Village of Hiram
The Hiram Historical Society has possession of the 1880s James A. Garfield presidential campaign flag.
“Essentially, what happened was the women sewed a giant 38-star wool flag, and the men took two pine trees and made a massive flagpole,” Mayor Anne Haynam said. “It takes up a whole room. It was common for communities to come together and promote their candidate. This flag was passed from attic to attic over time.”
The flag will be on display with other Garfield memorabilia in Hiram College’s Kennedy Center from noon to 4 p.m. both Thursday, Feb. 20 and Friday, Feb. 21 and from 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 22. Author Charlie Goodyear will speak at noon Feb. 22. He wrote the most recent historical piece on Garfield.
“He’s an extraordinary public speaker. He’s a storyteller,” Haynam said.
Learn more about the event on Hiram College’s website.
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Hiram Village Council passed an ordinance in favor of the mixed-use zoning-code option.
“We now have an option for a mixed-use operation on a property where previously you either were in a residential or a commercial. There was not any kind of mixed-use on properties,” Haynam said. “This is all part of our effort to be friendlier to business development in the village. You can now officially apply for a mixed-use zoning permit.”
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Within the next few days, the new and improved village website, hiramvillage.org, will be going live. There will be a lot more capabilities on the website.
“We’ll have a calendar that’s for village business meetings, but we’ll also have a community calendar for various events, so it’s kind of a one-stop hit,” Haynam said. “The other thing residents will have access to on the website is ENotify. With this, they can opt in for a variety of notifications from emergencies to updates on events. If you live in the village, it’s really hard to find out what’s happening at Hiram College and for other events. ENotify is going to provide access whether you want it by email or by text. We can get information to our residents much more readily.”
The website will also be Americans with Disabilities Act compliant, so anybody hearing or visually impaired will be able to utilize it.
Village of Mantua
The Village of Mantua’s annual Advanced Rehab Chili Bowl Run, a 5K run/walk, will be held Friday, Feb. 21. The races will start and end at Advanced Rehab, which is located at 4707 Mill St. At the end of the races, participants will get a bowl of chili. The fee is $20. To sign up, go to arhs.us. The deadline to enter is Monday, Feb. 17.
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Staying Active and Independent Living’s (SAIL) upcoming weekly Wednesday exercise classes/lunches and activities at Buchert Park’s Crestwood Community Center are as follows:
- Feb. 19 – Exercise class at 11 a.m., free lunch provided by Sirna’s Farm Fresh Kitchen at noon and Advanced Rehab wellness coach Juli Robine’s talk on healthy habits at 1 p.m.
- Feb. 26 – Exercise class at 11 a.m., Bring Your Own Lunch at noon and cards and crafts at 1 p.m. (the craft, which has a $15 fee, will have participants doing an oil painting on a canvas)
- March 5 – Exercise class at 11 a.m., Bring Your Own Lunch at noon and bingo at 1 p.m. (for bingo, there will be a $2 donation accepted for prizes)
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The Portage County District Library’s Bookmobile is at Buchert Park’s parking lot every Wednesday from noon to 2 p.m.
Mantua Township
The Mantua Restoration Society’s monthly fundraising dinner will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14 at the Mantua Center School gymnasium at 11741 Mantua Center Rd. The money raised will go to the Mantua Restoration Society. Donations will be accepted.
Nelson
Nelson’s annual township cleanup will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27 at the Nelson Township Community Center at 11642 Windham Parkman Rd. There will be five large trash bins. Accepted items will include furniture, mattresses, stoves and washers and dryers.
