AKRONRoad closingAKRON: Smith and Riverview roads at the bottom of the Smith Road hill will be closed Wednesday for about a week so contractors can improve the road’s surface.Workers also will lay asphalt on the roundabout that has been under construction for several months. When the street reopens, possibly next week, the roundabout will also open to traffic.While the hill is closed, access to businesses on Merriman Road will be maintained. The Seiberling Nature Realm, operated by Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, will be accessible only to traffic traveling east on Smith from the intersection of Smith and Sand Run roads.CUYAHOGA VALLEYFree train ridesThe Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad is offering a free train ride on Friday, Veterans Day, to honor veterans and their families.The train will depart from Rockside Station in Independence at 1:30 p.m. for a three-hour excursion to Akron and back.Free tickets will be available at the Rockside Station starting at 12:45 p.m. For information, check out www.cvsr.com.AROUND OHIOFranklin fetedCLEVELAND: Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin was honored in a star-studded tribute at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland Saturday night.The Plain Dealer reported that Franklin’s songs were performed by the likes of Lauryn Hill, Dennis Edwards of the Temptations and Chaka Khan.The 69-year-old soul singer was not scheduled to perform, but toward the end of the three-hour event she took a seat behind a piano and traded lines with Edwards in a rendition of “A Song for You.”During the event, Franklin received a key to the city from Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Case Western Reserve University. The show ended a weeklong tribute to Franklin.Pushing Issue 2COLUMBUS: Groups battling over Ohio’s contested collective-bargaining law mobilized their troops to knock on doors and ring the phones of voters in the final weekend before Ohioans decide its fate on Tuesday’s ballot.The Republican- and business-backed law would limit collective bargaining rights for 350,000 public workers. Unions and Democratic groups are fighting to repeal it.High-profile partisans energized canvassers on a sunny Saturday before setting out to knock on doors. Former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland spoke at a call center in Columbus, while Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine in Beavercreek knocked on the 100,000th door of the campaign.Canvassers were at it again Sunday in an off-year election campaign that party leaders say is generating more activity than the 2010 general election.