In memory of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in order to protect, defend and secure the liberty and freedom we daily take for granted.

From the Summit County Board of Elections:

 Issue 11-Tallmadge CSD, Tax Levy, Additional
          6.9 Mills, Emergency Requirements, 5 Years
          (Vote for Not More Than )  1
              (WITH 19 OF 19 PRECINCTS COUNTED)
           AGAINST THE TAX LEVY.  .  .  .  .  .  .     2,846   52.06
           FOR THE TAX LEVY .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .      2,621   47.94

Our weather block, that is.

You may have noticed that while the current weather conditions display has been fine, the "forecast" link in our weather block had stopped working, and was redirecting to an error page. That was due to a change in the format of the feed we use to generate the local weather information we display.

We've modified our website code to accomodate the new feed style, and you can now once again check the forecast by using the link in the weather block.

We have also modified the code so that the forecast information now opens in a new window without taking you to a different website. This functions as a pop-up window, so if you have a pop-up blocker installed, you may have to set it to allow pop-ups from this site, or temporarily allow pop-ups, in order to view the forecast. Please note, there are NO advertising pop-ups on this site, so allowing pop-ups will not expose you to other pop-up ads or windows, it will just allow you to conveniently check the weather forecast.

The sentencing of Tom Headrick, former Tallmadge Recreation Center Directror who has pleaded guilty to one count of theft in office, has been delayed again at the request of prosecutors.

Sentencing, including imposition of an order of restitution, was scheduled for December 3 but has been rescheduled for December 17 at the request of the Summit County Prosecutor's office, which moved for a continuance in the case.

This is the second time since Headrick entered a quick plea prior to any grand jury investigation or indictment that sentencing has been rescheduled for purposes of "determining the amount of restitution."

As previously posted, prosecutors in the Headrick Recreation Center theft case requested a continuance on September 4, of the sentencing and restitution hearing scheduled for September 5,  on the grounds of alleged newly discovered, additional thefts involving checks payable to the City of Tallmadge cashed by former Recreation Center Director Tom Headrick.

It appears that the City, which concluded an "internal investigation" long ago, only confirmed that these checks were cashed - not deposited - on September 4, the day prosecutors related the information to the Summit County Common Pleas Court.

The two checks total $6,700, and First Merit Bank has confirmed that the checks were drawn on First Merit accounts and cash was disbursed when the checks were presented. They were cashed on August 23, 2007 and September 17, 2007.

We have reproduced documents relating to these alleged additional thefts in the interest of public disclosure of information we feel all Tallmadge citizens are entitled to be aware of. You can view the documents by clicking the "Read More" link at the bottom of this posting.

Please note that these images are reproductions of documents which are a matter of public record by reason of having been filed as Exhibits by prosecutors in the ongoing criminal case against Headrick.

The sentencing and restitution hearing scheduled for September 5th in the Rec Center scandal involving thefts by former Rec Center manager Thomas Headrick was continued, and will be re-scheduled, at the request of the Summit County Prosecutor's office.

On September 4th the prosecutor's office filed a request to continue (reschedule) the hearing because, as scheduled, the sentencing would require the court to determine the amount of restitution to be paid by Headrick and, according to the motion for continuance, on September 4th the prosecutor's office "learned that Defendant may have cashed additional checks made payable to the City of Tallmadge."

We find it troubling that on September 4th, months after Headrick was removed, and long after the City has completed its own "internal investigation", it has apparently just now been discovered that  there are "additional" checks illegally cashed by Headrick.  Did the City not know about these checks until now, or did the City not get around to telling the prosecutors about it until now?

Either way, it raises a larger question:  does anybody in the city's administration actually know what went on at the Rec Center?

A copy of the Motion for Continuance filed by the prosecutor can be seen by clicking the "Read More" link immediately below.

From the Summit County Board of Elections, unofficial results are as follows:

ISSUE 2 - Tallmadge CSD - Additional
          6.9 mills, 5 years, Current Expenses
          Vote For Not More Than  1
              (WITH 19 OF 19 PRECINCTS COUNTED)
           FOR THE TAX LEVY .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . . .   2,223   45.17
           AGAINST THE TAX LEVY.  .  .  .  .  .  .     2,698   54.83

Issue 2, a 6.9 mill school levy request, is on the August 5 ballot, but driving or walking around Tallmadge, you would never know it. We haven't seen a single yard sign. The signboards in front of the schools make no mention of it. A quick check this morning showed a "happy summer" message at Dunbar, and the high school has messages about required summer reading on one side, and tickets for "Annie" on the other.

According to various school officials, the levy would generate about $2.8 million and would cost the owner of a $100,000 home a little over $200 a year in additional property taxes. After the resounding defeat (about 60% against) of the 8.9 mill levy in November, school officials decided to ask for less money this time around.  They also apparently decided not to publicize the levy this time.

In the public meetings orchestrated - but not particularly well-publicized - by the schools, and in public comments, officials have gone to great lengths to repeatedly explain that the bond money being used for the new high school is separate and distinct from the operating money being sought through the school levy request.

In conversations by the contributors to this site with members of the public, we get the impression that most Tallmadge residents are perfectly well aware that the high school building will be paid for separately from operating funds generated by school tax levies.  Most also seem to assume that whether this levy passes or fails, the schools will be back looking for more money once that building opens.

Incidentally, research done by a resident and sent to us at the time of the last levy proposal turned up a "typical" home value of about $174,000 for Tallmadge. That means this levy would represent about $350 in additional taxes to a "typical" Tallmadge homeowner.

