Lorain County Community Guide - Oct. 12, 2023

UAW holds off additional strikes

EV workers added to national contract, negotiations ongoing

United Auto Workers held off additional strikes against General Motors, Ford and Stellantis on Friday after GM agreed to add electric vehicle battery manufacturing plants under the union’s national agreement, President Shawn Fain announced.

During a virtual news conference Friday afternoon with more than 60,000 people watching live, Fain said moments before the broadcast began that GM had agreed to place EV battery manu-

51st

the future.”

facturing under the agreement after the UAW threatened to shut down a plant in Arlington, Texas.

“What this will mean for our membership cannot be understated,” Fain said of the “win” for the union after it had been told for months that including EV jobs would be impossible.

In a statement after Fain’s announcement, GM said: “Negotiations remain ongoing, and we will continue to work toward finding solutions to address outstanding issues. Our goal remains to reach an agreement that rewards our employees and allows GM to be successful into

While wearing an “Eat the Rich” T-shirt, Fain gave viewers a snapshot of where negotiations stood that afternoon. “Things move very fast,” he said. Since Ford’s first proposal, the company has increased its 9 percent wage hike up to a 23 percent offer, Fain said, with GM and Stellantis offers at around 20 percent. GM and Stellantis have cut workers’ progression time to reach top wages from eight years to four; with Ford cutting its progression to three years, Fain said. Ford and Stellantis also have

agreed to reinstate cost-of-living adjustments workers gave up in the mid-2000s when Detroit’s Big Three automakers faced bankruptcy. For temporary workers, Ford offered $21 per hour, while GM and Stellantis offered $20 per hour, he said. All three automakers have committed to converting those workers to full time. Ford has also given a $1.50-an-hour tool allowance for skilled trades workers, with Stellantis offering $1 an hour. The UAW is asking for a $2-an-hour allowance. For retirees, Fain said they are fighting for a pension increase

annual Woollybear

Festival rings in autumn

VERMILION — Thousands gathered along Vermilion’s streets and milled about Victory Park for the 51st annual Woollybear Festival on Oct. 8.

The festival, started in the Erie County town of Birmingham in 1972, celebrates the start of fall and the myth of using the bands of orange on woolly bear caterpillars to predict winter weather. It was founded in part by the late Fox 8 meteorologist Dick Goddard. His family and the

and retirement security for those without a pension.

“This strike is about righting the wrongs of the past,” he said.

In a statement Thursday, Ford said negotiations continue.

“Our focus remains on working diligently with the UAW to achieve a record contract and a strong future for our employees,” it said in a news release.

There are two Ford plants in Northeast Ohio: the Ohio Assembly Plant, which straddles Avon Lake, Sheffield and Sheffield Lake, and the Cleveland Engine

County to receive $570K in federal

CDBG funds

Fifty-one Ohio communities will share in more than $10.6 million that has been allotted to counties to support community development projects across the state.

North Ridgeville and Sheffield Lake residents and neighborhoods that are low- to moderate-income will benefit from the funding. It will also benefit residents throughout the county who are served by Neighborhood Alliance’s Meals on Wheels program and people in need of fair housing program assistance.Of its $570,000 allocation, Lorain County will use $220,500 to replace water mains and part of the roadway on Alameda Avenue in Sheffield Lake; $150,000 to repair streets in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods in North Ridgeville; $87,500 for the Meals on Wheels program; $18,000 in mandatory Fair Housing Program funding; and $96,000 in funding for authorities to administer the programs.

The Lorain County Board of Commissioners held several public hearings on the program this year, and made a final decision on the

OWEN MacMILLAN | The Community Guide

Nolan Sokolowski, 7, collects his champion wooly bear “Candy Corn” as his sister, Maddie, 10, (purple hat) looks on. Sunday, Oct. 8.

STEVE MANHEIM | The Community Guide

LEFT: Woolfert the Woollybear in the 51st Woollybear Festival parade.

RIGHT: VFW Post 7576 in Vermilion. The 51st Woollybear Festival parade in Vermilion on Sunday, Oct. 8.

Benjamin Robert Kirk Strong

Benjamin Robert Kirk Strong, 69, of Findlay, passed away unexpectedly Tuesday, September 19, 2023, at his home.

