Lorain County Guide 5-23-24

JVS honors graduating seniors

Carissa Woytach

The Community Guide

LORAIN — Hundreds of students walked across the stage at Lorain’s Black River Landing on Thursday, accepting diplomas for their work in everything from nursing and child care to electrical work, HVAC and cosmetology as part of the Lorain County Joint Vocational School’s senior recognition ceremony.

Principal Tina Pelto thanked the families of Thursday’s grads for purchasing work boots and Carhartt jackets, scrubs and other supplies — and reminding their students to wear them every day.

She thanked those seniors for tolerating high school including all the prompts to watch their language and put away their cellphones.

“You have shown us the future of Lorain County,” Pelto said. “… You are the reason we do what we do. Most importantly, we want to thank you for sharing our passion for career tech education — from the very beginning you knew that the trades matter, that hard work pays off and that people who work with their hands drive our economy.”

Senior speaker Devin Ansel, a soon-to-be graduate of Midview High School and the JVS agricultural equipment mechanics program, said it was hard to believe that most of his fellow members of the Class of 2024 were just as nervous then as they were when they first walked into the joint vocational school.

“When I first came into the building as a sophomore I was worried about finding new friends, getting along with my teachers and fitting in … I realized there were no specific groups of people at the JVS. Everyone was part of one family, even as we chose different labs.”

Ansel praised the staff at the JVS and also thanked his mother and late grandfather for their support.

Superintendent Glenn Faircloth shared Pelto’s gratitude to the families of Thursday’s graduates, who allowed his staff to shepherd their “most precious cargo” over the years.

“We hope we did you proud,” Faircloth said. “… I will tell you, parents, they are equipped, not only

to get a job, but they are equipped to begin to change the world.”

As a U.S. Army veteran, Faircloth said he pays close attention to what is happening at home and abroad and assured families sitting across the lawn that morning that the Class of 2024 has the wisdom to challenge the status quo and begin to change the narrative.

Assistant Principal Brandon Kushinski had the final word for those gathered on Thursday — the same words he left students with each day at the end of their morning announcements.

“I will remind you one last time,

honor the trades and choose kindness,” he said.

Alongside the graduates recognized, precision machine technology teacher John Green received the JVS’s first award of distinction for commitment to academic and career technical excellence.

The Lorain County Joint Vocational School serves students from Amherst, Avon, Avon Lake, Clearview, Columbia, Elyria, Firelands, Keystone, Midview, North Ridgeville, Oberlin, Sheffield-Sheffield Lake and Wellington schools.

Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.

Woman who killed baby denied parole

Dave O’Brien

The Community Guide

A Lorain County woman sentenced to life in prison for killing her toddler son in 1990 has been denied parole for the crime.

Renee Patterson, 62, saw her most recent parole effort rejected by the Ohio Parole Board following a hearing on April 17, according to state records. Her next parole hearing will be in December 2026.

Patterson was convicted of aggravated murder by a jury at trial in 1990 and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years by thencounty Common Pleas Judge Lynette McGough. She has served 34 years behind bars between jail and prison for the murder of Joshua Marsh, 2, as he lay in his crib.

Patterson “has served a significant portion of her life sentence, has made a positive adjustment to the institution, and completed

risk relevant programming,” the parole board wrote in its decision.

Patterson

“However, this case is aggravated by the fact that she took a knife and slit the throat of her young son who was left in her care,” the parole board wrote. “Additionally, the same child had previously been harmed by her. Finally, this case has a significant amount of community opposition.”

“After considering all of the statutory factors, the board concludes that the incarcerated adult is not suitable for release onto parole supervision at this time,” the parole board concluded.

Patterson first became eligible for parole in 2010, then again in 2015 and has done so every three years thereafter. All of her appeals have been unsuccessful, according to court records.

Dave O’Brien

The Community Guide

A South Amherst man wanted for allegedly assaulting a family member, then allegedly assaulting Lorain County sheriff’s deputies who attempted to arrest him is in custody.

Matt Dillion, 32, of Wallu Drive, was arrested last Thursday by the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office in Amherst, with the assistance of Amherst and Lorain police officers and State Highway Patrol troopers. Dillion had been sought by authorities since last Wednesday when they went to his home after a domestic violence complaint.

Once there, they found Dillion sitting in the driver’s seat of his white Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck in the driveway.

For more than an hour, deputies spoke with Dillion and tried to get him to

Students attend the Lorain County Joint Vocational School 2024 Senior Recognition Ceremony at Black River Landing in Lorain last Thursday.

STEVE MANHEIM / COMMUNITY GUIDE

Heating and air conditioning students stand on stage.

Navaeh Blevins, of Firelands in masonry trades, shakes hands with Lorain County JVS Superintendent Glenn Faircloth.

BRUCE BISHOP / COMMUNITY GUIDE A man later identified as Matt Dillion screams at deputies in the driveway of a Wallu Drive address in South Amherst before driving away Wednesday. Police chased him from state Route 113 to Baumhart Road, and east on state Route 2; the chase was terminated near Avon for safety concerns.

Woman killed by ambulance is identified

The Community Guide

The woman who was struck and killed by an ambulance at Riverview Plaza last Monday has been identified as Carol Pitzer of Elyria.

