several conditions, including that he complete three hours of continuing legal education on client trust accounting practices, abide by the trust account rules, complete one-year of probation and commit no further misconduct.

Reached by phone Wednesday, Barbera said, “I’m moving on from this.”

MEDINA

Man’s body found in shed

MEDINA: A Brunswick man was found dead in Medina’s industrial district on Monday afternoon.

Police say they are investigating 20-year-old Brandon Lamiell’s death as suspicious. Police provided few details because autopsy and toxicology reports have not been completed. Cause of death has not been determined.

Lt. Dave Birckbichler said Lamiell’s body was found at about 12:30 p.m. in an open shed or pole barn with no doors. The structure is on the property of a private business on West Smith Road within the city’s limits.

Birckbichler said some of the man’s friends had been searching for him for a couple of days.

Asked for more details, Birckbichler said he would wait until the Medina County coroner’s reports are complete.

STARK COUNTY

Firefighters adopt dog

LAWRENCE TWP.: An injured dog who was dropped off at the North Lawrence Fire Department in December is now a full member of the force, the Massillon Independent reports.

Halligan, a 2-year-old Lab and pit bull mix, was suffering from frostbite when he was found in a Wooster Street Northwest ditch. Firefighters have helped nurse him back to health.

“By mid-January, he got his energy back and has become a fluffy [happy] pup,” incident safety officer Elliot Lee told the newspaper. “He’s been a mainstay and comfort companion here for everyone.”

Akron is targeting a “problem bar” on what’s become the city’s deadliest street corner.

Twice this year, men have been shot dead in or just outside of Game 7 Bar and Grille at 627 S. Arlington St.

“What’s going on over here at 627?” asked Councilwoman Tara Mosley-Samples, who like police and residents is fed up with the violence and crime the bar attracts.

On Jan. 28, D’Cortez Taylor, 23, was found shot to death inside his vehicle in the bar’s parking lot. The crime remains under investigation. Witnesses won’t talk. There are no charges and no arrests.

On the afternoon of March 4, bar owner Leslie Garr shared a Facebook post from her manager, Anthony Hunt. In it, rapper Mozzy, the entertainment for that night, tells fans to attend his show. “Now pull up, pull up, pull up. …” the rapper says in the manager’s marketing video.

Police pulled up shortly after a gun went off at 9 p.m. They found bouncer Daniel Turner, 33, lying in the doorway. He later died at Summa Akron City Hospital.

Anthony Cox, 21, is charged with aiding in the murder. Timothy Dunn III, 19, is charged with pulling the trigger. Police believe Dunn, who turns 20 next month, was turned away from the bar for his age.

He allegedly returned to retaliate at a bar so dangerous that off-duty police officers have refused to work security there. “It behooves the police department to make sure its officers are safe,” said Lt. Rick Edwards, who explained that a request for off-duty officers to work the bar was originally denied before police told the bar managers that they would need to hire at least four officers to cover the front and back doors, inside the bar and a large parking lot in the back. “We’ve had police officers attacked there while on call. One got hit in the head with a bottle.”

“My residents are sick and tired of it,” Mosley-Samples said.

She said the neighborhood is still reeling from the 2013 slaying of Paris Wicks II. The former Ellet football star, 23, tried to defend a friend from muggers when he was shot to death behind a store at the other corner of Arlington Street and Lovers Lane.

“They are, frankly, afraid to go to their cars after a certain time of the day,” Mosley-Samples said.

Reached by phone, Hunt said Tuesday he might meet a reporter at the bar on Wednesday. But he did not return phone calls seeking to confirm that appointment and was not at the bar Wednesday when he said he might be. Garr did not respond to a message sent to her Facebook account.

Mounting a case

Mosley-Samples, a police commander and a city attorney have called for a meeting this Friday at the prosecutor’s office to review recent complaints of late-night noise, violence, shootings and other issues.

The city officials used state records to determine that Joe Salem and Gary Thomas, not Hunt and Garr, are the current owners of the bar and property, respectively. And so they expect Salem and Thomas to attend the nuisance hearing Friday.

Salem owns the company that controls the liquor permit. He said he sold everything, including kitchen and bar equipment, to LG&H Entertainment, which is registered to Garr.

