Official logo for Arby's Restaurant Group Inc. MCT 2007
Robbers smashed in the door of the storage structure outside Arby’s on East Main Street last Thursday, stealing an oven and a ladder.
The restaurant closed at 10:30 p.m. last Wednesday and the theft went unnoticed until it reopened at 6:30 a.m. the next morning.
Arby’s General Manager Barb Rullis, who informed police of the break-in, said there was no obvious attempt to get into the restaurant, only the storage area.
The total of the Blogett oven and a 6-foot metal ladder were assessed at a total of $300 in the police report. But, Rullis said, the items had no real value because they had not been used in the store for several years.
“It wasn’t a major loss, but it was still breaking and entering and that’s not OK in any sense of the word,” Rullis said.
There have been no arrests made in the case.
This upcoming fall, a challenge is being issued to Kent’s elementary schools: Students at each of Kent’s five elementary schools must attempt to collectively accumulate one million minutes of reading outside the classroom.
The program is called “Reading Millionaires,” a reading incentive project first implemented in a Georgia elementary school in 1995.
Dr. Joseph Giancola, superintendent of Kent City Schools, said the program is based on a reward system. Students will read recreationally, keeping track of their minutes in a log. Parents will sign off on the minutes. The schools keep track of the totals. Students in classrooms that accumulate the most minutes will be rewarded with books.
“The plan is for students to be reading more outside of school,” Giancola said. “More reading equals more success.”
County Prosecutor Victor Vigluicci said he is awaiting the autopsy report in the case of John T. White, who was assaulted Jan. 23 and died from his injuries Sunday at Akron City Hospital’s intensive care unit at 2:25 p.m.
Vigluicci said the report is needed before taking further steps in the case against John H. Ragin Jr. and Hallie E. Nuspl, both 21-year-old Akron natives.
“Based on what we find, we can then re-present the case to the grand jury for additional charges,” he said. An autopsy was performed yesterday to determine White’s cause of death, but results are pending, said Gary Guenther, supervisor of the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Felonious Assault charges brought against Martin J. Gorbey, 20, were dismissed from the Portage County Municipal Court by motion from the prosecutor. Gorbey was accused of felonious assault for allegedly punching a person in the head outside of the Sheetz at 1762 E. Main St. Nov. 25, 2009. The case was dismissed Dec. 4, 2009.
UST-ASPENVAIL KRT PHOTOGRAPH BY ALLEN HOLDER/KANSAS CITY STAR
When Marlene Broyles worked at Fashion Bug in University Plaza 20 years ago business was booming. The businesses helped each other out. If someone was shopping for a size that Fashion Bug didn’t carry the employees would recommend that customers check the other clothing store, 10 Below. The other businesses would return the favor and recommend Fashion Bug if it had something their store didn’t carry.
That rarely happens today. Since then Giant Eagle, Jo-Ann Fabrics, a hair salon, drugstore and others have left the plaza. Today six spaces remain open; two of those are office spaces, Property Manager David Weil said.
Part of the reason for the shift from booming to bare is lack of big businesses bringing people to the plaza.
Broyles, now a part-time sales leader, said about 75 percent of Fashion Bug’s business is affected by the flow of people in the plaza. She said that the movie theater is currently the biggest draw; however, many of the businesses that brought foot traffic into Fashion Bug in the past have left.
The Habitat for Humanity ReStore is moving into downtown Kent, but may have a short stay.
The ReStore, a home improvement and furniture store, will find its new home at 225 S. Water St., the former Kent Hardware store. The location will open February 17. Its current location is on S.R. 59 in Ravenna and will close February 13.
The location may be temporary. If another business wanted to move into the S. Water St. property as part of the downtown redevelopment project, then the organization agreed to leave the property, ReStore manager Jan Bennett said.
Although, the ReStore may have to relocate, Bennett views the move as a positive step.
“It’s a win-win proposition” because it takes a boarded-up building out of downtown and the Downtown Kent Corporation, which owns the building in agreement with the city, will receive money for rent, instead of paying property taxes and insurance on it, Bennett said.
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