City of Ravenna
A public hearing was held recently at Ravenna City Hall in which about a dozen people who live on a section of Park Avenue were present and voiced their displeasure about cars being parked on the street. A decision on whether or not to ban street parking on Park Avenue will be made at the next city council meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7 at City Hall at 210 S. Park Way.
The water tower by Maple Grove Cemetery was torn down about a month ago. Work on installing a new water tower will begin after the new year and should be done within a year.
A large tractor was purchased for approximately $50,000 for the road department.
“It is a special tractor that will help clean out stormwater. We can attach a head and a hose to it,” Mayor Frank Seman said. “It will really help in terms of cleaning up from the flooding that happened with the two recent storms. We’ll still use the smaller tractor we have for other things.”
The small park next to Guido’s Pizza and Catering on West Main Street was completed two weeks ago but has not been named yet.
The 2024 Ravenna Scarecrow Contest is underway. The contest is open to individuals, businesses, organizations and schools. Kits can be purchased now from It’s All Fine, located at 6560 N. Chestnut St. It’s All Fine’s phone number is 330-552-2180. The cost of a kit is $18, or you may use a previously purchased kit. Scarecrows will be on display from Oct. 1 to Oct. 31. Voting will take place from Oct. 1 to Oct. 24 and will be hosted on Facebook. Winners will be announced from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25 during Portage DD’s Trunk-or-Treat at the Happy Day location at 2500 Brady Lake Rd.
Main Street Ravenna will be selling Ravenna-Opoly Games from now until inventory is gone. Purchase your boards for $30. Proceeds go directly to Main Street Ravenna and will be used for downtown events, projects and helping both the revitalization as well as the historic preservation of downtown. Board games are available at Main Street Ravenna at 267 W. Main St. and at Reed Memorial Library’s front desk at 167 E. Main St.
The third annual Rib Cook-Off to Benefit Drug Awareness will be held at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5 at Ravenna Elks 1076 at 776 N. Freedom St.
OUR Place will host Sober October Recovery Fest 2024 at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5 at the Portage County Courthouse lawn at 203 W. Main St. It will be a day filled with music, inspiration and community.
The event will feature top-notch Ohio performers in recovery bringing their talent and powerful stories to the stage. Sober October Recovery Fest is more than just a concert; it’s a celebration of strength, resilience and the vibrant recovery community in Portage County. Come with friends, family and supporters to enjoy live music, engage in fun activities and connect with resources that promote recovery and wellness.
Support Ravenna’s Ravens by attending the big Homecoming football game against Springfield at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4 at Portage Community Bank Stadium at 6589 N. Chestnut St.
The Bean and the Baker will be hosting Books a Go Go from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 13 for its Silent Book Club as well as its pop-up bookshop. Stop in with your own book to read, or find your next cozy story! The Bean and the Baker is located at 107 E. Main St.
A Paint and Sip fundraiser for Ravenna Youth Football will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15 at the West Main St. Winery, Brewery & Cider House. Cost is $30. Click “interested” on the Facebook event to ensure there are enough supplies available.
Main Street Ravenna will host Mystery on Main from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19 at 267 W. Main St. Attend anytime during the event. It is mystery with history and fun for all ages. Participants will read a story, search the town for clues and return to the office to solve the mystery and receive prizes. Tickets are available now at mainstreetravenna.org and will also be available in person the day of the event. There is an early bird discount for early registration.
Raven Packs will host a pancake breakfast fundraiser from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 19 at Immaculate Conception Parish Hall at 251 W. Spruce Ave.
Cost is $5 per person and includes three pancakes, two sausages and a drink. Children ages 4 and under will be admitted free with a paying adult. Besides breakfast, there will also be a 50/50 raffle and raffle baskets.
Tickets will be available at the door the day of the event. Cash and checks only will be accepted.
All proceeds will benefit Raven Packs, a non-profit, community-wide initiative aimed at feeding kids in the Ravenna School District and in the community.
Ravenna’s Trick-or-Treat events will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26.
