Lorain County Community Guide - Sept. 7, 2023

Union leaders,

mark Labor Day in

LORAIN — For the 26th year straight, union leaders, workers and families gathered to celebrate Labor Day in the International City.

Filling Black River Landing with American Flags and union logos, the Lorain County Labor Unions’ Labor Day Family Family Celebration marked the historical achievements of American unions and promoted the need for their continued support.

State Rep Joe Miller, D-Amherst, said he stood before those gathered Sunday afternoon with a sense of pride, not just as a state representative, but as a fellow union member. Miller was a member of UFCW 880 as a teen, and part of the Ohio Education Association as a teacher in Firelands Schools.

“This city was built on the tenacity, dedication and hard work of union members like you,” he said. “And the rich heritage we celebrate (Sunday and Monday is a testament of that enduring spirit.”

That heritage dates back to the late 1800s, when municipalities and states across the country recognized Labor Day before it was officially adopted by Congress in 1894, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

This year’s Labor Day celebra-

tions come in the midst of a teachers’ strike in Youngstown, a threat of United Auto Workers (UAW) strikes against Stellantis, General Motors and Ford, and an ongoing writers and actors guild strike.

David Green, director of UAW Region 2B, said Labor Day is not

just an excuse for an end-of-summer barbecue, but a time to recognize the strides made in worker safety and dignity by unions.

Region 2B represents more than 180,000 active and retired auto workers in Indiana and Ohio, Green said, spread out across

more than 120 locals.

“This day was built out of the Industrial Revolution,” he said, referencing the Pullman Railroad Strike in the 1890s for wage increases after their pay had been reduced.

With a potential strike looming, both the Ford Motor Company and the United Auto Workers union released statements about their ongoing contract negotiations on Aug. 31.

The UAW is in the middle of negotiations with General Motors, Ford and Stellantis.

The current contract between the parties expires on Sept. 14, and UAW members recently voted 97 percent in favor of authorizing a strike if necessary.

Any strike would affect Lorain County’s Ford Ohio Assembly Plant, which sits in parts of Avon Lake, Sheffield and Sheffield Lake.

The plant employs about 1,800 workers and produces primarily chassis and full productions of Ford pickup trucks.

In a news release sent just after 7 p.m., Ford officials touted “significant” pay increases it said would raise the average yearly pay of UAW workers from $78,000 to $92,000.

“After extensive negotiations, Ford has presented a generous offer on the upcoming contract that would

Disaster declaration from recent storms remains unlikely

While it is unlikely that the state of Ohio will declare a state of emergency in response to the severe storms that hit Lorain County Aug. 23-25, a private disaster relief organization is expected to set up in the county by the end of next week.

In emails to elected officials the last week of August and shared with The ChronicleTelegram, Lorain County EMA and Homeland Security Director Dave Freeman wrote that most of the damage caused by three days of storms is limited to basement flooding and downed trees, “which unfortunately, don’t contribute to loss totals.”

“An emergency declaration by any individual community often creates the expectation of financial compensation which may not occur and is not recommended,” he wrote. “FEMA only considers costs beyond those covered by insurance. In addition, we must have a presidential declaration of disaster to open funding which

only occurs when requested by the governor AND thresholds for damage are met.” Lorain County and the municipalities in it can help residents by adding extra garbage and bulk item pickups — many have already done so — and also keep a list of tree services and disaster restoration companies that can be put on municipal websites or social media, Freeman suggested.

He also asked officials to track damaged infrastructure that could benefit from federal assistance, including roads, bridges, wastewater facilities and public property.

The United Way of Greater Lorain County’s 211 service also is tracking residential damage and is doing follow-ups with residents in need, Freeman wrote, while the American Red Cross is doing damage assessments and helping with cleanup of flooded basements.

Freeman said his staff of two — himself and Emergency Operations Manager Hope Bonos — have toured the county to track storm damage.

“This is being done not only

for the current event but also for inclusion in hazard mitigation plans and grant requests,” he wrote.

Freeman also is coordinating disaster response efforts with the Ohio EMA, and has asked elected officials for a list of affected homeowners to present to state officials.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, known as FEMA, normally doesn’t take basement flooding into account when determining criteria for a disaster declaration, “but since we have so many (and most have never experienced this issue), the only way to see if we can make something happen at the state and federal level is by being able to paint the picture of impacts,” Freeman wrote.

In the meantime, the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Organization is sending staff to assist with flood cleanup, tree removal, sanitation and mold/mildew

Calls for help

United Way of Greater Lorain County’s 211 system received about 1,5000 calls and emails the first week after storms hit the county on Aug. 23.

The bulk of those calls for service were from Lorain and Elyria, Community Impact Director Christine Matusik-Plas said in an email — but it had received calls and emails from every ZIP code and community in Lorain County.

The first day after the storms, many of the calls were from individuals or families whose living spaces, such as basement apartments, were entirely flooded and required resources for temporary relocation.

The top requests were:

● Home sanitation information, supplies and services

● Food pantries

● Hot meals

● Disaster food stamps/SNAP

● Home repair and restoration

● Large appliance removal and repair

● Clothing assistance

● Beds, bedding

● Transportation

● Baby supplies

prevention, Freeman told elected officials.

The organization will be staying in an Elyria-area church and

should have a more full response in place by Sept. 10, Freeman said.

CARISSA WOYTACH THE COMMUNITY GUIDE

OWEN MACMILLAN THE COMMUNITY GUIDE

ROGER SOMMER | The Community Guide U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, speaks at the 26th Annual Lorain County Organized Labor Unions’ Labor Day Family Celebration at Black River Landing on Sept. 2.

DAVE O’BRIEN THE COMMUNITY GUIDE INSIDE Family reunited with ‘lucky’ dog after storms ● A4

William ‘Bill’ James Shepherd Jr.