Witnesses said that Pitzer, 74, was run over by a LifeCare ambulance that was leaving with a patient after Pitzer fell from her motorized scooter in front of the oncoming ambulance.

She was a resident of the Riverview Plaza apartments at 310 East Ave., where the crash occurred.

Lorain County Coroner Dr. Frank Miller said he determined that Pitzer had been the victim of a motor vehicle accident and that she had died of head injuries.

Elyria Police Chief Bill Pelko was at the scene after the fatality and told The

Chronicle’s reporters that the department’s crash unit was investigating.

In a statement on Monday, LifeCare Chief Operating Officer Kim Mason offered her condolences with Pitzer’s family and said LifeCare was cooperating with the police investigation.

Witnesses said that the ambulance continued to pull away from the apartments after the crash, pulling onto East Avenue heading south.

Residents flagged the ambulance down and it pulled back into the driveway of the complex.

Pitzer was declared dead at the scene and Elyria police were called at 3:03 p.m.

Personnel from LifeCare, Elyria Police, the Elyria Fire Department and the Coroner’s Office were at the scene until about 5 p.m.

OWEN MACMILLAN / COMMUNITY GUIDE

LifeCare and Elyria police vehicles sit in front of the Riverview Plaza apartments after a pedestrian was struck and killed by an ambulance.

was later halted for public safety reasons on Route 2 near Avon city limits, according to the sheriff’s office.

out of the truck, but he refused, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies then tried to physically remove him from the truck, but he shifted it into gear and reversed out of the driveway, dragging a deputy with him, according to the sheriff’s office.

The deputy was also physically assaulted by Dillion, but was not injured, the sheriff’s office said.

Warrants were sworn out in Oberlin Municipal Court for felony assault on a police officer, assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest, all felonies, and for misdemeanor domestic violence.

Just after 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, deputies received a call that Dillion’s truck had returned to Wallu Drive and they returned there to arrest him.

Dillion “again refused to comply with deputies and proceeded to flee the area in his vehicle,” according to the sheriff’s office.

He led deputies in a pursuit onto state Route 113 in South Amherst that continued east. The chase

He then stopped at the Pure gas station at Cleveland Avenue and North Main Street in Amherst.

Dillion was ordered to get out of the truck but refused. He drove off, again headed north on North Main Street toward Route 2.

Dillion subsequently lost control of his truck and hit a marked sheriff’s office SUV head-on. The deputy behind the wheel at the time was not injured, but was taken to Mercy Health Hospital in Lorain as a precautionary measure.

Dillion ran into a wooded area of the Beaver Creek Reservation. Amherst and Lorain police officers and a drone helped deputies canvass the reservation, and Dillion was found by the drone.

Sheriff’s office K-9 Zor helped deputies take Dillion into custody. Body-worn camera footage released by the sheriff’s office on Thursday shows the K-9 and its handler finding Dillion curled up, hiding in a muddy creekbed and taking him into custody.

Dillion suffered “scrapes and bruises” from the K-9 during his arrest, sheriff’s Capt. Robert Vansant said at the scene. He was put in an ambulance and transported from the scene, according to a Chronicle-Telegram photographer who witnessed it. No other deputies or citizens were injured, according to the sheriff’s office.

After fleeing at high speed from deputies Wednesday afternoon, Dillion was wanted on warrants for felonious assault on a law enforcement officer as well as assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest, both felonies and a misdemeanor domestic violence charge filed in Oberlin Municipal Court. Additional felony charges of failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and obstruction and a misdemeanor domestic violence charge were added to the list of Dillion’s charges on Thursday, according to municipal court records.

Though one deputy was briefly dragged by Dillion’s pickup on Wednesday, no injuries were reported.

Columbia High celebrates 100th commencement

Carissa Woytach

The Chronicle-Telegram

COLUMBIA TWP. — Columbia High School’s Class of 2024 joined the ranks of 100 other graduating classes and thousands of alumni Saturday morning.

Class Vice President Angelina Ibarra recognized the historic marker.

“Over the last 100 years, thousands of students have been in the very position that we are

in today attending their own commencement ceremony they always thought was so far away, as I am sure many of my classmates can relate,” Ibarra said.

Since kindergarten, the 83 seniors who crossed the stage that morning had been known as the class of 2024, she said, but never really grasped how the next 12 years would unfold.

She reminded her fellow graduates to take time to experience the moments that make memories, rather than being distracted

about everything to do tomorrow or worried about what was not finished yesterday.

“Time is wasted when you let a happy instance with friends of family become a memory all too quickly,” Ibarra said. “...

Right now, I propose that this ceremony does not signify the ending of the last four years, but instead the opening act of your life from this moment forward.

And for the rest of your life, how will you soak up each moment to the maximum extent?”

Columbia High School graduates throw their caps in the air to celebrate at their commencement.

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BRUCE BISHOP / COMMUNITY GUIDE

LifeCare paramedics load Matt Dillion into an ambulance Thursday after he was captured during a manhunt that involved several drones from area police departments. He suffered some injuries when he was arrested in the woods off North Main Street in Amherst.

Amherst Fire Chief Jim Wilhelm dies

Owen MacMillan

The Community Guide

Fire Chief James “Jim” Wilhelm Sr. joined the Amherst Fire Department on May 21, 1977, and up until virtually the day he died, Wilhelm was front and center any time an Amherst resident needed help. Wilhelm, 72, died last Friday, and the announcement of his death was met with an outpouring of respect and support from within Amherst and across Lorain County.

