When Bill Batchelder learned he was to become speaker of the Ohio House of Rep­resentatives— in a General Assembly career that touches six decades — he called his father, former Medina County Prosecutor William G. Batchelder Jr., to tell him the news. “First of all, he said: ‘That is wonderful!’ ” recalled Medina’s longtime 69th District [...]

YORK TWP. — There’s only one way for the Buckeye boys basketball team to go, and that’s up. How far up is the question. Last in the Patriot Athletic Conference Stars Division a year ago, the Bucks (4-17, 4-9) return four letterwin­ners and could surprise a lot of people in 2010-11. “There is no reason to think [...]

The good news? Black River’s boys basketball team is coming off its second straight 10-win season. The five returnees have 11 years of varsity experience and its combi­nation of post players is hard to beat in the Patriot Athletic Conference. The bad news? The bench is thin, especially in the backcourt, and 14-point scorer and honorable [...]

SHARON TWP. — If ever there was a man who embodied the saying “Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” it’s David Snyder. The Medina resident spent about 2½ months canoeing 1,846 miles down the Ohio and Mis­sissippi rivers, from just south of Canton to New Orleans. “It was actually about 20 years ago I came up with the idea,” [...]

MEDINA — The county is consid­ering contracting with a private firm to install a more environmen­tally friendly waste water manage­ment system that could save hun­dreds of thousands of dollars annu­ally. In order to capitalize on most of the savings, the county would have to take some quick action. Representatives from Wooster­-based Quasar Energy Group spoke to county [...]

MEDINA — A city resident received his 12th impaired driving charge on Thanksgiv­ing Day after a concerned motorist called police to report a drunken driver. Kelly Dorler, 45, of 530 Wadsworth Road, Apt. 312, was arrested at approximately 5:15 p.m. Thursday after he allegedly was observed weav­ing while driving a van on West Washington Street. The [...]

MEDINA — A portion of the city’s south side will be under a boil alert today at 3 p.m. as crews complete work on the Koons Avenue water station upgrade. The boil alert is expected to last until noon Wednesday. During the alert, residents are advised to boil tap water used for drinking for at least [...]

SHARON TWP. — A township man made a unique wartime dis­covery Friday afternoon while working outside on his property. Robert Spring, a South Medina Line Road resident, was clearing trees around the pool area of his home when he located a device that “appeared to be something … shot out of a cannon,” according to a [...]

Editor’s note: Public meeting notices should be e-mailed to copyed@medina-gazette.com or faxed to (440) 329-7282. TODAY Buckeye Board of Education special meeting, 6 p.m., administration office, 3044 Columbia Road, York Township. Guilford Township Board of Zoning Appeals, 8 p.m., township hall, 3800 Greenwich Road. Medina County Board of Elections audit of November 2010 election, 8:30 a.m., board office, [...]

Kyle Payne wasted no time making an impact for Bald­win- Wallace College’s men’s basketball team. In just four games for the Yellow Jackets, the Brunswick native hasn’t lost of beat from being an All-Gazette selection last season for the Blue Devils. The 6-foot-6, 188-pounder is averaging 17.8 points and 5.3 rebounds in 26.8 minutes as B-W’s [...]