Garrettsville

Brad Ehrhart, president of the Portage Development Board, spoke recently to Garrettsville Village Council about the village’s interest in perhaps at some point becoming part of a Joint Economic Development District (JEDD) with other communities.

A JEDD is an agreement in Ohio between a municipality (city or village) and a township to jointly develop land for commercial or industrial use, typically to share income tax revenue. It allows for economic development, such as building infrastructure like water and sewer lines, without requiring the municipality to annex the township land. 

“A JEDD would help financially and also give us more land for businesses like big factories to build on the land,” Mayor Rick Patrick said. “We still have a little bit of vacant land in our industrial park but not much, so if we’d get someone who would want to come and build a building or factory, we’re real limited with that right now. It doesn’t have to be contiguous land now, so that gives us more options.”

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The Community EMS District will host its annual Easter Egg Hunt at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 22 at the district office at 10804 Forest St. in Garrettsville. This is a free event.

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Podboys Uptown, a mid-day café at 8126 Main St., held its grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony last month. The new eatery is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. six days a week for breakfast and lunch. It is closed Tuesdays.     

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Patrick did a proclamation for Anthony Augaitis, a water department employee. Augaitis was working on a job at a resident’s home recently, left when he was done but returned when he got off work.

Why did he go back?

Augaitis returned to shovel the resident’s sidewalk and porch because he could see the resident was not able to do it himself.

Said Patrick, “The resident really appreciated it.”  

Village of Mantua

Want to help improve the Mantua community? Then you have two options to do so, both at the Restoration 44 Coffee Company’s event space at 10675 Main St.:

• The Rotary Club sponsors Safety Town for the Crestwood School District, among other philanthropic activities. The meetings, which are open to everyone, are held the first three Thursdays of each month at the R44 Coffee event space at 10675 Main St. in the village of Mantua. The next meetings will be at 6:30 p.m. March 19, April 2 and April 9.  
  
  
• A Community Visioning Session hosted by the Downtown Mantua Revitalization Corporation and Heritage Ohio will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 24. This is your community – you should have a say in how it looks going forward.

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The Chamber Momentum Series begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 31 at Advanced Rehab at 4707 Mill St. Juli Robine, a life coach and Chamber board member, will be leading a short, high-impact group coaching program designed to help Chamber members set clear goals, stay accountable and build momentum in your business and/or life.

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Join in at Jake’s Eats (in the upper room) at 7:30 a.m. Friday, April 3 and find out what exciting projects the Downtown Mantua Revitalization Corporation will be tackling next. The DMRC needs your input. All are welcome. Jake’s Eats is located at 4680 E. Prospect St.

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The monthly fundraising dinner for the Mantua Restoration Society will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, April 10 at the Mantua Center School gym at 11741 Mantua Center Rd. No charge, but donations accepted. Consider giving what you’d pay for a comparable meal at a restaurant plus tip. A variety of entrées provided – including one supplied each month from Main Street on the River. Several salads and a variety of desserts, including homemade pies. All food is home-cooked and donated by the MaRSI members – soups to casseroles to cornbread to salads and desserts. Light piano music consistently provided by Steve Stork.

Note: this is not a free community meal but rather a fundraiser for the society which helps provide funds for the restoration and upkeep of Mantua Center’s historic buildings and sites. For more information, contact Susan Pollard at 330-586-8337.

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The Portage County District Library Bookmobile will be at Buchert Park from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. the following Wednesdays: March 18, March 25 and April 1. The bookmobile offers a wide selection of books and can order your favorites! The park is located at 4810 E. High St.  

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Upcoming events at Buchert Park’s Martin S. Hura Lodge at 4810 E. High St. in the village of Mantua:

Stay Active in Life (SAIL) - 11 a.m. Wednesdays, March 18, March 25, April 1 and April 8 – A gentle exercise class to get your blood flowing. 

Free lunch in the Crestwood Community Center - 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 18. Provided by Rich Piekarski from Gardens of Western Reserve. Audry Riley from Jobs and Family Services will talk about available programs at 1 p.m.   

Free lunch/candy making in the Crestwood Community Center - 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 25 – Rebecca Moore from Boulder Crossing will provide lunch, or you can bring a brown-bag lunch to enjoy with friends before making some candy. You can eat the candy there or take some home for later! $4 donation for materials. You can also show up at 1 p.m. if you just want to do the craft.

Mantua Township

Mantua Township’s Spring Fling Easter Egg Hunt will be from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 28 at Corners Catering & Event Center at 11845 State Route 44. There will be Easter Egg Hunts for different age categories: Toddler-4 yrs., 5-9 yrs. and 10-12 yrs. Also included will be brunch, an obstacle course, face painting, a coloring contest and photo ops. Activities are free! Brunch costs $13 for ages 9 and up, $5 for kids 6-8 yrs. and free for kids under 5 yrs. Sign up at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdoQEGMVnGVT3C3KcIIf7bNLIFBa9gPhta1kCHiSiv7GLKC1w/viewform.

Village of Hiram

The Village of Hiram’s “Trifecta” community event will be Saturday, March 21 at the Kennedy Center on the Hiram College campus at 11730 Garfield Rd. Included will be:

The annual Hiram Police Department All-You-Can-Eat Pancake Breakfast to benefit “Shop with a Cop” from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Donations will be accepted to help families within the Crestwood School District.

A community activities fair called “Join Something” from 9:30 to 11 a.m. in which representatives from local clubs and organizations will be on site. If you’re interested in having a booth, contact the Hiram Police Department at 330-569-3236.

The Hiram Historical Society’s Dr. David Anderson and Christie Edwards Borkin will speak about Colonel Daniel Tilden, the original owner of all of Hiram Township.

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After the resignation of Bill Byers, the village is advertising for a full-time fire chief. Visit hiramohio.org for more details.

Freedom

The Freedom Township Spring Clean-up will be held from noon to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 7; noon to 6 p.m. Friday, May 8; and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 9 at the township garage at 9302 State Route 700. If you have questions about what items will be accepted, contact the garage at 330-527-7414 or 330-620-3555.

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The township is seeking applicants for a full-time road worker (minimum of a Class B CDL) and for summer seasonal help (minimum age of 17 years old). Any interested candidates need to submit a resume to freedomtwpfiscal@gmail.com or mail their resume to P.O. Box 287, Garrettsville, OH 44231. Deadline to apply is Friday, April 3.

Nelson

The Nelson Township Clean-up will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3 at the Township Community House at 11642 Windham Parkman Rd. More info to come.

Village of Windham

Windham Village Council hired Dan Spaur as the village’s new wastewater superintendent. Spaur’s first day on the job is Monday, March 16.