Archive for June, 2010
Coaches pick Columbia’s Jen Solanics for Miss Softball
AMHERST — It might have been at the hot and dusty OGSO districts in Wellington that Jen Solanics was first noticed as a preteen softball player with potential. It could have been a July afternoon at the OGSO state tournament on a diamond set among corn and soybean fields in Portage or Trumbull County. But [...]
Cavs owner denies LeBron is calling the shots
INDEPENDENCE — Tom Izzo isn’t the only person the Cavaliers have talked to about their vacant head coaching position and LeBron James isn’t being consulted about the search, let alone running the entire organization. That was the word from owner Dan Gilbert and new general manager Chris Grant during a Tuesday afternoon news conference at [...]
Red Sox 3, Indians 2: Tribe bats almost helpless against veteran Wakefield
CLEVELAND — Veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield entered Tuesday sporting a 1-4 record and a hefty 6.02 ERA. No matter. He was facing the Triple-A Indians. With Wakefield’s knuckler dancing and Cleveland hitters flailing once again, Boston took the second of a four-game series at Progressive Field via a 3-2 decision. The Indians managed two runs [...]
Photo gallery: Green team wins high school softball all-star game
AMHERST TWP. — Columbia’s Jen Solanics walked away with the big prize, but it was her pitching counterparts Tuesday that wound up with the glory at the Lorain County Senior All-Star Game at Sliman’s Diamond. Solanics, the Red team’s starter who was also named Miss Softball, struck out nine and walked none in four innings, [...]
MLB draft: Pitcher from Olmsted Falls drafted by Pirates
Stetson Allie’s wait to see which major league team desired his services ended early Tuesday when he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in Round 2 of the MLB amateur draft. Allie, of Olmsted Falls and St. Edward High School, was chosen with the second pick of the day and 52nd overall. It was a [...]
Tribe notes: Vet Grudzielanek released, Hernandez called up from AAA Columbus
CLEVELAND — Mark Grudzielanek’s debut season with the Indians is over before the All-Star break. The veteran infielder, who owned one of the better batting averages on the team at .273 in 30 games, was designated for assignment Tuesday to clear room for Triple-A Columbus’ infielder Anderson Hernandez. According to manager Manny Acta, with the [...]
Vincent school arson suspect changes his story
LORAIN — An 18-year-old Sheffield Township man accused of torching Vincent Elementary School’s playground over Memorial Day weekend now denies he had anything to do with the blaze, his attorney said Tuesday. Attorney JD Tomlinson said Ernest Phillips III felt intimidated by sheriff’s deputies when he was interrogated about the fire on May 30. “The [...]
Payback’s a … joy: Firefighters make good on basketball game bet with the EPD
ELYRIA — Elyria firefighters parked their trucks and put down their high-pressure hoses Tuesday morning and picked up sponges and plain old water hoses. In the back parking lot of the Elyria Police Station, a short line of dirty police cruisers waited to be washed, and it was the firefighters’ job to do the work. [...]
Abraham Auto Mall gets Buick brand back
ELYRIA — The Nick Abraham Auto Mall has regained its Buick franchise from General Motors, which announced Tuesday that about 900 GM dealerships that the company had planned to cut would get reprieves. GM North America President Mark Reuss said the American automaker should wind up with about 5,000 dealers in July. The company originally [...]
Arbitor rules against Spitzer’s try to keep Sheffield Chrysler franchise
ELYRIA — The Spitzer Auto Group has lost an arbitration fight to keep selling Chrysler vehicles at the auto dealer’s Sheffield location. Chrysler spokesman Michael Palese said Spitzer still has several other cases involving other dealerships Chrysler targeted to cease selling its nameplate vehicles pending in arbitration, but decisions aren’t expected in those cases until [...]
Rescuers pull worker out from collapsed trench
AVON LAKE — A Roto-Rooter worker is lucky to be alive after a trench he was working in collapsed Tuesday afternoon and buried him in heavy clay almost to his head. The worker, who was not identified by the Avon Lake Fire Department, was trapped for about 30 minutes before he was rescued shortly before [...]
Police log for June 9, 2010
Elyria police Sunday, June 6 10:18 a.m. – 300 block 16th St., car broken into, jacket stolen. 11:32 a.m. – 1600 block Middle Ave., car broken into, $280 in cash stolen. 11:44 a.m. – 4900 block Midway Mall, car broken into, chain saw and tools stolen. 1:05 p.m. – 100 block Fourth St., Ricky McCartney, [...]
