Winfrey told the audience that she loved “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” that it had been her life and that she knew when it was time to say goodbye. “Twenty-five years feels right in my bones and feels right in my spirit,” she said.

Winfrey talked about being nervous when the program began in 1986 and thanked audiences who had invited her into their homes and lives over the past two decades.

“I certainly never could have imagined the yellow brick road of blessings that have led me to this moment,” she said.

The powerhouse show became the foundation for her multibillion-dollar media empire, but in the last year, has seen its ratings slip 7 percent. Winfrey, 55, is widely expected to start up a new talk show on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a much-delayed joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc. that is projected to debut in 2011. OWN is to replace the Discovery Health Channel and will debut in some 74 million homes.

Winfrey offered no specifics about her plans for the future, except to say that she intended to produce the best possible shows during her last 18 months on the air.

“Over this holiday break, my team and I will be brainstorming new ways that we can entertain you and inform you and uplift you when we return here in January,” she said. “And then, season 25 — we are going to knock your socks off.”

CBS Television Distribution, which distributes the show to more than 200 U.S. markets, held out hope it could continue doing business with Winfrey, perhaps producing a new show out of its studios in Los Angeles.

“We know that anything she turns her hand to will be a great success,” the CBS Corp. unit said in a statement. “We look forward to working with her for the next several years, and hopefully afterwards as well.”

Many fans heading into Harpo Studios on Friday morning seemed to support Winfrey’s decision.

“It’s time to elevate to something new,” said Sandra Donaldson, 59, of Indianapolis. “Whatever she does is going to be a blessing. It’s going to be rewarding and eye-opening. Her name alone opens doors.”

Once a local Chicago morning program, the production evolved into television’s top-rated talk show for more than two decades, airing in 145 countries worldwide and watched by an estimated 42 million viewers a week in the U.S. alone.

Audience members described the atmosphere inside the studio Friday as tense and emotional, with some reaching for tissues as Winfrey announced her decision. “The whole audience was very quiet and she kept saying, ‘You can breathe,”‘ said Jennifer Aguilera, 32, of Joliet, Ill.

Fans expressed hope that Winfrey would soon announce another project.

“Oprah, she impacts everybody, her life, the way she gives,” said Shawana Fletcher, 29, of Chicago. “I hope she’s not totally done. That’s what we’re praying.”

Winfrey’s 24th season opened this year with a bang, as she drew more than 20,000 fans to Chicago’s Magnificent Mile for a block party with the Black Eyed Peas. She followed with a series of blockbuster interviews — Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, Whitney Houston and ESPN’s Erin Andrews, and just this week, former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

As a newcomer, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” chipped away at talk-show king Phil Donahue’s dominance. Later, it turned to inspiration. The show’s coverage ranged from interviews with the world’s celebrities to an honest discussion about Winfrey’s weight struggles.

In 1986, pianist-showman Liberace gave his final TV interview to Winfrey, just six weeks before he died. In a 1993 prime-time special, Michael Jackson revealed he suffered from a skin condition that produces depigmentation. Tom Cruise enthusiastically declared his affection for the much-younger Katie Holmes on the program in 2005 — and jumped on the couch to prove it.

In 2004, Winfrey unveiled her most famous giveaway, when nearly 300 members of the studio audience opened a gift box to find the keys to a new car inside. The stunt became a classic show moment as much for Winfrey’s reaction — “You get a car! You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!” — as its $7 million price tag.

The show also became a launching pad for Oprah’s Book Club, which then launched best-sellers. The titles ranged from “Song of Solomon” and “Paradise” by Toni Morrison to Wally Lamb’s “She’s Come Undone” and Elie Wiesel’s “Night.”

For others, the selection backfired. “A Million Little Pieces” exploded in sales after Winfrey chose the James Frey memoir in fall 2005. Soon after, it was revealed as a fabricated tale of addiction and recovery, and Winfrey later chewed out Frey on her show.

The loss of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” would be a blow to CBS Corp., which earns a percentage of hefty licensing fees from TV stations that use it — largely ABC affiliates. CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves told analysts two weeks ago that the contract with the show runs through most of 2011 and “if there’s a negative impact, it wouldn’t hit us until ‘12.”

