The years are quickly winding down as the Recorder approaches 75. 2014 began with a bone freezing Polar Vortex. The forecast for Tuesday, January 7, called for patchy blowing snow with a high temperature of 3 wind chills could be as low as -37 before 4 a.m. After 4 a.m. there was a slight chance of snow with the daytime temp hovering about 1 degree with the wind chill warming to about -18 due to light wind of 10 to 18 mph. January 7 was considerably warmer than January 6 that broke temperature records in North Royalton that went back to 1994.
The temps were -11 with a spritely 23 mph breeze creating a wind chill making everyone’s long johns shiver at a -37 or below. Nothing was moving and everyone was told to stay inside unless they absolutely had to go out. Freezing temps extended to Florida and even further south. By January 30 the Polar Vortex became part of local weather history, but residents continued to seek extra layers of clothing – just in case. That case was February 18, which added another seven inches to the snowfall tabulation.
The first North Royalton Community Dinner sponsored by several local churches took place on Sunday, April 27, at St. Albert the Great Parish’s McDermott Family Hall (lower level). Fr. Edward Estok, pastor of St. Albert the Great, proposed the program to members of the North Royalton Ministers’ Association. Pastors from several Royalton churches welcomed the idea and committed to joining the effort. Royal Redeemer Lutheran Church, North Royalton United Methodist Church, SRC Church of the Nazarene, St. Matthew the Evangelist Antiochian Orthodox Church, Abundant Life Community Church, and St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church were all on board. Others considered ways to participate as well. About 250 meals were served. The Community Meal continues to be held on the last Sunday of each month at St. Albert the Great Parish hall, lower level.
Snow plows were out on May 12 as yet another storm pelted the area. The plows were used to remove debris from the highway as streets were turned into rivers from torrential rains and high winds and tornado warnings.
The two miles of Sprague Road between State and Broadview is shared by Parma, North Royalton and Broadview Hts. It has long been a bumpy, adventurous ride. But, that all came to an end as the last of the sewer work was completed and the repaving started in earnest in September of 2014. The long and bumpy road was made smooth.
They’re here, they’re there, they’re eating your shrubbery everywhere! Our love/ hate relationship with the white tailed crowd made Mayor Stefanik ask the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for help to do “Something” about the deer overpopulation. Unfortunately, the ODNR preferred to ‘pass the buck’ back to the city.
The city enjoyed a bit of a growth spurt as reported in the September 18 issue of the Recorder. Commercial, office and industrial growth took place throughout the city and four projects in the York Road area were approved by the Planning Commission. North Royalton is a great place in which to invest.
City Hall made the big move to its new home in the old library building on State Road. The building was remodeled to accommodate the City’s needs and was open for business Monday, November 10, at 8:30 a.m.
To complete the year, the new City Hall held an Open House on December 13 to let everyone see the result of some smooth moves. Using the old library building saved the residents about $15 million over the cost of building a new building. The building has been described as, “Classy and more inviting than the old Council Chambers,” and “It’s so resident-friendly. A great place to work.” Mayor Stefanik noted, “It’s important to note that this will probably be the last major expenditure for many years to come.”
Royal View Jumps for joy! On Sunday, January 18, the PTA sponsored a Jump-a-Palooza event at the North Royalton Jump Yard. The event earned $3,400 for PTA projects. The PTA is purchasing iPads and iPad carts so that all students can use updated technology. “Now instead of 400 kids sharing 30 iPads, each class will have a set of iPads to use.”
February 20 was a frigid -13 degrees F, Crushing a 1968 record of -3. With the wind chill it felt like -25 degrees. This winter that brought tremendous snow in November, 2014 just doesn’t want to let up. Residents are reminded to keep the fire hydrants shoveled and free of ice. No one wants a fire; no one wants to be without water if there is one.
As part of the Random Acts of Kindness Week, Royal View Elementary students wrote Valentine’s Day cards to the NR Police Department. The notes were delivered on February 13 along with pastries made by the PTA.
On Tuesday, March 31, the Cuyahoga Valley Career Center hosted local Chamber of Commerce members, and other guests as they broke ground for the new Robotics & Advanced Manufacturing Technology Education Center or RAMTEC. Dr. Celena Roebuck, Superintendent of the CVCC said, “We have manufacturing and engineering jobs in Ohio, but we need a large and better skilled pool of workers to fill them.” RAMTEC is being built to train those needed to work in areas of polymers, bio-health, aerospace, aviation, automotive and food processing.
In Mid-April, someone was harvesting garden equipment from locked sheds on Boston Road, Royalwood Road and others. The thieves cut the bolts on the locks and stole lawn mowers, leaf blowers, weed whackers, a bike and a really nice grill. Det. Dave Loeding thought the thefts occurred after sundown. Anyone having even the slightest information about these thefts is requested to call the police department.
NRFD joined with twelve other fire departments to assist its neighbor. One massive fire in Brooklyn Heights on July 6 at a packing equipment business required more than 100 firefighters, six aerial trucks, a Hazmat team and an Emergency Response team to battle the fire that took over 12 hours to contain. NRFD responded to a fire on Saturn drive on July 7 that reignited on July 8. NRFD was very busy.
The first Sunday in August had the City Green Woofin’ with joy. The tenth annual Pet Carnival presented by Dr. Adam Hechko and the North Royalton Animal Hospital and Paws at Play Daycare and Resort brought over 2000 people and pets from as far away as Akron to enjoy a great pet day with their four legged family members.
Gibson Field in Serpentini Chevrolet Stadium hosted nine high school marching bands that performed during a non-competitive band festival. There were more than 1,600 performers and over 4,000 people came to North Royalton to see the show.
On November 8, Ryan Chester, a NRHS senior, accepted his prize from Breakthrough Science. His seven minute video explained some Really Cool Ways of Looking at the Special Theory of Relativity. Einstein’s theory addresses time dilation, why do space travelers experience time more slowly than people on Planet Earth. His work made him one of twelve international finalists from the 13 – 18-year-old category to be awarded scholarships. He won $250,000, his science teacher won $50,000, and the school was awarded $100,000 for a new science lab. The award ceremony took place at NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, CA. The City of North Royalton is home to many young superheroes disguised as ordinary high school students.
In November of 2015 the Service Department was all ready for what was anticipated to be another year of snow accumulation. Surprise! That didn’t happen; 2015 – 2016 was the warmest winter on record.
2015 was just a short year ago. In December a School Facilities Task Force sets out to study the cost of renovating vs. building. The NR schools need attention. The task force expects to ask all stakeholders and seek the greatest benefit for the least cost to the taxpayers. The report will be due in 2016.

By LINDA KWARCIANY
Contributing Writer