Archive for January 24th, 2008
Pedestrian killed in Vermilion crash
A 45-year-old Vermilion man was killed Wednesday when he was struck by a minivan while walking along Liberty Avenue . Keith Anders was walking westbound around 8:49 p.m. when he was struck by a westbound Chevrolet Venture driven by Elden Paden III, 40, of Vermilion. He was wearing dark clothing, according to Vermilion police, and [...]
Stowaway cat flies in suitcase
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) _ Some kitty math: How many lives did little tabby Gracie Mae use up when she crawled into her owner’s suitcase, went through an airport X-ray machine, got loaded onto a plane, thrown onto a baggage belt and mistakenly picked up by a stranger far from home? "She’s got to [...]
Ford to offer buyouts
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) _ Ford Motor Co. narrowed its losses in the fourth quarter and for all of 2007 amid continued weakness in North America and said Thursday the outlook for U.S. sales in 2008 remains grim. Ford President and Chief Executive Alan Mulally also said the company will be adjusting production and making further [...]
Dress policy Day 1 goes without a hitch at Lorain schools
LORAIN — Ana Garcia said she probably was going to come to school wearing what was mandated in the new dress code anyway. But it certainly helped that she was allowed to deface her principal with pie as an incentive to dress properly. From more than 1,100 students, Ana — a sophomore at Southview High [...]
Wellington school superintendent announces retirement
WELLINGTON — Wellington Schools Superintendent Victor Cardenzana, who came under fire by the teacher’s union during negotiations on a new contract last fall, said he will leave the $97,500-a-year job when his contract expires in late July. The 66-year-old said Wednesday that he plans to retire. Cardenzana “Certain occurrences happened with my family, and my [...]
Fear for safety gets father-killer transferred
ELYRIA — Scoring a few smokes at a smoke-free mental institution endangered a Sheffield Lake man institutionalized for the stabbing death of his surgeon father. So on Wednesday, county Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Rothgery OK’d a request from his doctors to move Ricardo Punsalan for his own safety. BRUCE BISHOP/CHRONICLE Ricardo Punsalan appears at [...]
Study: County appears ripe for renewal with green energy
Lorain County’s manufacturing past elevated it to the No. 2 spot on a list of counties with the most potential to benefit from a push for renewable energy technology. Only Cuyahoga County ranked above it in a report by the Renewable Energy Policy Project that was released Wednesday. Susan Knight, national field coordinator for the [...]
Lorain schools go back to single principal
LORAIN — The small school programs at Lorain’s three middle schools were eliminated Wednesday as a way to save the district money. Since 2003, each middle school was divided into two “small schools” of about 250 students — each with its own principal — as a way to give students better relationships with their administrators. [...]
Ledger tests inconclusive; prescription meds found
NEW YORK — Six different types of prescription drugs were found in Heath Ledger’s apartment — including anti-anxiety medications and sleeping pills — though the cause of his death won’t be known for several days after a preliminary autopsy Wednesday came back inconclusive, authorities said. AP FILE Heath Ledger appears in "Brokeback Mountain." A rolled-up [...]
Blotter: Jan. 24
Elyria police Tuesday, Jan. 22 8 a.m. – 200 block Fifth St., car window smashed and CD player stolen. 8 a.m. – 200 block Fifth St., a van window was broken. 8 a.m. – 500 block East Ave., a van window was smashed. 8 a.m. – 500 block East Ave., a van window was shattered [...]
Man convicted in fatal DUI sentenced to jail
ELYRIA — Cynthia Kurpley will never again walk without pain or without the use of a cane, but her conscience is clear because she’s fought to make sure the Wellington man who killed her mother and injured her in a 1992 drunken driving crash will never drive again. Kurpley, 35, of Rochester Township, was not [...]
Visiting judge to hear sex offender appeals
ELYRIA — The Ohio Supreme Court has appointed a visiting judge to hear the appeals of Lorain County sex offenders who have been reclassified under a new federally mandated state law.Common Pleas Court Administrator Tim Lubbe said former Cuyahoga County Judge William Coyne will be assigned the appeals that have been pouring in since the [...]
Student treated for ‘super bug’ back in school
AVON LAKE — A student diagnosed last Tuesday with MRSA, a strain of drug-resistant staph bacteria, has already returned to classes at Learwood Middle School, Avon Lake Schools Superintendent Bob Scott said. The boy’s mother warned officials at the school about the situation three days before tests showed he was infected, Scott said. Health workers [...]