“Oprah’s been a force of media and there’s really no person you can look to out there who you could say, ‘That’s the heir apparent,”‘ said Larry Gerbrandt, an analyst for Media Valuation Partners in Los Angeles. Gerbrandt noted many stations build their schedules around Winfrey’s show.

“It’s a big loss, but not as huge as it would have been 10 years ago,” he said. “However, it still commands the biggest audience and ABC station competitors are licking their chops.”

Talk of the show’s end often has accompanied Winfrey’s contract negotiations. Before signing her current contract in 2004, she talked about quitting after the 2005-2006 season. As far back as 1995, she called continuing “a difficult and important decision.”

Winfrey started her broadcasting career in Nashville, Tenn., and Baltimore, Md., before relocating to Chicago in 1984 to host WLS-TV’s morning talk show “A.M. Chicago” — which became “The Oprah Winfrey Show” one year later. She set up Harpo the following year and her talk show went into syndication.

Powered by the show’s staggering success, Winfrey built a media empire. Harpo Studios produces shows hosted by Dr. Phil McGraw and celebrity chef Rachael Ray. O, The Oprah Magazine was the nation’s 7th most popular magazine in the first half of 2009.

Earlier this year, Forbes scored Winfrey’s net worth at $2.7 billion.

Despite spending his first seven NFL seasons with the Lions, Rogers said he feels no special emotions about returning to Detroit for the first time as a visiting player.

Cleveland challenges the Lions in a battle of 1-8 teams Sunday at Ford Field.

“I’ve been out of Detroit, what, two years now?” Rogers said. “It’s not special. I’m just going to play a game.”

It’s easy to see why the defensive behemoth doesn’t feel all warm and fuzzy about his stay in Motown, nor is all smiles about his initial visit there with the Browns.

Though Rogers has long established himself as one of the sport’s best interior linemen, he has never played on a team that finished with a winning record.

The Lions went 31-81 during his lengthy tenure, topping out at 7-9 in his farewell season of 2007. The Browns are 5-20 since his arrival on March 1, 2008.

Add it all together and Rogers’ professional squads are 36-101, which averages out to 4-12 annually.

“It’s always tough to lose,” he admitted. “If you lose at Tiddlywinks, it’s tough if you are a true competitor. It’s just something that you have to live with. You have to look yourself in the mirror and try to see if you have done what you needed to do and put a positive spin on it from that direction. It is what it is.”

So is Rogers’ individual record, which is quite impressive.

Despite being on terrible teams, the 6-foot-4, 360-pounder has earned three trips to the Pro Bowl — the most recent coming last year with Cleveland. He continues to play at a high level in 2009, even as the Browns steamroll toward one of the worst seasons in franchise history.

“I think he’s played well in all the games,” Cleveland coach Eric Mangini said. “He makes a lot of plays and, at 360, that’s not easy to do. His motor runs high and he can be disruptive in the 3-4 (defense) and in off-sets. Shaun finds a way to get things done.”

Wide receiver Mike Furrey has teamed with Rogers in three of the last four years, linking back with him in Cleveland this season. Furrey said he heard some players say “Big Baby” didn’t go all-out all the time, but quickly found that to be untrue.

“Shaun is a big dude, but when he’s out there and doing his thing, he’s full-go and he’s got a huge heart,” he said. “Some people say he lacks the passion, but I’m telling you right now, he gives everything he has.

“He’s one of the most dominant linemen I’ve ever seen in my career. I’ve been fortunate to play with him.”

Even in Detroit, where Rogers didn’t leave on the best of terms, his reputation is stellar.

First-year Lions coach Jim Schwartz said he has designed part of his game plan around neutralizing Rogers. He previously matched up with him while working as an assistant on Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher’s staff.

“He’s very well respected in this building from the time he spent here,” Schwartz said. “Just about everybody has good things to say about him, not just as a football player, but as a person, as a worker and all those things.

“He’s been incredibly durable. He’s a big man and he’s really hard to move.”

Though Rogers professes not to care what others think about him, it was telling that he agreed to do an optional conference call with Detroit’s beat writers. He spent some time dissecting what went wrong in 2007 when the Lions’ season deteriorated, leading to his trade to the Browns.

