Twin Lakes Tavern sees new life under new ownership during the pandemic

Aug 5, 2020 - Carter Eugene Adams.

Feature Twin Lakes Tavern sees new life under new ownership during the pandemic When Shannon Zemba revived the Tavern, she brought inspiration from her mother. ‘This was really a way of us kind of bringing her spirit back to life early with this building.’ This week the Twin Lakes Tavern reopened its doors to patrons under new ownership. Shannon Zemba, owner of Kent’s Over Easy Morning Cafe, purchased the shuttered restaurant in January with hopes of reopening in March. Because of […]

Connie Schultz sets her first novel in Northeast Ohio

Jul 30, 2020 - Mary Louise Ruehr.

I long for a book I can wrap myself up in like a blanket. Happily, I found one in The Daughters of Erietown by Connie Schultz.
Schultz, of course, is the popular columnist formerly of the Cleveland Plain Dealer who has won a Pulitzer Prize and has written two previous nonfiction books, Life Happens and …And His Lovely Wife (the “his” referring to U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown). This is her first novel.

Over 2,000 people got tested for Covid-19 last week at a Portage County popup site

Jul 29, 2020 - Carter Eugene Adams.

Members of the Ohio National and Ohio Air Guard perform Covid-19 tests at a popup testing center at NEOMED in Rootstown on Saturday. Carter Eugene Adams/The Portager Covid-19 Over 2,000 people got tested for Covid-19 last week at a Portage County popup site Over three days last week, residents of Portage and surrounding counties drove through an arrangement of orange traffic cones and volunteer stations to receive Covid-19 tests administered by medics and lab technicians from the Air and National Guard. […]

Commissioner Christian-Bennett would ‘absolutely’ consider declaring racism a public health crisis

Jul 24, 2020 - Carter Eugene Adams.

Interview Commissioner Christian-Bennett would ‘absolutely’ consider declaring racism a public health crisis Portage County Commissioner Sabrina Christian-Bennett also said she would prioritize funding for training in a conversation with The Portager about race and policing Christian-Bennett The murder of George Floyd sent shock waves throughout the country and sparked uprisings in several major cities. In its aftermath, conversations on police violence and our country’s ugly history of racism are now more prominent than ever. Portage County has its own long history of […]

Fourth of July in Ravenna Township

Jul 6, 2020 - Carter Eugene Adams.

Ricky Wise, a Ravenna Township resident, had a cookout and pool party at his house for July 4. Wise describes himself as fiercely moderate and independent. “I don’t care [about partisanship] man, Black lives matter, white lives matter — smoke weed and buy a gun.” Photo essay Fourth of July in Ravenna Township Residents mark Independence Day with backyard fireworks, target practice and barbecue. In Ravenna Township, two groups of friends and neighbors celebrated Independence day in two very different ways: One with a […]

Photos: Kent honors the cultural heritage of the South End

Jul 6, 2020 - Carter Eugene Adams.

Doria Daniels, a resident of Kent’s South End, christens the district’s new historic marker with a mini bottle of sparkling wine provided by Kent Mayor Jerry Fiala on Friday. “This has been 150 years in the making,” said Daniels, a key organizer of the dedication. “This is heritage that we’ve wanted known for 150 years.” Kent Photos: Kent honors the cultural heritage of the South End A new sign marks the district as the ‘first in diversity’ because it has been historically […]

Waterloo has little else to cut and no choice but to keep putting levies on the ballot

Jul 1, 2020 - Carter Eugene Adams.

ATWATER — Meaghan McIntosh is a lifelong resident of the Randolph-Atwater area. She’s a K-12 alumna of Waterloo Local School District, and so are her mom and her aunts, one of whom teaches seventh grade in the district. McIntosh has fond memories from her time at Waterloo and is happy her son, now in second grade, attends the same school she did. “This is home, and when I started my own family, I wanted them to have a similar school […]

Waterloo has little else to cut and no choice but to keep putting levies on the ballot

Jul 1, 2020 - Carter Eugene Adams.

