Akron Racers’ GM Joey Arrietta recently announced the re-signing of 2010 National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) Pitcher of the Year, Lisa Norris, and 2011 All-NPF Pitcher Kristina Thorson, to the Racers 2012 roster.

“Thorson and Norris have been our two most dominant pitchers the last few seasons,” said Arrietta. “Our rotation is very solid with these two leading the way from the circle.”

Thorson appeared in 17 games and started 12 of them, which led her to seven complete games and an ERA of 2.12 with a record of 9-3. Thorson earned the most wins on the pitching staff and threw for 89.1 innings. Her 2.12 ERA was the best on the team. Thorson was named to the All-NPF team as a pitcher in 2011.

A group of Christmas elves flew into Akron a bit early to set up shop in downtown Akron. The clanking of wrenches and the ding of bells resonated like holiday carols, as a group of volunteers assembled bicycles that will be distributed to children in need throughout Greater Akron.

Elves & More of Northeast Ohio delivers approximately 1,000 bicycles to local children. The nonprofit’s goal is for every child in town to receive a gift at Christmas time. “And that gift is primarily bicycles,” said Brian Miner, one of the group’s co-founders.

The bicycle also is a symbolic gift to help underprivileged children connect with mentors and embark on a positive path. “What can they do with that bicycle? How can they can get connected to something larger than they may see every day in their neighborhood?” Miner asked.

Putting fresh, local, sustainably grown vegetables on the table of everyone in our community is the aim of an organization called City Fresh.

City Fresh is a Cuyahoga County nonprofit program of the New Agrarian Center that supports the creation of a sustainable local food system in Northeast Ohio. Founded by Brad Masi, the program was meant to address the needs of those who are most at-risk within our community.

The New Agrarian Center is committed to building a stronger and more sustainable regional food system in Northeast Ohio: a food system that promotes health in the broadest sense of the word -- healthy land, healthy communities, healthy individuals and a healthy economy.

A strange phenomenon.  A cross appears at sunset on Easter Sunday in 2009 and again in 2010.

 My son was looking out the kitchen window on Easter Sunday 2009, and to his surprise he saw an image of a cross in our back yard.  He called me to come and look out the window.  Certain that he didn’t realize what he was viewing, in utter disbelief, shock and awe, my first reaction was to grab my camera as I rushed out the patio door and began snapping shots hoping the cross wouldn’t disappear before I finished taking its picture.  I’ve never seen anything so remarkable and neither had my family.  Not knowing what else to do I just kept shooting pictures.

Canals helped the local economy thrive

What is a canal? You could call it a big ditch, filled with water, dug and formed by man for the purpose of carrying people, farm produce and manufactured products. Traveling was done on boats called passenger packets and cargo freighters, which were pulled by mules that walked beside the canal on a road called the towpath.

Prior to 1825, the year Ohio began building its canals, Ohio's early settlers were struggling from economic strangulation. They were living settlers in an isolated wilderness setting without access to a buying market. Ohio knew that for the state to grow, both economically and in population, a means of transportation through this interior of the state was necessary. Thus, Ohio went into the canal building business.

Henry Ford had one thing to say to the clerk at the front counter of Columbus Buggy Works in Detroit: "I'm here to see Harvey Firestone." It was 1895. Ford was using bicycle tires for a car. Not viable, Ford knew at the time. Ford approached Firestone to ask about solid-rubber tires as a substitute. Firestone had a better idea. "They were pneumatic tires," Ford would later remember. Harvey Firestone's career and the path of an industry were forever altered.

Reading specialist visits St. Paul of Akron Elementary School in Firestone Park

Sandra Philipson has an obvious passion for teaching. Although not her chosen profession in the classic sense of “being a teacher," Philipson has spent much of the past 12 years visiting more than 450 schools, where she reaches out to children with a variety of writing workshops. She is a reading specialist and literary consultant with an impressive background in the education and publishing fields.

The Firestone Park Home & Garden Club isn’t just another casual group of gardeners with dirty fingernails. The club, established in 2001, is a social group that places importance on camaraderie as well as chrysanthemums. Club President Linda Benson emphasized that "home" is an important part of both the name of the club and the underlying focus of activities. Under the direction of Hospitality Coordinator Teresa Alexoff, the refreshment table became a smorgasbord of home cooking. Hot shredded beef with noodles and homemade strawberry fudge were just two of the tasty choices generous members made available this month.

Dewayne Wheeler is frustrated. A convicted felon who has paid his debt to society, Wheeler has fallen upon hard times, and all he really wants to do is find a job and earn an honest wage. However, he cannot find work and is homeless and depressed. Wheeler was able to vent some of his concerns to Deputy Mayor David Lieberth at a virtual town hall at the Akron-Summit County Public Library’s downtown main library on Wednesday.

A current resident at the Haven of Rest shelter, Wheeler has had problems navigating the system and said he feels alienated from the community. He said has had to panhandle and live on the street as merely a means to an end.

As a retired Akron police officer, John Bailey has seen his share of criminal activity. Much of this activity is the result of repeat offenders with tumultuous backgrounds, some stretching as far back as childhood. Now, as a part-time deputy with the Juvenile Diversion Program, Bailey spends his time working with teens that have put themselves on that same dangerous path, helping them turn their lives around.