A healthy contingent of Akron-area helps is on the way to the New York suburbs to help with relief efforts post-Hurricane Sandy.

Medina County's Buck Adams joins Coventry Township's David Calderone and Kelly Corbin; Green's Jeff Funai and Doug Smith of the Summit County Sheriff's Office making the trek to Suffolk County on Long Island as part of a team that helps manage large and complex emergency events. The team is part of a mutual aid agreement that extends between states.

- - -

(Ohio Emergency Management Agency) Emergency response personnel and equipment are being deployed today to Long Island in Suffolk County, New York to assist local emergency personnel in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

The Ohio All Hazard State Incident Management Team (IMT) is a group of trained individuals who work together to augment or assist local emergency personnel during ongoing, large and/or complex incidents or events such as a hurricane. The IMT is deployed as part of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), which is a mutual aid agreement between states and territories of the United States and enables them to share resources during natural and man-made disasters.

Ohio EMA is coordinating EMAC requests from all other states as the authorized representative for the State of Ohio. That coordination is with all state and local emergency response partners.

The IMT’s mission will be to assist in restoring communities and daily lives to normal. Team members will perform a variety of duties, primarily providing relief to incident commanders and managers already in the field.

An advance team of two team leaders will depart Ohio today, October 30 for New York. An additional 10 team members will deploy tomorrow, Wednesday, October 31. The deployment also will include a Division of State Fire Marshal IMT trailer that includes large scale incident supplies and office equipment needed for the deployment.

Deploying with the IMT are: Buck Adams (Medina County EMA); Lynne Bratka (Ohio Department of Health); George Brown (Boardman Township); David Calderone (Coventry Township, Summit County); Kelly Corbin (Coventry Township, Summit County); Jeff Funai (City of Green, Summit County); Dick Kotaphish (Lake County); Jeff Kruithoff (City of Springboro); Dick Miller (Ohio DAS, MARCS); Doug Smith (Summit County Sheriff’s Office); and Russ Whitman (City of Franklin Police Department).

- - -

Previous Coverage: Summit and Portage Counties Chapter of the American Red Cross may play a larger role in helping people hit hard by Hurricane or Superstorm Sandy.  A handful of the agency's Disaster Services volunteers were deployed to the East Coast over the weekend, but Red Cross officials are expecting a request for more people sometime today. 

"This is going to be a disaster relief response operation that's going to last for several days," said spokesman Mike Taylor.  "As power gradually comes back on to those folks, we're going to continue to have to do sheltering and mass feeding."

Taylor says some of the additional help may not be needed in New York, New Jersey or Virginia, but in Cleveland or Lorain, which were also hit hard by the storm.

He says it's not unusual to send only a few people at first because part of their job is to evaluate damages as they're performing other duties and help determine how much help is actually needed.

The worst of the nasty weather should subside by tonight, but there is still the potential for more storm-related damage throughout the day today.

A High Wind Warning remains in effect until 1:00 P.M.  Winds of 25-35 mph will be the norm, but gusts reaching 55-65 mph, mainly this morning.  Also, a Flood Watch is in effect through this evening.  1 - 2 inches of additional rainfall is expected today.

"Rain is not going to be out of the forecast until sometime during the day tomorrow and lingering showers right through tomorrow evening and Thursday," said Weather Channel Meteorologist Ray Stagich.

It wasn't that long ago that drought was a major concern in much of the country, including Ohio.  Technically, according to Stagich, we're still a little short on rainfall.  He says we got about an inch of rain Monday.

"That still leaves a deficit of 1.52 inches officially, but we may make that up today."

The forecast calls for sunny skies and high temperatures around 50 on Saturday and Sunday.

Northeast Ohioans will have another chance to see both presidential candidates and the vice president at least one more time during the last full week of campaigning before the election:

President Obama will attend a rally at the James A. Rhodes (JAR) arena at The University of Akron on Wednesday, October 31.  The exact time of the rally has not been announced, but doors open at 12:30 P.M.  Free tickets will be available Monday morning at 8:00 at The Summit County Democratic Headquarters on Grant Street, the Laborers Union Hall on Wolf Ledges Parkway and at the JAR.  UA will announce details regarding parking early in the week.

Vice President Joe Biden will stump in Wooster on Tuesday, October 30.  Doors open at 12:45 P.M. for a rally in the Timken Gymnasium at the College of Wooster. Ticket distribution began this afternoon.  Tickets are available (while supplies last) at the Lowry Student Center on campus or at the Obama for America office on Bever Street in Wooster.  Parking will be available at the student center parking lot at University Street and Beall Avenue. 

Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney will appear at Avon Lake High School Monday, October 29 at 11:15 A.M.  Doors open at 9:15 A.M.  You can reserve a ticket HERE or pick one up in person at the campaign's Avon Lake Victory Center on Lear Road. 

Akron-based Goodyear lost a little tread during the third quarter. Revenue fell 13% and net income is down about $50 million, or 19 cents per share, from a year ago.

"With channel inventories remaining low and U.S.. miles driven being up in seven of the past nine reported months, we continue to see significant upside in our business as volume returns," said Goodyear Chairman and CEO Rich Kramer.

Kramer says North American profits are up, despite lower sales, but the company is taking a hit in other markets, particularly in Europe.  The instability of the European economy combined with some high dealer inventories of winter tires that remain on the shelves due to the mild winter are among the problems.

Overall, Kramer is optimistic.

"Industry volumes clearly have slowed versus the projections of many experts," said Kramer.  "We are responding to this near-term slowdown, but remain steadfast in our belief that the long term projections remain intact."

He says the company was still able to achieve a goal of $450 million of segment operating income a year early.

CLICK HERE for Goodyear's press release