Sgt. Brett Harrison with his K-9, Beny. (PHOTO PROVIDED)

A Montville Township police sergeant is facing misdemeanor animal cruelty charges after his K-9 police dog died of heatstroke while left in a cruiser for four hours on a hot day.

Sharon Township attorney Jeff Holland, who works on animal cruelty cases for the Medina County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the charges were filed Friday in Medina Municipal Court after reviewing an investigation by the organization.

Holland could have pressed felony charges of assault on a police dog, but he said those charges weren’t appropriate for the case.

“The felony charges would have required he acted recklessly, which under the law means he would have had to have ‘perversely disregarded a known risk,’ ” Holland said. “It’s a higher standard than negligence, which is a ‘substantial failure of due care.’ ”

Montville Police Sgt. Brett Harrison faces two charges of animal cruelty, second-degree misdemeanors that carry up to three months in jail and $750 in fines each.

Holland said the charges accuse Harrison of failing to provide the dog with shelter from heat and needlessly killing the animal.

The police dog, Beny, died Sept. 28 after Harrison left him in a police cruiser without air conditioning on a 70- to 80-degree day. According to protocol, the car’s air conditioning is supposed to be left on.

Montville Police Chief Terry Grice could not be reached for comment Friday.

Grice told The Gazette earlier this month that Harrison — who cared for the dog at home while off duty — accidently left the dog in the vehicle for four hours while he wrote and approved reports, and security cameras captured Harrison panicking when he returned to find Beny lifeless.

Harrison lost two weeks of pay and a week’s worth of vacation time as discipline for the Beny’s death.

A Gazette survey of police departments with K-9 units found leaving police dogs in cruisers was common practice.

Since the accident, Montville police announced they will continue the K-9 program, but Harrison will no longer be permitted to handle the dogs. In addition, police announced they plan to install $2,500 temperature control and monitoring systems in all K-9 cruisers.

The system will automatically roll windows down and turn on a fan if the vehicle gets too hot, and a pager system will alert police.

In the wake of the Montville incident, Lodi police said they also are looking into similar security measures for its K-9 unit.

Contact reporter Nick Glunt at (330) 721-4048 or nglunt@medina-gazette.com. Follow him on Twitter @ngfalcon.

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Dan Gladish, chief building official for Medina, boards up windows at 416 Bronson St. KATIE ANDERSON / GAZETTE

MEDINA – A house on Bronson Street that police say attracted criminals will lie vacant for a year after a judge ordered the house padlocked and evicted the occupants.

City officials sued the occupant, convicted drug dealer David Reed, and the homeowner, Reed’s brother, Edward Scott Reed, in March after a woman said she’d been held at knifepoint at the house by another visitor. When police executed a warrant to search for the knife, they found three of the five people in the home were wanted by police.

The lawsuit accused the Reeds of providing a “habitual resort” for criminals, saying that “illegal drug activity at the premises has created a hazard to the community and a nuisance.”

This year, David Reed had been charged with misdemeanor assault and felony permitting drug abuse. As part of a plea deal in the knifepoint case, the Reed brothers agreed to resolve the lawsuit.

David Reed

Reed pleaded no contest to the assault charge earlier this month and was sentenced to jail time served.

Medina County Common Pleas Judge Christopher Collier ruled Wednesday to padlock the house, 416 Bronson St., for a year. Entering the property may be grounds for trespassing charges.

On Friday morning, city police and building officials changed the locks, padlocked screen doors and windows, boarded up broken windows and hung a sign warning visitors to leave the property.

Medina Law Director Greg Huber said padlocking the house was an appropriate solution.

“The number of police reports and drug activity at the house has been overwhelming,” Huber said. “This case has been a priority in the office because of the amount of drug activity over the years.”

Medina police Chief Patrick Berarducci agreed.

“There are good people on this street,” Berarducci said, “and it’s not fair to them to have this house causing this many problems.”

Reed still is awaiting trial on a felony charge, which accuses him of permitting his friends on Aug. 8 to use and sell drugs at the house. He has a pretrial hearing Feb. 24.
Reed said that until then, he will stay at his mother’s house in Medina.

“I wanted to fight (to keep the house), but he (Edward Scott Reed) doesn’t and threw the towel in because of the legal fees,” Reed said. “As soon as I signed the paper, they sent my brother all these code violations that he has to deal with.”

In that case, Medina County Drug Task Force agents reported they witnessed a 24-year-old man sell heroin at Reed’s home while he was there.

Reed — who’s spent time in prison for trafficking drugs — has maintained that he no longer sells drugs and is trying to clean up his life. He told The Gazette his friends use and sell drugs, but they are not permitted to do it on his property.

Contact reporter Andrew Davis at (330) 721-4050 or adavis@medina-gazette.com.
Contact reporter Nick Glunt at (330) 721-4048 or nglunt@medina-gazette.com. Follow him on Twitter @ngfalcon.

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Medina County sheriff’s deputies are investigating allegations that a group of Highland High School students shared sexually explicit digital photos.

Sheriff Tom Miller said the investigation began Oct. 10, that both boys and girls were being questioned, and that several students were subjects in the photos.

“It’s an ongoing investigation,” he said.

Miller said it’s unclear how the photos were shared.

