Today is Aug. 19, 2022.

• We’re warming back up today. Mostly sunny with a high of 86 degrees, then down to 68 tonight. A little cooler over the weekend. We’re about a month away from the beginning of autumn, and you can feel it coming already with those crisp nights we’ve had lately. Wasn’t it just Memorial Day?

• With school starting for Stow-Munroe Falls students Monday, let’s prevent a tragedy in our district with a quick review of the school bus laws in Ohio. On a road with fewer than four lanes, all traffic approaching a stopped school bus in either direction must stop at least 10 feet from the front or rear of the bus. Traffic must remain stopped until the bus begins to move or the bus driver signals motorists to proceed. If a bus is stopped on a street with four or more lanes, just the traffic going in the same direction as the bus must stop. Failure to stop for a school bus means two points on your drivers license and a fine of up to $500, and you could lose your license for up to a year. So pack your patience, because the lives of kids depend on it.

Latest news in brief

That power outage in Munroe Falls was supposed to happen

If your power went out in Munroe Falls for a couple hours on Wednesday, it was supposed to. Ohio Edison/FirstEnergy conducted an emergency pole replacement on North River Road for a broken pole between Kimpton Middle School and Riverview Elementary School. The company carried out a phased power outage for most of Munroe Falls and closed North River Road that afternoon while performing the emergency repair.

If anything still isn’t right with your power, you can call FirstEnergy with questions at 1-888-LIGHTSS. (Yes, the number is supposed to have a double-S. We double checked.)

More local news:

• Speaking of FirstEnergy, if you’re having trouble paying your utility bills, help is available through assistance programs like HEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program). For information, check out this page for FirstEnergy’s electric bill assistance program, this page for Summit County’s assistance program and this page for United Way 2-1-1 programs.

• Bell’s Barber Shop (3266 Kent Rd.) in Stow is offering free back-to-school haircuts for students through Saturday, Aug. 20. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. No appointment necessary.

• The Stow Basketball Golf Outing will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28, at Fox Den Golf Course (2770 Call Rd.) in Stow. The outing benefits the Stow-Munroe Falls boys and girls basketball programs along with Stow Youth Basketball. Go here to register.

• The Stow Police Department’s Cram the Cruiser Food Drive will be held from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20, at the Stow Community United Church (1567 Pilgrim Dr.). Bring non-perishable food and cash donations to “cram a cruiser” and benefit the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.

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Community calendar

🧩 Aug. 20, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – Puzzle and Game Sale at Stow Farmers Market. What: Bargains on pre-owned puzzles and games at the Friends of the Library summer sale. Free and open to the public. Where: Stow Farmers Market (Community Church of Stow, 1567 Pilgrim Dr. in Stow).

🌽 Aug. 24, 6-8 p.m. – Summer Harvest Exchange. What: Share the bounties of your garden at the Stow-Munroe Falls Library’s free Summer Harvest Exchange, held outside behind the library on the south side of the building. Bring any fruits, herbs or vegetables from your home garden. Where: Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library, 3512 Darrow Rd. To register, visit events.smfpl.org or call (330) 688-3295 ext. 4.

🏃 Aug. 28 – 2022 SMF Back to School Health and Wellness 5K and Fun Run. What: Fundraiser organized by Running Ritchies Racing to raise money for a scholarship fund in honor of students who have lost their lives due to suicide. Where: Stow-Munroe Falls High School (3227 Graham Rd.). Register here.

❤️ Aug. 31, 1-7 p.m. – American Red Cross Blood Drive. Where: The Stow-Munroe Falls Room at the Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library, 3512 Darrow Rd. To schedule an appointment time in advance, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS.

Obituaries for Aug. 16-18

Thomas A. Cobb, Sr.Thomas A. Cobb Sr., 99, died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday, August 11, 2022. Tom was born July 28, 1923 in Sanford, Florida to Robert Cobb and Izetta Stone.Read more

Business

HomeGoods ready to open its new Stow location; is the old Macy’s building next in line?

Well, it’s just about here. The new HomeGoods furniture store is set to open its doors Thursday, Aug. 25, in the former OfficeMax space next to Target in the Stow Community Center shopping plaza on Kent Road. This new HomeGoods location will create 65 jobs.

• HomeGoods joins T.J. Maxx, the department store which opened earlier this year in the former Bed Bath & Beyond location, as new retail tenants in the plaza.

• Next up would seem to be the former Macy’s building in the Stow-Kent Shopping Center on Kent Road. The building has sat empty since Macy’s closed in 2020, but Mayor John Pribonic has said on his Facebook page that “there will be an announcement shortly” and the building has “been filled.” Stay tuned.

Munroe Falls

The Summit health department is spraying for West Nile mosquitoes in Munroe Falls

If you've been around the Guise Park Drive area this week, you may have seen Summit County Public Health out and about. That’s because SCPH set a mosquito trap on Guise Park Drive back on July 25, and mosquitoes in the trap tested positive for West Nile virus.

• As a result, SCPH has been spraying a one-mile radius around the trap site this week.

• Don’t panic: West Nile virus is endemic to Summit County and detecting the virus in SCPH’s traps is common, according to the health department.

• Most people who get infected with the virus don’t have symptoms. About one in five who are infected develop a fever with other symptoms like a headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea or rash.

• Serious neurological disorders such as encephalitis or meningitis occur in less than 1% of people who contract West Nile virus.

Schools

One-stop shopping for parents to stay updated on what’s happening at school

Parents can connect with Stow-Munroe Falls Schools like never before this school year. The district recently launched ParentSquare, a two-way communication platform on computers and mobile devices that will keep parents in the loop on what’s going on with their kids at school.

• ParentSquare features app, email, text, voice and web portal access. Parents will be able to keep tabs on just about everything, from checking grades and attendance to checking out photos posted by teachers.

• “We’re looking forward to reaching 100% of our families no matter where they are,” Superintendent Tom Bratten said.

Mailbox

Comments from the Aug. 16 issue

Reader: Have you considered a lower price for The Portager subscribers who may be interested in both areas but reluctant to pay full price for both?

Tom: This one's in response to our survey about paid subscriptions. As a reminder, we're going to need to charge something for this, and we're working on determining how much. Based on your responses it will likely be somewhere between $10 and $15 per month. We will definitely offer a payment tier for folks who already subscribe to The Portager. And of course, those who truly can't afford a subscription will have a very simple way to access The Spotlight for free. There will be no means test; if you can't fit it into your budget, then you qualify. We'll have more details about this when we launch our subscription drive toward the end of the month.

Keep the comments coming! Any news we're missing?

Hope you enjoyed this latest edition of The Spotlight (No. 6 if you’re counting). Tell everyone you know about us simply by forwarding them this email or sending them to stowmunroefalls.com — more subscriptions means more revenue, and more money means more local news coverage. We’re only getting started, and the more help we get, the faster we can grow!

Thanks to all of you for your support so far. We blew past 1,000 subscribers last week, and we're already closing in on 1,200. If you have any questions or comments just hit that Mailbox button above.

And news tips are always welcome. That's my email address below. Have a great weekend!

Tom [email protected]