Archive for August 4th, 2007
Kipton officer faces theft charges
NORWALK — A Kipton police lieutenant who earlier this year investigated his own police chief for theft allegations was himself arrested Friday night on a Huron County grand jury’s secret indictment for theft from an elderly person, Huron County officials said. Robert Wolfkill, 46, a Kipton police lieutenant who investigated Kipton Police Chief Pablo Cruz [...]
Iraq’s power grid near collapse
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s power grid is on the brink of collapse because of insurgent sabotage of infrastructure, rising demand, fuel shortages and provinces that are unplugging local power stations from the national grid, officials said Saturday. Electricity Ministry spokesman Aziz al-Shimari said power generation nationally is only meeting half the demand, and there had [...]
As search continues, Bush pledges to rebuild fallen bridge
MINNEAPOLIS — Divers spent a third fruitless day searching for victims of a deadly bridge collapse, finding no bodies inside a crushed car pulled earlier Saturday from the murky Mississippi River waters. Authorities said they had been unable to check at least one other car lying beneath another vehicle on the river bottom. They [...]
Brownfield-based vineyard ready to expand
FAIRPORT HARBOR — Walking across chalky ground on a hot day at a large industrial brownfield, grape researcher Imed Dami points with pride to rows of green, leafy vines at a small, experimental vineyard. Can this brownfield — monitored by environmental regulators due to a history of chemical hazards — really produce potable red (Cabernet [...]
Summer’s ending at Elyria’s parks … the fun is not
It might not feel like it outside, but the summer season is slowly coming to an end. And folks at the Elyria Parks and Recreation Department are celebrating a successful season and hoping for similar success with programs this winter. CHUCK HUMEL / CHRONICLE East Rec lifeguard and instructor Abbey Tyrell, 15, of Elyria, shows [...]
Bridge collapse opens old wounds in W.Va.
POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — The horror from that day 40 years ago when the Silver Bridge tumbled into the Ohio River came rushing back for Emma Boswell with the collapse of an interstate bridge in Minneapolis. Worn by years of corrosion and neglect, a crucial joint in the 39-year-old Silver Bridge’s suspension system snapped and [...]
Mom’s letters gave no warning of her plan to kill kids, herself
CINCINNATI — Letters to family members sent by a woman a week before she shot two of her four children through the heart and then killed herself gave no indication that she was contemplating suicide or murder, authorities said. Mary Ann Wittich’s letters were “about a caring, loving family,” said Delhi Township Police Lt. Ric [...]
More men may be involved in Ohio terror cell
COLUMBUS — Government investigators are tightlipped about the possibility that they’ve identified more people involved in a terrorist cell investigation that has already yielded two convictions, but lawyers for the pair of men say they believe the cell may have contained up to 10 members. “A lot more than three performed in their jihadist group,” [...]
Joyce E. Tschaekofske
Joyce E. Tschaekofske (nee: Minch), 79, of Elyria, died August 3, 2007, at New Life Hospice Center of St. Joseph, Lorain. She was born August 20, 1927, in Elyria, where she lived most of her life. She was employed by the Elyria Public Schools for 18 years, retiring in 2001. She enjoyed arts and crafts. [...]
Donald William Wilkerson
Donald William "Donny" Wilkerson, 31, of Lorain, died Friday at the Cleveland Clinic following a brief illness. He was born May 26, 1976, in Amherst, and lived his entire life in Lorain. He was a 1994 graduate of Lorain High School. He worked as a nurse’s aide at Avon Oaks Nursing Home. He enjoyed working [...]
Barbara M. Teli
Barbara M. Teli (nee Martin), 94, also known as “the lady in purple,” passed away Friday, July 6, 2007 at Columbus Colony Elderly Care in Westerville. She was born February 3, 1913, in Lafayette, IN, and moved to Westerville seven years ago coming from Sheffield Lake where she lived many years. Mrs. Teli was a [...]
Browns’ Tucker suspended four games for steroid use
BEREA — As Ryan Tucker worked out in the offseason, trying to come back from a mental disorder that caused him to leave the team twice last year for a total of seven games, he turned to steroids to help make it back. The choice caught up with him Friday, when the NFL announced a [...]
