Lorain County Community Guide 4-25-24

Peltz to lead Wellington schools

Board President Ayers Ratliff said

was chosen out

applicants. Peltz and Weber will work together until May, with Peltz, who was given a three-year contract, taking over full time in August.

Peltz taught at St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High

Amherst reverses decision, OKs

Quarry Creek

174 houses off North Dewey

Lauren Hoffman

The Community Guide AMHERST — Amherst

City Council voted 5-2 to approve an ordinance allowing the Quarry Creek residential development to move forward.

The neighborhood, located off of North Dewey Road, has seen its fair share of controversy and was struck down during the council meeting on April 9.

A clause in the city’s codified ordinances allows any member of the majority ruling to appeal their vote and reconsider, Mayor Mark Costilow, who supports the development, said.

Councilman at large Martin Heberling put forward the appeal on the neighborhood, stating that it needed a second look.

“I had three major issues when the neighborhood was first proposed,

the first and most major being the widening of the Dewey Road,” Heberling said. “The mayor has allowed my biggest concern to be addressed and that is tremendous.

My other two were the emergency entrance and the need for a sidewalk, both of which were also addressed by the mayor.” Having his concerns addressed, Heberling voted to put the proposed neighborhood back before Council, stating that this could be good for the city. Costilow said the development is important to the city’s economic development.

“We do not have any other developments being proposed in the city for the next three years and are relying on this neighborhood and the income it will bring to move our city forward,” Costilow has said.

School for four years where he became LeBron James’ favorite teacher,” Ratliff said. Peltz then spent eight years as a science teacher at North Royalton High School. Peltz also worked as an assistant principal at Revere Middle School in Summit County and as principal at New London Middle School. Peltz and his wife, Staci, are both educators. Staci has worked at Amherst Ju-

nior High School as an art teacher for the past seven years.

“Staci and I love the Lorain County area and we as lifelong educators always wanted to find an area that met our educational philosophy and was a place where I grew up and plan to retire,” Peltz said. “This is a place that has so much incredible potential and I want to carry that torch that Mr. Weber started.”

The Quarry Creek development is comprised of 174 residences to be located at the end of North Dewey Road.

Developer Richard Sommers said the 174-unit neighborhood of duplexes and triplexes located on 22 acres would be built in phases between three and four years.

Costilow said a second traffic study will be completed on North Ridge and Dewey roads once the first phase is built.

Developers said construction will start in the next 120 days, beginning with roads. Greg Sommers, son and partner to Richard Sommers. “I think it’s going to (improve) the situation in the end and it’s going to be a huge economic factor for the city.” The development will reportedly generate over $600,000 a year for the Amherst schools. Home prices will start at $285,000 and will include a homeowners

Wellington considers DORA outdoor drinking area

Lauren

WELLINGTON

DORA, which stands for Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, is an area designated exempt from certain alcohol open container laws.

In Lorain County, Vermilion and Amherst approved DORAs in the past year. Main Street Wellington Director Jenny Artnz has brought the idea up to Wellington Council a few times.

“Jenny and I feel that it is time to keep pushing this idea forward and make it happen,” Mayor Hans Schneider said.

Under the Wellington DORA, retailers would have single-use DORA cups available for purchase. The cups can only be carried in the designated area at designated times when the DORA is active.

Retail shops will have window stickers designating whether they allow DORA beverages to be carried inside. Drinks cannot be taken from one bar to another and cannot be consumed inside the bar where purchased but must be consumed off the premises.

The DORA area would encompass the downtown area and be active during community events.

Previous DORAs, such as Amherst, have run into problems hindering their passage, but Schneider assured that Wellington has

been paying attention to them for guidance.

“Council is asking the right questions and I think we are moving toward a point where we are likely to establish the DORA concept in an ordinance soon,” Schneider said. “Jenny has looked at Amherst and Sandusky as models for guidance. We have also been covering our bases on policing, bathrooms and even liability on a concept like this.”

