Mantua invests village funds, plus news from Hiram, Garrettsville, Freedom and Windham – The Portager

Village of Mantua

At the beginning of the year, the City Council of Mantua realised that it had a fairly large bank account and thought it would be a good idea to invest this money in a better way so that it would at least earn sufficient interest, rather than simply sitting in the bank at a very low interest rate.

“So we created a new committee called the Treasury Investment Board and tasked them with determining who we need to approach the state with to make that happen,” said Town Council President Steve Thorn. “A bill we passed two weeks ago allowed that committee to invest up to a million dollars in an Ohio Treasury-only asset reserve, which is basically a state-run collective investment organization that hundreds of communities across the state participate in. We could get a pretty decent return on that money that was recently invested.”

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A grand opening ceremony was held Aug. 16 for Next Door General Store, 4637 W. Prospect St., behind Restoration 44 Coffee Shop. Terri Vechery and her family opened the grocery store to provide the community with baked goods, candy and many other healthy foods. The store is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vechery is a longtime resident of the community and always dreamed of opening a store in Mantua, where she grew up. Her father owned his own business, Mantua Lumber Co., on Mill Street, where Advanced Rehab is now, so the entrepreneurial gene runs deep in her.

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Another grand opening was held on August 16 at Ellerhorst Dentistry, 10730 Main St. The practice is now open and accepting patients.

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On Friday, August 23, a farmers and craft market will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Granary Building on East Prospect Street.

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The Mantua Farmers Market will continue every Saturday through September 21 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church, 10827 N. Main St.

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The annual Art on the Hill was held on South Prospect Street on July 13. The event is put on by the Downtown Mantua Revitalization Corporation. There were arts and crafts vendors, a food vendor and a wine tasting.

“Even though it rained,” Thorn said, “thousands of people came.”

Hiram Parish

As for the non-functioning tornado siren on State Route 82, Hiram Fire Chief Bill Byers and his crew were not aware of any reports that this particular siren was not working.

“Our sirens are tested every Saturday at approximately 12:30 p.m.,” Byers said. “In the past, on the rare occasions that one did not activate, our residents always alerted us and we took care of it. In the past, the State Route 82 siren was out of service for a repair. That repair was completed before 2024 after the replacement part arrived.”

All three of the township's sirens underwent an inspection and preventive maintenance on July 25. The township has contracted with a manufacturer-authorized service provider and is paying for the inspection and preventive maintenance of all three sirens. This work will be performed by Federal Field Services.

“No problems were found, no malfunctions or repairs needed were reported to me or Hiram Township,” said Byers. “I have contacted Federal Field Services and am waiting on a time frame for a service visit. We will be leaving on Saturday. [Aug. 17] to see the status of the State Route 82 siren during our weekly test.”

Village Hiram

The Hiram Town Council has finally voted to increase fines for zoning violations. Previously, fines were always up to $100. Now, fines are up to $500 for the first offense, up to $750 for the second offense, and up to $1,000 for the third offense. The new fines will go into effect in about three weeks.

“This is all part of our re-evaluation of the entire zoning in the village,” said Mayor Anne Haynam.

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Last October, the Town Council passed an ordinance allowing paid parking in the village in order to restore 24/7 police presence in the village. Last spring, the Town Council passed a parking bureau and the final step in that is a contract.

“We ultimately postponed it because we did not have the full legislation,” Haynam said. “We are in final negotiations with a company to implement the regulation, which was passed last October. It will be brought back to the Council on September 10.”

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The Friends of the Hiram Parks are raising funds to build a sandbox volleyball court in Hadsell Park.

“The pit is already dug,” said Haynam. “We will just lay the net once we have the rest of the money.”

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The village council passed an ordinance recognizing the Hiram Historical Society as the village's official historical society.

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The “Barbie” movie, postponed from early May, will be shown at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, August 24, at Charles A. Henry Field at Malmisur Stadium on the campus of Hiram College. Hiram College golf teams will provide concessions.

Garrettsville

County Treasurer John Kennedy spoke to council at a recent council meeting about the treasurer's responsibilities, including reassessing property values, increasing property taxes by 15 to 30 percent, and how to appeal the property tax increase to County Auditor Matt Kelly.

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Todd Peetz of the Portage County Regional Planning Commission (PCRPC) recently spoke at a Garrettsville town council meeting about what the PCRPC could do for the village.

“One of the things we plan to do is list all of the historic homes and buildings in Garrettsville on the PCRPC website,” said Mayor Rick Patrick. “You could click on the icons for each home or building and read all about their history. There would be pictures of what they looked like many years ago and what they look like today.”

The local council is trying to get a grant to pay for all the legwork required for implementation.

“They need to research which houses and buildings fit into that category,” Patrick said. “Then they would need to involve the Portage County Historical Society and the James A. Garfield Historical Society.”

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Jeff Kaiser replaced Mark Brady, who died last month, as council member on August 14. Kaiser served as a council member for about 18 years, retired and then decided he wanted to return to office.

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The annual Peach Social Car Cruise was held on August 10th at the Garrettsville Fire Department. There were fresh peaches, ice cream and peach pie for sale and nearly 200 vintage cars. Trophies were awarded in several vintage car categories. The main trophy was given in memory of Roger Angel, who started the Cruise Nights in 1988 and passed away two years ago. The special trophy was given to Mark Ellerhorst.

“It was well deserved,” said Patrick, “because it was a 1955 Ford Thunderbird, a very nice car, and because Mark was a very good friend of Roger’s.”

“It was probably one of the best Peach Social Car Cruises we’ve ever had.”

Proceeds go to the Garrettsville Chamber of Commerce for their special events fund.

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On Labor Day, Monday, September 2, there will be a car show from noon to 6 p.m. at Nelson Ledges Race Course. The race track is located at 10342 State Route 305. The son of the owner of the NAPA store in Garrettsville passed away suddenly last summer. This car show will raise money for a scholarship in the son's name to help him study for a master auto mechanic. There will be food vendors (including pulled pork sandwiches), music and raffles. Prizes will be awarded for the classic cars in several categories.

Freedom

The flag tower in front of the town hall has been completely restored. All broken parts have been replaced, the tower has been sanded down with anti-rust agent, primed and given three coats of paint. The tower also received a brand new flag.

“It looks great,” said community leader Tom Mesaros.

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The Freedom Road Department will conduct a chip-and-seal campaign on Goodell Road and two other streets in late August or early September.

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The municipality expects delivery of its new excavator at the end of the month.

Village of Windham

The old Farmers National Bank building at the corner of Maple Grove Road and East Center Street is for sale. The bank recently closed and operations moved to Mantua.

Windham Municipality

Windham Township trustees will seek estimates to repair some sidewalks after a tree was uprooted at the Windham Township Cemetery during the April tornado.

“The roots have ripped up the asphalt,” said community vice chairman Rich Gano.