“That’s still trying to be determined,” he said.

He said no charges have been filed and declined to say more until the investigation is complete.

Highland Schools spokeswoman Dawn Marzano referred questions on the matter to the sheriff.

Marzano declined to say whether disciplinary action had been taken against the students involved because the district does not release disciplinary records

Ann Murphy, president of the Highland High School Parent Teacher Organization, declined to comment because she had not been informed of the incident.

School board president Norm Christopher did not return a phone call seeking comment

Reporters Katie Anderson and Loren Genson contributed to this story.
Contact reporter Nick Glunt at (330) 721-4048 or nglunt@medina-gazette.com. Follow him on Twitter @ngfalcon.

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A passenger died Friday afternoon after a three-vehicle crash on U.S. 42 near mile post 14 in Lafayette Township, Highway Patrol officials said.

Tara Green, 21, of Burbank, died at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, where she was transported after the wreck.

The patrol said Noah T. Silcox, 20, of Westfield Center, was driving a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee southbound on U.S. 42, when he attempted to pass another southbound vehicle at 3:43 p.m. Friday. His Jeep collided with a 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan driven by Jordan R. Howell, 23, of Lodi.

Silcox then struck head-on a 2000 Chevrolet Lumina driven by Teresa L. Green, 40, of Medina, police said. Tara Green was a passenger in the Lumina.

Teresa Green was transported to MetroHealth with serious injuries. Silcox was transported to Lodi Hospital by Chatham Township EMS with non-life-threatening injuries. Jordan Howell and his passenger in the Caravan, John E. Howell, 59, were transported to Medina General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The crash remains under investigation. Alcohol and drugs do not appear to be factors, police said.

Assisting were Medina County Sheriff’s Office, Erhart Fire Department, Chatham Fire Department, Lafayette Fire Department and Medina Life Support Team.

Green’s death is the 13th traffic fatality reported in Medina County this year. Last year there were two highway deaths in the county.

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A woman is recovering who was seriously injured in a car crash Friday afternoon that killed one and injured others.

Teresa Green, 40, of Medina, was transported to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland with serious injuries. Her passenger, Tara Green, 21, of Burbank, also was transported there and died of her injuries.

A nursing supervisor at MetroHealth said Teresa Green was in fair condition Sunday afternoon.

According to the Medina post of the Ohio Highway Patrol, the 2000 Chevrolet Lumina Teresa and Tara Green were traveling in was struck head-on by a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Noah Silcox, 20, of Westfield Center, as he attempted to pass a southbound vehicle on U.S. Route 42 at 3:43 p.m. Friday in Lafayette Township

Silcox’s Grand Cherokee first struck a 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan driven by Jordan Howell, 23, of Lodi. Howell and his passenger, 59-year-old John Howell, were transported to Medina General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Silcox’s Grand Cherokee then struck the Lumina.

The patrol said no new information on the crash was available Sunday.

The crash remains under investigation. Alcohol and drugs do not appear to be factors, police said.

Assisting at the accident scene were Medina County Sheriff’s Office, Erhart/York Township Fire Department, Chatham Fire Department, Lafayette Fire Department and Medina Life Support Team.

Tara Green’s death is the 13th traffic fatality reported in Medina County this year. Last year there were two highway deaths in the county.

Contact reporter Nick Glunt at (330) 721-4048 or nglunt@medina-gazette.com. Follow him on Twitter @ngfalcon.

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Michelle Radke, center, and her four children, from left, Hannah, Isaac, Owen and Brynn. Their husband and father, Peter Radke, died in May while trying to rescue a teenager in Lake Erie. (GAZETTE FILE PHOTO)

After Peter Radke, of Medina Township, died this summer while trying to save a 16-year-old girl from drowning in Lake Erie, the community rallied around his family.

Now the sponsors of the Meadows Turkey Bowl will be pitching in to help the family this Thanksgiving.

“We want to raise as much as we can to honor him as a hero,” said Mike Meadows, the founder of the annual charity event.

Peter Radke

Now in its 25th year, the Turkey Bowl started as a family game among Meadows, his brother, Bill, and their friend, Tom Judson, and has morphed into a major fundraiser. Last year, the Turkey Bowl raised $158,000.

In past years, all the proceeds from the Turkey Bowl were donated to the St. Vincent DePaul Society to help families in need. But this year 30 percent of those donations will go to the Radke family — Pete’s wife, Michelle, and four children, Hannah, Brynn, Owen and Isaac.

“We don’t usually seek out a face, or one family to donate to, but this year it just seemed appropriate,” Meadows said. “We just want to give back to that family.”

Michelle Radke said she was touched by the gesture, as she and her family continue to adjust to their lives without Peter.

“I feel like I’ve gained a new family. I’m surprised and very grateful,” she said.

She said the Radke family is doing well, and “stumbling along” as they receive counseling and lean on the support of family, friends and fellow parishoners at Grace Church.

Mike Meadows, who hosts an annual Turkey Bowl at his Medina Township home each Thanksgiving, offered opening messages to players and led all the teams competing in a prayer last year. (GAZETTE FILE PHOTO)

Recently, Michelle Radke spoke with the 16-year-old girl her husband rushed into the water to save on May 31 at Huntington Beach in Bay Village.

