Archive for January, 2010
HAITI: Local church members ready to assist
LORAIN — A doctor, two nurses and others connected with the Church on the North Coast are preparing to go on a relief mission to assist earthquake victims in Haiti. Already, missionary Rick Alford, who was in Haiti when the earthquake struck, has rescued a crying child by the side of the road in Port-au-Prince [...]
Elyria starts fire talks, seeking time-off concessions
ELYRIA — The city is asking the local firefighters union to agree to give up some vacation and sick days as well as several hours of floating holiday time for the same pay. Mayor Bill Grace said Elyria firefighters make pay comparable to Elyria police officers, but in comparison have a contract that allows them [...]
E-mail from Lorain police chief shows his misgivings about Head Start case
LORAIN — The daughter of Nancy Smith said Thursday that an e-mail sent to her by Lorain police Chief Cel Rivera’s secretary earlier this month contains Rivera’s true feelings about the controversial Head Start child molestation case that sent her mother to prison for 14 years. “Nancy Smith has been incarcerated for almost 15 years [...]
Girls basketball: EC falls to VASJ
CLEVELAND — Elyria Catholic played the last 10 minutes of Thursday night’s North Coast League game against Villa Angela-St. Joseph like a team that has been on the road for nearly four weeks in the midst of a five-game road trip. The Panthers came out strong in the first quarter, but failed to convert shots [...]
Invacare workers bend Obama’s ear in a virtual way
ELYRIA — More than 100 employees at Invacare Corp. who want President Barack Obama to visit the company during his visit to Lorain County next Friday are making a direct appeal to the president over YouTube. Some were calm and collected, while others were a bit flustered while taping their videos — almost as if [...]
Lorain woman running for state rep seat
LORAIN — Maria Zampieri Vitale is hoping to make a career change. Vitale announced Thursday that she is running for state representative from the 56th district, looking to replace outgoing state Rep. Joseph Koziura. Vitale, a 60-year-old former investigator with the Lorain County Child Support Enforcement Agency, said she is not a career politician and [...]
Man charged with firing shots in Lorain
LORAIN — A Lorain man was charged after firing several shots into the air Wednesday night. Esteban Santiago, 19, was charged with discharging firearms and improper handling of firearms in a vehicle after police were called at 10 p.m. to the 1000 block of West Ninth Street. Witnesses said a man in a white jumpsuit [...]
Man’s T’s make plea: Pay Cribbs
NORTH RIDGEVILLE — Tony Madalone was so inspired by the performance of Browns special teamer Joshua Cribbs — and discouraged by the team’s reluctance to give him a significant raise — that he put Cribbs’ likeness on a T-shirt with the words: Pay Cribbs. After selling 200 shirts in less than a week and gaining [...]
Browns’ Heckert lowers boom, fires 4 staffers
CLEVELAND — New general manager Tom Heckert began his overhaul of the Cleveland Browns’ personnel department with four firings. Heckert dismissed the pro personnel group Thursday, spokesman Neal Gulkis said. The department was headed by senior director Steve Sabo, who had been with the Browns since 1998. Keith O’Quinn, Jim Jauch and James Kirkland were [...]
Man cited for allowing son, 7, to drive truck
NORTH RIDGEVILLE — A Bay Village man has been charged by police after he allegedly allowed his 7-year-old son to drive his truck. Todd Pierce, 34, was charged with wrongful entrustment Jan. 8 following complaints by the man’s ex-wife, with whom his son lives. According to information obtained by police through discussions with Pierce’s former [...]
Browns’ Cribbs, Thomas All-Pro
Browns left tackle Joe Thomas and return specialist Joshua Cribbs trumped their Pro Bowl berths by being selected to the Associated Press All-Pro first team Thursday. It’s the first time either has been an All-Pro. The All-Pro team features just two tackles from across the NFL, compared with two from each conference for the Pro [...]
Wrestling notebook: Getting their ‘Bucks’ worth
With the fast-approaching release of the annual Brakeman Report nearing, many wrestling enthusiasts are biding their time by searching the Internet and looking for other experts’ rankings and analysis. Possibly one of the best comes from Cleveland-area pundit Josh Lowe, known as Bucksman on the Web, and is published each January on Yappi.com. Lowe is [...]
