News roundup for May 7

Spring bird walks in River Styx Park Watch migrating spring birds return or travel through to their summer breeding grounds during the 89th annual series of spring bird walks today at 7:30 a.m. in River Styx Park. Spring bird walks are co-sponsored by several Northeast Ohio organizations. Medina County Park District walks are led by experienced birders and will be held every Saturday at 7:30 a.m. through May 14. Meet in the main parking lot at River Styx Park. All ages are welcome. No registration is required for this free event. Hike in Allardale Park This hike will take place 9-11 a.m. today. Each month, there will be a different trail, which will be between 3 to 5 miles in length. Dress for the weather, wear appropriate footwear and bring along a bottle of water. The hike is for ages 10 and older. No registration is required for this free event. Observatory at Letha House Park West Come see deep-sky objects, planets and the moon up close tonight using the Cuyahoga Astronomical Association's telescopes for free. The observatory in Letha House Park West will be open for public viewing, and members will be available to answer your questions from 9-11 p.m. today. Members will also be on hand one hour before the program begins to show you how to use your own telescope for viewing the night sky. Cancellations will only be made in the case of severe thunderstorms. All ages are welcome and no registration is required. Highland High School earns national ranking Highland High School earned high national and metro-area rankings among the 2022 best high schools, according to U.S. News. Highland High School is now ranked No. 15 out of 120 high schools in the Cleveland Metro area, No. 41 out of Ohio's 750 high schools and No. 1,155 out of 17,843 high schools nationally. "We are proud to be consistently recognized as one of the best high schools in Ohio and at the national level. Our students and staff have persevered through a multitude of challenging circumstances over the past couple of years, and yet, they have continued to work hard, maintain focus and succeed at the highest levels," Highland Schools Superintendent Catherine Aukerman said. "Each year, this ranking validates our student performance in the areas of college readiness, proficiency in reading, math and science as well as our graduation rate. We are excited to celebrate this success." U.S. News evaluated more than 24,000 public high schools nationwide, with nearly 18,000 schools ranked. The highest-ranked public schools are those whose students demonstrated outcomes above expectations in math, science and reading state assessments, passed a diverse array of college-level exams and graduated in high proportions. Road closures in the county next week Kennard Road in Westfield Township will be closed Monday between Ryan and Wooster Pike roads for the replacement of a road culvert. Eastern Road in Wadsworth Township will be closed beginning Monday through Thursday next week from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily while Ohio Edison crews are present between Wadsworth and Rittman roads for power line work. Contact Angel Gonzalez at (216) 387-3648 if you have any questions. State Route 162 just west of River Styx Road will be closed Monday for a culvert replacement. The detour route for eastbound motorists will be state Route 162 to state Route 57, north on Route 57 to state Route 18, east on Route 18 to state Route 94, south on Route 94 to state Route 162, and reverse for westbound motorists. The estimated completion is Friday. Abbeyville Road in York Township will be closed from Monday to Friday next week from the intersection of Wolff Road and continuing south approximately 750 feet for a culvert replacement and ditch enclosure installation. Mennonite Road in Wadsworth Township will be closed from Tuesday to Wednesday between Seville and Greenwich roads for the replacement of a culvert north of Seville Road. U.S. 42/224 resurfacing update U.S. 42/224, from state Route 421 to Leroy Road, will have single lane closures for a resurfacing project. Traffic will be maintained in 11-foot lanes. There will be a signalized lane closure at the structure along U.S. 42, between Lodi Road and the U.S. 42/224 and state Route 421 interchange, as crews complete bridge deck overlay work. It is estimated to be completed by November 2022. Treasurer's office, Westfield Bank offer home improvement loans for 2022 Medina County Treasurer John Burke announced on Monday that the treasurer's office and Westfield Bank will once again begin offering Fix-It Funds low-interest fixed-rate home improvement loans to Medina County homeowners. "Since we raised the home value limit to $300,000 this year, more than 92 percent of the homes in Medina County may qualify for a Fix-It Funds loan," Burke said. Since its authorization by the county commissioners in 2002, the Fix-It Funds program has provided more than $15.1 million in low-interest home improvement loans to more than 1,000 Medina County residents. Since the program's inception, $2.6 million in loans have gone to homeowners in Brunswick, $1.6 million to Wadsworth, $2.7 million to Medina and $8.7 million to residents in surrounding townships. "Homeowners all across Medina County have been