AKRON
Art prize offered
AKRON: The public is invited to pick the winners of $10,000 in cash prizes in the second annual Akron Art Prize.
The competition begins Saturday and runs until the Akron Artwalk on Oct. 5.
More than 120 artists have entered the competition featuring a $5,000 first prize and five $1,000 runner-up awards. Entrants range from professional artists to hobbyists with works that include paintings in oil, watercolors, acrylics and pastels; three-dimensional pieces; clay and pottery works; and sculptures.
The art will be displayed at four downtown galleries: Akron Glass Works, 106 N. Main St.; Summit Artspace, 140 E. Market St.; We Gallery, 20 N. High St.; and Zebra-Martell, 43 Furnace St.
The contest is sponsored by the Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation and coordinated by Downtown Akron Partnership.
For more information or voting instructions, visit www.downtownakron.com/artprize or call 330-374-7676.
CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Meet candidate
AKRON: Tony Brown, a candidate for city council in Ward 3, will host a meet and greet in the parking lot of Henry’s Acme, 1525 S. Hawkins Ave., from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday.
Light refreshments will be served.
MEDINA COUNTY
Clerk found guilty
MEDINA: The Medina County clerk of courts will enter a diversion program following his conviction Wednesday on a misdemeanor count of misuse of public funds.
David B. Wadsworth pleaded no contest to the single charge and was found guilty by Municipal Judge Dale Chase.
Medina County Sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Kevin Ross said Wadsworth used county equipment and employees to assist with his 2012 campaign for clerk.
NORTH ROYALTON
Safe escape
NORTH ROYALTON: North Royalton police were investigating a string of burglaries over the weekend, including one instance where an intruder jumped out a second-story window.
Authorities said the burglaries occurred on Sunrise Boulevard, Wallings Road, State Road, Ashley Lane, Albion Road and Akins Road.
In the case of the Sunrise Boulevard incident, the burglar was confronted by a handyman.
The intruder told the worker he was a friend of the resident and asked whether the handyman was interested in working for him, too, officers said.
Police said the handyman left the residence to get a business card and also call the homeowner, who denied knowing the man inside the house.
As the handyman walked back to house, the burglar jumped out a second-floor window with a safe and ran away.
Two of the other burglaries were at vacant houses, where copper wiring and pipes were taken.
Police said they have a suspect in the Ashley Lane burglary and had recovered some of the items.
STARK COUNTY
Heating bills to fall
CANTON: Customers in Stark County’s natural gas aggregation program will see slightly lower prices for the year beginning Nov. 1.
County commissioners on Wednesday accepted prices of $4.665 per 1,000 cubic feet for Dominion East Ohio customers and $5.185 per 1,000 cubic feet for Columbia Gas of Ohio customers.
The current prices are $4.68 in Dominion’s territory and $5.35 in Columbia’s.
Small business and residential accounts outside cities and villages will receive the rate unless they opt out of the buying group or already have made a contract with another supplier.
In other action, commissioners scheduled the countywide Halloween trick-or-treat time as 3 to 5 p.m. Oct. 27.
SUMMIT COUNTY
Absentee deadlines
If you plan to vote absentee in Tuesday’s primary, you had better hurry.
Here are the deadlines for early voting in this municipal election:
• Those who want to vote in-person have until 6 p.m. Friday to vote at the Summit County elections board, 470 Grant St. in Akron.
• Mail-in applications must be received by the board by noon Saturday.
• Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Monday.
• Ballots may be dropped off to the elections board by the voter or an immediate family member until the close of polls at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Ballots may not be delivered to polling locations, which may not accept them.
The Summit County elections board has so far received more than 3,100 requests for absentee ballots, according to Joe Masich, the board’s director.
Divorce workshop
AKRON: The Chapel in Akron will host a Divorce Recovery Workshop beginning Sept. 12.
The seven-week seminar is designed for anyone who has experienced the pain of divorce or separation. It will offer help, healing and hope, its organizers said.
For more information, call 330-315-5465 or go to www.the-chapel.org/drw.
RAVENNA
Child porn alleged
RAVENNA: Ravenna police along with the FBI raided a Ravenna man’s home Wednesday as part of a child pornography investigation.
Daniel J. Bowman, 61, of Highland Avenue, was arrested and charged with possession and distribution of child pornography.
Bowman was taken into federal custody.
WADSWORTH
Grant for airport
WADSWORTH: The City Council accepted a $229,410 grant Tuesday from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Service Director Chris Easton said the grant reimburses Wadsworth for 90 percent of the cost of land and hangars the city purchased near its airport.
An open house at the airport, 840 Airport Drive, will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 14.
The open house, sponsored by the city and Wadsworth Flight Services, managers of the airport, will include plane displays, live music from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and a classic car show. The Akron Children’s Hospital Air Bear helicopter will be on display from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Airplane rides will be available for $50.
Admission is free. Food will be available.
The rain date is Sept. 15.
For more information, call 330-334-9861.
Zoning hearing
WADSWORTH: A public hearing has been scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15 in City Hall, 120 Maple St., regarding a recommendation by the Planning Commission to rezone some of the area of College Street from state Route 57 to Wadsworth Road as the College Street Gateway District.
Area residents have raised concerns that include increases in traffic, noise, pollution and crime if the area develops as commercial.