Today is Aug. 21, 2025.

• Good morning! The summer heat machine is starting to lose some steam — for now, anyway. Today we’ll have times of sun and clouds with a stray shower possible. It’s going to be humid, but the high is only going to be 74 and the low will be 60. Then in the early part of next week, highs won’t get out of the 60s — with lows dropping into the 40s. We see you, autumn.
  

• FRAUD ALERT: If someone comes to your door claiming to represent the City of Stow and wants to sign you up for a utility program, don’t do it. The city says it doesn’t have representatives going door-to-door to provide information or enroll residents in its utility aggregate programs. Go here for information on what to do in this and other situations involving solicitors.
  

• SMF LIBRARY HIRING: The Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library has an open position for Fiscal Officer. This is a full-time position with full benefits and a hiring salary of $65,000. Go here for more information.
  

• COMMUNITY INVITED TO HOLY FAMILY OKTOBERFEST: Holy Family Parish in Stow will host its Oktoberfest from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20 at Leona Farris Lodge in Silver Springs Park (5027 Stow Rd.). The community is invited to enjoy all the traditional Oktoberfest food, fun, raffles and fellowship. For tickets and information, go to holyfamilystow.org/hf-oktoberfest.
  

• “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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Munroe Falls

Residents still have time to sign up for FlashVote’s community surveys

If you live in Munroe Falls and you haven’t signed up to receive community surveys from the city via the public survey research platform FlashVote, it’s not too late. Beginning in September, residents who aren’t signed up yet might receive text messages from FlashVote — and the city encourages residents to participate.

Why? Because the City of Munroe Falls is working with FlashVote to engage the community and gather valuable input from residents to inform the city’s decisions. In other words, it’s a chance to have your voice heard.

Here’s how it works:

• Aside from receiving a text message from FlashVote, you can also sign up at https://www.flashvote.com/munroefalls or by calling 775-235-2240 to participate by phone or text only.

• Sign-up takes less than a minute, and your input is always kept anonymous. Personal or demographic information collected by FlashVote is never shared with the City of Munroe Falls or anyone else.

• When you sign up, you can specify whether you would like to receive the surveys by email, text or phone call.

• You will receive a notification whenever there is a new survey, and you will have 48 hours to participate before voting closes.

• Once a survey is closed, everyone who participated will automatically receive a summary of the overall results and be able to see how their responses compare to the group.

“We’re very excited to have the community input that we’ll receive via FlashVote’s platform to inform our developing 2030 strategic plan and chart a bright course for the city’s future,” Munroe Falls City Council President Ross Widenor said.

Stow

Police Chief Jeff Film set to retire after more than three decades with the department

Jeff Film’s 34-year career with the Stow Police Department is coming to an end. Film, who has served as Stow’s chief of police since 2014, will retire Nov. 16 due to pension rules which require him to step down.

Film has worn many hats and presided over several major accomplishments with the police department since arriving in Stow in 1996:

• Aside from serving as police chief the last 11 years, Film has also worked as a sergeant in the department and served on Metro SWAT.

• Film helped to create the Summit County Regional Dispatch Center, which includes Stow, Munroe Falls and Silver Lake among its communities. The regional dispatch center opened in October 2023 in the former Weaver School and Workshop building in Tallmadge.

• Film oversaw the growth of the Stow Police Department from 34 officers when he took over as chief of police in 2014 to its current roster of 45 sworn officers — with an eye on increasing that number to 46 to accommodate 12-hour shifts.

• Also on Film’s watch as chief, Stow PD was the first in Summit County to outfit all of its officers with body cameras.

• And construction of the First Responders Memorial adjacent to the city’s safety building is almost done. The memorial, which honors police, fire and the military, is expected to be completed by fall.

While Film’s career with the Stow Police Department is wrapping up, his time in law enforcement isn’t: He plans to continue his duties as a commander with Kent State University’s police academy, where he serves as a part-time instructor for cadets.

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