“GREETINGS”
Thanksgiving is just a memory now, we are looking forward to Santa’s arrival and hoping that there will not be much snow to shovel.
This issue covers September, October & November. Look for some fun things, plus important information.
This issue is being mailed thru a generous donation by our Solicitor, Mr. David Benjamin, 199 So. Chillicothe Road, P. O. Box 511, Aurora, OH . 330-562-6800.
Please read and enjoy!!
"MAYOR’S CORNER”
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the residents of the Village for their support at the polls during the recent election. I look forward to serving as your Mayor for another four years.
I want to thank those individuals, businesses and organizations that have contributed time, money, materials, etc. to help out with our various projects over the year.
I want to thank the Village employees, Village Council and all Committee members for their dedication and service during the past year.
Lastly, I want to wish everyone a very joyous Holiday Season and a safe and prosperous New Year.
“AT THE POLLS”
Congratulations go out to Mayor Claude Hopkins and Clerk-Treasurer Betsy Woolf on their victory in last month’s election.
We wish them the best for the next four years.
Also, in this issue, look for profiles on the two newly-elected Council members.
“GOODBYE”
This month, we say goodbye to two veteran Council members, Ralph Gregory and Matt Roosa.
Ralph has served on Council for 6 years and Matt has been a member for 4 years.
Their work and dedication has been much appreciated and I am sure that they will both continue to be involved in the Village.
“LINDA SCHILLING”
Linda is one of our two newly- elected Council members. She was born on June 18, 1958, grew up in the Slavic Village area of Cleveland and graduated from South High School.
She married Donald Schilling in October of 1977. While living in Cleveland, she worked for the Cleveland School System in the food service area. She and Don moved to his family home in Mantua in 1990.
They have 2 daughters, Tina and Lisa, who are both married and living in Portage County. They are the proud grandparents of 2 boys.
Linda has worked for the Crestwood School System, in food service and as a bus aide. She is presently employed with the Compass Group at Au Bon Pain on the Ohio Turnpike. She is also an OHSAA Volleyball Official. She keeps very busy with various school or church organizations and presently serves as Co-Chair for the Mantua Potato Festival.
She enjoys walking, hiking, gardening and any outdoor activities. To relax, she does various craft-related projects.
“WESLEY HAWKINS”
Wes was born on August 30, 1983, in Mantua to Roger and Donna Hawkins. He attended Crestwood Elementary, not more than a block from his home and continued in this school district till the day he graduated.
While attending Crestwood, he strove to be a well-rounded individual diving into after school activities such as church, choir, wrestling, scouts and even American politics.
Junior year in high school proved to be a year in which most of his activities would mesh. Throughout this year, he was awarded the honor of Eagle Scout, Boys State Attorney General and a district qualifier in wrestling. Though an estimated 2000 young men attended Boys State, Wes achieved the award of the Best Elected Official symbolizing the organization of his office, the efficiency and the stellar ideas presented throughout this program.
Currently, Wes is active as the teacher of the College and Career Bible Study class at First Baptist Church of Streetsboro. Looking back, he proclaims Boys State as the catalyst for his new pursuit, the attainment of the office of Village Councilman in his home town.
Employed as an Account Manager at MBNA, a Fortune 500 Company, Wes is currently ranked as the second highest producer in his division.
Attending Kent State University, he is currently working toward his goal of obtaining his MBA and CPA and, upon completion, attending law school.
“F & S AUTOMOTIVE, INC."
Fall & Stebbins (F & S Automotive) was started in May of 1967. Principle owners were Robert Fall and Dean Stebbins Sr. Through the years we have built one of the largest and well-known towing and auto/truck repair operations in Northeast Ohio.
In July of 1993, Dean Stebbins, Sr. assumed sole ownership of the business. Since that time, significant changes have occurred with F & S Automotive and the direction of the company.
We built a new facility located at 10485 Main St. in Mantua Village. This facility allows for work bays with lifts for mechanical work and inside parking for company-owned trucks, storage lot of impounded vehicles, improved customer parking and better visibility of our business. Dean also purchased the building next to the current one, so that they could further their future needs.
