Today is Oct. 24, 2024.

• Good morning! Well, say goodbye to that late-summer weather we’ve been having lately, and say hello to the return of fall. After temps in the 70s the last several days, today is going to be mostly sunny and cooler with a high of 57 degrees and the low dropping to 38. And your Trick-or-Treat forecast for Saturday: partial sunshine with a high of 55 and low of 35 — in other words, some nice, crisp October air for our ghosts and goblins.
  

• TRUNK-OR-TREAT TODAY AT THE BRIARWOOD: The community is invited to The Briarwood assisted living facility’s Trunk-or-Treat event at 5 p.m. TODAY at its location of 3700 Englewood Dr. in Stow. RSVP at 330-648-4567 to get a spot for your car — and some free candy!
  

• GET THOSE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES READY: A reminder for the Trick-or-Treat times and dates in our area — Stow: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26; Munroe Falls: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26; Silver Lake: 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26.
  

• STOW LEAF PICK-UP: The first round of the City of Stow’s leaf pick-up starts Monday, Oct. 28 in District 1 (north of Graham Road and east of Route 91). Residents must have their leaves placed no more than 5 feet off the edge of the pavement so the leaf collection tub can reach the piles. Leaves will need to be in piles or rows that can be vacuumed with the equipment by 7 a.m. Monday the week of your pick-up. There will only be one pick-up per week.
  

• SEND A LETTER TO SANTA: Yep, it’s almost that time of year! And the Stow Parks and Recreation Department is once again offering its “Santa’s Mailbox” program where the kiddos can send a letter to Santa Claus from Wednesday, Nov. 27 through Saturday, Dec. 14. Just drop your letter into Santa’s Mailbox, located outside Stow City Hall at 3760 Darrow Rd., and include a legibly written self-addressed, stamped envelope to get a return letter from the jolly old elf! Santa asks that if you live in the same household, after taking your pictures by the mailbox, please clip your children’s letters together. This will help the elves to organize and help Santa get a letter back to your children. For more information, call 330-689-5100.
  

• VOTING SCHEDULE FOR THE 2024 NOVEMBER GENERAL ELECTION: Military & Overseas Absentee Voting: Began Sept. 20; Deadline to Register to Vote: Closed Oct. 7; Early In-Person Voting: Began Oct. 8 (includes the two Saturdays and the two Sundays before Election Day); Absentee Voting By Mail: Began Oct. 8; Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 5 (polls open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.). If not returned by mail, absentee ballots must be received by your board of elections by 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5. For more information, go to this page.
  

• WHERE DO YOU STAND ON THE SMF SCHOOLS BOND ISSUE? The Spotlight is taking the pulse of the Stow-Munroe Falls community on Issue 31, the upcoming $238 million, 35-year bond issue the school district has put on the November ballot to build five new schools. If passed, the 8.89-mill bond issue would increase property taxes for owners of homes valued at $200,000 by nearly $622 annually. Send us your comments on the issue, and we will publish them as we get them in our “Reader Spotlight” feature (detailed below).
  

• “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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Election Preview

Decision 2024: Our local races and issues

Here’s a look at the local ballot races and initiatives in the 2024 November General Election that include Stow, Munroe Falls and Silver Lake (incumbent in all caps):

— SUMMIT COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT 3: David Licate (D) vs. Jeremy McIntire (R). What to know: Licate and McIntire served on Stow City Council together, with McIntire currently holding an at-large seat on that body. … Aside from city council, Licate has also served on the Stow-Munroe Falls Board of Education. … McIntire has been a member of Stow City Council since winning an at-large seat in 2019. He has served twice as council president and twice as vice president. … The Summit County District 3 seat is open due to McIntire’s victory over incumbent Gloria Rodgers last March in the Republican primary.

— 28TH DISTRICT STATE SENATOR: Jon Leissler (R) vs. Casey Weinstein (D). What to know: Leissler is a former member of the Stow-Munroe Falls school board, serving from 2021 until resigning his position this past spring. … Weinstein (D-Hudson) has represented Ohio House District 34 since 2018. … The 28th Ohio Senate District seat is open due to Democrat incumbent Vernon Sykes reaching his two-term limit for office.