“This is one of the biggest losses I can imagine for the city, as far as any person goes,” Amherst Mayor Mark Costilow said on Friday. “He was an amazing person, an amazing leader.”

Wilhelm died early Friday morning at Mercy Health’s New Life Hospice facility in Lorain, following a lengthy battle with cancer.

Assistant Fire Chief Brandon Dimacchia said the department had known of Wilhelm’s health struggles, but that his death still came as a shock.

Dimacchia recounted that Wilhelm began to struggle while delivering his chief’s report in a meeting on Tuesday.

“Something was just different,” Dimacchia said. “And at the very end, the last thing he said was ‘It’s an honor to have served with you guys.’ And I tell you the look around the room was, ‘What’s going on? What does he know that we don’t?’”

Despite a yearslong health battle, Wilhelm was an active and vocal leader in his own department and for the wider Lorain County firefighting community.

He was still personally at crash and fire scenes as recently as last week, when he responded to a crash involving an Amherst Schools bus on May 8.

“He hears ‘car accident, school bus, possible injuries,’ he’s the chief and whether he’s sick or not he wants to go and help,” Dimmachia said. “He goes flying out of the door and he wants to help.”

Wilhelm served Amherst for nearly 50 years, first joining the fire department in 1977. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1986 and assistant chief in 1991 and was appointed as fire chief by Costilow in 2017.

“He’s been nothing but a role model for me in the fire service,” Dimacchia said. “What’s crazy is how dedicated he was to the Amherst Fire Department and the city of Amherst. … He put the fire department and the citizens above many, many things. That’s how dedicated he was.”

Before Wilhelm ever joined the department, his father, Jerald, was an Amherst firefighter for 44 years and was chief before his retirement in 1996.

“Chief Wilhelm was born to be fire chief someday,” Costilow said. “He grew up around the fire department, he was on it for 47 years.

A similar refrain came from Joan Rosenbusch of the Amherst Historical Society, who knew Wilhelm both from his involvement with the society and because her husband, Ken, was an Amherst firefighter who retired in 2000.

“Jimmy used to run behind (Jerald) all the time, he went to every fire with his dad,” Rosenbusch said. “He was just a little boy and he was so excited. It was always in his blood, since birth.” Wilhelm’s influence as a leader went far beyond the Amherst city line, as evidenced by departments and chiefs from across Lorain County taking to social media to offer their condolences and share in Amherst’s grief.

“Everybody respected him so much,” Dimacchia said. “He was almost the grandpa of Lorain County fire chiefs. Out of all the fire departments in Lorain County, he

Wilhelm

was the oldest chief in age and oldest as far as being a veteran on the department. So a lot of people respected him and not just because of the time he put in, but how he acted. He acted like a good chief and good man.”

Elyria Fire Chief Joe Pronesti said that Wilhelm was a friend and mentor, someone who showed him how to lead and care for his firefighters.

“(Wilhelm) was the kind of chief that I would have loved to work under,” Pronesti said. “It’s a big, big loss. He was a fine fire chief. He was always calm and cool, nothing fazed him … It’s a big loss for Amherst. He was a big city quality of chief for a small department. He was amazing, I’m very sad.”

Wilhelm was always at the scene when his department needed him, Pronesti said, even in recent years as his health began to fail.

Pronesti recounted a scene from 2022, when both Elyria and Amherst were called as mutual aid for two large fires in Oberlin on Christmas Eve.

“It’s Christmas Eve and it was bitter, bitter cold and Jim was out there doing it,” Pronesti said. “And I was like wow, if he can be out here, I can be out here. He was a good man and I’m gonna miss him.”

Wilhelm’s love for Amherst was not limited to serving its citizens, as he was also a renowned local historian and board member of the Amherst Historical Society.

“When I work with him in the office and I’d be doing administrative work, something would come up with a building and I’d get the history lesson sitting there,” Dimacchia said. “He could tell you everything.”

He loved all local history, Costilow said of Wilhelm, but one particular historical obsession of Wilhelm’s was the 1916 Amherst Train Wreck.

Wilhelm spent countless hours researching the tragedy, which saw three passenger trains collide in Amherst and resulted in 27 deaths.

He spoke at the 100th anniversary commemoration of the tragedy and worked to organize the creation of a memorial to those killed.

“He knew so much about the history of Amherst,” Costilow said. “He was not only a fireman but a history buff and he thoroughly loved the city of Amherst, its residents and its history. He was so knowledgeable about the city of Amherst, he could go on and on about anything.”

Rosenbusch said that Wilhelm’s love for local history started from his desire to catalog and record the fires that happened throughout Amherst’s history.

“Once he started reading about all the fires from the past, as the years went by he said ‘Gosh I’m learning so much about that Amherst’ and he became very interested in the city of Amherst,” Rosenbusch said. “In actuality (the city) burned down twice, and that just started him on his chronicling of all the fires.”

Wilhelm got connected with the historical society and eventually began attending meetings every Monday, Rosenbusch said.