Arntz talked with Council on Monday, assuring them that bars in the area have insurance to cover if someone is hurt during the DORA. Similar to Amherst, DORA cup costs will also go back to establishments to cover the costs.

“There is a cost to having a DORA including the cups, signage, additional

trash receptacles, staff time and training, security, installing signage and cleaning,” Arntz said. “At this time the additional cost has not been determined by many DORA locations will likely charge an extra $1 per drink to cover these costs.”

“President of Wellington Council Gene Hartman advises that we need to walk before we can run and I truly appreciate Council’s worry about our finances,” Artnz said. “I did not consider the higher cost of police coverage and Main Street Wellington needs to figure out plans to cover these costs first.”

Schneider and Artnz said they both feel the idea would work best on an eventbased concept, rather than open during a weekend schedule.

Incoming superintendent Andrew Peltz, right, shakes hands with retiring superintendent Ed Weber.

Hoffman The Community Guide

— The village may be the latest to approve a DORA thanks to ideas and interest coming from Main Street Wellington.

It’s sort of a job offer that came to me. And, at first, it intimidated the hell out (of me) because it’s big and epic and hard.”

never worked professionally in the area.

That’s about to change as she directs the new Cleveland Play House production of “Amadeus,” which runs through Sunday at Playhouse Square’s Outcalt Theatre.

The 1978 Chagrin Falls High School graduate never dreamed of helming the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart tale.

“My experience up to this point has been seeing the movie, like everyone else,” she said. “I’ve also seen two stage productions over the years, which I always enjoyed, but directing this play was not on my radar.

“It was not on my bucket list.

Most folks remember the Academy Award-winning 1984 film, based on Peter Shaffer’s Tony Award-winning Broadway production, that tells the story of Mozart and Italian composer Antonio Salieri.

The former remains popular today, the latter quickly forgotten with time. Therein lies the rub of “Amadeus,” where jealousy and deceit abound in 18th and 19th century Vienna. “The expectations for a play like this are really high, at least in my head,” she said. “It carries this lore along with it and the expectations for how to fulfill it, because the size and scope that are on the page it can be daunting.

“The times I’ve seen it could almost be overwhelming to the senses, because of the grandeur, the spectacle of it and the glorious music.”

The director noted diving headfirst into a project without any idea of how to complete the task is nothing new but always ends with getting the “right people” in the room to pull it off. More so, Gordon often gravitates toward stage productions better suited for onstage over

onscreen presentations.

“I’m attracted to scripts that wouldn’t make such a great TV show,” she said. “I love theatricality. I love pieces that need to be in the theater. Not that the film of ‘Amadeus’ wasn’t spectacular, because it was, but there’s something about being in the room together with that story.”

That room is the black box Outcalt Theatre, which has been converted into an in-the-round experience for “Amadeus.”

“I haven’t heard of another production of ‘Amadeus’ being done in that way, so it presents enormous challenges but also what can happen is so cool,” she said. “When you put it in the round with an audience on four sides, it instantly becomes more intimate. The audience witnesses not only Salieri’s story but their

story, too.”

Ah, yes, there’s Salieri, dedicated and bound to tradition, who in a not-so-subtle fashion holds a mirror up to the audience to face their insecurities and jealousies while Mozart dances around seemingly brilliantly without a care in the world.

“We have two deeply flawed human beings,” she said. “It’s the tension between those two things that I love and that’s what makes it so relatable to an audience because those are all emotions that we completely feel.

“I love how visceral it all feels. This is something I said to the cast: ‘These characters, especially Mozart, he’s not larger than life, but he is as large as life can be.’ That’s what we’re trying to capture.”

YouTuber goes from screen to stage

IF

For every parent (present company included) who questioned why their child would spend hours watching someone else play video games, the answer is TommyInnit.

For nearly a decade, the 19-year-old U.K. gamer has been streaming exploits on Minecraft. Today, TommyInnit (aka Tom Simons) is one of the most popular YouTubers and Twitch Streamers on the planet with more than 50 million subscribers across his channels.

