AKRON
Student had gun
AKRON: A Kenmore High School student was arrested before classes early Wednesday morning after police and school officials found he was carrying a loaded pistol in his jacket, police said.
The boy, 17, is charged with bringing a concealed weapon onto school property. He was being held in the Summit County Juvenile Detention Center.
Police say school officials were acting on tips and rumors from other students, who alleged the teen was known to sell marijuana and carry a gun on school grounds. A police officer assigned to the school spotted the teen and took him to the principal’s office for questioning.
When the teen was asked to empty his pockets, police found cash and a loaded .25-caliber pistol with a bullet in its chamber. The teen was arrested immediately.
Police said the teen was questioned prior to the arrival of other students.
Messages left for Akron school administrators were not immediately returned.
Funeral thefts
AKRON: An Akron man has been arrested on charges of stealing purses during calling hours at local funeral homes.
Raymond Jarvis, 49, was arrested Tuesday night by Akron police. He is charged with multiple counts of receiving stolen property and forgery.
Additional charges from other jurisdictions are expected.
Last week, Akron police reported multiple thefts of purses taking place during funeral services in Akron, Copley Township, Cuyahoga Falls and Fairlawn.
In one case, on Nov. 11, a woman left her purse in the family room during calling hours at a funeral home on South Main Street in Akron. By the time she noticed the theft, more than $600 was charged to her credit-card account.
Jarvis is being held in the Summit County Jail pending an appearance in Akron Municipal Court.
Clothes iron attack
AKRON: An Akron man is accused of using a clothes iron as a weapon and fracturing the skull of another man, police said.
Delmar Jones Jr., 30, was being held in the Summit County Jail after his arrest Tuesday on a charge of felonious assault.
According to Akron police, Jones and another man awoke the victim inside a Highview Avenue home about 3 a.m. Nov. 17 and attacked him. At one point, Jones grabbed an iron and hit the victim.
Police say the victim sustained a fractured skull and cuts. The second suspect has not been identified.
Police found the iron broken in half inside a bucket and blood throughout the home’s kitchen.
The victim, 36, was treated at Summa Akron City Hospital for what police described as severe lacerations.
Stabbing arrest
AKRON: An Akron woman has been arrested in the Nov. 17 stabbing of a man who suffered a punctured lung.
Police said he was stabbed in the chest during an early morning quarrel with his girlfriend. The man was treated for a chest wound at Summa Akron City Hospital.
Maria Woodall, 26, was booked into the Summit County Jail on Tuesday. She is charged in Akron Municipal Court with attempted murder and felonious assault.
Woodall is scheduled to go on trial Dec. 13 in Common Pleas Court on forgery and racketeering charges. She is accused with eight others in a widespread counterfeit check scheme.
She was free on a signature bond while awaiting trial.
Court records show she was cooperating in the investigation with the U.S. Secret Service and county prosecutors.
Pizza heist arrest
AKRON: Akron police and the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force have arrested a suspect in last month’s robbery of a Pizza Hut delivery driver.
Jequon Johnson, 22, was being held in the Summit County Jail on one count of aggravated robbery after his arrest Wednesday.
Police accuse Johnson of using a gun and robbing the 19-year-old Pizza Hut driver Oct. 3 near Johnston Street and Johnston Court.
The robber fled with $25.
Meet with Valle
AKRON: John Valle, director of neighborhood assistance, will conduct office hours at local community centers on Thursdays in December. His schedule is:
• Noon to 2 p.m. Dec. 6, Reservoir Park Community Center, 1735 Hillside Terrace.
• 10 a.m. to noon Dec. 13, Kenmore Community Center, 880 Kenmore Blvd.
• 3 to 5 p.m. Dec. 20, Joy Park Community Center, 825 Fuller St.
• 10 a.m. to noon Dec. 27, Summit Lake Community Center, 380 W. Crosier St.
COLUMBUS
Obhof in GOP post
COLUMBUS: Members of the state Senate Republican Caucus on Wednesday elected Sen. Larry Obhof of Montville Township as majority whip, the fourth-highest leadership position, for the 130th General Assembly that convenes in January.
The majority whip is responsible for monitoring legislation and votes for the majority party.
“I am honored to have received the support of my colleagues in joining our leadership team,” Obhof said in a written statement.
“I look forward to working with all members of the Senate as we look to build on the progress made during this General Assembly in growing our economy and creating more job opportunities for Ohioans.”
Obhof joins Senate President-elect Keith Faber of Celina, President Pro Tempore-elect Chris Widener of Springfield and Majority Floor Leader Tom Patton of Strongsville on the Senate Republican leadership team.