“He was religiously coming to these meetings, and he was teaching us,” she said. “… He was just incredible. I’ve been with the historical society for years, I’m 84 years old, I’ve been around a long time and I know Amherst well, or I thought I did, until I met Jim. It just blew my mind how much he knew.”

Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.

Volunteers spruce up county

Volunteers from throughout Lorain County donned gloves, picked up shovels and rakes and got to work sprucing up their public parks and other areas as part of the annual Lorain County Beautiful Day.

The effort celebrated its 23rd year, with volunteer groups like local 4-H clubs and Scout troops, alongside city workers, elected officials and residents taking on projects to pick up litter, plant flowers or treats and spruce up playgrounds and cemeteries.

The District purchased and distributed supplies to the coordinators to give volunteers.

The Solid Waste District holds the affiliate status for Keep Lorain County Beautiful, who promotes this event every year as part of the Great American Cleanup and receives additional supplies for these activities from Keep Ohio Beautiful.

The supplies received included litter grabbers, garbage bags, organic material collection bags, gloves, safety vests and bottled water for volunteers.

The event was coordinated by Brandi Schnell, community outreach and special projects manager for the Lorain County Solid Waste Management District.

COMMUNITY GUIDE

Ross Campbell, of Elyria, pulls dead leaves in front of the East Falls Riverwalk sign. The effort celebrated its 23rd year, with volunteer groups like local 4-H clubs and Scout troops and others.

Wellington graduates prepared for anything after Covid

Owen MacMillan

The Community Guide

WELLINGTON — At Wellington High School’s 148th commencement, students heard about how their time in school was sometimes defined by uncertainty, but more by their adaptability.

“Graduates, our journey together has been an enduring challenge, but we have finally made it,” Senior Class President Lily Oswald said in her opening remarks Sunday. “... After we leave here today, we’ll all go our separate ways, starting new journeys. Some plan to stay in Wellington and put down roots, while others long to leave and get a fresh start. I’m sure you can’t wait for this ceremony to be over and begin your next chapter, but I think you’ll miss it here.”

Honors student and winner of Wellington’s Community Service award Jillian Stannard expanded on the challenges the members of Wellington’s Class of 2024 faced as she addressed them in the Wellington High School gym.

Stannard said that she and her fellow classmates faced immense uncertainty as they prepared to walk the stage, but that they were well equipped for just that challenge.

“There is something I realized about us, the Class of 2024,” she said. “We are already really good at dealing with uncertainty.”

This uncertainty started from the beginning for her class, Stannard said, which had a different school principal going into first, second

and third grades.

Fourth grade was no more secure, she said, as the class prepared to start the year unsure of where they would learn, as the district had yet to complete the construction of McCormick Middle School,

The Class of 2024 was the last to attend the former McCormick, and the first to attend every level of middle school at the new building.

The end of middle school was even more chaotic for Stannard and her class, as the year was cut short by the breakout of COVID-19 that forced them to complete eighth grade and begin high school online.

“Talk about uncertainty,” Stannard said. “I’m sure we can all remember which classroom we were in when they announced we would not be coming to school for two weeks. That became a month and then finishing our eighth grade year with online classes. There was so much uncertainty during those days.”

Stannard recounted how unusual dealing with COVID-19 made the first year of high school for the class but said it made the good times even more precious.

“While all of these things may not be our favorite memories from high school, they are part of what has made our high school experience unique,” she said. “And these experiences taught us how to navigate through uncertainty.”

Superintendent Edward Webber recognized the 96 graduates of the class,

wherever they are headed, and thanked their parents and families for supporting them in their time at Wellington.

“Remember that the road ahead may not always be easy, but with hard work and determination, your dreams are not only a possibility but a reality,” Webber said.

“Don’t give up on them. Your hard work here in the classrooms of Westwood, McCormick, the high school and the JVS have prepared you well for what lays ahead.”

While lessons in the actual classroom are important, Lorain County Joint Vocational School honors student Kierstin Taylor told her fellow graduates that how they developed together as kids was even more crucial.

“The classes and opportunities are not what’s important, but (rather) the values instilled in me in a younger age in this district,” Taylor said. “I was taught to advocate for myself and that sometimes you have to step out and be uncomfortable to produce change in your life.”

Taylor said that lesson and other values she learned before going to the JVS for high school ensured that the students of Wellington would excel beyond high school.

“Today may be bittersweet for some, you may have unanswered questions about your future or you’re simply sad about the ending to this great chapter in your life,” she said. “You may even be nervous about big things that are still to come. We’ve all worked so hard, and I can say, without a doubt, that we

are going to be so many different versions of success.”

Wellington High School Principal Donna Keenan congratulated her departing students and reminded them of just how important a milestone they were reaching.

“Graduates, as you stand on the threshold of adulthood, it is an honor to share this moment with you and speak about a crucial element that will shape your future: responsibility,” Keenan said.

She spoke to the graduates about the many aspects of responsibility, which she said included “personal, social and global dimensions.”

Keenan said personal responsibilities included a duty for students to continue to learn, be curious and improve themselves but also to take care of themselves.

Social and global responsibility, she said, included students being aware and considering how their actions impact the community around them and the world as a whole.

“Graduates, the journey ahead of you will be filled with challenges and opportunities,” Keenan said. “Embrace responsibility as your guiding principle. It will help you not only help you navigate the complexities of life, but also empower you to make a meaningful impact on the world.”

