AKRONCrash kills driverAKRON: A man was killed when his car collided Friday afternoon with a minivan at the state Route 59 exit at Martin Luther King Drive in Akron.The name of the victim was not immediately released. The minivan driver was not seriously injured.According to police, the man was driving a Honda Civic about 12:30 p.m. As Route 59 east turns into at Martin Luther King Boulevard, he attempted a U-turn to drive west on the state route. As he made the maneuver, his car was struck in the passenger side by a westbound Chevrolet Lumina minivan.The man was pronounced dead at the scene and his body was taken to the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office. Authorities are trying to identify him and contact relatives. The minivan driver was treated at Summa Akron City Hospital.Authorities closed the westbound lanes of Route 59 for several hours Friday afternoon. Akron police cleared the scene and began an investigation that included a reconstruction of the crash.No charges have been filed.Pizza driver robbedAKRON: A pizza driver was robbed at gunpoint Thursday night after making a delivery to a North Hill home, police said.The 51-year-old man was not wounded. No suspects have been identified.According to a police report, a Marco’s Pizza driver was leaving an Avon Street home about 8:30 p.m. when a man with a gun approached him and demanded money. The driver surrendered about $100 and the gunman ran off.The driver returned to the Cuyahoga Falls pizza shop and called police.Police say the gunman was black and in his 20s. He wore dark clothing, stood about 5-foot-9 and weighed about 160 pounds.Anyone with information is asked to call Akron police at 330-375-2490. Anonymous tips can be left via the Internet at http://akron­ohio.gov/asp/tip.html.Center will be openAKRON: The visitor center at the Seiberling Nature Realm will be open on Columbus Day. The center at 1828 Smith Road is typically closed on Mondays.The park district’s administrative offices also will be open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. that day.For information, call 330-867-5511 or visit www.
summitmetroparks.org.bath townshipGrant requestBATH TWP.: The sixth time was the charm in Bath’s quest to create a wayside exhibit to help promote the 38 miles of scenic byways in the township. Bath trustees have announced that a federal grant funding of $251,556 under the National Scenic Byways Program has been awarded to the township. The grant would be used to help purchase property for the educational and recreational exhibit. The township would be obligated for a match of $89,375 with the grant.While the grant is not property specific, a 7.5-acre parcel just north of Ghent along the west side of Cleveland-Massillon Road has been under consideration as a potential location. Placing the exhibit at this site would protect the waterways and creeks in that area, eliminate the potential for development on the acreage and act as an open space buffer between the Ghent business district and the residential area on Cleveland-Massillon Road. Potential plans include a cleanup of the site and construction of a visitor information kiosk, a trailhead with a visitor center, picnic tables, walking trails, a parking lot and bike rack. Even if negotiations for a sale of the acreage are completed, Goodrich said it could take as long as a year to complete appraisal, as well as the environmental and archeological studies required. KENTPoet to speakKENT: W.S. Merwin, a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and U.S. poet laureate for 2010-11, will make two public appearances at Kent State on Oct. 10.He will hold an informal question and answer session with students and community members at 2 p.m. in the KSU library. Also at 2 p.m., University Libraries will open its new exhibition Doorway to the Work of W.S. Merwin, which will feature his poems and literature through Dec. 15.Merwin will read from some of his most famous works at 7:30 p.m. in the KSU Student Center ballroom. That event is part of the Fall Reading Series presented by the university’s Wick Poetry Center.Merwin is the author of numerous books of poetry, prose and translations, including Migration: Selected Poems 1951-2001, winner of the National Book Award. He lives in Hawaii on a former pineapple plantation. He has worked to restore the forest surrounding his home to its original rainforest state, which has greatly influenced his later works.All events are free to the public.For information, visit www.kent.edu/wick or call 330-672-2067.Summit countyNew hire at parksAKRON: There is a new staffer at Friends of Metro Parks in Summit County.Bridget Garvin Ambrisco was hired as part-time organizational development and advancement coordinator for the grass-roots group.“We’re excited to have her,” said Christine Freitag, the group’s president. “She recognizes the value of the Metro Parks and understands the role we play.”Her group contacts legislators and constituents about important park, conservation and environmental issues. It lobbies on behalf of Metro parks, Serving Summit County.Ambrisco was previously the executive director of the Cascade Locks Park Association and most recently the director of volunteer programs at Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park.Her new position will be funded by the Friends group, not the park district.Plant on displayAKRON: Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, is featuring a new exhibit with the northern monkshood, a threatened species.The exhibit at the Seiberling Nature Realm, 1828 Smith Road, includes 12 live, cloned monkshood plants in test tubes. The cloned plants have been planted in the Gorge Metro Park between Akron and Cuyahoga Falls to boost the plant’s survival.The monkshood is an Ohio endangered plant and a federally threatened plant since 1978. It is only found in Ohio and three other states.The park district has been monitoring the plant’s survival since the late 1970s.The exhibit was developed with the Akron Garden Club and was first shown at the Akron Art Museum. It won national honors from the Garden Club of America.Exhibit hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. The exhibit closes Oct. 31.There is also a video about the plant at www.youtube.com/summitmetroparks.For information, call 330-865-8065.