BATH township
Park levy studied
BATH TWP.: Trustees voted Tuesday to approve measures to explore whether to place a renewal levy or a replacement parks levy on the Nov. 5 ballot.
Trustee James Nelson said trustees are asking the county fiscal officer to provide them with information regarding what a 0.75-mill renewal levy would bring in at current property tax rates and what a reduced millage request of 0.71 mills would generate as a replacement levy.
The dollar figures will help trustees make an informed decision, Nelson said.
The current levy, which will collect $373,018 this year for tax year 2012, according to Roy Ferguson of the Bath Fiscal Office, is due to expire in October 2014. The levy runs for five years.
The levy funds operations and maintenance in the township’s park system.
Abduction attempt
BATH TWP.: Police were investigating a report of an attempted abduction Monday evening.
A woman walking her dog told police a man approached her in a van about 7:30 p.m. near the intersection of Olentangy Drive and Haskell Drive.
The man was described as a white male, 35 to 45 years old, between 150 to 175 pounds. He was driving a black panel van with older tires.
WEWS-TV reported that the man yelled at her to “get in the van.” When she ignored him, he stopped the van, got out and yelled again.
The woman ran away and called police.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Daniel Lance at 330-666-3736.
GREEN
Purse snatched
GREEN: The Summit County Sheriff’s Office is seeking help in catching a purse snatcher.
Authorities said a woman was robbed in the parking lot of Arlington Ridge Shopping Center in Green on Saturday.
A man pushed a woman to the ground as she walked to her vehicle and stole her purse.
The robber was described as a white male, around 6 feet tall, with a thin beard.
Several witnesses attempted to chase the robber.
Authorities said the man tried to use one of the victim’s stolen credit cards at a Circle K on Brown Street in Akron.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Summit County Sheriff’s Office at 330 643-2181 or 1-800-932-3695 or contact Summit County Crimestoppers at 330-434-2677.
A $2,000 reward is being offered.
NORTH CANTON
Bomb suspect held
NORTH CANTON: Police said a man accused of leaving explosive devices in the basement of his longtime residence was arrested at a Canton motel Tuesday afternoon.
Thomas R. Ward, 51, was booked into the Stark County Jail and is being held on $200,000 bond pending arraignment on felony charges of inducing panic and possession of dangerous ordnance.
About 1 p.m., North Canton detectives, with assistance from Canton police, arrested Ward at the Towne Manor Motel, 926 Tuscarawas St. W. He was cooperative with officers, according to a news release from North Canton police.
On May 29, police were called to Ward’s residence of about five years on Sunford Avenue when a cousin reported finding suspicious devices in the home. The Summit County Bomb Squad, along with other federal and local authorities, removed several items from the house. Some of the items later were identified as improvised explosive devices capable of causing serious injuries.
PORTAGE COUNTY
Threat against KSU
KENT: Beacon Journal news partner WEWS reported Tuesday that a Colorado man was arrested after police said he threatened to detonate a bomb at Kent State University.
A cabdriver picked up Louis J. Koleszar of Glenwood Springs at Akron-Canton Airport on Tuesday.
The Portage County Sheriff’s Office said Koleszar, 58, told the cabdriver he wanted to go to Kent State’s campus, where he intended to set off a bomb.
The cabdriver contacted her dispatcher, who called police. Deputies said the cab company provided Kent city police and Kent State police with the cab’s location.
When the driver exited Interstate 76 at state Route 44 in Rootstown Township, sheriff’s deputies were able to arrest Koleszar without incident.
He was taken to the Portage County Sheriff’s Office, where he was being held without bond.
Koleszar was charged with making false alarms, which is a three-degree felony since the threat involved a weapon of mass destruction, deputies said.
He will appear in municipal court in Ravenna today.
SUMMIT COUNTY
Guilty of road rage
AKRON: A Cuyahoga County man who caused injuries to a female taxi driver when he dragged her with his car in a road-rage incident last summer was found guilty of felonious assault Tuesday.
Laray Carlisle, 37, of Garfield Heights, will be sentenced on the second-degree felony at 11 a.m. July 3 in Summit County Common Pleas Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands’ courtroom.
According to the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, Carlisle honked his car’s horn and yelled at the female taxi driver as she attempted to make a left-hand turn onto South Main Street in Akron in front of him July 24.
Before the woman could turn, Carlisle bumped her taxi’s rear bumper.
The woman examined the taxi’s damage and called 911. Carlisle drove into the cab’s bumper again, then pulled up to the passenger side.
The woman told Carlisle she had called police and requested he stay until officers arrived. He told the woman to take a picture of his license and insurance card, but when she attempted to do so, he slapped at her phone, causing it to fall into his car.
As she reached into his car to get her phone, prosecutors said, Carlisle grabbed her arm, hit the gas pedal and dragged her about a block. He then smashed her phone and shouted obscenities at her before driving away.
The woman experienced concussion-like symptoms and sustained extensive bruising, prosecutors told the jury.
Free film at theater
AKRON: A free showing of the children’s movie, The Croods, will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Highland Square Theater, 826 W. Market St.
The event is hosted by County Councilman Frank Comunale, District 4, who said the showing will include drawings for free bicycles.
Food donations will be accepted for the Good Samaritan Hunger Center and Sarah’s House.
Doors for the movie will open at 9:15 a.m.
WADSWORTH
Citywide sales
WADSWORTH: Much of the city is expected to be on sale Friday and Saturday.
The fourth annual Wadsworth Treasure Hunt will include citywide garage sales and some vendors selling items in the downtown area. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
Jack Ollom, executive director of the Downtown Wadsworth Association, sponsor of the event, said the objective is to promote citywide garage sales like the ones the village of Seville holds each year.
Special signs advertising specific garage sales are available from Downtown Wadsworth for $10; vendors can reserve space downtown for $25.
Ollom said paper maps locating the sales will be available at the association’s booth, at 102 Main St., and online at www.MSWadsworth.org.