The entire Wellington’s 2024 commencement was recorded and can be watched on the Wellington High School Facebook page at shorturl.at/g5Bga.

Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 3297123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.

Check out instruments at Oberlin Library

MAY 28, 2024

Jolliffe The Community Guide

OBERLIN — Check out the new musical instrument collection at the Oberlin Public Library.

No, really, you can check them out -- like books. Take home an instrument to learn to play or brush up on long-forgotten skills.

Liam Kinahan, children’s library assistant, is working to get the collection together for library patrons, and hopes to have it available within six months.

The response he already has received has been overwhelming after posting a request for unused instruments on Facebook earlier this month.

“The response has been great,” the 28-year-old Oberlin resident said. “It’s more than I anticipated. The response was immediate. Within an hour, members of the community were coming into the library with instruments.”

Kinahan, who moved to Oberlin from southeast England a year ago with his wife, Courtney Klesta, an Oberlin native, had seen similar programs at other libraries and thought it would be useful to the Oberlin community.

“One of the things I missed most of all when I moved here was my guitar,” he said. “I thought that would be nice to have again, and I thought it would be nice to have instruments available at the library to borrow.”

Residents have been so responsive that the library already has enough wind and brass instruments, and unfortunately, there is not enough storage for large instruments,

such as drum kits or amplifiers.

But Kinahan still hopes to add more string instruments.

It doesn’t matter how the instruments look or if they need repaired either.

“I’m a musician and I have years of experience working on my own instruments,” he said, which gives him the confidence to tackle others.

His goal is to put together kits patrons can check out with beginner books and needed equipment to play. He has a small budget to work with to add those other pieces.

“My expectations are evolving as the collection expands,” he said.

The library has received donations of an accordion and a dulcimer, which Kinahan never expected.

“Oberlin is a fantastic town,” he said. “Over the past year, I’ve gotten to know Ohio pretty well and Oberlin is the nicest town I’ve been to. Everyone is so kind here and so welcoming. I want to thank the community for being so generous.”

David Fausnaugh, executive director of the Oberlin Public Library, said starting a musical instrument collection at the library was a great idea.

“I’ve had experience with nontraditional collections at another library and it really is a valuable community asset,” Fausnaugh said. “It can be very helpful for someone looking for an item on a short-term basis, rather than to buy.”

And it’s one he hopes to expand on in Oberlin, although it requires a lot of work behind the scenes.

STEVE MANHEIM / COMMUNITY GUIDE

Graduates participate in commencement at Wellington High School. Graduate Jayde Davis smiles, right.

There is nothing but happiness and smiles on the faces of the members of Wellington’s 148th graduating class.

Christina

Liam Kinahan, Oberlin Library children’s library assistant, with a few of the instruments donated by Oberlin residents.

Cold weather challenge

Not easy making wine in Northeast Ohio

“There aren’t many careers where you get 40 chances to get things right. That is the basis of winemaking,”

Joe Juniper, Vermilion Valley Vineyards

The challenges of working with Mother Nature are ever-so apparent to grape growers in short-season regions where low temperatures can kill buds and green growth of the vine. These events affect yield and the ability to ripen fruit when the additional hang time for ripeness might be mitigated by fall precipitation, wind and cold.

Northern Ohio typically receives an average of five radiative frosts in a spring season, during bud break and shoot emergence. Up to 12 such events are possible with our capricious Ohio weather. Depending on the grape variety, low temperature and duration of the cold, this can be devastating for our growers.

A radiative frost happens most often when there is a clear, cloudless night. Clouds help hold warm air close to the ground to protect the plants. Without clouds, warm air rises and escapes, leaving cold air pooling around the vines. Throughout the day, temperatures are often 50 degrees and above, which follow into the evening. Around 4:30-6:30 a.m. the temperature drops significantly into the low 30s to high 20s and the wind dies down, allowing tender parts of the vine to freeze.

If you have flowering plants, you have dealt with radiative frosts by covering bushes and vegetables with sheets. Large growers often have wind machines to draw warm air to ground level and keep breezes in motion, preventing the cold from sitting on buds and shoots. Fires or smudge pots were used in the past to create a smoke layer (like an artificial cloud) to retain warm air, though the environmental results are devastating.

However, on the morning of April 25, our area suffered an advective freeze. The daytime temperatures were cold and it was very windy, so there was no warm air available to draw down to the ground. The temperature held at 28 degrees from midnight to 7 a.m., and there is really no technology to fight this natural event. Luckily, though Juniper has been involved in 20 vintages, this is only the first advective freeze he has experienced.

Within a single grape bud site there are primary, secondary and tertiary buds. Primary buds break in the spring and have moderated vigor with 100 percent crop potential. If the primary bud is damaged by winter freeze or spring frost, the secondary bud breaks two weeks after the event. There can be six weeks’ difference between surviving primary buds and secondary buds with 20 to 70 percent loss of yield.

While there is still potential for a crop, the fruit from secondary buds will ripen later. Since their yields are lower, the vine will put more effort into growing shoots, mandating

more canopy management and hedging. Less crop with more vineyard inputs translates into less wine at higher production costs.

Juniper experienced 100 percent primary bud loss on 65 acres of 4-year-old vines. He estimates a loss of 300 tons of fruit/250,000 bottles of wine. It is simple to figure the dollars lost due to just one weather incident.

