It’s Spring! That means that the Easter Bunny will be making his annual visit to Charlestown for the Easter Egg Hunt. The Bunny will arrive at the township park on Saturday, April 12 at 1 p.m. to kick off the hunt. There will be a photo opportunity with the Easter Bunny. If the weather is a problem the location will be moved to the fire station.
Spring also encourages us to clean up around our homes. To assist residents with that, the trustees will provide a dumpster at the township park on Saturday, May 3. This is for Charlestown residents only. Restricted items are trash, paint, tires, refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners and batteries.
As a reminder, the Portage County District Library Bookmobile makes a weekly stop in Charlestown. They park at the town hall every Monday at 10-11:30 a.m. They offer a family story time for children five and under. If you have a Reed Memorial or Kent Library card, they accept that. If not, they will help you apply for one. If you want a book they don’t have they will bring it for you the following week. You can register to vote or even borrow a WiFi Hot Spot. This is a great service for the community so plan to stop by to check it out.
If you are looking for information on Charlestown Activities on Facebook the name of our page has changed to CHARLESTOWN TOWNSHIP. You will find the latest information on all our upcoming events there.
For over 50 years Rick Grund has been on the Charlestown Township payroll. Rick served the residents of Charlestown from age 16 as a part-time seasonal worker until 2025 when he retired as Road Supervisor, Cemetery Sexton and Zoning Inspector. He was a member of the Charlestown Volunteer Fire Department for 40 years serving 14 years as Fire Chief. I asked him what he had planned for his retirement years and he said he hadn’t made many plans but was happy he didn’t have to get up early to plow the roads in the freezing weather we had this winter. Also, he now has more time to help his father. Congratulations, Rick and thank you for your service to the community.
Paul Jalbert is taking over as Zoning Inspector, Kerri Fotheringham will be the new cemetery sexton and the road maintenance will now be an hourly position overseen by Trustee Tim Patrick serving as director of roads.
In 1999/2000 my daughter and I were fortunate to be a host family for a lovely young woman from Japan. Chie Inoue was 16 and joined my daughter, Erin, in her junior year at Southeast High School. She was intelligent, curious, joyful and easy to love. She flourished by joining the band and choir and began her education in Spanish, which she now speaks fluently. After she returned home in June 2000 we remained in contact. She returned in June of 2006 for Erin’s marriage to Joe Ruggles. In April of 2012 she returned for a wonderful three month stay. She returned last week for a 10 day stay with Erin and Joe and their three children who live in Kent. Chie had never personally met Duke, 10 yrs., Sophie 10, yrs. and Hank, 8 yrs.
It was an exciting and fun visit. Chie brought lots of Japanese snacks, taught them Origami and prepared some delicious Japanese foods for them. They in turn prepared some of her favorite American meals, visited some of Kent’s fun restaurants, went bowling, to the Cleveland Natural History Museum, the kid’s soccer games and several family and friends gatherings.
Chie is quite an accomplished woman. Since her last visit she continued her education culminating in a PhD in sociology this winter. During that time she lived in Mexico for 1 year and Spain for three and a half years. She has returned to her home and 3 jobs in Wakayama, Japan to contemplate her career opportunities. Ever the perpetual student, Chie is currently enrolled in an online course to further her education. We will miss her and are looking forward to her next visit.