Thomas, whose real estate company 627 S Arlington LLC owns the bar property, did not comment for this story.

The meeting with Thomas, Salem and possibly the new operators is the first step in mounting a lawsuit in Summit County Common Pleas Court to shutter the bar for at least a year.

“Even if I get it closed under the nuisance ordinance, someone else with a liquor license can move in and open it up,” Mosley-Samples said.

Outlawing liquor sales

The City Council voted unanimously Monday to block the old operator, Salem, from transferring a liquor license owned by his company Grant Street Tavern LLC to the bar’s new operators. The application is pending before the Ohio Liquor Control Commission, a three-member regulatory agency in Columbus staffed with governor appointees.

Mosley-Samples won’t leave the matter in the hands of state officials who collect fees for granting liquor permits. She is summoning local residents to the East Akron Neighborhood Development Corp., 550 S. Arlington St., at 6 p.m. Thursday to consider outlawing liquor sales in the neighborhood around the bar.

Mosley-Samples expects to get the 57 signatures needed to place an issue on the ballot that would bar the sale of alcohol in Precinct 1 of Ward 5. She said local clergy have agreed to campaign for the issue.

“The residents over here need a break. They’ve had to deal with a lot of the violence and the loitering of the young people at the drive thru across the street. It’s too much,” she said. “I just can’t let my residents continue to come to me day in and day out without doing something.”

She and city prosecutors also remain hopeful that law enforcement has made a strong case to shutter the bar.

Along with the two shootings, police have visited the bar once every two weeks this year. A car was stolen there, and a woman was assaulted in its parking lot earlier this year.

On Feb. 1, officers made a surprise visit to check on after-hours activity and to investigate the first murder, committed four days earlier. When they arrived at 3:29 a.m. in the middle of the week, two patrons ran into the bar and locked the front door. Hunt, the manager, unlocked it minutes later, according to police.

Police found cold Budweiser beers, unmelted ice and freshly poured shots. Police ordered Hunt to unlock a side room. Inside, beneath a couch, police said they found two silver, loaded handguns. The serial numbers for the Smith & Wesson traced back to a theft from a police department west of Mansfield.

In all, five were arrested — the first two for locking the door and obstructing justice, one for providing a false identity to hide from an outstanding warrant, another for the stolen gun and the manager for serving after hours.

Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @ABJDoug .

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Niles, will host a town hall meeting for constituents of Ohio’s 13th Congressional District on from 2 to 4 p.m. March 25 at the University of Akron’s Student Union Theatre, 303 Carroll St.

Seating is limited and there is no available overflow space, so those wishing to attend should arrive early.

The town hall will be moderated by UA professor and Akron Press Club truste Dave Cohen.

The 13th district covers portions of Summit, Stark, Portage, Trumbull and Mahoning counties.

Ohio Democratic leaders are seeking letters of interest to fill the soon-to-be vacant 35th House district seat.

State Rep. Greta Johnson, D-Akron, has announced that she will step down as a state representative March 26 to become the deputy law director for Summit County.

The Democratic minority caucus will appoint an applicant to serve the remainder of Johnson’s term, which runs through December 2018.

A screening panel of five Democratic state representatives will interview applicants to make a full recommendation to the full 32-member caucus.

The 35th District includes portions of Akron, Barberton and Coventry Township.

Applicants should mail and email resumes and cover letters to House Democratic Chief of Staff Andy DiPalma by the close of business March 31.

Beacon Journal staff report

WOOSTER: Former Wayne County Commissioner Cheryl Noah died Wednesday, the Wooster Daily Record reported. She was 77.

Mrs. Noah, a Republican, was the first female commissioner in the history of the county when elected in 1992, the newspaper said. She served for 16 years.

Mrs. Noah also was a registered nurse and real estate professional.

Memorial services are at 1 p.m. Saturday at McIntire, Bradham & Sleek Funeral Home, 216 E. Larwill St., Wooster.

Read the full Daily Record report here.

MASSILLON: The Affinity Medical Center is laying off workers as the number of patients has fallen, the Massillon Independent reports.

As many as 50 employees could lose their jobs, the newspaper said.

“Although the decision to rebalance our workforce is never easy, ... managing our resources prudently will allow us to be better positioned to serve our community into the future,” the hospital said in an email to the newspaper.

Read the full report here.