“She’s a dear girl and she wants to make a difference in the world around her,” she said.

Radke said she learned that Peter spoke briefly with the girl when he reached her in the water that day.

“She said he told her his name was Peter and that he was going to get her out of there,” Radke said. “Then he pushed her towards the raft.”

Radke said the conversation was hard for both of them, but said she wanted to reach out to the girl.

“I don’t want her to carry any guilt,” she said.

Meadows said he’s impressed by Radke’s strength, but said he can’t imagine the financial and emotional difficulty of suddenly raising four children on her own.

“The entire family is just so strong,” Meadows said.

For the last 10 years, the Meadows Turkey Bowl has worked this way: Participants come together and raise money from friends, family and co-workers. On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the participants are divided into three teams, and Monopoly money represents what they fundraised for St. Vincent DePaul and is used to bargain for player trades among teams.

This “draft night” encourages players to raise more money so they can help their team draft the best players, Meadows said. Fundraising goals are set for each of the players.

“The minimum is $1,000, but we have a goal of $1,500,” Meadows said.

Meadows said a number of partners, including the Turkey Bowl’s newest partner, the Arena Football League’s Cleveland Gladiators, are helping to provide incentive packages to donors.

“We don’t want to make it a burden on players to raise the money, and we want to give people something for their donations,” Meadows said.

Donation packages range from $50 to $3,000 and include everything from golfing and Indians tickets to autographed sports memorabilia from the Cleveland Cavaliers.

For example, those who donate $100 will get four box seats to a Cleveland Indians game and two lower-level tickets to a Gladiators game. Higher packages include ticket offers, along with golfing foursomes and gift certificates.

Meadows said he’s grateful for the support from the Medina Country Club and the Gladiators.

Alan Mowery, vice president of franchise development for the Gladiators, will be playing in the Turkey Bowl. Mowery, Tim and Terry Blascak and Joe Caruso, a pastor at the Radkes’ church, all will be raising money specifically for the Radke family.

But the Turkey Bowl isn’t quite finished rounding out this year’s roster. The Meadows Turkey Bowl still is looking for about 10 more young Turkey Bowlers like Mowery who are willing to play “the game within the game.”

Meadows said they’re looking for people who like to play football, but more importantly are willing to go out and raise money.

“Some of us are getting old,” he said. “We want to bring in some young people who want to carry this on, but they need to be dedicated to raising money.”

To learn more about the Turkey Bowl, visit www.meadowsturkeybowl.com or call Meadows at (330) 721-6865.

Contact reporter Loren Genson at (330) 721-4063 or lgenson@medina-gazette.com. Follow her on Twitter @lorengenson.

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This year, the zombie run attracted 160 runners and 31 zombies, making it the most successful so far, said Karla Robinson, Project: LEARN’S executive director. (PHOTO PROVIDED)

I was trying to keep a good pace as I approached the forest edge. I’d already encountered three or so groups of the undead, and I entered the safe zone thinking I was already a goner.

I peeked over my shoulder to find my flags missing, stolen by the first waves of zombies as I dashed past them. I’d been running probably five minutes, and already I was “dead.”

But like the other dead runners, I was determined to keep going.

Reporter Nick Glunt, right, with his friend, fellow runner Andy Sedgwick, after Project: LEARN’s third annual “Run for Your Life” 5K Zombie Run on Saturday afternoon at Buckeye Woods Park in Lafayette Township. (COURTESY PHOTO)

As I jogged along the wooded trail, avoiding puddles forming from the rainy weather, I saw the warning sign: “Zombies ahead.” After a deep breath of cold air, I started off again at a quicker pace — and that’s when I saw them. Four or so eager-eyed children in eerie makeup and ragged costumes: more dreaded “zombies.”

I took a quick glance around to find that I was alone to face the undead threat. Though I had no flags, it was still early in the race and I wanted to keep playing. So I took off into a sprint.

But that wasn’t enough. The trail was thin, and there were too many of them. A little girl zombie in black rags reached out, and I heard the tear of plastic and felt a tug as she claimed my final flag — a flag I thought already was missing.

I’d survived the first wave after all, but now I was dead.

That was my experience at Project: LEARN’s third annual “Run for Your Life” 5K Zombie Run on Saturday afternoon at Buckeye Woods Park in Lafayette Township. The goal of the race was to finish with at least one of your flags intact.

It also was my first 5K run, and despite my early death and sore legs, I honestly can say I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Let me preface this by saying I only recently made the decision to start running. I’ve gone on runs about twice a week since June, usually covering about two miles in a run-then-walk format. For those unfamiliar, 5 kilometers works out to about 3.1 miles.

It’s also worth noting that I’m not remotely good at running. I’ve never been a very athletic person, but I’m trying (and I think that counts for something).

Project: LEARN Executive Director Karla Robinson, back row, second from left, is surrounded by zombies Saturday afternoon at the third annual “Run for Your Life” 5K Zombie Run at Buckeye Woods Park in Lafayette Township. The Halloween-themed event raised money for the nonprofit, which provides adult students with free tutoring in reading, math, GED test preparation and English as a second language. (PHOTO PROVIDED)

So when I say I finished the 5K, even though I probably walked a third of it, I count it as an accomplishment — despite my finishing time of 38 minutes. Compare that to the top finisher, Harvey Lindner at 19:54, and I find myself realizing I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me.

