Archive for July 17th, 2008
Ohio park, collection of statues to be auctioned
FRAZEYSBURG, Ohio (AP) — A man who owns a hillside park with giant sandstone sculptures of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and other famous Americans said he’s selling the property so the artwork can be better preserved. The sculptures in Baughman Memorial Park need to be restored and repainted, said Kevin Morehouse, 35, who bought [...]
Complaints filed against women in Ohio AG scandal
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Two women whose claims of sexual harassment triggered a scandal at the Ohio attorney general’s office have been accused of harassing co-workers. Complaints filed against Vanessa Stout and Cindy Stankoski say they fostered a hostile work environment in the office by intimidating co-workers with dirty looks and inappropriate comments. [...]
Ohio Enzyte maker faces $500 million forfeiture
CINCINNATI (AP) — A federal judge says he plans to approve the government’s request that a distributor of a male sexual enhancement product forfeit more than $500 million in revenue. U.S. District Judge S. Arthur Spiegel filed a preliminary order approving the forfeiture against Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals of suburban Cincinnati. The final order could come [...]
Cavaliers: Gibson agrees to 5-year deal, says being in Cleveland ‘is a blessing’
CLEVELAND — Shooting guard Daniel “Boobie” Gibson wanted to stay with the Cavaliers, and the team was eager to keep him in the fold. It was only a matter of time before the parties agreed on a new contract. That time arrived Wednesday, when Cleveland signed Gibson to a five-year deal that will keep him [...]
Little League baseball: Elyria has big plans for Big League regional tournament in Michigan
ELYRIA — Elyria’s Big League state championship team knows its enemy — now it just has to figure out how to beat it. The local baseball team — which is made up of 17- and 18-year-olds from Elyria High and Elyria Catholic — travels today to Wyoming, Mich., to compete for the second straight year [...]
Little League softball: Elyria Juniors continue district domination with 17-0 win over Avon
ELYRIA — It would seem Elyria has a formidable Little League Junior All-Star softball team. It certainly has been the past two nights. With an eight-run second inning, Elyria set the tone for a 17-0 pasting of Avon on Wednesday in a district tournament final at Vic Janowicz Memorial Park. Elyria defeated Avon 14-1 Tuesday [...]
All-Stars, all night: Almost out of arms, longest All-Star game nearly got out of hand before AL won it in 15th inning
NEW YORK — Marquee starters were long gone. So were nearly all the other pitchers. His bullpen empty, National League manager Clint Hurdle approached David Wright and asked whether he had the right stuff to take the mound and close out the All-Star game. Did the New York Mets third baseman think chief operating officer [...]
The British Open: Woods won’t be a problem for field this year, but the wind is looking plenty intimidating
SOUTHPORT, England — Adam Scott and Justin Rose, friends since they were teenagers and top contenders in this British Open without Tiger Woods, passed each other on the putting green Wednesday and stopped to discuss their final day of preparation. “Did you play?” Rose said. “Nine holes,” Scott said with a smile, his hand on [...]
Little League baseball: Avon 11-year-olds rally past Elyria East on strength of 10-run inning, win North district title
AVON — Trailing by six runs after two-and-a-half innings, Avon’s 11-year-old Little League All-Stars used a one-two knockout punch to floor visiting Elyria East on Wednesday night and capture the North District crown in a 17-7 mercy-rule decision. Avon scored 10 runs in the bottom of the third to overcome a 7-1 East lead and [...]
Hot Stove district baseball: North Olmsted Robek’s slips past Grafton Unicorn to make Class G semifinals
After two heavy rainstorms postponed much of the opening-day action, the last of the semifinalists for the Lorain County Hot Stove district tournament were determined Wednesday. District semifinals for Classes H, G and F are scheduled to begin Saturday, with the district championship games set to be played Sunday. In addition, seven opening-round regional games [...]
Mixed Martial Arts: Local fighter OK after collapsing in ring from dehydration
Marcus Washington was heading down a dangerous road during his mixed martial arts fight last Friday night at the Quaker Steak and Lube in Sheffield, but nobody that was along for the ride was able to see the signs. “In the middle of the second round, I stopped sweating,” Washington said. “My trainer was too [...]
Estill Dummitt
Estill "Ray" Dummitt, 66, of Waccamaw Lakes Dr., Conway, South Carolina, died Sunday, July 13, 2008 at the Medical University of South Carolina. Rev. Dummitt was born in Baltimore, Maryland, son of the late Emory Estill and Agnes Marie Armstrong Dummitt. The Rev. Dummitt was Pastor at First Apostolic Church on Forestbrook Road. He worked [...]