“Dude, it’s been so mental,” said TommyInnit, calling from Raleigh, North Carolina. “It’s really hard to get my head around, seeing the fans in person as well. But yeah, it’s almost difficult for me to ever put into words. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about that.”

Along the way to surpassing a billion YouTube views at 17, something unexpected happened to the gamer during the pandemic when his popularity soared.

Sensing he had a unique opportunity, the funny host — known for his quick wit — decided to capitalize on his fame with a live comedy show.

“I’ve always loved performing and making people laugh,” he said. “Now here I am now doing tours.”

To his amazement, a U.K. tour included sold-out shows, which is why TommyInnit, clearly on a heat check, is coming stateside. His “How To Be a Billionaire Tour” comes through Cleveland for a show tonight at the Agora Theatre.

“It’s a comedy show, sort of the retelling of my life,” he said. “It’s not quite

stand-up. It’s much more theatrical than that. We have characters in it. It’s sort of linear, chronological retelling of my life with the theme of taking the myth out of sort of a billionaire mindset in a way and being ironic about it. It’s probably a little similar to Bo Burnham. We have musical numbers and some videos.”

For comparison’s sake to TommyInnit’s rise in pop culture, look no further than Westlake’s own Jake and Logan Paul, who together are considered one of the first YouTuber personalities. The brothers parlayed their fame into entertainment, boxing and, now, wrestling. “I’m sort of similar to them in the sense that I don’t want to just be a YouTuber,” he said.

“I have a real interest in sort of pursuing talents and skills outside of that. I love this live performing. It’s really spoken to my soul in a way that I never expected.”

So much in fact, the young performer has been pursuing stand-up comedy.

Photos Courtesy Cleveland Play House

Price Waldman as Antonio Salieri, left, and Will Blum as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in a rehearsal for “Amadeus” at the Cleveland Play House.

John Benson The Community Guide

PHOTO PROVIDED

“It’s sort of linear, chronological retelling of my life,” TommyInnit says of his “How To Be a Billionaire Tour.”

Liz’s dad, Derek, is a United States Naval Construction Battalion member, better known as a Seabee. He has been in the military for 16 years as a reservist, being deployed all over the world. This time, he’s in Kuwait, a worry for the family.

“We are worried about him, this is the highest-risk deployment he has had so far,” said Derek’s wife, Kelli. “What he does is the Seabees come in right after the special ops Marines and they build the infrastructure … so it is always nervewracking when he has to leave.”

The Barry family is one of 44 military families in the Amherst school district.

On April 12, active military members and their families gathered at Amherst Steele High School for the district’s second “Month of the Military Child” breakfast.

“Last year we decided to have a breakfast to highlight all of our active military families, which for Amherst is 44,” event coordinator/school liaison Amanda Sears said.

“I don’t think people really realize how many students are from active military families, so we do this event every year to highlight them and show our appreciation.”

The event is held in April to celebrate Month of the Military Child, a Department of Defense initiative that recognizes the sacrifices of military families, celebrated in schools across the U.S.

While not a veteran herself, Sears said she shares a strong connection with families who serve, thanks to her dad.

“My father is a Vietnam veteran so this is close to my heart and I’m proud of his service,” she said.

“Doing events like these and being the liaison is a way for me to give back to our community here in Amherst and thank them for all

Amherst briefs

the sacrifices they make. It can be hard for these kids, their mom might be gone for 13 months or their dad for 13 years and they just don’t know and don’t get to choose.”

Those feelings ring true for the Barry family. For the past 16 years, the family of eight has navigated life with and without their husband and father, even during important times.

“The only child that was born while he was on active duty is my daughter Ashlyn, and he missed her birth because of the deployment,” Kelli Barry said.

“They allowed him to leave early and he was only 24 hours late to our daughter’s birth.”

Amherst Schools Superintendent Mike Molnar said the district is known for being supportive of the military and their families. The district has also received the Purple Star award, designating the schools as places that show a major commitment to students and families connected to the military.

“We have received the Purple Star designation twice now as each school has to apply for it every two years,” Molnar said.

