AKRON
Bank robbed again
AKRON: A downtown Akron bank was robbed Monday morning — the second heist at the branch in the past two weeks, police said.
A man entered the KeyBank branch, 219 S. Main St., about 10 a.m. and told a teller he was armed and wanted money. He fled with an undisclosed sum.
Police said a similar-looking man on Nov. 30 handed a teller a note claiming to be armed and demanding money.
Police said the robber is a black male in his 20s. He wore a gray ski-type hat with two red horizontal lines. Detectives are trying to determine whether the same man is responsible for both robberies.
Anyone with information is asked to call Akron police at 330-375-2490.

Man killed
AKRON: An Akron man was killed and another was wounded when gunfire erupted inside a West Akron home.
Henry Ivery III, 25, was found dead outside a Storer Avenue home about 1 a.m. Sunday. He died of gunshot wounds, police said.
A second Akron man, 34, was shot in the leg. He was treated at Akron General Medical Center.
No suspects have been identified. Police are looking for three men, but no detailed descriptions were available.
Anyone with information is asked to call Akron police at 330-375-2490. Anonymous tips may be left via the Internet at http://akronohio.gov/asp/tip.html.

CANTON

Tax receipts
CANTON: City Council received good news on Monday. Its agenda included a letter from city Treasurer Robert Schirack saying income tax collections have increased for the year to date, compared with the same time last year.
Total income tax collections were $40.2 million as of Nov. 30, $2.7 million more than the $37.5 collected by Nov. 30, 2010. Revenue was up 7.4 percent.
Given the improvement in the financial picture, the city administration spent some capital improvement funds that had been held in reserve.
City Council approved the expenditure of $578,243 for additional street paving by the contractor previously engaged, Central Allied Enterprises Inc.
In other business, council approved selling four vacant lots to neighboring property owners for a total of $2,376 under terms of the city’s residential land disposition program.

COLUMBUS
Jobs for vets
COLUMBUS: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Avon, and Oklahoma-based Chesapeake Energy announced on Monday plans to hold job fairs to connect unemployed military veterans with the booming natural gas industry.
The new program would be similar to the Solar by Soldiers program promoted to Brown to help veterans get jobs in the growing solar energy industry.
No dates were announced for the job fairs.

HIGHLAND SCHOOLS

Grading proposal
GRANGER TWP.: High school guidance counselor Craig Tasker presented four recommendations on behalf of the curriculum committee to the school board on Monday.
First is for Highland to move to a 10-point grading scale. Since the 1990s, Highland has had a seven-point scale, with 93% being required for an A. The new scale would set 90 as the cutoff for an A.
Second is the addition of a plus and minus component to be included in grading. With the wider range of grades, committee members felt it was important to differentiate within the grade range.
Third is a reworking of the classes that would be given weighted grades. Advanced Placement classes would get a five-point A, and honors classes would be given a 4.5-point A.
Fourth is the use of percents in academic recognition. Students would be commended for being in the top 10 percent of their class, rather than having class ranks among the top 10 students in the class. The naming of valedictorian and salutatorian would continue unchanged. Class ranks would still be available if requested by colleges, but would not be included on transcripts.
According to Tasker, the purposes of the changes are to put Highland in line with other high-performing districts, give students a competitive advantage, meet the expectations of colleges that Highland students typically choose, and encourage students to take more rigorous classes.