A Cuyahoga Falls man who has 12 drunk driving convictions has been handed a prison sentence. Edward South, 70, of Highpoint Lane in Cuyahoga Falls, was sentenced to to eight years in prison.

South crashed into a pole on December 26th, 2012 in Cuyahoga Falls and walked away from the scene. No one was injured in the crash. Cuyahoga Falls police tracked South to his daughter’s house. He later blew a .087 in a breath test. He was also driving on a suspended license at the time of the crash.

On May 13, a jury found South guilty of two counts of Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence, both felonies , as well as a specification for having five prior offenses in the last 20 years. South has a prior felony OVI conviction from Portage County.

The Summit County Republican Party's Central Committee will be looking to select a replacement for Cuyahoga Falls Ward 3 representative Ken Barnhart, who resigned from his position Wednesday.

The Beacon Journal reports Barnhart may not be the only councilman leaving Cuyahoga Falls. The newspaper reports Ward 4 councilman Mark Ihasz, a Democrat, sold his home on 11th Street and has plans to move out of the ward.

The Summit County GOP will meet May 21 at the Sheraton Suites to select a new representative for Ward 3.

Those interested in the seat living in Ward 3 are asked to submit  a resume to  Central Committee Chairman Alex Arshinkoff by 4 p.m. Monday at 1755 Merriman Road, Suite 250, Akron, OH 44313.  Applicants will be invited to make brief presentations to the committee during the Tuesday meeting.

On the Web : www.ohio.com

Cuyahoga Falls City Council approved an amended deal  to sell the former State Road Shopping Center property to the developer of the Portage Crossing Development.

Appearing on the 1590 WAKR Ray Horner Morning Show, Falls Mayor Don Robart said the move is a big step in the reinvestment of the area.

"I think it's a big plus and I feel it will bring a lot of pride to our community," he said.

The new contract gives the project developer Stark Enterprises a 10-year $50,000 rebate a year on electric for the common areas of the shopping center, such as sidewalks and parking lots.

In addition, the deal offers the developer up to $129,000 annually in admissions tax generated from the planned Cinemark movie theater planned to go in Portage Crossing over a 10-year period.

The highly anticipated project has been in the works since 2008, when the city bought the State Road Shopping Center.

Mayor Robart said that if Council did not approve the contract during their meeting Monday night, Stark Enterprises would have walked away from the deal, which would have been a huge detriment to the city.

"We essentially had our backs against the wall, but by the same token we were committed to Stark as the best developer for our project."

Council voted 9-2 to approve the deal.

Councilwoman Carol Klinger was among those who voted the measure down, saying she is supportive of development, just not at the expense of the city's taxpayers.

Groundbreaking on Portage Crossing is expected to begin in the late summer or early fall of this year.
 

Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Robart talks with Ray about the recent city council vote on Portage Crossing. 

Maria Nagel from the city of Akron talks with Ray about the summer schedule for Lock 3. 

Richard Peterson from Financial Capital and host of the Saturday morning show Money Talks, chats with Ray about the I.R.S. targeting conservative political groups and gives us his take on the current state of the economy. 

Gavin Scott Spa and Salon in Akron received the Excellence in Business Award from the Greater Akron Chamber. 

Someone's been overturning headstones at a Cuyahoga Falls cemetery, and the vandalism has been ongoing.

After 31 headstones were pushed over around Easter, Oakwood Cemetery officials say it happened again last week.

"On the evening of April 15th, between say 3 o'clock when we left for the day and 8 o'clock when we came in the following day," Cuyahoga Falls building and grounds maintenance superintendent Jeff Amburn tells AkronNewsNow.com, "we had 32 additional headstones turned over."

Amburn says 9 more were overturned the evening of April 17th.

He says  that there's a reward to find the vandals...starting with a $2,000 reward from CrimeStoppers.

"And the city of Cuyahoga Falls will double that for $4,000, making the total $6,000," Amburn says, "for the arrest and conviction of whoever's doing this nasty thing to us."

Amburn says they don't have any leads or description of any possible vandals.

But he says Cuyahoga Falls police are keeping a closer eye on Oakwood Cemetery.

"They have beefed up patrols through the cemetery," Amburn tells AkronNewsNow.com. "We are looking at some other possiblities as far as trying to protect the cemetery, but nothing has been set yet."

Summit County CrimeStoppers can be reached at 330-434-COPS (2677).

A Cuyahoga Falls man was sentenced to 18 months in prison after he was convicted of trafficking in more than $180,000 worth of counterfeit merchandise.

