Today is Oct. 10, 2024.

• Good morning! We’re getting into mid-October now, and today is going to be pretty much what you’d expect: sunny to partly cloudy, a high of 58 degrees and the low dropping to 38. And get used to the 30s, because that’s where our lows are going to be much of next week. The October chill has arrived.
  

• POLLING LOCATION CHANGES IN SILVER LAKE: Polling locations have changed in Silver Lake. Wards A and B now vote at The Church in Silver Lake at 2951 Kent Rd., while Wards C and D now vote at Village Hall at 2961 Kent Rd. Residents should be sure to check their flier in their October water bill or postcard from the Summit County Board of Elections to know where to vote on Election Day Tuesday, Nov. 5.
  

• MUNROE FALLS LEAF PICKUP: The City of Munroe Falls’ 2024 Leaf Pickup Program will begin Monday, Oct. 28 and continue for six weeks, allowing for two leaf collections on each street. Residents should loosely pile their leaves at the curb by 7 a.m. the Monday of their scheduled collection week; pickup is not guaranteed after 7 a.m. Go here for more information, including alternative leaf disposal if your pickup is missed or if you require leaf removal beyond the city’s schedule.
  

• POP-UP HAUNTED HOUSE FOR STOW TRICK-OR-TREAT NIGHT: The annual Stow Halloween Decoration Tour officially starts Oct. 12 (details in the Community Calendar further down this newsletter), but if you want to get an unofficial head start, then be sure to check out the Halloween scene at 2687 L’Ermitage Place, which Mayor John Pribonic featured on his Facebook page. The best part: The mayor says the home’s residents will open their haunted house during the City of Stow’s Trick-or-Treat, which is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26.
  

• BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS FUNDRAISER: Big Brothers Big Sisters Of Summit, Medina & Stark Counties will hold its 16th Annual Grapes for Kids’ Sake fundraiser from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8 at the Quaker Square Ballroom, located at 135 S. Broadway St. in Akron. The event will feature wine, craft beer, dinner and dessert as well as a live auction. Sign up for the event here.
  

• 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!

⭐ Several stories in this issue are only available to premium subscribers: Recycling Days, ArtsForward grant, powerline tree cutting in Silver Lake, Trunk or Treat, basketball sign-ups and more local news. Full access is just $2.99/month.

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Election Preview

Round 2: Licate vs. McIntire race for Summit County Council District 3 seat comes one year after their battle for Stow Council spot

The Stow-Munroe Falls City School District’s Issue 31 to build five new schools has captured all the attention, but it’s not the only ballot item with a ton of interest for local voters. The Summit County Council District 3 race between Democrat Dave Licate and Republican Jeremy McIntire is pretty intriguing, too.

Licate and McIntire served on Stow City Council together, with McIntire currently holding an at-large seat on that body — a seat he won in a race that included Licate just last November. Three at-large seats were open in that election, with McIntire winning the third and final seat. Licate finished fourth out of five candidates in losing his reelection bid for council, but the difference between the two was close: McIntire got 19.90% of the vote to Licate’s 19.38%.

• Besides Stow 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 also served twice as council president and twice as vice president.

• The Summit County Council District 3 seat, which includes Stow, Munroe Falls, Silver Lake, Boston Heights and Hudson, has been held by Republican Gloria Rodgers since 2009.

• McIntire defeated Rodgers in the 2024 March Primary Election to set up this rematch of sorts with Licate, who ran unopposed on the Democrat side in the primary.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Reader Spotlight

— From Don Abbott, Stow (regarding Issue 31, the SMF Schools bond issue): “Too expensive. The heavy handed & autocratic school board needs to get a revised plan. This issue will cause rents to rise in Stow and therefore businesses and people will move out of Stow. It has already started.”

— From a paid subscriber (regarding Issue 31, the SMF Schools bond issue): “I am a retiree, living in a condo development in Stow. Realizing that some buildings and equipment within the Stow Munroe Falls City School District have been in use for a fair number of years and need refurbishment/replacement, I disagree with the 2024 Bond Issue’s plan to do all improvements simultaneously. One of the reasons I disagree with this concept is that, allowing for 10 to 15 years before systems would begin to fail at the same time in all these new buildings, another - additional - tax levy is just about guaranteed, long before the 2024 levy matures. Also, I’m reading nothing about the four current emergency tax levies (2011-2 levies, 2013 and 2022). When these mature, would Stow and Munroe Falls homeowners enjoy lowered taxes? I am not against reasonable attempts to fund the children/schools in our communities; however, I believe the 2024 levy goes beyond a sensible way to fund our schools and the education of our children. Another point, will this increase in taxes serve to deter new businesses from moving into our area?”

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