Ben was born August 30, 1954 to the late John Francis and Grace Kirk Strong in Oberlin, Ohio.

He is survived by his two sisters, Ann Strong of Sewickley Pennsylvania, and Nancy Strong of Arlington Massachusetts; his three nephews, Dan Hurowitz of Chicago Illinois, Mike Hurowitz and Noah Hurowitz of Brooklyn New York; and by many Strong and Kirk cousins.

His family loved him dearly and take comfort in knowing that he is at peace.

Ben was a 1971 graduate of Oberlin High School and attended Ohio Northern University in Ada. He spent most of his adult life living in Findlay where he enjoyed working in his yard, following his favorite sports teams and visiting friends. He was a lifelong fan of the Cleveland Guardians and loved discussing the players and all aspects of baseball. Ben was also a great family historian given his excellent memory.

Ben had struggles related to mental illness which began in his early adulthood, but he found stability and dignity in his daily routine. He spoke on the phone daily with his sisters and cousins, and had a daily round of people he visited in the community. In addition, Ben received outstanding support from the Family Resource Center, as well as from the staff of 50 North which delivered daily meals.

A Memorial Service will be held in the Chapel of First Presbyterian Church, 2330 S. Main St., Findlay, Ohio, Thursday, November 9, 2023 at 2 p.m.

There will be a reception at the church with light refreshments following the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorials in Ben’s name are suggested to The Family Resource Center, 1940 Carlin Street, Findlay, Ohio 45840.

Online condolences may be shared with the family at www.kirkpatrick behnke.com.

CDBG

FROM A1

funding application and how the money would be used at its meeting Tuesday.

The allocation was announced Friday by Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik.

The federal Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG, Allocation Program money “will assist communities in completing a variety of infrastructure improvements and public services aimed at spurring economic growth and improving the quality of life for residents,” DeWine said.

“With every investment we make in our communities’ infrastructure, we’re planting seeds of prosperity that will bear fruit for years to come,” he said. “This funding will not only fuel economic growth by creating jobs and attracting outside investment, but it will also greatly improve the quality of life for Ohioans in some of our most underserved areas.”

Projects that may be funded through this program include street repairs, sidewalk improvements, parks and recreation facilities, water and sewer line replacements and community centers. Public service projects include funding for programs such as Meals on Wheels, health and wellness, and housing and homelessness assistance.

Cities and counties that are considered “non-entitlement communities” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development are eligible to apply for funding every two years. Ohio’s 101 eligible communities are divided between even and odd years of funding.

Our condolences go out to families that have suffered the loss of a loved one.

To place an obituary or death notice in the Community Guide, call (440) 329-7000.

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‘Beneath the Light’ films at Lorain Lighthouse

CARISSA WOYTACH THE COMMUNITY GUIDE

LORAIN — Filmmaker

John Baumgartner watched as actor Zach Tinker brought his character, Jacob, to life outside the Lorain Lighthouse on Oct. 3.

Against the backdrop of choppy waves and passing boats, Jacob was tempted to release the pallet from an overloaded crane as part of a suspenseful series of events in the feature film, Baumgartner said.

Tuesday was Baumgartner’s 10th day of filming “Beneath the Light,” a horror film set in the International City that follows main characters Jacob and Murdock (John PyperFerguson). After moving back to Lorain following his mother’s death from dementia, Jacob takes a temporary job fixing the lighthouse while in his hometown, only to find the icon on Lake Erie has mysteries of its own.

It has been a challenge to film at the lighthouse, Baumgartner said, with unpredictable weather and the isolation of the island requiring multiple boats to bring gear and crew to shore.

But the production value of the Jewel of the Port was worth it — something that cannot be created on a soundstage in Los Angeles.

“Just to see that all come together, it’s both thrilling but also exhausting. Filmmaking is exhausting,” he said. “You’re in scramble mode for so long and when you finally get to sit down and shape the footage, that’s the most rewarding part.”

Baumgartner came back to Lorain to take care of his own mother during the pandemic and stayed during the shutdown.

“There was no reason to be in LA and I could be helpful here,” he said.

