AKRON
Children’s raises $551,886
AKRON: Akron Children’s Hospital raised $551,886 during its 18th annual “Have a Heart, Do Your Part” radiothon that ended Saturday.
That’s just shy of a $100,000 increase over what was raised in 2016: $451,946.
Radio station 98.1 WKDD, which has broadcast each of the hospital’s on-air fundraisers, wrapped up the event Saturday. The amount raised could rise as individuals who did their own fundraising turn in what they collected.
The annual fundraiser encourages patients and families to share their personal stories on air, prompting hundreds of listeners to call in with pledges to Akron Children’s Hospital.
The hospital uses the money raised to buy child-size medical equipment and to fund patient care, community outreach and research.
City updates road closures
AKRON: The intersection of Main, Howard and Perkins streets and Martin Luther King Boulevard is closed and will remain closed for the next 150 days, city officials said in a news release Friday. The closure is to allow the city to complete two major construction projects — the Oak Park Renewal Project that connects North Hill with downtown and the Old Main Sewer Separation (sewer infrastructure) Project.
City officials said the intersection is one of the most dangerous in Summit County. The closure will improve the safety of the intersection and allow the city to reclaim a section of the Innerbelt as green space for future downtown development.
The city’s public service director said officials will be monitoring traffic patterns and will adjust traffic lights to reduce long delays at key intersections during rush hour.
For more information, visit www.DriveAkron.com or call the Mayor’s Action Center at 330-375-2311 or 311.
Tour highlights black history
AKRON: Climb aboard a trolley and take a ride through black history in Akron on Friday.
The tour, presented by the Summit County Historical Society, the city of Akron and the Akron Zoo, will depart starting at 1:15 p.m. from the Honors College/Arts and Sciences loop off College Street on the University of Akron campus. The route features national leaders, local residents, art, architecture and historical markers.
A hike to the John Brown Monument, on land where abolitionist John Brown once shepherded the Perkins family’s Saxony-Merino sheep, is the last stop. Trolleys will return to the starting location by 3:15 p.m.
For more information, visit https://www.uakron.edu/race/.
MEDINA
Two named to county board
MEDINA: Wayne Carroll of Hinckley has been appointed and Sandra Thomas Fain of Medina reappointed to the Medina County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
Carroll is a retired elementary teacher and school counselor from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. He currently works part time as a scheduling manager for the Cleveland district.
He previously served on the board from 1997 to 2008. He also served on the board for the Epilepsy Association of Northeast Ohio for eight years.
“As the parent of an adult with developmental and physical disabilities, I know I will bring an important perspective to the Board as decisions are made,” Carroll said in a statement.
Thomas Fain, who works for the Social Security Administration, has been involved with the board since 1999.
STATE NEWS
ID card for ex-offenders
COLUMBUS: The state of Ohio and the federal government have joined together to create an ID card for inmates leaving federal prison as a first step to obtaining valid identification.
Ex-offenders issued the card can exchange it for an Ohio ID or driver’s license at a local motor vehicle office.
The U.S. Offender Release Card will include an individual’s photo, legal name, date of birth, Social Security number and an expiration date. The U.S. Justice Department said last year that providing such ID is critical to helping offenders re-enter society.