Archive for February 2nd, 2008
Boys basketball: Elyria lets another lead dwindle, but holds on to beat Lakewood this time
ELYRIA — It had the eerie feeling of deja vu Friday night at Elyria. The Pioneers, just as they did Tuesday at Strongsville, built a solid lead against Lakewood with great defense and unselfish offense through three quarters only to see it unravel over the final eight minutes. But unlike Tuesday, Elyria took care of [...]
Doug Clarke: Belichick and Coughlin battling for The Most Miserable Man on Earth award
Evidence of a Clogged Blog … Sometime Sunday between 10 p.m. and midnight — depending on how long Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers play at intermission, and if TV can milk another 47 commercials or so out of The Big Cash Cow that is the Super Bowl — a mold will be broken. At stake is [...]
Indians avoid arbitration again, sign Casey Blake to one-year, $6.1 million deal
CLEVELAND — Casey Blake proved that his compromises aren’t limited to the baseball field. The 34-year-old Blake, who has filled a number of positions during his tenure with the Indians, allowed Cleveland to keep its arbitration streak intact Friday, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $6.1 million. The Indians have not gone to arbitration with [...]
Boys basketball: Vermilion proves too big an obstacle for Avon
VERMILION — With four guys 6-foot-4 or taller averaging six or more rebounds a game, it’s a virtual given that Vermilion will control the backboards. With eight guys of various sizes missing 15 of 25 foul shots, it’s just as likely that Avon won’t control the scoreboard. It didn’t. The Sailors turned in a 47-point [...]
Admiral King honors its past: ‘Bubbles’ Harris, Byron Gladden thrilled to have jerseys retired
LORAIN — Bubbles felt lifted and Gladden was all smiles. It was a happy homecoming for two of Admiral King’s greatest basketball players Friday night as Jim “Bubbles” Harris and Byron Gladden had their jerseys retired during a ceremony at halftime of the Admirals’ 72-56 victory over Maple Heights. “It’s an honor that you just [...]
Boys basketball: Admiral King rolls over Maple Heights; Scott gets 50th career win
LORAIN — It was a night of celebration within Admiral King’s gymnasium. Two former Admirals legends had their jerseys retired during halftime, the seniors and their parents were recognized during a pregame ceremony and Admirals coach Mike Scott earned career win No. 50 as the Admirals rolled over Maple Heights in a 72-56 Lake Erie [...]
Boys basketball: Time marches on, leaves Elyria Catholic behind
GARFIELD HEIGHTS — We always think we have more time. “I thought there were more than two seconds,” said Elyria Catholic coach Alan Januzzi, referring to a timeout he called with his team behind 57-54 in the dying moments of Friday night’s game against Trinity. “I don’t like to call time out in that situation,” [...]
Boys basketball: It gets ugly, but North Ridgeville edges Bay
NORTH RIDGEVILLE — There was one thing Bay coach Jason Frolo and North Ridgeville assistant coach Brian Nelson could agree on Friday night: Their teams’ West Shore Conference game was one ugly contest. “A lot of teams hate to play us because we make them play ugly and play the way they don’t want to [...]
Fire burns man out of home
AMHERST TWP. — A man returned home late Friday from his teenage son’s wrestling match to find nothing but smoking rubble. Ron Meade Jr. was given shelter by the Red Cross after an electrical fire destroyed his South Lane trailer in the Westwood Mobile Home Park. The blaze started near a fuse box in his [...]
Ridgeville city worker faces theft charges
ELYRIA — North Ridgeville’s service garage superintendent was indicted Wednesday on charges of theft and unauthorized use of property. Christopher Rangus, 39, was placed on paid administrative leave Nov. 12 after North Ridgeville police began investigating allegations that Rangus was taking scrap metal, spare parts and possibly equipment out of storage, then selling it and [...]
Lt. gov.: County on right track with alliances
OBERLIN — Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher said Lorain County is taking the right steps to building a stronger, more diverse economy. Fisher, who attended a Lorain Growth Partnership breakfast at Johnson Controls early Friday, said the state in the past hasn’t put enough emphasis on its workforce, but that — led by a strong effort [...]
High-end TVs and the Super Bowl going hand-in-hand this year
ELYRIA — It’s not good enough to watch the big game on a fuzzy, rinky-dink TV set. That’s why NFL fans are turning out in droves to buy high-definition, big-screen TVs in time for Sunday’s game, Elyria Best Buy manager Mike O’Neill said. “They want to see the Super Bowl in the biggest, brightest picture [...]
