Today is March 20, 2025.

• Happy spring! The vernal equinox occurred at 5:01 a.m. this morning, heralding the official arrival of spring — and we’re in for some typical Northeast Ohio spring weather today. In other words, get ready for a little bit of everything: It’s going to be cloudy, windy and cooler with a couple of showers — maybe mixed with snow late in the day — with the high a mild 55 degrees and the low a frosty 26. Next stop: summer.
  

• WELL, DID YOU SEE IT?: So who set their alarms to get up in the early hours of March 14 to see the total lunar eclipse? If you did, you saw a spectacular cosmic event known as the Blood Moon. The lunar eclipse actually started at 11:57 p.m. March 13, with totality beginning around 2:26 a.m. and ending around 3:31 a.m. Maximum eclipse was at 2:58 a.m., with the moon turning a rusty orange or dark red in color — thus the “Blood Moon” moniker. The eclipse ended at 6:08 a.m. The next total lunar eclipse that we’ll be able to see will occur March 3, 2026.
  

• MUNROE FALLS TAX ASSISTANCE: Free city income tax assistance will be available to Munroe Falls residents from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 5 at Munroe Falls City Hall at 43 Munroe Falls Ave. (upstairs in City Council Chambers). No appointment needed. A CCA representative will be on hand to offer assistance with city income tax preparation.
  

• VILLAGE OF SILVER LAKE JOB OPENING: The Village of Silver Lake is looking to fill a full-time Service Worker II/Mechanic position in the service department. Beginning pay is $29.07/hr. with benefits. Applications will be accepted from Monday, March 24 through Friday, April 11. Go to this page for links to more information and an application.
  

• SILVER LAKE SPRING LEAF AND LIMB CLEAN-UP: The Village of Silver Lake’s Spring Leaf and Limb Clean-Up Program will begin Monday, April 7 and run through Sunday, April 27. Here are the guidelines: 1. Leaves and limbs must be in separate piles, and piles cannot be put in the street; 2. Limbs must be under 10 feet long and no larger than 4 inches in diameter; 3. The Village of Silver Lake Service Department will not pick up lumber, weeds, stumps, firewood or anything with a root system; 4. Complete tree removal will also not be picked up by the service department.
  

• SMF STUDENT COUNCIL CLOTHING DRIVE: Stow-Munroe Falls High School Student Council is holding its annual District-Wide Clothing Drive from Monday, March 31 through Monday, April 7. Participating schools and Stow City Hall will designate drop-off zones for donated clothes (child and teen clothes are encouraged). Go to stowstuco.org/events for more information.
  

• “Reader Spotlight” is a forum where you can send us your comments, concerns and suggestions on anything going on in our communities of Stow, Munroe Falls and Silver Lake. Send your email to [email protected], put “Reader Spotlight” in the subject line, and please include your name and town (recommended but not required for publication). We will publish comments as we receive them.
  

• If you just subscribed or missed something in an earlier newsletter, don’t fret: Subscribers have access to every edition of The Spotlight at www.stowmunroefalls.com. Check out back issues to catch up on everything that’s going on in our communities — you never know what you might have missed!

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Stow

City explains why there’s no more free mulch for residents

The Spotlight received this inquiry from a reader last week: “One thing we may have missed is why free city mulch is no longer available to Stow residents. We saw this on the Stow City Brush Drop-off site. Is there a reason? Or, is it because the wood hasn’t been turned into mulch yet? Just wondering.”

Indeed, the City of Stow’s Brush Drop Off page states: “Mulch is no longer available to residents.”

So The Spotlight reached out to the city about the issue, with Stow Parks and Recreation Director Linda Nahrstedt explaining the mulch situation: “This year, the City has partnered with a company that will grind our collected brush at no cost. In exchange, they will take the processed material with them. This agreement results in significant cost savings for the City — upwards of $17,000 — which allows us to allocate resources toward other community services and improvements.

“We understand that free mulch has been a valued service in the past, and we appreciate your understanding as we explore ways to balance cost savings with community benefits.”

Go this page for all things brush drop-off in Stow — particularly handy information now that spring clean-up has begun in earnest.

Environment

Full slate of nature-based programs on tap for annual Earth Fest celebration at Adell Durbin Park

Earth Day is Tuesday, April 22. Arbor Day is Friday, April 25. And to celebrate the big week of environmental awareness, the Stow Parks & Recreation Department will stage its annual “Earth Fest: Celebrate the Earth” event from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 26 at Adell Durbin Park, located at 3300 Darrow Rd. The event is free and open to the public (no registration necessary).

Activities will include:

• 10:30 a.m. — Tree-pruning demonstration

• 10:45 a.m. — Tree-planting demonstration

• 11 a.m. — Mulching demonstration

• 11:15 a.m. — Guided hike (explore the signs of spring and marvel at the beauty of nature)

Participating organizations and their exhibits at the event include:

• City of Stow Urban Forestry: Pick up a passport, visit the organizations for your stamps, and return the passport for a free tree

• Summit County Metro Parks: Learn about Wild Back Yards

• Summit County Master Gardeners: Gardening information and making seed balls

• Rubber City Reuse: Composting services and demos

• Summit ReWorks

• Wild Ones: Native plants and home landscape

• Summit Soil and Water Conservation District: Rain gardens and other water-quality methods for homeowners

• Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Stormwater information

• EnviroScience

• Ohio Department of Wildlife

• Stow Parks & Recreation

• Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library: Children’s crafts

Additional parking will be available at the LaTuchie Tennis Center at 3200 Darrow Rd., adjacent to Adell Durbin Park.

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