We cover a five-state region along with local services. Our employees are all A.S.E. certified and Wreckmaster certified recovery operators. Our team of employees, Bob Fall, Jeff Fall, Dean Stebbins Jr., Gary Lame, Brad Wilson, Darlene Fedor & Pam Stebbins, all live in the Mantua/Shalersville area.
We are proud to have this exceptional company as part of our community.
“INTERESTING CHRISTMAS FACTS”
For every real Christmas tree harvested, 2 to 3 seedlings are planted in its place.
In 1836, Alabama was the first state in the US to declare Christmas a legal holiday.
The biggest selling Christmas single of all time is Bing Crosby’s White Christmas.
Due to the time zones, Santa has 31 hours to deliver gifts. This means he would have to visit 832 homes every second!!
Three years after Edison invited the light bulb in 1879, E. H. Johnson, who worked for Edison’s company, had Christmas tree bulbs specially made for him. He displayed his electric tree lights at his home in New York City. It was still several years before mass produced tree lights were available.
In America, in 1822, the postmaster of Washington, D.C. complained that he had to add 16 mailmen at Christmas to deal with cards alone. He wanted the number of cards a person could send limited by law.
Animal Crackers are not really crackers, but cookies that were imported from England in the late 1880s. Barnum’s circus-like boxes were designed with a string handle to they could be hung on a Christmas tree.
During the Christmas buying season, Visa cards alone are used an average of 5,340 times per minute in the U.S.
During the Christmas/Hanukkah season, more than 1.76 billion candy canes will be made.
In an effort to solicit cash to pay for a charity Christmas dinner in 1891, a large crab pot was set down on a San Francisco street, becoming the first Salvation Army collection kettle.
The abbreviation of Xmas for Christmas is not irreligious. The first letter of the word Christ in Greek is chi, which is identical to our X. Xmas was originally an ecclesiastical abbreviation that was used in tables and charts. In the early days of printing, when font sizes were limited and type was set by hand, abbreviations and ditto marks were used liberally.
“FRANKLIN ST. PROJECT”
The portion of the project between Maple St. and Main St. has been substantially completed until the Spring/Summer. We will then be able to properly apply a finish asphalt course. The west end of the project should be completed by Christmas with the road surface as above in Spring/Summer. The Village Administrator, Ed Trego, wishes to thank all the property owners and residents for their understanding and cooperation during this project. All have been so understanding, but a special thanks to Mike Alexander at Mantua Motor Mart and the Bank One employees and patrons.
Snow…Snow…where are you? Although we have been fortunate to not have had very much snow yet this winter, the likelihood that we will be burdened with heavy snow is still there. The heavy snow, and your handling of it, potentially threatens the safety of our pedestrians, especially our children.
The sidewalks must be kept clear of piles of snow. When snow is piled on the sidewalks, children are forced to walk in the street, which makes them vulnerable to motorists driving on slippery roads.
We must all work together to keep our sidewalks clear and snow piles low for safety. This is a community-wide problem. Together we can solve it. If assistance is needed or questions arise, please do not hesitate to contact the Village Service or Police Department.
SNOW PARKING BAN
Remember that with the bad weather of winter, come special considerations to allow our Service Department crews to keep ahead of Old Man Winter. An overnight parking ban is in effect from 3:00 am to 6:00 am on various streets in the downtown business district year-round, but is especially critical when the snow flies.
In addition, if a SNOW EMERGENCY is called (usually after, but not limited to a snowfall of over 2-3 inches) there is to be no parking on any Business District street or any other Village street during the designated period of time. Any vehicle parked in these areas may be towed.
During regular snow days, you would make life much easier for your Service crews, if you would be a good neighbor and park off-street as much as possible. It helps them to do a better job of clearing the snow, which makes it safer for all of us.
With the winter season upon us and in order to help our employees to continue to do an excellent job of keeping our streets clear, the Service Department would like to inform you of certain procedures that apply to the removal of snow and the salting of streets throughout the Village.
Streets must be plowed from side to side as quickly as possible, to allow full-width emergency equipment and to provide full driving lanes for motorists. Plowing will be performed on all primary streets first, followed by secondary.
Drainage basins must be kept clear of ice and snow to allow melt water to drain properly and to prevent ice dams and ice buildup that creates road hazards.