Judge: Ohio driving record fee hike unconstitutional
COLUMBUS — A judge has struck down a higher motor vehicle fee charged to trucking and insurance companies, saying it violates Ohio’s constitution. Lawmakers last year raised the fee on certified copies of driving records from $2 to $5, a move intended to generate $10 million for homeland security and emergency medical services. But Franklin [...]
Ohio employers urged to keep kids on parents’ benefits till age 28
COLUMBUS — Advocates for the uninsured are urging some of Ohio’s biggest employers to follow a new state law that allows young adults to stay on their parents’ health insurance until they turn 28. The law takes effect July 1 and exceeds the extension to age 26 mandated by President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. [...]
Ohio Supreme Court refuses to hear Noe appeal
COLUMBUS — The Ohio Supreme Court has rejected an effort by a former Republican fundraiser to overturn his conviction in a state investment scandal. The court today declined to hear an appeal from Tom Noe, whose conviction was at the center of a political melee that engulfed Ohio Republicans five years ago. Five justices joined [...]
Strickland: Scrapping inmate program at governor’s mansion would cost $281,000 a year
COLUMBUS — Gov. Ted Strickland says it would cost taxpayers $281,000 a year to hire a staff that would replace prison inmates who cook and clean at the governor’s mansion. Strickland released the cost estimate as the state reviews whether to continue the prison program, which he suspended indefinitely after learning that two inmates had [...]
Red Sox 3, Indians 2: Wakefield’s knuckler baffles Tribe
CLEVELAND – Veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield entered Tuesday sporting a 1-4 record and a hefty 6.02 ERA. No matter. He was facing the Triple-A Indians. With Wakefield’s knuckler dancing and Cleveland hitters flailing once again, Boston took the second of a four-game series at Progressive Field via a 3-2 decision. The Indians managed two runs [...]
Red Sox 3, Indians 2: Wakefield baffles Tribe
Tim Wakefield’s knuckleball was too much for the Indians in a 3-2 Cleveland loss at Progressive Field on Tuesday night. Wakefield allowed just one earned run over 7 1/3 innings to win for just the second time this season.
Police: ‘At-risk’ woman missing from Wooster may be in Elyria area
A woman missing from Wooster since Saturday morning may be in the Elyria area, Wooster police reported. Wooster Police Chief Steven Glick said Susan Ryan, 58, was classified as “at-risk” missing, as she left of her own accord with only a handgun, a map of the Wooster area and her ID. Relatives said it was [...]
Fleeing man crashes overnight in Elyria; police say he tried to hit cruiser
ELYRIA — A domestic violence suspect led police on a chase early this morning that ended in a crash on Eastern Heights Boulevard after he allegedly tried to crash head-on into a police cruiser. William Jones Jr., 29, of Avon is being charged with domestic violence, felonious assault on a police officer, OVI and failure [...]
AUDIO: Roto-Rooter employee rescued from trench in Avon Lake
AVON LAKE — Avon Lake firefighters rescued a man who became stuck in a trench this afternoon along Lake Road. He was able to walk to a waiting ambulance. Listen to an interview with homeowner Roberta Riggs, who witnessed the trench collapse in her front yard: [Audio clip: view full post to listen] The man, [...]
Most recent Vincent playground fire also ruled arson
SHEFFIELD TWP. — The fire that charred a small patch of rubber mulch on the already-burned playground at Vincent Elementary on Sunday was arson, according to sheriff’s Capt. John Reiber. Clearview Schools Superintendent Rick Buckosh said surveillance video of the playground showed a juvenile fleeing the area after the fire started. The fire, which was [...]
Be prepared: Tornado-readiness tips
ELYRIA — Finding the safest shelter, having enough food and water and having access to emergency weather forecasts are critical tools that could save lives during a disaster. These items typically top the list of what to have on hand when emergencies loom, but they bear repeating, especially in light of this past weekend’s deadly [...]
Fishermen fined $16,000, lose 3 boats, 3 trailers, 2 lots of fish
SANDUSKY — Six fishermen from Tennessee and Georgia have paid a steep price for being fuzzy on Ohio’s fishing laws. Gino Barna of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said the men were fined $16,000 and had to forfeit three bass boats and trailers and two freezers full of fish. The charges stemmed from a [...]
Ruckus in Lorain Muni Court when defendant tries to flee
The usual quiet of the Lorain Police Department lobby was shattered late this morning by a few seconds of thunderously loud noise overhead that sounded like a heavy object crashing to the floor. It turned out the commotion, which occurred about 11:15 a.m., took place in the courtroom of Lorain Municipal Court Judge Thomas J. [...]