With recycling, tree planting, NFL makes effort to go green
PHOENIX — Sure, the Super Bowl is a plastic cup-using, foam finger-waving tribute to abundance in all its forms. That doesn’t mean the NFL can’t try to minimize its impact on the environment. AP Recycle bins aren’t hard to find inside the Phoenix Convention Center media center as part of the Super Bowl. From planting [...]
Judge cuts sentence in rape case
ELYRIA — County Common Pleas Judge James Burge has set another prisoner free by dropping her sentence over the objections of prosecutors. On Friday, Burge cut the sentence of 31-year-old Melissa Williams — convicted in 2002 of complicity to rape and kidnapping, among other charges — from eight to five years. Williams had already served [...]
Thieves take booster club’s funds
AVON – About $3,000 in booster club funds were stolen last weekend during a smash-and-grab burglary at Heritage South Elementary, said Heritage Boosters President Wendi Schwartz. Avon detectives said the break-in is still under investigation, but they wouldn`t talk about what happened or whether the suspects are students or adults. Schwartz said the circumstances of [...]
Laid off teachers could fill vacancies in Lorain
LORAIN — More Lorain teachers could get their jobs back after 21 of their fellow educators agreed Thursday to retire early from the district. Tom Tucker, the district’s associate director of human resources, said as many as 20 teachers could potentially fill the 21 newly vacant spots. Teachers on the list from last summer’s layoffs [...]
Off the beat: Feb. 2, 2008
Don’t doubt these quiz kids How many stripes are on the American flag? How many commas do you need when you write out 1 million? For which state is “MA” an abbreviation? If you know the answers, you’re as smart as a fifth-grader — at least the fifth-graders in Karlene Hollars’ Vermilion Intermediate School class, [...]
Riveredge closing; cites declining membership
SHEFFIELD — Game. Set. Match. On Feb. 15, the Riveredge Health & Fitness Complex on North Ridge Road will close its racquetball courts and fitness rooms after more than 30 years of business. Faced with a declining membership and stiff competition, Riveredge no longer could afford to stay open, according to its manager, Fran Claus. [...]
Nord Center hires executive director
LORAIN — After several years of turmoil, the Nord Center has a new executive director. Before joining the Nord Center a week and a half ago, William D. Biere, 58, spent 16 years as the president/chief executive officer of the Maumee Valley Guidance Center in Defiance. Biere moved from an agency with 58 employees and [...]
10,000: That’s the number of bacteria in the bowl if you double dip
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Keep an eye on the salsa this Super Bowl Sunday: A researcher inspired by a famous “Seinfeld” episode has concluded that double dipping is just plain gross. “That’s like putting your whole mouth right in the dip!” George Costanza was admonished on the show after he dipped a chip twice at a [...]
Maker recalls child car seats
VANDALIA — Evenflo Co. issued a voluntary safety recall Friday of 1 million Discovery infant car seats after tests showed that the seat could potentially become separated from its base in high-impact side collisions. The recall affects Discovery Infant Car Seat Models 390, 391, 534 and 552, made between April 2005 and Jan. 29, 2008. [...]
‘Gold Seal of Approval’ puts CHP a cut above
LORAIN — Community Regional Medical Center is taking great strides in improving the care and treatment of stroke victims in Lorain County. Recently, the hospital was honored with the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission Primary Stroke Centers. Hospital spokeswoman Jennifer Kennedy said the hospital is the only healthcare facility in Lorain County [...]
Tainted medicines blamed for kidney patients’ illnesses
ATLANTA — More than 50 dialysis patients in 12 states, including Ohio, have come down with allergic reactions that are being blamed on recalled batches of a blood thinner, federal health officials said Friday. The cases are being called the largest national outbreak of treatment-related allergic reactions ever seen in dialysis patients. Since the middle [...]
Blotter: Feb. 2
Lorain police Wednesday, Jan. 30 8:48 p.m. – West 18th Street, William Henson, 46, 300 block Fairfax Road, Vermilion, charged with failure to signal turn, driving without a license and possession of cocaine. Friday, Feb. 1 1:33 a.m. – Fairless Drive, Jay Miller, 61, 2300 block E. 37th St., Lorain, charged with operating a vehicle [...]
Invacare rebounds in big way
ELYRIA — Invacare Corp.’s stock is soaring after a report Wednesday showed it turned huge losses in 2006 into a profit in 2007. An investor report shows the company made a fourth-quarter profit of $7 million — a much different picture than the $337.6 million loss it reported in the same period the year before. [...]