Midway spared in selloff of malls
ELYRIA — Centro Properties Group, which owns Midway Mall, has sold off 29 shopping malls it purchased in 2006 as part of an effort by the Australian shopping center giant to deal with billions of dollars in debt. Midway Mall is not one of the malls that the company plans to sell, said company spokeswoman [...]
Veterans Memorial Park to get breakwater
AVON LAKE — A 115-foot-long bluff next to Veterans Memorial Park could erode into Lake Erie at any time, and no one had any objections Wednesday night to a plan to fix the problem with a new breakwater. The craggy coastline is being held in place by roots and other vegetation, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency [...]
Church youth worker charged with sex abuse
AMHERST — Police say sexual abuse charges lodged against a 19-year-old Amherst man stem from incidents that occurred last summer between him and a 14-year-old boy during a local church event. Albert G. Battistelli IV, 19, was to appear in Oberlin Municipal Court today for a pretrial hearing on two counts of unlawful sexual conduct [...]
State plans to spend more on higher ed
COLUMBUS — Ohio is embarking on an aggressive 10-year plan to increase state spending on higher education, cut tuition costs and increase enrollment at public colleges, something that has national experts both skeptical and excited. “No state has put it all together, so it will be interesting to see what Ohio can do,” said Joni [...]
Mystery helicopter spooks area residents
NORTH RIDGEVILLE — Area residents seem to have been nervously scanning the skies Tuesday afternoon, fearful they were being spied on by a “black ops” helicopter. One of them, Kurt Wimmer, called police to report the mysterious aircraft that was painted black and had orange vertical stripes on its tail hovering over homes and properties [...]
A truly family restaurant opens in N. Ridgeville
NORTH RIDGEVILLE — After the new sign went up at Gee Gee & Pa Pa’s Family Restaurant last Friday night, the small eatery saw more visitors in the following two hours than they had in the previous two weeks. Gee Gee & Pa Pa’s has been open since June, but is preparing for an official [...]
‘The Dark Knight` expected to scare up big business at local theaters
NORTH RIDGEVILLE — “The Dark Knight” — the latest installment in the Batman series — certainly has enough prerelease hype to make it a top movie of the summer. But will it be? One local who’s banking on the new Batman film to take off is Debbie Sherman, owner of the Aut-O-Rama Twin Drive-In on [...]
Thief hits up Habitat for grocery spree
ELYRIA — Habitat for Humanity is an organization known for giving a helping hand to those who are willing to work for it. The work part? A thief overlooked that step. Police say someone stole a credit card from the county’s Habitat for Humanity office and used it on a $550 grocery store spree. The [...]
National health study starts in Lorain County
ELYRIA — A national minority health initiative to find out why black men are dying at a younger age than any other group in the United States is getting its start in Lorain County. The “Save Our Sons African-American Health Project” is a pilot program of the National Urban League to find what types of [...]
Elyria driver involved in fatal New York crash
COMMACK, N.Y. — A young girl died in a three-car crash on a Long Island parkway, despite the efforts of passers-by who were beaten back by raging flames during their rescue attempts, state police said Wednesday. Tyra Dhaiti, 6, of Massapequa, was riding in the back seat of her mother’s car when it was struck [...]
Holsey Rucker, Jr.
Holsey Rucker, Jr., 64, of Wakeman, died Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at the Stein Hospice Center in Sandusky after a short illness. Holsey was born July 12, 1944 in Oberlin. Holsey worked in Security and Fire Safety at Ford for 30 years, retiring in 2002. He also was a police officer in Wellington for seven [...]
Richard A. Ball
Richard A. Ball, 65, of Warsaw, Missouri, passed away Tuesday, July 15, 2008. He was born in Elyria, Ohio on March 19, 1943, the son of the late William and Dorothy Burton Ball. He grew up in Elyria and graduated high school there, he then attended Ball State University where he received a Bachelor’s Degree [...]
Regional crackdown nets 395 fugitives
ELYRIA — A weeklong crackdown on crime, called Operation FALCON, led U.S. Marshals to arrest 395 fugitives and serve 423 warrants in the greater Cleveland area during the final week of June — and also resulted in the seizure of an AR-15 assault rifle from a Bell Avenue home in Elyria. Deputy U.S. Marshal David [...]