William ‘Bill’ James Shepherd Jr., 89, died Tuesday, August 29, 2023, at the Cedar Valley Hospice Home in Waterloo, Iowa.

Bill was born in Carrollton, Ohio, October 30, 1933, to Bill and Helen (Baker) Shepherd.

Bill is survived by his wife, Mary, and her sons, Wade Kainer of Iowa City, Iowa, and Bowen Kainer of Austin, Texas; children, Ann Marie (Paul) Baransy of Ottawa, Ohio, Jeani

Lynn (Max) Good of Fayetteville, Georgia, Nola Rose (Jim) Quealy of Seal Beach, California, and William James III (Kimberly) of Dublin, Ohio; their mother, Diane Cole Duesenberg of Cedar Falls, Iowa; grandchildren, Kyle Good of Brooklyn, New York, Evan Good of Boulder, Colorado, Emily (Jacob) Hinsey of Fort Worth, Indiana, Natalie (Corey) Stewart of Fort Wayne, Indiana, William Shepherd IV of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Lillian Shepherd of New Orleans, Lousiana, and Evelyn Shepherd of Dublin, Ohio; sister, Betty Walters of Lexington, Kentucky; and niece, Kathleen Robinson of Lexington, Kentucky.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and a sister, Dorothy Horrigan.

Bill’s love of music as a child led to his life-long career -- teaching, and his avocation -- playing trombone. The two will be forever intertwined. After graduating from Carrollton High School, Bill earned his BA and MFA degrees in music from Ohio University. He served as high school band director at McConnelsville, Sandy Valley, Wellington and Wooster, producing outstanding concert bands which consistently received superior ratings in Ohio Music Educators competitions. His high school marching bands were featured at many college football games and presented special half-time programs at professional football games of the Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, and Pittsburgh Steelers.

While teaching music in Ohio’s public schools, Bill was elected Ohio State Chairman of the American Band Directors Association and served on that group’s national executive board. He is a member of Phi Beta Mu, Phi Mu Alpha, Kappa Kappa Psi, Phi Kappa Lamda, International Trombone Association and other professional organizations affiliated with his teaching career.

Bill was Director of Bands at Findlay College, Findlay, Ohio, from 1969 to 1976. In 1970, he was selected as one of the top ten music educators in the United States and Canada by The School Musician, a professional music education publication.

The next year, he was one of the ten college band directors chosen by the College Band Directors National Association to conduct The United States Air Force Band at a conducting symposium in Ithaca, New York. In 1976, he was a featured soloist at the Music Educators National Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey and the Kennedy

LETTERS

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Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. Bill was selected to play in an All-American Band Masters presentation at the International Mid-West Band Clinic with Arthur Fiedler, then the Boston Pops Orchestra director.

From Findlay, he moved to Cedar Falls, Iowa, in 1976 to join the University of Northern Iowa, where he taught in the School of Music and directed the marching and symphonic band programs until 1991. He continued teaching at UNI until 2010 and chaired the General Studies area. In addition to evaluating student teachers, he taught such classes as Our Musical Heritage, Conducting, and Music Administration.

Bill started playing trombone in Carrollton Junior High School and by the time he entered Ohio University, he knew music would be his career. During college, he played with several popular musical groups. In 1958-59, he and his trombone spent a year ‘on the road’ with the Tommy Dorsey/ Warren Covington Orchestra, touring the U.S. and recording with the band in New York City. He left the touring group to return to his teaching job in the Ohio public school system. However, his love of Big Band music has remained with him. He played in the Chuck Bisgrove and Jack Runyan band for many years throughout Ohio and adjacent areas.

After he moved to Iowa, where there was a lack of groups playing big band music, he started the Bill Shepherd Big Band in 1979. The band quickly became the premier Big Band throughout Northeast Iowa, noted for the quality of the musicians and the authenticity of the musical charts. The Bill Shepherd Big Band recorded ‘Big Band Sounds,’ in 1981, ‘Ballroom Memories,’ in March 2003, ‘Christmas In Cedar Falls’ in 2010, and ‘Christmastime’ in 2013. Both Christmas albums feature vocalist, Nola Shepherd Quealy, Bill’s youngest daughter.

The Bill Shepherd Combo and Bill Shepherd’s ‘Red Hots’ Dixieland Band, two groups that grew out of the Big Band, have frequently performed at public and private events, in addition to being featured at several Dixieland church services every year.

Bill continued to share his musical talents at church, playing solos and in brass groups for special music programs throughout the year.

From 1984 to 2018 he conducted the Waterloo Community Concert Band, a 40-plus member group that presents weekly concerts during June and July. He co-founded and conducted the Iowa Trombones, a group of trombone players from throughout Iowa and beyond that has gathered annually to play ensembles and give a public performance.

Classical music was also a part of Bill’s life. He played in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra from 1976-2014. For many years, he was the symphony players’ representative on the board of directors and has served on two of the last three committees to select a new symphony conductor. Prior to this, he played with the Canton and Lima Symphonies (Ohio), with which he recorded a full-length solo LP of classical trombone solos.

Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Tuesday, September 5, 2023, at First United Methodist Church in Cedar Falls. Visitation will be 4 until 6 p.m. Monday, September 4, 2023 at Richardson Funeral Service in Cedar Falls.

Memorials may be directed to First United Methodist Church or Cedar Valley Hospice.

Online condolences may be left at www. richardsonfuneralservice.com.

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Alfred Theodore Kemp

Alfred Theodore ‘Ted’ Kemp, 96, went to be with the Lord, Wednesday, August 30, 2023 under the care of Mercy New Life Hospice.

Born in Gallipolis, Ohio April 15, 1927, Alfred was the son of the late Joseph and Edith (nee Cromlish) Kemp.

