AKRON
Pizza driver robbed
AKRON: A gunman robbed a pizza delivery driver late Tuesday night, demanding cash and the man’s cell phone battery, according to police.
The Pizza Hut driver, 26, told police he had finished a delivery in the 700 block of Wren Walk near Inman Street about midnight when the robber approached him from behind with a black handgun.
The robber took about $25 and the battery for the driver’s cell phone, police said. He then ran away while the driver returned to the pizza shop and called police.
Police said the robber was a black male in his late 20s, standing about 6 feet tall and weighing about 160 pounds. He wore a dark coat, black hooded sweatshirt and dark pants.
Anyone with information is asked to call Akron police at 330-375-2490.

Volunteers sought
AKRON: Heaven Can Wait Rescue and Adoptions will conduct an orientation for volunteers at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Panera, 689 Howe Ave., Cuyahoga Falls.
Heaven Can Wait rescues dogs and cats solely from Summit County Animal Control, provides necessary medical and behavioral care and places the animals in adoptive homes.
Volunteers must be at least 16 years old, have computer access and volunteer for two events per month. Deadline for orientation sign-up sign up is Monday.
For more information, go to www.heaven-can-wait.com or call 330-328-8699.

BATH TOWNSHIP
Six escape blaze
BATH TWP.: Six residents in a Bath Township home evacuated a house that caught fire late Tuesday.
Five of the people sought medical evaluation but were not admitted to the hospital, Bath Township fire officials reported.
The fire at 2485 Farmstead Road caused $125,000 in damage. It started on the back porch and mechanical room of the home, fire officials said.
Flames damaged the exterior of the home and the mechanical room in the basement. Other areas of the home sustained smoke damage.
No fire personnel were injured in fighting the blaze.

GREEN
Speed limit studied
GREEN: Ward 3 Councilman Ken Knodel, chairman of the city’s Safety Committee, has asked city Engineer Paul Pickett for a speed study on Pickle Road and to work with Springfield officials to make the roadway 35 mph in the township.
Knodel said he has received complaints of drivers travelling 45 mph or more coming south on Pickle Road from Springfield and ignoring Green’s 35 mph limit.
In other business, a $292,000 change order was approved, primarily for more expensive LED lighting, on the Town Park Boulevard Extension project associated with the new Akron General Medical Center’s Health and Wellness Center under construction.
Planning Director Wayne Wiethe said the lighting should provide significant savings on electricity.
Mayor Dick Norton said Susan Allan and Ted Mallo were elected chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the newly formed Charter Review Commission. He said the committee will meet every other Monday, beginning Feb. 27, at 6:30 p.m. in council changes. Meetings are open to the public.

LAKE TOWNSHIP
Patrols to continue
LAKE TWP: A Stark County judge ruled Tuesday that the township’s newly formed police department may continue to protect the community at least until April.
Common Pleas Judge John G. Haas, who threw out a November election result that said voters approved the expansion of the department, continued an order for Lake Township Police Department to patrol the entire township until a status and appeal hearing April 9.
Haas voided a successful Lake Township police levy in January, saying a substantial error on the ballot language last fall misled voters and might have affected the outcome.
The incorrect language indicated the 4.5-mill police levy would cost 45 cents in property tax for every $1,000 of taxable home value. In reality, it would cost taxpayers $4.50 per $1,000.
The ruling to vacate the election result has been appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court.

MEDINA COUNTY
Library to remodel
SEVILLE: The Seville Branch Library will be closed Feb. 24-25 to complete work on the checkout desk as part of an ongoing renovation project.
For more information, call 330-769-2852.

NORTHEAST OHIO
Fire grants given
Firefighters in Akron and the Valley Fire District have been awarded more than $350,000 in federal grants for operations and safety from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Akron will receive $247,953; the Valley Fire District, based in Peninsula, was awarded $106,917.
The grants are designed, according to a news release, to “strengthen the nation’s general level of preparedness and capacity to respond to fire and related dangers.”

NORTON
Meeting on levy
NORTON: A town hall meeting to discuss the fire/EMS levy on the March 6 ballot will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the lower-level Training Room of the Norton Fire Station.
The city is seeking an additional 4.6-mill, four-year levy for combined fire and emergency medical service.
If it passes, the new levy would replace four levies already on the books, Norton officials said.

PLAIN TOWNSHIP
Firefighters hired
PLAIN TWP.: Township trustees hired six Class II firefighter/paramedics at their meeting Tuesday evening.
Fire Chief Don Snyder said James Russell II, Adam Farley, Brandon Ogdon, Adam Gladyz, Jonathan Hostetler, and Ron DeFrancesco will fill vacancies created due to recent promotions.
Trustees also approved 2012 appropriations in the total amount of almost $19.4 million.

STARK COUNTY
Budget approved
CANTON: Stark County commissioners on Wednesday approved final general fund appropriations for this year of $48.9 million, about 1 percent less than last year.
The budget makes use of $2.4 million worth of revenue accumulated in various funds. The money comes from overpaid taxes, title fees and the county’s medical insurance fund.
Many departments saw cuts of 10 percent to 20 percent, while some, such as the sheriff and Board of Elections, saw increases.

SUMMIT COUNTY
Adoption meeting
AKRON: Summit County Children Services will hold a free foster care and adoption information meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Highland Square Branch Library, 807 W. Market St.
As of December 2011, 73 children in agency custody were waiting to be adopted — and of those, 66 were age 12 and older.
Area residents will learn more about foster care and adoption, including what and how long the process is, what kind of support is provided by the agency, and the costs involved with adopting a child.
The event is open to the entire community and reservations are not needed.
For details, call 330-379-1994 or visit www.summitkids.org.

Kettle goal topped
AKRON: The Salvation Army of Summit County’s Red Kettle Campaign surpassed its goal of $400,000.
The campaign raised $439,000 to support the group’s efforts in the county.
For more information about the Salvation Army, go to www.salvationarmyusa.org.

STATE NEWS
Inmate seeks delay
COLUMBUS: An Ohio inmate sentenced to die for killing a teenage boy during a burglary in Portage County has asked a federal judge to delay his April execution while the state’s lethal injection procedures are reviewed.
The request by Mark Wiles is the latest in a series of such filings that have led to an unofficial moratorium on executions in the state.
The 48-year-old Wiles asked U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Frost on Wednesday to stop his April 18 execution on the grounds that Ohio hasn’t followed its own injection policies.
Federal courts have delayed two other executions this year over concerns that Ohio deviates too often from its written injection rules.
Wiles was sentenced to death for killing 15-year-old Mark Klima at a farmhouse in Rootstown Township in 1985.
— Associated Press