Just another challenge that our winegrowers face from bud break to bottling that should make us all truly appreciate that glass we are enjoying at table.

Wine of the week

Davis Bynum Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley) $25 on sale — Bynum was the first producer of singlevineyard Russian River pinot noirs. This classic, cool-climate pinot offers strawberry, cranberry and spice notes, elegant body with firm acidity and lingering finish. Try with poultry, salmon, duck and mild cheeses. Gary Twining is a certified wine educator who worked 34 years in the wholesale fine wine industry. Email him at winingwithtwining@hotmail.com.

Area boaters might not have as much to win or lose as these fishermen did in the recent 2024 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s National Team Championship Walleye Tournament but they are out there taking to the water nonetheless as Northeast Ohio weather heats up. Here, the tournament contestents head in for the weigh-in after a day of fishing off Lorain’s coast. Nearly 300 teams competed for the largest walleye from the lake and a cash prize. According the the Walleye Federation’s Facebook page, the winners, for the second year in a row, were Scott Rohloff and Lance Busse from Wisconsin. They caught 80 pounds, 14 ounces of fish in the two-day tournament.

Amherst Workshop Players’ MacKeigan loves it all

John Benson The Community Guide Veteran Workshop Players Theatre actor/director Judy MacKeigan loves all stages of the game.

This time that’s directing the Amherst theater company’s latest production, “Ripcord,” which through this weekend at the Middle Ridge Road venue.

“I was out there looking for a new play to suggest to the playhouse for my directing this year,” said MacKeigan, who lives in Avon. “I was looking for a comedy, just a couple men, couple women and up comes this one.

“I started reading it and I thought, oh my gosh, these are two fabulous roles for women who are not ingénues. I just fell in love with it. I love the fact that there are two strong women, more mature than a lot of the other plays.”

Not only had MacKeigan never heard of David Lindsay-Abaire’s play, but the production fits the Workshop Players Theatre requirements of a small cast and minimal set.

In fact, as far as she knows, the director said the comedy, which debuted in 2015, hasn’t been produced in Northeast Ohio.

Lindsay-Abaire’s play takes place in a sunny room in the Bristol Place Senior Living Facility that becomes a bit cloudy after cantankerous resident Abby is forced to share her quarters with newly arrived Marilyn.

The battle of glass halffull vs. half-empty features a woman content in her

grouchiness participating in a game of one-upmanship against an annoying, chipper new acquaintance.

“Our audiences like comedies, but a comedy with some heart in it where you’re laughing and also feeling for the people on stage,” she said.

Billed as delightful, hilarious and touching, the thought-provoking play features a six-member cast — Kevin Boland, Lori Broderick, Dave Hopkins, June Lang, Timothy Richard Parks and Rachel Suhy. For comparison’s sake, the director said “Ripcord” has a possibly Bernard Slade or modern Neil Simon feel.

“These people are sometimes doing crazy, ridiculous things, but they’re always real people,” she said. “You come to like them because they’re likable characters.”

MacKeigan gets a little philosophical when describing what audiences will experience after seeing “Ripcord.”

“I just want people to remember that you could be full of life no matter what your age is,” she said. “I know that sounds a little hokey, but life is enjoyable at all stages of the game.”

Head Start bus driver wants compensation

Dave O’Brien

The Community Guide

The city of Lorain and five current and former Lorain police officers have asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit against them filed by Nancy Smith seeking compensation for her alleged wrongful conviction on child sexual abuse charges in the mid-1990s.

The lawsuit is being heard in U.S. District Court in Cleveland by Judge David Ruiz. Smith filed it in February.

Smith, 66, served more than 15 years in prison after she and Joseph Allen were convicted in 1994 of physical and sexual abuse against children on a Head Start school bus that Smith drove.

The charges against them were dropped in 2022 by the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office, and dismissed by Common Pleas Judge Chris Cook.

An initial investigation by Tom Cantu, the former lead detective in the case, found no probable cause to charge Smith. He was later taken off the case and it was handed over to other detectives.

The Lorain police investigators being sued “came to

learn that the children were ‘coaxed’ by parents, provided incoherent and illogical responses and were not the victims of sexual abuse” but “buried this exculpatory evidence from Nancy prior to trial,” according to Smith’s lawsuit.

In the most recent federal court filing, attorneys for the city argued that Smith’s lawsuit “fails to allege conduct by the individual Lorain officer defendants that violates the Constitution;” failed to “sufficiently plead supervisory liability … without ever alleging specific actions of individual supervisors;” and “fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”

The city also is entitled to immunity and Smith’s lawsuit is barred by a two-year statute of limitations.

“The factual allegations contained within (Smith’s lawsuit) relate to allegedly tortious conduct that occurred in 1993 and 1994 — almost 30 years ago,” attorney John McLandrich wrote.

There was no response to a message seeking comment on the city’s filing was left for one of Smith’s attorneys at the Chicago law firm Loevy & Loevy.

BRUCE BISHOP / CHRONICLE

Gary TwininG

After a freeze event, the primary bud is lost. This vine pushed both secondary and tertiary buds.

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY VERMILION VALLEY VINEYARDS

Aubrynn Reichle flips the ball to second base for

against

Firelands’ Lexi Schrader collects this Akron Springfield popup in shallow right field.

