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.
 

Two juveniles were hurt as a result of a bicycle crash Saturday evening at State Route 82 and Colton Road in Portage County.

The Ohio Highway Patrol reports the two rode in the path of an 85-year-old Garrettsville woman around 6:25 p.m. Saturday. The Beacon Journal reports the woman was driving west on Route 82 when the pair of southbound cyclists entered her lane from Colton Road.

The patrol said traffic entering Route 82 from Colton Road has a stop sign, but traffic on Route 82 does not.

The newspaper reports both bicyclists were taken to Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland following the crash. There is no word on their conditions, and their names and ages have not yet been released.

So far, no charges have been filed and the crash remains under investigation.

On the Web: www.ohio.com

 

Wadsworth Police are looking for the public's help in trying to catch a carjacking suspect.

Police say the man in the picture took a blue 1998 Toyota Corolla from someone Sunday evening around 7 p.m. The car's license plate is DPV6212

The suspect is described as a man in his mid to late 20’s, approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall, and weighing about 165 pounds. Police say he was last seen wearing jeans and a purple hooded sweatshirt.

Police have no further information at this time.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call or email the Wadsworth Police Department.
 

The recent discovery of three Cleveland women held captive inside a home not far from where their families live has registered plenty of emotions from all corners of the world, including the victims’ families. Even though the healing has already begun, one man who knows all too well what these families are going through says the road to recovery is a long one.

Recently I spoke with Ed Smart, the father of kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart, whose abduction case made national headlines in 2002.

Smart said his empathy for the families of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight runs deep.

“There's nothing as wonderful as having the miracle of having your child come home,” he said. “It's truly a gift.”
 

He said that as expected, it would be an adjustment for these three young ladies to transition into society, but that for every individual person, their move back into normalcy takes a unique path.

“These young women need to realize first and foremost that what happened to them was not their fault and that they have nothing but support around them,” he said.

“They need to reestablish those bonds they had with their family and friends and they need to start feeling better about themselves, because they felt so bad for so long.”

For Ed's daughter Elizabeth, moving on from her ordeal was extremely difficult.

“With Elizabeth, she felt a lot of guilt surrounding the things that happened to her during that time,” Smart explained.

“Her captors tried to make her feel like she was less than the dust of the earth, and with these individuals it's all about manipulation and fear.”

Smart, who was 14 at the time, was taken from her home in suburban Salt Lake City in 2002.

She was subject to numerous horrors such as being threatened, tied, and raped before being found just 18 miles away from home in Sandy, Utah nine months later.

Now an activist for child abduction, Elizabeth Smart said on Good Morning America this past week she was ‘overjoyed' after the Cleveland women were found and the alleged captor was arrested.

Elizabeth’s father Ed, who still lives in Utah, says that there's ‘no one size fits all’ method for getting your life back after such a horrific ordeal.

“The road back to life is different for every person,” he says. “I think Elizabeth said it best when she explained that being a survivor is what you want to be and that they have so much to look forward to in their new life.”

Ed Smart said that he commends the women as well the families and friends of three women held in captivity for their strength and bravery throughout this process. As a man of faith he knows that faith is what got him through the kidnapping of his daughter and that's what will sustain the families of Amanda, Gina, and Michelle as this process continues.

“We just pray and we ask for everyone's prayers for these survivors and their families,” he said.

“I just wish for them to have a happy and wonderful life from here on out.”

 

Cleveland native Charles Ramsey is being hailed as a hero for his role in the rescue of three women who were held in captivity for years. His famous interview has now been made into song. Check this out! 

Sometimes the best pairings are the most unlikely.This is especially true in the animal kingdom. This Canadian film crew captured that. Enjoy!

This little guy is VERY determined to capture this frog.  He even starts hopping...just like the frog. 

Try not to laugh or smile at this example of video cuteness for Thursday!

Don't you wish your cat could do this? Somebody call Letterman.

Enjoy!