He spent his youth in Gallipolis, Ohio and attended school with and remained friends with Bob Evans. Ted briefly served in the United States Navy at the end of World War II. A resident of Wellington for over 70 years, Ted

was a member of the Wellington Eagles and the American Legion. He had a career as a Welder Fabricator and retired from Wedge Wire in 1989. He enjoyed gardening and loved growing tomatoes. Ted also liked to fish and cheer on the Cleveland Indians and Cavs.

Ted is survived by his children, Richard (Sue) Kemp, Pam (Dave) Crawford and Julie (Gerald) Satterfield; four grandchildren; a step-granddaughter; three great-grandchildren; and five step greatgrandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Mona Kemp; second wife, Gloria Kemp; son, Rudy Kemp; and siblings, Edna, Arthur, Wayne, Clark and Robert. Visitation will be Friday, September 1, 2023 from 6 until 8 p.m. at NortonEastman Funeral Home, 370 S. Main St., Wellington, where Funeral Services will be held Saturday, September 2, 2023 at 10 a.m. Burial will follow at Greenwood Cemetery, Wellington.

Fond memories and condolences can be shared online at www.norton-eastmanfuneralhome.com.

Lorain caboose paint scheme nears completion

LORAIN — In the 1970s, a blue and yellow caboose could be seen on the B&O railroad in Lorain, bringing up the rear of freight lines that powered the city’s industrial giants. Now, one of those cabooses is back in the International City, soon undertaking a different type of service.

A subcommittee of Lorain Growth is restoring caboose No. 3855, donated to the group by CSX in August 2019. On Friday afternoon, subcommittee Chairman Gary Schaefer and members Don Glass, a former brakeman for the B&O railroad; and Steve Keppler looked at the group’s nearly four years’ worth of handiwork sitting behind the Lorain Palace Theatre on Port Authority property.

On a strip of track left over from the city’s industrial heyday the caboose traded rusted metal for bold navy blue with yellow gold detailing.

The caboose came from a railyard in Lester, at one time bearing the bright yellow Chessie System cat before the conductor there painted it in the B&O color scheme it was in when it came to Lorain, Schaefer said.

Initially, the caboose was

delivered near the steel mill, where it became a target for vandalism, before it was moved to the stretch of track behind Broadway.

Once on Port Authority property and after a year lost to COVID-19, volunteers got to work ripping out rotted wood and replacing broken windows on the inside and sanding the outside down to bare metal for painting.

Once the outside painting is finished — which the group expects to be done in the next few weeks — it will move to its more permanent home inside the fence of the Port Authority near the Transportation Center.

Glass, who worked on caboose like No. 3855, said restoring the car is “like a hobby (you) can’t get out of your system.”

The blue and yellow car that has traveled the continental U.S. has an

estimated 10,000 hours of volunteer work, alongside donated paint and more than $12,000 in moving and material costs, the group estimated.

To help continue the restoration work, with plans to turn the caboose into a museum, the subcommittee is hosting Roads-Rails-nSales car, truck and motorcycle show and flea market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 23, with a rain date of Sept. 24 at Black River Landing. The event is free to attend, a $10 donation to show a car, truck or motorcycle and donations will be accepted for railroad maintenance car rides on the track at Black River Landing.

The goal of the project, and eventual museum, is to help educate the public on the history of the railroad, how it’s changed over the years, and the impact it had on the city, Shaefer said.

Phone: 440-329-7122

CARISSA WOYTACH THE COMMUNITY GUIDE

CARISSA WOYTACH | The Community Guide Steve Keppler’s 1973 Cadillac El Dorado sits in front of a B&O caboose being restored by a Lorain Growth subcommittee.

Keystone Elementary adds outdoor classroom with PTA members help

THE COMMUNITY GUIDE

LaGRANGE — After several years of work, an outdoor classroom is starting to take shape behind Keystone Elementary School.

The outline of a greenhouse and the footers for a pergola are in and there are plans for a chicken coop and wheeled, raised garden beds.

It’s not just going to be a couple of flower beds on a concrete pad, Tammy Figula said of her brainchild hatched amid the COVID-19 shutdown.

“It was kind of hard to sell this whole idea at first,” she said.

But as Figula kept talking about the idea, more people got on board.

“Let’s put something back there that our kids can use and our teachers can use and that they can have an additional learning space that exposes them to things that they may not have otherwise,” she said.

The initiative, backed by the Keystone Elementary Parent Teacher Association, got a Healthy Places grant from Lorain County Public

UAW

FROM A1

provide our hourly employees with 15% guaranteed combined wage increases and lump sums, and improved benefits over the life of the contract,”

Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement.

In its response posted to social media, The UAW countered that the raise would amount to “a paltry 9 percent” increase after accounting for inflation.

Ford’s statement came in response to a 37-minute livestream posted by UAW President Shawn Fain, in which Fain criticized Ford and compared what the UAW had demanded with what Ford offered.

“Ford’s wage proposals not only failed to meet our needs, it insults our very worth,” Fain said.

Fain also responded to a livestream viewer who asked about temporary and

Health and has seen the community rally around to donate materials, labor and a greenhouse.

Superintendent Dan White admitted he had some trepidation initially.

“Love the enthusiasm, love the support. Truly believe education is a partnership between (the district), our parents, the community and all this,” he said. “I think naturally, your mind goes to liability and all those kinds of things. But we really work hard administratively to find a way to say ‘yes,’ not find a way to say ‘no.’”

White saw an opportunity to reach students in a different way, and a group of parents ready to make that happen, so after some initial hurdles they moved ahead with what will be a 45-foot-by-90-foot, fencedin, outdoor space.

She estimated the PTA had about $15,000 invested, between fundraisers, grants and donations.

Figula said she didn’t want the space to be a couple of garden boxes that her daughter got to use and then the program fizzled out. Once complete, it will be a permanent addition to

the field near the basketball court, with plans to tie into STEM courses or additional outdoor teaching spaces at the nearby middle and high schools.

