Students from Litchfield Middle School Collect Clothing and Money to Support Homeless Peers Through “Hope for the Homeless Drive”

Jacquelyn Heisler, a work & family teacher at Litchfield Middle School, wanted to give her students an opportunity to give back. Fellow Litchfield work & family teacher, Debbie Casanova, also offered this opportunity to her students. Heisler read a newspaper article on Project RISE and learned that last year, the number of students in the Akron school district officially labeled “homeless” jumped to 951.

That high number struck a cord with her and she shared that information with her students. Heisler explained: “I shared this with my students and we decided to design a drive that could help our fellow students through this difficult time in their lives." The students voted and the “Hope for the Homeless Drive” was born. Students collected clothing and financial donations from their fellow students and staff members.

They were able to collect more than $340 and at least 15 garbage bags full of clothing for Project RISE. Debra Manteghi, project RISE program manager, will use the extra funds to help students displaced from their homes get transportation to school. The clothing will be stored in the Project RISE clothing room at Trinity United Church of Christ. Students and families experiencing homelessness can access this room with a referral from Manteghi.

Production runs through Jan. 28

Weathervane Playhouse ushers in 2012 with the Pulitzer Prize-nominated play "Yellowman" – a thought-provoking drama that explores the complicated dimensions of racial distinction.

Directed by Jennifer Jeter and underwritten by Margaret J. Dietz, "Yellowman" is presented live on stage in Weathervane Playhouse’s intimate Dietz Theater through Jan. 28.

Dael Orlandersmith’s play features one man and one woman, each of whom plays multiple characters. From black to white and to all shades in between, "Yellowman" delves into the persistence of both racial prejudice and the impact of internalized racism. The play also explores the negative associations surrounding male blackness as well as the effect these racial stereotypes have on black women.

A new plan in Akron will convert landfill gas to electricity, providing renewable energy for the nearby wastewater treatment plant. The City of Akron and Columbus-Ohio-based Hull & Associates, Inc., have entered into an agreement to recover landfill gas from the former Hardy Road Landfill and use the gas to produce electricity for the adjacent city-owned wastewater treatment plant.

The project is designed to produce approximately 7,000 megawatt hours of electricity annually for the wastewater treatment plant, or enough to power about 600-700 homes. The electricity generated from the landfill gas will be able to supply about 30 percent of the wastewater plant's annual electric requirements, according to city officials.

 Combustible landfill gases like methane are a powerful source for electricity.

A Halloween event this weekend at the Akron Dog Park will offer games, prizes and a costume contest for canines.

The Howl-O-Ween festival and fundraiser takes place Oct. 29, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Akron Dog Park, 499 Memorial Parkway, and is free and open to the public. Along with baked goods and raffle prizes, the event also features games and contests for humans and their four-legged companions, like a costume contest category for "Best Human and Dog Combo."

Other dog costume categories include "Most Scary, Most Funny" and "Best Overall." Vendors also will be on-hand, as well as the Akron Police Department's K9 Unit.

Neighbors who know one another better tend to build safer overall neighborhoods, according to the city of Akron, which encourages each area to promote their own event for the fifth annual Neighbors Day. The celebration takes place May 28, Memorial Day weekend, and centers around residents getting to know their neighbors better.

This year's theme is Living Together Better: 5 Years of Strengthening Neighborhoods. Once residents decide their preferred activity,  city officials encourage organizers to choose a location, adding they may want to host it on their porch, front yard or driveway. Neighbors Day Akron is designed to help residents get to know one another, especially those in closest proximity.

Beacon Journal managing editor discusses growing up in Akron in the 1960s, 1970s

Doug Oplinger grew up in the 1960s in Springfield Township, in a working class neighborhood whose place in the Akron area was neither racially nor politically secure. To illustrate Akron’s view of Springfield during this time, a local newspaper headline about the Springfield Spartans beating Akron’s Central High School in a basketball playoff game read: “Hicks beat Central.”

At the Summit County Historical Society’s recent annual meeting, Oplinger, managing editor for the Akron Beacon Journal, delivered a moving speech, at times fighting back tears as he candidly discussed the political and sociological climate in the ’60s and ’70s, from the infamous Kent State University shootings to the area’s strained race relations, whose coverage led to him receiving a Pulitzer Prize.

More than 200 earthquakes have been recorded in Ohio, with two experienced this year

The "big one," the only earthquake that I have ever felt, and the one that most people recall feeling, did not originate in Summit County, but was centered on the Lake/Geauga County line. It was a 5.0 quake, back on Jan. 31, 1986. That was also the day of Judith Resnik's funeral, and a lot people thought the tremor was "more military jets flying low overhead." I thought it was a large heavy truck passing outside. We were all surprised when we heard or saw the news later.

According to ODNR lists, there have been a total of 208 earthquakes in Ohio between 1776 and 2010, and two so far this year, both in Youngstown. The USGS estimates that there is a less than 2 percent chance that we in Summit County will face a major, magnitude 5 or greater, earthquake in the next 50 years.

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Akron donors join together to support the Rotary Camp for Children with Special Needs

(Editor's note: written by Bonnie Lass Wojno, Dreamweaver, Akron Rotary Camp)

On the shores of Rex Lake in Akron, Ohio, there is a shining star where abilities are allowed to shine.

That star is the Akron Rotary Camp for Children with Special Needs. Imagine a place where you can be accepted for who you are, a place where you are encouraged to develop your unique talents and abilities. This year, almost 2,000 campers participated in activities, including one camper with autism, who left camp speaking his first independent sentences. Another camper overcame his aversion to water. These are just two examples of the impact that camp has on the children who attend. This year, the camp is transforming its facilities to better meet the needs of today’s children with special needs.