“There was a lot of finger-pointing at myself (with the Lions), but I don’t think I lost or won any games by myself,” Rogers said. “We just didn’t play well as a team.”

Though Cleveland has not won many games since he came aboard, Detroit has been much worse. The Lions became the first team in NFL history to go 0-16 last season and are 1-8 this fall.

“I guess it wasn’t all me then,” Rogers said, quickly adding. “I enjoyed playing in Detroit, as I do enjoy playing in Cleveland. You make the most out of wherever you’re at and you try to create positive memories.”

Contact Brian Dulik at brisports@hotmail.com.

Cleveland’s 108-91 loss to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday contained the good and the bad.

The Cavaliers shot well from beyond the arc early — but didn’t shoot from there too much — and built a double-figure lead, but spent most of the second half standing around while LeBron James or Mo Williams went one-on-one.

“In the second half, we brought the ball to a complete stop offensively,” coach Mike Brown said. “We didn’t get any player movement or ball movement.”

As a result, Cleveland finished the game 7-of-22 on 3-pointers (.318). On the positive side, the Cavaliers are still shooting a sizzling .448 for the season (103-of-231).

James led the Cavaliers with 34 points and nine assists against the Wizards — no one else had more than 10 points — but he also committed six turnovers and dominated the ball way too much.

A strutting, smirking and posing James was knocking down shots from all over the place in the third period, but, for one of the few times in his seven-year career, the 6-foot-8, 250-pounder got a little carried away.

It began as an innocent heat check, turned into a personal battle with DeShawn Stevenson and ended with the visibly frustrated 24-year-old spraining his left wrist on a viscous dunk late in the game with Cleveland getting blown out.

Just like that, the Cavaliers’ five-game winning streak —they had also won 8-of-9 —was history.

Cleveland (8-4) will look to turn things back in a positive direction tonight in Indiana, but it will be playing without center Shaquille O’Neal (strained shoulder) for the fourth straight game.

Backup big man Anderson Varejao (hip contusion), who has missed the last two games, will be a game-time decision, while James, who did not require X-rays and is not listed on the team’s injury report, is expected to play.

Regardless of who plays, ball and player movement will be good indicators of Cleveland’s offensive success.

If James is dribbling a lot above the 3-point arc and four teammates are standing there looking at him, there will be some great individual moments, but there will be even more low-percentage shots as the 24-second clock winds down.

If the ball is moving, players are also much more likely to be moving, which will result in lobs to a cutting J.J. Hickson and drive-and-kicks to people like Anthony Parker and Daniel Gibson.

Until the Wizards game, that’s exactly what the Cavaliers were doing, which is why they had scored at least 100 points in five straight games. Not coincidentally, the Cavaliers were 5-0 in those games, when they averaged 106.8 points.

For the season, Cleveland is 7-0 when it scores at least 100 points and 1-4 when it is held below the century mark.

“Offensively, we’re a lot better than we were,” Parker said. “You can credit that a little bit to us just shooting the ball better.

“You go through stretches during the season where you just feel good and the ball goes in all the time. Also, you can attribute that to the ball moving well.”

When the ball moves well, James doesn’t attempt seven 3-pointers like he did against the Wizards. Instead, he facilitates, often drawing an early double-team and kicking the ball out, where the Cavaliers quickly swing it around the perimeter until they find the open man.

Often, that man is Parker, who has made a living shooting threes from the corner. For the season, the 34-year-old is fourth in the league in 3-point percentage (.553, 26-of-47).

“I know where I’m supposed to be,” Parker said. “Everybody knows where they’re supposed to be. Guys have a confidence in each other.

“When you’ve got guys like LeBron and Shaq, you have to send people at them. That opens up shots for everybody else.”

Parker isn’t the only Cleveland player connecting at a high rate.

Williams is ninth in the league at 48.1 percent (26-of-54), while Gibson is 14th at 46.1 (23-of-49). James, who vowed to shoot less 3-pointers this season, still leads the team in attempts. For the season, he is 20-of-55 (.364), while Jamario Moon is 7-of-19 (.368).

In James’ defense, a chunk of his misses come on attempts with the 24-second clock ticking down, but there’s an easy way to evaluate how the Cavaliers are playing offensively.

