AKRON
Pole blocks Route 8 exit
AKRON: A light post fell over on an exit ramp on Route 8 northbound at Gorge Boulevard, closing the exit and blocking traffic Tuesday evening.
The cause of the fallen light post is unknown, but Akron police dispatchers said a car was towed from the scene. It was unknown if there were any injuries.
Akron police and two freeway service patrol trucks were dispatched around 4:30 p.m. to help block traffic from exiting between Howe Avenue and Cuyahoga Falls.
Akron police said they called Ohio Edison, the electric company, at 5:20 p.m. Dispatchers said the company estimated they’d respond within 45 minutes.
The exit opened around 6 p.m.
GREEN
Special council meeting
GREEN: City Council has called a special meeting for 6 p.m. Thursday in council chambers.
In addition to the selection of a council president and vice president and approval of council rules, the meeting will include the swearing in of members for new terms on six of the city’s boards, commissions and committees, according to council clerk Molly Kapeluck.
SUMMIT COUNTY
Shapiro to take oath
AKRON: Former Summit County Council President Ilene Shapiro will be sworn in Thursday as the first female executive elected to lead the county.
Shapiro was appointed last year to replace Russ Pry, who served as county executive for nearly a decade before dying in July. Summit County Judge Elinore Stormer will administer the oath of office to Shapiro during a public ceremony at the John S. Knight Center (77 E. Mill St.) in downtown Akron from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
OHIO NEWS
Boy, 12, shoots self in leg
COLUMBUS: Columbus police say a 12-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the leg while handling a gun that he found in his grandfather’s bedroom.
Police say the boy was taken to a hospital and was in stable condition after the shooting Monday evening at a home on the city’s southwest side.
There was no immediate word on any potential charges in connection with the shooting or the handgun that the boy found.
Police say the shooting remains under investigation.
Family escapes home fire
GERMANTOWN: A southwest Ohio woman and her two children have been displaced after a fire severely damaged their home in Germantown.
Fire and rescue crews were dispatched to a residence on South Walnut Street after the blaze was first reported just before 3 p.m. Monday. Flames were jutting from two sides of the two-story structure when firefighters arrived to the scene.
Chief Dan Alldred says everyone inside the home was able to get out safely. No injuries were reported.
The Dayton Daily News reports that investigators believe a 4-year-old child playing with a lighter was the cause of the fire.
Alldred says the blaze originated in the home’s kitchen. The state fire marshal’s office is continuing to investigate.
Coach faces theft charges
CINCINNATI: An assistant high school basketball coach from Cincinnati has been removed from his position after being charged with stealing cash registers from several local businesses.
Timothy Cottingham, 41, was arraigned Monday on four counts of robbery and drug charges for the thefts police say he committed over a three-day period. He didn’t enter a plea.
Police say Cottingham stole cash registers from two restaurants on Dec. 30 and 31 and a gas station on Jan. 1.
A Cincinnati Public Schools spokeswoman said he has been dismissed from his job at Withrow High School pending an investigation.
Cottingham’s lawyer argued that his client was having “some type of a mental health issue at the time of the offenses.”