Archive for July 16th, 2008
U.S. unveils new rule on airplane fuel tanks
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Federal transportation officials announced a new rule Wednesday aimed at preventing fuel tank explosions like the one that destroyed TWA Flight 800 almost exactly 12 years ago. The new rule, unveiled by Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, applies to new passenger and cargo planes that have center wing fuel tanks like TWA [...]
Officer’s squad car wrecked 29 minutes into job
HOBART, Ind. (AP) — Police officer Tim Pochron’s first day on the job went poorly: Less than a half-hour into it, his squad car was wrecked in a crash. Pochron was inside his house at 12:29 a.m. Monday when someone hit his new squad car parked outside, as well as a tree, police said. “Pochron [...]
Fla. cancer survivor wins dream wedding
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Tampa bride-to-be who defied doctors’ expectations after being told she had a year to live four years ago has celebrated another victory — she and her fiancee won a $100,000 dream wedding. Courtney Dempsey, 33, and Gary Courtney, 37, were among 40,000 couples who entered US Magazine’s wedding contest. The [...]
All-Star Game: AL stars finally prevail in 15 innings
NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball’s All-Stars came to say goodbye to Yankee Stadium — and what a long, long goodbye it was. In a game that started Tuesday night and faded well into today, Justin Morneau slid home just in time on Michael Young’s sacrifice fly in the 15th inning, giving the American League a [...]
All-Star Game: Lee sharp in start; Sizemore scores tying run
Both Indians representatives, Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore, made their presence felt in the 79th All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night. Lee, the AL starting pitcher, tossed two scoreless innings, striking out three of the seven batters he faced, with only Atlanta’s Chipper Jones collecting a hit off him — a one-out single [...]
All-Star Game: Hall of Famers mix with new stars in special moment
NEW YORK — Alex Rodriguez cut across the diamond to third base, then warmly embraced Chipper Jones, Brooks Robinson, Mike Schmidt, George Brett and Wade Boggs. Now that’s some hot corner. Baseball blended its past and present Tuesday, starting with Yogi Berra leading a red-carpet parade through midtown Manhattan. Hours later, Willie Mays and Hank [...]
Little League: Monschein helps North stop East, win Seniors district title
ELYRIA — Todd Brubaker will be filling out paperwork for a visit to the Little League Seniors state tournament “for the first time in at least 15 years.” It’s been awhile since the North All-Stars won a District 3 title, but with Anthony Monschein shackling the East batters on four hits and North’s hitters pounding [...]
OGSO: Dave Moore retires after illustrious career
LAGRANGE — Dave Moore, the dean of Lorain County OGSO coaches, called it a career Tuesday night. In one of four Class D district finals, Moore’s South Amherst Bullets dropped a 12-10 decision to Medina, but he hangs up the clipboard with five state championships in 19 seasons. In other games, Oberlin won its fourth [...]
Hot Stove: Spencer Legion Post 608 rolls in Class F district
Spencer American Legion Post 608 scored early and often, and also got a no-hitter from three pitchers, as manager Duane Morgan’s team trounced Midview Dairy Queen 22-0 in a Hot Stove Class F district quarterfinal Tuesday. Spencer (18-0) advances to a district semifinal against the Vermilion Hurricanes on Saturday. A win could set up a [...]
NFL Notes: Favre says he’s tempted to call Packers’ ‘bluff’
Brett Favre says he’s tempted to show up at the Green Bay Packers’ training camp just to call the team’s “bluff.” In the second part of an interview with Fox News, the 38-year-old quarterback said he knows his arrival in camp would cause a media circus, but that might not stop him. Packers players are [...]
British Open: Mickelson won’t discuss Tiger’s absence
SOUTHPORT, England — Phil Mickelson wouldn’t bite, no matter how many ways he was asked about Tiger Woods. So, Lefty, are the majors diminished because a certain No. 1 player — perhaps the greatest ever to swing a golf club — isn’t at the British Open? “I am working hard to get my game ready [...]
State gives up on fire investigation
ELYRIA — State fire marshal investigators have finished their look into the fire at the former General Industries factory, concluding that the cause of the massive blaze will remain “undetermined.” The building, which burned for 16 hours into a pile of smoldering rubble early July 3, was just too far destroyed for investigators to pinpoint [...]
