Bats in Your House: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Today on the Akron Podcast, we've got some information about our neighbors to the north, Cuyahoga Falls. If you have a criminal record, you might want to listen to this. We've got some information about a settlement that the Akron city did.Also, the Akron City Festival is coming up and we've got some bad news as well. And somebody's throwing their ring into the, you know, mayor race. And.And so I'll start spotlighting different candidates as November gets closer and closer. It's the Akron Podcast for September 2, 2026.The website akron podcast.com this is from the Summit County Health and I thought I would talk about this because I've never talked about this and luckily I've never had this issue. And that is what do you do when you have a bat in your house and it says keep an eye on a bat at all times?So I think that's probably going to happen. And do not handle the bat with bare hands. Duh, because if they bite you, they might be having rabies.Close the door to the rest of the house to minimize where the bat can travel. Put on leather work gloves if possible. Keep kids and pets out of the space where the bat is now confined. Duh.Do not swing a broom or tennis racket at the bat.Wait for it to land in a spot that you can reach it safely and then use a rigid lidded container to trap the bat like an empty shoe box and then gently lower the box over the bat. This all just sounds incredibly frightening. Use a flat piece of cardboard to slide the box under the box and trap the bat inside.Tape the lid firmly on the box. If alive, poke small air holes around the box, no larger than 18 inch inside. If deceased, no air holes are needed. Store in a cool place.Okay, why are we storing the dead bat?Place the box in a quiet space and then it says, contact the Summit county let's see public health company do during business hours and we'll help you determine what steps to take next, which I'm going to guess is throw it away. That would be my guess. So there we go. You are now informed on what to do if you have a bat in your house. This is coming right up.On September 5th and 6th, the City of Akron is hosting the 4th Annual Akron City Festival. This is again September 5th and 6th on the 5th at 12pm this is at the Akron Public Library, which is 60 S. High street from 12 to 4.They'll have a ballet showcase. They'll have a music showcase with the Youth Nation Center Dance showcase. With Born to Dance 330 and a fashion showcase with nightlife entertainment.And then on the 6th they're going to have a parade. It's going to kick off down by the Spaghetti Warehouse and head down Main street to Lock three.And then following the parade there's a long list of activities for families such as face painting, inflatables, food of course, food, live music, gaming, trucks, barbers, nail techs, line dancing, balloon artists.There's a whole bunch of stuff and I'll have a link to this out in the show notes where you can see the flyer and go down and have fun in downtown for the 4th annual Akron City Festival.Hey, let's say you did something in the past that you weren't proud of and you kind of wish that wasn't out there in the public well, state law recently changed and you may be eligible to have your criminal record expunged even even if you are recently ineligible.Volunteers with the University of Akron School of Law and Summit Legal Defenders can help you on Saturday, December 19th from 9 to 12pm at Barberton Middle School. That's 4774 street in northwest Barberton. And please note, the clinic may end before noon if they reach capacity, so don't wait.So if you're again trying to get something expunged, you might be able to do that on occasion.We will talk about our neighbors to the north being Cuyahoga Falls and the mayor has been talking about the river loop and it's being transformed along the river.If you've never been there, they have an aging wooden boardwalk which is really cool, but it's getting a little old in the tooth and they're adding a new, fully ADA accessible upper walkway.Now the 2,200foot loop connects the riverfront with downtown, includes about 10 theme stops highlighting everything from kayaking and bald eagles to river otters and local fish. And the project, it's not just about nature. There will be a small outdoor stage for summer music, swings overlooking the river and Walter.The mayor's favorite feature, the Heart of the Loop, an old factory art that's been transformed into a wedding spot complete with heart shaped decorations and a place for couples to leave. Love Rocks. Be interesting to see how long it takes for somebody to put graffiti on that. Hopefully not.The bigger story here is that the Cuyahoga river has come a long way. The mayor points out that the river is now healthy enough that new species have returned and wildlife is thriving.So the River Loop, it's expected to be finished around Labor Day.That's this weekend, by the way, giving residents and visitors a new way to experience both the natural beauty of the Cuyahoga river and downtown Cuyahoga Falls all in one walkable