Archive for February 14th, 2008
BREAKING NEWS — Murder suspects plead not guilty
Two accused killers pleaded not guilty at their arraignments this morning in Lorain County Common Pleas Court. Decio Rodrigues Jr., 24, of Lorain, pleaded not guilty to charges related to the robbery and shooting death of Lorain grocery store owner Jose Gonzalez. Police say Rodrigues went to the store to rob Gonzalez on Jan. 25, [...]
TRAFFIC UPDATE — Crash closed Rt. 2 this morning
Westbound state Route 2 was closed for about an hour today after a two-car crash just east the Middle Ridge Road exit so a helicopter could land on the roadway to take an injured man to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol. The man’s Ford Ranger pickup was eastbound at [...]
Accident on Route 2
Traffic was backed up in both directions around 8 a.m. today after an accident in the westbound lanes near Middle Ridge Road. Details of the accident are not yet known but a Life Flight helicopter was on the scene.
Manu Ginobili is unstoppable, scores 18 of his game-high 46 points in fourth quarter as Spurs rally past Cavaliers
CLEVELAND — Manu Ginobili and the San Antonio Spurs weren’t perfect Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena, but they were pretty darn close when it mattered most. Ginobili made his last nine shots and the Spurs scored on 17 of their 19 possessions in the final period to beat the Cavaliers 112-105 in the last [...]
Cavaliers notes: Trade winds blowing, but Cleveland unmoved
CLEVELAND — The Los Angeles Lakers added Pau Gasol, the Phoenix Suns added Shaquille O’Neal and the Dallas Mavericks reportedly have a deal in the works to add Jason Kidd. With the NBA trade deadline a week from today, the Cavaliers and general manager Danny Ferry have yet to do anything. “I think they’ve tried [...]
Boys basketball: Elyria Catholic snaps seven-game losing streak with win over Padua
ELYRIA — It was “Seniors Night” at Elyria Catholic on Wednesday night and the seniors embraced their night on the Coliseum court. Seniors Joe Fitch and Cody Schuster scored 19 and 14 points, respectively, to spark the Panthers to a 68-57 come-from-behind victory over Padua in North Coast League action. It was much-needed win for [...]
Girls sectional basketball: Amherst knocks off No. 4 seed North Olmsted; Elyria rolls over Southview
MEDINA — Coaching the Amherst girls basketball team hasn’t just been a job this season, it’s been an adventure. That theme continued Wednesday night in the Division I tournament at Medina High school where the Comets claimed the sectional crown with a 56-48 upset win over fourth-seeded North Olmsted. Amherst appears to be playing its [...]
Boys basketball: North Ridgeville has to work hard to get past Avon
NORTH RIDGEVILLE — Don’t let the final score fool you. It wasn’t that simple for North Ridgeville. For three and a half quarters Avon gave the Rangers all they could handle before Ridgeville pulled out a 64-51 West Shore Conference win Wednesday night. The game was supposed to be played Tuesday but was postponed due [...]
Girls sectional basketball: Elyria Catholic wins big; Wellington rally comes up short
LAGRANGE — It was the three-quarter-court press that did it for Elyria Catholic on Wednesday night. It was because of the deep hole they put themselves in that the Wellington girls couldn’t quite do it in Division III sectional tournament openers at Keystone. EC’s Panthers (11-9) celebrated their first postseason win in years after drilling [...]
Indians almost time to play ball: Pitchers and catchers report today
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Usually, the two TVs in Cleveland’s spring training clubhouse are tuned to some sports highlights show or music video channel. That wasn’t the case Wednesday. The image of Roger Clemens filled them all. One day before Indians pitchers and catchers were scheduled to report, a handful of players, including pitchers Tom [...]
Prep swimming and diving notes: Elyria Catholic pumped up for district meet
Elyria Catholic coach Jack Dibee likes his team’s district chances. So does EC junior Evann Heidersbach. Not that the Cleveland State district meet will be easy. It never is. Still, EC appears to be in excellent position to advance to state in a handful of events. Heidersbach, a two-time Division II state qualifier in the [...]
Rose M. Wojdyla
Rose M. Wojdyla, (nee Siwierka), 84, of Elyria, died Tuesday, February 12, 2008, at New Life Hospice Center of St. Joseph in Lorain, following a long illness. Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Bauer-Laubenthal Funeral Home, Elyria.
