Today is Aug. 2, 2022.

• As you are enjoying your inaugural issue of The Spotlight, the weather should be beautiful: Clouds giving way to some sun, a high of 81 degrees, and 0% chance of rain. It might be a little breezy with wind gusts up to 18 mph, but all in all it should be a great day for a newsletter launch!

• DON’T FORGET TO VOTE TODAY! Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Community calendar

🍔 Aug. 2, 6-8 p.m. – National Night Out. What: Free dinner with entertainment (bounce house, slide, police vehicles, raffle by Target). Where: 3800 Darrow Rd., by Fire Station #1.

🧘 Aug. 4, 6-7:30 p.m. – Yoga on the Green. What: Free yoga instruction by Flourish Yoga and Wellness. Where: the Green at Stow City Center Campus, 3870 Darrow Rd. (will be moved to Flourish Yoga and Wellness at 3037 Graham Rd. in case of inclement weather).

🎸 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. 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.

Latest news in brief

Want to serve your city on the zoning board?

Stow Mayor John Pribonic is seeking a Stow resident from Ward 3 to fill a vacancy on the city’s Board of Zoning and Building Appeals. The vacancy is for an unexpired term that will run through Jan. 2, 2025. For an application for this opening, contact the mayor’s office at 330-689-2800.

• Everyone is invited to Jane Osman’s drive-by 92nd birthday celebration from noon to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 6. She lives at 1631 Lillian Rd. You may remember Jane from her days at Osman’s Pies in Stow!

• The Stow Goal Club’s annual yard sale benefiting the Stow-Munroe Falls High School boys and girls soccer programs will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 6, in the high school parking lot. Drive-up donations will be accepted from 7:30 to 8 a.m. You can also swing by the Goal Club’s annual car wash the same day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Bellacino’s parking lot (3658 Fishcreek Rd.).

• For the entire month of August, you can “round up” for the Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library Foundation when you visit Dairy Queen Grill & Chill at 3645 Fishcreek Rd. in Stow. Any time you round up your order to the nearest dollar this month, it benefits the Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library Foundation.

• Girl Scout Troops 270/7270 will hold their annual rummage sale from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Aug. 6, at the United Methodist Church at 4880 Fishcreek Rd. Donated items can be dropped off at the church from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 5.

• Can you identify this spider? It’s exotic and terrifying at the same time. It was photographed in Stow a few days ago. If you know what it is, let us know!

Obituaries for July 27-Aug. 1

Teri A. JohnsonTeri A. Johnson, 53, died July 27, 2022. Born in Arlington, VA, Teri was a Stow High School graduate, an avid Cleveland Indians fan, and enjoyed snowmobiles, motorcycles, and scooters.Read more

Cheryl L. Christy-MaffeiCheryl L. Christy-Maffei, 75, died July 27, 2022. Born in Akron, she spent most of her life in Stow and had been employed as an inspector with ODOT prior to her retirement.Read more

Schools

Change at the top: Wright stepping down as SMF board president, Brown set to take over

At roughly the halfway point of her term, Jessica Wright is resigning as president of the Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools Board of Education, effective Aug. 14. Board Vice President Nancy Brown will replace Wright the same day.

The board is scheduled to accept Wright’s resignation at a special meeting Aug. 3. Here’s the full story on this.

• Wright, whose term was set to end Jan. 1, 2024, is stepping down to pursue other opportunities. She currently works as a mediator in Summit County Domestic Relations Court.

• “Jessica has done such a great job serving our schools and our students during her time with us on the Board of Education,” Stow-Munroe Falls Superintendent Tom Bratten said.

Get ready to Stuff the Bus for SMF schools Aug. 5-6

For the fourth year, the Stuff the Bus campaign is collecting a wish list of school supplies to help provide students with needed materials in the classroom. Head over to Target and Giant Eagle on Route 59 in Stow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 5, and Saturday, Aug. 6, to donate supplies for the upcoming school year.

• Stow-Munroe Falls students will be there to do the heavy lifting for you and load your donations onto the bus.

• Find the full wish list of school supplies on Stow Mayor John Pribonic’s Facebook page.

Bulldog Bags fundraiser highlights Ukulele Festival at Stow Farmers Market

Stop by the Third Annual Ukulele Festival on Saturday, Aug. 6, and support Bulldog Bags Inc., which helps kids in the community who don't always have enough to eat on the weekends. The event is at the Stow Community Farmers Market (1567 Pilgrim Dr. in Stow).

• Listen to the music of the Akron Ukulele Club while checking your raffle tickets to see if you won prizes including the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Monsters, Akron RubberDucks, The Family Room, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Young’s Screen Printing, and Fawn and Fanny, among others.

• Bulldog Bags Inc. will be selling the raffle tickets for $1 each or six for $5. If you can’t make it to the event, you can buy your raffle tickets by contacting [email protected].

• The Stow Community Farmers Market is in its 13th year. For more information, go to www.stowfarmersmarket.com. For more about Bulldog Bags Inc., visit www.bulldogbags.org.

Sports

Bulldog Sports Roundup: Golf teams set to tee off 2022

It seems like Stow-Munroe Falls has to hurdle Hudson to win a Suburban League National Conference title in just about every sport, and golf is certainly one of them. The Bulldog boys placed a close second behind Hudson in 2021 and are looking to take the next step this season.

Second-year coach Chet Feldman’s squad has a solid lineup, and “if any of those young kids step up, I’m confident we can win the conference.”

The girls golf team finished third in the National Conference and, like the boys, advanced to the district tournament in 2021. “I expect we’ll do well in the conference, and hopefully that will prepare us for sectionals,” fifth-year coach Scotte Rorabaugh said.

The girls start their season Aug. 6 and the boys Aug. 8. For more, see Roger Gordon’s full roundup.

And that’s a wrap on our first edition! We hope you enjoyed it. I would love to hear your feedback. Just reply to this email and let me know how we could improve.

Do you like the logo? We’re working with a local design firm and still applying the finishing touches, but this is the direction we’re taking it. You’ll notice the subtle golden gradient, which suggests shedding light on our community every Tuesday and Friday morning (at 6 a.m. sharp). The font is sans serif and modern, condensed for a classic editorial feel. Thanks again for all your help choosing the name.

As we’ve mentioned before, we’ll eventually be launching paid subscriptions of some kind. But for now just sit back and enjoy. And please share and spread the word! We’re now reaching over 825 people and the community is growing every day.

See you Friday morning!

Tom [email protected]