The indie production required the green light from the Screen Actors Guild amid the SAG-AFTA strike, Baumgartner said, but that approval came just two weeks before filming started.

“It was a nail-biter,” he said, compressing the timeline to do the final casting and costume fitting.

BRUCE BISHOP |

The Community Guide

ABOVE: Film crews took over the Lorain Lighthouse last week to film “Beneath the Light,” a thriller set in the International City.

RIGHT: Director John Baumgartner, right, talks with assistant director Victor Gonzalez during filming on Oct. 3.

But the project moved forward. Once production wraps at the lighthouse today, crews will move to locations along Broadway, Oasis Marina and Lakeview Park.

Producer and co-screenwriter Dr. Cindy Seng, of Amherst, said it was surreal to be on the set Tuesday watching actors recite the lines she’d written.

Seng wrote the novel version of Baumgartner’s screenplay last year, but as she worked on the book the story changed and shaped the screenplay. The book and movie will come out together.

Seng has more than 35 years of experience in the medical field, and some screenwriting credits to her name, but “Beneath the Light” was the first film she’d taken on the role of producer at Baumgartner’s request.

“There was a lot of ‘here I am and I’m old’ — I’m 66 years old, a doctor for 35 years and I’m making a movie. How cool is this?” she said. “And there is a neat sense and lesson to that, that you’re never too old and really fun things can happen in life. You just

need to give things a try and keep moving forward, not be afraid to try new things.”Baumgartner said filming in Lorain “feels like home.”

It just feels more comforting,” he said. “Filmmaking is so stressful, it’s an added bonus to be in your hometown. It’s a bit soothing.”

Once the movie is done, Baumgartner plans to hold a premiere at the Lorain Palace Theatre, with proceeds benefiting the Lorain Lighthouse Foundation.

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Amherst Teachers contract negotiations restart with union able to give strike notice

CARISSA WOYTACH

As contract negotiations began again this week, the Amherst Teachers Association is now authorized to issue a 10-day strike notice.

On Oct. 6, the union voted to authorize the bargaining team to issue the notice, according to a union news release.

“The Board needs to commit to a contract that will continue to attract and retain caring, committed and highly qualified educators who support and transform student learning inside and outside the classroom,” ATA spokeswoman Emily Marty said in a news release.

On Monday Marty said the union would need an intent-to-strike vote to actually walk out of the schools. Now that it has taken an authorization vote, the union can file a 10day notice with the State Employee Relations Board, with a strike commencing as soon as 10 days after that filing.

The last time Amherst educators went out on strike was 1977, the first in a series of strikes in Lorain County. In 1978, Midview teachers struck, followed by Lorain educators in 1979.

“We don’t want to strike,” Marty said in the news release “But our students, teachers and community deserve a contract that values and respects the professional expertise of every educator to support student learning. Our vote (Friday) should send a strong message to the Board.”

In a statement, the Board of Education and Superintendent Mike Molnar said they had no knowledge of a notice of a strike date having been filed with the State Employee Relations Board.

“We don’t want to strike. But our students, teachers and community deserve a contract that values and respects the professional expertise of every educator to support student learning. Our vote (Friday) should send a strong message to the Board.”

“The Board remains committed to continuing its efforts under the direction of the federal mediator to resolve the outstanding issues in this contract dispute in good faith,” it stated.

The Amherst Teachers Association, which represents more than 250 teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors, school psychologists and speech and language pathologists, has been operating under an expired contract since June 29. That contract was originally through the end of 2022, but was extended to cover the 2022-23 school year, according to documents on the State Employee Relations Board website.

The ATA also filed an unfair labor practice on Oct. 4 against the Board, following a demonstration the union made at a Sept. 25 Board meeting. At that meeting, Powers Elementary teacher Courtney Rua spoke on the union’s behalf and used canned goods to represent hours of personal time educators put toward their work, including time during the summer, weekends, evenings and unpaid lunches over a two-week period.

“The extra time we spend outside of our professional contracted hours is necessary and we do it because we care for our students and know, as educators, the additional time we spend helps each and every one of our students grow and succeed,” she said at the meeting.

WOOLLYBEAR

FROM A1

station still work together in sponsoring it every year.