“So the kids will be able to, once everything is in place, not only learn gardening and growing healthy fruit and vegetable options, but how to grow their own eggs, how to sell those eggs — the amount of lessons that can come out of a designated space like this, we don’t even know for sure yet,” she said.

Figula and White estimated the majority of the outdoor classroom would be done by the end of October, ready to bring agriculture to the district’s littlest learners.

Still needed items include raised beds and clip-on grow lights on wheels for year-round growing; rain barrels and bases; mulch; potting soil; shelving for in the greenhouse and meteorological implements for lessons.

Those interested in helping complete the classroom can email Keystone Elementary PTA at kes ptainfo@gmail.com.

part-time (TPT) employees.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do in the area of TPTs and getting our TPTs converted to full-time and have temporary work be what temporary work is: temporary,” Fain said.

The UAW has demanded that Ford cap part-time workers to 90 days on the job, after which time the company would have to promote those workers to full-time.

Ford’s offer did not include a cap on part-time workers.

Ford’s offer included the elimination of pay tiers in all its factories and reduces the time it takes a new employee to reach “top wages” to six years rather than the current eight years.

Fain said the offer still falls well short of the

UAW’s demands, and he said its members are prepared to strike.

“We are also broadcasting a clear message to the companies; we are ready to do whatever it takes to win a strong contract,” he said.

Two weeks ago UAW members voted 97 percent in favor of authorizing a strike, giving the union leaders the right to initiate one if they so choose.

In addition to criticizing Ford, Fain accused Stellantis and General Motors of “willful refusal to negotiate in good faith.” He announced that the union has filed unfair labor practice charges against the companies with the National Labor Relations Board.

“Our campaign slogan is simple, record profits mean record contracts,” Fain said, holding up a sign during the broadcast.

CARISSA WOYTACH

OWEN MacMILLAN | The Community Guide

Luke Mason, a Keystone parent and employee at Cleveland Cement volunteered time Aug. 31 to dig the footers for a pergola as part of Keystone Elementary’s new outdoor classroom.

Return of dog lost in storm ‘a total miracle’

For Elyria resident Renee Morton, the devastation from last week’s storms could not have been worse.

On Aug. 23 during a slight reprieve from the torrential rains, Morton opened the back door so her 14-year-old rescue dog, Sienna, would slip out to do her business and quickly get back inside.

Morton, who is legally blind and hearing impaired, did not feel the dog near her legs and assumed that she chose to stay inside and wait out the storms.

She was wrong.

Sienna was nowhere to be found the next morning. A panicked Morton had her son come over to search the house before a friend showed up at the door after hearing the dog was missing. They searched the area for hours with no luck.

Later, Morton went out on foot. Still no luck. Then another round of storms pounded the area Thursday evening.

Social media posts were made begging for both prayers and help locating Sienna. Calls were placed, including one to the Lorain County Dog Kennel. Sienna was not there.

Aug. 25 a call came in about a dog at the bottom of a ravine near Black River, which was still rising. Assistant County Dog Warden Nelson Delgado thought the description of the dog matched that of Sienna.

He climbed into his truck hoping to save the dog even though the caller reported it was not moving and feared it was dead.

When Delgado got to the scene, he peered over the steep ravine he needed to traverse. The slickness and mud from the hard rains made the climb treacherous. He said he was determined to get to

the dog because, even if it was dead, he wanted to make sure it was returned to its desperate owner for a proper burial. He grabbed onto branches growing out the side of the ravine and started down.

As he reached the bottom, he began calling the dog’s name, hoping for a sign of life. Sienna responded as he whispered to himself, “Oh, my God, it’s alive.”

The dog, who according to Morton has hip dysplasia and is on daily medication to relieve pain and provide more mobility, had become mired in mud from a rising river. Delgado worked to free her legs from the mud and slipped a lead around her neck.

He recalled thinking how he’d ever get the old dog, who was clearly worn out from the ordeal,

and himself back up the steep incline. He said he was relieved — and amazed — the dog required little help, instead matching him step for step on the climb.

“She just shook her body and wagged her tail,” Delgado said of Sienna’s arrival at the top.

Meanwhile, Morton had concluded another morning of fruitless searching and returned home.

“By that point, I’d done everything I can do so I just said, ‘Lord help me.’”

Around 2 p.m., Morton heard a knock on the door and there was Delgado, telling her he had something that belonged to her. They walked to Delgado’s truck and when Morton saw the bedraggled dog, she began to scream and cry. Delgado, who has successfully reunited many dogs with their own-

ers and saved countless others for the streets of Lorain County, admitted he teared up.

Together they walked Sienna into the house, where she immediately began inspecting each room.

Delgado said the dog returned briefly to the front door where he and Morton were speaking, barked two times and disappeared back into the house.

“I think that was a thank you for getting her home,” he said.

Morton was profuse with her thanks.

“He’s amazing. He just went above and beyond what he needed to do. I was so thankful.”

She, Laurel and Sienna showed up at the kennel Tuesday with a thank you card and big hug for Delgado. They also stopped by

NWS: Wellington tornado confirmed

The National Weather Service of Cleveland has confirmed that Lorain County saw two tornadoes in the late evening hours of Aug. 24

High winds and thunderstorms swept across the region, touching off a total of 12 tornadoes in northern Ohio.

High wind occurrences caused damage across the area and since Friday, the weather service has been carrying out surveys to confirm just how many of

President Grover Cleveland broke the strike using federal troops, killing or wounding dozens of workers. Green said Cleveland signed Labor Day into law that same year, but still lost the election “because we don’t forget.”

“For me, it’s really a tribute to the contributions and resilience that workers have fought for all over this country for generations,” he said. “And today, there is an awakening in the labor movement.”

