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Today is Jan. 8, 2026.

• Happy 2026! We hope you had a great Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s, and now we go from the festive season into the dead of winter — although recently it’s been more like early spring. And it’ll feel like it again today, when we’ll have a high of 53 degrees and a low of 49 with areas of fog that will reduce visibility this morning; otherwise, we’ll have some sun before the skies turn cloudy. It will feel even more like spring Friday when the high reaches 62, before wintry temps in the low 30s return later in the weekend. It’s January, so we know the other shoe is going to drop.
  

• SILVER LAKE CHRISTMAS TREE RECYCLING: Residents’ live Christmas trees will be picked up by the Silver Lake Service Department through Sunday, Jan. 18. Just leave your tree at the curb, and be sure to remove plastic bags and all decorations before disposing of your tree.
  

• CITY OF STOW EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES: The City of Stow is looking to fill the following job openings: Deputy Director of Finance (Tax Administrator), Lateral Transfer Police Officer, Plans Examiner - Part-Time Contract Position, School Crossing Guard - Police Department (Part-Time), School Resource Officer (Part-Time) and Seasonal Recreation Aide - Parks & Recreation. All positions will be open until filled. Go here for more information and links to applications.
  

• STOW BRUSH DROP-OFF TEMPORARILY CLOSED: The City of Stow announced Jan. 2 that its brush drop-off at 5070 Stow Rd. (across from Silver Springs Park) will be closed for the next couple of weeks. Go to this page to check for updates on reopening and additional information.
  

• AND THE WINNERS ARE … : The winners of the City of Stow’s 2025 Big Tree Contest recognizing outstanding evergreen trees in the community are: First Place: Alex McMahan – Norway Spruce; Second Place: Sheila Gardner – White Pine; Third Place: Roxanne Helton – Norway Spruce. The top three winners will receive gift cards of $100 for first place, $75 for second and $50 for third. The contest was hosted by the Stow Urban Forestry Commission.
  

• “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!

⭐ Several stories in this issue are only available to premium subscribers: Leissler guilty plea, missing man found dead, RSVP store closes and more local news and things to do this winter. Get full access for just $2.99/month.

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Schools

Parting gift, or parting shot? Outgoing SMF school board gives Superintendent Gould a contract extension — and a raise

The Stow-Munroe Falls Board of Education voted 4-1 at its Dec. 15 meeting to extend Superintendent Felisha Gould’s three-year contract by two years, keeping Gould under contract as SMF’s superintendent through 2029.

The new contract also increases Gould’s salary by about $6,000 annually. Her initial three-year contract started Aug. 1, 2024 and featured an annual salary of $145,000.

Voting for the extension and raise were board members Tina Merlitti, Pamela Wind, Antoinette East-Jenkins and Kari Suhadolnik. Wind and East-Jenkins are no longer on the school board as of Jan. 1; Wind lost her seat in the November General Election while East-Jenkins, who was appointed to her board seat in 2024, opted not to run for election this cycle.

“This decision was undertaken due to many factors, chief among them, Dr. Gould’s excellent progress toward goals agreed upon with the board, including community engagement, budgeting responsibility, and academic leadership,” then-board President Wind told the Akron Beacon Journal in a story posted Dec. 18. “It is absolutely essential now as we have yet another treasurer fleeing the district that some stability in administration and leadership is desperately needed for our staff, for our students, and for our community.”

But Mike Sheehan, the lone school board member to vote against Gould’s contract extension and raise, isn’t buying it. Pointing out that such an important vote was taken before newly elected board members John Moyer and Jason Whitacre could weigh in — and with two board members who were on their way out — Sheehan didn’t hold back when he told the Beacon Journal that ulterior motives were at play:

“This is simply being done to remove the discretion and decision making of the incoming board members and to ensure the superintendent’s lifespan will be longer than the current newly elected board members’ term,” Sheehan said. “Essentially, this is a power play. You can use the words unethical, unprofessional, backhanded, deceitful, spiteful, pathetic, despicable, juvenile, but more importantly, it dismisses and silences the voice of the Stow-Munroe Falls community that just elected the new board members.”

The new school board held its first meeting Jan. 5. The next meeting is scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20 at Woodland Elementary School at 2908 Graham Rd.

Schools

Eleanor Bosko, beloved Kimpton Middle School teacher, dies following sudden heart ailment

The Stow-Munroe Falls City School District is mourning the death of Kimpton Middle School teacher Eleanor “Elle” Bosko, 49, who died Jan. 3 after suffering a sudden ventricular fibrillation that caused her heart to stop Dec. 19.

Bosko, a lifelong resident of Stow, taught seventh-grade world history at Kimpton Middle School in Munroe Falls for 21 years. She also taught for a year in the Cuyahoga Falls City School District.

Bosko is survived by her husband David and their three children, Olivia, McKenzie and Luka.

Visitation will take place from noon to 3 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9 at Redmon Funeral Home at 3633 Darrow Rd. in Stow. Mass of the Christian Burial is planned for 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 10 at Holy Family Catholic Church at 3179 Kent Rd. in Stow.

A GoFundMe account has been set up for her family.

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