The day’s celebrations, hosted by the Vermilion Chamber of Commerce, began with the opening rounds of woolly bear races for local kids and their woolly bears.

The festival’s biggest crowds, of course, came to see the annual “Wacky Woollybear Parade.”

The streets of Vermilion were crammed with thousands of visitors from across northern Ohio and beyond.

Marchers and floats represented many dozens of local businesses, organizations and schools.

The grand marshal of the parade this year was actually an organization, PAWS Ohio, a cat and dog animal rescue group. PAWS Ohio was selected because it represents Goddard’s lifelong love of animals and his commitment to protecting them, Vermilion Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sandy Coe said.

With high schools from as far away as North Olmsted and Olmsted Falls bringing bands to the festival, it seemed as if every few minutes, a new full marching band would

come by.

David and Shea Loper live near Victory Park along the parade route and had dozens of visitors, both friends and strangers, sitting on their tree lawn and driveway to greet the marchers.

“We love being on the parade route,” Shea Loper said. “We invite all our family and friends over and we really make a party out of it. It’s a great way to get everyone together and kind of bring in the change of seasons together.”

David Loper said their celebration really began when he was helping his 4-year-old daughter Drew search for a woolly bear to enter into the race. He said he and Drew looked all over their backyard and neighborhood but they didn’t have any luck so he asked her preschool teacher to help. She gave her two.

While many spectators were locals, others came from far away, like Ryan and Karalee Hoover, who were visiting from Virginia.

The couple said they were in the area when they heard about the festival and decided to check it out with their dogs, Bok Choy and Nit Noy.

Marty,

Each canned food item represented 10 hours of personal time donated by a teacher in the district. During the meeting, dozens of union members wearing orange shirts stacked canned goods in front of the school board.

The 646 pounds of food were ultimately donated to Second Harvest Food Bank.

After public comments at the Sept. 25 meeting, Board President Rex Engle said as the district moves forward, it has to look at when it is time to go back to the voters for a levy, and balance covering expenses of the entire district with the demands of the union.

He said the Board also looked at what the average teacher’s salary is in Amherst and found it to be the second highest in Lorain County — garnering negative reactions from the crowd of teachers and supporters in the audience. Engle said the Board has also asked to meet for negotiations and the union has not been available.

“We know where it stands and we’re trying our best but we have to give and we have to take on both sides,” he said at the September meeting. “... We will continue to work and get this issue resolved.”

The district has a 2.5mill continuous replacement levy on the ballot this November, but it does not fund staff salaries. It is only for facility improvements.

The pups were dyed brown and orange as if they had been there to enter the woolly bear lookalike contest, but no, “they always look like this,” Ryan Hoover said with a laugh.

“This has been a really great event,” Karalee Hoover said. “It’s been a lot of fun and everyone here has been so nice and welcoming. I’m really excited to see the final woolly bear race.”

The Hoovers did stay, watching the final eight woolly bear “jockeys” from ages 4-9 compete for the championship.

Jockey Nolan Sokolowski, 7, with some help from his sister Maddie, 10, claimed the 2023 Woollybear Derby crown on the back of his woolly bear, “Candy Corn.”

Following the tradition of the festival, Candy Corn was then selected as the woolly bear that would predict the weather of the coming winter.

Candy Corn’s coloring, predominantly black in the front with many orange bands in the back, indicates that the coming winter will start harshly but end more mild, Fox 8 meteorologist Dontae Jones said.

Emily

Amherst Teachers Association spokeswoman

County puts TB program in hands of LCPH

DAVE O’BRIEN THE COMMUNITY GUIDE

The Commissioners voted Tuesday to hand over control of the county’s tuberculosis response to Lorain County Public Health effective Jan. 1.

Tuberculosis is an infectious, airborne bacterial disease that typically attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body. Ohio counties are required by state law to pay the cost of TB treatment for their residents.

LCPH has a 0.5-mill levy that raises about $3.5 million annually, and Health Commissioner Mark Adams said last year that adding TB services would not greatly increase its costs.

The county has a contract with Mercy Health for TB services that costs the county $360,000 annually, county Budget Director K.C. Saunders said. Contracting

instead with the county health department would save that.