He said recent studies show more than 70 percent of individuals support unions, with 88 percent of individuals under 30-yearsold supporting organized labor.

“What these young folks are learning is that with the union you build power,” he said. “And with that power you can change your life, you can change the life of your neighbors, your friends and the people in your community.”

Green pointed to income inequality across the country — with less than 1 percent of individuals holding more

those occurrences qualified as tornadoes.

Wellington Mayor Hans Schneider said Aug. 29 the weather service had confirmed that an incident in Wellington Thursday was in fact a twister.

That tornado was classified as an EF-0 on the enhanced Fujita scale, which the NWS utilizes. An EF-0 tornado is considered “weak” with winds measuring between 65 and 85 mph.

The tornado touched down near the intersection of Meadow Lane and Sheila Drive in Wellington and moved southeast before

than 15 times the wealth of the bottom half of the country’s population, according to Forbes. He urged those gathered Sunday to continue using their voice to fight that inequity.

“Right now we’re in a fight at the UAW, with some big companies that are making billions of dollars,” he said. “If they got record profits, we want record contracts. Because don’t forget those billions that they’re making are coming off your backs … Without your labor, the wheels don’t turn.”

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, closed the afternoon’s event.

A longstanding advocate for organized labor, Brown said he still wears a pin he received from the United Steelworkers in the late 1990s at a Workers’ Memorial Day in Lorain of a canary in a birdcage — a reminder of the importance of the progress made by the labor movement compared to when miners relied on the death of canaries to warn them of toxic fumes.

Organized labor has also

lifting off east of Grand Avenue. Several trees were damaged and one was uprooted along Hale Avenue, and debris landed on the roofs of homes and vehicles.

The other tornado in Lorain County was also an EF-0, touching down in Carlisle Township about 3 miles north of the village of LaGrange.

That twister also damaged trees and partially ripped the roof off of a home.

Stronger tornadoes touched down nearby, as both Vermilion Township in Erie County and Spencer in Medina County were hit

been intertwined with civil and human rights, he said, noting when Martin Luther King Jr. was shot in Memphis, he was there in support of a sanitation workers strike.

“As Green said, this is the strongest support for organized labor (that) we’ve seen in this country in my lifetime,” he said. “More

with EF-1 twisters, with winds between 86 and 110 mph. In all, northern Ohio experienced three EF-0 tornadoes, seven EF-1 and two EF-2 twisters, in which winds reached 111 to 135 mph.

The weather service announced on Aug. 29 that it had concluded its survey of the wind damage caused by storms, finding those 12 tornadoes.

Other wind damage events were investigated and determined to be caused by “straight line winds” that themselves often surpassed 70 mph.

people want to join unions, from Starbucks to steel workers, from restaurant workers to nursing home workers. People who are barely making it, people who, as my wife said, are dealing with the daily mess of life that don’t have the kind of support in wages and benefits that they’ve earned.”

the home of the man who phoned the kennel after spotting Sienna Friday morning to thank him. Morton said Sienna is almost back to herself. She did not eat well and slept a lot when she first returned home. She spoiled her dog a bit by feeding her wet dog food and made sure she got back on her meds. The dog’s vet said Sienna appears fine.

That means everything to a relieved Morton, who referred to herself and the dog as “two older gals.” It’s all the sweeter to have her dog at her side again as Morton revealed that the two are on their own since Morton’s husband passed away in the spring after years of fighting ALS (Lou Gehrig disease) and an acute form of dementia.

“It’s just a miracle,” she said.

DISASTER

FROM A1

In response to an email by Commissioner Michelle Hung to the EMA director, County Administrator Jeff Armbruster and her fellow commissioners David Moore and Jeff Riddell sent Thursday, Freeman said that a local disaster declaration would not have much effect.

Hung told her fellow officials she was seeking their support on a resolution declaring a local state of emergency pertaining to the rains and flooding, according to her email.

“At this time, I am seeking the support of my colleagues to move this forward and support Lorain County residents should the county be able to obtain state or federal relief dollars,” she wrote.

“This is promoting the health, safety and welfare of our residents while proactively pursuing any assistance that may be available.”

Freeman replied that he “would strongly advise against this action.”

“Only a governor’s

declaration can be used by FEMA to secure funding and we are unlikely to see that happen,” he wrote.

“FEMA rules are very specific and that is why I supplied that information to all of our elected officials. I appreciate the sentiment and believe that we are currently doing everything we can for the good of the county.”

Moore agreed with Freeman’s assessment.

“Best thing for elected officials to do is to let the experts do their jobs at (EMA) and stay out of the way,” he said in a text message to a Chronicle reporter. “Freeman is doing great with his team.”

Riddell agreed that a local disaster declaration wouldn’t be effective and wasn’t necessary.

“Best thing we can do for the people is to facilitate getting their claims down to Columbus and let the state EMA director and the governor make their decision,” he said Sept. 1.

BRUCE BISHOP | The Community Guide

Renee Morton, right, poses with her dog Sienna and Assistant County Dog Warden Nelson Delgado.

County mourns lives lost to overdoses

Annual

Overdose Awareness Vigil marks 119 lives lost in Lorain County Narcan hitting shelves later this month

LORAIN — Last year alone, 119 people died from accidental overdoses in Lorain County.

On Aug. 31, community members and service providers gathered to honor them.

A sea of people wearing purple shirts, scarves and pins filled Lakeview Park’s Sunset Terrace on International Overdose Awareness Day, listening to the family members of those lost to addiction or recovering addicts themselves tell their stories.

Keynote speaker and nurse practitioner Dawn Bova saw her father struggle with alcoholism long before it became a problem in her own life, she said.

She found her own recovery community and life got better, she said. But in the 2010s, with the opioid epidemic in full force in smalltown Bellevue, she watched her son, Brad, struggle with addiction.