When James —or anyone else, for that matter —holds the ball or repeatedly dribbles in the same area, it’s a bad sign. When he shoots, attacks or moves the ball soon after receiving it, the Cavaliers are probably playing extremely well at the offensive end.

The latter is what was happening prior to the Washington game, and it’s what the Cavaliers will try to get back to tonight in Indiana.

Tonight

• Who: Cleveland at Indiana
• Time: 7 o’clock
• Where: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
• TV/radio: FS Ohio; WEOL 930-AM, WTAM 1100-AM

Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or rickn@ohio.net.

While seven running backs earned spots on the Associated Press Northeast Lakes All-District first teams, two were given the top honor in their divisions — Avon Lake senior Mike Mansnerus was named the Division II offensive player of the year, and Clearview senior Anthony Hitchens was named the Division IV offensive co-player of the year.

Earning the player of the year distinction also will land the duo on the All-Ohio first team.

“I didn’t say anything to anybody before the season because I didn’t want to overdo it, but that was my main goal this year,” Hitchens said. “Not many players get to be an All-Ohio first-teamer two years in a row, and that’s something I really wanted to do.”

For Mansnerus, it was simply the desire to upgrade.

“I made it my goal to get on the All-Ohio first team this season because I was on the second team last year,” he said. “So this definitely means a lot.”

The other area running backs that earned district first-team selections were Midview’s Josiah Holt in Division II, Firelands’ Nick Deichler in Division III, Elyria Catholic’s Alex Alicea, Keystone’s Corry Sprouse in Division IV and Oberlin’s Aaron James in Division V.

Hitchens put together one of the best two-season runs in Lorain County history. He followed up his blockbuster junior year by rushing 207 times for 1,428 yards (6.9 yards per carry) and 21 touchdowns this season. He also had 12 catches for 172 yards and three touchdowns, passed for a touchdown and returned a kickoff for a score.

“We have a lot of good players and coaches that helped push me to be great,” said Hitchens, who was also the Clippers’ top defender. “Winning this award has a lot to do with them, and it also makes me feel proud of the work I’ve done during my career.”

It’s a career that’s far from over. Hitchens has been noticed nationally by some of the top college football programs, and said he’s trimmed his list down to three — Indiana, Iowa and Kansas.

“I will probably go on my official visits sometime this month,” he said. “It’s going to be very exciting playing in front of so many people. I love this game, and I want to play for as long as I can.”

Mansnerus hasn’t even decided whether he’ll play football on the next level, and plans to use the next two weeks to think about his future.

Mansnerus certainly put up numbers that should have some college coaches looking his way. He rushed for 1,487 yards and 20 touchdowns this season, bringing his career total to 3,200 yards — the bulk of which were earned the past two seasons.

A pair of teammates will play college ball — tackle Christian Pace is headed to Michigan, and tight end Dan Schneider is going to Pitt — and were among seven Shoremen that landed on the all-district list. It wasn’t surprising, as Avon Lake was one of two area schools to qualify for the playoffs, and the only one to win a postseason game.

“It just goes to show that our success wasn’t just about one or two players,” Mansnerus said. “My teammates have helped a lot in me earning the player of the year award, and it’s nice to see many of them getting recognition for that.
“These awards also help ease the disappointment of our season getting cut shorter than we had hoped.”

Several other notable area athletes earned district first-team selections.

In Division I, Elyria tackle Isaiah Byler (who will play at Bowling Green) and North Olmsted tackle Matt Rotheram (Pitt) were first-teamers. Center Alex Lovasz — from North Ridgeville, the other area team that made it to the playoffs, was picked in Division II, and Elyria Catholic’s Josh Russ (Cincinnati) was named in Division IV.

Contact Shaun Bennett at 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com.

The Tar Heels (4-0), who led by 19 points with 10:23 to play, will face Syracuse, which beat No. 13 California 95-73, in Friday night’s championship game of the tournament that benefits Coaches vs. Cancer.

North Carolina coach Roy Williams hadn’t been overly pleased with the Tar Heels’ play in their three double-digit victories, including ones over Florida International and North Carolina Central, to advance to New York.

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He couldn’t find much to be upset with early against Ohio State (2-1) as the defending national champions — only one starter returned from the team that beat Michigan State in April — were in charge for most of the game.