Mercy Health has been the TB program provider for the county since 2012.

The county TB levy is a 0.06mill, five-year levy last approved in November 2021. It was passed at a reduced rate and costs the owner of a $100,000 home approximately $1.60 annually.

Commissioner David Moore said there are fewer than 10 cases of TB diagnosed in Lorain County each year, and he hopes that the move will help save money. There is currently about $1.7 million in the county TB levy fund, and about $1.5 million will be there at the end of the year, Saunders said. That money will stay there because it is still needed to pay the cost of treatment for uninsured TB patients.

“It’s no longer going to be

costing the taxpayers that much to run this,” Moore said.

Lorain County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Dan Petticord, the board’s legal counsel and a candidate for Lorain County Common Pleas judge in next year’s election, said that the county can forgo collecting the money raised by the levy either in full, bypass it or collect a smaller amount.

The county can choose to forgo the collection, and Moore said that could come at a “huge cost savings.”

The issue can be revisited by the board in the future if it needs to restart collections before the levy expires, Moore said.

CDBG application

In other business Tuesday, commissioners held a brief public hearing before voting to approve amendments to their

2023 Community Development Block Grant program application to the state Department of Development.

The county had previously applied for a total of $570,000 in funding from the state for five projects:

● Improvements to the Joyce Hanks Community Center in Sheffield Lake, worth $220,500.

● Street improvements in Sheffield Township and North Ridgeville worth a total of $150,000,

● Meals on Wheels program funding through Neighborhood Alliance worth $87,500,

● Fair Housing Program activity worth $18,000, which is required to be included in the CDBG funding, and

● $96,000 in funding for authorities to administer the programs

Drake Hopewell, community housing coordinator with the

Franklin County Commissioner addresses Metro Central NAACP

Erica Crawley is the first Black woman to serve on the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, but she assured the Metro Central NAACP she would not be the last.

Crawley was the keynote speaker for the NAACP’s annual Freedom Fund and Scholarship banquet at Lorain County Community College’s Spitzer Conference Center Saturday evening.

Crawley is a Navy veteran and served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 2019-20. She was elected to the Franklin County Commissioners in 2021.

But before that, she was a college dropout, she said.

Growing up in Youngstown, she dropped out of college and joined the Navy to run away from both parents struggling with addiction. But she wouldn’t be where she is without her great aunt Margo Flint, she said.

Flint always told her that her life mattered and that she could be anything she wanted to be, she said.

And it was Flint’s last words to Crawley that pushed her into politics. When visiting her aunt in a Pennsylvania hospital in 2007, they were talking about politics during then-presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign.

At the time, Crawley questioned who would come after him, and she remembered Flint pulling down her oxygen mask and asking “Why not you?”

It was a question that pushed Crawley to advocate for children who looked like her. After graduating from Cleveland State University, she worked as a court-appointed advocate in Atlanta and the Black

Child Development Institute, among other roles.

While attending law school, she first ran for public office at the state level on the platform “I am my neighbors and my neighbors are me.”

When elected, she said she was the only single parent in the legislature and focused her efforts on addressing maternal health and infant mortality in Ohio.

Coming to Franklin County meant serving 1.35 million residents, and being in charge of the budgets for 35 county agencies, she said. But it also came with death threats, as the Commission was majority Black, with her colleague Kevin Boyce the first Black man to serve on the Commission.

Those threats have not deterred her from addressing racism in the state’s capital county by leveraging $4 million in grants to help minority businesses stay open during and after the pandemic, she said, and starting a child care initiative for families.

“We are tearing down a jail and building a child care center,” she said. “(We’re) literally breaking the preschool-to-prison pipeline.”

For the new jail the county is building, she said there is a focus on inmates receiving mental health and addiction services, $10 million in legal aid for those who cannot afford a lawyer, and the discharge of bench warrants.

To address infant and maternal mortality where the state has failed, Franklin County now pays for doulas, she said.

“That’s why it matters to have someone who looks like what people are going through,” she said, noting her own pregnancy with her twins 19 years ago was difficult.