In all, 160 runners and 31 zombies participated in the event, which benefited Project: LEARN’s programs to provide adult students with free tutoring in reading, math, GED test preparation and English as a second language.

Karla Robinson, executive director of the nonprofit, said this year’s event was the most successful so far.

“Despite the inclement weather, we had a great time and a great turnout,” she said. “We had more runners than we ever had and more zombies than we’ve ever had.”

She said it’s the organization’s most popular event. Participants began emailing her in the summer to ask for a date so they could put it on their calendars.

“We’ve had a couple of groups of people come just to be zombies because it’s a really fun time to get into costume,” Robinson said. “That’s our biggest consideration. A lot of the more serious runners understand it’s more of a fun event.”

It was certainly a fun event — but it was also an encouraging one for a beginning runner like me.

After I’d lost all my flags, I passed by at least four or five more waves of zombies while I finished the circuit and every one of them cheered for me to keep going.

“You’re almost done!” one little girl in gruesome face paint said, offering me a high-five as I passed. “You’ve got this!”

So thank you, zombies: That was something I didn’t expect from the “bad guys,” and it boosted morale until I cross the finish line.

I may not have survived the zombie apocalypse, but at least I finished the race.

Contact reporter Nick Glunt at (330) 721-4048 or nglunt@medina-gazette.com. Follow him on Twitter @ngfalcon.

TOP FINISHERS

Top overall (alive)
1. Savannah Kole, 21:29
2. Ryan Sheppard, 23:55
3. Eric Hayden, 25:30

Top women (alive or undead)
1. Reagan Kole, 22:28
2. Alysia Rogers, 22:40
3. Shelly Baltic, 23:23

Top men (alive or undead)
1. Harvey Lindner, 19:54
2. Steve Marshall, 20:28
3. Timothy Foster, 22:42

For more finishing scores, check Project: LEARN’s website Monday afternoon.

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Carol Gross

A Wadsworth woman charged with trying to kill her elderly father-in-law in a fire in 2012 has asked a judge to remove her from house arrest, a condition of her bond.

Carol M. Gross, 45, posted a property bond last October, when her mother used her home as collateral. As a condition of bond, Gross has been on house arrest while living with her mother in Wadsworth Township.

Gross’ attorney, Russell Buzzelli, on Monday asked Medina County Common Pleas Judge Christopher J. Collier to make Gross’ bond more traditional by removing conditions of house arrest and GPS monitoring and allowing her to live with her children instead of her mother.

No date for the judge’s ruling has been set, and prosecutors have not yet filed a response. Gross is scheduled to stand trial Jan. 12 on a count of attempted murder and three counts of aggravated arson.

If convicted, Gross could face more than 20 years in prison.

According to court documents, Buzzelli said his client has been cooperative while on bond, and the case against his client is “weak.”

Buzzelli said Wally Gross, the man Carol Gross is charged with trying to kill, testified under oath during depositions that there was “no way” she could have set the fire for which she’s charged. The man said Gross was not home when smoke first appeared near the stove.

In addition, Buzzelli said investigators found the fire was caused by the stove, even though prosecutors allege the fire started in the living room with the aid of gasoline.

Buzzelli said gasoline may not even have been present.

“Two of the three chemists, all hired by the state of Ohio, opine there was no gasoline,” he said.

Gross has undergone psychological evaluation as part of her court case and was found competent.

The fire Gross is accused of starting gutted a house at 463 Wolf Ave., Wadsworth, on Nov. 27, 2012.

A couple was driving by that morning and saw smoke. They kicked in the front door and helped 80-year-old Wally Gross from the house. They said the elderly man didn’t seem to notice the flames or smoke.

The man was taken to Summa Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital for smoke inhalation and was released.

Carol Gross’ husband, Dorian Gross, 43, also was living at the house with four children, ages 2 to 13. Only Wally Gross was home at the time, police said.

Firefighters from Wadsworth, Rittman, Guilford-Seville, Sharon Township and Norton fought the fire for about 45 minutes. The home, valued at about $300,000, was a total loss.

Contact reporter Nick Glunt at (330) 721-4048 or nglunt@medina-gazette.com. Follow him on Twitter @ngfalcon.

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BRUNSWICK — Three sections of Brunswick High School’s roof will be repaired before winter arrives. The school board Monday night approved a bid of $655,119 from Strongsville-based Professional Roofing Services.

The roof was damaged during a hail storm and tornado that struck the city in June.

“We were advised it would be better to get this done before the winter,” Superintendent Michael Mayell said.

Mayell said there are other smaller roof repairs that will need to be completed this spring. He said those projects will require a request for bids and will be covered by insurance.

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TRICK OR TREAT

Saturday, Oct. 25

• Hinckley Township, Halloween Haunt, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., Center and Ridge roads. Hinckley area businesses will open their doors to trick-or-treaters. Participants can carve pumpkins and fire trucks will be on display.

Sunday, Oct. 26

• Granger Township, 2 to 4 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 30

• Wadsworth, 6 to 8 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 31

Cities
• Brunswick, 6 to 8 p.m.
• Medina, 6 to 8 p.m.

