http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:33:52 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/12/ill-man-charged-after-stop-on-turnpike-with-counterfeit-hats/ http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/12/ill-man-charged-after-stop-on-turnpike-with-counterfeit-hats/#comments Sun, 12 Feb 2012 07:52:52 +0000 Chronicle-Telegram Staff http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/?p=111452 An Illinois man is facing felony trademark counterfeiting charges after they found him with 3,116 counterfeit baseball caps during a traffic stop Wednesday. Tae Gone Park, 41, of Glenview, Ill., was booked at the Lorain County Jail. Troopers stopped a 2006 Toyota Sienna with Illinois registration for a marked lanes violation on the Turnpike near milepost 134, about a mile east of Baumhart Road, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol. During contact with Park, a trooper observed stacks of baseball caps. A search revealed 3,116 counterfeit baseball caps with an estimated value of more than $62,000. The hats displayed trademarked logos of the NFL, NBA, MLB, The Ohio State University and Monster Energy Drink.]]> An Illinois man is facing felony trademark counterfeiting charges after they found him with 3,116 counterfeit baseball caps during a traffic stop Wednesday. Tae Gone Park, 41, of Glenview, Ill., was booked at the Lorain County Jail. Troopers stopped a 2006 Toyota Sienna with Illinois registration for a marked lanes violation on the Turnpike near milepost 134, about a mile east of Baumhart Road, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol. During contact with Park, a trooper observed stacks of baseball caps. A search revealed 3,116 counterfeit baseball caps with an estimated value of more than $62,000. The hats displayed trademarked logos of the NFL, NBA, MLB, The Ohio State University and Monster Energy Drink.]]> http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/12/ill-man-charged-after-stop-on-turnpike-with-counterfeit-hats/feed/ 0 http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/12/the-dash-between-sharon-borer-%e2%80%98always-about-bettering%e2%80%99/ http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/12/the-dash-between-sharon-borer-%e2%80%98always-about-bettering%e2%80%99/#comments Sun, 12 Feb 2012 07:49:33 +0000 Alana Baranick http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/?p=111449 After licensing day care centers for the state of Ohio for several years, Sharon Borer opened the Avon Lake Children’s Center in 1982. “She decided to open one where it was done right,” her daughter, Tracy Wingate, said. She wasn’t looking for kudos for herself. “It was about the kids.” Sharon, who died Jan. 12, 2012, at age 66, started the program in a single rented classroom at Westview Elementary School. By 1988, the center took up six rooms, according to Sharon’s family. [smugmug url="http://elyriact.smugmug.com/hack/feed.mg?Type=gallery&Data=21416372_vzfJ47&format=rss200" title="Click%20any%20image%20to%20view%20larger." imagecount="100" start="1" num="4" thumbsize="Th" link="lightbox" captions="true" sort="false" window="false" smugmug="false" purchasable="false" size="M"] The center offered infant care and a program for latch-key kids from kindergarten to fifth grade. Sharon endeavored to raise the bar on educational offerings for children and the pay rate for her staff.

The Dash Between: About this feature

[caption id="attachment_39588" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Alana Baranick"][/caption] The dates of birth and death that appear like bookends on a tombstone do not matter as much as the dash between those dates. Award-winning writer Alana Baranick has made her living writing about the dash between. She’s focusing on Lorain and Medina counties and those who have made our area the unique and interesting place it is. Look for her stories on alternating Sundays and visit www.chroniclet.com to find additional photographs. [caption id="attachment_39592" align="alignleft" width="75" caption=""Life on the Death Beat""][/caption] The Dash Between is scheduled to appear twice a month in The Chronicle-Telegram. To suggest a story or make a comment, contact Baranick at abaranick@chroniclet.com or (440) 865-2518. Today, Alana Baranick examines the Dash Between April 16, 1945, when Sharon Smith was born in Cuyahoga County, and Jan. 12, 2012, when the Sheffield Lake resident died at age 66.