The Metro Central NAACP’s theme Saturday evening was “Thriving: In the movement and community.” For Crawley, she said Franklin County is doing a number of things to make sure the community can move up the ladder, but at the end of the day it takes the people behind a politician to have their voices heard.

She implored those in attendance to vote, and to testify on issues that concern them in the Statehouse.

“We know what our ancestors had to go through,” she said. “I know whose shoulders I stand on. But when we do not show up, there are people who are showing up to make sure we do go backwards.”

The NAACP also honored its scholarship and community award recipients.

● The League of Women Voters of the Oberlin Area received the Civic Engagement Award.

● Michael Bowen, of Revitalization Strategies Group, received the Community Appreciation Award.

● Elyria South Baseball Club received the Community Service Award.

● Rapha Academy received the Educational Excellence Award.

● Dr. Robert Thomas III, with Mercy Health, received the Health Equity Award.

● Debra McAfee, of Elyria, received the Social Justice Award.

● Barbara Ballard, of Lorain, received the President’s Award.

● This year’s scholarship awardees were Maame Adwoa, ArthurMensah, Brookelyn Anderson, Philipa Brandt, Abigail Clayton, Isaac Thomas and Alyce Williams.

county Community Development Department, said the application was made in June but returned after the state Department of Development had questions.

After senior citizen programming changes at the Hanks Community Center, the county changed its original application and plans to use that $220,500 in funding to replace water mains and part of the roadway on Alameda Avenue in Sheffield Lake.

The Sheffield Township road project was “very small” and the state wouldn’t approve both projects, so the entire $150,000 will now go to North Ridgeville streets that need work, Hopewell said.

The money destined for fair housing programs, Meals on Wheels and administrative use will remain, he said.

Sewer Department of the City of Amherst, Ohio to cover engineering costs; and declaring an emergency.

0-23-36 An Ordinance authorizing the Mayor to enter into a contract with CT Consultants for completion of the Amherst NFA Study at a cost not to exceed $147,500.00; and declaring an emergency.

0-23-37 An Ordinance authorizing the execution of the 2024-2028 fixed volume energy supply schedule with American Municipal Power, Inc., (“AMP”); and declaring an emergency.

0-23-38 An Ordinance authorizing an increase in appropriations for the city of Amherst Police Department to cover budget shortages; and declaring an emergency.

0-23-39 An Ordinance amending City of Amherst Ordinance No. O-23-05 establishing the salary, terms and other conditions of employment for the Information Technology Department of the City of Amherst and repealing all Ordinances in conflict herewith.

0-23-40 An Ordinance establishing the salary for the Clerk of Council for the years 2024, 2025, and beyond and repealing all Ordinances in conflict herewith.

0-23-41 An Ordinance establishing the compensation for the members of the Office of the Director of Law; establishing the compensation authorized to be paid to additional legal counsel retained by the Mayor to serve as a labor specialist; establishing the compensation authorized to be paid to additional legal counsel retained by the Director Of Law to assist In litigation; and repealing all Ordinances in conflict herewith.

0-23-42 An Ordinance establishing the salary and benefits for the fulltime Mayor’s position and repealing all Ordinances in conflict herewith.

0-23-43 An Ordinance establishing the salary for the Safety Service Director for the years 2024, 2025, and beyond and repealing all Ordinances in conflict herewith.

0-23-44 An Ordinance authorizing an increase in appropriations for the Civil Service Commission wage increase.

O-23-45 An Ordinance authorizing an increase in appropriations for the position of Technician within the Information Technology Department for wages, OPERS, Health Insurance, and Worker’s Compensation.

0-23-46 An Ordinance authorizing and directing the Safety Service Director to submit an application to the Ohio Public Works Commission for State Issue I (Round 38) Funds for the year 2024 for roadway Improvements and repairs on Park Avenue and various other streets; and declaring an emergency.

0-23-47 An Ordinance authorizing

ERICA CRAWLEY

Firelands Schools host kinship networking event

SOUTH AMHERST

— More than 238,000 children in Ohio are in kinship care, living with a relative with no parent present.

Some 120 of those are in the 1,600-student Firelands Schools district, with hundreds more in other districts throughout the county.

So, Firelands social workers hosted an informational meeting for kinship families in the county Thursday morning. Several dozen people attended.