Villages
• Chippewa Lake, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
• Lodi, 6 to 8 p.m.
• Seville, 6 to 8 p.m.
• Spencer, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
• Westfield Center, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Townships
• Brunswick Hills, 6 to 8 p.m.
• Chatham, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
• Guilford, 6 to 8 p.m.
• Harrisville, 6 to 8 p.m.
• Lafayette, 6 to 8 p.m.
• Litchfield, 6 to 8 p.m.
• Liverpool, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
• Medina, 6 to 8 p.m.
• Montville, 6 to 8 p.m.
• Sharon, 6 to 8 p.m. in the Sharon Circle
• Spencer, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
• Westfield,6:30 to 8 p.m.
• York, 6 to 8 p.m. at the firehouse, 6609 Norwalk Road.

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Workers from the North Canton construction company Selinsky Force work on the south wall of the new public restrooms on Medina’s Public Square. The restrooms are slated for completion Nov. 20. (ANDREW DAVIS / GAZETTE)

Work on the public restrooms on Medina’s Public Square should be complete in time for the city’s Candlelight Walk next month, city officials said.

Service Director Nino Piccoli said the unexpected repairs to the water main in the 200 block of South Court Street did not slow down the work on the restrooms.

“The restrooms will definitely be open by the Candlelight Walk,” he said.

Piccoli estimated the restrooms will be completed the day before the 30th annual Medina Candlelight Walk from Nov. 21 to 23. The event kicks off Medina’s holiday season and includes the Holiday Parade of Lights, fireworks, visits with Santa, shopping in the city’s historic district and a concert by the Prayer Warriors.

Demolition of the former Key Bank building started Oct. 16, Piccoli said. Masons arrived Friday and began to enclose the drive-through portion of the building, he said.

Once complete, the restrooms will house 10 toilets on the men’s and the women’s sides, as well as a family restroom and a small visitor’s kiosk.

“The walls should take to the end of the week, but they will pour the floor midweek depending on them passing a building inspection,” Piccoli said Monday.

Selinksy Force, a North Canton construction firm, won the bid to renovate the building at a cost of $350,000 in August, $100,000 more than the city originally estimated.

The increase in price was due to the strict deadline, Piccoli said.

“It is a tight schedule, but they are committed to getting it done,” he said.

Contact reporter Andrew Davis at (330) 721-4050 or adavis@medina-gazette.com.

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Drug awareness educators next month will host a workshop for parents, teachers, counselors and social workers about how to spot the signs of drug abuse and what drugs are popular among teenagers.

“Education is really the key. It’s an opportunity to be more educated and more aware of the issue,” said Brian Nowak, director of the Medina County Drug Abuse Commission.

On Nov. 14 during the Operation Street Smart workshop, officers with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office’s undercover narcotics branch will discuss drug trends, paraphernalia and concealment techniques.

“It’s eye-opening for people to get an understanding of drug culture and trends,” Nowak said. “So much of this drug culture is hidden. Anyone working with youth needs to be aware of how they hide it and what to look for.”

The presentation will be similar to the Hidden in Plain Sight presentation offered last year, which was open only to adults and shed light on the drugs teenagers tend to abuse and the language they use to discuss drug use.

A 2012 survey of Medina County teens found 17 percent of ninth- through 12th-graders had used marijuana in the past 30 days, and 20 percent reported misuse of medications. Additionally, 14 percent of high school students in Medina County reported they had been offered, sold or given illegal drugs on school property.

Nowak said those statistics were alarming and one of the reasons for hosting workshops for parents.

Current events also have focused on heroin abuse in Medina County. In 2013, a Medina High School senior was found dead from a heroin overdose, and last month a 35-year-old mother of two died of a heroin overdose in her Medina basement.

Earlier this year, Medina police and paramedics began administering the antidote Narcan to suspected heroin overdose patients and successfully have revived at least four people.

Heroin is extremely addictive, said Dr. Jason Jerry, a psychiatrist at the Cleveland Clinic’s alcohol and drug recovery center. Jerry also will talk at the November workshop and address prescription drug abuse and the opiate/heroin epidemic in Northeast Ohio.

The 2012 Medina County survey found 1 percent of teens reported using heroin, but Jerry said the statistic that 20 percent were abusing prescription medications was more alarming because that’s how most people get hooked on heroin.

“Most patients started using after being on pain medication,” he said. “They found they were using up and above what the doctor was prescribing for them. Then, they come to the point when they realize why spend this much money on prescription narcotics when heroin is more affordable.”

Jerry said most parents understand the potential for prescription abuse, but don’t realize that the addiction is more powerful than other drugs or alcohol.

“I hope I open their eyes to what treatment entails,” he said. “For most patients addicted to narcotics, it will take the use of suboxone or methadone for them to engage in solid, long-lasting recovery.”

Contact reporter Loren Genson at (330) 721-4063 or lgenson@medina-gazette.com. Follow her on Twitter @lorengenson.

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Medina County may increase its annual dues by $5,000 to the consortium that works to boost Northeast Ohio businesses in the global marketplace.

The county has been paying $25,000 a year to the Northeast Ohio Trade and Economic Consortium since 2005, when it entered into an agreement with the 10-county regional organization and became a part of Foreign Trade Zone 181, county Commissioner Steve Hambley said during Tuesday’s commissioners meeting.

