Just as President Obama's latest visit to northeast Ohio led to closing portions of the Shoreway in Cleveland -- now North Canton's police department is warning residents Friday night's Romney/Ryan campaign rally at Hoover High School's baseball stadium will lead to travel headaches.

Delays could start early; the candidates are expected around 6:30. Portions of Seventh Street Northeast and Wise Avenue Northeast will be closed after 3:30 and there will be checkpoints for local homeowners.

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(North Canton PD) The North Canton Police Department wants to advise motorists, residents, and visitors attending the Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan “Friday Night Victory Rally” of the following street closings and /or temporary travel delays. Starting at approximately 3:30 PM and ending at 10:00 PM. the following streets will be closed or have travel restrictions.

Seventh St. NE. between Woodside Ave. NE. to Dogwood Ave. NE. closed to thru traffic

Wise Ave. NE. between Hower St. NE. to Seventh St. NE. will be closed [Law enforcement officers will assist residents living on this section of Wise Ave. NE. by having them exit the area south towards E. Maple Street. When returning home they will be required to enter a checkpoint at Seventh St. NE at Woodside Ave. NE.]

Handicap parking will be available on a first come first serve basis. Those attendees must enter through the checkpoint at Seventh St. NE at Woodside Ave. NE. Law enforcement officers will direct them to a designated area.

Residents on Wise Ave. NE are asked to refrain from parking on the street from 9:00 AM. to 10 PM. Parking on Woodside Ave. NE. will also be restricted. Parking on the east side of the street will be permitted. Motorists should expect some delays on other streets in the area of the event. Vehicles blocking driveways, fire hydrants, and traffic flow are subject to being towed. We seek the public’s cooperation in hosting a safe event.

 

A Bath Township man is facing federal tax evasion charges for allegedly skipping nearly $400,000 in taxes by selling products for cash.

The U.S. Attorney's Office filed a criminal information against 59-year old John Hufgard, charging he operated his Universal Service and Repair, Limited business by selling racks to metal scrap dealers, even to the point of doing business long-distance rather than deal with local dealers who might pay by check.

The government says he deposited the cash into a personal rather than a business account. Prosecutors say he then recorded any business income as short-term loans from himself.

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(U.S. Attorney's Office news release) A criminal information was filed charging John W. Hufgard with three counts of tax evasion for the years 2007, 2008 and 2009 after he evaded nearly $400,000 in taxes by selling items for cash, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Hufgard, 59, resides in Bath, Ohio, according to court records. The information alleges that Hufgard, the sole proprietor of Universal Service and Repair, Limited, Hufgard sold manufacturing racks to metal scrap dealers, and failed to report the proceeds on his federal income tax returns.

Hufgard concealed his scheme by selling racks for cash, by depositing business income into his personal account, business income diverted into his personal account, and falsely recording business income as short term loans from himself, according to the information. He also tried to conceal his scheme by moving large amounts of scrapped metal racks, long distances, to scrap dealers who were willing to pay him in cash rather than using unknown dealers who might pay by check, according to the  information.

Through this scheme, Hufgard evaded approximately $397,659 in federal taxes. If convicted, defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, defendant’s role in the offenses, and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases they will be less than the maximum.

This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Perry D. Mastrocola, following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division. An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

That boil water alert for parts of Hudson, Twinsburg and Twinsburg Township served by Akron city water now lifted. The city says tests after a water main break were repaired show no contamination.

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(City of Akron) The City of Akron’s boil water advisory for Akron Water customers in portions of Hudson, Twinsburg and Twinsburg Township has been lifted. Water testing completed over the past 48 hours has confirmed the water had not experienced contamination and is safe to drink. Customers are no longer required to boil their drinking water.

A handful of local schools making the grade on the U.S. Department of Education's listing of "Blue Ribbon Schools" recognized nationally for their performance.

In Summit County Our Lady of the Elms Elementary in Akron and Holy Family Elementary in Stow made the grade; Lincoln Elementary in Wadsworth and Chippewa Elementary in Wayne County also made the list.

Editor's note: AkronNewsNow earlier reported the honor for Our Lady of the Elms and Holy Family Elementary schools; this latest release includes other area schools honored by the U.S. Department of Education.

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(Ohio Department of Education) Six Cuyahoga County schools, two Summit County schools and one school in Medina, Ashland and Wayne counties were among the seventeen Ohio schools recognized as National Blue Ribbon Schools for the 2012 school year by the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE). Thirteen public schools along with four private schools were added the USDOE’s list of schools recently.

“We want to congratulate the 11 Ohio schools in northeast Ohio for this outstanding accomplishment and praise them for helping students reach their potential,” said Acting Superintendent of Public Instruction Michael Sawyers. “These schools are committed to preparing students for success in college and careers and should serve as models for other schools in the state.”

Ohio’s Blue Ribbon Awardees were not included in the Department of Education’s original release because the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) had not verified AYP status due to the ongoing investigation into attendance data. With the recent release of preliminary report card data, the Department is confident that the following schools data is accurate and their recognition deserved.

