AKRON
Detectors donated
AKRON: The homes of 80 Akron residents will be safer this holiday season, thanks to new smoke detectors supplied by two local Lowe’s stores.
Lowe’s stores in Green and Wadsworth gave a $2,400 grant to Akron, which was used to equip the homes of low-income, elderly or disabled residents with up to three new smoke alarms. Batteries also were replaced in existing detectors that still were operational.
Akron Fire Capt. Al Bragg said smoke detectors are “proven to double your chances of surviving a fire, so it is vitally important that we all have working smoke alarms in our homes.” The law requires at least one smoke alarm on every level of a home, including the basement, and one outside of each sleeping area.
This makes 180 residents who have recently gotten smoke alarms installed because of donations. The Akron Boards of Trade Council recently bought 100 smoke alarms that the fire department installed in residents’ homes.

Driver sentenced
AKRON: An Akron man was sentenced Tuesday to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and drunken driving in a June 16 rollover crash at the city’s central interchange, authorities said.
James L. Woodruff III, 28, of Greenwood Avenue, was sentenced in Summit County Common Pleas Court by Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands.
His driver’s license was suspended for life.
Woodruff was driving a 1993 Honda Accord when he lost control in the westbound lanes of Interstate 76, police said.
The car hit a concrete barrier near the I-77 overpass at the central interchange, flipped on its roof and stopped in the median.
Police said speed and alcohol were factors in the crash.
Rochelle Braziel, 35, of Akron, and Jeanette Weiss, 38, of Cleveland, died at the scene.
Woodruff and two other male passengers were hospitalized.

No Ward 1 meeting
AKRON: Jim Hurley, the Ward 1 councilman, won’t have his regularly scheduled ward meeting tonight because of the proximity to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Hurley said he will resume his meetings early next year.

BATH TOWNSHIP

Deal for wetland
BATH TWP.: Township trustees have approved a 4.5-acre conservation-easement agreement with Deborah Orr for $5,400.
The easement is needed as part of a 12-acre parcel that is included in an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s grant for $72,561 that will fund work to protect and enhance a wetland area behind Moore’s Chapel Cemetery.
The grant, which requires a 20 percent match from Bath, will improve the water quality in the Yellow Creek Watershed and help to eliminate flooding.
According to Mike Rorar, park administrator and assistant service director, the Orr property is essential for work on the total 12 acres in the grant. Work on the acreage is expected to be completed by 2014, he said.

GREEN SCHOOLS

Transport decision
GREEN: The school board agreed Monday night not to transport students to 22 other Summit and Stark County schools while paying parents to transport at a rate set by the Ohio Department of Education.
With the action, which has been done in previous years, the board agreed it is unreasonable and unnecessary to transport children to:
Canton Central Catholic, Canton Country Day, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, Faith Islamic Assembly, Greater Summit County Learning Center, Hartville Christian, Heritage Christian Academy, Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel, Legacy Preparatory Christian Academy, North Akron Catholic, Old Trail School, Our Lady of the Elms elementary and high school, Redeemer Lutheran Christian School, Spring Garden Waldorf, St. Hilary Elementary, St. Matthew’s, St. Paul’s in North Canton, Sts. Phillip and James, St. Sebastian’s, St. Vincent Elementary and Walsh Jesuit High School.
The board also approved a contract with Ohio Casualty for $85,672 for liability, fleet and property insurance.

JACKSON TOWNSHIP

Vehicle drags officer
JACKSON TWP.: A police officer was dragged by a convicted sex offender who drove away in a car as the officer tried to arrest him Tuesday, authorities said.
Officer Gary Frascone suffered minor injuries after being dragged about 30 feet.
Police were looking for Darwin Ballard of Canton, who was last seen driving a blue 2002 Hyundai Accent with license plate number CBM8134.
Frascone initially stopped Ballard’s car about 3 a.m. in the 6900 block of Strip Avenue Northwest.
A warrant was pending against Ballard for allegedly failing to register his address as a habitual sex offender. When the officer asked Ballard to exit his car and reached in to remove the keys from the ignition, the suspect drove away, dragging the officer, police said.

PERRY TOWNSHIP
Subway robbed
PERRY TWP.: For the third time in less than a month, the Subway restaurant on Tuscarawas Street West has been robbed.
The robber, who entered the store about 8 p.m. Tuesday, is believed to be responsible for the previous two holdups, police said.
He did not show a weapon and no one was hurt. The robber escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash, fleeing in a blue box truck that had been parked outside a nearby McDonald’s restaurant, Perry Deputy Chief Brian Carbenia said.
Police said the robber was a white man, 30 to 40 years old. He wore a white bandana, a dark hoodie and dark pants.
Anyone with information is asked to call 330-478-5121.

SUMMIT COUNTY
RTA appointment
AKRON: Jack Hefner, president of the United Steelworkers Local 2 in Akron, is the newest member of the Metro Regional Transit Authority board.
Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic recommended Hefner’s appointment, and City Council recently approved it.

STATE NEWS
New police powers
COLUMBUS: A string of robberies in nearby neighborhoods has shaken up students at Ohio State University and has the school exploring whether its police should have the authority to make arrests off campus, in the domain of the city’s police force.
“Our officers already drive around,” said Nick Messenger, president of Undergraduate Student Government. “It’s just giving them the power to actually act.”
Messenger and other student government leaders gathered signatures on a petition they will give to Ohio State officials demanding that the university police be given the power to respond to matters beyond campus, the Columbus Dispatch reported Tuesday.
The idea is being considered by a committee announced by university President E. Gordon Gee in response to dozens of recent holdups in surrounding neighborhoods where students live. Gee has asked for a recommendation from the panel this week.
— Associated Press