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Today is Feb. 17, 2021.
 

  • People on the internet are calling this the "microwaved Hot Pocket" effect.
     
  • High of 24 today and mostly cloudy. It'll drop to 20 tonight and bring some snow that will continue through tomorrow. It should get up to 30 tomorrow with snow accumulation of 1-3 inches.
     
  • The Kent Lions Club is hoping to collect 500 pounds of plastic materials to be recycled into a bench. Contact club officer Tony DeLuke at tonydelukerealtor@gmail.com to participate. Learn more.

Shelter from the storm

There's plenty of room at the warming center in Ravenna




The Haven of Portage County is prepared for the freezing weather, offering shelter and hot meals at the Immaculate Conception Parish Hall in Ravenna. 
 
  • The shelter opened last Monday and will remain open through this Friday.
     
  • Despite the frigid temperatures, the shelter has only served about 10 people. We're not sure why so few.

Reporter Michael Indriolo spoke with Director Anne Marie Noble and shelter patrons about this service and why it's important.

Covid

Case counts are still heading downward as vaccinations continue




It's encouraging to see the graphs continue their downward slope, even though vaccine supplies are still limited. Above are the latest stats for Portage County. We'll stay in Risk Level Red until we drop below 100 cases for a two-week period.
 
  • You can still get a drive-through Covid test at Midway Drive-in. See this post for details.
     
  • The Ohio Department of Health website was updated recently with some information about virus variants.
We're currently seeking launch sponsors for our new website! (Currently under construction.) Support locally owned news and reach thousands of Portage County's most active residents. Write to ads@theportager.com to learn more about advertising.

Kent State

The great snowball fight of 2021




Around 10:30 p.m. on Monday, there was a massive snowball fight on Kent State campus behind Taylor Hall. KentWired reported around 300-500 people had gathered in response to a GroupMe post.

You can click on the picture above to watch footage from when the police broke up the battle. (Though honestly it just looks like a lot of standing around and not much snowball throwing.) Find the full story here.

More university news:
 
  • University President Todd Diacon sent out a letter explaining the school's approach to the fall semester. Kent State is looking forward to more in-person classes and urging the community to get the vaccine when it becomes available.
     
  • The Portage County NAACP released this year's information for the Albert Peoples Memorial Scholarship with an application deadline of April 9. Kent State also has a scholarship with the Akron branch of the NAACP.
     
  • The Kent campus recently released its annual safety report for 2020. KentWired has a summary. Overall: reports of dating violence were down, as were alcohol and drug-related arrests.
     
  • The school is hosting a workshop for educators about May 4, 1970. Learn more.

Eating well

New UH Portage program will help address food insecurity


UH Portage Medical Center will cut the ribbon today for the Food for Life Market. The market is part of a medical nutrition program in collaboration with the Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank.
 
  • “I’m looking forward to offering these new resources, and helping patients enhance their quality of life," said Dr. Saneka Chakravarty, president-elect of UH Portage medical staff.

Read more about the market at the UH website.

News briefs

Too soon to start making summer plans? No. Absolutely not.


Maize Valley Winery and Craft Brewery is not in Portage County, but it's the closest fresh alcohol manufacturer to three or four of our townships so we're gonna count it.

They announced the date for the start of lavender-cutting season. Starting June 15, you'll be able to cut your own lavender and sample some wines and brews in the open air.

Close your eyes. Smell it. Feel it. Take heart, frozen friends! June is only four months away!

More news:
 
  • At 7 p.m. on Feb. 25, the Kent Interfaith Alliance is hosting the fourth event in the Racial Justice Series. "Local Roots and Racial Disparity" will feature a "multi-generational panel of local African-Americans" sharing experiences and answering questions. Here's the Zoom link to attend. If you click it now, you'll be really early.
     
  • The Community Action Council put out a reminder that the Winter Crisis Program is still available. You can go here to apply or call 234-703-4303 to make an appointment to apply over the phone. The deadline to apply is March 31.

From the publisher


Hey everybody! Two things I want to mention today.

First, thank you to the Kent Rotary Club for inviting me to speak at their meeting yesterday. We had a great discussion about the local news renaissance.

Second, we're going to make a big announcement soon about a new Portager publication just for sports fans. We're still ironing out details, so I can't tell you much more right now. But it will feature a former Record-Courier sports editor, and it's a project that's really important to me. I actually got my start in journalism when I was 14 covering high school sports for The Hartville News, and then I was a Record-Courier sports stringer for years after that. I'm excited to be able to offer a similar opportunity to aspiring writers in Portage County. I should have more details for you next week.

By the way, if you don't care about sports, don't worry. Nothing about this newsletter will change. It'll be a separate thing, and it won't steal any resources that could have otherwise been used for news reporting.

OK, that's it for today. Be safe on the roads, everyone. See you Friday.

Ben

330-249-1338
ben@theportager.com
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Publisher Ben Wolford and contributing editor Natalie Wolford write these emails. Reporters Roger Di Paolo, Michael Indriolo, Wendy DiAlesandro, Liv Sendelbach and Kayla McLeod are contributors. Roger Hoover is the creative director.

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