helped by these loans," Burke said. Westfield Bank has partnered with the treasurer's office since 2015 to offer these fixed rate loans at up to 2 percent below the bank's current rate for up to five years. Loans can be from a minimum of $5,000 to a maximum of $50,000 and are given on a first-come, first-served basis until available funds are depleted. The bank's loan origination fee is $150. In his 2021 annual report on Fix-It Funds to the Medina County Commissioners, Burke reported that the average loan size was $23,458, up from $20,200 in 2020. The number of loans more than doubled from 2019 to 2020. "As I speculated last year, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, with people spending more time at home, has continued to drive homeowners to take on more home improvement projects," Burke said. Almost all types of interior and exterior home improvements are eligible, including painting, wallpaper, lighting, flooring, plumbing, carpeting, furnaces, air conditioners, remodeling, additions, decks, window and door replacements, roofing, siding, gutters, driveways, patios and sidewalks to name a few. There are only a few ineligible improvements such as swimming pools, satellite dishes, or hot tubs. Manufactured homes are not eligible for a Fix-It Funds loan. There is no income limit to qualify for these loans. Loans are only available to Medina County residents; a one- to four-family unit dwelling must have a tax appraised value of $300,000 or less excluding land, according to the Medina County auditor's appraised value, and homeowners must not be delinquent on their real estate taxes. Homeowners have up to 18 months to complete the work for which the loan was granted. Qualified homeowners interested in low-interest improvement loans can apply at two Westfield Bank locations: 4015 Medina Road on Route 18 in Medina and Two Park Circle in Westfield Center. Westfield Bank is a member FDIC and equal opportunity lender. Clean up, plant flowers at Gold Star Mothers Memorial Rolling Thunder Chapter 8 will be at the Gold Star Mothers Memorial in York Township today to clean and plant flowers and shrubs starting at 9 a.m. Boyerts Nursery and Smith Brothers have donated materials for this project. Scholarships for Summer Reinforcement Program The Summer Reinforcement Program, a five-week summer tutoring program, will be accepting applications from families with preschoolers to attend its five-week program in June and July. The scholarship program will award tuition dollars to any child seeking financial support to attend the program. The scholarship is presented in honor of Lori Nettleton Fawcett, a retired employee of the program and a retiree of Medina City Schools. The program runs from June 13 to July 15 at Blake Elementary School, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon. Speech therapy is available. For more information, call (330) 813-1367 or email jane.langol1@gmail.com. Project Learn fundraiser held Project Learn hosted its 2022 Cinco de Mayo Match Wits — Tacos & Trivia Fundraising competition at Diamond Event Center in Brunswick on Thursday night. Medina Sunrise Rotary, a corporate sponsor of the event, led by team captain Will Koran, went through the trivia categories that included made in Medina County; obtaining U.S. citizenship; books, books everywhere; history of Medina; let's garden; and just breathe! Project Learn of Medina County announced that it had received a three-year grant that will allow greater services to students in Medina County by assisting them with adult basic education, English as a second language (ESL), specialized testing preparation for the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test, and the U.S. citizenship test. Congressional Art Competition winners announced U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs announced the winners of the 2022 Congressional Art Competition at a reception for the top 10 artists Thursday night. The event was hosted by Ashland University's Coburn Gallery. First Place: Abigail Bergert, Canton South High School — "Light and Shadow," digital photography. Second Place: Sydney Gibson, Plymouth High School — "Bird Dog," scratch art. Third Place: Layla Carpenter, Perry High School — "Water's Edge," reduction print. People's Choice: Ashley Powell, Buckeye Senior High School — "Persona," digital art. "Every year, I am impressed by the skill, attention to detail and passion displayed by the young artists who participate," Gibbs said. "Abigail, Sydney, Layla, Ashley and all students who participated should be proud of their accomplishments and the recognition of their incredible talents. The creative arts are an important component in the foundation of a well-rounded education. The artistic process helps exercise and hone parts of the mind that physical education and the sciences may not." Bergert's work will be shown in the Congressional Art Competition Gallery located in the tunnel between the Cannon House Office Building and the Capitol. Gibson's piece will be on display in Gibbs' Washington, D.C., office, while Carpenter's work will be shown at Gibbs' Ashland office. A reception at the Capitol honoring Abigail Bergert and all winners from across the nation will be announced at a later date. — from staff reports