Archive for April 7th, 2008
Baseball is a family affair for Amherst’s Brett Szakats
It was three decades ago that Hank Williams Jr. had a hit record singing about his family and its traditions. Brett Szakats knows all about family tradition, too. But while the Williams family had it for whiskey and country music, Szakats would be singing about baseball. It’s the tie that binds this Amherst clan. “Baseball [...]
High school baseball preview 2008: Team capsules, top teams, etc.
NORTHEAST OHIO CONFERENCE Elyria Pioneers Coach: Steve Sunagel 2007 Record: 14-14 Returning letterwinners (11): Brenton Brada, sr., P-OF; Cameron Bate, sr. 3B; Jacob Dorow, sr., P-DH; Stephen Howard, sr., P; Tyler Robinson, sr., P-OF; Victor Stewart, sr., C; Mike Sito, sr., P-OF; Seth Harshberger, jr., P-1B; John Koepf, jr., P-SS; Nolan Neuschaefer jr., OF; Dan [...]
Splendid-Lee done: Lefty turns in strong season debut as Indians snap three-game losing streak with 2-1 win over A’s
OAKLAND, Calif. — Cliff Lee is much happier with his start in 2008. Lee sat out last April with an abdominal injury and spent most of the season in the minor leagues. On Sunday, he won his first outing of the year by retiring 10 of his last 12 batters in the Indians’ 2-1 victory [...]
Mary Margaret Michaud
Mary Margaret Michaud (nee Peets), 87, passed away Sunday Morning, April 6, 2008 at Avon Oaks Caring Community, Avon after a two year illness. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Richard J. Reidy Funeral Home, 1783 East 31st Street, South Lorain.
Marlene G. Kilmer
Marlene G. Kilmer (nee Harrell), 72, of Elyria, Ohio, died on Saturday, April 5, 2008 at St. John West Shore Hospital Emergency Room following a long illness. She was born in Lorain on November 10, 1935 and lived in Elyria for most of her life. She was a graduate of Lorain High School. She was [...]
Gib Shanley 1931-2008: ‘Gibber’ was radio voice of the Browns for years
BEREA — Longtime Browns broadcaster Gib Shanley passed away Sunday at the age of 76, the team announced. Shanley — affectionately known as “The Gibber” — was the radio play-by-play voice of the Browns from 1961 to 1984, teaming with Jim Graner and Jim Mueller behind the mic. He was most fondly remembered for broadcasting [...]
College basketball: Memphis has chance to make some tradition of its own
SAN ANTONIO — Maybe no one ever wanted to believe Memphis could end up as one of the great teams in NCAA history. The Memphis moons got lunar-eclipsed in this Final Four, engulfed by titans of basketball industry. UCLA, North Carolina and Kansas had combined for 17 national titles to none for the Tigers. “Three [...]
NCAA Women’s Final Four: Wiggins wills Stanford past UConn and into championship game
TAMPA, Fla. — Candice Wiggins refused to let Stanford lose to Connecticut. Not again. The Cardinal star continued her electrifying run through the NCAA Tournament, scoring 25 points and grabbing 13 rebounds while getting some timely help from Kayla Pederson and JJ Hones as Stanford shocked Connecticut 82-73 in Sunday night’s national semifinals. Back in [...]
NCAA Women’s Final Four: Defending champ Tennessee escapes LSU with last-second basket
TAMPA, Fla. — Alexis Hornbuckle’s only basket of the game was enough to get Tennessee back in the championship game. Hornbuckle’s putback with seven-tenths of a second left lifted the Lady Vols to a 47-46 victory over LSU in Sunday night’s national semifinal. It was the lowest scoring game in Final Four history. “I couldn’t [...]
Motorsports roundup: Edwards too fast for Texas field, picks up third win of the season
Carl Edwards ran away with Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway for his series-best third win of the season, holding off Jimmie Johnson on a two-lap overtime sprint to the finish. Edwards had the field covered for most of the race, at one point building a lead of more than seven seconds over Johnson. But [...]
Ohio among states downgrading supermax prisons
YOUNGSTOWN — Kunta Kenyatta struggles to describe the 33 months he spent in the tight four walls of a super-maximum security cell at the Ohio State Penitentiary. “It’s extreme isolation, sensory deprivation. It’s hard to explain really,” said Kenyatta, 39, out since 2001. Supermax prisons — where inmates spend roughly 23 hours a day locked [...]
Lorain jail delayed again
This time, state official was called up to Iraq just before inspection, police say LORAIN — The calendar pages flipped past November, December and January, and still the new city jail didn’t open. Now, the city is hoping to at least get it running as a six-hour holding facility in a couple of weeks after [...]
