Today is Aug. 28, 2025.

• Morning, all! Sorry we’re coming at you late today! Publisher Ben Wolford here to tell you it’s my bad. I got bogged down with some other work today — Tom did everything right! Anyway, here’s your host, Tom Hardesty:

• We’re still a few weeks away from the start of fall, but you wouldn’t know it by the chilly nighttime air that has descended on Northeast Ohio — and more is coming. Today we’re forecast to have sunny skies giving way to increasing clouds, with a couple of thundershowers possible in the afternoon. The high will be 70, with tonight’s low dropping to 51 — followed by lows in the high 40s on Friday and Saturday. And it looks like we’ll have sunny skies from Saturday through Monday, so the Stow Summer Sunset Blast and those Labor Day cookouts should go off without a hitch.
  

• CITY OF MUNROE FALLS TRICK-OR-TREAT: These crisp nights we’ve had lately mean one thing: Halloween time is just around the corner — and that means Trick-or-Treat! The Spotlight will publish these dates for all of our communities as they come in, and first up is Munroe Falls. Trick-or-Treat in Munroe Falls will take place rain or shine from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25. The city lists a few guidelines for Trick-or-Treat night: 1. Be sure to turn on your porch light if you’re handing out treats to the ghosts and goblins; 2. Hand the treats out rather than putting them in a group bucket; 3. Watch for traffic when crossing roads. As an added precaution, the Munroe Falls police and fire departments will have extra patrols out in the community that night.
  

• SILVER LAKE JOB OPENING: The Village of Silver Lake is accepting applications for the position of Assistant to the Clerk-Treasurer. The job is part-time (approximately 25 hours a week) and starts at $20.27/hr. Go here for more information and an application.
  

• STOW GIS MAPS: The City of Stow reports that its new interactive GIS maps are now available on the city’s planning department page. The maps are designed to give residents, businesses and developers quick access to important community information, including a zoning map, community overview, labor force drive time and tax incentives. See the maps at stowohio.org/273/Maps-GIS.
  

• “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: Construction will start on The AMP, Taco Bell, and other Stow City Council actions, and more local news. Get full access for just $2.99/month.

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Stow

Stow 9/11 Ceremony: “On this 24th anniversary, we will come together to remember”

The community is invited to the City of Stow’s 9/11 Ceremony commemorating the 24th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that struck the United States the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001.

The solemn ceremony will take place from 8:30 to 9 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 11 at the city’s 9/11 Memorial Site, located in front of the Stow Safety Building at 3800 Darrow Rd. The memorial was erected to provide a lasting and meaningful place to honor the nearly 3,000 people from at least 90 countries who lost their lives in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Stow

R.I.P., Ruger: Retired Stow K-9 officer dies; served nearly five years with the department

The Stow Police Department reported this week that retired K-9 officer Ruger passed away the evening of Aug. 24. Ruger had worked alongside his handler, Officer (now Sergeant) Jacob Corfman, since joining Stow PD in June 2017; Ruger retired in February 2022.

“Ruger stayed busy and provided excellent service to the Stow Police Department,” Stow PD stated on its Facebook page.

Ruger, a German Shepherd, was born in 2016. His deployments with Stow PD included:

• Tracking

• Building searches

• Evidence searches

• Narcotics searches

In 2021 alone, Ruger was deployed 90 times, resulting in 70 arrests for various criminal charges. “We are grateful for his service to our community and that he was able to remain with his handler during his retirement years,” SPD said.

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