Randolph

The 168th Portage County Fair will be held from Tuesday, Aug. 25, to Sunday, Aug. 30, at the county fairgrounds in Randolph. As usual, attractions will include animal shows, scavenger hunts, workshops, live music, games, classes, auctions, games and contests. Not to mention, a great variety of good eats, too. Grandstand events will include demolition derbies, tractor races, tractor and truck pulls and a Rough Truck Contest. Gates will open each day at 7 a.m. and will close at 11 p.m. For ticket information and more details, visit randolphfair.com.

Atwater

The Atwater Fire Department would like to thank the township residents for their generous donations of school supplies during their “Stuff the Fire Truck” event on Aug. 15. These donations are greatly appreciated and will certainly benefit the students and school. It was the fire department’s biggest collection of school supplies to date. 

Mark your calendars now for the fire department’s Pancake Breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Oct. 3. This annual event, held at the fire station at 6570 Waterloo Rd., kicks off Fire Safety Week. Breakfast includes pancakes, eggs, sausage, coffee and orange juice. Donations only are accepted for this event.

Upcoming dates: (all the following events are held at the Atwater Townhall)

• Sept. 8 – Zoning office hours, 5-6:30 p.m.
  • Board of Trustees meeting, 7 p.m.
• Sept. 22 – Zoning office hours, 5-6:30 p.m.
  • Quarterly Financial Review meeting, 6:20 p.m.
  • Board of Trustees meeting, 7 p.m.

Stay up to date on meetings/events by visiting the new Atwater Township website, atwatertwp.net, where you can also find the link to the Atwater Facebook page.  

Brimfield

The Brimfield Zoning Commission approved a request to rezone a lot west of 1215 Howe Road from R-1 to I-C and sent it to the township trustees for their review. The trustees scheduled a public hearing for Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 6:30 p.m.

The discussion surrounding data centers continues, including detailed restrictions that are needed in the draft legislation and narrowing down locations that are least impactful on township residents.

The next Zoning Commission meeting is on Thursday Sept. 10. A public hearing is set for 6:45 p.m. regarding Megan’s Way Out, and the regular meeting will begin at 7 p.m.

The Brimfield Board of Zoning Appeals met on Aug. 12. Three residential cases were granted variances, and one residential case was tabled until the next meeting on Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. Waffle House was the only commercial case, and it was granted a 5’ variance for minimum lot width. 

Suffield

The Portage County Township Association awards an annual $1,000 scholarship to a graduating senior from a county high school who is going into the trades. The 2026 winner is Mitchell Adams, who graduated from Field High School last spring. Adams aspires to be an electrician apprentice doing commercial wiring.

“It’s a good thing the Township Association does,” Suffield Township vice Chair Jeff Eldreth said. “We need people who are going into the trades. I think it’s a good thing that we help out the trades because you’ve got to have somebody wire your house, you’ve got to have somebody build your house.”