After award-winning ‘The War,’ writer digs up family skeletons
Oberlin author’s great-grandfather the swindler who bankrupted President Ulysses S. Grant OBERLIN — As a writer who has worked on nearly every project by famed historical documentary producer Ken Burns, Geoffrey C. Ward knows all about history. IN PERSON Geoffrey C. Ward, the writer who worked with filmmaker Ken Burns on most of his projects, [...]
VA employees rack up $2.6 billion in credit card charges for veterans care
WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs employees last year racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in government credit-card bills at casino and luxury hotels, movie theaters and high-end retailers such as Sharper Image and Franklin Covey — and government auditors are investigating, citing past spending abuses. All told, VA staff charged $2.6 billion to their government [...]
Charlton Heston, dead at 84, left political mark to rival cinematic legacy
LOS ANGELES — Nancy Reagan was heartbroken over Charlton Heston’s death. President Bush hailed him as a “strong advocate for liberty,” while John McCain called Heston a devotee for civil and constitutional rights. Even Michael Moore, who mocked Heston in his gun-control documentary “Bowling for Columbine,” posted the actor’s picture on his Web site to [...]
Ga. man kills self 12 years after receiving heart from man who also committed suicide
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — A man who received a heart transplant 12 years ago and later married the donor’s widow died the same way the donor did, authorities said: of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. No foul play was suspected in 69-year-old Sonny Graham’s death at his Vidalia, Ga., home, investigators said. He was found [...]
Ohio Supreme Court to hear concealed gun arguments
COLUMBUS — Ohioans have the right to ban hidden guns from their homes and places of business, but if the landlord is a city or county, that right evaporates under a new section of Ohio law, a group that wants it overturned says. The Ohio Supreme Court hears arguments in the case on Wednesday — [...]
Students bring the beer; police bring the tear gas
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Police used tear gas early Sunday to disperse a massive crowd partying near the Michigan State University campus after fights broke out and officers were pelted with bottles and cans. Police said in a statement that 3,000 to 4,000 people had gathered for the Cedar Fest party late Saturday. They said [...]
Five arrested after fight at Wilkes Villa
ELYRIA — Police officers found themselves in the middle of a large fight at Wilkes Villa on Saturday afternoon, according to a police report. Five people were arrested after the fracas at 5 p.m., including a 17-year-old Elyria boy on charges of assaulting a police officer. Claudette Jackson, 34, and Sabrina Dozier, 28, both of [...]
Robert J. Wuensch
Robert J. Wuensch, 37, of Grafton passed away Saturday, April 5, 2008 from injuries sustained in an motorcycle accident. Arrangements are incomplete and will be annoucned by the Blackburn-Duke Funeral Home 1021 Main St. Grafton.
Mother, 2 children die in house fire
WEST JEFFERSON — Officials say a fire in central Ohio killed a mother and her two children early Sunday morning. The fire started just after midnight and quickly leveled the one-floor home. The fire killed Billi Romans, 51; her daughter, Ami Romans, 16; and her son, Caleb Romans, 12, according to the Madison County sheriff’s [...]
Edith Polimene
Edith Polimene (nee Davies), 86, of Carlisle Twp. died Sunday April 6, 2008 at her home. She was born August 4, 1920 in Wall, Pennsylvania.Edith had been employed by Bendix-Westinghouse and was a teacher’s aide at the Murray Ridge Center. She had belonged to the El-Y-Annes of the Y.W.C.A., and was the lead singer with [...]
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS FUGITIVE?
Albert J. Hardy 5 feet, 7 inches tall 175 pounds A reward is being offered for information leading to the capture of Albert J. Hardy, 38, of Elyria, who is wanted in connection to a hotel robbery last summer. Deputy U.S. Marshal David Siler said Hardy is believed to be the man who on July [...]
Diebold: UTI takeover bid too low
CLEVELAND — A month after Akron-based Diebold Inc. received an unsolicited bid to take it over, the 149-year-old maker of automated teller machines, security systems and electronic voting devices continues sit tight, maintaining the offer is too low. Meanwhile the pursuer, Hartford, Conn.-based United Technologies Corp., hasn’t budged from its March 2 position, arguing its [...]
Victoria Lynne Davis
Victoria Lynne Davis, 50, died Sunday, April 6, 2008 at New Life Hospice Center of St. Joseph, Lorain, after a long illness. She was born in Oberlin and has lived in the Vermilion area since 1989. Victoria enjoyed traveling, golf, fishing and gardening. She is survived by her husband, Larry R. Davis, of Vermilion; daughter, [...]