Hambley, who supports the increase, said NEOTEC’s management of the trade zone and foreign-trade consultations with Medina County businesses has “provided an economic benefit” and “added great value to our companies.”

NEOTEC President and CEO Ronald W. DeBarr and John Senese, vice president of international operations, told commissioners the reason for the raise is because the consortium recently faced “unexpected expenditures” without enough revenue coming in because of the poor economy. They said they hoped the increase would be a temporary situation and agreed that, going forward, the dues should be reviewed annually to determine any change or decrease.

The dues have not increased since 2005.

“They may lower it if they do the annual review,” county Commissioner Adam Friedrick said.

Friedrick said he also supports the increase because it will benefit about a dozen companies in Medina that trade overseas.

“We will get the value out of it,” he said.

Friedrick said the commissioners will need to pass a resolution for the increase by the end of the year.

Contact reporter Katie Anderson at (330) 721-4012 or kanderson@medina-gazette.com.

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The Sherman family: Dan, Caleb, Loren and Alissa. (GAZETTE FILE PHOTO)

The playground at Ralph E. Waite Elementary School will honor the memory of fifth-grade teacher Dan Sherman, who died suddenly in June.

The Medina school board approved “The Dan Sherman Playground” Monday night.

Sherman, 36, of Montville Township, died of cardiac arrest June 3, after collapsing during a workout at a West Liberty Street gym.

Sherman had been with the district since 2002, working as an English teacher at A.I. Root Middle School. He switched to teaching fifth grade at Waite Elementary six years ago.

“He was teaching character values and teaching kids to be fair and kind to one another,” Waite Elementary Principal Cindy Grice said. “Kids can utilize those skills out on the playground as well.”

The decision to name the playground in his honor was determined by a naming committee, which consisted of students, parents, community members, staff, board of education members and administrators.

Amy Busby, community relations coordinator for Medina Schools, said the district is discussing whether to also name the high school’s baseball diamond after Sherman because he was the assistant baseball coach.

“Dan had such an impact on all of his students,” Grice said. “When we all met over the summer, students were a part of the committee because they were grieving as much as we were.”

Grice was joined by students and committee members Monday night to ask the board to approve the name for the playground.

Emma Stobbs, a sixth-grader at A.I. Root, spoke about Sherman’s effect on her education at Waite Elementary.

“I just thought it was a nice way to remember him by and to let everyone know that even though he’s gone, we will always remember him,” she said.

Emma said one of Sherman’s teaching approaches she’ll always remember was his “read aloud” sessions.

“He would always use his booming voice to describe the characters’ voices,” she said. “People could hear him all the way down the hall.”

Emma wore a T-shirt in honor of her former teacher that read “To Shermanate = to care for others and to put their needs before your own.”

Alissa Sherman attended the meeting and called it “an honor” to have the playground named after her husband.

“He just had so much enthusiasm in the schools,” she said. “He really wanted the students to feel like they were part of a group and involved.”

Sherman said her late husband spent many after-lunch hours at the playground playing with his students.

“He was kind of a kid at heart, so it seems like an appropriate place for him to be remembered,” she said.

Sherman said she and her children, Caleb, 7, and Loren, 6, will be at dedication of the playground at 6 p.m. Thursday at Waite Elementary.

Contact reporter Katie Anderson at (330) 721-4012 or kanderson@medina-gazette.com.

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The Matinee Singers perform a Brown Bag Concert at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Medina on Tuesday. (ANDREW DAVIS / GAZETTE)

The Matinee Singers brought their barbershop harmonies and showmanship to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Medina on Tuesday afternoon as part of the church’s Brown Bag Concert series.

The group mostly is comprised of retired members of Akron’s Derbytown Chorus, who have flexible schedules and regularly perform and rehearse during the daytime.

The group bills itself as “everything from barbershop to Broadway,” and performed for an hour Tuesday for more than 50 people, some of whom brought lunches for the performance.

St. Paul’s Brown Bag concerts are free and open to the public but a freewill donation is accepted. Lunches are available from the church for $5 each. To order a lunch for an upcoming concert, call ahead at (330) 725-4131.

In November, the church will host Jim Gill, a singer/songwriter from Westfield Center. Gill combines storytelling with songwriting and tackles funny and heartfelt topics, according to his website. The concert will be noon Nov. 18 at the church, 317 E. Liberty St.

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MEDINA — More than 2,000 bouncy balls were dropped from the top floor of the Medina County District Library in Medina to the lobby on Friday to wrap up the library’s One Book, One Community program.

The program consisted of dozens of events, speakers and book clubs focused on “Wonder,” a short novel by R.J. Palacio about a 10-year-old boy born with severe facial deformities who’s starting public school after being homeschooled.

Heather Coontz, spokeswoman for the district library, said each bouncy ball represented someone in Medina County who had read the book.

“Wonder” by R.J. Palacio.

“Each branch had a jar where people could drop a bouncy ball inside after reading the book,” she said. “We collected all the balls and dropped them on Friday.”

Holly Camino, director of Buckeye Library and coordinator of the program, said she was glad to bring the book to the community and that so many people read it.

“Thousands of people read ‘Wonder,’” she said. “We had over 30 events held at our libraries and our bookmobile that talked about bullying, acceptance and being kind.”