The Buckeyes finally started hitting from the outside at the same time the Tar Heels starting missing free throws, and Ohio State was within 75-73 on a 3 by Jon Diebler with 11 seconds left.

Larry Drew II, who missed four of his previous six free throws in the final minute, then made two from the line with 11 seconds left for the final margin.

Evan Turner, who had a triple-double in Ohio State’s opening win over Alcorn State with 14 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists, matched that feat against the Tar Heels but it was a lot different as he finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 turnovers.

The 6-foot-7 junior swingman, who had 17 rebounds in each of the first two games, couldn’t go anywhere on the court without Marcus Ginyard, North Carolina’s defensive specialist who missed most of last season with a stress fracture in his left foot.

Turner’s time was limited as well by foul trouble, and his second personal was an offensive drawn by Ginyard.

Ohio State chipped away at the lead and were finally within single digits when David Lighty scored on a drive that made it 68-60 with 2:09 to go. Ginyard hit a 3 with the shot clock winding down to make it 71-60 with 1:36 to go, but the Buckeyes finally hit from the outside as William Buford and Lighty hit 3s as Drew struggled at the line.

Will Graves had 14 points for North Carolina, and Drew finished with 11 points and eight assists and was 6 of 10 from the line.

Diebler had 17 points for Ohio State, which finished 6 of 21 from 3-point range after going 1 of 10 in the first half.

The Tar Heels had the lead to 10 points within the first 6 minutes, and it reached 16 points three times, the first at 29-13 on a 3-pointer by Ginyard with 5:40 left in the half.

Ohio State missed its first nine 3-point attempts, and the Buckeyes finished 1 of 10 from beyond the arc and shot just 29 percent (9 for 31) overall in falling behind 38-24 at the half.

When teams from No. 10 Ohio State and Michigan meet on Saturday to play football for the 106th time, it’ll just be the latest skirmish between two states and their residents who have despised each other for almost two centuries.

“We understand how important it is, not only here as a football squad, but the state as a whole, to get that victory against Michigan for the bragging rights for the year,” Ohio State linebacker Austin Spitler said.

The first offsides call took place early in the 19th century.

A disagreement over widely divergent surveys called into question the location of their border. Was Toledo in the new state of Ohio? Or in the territory of Michigan?

Ohio Gov. Robert Lucas, sounding a bit like a certain grumpy football coach, refused to even negotiate the line of scrimmage. In defiance, Lucas named the county in which Toledo was located after himself and appointed a sheriff and a judge.

Michigan’s territorial governor, 22-year-old Stevens T. Mason, was outraged. He assembled a 250-member posse and marched south, initiating what was called the Toledo War.

It really wasn’t much of a war. There was only one casualty, when an Ohioan named Two Stickney stabbed a Michigan sheriff in a tavern brawl.

Eventually, Michigan was forced to concede Toledo was in Ohio, but was pacified by a gift of 9,000 square miles of rich mining and timber land in the Upper Peninsula.

A Michigan government Web site sniffs, “In retrospect, it’s obvious who won the War.”

The two universities first met in football in 1897. They started playing annually in 1918, and since 1935 have renewed acquaintances in the final game of the season.

The vitriol between the two states and their two universities was magnified from 1969-78 when curmudgeonly Woody Hayes prowled and growled on the sidelines for the Buckeyes and Michigan was coached by the similarly stubborn and hardheaded Bo Schembechler — an Ohio native and former Hayes acolyte.

Hayes refused to even utter the name of “the state up north.” Legend has it — although no one doubts it — that the petulant, at times childish Hayes once ran out of gas in Michigan but pushed his car over the state line rather than spend his money there.

Something akin to that passion is handed down from generation to generation even today.

“I went to St. Mary’s down in Lancaster, a little Catholic school. We had to wear our (school) uniforms, but for the Ohio State-Michigan game we got to dress up in either Ohio State or Michigan clothes,” said Buckeyes offensive lineman Jim Cordle. “That was fun. We got to cheer into the PA system and then they’d measure (which team’s fans) had the loudest cheer. And then every year we went to an Ohio State-Michigan party to watch the game.”