Authorities say Ronald Jason Azar, 34, of Cuyahoga Falls, was involved in trafficking or attempting to traffic 104 counterfeit handbags. If you're into labels - it included Gucci, Coach, Louis Vuitton and Versace.

Azar pleaded guilty in October to a one-count indictment charging him with trafficking in merchandise containing counterfeit trademarks, logos or labels.

----------

News Release: United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio:

Ronald Jason Azar, age 34, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in connection with his recent conviction for trafficking in more than $180,000 worth of counterfeit merchandise, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Azar pleaded guilty in October to a one-count indictment charging him with trafficking in merchandise containing counterfeit trademarks, logos or labels.

On or about April 27, 2011, Azar intentionally trafficked and attempted to traffic in approximately 104 counterfeit designer handbags which, if genuine, were valued at approximately $183,488, according to court documents.

The handbags included 12 Gucci, 23 Coach, 17 Louis Vuitton, five Versace, five Chanel, two Marc Jacobs, three Dooney & Burke, six Prada, eight Fendi, seven Chloe, seven Jimmy Choo and nine Dolce & Gabbana handbags, which contained counterfeit marks, logos, labels, hang tags, patches, stickers, emblems, holograms and packaging. The marks on the merchandise were identical to and substantially indistinguishable from marks used on genuine merchandise, and were in use and registered for such goods on the principle register of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, according to court documents.

The use of such counterfeit and spurious marks was likely to cause confusion, mistake or to deceive, according to court documents.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Kern, Cybercrime Coordinator for the Cleveland U.S. Attorney’s Office, following an investigation by the Cleveland Office of the Department of Homeland Security, Office Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Let the dams come down.

The city of Cuyahoga Falls now knows when two dams will be demolished on the Cuyahoga River, a demolition which could help turn the river into a water recreation hotspot.

Falls city engineer Tony DeMasi tells AkronNewsNow that the dams will be brought down by a contractor starting in mid-June...by a contractor who won't be using explosives to remove the dams...he'll be slicing the concrete and then removing the slices. 

DeMasi says there's been a lot of interest about the river's future after the dams are gone, with kayaking and whitewater rafting two popular choices.

He says the city's hired a consultant to look into recreational uses, including possibly involving Cuyahoga Falls working with businesses along the river.

The demolition of the dams is being paid for by money from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Cuyahoga Falls police arrested a man and a woman after they allegedly stole guns, jewelry, credit cards, and electronics from numerous vehicles.

Police say the thefts happened over a period several months in the city. Police recovered two rifles that were reported stolen, but two handguns are still missing. Other stolen items included a large amount of ammunition, cash, jewelry, credit cards, laptop computers and GPS devices.

Robert J. Ponte, 26, of Cuyahoga Falls, has been charged with grand theft, theft, receiving stolen property and falsification. Ponte is currently being held at the Lorain Correctional Facility on previous offenses and arrangement are being made to return him to Summit County to appear on the new charges.

Diana M. Mikoletic, 28, of Cuyahoga Falls, has been charged with misuse of credit cards, receiving stolen property and falsification. Mikoletic has already been arraigned on her charges and has been released on bond

Police are advising residents to not leave valuables in unsecured vehicles, especially firearms.

A boil alert has been issued for residents in Cuyahoga Falls following a water main break on Broad Boulevard.

The boil alert has been issued for both sides of Broad Boulevard between 10th and 11th streets.

Residents are advised to boil water before use for a minimum of two minutes. The alert remains in effect until 9 a.m. on Sunday, January 27.

View Larger Map

Plans that could lead to white water rafting through Cuyahoga Falls are moving forward. Mayor Don Robart says everybody seems to be on the same page about the removal of two dams on the Cuyahoga River.

It's part of an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency directive that was made a few years ago, something that Robart was reluctant to accept.  He now understands the ecological and economic benefits of the dam removals.

"Once these dams come down, we're going to see a whole different breed of fish," said Robart.  "We're going to see a healthier river."

A meeting was held Wednesday night, when the 75 people in attendance were able to ask questions of city officials, the Ohio EPA and RiverWorks. 

Robart is still planning to pursue an idea to offer white water rafting or kayaking on the river.  He says the experts believe the stretch of the river that starts at the Sheraton Suites will be very challenging.  The next closest Category 4 or 5 would be in West Virginia. 

The mayor thinks other activities will also attract people to stop by Cuyahoga Falls and spend some money.

"I can clearly see a Zipline going down along the river, just another element adding to the excitement of this thing," said Robart.

The dam removals will take place this summer.