Ohio has reported its first case of the mosquito-borne illness West Nile Virus for the 2013 season. A Cuyahoga County woman was hospitalized after developing meningitis as a result of her infection.
     Ohio currently has a much lower level of West Nile Virus activity than in 2012 when the state documented 121 cases of infection including 7 fatalities.

ODH West Nile Virus
    

Kent 360 August

     This year Kent State opened its new May 4 Visitor's Center on the first floor of Taylor Hall facing the university commons, a location central to events of that tragic day.
     The stated mission of the Center is to "bring alive the history...in a compelling and meaningful way" and to put the events in their proper social and historical context.
     The museum features high-quality graphic displays, artifacts, insightful quotes from participants and contemporaries that reflect a balance of all perspectives, and a short documentary built around authentic footage of the event as it happened.
     The Center consists of a display corridor that runs approximately 50 feet in length in a U shape that surrounds a central theater.
     A visit to the Center can be expected to last 30 minutes or less, but could take longer as a result of all the archived interviews and speeches at the listening stations.
     Admission is free and the center is open to the general public with photography permitted.
     The experience can be augmented by taking a virtually guided walking tour of the site around the commons and Taylor Hall.  The documentary for this guided tour is available at may4.kent.edu or in an audio-only version via phone at 330-672-MAY4.

    Henderson Hall Parking Lot Construction Update: Photos of work being done by Perrin Asphalt.

     A complete renovation of the Ravenna High School football field and adjacent tennis courts is nearing completion.
     The improvements involved the removal of old surfaces, adding drainage and fencing, and the installation of a new field turf in vivid "Raven" blue at the football stadium.
     The facilities have been located at their current site for fourteen years, long before the construction of the new high school that anchors the campus which they share.
     The facilities exceeded their expected life span and the football field, in particular, had lost all usefulness according to school officials. 
     The repairs have been paid for entirely through fund raising and private donation.
    

     Construction on Kent State's new Henderson Hall parking lot and walkways proceeds toward completion ahead of the start of fall classes on August 26th. 
     The 1.425 million dollar project will provide additional faculty parking for the college of nursing which borders the new lot to the south.
     The project will also feature expanded walkways in the green space to the rear of the building, replacing gravel paths and connecting the buildings of the science mall with a unified mode of  access.
     The Henderson Hall project did eliminate a significant green space that had been used for soccer, rugby, and other field sports.  Presumably, these activities will be diverted further east to the recreation complex near Loop Road.

     (The lot in question is marked in yellow beneath the oval running track in the diagram below.)

     Repairs by CSX at the rail crossing on Stow Street in Kent have been completed and the road is once again open to traffic.
     The work is part of the National Gateway project which aims to create a more efficient intermodal network by improving infrastructure to allow double-stack freight transport.
     In addition to having new track foundations laid and crossings improved, the Kent/Ravenna area will have extensive work done on local bridges as well.  These will include structures at Middlebury Road and in the Lake Street/Riverbend area.
     This work will consist of either raising the overpasses or lowering the rail lines to create the necessary clearance for double-stack transport.

Flood warnings have been issued for Portage county this evening.  The National Weather Service reports slow-moving thunder storms brought 3 inches of rain over a 90 minute period in some areas.

Aware is an alternative news forum serving Kent and Ravenna.