Firelands’ Sarah Blankenship throws

Akron Springfield.

Caption 3: Firelands’ Mandy DeWitt steps on second base on her way to third with a triple deep in the outfield against Akron Springfield.

Keystone’s Alex Sayers celebrates his solo home run against Elyria Catholic as he rounds third base.

Keystone’s Brock Miller sends the ball to the plate against Elyria Catholic.

Photos by Russ Gifford The Community Guide

Taste history in Amherst Taste of History, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 14 and June 15 at Sandstone Village, 763 Milan Ave., Amherst. A unique military living history event focusing on the food and rations that fed soldiers across all eras. Sample military chow through the ages available for donation. Military displays, shooting demonstrations, home front and camp follower displays, kids’ activities, vendors and more. Free shuttle and parking at Amherst Junior High School, 548 Milan Ave., Amherst. Registration to be a reenactor or a field kitchen for the event is free. Vendor registration is $50. Registration is available at https://www. mhpg.us/tasteofhistory. For more information, please contact the Amherst Historical Society (440) 988-7255 or office@amhersthistoricalsociety.org.

Picnic for a Purpose in June

Primary Purpose Center “Picnic for a Purpose”, starting at 2 p.m. June 1 at The Lodge in New Russia Township, 46300 Butternut Ridge Road, Oberlin. Visit primarypurposecenter.com for more information. Sandstone car, bike show in Amherst Sandstone Village Car and Bike Show, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 2 at Sandstone Village, 763 Milan Ave., Amherst. Rain or shine. Car registration: 9 to 11 a.m. day of show. Cars should enter through Jefferson Street for registration. Dash plaques to the first 200; photo area; goody bags for first 100 registrants. Free entry for spectators. Free parking and shuttle from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Amherst Junior High School, 548 Milan Ave., Amherst. Village buildings and shops will be open; food vendors; 50/50 raffle; basket raffles and more. For more information, please contact (440) 988-7255 or office@ amhersthistoricalsociety.org.

UCC making stuffed cabbage Hungarian cabbage roll sale, 9 a.m. to noon, June 7 and 8 at Community of Faith UCC, 9715 East River Road, Elyria. Cost is $15 per uncooked dozen. Orders accepted through May 24 by calling (440)309-6828 or the church office at (440)322-3781. Please specify pick up date when placing your order.

Drive to Thrive fundraiser

First annual “Drive to Thrive,” 5 to 8 p.m. June 14 at NAPA, 1020 East Broad St., Elyria. $10 registration fee, all makes and models. Dash plaques for the first 50 cars; 50/50 raffle. Non-perishable food donations accepted. Proceeds benefit The Bread of Life Ministry. Rain date: June 21. www.elyriabreadoflife.org

Sports Foundation fundraiser June 18

T3 Sports Foundation fundraiser, gates open at 6 p.m., first pitch at 7:05 p.m. June 18 at the Lake Erie Crushers Stadium, 2009 Baseball Blvd., Avon. Tickets are $13 each. Proceeds benefit athletes in need as a portion of ticket sales and 50/50 Raffle proceeds will go directly to the T3 Sports Foundation. Tickets can be purchased at fevo-enterprise.com/event/T3Foundation.

AT THE THEATER

BULLETIN BOARD

The Lorain County Community Guide Bulletin Board is for local nonprofit and not-for-profit events. Items are published on a space-available basis and will be edited for style,

Officers killed in line of duty honored

The Lorain County officers killed in the line of duty since 1983 were recently honored for their bravery. The list also includes five Lorain County residents killed while serving other municipalities. They are:

n Oberlin Police Constable Franklin Stone, killed June 4, 1881

n Wellington City Marshal George Brenner, killed July 17, 1883

n Rochester Marshal Spooner Crapo, killed Nov. 11, 1905

n Amherst Police Officer Rupert Becker, killed April 10, 1916

n Norfolk Southern Railroad Officer David Barnes, killed July 27, 1920

n Nickle Plate Railroad Officer Jack Laicy, killed Nov. 24, 1923

n Lorain Police Officer Fred Webber, killed Dec. 23, 1923

n Lorain Police Officer Charles Deal, killed Nov. 6, 1925

n Lorain County Sheriff Deputy Franklin Strohl, killed June 13, 1930

n Elyria Police Officer Howard Taft, killed Aug. 18, 1942

n Lorain Police Officer George Kirk, killed March 30, 1944

n Wellington Police Officer Edmund Smith, killed May 4, 1957

n Lorain County Sheriff Deputy Michael George, killed Jan. 9, 1961

n Lorain County Sheriff Deputy John Palermo, killed Jan. 21, 1964

n Oberlin Police Officer Robert Woodall, killed March 10, 1971

n Vermilion Police Officer Francis Smolka, killed Oct. 29, 1978

n Lorain County Sheriff Deputy Kenneth Tomaszewski, killed July 3, 1979

n Elyria Police Officer Bradley Scott, killed Aug. 27, 2004

n Elyria Police Sgt. James Kerstetter, killed March 15, 2010

n U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Officer Leonard Wilcox, killed Jan. 31, 1986

n Highway Patrol Trooper Robert Perez Jr., killed March 15, 2000

n Beaufort County Sheriff Deputy Dyke “A.J.” Coursen, killed Jan. 8, 2002

n Cleveland Heights Police Officer Jason West, killed May 26, 2007

n Highway Patrol Trooper Kenneth Velez, killed Sept. 15, 2016.

