Archive for September 18th, 2008
Two Elyria firefighters injured in blaze
ELYRIA – An early morning fire at the old Murbach Coal Factory sent two local firefighters to the hospital after they were caught under a collapsing roof. The fire was reported shortly before 4 a.m. at the vacant building located on North Street. When crews arrived heavy smoke was seen bellowing from the building, said [...]
Ohio court strikes down ban on guns in parks
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court has struck down a law in the city of Clyde that banned people from carrying concealed guns in a public park. In a 4-3 decision announced Thursday, the high court said the city ordinance conflicts with Ohio’s concealed carry law. The court rejected Clyde’s claim that the [...]
Under pressure: Anderson’s early struggles turn up the heat to finally get Browns a win
BEREA — It hasn’t rained in Northeast Ohio for several days, but the dark clouds are still swirling around Browns quarterback Derek Anderson. “The sun came up today,” he said Wednesday. “It took a while, but it came up.” It has only taken two regular-season games — and two losses — for Anderson to go [...]
Browns notes: Defense ready for Ravens run
BEREA — Browns defensive end Shaun Smith has been around the NFL long enough to know what the Baltimore Ravens will try to do Sunday when the teams meet at M&T Bank Stadium. “They realize we’re banged up, so we expect them to run the ball as much as possible,” he said Wednesday. “They’ve got [...]
Lee off his game, but Indians still finish off sweep of Twins
CLEVELAND — Cliff Lee didn’t get a win Wednesday night, but the Indians did. Lee’s unparalleled march to the Cy Young Award hit a snag for one of the few times this season in the series finale against Minnesota, with the left-hander offering up a less-than-dominant performance. No matter. Thanks in large part to shortstop [...]
Tribe notes: Indians to christen new Yankee Stadium in 2009
CLEVELAND — Major League Baseball released the 2009 schedule Wednesday, tabbing the Indians for a season-opening three-game series on the road against Texas at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington (April 6, 8-9). Cleveland’s home-opening series will take place during Easter weekend (April 10-12) against the Toronto Blue Jays. Probably the biggest highlight on the schedule occurs [...]
Will ‘Beanie’ play or not? Tressel, team keeping mum on health of star running back
COLUMBUS — Ohio State coach Jim Tressel swears tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells will be back this season. Tressel either doesn’t know or isn’t saying for sure when that will be. Wells, sidelined since hurting his right foot in the season opener against Youngstown State, is still taking baby steps in his attempt to get ready [...]
Boys soccer: Westlake’s ‘D’ the difference as Demons down Brecksville in battle of Southwestern Conference unbeatens
WESTLAKE — With a goal in the 45th minute of a scoreless match, Westlake took a giant step toward the Southwestern Conference boys soccer championship Wednesday night. In a battle of SWC unbeatens, Demons forward Matt Hritz fired a shot into the right side of the Brecksville net and it held up for a 1-0 [...]
High school soccer notes: Young Eagles opening some eyes
Who said youth is wasted on the young? Avon’s young girls soccer team won seven of its first eight matches, which is to some fans a pleasant surprise. The Eagles lost some talent at graduation after winning their first-ever district championship last fall. And they lost some more this season when at least one return-eligible [...]
Cross country notes: Oh, brother, Amherst is a tight-knit group
Talk about your band of brothers. Brother combinations are a key ingredient at Amherst, which has three sets on this year’s team. There’s Pete Hause, a senior, and freshman Stephen Hause; senior Adam and freshman Andrew Mellen; and senior Matt and sophomore Chris Petek. The Hauses ran two years for the junior high, although their [...]
County buys downtown parking
ELYRIA — Lorain County government picked up an extra 97 parking spaces downtown at a sheriff’s sale for properties owned by Jay G. Tokar’s JGT Enterprises Inc. But the county also became a landlord, too, as it had to buy the Main Street Elyria offices and two apartments in the packaged sale Wednesday. Assistant County [...]
Living without power
The 600 or so Lorain County residents who remained without electricity Wednesday are learning to live without most modern conveniences the best they can. It has been four days since a powerful windstorm from Hurricane Ike’s remnants blew through the area, knocking out power for thousands. Since then, electric company crews from across the region [...]
Lorain school supplies pizza to the powerless
LORAIN — “Pizza’s better than bologna sandwiches,” Orion Douglas said Wednesday night after he gobbled down two slices at Helen Steiner Rice Elementary School. It’s been bologna since Sunday for the 6-year-old pupil, whose at-home menu has been limited thanks to countywide power outages in the wake of winds whipped up by the remnants of [...]