“She was always about bettering,” her sister Cindy Noster said. “Once a year, she would bring all the staff on and hire medical people and allow Murray Ridge children, who were severely handicapped, day care for a week around Christmas. She did it for about five years to give (Murray Ridge) parents a break.” Sharon later operated the center out of the Avon Lake Community Center and a Baptist church before giving it up around 10 years ago. She had been ill for the last eight years. She apparently contracted the West Nile virus from a mosquito bite at that time, but her death certificate shows she died of complications from Parkinson’s disease, according to her sister. “They think the West Nile virus was the igniter for it,” her sister said. “Apparently, my sister was suffering much more than I knew then.” Sharon L. Smith was born in Cuyahoga County on April 16, 1945. She was the fourth eldest of 10 siblings. Her late father, Elbert “E.J.” Smith, had worked as a machinist and electrical technician for such companies as McDowell Wellman Engineering in Cleveland and TRW. Her mother, Margie, who died Oct. 27 at age 90, at one time served as a birthday hostess for McDonald’s Restaurant on West Erie in Lorain. Sharon spent her early years in Lakewood and Westlake. She moved with her family to Sheffield Lake in the late 1950s. She attended Brookside High School in the Sheffield-Sheffield Lake school system. She was a cheerleader and class president, according to family, but quit school early to get married. “I used to run around with her brothers,” said her husband, Joe. “We both went to Brookside High School.” Everything about their relationship was special, according to her husband. They defied doomsayers, who predicted a quick and painful end to their teen marriage. “We were just meant to be together,” he said. “We just started dating, and then we ran away to Monroe, Michigan, to get married. March 21, 1961. That was the start of 50 wonderful years.” They had three kids: Steven, Tracy and Robert. Sharon also helped her mother raise her youngest six siblings. “After my younger brother went to kindergarten, she got her GED,” her daughter said. “In 1970, she did that.” School became a lifelong project for Sharon. She went on to earn an associate’s degree from Lorain County Community College and a bachelor’s degree from Baldwin-Wallace College. She also took courses at Kent State University and John Carroll University, where she received a master’s degree to become a licensed social worker. She participated in a doctoral program at Cleveland State University until she became too ill to continue. Sharon “did a ton of community service,” her sister said, adding that Sharon’s experiences as a pregnant teenager may have been the impetus for her good-deed-doing. She taught early childhood education for Lorain County Community College and the Lorain schools. She volunteered at the Genesis House battered women’s shelter in the 1980s. “She was just the most kind and accepting person,” her sister said. “If she couldn’t fix a problem, she kept you safe.” Sharon did private counseling through a doctor’s office, worked with Vietnam veterans, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and worked as a child therapist in Lorain County. “Sharon took her job seriously,” her sister said. “I knew she was a lead therapist on a (controversial child abuse) case, but she didn’t talk about it.” She maintained patient-therapist confidentiality. She was director of Little People’s Palace in Lorain before taking the licensing job with the state. Sharon also served as a Sunday school teacher and Christian education director at Sheffield Lake United Church of Christ, when her children were young. More recently, she attended the Lorain UCC. “With the children, we went to all their football and wrestling and school activities,” her husband said. “When the grandkids came along, we kidnapped them.” They took their three grandkids — Joseph W., Jacob and Philip — on vacations to Disneyland, Washington, D.C., Niagara Falls and Yellowstone National Park. “We went to the Dakotas to see Crazy Horse,” Sharon’s husband said. “When our oldest grandson went to Defiance College, we went there every weekend for football games.” The Borers made frequent trips to Amish Country, Mohican State Park and rural southern Ohio. “When she got sick, we did it until it was too much for her to do anymore,” her husband said. “We did everything together.” [smugmug url="http://elyriact.smugmug.com/hack/feed.mg?Type=gallery&Data=21416372_vzfJ47&format=rss200" title="Click%20any%20image%20to%20view%20larger." imagecount="100" start="5" num="100" thumbsize="Th" link="lightbox" captions="true" sort="false" window="false" smugmug="false" purchasable="false" size="M"]]]> After licensing day care centers for the state of Ohio for several years, Sharon Borer opened the Avon Lake Children’s Center in 1982. “She decided to open one where it was done right,” her daughter, Tracy Wingate, said. She wasn’t looking for kudos for herself. “It was about the kids.” Sharon, who died Jan. 12, 2012, at age 66, started the program in a single rented classroom at Westview Elementary School. By 1988, the center took up six rooms, according to Sharon’s family. [smugmug url="http://elyriact.smugmug.com/hack/feed.mg?Type=gallery&Data=21416372_vzfJ47&format=rss200" title="Click%20any%20image%20to%20view%20larger." imagecount="100" start="1" num="4" thumbsize="Th" link="lightbox" captions="true" sort="false" window="false" smugmug="false" purchasable="false" size="M"] The center offered infant care and a program for latch-key kids from kindergarten to fifth grade. Sharon endeavored to raise the bar on educational offerings for children and the pay rate for her staff.

The Dash Between: About this feature

[caption id="attachment_39588" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Alana Baranick"][/caption] The dates of birth and death that appear like bookends on a tombstone do not matter as much as the dash between those dates. Award-winning writer Alana Baranick has made her living writing about the dash between. She’s focusing on Lorain and Medina counties and those who have made our area the unique and interesting place it is. Look for her stories on alternating Sundays and visit www.chroniclet.com to find additional photographs. [caption id="attachment_39592" align="alignleft" width="75" caption=""Life on the Death Beat""][/caption] The Dash Between is scheduled to appear twice a month in The Chronicle-Telegram. To suggest a story or make a comment, contact Baranick at abaranick@chroniclet.com or (440) 865-2518. Today, Alana Baranick examines the Dash Between April 16, 1945, when Sharon Smith was born in Cuyahoga County, and Jan. 12, 2012, when the Sheffield Lake resident died at age 66.

