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Suffield League Presents Portage County's Biggest and Best Parade

Catholic War Veterans lead the parade

The Suffield League's Memorial Day Parade was held Monday, May 28th in temperatures that hovered at 95 degrees.  Nevertheless, a massive crowd showed up to see political candidates, tractors, youth sports teams and an assortment of other parade entries during the 45 minutes the parade lasted.  Prior to the parade a wreath laying took place at the memorial stone in front of the historic Town Hall.

The parade grand Marshal was Kyle Kreiner, who is a lifelong Suffield resident and has served with most of the township's service organizations.  Many of the worthwhile events that the Suffield League has sponsored have come under his watch.

Photos will be rotated on the front page of this website.  To see all available photos, go the the "Photos" button above, then go to "General" photos and scroll to pages 25 through 29.

The Suffield Township Board of Trustees met on Tuesday March 12th before about ten people.  Trustee Tom Calcei gave the Fire Department report. He said that in February the Fire Department responded to 62 calls for service.  He also announced that Ron Jacob had resigned from the department.  The trustees accepted Jacob's resignation with regret.  He had served the community well and was one the leaders for our Fire Explorers program.  Calcei and the other trustees wish Jacob the best in his future endeavors.

Trustee Jared Phillip gave an update on the progress of the new electronic sign for in front of the historic Town Hall.  He said that the weather is all that is holding them back.  The trustees agreed at the last meeting to pay up to $1,000 for a new laptop computer to be used with the new sign.  Tonight they decided to buy a "pre-loaded" computer from the sign company for $775, plus shipping.  Phillip also mentioned that the Zoning Commission will meet on Wednesday March 13th at 7:00 PM.  He said that the Board of Zoning Appeals has two hearings coming up on Tuesday March 19th at 7:00 PM and 7:30 PM.  The second one is a little controversial in that the applicant is asking to be allowed to reduce six lots from 1.5 acres each to about 1.3 acres each.  Typically, standard building lots in Suffield are required to be 1.5 acres. 

Trustee chairman Jeff Eldreth wanted to express his gratitude to the Lake Township Road Department for their help in jetting out a drainage pipe on Trares Road near Congress Lake Road.  He said that, sooner or later, Suffield will return the favor to Lake Township in some form.  The trustees voted to place ads in the local paper and on this website to advertise for road material bids.  These bids will be sealed and opened at the April 23rd trustee meeting.  Eldreth said that the Township Cleanup Day will be in May, but no date has been set.  That date will probably be set by the next trustee meeting.

Resident Kathryn Sheets told the trustees of her appreciation to the Fire Department for their fine efforts when they transported her husband Larry to the hospital last week.  She said that Larry is back home and doing well.

The trustees next meet on Tuesday March 26th at 7:00 AM.  The Zoning Commission meets on Wednesday March 13th at 7:00 PM.  The Board of Zoning Appeals meets on Tuesday March 19th at 7:00 PM and 7:30 PM.  The regular trustee meeting for Tuesday April 9th has been changed from 8:00 PM to 7:00 AM.  All meetings are at the Suffield Community Room at 1256 Waterloo Road.

On Tuesday April 9th the Suffield Board of Trustees met before about eight people.  Fire Chief Bob Rasnick gave his monthly report which outlined the 62 calls for service that the Fire Department had responded to in March.  He said that this year's call totals is about the same as this time last year.  He also reported that this coming Friday six of his Fire Explorers and three adult advisers will be going to Indianapolis, Indiana for the annual Fire Department Instructors Conference.  Cost of the trip, which includes renting a van and hotel accommodations, is being paid from money earned at last fall's fundraiser.  The Chief also said that the Suffield Fire Department and the Mogadore Fire Department pooled money in order to get six thermal imagers for the price of five.  These imagers have come significantly down in cost over the years.  The first one our department ha, which the manufacturer had loaned to the New York Fire Department just after the September 11th disaster, cost $14,700, while these new imagers were $542 each.  The new ones are also much smaller than the older units.

On March 20th there was a statewide Tornado Alert Safety Drill.  At that time the Code Red system that Suffield Township participates in was activated.  About 5,000 phone numbers in Suffield were called to advise of the drill.  The system recognized that only about 1,800 of the phones actually received the notification.  Chief Rasnick said that there are a lot of phone numbers for persons in Suffield that still need to be added.  He suggested, for those who have not yet registered for Code Red Weather Alerts, that they go to the Suffield Township website and click on the Code Red logo on the right side of the home page and sign up for the alerts.  It is free and confidential.  Remember that this alert system can be added to your home land line and to any cell phone. 

