AKRON
Purses stolen
AKRON: Akron police are asking for help to identify one or more suspects involved with stealing purses at local funeral homes and a church.
Four thefts have been reported in the last month in Akron, Copley Township, Cuyahoga Falls and Fairlawn. Police believe the same person or people are involved.
In the Akron case, a woman left her purse in the family room of a South Main Street funeral home during calling hours at about 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 11. When she went back to get her purse, it was missing. The victim called her credit card company and learned more than $600 had been charged to her account.
Akron detectives are working with other area police departments on the case.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Akron detectives at 330-375-2490; the U.S. Marshals Service at 1-866-4-WANTED; the Summit County Crimestoppers at 330-434-COPS; or leave an anonymous tip on the Akron Police Department website at http://akronohio.gov/asp/tip.html.
Callers may remain anonymous.
AKRON
Cigarettes stolen
AKRON: One man was arrested and a second is wanted for Wednesday morning’s break-in at an East Waterloo Road gas station.
Michael D. Robinson, 42, of Euclid, was arrested on charges of breaking and entering, receiving stolen property, possession of criminal tools and obstructing official business. He was being held in the Summit County Jail.
A second suspect has not been identified.
Officers were called to the Giant Eagle Get-Go at 488 E. Waterloo Road just after 3 a.m. when a security alarm sounded. Police say they noticed the front door had been forced open and more than 70 cartons of cigarettes were missing.
Additional officers in the area searched for potential suspects and eventually stopped a 1989 Chevrolet Caprice near Hammel Street and Palmetto Avenue. Two men inside fled; Robinson was caught after a brief chase.
The cigarettes were found in the back seat of the car, which had been reported stolen.
Shots fired at home
AKRON: Akron police say someone fired several shots at an Eastland Avenue home early Wednesday morning.
No one was injured and no suspects have been identified.
Officers were called to the neighborhood about 12:30 a.m. after residents heard gunshots being fired. Police say residents inside a home in the 700 block of Eastland said their home was struck multiple times.
Anyone with information is asked to call Akron police at 330-375-2490.
BARBERTON
Meeting scheduled
BARBERTON: Ward 2 Councilman John Lysenko and Ward 3 Councilman John Wagner will host a meeting at 6 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Active Adult Center inside the Lake Anna Y, 500 W. Hopocan Ave.
Residents from throughout the city are invited to discuss issues in Barberton.
CANTON
Tax fraud alleged
CANTON: A Canton man is accused of seeking about $5.5 million in tax refunds while he was serving a four-year prison sentence.
Brandon Mace, 35, is accused of filing false income tax returns in 2008 and 2009, according to U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach.
Mace has pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court and is being held by U.S. Marshals pending a bond hearing Tuesday.
Federal prosecutors said Mace, while incarcerated, prepared false income tax returns in 2008 and 2009 seeking tax refunds of $207,000 and $5.2 million, respectively.
Mace entered Lorain Correctional Institution in April 2008 after his conviction in Stark County on theft and money laundering charges. He was released in September, according to a state prison spokeswoman.
CUYAHOGA FALLS
Free dinner
CUYAHOGA FALLS: For the fifth year, Village Gardens owners Tom and Vicky Metlovskis will spend Thanksgiving Day giving back to the Cuyahoga Falls community that has embraced their little restaurant over the past 25 years.
They are offering free dinner, from turkey to pumpkin pie, to anyone who walks in the door.
Dinners will be served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the restaurant, 2437 State Road. A donation jar will collect money for the American Cancer Society.
“It’s not just people who don’t have money,” Tom Metlovski said. “We invite anyone and everyone. We have good customers who do not have families, or families are so far away, they come here to be with our families. We welcome them with open arms and make sure they enjoy their Thanksgiving Day.”
Last year, 137 people enjoyed Thanksgiving with the Metlovskis.
HARTVILLE
Liquor sales to start
HARTVILLE: The police department will need to be diligent in enforcing rules prohibiting liquor sales to underage persons and Sunday sales, Mayor Richard Currie told Village Council this week.
The passage of a local option Nov. 6 allowing sale of beer, wine and mixed alcoholic beverages will mean the first legal sales of adult beverages inside the village in recent history.
Sales are expected to begin Jan. 1 at Giant Eagle. They are permitted Monday through Saturday.
In other action Tuesday, council rescheduled its first meeting of 2013 to Jan. 2 to avoid meeting on New Year’s Day.
Council agreed to hire Central Collection Agency of Cleveland to collect the 1 percent village income tax from individuals and businesses that have not paid.
Currie reminded the public that hunting is prohibited in the village, even with permission of the property owner.
LAKE SCHOOLS
Budget questioned
LAKE TWP.: Township resident Bob Wise questioned the Lake Board of Education about the district’s finances Monday night and asked for clarification on a number of issues, including why Lake schools are spending $1.5 million more than they are taking in.
Board President David Poling asked Wise to submit his questions in writing for answers from the board.
Board member Jon Troyer asked the board to consider a vote at its next meeting on the Gay/Straight Alliance, a club recently formed at Lake High School.
Troyer said he questions allowing a school club centered around nothing but sexual preference when the policy of the board and school district is to encourage abstinence.
Superintendent Jeff Wendorf said the club was formed to promote tolerance and support for all students.
Troyer’s motion died for lack of a second. Poling said the board needs to gather more information before discussing the issue.
The board’s next meeting will be Dec. 17 at Lake Middle School.
SAGAMORE HILLS
Bank robbed
SAGAMORE HILLS TWP.: A robber dropped his loot after a dye pack exploded outside the Sagamore Hills Township bank he targeted, authorities said.
According to the FBI, the man went inside the Charter One Bank branch, 500 W. Aurora Road, about 3 p.m. Tuesday. He handed the teller a note demanding money and left with an undisclosed amount.
Outside, a dye pack the teller had stashed with the money activated, prompting the robber to drop the cash and run. The FBI said the man got inside a blue Acura and drove away.
He is white and in his mid- to late-30s. He wore a dark ball cap, dark-framed glasses, a dark gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Sagamore police at 330-468-0900 or the FBI’s Akron office at 330-535-6156.
Tips can remain anonymous.
A reward is available for information leading to identification and prosecution of the robber.
STREETSBORO
Meal miscue solved
STREETSBORO: Turkey dinners taken from a collection site were removed by mistake, the Streetsboro Police Department said Wednesday in concluding its investigation.
The manager at Valvoline Oil Change on state Route 14 called police Monday to report the theft of 13 packaged dinners left outside for pickup. A volunteer for Streetsboro Christian Cupboard was to get the meals, but when he arrived Monday afternoon, he found another man already had taken the food, which was valued at $600.
Police determined that a volunteer for the Community Pantry with the United Methodist Church of Streetsboro thought the dinners were intended for that charity and took them.
Because the food was donated to needy families in the area, no criminal charges will be filed.
Employees from Streetsboro’s police, fire and service departments each donated $200 to the Christian Cupboard on Wednesday to replace the meals.
SUMMIT COUNTY
Title offices closed
AKRON: Summit County Clerk of Courts Daniel Horrigan announced that county title and passport offices will be closed Saturday. They will reopen with normal hours Monday.
WADSWORTH
Ramp reopens
WADSWORTH: The state Route 94 entrance ramp to Interstate 76 eastbound has reopened, the Ohio Department of Transportation announced. The ramp had been closed for modifications as part of the I-76 rehabilitation project. All lanes of I-76 eastbound are open between Route 94 and the Summit County line as work on the project has shut down for the winter. Work will resume in the spring, with a project completion date expected sometime in October.