Sourek Funeral Home

Photo: Kathleen Folkerth FAIRLAWN — For the staff of Billow Funeral Homes and Crematory, a funeral is more than a one- or two-day event.“Looking at our services, it doesn’t end with the funeral,” said President Charles “Chip” Billow. “It goes on after the funeral, to the end of the spectrum.”Billow said the company provides complete funeral and memorial services, from preplanning to cremation to grief counseling.“We are the oldest funeral home in Akron, but we have changed with the times,” Billow said.Billow’s has a long history in Akron. Billow’s great, great-grandfather, George Billow, began the business in Downtown Akron in 1875. A Cuyahoga Falls location opened in 1954, and the family moved the downtown location to Fairlawn in 1966.Today, Billow and his sister, Ann Billow Grebelsky, who is secretary/treasurer, head up the company. Parents Chuck and Retta Billow are retired but still play a part.The family business conducts about 500 funerals a year and is staffed by 15 full-time and 15 part-time employees, Billow said.A Firestone High School graduate, Billow said he joined the family business in 1978. Since that time, he has seen significant changes in the industry, many based on societal changes.For example, Billow said the increased mobility of family members can sometimes make planning a funeral a challenge, but it’s one the Billow’s staff is ready for.Another change, Billow said, is that cremation has become a more accepted option. In 1985, Billow’s was the first Summit County funeral home to open its own crematory. When the service was first offered, about 10 percent of its funerals requested cremation. That percentage has since tripled, Billow said.Billow’s also offers comprehensive preplanning for funerals. Funeral Director Fred Rieman is dedicated full-time to working in that area, Billow said.The best candidate for preplanning, Billow said, is someone who is in good health and who is able to make ...

File photo: Ken Crisafi AKRON — Alex Arshinkoff, longtime leader of the Summit County Republican Party, died Aug. 28.According to party Executive Director Lance Reed, Arshinkoff, 62, of Hudson, took over leadership of the party in 1978. He also served as the Republican director of the Summit County Board of Elections for decades and was The University of Akron (UA) Board chair from 1997 through 2001.“Alex was an extraordinary party leader,” said Roland Bauer, current chair of UA’s Board. “He loved the rough-and-tumble world of party politics and was very good at it. He also loved The University of Akron and was an acolyte of the great Ohio and National Republican Party Chair Ray C. Bliss, for whom the University’s Bliss Institute is named.”Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, a Republican, issued the following statement following Arshinkoff’s death: “Today, Fran and I lost our very dear friend, Alex Arshinkoff. Our deepest sympathy goes out to his wife Karen. I talked to Alex on the phone this morning [Aug. 28]. He was upbeat, looking to the future and giving me good advice. Alex could always make me smile and laugh, which was what he did this morning. No one understood politics better than Alex. As the Republican chairman in very Democratic Summit County, Alex recruited good candidates and won races that no one thought could be won. He knew that the key to winning was to find quality candidates, work hard at the grassroots level and raise money to fund them. He was a protégé of the great chairman Ray Bliss.”Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, a Republican and Green resident, posted on Facebook: “My thoughts and prayers are with Karen and the entire family of Summit County Republican Chairman and GOP stalwart Alex Arshinkoff.”Services for Arshinkoff are scheduled for Sept. 2 at 11 a.m. at St. Thomas Eastern Orthodox Church with the Rev. Vladimir Bakurdzhiev officiating. That will be followed by private interment at Markille Cemetery. The...

Kim Cook brought Daisy, the zoo’s three-banded armadillo, to the Nov. 1 Copley Township Board of Trustees meeting. Trustees later approved the sale of two portable emergency radios to the zoo. Photo: Brian Lisik The Akron Zoo soon will receive two portable emergency radios as part of an agreement with Copley. The approval of the agreement came following a presentation by a particularly persuasive ambassador from the zoo during the Nov. 1 Copley Board of Trustees meeting.Immediately prior to the trustees’ approval of a request by Fire Chief Michael Benson to sell the Akron Zoo two portable radios and related accessories for $300 each, the zoo’s chief veterinarian, Dr. Kim Cook, introduced Daisy, a three-banded armadillo from Brazil.While the presentation was not directly related to Benson’s request, the chief later pointed out the zoo currently has no access to a disaster channel and no way to contact first responders in an emergency should phone lines go down.“If AT&T goes down, they can still contact first responders [with the portable radios],” Benson explained.Also at the meeting, Police Chief Michael Mier reported on his follow-up with a dog owner on Misty Road. At the trustees’ meeting Oct. 26, a resident reported numerous attacks on children and adults by the dog over the past several years.“We’ve done quite a bit of work, but it is kind of tough since there are many alleged bites and only one was reported,” Mier said.The chief said officers had spoken with the dog owner and information gathered from the investigation has been forwarded to the Summit County Animal Control Division for possible follow-up action.In other business: Service Director Mark Mitchell requested and was given approval by trustees to transfer burial rights on three lots at the township cemetery. Each of the transfers was requested by current grave owners who no longer had a need for the lots.Trustees also approved a reque...