Brad attempted recovery several times, she said — she watched him detox at home and spend months sober before relapsing.

Eventually, he moved to Florida for a fresh start and, eventually, went into a halfway house in 2016.

But that halfway house was unregulated, she said. Three weeks after he moved in, he died of an overdose. He was 23 years old.

He’d had months of sobriety at the time, she said, and the loss shook her to her core.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she said.

She met Brad’s sponsor, Brian, who flew out for the funeral and quickly became part of her family.

“He was an angel,” she said, remembering how he would call her at 1 a.m. when he saw she was online and talk her through her grief.

He was a chaplain, she said, and when he relapsed after the end of a bad relationship he went into the same recovery program Brad had.

But COVID hit soon after he got out, and the meetings he’d clung to, the

community he’d started when he held sessions on his front porch, had evaporated.

Like Brad, he wanted a fresh start and, despite Bova’s protests, moved from Florida to North Carolina, she said. There, he relapsed less than a month after the move and died.

She remembered questioning how much loss one person could take after she buried the man who had become like a son to her. And in 2022 she lost her grandson, William. His babysitter, Kori Seavers, of Fremont, has been charged with his murder.

It was at her sister’s behest Bova started to paint. She said she found the creative outlet a powerful therapeutic tool.

Looking out at the crowd that evening, she encouraged them to find their own creative outlet — from painting to music, cooking to knitting. She also encouraged mindfulness and an awareness that words matter.

She said she doesn’t remember Brad as an addict.

“Brad was Brad,” she said, noting that’s how he saw himself as well.

John Corry, First Alliance Health Care program

administrator, implored the service providers in the audience to do more.

Corry, who battled his own heroin addiction for decades, lost his first wife to an overdose before he got sober.

“We’ve got to lower the number from 119,” he said of the lives lost in 2022. He urged providers to put “boots on the ground” and bring services to those in addiction, rather than expecting them to reach out.

Aja Boland, peer sup-

port coordinator with Ohio Guidestone, touched on her own struggle with alcoholism, and losing her birth mother to an overdose in 2016.

Pilgrim United Church of Christ Pastor Troy Smith has been in recovery for more than two decades, he said.

“It can work, you just have to want it,” he said. He said he’s conducted more than 40 funerals for overdoses and sat with a grieving mother while she

waited for the coroner to come to take the body of her son who had overdosed.

He said he didn’t understand the disease he was facing when he was in addiction, but now that he’s on the other side he said helping someone else get sober is what’s important.

Pharmacies across the country will start to sell the opioid overdosereversing drug naloxone without a prescription this month.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the over-the-counter sale of Narcan, the brand name of naloxone, in March.

Starting in September, the drug will be available in drugstores, grocery stores and online retailers, Narcan producer Emergent BioSolutions announced in a statement Wednesday. Emergent’s suggested retail price will be $44.99 for a two-pack of the nasal spray, or about $22.50 per dose.

Opioids accounted for more than 80,000 preventable overdose deaths in 2021 in the U.S., according to the National Safety Council.

Also in 2021, according to the Emergent press release, nearly 17 million doses of Narcan were administered in the U.S. Narcan has been approved for prescription since 2015 and was available at some pharmacies upon request, but Emergent said wider availability will make acquiring it much easier.

Cheaper, generic brand naloxone sprays are expected to join Narcan on shelves in coming years. Naloxone spray is available free at Lorain County Public Health through Project Dawn, a statecoordnated network of opioid overdose education and naloxone distribution programs. Naloxone kits are available from LCPH or several partner sites in the county. For more information, or to order a kit, visit www. loraincountyhealth.com/ opioids or call (440) 3226367.

STEVE MANHEIM | The Community Guide

Keynote speaker Dawn Renee Bova, MSN, NP, talks at the International Overdose Awareness Day vigil held at Lakeview Park in Lorain on Aug. 31.

PROVIDED | Oberlin Community Services

For International Overdose Awareness Day, Rural Response Network Oberlin Community Coordinator Marla Brewer planted 119 flags outside the First Church in Oberlin UCC to represent each of the Lorain County lives lost last year.

Comets shot down

Mid-game celebration

Dukes cross Cards

Experience

Oberlin

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, several organizations will have events in downtown Oberlin in contjunction with the Oberlin Business Partnership’s Experience Oberlin Saturdays.

Those events are:

● Art Fair in the Square, hosted by Firelands Association for the Visual Arts (FAVA)

● Grand opening for OberlinKids’ new office at 11 a.m. next to the courtyard.

● Oberlin Farmers Market from 9 a.m. to noon in the City Hall parking lot

● Free caricature drawings by local artists from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

● Sales and promotional events in downtown shops from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

● White Squirrel Tic-TacToe at the corner of Main and West College streets from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

● Kids games and activities in the East College Street Courtyard from 10 a.m. to noon hosted by OberlinKids and Kidspeak.

Wellington Schools

Wellington Schools Nutrition Services Department welcomed students back to school last week. The department offers breakfast and lunch at all buildings, and has a new approved budget for qualifying students to receive meals for free. Families who feel they may meet income guidelines can complete the Free and Reduced-Price Applications online at www.pay schoolscentral.com or by picking up a copy at school

BULLETIN BOARD

or the Board Office.

Meal prices for 2023-24 are as follows:

● Student breakfast at all buildings is $1.85

● Lunch at Westwood Elementary is $3

● Lunch at McCormick is $3.10

● Lunch at the high school is $3.25

● Milk at all buildings is $0.50

● Adult breakfast at all buildings is $2.60

● Adult lunch at all buildings is $4.50

● Snacks and additional items vary at all buildings

● Reduced-price meals are free at all buildings.

Pittsfield Township Historical Society

The Pittsfield Township Historical Society will host an ice cream and pie social event from 12-4 p.m. Sunday at 16889 State Route 58. Premium ice cream and homemade pies will be offered by donationg.