Lori Calcei mentioned that the Portage County Board of Elections is in need of poll workers for the upcoming primary election.  The caveat is that someone who wants to work at the polls needs to receive training beforehand.  The last training date before the May 7th primary is April 19th.  Call the Board of Elections at 330-297-3511 for further info.

In a move that made a lot of commonsense the trustees voted to remove an addendum to the Zoning Resolution that prohibited dangerous dogs.  Since the township has no authority to enforce such a ban, the document, which was added to the Zoning Resolution on 2002, was removed.  Dangerous dogs are handled by the Portage County Dog Warden.  Trustee Jared Phillip asked for and received a purchase order in the amount of $1,500 to pay Hammond Tree & Associates for shooting elevations at Wingfoot Lake.  He said that the actual cost would be between $800 and $1,500.  The water level there is supposed to be no higher than 1147 feet above sea level according to a 1916 court case.  Once the elevation is determined, three markers are planned to memorialize the level. 

Road Department foreman Pete Einloth told the trustees of what his department has been doing and what they plan to do in the near future.  Trustee chairman Jeff Eldreth motioned that the trustees accept the report for the Suffield Township Tax Incentive Review Council.  It was received unanimously.  Eldreth also motioned that the trustees accept an annexation agreement with the Village of Mogadore for seven tenths of an acre in the old West Country Club property.  This issue also passed.  Eldreth postponed any discussion on the proposed new salt barn until trustee Tom Calcei could be there. 

The next trustee meeting is on Tuesday April 23rd at 7:00 AM.  The Zoning Commission will not meet on April 10th, but on Wednesday April 17th at 7:00 PM.  No Board of Zoning Appeals are scheduled.  These meetings will be at the Suffield Community Room at 1256 Waterloo Road. The annual Suffield League Easter Egg Hunt is this coming Sunday April 14th at 1:00 PM at the Wingfoot Lake State Park.  The event is for children twelve and under. 

The Suffield Township Board of Trustees met on Tuesday February 26th to conduct business and to bid former Road Department foreman Scott McBroom a fond farewell.  McBroom had served almost thirty years with the township before he elected to step down after some health concerns.  Trustee Jeff Eldreth, who worked along side of Scott McBroom for twenty-two years, gave a glowing tribute to Scott, recalling some of their exploits together on behalf of the township.  One story included how the two of them saved a man's life one day when the man's truck caught fire inside of his garage.  Mc Broom and Eldreth had seen smoke, figured something was wrong and stopped to render aid.  From there they pulled the man's truck from his garage and actually carried the man to safety.  Eldreth also said that McBroom was instrumental in turning Suffield's road from "Worst to First".  Eldeth said that McBroom, in addition to his duties with the township, is one of the biggest supporters of youth athletic programs, serving many years as a coach in baseball and basketball. 

In other news, the trustees voted to acknowledge the county's permanent appropriation for the year 2019 at $2,487,654.  They also laid plans to apply for a grant from NOPEC in the amount of approximately $19,000 under the Energized Community Grant program.  The trustees reappointed Adam Bey as the representative for Suffield to the Regional Planning Commission, and Dave Vartenuk as the alternate.

Some discussion was conducted by the trustees and new Road Department foreman Dave Einloth concerning an apparently plugged up drain system near Congress Lake Road and Trares Road.  Einloth said that they are working on it, but are in a holding pattern while awaiting the Portage County Engineer to water jet some of the existing drainage tiles.  Einloth said that the Road Department crew worked at cleaning up some of the debris left by the high winds the last several days, but that there was nothing major. 

The trustees meet again on Tuesday March 12th at 7:00 PM.  The Zoning Commission meets on Wednesday March 13th at 7:00 PM the Board of Zoning Appeals will have a hearing soon, but no date has yet been set.  All meetings are in the Suffield Community Room at 1256 Waterloo Road.  The annual Laugh at the Lake is this Saturday March 2nd at 6:00 PM at Paradise Lake Country Club.  A few tickets remain and are available at the Suffield Carryout or by calling Kyle Kreiner at 628-1580 or Tom Calcei at 256-8042.