The schools selected as National Blue Ribbon Schools include:

Cuyahoga County

Bassett Elementary School, Westlake City School District;
Butternut Elementary School, North Olmsted City Schools;
Hilliard Elementary School, Westlake City School District;
Independence Primary School, Independence Local School District;
Rocky River High School, Rocky River City School District;
St. Dominic School, Diocese of Cleveland;

Summit County

Holy Family School, Diocese of Cleveland;
Our Lady of the Elms Elementary School;

Medina County

Lincoln Elementary School, Wadsworth City School District;

Wayne County

Chippewa High School, Chippewa Local School District;

Ashland County

St. Edward School, Diocese of Cleveland.

Other National Blue Ribbon schools in Ohio include:

Arcadia High School, Arcadia Local School District, Hancock County;
Ohio Fairbanks High School, Fairbanks Local School District, Union County;
Horizon Science Academy, Lucas County ESC, Franklin County;
Jefferson Avenue Elementary School, Shadyside Local School District, Belmont County;
Lincoln Elementary School, Tiffin City School District, Seneca County;
Western Reserve High School, Western Reserve Local School District, Mahoning County.

The USDOE recognized more than 270 schools as 2012 National Blue Ribbon Schools based on their overall academic excellence, or for making progress in improving student academic achievement levels. The National Blue Ribbon Schools award honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools.

The Department will honor the schools at a recognition ceremony on Nov. 12-13 in Washington, D.C. In its 30-year history, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has bestowed this coveted award on nearly 7,000 of America's schools.

The program recognizes schools in one of two performance categories. The first category is "Exemplary High Performing," in which schools are recognized among their state's highest performing schools, as measured by state assessments or nationally-normed tests. The second category is "Exemplary Improving," in which schools that have at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds demonstrate the most progress in improving student achievement levels as measured by state assessments or nationally-normed tests.

To select National Blue Ribbon Schools, the Department requests nominations from the top education official in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and the Bureau of Indian Education. The Council for American Private Education (CAPE) nominates private schools. A total of 417 schools nationwide may be nominated, with allocations determined by the numbers of K-12 students and schools in each jurisdiction. The Secretary of Education invites nominated schools to submit an application for possible recognition as a National Blue Ribbon School.

You probably get them in the mail - offers from companies offering to help lower your property taxes.

But many of those offers are unnecessary and costly.

Cynthia Sich of the Summit County Office of Consumer Affairs says simply put - why pay for help that you can get for free?

"For example, your property taxes. You yourself can file the paperwork," Sich tells AkronNewsNow. "And many times these companies use the exact same paperwork that you can reach at the Fiscal (Officer's) office through Board of Revision."

Sich says some of the companies ask for a Social Security number when it isn't even necessary.

She says before you shell out money, check with the county to see if they can do the same service for free or at a low cost. 

The second debate in Ohio's hotly contested U.S. Senate race has been almost vitriolic with Republican challenger Josh Mandel and Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown clashing on policy issues.

The tenor of the televised debate Thursday night in Columbus mirrored the barrage of negative TV ads that have marked a race that is one of the most expensive in the nation.

Mandel, the 35-year-old state treasurer, and 59-year-old Brown, who is serving his first term in the Senate, clashed not only personally but on most policy issues, including gay marriage, Medicare, trade policy, taxes and government bailouts.

The debate was held at the corporate headquarters of Nationwide Insurance in downtown Columbus. It was sponsored by a network of Ohio's eight largest newspapers, The Columbus Dispatch and WBNS-TV.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

Week 8 is down as area teams start eyeing playoff positioning and rankings ahead of November's round of post-season play.

St. Vincent St. Mary made a big statement with a 56-7 drubbing of the Barberton Magic. In other parochial action Archbishop Hoban fell to Notre Dame Cathedral Latin 35-7.

In Akron city series matchups Ellet slipped by Firestone 13-7 while Garfield blanked East 27-0. Kenmore fell to Northwest 21-6.

Other local teams:

CVCA 17, Tusky Valley 16

Dalton 27, Chippewa 21

Elyria 49, Stow 13

GlenOak 35, Lake 17

Highland 43, Green 21

Hudson 25, Mayfield 13

Kent Roosevelt 62, Springfield 6

Manchester 34, Triway 31

Mentor 63, Medina 21

Mogadore 63, Rootstown 26

Nordonia 40, Revere 10

North Canton Hoover 21, Canton Central Catholic 16

North Royalton 24, Cuyahoga Falls 23

Norwayne 42, Smithville 6

Ravenna 39, Norton 6

Southeast 55, Waterloo 14

Streetsboro 48, Coventry 21

Tallmadge 55, Cloverleaf 21

Twinsburg 29, Solon 22

Wadsworth 28, Copley 0

Woodridge 52, Garrettsville 14