A Cuyahoga Falls mother doesn’t want her son to be known as an addict or a murderer.

Nancy Mariola says Brock Richardson also is a victim of the heroin epidemic, though he is still alive while a man he gave drugs to isn’t.

“There’s a story behind these people,” Mariola said of her son, who had struggled for many years with drug addiction. “Some never turn their lives around.”

“That’s my child,” she continued. “I don’t want him to be an inmate number. I don’t want him to be known as ‘Brock Richardson sentenced for involuntary manslaughter.’”

Mariola shared her thoughts Wednesday after Richardson was sentenced to five years in prison.

Richardson, 26, of Akron, pleaded guilty last week to involuntary manslaughter and corrupting another with drugs.

Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands sentenced him to three years on the involuntary manslaughter charge and two years on the corrupting another with drugs charge. He will be eligible for judicial release after serving 2½ years.

Prosecutors say Richardson gave Jacob Dolfi, 21, of Akron, fentanyl on Feb. 20, 2016. Dolfi went home, took the drugs, overdosed and died.

Fentanyl is a powerful painkiller often mixed with heroin. People taking heroin often don’t know if they are using heroin, fentanyl or a combination.

Summit County has been more aggressive than other large counties in Ohio in charging people who provide deadly doses of opiates with involuntary manslaughter. The charge carries a maximum of 11 years in prison, with the length of the sentence depending on the person’s role in the death. Dealers generally get more time and fellow users net less.

Walter Madison, Richardson’s attorney, said his client wasn’t selling drugs for his own gain.

“He was just as much an addict as the deceased gentleman was,” Madison said. “He got caught middle-manning a deal to support his addiction.”

Prosecutors say Dolfi’s family is very upset about his death and decided not to attend the sentencing because it was too emotional for them. The family was, however, in agreement on the resolution and sentence.

Richardson apologized before his sentencing to the Dolfi family.

Mariola said she also had planned to apologize to the family.

“We wanted to let the family know how sorry we are for them, not how sorry we are for us,” she said. “My son has an opportunity for a future.”

Mariola, the mother of four sons, said her family can sympathize with the Dolfi family, not only because of Richardson’s struggles, but also because 27 friends of her oldest two boys have died of drug overdoses.

Mariola, though, is confident Richardson will be able to turn his life around.

“He got in too deep over his head,” she said. “It’s just a horrible situation. Nobody wins here. That family doesn’t win. They lost a child. We don’t win.”

Mariola said the family wants to turn a negative into a positive by continuing an annual tradition of providing blessing bags at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church and assistance at Christmas for the families of people in rehab. This year, they will do this in Jacob Dolfi’s name.

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705, swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj .

Summit County authorities conducted “one of the largest shakedowns” its ever held at the county jail Wednesday night and found no illegal drugs, Sheriff Steve Barry said.

The shakedown followed tips about small amounts of narcotics possibly being smuggled into the facility. Authorities also had heard someone on talk radio recently discussing how drugs were rampant in the jail, located on East Crosier Street in Akron.

“I’m am very pleased,” Barry said Thursday morning about the result.

He noted that the jail is understaffed and people believed that there weren’t enough workers to conduct proper searches. About 50 deputies and others, along with five drug-sniffing dogs, entered the jail unexpectedly at 7 p.m. to do the sweep.

The jail houses about 680 inmates.

Authorities conduct searches on a regular basis but not to this scale, sheriff’s spokesman Bill Holland said.

“We were focusing on searching for drugs and weapons and we didn’t find any of those items,” he said. “We’re going to continue doing these shakedowns to ensure these items aren’t making their way into the jail.”

He and the sheriff said authorities found minor items of contraband, such as extra blankets, food and uniforms.

Barry credited the success of the search to Lt. Mike Lowe, along with several sergeants.

The sheriff participated in the search, which also included K-9 handlers from the Akron, University of Akron and Reminderville police departments.

Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ .

Expectant mothers in Medina County can no longer plan to give birth close to home.

Cleveland Clinic is consolidating its labor and delivery services at its three hub hospitals — Akron General, Fairview and Hillcrest.

Medina Hospital’s birthing center will close at the end of June.

Akron General and Fairview are closest to Medina city. Each is about a 35-minute drive when traffic flow is normal and roads are dry.