She said the book is about avoiding bullying by fostering kindness — an important topic for Medina County after a series of teen suicides last year and a 2012 survey conducted by Living Well Medina County that found a fifth of the county’s high school students have “seriously considered suicide.”

Camino said she believes the program was successful.

“This book has helped them rethink how they look at people,” Camino said. “It really brought the community together. It’s been really moving for everyone involved.”

The events designed around the book included a talk by J.R. Martinez, who told the audience he knew firsthand about the struggle of looking different because of facial scars he received after nearly dying from injuries sustained from a roadside bomb when he served in the Army.

Camino said 400 people attended Martinez’s Oct. 9 talk at the Medina Performing Arts Center.

She said she hopes to continue the One Book, One Community program with different books, but not every year.

“It takes a lot of planning,” she said, “so maybe we can do this every few years or so.”

Contact reporter Nick Glunt at (330) 721-4048 or nglunt@medina-gazette.com. Follow him on Twitter @ngfalcon.

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Medina Schools may need to look for a new funding source to make up for nearly $4 million that could be lost from the state.

School district Treasurer David Chambers presented a five-year financial forecast to the Board of Education for its review Monday night. The biggest financial loss involves the tangible personal property tax the state has been reimbursing the district since 2006.

Chambers said the state dropped the tangible personal property tax on furniture, equipment and inventory for businesses in 2006. The state had been reimbursing school districts for the loss in tax revenue, but in 2012 began to reduce the reimbursement.

“It was the governor’s proposal four years ago to phase down the amounts of reimbursement,” he said.

Because the 2014-15 state budget did not address the tangible personal property tax loss, Chambers said there is a good possibility the district won’t receive any reimbursement starting in 2016.

Chambers said other school districts across the state already have stopped receiving reimbursement.

“The district will have to look at other forms of funding,” he said. “Other options haven’t been discussed.”

Chambers said the Nov. 4 election could play a role in whether the district will continue receiving a reimbursement.

Democrat Ed FitzGerald faces Republican incumbent John Kasich in the gubernatorial race this year. The winner will need to propose a budget by early 2015, and legislators will have until June 30 to approve it.

Chambers said the school board should have a better idea about funding next summer.

Chambers predicted the district’s cash balance taking a hit in 2019, when a five-year emergency levy that went into effect in 2014 will end. The 5.9-mill levy generates about $6.6 million a year.

The forecast takes the cash balance from about $33 million in 2015 to $23 million in 2018. In 2019, it is forecast to drop to $13.4 million.

Contact reporter Katie Anderson at (330) 721-4012 or kanderson@medina-gazette.com.

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Medina Mayor Dennis Hanwell, left, attends a Wednesday meeting with Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, who spoke about a new Senior Advocate Fraud Education Toolkit, at the Medina Library. (KATIE ANDERSON / GAZETTE)

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine visited Medina Library on Wednesday afternoon to promote and distribute a fraud toolkit for seniors.

DeWine’s Senior Advocate Fraud Education Toolkits, which were established through a grant obtained by the attorney general’s Consumer Protection Section, have been distributed to more than 700 Ohio libraries.

The SAFE booklet and DVD slideshow outline common scams that target older adults and advises how to react to fraudulent activity.

“Scam artists don’t stop at the county line or the state line or, in some cases, even the border of the country,” DeWine said. “They often say you’ve won something and you have to send them a check or wire money to get the winnings.

“We’ve always had crooks, but now they have the Internet,” he said.

DeWine mentioned the grandparents scam that happens when a con artist poses as a senior’s grandchild or a police officer and tells the senior citizen their grandchild is in jail and requires bond money.

“People get intimidated and they get scared,” he said.

Laura Toth, director of the Medina County Office for Older Adults, attended the meeting and said the grandparents scam happens often in the county.

“That’s the one they fall right into,” she said.

County Sheriff Tom Miller said at the meeting he believes only a fraction of the people who are scammed out of large amounts of money don’t report it or press charges.

“People are embarrassed,” he said. “They don’t want to admit that it happened to them.”

Miller said it’s also important for children of seniors to read the material and to make sure their elderly parents are aware of the scams.

Besides Medina, DeWine visited libraries in Ashland and Wooster to distribute the toolkits. He said the material also is available online at ohioattorneygeneral.gov.

DeWine, a Republican, is running for re-election Nov. 4 against Democrat David Pepper, of Anderson in Hamilton County.

Contact reporter Katie Anderson at (330) 721-4012 or kanderson@medina-gazette.com.

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Video submitted by Glenn Somodi

Brunswick police are asking the public to help identify two men suspected in thefts Tuesday from vehicles in the Abington Court area.

Resident Glenn Somodi, of the 3500 block of Abington Court, captured video of two men entering unlocked vehicles between 2:30 and 3 a.m. in front of his home.

He was one of five residents on Abington Court who reported their vehicles had been entered Tuesday.

Landscape pavers were tossed through the passenger-side window on both of the cars in Somodi’s driveway.

“One of our cars was brand new. I only got it two weeks ago there was nothing in it,” Somodi said. Thieves made off with a wallet that was left in his other car, he said.

The pavers used to smash the windows were taken from a retaining wall two doors down, Somodi said.