Social workers Deanna Watts and Ashley Blair hosted the event, inviting representatives from the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, Blessing House, Head Start and several other nonprofits to provide information to caregivers in the county.

It was a chance to reach out to those families to connect them with services and supports, from basic needs like clothing and hygiene products to educational needs and mental health services.

Many children in kinship care live with grandparents or aunts and uncles, oftentimes informally, meaning the courts are not involved when the adult steps in to take care of the child.

Watts said it is a growing trend she’s seen in her past five years at Firelands.

“There are just more

Plant in Brook Park.

Neither plant has been part of the union’s targeted strikes yet, but the Cleveland Engine Plant has been affected by layoffs, according to a news release from Ford on Friday.

More than 370 employees at the Brook Park plant were told not to report to work Monday, alongside four employees at a Lima Engine Plant and 25 employees at Sterling Axle Plant, with those layoffs beginning between Thursday and Sunday.

Ford attributed the layoffs to the interconnectedness of the company, with the strike at the Chicago Assembly Plant impacting the Ohio lines.

“While we are doing what we can to avoid layoffs, we have no choice but to reduce production of parts that would be destined for a plant that is on strike,” Bryce Currie, vice president of Ford Blue’s Americas Manufacturing and Labor Affairs said in a release. “Strike-related layoffs are an unfortunate result of the UAW’s strategy.” Stellantis and GM have also laid off employees, the Associated Press reported. Sen. J.D. Vance, RCincinnati, visited striking UAW workers outside the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex on Friday. In a news release, Vance said the workers were in high spirits and had a simple message, “Good

families in kinship, and a lot of times to be in kinship, something had to have happened, some kind of traumatic event has happened that the parent or relative just cannot care for the kids for whatever reason,” she said. “It could be drugs, alcohol; it could be incarceration; it could be the death of a parent. And, usually someone steps up.”

friends and neighbors who step in to fill the void often don’t have the support they need, she said.

Watts has seen children in kinship care struggle with academics or attendance, or miss out on extracurricular activities.

“A lot of people here had no clue about some of the services,” she said. Event coordinator Denise Rosby, owner of Annie Rose Events, said she believes in the work Watts and other school social workers are doing and the importance of the morning’s networking opportunity.

Every district in the county has social workers on staff and can connect families to resources, Watts said, but early identification is crucial in meeting those needs.

For more information on available resources, Watts suggests reaching out to social workers in a child’s school district or the Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator hosted by the Department of Job and Family Services.

Ohio KAN can be reached at 844-644-6526 or ohiokan.jfs.ohio.gov.

Oberlin celebrates Indigenous Peoples’ Day

wages for an honest day’s work.”

“This isn’t about politics,” Vance said in the release. “For many years, the autoworkers took it on the chin to enable the industry to retool, reinvest and thrive. Today, the industry is doing well and the workers should get a slice of the pie.”

In late September, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, also joined the picket line at a Stellantis facility in Streetsboro after workers at the Chrysler Parts Distribution facility walked out as part of an expansion of the union’s strike to 38 facilities across 20 states.

There are currently about 25,000 workers on strike across GM, Ford and Stellantis plants. Targeted strikes began Sept. 15 and have since expanded to 38 plants across the country.

“Our goal is not just to get mad and shut it all down,” Fain said. “Our goal is to outsmart and out-organize corporate America.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Underground Railroad Center opens

OBERLIN — The Oberlin Underground Railroad Center officially opened Oct. 7.

The project was nearly 20 years in the making, Code Administrator Chris Yates said, turning the former Oberlin Gasholder Building into a community space to recognize the history of slavery.

Saturday’s grand opening included artifacts on loan from Oberlin College alongside the center’s permanent exhibit: the headstone of Lee Howard Dobbins, a 4-year-old orphan who escaped from slavery in Kentucky and journeyed north.

When Lee became sick with tuberculosis, his adopted mother continued on to Canada, leaving the boy in Oberlin, where he died in 1853.

Oberlin townsfolk buried the child and held a funeral at First Church with 1,000 people attending.

