Archive for August 28th, 2008
Disposable diaper saves toddler’s life
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) — A disposable diaper has saved the life of an 18-month-old boy, breaking his fall from a third-floor apartment window, officials said Thursday. Caua Felipe Massaneiro survived a 30-foot (10-meter) fall because his diaper snagged on a security spike embedded in the concrete wall around his apartment building in the northeastern [...]
Italy museum defies pope anger over crucified frog
ROME (AP) — An art museum in northern Italy said Thursday it will continue displaying a sculpture portraying a green frog nailed to a cross that has angered Pope Benedict XVI and local officials. The board of the foundation of the Museion in the city of Bolzano voted to keep the work by the late [...]
Mexican Supreme Court upholds legal abortion
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Supreme Court has upheld legal abortion in the capital. Mexico City is one of only a handful of places in Latin America that allow abortion without limitations in the first trimester. Thursday’s 8-3 vote supporting the Mexico City law opens the possibility that similar measures could be adopted elsewhere in [...]
Death for man who kidnapped, murdered Idaho boy
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — In the end, killer pedophile Joseph Edward Duncan III couldn’t — or wouldn’t — offer a reason why he should live. A jury didn’t find one either, deliberating just three hours Wednesday before recommending a death sentence in the 2005 kidnapping, torture and murder of a 9-year-old boy. The jurors’ recommendation [...]
Perfect irony: Indians beat Tigers for 10th straight win, just months after losing 10 in a row
DETROIT — It’s been a back-and-forth season for the Cleveland Indians. Kelly Shoppach homered and drove in three runs and Shin-Soo Choo also went deep to lift the Cleveland Indians to their 10th straight win, 9-7 over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night. The Indians also lost 10 in a row earlier this season, becoming [...]
The play’s not the thing: Health is biggest concern for Browns as preseason wraps up tonight
A win would be nice, and a solid performance even better. A good medical report is crucial. The Browns (0-3) close the preseason tonight with a visit from the Bears (0-3). A victory would spare the Browns their first winless preseason since 1972. It might also allow fans to take a deep breath after a [...]
No regrets: Choosing senior year over NFL and big bucks just felt right to Ohio State stars
COLUMBUS — When Ohio State coach Jim Tressel announced last December that 13 Buckeyes were considering jumping into the NFL Draft a year early, it sent shock waves through the team’s fan base. Within a month, only one of those — defensive lineman Vern Gholston — had actually taken that step. That left a lot [...]
Lorain Hall of Famer George Spiroff dies at 49; was baseball star at Southview and Kent State
AVON — George Spiroff’s father died when he was a sophomore at Southview High School. His mother had died when George was 5. He wound up living with his grandparents, Matt and Betty Nicoloff, but the young man would never have lacked for a place to call home. “I offered to take him in,” said [...]
Volleyball 2008: Season of change? Well, sort of …
In a year when a couple of politicians and their minions are promising change, can we expect to see change in the local volleyball scene? “It’ll be the same old-same old, Amherst and Olmsted Falls,” said Westlake coach Dan Berkheimer, speaking of the Southwestern Conference. “The rest of us will battle.” Berkheimer’s feelings are understandable. [...]
Volleyball 2008: Team capsules, top teams, players, matches and more
NORTHEAST OHIO CONFERENCE Elyria Pioneers COACH: Jodie Johnson, 2nd year 2007 RECORD: 16-7 (7-3 Valley) RETURNING LETTERWINNERS (4): Sarah Bracey, Sr., S; Amanda Medvetz, Sr., OH; Bridgette Jones, Jr., MH; Kristen Boros, So., OH. NEWCOMERS: Jacque Hawes, Sr., MH; Courtney Jones, Sr., DS-S; Jazmyn Corlew, Jr., OH; Brittany Perrott, Jr., DS. SCOUTING REPORT: With All-NOC, [...]
Park attack victim home again, forever changed
CARLISLE TWP. — Shawn Stevens twisted a fake flower around and around in her hands as she sat in her dusty dining room after returning home Wednesday after a 113-day hospital stay. “I’d normally have cleaned,” the 43-year-old mother of three said, blushing slightly as she looked around at the mess left by well-meaning family [...]
Attorney: Jury was biased – throw out charges
ELYRIA — An attorney for an accused baby killer wants a county judge to throw out the charges against his client because he believes the grand jury that handed down the capital case wasn’t racially balanced. Attorney Mike Duff wrote in a motion filed Wednesday that Kevin Kimbrough didn’t have a fair chance when prosecutors [...]