At another Abington Court address, thieves took a GPS unit, backpack and a gray rolling suitcase after smashing the vehicle’s window.

Another car window was broken on the street and the owner lost a hunting bow and hunting backpack.

Two more residents reported their unlocked cars had been rummaged through, but nothing was stolen.

Somodi said he installed the cameras at is home about five years ago.

“They’re fairly inexpensive at Costco, and at the time we had someone in the neighborhood with a BB gun shooting out taillights,” he said.

Somodi’s surveillance tape caught two men walking in front of his home carrying the pavers from the retaining wall. A different camera angle shows them peering inside the cars in Somodi’s driveway with flashlights before breaking in.

Though the night images are dark, Somodi hopes the pair can be recognized for their distinctive features and accessories. One man was wearing a baseball hat and the other had thick, dark sideburns.

“They look like teens and one has very distinctive sideburns,” he said. “I hope someone recognizes them.”

Somodi also is asking neighbors to be vigilant and report suspicious activity.

“I’m considering getting a better-quality camera and putting them in more locations,” he said.

It isn’t the first set of car break-ins in Brunswick recently. On Oct. 16, break-ins were reported at four residences on Parkland Oval, less than a half-mile from Abington Court.

Five cars were entered, and a checkbook, prescription pills, wallet, purse, two tablets and an iPod were reported stolen.

At 5:15 a.m. Friday, an unlocked vehicle was entered in the 100 block of Westchester Drive and a bag was taken, along with a tablet and data cartridge.

Westchester Drive is adjacent to Parkland Oval.

Another theft was reported Oct. 14 at an Autumn Lane address. Two cars were entered and change was stolen from both; a wallet was taken from one car.

Police can’t say whether last week’s break-ins are related to the thefts on Abington Court because no windows were broken in the previous thefts, police spokesman Nick Solar said.

Police are asking anyone with information about the thefts to call Officer Jeff Lee at (330) 225-9111.

Contact reporter Loren Genson at (330) 721-4063 or lgenson@medina-gazette.com. Follow her on Twitter @lorengenson.

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Cloverleaf officials expect the school district’s “fiscal emergency” status will be lifted by the end of the year because voters approved two funding issues in the spring.

The Ohio Department of Education declared the district in a state of fiscal emergency in January 2012, and a five-member Fiscal Oversight Commission has been overseeing Cloverleaf’s finances since.

On Thursday, commission Chair Paul Marshall told Superintendent Daryl Kubilis and Treasurer Jim Hudson he expects the commission will meet a final time in December before turning financial decisions over to the district.

In May, voters approved a 10-year combination 3.5-mill property tax and 0.75 percent earned income tax — an emergency amount necessary to help pull the district out of deficit spending.

“I can’t say enough positive things about this district,” Marshall said.

“They made difficult decisions to balance the budget and they cut everything they could. They didn’t make excuses and the voters responded with a levy.”

The district has cut its budget by more than $7 million in the past five years and reduced services and staff. The district faced a $5.8 million deficit by 2017 without new money, and the commission said another $1 million would need to be cut if the May funding requests failed.

Marshall said because Cloverleaf voters approved the two funding issues, the financial forecast puts the district in the black until 2020.

At Thursday’s meeting, Steve Moomaw, of the state auditor’s office, told the school board he is working with Hudson to clear up several policy issues the state would like Cloverleaf to change before the district is removed from fiscal emergency.
Moomaw said he expects to have requested documentation from Cloverleaf “by the end of November.”

His report then will be filed with the state auditor’s office, where it will be reviewed. He said he expects the state will lift the fiscal emergency status.

“As soon as our office moves on that paperwork, (it) should be lifted,” Moomaw said.

Marshall said required policy changes are minor compared to outstanding issues facing other districts he oversees.

“They essentially just have to make a few changes to their policies,” Marshall said. “When a state is monitoring you, they always find something. A policy change is easy to correct.”

Hudson said he has not completed the district’s five-year financial forecast, but a draft version of the document shows the property tax approved in May will be collected next year, and the earned income tax will be phased in over the next three years.

Kubilis has said the levy is expected to bring in $1.6 million annually over 10 years and the income tax another $3 million.

“We will see our revenue go up significantly over the next three years,” he said. “Our expenditures will be below revenues and we can fulfill our promise to the voters not to be on the ballot for new money until 2020.”

In prepared remarks to the oversight commission, Kubilis said the school year is off to a good start, and parents and teachers are able to focus on student achievement, rather than on potential cuts and levy campaigns.

“It was a pleasing start to the year and it was nice to focus on student achievement,” Kubilis said.

He also said the Board of Education is working to develop a five-year strategic plan to outline how the new levy money will be used over the next three years.

“We want to focus our initiatives the best we can using the money we do have,” Kubilis said.

Marshall praised Cloverleaf’s efforts.

“I’ve dealt with a good number of school districts,” Marshall said. “But this school has always been in the top five. They’re responsive and responsible.”

The commission plans to conduct its final meeting noon Dec. 17. The meeting could be pushed into January if paperwork to release the district from fiscal emergency isn’t completed before the Christmas holiday.

Contact reporter Loren Genson at (330) 721-4063 or lgenson@medina-gazette.com. Follow her on Twitter @lorengenson.

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