Avon Lake beach suds cause alarm, but no harm
AVON LAKE — A mysterious foam that caused alarm Tuesday afternoon at Miller Road Park beach turned out to be soap. “It’s like what you would put in a bubble bath,” U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Kurt Brandstaetter said. Park employees were worried that it was something much worse when they called Avon Lake firefighters about [...]
EHS digs deep to save energy
Geothermal system being drilled at new Elyria High School ELYRIA — The sound of metal boring through hundreds of feet of rock will permeate the air for weeks as the heating and cooling system of the new high school begins to take shape. The scene on Middle Avenue may look reminiscent of big rig oil [...]
Geothermal heat catching on with local projects
A geothermal heating and cooling system is planned for the $24 million Phyllis Litoff Building to be built at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music for jazz studies. The building’s preliminary geothermal budget is $1.3 million, according to David H. Stull, the conservatory’s dean. About three dozen wells hundreds of feet deep will be drilled to [...]
Wellington asks for $26.7M for new school
WELLINGTON — The Wellington School Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to ask voters to approve a $26.7 million bond issue to build a new school for kindergarten through grade 12. The millage of the 27-year bond issue will be set by the Lorain County Auditor but it will likely be about 8.9 mills, Suzanne Wilson, [...]
Police drills put on hold after cops draw guns at kids` play
ELYRIA — Three upcoming police training drills for Virginia Tech massacre-type violence have been canceled until police can sort out what went wrong Friday night at Lorain County Community College. Officers have been practicing rapid response scenarios with fake ammunition and simulated gunfire at the college for several weeks and had planned to continue running [...]
Study: When kids become teens, they barely exercise
CHICAGO — One of the largest studies of its kind shows just how sluggish American children become once they hit the teen years: While 90 percent of 9-year-olds get a couple of hours of exercise most days, fewer than 3 percent of 15-year-olds do. What’s more, the study suggests that fewer than a third of [...]
Nightclub shooting victim improves
LORAIN — The 28-year-old Lorain man who was shot in the head Sunday morning outside Pali’s Night Club was upgraded to good condition Tuesday at Metro Health Medical Center in Cleveland. Raymond Hisle, 28, was exiting the Colorado Avenue night club about 2:30 a.m. when two men got out of their vehicle and started shooting, [...]
Tow truck driver threatened with gun
LORAIN —A Lorain man threatened a man with a shotgun Sunday when he saw his 2002 Ford Mustang was about to be repossessed. Joe Stubblefield, 59, of Lorain, was charged with aggravated menacing for holding a shotgun to the head of the 56-year-old tow truck driver and allegedly telling him, “if you take my car [...]
Woman drops stalking protection order against bailiff
ELYRIA — An Avon woman has dropped her civil stalking protection order against an Avon Lake Municipal Court bailiff. Cynthia Mingus cited “bad press” as one reason for dropping her request for the order against bailiff Mark Hagedorn in a voicemail message she left Tuesday with Lorain County Common Pleas Court Magistrate Michelle Pena, who [...]
Lorain Schools wants new levy
LORAIN — The Lorain Schools will ask voters for more money in November. School board president Jim Smith said the board would discuss how much money the district needs to seek during a 5 p.m. meeting Thursday at Frank Jacinto Elementary School. “It’s pretty clear we’ll have to go to the public this November with [...]
‘Exposed’ woman sues celebrity blogger
CLEVELAND — A woman has sued celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, saying she was fired from her job as a nurse after the gossip maven posted an e-mail she sent him that contained gay slurs. Hilton, whose real name is Mario Lavandeira, posted Diane Wargo’s full name and work e-mail address along with her message on [...]
Roundup: July 16, 2008
State Route 58 crash victim still critical An 83-year-old Wellington man injured Friday in a state Route 58 crash remains in critical condition Tuesday at Metro Health Medical Center in Cleveland. James Howard suffered serious head injuries when the vehicle he was driving went left of center and struck a northbound Dodge Durango, according to [...]
Activist sues Oberlin Schools to see supt.’s evaluations
ELYRIA — Oberlin Schools is being sued by a public records activist for not turning over preliminary evaluations of Superintendent Geoffrey Andrews. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Lorain County Common Pleas Court by Shirley R. Johnson of Oberlin, accuses the district of withholding the documents in violation of the public records laws. But Andrews said [...]