According to published reports, former Tallmadge Rec Center Director Thomas Headrick has entered a plea of guilty to a charge of theft in office, a third-degree felony. Punishment ranges from probation to five years in prison.

Headrick entered the plea to a bill of information in Summit County Common Pleas Court, foregoing indictment by a grand jury and possible trial. A sentencing and restitution hearing is set for September 5th.

Among the allegations were charges that Headrick  used rec center workers on city time in a private grass-cutting business, spent nearly $2,000 of city money for Christmas presents to employees, furnished alcohol to minors at a  party, and misappropriated $1,350 in city money for Tallmadge Little League while Headrick served as Little League president. Other allegations involved using rec center petty cash money for pizza and misleading the city about his involvement in a snow-plowing business.

Headrick managed the facility from its opening in 2004 at a salary of $55,224 a year.

There has been a good deal of public discussion about the Tallmadge School District's decision to eliminate "free"  full-day kindergarten.

In looking over published reports and listening to residents' comments, we note the following:

The additional half day was provided free of charge to parents, but the program wasn't "free".  It was, as is all "free" public education, taxpayer-funded.  In this case, based on figures published by the schools, taxpayers were funding the additional 1/2 day at a cost of $200,000 per school year.

Tallmadge school officials declared publicly that they had expected complaints from the families who had children in the all-day kindergarten program, but were surprised by the number of residents who wanted to know why the program had existed in the first place.  Why would they be surprised that many Tallmadge residents, who have been repeatedly confronted with requests for more money in the form of school levy proposals,  were unhappy to realize they'd been spending $200,000 a year on a program which is not deemed educationally necessary,  and which is offered for a fee in most districts that make the option available?

Most astonishingly, we are surprised that no one has taken the next step and done the math on this program. Using the schools' published figures, they estimate that a fee of $2,500 per family will make up the $200,000 to pay for the extra 1/2 day.  $200,000 divided by $2,500 is 80.

So it appears that Tallmadge taxpayers have been spending $200,000 a year to provide an additional 1/2 day of kindergarten for approximately 80 families.

Recreation Center director Tom Headrick was terminated by the city on Friday after a disciplinary hearing involving eight separate charges, including "diverting city funds" and using city employess for a private lawn care business.

Headrick was not present at the hearing, which actually occurred after Headrick had submitted his resignation. Mayor Grimm proceeded with the hearing, saying he refused to accept the resignation and stating that the city will pursue criminal charges. No charges have been filed at this time.

Because Headrick was a city employee, the matter was referred to the Summit County Sheriff for investigation. That investigation is not formally completed yet, and neither the sheriff's office nor the city are providing any details. The city, however, claims the misconduct was more extensive than was initially thought.

Barb Schartiger, who has filled in since Headrick was placed on paid administrative leave April 14, will serve as interim director while the city condicts what Mayor Grimm says will be a wide-ranging search.

The following information is from the Detroit Free Press, which has gone through the various charts listed the information  succinctly. Here's how the checks will be issued:

If you filed your return on time and requested that your federal income tax refund be directly deposited, the stimulus payments will be direct-deposited into the bank account you specified on your tax return May 2 if the last two digits of your Social Security number are 00-20.

If the last two digits are 21-75, by May 9.

If the last two digits are 76-99, by May 16.

But if you did not use direct deposit to get your federal income tax refund – or you paid taxes owed when you filed your 2007 return -- you will get your tax rebate check later. The schedule is also more complicated.

If the last two digits of your Social Security number are 00-09, the rebate check will be mailed by May 16.

By May 23 if the last two digits are 10-18. 

May 30 if the digits are 19-25.

June 6 if the digits are 26-38.

June 13 if the digits are 39-51.

June 20 if the digits are 52-63.

June 27 if the digits are 64-75.

July 4 if the digits are 76-87. 

If the last two digits are 88 -99 and you did not use direct deposit for your refund this year – or if you wrote a check to cover money owed for the 2007 tax year, July 11.

You can find any updates to this information by following the links at the official IRS website.

According to a radio broadcast, Spring officially arrived at the vernal equinox at 1:48 a.m. as the sun passed north of the equator, the start of spring in the northern hemisphere and fall in the southern hemisphere. To celebrate, Mother Nature tossed a little more snow our way. There's nothing unusual about snow in March and even April in Ohio. We can all remember a St. Patrick's Day, an April Fool's Day, an Easter and an Indians home opener or two that were accompanied by more snow than we saw last night.

But the "Big Snow of '08" on March 7th and 8th was just a little bit out of the ordinary, especially for recent years. If you are 45 to 55 years old or so, it isn't your memory playing tricks on you, there really was typically more snow when you were a kid. There is a well-documented and pretty well-understood forty year weather cycle in the eastern United States, and according to most weather forecasters we are in the early years of a period where we should be seeing more snow in the winters. But by any standard, the recent snowfall was unusually heavy and widespread.

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We have restored - and expanded - the assortment of newsfeeds available in the sidebars. New additions include Akron News Now, NewsNet 5 Sports, Science and Technology headlines from FOX, and CNN headlines and entertainment news.

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You may have noticed that the Weather Channel banner display disappeared when we upgraded the site. Unfortunately, the load time for that display was causing problems for some users, especially those with dial-up access. We are working on acquiring an integrated Weather Channel module, and hope to have it in place within the next ten days or so.

Stop back regularly, we expect to be adding more new features over the next two weeks to make the site more useful and informative.