AKRONCrash ends chaseAKRON: An Akron man is accused of leading police on a brief chase Tuesday night before crashing his car into a porch.Alexander Burkhalter, 23, was being held in the Summit County Jail on charges of fleeing police, drug abuse, obstructing police, driving with a suspended license, reckless operation and other traffic offenses.Police say they tried to stop Burkhalter’s 1999 Volkswagen Jetta for speeding about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday on West Market Street. Burkhalter allegedly refused to stop and made a turn onto Martin Luther King Boulevard. Police said he then drove to North College Street, where his car went off the road and into a front porch.Burkhalter tried to drive away again, but was stopped by officers and arrested, police said. After he was taken into custody, police searched Burkhalter and found a plastic bag containing marijuana in a pocket, officers said. He was treated for injuries from the crash before being taken to jail. Man shot to deathAKRON: Akron police are investigating the shooting death of a 24-year-old man.Phillip Anderson of Lloyd Street in Akron was pronounced dead about 6 p.m. Tuesday at Akron General Medical Center.According to the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office, Anderson died of a gunshot wound to the chest.Police Lt. Rick Edwards said residents in the area of the 800 block of Princeton Street called 911 about 5:45 p.m. after hearing several shots being fired. An unidentified man wearing a red jacket was seen running from Princeton Street toward an alley.Anderson was found inside a car, slumped over the steering wheel. Someone drove him to the hospital, where he died. No suspects have been identified in the shooting.Anderson is the city’s first homicide victim this year. There were 26 homicides reported in the city in 2011.Guitar assaultAKRON: Two Akron brothers are accused of using a guitar to assault a man on Thanksgiving Day.Johnny Merritt, 25, and Dierre Merritt, 20, were arrested Tuesday by Akron police.Dierre Merritt is being held in the Summit County Jail under a $5,000 bond. Johnny Merritt was released on a $500 bond. Both are charged in Akron Municipal Court with felonious assault.Akron police say the brothers confronted a 42-year-old man inside a Bowmanville Street home Nov. 24 over an earlier incident involving the victim and their mother. The brothers punched the man and struck him in the head with a guitar, the man told police.The victim was treated at Summa Akron City Hospital. According to police, he sustained jaw and eye socket injuries that required surgery. Teens arrestedAKRON: Two Akron teens were arrested Tuesday morning on charges of burglarizing two homes in the city’s west side.The girl, 14, and boy, 15, were being held in the Summit County Juvenile Detention Center following their arrests.Police were called to the neighborhood near Garman Road about 10:30 a.m. by residents who saw juveniles walking and carrying weapons. Police say they spotted two suspects, including a boy who tossed a gun under a tree.After a brief foot chase, the teens were arrested.Officers say they recovered several handguns, boxes of ammunition and a laptop computer. The property was stolen during burglaries on Auburndale Avenue and Stonewood Drive, police said. GRANGER TOWNSHIPSalt shortageGRANGER TWP.: Service Director Neal Sylvester told trustees Monday the township is having trouble receiving road salt.The salt comes from Morton Salt as part of the state purchasing consortium. It appears the difficulty might be in the delivery, rather than the sale from Morton.The township has 70 to 80 tons of salt, which is enough for one big snowstorm, but more will be needed.In other news, trustees are considering having one of the paper recycling boxes in front of the administration building replaced with a box for the collection of aluminum cans. Abitibi Paper Retriever, which owns the paper recycling boxes, would pay $400 per ton for aluminum cans.Trustees elected Richard Pace as chairperson and John Ginley as vice chairperson of the trustees for 2012.GREENResidents fill panelGREEN: Mayor Dick Norton has chosen five city residents to serve on the Charter Review Commission, which is to have a final report to City Council by June 12.Named to the Charter Review Commission, which goes over the city’s charter once every seven years, were Susan Allen, Jim Branney, Ted Mallo, Josie McElroy and Jeff Evans. They are charged with recommending to council any alterations, revisions or amendments to the city charter.Norton also announced single appointments to three other panels Tuesday night during council’s first regular meeting of 2012.The mayor selected Dwight Yoder to serve the remainder of Rick Jacobson’s term through the end of this year on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Jacobson announced his resignation in December.James V. Ahlstrom II was given a five-year term