Today is April 4, 2024.

• Good morning, all! Here’s today’s forecast: It’s going to be breezy and chilly with a couple of rain or snow showers, with a high of 42 and a low of 33. Now, for the main event: the forecast for Monday, April 8 — Eclipse Day: There will be a shower in spots in the morning; otherwise, intervals of clouds and sunshine in the afternoon. The high that day will be 64, but the temperature can drop several degrees during the eclipse. So the million dollar question remains: Will the clouds part long enough for us to enjoy the show? Stay tuned.
  

• 2024 TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE: Yep, we’re now just four days away from this spectacular once-in-a-lifetime cosmic event. The phenomenon will cut a 124-mile-wide swath of darkness through Ohio, including Summit County, meaning for a few awe-inspiring minutes, day will turn to night in the middle of the afternoon. Here’s the timeline for eclipse day on Monday, April 8: Start of partial eclipse: 1:59:23 p.m.; Start of total eclipse: 3:14:19 p.m.; Maximum eclipse: 3:15:49 p.m.; End of total eclipse: 3:17:18 p.m.; End of partial eclipse: 4:29:12 p.m.; Duration of totality: 2 minutes, 59 seconds. Ohio’s last total solar eclipse was in 1806, and its next will be in 2099. Go here for tips on taking photos of the eclipse with your smartphone.
  

• LEASH UP IN STOW — IT’S THE LAW: The City of Stow says it is receiving complaints from residents regarding off-leash dogs in the community, particularly at Silver Springs Park. Per city ordinance, all dogs must be leashed unless they are confined to their owner’s property or are inside Bow Wow Beach Dog Park. The Stow Police Department is monitoring the situation.
  

• STOW RESIDENTS NEEDED: The City of Stow is beginning the process of a comprehensive update to its planning & zoning code. As part of this process, the city is forming a steering committee to provide guidance and insight throughout the project via in-person and virtual meetings. If you are a Stow resident and are interested in serving on the steering committee, you can get an application at https://stowohio.org/190/Planning-Development; applications are only available until Friday, April 12. Meeting dates for the steering committee are TBD but are expected to be once every 2-3 months depending on project progress.
  

• The Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library now has a seed library. It’s located to the left of the Information Desk, and you can select up to five seed packets per visit from the library’s collection of flowers, vegetables and herbs. All you have to do is take them to the Information Desk to “check out,” and then the seeds are yours to keep. The SMF Public Library is located at 3512 Darrow Rd. For more information, including how you can donate seeds, visit https://smfpl.org/seedlibrary.
  

• Stow residents can get free mulch while supplies last at the city’s brush drop-off site at 5070 Stow Rd. Hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every second and fourth Saturday. Stow residents must show proof of residency; no landscapers or contractors allowed. Go here for more information.
  

• The “Battle of the Badges” Blood Drive will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, April 26 in the Community Room at the Stow Fire Department, located at 3800 Darrow Rd. Donate blood in honor of your favorite agency and get a special Battle T-shirt. To schedule an appointment, visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter Sponsor Code: StowFire, or call 1-800-RED-CROSS.
  

• 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: Meadowbrook Lake Park grand opening info, Routes 91 and 59 roadwork starting soon, Concerts on the Green schedule, and much more. Full access is $2.99/month.

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Silver Lake

Total Eclipse of the Arboretum: Silver Lake plans a special community gathering for the April 8 solar eclipse

The Village of Silver Lake will host “Total Eclipse of the Arboretum,” a community viewing event for the 2024 total solar eclipse, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday, April 8 at the Ernest Fauser Arboretum, located next to Village Hall at 2961 Kent Rd. Residents are invited to pack a picnic and bring chairs to the arboretum and enjoy viewing the solar eclipse as a community.

• The village will have limited supplies of treats available for residents at the event.

• Make sure to only view the sun during the eclipse with appropriate eyewear. If viewing the eclipse through glasses other than those provided by the Silver Lake Police Association, be sure they meet ISO 12312-2 international standards.

• At the end of the event, those who wish to recycle their eclipse glasses can drop them off in a bin. The glasses will be collected and sent to Astronomers Without Borders for use at future eclipse events in other countries.

• With eclipse events taking place April 8 at the Summit County Fairgrounds in Tallmadge and in downtown Cuyahoga Falls, Kent Road is likely to experience high levels of traffic. Residents are encouraged to walk or ride bikes to the arboretum and to use the stoplight at Silver Lake Boulevard if crossing Kent Road. Carpooling is also encouraged as parking is limited at the arboretum and Village Hall.

• Heavy traffic is expected in the immediate hours after the eclipse. Anticipate travel delays, even if you are traveling locally.

• Fill your gas tank the night before if you plan to travel, even locally.

Most importantly, enjoy! Most of us will never see a total solar eclipse again, so savor every moment of this rare and wondrous celestial dance of the sun and moon.

Community

An earthquake hit Northeast Ohio on March 30. Did you feel anything?

If you felt some shaking in the early-morning hours of Saturday, March 30, it wasn’t your imagination: According to the United States Geological Survey, an earthquake registering a magnitude 3.0 on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale struck Northeast Ohio at 4:42 a.m. March 30.

Here’s what we know:

• The temblor was centered about 1.2 miles south of the town of Maple Ridge in southwestern Mahoning County.

• The quake had a very shallow depth of 3.7 miles and was felt by many near the epicenter.

• Stow, located 27 miles northwest of the epicenter, experienced what the USGS termed “very weak” shaking.

• There were isolated cases of the quake being felt as far as 101 miles away.

• The website volcanodiscovery.com posted this report from a Cuyahoga Falls resident that stated: “At the time, I thought maybe a BIG, heavy truck was going down our road and thought that was very odd. Woke up a couple hours later and heard about this quake.”

• Meanwhile, an Akron resident reported: “I felt my bed move, and heard the floors and walls creak 20 miles from the epicenter. Reported it to Ohio DNR.”

• No reports have yet come in from Stow, Munroe Falls or Silver Lake. If you felt something, let us know and we will publish your report in a future edition of The Spotlight.

The strongest earthquake recorded in our area since 1900 was a magnitude 5.0 centered in Lake County east of Cleveland that struck at 12:46 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, 1986. That quake, which was felt in 10 other states and southern Canada, broke windows, cracked plaster and masonry, caused changes in water wells and, most frightening of all, was centered just a few miles from the Perry nuclear power plant.

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