The Cleveland Clinic said concentrating services at fewer locations aims to improve care.

“Focusing services allows us to provide the highest level of care for mothers and babies,” the Cleveland Clinic said in a statement. “And having the highest level of (neonatal intensive care unit) in close proximity is an advantage for families.”

Medina County, once-rural farmland, has become an enclave of bedroom communities serving both Akron and Cleveland over the past 40 years.

More than 170,000 people live in the county, concentrated in Medina, Brunswick and Wadsworth.

Until recently, hospitals in Medina and Wadsworth competed to lure pregnant women to their birthing services.

But Summa Health eliminated Wadsworth-Rittman Medical Center’s maternity ward, along with most hospital services that required an overnight stay, after purchasing the hospital in 2008 for $1.

That prompted the Wadsworth-Rittman Area Joint Township Hospital District to sue. In February, Summa and the joint district reached a legal settlement could, among other things, clear a path for a full-service community hospital’s return to Wadsworth.

Under the agreement, the hospital district has 18 months to find a group to operate its campus as an inpatient, acute-care hospital. If the district makes a deal, Summa will transfer ownership of the buildings to the hospital district at that time.

At the time, the hospital district was optimistic it could find a group to restore the hospital’s services.

When that could happen — and whether birthing services would return — is unclear.

Amanda Garrett can be reached at 330-996-3725 or agarrett@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @agarrettABJ .

The Ohio Department of Transportation will permanently close the ramps from South Street to Interstate 76 eastbound in Akron starting Wednesday.

The closures are needed so work crews can do waterline work and begin construction of a new section of South Street.

The work is part of the ongoing $84 million project to reconstruct the I-76 interchange with South Main Street and South Broadway. The entire project is scheduled to be completed by July 2020.

The South Main ramp to I-76 eastbound will remain open during the work.

The South Street ramps were originally scheduled to be closed Friday, but the closure was pushed back because of the weather, ODOT said Thursday.

The state agency, as part of several projects, is reducing the number of entrance and exit ramps along I-76 in Akron to improve safety.

CANTON: The United Way of Greater Stark County will host an open house from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday at its new Financial Prosperity Center, 822 30th St. NW.

The Prosperity Center at the OhioMeansJobs Stark County Center was developed to help area residents become financially stable. Services include employment counseling and placement, financial education and coaching and public benefits access.

“The financial and employment programs offered through the Prosperity Center will provide job seekers as well as employed individuals tools to enhance their families’ financial well-being,” Stark Tuscarawas Workforce Development Board Executive Director Jennifer Meek Eells said in a prepared statement. “Delivering more services through a ‘one-stop’ location is an added benefit for our customers most in need.”

The Financial Prosperity Center is open now. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are encouraged. For more details, go to www.uwstark.org/financial-prosperity-center or call 330-491-2620.

The Summit County Historical Society announced the Woman of the Year Awards at a luncheon held at the Hilton Garden Inn Wednesday.

Dr. Melanie Lynch, breast surgeon and the medical director of the Interdisciplinary Breast Program at Summa Health Cancer Institute was given the pioneer award. Lynch discussed the milestones in progress of breast cancer treatment as well as the importance of cancer screening. Longtime friends Phyllis Glass and Nancy Davies agreed they were looking forward to hearing Lynch address the crowd.

Other women receiving honors were Patricia Clayton (Innovation), Amber Genet (Creativity), Suzanne Hobson (Integrity), Katy Miller (Courage), Kimberly Young (Inspiration), Judith A. Read (Posthumous) and Tessa Reeves (Women to Watch).

“I’ve been involved with this event for 19 years and am very committed to honoring the women here,” said Dr. Theresa S. Beyerle.

“Having young granddaughters, I like to see good examples of what other women can do,” said Debbie Foster, who attended with co-worker Laura Jo Hawk.

Historical Society president and CEO Leianne Neff Heppner said, “My favorite part of this is sitting down with the honorees and hearing them tell me their stories.”

Other women enjoying the luncheon and program included Margaret Scott, Naoibh Chaplin, Bev Fry, Sylvia Johnson, Delores Juriga and Carol Eubank. Heather Pollock served as the presenter of the awards and emcee.

