AKRON
School open after small fire
AKRON: Sam Salem elementary school was closed Wednesday morning after a small fire at 8:24 a.m. created quite a bit of smoke, the Akron Public Schools spokesman Mark Williamson said in a news release. All 350 students were bused to Kenmore High School.
Damage to the building on West Waterloo Road in southwest Akron is minimal, Williamson said, but there is damage to a toilet, stall and ceiling tiles in a boys bathroom.
The school will be open on Thursday.
Stark State open house
AKRON: Stark State College in Akron will hold its inaugural open house, called Info to Go, at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 755 White Pond Drive.
The event is to help students learn how they can spend less earning a degree on their way to a good paying job. The college’s current Akron location on White Pond Drive is temporary until the completion of a new facility under construction on Perkins Street.
Students and their families are invited to take tours, have refreshments, meet staff and faculty, speak with admissions representatives, fill out an application and more. Financial aid staff will be on hand to help students and parents look at financial aid and scholarship opportunities.
Spring semester classes begin Jan. 17. For more information, call 330-494-6170, email info@starkstate.edu or visit www.starkstate.edu/akron. Registration for Info to Go is encouraged but not required.
Mutual aid deal struck
AKRON: First responders in Akron’s Ellet area and Mogadore now can cross municipal boundaries to assist one other in fighting fires through a mutual aid agreement struck between Akron and Mogadore this week.
Akron fire department Capt. David O’Neal said the cost-neutral exchange of services “is going to strengthen our response in the Ellet area.” Akron has similar agreements with Cuyahoga Falls, Fairlawn, Springfield and Tallmadge.
Group elects officers
AKRON: Hundreds of members of the Bhutanese Community of Akron Association voted in new officers this month at a meeting at Patterson Park Community Center.
Election Committee Chief Bishnu Rai said the large voter turnout showed support for both the association and the quality of the candidates.
Elected to two-year posts were Dhan Man Subba, president; Rudra Rimal, vice president; Bhim Pokharel, secretary; Prakash Neopaney, treasurer; and Dilli Ghimirey, assistant treasurer.
Four trustees were also elected: Billa Angembay, Bal Gajmer, Tek Gurung, and Harka Rai.
Nearly 2,000 Bhutanese people living in the Akron area came here after ethnic cleansing saw 100,000 citizens of Nepalese ancestry evicted from their country. They lived in refugee camps in Nepal for 20 years before member countries of the United Nations resettled them.
The purpose of local association is to promote their transition and integration while also preserving traditions and customs.
KENT State UNIVERSITY
Funds for grants awarded
KENT: Kent State is one of 14 colleges to receive a combined $2.6 million in College Completion Grants from the Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation. Great Lakes is a nonprofit group focused on student loan repayment. The fund provides an opportunity for college seniors — including low-income, first-generation, students of color, and students with unexpected emergencies — to explore ways to stay on track to graduation.
The grants support the planning, launch and implementation of interventions at each college from January 2017 to July 2019. The colleges will serve a combined 7,000 students who have completed at least 75 percent of their program’s requirements in high-demand fields such as nursing, information technology and business.
To learn more about Kent State’s University College, visit www.kent.edu/universitycollege.