on the Board of Zoning Appeals, while Jared Myers was named to the Historic Preservation Commission for three years.Senior assistanceGREEN: Service Director Randy Monteith told City Council on Tuesday that 24 Green High School seniors have signed up to aid senior citizens with snow removal this winter.Called Seniors for Seniors, the program is a collaborative between the school district and the city, Monteith said.Senior citizens wishing to be part of the program should call the Service Department at 330-896-4176 for the student assistance, which will consist of shoveling snow whenever a student is available, including weekends.Monteith said the project is for shoveling only, not snowplowing.MEDINALibrary’s rating upMEDINA: Medina County District Library officials say an improved credit rating will allow a savings of about $20,000 per year on its building project.Moody’s recently upgraded the rating to Aa2, allowing the 8 percent savings that is expected to save $2.4 million over the life of the $42.3 million tax issue approved in 2003. About $28 million remains to be paid off.PLAIN SCHOOLSPresident to stayPLAIN TWP.: Nick Campanelli was re-elected president of the Plain Local Board of Education at their reorganizational meeting Wednesday.Kristen Guardado was elected vice president and was appointed as student achievement liaison to the Ohio School Board Association. John Halkias was appointed as legislative liaison.A school calendar was adopted for the 2012-2013 school year and board meetings were set for the year. Schools will reopen Aug. 22, and the school year will end May 30, 2013.A timeline was set to appoint a new board member following the dismissal Monday of Chris Cugini.Anyone who wishes to serve on the board should send a resume and cover letter to Treasurer/CFO Kathleen Jordan at the district office, 901 44th St., Canton, 44709, no later than Wednesday. All inquiries should also be directed to Jordan.The board will hold a special meeting at the district office at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 31 to appoint the new board member.PLAIN TOWNSHIPLeadership pickedPLAIN TWP.: Scott Haws was elected president of the Plain Township trustees at their organizational meeting Tuesday evening. Lou Giavasis was elected vice president and also named as the board’s representative to the Stark County Council of Governments.Trustees meetings will be held the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month.All township employees were retained for 2012.Trustees agreed to help notify residents with aerobic septic systems that they must provide details of maintenance contracts to the Stark County Health Department.REVERE SCHOOLSOfficers electedBATH TWP.: Three new members of the five-member Revere school board have been sworn in.The new officers voted to elect Claudia Hower as board president and George Seifert as vice president.The board approved the schedule for regular board meetings for the third Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. in the Revere High School library. The lone exception would be the meeting of June 26, which was changed due to the close of the fiscal year. The board also set aside the second Tuesday of the month for needed special meetings, starting at 6 p.m. in the board room at the Administration Building.It also approved a cost-per-copy contract with MT Business Solutions, the second lowest bidder on this project. That action came after the low bidder on the contract withdrew their bid in December, just prior to a board vote. The contract with MT will cost $5,300 monthly for 600,000 black and white and 1,500 color copies per month. That cost is estimated to save the district “in excess of $25,000 in savings per year over the last contract,” said Treasurer David Forrest.Forest also reported to the board that the committee heading up the Turf Initiative Project made another payment on the pledge total for that stadium project. To date, $514,000 has been received in pledges for the artificial turf, 94 percent of the amount pledged, he said.STOWFire grantSTOW: The Stow Fire Department has been awarded a $128,439 grant for operations by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grants program.The competitive grants are offered to “strengthen the nation’s general level of preparedness and capacity to respond to fire and related dangers,” according to a news release.SUMMIT COUNTYADM vacanciesAKRON: The Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board is accepting applications for two vacant board positions.Members are appointed to four-year terms. The current vacancies are appointments by the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services for a professional in the field of alcohol or drug addiction services with a minimum of two years experience, and an advocate for people receiving treatment.To submit an online application, go to www.admboard.org and click on the “Board of Directors” tab.