Chance meetings are all about being in the right place at the right time.That’s what happened to Steve Kerchmar, the 2008 drum major for Elyria High School, on April 19 at the Scarlet and Gray game at The Ohio State University Stadium.

Kerchmar was in Columbus attending a drum major camp being presented by the OSU drum major corps. During halftime, he and others who were attending the camp were allowed to go down on the field and watch the OSU band and drum major perform up close.

As luck would have it, Kerchmar found himself standing right next to famed OSU football Coach Jim Tressel. With such a limited opportunity in front of him, Kerchmar wasted no time. He shook Tressel’s hand and got out his cell phone for a photo.

Kerchmar was so excited he sent the picture via text message to no less than 20 of his friends. He said the chance meeting was the highlight of his trip to Columbus.

Keystone grad pulls up in monster truck
Get a load of this vehicle designed in part by 1988 Keystone High School graduate Matt Tipple.

All the kids in Jane Bly’s first grade class at Westwood Elementary School in Wellington sure had fun looking at the mammoth machine.

“It was great,” Tipple said. “We should take it to every school."

Tipple, president of Custom Chassis Inc. in Brighton Township, said he hopes to market the truck to one of the big producers of farm and construction equipment such as International Tractor, John Deere and Caterpillar Inc.

Tipple said he and his business partner, Mike Huhn, designed the vehicle called the Utility Truck 5212 PowerPlatform.

“The big selling feature is that the cab is all the way to the front,” Tipple said.

Implements can be attached to the front so they can be pushed instead of pulled, giving good visibility, Tipple said. They also can be attached to the back and pulled.

After graduating from Keystone, Tipple graduated from General Motors Institute, now known as Kettering University. The vehicle has four-wheel steering, four-wheel drive and a diesel engine, and it can travel at a high speed of 45 mph. It costs $205,000 and will be featured in two magazines, OEM Off Highway and Farm Industry News.

Schools scream for ice cream
If you like ice cream sundaes — especially free ice cream sundaes — stop by the Wellington High School Cafeteria 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

That’s when the Wellington Education Association will sponsor an Ice Cream Social for anyone living in the Wellington Village Exempted School District.

The Wellington union, which represents 89 teachers, got a $220 mini grant from the Northeastern Ohio Education Association to sponsor the event, said spokeswoman Linda Repko.

She said the get-together will be a big celebration following the news on Thursday that the district was recommended for 46 percent state funding to build or renovate its schools.

Repko said community members can drop in and chat about anything — from how well a child is doing in class to prospects for the football team this year.

Grateful dog smiles on commissioners
This week marked an important anniversary for dogs in Lorain County.

It’s the third year that the county commissioners have been featuring a dog in the county pound at each of their televised meetings.

Buddy, a beagle mix who was the first dog adopted three years ago, sent a thank you note to the commissioners, which Commissioner Betty Blair read at Thursday’s meeting.

Hal Rogers, who videotapes the meetings for the commissioners, adopted Buddy and said the pooch is doing fine.

“He thinks he’s a pure beagle, and he’s very happy,” Rogers said after the meeting. “My wife swears he smiles.”

Blair said all of the dogs featured at the meetings — about 150 all told — have been adopted.

… In other dog news
The curse of the black dog may be lifting.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a story about local dog shelters having difficulty finding homes for big black dogs.

Laurie Long, who runs Canine Corner in Lorain, had said that “small dogs go fast” and that black dogs often lingered in their cages.

She called me this week, though, to say that the future for black dogs (at Canine Corner, at least) might not be so grim.

People have donated generously to help one of her black dogs, Wes, get a titanium joint for his leg, which had a bullet lodged in it.

Further, Long already has found homes for seven of a litter of nine black lab puppies. Of course, she said, puppies often have short visits in shelters. 

— Michael Baker

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