Archive for January, 2009
A win for the coach: Cavaliers victory over Clippers assures that Mike Browns will guide the East All-Stars
CLEVELAND — Mike Brown now faces the ultimate task — to convince his Eastern Conference players to play defense in the NBA All-Star Game. The Cavaliers locked up All-Star coaching berths for Brown and his staff Friday night by defeating the lowly Los Angeles Clippers 112-95 at sold-out Quicken Loans Arena. It improved Cleveland’s record [...]
Cavs notes: LeBron doesn’t plan to add acting to his list of on-court talents
CLEVELAND — King James is not going to turn into the Drama King to get more calls from NBA officials. “It’s not me,” small forward LeBron James said Friday. “There’s been times when I’ve thought about it, but my game won’t allow me to — whether you call it flopping or acting like it’s something [...]
Lorain native feeling Super: As a scout for the Arizona Cardinals, George Belu has had a hand in team’s success
It’s never too late to try something new. After more than three decades as a college coach, George Belu made the transition to NFL scout in 2001. Eight years later, he’s arrived on the sport’s ultimate stage. Belu, a native of Lorain, was headed to Tampa, Fla., on Thursday to experience his first Super Bowl. [...]
Boys basketball: West Shore uproar as Midview hands North Ridgeville first league loss
EATON TWP. — It hasn’t been the kind of season they wanted, but the Middies finally had the kind of game they wanted Friday night. The result was a 49-40 upset of West Shore Conference leader North Ridgeville. How satisfying was this one for the Middies? Well, the win brought the Rangers’ seven-game win streak [...]
Boys basketball: Close not cutting it for Keystone, which falls to Lutheran West for second tough league loss in a row
LAGRANGE — The Lutheran West Longhorns capped a bad week for Keystone by holding on to give the Wildcats their second straight disappointing Patriot Athletic Conference loss, 54-50, Friday night. Just a week ago, the Wildcats were riding high at 6-0 in the conference, but after a six-point loss at Clearview on Tuesday and Friday’s [...]
Boys basketball: Elyria can’t sustain solid play, drops close one to Solon
ELYRIA — By now, Brett Larrick probably figures he’s paid his dues as a head coach. Elyria’s first-year coach saw his young Pioneers let another one slip away Friday night against Solon in a Northeast Ohio Conference crossover game that won’t count in the league standings. The Pioneers lost 55-50 after playing pretty well for [...]
Nordson furloughs 140 workers
AMHERST — The high response to last year’s voluntary retirement program has not been enough to stave off financial woes for one of Amherst’s more well-known employers. Nordson Corp. informed 140 nonsalaried employees at its Jackson Street facility Friday that all will be furloughed the week of Feb. 9. While the employees will be on [...]
Man gets 18 to life for DVD-player murder
ELYRIA — A Lorain man accused of fatally shooting another man in a 2004 dispute over a DVD player and a scale pleaded guilty Friday to murder and other charges that will send him to prison for 18 years to life. Jason Charles, 33, would have faced the death penalty if his aggravated murder trial [...]
None hurt, but a plane is damaged as snow crashes in on airport building
NEW RUSSIA TWP. — Part of a hangar at the Lorain County Regional Airport collapsed Friday morning. Lorain County Administrator Jim Cordes said no one was injured in the collapse, but at least one plane was damaged by falling debris and snow. Cordes said the weight of the snow that had built up on the [...]
Lorain looks at spending to attract business
LORAIN — A City Council committee decided Friday that it’s more important than ever to lure business to Lorain in these tough economic times, including a unnamed firm that could bring 100 manufacturing jobs to town. A representative of the unnamed firm told Lorain Service Director Robert Gilchrist on Friday that another community has offered [...]
New judge hires magistrate who was pressured to resign
ELYRIA — Assistant Lorain Law Director Jim Walther has begun hiring staff for when he becomes a county Family Court Judge on Feb. 9 despite his reservations about merging the county’s Probate Court with the Domestic Relations and Juvenile courts. The woman he has chosen to serve as his magistrate, Lisa Swenski, will be returning [...]
Amherst man gets a year for fake dog rescues
ELYRIA – An Amherst man who took money to care for dogs rescued from Hurricane Katrina and then didn`t do anything for the animals was sentenced Friday to a year in prison. Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Miraldi also imposed a $1,000 fine on Donald Chambers and ordered him to repay the Best Friends [...]