The two states are so similar yet remain committed in their distaste for each other. Columbus drivers scowl at those behind the wheel of cars with Michigan plates. Graduates of the University of Michigan consider their rivals to be the Ivy League, Stanford, Cal — certainly not the agricultural school down in Columbus.

Over the years, the rivalry has found been manifested in sports.

• In the 1940s, the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers were two of the best teams in the American League. Fans debated who was better, Bob Feller or Hal Newhouser? Lou Boudreau or Hank Greenberg?
• From 1950 to 1957, the Cleveland Browns of Otto Graham and the Detroit Lions led by Bobby Layne each won three NFL championships. (These days they are competing for the title of the league’s worst team. That title will be decided on Sunday.)
• The Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons have met in three physical, chippy playoff series this decade, the Pistons persevering in seven games in a second-round series in 2006, with the Cavs and LeBron James winning eight of 10 meetings in series wins in 2007 and last year.
• Last spring the Columbus Blue Jackets made the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time, but the upstarts were no match for the 11-time champion Detroit Red Wings. The Winged Wheels won in a sweep.

There are plenty of other ties between the states. Mark Dantonio, a former assistant coach at Ohio State, is now coach at Michigan State. Brian Kelly, a former head coach at Central Michigan, is now coach at fifth-ranked Cincinnati.

Just last week, Bruce Springsteen performed in Cleveland on Wednesday night and in Auburn Hills, Mich., two nights later. “The Boss” forgot where he was for the second gig and several times said, “Thank you, Ohio!” to silent Michiganders.

John Kerry made a similar gaffe during the 2004 presidential campaign, praising Ohio State’s football team after he had crossed into Michigan. Yet he still won the state in the general election — and lost Ohio.

The rivalry is clear to see when it comes to sports. And there’s nothing quite like the jealousy, dislike and mistrust that seems to accompany “The Game,” as the annual showdown has become known.

Ohio State wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher will be playing in only his third showdown with the Wolverines. But as a native of Toledo, he has a particularly vivid view of the heated rivalry on both sides.

“There’s always a little something extra when it comes to the Michigan game,” he said. “It has a lot to do with the history. It goes back a long time.”

All the way back to the days of posses and Two Stickney.

The game

• Who: No. 10 Ohio State at Michigan
• When: Saturday, noon
• Where: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Mich.
• TV/radio: Channel 5; WEOL 930-AM, WKNR 850-AM

Sandra E. Cunningham

Kymberly Dianne Carr

Max L. Oldfield

Normal F. Skeen

Norma J. Carpenter

Wanda Lee Jenny

Mark A. Nazario

Thomas Dean Brooks, Sr.

Beverly J. Reising

Constance Nakoff

Ruth E. Gasper

Read the full obituaries on The Chronicle E-edition at:

http://www.chroniclet.com/ChroniclEdition/

“Technology is important in people’s everyday lives from their personal to their work perspective,” said LCCAA’s Jackie Boehnlein, director of strategic and organizational development. “This room has all the current technology.”

The Community Learning & Technology Center, funded with federal stimulus money, comes complete with smart-board technology, 20 laptops and audience response technology that lets students directly interact with information being presented. Other businesses and organizations, as well as LCCAA clients, are welcome to use the center at 520 Broadway.

Lorain resident Gregory Williams, 35, said the new center is a great addition to downtown.

“I think it’s good because it shows a diversity of partnerships within an area,” Williams said.

“In the midst of the economic crisis, for them to be upgrading shows you can still make it. You can come here and get a skill set for your education.”

The center will be used for everything from GED preparation to money management seminars, Boehnlein said.

“We want this to be a community center,” she said. “We’ll work with other businesses and organizations to do the same things we’ll be doing here. We’re willing to share resources with anyone and form partnerships with them.”

LCCAA offers programs such as Head Start, home energy assistance, home weatherization assistance, down-payment assistance for home buyers, home buyer education, money management training and foreclosure counseling. The classes will be open to the public thanks to the new technology center.

“There’s a learning component to almost everything we do,” Boehnlein said. “We’re opening up training to our clients and opening it up to the community.”

Carmen Gonzalez of Lorain is happy about the addition.

“I think it’s pretty good,” she said. “It’s to help others and it’s close by. It will motivate people to get their GED to get ahead.”