Study: Subprime mortgages hit Lorain hardest
A study done by a Cleveland-based fair housing group has found that blacks in Lorain County obtained costly subprime housing loans more than twice as often as whites and were denied mortgage loans far more often than whites or Hispanics. The study also found that the greatest concentration of expensive subprime lending (42.6 percent of [...]
Permit nearing approval for Spring Valley houses
ELYRIA — The owners of Spring Valley Golf and Athletic Club are close to getting a conditional-use permit that would allow construction of cluster homes on the picturesque golf course. The City Planning Commission and City Council Community Development Committee have both approved the permit request, but with conditions, all of which owner Bob Corna [...]
Voinovich annouces beach protection legislation
BAY VILLAGE — U.S. Sen. George Voinovich believes new legislation focusing on strengthening the Great Lakes will help beachfront cities like Lorain, which have seen a spike in beach advisories this year. Voinovich, R-Ohio, held a press conference Wednesday on the sands of Huntington Beach in Bay Village to discuss his introduction of the Beach [...]
Lorain looks at police chief`s pay
LORAIN — City officials will meet with City Council next week to discuss the pay of Lorain Police Chief Cel Rivera. At stake are compensation hours, which Councilwoman Anne Molnar, D-at large, believes have been taken advantage of through a misinterpretation of a city ordinance drafted in 1998. But Rivera has simply been following the [...]
90-year-old ready for his second retirement
After 27 years on the job, Harry Becker is retiring — again. The 90-year-old Elyria native sold the family business, a wastepaper plant called Sam Becker and Sons, in 1977 and is now leaving his volunteer position with the Murray Ridge Center. For nearly three decades, Becker has worked as a substitute in the three [...]
Girls soccer: Early goal holds up for Westlake in 1-0 win over Avon Lake
WESTLAKE — If soccer fans had known a few minutes after 7 what they knew at 8:40 Wednesday night, they could have gone in out of the rain. It was in the ninth minute of a big Southwestern Conference match when Westlake’s Kristie Prendergast scored with an assist from A.J. Suever. The goal held up [...]
Party leads to drug bust
WESTLAKE — Two 18-year-old men were charged with dealing drugs after police were called to a loud party featuring drunken behavior such as vomiting from a third-floor balcony. Ryan Wiggins and Ray Zimmerman both face felony charges of aggravated drug trafficking. A book in the condo that did not appear to have been read was [...]
Man gets 6 years for shaking daughter
ELYRIA — An Elyria man who shook his 9½-week-old daughter and caused her brain damage has been sentenced to six years in prison. Jack McDougal, 23, pleaded guilty to felonious assault and child endangering charges just before Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Christopher Rothgery handed down the sentence Wednesday. “He was pretty remorseful,” said David [...]
Lorain man charged with vehicular homicide
ELYRIA — A Lorain man has been indicted on aggravated vehicular homicide charges for causing a fatal car crash in March. Jerry Hartman Jr., 29, could get up to eight years in prison if convicted. Hartman was driving a 1995 Buick Skylark about 2:45 a.m. on March 18 when he ran a stop sign at [...]
Railroad employee rescued after fall into Vermilion River
VERMILION — A rescue diver didn’t have far to go to retrieve a worker who tumbled from a bridge into the Vermilion River earlier this week. The man, an employee of the Norfolk Southern Railroad, was working with a group that was fixing and replacing railroad ties on a set of tracks on a trestle [...]
Roundup: Aug. 28, 2008
Woman, 21, mauled by dog in Avon Lake AVON LAKE — A nanny mauled by a dog Wednesday evening at a Walker Road home was so severely injured that she was flown to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. Avon Lake Fire Lt. Jim Berry said the 21-year-old woman was bitten several times on her upper [...]
High school roundup: Wellington stages comeback, dumps Buckeye in boys soccer
MALLET CREEK — Wellington erased a 3-0 halftime deficit and dominated the second half for a 5-3 victory over Buckeye in a Patriot Athletic Conference game Wednesday. A.J. Hyde scored three goals and assisted on the other two for Wellington (1-1-1, 1-0 PAC), which scored its first goal only seconds after the second-half kickoff. GOALS: [...]
BLOTTER: Aug. 28, 2008
Elyria police Tuesday, Aug. 26 1 p.m. – 100 block Furnace St., $400 stolen from a home. 1:22 p.m. – 500 block Ohio St., extension ladders stolen. 3:23 p.m. – Niederst Management, South Abbe Road, managers reported a rental agent failed to make two deposits on July 3 totaling $8,725. 4:20 p.m. – 200 block [...]