— 34TH DISTRICT STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Adam Bozic (R) vs. Derrick Hall (D). What to know: Bozic currently serves as the president of Tallmadge City Council. … Hall served on the Akron Public Schools Board of Education from 2020 to 2023. … The 34th Ohio House District seat is open due to Democrat incumbent Casey Weinstein running for the 28th Ohio Senate District seat.

— 13TH DISTRICT CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE: Kevin Coughlin (R) vs. EMILIA SYKES (D). What to know: Coughlin served as Stow Municipal Court clerk from 2013 to 2015. Prior to that position, he served as a state representative from 1997 to 2001 and as a state senator from 2001 to 2011. … Sykes has held the U.S. House Ohio 13th District seat since 2022. She served as a state representative from 2014 to 2022, including as minority leader from 2019 to 2021.

— ISSUE 31: Proposed Bond Issue, Stow-Munroe Falls City School District: Shall bonds be issued by the Stow-Munroe Falls City School District, Summit and Portage Counties, Ohio for the purpose of constructing, improving, furnishing, and equipping four new PK-5 elementary schools and one new 6-8 middle school, with related site improvements and appurtenances thereto; improving, renovating, furnishing, and equipping existing facilities; constructing, furnishing, and equipping new facilities for school district purposes; and demolition of existing facilities in the principal amount of $238,005,493, to be repaid annually over a maximum period of 35 years, and an annual levy of property taxes be made outside of the ten-mill limitation, estimated by the county fiscal officer to average over the repayment period of the bond issue 8.89 mills for each $1 of taxable value, which amounts to $311 for each $100,000 of the county fiscal officer’s appraised value, commencing in 2024, first due in calendar year 2025, to pay the annual debt charges on the bonds, and to pay debt charges on any notes issued in anticipation of those bonds?

— STOW 2-E – Local liquor option: Shall the sale of beer, wine and mixed beverages, and spirituous liquor be permitted for sale on Sunday by City of Stow Finance Department DBA City of Stow Fox Den Golf Course Clubhouse 1st Fl & Pavilion & Patios an applicant for a D-6 liquor permit, holder of a D-1, D-2, and D-3 liquor permit who is engaged in the business of operating a golf course and clubhouse at 2770 Call Rd & Golf Course Stow, Ohio 44224, in this precinct?

Stow

Wanna take a ride? Get your sneak peek with the mayor on what’s coming at the Town Centre Shopping Center

Want to get an idea of what the new Stow amphitheater and redeveloped Town Centre Shopping Center will look like? Then join Stow Mayor John Pribonic on a bus trip to explore a similar transformation at Oakwood Square Shopping Plaza and the Legacy Park Amphitheater in Plain Township. According to the City of Stow, this project in Stark County closely mirrors the project that is planned along the intersection of Norton Road and Darrow Road in Stow.

Here are the details of the trip with the mayor:

• Actually, two trips are scheduled at this time: Monday, Oct. 28 and Wednesday, Oct. 30 (only sign up for one)

• Time: Meet at 4 p.m. at Stow City Center for bus departure to Plain Township in Stark County

• Destination: Oakwood Square Shopping Plaza & Legacy Park Amphitheater

• Return: You will return to Stow by 7 p.m.

• Cost: Free

Highlights of the trips will include:

• Walking the site and touring the amphitheater (dress for the weather as this will be an outdoor walking tour)

• Hearing from Mayor Pribonic as he discusses Stow’s upcoming project and how it compares to Plain Township’s redevelopment

Register for the trip at this page. Space is limited on the bus, and all participants must be registered and have completed the waiver to board the bus.

Reader Spotlight

— From anonymous (regarding Issue 31, the SMF Schools bond issue): “I question the need to replace existing buildings with lavish structures that can't even be described until the levy is approved. We should be shown quotes to renovate existing buildings up to the benefits the levy vaguely describes. This levy will place a huge financial burden on the community for the next 30 years.”

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