There will be games for children and“cow pie squares” with a live cow. Bets on a square are $10 for a chance to win a 50-50 raffle. A basket raffle will be available, with several $50 cash prizes.

There will also be antique cars on display and the 1830s school house will be open for tours, as well as the plans to build a museum.

A live band will provide music.

Workshop Players

The Workshop Players will present “Deathtrap” by Ira Levin.

NURSERY RHYMES

Dashboard acronym 18. Not over

*Rhymes with Porgie

*Container in nursery rhyme and Ella Fitzgerald’s song

The Wise Men

Type of mold

Civil Rights icon

Front of ship

Distinctive elegance

Meal in a shell, pl.

Plant anchor

Strong and sharp

*”Three Little Kittens” cry

Shower with affection

48. Bungle (2 words)

50. Snow ride

52. P in mpg

53. Debilitating spray

55. *”How I wonder what you

57. *Bed on the tree top

60. *____ John, or Frère Jacques

64. Formerly known as Pleasant Island

65. Commotion or fuss

67. One of journalism’s Ws

68. Vinyl collectible

69. *”Tom, Tom, the Piper’s

70. Israel’s neighbor

71. Big Bang’s original matter

72. Deviled one 73. One deserving of respect?

DOWN 1. Hand grenade

Pick-up expression 3. On top of

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, length, and clarity. Send your items to news@lcnewspapers.com

Directed by Barry Saxon, In this classic comedic thriller, a washed-up playwright is dying to rise to the top once more. A diabolical solution presents itself in the form of one of his graduate students whose script promises to deliver. Deathtrap provides an abundance of twists and turns and offers hilariously sudden shocks for audiences who will be spellbound until the very last moment. This not-to-be-missed play is the granddaddy of wellwritten thrillers.

Performances are 7:30 p.m. Sept. 14-16, 22-23 and 3 p.m. Sept. 17 and 24. Doors open 45 minutes before show time. Tickets are $18.50 and group rates are available Tickets are available online at workshopplayers.org or by calling (440) 634-0472.

Amherst Public Library

● Join the Friends of the Library at the Sunset Terrace at Lakeview Park, 1800 W. Erie Ave., at 12 p.m. Oct. 26 for its annual Author Luncheon. Enjoy an afternoon lunch program with Bob Adamov, Ohiobased author of the Emerson Moore series. Primarily set in the island resort town of Put-in-Bay, the series follows the adventures of Washington Post investigative reporter Emerson Moore as he becomes entangled in mysteries of the

island and beyond. Tickets are $20.00 and are required to attend the event, which includes the author program and lunch. Tickets will be available for purchase in September 2023 at the Amherst Public Library or from any Friends member.

● September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month and the Amherst Public Library is celebrating with prize drawings for new card sign-ups or existing card renewals! Fun and informative programs for all ages are planned, including Fall Storytimes and the return of Tabletop Game

Time Club!

● 9/9 - Fairy Tea Party

● 9/11 - Fall Storytimes return

● 9/11 - Watercolor Pencils and More Art Workshop Sew Fun Sewing classes begin

● 9/12 - Tabletop Game

Time

● 9/14 - Adult Craft: Wine

Cork Pumpkin/Apple

Medicare 101

● 9/15 - Music + Movement Storytime

● 9/19 - Canine Reading Buddies

CS Lewis and Friends

The CS Lewis and Friends book group will meet at the Amherst Library at 7 p.m. Sept. 12 to discuss chapters 10 through the end of Lewis’ “The Great Divorce.” Contact Marcia Geary at (440) 988-9803 or

mgeary@gearylawllc.com for more information.

Amherst Historical Society

● The Amherst Historical Society will present “Murder She Rhymed,” a 1920s murder mystery dinner theater this September.

Written by Jack Pachuta and directed by Valerie Farchman, it is set in 1928 Moose Jaw, Sashatchewan, a haven for Al Capone and a place of vice and corruption.

Tickets are $40 per person, $35 for AHS members. Dress for a 1928 party with prizes, a buffet and raffles.

This year’s performances are 6 p.m. Sept 16 and 23 and 2 p.m. Sept. 17 and 24. Reservations are required by Sept. 8. For more information or to reserve tickets, call (440) 988-7255 or email office@amherst historicalsociety.org

● The Amherst Historical Society would like to interview individuals with ties to the sandstone quarry – either those who worked there or had a family member who worked there. Interviews are being planned to begin in September or October.

Harvest of the Arts

From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 17 is the 40th annual Wellington Harvest of the Arts, a juried fine and folk art festival at 101 Willard Memorial Square. There will also be a handmade quit raffle and lunch at the Friends of the Library Cafe. The fundraiser provides for community programming for the Herrick Memorial Library. For more information, call (440) 647-2120.

Nathan Perry DAR

The Nathan Perry Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution is continuing its mission to place 3,000 remembrance wreaths on the graves of interned veterans during Wreaths Across America at Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon and Calvary Cemetery in Lorain by participating in the upcoming Applebee’s Dining to Donate event from 11 a.m. to close of business on Sept. 21.

Applebee’s will donate 15 percent of the total amount to this worthy cause.

Flyers will be available at the restaurant’s location for your convenience.

Avon/Avon Lake Republican Club

● Lorain County Commissioner Jeff Riddell will speak to the Avon/Avon Lake Republican Club at 5 p.m. Sept. 14 on the Seven Districts Alternative Government Plan and the 911 and crime lab crime levy. New Avon Lake Superintendent Joelle Magyar will speak on the district’s 7.6-mill levy. The meeting is at the Knights of Columbus Ragan Hall, 1783 Moore Rd., Avon. Members are free, guests are $5.

