Archive for May, 2009
Lorain acquires LCCAA mortgages
LORAIN – The third time was the charm Monday night as City Council authorized city administrators to use $325,000 from the city`s revolving loan fund to purchase two mortgages on buildings housing the Lorain County Community Action Agency. Council voted 9-1 in favor of the ordinance that will allow Director of Public Service Robert Gilchrist [...]
Bank sues Oster Construction for more than $7.8M
LORAIN – Oster Construction Inc. is being sued for nonpayment of more than $7.8 million the company has borrowed since 2002, according to a lawsuit filed Monday. The lawsuit, filed in Common Pleas Court on behalf of Huntington National Bank, states that the company took out five promissory notes that have not been repaid. The [...]
Elyria parks, cemetery overgrown and underfunded
ELYRIA – Thanks to the wet weather, the grass is growing fast – too fast for city workers to keep up in Elyria`s parks and cemeteries. Work once handled by dozens of seasonal workers and part-time employees in the Parks and Recreation Department now is being done by just a few as budget concerns forced [...]
Memorial Day organizers concerned about cemetery
ELYRIA – The grass at Ridgelawn Cemetery, the final resting place for Elyria`s pioneer families and other stellar citizens, is knee high, and that has people preparing for this weekend`s Memorial Day ceremony worried. The ceremony traditionally takes place in the cemetery on the west side of Gulf Road, between Ridge and Columbus streets. “If [...]
In Toledo, embattled mayor grabs a mower
TOLEDO – A mayor is asking residents to grab a mower and help him cut the grass in city parks. Budget cuts mean Toledo has hired fewer seasonal workers to keep its parks tidy, so Mayor Carty Finkbeiner was out with a mower doing the job Saturday at a park near his home. About 10 [...]
Blotter: May 19, 2009
Lorain police Sunday, May 17 2:57 p.m. – 2000 block Reeves Ave., Valerie Miller, 38, of Lorain, charged with domestic violence for hitting her husband with a chair. 7:05 p.m. – 100 block E. 30th St., a man reported someone spray painted his home. 11:56 a.m. – 300 block Reid Ave., a man reported someone [...]
Former cardiologist sues heart center
ELYRIA – A former cardiologist with the North Ohio Heart Center is suing his ex-employer, saying he was punished for raising concerns over the treatments some of the center`s patients received. The lawsuit, filed Monday in Lorain County Common Pleas Court, said that Abdul Wattar raised concerns similar to those pointed out in a Dartmouth [...]
Obituaries for May 19, 2009
Minnie Marie Beam Patricia C. King Margaret J. Cook Avis L. Blum Richard J. Brown Frances H. Wahl Ronald R. Lovell Celestine Surma Read the full obituaries on The Chronicle E-edition web site at: http://elyriachronicletelegram.oh.newsmemory.com
More police join forces to save costs
CLEVELAND – A growing number of cash-strapped counties, townships and cities are combining police forces, going beyond the traditional practice of mutual aid to perform drug investigations and carry out regular patrols. In Summit County, for example, most of Lakemore`s police force will be absorbed into neighboring Springfield Township`s department by June 1. And the [...]
Tax-sharing details in short supply
ELYRIA – Concrete details on a proposal to create regional tax revenue sharing and land management programs in the 16-county Northeast Ohio region were in short supply Monday at a meeting to discuss the idea. Hudson Mayor William Currin, who is among those spearheading the Regional Prosperity Initiative, said the details haven`t been worked out [...]
Cigarette may have started blaze
ELYRIA – A cigarette thrown in a trash can outside the Lorain County Administration Building may have been the cause of a fire Saturday night that damaged the building and left much of it closed Monday. Elyria Fire Chief Rich Benton said while a cigarette could have caused the fire, it`s likely the exact cause [...]
South Amherst writer’s graphic novel up for award
SOUTH AMHERST – For 30-plus years, drive-in movies loomed large on America`s cultural landscape. But in the 1970s, their inviting neon lights began to fade as many owners began showing second-run or X-rated movies to get by, and the land occupied by drive-ins gave way to far more lucrative housing tracts and shopping centers. No [...]
Amherst, Vermilion & South Amherst notebook: May 19, 2009
Third Thursdays are back in Vermilion Vermilion`s popular Third Thursdays are back for another summer season. Beginning this week, visitors can stroll the quaint downtown shops or browse among displays of artwork for sale while being serenaded by musical groups performing along Liberty Avenue and Main Street. The free Music, Flowers & A Sunset concerts [...]