GREEN
Rezoning denied
GREEN: City Council voted 4-2 on Tuesday to reject a months-long attempt to rezone almost 16 acres of land along South Arlington Road to permit an 81-unit luxury apartment complex.
The developer, Redwood Management of Beachwood, has contended the proposal met all the criteria of the city’s long-range land-use plan and had city administration support.
Redwood Management sought the rezoning, along the west side of South Arlington just north of Boettler Road, to extend the already fully-occupied 102-unit, single-floor Emerald Ridge apartment complex.
The complex was built in 2009 and designed primarily for senior citizens.
“We don’t think the city made a prudent move,” Redwood Vice President Keith Ritz said Wednesday. “This is not over.”
Ritz said the developer has collected 650 signatures from people who want the housing in Green and has a waiting list of prospective residents, some who could be shifted to other Redwood complexes in Cuyahoga Falls and Hudson.
For more details from the meeting, go to http://green.ohio.com.
MUNROE FALLS
Sword theft averted
MUNROE FALLS: A 92-year-old Munroe Falls man confronted a burglar who apparently tried to steal a ceremonial sword.
Police arrested Taune Wright, 21, of Kent, immediately after the victim called 911 on Tuesday. Wright is being held in the Summit County Jail on a charge of burglary.
The victim told police that he was sitting at a dining room table when he saw Wright walking around his apartment. After confronting the suspect, the stranger fled and the victim followed.
The suspect was found in a laundry room acting as if he was washing clothes, officers responding said. Police also found the ceremonial sword that was stashed in a trash can.
Additional property from the victim was also recovered from the laundry area, police said.
PLAIN TOWNSHIP
Radio contract
PLAIN TWP.: Township trustees on Tuesday entered into a three-year contract with the Stark County Sheriff’s Office for use of its 800-megahertz radio frequency.
The board agreed to pay $600 per month to use the countywide radio frequency.
Adriana Cirese of Oakwood Leasing LLC gave trustees an update on work being done at Oakwood Square Shopping Center.
She said the parking lot was being repaired, and plans are to reface the shopping center buildings, making them more attractive to prospective tenants.
STARK COUNTY
Employee indicted
CANTON: An employee of the Stark County commissioners’ building and grounds department has been indicted on a charge of theft in office.
Commissioners learned on Wednesday that Joseph Fleming Sr., 53, was placed on unpaid suspension Nov. 14.
Administrator Michael Hanke declined to explain the alleged offense.
Fleming is charged with a fifth-degree felony. Under state law, the charge applies to an amount below $1,000.
His case has been assigned to Common Pleas Judge V. Lee Sinclair. It was filed Nov. 6.
Budget approved
CANTON: Stark County commissioners have approved $17.8 million in temporary appropriations for the first quarter of 2013.
Most departments’ allocations amounted to a third of their 2011 budgets, said Richard Flory, budget and property manager.
The share given to the Sheriff’s Department is based on the larger 2010 spending plan.
Promises made before the 2011 passage of the 0.5 percent county sales tax called for the sheriff to be funded at 2010 levels.
Temporary appropriations are “basically a piece of math’’ according to county Administrator Michael Hanke.
Permanent appropriations are due by April 1.
Also Wednesday, commissioners agreed to allow EnerVest Energy to put a pipeline through canal land in Bethlehem Township in the southern part of the county.
The company will pay the county $6,000. The line will be 4 feet underground.
WADSWORTH
Proposal tabled
WADSWORTH: The city’s Planning Commission has tabled a proposal for Graff Plumbing to occupy a building at 125 Tolbert St.
The commission needed some questions answered, and the applicant was not present for the meeting this week.
Jeff Kaiser, the city’s planning director, said he had recommended the proposal be approved, but more information is needed.
According to the staff report on the issue, the applicant needs to address some questions based on a visit Monday to the property and “the experience the department has had with the applicant in terms of property maintenance code violations” at another location.
That report notes if the proposal is approved, the applicant should install privacy fencing, outdoor storage except for vehicles should be prohibited and the parking lot should be asphalted since much of the gravel has washed away.
Kaiser said the commission needs to know how many employees and vehicles there will be at the business.
He said he would inform the applicant the proposal will be on the commission’s Dec. 10 agenda.
WINDHAM
Poker fundraiser
WINDHAM: A poker tournament to raise money for American Legion Post 674’s child welfare fund will be held Saturday at the post, 9960 E. Center St.
Buy-ins are $50. Free food will be provided.
Doors open at 2 p.m.
For more information, call 330-326-3188.