All residents must comply with snow parking bans, to allow the Service Department full access to pavement for thorough snow plowing and salting
CHRISMAS TREES
The Service crew will pick up your discarded trees. Place the tree at the curb or on the tree lawn. The trees are then chipped and recycled.
As the holidays approach, the Village Service Department, Ed Trego, Donna Maynard, Tim Wojtas, Paul Brannon and Tom Bowersox, wish for the Citizens of Mantua----Peace--Peace in our World - Peace in our Country - Peace in our State -Peace in our Community - Peace in our Hearts
The Service Department would like to take this opportunity to thank the local companies and individuals who have made generous donations of their time or materials to the Village for use in the parks, trails, cemetery, and all other Village properties.
It is the generosity of people like this that helps to make Mantua a great place to live, work and raise a family.
“DIG OUT YOUR SKATES!”
Thanks to a generous donation from the Crestwood Lions Club, there will soon be an ice skating rink at Buchert Park. The rink has been ordered and is on the way. It will be placed at the site of the volleyball court in Katie’s Meadow.
It will be open to the public during daylight hours. Watch for the Grand Opening coming soon!
WATER or COKE?
75% of all Americans are chronically dehydrated.
The thirst mechanism is so weak in 37% of Americans, that it is often mistaken for hunger.
Even MILD dehydration will slow down metabolism by as much as 3%.
One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for most people.
Lack of water is the # 1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
8 - 10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
A 2% drop in body water can trigger short-term memory loss, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing.
Drinking 5 glasses of water daily, decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, breast cancer by 79% and bladder cancer by 50%.
In many states, the highway patrol carries 2 gallons of coke in their vehicle to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.
You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of coke and it will be gone in 2 days.
Pour a can of coke into the toilet bowl, let sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in coke removes stains from china.
To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers, rub with aluminum foil dipped in coke.
A can of coke will bubble away the corrosion on car battery terminals.
A cloth soaked in Coke will loosen a rusted bolt.
Empty a can of coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent and run through a regular cycle. The coke will loosen grease stains.
It will also clean road haze from your windshield.
The active ingredient in coke is phosphoric acid. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days. It leeches calcium from bones and is a major contributor to the rising increase in osteoporosis.
To carry Coca-Cola syrup, a commercial truck must use the Hazardous Material cards reserved for highly corrosive materials.
The distributors of coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years.
Now the question is, would like a coke or a glass of water?
For all Lexophiles (lovers of words)
A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in linoleum blown apart.
You are stuck with your debt if you can’t budge-it.
If you are a calendar, then your days are numbered.
The short fortune teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
When you’ve seen one shopping center, you’ve seen a mall.
Marathon runners with bad footwear suffer the agony of de feet.
The definition of a will - a dead giveaway.
He often broke into song, because he couldn’t find the key.
He had a photographic memory which was never developed.
If you don’t pay your exorcist, you get repossessed.
COMMUNITY MEETINGS
VILLAGE HALL:
| Council | 3rd Tues | 7 PM |
| Finance | 2nd Thur | 6 PM |
| Safety | 4th Sun | 10 AM |
| Service | 3rd Tues | 6 PM |
| Parks | 3rd Mon | 7 PM |
| Planning | 3rd Wed | 7 PM |
PARK LODGE:
| Shade Tree | 1st Wed | 7 PM |
| Neighborhood Watch | 1st Thur | 7 PM |
| Potato Festival | 4th Mon | 7 PM |
| Soup Supper | 1st Fri | 7 PM |
LEGION HALL:
| American Legion | 3rd Wed | 7:30 PM |
| Legion Auxiliary | 2nd Mon | 1 AM |
METHODIST CHURCH:
| Lions Club | 1st & 3rd Tues | 7 PM |
If you would like your group’s meeting listed on the Community Calendar, send name, day, time and place to Mantua Matters, 4736 E. High St., Mantua, OH 44255
Please keep in mind that this is “your” paper, I welcome all ideas, suggestions, and even complaints and criticism. If there is something you would like to know about or read about, please let me know.
Call: 330-274-8776
Write: 4736 E. High St. Mantua, OH 44255
Fax: 330-274-2884
Email: mantuagv@raex.com
I hope you enjoyed this issue of Mantua Matters. Next issue will be in March.
Bye for now,
Diane Hura, Editor