loop. So if you want to try something new, go check out Cuyahoga Falls. It's right up the street if you go up Route 8.Hey, do you know a smart youngin well the city of Akron is now accepting applications for the 2026, 2027 Mayor's Youth Leadership Council. Better known as the MyLC.It's a year long leadership program designed to connect Akron high school students with local government, community organizations, civic engagement and service opportunities. Now the applications are open now and will be expected through basically midnight on Monday, September 14th.Applications can be found at akronohio.gov mylc and I'll put a link to this out in the show. Notes again for the Mayor Youth Leadership Council and the applications are accepted through Monday, September 14th. Oh Akron, we were doing so good.I hate to report this. We have a lot of bad news in this week's episode. There was a 63 year old man, Ricky Essick was shot in the head at 6:30 on Sunday.This is at the Circle K on South Arlington. So 9:40 South Arlington. I know, shocking. A shooting on South Arlington.The thing that's weird is the Summit county medical examiner has completed an autopsy for a guy that was shot in the head and they determined that he died from, you guessed it, a gunshot wound. And his death was ruled a homicide, not a suicide, I guess.But it's just sad to hear and I hate to, you know, we'll probably find some teenager with a stolen gun. Again, we're going to go next door to Barberton where there was a shooting at the McDonald's in Barberton and it sent two juveniles to the hospital.This was on Monday afternoon and police quickly arrested a 17 year old Akron boy they say was involved. An officer heard gunshots coming from the parking lot on west tuscarawas Avenue around 1:30 in the afternoon.There were multiple 911 calls followed and officers were given a description of the suspect. About six minutes later, an officer and a K9 unit found the teen walking between buildings nearby and took him into custody without incident.Police say the suspect threw a gun while fleeing. They recovered and determined that it had been previously reported stolen in Akron. Fortunately, no one was directly struck by gunfire.Again, two people were taken to area hospitals with injuries that were not considered life threatening. So investigators say everyone involved was a juvenile attending Towpath Trail High School.And the preliminary investigation Indicates the jump the shooting stemmed from an ongoing feud among the teens.Again, maybe we should teach our children how to, I don't know, have a dialogue and maybe try to, you know, learn from each other instead of shooting each other.Speaking of people being shot, this is sad, but if you remember back when there was a shooting of a young man and his name was Jasmir Tucker, well, the city of Akron has reached a $4.75 million settlement in the civil lawsuit. Now, the interesting thing is this was reached through a federal mediation, and it does not include admission of wrongdoing.The city law director Brian Angelini said settling now allows everyone involved to avoid the cost, uncertainty and emotional toll on of a lengthy court battle, which to me, just opens the gate. I don't know how to answer this one. That's just one of those where, like, if you don't settle, then you end up paying if you do pay.Because if we didn't do anything wrong, why are we paying? One of the things. It comes. You know, this whole thing comes as Akron is continuing to implement recommendations from an independent review of.Of the police department's use of force policies.Now, of the 58 recommendations made by the Police Executive Research Forum, the city says 18 have already been implemented, which, if you're doing the math, that means there's 40 left with changes focused on preserving life. Well, that's good. Improving decision making. Yep. And learning from critical incidents.Now, before you go jumping on the police, I urge you to go to YouTube and type not body cam footage. When you see what policemen are going through with the insane, it's. You know, it's. It's weird.The officer who shot and killed Jasmineer Tucker was Davin Fields. He has been fired.I was on the Beacon Journal website, and they were talking about Kemp Boyd putting his name in the ring for potential mayor of Akron. And what was interesting is on the Beacon Journal's website, I don't know who shot the video.It looked like they were in a spare bedroom, and, like, 60% of the video was somebody's bed. I was like, what is going on with this? So I went over to YouTube and found a much better video. So here's the audio of this.So we'll have the mayor and I guess there are, like, three other people. So I'll try to. I want to be fair here.And I'll find some clips from other candidates so we can make an informed decision on who's going to be our next mayor while we continue with the current one. Who I thought when I went to. He did a speech at the Civic. There's a lot of things going on in Akron that are going well.Yeah, we have our lumps, but I. I got to tell you, this guy sounds impressive. Here's Kemp Boyd.

