Archive for August 15th, 2008
Ohio’s fastest grocery bagger: size up customer
RAVENNA, Ohio (AP) — A grandmother from northeast Ohio has won top honors as the state’s fastest grocery bagger. She’s 45-year-old Denise Farley of Ravenna. She will represent Ohio in the National Grocers Association USA Best Bagger Championship in Las Vegas in February. Farley won the Ohio title on Tuesday at the state finals in [...]
Police: Woman killed boyfriend, left corpse in tub
TRENTON, Ohio (AP) — Police say an Ohio woman called a 911 operator to report she had killed her boyfriend and left his body in their bathtub — about a week earlier. Authorities believe the woman remained in the house while the corpse decomposed. They say she told them she had tried to kill herself. [...]
Debate coaches lose cool, one pulls down his pants
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — An argument between two debate coaches that was caught on video was not the sharp-witted dialogue typically associated with college debate teams. Instead, the two traded profanity-laced barbs and one of them pulled down his shorts, exposing his underwear. An eight-minute segment of the argument, in which each cursed repeatedly [...]
Texas police say 12-year-old girl drove mom to bar
LONGVIEW, Texas (AP) — A 35-year-old Texas woman has been jailed after police say she made her 12-year-old daughter drive her to a bar. Police in Longview say they watched a minivan turn into a driveway without signaling on Wednesday and bump into a home at a low speed. They say the car was driven [...]
Edwards’ ally explains $14,000 payment to mistress
WASHINGTON (AP) — John Edwards’ political action committee paid his mistress $14,000 after she stopped working for it to obtain 100 hours of unused videotape she had shot for his unsuccessful presidential campaign, an associate told The Associated Press on Thursday. The woman, Rielle Hunter, already had been paid $100,000 for the programs. The explanation [...]
Phelps wins sixth gold medal while setting sixth world record at Beijing Olympics
BEIJING — Michael Phelps hung on the lane rope in a familiar pose, admiring another world record while his rivals gasped for breath. Make it 6-for-6 at the Beijing Games. Next up: Mark Spitz and the grandest of Olympic records. Blowing away the field, Phelps won the 200-meter individual medley this morning in a record [...]
U.S. men’s basketball team rout Greece to earn spot in medal round
BEIJING — It’s official now. This is NOT Japan and the 2006 World Championships, not to mention Athens and the 2004 Olympics. This is Beijing and the 2008 Olympics, and the U.S. is back in men’s basketball. These Americans, who looked so lost two years ago at the World Championship in Japan, appear to have [...]
Indians’ bullpen fails again in 11-6 lost to Orioles
CLEVELAND — The Indians’ bullpen has been a disaster all season, so why would Thursday night be any different? Rafael Perez and Edward Mujica were the latest culprits, allowing eight different Baltimore players to score runs in the eighth inning and turning a tie game into an eventual 11-6 Orioles victory. Perez (2-3) gave up [...]
Tribe notes: Hafner takes batting practice
CLEVELAND — Long before fans were allowed to enter the ballpark Thursday, Travis Hafner took a big step toward rejoining the Indians. The burly designated hitter took batting practice at Progressive Field for the first time since being shut down with a strained right shoulder on May 30. He swung at roughly 50 pitches from [...]
Browns running back Jerome Harrison wants to show his skills
BEREA — Jerome Harrison is still waiting for his big break. The running back has carried the ball just 43 times in two seasons and caught 11 passes. He’s been inactive 14 times and is looking for his first touchdown. But he knows what will happen if he ever gets 20 rushes in a game. [...]
Browns notes: Dinkins has been busy during training camp
BEREA — Tight end Darnell Dinkins is on the short list for MVP of training camp. After making just three catches in two seasons with the Browns, he has more than 100 in three weeks of training camp. He said it’s been the most active camp he’s had since joining the Browns in 2006. “I [...]
Mo Williams happy to be role player for Cavaliers
INDEPENDENCE — Mo Williams didn’t need to be told that new teammate LeBron James was fully behind the three-team trade that brought the point guard to Cleveland from Milwaukee. “If he would have said no, I think I’d (still) be in Milwaukee,” Williams said Thursday during a conference call with the media. James, playing with [...]