Navy ROTC added Amherst schools announced the addition of a Navy National Defense Cadet Corps curriculum supplied by the U.S. Navy.

“The NNDCC Steele will be essentially a Navy ROTC program for our

Work planned on Route 2 State Route 2, from just west of the Route 58 interchange in Amherst east to the Murray Ridge Road bridge in Amherst Township, will have single lane closures for a minor rehabilitation project starting Monday, the Ohio Department of Transportation said Thursday. Crews will start work at night and work from about 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily. The work includes pavement repairs, asphalt paving and guardrail repairs.

students in grades nine to 11, where they can wear their uniforms to school and take yearly orientation trips to military installations,” said Mike Edwards, history teacher and military education teacher. “We are also hoping to have a drill team and color guard that will be present at sporting events.” Forty-two cadets have signed up to be a part of the program when it debuts next year. In addition to the education program, these students will have the opportunity for a pay grade advancement upon enlistment as well as access to NROTC scholarships and Naval Academy recommendations.

ROTC day May 14

On May 14 students will enlist or be appointed into the five military branches, a tradition that has occurred at the high school for the past several years. Nathan Mason is one of them.

“I joined the National Guard and signed in July of 2023 because I’ve always wanted to start something in the military,” Mason said.

“This is a really good way to do it and get your foot in the door and you get free college, which is nice. I just always had the desire to help the community and I can do that with this.”

The website dedicated to military families is amherstk12.org/parents-students/ military-family-support.

Contact Lauren Hoffman at (440) 3286902 or lhoffman@chroniclet.com.

Traffic will be maintained at all times. The project should be completed by September, ODOT said in a news release.

Learn about Fred Powers

“Who was Fred R. Powers?”You may know his name because of Powers Elementary, but do you know the man?

Norm Miller will tell you about him on May 16 at 7 p.m. at the Amherst Historical Society Hall, 113 South Lake Street RSVP by May 10 to 440-988-7255 or office@amhersthistoricalsociety.org

LAUREN HOFFMAN / COMMUNITY GUIDE

Gavin Yates, whose dad Michael Yates is deployed in the Army, holds a plate of donuts during the “Month of the Military Child” breakfast at Amherst High School.

Oberlin forms climate action committee

The Community Guide

OBERLIN — Oberlin City Council voted unanimously last week to form a steering committee to move forward on its newest Climate Action Plan. Oberlin has a long history of work on a municipal climate policy.

In 2011, the city adopted its first iteration of its Climate Action Plan, focusing on reducing communitywide carbon emissions. Two more versions of the plan have been completed since then with 2019 being the most recent.

The city also rolled out efficiency smart rebates and city rebates for heat pumps, water heaters, smart thermostats and efficient

In 2001, the city adopted a Sustainability Reduction Act embracing the 1987 United Nations Commission on Environment and Development’s definition of sustainability: to promote development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

appliances to gain customer appeal on clean, efficient energy options that do not produce carbon dioxide.

“The city has had multiple climate action plans over the years and I was hired to work on the last one in 2019 with a focus on lowering carbon emission rates,” said sustainability coordinator Linda Arbogast. “Well, the time has come for the city to review and consider a new update.”

One of the ways the city has lowered CO2 emission rates is by debuting the first

all-electric vehicle car share in Ohio. High-performance buildings, or buildings that operate at a fraction of the energy needed for buildings of the same size have also helped contribute to lowering emissions. In addition to focusing on CO2 emission reduction goals, regulated at the city level through the Oberlin Municipal Light and Power system, Arbogast said this year’s plan will include climate adaptation goals and social equity goals. These goals will include

Trolley gets a new life

and it isn’t over yet.

The once bright orange train car ran in the county until its retirement May 15, 1938. Now it is a faded pinkish-orange with plywood instead of windows, and Tom Patton hopes to breathe another life into the aging car.

The Lake Shore Electric Railway was a consolidation of several interurban lines in northern Ohio from Toledo to Cleveland starting in the early 1900s. It eventually stopped in major vacation towns, including Rocky River, Bay Village and Avon Lake.