“She was always about bettering,” her sister Cindy Noster said. “Once a year, she would bring all the staff on and hire medical people and allow Murray Ridge children, who were severely handicapped, day care for a week around Christmas. She did it for about five years to give (Murray Ridge) parents a break.” Sharon later operated the center out of the Avon Lake Community Center and a Baptist church before giving it up around 10 years ago. She had been ill for the last eight years. She apparently contracted the West Nile virus from a mosquito bite at that time, but her death certificate shows she died of complications from Parkinson’s disease, according to her sister. “They think the West Nile virus was the igniter for it,” her sister said. “Apparently, my sister was suffering much more than I knew then.” Sharon L. Smith was born in Cuyahoga County on April 16, 1945. She was the fourth eldest of 10 siblings. Her late father, Elbert “E.J.” Smith, had worked as a machinist and electrical technician for such companies as McDowell Wellman Engineering in Cleveland and TRW. Her mother, Margie, who died Oct. 27 at age 90, at one time served as a birthday hostess for McDonald’s Restaurant on West Erie in Lorain. Sharon spent her early years in Lakewood and Westlake. She moved with her family to Sheffield Lake in the late 1950s. She attended Brookside High School in the Sheffield-Sheffield Lake school system. She was a cheerleader and class president, according to family, but quit school early to get married. “I used to run around with her brothers,” said her husband, Joe. “We both went to Brookside High School.” Everything about their relationship was special, according to her husband. They defied doomsayers, who predicted a quick and painful end to their teen marriage. “We were just meant to be together,” he said. “We just started dating, and then we ran away to Monroe, Michigan, to get married. March 21, 1961. That was the start of 50 wonderful years.” They had three kids: Steven, Tracy and Robert. Sharon also helped her mother raise her youngest six siblings. “After my younger brother went to kindergarten, she got her GED,” her daughter said. “In 1970, she did that.” School became a lifelong project for Sharon. She went on to earn an associate’s degree from Lorain County Community College and a bachelor’s degree from Baldwin-Wallace College. She also took courses at Kent State University and John Carroll University, where she received a master’s degree to become a licensed social worker. She participated in a doctoral program at Cleveland State University until she became too ill to continue. Sharon “did a ton of community service,” her sister said, adding that Sharon’s experiences as a pregnant teenager may have been the impetus for her good-deed-doing. She taught early childhood education for Lorain County Community College and the Lorain schools. She volunteered at the Genesis House battered women’s shelter in the 1980s. “She was just the most kind and accepting person,” her sister said. “If she couldn’t fix a problem, she kept you safe.” Sharon did private counseling through a doctor’s office, worked with Vietnam veterans, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and worked as a child therapist in Lorain County. “Sharon took her job seriously,” her sister said. “I knew she was a lead therapist on a (controversial child abuse) case, but she didn’t talk about it.” She maintained patient-therapist confidentiality. She was director of Little People’s Palace in Lorain before taking the licensing job with the state. Sharon also served as a Sunday school teacher and Christian education director at Sheffield Lake United Church of Christ, when her children were young. More recently, she attended the Lorain UCC. “With the children, we went to all their football and wrestling and school activities,” her husband said. “When the grandkids came along, we kidnapped them.” They took their three grandkids — Joseph W., Jacob and Philip — on vacations to Disneyland, Washington, D.C., Niagara Falls and Yellowstone National Park. “We went to the Dakotas to see Crazy Horse,” Sharon’s husband said. “When our oldest grandson went to Defiance College, we went there every weekend for football games.” The Borers made frequent trips to Amish Country, Mohican State Park and rural southern Ohio. “When she got sick, we did it until it was too much for her to do anymore,” her husband said. “We did everything together.” [smugmug url="http://elyriact.smugmug.com/hack/feed.mg?Type=gallery&Data=21416372_vzfJ47&format=rss200" title="Click%20any%20image%20to%20view%20larger." imagecount="100" start="5" num="100" thumbsize="Th" link="lightbox" captions="true" sort="false" window="false" smugmug="false" purchasable="false" size="M"]]]> http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/12/the-dash-between-sharon-borer-%e2%80%98always-about-bettering%e2%80%99/feed/ 0 http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/city-of-sheffield-lake-employee-salaries/ http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/city-of-sheffield-lake-employee-salaries/#comments Sat, 11 Feb 2012 10:00:55 +0000 Evan Goodenow http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/?p=110192 [table id=19 /]]]> [table id=19 /]]]> http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/city-of-sheffield-lake-employee-salaries/feed/ 0 http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/village-of-sheffield-employee-salaries/ http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/village-of-sheffield-employee-salaries/#comments Sat, 11 Feb 2012 10:00:48 +0000 Evan Goodenow http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/?p=110190 ]]> ]]> http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/village-of-sheffield-employee-salaries/feed/ 0 http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/city-of-lorain-employee-salaries/ http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/city-of-lorain-employee-salaries/#comments Sat, 11 Feb 2012 10:00:01 +0000 Evan Goodenow http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/?p=110186 [table id=16 /]]]> [table id=16 /]]]> http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/city-of-lorain-employee-salaries/feed/ 0 http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/life-in-prison-for-man-convicted-in-fatal-shooting/ http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/life-in-prison-for-man-convicted-in-fatal-shooting/#comments Sat, 11 Feb 2012 07:32:30 +0000 Brad Dicken http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/?p=110908 ELYRIA — Angel Guerra will spend eight years in prison before he begins serving a sentence of life in prison without parole for the July 20 shooting death of Moises Velez. Guerra, 22, didn’t react as Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Mark Betleski handed down the sentence for the aggravated murder and other charges of which Guerra was found guilty following a trial last month. Betleski also sentenced Guerra on charges that stemmed from a June 2010 shooting outside the Club Copa in Lorain in which a man was hit in the legs. Kenneth Ortner, one of Guerra’s lawyers, urged Betleski to throw out the charges against his client, arguing that prosecutors had failed to produce enough evidence to prove his client shot Velez once in the head outside of Southerners Place in Lorain. Betleski rejected the request. Jenifer Berki, another of Guerra’s attorneys, asked Betleski to give her client a chance to get out of prison at some point. “I do see a lot of good in him,” Berki said. On Ortner’s advice, Guerra turned down an offer to speak before Betleski handed down the sentence. Velez’s family did not, urging the judge to keep Guerra in prison for the rest of his life. “I just want him to know that (in) killing my son, he killed me along with him,” Velez’s mother, Ruth Kelly, said. Angelee Velez, Moises Velez’s sister, said that the loss of her brother had been traumatic for her entire family. “It’s true that on that day only one heart stopped beating, but my entire family feels like they all died,” she said. Assistant County Prosecutor Laura Dezort said Guerra wasn’t deserving of mercy in the case. She said Guerra and Richard Alvarado — Guerra’s codefendant who testified against Guerra in exchange for a 15-year prison sentence — had armed themselves and gone looking for Nano and Noel Cruz, with whom Guerra had a feud. Instead, Dezort said, the pair found Velez with friends outside of Southerners. During the trial, witnesses testified that Velez had intervened in a confrontation between Noel Cruz and Guerra days before the shooting. “He went out hunting,” Dezort said of Guerra. “He had a target in his mind, a target who was replaced in his mind by an innocent man.” Dezort also pointed out that Guerra had been involved in another shooting a month before Velez and had juvenile convictions for bringing a gun to school and rape. After the hearing, Angelee Velez said her family was relieved that Betleski had given Guerra the maximum sentence, something they hadn’t expected. “(Guerra) showed no remorse, not even for himself, for his own liberty,” she said. Ortner said that Guerra intends to appeal his conviction based in part on whether a preliminary hearing was held in Lorain Municipal Court before the case was forwarded to the county. Ortner said that he was unable to obtain a transcript of the hearing and was told it didn’t happen but his client insists it did. He had wanted to get a transcript to see if the testimony of witnesses varied between the trial and the preliminary hearing. Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.]]> ELYRIA — Angel Guerra will spend eight years in prison before he begins serving a sentence of life in prison without parole for the July 20 shooting death of Moises Velez. Guerra, 22, didn’t react as Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Mark Betleski handed down the sentence for the aggravated murder and other charges of which Guerra was found guilty following a trial last month. Betleski also sentenced Guerra on charges that stemmed from a June 2010 shooting outside the Club Copa in Lorain in which a man was hit in the legs. Kenneth Ortner, one of Guerra’s lawyers, urged Betleski to throw out the charges against his client, arguing that prosecutors had failed to produce enough evidence to prove his client shot Velez once in the head outside of Southerners Place in Lorain. Betleski rejected the request. Jenifer Berki, another of Guerra’s attorneys, asked Betleski to give her client a chance to get out of prison at some point. “I do see a lot of good in him,” Berki said. On Ortner’s advice, Guerra turned down an offer to speak before Betleski handed down the sentence. Velez’s family did not, urging the judge to keep Guerra in prison for the rest of his life. “I just want him to know that (in) killing my son, he killed me along with him,” Velez’s mother, Ruth Kelly, said. Angelee Velez, Moises Velez’s sister, said that the loss of her brother had been traumatic for her entire family. “It’s true that on that day only one heart stopped beating, but my entire family feels like they all died,” she said. Assistant County Prosecutor Laura Dezort said Guerra wasn’t deserving of mercy in the case. She said Guerra and Richard Alvarado — Guerra’s codefendant who testified against Guerra in exchange for a 15-year prison sentence — had armed themselves and gone looking for Nano and Noel Cruz, with whom Guerra had a feud. Instead, Dezort said, the pair found Velez with friends outside of Southerners. During the trial, witnesses testified that Velez had intervened in a confrontation between Noel Cruz and Guerra days before the