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In The Region

Portage mulls keeping

land sale transfer fee

Following recent public hearings, Portage County commissioners must decide whether they should renew a five-year-old increase in a fee on some property sales.

Not all property transfers pay the fee, such as if a property is transferred to a family member. About half the conveyances in the county are exempt from the full tax.

The extra $1 per $1,000 of sales price was enacted in 2003. In 2002 before the fee was raised from 3 mills to 4, the county realized $1.44 million from the tax. In 2007, the figure was $1.07 million.

Lynne Erickson, Portage Planning Commission executive director, said the extra funding from the fee has been essential for operating revenue.

Mesereau will speak

for Portage Law Day

Nationally known criminal defense attorney Thomas Mesereau will be the featured guest speaker at the 50th annual Law Day dinner May 8.

Mesereau, 58, successfully defended pop star Michael Jackson in a 2005 trial in California, and previously represented actor Robert Blake.

Theme for law day is "Rule of Law." Bob Berger, a spokesman for the Portage County Bar Association, said groups from area schools were recently given guided tours of the courthouse, and those continue May 8 and 9.

"The goal is to let them see where the judiciary is, what it does and how it functions," Berger said. Retired Judge Perry Dickinson is hosting many of the tours.

The law day dinner will be May 8 at 5:30 p.m. at Twin Lakes Country Club. Bar members can invite a guest at a cost of $30 per person.

Mann is given service

award from Robinson

Neil Mann Jr. received the Robinson Memorial Hospital Foundation's 2008 distinguished service award recently.

Mann, the chief executive officer and president of Allen Aircraft in Ravenna, graduated from Ravenna High School in 1960, attended Ohio University and the University of Akron and served with the Ohio National Guard.

Allen Aircraft was established in 1947 by his father Neil Sr. Allen is a leader in the production of aircraft fluid system components and metal finishing processing.

The firm employs 150 workers and provides products to nearly all commercial, military and private aircraft manufacturers in the United States.

Mann was a member of the Robinson Health Affiliates board of trustees from 1994 to 204 and has been a member of the foundation's board of trustees since 2004.

Kent / Ravenna travel

may cause headaches

Motorists wanting to get between Kent and Ravenna may have a little trouble later this month because of a Route 59 widening project.

The work will begin May 19 with a scheduled 21-day closure for 1,500 feet east of Route 261, just east of the Kent city limits.

The posted detour is Route 43 out of Kent to Interstate 76 to Route 44. However, motorists can use Brady Lake Road or Summit Street to get around the closure.

Once the first section is finished, work will begin to widen Route 59 to Menough Road in Ravenna Township and improve shoulders from the railroad bridge to Menough Road.

During that work, at least one lane of traffic will be maintained. The work is part of a $6.2 million project to resurface Route 59 from Route 261 to Menough Road. The entire project is scheduled to be completed by July 2009.

Portage's spelling bee

May 16 at NEOUCOM

The annual Portage County Spelling Bee is coming May 16, with teams from businesses and agencies battling it out.

The event will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in Rootstown. It is sponsored by the Portage County Literacy Coalition and Record-Courier.

Lunch is included in the $20 ticket price. Portage County businesses that prefer not to participate in the bee may become corporate sponsors.

The bee raises money to fund worthwhile programs in adult literacy and education provided by the Maplewood Adult Basic and Literacy Education program.

For more information on entering a team, to purchase tickets or become a corporate sponsor, call 330-221-4667.

Wildman joins board

Kent State University professor Beth G. Wildman has joined the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County. She has been a psychology professor at KSU since 1982.

A psychologist, she was appointed to a four-year term by the Ohio Department of Mental Health to fill the seat designated for a mental health professional.