Theresa Carter said, “This is a unique format to recognize outstanding women in the community and one of the women I’ve mentored [Kimberly Young] is being honored today.”

STOW: Nick Seagle and Tom Mitchell were struggling to pick a name for their new nanobrewery.

Then — just like in the movies — it came to Seagle in a dream.

“I was sleeping and I had a dream that we were at a brewery ... and I looked over and on the wall it said, ‘Headtrip Brewery,’ ” he said.

He relayed that story to his friend and business partner and viola, their new venture, which they hope to open this summer, had its name.

The trippy logo features an upside down, side view of a smiling face. The head serves as a beer mug, and a hop cone and barley are inside the mug.

Headtrip, which will employ a custom-built three-barrel brewing system, is tucked between a tanning salon and a consignment shop in the Stow-Hudson Towne Centre shopping plaza, 1634 Norton Road.

Seagle, 32, of Cuyahoga Falls, who works in a motor development lab, and Mitchell, 34, of Stow, who works as a fabricator, are busy now renovating the small storefront space, which used to be a juice and smoothie shop, and building their brewing system and furniture.

The brewery will feature a small bar with only about six seats; tables and chairs; and a dart board. There won’t be any televisions.

“We want it to be that friendly, get-to-know your neighbors place,” said Mitchell, who has been home brewing for several years. “We want people to talk to each other.”

Their goal is to replicate the atmosphere from the former Trailhead Brewery, a tiny place that closed in Akron’s Merriman Valley neighborhood. Seagle and Mitchell first met there and bonded as friends.

They are opening a brewery for the same reason many home-brewers make the step — friends told them their beer was pretty good.

Headtrip is one of many new craft breweries coming online as part of a wave of openings around the country. There are now more than 4,200 breweries in the United State.

The Akron area has seen its share of growth. While there were only three a few years ago, there are now 10 operating in Summit County, with at least another five in the planning process.

The local breweries are spread out enough that there’s plenty of room for more growth, Seagle said.

“I don’t think we’re even getting close to the saturation point,” he said. “There definitely can be more.”

The brewery expects to offer six beers on draft at the outset. Seagle and Mitchell are still figuring out which styles, but they expect an IPA, English mild, chocolate coffee peanut butter ale, Belgian-style beer and fruit beer.

People should always expect rotating fruit and Belgian-style beers.

“Fruits are definitely one of my favorite styles to make,” said Seagle, who has been home-brewing for more than six years. “I mean endless possibilities. The Belgian styles are probably the best style of beer, in my opinion. They are just a flavor unlike anything else.”

He’s also a fan of color.

“I love colors in beer,” Seagle said. “When I make stouts, they have to be black, completely black.”

They are still determining the hours for the brewery, but expect it will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with shorter hours likely on Sunday.

Headtrip won’t offer food, but will allow people to bring in their own.

To keep track of Headtrip’s progress, go to: www.facebook.com/HeadtripBrewery.

Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his beer blog at Ohio.com/beer. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ .

Not enough skilled workers.

It’s a common lament among manufacturers in the nation and Ohio, where, despite massive declines in manufacturing, the sector accounts for one in every eight jobs.

“We’re all struggling with the same issues. Not having enough of a skilled workforce,” said Dave Sattler, owner of Sattler Machine Products in Sharon Center.

Sattler is working to get the word out — especially to fellow manufacturers — about a ConxusNEO-organized event Thursday called “Align.”

The program — which will run from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. — is designed to get area manufacturers, educators and economic development officials talking about ways to align education and training programs to the needs of the workforce.

Jobs have become more sophisticated, and many people — students, job seekers, educators and others — don’t know that manufacturing is not about their grandfather’s dirty factory floor, manufacturers note.

Sattler and Jenny Stupica, human resources manager for Twinsburg-based metal fittings manufacturer SSP, are championing a year-old Akron area effort — called ConxusNEO, a nonprofit aimed at closing the skills gap and strengthening the connection between job seekers and employers.

Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro, Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan and Akron Public Schools Superintendent David James will be among those talking Thursday about efforts such as Akron Public Schools’ College and Career Academies. The program is at North High School and eventually will expand districtwide.

Para Jones, president of Stark State College and a member of the ConxusNEO board, will talk about Stark State College’s plan for an industrial maintenance program in Akron.

