The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page A001

Akron Beacon Journal SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2016 Informing. Engaging. Essential. SPORTS, CI BUSINESS, B6 Annual auto show opens in Cleveland with new, rare cars, full week of events i Twenty years after Akron lost its lone local newscast past members of WAKCs "stuffed" newsroom remember their time at station fondly Police say Kirk Kelly bit his prints off his hands Sunday, trying to hide his identity in a traffic stop. Tallmadge Police Department Floridian fugitive gnaws off fingertips Man attempts to avoid arrest during Tallmadge traffic stop, but tattoos give him away By Nick Glunt Beacon Journal staff writer A wanted man thought he could hide his identity from police by chewing off his fingertips.

But his gnawing was all for naught. His distinctive tattoos gave him away anyway. Tallmadge police arrested Kirk Kelly, 24, of Tampa, on charges of evidence tampering, resisting arrest, falsification and obstructing official business. He's in the Summit County Jail, where he awaits extradition to Florida on charges of racketeering, delivery of ecstasy, having firearms and ammunition as a felon, having firearms while engaging in crime, unlawful use of a two-way device, possessing controlled substances and transporting drug paraphernalia. Tallmadge Police Chief Ron Williams said Kelly's main business was illegally selling firearms.

Kelly's arrest was a stroke of luck. An officer was parked near an apartment complex in the 200 block of North Thomas Road Please see Fingers, A8 Above, the 1986 WAKR news team (from left) Jack Ryan, weather; Mark Wiliamson, anchor; and Ed Littler, sports. Below, Eric Mansfield speaks at the home of Channel 23. Akron Beacon Journal file photos there would be other attempts to sustain an Akron TV newscast, including one produced via WKYC (Channel 3) for broadcast and then cable from 2001 to 2008. But things have never quite been the same since the end of a newscast that had been reaching local viewers since 1953, on what was first WAKR and later WAKC.

Yes, the news was flawed; at one point its 11 p.m. telecast was recorded earlier in the evening. It was underfinanced, especially after 1986. The original owners, the Berk family, sold their radio stations, whose profitability had helped keep the TV station afloat. It was often behind on the technological basics.

"When I got there, they still didn't have a Teleprompt-er," said Phil Ferguson, a sports-caster for the station for seven years Please see WAKC, A4 By Rich Heldenfels Beacon Journal popular culture writer Twenty years ago Sunday, Akron lost a long-running locally based newscast. WAKC (Channel 23) had a new owner, Paxson Communications, and one of that owner's first acts was to kill the news. That was just part of a systematic dismantling of what had been the most Akron-centric station in the region. By the time its makeover was done, Paxson had changed the call letters from WAKC implying Akron-Canton to the more corporate WVPX; ended an ABC affiliation in favor of ties to a new network Paxson was launching; and reconfigured the station as a Cleveland broadcaster based in Warrensville Heights. The biggest blow, the one that still resonates in this area, was the dropping of the newscast.

Local news could be found, of course, on radio and in print. And 1 JH' Florist making final arrangements Owner of CitiCenter flower shop in downtown Akron close shop at end of March after nearly 30 years ing, explaining why he didn't bother to find a buyer for the shop, tucked into the First-Merit Tower building off South Main Street. "It's been a good ride," the 65-year-old said, standing in front of a cooler of floral arrangements and buckets of cut flowers. "At the end of the each day, I can say, 'I created this. I know what I've Flower shops are far from extinct.

But there has been a dramatic decline in their number. Please see Shop, A8 By Katie Byard Beacon Journal business writer Forty-seven years ago, Paul Stitt took a job delivering flowers, not knowing he was planting deep roots in the floral industry. Now, after 27 years of nurturing his Akron CitiCenter Florist, Stitt is telling customers he will shut his doors at the end of March. The closing will leave downtown Akron with one florist. It's a story line that's playing out for other shop owners across the country.

"I'm in a dinosaur business," said Stitt, who is retir CDC confirms Zika in 9 U.S. pregnancies Four women miscarry or abort, one newborn has birth defect. More cases being investigated By Mike Stobbe Associated Press NEW YORK: Zika infections have been confirmed in nine pregnant women in the United States, including one who gave birth to a baby with a rare birth defect, health officials said Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it's investigating 10 more reports of pregnant travelers with Zika. All got the virus while visiting or living in places with Zika outbreaks.

Also on Friday, the CDC issued a caution to people planning to attend the Olympics this summer in Rio de Janeiro. The U.S. cases add to reports out of Brazil. Officials there are exploring a possible link to babies Please see Zika, A7 Akron CitiCenter Florist owner Paul Stitt works on a flower arrangement at his shop in Akron. He will close the shop at the end Of March.

I PHIL MASTURZOAkron Beacon Journal FORECAST, details bio B1 C2 F3 F1 C1 B2 Hone-McMahan Lottery Movies Saturday Life Sports TV Listings INSIDE Akron-Canton food bank kicks off Harvest for Hunger campaign with a goal of $1.2 million. Bl New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie endorses ex-rival Donald Trump for Republican nomination. A5 INDEX Dear Abby Astrology Breckenridge Business Comics Community Crossword Daily Briefing Deaths B8 D5 F1 B6 B1 B9 A2 Turning sunny Today High Low 45 34 Clouds, sun Sunday High Low 63 34 Mostly cloudy Monday High Low 46 34 Editorial "51 580 "44309 2016 Honda 2016 Acura TLX 2 A 9-DCT P-AWS I P-SuiSiOi i All-Whet. SLeSr ai rTn ry Rnndsinr '11.

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