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🔦 About those school lunches

🔦 About those school lunches

Facts about the free lunch program. Plus, 2022 fall sports preview, parks and rec upgrades, dog park update, our new Mailbox feature and more

August 09, 2022

Today is Aug. 9, 2022.

Finally, a little relief! After several days of sweltering heat, we’ll get a preview of September today with a high of 78 degrees and a low down to 66 with an 88% chance of a shower or thunderstorm, as temperatures are forecast to stay relatively mild all the way into next week.

Latest news in brief

Bee-free: Bow Wow Beach reopens after insects forced temporary closure

It didn’t take long to get rid of the bees. After closing the small-dog area of Bow Wow Beach at Silver Springs Park on Thursday, Aug. 4, due to dangers posed by the insects, the Stow Parks & Recreation Department announced the following day that it had cleared the bees and fully reopened the dog park.

The area was treated the morning of Friday, Aug. 5, after a beehive had been discovered underneath a statue in the small-dog part of Bow Wow Beach the previous day. No dogs or people were stung by the bees, according to the Parks & Rec Department.

More news:

If you're a Stow resident who wants to serve the city, there are two vacancies on the Commission on Inclusion, which promotes awareness of the issues people and families with disabilities are facing. It also serves as a resource for questions about community offerings and opportunities for individuals with physical, emotional or intellectual disabilities. The two vacancies are for unexpired terms. The term for one vacancy runs through Jan. 2, 2024, and the term for the second vacancy runs through Jan. 2, 2025. For an application for these openings, visit https://stowohio.org/documents/2019/07/application-form-boards-commissions.pdf, or contact the mayor’s office at 330-689-2800. Applications are due in to [email protected] by Saturday, Aug. 20.
Munroe Falls Metro Park will be the site of Summit Metro Parks’ Touch-A-Truck program, presented by Akron Children’s Hospital. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, and is free for all ages. Munroe Falls Metro Park is located at 521 S. River Road. Food will be available for purchase, while emergency response and Summit Metro Parks vehicles will be featured at the event. Call 330-867-5511 or visit summitmetroparks.org for more information.
Want to know some Silver Lake history? Ohio native Sharon Moreland Myers, author of the book “The First Hundred Houses in Silver Lake: How Silver Lake was Developed,” will be among 13 local authors featured at the first-ever Local Lit Fest from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, at the Cuyahoga Falls Pavilion (located at 2085 Front St.). The event is sponsored by Shelf Life, a community bookstore in Cuyahoga Falls. In “The First Hundred Houses in Silver Lake,” Myers details the first homes and early homeowners of Silver Lake — including the original Silver Lake Country Club — with more than 100 photographs featured. For more information, visit ShelfLifeBookstore.com.

Community calendar

🎸 Aug. 10, 6-7:30 p.m. – Concerts on the Green. What: Free concert by Silver Creek playing classic rock, Motown, Southern rock, country and blues. Where: Stow City Center Campus, 3870 Darrow Rd.

📻 Aug. 11, 7 to 8 p.m. – History of Radio. What: Dr. Max Grubb, senior lecturer of communication at Youngstown State University, gives a presentation on the history of radio. Where: Stow-Munroe Falls Room at the Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library, 3512 Darrow Rd. Registration is required. Register at https://events.smfpl.org/event/8980498.

🍔 Aug. 15, 6-7:30 p.m. – Cooked Up Fun! Campfire Cooking In Cast Iron. What: How-to and hands-on cooking program by professional caterer Jeff Kline. Where: Silver Springs Campground (concrete pad near site #17), 5238 Young Rd. Cost: $5.

📖 Aug. 17, 2-3:30 p.m. – Facing the Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes in WWII. What: Book Discussion Group program featuring New York Times bestselling author Daniel James Brown, who talks about his book chronicling three Japanese American soldiers who volunteered to fight on the battlefields of Europe in World War II. Where: Community Room at the Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library, 3512 Darrow Rd. Registration not required.

Obituaries for Aug. 5-7

Maurice R. KauslickMaurice R. Kauslick, 85, passed away July 16, 2022. Born in Barberton, he was a lifetime resident of Stow. After a long illness, Maurice went on to Heaven to be with his wife and son.Read more

Sue Ann (Morris) DuncanSue Duncan, 73, passed away after a courageous battle with cancer on August 4, 2022. Sue was born in Wadsworth on December 14, 1948 to the late Paul & Mary Morris and was a 1966 graduate of Wadsworth High School. She was a Cuyahoga Falls/Stow resident since 1982.Read more

Stow

Major upgrades are coming to the parks system

Stow is constructing a greenbelt and other amenities at the recently acquired Hanson Property. Photo by Kim Hardesty

You’ve probably already seen the cleared-out trees and huge mounds of dirt on the Hanson property next to Fox Den Golf Course on Call Road. And that’s only the beginning.

The city is embarking on an ambitious 10-year Master Plan to greatly improve its parks system, which will include a community center and trails throughout the city. “We want to make this a destination,” Stow Mayor John Pribonic said.

The project you see underway on Call Road is where a “greenbelt” consisting of new recreational space and an upgraded driving range are going in, along with a cemetery containing about 3,500 graves.
I’ll probably be in one of them someday. Not only are my wife and I looking to make Stow our eternal home, but the new cemetery is conveniently located right down the street from us — a total win-win.

Schools

Setting the record straight about the end of free meal program for Stow-Munroe Falls students

Table via Stow-Munroe Falls school district

Rumors and wild speculation have been rampant ever since the district announced that the pandemic-era program offering free meals for all students expired at the end of the 2021-2022 school year. So here are the basic facts:

Yes, for the first time since the free meal program began in April 2020, many students will have to pay for their meals this school year. And there will be a price hike (see related table).
However, free and reduced-price meals and milk are still available for eligible families.
To see if you qualify, fill out an online application at www.payschoolscentral.com or visit the Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools website at https://www.smfschools.org/.

Sports

Bulldog Sports Roundup: Fall Preview Special

The 2022 high school fall sports season is upon us, and The Spotlight’s Roger Gordon takes a look at how each of SMF’s teams shape up heading into the campaign.

Top performers, coaches’ comments and team analysis are featured for every sport.
Highlights include former SMF football assistant Martin Poder coming back to the Bulldog sidelines as head coach, the girls cross country team looking for a return trip to the state championship meet, and boys cross country standout Micah Bentley seeking to defend his National Conference title.
Read the 2022 fall sports preview here. And if you missed our golf preview last week, you can read it here.