ConxusNEO, the reorganized Summit Workforce Solutions, is helping to develop the College and Career Academies program, working with more than 100 community, business and education leaders to link academic subjects to workforce themes.

Five sectors

Stupica, on the board of ConxusNEO, said manufacturers attending Thursday will learn how they can become involved in one of five “sectors,” or groups — each covering a particular geographic area of Summit County. Each group involves educators, companies and economic development officials in the given area.

“The nice part is now collectively we’re all working together,” said Sattler, “knowing full well [the challenge of finding skilled workers] is not about one given company.”

Sattler, whose roughly 20-employee company serves various markets, including mining and steel making, said “We all become stronger from [working together] and we’re not taking employees from one another any longer. The pool [of job candidates] gets bigger.”

One ongoing effort that manufacturers will learn about is TalentNEO, a 2-year-pilot program, involving an assessment test for math, reading and information-seeking skills. ConxusNEO oversees the pilot in Summit County.

Stupica said the end result of this ACT WorkKeys assessment test may be a job pairing that neither a company nor a job seeker expected.

“Those looking for a job might say, ‘I’ve never been in a manufacturing facility before,’ ” Stupica said. “And now after taking the WorkKeys test, they can see they have the skill set that shows they can get a position that’s just a starting point in a manufacturing career.”

Getting word out

In addition, Sattler said, ConxusNEO is about getting the word out about existing workforce development programs: “We want to identify the best practices and share them with one another.”

Sattler said there are a lot of workforce development efforts, but “they’re in different pockets... This is the first time we’ve been able to get anything [to work together] that has momentum.”

One such program — in which ConxusNEO is involved — is the Right Skills Now program available at Ohio community colleges.

This month, SSP, the 180-employee manufacturer in Twinsburg, hired three people who interned with the company for eight weeks as part of the Right Skills Now program.

Rick Stockburger, manufacturing engagement manager at ConxusNEO, said attendees at the Thursday event also will hear a talk by Ned Hill, who will focus on the future of manufacturing and how U.S. manufacturing will be affected by President Donald Trump’s administration. Hill is with Ohio State University and the nonpartisan Brookings Institution think tank.

Educators will be able to learn about trends in careers in manufacturing and grant opportunities available through the Gene Haas Foundation, the California group that awards grants in support of manufacturing education.

Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. You can follow her @KatieByardABJ  on Twitter or on Facebook at www.facebook.com.

STARK

Brown, John E. “Jack,” 80, of Perry Township. Died Wednesday. Paquelet & Arnold-Lynch, Massillon.

Buck, Theresa, 76, of Alliance. Died Tuesday. Sharer-Stirling-Skivolocke.

Gibson, Frank, 82, of Massillon. Died Sunday. Paquelet.

Heacock, Joseph E., 79, of Alliance. Died Wednesday. Sharer-Stirling-Skivolocke.

WAYNE

McMillan, Barbara E., 72, of Rittman. Died Wednesday. Cox-McNulty, Wadsworth.

OTHER

Pritt, William A., 88, of Newton Falls, formerly of Alliance. Died Tuesday. Cassaday-Turkle-Christian, Alliance.

Sexual assault may be the new campus epidemic, but it’s not new.

“Campus sexual assault is not new, but is on our radar screen,” said Beverly Guy-Sheftall, who created the first women’s studies program at Spelman, a historically black college for women. She was one of two speakers at the Akron Roundtable luncheon Thursday at the Quaker Station.

“It’s an old problem, but women in the ’60s didn’t talk about it,” she said. “…There are still women today who don’t report it.”

She said 1-out-of-5 women enrolled in college will experience sexual assault, but the number of reported assaults doesn’t reflect the actual number of incidents.

“We live in a rape culture in our society that normalizes and looks the other way when it comes to rape. There is a lot of victim blaming and slut shaming,” she said. “You have to distance yourselves from rape myths that somehow it was your fault because of what you were wearing, where you were or who you were hanging out with. The only person at fault is the one who did it.”

The second speaker, Sofie Karasek, co-founder and director of education of the survivor advocacy group End Rape on Campus, said sometimes the way someone reacts to the victim’s story can influence whether the assault is reported.

“If you don’t know what to say start, with, ‘I believe you, I support you. You are not alone and it’s not your fault,’ ” Karasek said.

