Ravenna schools issue mask mandate as Covid disrupts Portage County learning
The Ravenna School Board voted unanimously Monday to mandate masks for all students and staff, regardless of vaccination status. The mask mandate took effect Wednesday.
Letter: When jury duty becomes a health risk
With the Covid-19 delta variant increasing rapidly in Portage County, can the government force you — against your will — to spend hours indoors in a room filled with total strangers, half of whom, statistically, have not been vaccinated (according to the Ohio Department of Health on Aug. 20)?
Portage County two-time Olympian recalls her journey to the Games
- Tom Hardesty.
In a span of a few short years, Kreiner went from placing in three events at the state tournament as a senior at Mogadore High School in 1995, to trying a new event — javelin — as a freshman at Kent State University the next year, to becoming the best javelin thrower in the country by 2001.
One for the Books: Could you hide in plain sight?
“The Personal Librarian” by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray is a fictionalized biography of a real person, set in the years 1905 to 1948. Belle da Costa Greene was the personal librarian for the financier J.P. Morgan. But she was born Belle Marion Greener. Why did she change her name?
Council roundup: Kent will consider a city mask mandate
Kent City Council members unanimously voted Wednesday to consider whether the city should implement a mask mandate during a Health and Safety Committee meeting on Sept. 1.
Letter: Beder, blue and gold
Mike Beder’s efforts to bring new retail to downtown Kent and further the decades-long mission of creating a “town and gown” community should be applauded. I believe the ARB’s objections to the facade’s color scheme are subjective, and indeed, misguided.
Why Kent City Schools changed course and required masks
Ten days after adopting a masks-optional policy for the school year, Kent City Schools reversed course and decided to mandate universal masking for all students and staff members, regardless of vaccination status. In doing so, they were diverging from nearly every other school system in the county. What changed Superintendent George Joseph’s mind?
Urban chickens may get a second chance with new Streetsboro proposal
Backyard chickens are still on Streetsboro City Council’s mind as the city’s service committee is floating yet another poultry-oriented ordinance.
Adventures in Portage County sports journalism
- Tom Hardesty.
Here are a couple tales from my career in journalism to help take the edge off, something I plan to do from time to time to keep things light.
Aurora / Covid-19 / Deerfield / Edinburg / Health / Kent / Palmyra / Paris / Ravenna / Rootstown / Schools / Streetsboro
Portage County school leaders defy expert health advice on mandatory masks
Out of Portage County’s 12 public school systems, only Kent City Schools and Bio-Med Science Academy will require students to wear masks. Those two districts flipped their original decisions after public outcry against masks-optional policies. The remaining school districts, including Aurora, said that until they are required to enforce a mask mandate, they will leave the masking decision up to parents.
Ravenna City Schools sets off 2021 school year with social justice coloring books
Ravenna City Schools’ former Superintendent Dennis Honkala and the Portage County NAACP have teamed up to add more civil rights education to the curriculum by purchasing 250 social justice coloring books to use in the 2021 school year.
PARTA introduces trolley buses to their fleet for Summer 2022
Portage County residents will be driving in style Summer 2022 as PARTA introduces three trolley buses to its fleet. The trolleys will replace buses that are no longer in service and will bring a modern twist to the downtown Kent and Ravenna area.
Streetsboro residents won a small concession on recycling prices
Score a win for Streetsboro Mayor Glenn Broska, who recently took Portage County commissioners to task over reduced recycling pickups without any commensurate reduction in the price of the service.
Kent State faculty union speaks out against critical race theory bills
The union representing Kent State professors issued a forceful call to action against Ohio House Bills 322 and 327, which mimic a nationwide effort to ban teaching critical race theory in classrooms.
New Kent business is under scrutiny for using blue and gold paint on its windows
Longtime Kent businessman Mike Beder has recently opened Kent Sportswear on South Water Street, selling university-themed apparel to the student market returning this fall.
Letter: Let’s all stick together
If we have learned anything since March 2020, it is this: We need each other. The pandemic has revealed in large and small ways that our society and our very lives are an interdependent web tethered to one another.
Letter: The canary in the classroom
As a parent of two young, unvaccinated children in Aurora’s public schools, I strongly urge our superintendent and school board to rethink the decision to not mandate the use of masks among this group of unvaccinated children.
Portage County urgently needs more foster parents, a demanding job that changes lives
As of July 26, JFS was responsible for 191 children, including 33 in foster homes in Portage County and 67 in out-of-county homes operated by for-profit agencies. Eleven children are in residential treatment facilities, seven are in group homes, 70 are with relatives, two are incarcerated, and one is with a family that is pursuing adoption.
Friends celebrate Rockin’ Robin, giant of Kent music who died last year
About 175 musicians and friends of Rockin’ Robin Montgomery gathered at Kent’s Plum Creek Park on Sunday for a celebration of life to honor a great musician gone too soon.
Schools are hearing out the PCL committee, which is already a victory
- Tom Hardesty.
Gregg Isler, serving as acting league commissioner of a potential new PCL, along with assistant commissioners Brittany Dye and Tom Nader, have been moving forward this summer with their aim of drumming up support to bring back the league that existed from 1922 to 2005.