Jack E. Lance
Jack E. Lance, 77, of Elyria, died Monday, February 11, 2008, at Main Street Care Center in Avon Lake, following a long illness. He was born December 22, 1930, in Elyria and was a lifelong Elyria resident. He was the owner of Lance Investment Corp. in Elyria, and was formerly affiliated with his father at [...]
Dem Congress hid $950M in earmarks
McClatchy Newspapers WASHINGTON — In his first year as chairman of a key congressional spending panel, Rep. David Price, D-N.C., helped steer more than $50 million away from a national competition to help communities stem the pain of natural disasters. Instead, the money was directed to 96 projects in the districts of some of Congress’ [...]
7 cars crash on state Route 57 as car runs red light
ELYRIA — A cluster of automotive carnage unfolded at Cleveland Street and state Route 57 on Wednesday when a teenage driver triggered a seven-car accident after running a red light and T-boning a pickup loaded with drywall equipment, police and witnesses said. Firefighters said six people were taken by ambulance to three area hospitals, but [...]
Boy, 14, attacks 3 at Elyria charter school
ELYRIA — Two teachers and a 15-year-old girl were left battered and blood-spattered after a 14-year-old Cleveland boy went on a rampage Wednesday in an Educational Alternatives classroom, according to Elyria police. “I wish I had a .22 Magnum. This (expletive) is not over,” the boy told police as he sat in a police cruiser. [...]
You can call this ‘Operation Cookie`
The thought of scarfing down dozens of those yearly treats known as Girl Scout cookies gets people to salivating. But when the Thin Mints and Peanut Butter Sandwiches are opened by troops trapped in the heat, sand and tension of a war zone half a world away, they’re a godsend. “We take the little things [...]
Council drops daytime curfew
ELYRIA — The possibility of enacting a daytime curfew appears to be over. Councilman Forrest L. Bullocks, D-2nd Ward, said he heard enough from the 40 or so who attended a Council committee Wednesday night to convince him it’s not a Council problem. It was Bullocks who had brought the possible law to the table [...]
Tickets? Gotta get in lottery
CLEVELAND — Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday put aside her displeasure over a comment made about Chelsea Clinton, clearing the way for a debate with Barack Obama in Cleveland one week before Ohio’s Democratic presidential primary. “We have agreed to the MSNBC debate in Ohio,” Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said during a conference call with [...]
Clemens keeps pitching denial
WASHINGTON — Separated by only a few feet, Roger Clemens and his accuser were never further apart. There they sat, the star pitcher and his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee, sharing a wooden witness table Wednesday while speaking to Congress under oath and facing blistering questions. For 4½ hours, both men stuck to their [...]
Earl Mortland
Earl Mortland, 77, of Grafton, passed away Wednesday, February 13, 2008, at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation after a brief illness. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Blackburn-Duke Funeral Home, 1021 Main St., Grafton.
Camden man faces trial for sexual assault of teen
A Camden Township man faces trial June 24 on charges he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl who was babysitting at a cottage in Lakeside in Ottawa County last summer. Thomas Lucki, 48, of state Route 511, faces one felony count of gross sexual imposition and a misdemeanor count of sexual imposition, according to Danbury Township [...]
Tough economy hits county leader
Commissioner Kalo selling Ted’s Floor Coverings building, going smaller LORAIN — Even county commissioners aren’t immune to tough economic times. Commissioner Ted Kalo said this week that the county’s economic and real estate woes are the reason he’s selling the Broadway building that houses Ted’s Floor Coverings and moving the business to a smaller [...]
Police and street crews: Tuesday was a rip-snorter
The storm Tuesday — you know, the one that featured snow, rain, ice and everything in between — took its toll on roads and drivers across Lorain County. On Wednesday morning, Amherst police said they handled 13 accidents involving some 20 cars. Those were on top of the dozens reported Tuesday, including 27 handled by [...]
Not a truffling matter: Sweet prices could sour
Is your special someone worth it? With chocolate prices going through the roof, area chocolatiers have had to shell out more money this year to make Valentine’s Day’s most-loved candies. Hershey Co., the nation’s largest candy maker, recently raised the wholesale price of its chocolate bars by 13 percent, following a more than 4-percent increase [...]