Archive for May 29th, 2008
LATEST NEWS: Fuel leak not fixed, but danger lessens
There is still no fix for a dangerous fuel leak at Gas USA on Middle Avenue, Elyria Interim Fire Chief Joseph Pronesti said at a 3 p.m. press conference. Contractors have dug a 7-foot-deep trench in the gas station’s parking lot to try to contain the spill, but fuel is still leaching into the soil [...]
UPDATED ALERT: Gas problem continues near Middle Ave.
MORE ON THE GAS LEAK NEAR MIDDLE AVENUE: Assistant Elyria Fire Chief Ron Brlas said the meters they use to for gas readings were at 12 last night at the group home. Ten is the lowest reading – where something can catch fire and explode. Meter readers around the gas station about 1 p.m. were [...]
Division I regional softball semifinal: Bashak delivers big hit, scores game’s only run as Elyria slips by North Royalton
CLYDE — Megan Bashak has said she’s disappointed in her senior softball season. Elyria’s No. 1 pitcher the past two years was sidelined briefly by two broken fingers on her pitching hand — her left — when she was injured in practice last month. While she was able to return to the lineup after a [...]
Division II regional softball semifinal: Keystone pounces on Canal Winchester errors, cruises to 7-0 win
BUCYRUS — Going against the top-ranked team in Ohio in a regional semifinal is nerve-racking enough, but to have to do it while missing a couple of important components makes the task all the more daunting. Keystone jumped on a whole lot of shaky fielding by shorthanded Canal Winchester, scoring six unearned runs in a [...]
Division III regional softball semifinal: Wellington breaks out bats, wipes out early deficit against Pymatuning Valley
MASSILLON — From where they’ve never been to where they’ve never gone — that’s the plight of the Wellington Dukes following Wednesday’s Division III regional softball semifinal at Genshaft Field. Wellington had given up only one run in tournament play before Wednesday and never had to come from four runs down all season, but Saturday [...]
Indians falter again: Offense stages rare rally against White Sox, but Betancourt blows lead
CLEVELAND — Jake Westbrook made his return to the mound Wednesday at Progressive Field. The triumphant part is going to have to wait for him and his teammates. Despite Westbrook pitching well enough to win and Cleveland’s offense making a rare appearance, the Indians still lost for the 10th time in 12 games, dropping a [...]
Tribe notes: Hafner believes shoulder will not land him on disabled list, thinks he will be able to play Friday
CLEVELAND — Travis Hafner said he does not expect to be placed on the disabled list with a problematic right shoulder that has caused him to miss the last three games. “I’m pretty sure it’s going to feel better Friday,” said the slumping designated hitter, who is batting just .217 with four home runs and [...]
Browns: Newly signed Cousin can do the job at cornerback, just ask him
BEREA — Terry Cousin believes he’s the perfect man to help solve the Browns’ crisis at cornerback. Cousin, who signed a two-year deal last week, joined organized team activities Tuesday and talked to the media for the first time Wednesday following practice. He stepped into the spot of nickelback and came prepared to ease concerns [...]
Regional baseball preview: Amherst, St. Ignatius expect fresh battle despite earlier meeting
Brad Ganor is right. The head coach of St. Ignatius said he doesn’t expect Amherst to look like the same team his Wildcats defeated in their first game of the 2008 season. Ganor need look no further than center field to confirm that theory. That’s where he’ll see Larry Schieferstein. Who? Schieferstein has been a [...]
High school track and field notebook: North Olmsted’s Hoppel adds a dash of history to distict meet
North Olmsted junior Jordan Hoppel broke a 30-year drought when he defeated Southview senior Blake Witherspoon to win the 100 meters at last Friday’s Amherst district meet. That’s how long it had been since a North Olmsted boy won the event at the district level. Last to do it was Dino Mastantuono, who won the [...]
No payments for potholes in Elyria
ELYRIA — The city will not be the benefactor that residents had hoped would reimburse them for damages inflicted on their vehicles by pothole-pocked state Route 57. City Council voted Wednesday to deny the payment of every pothole claim related to Route 57 in a vote that had council members divided over the issue. In [...]
County goes 3-for-3 in regional softball semis
A softball player going 3-for-3 is pretty good. But what can you say about a county that does the same? Lorain County flexed its softball muscles Wednesday as three of its teams won regional softball semifinals and moved to within one more win of advancing to state. In Division I, the state’s top-ranked Elyria Pioneers [...]