High school football 2008: Columbia strong with team unity
The Columbia Raiders went 6-4 during Jason Ward’s first year as head coach and last year’s senior-heavy team knew it was going to have a big follow-up season. “Oh-eight to state — that was their motto,” left tackle and defensive end Tony Valentine said. “Last year’s seniors had such high expectations, so it was kind [...]
EMH won`t say how many were laid off last month
ELYRIA — EMH Regional Healthcare System has laid off part of its work force — but it won’t say how many. Hospital officials refused to reveal the number of positions that were eliminated or in what departments cuts were made. The cuts were made across the entire system last month and not just at EMH’s [...]
Woman happy to have house back
ELYRIA — It wasn’t until Catherine Taylor was shown a newspaper Thursday morning that she found out her Mussey Avenue home had been saved from foreclosure. “I was staying with my son because he’s going through a rough time,” said Taylor, 53. “My grandson showed me The Chronicle and told me I needed to read [...]
Cycle crash critically injures firefighter
LORAIN — An off-duty Lorain firefighter was critically injured Thursday when he slid his motorcycle to the ground to avoid a stopped car and became pinned underneath. John Volak, 61, of Lorain, was driving his motorcycle about 11 a.m. southwest over the Henderson Bridge when he tried to avoid a 1990 Ford Tempo stopped in [...]
Frontier League team gets a boss
AVON — The city’s new Frontier League team has found a minor league baseball general manager to head up its new franchise. Ryan Gates, former general manager of the West Virginia Power, a MLB Single A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, resigned from that organization Aug. 2 to take over as the new boss of [...]
Gas USA suspect could get death penalty
ELYRIA — Vincent Jackson Jr. could face the death penalty if he’s convicted of gunning down a gas station clerk with an AK-47 during a robbery earlier this year. Jackson, 27, has been indicted on charges of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, felonious assault, tampering with evidence, murder and having weapons under disability. Police say Jackson [...]
Apartment worker finds naked man
ELYRIA — An apartment complex maintenance worker was surprised Wednesday afternoon when he came across a completely nude man standing in a doorway, according to an Elyria police report. Dennis Nowak, 48, of Elyria, was charged with public indecency. The maintenance worker told police he was heading to a storage shed on Cheshire Lane with [...]
Roundup: Aug. 15, 2008
Bike rider says he was shot at in Lorain LORAIN — A 17-year-old boy told police that the passenger of a passing car shot at him four or five times late Wednesday. The teen said he was on his bicycle 10:15 p.m. on Plant Street near Fulton Avenue when a person holding a gun reached [...]
Blotter: Aug. 15, 2008
County sheriff Monday, Aug. 11 2:30 p.m. – 25400 block Quarry Road, Rochester Township, deputies investigated a possible case of gross sexual imposition. 3:29 p.m. – Convenient Food Mart, East Avenue, Carlisle Township, Tara L. Blakely, 29, Lorain, charged with theft. She allegedly stole batteries and later told deputies she took them to run her [...]
Vermilion teachers union files complaint against district as Sept. 1 strike deadline looms
VERMILION — With the start of classes less than two weeks away, the gap between the district’s teachers and school board appears to be widening. The Vermilion Teachers Association filed with the state an unfair labor practice notice against the board earlier this week, claiming bad-faith bargaining on the part of the school board over [...]
Supreme Court backs Lorain`s tax abatements
ELYRIA — The Ohio Supreme Court has ordered Lorain County Auditor Mark Stewart to accept tax abatements on 355 Lorain homes that Stewart had refused to accept, saying the city ordinance granting the abatements was illegal. The Supreme Court decision said Stewart doesn’t have the power to accept or reject tax abatements that have been [...]
Fifth anniversary of massive blackout marked by blackout
CLEVELAND — Five years to the day of the largest blackout in North America, a lightning strike caused the lights to go out again in several Cleveland suburbs. About 15,000 residents in eastern suburbs including Beachwood, Pepper Pike and Mayfield Heights were in the dark after lightning struck a wire Thursday morning. The line tripped [...]
Pilot killed in plane crash near airport
MARYSVILLE — Authorities say a pilot was killed when his small plane crashed while trying to go back to a central Ohio airport shortly after taking off. The State Highway Patrol says 33-year-old Shannon Stage of Marysville attempted to return to the Union County Airport around 10:30 Thursday morning because of a mechanical problem with [...]