shooting. “He went out hunting,” Dezort said of Guerra. “He had a target in his mind, a target who was replaced in his mind by an innocent man.” Dezort also pointed out that Guerra had been involved in another shooting a month before Velez and had juvenile convictions for bringing a gun to school and rape. After the hearing, Angelee Velez said her family was relieved that Betleski had given Guerra the maximum sentence, something they hadn’t expected. “(Guerra) showed no remorse, not even for himself, for his own liberty,” she said. Ortner said that Guerra intends to appeal his conviction based in part on whether a preliminary hearing was held in Lorain Municipal Court before the case was forwarded to the county. Ortner said that he was unable to obtain a transcript of the hearing and was told it didn’t happen but his client insists it did. He had wanted to get a transcript to see if the testimony of witnesses varied between the trial and the preliminary hearing. Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.]]> http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/life-in-prison-for-man-convicted-in-fatal-shooting/feed/ 0 http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/despite-oscar-snubs-take-shelter-gets-local-love/ http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/despite-oscar-snubs-take-shelter-gets-local-love/#comments Sat, 11 Feb 2012 07:30:53 +0000 Emily Kennedy http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/?p=110906 ELYRIA — Timothy Johnson has done everything in cinema: photography, lighting, sound, stop-motion animation, short-film direction — the list goes on. But Friday was the first time he had ever had the opportunity to present a feature film that he’s worked on — a Sundance-Film Festival inclusion, no less — in his hometown. Elyria native Johnson, the energetic first assistant director on the critically acclaimed film “Take Shelter,” kicked off the film’s Lorain County premiere at the Stocker Arts Gallery at Lorain County Community College, his alma mater. “This is quite an honor to be standing up here, because generally, nobody really cares who the assistant director is,” Johnson said, smiling. “I can’t even call this a dream come true, because the idea of a feature film that has had this much recognition, that was filmed in my hometown, my home county, my high school, is not even something I could have conceptualized in 1991.” That year Johnson earned an associate degree from LCCC on a full scholarship. He went on to study film at New York University in New York City, and then moved to Los Angeles for a stint before settling down in Cleveland in 2002. But it all came back in full force when he realized that the media department at LCCC was comprised of the same professors who had been there when he was a student. “Take Shelter” has a number of Lorain County connections — it was shot in locations across Lorain County,  including the former Elyria West High School, from which Johnson graduated. The film was produced over a four-week period in the summer of 2010. The story is an intense, psychological thriller starring Michael Shannon, who plays a man dealing with the tormenting dreams of an impending, catastrophic storm in the small Ohio town where he lives with his wife and daughter. The film was produced independently by Northeast Ohio native Tyler Davidson, who brought Johnson on board to act as the production supervisor. Johnson was later asked to become the first assistant director on the film when no one else was found to do the job. For him, this is just another step on the path to his dream to become an independent producer. “It’s really a question of the next opportunity finding me,” he said. The film has garnered critical acclaim since its premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival last January, traveling to film festivals across the country and generating notable Oscar buzz. It was bought by Sony Pictures Classics and has witnessed a staggered release throughout North America. “Take Shelter” opened at the Cleveland Cedar Lee last October. Friday’s event at the Stocker Arts Center was the first Lorain County showing. “Take Shelter” is rated R and is in limited release across the United States. Contact Emily Kennedy at 329-7243 or ekennedy@chroniclet.com.]]> ELYRIA — Timothy Johnson has done everything in cinema: photography, lighting, sound, stop-motion animation, short-film direction — the list goes on. But Friday was the first time he had ever had the opportunity to present a feature film that he’s worked on — a Sundance-Film Festival inclusion, no less — in his hometown. Elyria native Johnson, the energetic first assistant director on the critically acclaimed film “Take Shelter,” kicked off the film’s Lorain County premiere at the Stocker Arts Gallery at Lorain County Community College, his alma mater. “This is quite an honor to be standing up here, because generally, nobody really cares who the assistant director is,” Johnson said, smiling. “I can’t even call this a dream come true, because the idea of a feature film that has had this much recognition, that was filmed in my hometown, my home county, my high school, is not even something I could have conceptualized in 1991.” That year Johnson earned an associate degree from LCCC on a full scholarship. He went on to study film at New York University in New York City, and then moved to Los Angeles for a stint before settling down in Cleveland in 2002. But it all came back in full force when he realized that the media department at LCCC was comprised of the same professors who had been there when he was a student. “Take Shelter” has a number of Lorain County connections — it was shot in locations across Lorain County,  including the former Elyria West High School, from which Johnson graduated. The film was produced over a four-week period in the