Representatives of Legal Aid, the 2010 Census team, Head Start and The Ohio State University Extension program were also on hand.

Contact Alicia Castelli at 329-7144 or acastelli@chroniclet.com.

“The city of Lorain is facing a revenue crisis, and funding of essential safety forces, i.e. police, building or fire, must be the utmost priority at this time,” Krasienko wrote in a letter to Council dated Nov. 12.

For the first time, public safety was to receive Community Development Block Grant funds totaling $70,460, said city Auditor Ron Mantini. But Council voted to take $25,000 of that and give it Lorain Growth Corp.

Krasienko also said the money is needed in house for “ensuring the safety of residents and meeting housing standards to prevent further deterioration of Lorain’s neighborhoods.”

Lorain Growth Corp. is an organization of businesses and individuals who strive for economic development by trying to bring new businesses into the county and keep existing businesses here as well.

Councilman Mitch Fallis, D-at large, supported giving Lorain Growth Corp. the $25,000, citing the need to replace former Executive Director Michael Challender, who left Lorain Growth several months ago.

“I don’t know where else the city of Lorain can make a $25,000 investment and receive an 80 percent return on that investment,” Fallis said. “In this particular situation, if we fund Lorain Growth Corp. for $25,000, it’s my understanding the county commissioners will fund that position with an additional $20,000.”

Krasienko said in his letter that Lorain Growth Corp. “has not presented a formal report to Lorain City Council detailing how past subsidies were utilized and the results.”

The letter goes on to say Lorain Growth Corp. “lacks focus and lacks direction” but does urge Council to reconsider funding once Lorain Growth has finished “redefining their mission and goals.”

A phone call to Lorain Growth Corp. wasn’t returned.

Lorain Growth Corp.’s mission is to bring businesses into Lorain’s downtown and waterfront areas — a slightly different focus than the city’s Community Development Department, according to Fallis.

“If that position isn’t funded, there’s no chance of a person being responsible for bringing new businesses to downtown and fostering economic growth in downtown,” Fallis said.

Council voted 6-5 in favor of the ordinance. Unless Council overturn’s the veto, the $25,000 will go back for public safety.
Krasienko did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Contact Alicia Castelli at 329-7144 or acastelli@chroniclet.com.

Police Chief Bob Kish is still keeping mum about the death of Jeremy Simko, but did say that after two days at 2001 North Ridge Road, there is a lot of evidence to be processed including guns taken from the home.

Lorain County Coroner Dr. Paul Matus confirmed that he ruled the case a homicide but declined to comment further on the findings of an autopsy which he performed on Simko on Thursday.

Kish also declined to comment on other evidence collected. He also couldn’t give details on what happened.

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“Someone was killed in that house,” he said. “What have to explore all the angles. We can’t pigeon-hole it at this time. The highest charge right now is murder. There could be additional charges depending on what the circumstances were.”
Police were called to 2001 North Ridge Road just after 6 a.m. Wednesday and found Simko in his bedroom, dead of a gunshot wound.

Kish said Thursday he still couldn’t comment on the type of gun used or where Simko was shot because it might compromise witness accounts.

In the 911 call, Simko’s wife, Julene, is heard telling the operator, “Somebody shot my husband.”

Crying and often unintelligible, she also tells the operator at various points during the duration of the call that someone was in the house, that someone in the house shot at her husband, that he was in their bed, that she wasn’t near him when he was shot and that he’d been shot in the front of his head.

The dispatcher talked her through CPR, although Julene Simko described her husband’s skin as blue and said he wasn’t breathing.

Kish acknowledged neighbors want answers and are concerned, but he said preserving the integrity of the investigation takes priority.

“We have to be able to prove what happened,” Kish said, adding that is why details are not being released. “We can’t jeopardize the investigation by releasing too much information.”

Kish said his officers were at the scene all of Wednesday and were back out again Thursday morning.

“We do not know exactly what happened,” Kish said. “We’re trying to sort it out.”

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification and the county Prosecutor’s Office are also assisting with the investigation, Kish said.

Julene Simko is reportedly staying with family members.

Contact Alicia Castelli at 329-7144 or acastelli@chroniclet.com.