County Commissioner Michelle Hung presented a proclamation recognizing those killed in the line of duty in Lorain County, and nationally. Since 1786, more than 26,500 officers have been killed while on duty.

“We pledge to continue to keep their memory alive,” Pelko said.

Ian Bagg talks bats and fiber

John Benson The Community Guide

Comedian Ian Bagg continues to flourish on social media.

While others seek fame and fortune in TV and film, Ian Bagg, the observational funnyman — who returns to Cleveland for shows Friday and Saturday at Hilarities 4th Street Theatre — has tamed the digital Wild West to the tune of growing ticket sales.

Known as a fast-paced, off-the-cuff, quick-witted and animated comedian who nightly presents oneof-a-kind shows where the audience becomes the material as part of an everchanging set, Bagg early in his career appeared on “Last Comic Standing.”

This led to guest shots on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and “The Tonight Show,” as well as half-hour specials on Comedy Central and HBO followed by one-hour specials — Showtime’s “Getting to Know You” and Amazon Prime’s “Conversations.”

However, these days Bagg, through releasing a constant stream of bite-size content, exponentially has grown his audience.

We recently caught up with the Southern California comedian just after he left the dentist’s office.

Q: Hey, Ian, did you get your complimentary dental hygiene doggie bag when leaving the dentist’s office?

A: No, I didn’t get a toothbrush. That’s (expletive). I went from the highs to the lows thanks to you.

Q: Fans are looking forward to your return to Hilarities. What are your memories of the venue?

A: Nick (Kostis), who owns the place, started buying the comedians gifts. Last time I was there he sent me home with a baseball bat. I had to check it because they wouldn’t let me on the plane with a bat. It was a security concern. That’s what sticks out about the last time I was in Cleveland. “Did you have a good time in the city? Here’s a baseball bat. Go back and tell your friends.”

Q: Comedian Tom Papa jokingly said Kostis would break his legs if he played any other venue in Cleveland. Perhaps the Hilari-

ties owner is sending you a message?

A: That’s funny. I know this sounds weird, but I hope I do get to play a theater and also the same year I get to play Hilarities. Cleveland has always been really good to me, so I’m hoping I can be really good to it and do both.

Q. You’re known for never turning in the same set. That said, what are a few of the main topics you’ll be talking about?

A: A little bit about getting older, a little bit about my wife and a little bit about the state of everybody being in fear and being scared about stupid things. I’m trying to find this group of people who don’t Chicken Little everything. The sky isn’t falling. That’s basically what I talk about.

Q: Congratulations on your social media presence, which combined has grown to more than 500,000 followers. How has that changed your career?

A: It’s been crazy, a lot of fun. I kept my booking agent and I got rid of everybody else. I’ve never had more control of my career — and being able to do what I want, which is show people my stupidity. They seem to be enjoying it.”

On Memorial Dayweekend each year, people enjoy barbecues, sporting events, camping,weekendgetaways, theme parksand concerts. But MemorialDay is really about remembering those whogavetheir lives defending Americaand other free nationsinwartime.

No matter whereyou live,at 3:00 p.m. on the last Monday

of May, you canparticipatein the National Momentof Remembrance. Forone minute, Americansare asked to pauseand thinkabout the servicemen andwomen who died defending the freedoms we enjoy today

These bravemen and women servedinthe Army,Navy,Air Force, MarineCorps andthe Coast Guard.

On Memorial Day,Boy Scoutsand Girl Scoutsoften placesmall flagsorcandles beside headstones in military cemeteries across the nation.

Look closelyatthese flags. Only two of them are correct depictions of today’s American flag. Canyou find them?

Glue twocraft sticks in a“V” shape as shown. Make five of these for each star you want to make.

Glue eachofthe “V” shapestogether to form astar.

simple written directions.

Paintthe star red, white and blue. Youcan glue a craft stick on the bottom and placethe stars in your garden or aflowerpot for aMemorial Daydisplay

Memorial Day

Observed

Lookinthe newspaper for eventsinyour town happening on Memorial Day Whatspecial MemorialDay parade or ceremony could your familyattend?

Standards Link: Research: Use the newspapertolocate information aboutlocal events.

Areyou an eagle-eyed reader? Read the articles below and correct the eight spelling and grammar errors you find. The first one is done for you.

Memorial Day

Decoration Daybegan following the U.S. Civil Warin1868. Flowurswere placed on the graves of more than 20,000 soldiersfrombothethe North and South buriesatArlington National Cemetery.Itwas a day thatpeople set aside to decorate thegraves of soldiers who had diesfighting in the Civil War.

Memorial Day became afederal holliday in 1971. Banks, schools, government offices and many businessesclosed on Memorial Day so thatpeople could take time to honor and remembers thosewho died fightingfor America.

The National Memorial Day Purade in Washington, D.C. is held every year.Itbegin in 2005, and by 2009, more than 300,000 people lined theparade route.

Standards Link: Writing: Use strategies to edit written work.

Colorthiswindow poster.Display it on Memorial Day