summer of 2010. The story is an intense, psychological thriller starring Michael Shannon, who plays a man dealing with the tormenting dreams of an impending, catastrophic storm in the small Ohio town where he lives with his wife and daughter. The film was produced independently by Northeast Ohio native Tyler Davidson, who brought Johnson on board to act as the production supervisor. Johnson was later asked to become the first assistant director on the film when no one else was found to do the job. For him, this is just another step on the path to his dream to become an independent producer. “It’s really a question of the next opportunity finding me,” he said. The film has garnered critical acclaim since its premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival last January, traveling to film festivals across the country and generating notable Oscar buzz. It was bought by Sony Pictures Classics and has witnessed a staggered release throughout North America. “Take Shelter” opened at the Cleveland Cedar Lee last October. Friday’s event at the Stocker Arts Center was the first Lorain County showing. “Take Shelter” is rated R and is in limited release across the United States. Contact Emily Kennedy at 329-7243 or ekennedy@chroniclet.com.]]> http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/despite-oscar-snubs-take-shelter-gets-local-love/feed/ 0 http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/repeat-dui-offender-gets-90-days-jail-for-latest-offense/ http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/repeat-dui-offender-gets-90-days-jail-for-latest-offense/#comments Sat, 11 Feb 2012 07:29:30 +0000 Brad Dicken http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/?p=110904 ELYRIA — A LaGrange Township man who lost his driving privileges for life after being convicted of killing a 2-year-old boy in a 1992 drunken-driving accident was sentenced Friday to 90 days in jail after pleading no contest to a DUI charge stemming from a June crash. Ned Fleck Jr., 53, had a valid driver’s license when he was arrested in June because of a paperwork mix-up in the 1990s that somehow saw his lifetime driving ban not recorded with the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Elyria City Prosecutor Scott Strait said Friday that the paperwork has been corrected and Fleck can no longer obtain a driver’s license. Prosecutors dropped additional DUI charges as well as charges of failure to control and failure to wear a seat belt stemming from the same June 8 crash as part of the plea bargain. Fleck also pleaded no contest to driving under suspension in an unrelated case in which he was stopped by LaGrange police in September. He was fined a total of $1,800 in both cases and will be on supervised probation for one year, although Elyria Municipal Court Judge Lisa Locke Graves’ sentence allows her to subject Fleck to additional penalties if he gets in trouble for similar crimes in the next five years. Fleck must also undergo an alcohol and drug assessment. According to the Ohio Highway Patrol, Fleck was intoxicated when a trooper arrived where Fleck had crashed his 1970 Chevy C-10 pickup into a ditch near his Biggs Road home. Fleck had fled into his home and refused to come out and receive medical treatment for a gash on the back of his head, according to prosecutors. After his daughters coaxed him out of the house, Fleck was combative and threatened medical personnel and a trooper, prosecutors have said. He was taken to the hospital and several staples were used to close the wound in his head. Fleck received an 18-month prison sentence after he was convicted in 1994 of charges stemming from the Sept. 14, 1992, crash that killed 2-year-old Jay Morrison. Fleck was riding his motorcycle down East River Road when Jay ran into the street to retrieve a juice box he dropped while crossing with family members. State records show that at the time of the 1992 crash Fleck already had three prior DUI convictions. Then-Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Thomas Janas imposed the lifetime driving ban during the sentencing hearing in that case and later rejected a request from Fleck’s lawyers to grant him occupational driving privileges. Fleck’s attorney, Jack Bradley, did not return a call seeking comment on Friday’s plea. Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.]]> ELYRIA — A LaGrange Township man who lost his driving privileges for life after being convicted of killing a 2-year-old boy in a 1992 drunken-driving accident was sentenced Friday to 90 days in jail after pleading no contest to a DUI charge stemming from a June crash. Ned Fleck Jr., 53, had a valid driver’s license when he was arrested in June because of a paperwork mix-up in the 1990s that somehow saw his lifetime driving ban not recorded with the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Elyria City Prosecutor Scott Strait said Friday that the paperwork has been corrected and Fleck can no longer obtain a driver’s license. Prosecutors dropped additional DUI charges as well as charges of failure to control and failure to wear a seat belt stemming from the same June 8 crash as part of the plea bargain. Fleck also pleaded no contest to driving under suspension in an unrelated case in which he was stopped by LaGrange police in September. He was fined a total of $1,800 in both cases and will be on supervised probation for one year, although Elyria Municipal Court Judge Lisa Locke Graves’ sentence allows her to subject Fleck to additional penalties if he gets in trouble for similar crimes in the next five years. Fleck must also undergo an alcohol and drug assessment. According to the Ohio Highway Patrol, Fleck was intoxicated when a trooper arrived where Fleck had crashed his 1970 Chevy C-10 pickup into a ditch near his Biggs Road home. Fleck had fled into his home and refused to come