AKRONGrenade scareAKRON: Akron police say a fake grenade was found at a metal recycling business on Hazel Street Wednesday morning.Firefighters and the Summit County bomb squad were called to Krash Metals at 963 Hazel St. to ensure the grenade was not live.Employees were evacuated as a precaution. Robbery chargesAKRON: Akron police say they have connected a man involved in a high-speed chase earlier this month to several robberies and burglaries in the city.Gerome J. Burns, 34, of Akron, was charged this week with aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and felonious assault. He remains in the Summit County Jail.He is accused of forcing his way inside a Wiltshire Road home where two elderly woman were staying Aug. 4, firing a shot and taking a purse.Burns is accused of robbing a person at gunpoint a week later and taking a wallet and laptop and fleeing in a vehicle stolen from Silver Lake. He also is accused of breaking into an East Buchtel Avenue home that day, stealing a computer bag and two computers and firing a shot when he was spotted by the homeowner.Burns was arrested Aug. 17 after leading local police on a high-speed chase that involved more than two dozen officers from Hudson to Akron.Police in Hudson were investigating Burns as a suspect in an armed robbery of a resident near Hudson-Aurora Road. Officers chased him down state Route 8 and eventually into Akron, where the chase ended.Ministry needs helpAKRON: The flood this month has put First Glance, a popular, faith-based ministry for kids in Akron’s Kenmore area, in need of help.Teen Moms, a program housed in the bottom floor of the First Glance building, was damaged by floodwaters — meaning each item in the basement must be cleaned.Those who would like to help should come to 943 Kenmore Blvd. on Saturday. The process will begin at 9 a.m.For information, call 330-848-9685.Church carnivalAKRON: Christ is the Answer Ministries, 379 E. South St., will host a free carnival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.The event will include games for kids and the distribution of donated food and clothing.For information, call 330-375-1623.BARBERTONCar windows shotBARBERTON: More than a dozen residents on Barberton’s east side have called police to complain that their car windows have been shot out.Police Chief Vince Morber said officers took reports of the incidents Tuesday and Wednesday. He said the windows apparently were shot out with a BB gun.Police are investigating.West Nile casesThe Mosquito Abatement District, which serves the Barberton, Norton and Doylestown areas, said Wednesday it has collected a third set of mosquito pools in Doylestown and Norton that tested positive for West Nile virus.This makes five positive collections for Doylestown this year and four in Norton, the agency said in a news release.There have been no cases of human disease reported in either community.KENTFirefighters to visitKENT: The city’s firefighters will welcome a group of 10 
bicycle-riding firefighters from California on Tuesday as they make their way to New York City to mark the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.The visitors, who started their trip a month ago, will be given a fire and police escort into downtown Kent starting at the city’s border with Stow on state Route 59. Their estimated time of arrival is 4 to 5 p.m.The riders will cross Haymaker bridge and turn left onto South Water Street, where a ladder truck arch will welcome them into town. The city encourages area residents to line the route to cheer them on.NORTHEAST OHIONew charges filedAdditional charges were filed Wednesday against a Hudson man suspected in gas station robberies in Wadsworth, Cuyahoga Falls and Streetsboro.James Douglas, 23, was being held in the Portage County Jail following his arrest Monday by police and members of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force.He was arraigned Tuesday on a charge of robbery in Streetsboro and is to be in Portage County court Friday for a preliminary hearing.On Wednesday, Wadsworth police said they filed a robbery charge against Douglas. A Medina County grand jury will consider additional charges.In Cuyahoga Falls, police charged Douglas with aggravated robbery and issued a warrant for his arrest.Douglas is accused of carrying out two robberies Aug. 5 — at a Circle K in Streetsboro and a Marathon gas station in Cuyahoga Falls — and another Aug. 14 at a Circle K in Wadsworth.Cuyahoga FallsTree to come downCUYAHOGA FALLS: Contractors for the city of Cuyahoga Falls soon will remove a sycamore tree inside the Bath Road heron rookery that began leaning after heavy spring rains, Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, said in a news release.The tree threatens the city’s power lines.The sycamore, one of several that support great blue heron nests near the southern boundary of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, can be removed now because the young birds have all fledged from its 15 nests, park biologists said.Six empty nests were removed Wednesday for research and educational purposes, the park district said.ORRVILLENew library directorORRVILLE: The Orrville Public Library Board of Trustees said Wednesday that Kathleen Jozwiak has been hired as the library’s director.Her first day on the job will be Sept. 12.Jozwiak has served as library director of Henderson Memorial Public Library in Jefferson in Ashtabula County since 2004. She fills the vacancy left by the retirement of Leslie Picot, who had been Orrville’s library director since 2004.Jozwiak earned a bachelor’s degree from Hiram College with a double major of English and Spanish in 1990 and a master’s degree in library science from Kent State in 1998.STARK COUNTYMotion is deniedCOLUMBUS: The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday denied the county’s motion to reconsider its decision to reinstate Gary Zeigler as treasurer.In June, the court said Zeigler, a Democrat, was “entitled to the office of county treasurer,” and his elected replacement, Alex Zumbar, a Republican, was “unlawfully holding that office.”The 5-2 vote Wednesday to deny the motion remained consistent with its earlier decision, with Justice Paul E. Pfeifer and Justice Terrence O’Donnell casting dissenting votes.Commissioners ousted Zeigler just over a year ago on Aug. 23, 2010. They held him responsible for the theft of almost $3 million by his former chief deputy, Vincent Frustaci, who admitted to embezzling $2.46 million from the treasurer’s office between 2003 and 2009.Voters elected Zumbar last November to fill the vacated treasurer’s seat.The high court’s ruling removed Zumbar from office and returned Zeigler to the post.Contract approvedCANTON: Unionized employees of the Stark County Department of Job and Family Services have approved a contract that includes a three-year wage freeze.The contract with United Steelworkers Local 9187 also calls for employees to increase their contribution to health insurance.County commissioners approved the contract Wednesday. Union members had ratified it Tuesday.The agreement covers 380 case workers, clerical and maintenance employees.Members will continue paying 6 percent of the cost of their medical insurance premiums for the first year of the three-year contract, which begins Sept. 1. In the second and third years, they will pay 8 percent and 10 percent, respectively.wadsworthCompany donatesWADSWORTH: City Council this week adopted a resolution expressing its appreciation for a $160,000 donation from Soprema Inc.The donation will allow the company to have naming rights to the city’s senior center and cafe under construction as part of a new high school at 625 Broad St. Soprema, 310 Quadral Drive, is a manufacturer of commercial roofing and waterproofing systems.