Eight Lorain schools earn government energy awards
LORAIN — Eight buildings in the Lorain school district have been recognized with energy awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The buildings earned the Energy Star designation. Energy Star is a government standard for energy efficiency. “We are pleased (with the) recognition of our energy efficiency efforts,” said Cheryl Atkinson, superintendent of Lorain Schools. [...]
Elyria’s first salvo of layoffs: Four part-timers
Cuts in Street Department a step to remove $3M from budget; Grace says more ahead
Lorain/Sheffield/Sheffield Lake notebook: Jan. 31, 2009
South Lorain library holds black history contest LORAIN — The South Lorain branch of the Lorain Public Library System is holding a contest throughout February in recognition of Black History Month. Library associate Veronica Parker said there will be about 25 pictures of famous African Americans on display for contestants to identify. There will also [...]
Boys basketball: Bad quarter costs Elyria Catholic in loss at Cleveland Central Catholic
CLEVELAND — Alan Januzzi said he wanted his Elyria Catholic team to do three things from the beginning of Friday night’s game. That triumvirate was: • Limit the turnovers; •Keep Cleveland Central Catholic’s rebounding in check; •Control the tempo. “We didn’t do that in the first quarter, but we did it from that point on,” [...]
Lorain Schools to use grant money to lease laptops
LORAIN — The Lorain school district has decided to use grant money to lease laptops instead of buying them so freshmen and sophomores can be relieved of the burden of their textbooks. A $200,000 Career and Professional Pathways grant was originally earmarked for 922 ninth-graders, but Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson announced at Friday’s school board meeting [...]
Blazes in Brighton Twp., Sheffield Lake burn families out of homes
Families in Brighton Township and Sheffield Lake are receiving assistance from the Red Cross after fires destroyed their homes Friday morning. The Wellington Fire Department responded to a call about 10:20 a.m. and spent the next two hours battling a blaze in the 23000 block of Gore Orphanage Road with crews from Wakeman, New London [...]
High school bowling notes: Sheppard’s big day leads Keystone past Vermilion in roll-off for league title
Junior Heather Sheppard had a career day for the Wildcats on Thursday afternoon at Brunswick Zone as the Keystone girls team defeated Vermilion 2,126-2,068, to win a roll-off for the North Shore Bowling Conference championship. Sheppard opened with a season-high game of 236, finishing the game with seven straight strikes. She bowled 197 for her [...]
Provenza drawing a county paycheck while incarcerated
LORAIN — Law Director Mark Provenza may be turning down his city paychecks while he’s serving a 90-day jail sentence on a DUI charge, but that doesn’t mean he’s not getting paid. Provenza has received two checks for $346.15 this month, Chief Deputy Lorain County Auditor Craig Snodgrass said. The county is required by state [...]
Lorain police stun man without pants
LORAIN — Police officers used Tasers to subdue a 30-year-old man who had been threatening suicide after the man dropped his pants and refused to obey commands when a SWAT team entered his home in the 800 block of West Ninth Street, according to a police report. Joseph R. Ramirez, of Lorain, was charged with [...]
Sean Dale
Sean Dale, 24, of Valdosta, Georgia, died Wednesday, January 28, 2009, in Georgia. Born August 8, 1984, in Elyria, he was the son of Todd and Darlene (Schroeder) Dale. Sean worked as a roofer and also worked for Papa Johns Pizza. He was a member of the Car Club in Valdosta, Georgia, loved to work [...]
Lorain school district eyes May levy
District undecided on millage, length of proposed levy
From ‘pay as you throw` to ‘pay you as you throw` for recycling
AMHERST — City residents will be the first in Northeast Ohio to be rewarded with gift cards and discounts to area businesses for recycling items such as newspapers, magazines, aluminum cans and glass. The rewards are being offered by Allied Waste Management, the firm that has picked up the city’s garbage for more than 30 [...]
Richard E. Ott
Richard E. "Dick" Ott, 86, of Amherst, passed away Friday, January 29, 2009 at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland following a sudden illness. He was born March 14, 1922. Mr. Ott was a lifelong Amherst resident, graduating from Amherst High School with the class of 1940. Dick was a high school multi-sport athlete including playing [...]