Ravenna Parks and Recreation will host a Drive Thru Trick-or-Treat from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 26 at City Park at 165 Oakwood St. Make your free reservation online or by scanning Ravenna Parks and Recreation’s flier throughout town and on Facebook.
Ravenna’s Downtown Merchant Trick-or-Treat will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 throughout downtown. Don’t forget to enter the Kids Costume Contest on the Courthouse lawn or stop into the Haunted Winery!
UH Portage Medical Center of Ravenna at 6847 N. Chestnut St. will host a Monster Dash Kids Fun Run and 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, Oct. 26. The Kids Fun Run will begin at 8:30 a.m., and the 5K Run/Walk will start at 9 a.m. The Zonuts and Lattes food truck will be onsite at 7:30 a.m. Fifty percent of the proceeds will be sent to Raven Packs to continue to provide food packs to local children.
Steve Knerem’s Dark Art Show will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20 at Warhorse Ink at 269 W. Main St. The event will include dark art, stories, food, drinks, a book sale, merch, good spirits and original art for sale. Knerem is a local artist/tattooer who will launch his first art book, titled “Painting in the Dark”, as well as showcase 13 paintings at the event. At 7:45 p.m., he will give a talk about positive mental health and how art therapy saved his life. There will be a book signing at 8 p.m.
Ravenna Township
Ravenna Township recently put out to bid a 40- by 80-foot storage building for the township. Bids are due Tuesday, Oct. 1. The building will be on the township property at 6115 S. Spring St.
“We probably won’t award the bid until the following meeting because we have to send it to the prosecutor to look over to make sure everything is OK,” township Chair Jim DiPaola said. “With the winter season fast approaching, the building may not get built until 2025.”
Currently, the township’s storage building is located on Cleveland Road.
“It’s a lot of trouble for the road guys to run back and forth between the two places,” DiPaola said. “We want to consolidate everything in one place.”
Once the new storage building is done, the property on Cleveland Road will be put out for sale by bid.
The township’s Trunk-or-Treat will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30 in the parking lot of the township offices at 6115 S. Spring St.
“People come and open up the back of their vehicles,” DiPaola said, “and pass out treats to the kids.”
Streetsboro
The Streetsboro Fire Department has been approved to receive a SAFER grant from the federal government for approximately $1.1 million to hire three additional full-time firefighters. The grant, which runs for 36 months, will cover wages and benefits.
“After that three-year period, there will be two avenues we could go,” Mayor Glenn Broska said. “If we can absorb the firefighters into the general budget, we would keep them on. If we can’t, they would be laid off, and this would be explained to them and signed off by them at the time of appointment. Our intention is to try to keep them because we do need the firefighters.
“Once we officially accept the grant at the next council meeting, we can get the ball rolling in terms of hiring the three firefighters, which will probably be within the next month or so. We’re a combination department, meaning we have full-time and part-time individuals, and we’ve always opened the test to our current part-time employees to test to become full-time. We also use the National Testing Network (NTN) in which we can go in there and basically tell people that we have openings. And then those people, if they’ve completed their NTN test and their agility test, we’d bring them in for an interview and go from there.”
The official groundbreaking for the new City Hall took place Sept. 17.
Shalersville
Paving was completed for the walking trail in the old section of Shalersville Township Park. Meanwhile, bids were received for the new paved walking trail that will be located in the new section of the park. The job was awarded, and work will begin on the new trail by the end of September.
Painting at the Shalersville Historical Society has been completed. The painting was funded by a grant. Meanwhile, there are plans to rebuild the chimney for the old school building that was moved to the historical society site.
The Crestwood Youth Softball and Baseball League wants to construct a shed at Township Park to store its equipment. The shed will be close to the concession stand. There are also plans to improve the backstop and install roofs on the dugouts.
The township passed a resolution to ban overnight camping on township public property. In most cases, all parks and public property close at dusk.
The township will have a potluck dinner at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 6 at Shalersville Town Hall at 9090 state Route 44.