At one time, the trolley had been completely restored and on display at a museum operated by Republic Steel in Lorain, Patton said. About 20 years ago that museum closed and the trolley was moved to Wellington.

While in Wellington the car suffered vandalism, with all of its windows broken out, he said. Eventually, it made its way to the Beach Park Railway Museum.

Patton, of Avon Lake, owns the Beach Park Railway Museum and, after issues with its landlord, was prompted to remove the aging trolley and other outdoor artifacts. Patton and his wife, Tomie, previously owned the plaza the museum was in until 2020, when they sold it to another family member’s commercial holdings company. That company then sold the property again.

Patton had a long-term lease for the museum, but the lease was not notarized, according to previous reporting.

Two years after Patton and his museum received an eviction notice, the trolley has a new, albeit temporary, home in Lorain at Journey Home Restorations while it gets just that — a restoration.

The trip up U.S. Route 6 was brought on by Patton’s friendship with Journey Home Restoration’s owner

Jason Kaczur and ample space at the business’s new location at 1820 Iowa Ave. in Lorain.

On Thursday, Journey Home Restoration’s David Jetter helped orchestrate the move, watching as four semitrailer backed into the company’s fenced-in lot and unloaded the trolley and its four sets of trucks or chassis.

He said the company, which has the ability to build a house from the ground up if needed, plans to be involved in the trolley’s restoration.

Patton plans to bring the trolley back to its former glory, with a bright orange body with a red and a black stripe.

Restorations will be done via a mix of volunteers and Journey Home Restoration workers, Patton and Jetter said. They estimate the renovations will take about a year.

It is the second trolley that needed to find a new home after Patton’s landlord issues, he said. The trolley that was in front of the

and will be

a

He said he hopes that the Lake Shore Electric trolley will eventually find a more permanent home with the Lorain Port Authority.

Wellington Oberlin Amherst featured every week in the Community Guide

reorganizing and addressing the unequal burdens made worse by climate change while ensuring that all people share the benefits of climate protection efforts, as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Over the past five years, sustainability-related projects have been funded into each of the eight sectors of the Climate Action Plan.

Some have been one-time events such as increasing active transportation by placing bike racks at 14 churches throughout the

city while others are ongoing, Arbogast said.

The 2019 climate action goal focused on projects related to renewable energy, transportation, highperformance buildings, waste management, water management, education and outreach, land-use planning, local food and agriculture promotion and resilience.

Some of the movements like the car shares and high-performance buildings that helped lower CO2 emissions, also aligned with these categories.

Zachary Simonoff and Lisa Swenski host a Passover Seder at their Amherst home on Monday. Simonoff breaks the matzo as he explains to his guests the significance of the unleavened bread to the Jewish people.

Passover celebrated; hostages remembered

Carissa Woytach The Community Guide AMHERST — Attorney Zach Simonoff and his wife, Judge Lisa Swenski, hosted a small Passover Seder at their Amherst home Monday evening.

The major Jewish holiday, celebrated over seven or eight days, started Monday and commemorates the exodus of ancient Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

“The rabbis a couple thousand years ago developed a Seder for us to go through to celebrate and remember the exodus from Egypt and to understand that in every generation there’s going to be someone that comes up that tries to wipe us out … and that by the grace of God we still exist and we’re still practicing the religion for over 2,000 years,” Simonoff said.

John Wiseman, of Amherst, joined Simonoff and several others to recognize an annual celebration of freedom that feels different this year.

“This is the 3,272nd time that we’ve celebrated Passover and told the story of the exodus,” Wiseman said. “So for 3,271 years, people have had it in their heads to try to do harm to us. And yet, here we are.”

Monday’s Seder marked the first Passover gathering since the Hamas attacks in Israel last fall.

Simonoff’s table was marked with yellow ribbons

tied around the backs of each chair in remembrance of the Israeli hostages in Gaza.

It was an acknowledgment that “not everybody is free,” Simonoff said.