A sign reading “We miss our students” is seen on the front of Waterloo Local School District’s K-12 campus. Atwater, Ohio Monday, May 11, 2020. Carter Eugene Adams/ The Portager Waterloo has little else to cut and no choice but to keep putting levies on the ballot An ‘fiscal emergency’ looms if voters reject another tax effort in November ATWATER — Meaghan McIntosh is a lifelong resident of the Randolph-Atwater area. She’s a K-12 alumna of Waterloo Local School District, and so are her mom […]

Pandemic drives Portage libraries to the brink

Jun 22, 2020 - Carter Eugene Adams.

The Reed Memorial Library opened its doors to the public last Monday. Carter Eugene Adams/The Portager Pandemic drives Portage libraries to the brink As local libraries come back to life, they are making changes to the way they serve visitors and adapting to major budget cuts On one of its last open days in March, Carolyn Andrews Schlemmer walked into Kent Free Library. She carried a stack of books to return, had an idea for books to check out and sported her […]

Portage County scales back emergency Covid-19 response

Jun 12, 2020 - Michael Indriolo.

Photo by Brian McGowan Covid-19 Portage County scales back emergency Covid-19 response Portage County’s emergency operations center switched from full to partial activation this week, said Ryan Shackelford, the county’s emergency management director. The center has 15 emergency support functions, each of which represents a specific discipline that can lend resources and expertise to the county’s overall Covid-19 response. The center has scaled back to just four emergency support functions as of this week. “Because we’ve moved to partial activation, that does […]

Johnson says virtual town halls and social media will define his campaign for sheriff

May 1, 2020 - amg-development.

Greg Johnson, now the Democratic candidate for Portage County sheriff, speaks with LuAnne Kiefer of Kent at a League of Women Voters town hall in February. Carter Eugene Adams/ThePortager Portage County elections Johnson says virtual town halls and social media will define his campaign for sheriff An interview with Greg Johnson, Democratic candidate for Portage County sheriff Voters narrowed the crowded Democratic primary race for Portage County sheriff to one candidate Tuesday. Greg Johnson, a 24-year veteran of the Portage County Sheriff’s […]

Windham first responders brace for the coronavirus peak

Apr 24, 2020 - Carter Eugene Adams.

Elmedin Beganovic, a 26-year-old EMT, uses a modified paint sprayer to spray down the interior of an ambulance in the vehicle bay of the Windham Fire Department. Carter Eugene Adams/The Portager News feature Windham first responders brace for the coronavirus peak ‘I haven’t been to my house in three weeks’ WINDHAM — The alarm at Windham Fire Station 28 is low and continuous, a few seconds of electronic bass, before a dispatcher’s voice breaks through and describes the latest emergency. It’s a tone […]

Letter: My grandfather was the first person in Portage County to die of Covid-19. Our family wants more transparency.

Apr 19, 2020 - Letter to the editor.

What is a nursing home? It’s where the hospitals discharge people for rehabilitation. It is where the frail and elderly live their last days with dignity and comfort. It’s where the most vulnerable with dementia rely on the facility to keep them safe. Families must put their full trust in these facilities to take care of their loved ones and protect them.

Nursing homes are navigating a new terrain we have never experienced before this new pandemic of Covid-19 that is tragically taking the lives of our loved ones. This virus is very serious for the elderly population and immuno-compromised patients. We are now seeing it affect healthy younger members of our population, including healthcare workers and physicians.

‘You can revive a cafe, but you can’t revive someone back from the dead’

Apr 8, 2020 - Carter Eugene Adams.

‘You can revive a cafe, but you can’t revive someone back from the dead’ Kent State epidemiologist Dr. Tara Smith breaks down the Covid-19 crisis in Portage County Photo submitted by Tara Smith Last week I talked with Dr. Tara Smith, a professor of epidemiology at Kent State. She specializes in infectious diseases transferred from animals to humans. At Kent State, her lab studies the transmission of staphylococcus aureus, staph, in communities. Smith and I talked — at a socially safe distance of dozens of […]