AKRON
Women robbed
AKRON: Two women were robbed of more than $200 by a gunman who forced them inside their West Akron home Tuesday afternoon.
The women, both 20, were not harmed during the robbery, police said.
The incident happened about 1 p.m. in the 100 block of Hollinger Avenue, a side street between South Portage Path and West Exchange Street.
One woman was about to get inside her car when the gunman approached and demanded money. When she told him she had no cash, he forced her inside her home, police said. The woman’s roommate, who had heard screams, came to help and was also confronted by the robber. Both women were then forced inside, where they surrendered the money.
The gunman then fled.
Police described the suspect as a bald, black male in his late teens with a medium build. He wore a gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.
Anyone with information is asked to call Akron police at 330-375-2490.

Child approached
AKRON: An 11-year-old Hyre Middle School student told police that he was approached Wednesday by a man who asked him to get inside a car and help search for a dog.
The boy was not touched and he told school officials of the encounter when he arrived for classes about 9 a.m. The case is not related to a series of reports police received earlier this month about a man in a car talking to several children walking on the city’s west side.
In the latest incident, the boy was walking near the corner of Canton Road and Wedgewood Drive when the man stopped his car and began talking, police Lt. Rick Edwards said. The man asked the boy to get in his car and help find a missing dog. He ignored the man and went on to school.
The man is black, about 50 years old. He is bald and has a salt-and-pepper colored beard and moustache. He drove a gray sedan, possibly a Dodge Intrepid.
Anyone with information is asked to call Akron police at 330-375-2490.

Canton man dies
AKRON: A 59-year-old Canton man rushed to Akron General Medical Center on Saturday for a puncture wound to his chest died Wednesday afternoon.
Michael Kimbrough’s death is being investigated as a homicide, according to an investigator with the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office,
The medical examiner’s office will conduct an autopsy this morning.
Kimbrough initially went to the emergency room at Mercy Medical Center in Canton, but was transferred to AGMC, where he was pronounced dead at 2:15 p.m. Wednesday.
The Canton Police Department is investigating.

CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Schmidt fundraiser
AKRON: Summit County Councilman John Schmidt will have an “Extreme Wings Extravaganza” fundraiser from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. today at Dante’s Game Day Grill, 1019 N. Main St.
Cost is $25.
For more information, call 330-923-9876.

PLAIN TOWNSHIP
Chief to retire
PLAIN TWP.: Township Fire Chief John Sabo announced his retirement at the board of trustees meeting on Tuesday.
Sabo’s retirement will be effective Jan. 6. He has been a member of the fire department for 44 years, serving as chief for the past 18.
He said he has mixed emotions about his retirement. He will enjoy time with his family but will miss the camaraderie of the department, he said.
Trustees appointed Assistant Chief Don Snyder to replace Sabo. Snyder moves into a position once held by his father, Clarence Snyder. He will be paid $76,000 per year.
Trustees also heard an impassioned plea from Stark County Sheriff Tim Swanson and Chief Deputy Mike McDonald for passage of the one-half percent sales tax increase on the Nov. 8 ballot. Swanson said that although Plain Township will continue to be patrolled under a separate contract, the impact of the jail reduction in personnel will be felt by the entire county.
Trustees unanimously passed a resolution in support of the sales tax measure.

STARK COUNTY
Annexation issue
CANTON: Stark County commissioners decided Wednesday to hold a public hearing about the proposed annexation of a Tuscarawas Township trailer park by the city of Massillon.
The hearing will be at 6 p.m. Dec. 6 in the Massillon City Council Chambers, 1 James Duncan Plaza.
The subject property is the 8.3-acre Bit of Eden park at 1700 Manchester Road NW in Tuscarawas Township.
In other business, commissioners allowed Canton and Jackson Township to create a joint economic development district.
The agreement provides that Canton will not annex Jackson land unless township trustees and the property owner agree.
The city and the township already have approved the agreement.

SUMMIT COUNTY
Suspect sought
AKRON: A North Canton man is wanted on multiple charges stemming from armed robberies inside homes in Coventry Township and Green.
Brandon Knoderer, 18, is wanted on charges of aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary for the Sept. 20 heists. Additional charges are possible, authorities said.
According to Summit County sheriff’s deputies, a Coventry woman returned to her Cottage Grove home about 2:30 p.m. Sept. 20 and was confronted inside.
The man pulled out a gun and robbed the woman of cash, jewelry and a computer.
About seven hours later, a robber confronted a woman outside an Elmhurst Circle home in Green and forced her inside. The woman, who was a caretaker for an 85-year-old man at the home, told deputies that the robber took $7 and fled, deputies said.
An investigation developed Knoderer as a suspect, deputies said. Charges were filed in Barberton Municipal Court and arrest warrants are pending.
Deputies say Knoderer has since changed his appearance by cutting his shoulder-length hair and facial hair. He is now clean-shaven and bald. He is said to be armed and should be considered dangerous.
Anyone with information of Knoderer’s whereabouts is asked to contact deputies at 330-643-2181 or Summit County Crimestoppers at 330-434-COPS.

WADSWORTH
Trail dedication
WADSWORTH: An opening ceremony for the newly developed walking trail at Holmesbrook Park, 600 College St., will be held at noon Saturday..
Two area scouts were instrumental in developing the extension of the Holmesbrook Trail, which runs from the current paved trail through the woods to Wolf Avenue. It is less than a mile.
Melissa Petit, 16, and Jacob Roden, 17, worked on the project together as part of their Girl Scout Gold and Eagle Scout projects.
They cleared the overgrown vegetation on the trail and landscaped the pathway. Jacob also built stairs into the side of the hill, and Melissa secured the donation of two benches for the trail.
Jacob planned and organized the volunteers.
There was no cost to the city.

STATE NEWS
Treatment working
COLUMBUS: A toxic algae treatment in Ohio’s largest inland lake over the summer was successful, the state’s Environmental Protection Agency director said Wednesday.
The agency has released a report that says the 3.3 million gallons of the chemical alum dropped into Grand Lake St. Marys was more successful than anticipated, killing 56 percent of phosphorous in the treated area.
Phosphorous feeds the blue-green toxic algae, which produces a nerve toxin that can sicken humans and kill pets and animals.
Ohio EPA Director Scott Nally calls the results “absolutely exciting,” saying the lake was able to stay open all summer because of the treatment.
— Associated Press

Tentative contract
YOUNGSTOWN: Youngstown State University and its faculty union have reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract.
The university and the union said in a joint statement Wednesday that negotiators met earlier in the day and resolved remaining provisions in the contract. The statement says the school’s trustees and YSU’s chapter of the Ohio Education Association will schedule meetings to vote on the proposed contract.
Both sides say details of the agreement will not be publicly released prior to the votes.
The union had threatened to strike Aug. 26 but called off the walkout, allowing classes to open on schedule.
— Associated Press