She said she became an advocate after she was assaulted as an 18-year-old student at the University of California, Berkley, in 2012. She joined a student organization and one of the board members was a serial perpetrator targeting first-year students. She learned she wasn’t the first one assaulted. Four other students also reported him to the college. She said little was done — just a warning, a slap on the hand for the perpetrator.

“I realized that this was not unique, that my story was actually the norm. It wasn’t until I connected with other survivors on campus that this was a systemic issue at the university,” she said.

She found others who were assaulted on campus who got similar results or were discouraged from filing a report. She and 30 other women filed two complaints with the U.S. Department of Education for the campus mishandling their cases and to hold colleges accountable.

“It was not isolated to Berkley, but rather a national problem that demanded a national response,” she said.

She said not much has happened since the federal complaints were filed; they are still under investigation.

The moderator of the program, Dave Lieberth, asked the speakers if the students should turn the case over to police and have a prosecutor evaluate it rather than report the issue to college officials.

Guy-Sheftall said she could debate on both sides, but in the cases she’s familiar with in Atlanta, the cases are still unresolved as well.

“The burden is higher, if you go to police it’s beyond a reasonable doubt. The average college student doesn’t want to get involved with the criminal justice system. They would prefer to face within the family,” she said. “Many who go to the local police are subjected to what they perceive to be abuse again. I’m not convinced colleges can’t handle this situation.”

At colleges, the cases are filed under Title IX, a civil rights statute.

“As a student I have the right to be safe on my campus and free from violence. I have the right to academic and living accommodations. I have the right to not have to see my perpetrator when I’m going to class,” Karasek said. “That’s fundamentally different from prosecuting somebody.”

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

A second Akron child in a week has accidentally ingested and overdosed on drugs apparently left out by parents or other adults.

According to police, a 6-year-old girl ingested an opiate — possibly heroin, fentanyl or the potent carfentanil — and was revived with two doses of naloxone, an opiate antidote commonly distributed under the brand name Narcan.

The girl overdosed at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 2900 block of Popham Street, according to police. She was taken to Akron Children’s Hospital and is expected to survive. The girl and her 14-year-old sister have been placed into the care of Summit County Children’s Services.

The girl’s mother told police the child became sick after eating dog food, not opiates.

Akron police Lt. Rick Edwards noted that naloxone does not reverse any medical problem except opiate overdoses.

A similar scenario played out on March 8.

In that case, authorities revived a 2-year-old boy with the opiate antidote in the 500 block of Brittain Road. His parents admitted to police that they were drug abusers.

Parents in both cases have not yet been charged. Investigations are ongoing, and charges are expected to be filed after toxicology reports are completed and the presence of drugs in the children’s systems is confirmed. Edwards urged parents who abuse drugs but aren’t ready for treatment to keep the opiates away from children.

Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ  and on Facebook @JournoNickGlunt .

Akron police have charged three people with felony cruelty to animals in two incidents this month on accusations that they mistreated or even killed dogs.

In the most recent case, James Taylor, 66, was charged after he allegedly snapped his mother’s dog’s neck because it urinated on the floor in his bedroom.

The abuse occurred in the 700 block of Frase Avenue between midnight and 1 a.m. Wednesday, authorities said.

According to police, Taylor arrived home intoxicated. When he discovered the dog had urinated, he allegedly grabbed the dog from his 95-year-old mother’s lap and went back to his room with the animal. The next morning, the woman and her grandson found their pet dead in its dog bed.

Taylor then allegedly threatened to snap his mother’s neck, too.

Taylor was charged with menacing as well as animal cruelty.

In the other case, Richard Facemire, 48, and Angel Facemire, 52, were charged after police officers found four of their dogs severely malnourished March 7. One of the dogs appeared almost dead, according to police. Pictures from the scene show the dog’s ribs were visible and patches of her fur were missing.

Police said the house in the 400 block of Stanton Avenue had no dog food or water available for the pets and several of the dogs appeared to have been kept in cages for long periods of time.

All four dogs were taken from the home. Three were placed in the care of the Summit County Animal Shelter and the least healthy one, which appeared to be a German shepherd, was transported to an animal hospital.

Richard Facemire, who police went to the house to arrest on a felony warrant, also was charged with drug possession because he allegedly had methamphetamine in his pocket when he was arrested.