Company targets spot outages
It’s been four days since 70-mph winds moved through, and if you are one of those in the county still without power — numbered at about 600 Wednesday — you are probably asking why. Why is your neighbor watching TV while your kids are doing homework by candlelight? Why are you throwing out food while [...]
Consumer advocacy group gets many calls
The live voice on the other end of the phone people hear when they call the Office of Ohio Consumers’ Counsel has been a welcome relief as thousands of Ohioans remain without electricity. Monday morning, the first business day after the remnants of Hurricane Ike blew through, the phones at the residential utility consumer advocacy [...]
Complaint: Amherst officer hacked into e-mail
AMHERST — An Amherst police officer and his wife who were indicted last week allegedly hacked into an Amherst dispatcher’s personal e-mail account, according to complaints filed two years ago. The complaint, which initially was filed by the indicted officer, Kurt Oehlstrom Sr., accused the dispatcher, Michelle Jahnsz, of looking up information on Oehlstrom on [...]
Apple Fest starts Friday
ELYRIA — The cleanup from last weekend’s powerful storm will not hamper this weekend’s Apple Festival. The downtown three-day festival will go on as scheduled, said Apple Festival Committee Chairwoman and co-founder Linda Brown. “Oh, no, we are not scaling back or canceling anything,” Brown said. “We are 110-percent full and don’t have a single [...]
Elderly man found dead by landlord
ELYRIA — The badly decomposed body of an Elyria man was discovered by his landlord Tuesday. Jon Alheit found the body of Robert Virtue, 68, in one of his rental properties on Eighth Place. When he knocked on Virtue’s door Tuesday and got no response, Alheit said he was alarmed and he discovered Virtue face-down [...]
Ryan Garko, Indians mascots reward Avon school`s ‘High Achievers`
AVON — The gymnasium at Heritage South Elementary School in Avon could have been mistaken as a clamoring bleacher crowd at Progressive Field on Wednesday if not for the simple fact that Indians first baseman Ryan Garko was wearing blue jeans. Garko was on hand to recognize Heritage South’s third- and fourth-graders for receiving the [...]
Lorain meeting raises to Sunshine Law questions
LORAIN — The Lorain Law Department is reviewing whether City Council members violated the state’s Sunshine Law when a couple of members met for an informational meeting last week. Councilman Dan Given, D-at-large, called for the review after Mayor Tony Krasienko voiced concern because a majority of Council’s five Federal Programs Committee members attended the [...]
Coroner: Both shots would have killed ex-con
ELYRIA — Gary Young Jr. was a dead man as soon as two bullets fired from a .38-caliber revolver struck him, jurors were told Wednesday during the murder trial of Lamont Tarpley, the Lorain man accused of killing Young. Both bullets would likely have proven fatal, Lorain County Coroner Paul Matus said, even if Young [...]
Renowned scientist talks sustainability at Baldwin-Wallace College
BEREA — Baldwin-Wallace welcomed renowned scientist E.O. Wilson to campus Wednesday as the kickoff speaker for its “Enduring Questions” lecture series on environmental sustainability. Wilson, a pioneer of sustainability, participated in two afternoon question-and-answer sessions on campus as well and was scheduled to give an evening lecture at the Kulas Musical Arts Building. “He is [...]
Lorain cop to stay in jail
ELYRIA — Lorain police Officer Stanley Marrero will continue to sit in the Lorain County Jail despite appealing his recent conviction on misdemeanor intimidation, public indecency and dereliction of duty charges. Marrero, 44, was ordered to serve two months of a six month jail sentence earlier this month. He had asked Lorain County Common Pleas [...]
Roundup: Sept. 18, 2008
Sexual predator pleads guilty ELYRIA — A sexual predator pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges he asked two young girls to expose themselves for $20. Kelly Snodgrass, 38, could get up to 22 years in prison when he is sentenced later this year on two counts each of attempted pandering obscenity involving a minor, attempted illegal [...]
North Ridgeville blotter: Sept. 18, 2008
North Ridgeville police Sunday, Sept. 7 9:16 a.m. – 34300 block Bainbridge Road, Michael P. Nagle, 47, Columbia Twp., charged with theft by deception. Police said a homeowner reported that he had given a deposit to Nagle several months ago for remodeling work on his kitchen, but the work was never done. Tuesday, Sept. 9 [...]