● Kate Makra, executive director of Cleveland Right to Life and vicepresident of the Right to Life Action Coalition of Ohio will discuss the abortion rights amendment to the Ohio Constitution on the November ballot at 7 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Knights of Columbus Ragan Hall, 1783 Moore Rd., Avon. The presentation is sponsored by the Father Ragan, St. Bernadette and St. Ladislas councils. RSVP by Sept. 15 to rudy breglia@gmail.com.

Oberlin Heritage Center

● Root beer and yesteryear is 1-4 p.m. Sept. 23. This event will feature live music, historic portrayals, old games, exhibits and root beer floats for everyone.

Throughout most of its history, Oberlin was a “dry” town, meaning alcohol couldn’t be served within city limits – but root beer was available. The floats are generously provided by Oberlin IGA, while free popcorn is made possible by the Oberlin Athletic Boosters Club and Bethany Hobbs.

● Every Good Story Has a Plot is 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Sept. 30. Business owners, families and con artists have all walked Oberlin’s Main Street. The Oberlin Heritage Center will highlight some familiar faces in its Main Street Memories program on Sept. 30.

Attendees will walk through Westwood Cemetery for an hour, and talk to reenactors portraying individuals from Oberlin’s past. Reservations are required, space is limited to 20 people per time slot. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for members and $5 for children.

7. Elf on the Shelf, e.g.

8. Cuban dance

9. *Old MacDonald’s farm sound 10. Traveled on 11. Proofreader’s mark

12. Sail alternative

15. Boot that reaches halfway or more to knee

20. Unsuitable

22. Pitcher’s pride

24. Bishop’s jurisdiction

25. *Life is but this

26. Marcello Mastroianni’s “La

Vita”

27. Some Romanovs

29. SI unit of mass

31. *”Here goes my ____

trot,

33. Portray emotion

34. *Jack and Jill’s quest 36. Black tropical cuckoos 38. *Sheep’s bagfull 42. Curse 45. Lollipop brand 49. Bud or chum 51. Snooze 54. ____ and desist 56. C2H5 57. Pay a visit 58. Bumpkin 59. Famous boxing promoter Bob 60. Smoker’s water pipe

Group of cows 62. Great Lake

Back seat, e.g.

Negative vote 66. *Mother Hubbard’s pet

©2023byVickiWhiting,Editor Je Schinkel,Graphics Vol. 39,No.

Belowisa drawing of Sue—the largest, most complete and best preserved fossil of aTyrannosaurus rex ever found.

WhyisthisT.rex named Sue?

How did Sue

nd this fossil?

“I wasprettylucky,” remembers Sue. “But it does take more than just luck,” she admits Sue Hendrickson also knew the rightkindof rock to explore.

Fossil Hunters KnowRocks

Different layers of rocks wereformedatdifferent times in theearth’shistory This chart, called a stratigraphiccolumn, can help you discover in which kinds of rocks T. rex fossils couldbefound.

Time Rock LayerDescription

Paleocene 56 to 65 million years ago

Cretaceous 66 to 144 million years ago

Mudstone— ood plain deposit,contains mammalfossils

Sandstone—river deposit

Shale—deep ocean deposit, contains ammonites,mosasaurs and plesiosaurs

Jurassic

145 to 199 million yearsago

Triassic

200 to 251 million yearsago

Paleozoic

252 to 541 million yearsago

Chalk—ocean deposit containsmarine reptiles

Sandstone—river deposit

Limestone—shallow ocean deposit, containsshells

•Color layers that couldinclude T. rex fossils BLUE.

•Colorlayersthat do notcontain T. rex fossils becausethey were deposited under an ocean YELLOW

In North America, Tyrannosaurus rexlived between 66 to 90 million years ago.They did not have wings to y or ns to swim.

For amazing facts about Sue, visit: fieldmuseum.org/ blog/sue-t-rex

Wherewould youlook?

Apply whatyou learned fromthe stratigraphiccolumn to figure out where in thismap you would look for dinosaur fossils.

Because it was found by Sue Hendrickson. Shefound the fossilized bones of this amazing T. rex in thesummerof1990when shewas afossilhunterfor the BlackHills Institute of Geological Research in Hill City, SouthDakota.

Think Ilookgood now? Youshould have seen me about 67 million years ago!

Standards Link: Earth Science: Students know that fossils provide evidence about the animal that lived long ago.

Follow these stepstodraw adinosaur.Havea family membertry,too!

Draw lightly, youcan erase thislater!

Overmillionsofyears, layersofrock build up,burying—and preserving fossils

Look through the newspaper andfind 5or moreadjectives that would describethe T. rex called Sue. Put the adjectives in ABCorder

Standards Link: Spelling:Put words in alphabetic order

Stratigraphic

TheImpor tanceof Sue

The firstT.rex specimen wasfoundin1900. Sincethen, onlya handfulof_ _thatare more than half complete havebeen discovered. Sue’sskeleton is 90 percentcomplete. Sue is the largest, most ___________, and bestpreserved T. rexever found.

MostofSue’s bonesare in excellent condition and havea high of surface detail. Sixty-seven million yearsafter herdeath, it is still possible to seefine showing where ,tendons and othersoft tissuesrested against, or attached to, the bone.

Standards

Sue swiped some words out of this story. Canyou gureout whereeach one belongs?

skeletons complete degree details muscles

News of Discovery

Look throughthe newspaper for an article that tellsabout a new discovery.Read the article andthen identify who, what, when, where, why and how

With hundreds of topics,every KidScoop printable activitypack features six-to-seven pages of high-interest extra learning activities forhome and school! Getyour free sample todayat:

This week’sword:

FOSSIL

Fossil is anoun thatmeans the remains of aliving animal or plantfrom long ago

Sue was excited whenshe found the fossil of theT-Rex

Trytouse theword fossil in a sentence today when talking with yourfriends and familymembers.

Dinosaur Obituaries

Write an obituary abouta favorite dinosaur.