Ohio police only recently have been able to charge people with felonies related to animal cruelty. Ohio lawmakers passed Goddard’s Law — named for famed meteorologist and animal advocate Dick Goddard — last year. Before the law’s passing, police and prosecutors could only pursue misdemeanor charges against pet abusers.

March’s cases follow Summit County’s first felony animal cruelty case pursued in February. In that case, University of Akron student Matthew McCullough, 20, is accused of throwing his roommate’s kitten against a wall. He told his roommate the kitten bit, scratched and went to the bathroom on him. The kitten, Leo, did not survive.

McCullough pleaded not guilty to the charge this month. He is scheduled to have a status hearing at 8 a.m. Friday in Summit County Common Pleas Court. If convicted, he faces six months to a year in jail.

Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ  and on Facebook @JournoNickGlunt .

Months after an unexpected loss in the community, area leaders used Thursday not as a time to mourn a lost life, but to honor one full of accomplishments.

The Greater Akron Chamber awarded former Summit County Executive Russ Pry the H. Peter Burg award posthumously at its 110th annual meeting Thursday night at the John S. Knight Center.

The Chamber presents the award every year to a leader who promotes economic development in the Greater Akron region.

Previous FirstEnergy Corp. CEO and President Anthony J. Alexander, last year’s recipient, presented Pry’s award Thursday. In lieu of a physical award, the Chamber’s Executive Committee will donate money to the Russell M. Pry Endowed Memorial Scholarship fund.

Alexander rattled off a list of qualities Pry had that he and others in the community admired: integrity, wisdom, generosity.

“I’d simply add that Russ seemed to personify the brand of leadership that’s unique to Northeast Ohio,” Alexander said. “One that’s built on hard-earned relationships, and that recognizes the value of giving back to the community we call home. No one was more dedicated to serving others than Russ Pry.”

Pry died in July after a series of health complications related to colon cancer when he was 58 — just a year older than Burg was when he died.

In Pry’s nine years as county executive, he was integral in developing deals to keep Bridgestone-Firestone in Akron and persuade Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. to expand its headquarters here.

Dan Colantone, the president and CEO of the Greater Akron Chamber, said Pry was always interested in fostering a collaborative environment between business, education and government entities.

Colantone said the two met periodically to talk about area improvement strategies — whether it was Pry’s education initiatives, the Chamber’s work in the community and anything in between.

“Those meetings were very, very instrumental and showed Russ’ side of collaborating and meeting and leading dialogue with all the stakeholders in the community,” Colantone said.

Pry also launched initiatives to combat issues like infant mortality and mental health, created the annual Summit for Kids Community Expo and built a veterans center.

“That was one thing he was really proud of over his time,” Pry’s friend Phil Montgomery said about the veterans center.

Keepsake coin

To honor Pry’s work with veterans, Montgomery decided to make the meeting’s keepsake a challenge coin with Pry’s name on it.

Inspired by a military tradition, the coins serve as a reminder of Pry and the way he lived.

“It’s a challenge to the community to give back like Russ did,” said Becky Guzzy, the senior vice president of the Greater Akron Chamber.

The award was named after H. Peter Burg, the past chairman of Akron’s FirstEnergy Corp. The Red Cross of Summit, Portage and Medina Counties also presents an award by the same name each year.

Also at the meeting, Donzell Taylor, the board chair and CEO of Welty Building Co., gave updates to the 900 in the audience on the three priorities he set for the Chamber last year: figuring out and establishing what makes the region unique, creating a livable downtown and honing better cooperation between the city, the county and the Chamber.

He cited a few projects underway in Akron, like the East End office project, where SummaCare will move its headquarters this summer, and plans to renovate the vacant Akron City Center Hotel downtown.

“I think we’re moving in the right direction,” Taylor said. “In some ways, we are having to reinvent ourselves as the world changes and we’re working that out as we go.”

As attendees ate dinner after Taylor’s announcement and Alexander’s presentation, a tribute video to Pry rolled on two projector screens in the front of the room. They showed pictures of Pry, along with short videos of people he knew, from government officials to high school students.

“I miss working with my friend,” Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said in the video.

Theresa Cottom can be reached at 330-996-3216 or tcottom@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @Theresa_Cottom .