Jazz 97, Cavaliers 96
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Rookie Sundiata Gaines hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end a frenzied series of comebacks and give the Utah Jazz a 97-96 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night. LeBron James had led the Cavaliers on a 22-4 run earlier in the fourth quarter and put the [...]
County agency discusses impact of $4.4 million stimulus package
LORAIN — Federal money is flowing in for the Lorain County Community Action Agency. The organization discussed Wednesday how $4.4 million in stimulus money has impacted what it’s been able to do throughout Lorain County. “Each dollar put into the community multiplies,” LCCAA executive director William Locke said. Various LCCAA agencies hire new employees, contract [...]
Flashing LED stop signs coming to Huntington
HUNTINGTON TWP. — Lighted stop signs with flashing Light Emitting Diodes will be installed Friday on both sides of the state Route 162 intersection with state Route 58, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation. The installation of the signs, which is expected to cost $3,000, is designed to increase safety and reduce crashes, according [...]
Former fire chief leaves $650,000 to Vermilion Schools
VERMILION — Some years ago, longtime Vermilion fire Chief Eugene Kropf told Vermilion school officials that he planned to leave the district some money for student scholarships. Such generosity isn’t uncommon. But the amount of money left by Kropf — $650,000 — certainly was a surprise. “I knew that he had talked to (former Vermilion [...]
Ohio getting $175 million in stimulus foreclosure relief
COLUMBUS — Officials have announced $175 million in new federal stimulus money to help Ohio communities devastated by foreclosure and littered with abandoned properties. At a news conference Thursday in Columbus, Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan said the money will be distributed through a program that seeks to turn foreclosed homes into affordable housing. The funding [...]
Send a text message and help out Haiti effort
Text “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross’ relief efforts in Haiti. The Red Cross announced in a Tweet this morning that the effort had already raised $3 million. People who text to the number will see the donation as a $10 charge on their cell phone bill. More info from [...]
Ohio AG says beware of Haiti scams
COLUMBUS — The state’s top law enforcement official is telling well-meaning Ohioans to beware of scams playing off the earthquake in Haiti. Attorney General Richard Cordray says in a statement that people who want to help will want to do so quickly. But he says taking a little bit of time for due diligence will [...]
Obituaries for Jan. 14, 2010
Loretta Holcomb Darby Mark R. Montgomery Curtis L. Nelson Beulah Lee Crum Vincent G. Yacobozzi Phyllis Vitelli Read the full obituaries on The Chronicle E-edition at: http://www.chroniclet.com/ChroniclEdition/
Heckert drafts plan, wants to build Browns for long haul
Tom Heckert built his reputation with a string of quality drafts for the Eagles. That’s exactly how he plans to mold the Browns into a playoff power like the one he left in Philadelphia. “The draft is how you get there and stay there,” he said Tuesday at his introductory news conference. Heckert, who was [...]
Girls basketball: Columbia erases deficit, stops Keystone
COLUMBIA TWP. — Columbia’s Jen Solanics made one basket all night, a long fourth-quarter 3-pointer that basically cemented a come-from-behind Patriot Athletic Conference victory. The Raiders’ Alayna Shawver, who said she’s a poor foul shooter, made four free throws without a miss and Danielle Riolo made 5-of-6 from the foul line, all in the final [...]
Girls basketball: Comets clamp down on Pioneers
AMHERST — The old sports adage is offense sells tickets and defense wins championships. Though it has not resulted in a championship quite yet for the Amherst Comets, they are well on their way to contending for a title due in large part to their pressure defense. Amherst committed 17 turnovers and was at a [...]
Obama visit next Friday will be town hall at LCCC
ELYRIA — President Barack Obama will have a town hall meeting with around 1,000 people at Lorain County Community College during his scheduled Jan. 22 trip to the county. The White House said in a news release Wednesday that additional details of Obama’s visit, including the time and additional stops, will be released in the [...]
HAITI: Survivors struggle while awaiting aid
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Turning pickup trucks into ambulances and doors into stretchers, Haitians are frantically struggling to save those injured in this week’s earthquake while hoping foreign governments will quickly send in aid. Help began arriving early Thursday when an Air China plane carrying a Chinese search-and-rescue team, medics and aid landed at Port-au-Prince airport, [...]