AKRON
Delivery driver shot
AKRON: A pizza delivery driver was shot in the arm during a robbery early Wednesday morning in Akron.
The driver, 32, was treated at Summa Akron City Hospital for nonlife-threatening injuries. The shooter had not been identified.
The driver for Papa John’s, 701 E. Market St., went to make a delivery about 1 a.m. on Alexander Street. While making his delivery, the driver was robbed and shot.
Police ask that anyone with information contact detectives at 330-375-2490.
Pizza heist foiled
AKRON: Two Akron men were charged with attempted aggravated robbery and other crimes early Wednesday after a ringing cell phone led police to conclude they were prepared to rob a pizza delivery man.
The officers were in the 900 block of Allendale Avenue about midnight when they saw a Pizza Hut driver looking for an address that apparently was a vacant house. The police also saw a car parked in a nearby driveway with two men sitting in reclined seats. The men told police they were waiting for girls, but stumbled on subsequent questions. They allowed officers to search their car. Two hockey masks and a handgun were found.
Police got the number of the phone used to order the pizza, called it and one of the men’s phones rang inside the car.
Ricco D. Moss, 20, of East Avenue, and Demetrious K. Bishop, 19, of South Arlington Street, were taken to the Summit County Jail. They also are charged with improper handling of a handgun in a motor vehicle and receiving stolen property. The gun was reported stolen in Louisiana.
BARBERTON
Rapist sentenced
BARBERTON: A Barberton man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Wednesday for raping an elderly woman in July.
Joseph R. Litten, 31, of Dean Drive, was convicted this month of rape and kidnapping.
Prosecutors say Litten sexually assaulted an 86-year-old acquaintance. Litten’s DNA was recovered from the crime scene, and the victim identified him in court as her attacker.
Summit County Common Pleas Judge Alison McCarty also labeled Litten a Tier III sex offender, which requires lifetime registration once he is released from prison.
GREEN
Wise Road closed
GREEN: A section of Wise Road closed Wednesday night for an undetermined length of time.
A small section of Wise just west of Mayfair Road is considered unsafe for travel.
Deputy Service Director Paul Oberdorfer said it appears there is a mine subsidence, which occurs when an underground mine starts to collapse, causing the road to sink.
Wise Road and neighborhoods accessed from Wise can be reached only from Massillon Road. Wise will be closed at Mayfair until further notice.
LOUISVILLE
Plans for station
LOUISVILLE: The City Council on Tuesday authorized spending up to $125,000 for improvements to a city-owned building for use as a temporary police station.
The building at 1150 W. Main St. is about 1,700 square feet in an office that has been used for storage for several years. Improvements will meet the short-term needs of the police department and halts plans to construct a new building on the old middle school property.
Architectural plans for the proposed new construction of a police station surpassed $1.5 million. Along with other long-term capital improvements, including construction of a new fire station to support 24-hour staffing, the council thought the stopgap measure was more appropriate at this time, the city said.
The city also noted that Chesapeake Energy recently announced it would build a regional office and other operations in Louisville that will generate an unknown amount of revenue. Council will reassess capital plans when it can determine how much money will be realized by the arrival of the natural gas producer.
NORTH CANTON SCHOOLS
Levy on May ballot
NORTH CANTON: The school board in a special meeting Tuesday unanimously approved putting a 2.4-mill permanent improvement levy on the May 7 ballot.
If approved, the levy would yield about $1.44 million annually to meet capital needs.
The school district has never had a permanent improvement levy. Historically, capital improvements have been financed from the general fund, although a permanent improvement levy was recommended by several strategic planning committees in recent years.
The revenue would be earmarked for safety and security, upgrades to technology and facilities, new school buses and other capital improvements with a lifespan of more than five years.
The levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $74 a year.
PLAIN TOWNSHIP
Parking restricted
PLAIN TWP.: Trustees have approved parking bans for township streets whenever snow exceeds 2 inches.
Streets will be posted with “No Parking” signs where Road Superintendent Joe Iacino said plow drivers have experienced problems getting around parked cars this winter.
Trustees on Tuesday also set a joint public hearing with Canton regarding the proposed rezoning of land within a Cooperative Economic Development Agreement. It will take place at 6:15 p.m. Feb. 28 at Plain Township Hall.
STARK COUNTY
Lower-cost levy
CANTON: Property owners are expected to see a slight decrease in the amount of property taxes paid to the Stark County Board of Developmental Disabilities if the agency’s next ballot issue is approved.
The board is seeking a 3.3-mill, 10-year operating levy to replace existing taxes totaling that amount. The levy would replace a 1.9-mill issue expiring in 2013 and a 1.4-mill issue expiring in 2014.
If the new issue passes, the 1.4-mill tax would not be levied in 2014, said Bill Green, superintendent of the Stark board.
Existing millage raises $21.6 million annually and costs the owner of a $100,000 home $101 a year, said Mark Crouse, chief financial officer and business manager of the developmental disabilities board. The new levy would raise nearly $20.6 million annually.
“The cost to an owner of a $100,000 home with the latest levy request has not been calculated yet ... but it will be slightly less than what is currently being collected,” Crouse wrote in an email.
On Wednesday, county commissioners passed the first of two resolutions needed to put the issue on the May ballot.
Taxpayer files suit
CANTON: A taxpayer has challenged a Stark County judge’s decision that the Newtown, Conn., school support fund should get a $5,000 fine paid by a former basketball coach who videotaped boys in a locker room shower.
The challenge was sent Wednesday to the Stark County prosecutor by Craig Conley, an attorney representing Thomas Marcelli on behalf of county taxpayers.
Conley said fines must go to the county under Ohio law.
Common Pleas Judge Frank Forchione sentenced coach Scott Studer to 15 years in prison and sent his fine to Newtown, where a school gunman killed 26 people.
The judge said he might comment after reviewing the challenge.
— Associated Press
STOW
Gas pipes frozen
STOW: Several homes on Homewood Avenue, Acorn Place and Caleb Avenue were without heat Wednesday as Dominion East Ohio crews fixed frozen gas meters and pipes.
It was determined that an 800-foot section of pipe on Homewood Avenue was corroded, utility spokesman Neil Durbin said. Water might have entered the pipe during the fall and frozen with this week’s cold weather, he said.
Crews were on the scene to make a temporary fix and get natural gas back on, Durbin said. Replacement of the pipeline has been set, weather permitting, for Monday and could take as little as an hour, he said.
About 10 customers’ lines would be affected at that time.
Customers with issues should contact Dominion at 800-362-7557.
SUMMIT COUNTY
Meet with Schmidt
CUYAHOGA FALLS: Summit County Councilman John Schmidt will host public office hours from 7 to 8:30 p.m. today at Cuyahoga Falls Public Library, 2015 Third St.
Schmidt will be available to answer questions and hear concerns from constituents.
He represents District 2, which includes Munroe Falls, most of Cuyahoga Falls and the East Akron, Goodyear Heights and North Hill neighborhoods of Akron.
For more information, call 330-643-2725.