I love Akron and what Akron has given to me and my family. I've spent my adult life giving back as a pastor, as a nonprofit executive, as a coach, and as a public servant.And like many of my neighbors, I am concerned about Akron, its future, and what kind of opportunities my children will have. I was born in Springfield, Tennessee to Melvin and Carolyn Boyd.My childhood took me from Tennessee to Georgia and ultimately to Ohio, shaping my understanding of what working families go through to survive.I came to Akron in 1994 to study at the University of Akron, Go Zips, where I earned my bachelor's degree and later a master's in organizational management. As a certified mental health professional. I spent my career strengthening community care for teens and adults living with mental health challenges.Together with my wife, Stacy, we're raising our six children here in Akron.I currently serve as the Executive Director of Love Akron, a Christian based nonprofit dedicated to unifying the colors, cultures and congregations to see greater Akron thrive. I'm pastor of Streetlight Community Church where we cultivate a faith community that strives to love first.I'm the head football coach for the Garfield Golden Rams, helping young men build a sense of identity and overcome generational challenges. And as the first chair of the Akron Citizens Police Oversight Board, I continue to push for transparency, fairness and integrity.Every hat I wear in service to Akron, in every conversation I have, I see and I hear the same thing. The need for courageous leadership. Leadership that trusts resources and releases the community. Akron already has what it needs.We have the talent and the raw material to improve the quality of life for every resident in every neighborhood. We can create more affordable housing. We can end gun violence through authentic commitment to trauma, informed community intervention.We can build a police force we can trust. And we can launch an economic strategy that will bring jobs and investment back to the city.But to do all this, Akron needs a leader at City hall with a track record of building bridges across colors, cultures and communities. In every part of my life, I've remained a builder.Time after time, I've been tasked with looking at what exists, organizing the people who care and building bridges of connection that gets results no system can get on its own.I'm running for mayor because I know with your help, I can create the on ramps for everyone to reach their God given potential and for every neighborhood to thrive. I'm running as an independent because that's what I am and because our challenges don't have a Democrat or Republican solution.Akron needs the energy of every resident from every neighborhood to fuel a brighter future. All are welcome to join this campaign.

And then it shows his website kemp4akron.com so that's interesting. I always forget that November is right around the corner. Before we leave here, let's take a look at the Akron events calendar here.By the time you when you listen to this today, Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson are going to be at Blossom Music Center. TLC Salt n Pepa with En Vogue will be at Blossom Music center on September 10th.Beth Hart, I think I'm going to go to this one, will be at the Northfield Roxino. She is a great blues singer if you like that kind of stuff, jazzy, bluesy kind of stuff.Carl Dixon, he's the former singer of the Guess who will be in concert on the 12th. Ziggy Marley will be at the Goodyear theater on the 18th. Of course, the sixth annual Akron Latin Festival is on September 19th.Paula Cole, I Don't Want to Wait will be at the Kent Stage. That's September 23rd.Tracy Lawrence no Alibis Tour will be at the Civic Theater and the Doobie Brothers will be at the Northfield rock sceneo on September 26th. I'll go out and take a peek. It's always weird. People kind of come in.Like I can check all these different sites to see what is going on and I, you know, something will come up at the last minute. If you go to the very bottom. When you go to akronpodcast.com events we've got the Akron Pulse.Different listings like the LeBron James House Court, that's tomorrow. There is co worker Wednesdays. There's all sorts of hyper local things that that would be half the podcast. I've named all these.So when you go to akronpodcast.com events slide down to the very bottom and you will see from Akron Pulse.