out and receive medical treatment for a gash on the back of his head, according to prosecutors. After his daughters coaxed him out of the house, Fleck was combative and threatened medical personnel and a trooper, prosecutors have said. He was taken to the hospital and several staples were used to close the wound in his head. Fleck received an 18-month prison sentence after he was convicted in 1994 of charges stemming from the Sept. 14, 1992, crash that killed 2-year-old Jay Morrison. Fleck was riding his motorcycle down East River Road when Jay ran into the street to retrieve a juice box he dropped while crossing with family members. State records show that at the time of the 1992 crash Fleck already had three prior DUI convictions. Then-Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Thomas Janas imposed the lifetime driving ban during the sentencing hearing in that case and later rejected a request from Fleck’s lawyers to grant him occupational driving privileges. Fleck’s attorney, Jack Bradley, did not return a call seeking comment on Friday’s plea. Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.]]> http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/repeat-dui-offender-gets-90-days-jail-for-latest-offense/feed/ 0 http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/former-mayor-reimburses-city-for-late-biz-card-buy/ http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/former-mayor-reimburses-city-for-late-biz-card-buy/#comments Sat, 11 Feb 2012 07:28:00 +0000 Lisa Roberson http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/?p=110902 ELYRIA — Less than a week before leaving office, former Mayor Bill Grace ordered 1,000 new business cards touting his position as mayor of Elyria. However, he has since repaid the city for the expense after Law Director Scott Serazin informed him the purchase was not a proper use of city funds. A check for $87.50 was received from Grace in the city auditor’s office on Thursday, said City Auditor Ted Pileski. The amount is the full cost of the cards that were invoiced to the city Dec. 24. Pileski said a purchase order his office received shows the cards were ordered Dec. 21, and delivered Dec. 24. Along with the 1,000 two-sided cards for Grace, which had his name and position on the front and personal contact information on the back — home address, phone number and personal email — the order also included 500 one-sided cards for Mayor Holly Brinda. Super Printing on North Ridge Road in Lorain made the cards. Serazin said he was alerted of the purchase by the auditor’s office and subsequently sent Grace a letter telling him that while the purchase was not criminal, it was not a good use of city funds. He requested Grace pay for the cards himself. “It was the timing of the purchase,” Serazin said. “There was no benefit to the city, considering there was only 10 days left to his term.” Serazin said Grace sent a letter along with his check saying that he disagreed with his assessment, but would pay for the cards. Grace said he made the purchase while mayor and thought he was fully within his right to do so. “My intentions were good,” he said. “I have made a lot of contacts over the years and wanted to prevent the new administration from having to spend time repeating my contact information to people who would want to reach me after leaving office.” In the same way Grace said he refers to his predecessor Michael Keys as “mayor,” he said many people continue to call him “Mayor Grace” because it is a title to which people have become accustomed. Grace said he began giving the cards away during last days at City Hall and still gives them out to people who want his personal contact information. However, he said he uses other business cards in his campaign for Lorain County commissioner. Brinda said she was surprised to learn Grace had ordered the cards. “I think it is very unfortunate because it eats away at public trust,” she said. Serazin said he has not been presented with any other questionable purchase orders to review. Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberosn@chroniclet.com.]]> ELYRIA — Less than a week before leaving office, former Mayor Bill Grace ordered 1,000 new business cards touting his position as mayor of Elyria. However, he has since repaid the city for the expense after Law Director Scott Serazin informed him the purchase was not a proper use of city funds. A check for $87.50 was received from Grace in the city auditor’s office on Thursday, said City Auditor Ted Pileski. The amount is the full cost of the cards that were invoiced to the city Dec. 24. Pileski said a purchase order his office received shows the cards were ordered Dec. 21, and delivered Dec. 24. Along with the 1,000 two-sided cards for Grace, which had his name and position on the front and personal contact information on the back — home address, phone number and personal email — the order also included 500 one-sided cards for Mayor Holly Brinda. Super Printing on North Ridge Road in Lorain made the cards. Serazin said he was alerted of the purchase by the auditor’s office and subsequently sent Grace a letter telling him that while the purchase was not criminal, it was not a good use of city funds. He requested Grace pay for the cards himself. “It was the timing of the purchase,” Serazin said. “There was no benefit to the city, considering there was only 10 days left to his term.” Serazin said Grace sent a letter along with his check saying that he disagreed with his assessment, but would pay for the cards. Grace said he made the purchase while mayor and thought he was fully within his right to do so. “My intentions were good,” he said. “I have made a lot of contacts over the years and wanted to prevent the new administration from having to spend time repeating my contact information to people who would want to reach me after leaving office.” In the same way Grace said he refers to his predecessor Michael Keys as “mayor,” he said many people continue to call him “Mayor Grace” because it is a title to which people have become accustomed. Grace said he began giving the cards away during last days at City Hall and still gives them out to people who want his personal contact information. However, he said he uses other business cards in his campaign for Lorain County commissioner. Brinda said she was surprised to learn Grace had ordered the cards. “I think it is very unfortunate because it eats away at public trust,” she said. Serazin said he has not been presented with any other questionable purchase orders to review. Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberosn@chroniclet.com.]]> http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/former-mayor-reimburses-city-for-late-biz-card-buy/feed/ 0 http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/larkins%e2%80%99-accuser-didn%e2%80%99t-show-for-court/ http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/larkins%e2%80%99-accuser-didn%e2%80%99t-show-for-court/#comments Sat, 11 Feb 2012 07:26:21 +0000 Brad Dicken http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/?p=110900 ELYRIA — Charges of domestic violence and aggravated menacing against former Elyria City Councilman Herman Larkins were dropped Thursday because the key prosecution witness didn’t show up, Elyria Law Director Scott Serazin said Friday. Prosecutors had initially declined to say why charges against the 79-year-old Larkins were dismissed. Serazin said that the alleged victim in the case, Larkins’ stepson, Joseph Wisher Jr., was subpoenaed to be in Elyria Municipal Court but didn’t appear. Without Wisher, the case couldn’t proceed, Serazin said, and police didn’t object to the charges being dropped. “The bottom line is you can’t go forward without evidence,” Serazin said. Wisher told police that Larkins pulled a gun on him during an argument at Larkins’ Middle Avenue home Sept. 8. Larkins said Thursday that he was pleased the charges were dropped and insisted that while he did get out a gun to protect himself from Wisher, he never pointed the weapon at his stepson. He said when his attorney told him the charges were being dropped, he readily signed the paperwork acknowledging there was probable cause to arrest him and agreeing to pay $179 in court costs. He referred questions about the reasons to his lawyer, Jim Couch, who declined to comment. According to an Elyria police report, Wisher told officers that Larkins became upset with him when he tried to sit down at the table and the two men ended up arguing. During the exchange, Wisher told officers, Larkins stood up and got a gun from a nearby closet and pointed it at him. Larkins told police that the he and Wisher were joking around when the conversation turned serious. He said Thursday that he had feared Wisher was going to attack him. Prosecutors reserved the right to re-file the charges against Larkins, but Serazin said that would likely only happen if new evidence is uncovered in the case. Elyria Municipal Court Judge Lisa Locke Graves said prosecutors didn’t give her an explanation when they asked her permission to drop the charges. Locke Graves said such requests are routine, and she has no choice under the law but to grant them. “If they want to dismiss it, that’s 100 percent their prerogative,” the judge said. Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.]]> ELYRIA — Charges of domestic violence and aggravated menacing against former Elyria City Councilman Herman Larkins were dropped Thursday because the key prosecution witness didn’t show up, Elyria Law Director Scott Serazin said Friday. Prosecutors had initially declined to say why charges against the 79-year-old Larkins were dismissed. Serazin said that the alleged victim in the case, Larkins’ stepson, Joseph Wisher Jr., was subpoenaed to be in Elyria Municipal Court but didn’t appear. Without Wisher, the case couldn’t proceed, Serazin said, and police didn’t object to the charges being dropped. “The bottom line is you can’t go forward without evidence,” Serazin said. Wisher told police that Larkins pulled a gun on him during an argument at Larkins’ Middle Avenue home Sept. 8. Larkins said Thursday that he was pleased the charges were dropped and insisted that while he did get out a gun to protect himself from Wisher, he never pointed the weapon at his stepson. He said when his attorney told him the charges were being dropped, he readily signed the paperwork acknowledging there was probable cause to arrest him and agreeing to pay $179 in court costs. He referred questions about the reasons to his lawyer, Jim Couch, who declined to comment. According to an Elyria police report, Wisher told officers that Larkins became upset with him when he tried to sit down at the table and the two men ended up arguing. During the exchange, Wisher told officers, Larkins stood up and got a gun from a nearby closet and pointed it at him. Larkins told police that the he and Wisher were joking around when the conversation turned serious. He said Thursday that he had feared Wisher was going to attack him. Prosecutors reserved the right to re-file the charges against Larkins, but Serazin said that would likely only happen if new evidence is uncovered in the case. Elyria Municipal Court Judge Lisa Locke Graves said prosecutors didn’t give her an explanation when they asked her permission to drop the charges. Locke Graves said such requests are routine, and she has no choice under the law but to grant them. “If they want to dismiss it, that’s 100 percent their prerogative,” the judge said. Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.]]> http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/02/11/larkins%e2%80%99-accuser-didn%e2%80%99t-show-for-court/feed/ 0