“It’s totally different,” Simonoff said of this year’s Passover. “It’s a tremendous amount of intergenerational PTSD going on — they killed a lot of our people on Oct. 7 and they hold hostages and now we’re being blamed for trying to essentially destroy Hamas, but they don’t follow the rules of war.”

He said the conflict is a no-win situation for Israel trying to defend itself from a militant group that fails to wear a military uniform or distinguish itself from civilians.

Still, the ongoing conflict will not dampen Wiseman’s mood, he said.

“There’s a famous case about Jews that were in the Warsaw ghetto (during World War II) asked one of the rabbis during the morning blessings, do we thank God for our freedom even though we’re not free?” Wiseman said. “The rabbi said since Passover we all consider ourselves to be free, it’s freedom of the spirit.”

He said since the Oct. 7 attack people have seen him wear his kippah — the brimless cap Jewish men wear to cover their heads — and, to his surprise, offered support.

museum was donated to Avon Lake

in

city park, he said.

Workers from Patton Towing remove the Lake Shore Electric Railway car from Beach Park Station in Avon Lake. Behind the rail car is one that has already been renovated. They took the unfinished car to Iowa Avenue in Lorain where the trolley car will be renovated.

BRUCE BISHOP / COMMUNITY GUIDE PHOTOS

Workers from Patton Towing lift a railroad truck from a flatbed as they put it in place at the temporary home off Iowa Avenue.

• Start your adventure at any of the businesses on the map.

• Get this flyer stamped at each business and receive your Bag Lady gift. (Additional flyers at each location.)

• Search for a small wooden bag hidden at one of the above locations each day of tour. Find the bag and win a $20 gift certificate. When tour is completed turn in the flyer at last stop with contact info completed at top. If all stops are complete you will be entered into a drawing for a $50 first prize, or $25 second prize. Must be 13 & over for this drawing. You can turn in incomplete flyers to get or remain on the mailing list.

• Children under 13 on the tour will be given their own flyer to follow along for a chance to win $10.00.

AMHERST BOYS VOLLEYBALL AMHERST WINS, 3-1, AT MIDVIEW

Amherst’s Carson Jeffers gets a kill.

Amherst’s Joe Penano prepares a setup. Amherst’s David Lewis (5) and Carson Jeffers (16) block the hit of Midview’s Hayden Winslow.

Black River’s Braylon O’Neal clears a hurdle in the Boys 300 Meter hurdles. O’Neal won both the Boys 110 Meter and 300 Meter hurdles.

Audubon Society talks Great Lakes

Black River Audubon’s May program will be “Challenges of our Great Lakes for Humans and Wildlife” presented by Lara Roketenetz on May 7 at 7 p.m. at Carlisle Reservation, 12882 Diagonal Road, LaGrange.

The Great Lakes face a myriad of challenges and this program will address and discuss the importance of reducing our own impacts to the Great Lakes as well as collective action to help issues that affect the people and animals that depend on them.

Lara has her Ph.D. in Integrated Biosciences from The University of Akron where she studied aquatic invasive species and biological control methods. She currently serves as the Director of The University of Akron Field Station where she educates students from K-college on environmental issues.

This program is free to the public. For more information, visit blackriveraudubon.org.

Acquitted murderer tale in Pittsfield

On May 9 at 7 p.m., Pittsfield Twp. Historical Society will present a program “Rev. Ephraim K. Avery, acquitted of 1832 R.I. murder charges fled to Pittsfield” at Pittsfield Township Hall, Routes 58 & 303.

The notorious Avery of Bristol, R.I., was tried and acquitted for the alleged 1832 murder in Tiverton, R.I., of Sarah Cornell of Fall River, Mass.; and to escape harassment he came to Pittsfield.

Many books have been written about the victim’s possible relationship with Ephraim and the murder trials in 1832 in Newport, R.I. Ephraim was exonerated, but public curiosity & accusations continued to haunt him. Ephraim and his family moved to Massachusetts, Connecticut, and upstate New York and finally settled in Pittsfield, where his nephew Carlos Avery was a well-regarded farmer.