Gasoline leak prompts evacuation in Elyria
ELYRIA — The thick smell of gasoline Wednesday night led to the evacuation of a group home for disabled residents. Fuel leaked from underground pipes at Gas USA on Middle Avenue starting about 1 p.m., firefighter Bryant Lieux said. STEVE MANHEIM / CHRONICLE The pumps at Gas USA on Middle Avenue were shut off because [...]
OSU dean takes attorney general post
COLUMBUS — Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland on Wednesday could barely contain his glee at finding Nancy Hardin Rogers, the dean of Ohio State University’s law school, to serve as Ohio’s new attorney general. “I’m a happy governor today,” he said, noting Rogers’ distinguished legal career, strong reputation and experience resolving the toughest of conflicts. Strickland [...]
Crash victim a single dad of 2
EATON TWP. — An Elyria man killed in a crash with a logging truck Tuesday night was a single father raising two young children.Joey Wiseman, 55, died of internal chest injuries about 10 p.m., after his 2000 Lincoln LS ran into the trailer of a logging truck on state Route 82. His father, Jim Wiseman, [...]
Lorain officer Earl collapses, is hospitalized
Lorain police union President Corey Earl collapsed Saturday while walking to a concert in Cleveland and has been in Lakewood Hospital since. Earl, 46, is in the hospital’s Neuro Integrated Care Unit, which deals primarily with stroke victims, according to the hospital’s Web site. The hospital would provide no additional information on Earl’s condition. Lorain [...]
Strongsville woman attacked in park dies of her injuries
CLEVELAND — A woman attacked and beaten while walking her dog in a park in suburban Parma has died in a hospital 18 days after the attack. Chevonne Ecclestone, 52, of Strongsville died Wednesday. She had been a patient at Cleveland’s MetroHealth Medical Center with a cracked skull after being found unconscious May 10 half [...]
Blotter: May 29, 2008
Elyria police Monday, May 26 8:42 p.m. – Steve and Barry’s, Midway Mall, Ronnie J. Jervis, 24, Lorain, charged with theft. 11:30 p.m. – 300 block East Ave., a woman said she receives between 20 and 50 phone calls a day from the same person harassing her. Tuesday, May 27 8 a.m. – 500 block [...]
Convicted killer asks judge for new trial
ELYRIA — Convicted killer Stanley Jalowiec isn’t giving up his fight to clear his name. Citing newly discovered evidence, Jalowiec on Wednesday asked a county judge to grant him a new trial, despite the fact that a federal judge ruled earlier this year that the evidence wouldn’t have made a difference in his 1996 trial. [...]
Roundup: May 29, 2008
Woman charged with slashing boyfriend ELYRIA — A 39-year-old man’s story that he had fallen on a knife just didn’t add up, and when police questioned him they learned he had been slashed by his girlfriend, a report said. John Hawley of Elyria was hospitalized Tuesday morning for deep cuts on his forehead and left [...]
Ford, students try to get car fumes out of national parks
If someone said years ago that one of the nation’s biggest automakers and the National Park Service would work hand-in-hand on anything, much less cleaner, cheaper visitor transportation, they’d probably be shown the door. Now that person would be hailed as a visionary. Ford’s Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake, home of the carmaker’s Econoline [...]
Councilman arrested as ‘John’ clams up after vowing to stay
LORAIN — A day after Lorain Councilman Dennis Flores told several media outlets his intentions to remain on City Council, he’s officially stopped talking. Flores pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges stemming from a prostitution sting over the weekend, but he said Wednesday he’ll withhold any more comments until after his trial is complete. His [...]
Teen looking forward to a wild summer at zoo
NORTH RIDGEVILLE — Jennifer Beccia’s summer will be going to the birds. And the tigers. The elephants. And maybe even the cockroaches, too. That’s because the 17-year-old North Ridgeville girl will be spending part of her summer vacation as a Cleveland Metroparks Teen Zoo Crew volunteer. When fellow classmate and boyfriend, Jesse Lubinski, saw an [...]
Elyrian hired as Clearview principal
SHEFFIELD TWP. — Clearview High School will have a new head clipper at its helm, and it’s one of Elyria’s own. Elyria Northwood Junior High School Principal Thomas Jama will take over as principal at Clearview High School this summer after having served a decade’s worth of service at the junior high. Jama, 42, said [...]
Elyria mom cooks up some luck
Meg Spanos stumbles into pair of contests, wins them both ELYRIA — If she didn’t have good luck, Meg Spanos wouldn’t have any kind of luck at all. Not only did the Elyria resident win a spot for her son to be a bat boy at Wednesday’s Indians game, but two hours after winning that [...]