Archive for September 4th, 2008
BROWNS UPDATE — Peek out for the season
BEREA – Browns outside linebacker Antwan Peek, a pass-rushing specialist, will miss the season after tearing a patellar tendon in his right knee Wednesday in practice for the season opener. Peek was returning after arthroscopic surgery July 31 to remove a loose piece of cartilage from the same knee. He had been making good progress [...]
Detroit mayor agrees to plead guilty, resign
DETROIT (AP) — Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has agreed to plead guilty to obstruction charges and will step down after more than six years leading the nation’s 11th-largest city. The plea deal was announced during a court hearing Thursday and brings to an end a seven-months-long sex scandal that led to felony charges against Kilpatrick [...]
Ohio group drops fight over sick-day mandate
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Labor leaders on Thursday dropped their campaign for a ballot issue that would give most full-time workers seven paid sick days a year. Members of Ohioans for Healthy Families, an advocacy group that supported the sick-day mandate, said they have agreed with a request by Gov. Ted Strickland to keep [...]
Lorain planners: Wal-Mart OK to us
LORAIN — The city’s Planning Commission on Wednesday approved the final development plan for Lighthouse Village, paving the way for Wal-Mart to land in Lorain by 2010. The 200,000-square-foot supercenter will bring up to 400 jobs with it, but before the Planning Commission rolled out the welcome mat, Mayor Tony Krasienko and Service Director Robert [...]
McCain VP choice goes on offensive against Obama, media
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Sarah Palin delivered. An embattled vice presidential candidate, a novice on the national stage, the head of a family suffering its “ups and downs,” the first-term Alaska governor rocked the GOP convention with a star-turning performance. Wielding a stiletto and a smile, Palin belittled Democrat Barack Obama and praised her new [...]
Avon Penney`s to open Sept. 26
AVON — A $10 million JCPenney unlike any other in the region will open Sept. 26, bringing about 200 new jobs to the county. “It doesn’t even look like a JCPenney’s. It’s a brand-new prototype,” company spokeswoman Sharon Loughner said. The 104,000-square-foot store at the Avon Crossings retail development is buzzing this week as managers [...]
Midway JCPenney appears to be safe
The opening of the JCPenney in Avon has been billed as the end of the larger and much older JCPenney store at Midway Mall. But that’s not the case, said Sharon Loughner, company spokeswoman. She said there are plans to eventually add a Sephora cosmetic retailer to the Midway Mall store, too. She said company [...]
Corvette smashes into four cars, killing Elyrian
ELYRIA — The last conversation James Milton had with his best friend of 35 years was about making macaroni and cheese, he said. Just after midnight Wednesday, after hanging out with Milton at Burger King on West Avenue, Lemuel Voorhies climbed into the passenger seat of a 1993 Corvette with a friend, Kimberly Smith, at [...]
Committee to revisit Elyria Fire Department deal
ELYRIA — Hire more firefighters or get an educated third party to say no more are needed. That’s what has to happen to alleviate the strife between Mayor Bill Grace and the Fire Department. The only question is: Which one? Today’s meeting of the audit committee should answer that question. While one group tries to [...]
Roundup: Sept. 4, 2008
Vandals slash 59 tires in Lorain storage lot LORAIN — One or two sliced tires are bad enough, but someone with an apparent grudge took things to the extreme overnight Tuesday and cut 59 tires in a fenced-off Colorado Avenue storage lot, according to a Lorain police report. The vandalism was discovered Wednesday morning at [...]
Lorain cop`s sex trial closes
ELYRIA — Lorain police Officer Stanley Marrero denied having sex on duty, exposing himself to a woman and asking her for oral sex and then threatening her if she told anyone about it when he took the stand in the final day of his bench trial Wednesday. Marrero — who is charged with intimidation, public [...]
Officer says he`ll sue letter writer
LORAIN — Even if Joseph Montelon is never charged with writing anonymous letters blasting Lorain Police Chief Cel Rivera and his officers, the former Lorain cop whose Wickliffe house was raided last week may find himself in a legal fight. In an e-mail to City Councilwoman Anne Molnar, police Lt. Jim McCann wrote that the [...]
Biker Lightnin` Levesque remembered for big beard, big heart
GRAFTON — In life, you couldn’t miss Jeff “Lightnin’” Levesque. Levesque, born Earl Joffre Levesque Jr., 58, had a Santa Claus beard, hearty laugh, big motorcycle and a zest for life that constantly surrounded him with friends. Levesque died Friday. Those friends marked his passing Wednesday with a funeral procession that stretched for a mile [...]