This interesting program about a 192-year-old murder mystery and early Pittsfield settler will be presented by family historian & researcher Ray Mann of Wellington. Oberlin commencement weekend tours

The Oberlin Heritage Center will be offering several public tour options that will explore diverse topics such as abolitionism, the founding of Oberlin and civil rights. You do not have to be affiliated with the college to participate.

Friday, May 24

Jewett House Tour - 2 p.m.

Scholars and Settlers Tour - 4 p.m.

Saturday, May 25:

Freedom’s Friends - 10:30 a.m. Architecture Tour- 1:30 p.m.

Civil War to Civil Rights - 3:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 26: Architecture Tour - 10:00 a.m.

Freedom’s Friends - 1:30 p.m.

Plus, self-guided indoor and outdoor tablet tours are available on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Registration is required for history walks.

Metro Parks Hiking Stick Program is back

Since 1986, the Friends of the Metro Parks’ Hiking Stick Program has been encouraging visitors to explore nature nearby. The annual program remains a popular activity and will run through June 30. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the program introduced a hybrid model allowing participants to choose from naturalist-led program hikes or self-guided hikes. This option continues today and staff signatures are no longer required. Participants who complete this program will receive a hiking stick (available to first-time participants only) and an annual metal pin to adhere to their hiking stick. Participants must complete at least 10 hikes at six different Lorain County Metro Parks and submit the Hiking Stick Program form by July 7. Forms may be sent to pr@loraincountymetroparks.com or delivered to Carlisle Visitor Center, c/o Hiking Stick Program, 12882 Diagonal Road, Carlisle Township, OH 44050.

It’s that time of the year again! Members of the Amherst Garden Club spent time cleaning out the gardens at Quigley. It will be ready to plant the annuals soon. Any questions, call Deb Gelenius 440-864-2964.

United Way raises $28,000 at Bee

United Way of Greater Lorain County concluded its signature fundraiser, A Night at The Bee, on April 19 with The Collaborative Leadership Bees capturing the overall championship.

A Night at The Bee is a light-hearted team competition testing local community members in spelling, art, history, and STEM. The event is presented by Nordson Corporation in support of United Way of Lorain County’s local education initiatives focused on kindergarten readiness and middle school success.

United Way raised over $28,000 from the event, which was held at Lorain County Community College, to support education initiatives across the county.

Vermilion GOP to meet

The Vermilion GOP will meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Martino’s International, 4415 Liberty Ave., Vermilion. Please arrive earlier to enjoy a meal.

The topic will be security issues in our neighborhood and community. Contact us if you have any questions: 440-213-3058 or www.vermiliongop.org.

Grandma’s Attic returns to Brownhelm

Brownhelm Historical Association is hosting their spring Grandma’s Attic Sale on Friday and Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Historic Brownhelm School, 1950 North Ridge Road, Vermilion.

All proceeds benefit the restoration of the Brownhelm School. From kitchenware and household goods, to antiques, tools, and furniture, you’re sure to walk out with an armful of treasures.

We are also putting on our spring plant sale, so definitely stop by to stock up on beautiful spring foliage for your yard. Everything will be half price on Saturday and we will also be holding a $2/bag or $5/box sale the following Monday, April 29, from 9-10:30 a.m.

All proceeds from this sale will go toward the restoration and maintenance of the Historic Brownhelm School.

Oberlin library board to meet

The Oberlin Public Library Board of Trustees will hold a Records Commission meeting, followed by a regular meeting, including the 2025 Tax Budget, at the library on May 9 at 5 p.m. The meetings are open to the public.

Amherst library news

The Amherst Public Library will hold a Records Commision meeting, followed by a regular meeting including the 2025 Budget Hearing at the library on May 13 at 5:45 p.m. The meetings are open to the public.

On May 2 at 6:30 p.m., the library will have a program on how to sell your house. Learn about how to get the most profit out of your sale from a panel of experts. Topics to be covered include buyer preference trends, preparing your home for the market without spending lots of money and the role of home inspections in your sale.