Public meeting will discuss bond for new Avon Lake school
AVON LAKE — With every new house built, the Avon Lake elementary schools swell just a little more — and they’re quickly approaching critical mass, Superintendent Bob Scott said. “We’re starting to get a real sense of urgency that we’re going to end up with kids stacked up on top of each other,” he said. [...]
Police won’t charge Lorain teacher’s aide
LORAIN — A 44-year-old teacher’s aide at Longfellow Middle School will not be charged by police for allegations that he inappropriately touched a female student last year. Police began investigating the man, who works alongside a full-time teacher to teach English as a second language, after the mother of a 15-year-old girl went to police [...]
Ridgeville church helps provide housing for the homeless
Four times a year, St. Julie Billiart Catholic Church becomes more than a house of God — it transforms into a house for the homeless. Working with the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Cleveland, the North Ridgeville church is one of the few churches in the area that helps people who have lost their homes [...]
That was easy: Cavaliers wax Wizards for their most lopsided win since 1994
CLEVELAND — It was a perfect night from the field for Zydrunas Ilgauskas and a near-perfect one for the Cavaliers as a whole. Led by a 10-of-10 shooting performance from their 7-foot-3 center, the Cavaliers absolutely demolished the Washington Wizards 121-85 Wednesday night at sold-out Quicken Loans Arena. “Maybe I gave the wrong pregame speech,” [...]
Cavaliers notes: LeBron still gets excited about All-Star selection
CLEVELAND — LeBron James is expected to be named a starter on the Eastern Conference All-Star team for the fourth straight year when TNT airs the official announcement of East and West starters tonight at 7. But the 23-year-old will be as thrilled as he was the first time he made it. “It’s always exciting [...]
One down, Casey Blake to go: Indians re-sign Rafael Betancourt, avoid arbitration again
CLEVELAND — The Indians’ arbitration streak lives — for now. The club, which hasn’t endured an arbitration hearing with a player since 1991, avoided it again Wednesday, signing relief pitcher Rafael Betancourt to a two-year contract worth $5.4 million. The deal also includes a $5-million club option that could keep the elite setup man in [...]
Stars of the Stripes: Oberlin girls defeat Clearview, clinch share of Patriot Athletic Conference division title
SHEFFIELD TWP. — Oberlin has secured at least a tie for the Patriot Athletic Conference Stripes Division championship. The Phoenix knocked off Clearview, 63-54, Wednesday night to take a two-game lead over the second-place Clippers. It was the final PAC game for Oberlin, which improved to 13-4, 9-4 in the conference. The Clippers (9-7, 7-4 [...]
Prep girls basketball roundup: Stow stuns Elyria; Admiral King wins 12th straight game
STOW — Emily Ritchie scored a game-high 20 points, including four 3-pointers, as Stow downed Elyria 41-30 Wednesday in a Northeast Ohio Conference Valley Division game. Honesty King and Brigette Jones led the Pioneers (13-3, 3-3 NOC Valley) with 14 and 12 points, respectively. ELYRIA (30): Messenger 1-0-2, King 7-0-14, Jones 6-0-12, Dotson 1-0-2, Sito [...]
Prep swimming and diving notes: West Shore Conference shaping up as a battle for second place
Avon, Bay and Firelands will have their hands full at the third annual West Shore Conference Swimming and Diving Championships on Friday and Saturday. Rocky River won the first two WSC championship meets convincingly and appears poised to do the same this year. The real race appears to be for second place. The River girls [...]
Gary Waters has Cleveland State back on the college basketball map
CLEVELAND — Three years ago, Gary Waters sat in New Jersey watching West Virginia and Wake Forest exchange baskets in an NCAA Tournament overtime thriller when he heard something he couldn’t believe. The game was in Cleveland. Cleveland? Ohio? Can’t be, Waters thought. Overflow, enthusiastic crowd. Looks to good to be Cleveland. “Then the announcer [...]
Tim Dahlberg: Tiger’s silence can be a little too revealing
Kelly Tilghman would surely like it all to go away, even if that one comment brought her and the Golf Channel more publicity than a season’s worth of early round telecasts. So, too, would Tiger Woods. As his season begins, he would rather the talk about him be filled with the possibilities of a Grand [...]
North Ridgeville blotter: Jan. 24
Sunday, Jan. 13 8:17 a.m. – 34100 block Center Ridge Road, Georgio’s Pizza, manager saw employee enter the business after hours, using equipment and removing items without paying for them. Robert Camiloa, 21, of 38600 block Misty Meadow Trail, North Ridgeville, charged with petty theft and trespassing. Monday, Jan. 14 9:54 a.m. – Hunter Lake [...]