Two years ago, the city of Akron welcomed LeBron James back home. On Monday, the second homecoming came with a championship.
Hundreds of fans lined up along Crystal Lake Road near the home of the MVP -- and quickly surrounded his vehicle as the song "I'm Coming Home" blared through the speakers.
"That championship last night was for everyone here in Northeast Ohio," said LeBron as he briefly stepped outside to address the crowd.
It's been a long couple of days for the King -- so it was just a few words to express his emotions as he met with hundreds of fans chanting MVP.
"I'm so tired. I haven't slept at all. I'm going to take a long nap. But before that, I just always want you guys to remember that I'm just a kid from Akron, Ohio."
It was a message that left many of fans with goosebumps.
"It's very rare that you get someone from your hometown as exquisite as that," said Josh Dickey. "We get to be here and witness it first-hand, present day."
The memorable even left Josh and Erin Dickey considering naming their unborn child after the King.
"We'll have to make a game-time decision when the baby comes," said Erin.
It was a scary night for residents in an Old Forge Road home in Brimfield Township after a pick-up truck crashed through the house Saturday night.
Brimfield police posted pictures from the crash on their Facebook page. Authorities say a group of boys were in the same room where the truck plowed through, but they were not hurt.
The driver of the truck was charged with OVI.
A resident of Old Forge Rd. had a scare last night, as the driver of this vehicle veered off the road and into her house...
Posted by Brimfield Police Department on Sunday, January 24, 2016
Finding an empty animal shelter is rare, but it is possible. Just ask officials with Summit County Animal Control. The 6th Annual Summit County Adopt-A-Thon over the weekend found a home for every single animal at the shelter.
"We put all of the animals, dogs and cats, up for adoption for $10," said Animal Control Manager Christine Fatheree. "It was a great turnout. We adopted out 93 animals."
Friends, THERE IS NOT A DOG OR A CAT LEFT IN THE BUILDING!There are several dogs on stray hold but the adoption floor...
Posted by Friends of Summit County Animal Control on Saturday, November 7, 2015
Over the past six years, the event has helped to place 809 animals in new homes.
"This is our sixth year doing it and we've never emptied out the facility," said Fatheree. "We've never been able to get every single animal a home."
While the event was a success, Fatheree said everyday brings a new challenge. The shelter has already picked up about 30 animals. Fatheree says the shelter brings in more than a dozen animals everyday.
On the web: https://co.summitoh.net.
Ode to an Antique Olive Jar:
"O Olive Jar! You are empty while I am sad.
I cannot afford to fill thee with expensive imported olives."
The poem, written by University of Akron graduate and retired educator Wendy Duke, was intended to symbolize the feeling of disgust that many are attaching to an $556 decorative olive jar recently purchased for the university-owned presidential residence.
Duke and dozens of others waited nearly two hours outside the doors of room 339 inside the Student Union. UA Board of Trustees were scheduled to meet in a public session around 9 a.m. The nearly two-hour wait was plenty of time for protesters to voice their opinions and express their concerns surrounding UA's recent budget cuts, including the elimination of 213 jobs.
Protestors chanting outside the doors of the UA board of trustees meeting... pic.twitter.com/MzkaUB07XT
— Amani Abraham (@AmaniAbraham) August 12, 2015
28-year veteran English professor Antonia Forster made it very clear why she showed up.
"Generalized rage about the way the university is being destroyed by this attitude that money is the only thing that matters," said Forster.
People like Forster are mad about the elimination of staff and proposed reconfiguration of the UA Press, EJ Thomas Hall and the hiring of an inexperienced company to provide success coaches to students.
"The faculty is being treated like morons and lied to all the time and each time one lie gets pointed out, they come up with another one," said Forster. "There's a pattern of getting rid of all the people who know how to do things and replacing them with cheap people who don't know what they're doing."
Kristie Kern and her 10-year-old son, Kenton, were also in attendance outside the board of trustees meeting, using their violins as a way to express their concerns and present a symbolic message to represent the changes and job cuts at EJ Thomas Hall. Kern's husband, Kevin, is a UA history professor and also a member of the UA Press board.
Kenton, 10, & mom Kristie Kern play their violins - a symbolic message following layoffs at EJ Thomas Hall. #uakron pic.twitter.com/SgKv5YsDiM
— Amani Abraham (@AmaniAbraham) August 12, 2015
"We, most especially, are upset about the situation with EJ Thomas Hall," said Kern. "This is why we brought our violins, my son and I, to represent the loss of performance opportunities at EJ Thomas."
But much of the attention was placed on the support offered for president Scott Scarborough, drawing snickers from people who were hoping to hear the opposite.While it was business as usual inside room 339 as UA board of trustees.
"We believe Dr. Scott Scarborough has appropriately and effectively addressed the issues presented to him," said Pavloff, who was then interrupted by the crowd's laughter. reconvened following an executive session Wednesday morning, Scarborough and Board Chairman Jonathon Pavloff did admit to making mistakes -- saying the administration could have done a better job delivering the message.
The board of trustees did not hear or answer questions from the public.
Previous Coverage:
Olive Jar Discussion Continues
Eliminate UA Football: Not So Simple
UA President's House Repairs Cost More Than It's Worth
UA Planning To Cut Jobs, Baseball Program