Cavaliers Playoffs: Wallace contributing with defense, leadership
He`s averaging 0.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11 minutes a game in the postseason, but Ben Wallace`s value to the Cavaliers can`t be measured in numbers. It doesn`t show up in the box score, but Wallace, a four-time winner of the NBA`s Defensive Player of the Year award and the starting center on Detroit`s [...]
NBA Playoffs: Magic rolls in Boston, next up for Cavaliers
BOSTON – Dwight Howard remembers the reaction when he first talked about bringing an NBA championship to Orlando. “Everybody laughed,” the Magic center said after helping Orlando beat the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics 101-82 on Sunday night and advance to the Eastern Conference finals. “I believe we can win a championship. We`re not going [...]
Indians: Game’s unusual, but Tribe loss isn’t
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Andy Sonnanstine thought the last time he batted third was in Little League, maybe. Sonnanstine, a Wadsworth High School graduate, delivered after a pregame mistake forced the pitcher to bat Sunday, hitting an RBI double in the Tampa Bay Rays` 7-5 victory over the Cleveland Indians. The game was delayed 13 [...]
Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon: Westlake’s McConville takes 5th, honors grandpa
CLEVELAND – It was a special day in more ways than one for Westlake`s Shannon McConville on Sunday at the 32nd annual Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K. McConville dropped 15 minutes from her previous best marathon time to finish fifth in the women`s division in three hours, 10 minutes and six seconds. [...]
Indians notes: Huff, Aquino called up; Grady given break
The Cleveland Indians purchased the contracts of pitchers David Huff and Greg Aquino from Triple-A Columbus. Huff made his major league debut as Sunday`s starter in a 7-5 loss to Tampa Bay. Aquino will work out of the bullpen. To make room on the roster, Cleveland optioned reliever Tony Sipp and outrighted right-hander Masa Kobayashi [...]
Golf roundup: Johnson defends title in Texas shootout
James Driscoll didn`t see where Zach Johnson`s approach landed on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff Sunday. He didn`t have to. Thanks to the gallery, he heard it. “I figured it was about 10 feet,” Driscoll said. The crowd got even louder when Johnson sank the birdie putt to successfully defend his Texas Open [...]
NBA Playoffs: Lakers look good in easy Game 7 win
LOS ANGELES – All is well again in La-La Land. The real Los Angeles Lakers showed up, and in a Game 7, no less. With Pau Gasol dominating on both ends of the court, the Lakers emphatically silenced the doubters and the Houston Rockets, winning the decisive final game of the Western Conference semifinals 89-70 [...]
Area motorsports: Two records set; Peterson gets first win
SANDUSKY – The early afternoon rain showers failed to put a damper on the racing action Saturday night at Sandusky Speedway. The extended track-drying process made for a later start, but the fans were treated to some exciting racing as two track records were established. In the Sportsman division Mike Sims of Marblehead stopped the clocks at a 19.311. [...]
County cleans up after fire at Administration Building
ELYRIA – The third, fourth and fifth floors of the Lorain County Administration Building on Middle Avenue will be closed today as cleanup from Saturday night`s fire continues, officials said. Lorain County Commissioner Ted Kalo said damage estimates from the fire, which started in the alley on the north side of the building and spread [...]
Two hurt in separate single-car crashes
ELYRIA – Two local men are recovering in area hospitals after driving their vehicles off the road in Elyria and Henrietta Township on Sunday, officials said, adding alcohol played a part in one of the crashes. Just after midnight on Sunday, an Amherst man was ejected from his vehicle after he drove off the right [...]
Local volunteers bring state-of-the-art dentistry to grateful Haitian children
Imagine filling cavities and doing other dental work on youngsters without electric drills and other modern techniques. It can be done – and done well, according to participants in Cap Haitien Dental Institute, a nonprofit group that provides free dental care to poor children in Haiti. In January, a team of local volunteers led by [...]
Blotter: May 18, 2009
Lorain police Saturday, May 16 11:26 a.m. – 3000 block Tressa Ave., woman assaulted. 7:35 p.m. – 2300 block Elyria Ave., Farah Janee Hammonds, 18, Lorain, charged with domestic violence. 8:58 p.m. – 1800 block E. 29th St., 16-year-old Lorain boy was charged with domestic violence and unruly child for threatening to kill his mother [...]