Today is March 26, 2021.

• Ladies and gentlemen, the weekend! Very windy today with a high of 58 and rain in the morning. After a chilly 43 tonight, it'll warm up to around 70 tomorrow and then drop back to the 60s on Sunday.
   
• Ravenna's food truck Lugapha's Smoked BBQ will have a ribbon cutting April 9 at 3 p.m. My mouth is watering. Check out their menu.
   
• Tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. is Earth Hour. People around the world will turn off their lights for one hour to call attention to the climate crisis.

Your tax money

The sheriff's office wants to spend millions more on staff and infrastructure

• Commissioners also approved wage increases for county personnel and a $165,000 office renovation for Acting Finance Director David Lair, who comes to the commission from the sheriff's office.

Local government

Rootstown trustees remember John 'Flash' Gordon

• Trustee Dave McIntyre was a student of Gordon's when the teacher also served with the volunteer fire department. "When the pager would go off he'd go running out of the building," McIntyre said. "That's where the nickname Flash Gordon came from."

• Franklin Township's Phillips Park is getting an ADA accessible pathway thanks to a proposed Eagle Scout project.
   
• Waterloo School Board President Brian Pusateri outlined the plan for choosing their next superintendent at Atwater's trustees meeting Tuesday.
   
• Brimfield is hiring a new firefighter/paramedic. Trustees discussed the addition and more at their Wednesday meeting.
   
• Residents and non-residents alike will be able to rent out Windham's community center. Village council determined prices at their meeting Tuesday.
   
• Garrettsville Village Council approved a bid from Woodford Excavating on the village's water main replacement project at an emergency session on Wednesday.
   
• Palmyra's spring cleanup is set for June 11 and 12 this year. Read the trustees meeting coverage here.

Vaccines

Portage County is moving to a new vaccine registration system

• You will receive a phone call from the Ohio Department of Health to schedule your appointment at the Kent State University Field House. Keep an eye out; the calls may come from a 614 number or an 866 number.
   
• The call will say that you are on a wait list for the Covid vaccine and give instructions to call an 866 number to book a vaccination appointment at the March 30 vaccination clinic. 
   
• You must call the number back in order to schedule an appointment.

Environment

Grants are helping local organizations develop our green space

• Portage Soil and Water Conservation District got $850 to assist in the Skeels-Mathews Community Center pond project. The pond has already been filled with special anti-algae dye and is expecting a load of fish sometime in April.
   
• Haven of Portage County is using its $1,000 grant to develop a "food forest garden" to benefit the community.
   
• The City of Kent's chimney swift habitats will get a $1,000 boost from the grants. Read our past chimney swift coverage. 
   
• Last but not least, Garrettsville's Headwaters Trail Collaborative will receive $1,000 to develop a pollinator garden at the state Route 82 entrance of the Headwaters Trail.

News briefs

It's preschool registration time

Kent State's Child Development Center

• A Brimfield man charged in connection with his wife's death in 2018 is out of jail after posting a $2.5 million bond Friday, reports the Record-Courier. (Paywall.)
   
• Easter dinners to go will be available this year from the Kent State Hotel. You can choose between Pineapple Glazed Applewood Ham or Garlic Herb Crusted Beef Ribeye and various sides. Call 330-346-0100 by March 30 to place your order. 
   
• Garrettsville will pick up your branches from the curb and shred them starting in April. Check out the village's Facebook post for more details.
   
• Kent State will lead a community needs assessment for the LGBT+ community in the greater Akron area.
   
• Kent Free Library's Seed Library has reopened for the 2021 season. Visit their website to learn how you can donate and borrow seeds.
   
• Correction for a typo in a Wednesday brief: Ravenna schools Spring Break will start March 29, not March 19.