Browns notes: Tucker’s troubles open door for Thomas
BEREA — No. 3 overall pick Joe Thomas was always expected to win the starting left tackle job, but it became a near certainty when starting right tackle Ryan Tucker was suspended Friday for testing positive for steroids. Kevin Shaffer, the incumbent at left tackle and Thomas’ competition, is the favorite to replace Tucker. Coach [...]
Browns camp: Friday lowdown
WHAT HAPPENED: The team worked on situations, including Hail Mary passes and last-play laterals, during a half-speed morning practice. It scrimmaged for about an hour in the evening. WHAT’S NEXT: The team is off today after eight straight days to open training camp. They will practice Sunday from 2:30-4:30 p.m. SUSPENDED: Right tackle Ryan [...]
Softball notes: ‘Waves roll to second in World Series
The Lorain County TidalWaves — playing seven games in 24 hours — finished second in the country in the NSA’s Class B World Series in Indiana. With Bee Shaw of Keystone pitching four games on Saturday, coach Mike Conrad’s team went 9-2 for the tournament which wrapped up last weekend in northwestern Indiana. The TidalWaves [...]
Johnson masters Firestone … at least for a day
AKRON — In order to get a chance at the green — money, that is — at the Bridgestone Invitational, Zach Johnson channeled the green. Jacket, that is. With a 5-under-par 65 on Friday, the reigning Masters champion thought back to his days in April when he surprised the field at Augusta National. There was [...]
Tribe tops Santana again, moves back into first in AL Central
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins were happy to be back on the field, but Grady Sizemore and the Cleveland Indians certainly had more fun. Sizemore homered and had four RBIs for C.C. Sabathia and the Indians, who started an important four-game series with a 5-2 victory over Johan Santana and the Twins on Friday night. [...]
Confident Sabbatini leads Bridgestone by two
AKRON — Rory Sabbatini didn’t call his shot at the Bridgestone Invitational on Friday. But he came awfully close. After firing a second consecutive 67, the South African was asked if he’d take his chances if someone gave him two more 67s to go home right now. He said he’d take it and the $1.35 [...]
Brinda wants another bite
Losing mayoral candidate will need court’s help to run for school board ELYRIA — It looks like Elyria school board member Holly Brinda will have to go to court if she wants to run for re-election in November after losing the Elyria Democratic mayoral primary in May, county elections officials said. Brinda would be prohibited [...]
Doug Clarke column: Jacobs Field crew failing Scoreboard 101
First off, I need a couple of you to bring me the klutz who is responsible for the scoreboard content at Jacobs Field. Grab him by the elbows and usher him into my office, pronto-like. Let his feet dangle off the floor as you do this ushering. OK, Sport, now that you’re here, let me [...]
‘Riot’ at club under review
Patrons, owner say Lorain police used excessive force LORAIN — The Lorain police are reviewing an incident that occurred early Sunday at the Red Parrot Cafe after patrons say police officers busted up a concert using brute force. Police reports of the night call the incident a riot, saying people were fighting among themselves and [...]
Weekend on the water
Annual sailboat races kick off in Lorain harbor Lake Erie will be awash in sails this weekend. The Lorain Sailing and Yacht Club’s annual regatta — in which 60 boats will compete in five races — will take over the water off the city’s shores.Fleet Capt. Chris Merkle said the regatta will be the 78th [...]
Ohio proposal: All new moms would get three months off
COLUMBUS — Eight months into her last pregnancy, Cecilia Beasley started having signs of pre-term labor during long shifts on her feet as a cashier. When she attempted to take pregnancy leave, she discovered she hadn’t yet worked the minimum number of hours required to qualify for protected time off. Worrying about losing her job [...]
Off the Beat, Aug. 4, 2007
You heard about him here first Don’t say The Chronicle doesn’t know how to pick a winner. Yuqing Meng, 16, won the $10,000 first prize in the 13th annual Oberlin International Piano Competition and he was the youth featured in a story July 27. Yuqing Meng When a reporter and photographer visited the competition to [...]