John S. Bobel, 1950-2008: Cascade Park`s champion dies
ELYRIA — If you enjoy all the improvements in Cascade Park, you can thank business owner John S. Bobel for getting the ball rolling in the early 1990s. Bobel, who died Sunday of cancer at the age of 58, helped marshal resources of the Elyria Rotary Club and other groups to build observation decks at [...]
Historical society votes to preserve old Brownhelm School
BROWNHELM TOWNSHIP — By a nearly 2-to-1 margin, the Brownhelm Historical Association voted Wednesday night to approve a new 99-year lease with township trustees that will enable the group to go forward with plans to preserve the historic Brownhelm School. The 36-to-15 vote came at the conclusion of a nearly three-hour meeting in which there [...]
Happy to B. back: Edwards ready for Sunday’s opener, but says game won’t be a personal battle with Cowboys’ Owens
BEREA — Defensive lineman Shaun Smith was rumbling past the horde of cameras and microphones when he overheard a question about Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens. “Bump that. Tell them you make plays, too, B.,” Smith shouted. B. is receiver Braylon Edwards. And, yes, he does make plays, too. In fact, Edwards’ franchise-record 16 touchdown catches [...]
Browns notes: Anderson feeling fine, named a team captain
BEREA — A year ago, Derek Anderson was Charlie Frye’s backup. A week ago, Anderson wasn’t allowed to go through a full practice. On Wednesday, he was 100 percent healthy and named an offensive captain after voting by his teammates. “It’s a great honor,” he said. “I try to make sure I’m a positive leader, [...]
Elyria Catholic faces huge test: Cardinal Mooney has won six state football titles and been to four straight finals
Elyria Catholic’s one and only meeting with Cardinal Mooney came 21 years ago, and in the Division III state playoffs no less. “You mean the nightmare?” said Jim Klingshirn, a senior running back for the 1987 Panthers. “I remember we made a lot of mental mistakes in that game, and we couldn’t afford to do [...]
Sowers fails to sustain good start as Tribe falls to White Sox
CLEVELAND — Jeremy Sowers has made 44 starts for the Indians since they drafted him with the sixth overall pick in 2004. The Indians still don’t know what to make of the left-hander. At times, Sowers has shown the form he produced during an impressive rookie season in 2006, when he posted the second-lowest ERA [...]
North Ridgeville blotter: Sept. 4, 2008
Sunday, Aug. 24 10:43 p.m. — 33000 block Chestnut Ridge Road. Twelve people cited for underage consumption after police investigate a noise complaint. 3:40 p.m. — Stearns Road, Interstate-480 area in North Olmsted. Alan M. Simonitis, 37, of Sagamore Hills charged with speeding and fleeing after he pulled away from North Ridgeville police who initially [...]
Tribe notes: Lefty reliever Rundles has squirrelly debut
CLEVELAND — It was quite a big league debut Wednesday for Indians reliever Rich Rundles. Not only did the 27-year-old left-hander have to face dangerous White Sox slugger Jim Thome as his first hitter, but he also had to deal with a squirrel that got loose on Progressive Field and delayed the game in the [...]
Girl, 14, diagnosed with rare type of cancer; insurance won`t cover it
NORTH RIDGEVILLE — After Katie Taseff was diagnosed with cancer, her family discovered that she was ineligible for their new insurance policy. Katie, 14, had a tumor called a dysgerminoma, a rare type of ovarian cancer, removed in July, just days before the Taseffs’ new insurance policy started. Now they can’t get insurance to cover [...]
North Ridgeville notebook: Sept. 4, 2008
Accident-free for years All those years of sitting behind the wheel of a big UPS truck have paid off for Robert Hurley, a North Ridgeville man who was recently honored by the company for 35 years of accident-free driving. Hurley, 61, was presented with a 35-year safe driving award by UPS Manager Mick Berezonsky for [...]
Phillip D. Ashby
Phillip D. Ashby, 62, of Coldwater, Michigan passed away Monday, September 1, 2008 at home, following a lengthy illness. Funeral services will be Friday, September 5, 2008 from 12 Noon to 2 P.M. at Putman Funeral Home, 11 East Chicago Street, Coldwater, Michigan 517-278-2311.
Maurice Lamar Robinson
Maurice Lamar Robinson, 55, of Dayton, was called to join the Ancestors on Wednesday, August 27, 2008. His wife, Charlotte (Cook) Robinson, with whom he had shared four loving years of marriage, was at his side. He was born April 29, 1953 in Elyria, the son of Velma Lee Moore Robinson and the late Marshall [...]