AKRON
Killer gets life term
AKRON: An Akron man was sentenced to life in prison for shooting his ex-girlfriend’s new companion.
Phillip Pope, 24, pleaded guilty in Summit County Common Pleas Court to murder and a gun specification charge Tuesday. Judge Tammy O’Brien then sentenced him to a mandatory life sentence with parole eligibility in 18 years.
He was charged in the Nov. 28 shooting death of Will Lamon, 21.
Prosecutors said Pope lay in wait on Buckingham Street in Akron about 10 p.m. and opened fire on Lamon’s car when it stopped near Fairbanks Place. Lamon was struck in the torso and died later at Summa Akron City Hospital.
Lamon was dating Pope’s former girlfriend, and the woman was in the car when the shots were fired, prosecutors said.
The woman, who is also the mother of Pope’s child, identified Pope as the shooter.
Pope surrendered to police a few days later.
Mother arrested
AKRON: A 33-year-old Akron woman was arrested after police said she tried to flee her home while officers were investigating a meth lab at the residence.
Camilla Brown, 33, left her two children inside the home in the 400 block of East South Street when she went out a second-story window to escape, authorities said.
The ages of the children were not released.
Brown has been charged with child endangering and obstructing official business.
Award for leader
AKRON: Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority Executive Director Anthony O’Leary, who has headed the agency for two decades, has been named by Child Guidance and Family Solutions as the 2013 Friend of Children award winner.
O’Leary will be recognized at the Mending Hearts and Minds Breakfast, 7 a.m. March 6 at the St. Joseph’s Family Center, 610 W. Exchange St., Akron.
Tickets start at $50.
Reservations must be made by March 1. Call 330-384-2882 or email suttk@cgfs.org for more information.
GREEN
Public hearing
GREEN: A public hearing over street lights for a neighborhood will be 7:05 p.m. March 12 at the Central Administration Building, 1755 Town Park Blvd.
The discussion will involve lighting for the third phase of the Stoney Creek development.
Wise Road reopens
GREEN: Wise Road reopened to traffic Tuesday afternoon.
A section of the roadway just west of Mayfair Road was repaired over the past few weeks after officials had discovered unsafe conditions due to mine subsidence, which occurs when an underground mine starts to collapse.
A final resurfacing will be performed this summer in conjunction with other road projects.
LAKE TOWNSHIP
Work on Route 619
LAKE TWP.: A survey crew hired by the Ohio Department of Transportation is placing orange markings along the heavily traveled state Route 619 heading to the popular Hartville Kitchen and Hartville Hardware in preparation for construction that should begin by 2017.
“We going ahead with the road-widening project there,” Justin Chesnic, public information officer for ODOT’s District 4, said Tuesday.
ODOT is in the planning stages, getting designs prepared for the project, Chesnic said.
The two-lane road, which has only a short center turn lane for eastbound traffic into parking areas, causes traffic backups. The estimated $9 million project would include the addition of two lanes, one in each direction, a center turn lane, plus roundabouts at Kaufman and King Church avenues.
Turn lanes would be constructed at Market Avenue, widening the highway to five lanes from Kaufman to Milan avenues.
The state will begin right-of-way acquisitions by 2014 that should take a year or more, Chesnic said.
The project should be ready to bid by 2016.
NEW FRANKLIN
Fire hits house
NEW FRANKLIN: An overheated electrical outlet is being blamed for a Tuesday morning house fire that caused $50,000 in damage.
Firefighters were called to the 2100 block of Center Road about 7 a.m. for a fire in an upstairs bedroom.
A man inside the home was treated at the scene for minor injuries. Crews from Clinton and Norton assisted in extinguishing the fire.
NORTHEAST OHIO
Chili Open record
A record amount of money was raised at the Wayne Homes Chili Open held this month at Hale Farm & Village.
A total of $153,000 was raised as 400 golfers took part in the winter golfing event that benefits Akron Rotary Camp in New Franklin. Last year, $148,000 was raised, also a record.
Officials said 560 pounds of chili was consumed this year.
Plans are already underway for next year’s tournament, which will be Feb. 1.
Money generated by the 22nd annual Chili Open will help send children and adults with disabilities to programs at the camp, which is run in partnership with the Akron Area Y.
For more information about Akron Rotary Camp, go to www.akronrotary.org or call 330-644-4512.
LaRose meetings
State Sen. Frank LaRose, R-Copley Township, will hold office hours Saturday throughout his district, which encompasses portions of Summit and Stark counties and all of Wayne County.
Hours are: 9 to 11 a.m., Stow City Hall, 3760 Darrow Road; 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., Wayne County Public Library, 220 W. Liberty St., Wooster; and 3:30 to 5 p.m. Canal Fulton City Hall, 155 E. Market St.
No appointment is necessary.
RAVENNA
Seminar on guns
RAVENNA: The Realize Firearms Awareness Coalition will hold a free informational seminar at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Maplewood Career Center, 7075 State Route 88, Ravenna.
The coalition describes itself as a “grass-roots, nonprofit, pro-truth group.”
The event will include an explanation of firearms jargon and the Second Amendment.
“We’ll tell you the truth about firearms and your rights and responsibilities,” Carl Capps, a spokesman for the coalition, said in a news release. “We believe informed citizens make better choices.”
For more information, call 440-548-2442.
SUMMIT COUNTY
District 2 meeting
Summit County Councilman John Schmidt will host office hours from 7 to 8:30 p.m. today at Cuyahoga Falls Public Library, 2015 Third St.
Schmidt, who represents District 2, will be available to answer questions and hear concerns from constituents.
District 2 is composed of Munroe Falls, most of Cuyahoga Falls and portions of Akron, including East Akron, Goodyear Heights and North Hill neighborhoods.
For more information, call 330-643-2725.