AKRON
Man shot
AKRON: Akron detectives are investigating a Tuesday night shooting that left the victim with a wounded leg.
Authorities say a 21-year-old Wildwood Avenue man was involved in a verbal argument with another man who left and returned several minutes later with a handgun.
The victim was transported to a local hospital where his injuries do not appear to be life threatening.
Detectives say they have identified a suspect.
CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Meet candidates
STOW: The group Citizens for Nonpartisan Politics and the Stow-Munroe Falls Community Foundation are co-sponsoring a candidates night Tuesday.
The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Silver Springs Lodge, 5027 Stow Road, Stow.
Candidates invited to appear include those in races for: Summit County executive, prosecutor, clerk of courts, sheriff, fiscal officer, engineer and council; U.S. Senate; 14th Congressional District; and 37th Ohio House District.
The candidates will be allotted two minutes to present their backgrounds and qualifications, followed by a timed question-and-answer period.
The program is free and open to the public.
Voter guide
AKRON: Voters who want to learn more about local, state and federal candidates and issues on the Nov. 6 election ballot can consult the League of Women Voters of the Akron Area’s voter guide.
The nonpartisan league printed 20,000 copies of the guide and distributed them to libraries, government buildings, recreation facilities, Acme stores and participating businesses in Summit County. The guide also is available on the league’s website, www.lwvaa.org.
For more information, contact the league at 330-836-7079 or lwvaa@lwvaa.org.
HARTVILLE
Permit pending
HARTVILLE: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expected to issue a permit within a month for creation of a wetland mitigation bank on 122 acres the Schumacher family owns.
Village Engineer Rob Graham told council Tuesday night the permit would allow the owner to begin construction. He said other agencies have completed reviewing the project, located east of the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway track and south of Wales Drive.
Council also learned the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved plans for the proposed upgrade to the sewage treatment plant.
Fiscal Officer Scott Varney said a favorable rate on a USDA loan — potentially saving the village $500,000 in interest expense — can be obtained if bids are sought by mid-November.
Also, council voted 5-1 to turn down a $110,000 grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission to install a gravel road in an undeveloped part of the village-owned industrial park.
Councilman Edsel Tucker voted no, saying the village cannot sell the lots without a road. Councilwoman Cynthia Billings said the village share of the project, $115,000, would be better spent on existing roads that need improvement.
STARK COUNTY
Parking issues
PLAIN TWP.: Township trustees held a special meeting Wednesday to discuss a parking ban on streets around Diamond Park in anticipation of overflow parking problems related to a lacrosse tournament there this weekend.
Trustees authorized placement of “No Parking” signs on Diamond Street and Middlebranch Avenue in the area around the park from Friday through Monday.
Natural gas prices
CANTON: Effective Nov. 1, the price for natural gas in the county’s customer aggregation pool will be $4.68 per 1,000 cubic feet for customers of Dominion East Ohio.
The price for Columbia Gas of Ohio customers will be $5.67 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Stark County commissioners were informed of the rates Wednesday.
The supplier will be IGS Energy. The rates will last until Oct. 1, 2013.
SUMMIT COUNTY
Trail dedicated
RICHFIELD: A new 1.25-mile walking trail was dedicated Wednesday afternoon in a ceremony staged by the village and the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition.
The entrance is at the Richfield Branch of the Akron-Summit County Public Library, and the trail loops nearly to Brecksville Road. It connects the library and village hall.
The village built the trail with funds from the Ohio Public Works Commission and Summit County on land the Carter-Pedigo families formerly owned.
Prison sentence
AKRON: A former part-time instructor in the Green school district has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for having sexual contact with a teenage girl.
Jason Mazan, 28, of Jackson Township, also will be labeled a Tier III sex offender, meaning he will be required to register his address with the sheriff’s office for the rest of his life, the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office said.
In August, Mazan pleaded guilty to attempted sexual battery and attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, both felonies, and misdemeanor falsification.
According to police records, a Summit County sheriff’s deputy found Mazan in his parked car with a partially clothed 14-year-old girl about 1:30 a.m. April 7.
Appeal denied
AKRON: A baby sitter from Green has been denied an appeal of her murder conviction and life sentence.
The unanimous decision against Tiffani Calise was announced Wednesday by the 9th District Court of Appeals. The 45-page opinion, written by Judge Carla Moore, denied each of the 19 claims Calise’s attorney filed in January.
Calise can appeal the ruling to the Ohio Supreme Court.
The appeal was based primarily on Summit County Common Pleas Judge Alison McCarty’s decisions barring testimony from two defense experts.
Calise, 22, was convicted in 2011 of the death of toddler Aaliyah Ali. Calise said the 23-month-old girl fell in a bathtub; prosecutors and local medical experts contend the girl’s brain injuries came from a physical assault.
Calise’s experts would have testified that the toddler’s injuries could have resulted from a fall in the tub. The appellate court, however, agreed with McCarty that the testimony from one expert was unreliable and that he was not qualified to reach his conclusions. A second expert, who claimed the child had a prior head injury, could not testify because his finding came after a court-imposed deadline.
WADSWORTH
Development deals
WADSWORTH: City Council has approved a new set of guidelines to offer incentives to create and retain jobs in the city.
Eligible companies may be offered an annual grant based on a percentage of the annual payroll withholding taxes generated from new employees to the city. The program will be available to businesses that want to locate in the city or ones that are already in the city and want to expand.
A company that wants to locate or expand in Wadsworth must create, within a three-year period, a minimum of 25 new full-time jobs or add payroll of at least $750,000. Incentives can last up to 10 years based upon payroll and can be up to 40 percent of the new payroll taxes.
STATEWIDE
Salads recalled
Dole Fresh Vegetables is recalling some of its American Blend salad in 12-ounce bags, due to possible contamination with listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that can cause serious illness.
To date, no illnesses have been reported due to the recalled lettuce.
The salads were distributed in 10 states, including Ohio.
The bags being recalled have the product code of A275208A or B, with a use-by date of Oct. 17, and UPC code 7143000933. The product code and date are in the upper right-hand corner of the bag; the UPC code is on the back below the barcode.
Tests by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture on the salad blend were positive for listeria. Dole issued similar recalls for its Italian Blend salad in August, and its bags of hearts of romaine lettuce in June, both also due to listeria detection. None of the lettuces in those recalls were distributed in Ohio.
Customers with the salad blends are advised to throw them away, and call Dole at 1-800-356-3111, between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Pacific time, Monday through Friday, with any questions. Listeria can cause illness that can be particularly serious in pregnant women and in adults with weakened immune systems. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches and gastrointestinal problems.