Lee was buried at the old Professor Street Cemetery, and his body was later moved to an unknown location at Westwood Cemetery. His gravestone, now part of the Oberlin College Archives, reads, “Let Slavery Perish: Lee Howard Dobbins.”

The headstone sits on a small stage in the Round House, which was originally built in 1889 to store coal gas

needed to heat and light the city.

The structure was donated to the city in 2004, but was in need of major repair. Yates took the lead on the rehab project — a nearly $500,000 venture to pour more than 400 yards of concrete in the building and install a new HVAC system, enlarged front doors and another transformer for the updated electrical system. The 16-foot deep basement was also made structurally sound, he said. “This is probably the biggest achievement of my life,” Yates said

with a laugh.

Now that the space is complete, it will be turned over to the city’s Recreation Department and will be available to rent for community gatherings or small events.

It will also host exhibitions throughout the year, with the first in December by Oberlin College professor Johnny Coleman.

For more information on the Oberlin Underground Railroad Center, visit cityofoberlin.com.

Work underway on new Oberlin College dorm

Construction is under way on a new residence hall at Oberlin College.

The Woodland Street dorm will have four floors with 401 beds configured in mostly four-person suites, according to the college.

The building will be the first on campus to offer suite-style accommodations, and will house more students than any other dorm on campus. Each suite will have private bedrooms with a shared bathroom, kitchenette

Elyria OH 44035

Lorain, OH 44052

and dining area. A number of rooms will be set aside as single rooms for students who want them.

The new dorm, which is expected to be completed by fall 2025, will be the first new student housing since Kahn Hall opened in 2010. After it is open, the college plans to renovate existing residence halls on a rolling basis.

Site preparation began in July with a ceremonial groundbreaking in late September.

“This project clearly signifies our commitment to creating an outstanding living and learning environment

for every student on our campus,” Karen Goff, Oberlin vice president and dean of students said. “We look forward to welcoming our first residents to the new hall, and also to building on new opportunities to significantly improve our existing housing in ways we otherwise could not imagine.”

The new hall will be LEED (leadership in energy and environmental design) gold certified and tied into the college’s Sustainable Infrastructure Program, part of the college’s commitment to reach carbon neutrality by 2025.

CARISSA WOYTACH THE COMMUNITY GUIDE

CARISSA WOYTACH | The Community Guide Members of the Oberlin Underground Railroad Committee cut a ribbon ahead of the center’s grand opening on Oct. 7.

BRUCE BISHOP | The Community Guide

Maclom McDonald, of Michigan, part of the Gun Lake Tribe Band of Pottawatomi does a Native American Hoop dance at the Oberlin celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Oct. 9

Lady Dukes shine on Senior Night

Wellington girls highlight class of 2024

All photos RUSS GIFFORD | The Community Guide LEFT: Columbia’s Jose Rivera and Ethan Meier celebrate their win over Clearview after the clock winds down.

ABOVE: Columbia crowned Max Herhuth King and Lili Hritz Queen for Homecoming.

ABOVE: The 2023 Wellington Volleyball Seniors on Senior Night. From left, Jayde Davis, Bella Beck, Gabby Miller, McKenna Solkiewicz, Joyce Stallard and Taylor Standen.

RIGHT: Wellington’s Bella Beck gets a hit against Black River. The Lady Dukes won 3-0.

LEFT: Wellington’s Nadia Greer battles for the ball with Oberlin’s Kylie Walter. Oberlin won 7-4 against Wellington.

ABOVE: Wellington celebrates their six seniors: Savannah Gundert, Tess McDonel, Jaclyn Krakomperger, Nadia Greer, Hope Dudziak holding keeper Whitney Kirschner.

Wellington Schools

Two students at Wellington High School earned academic honors from the College Board National Recognition Programs. The programs celebrate students hard work and their strong academic performance. The academic honors for rural area, Black, Indigenous, and/or Latino students are an opportunity for students to share their strong academic achievements with colleges and scholarship programs that are seeking to recruit diverse talent.

Congratulations to Junior Ayla DeLima (National Indigenous Award) and Senior Ethan Metheney (National Rural and Small Town Award) for earning this academic honor.

Pittsfield Community Church

Swiss Steak Dinner is 5-7 p.m. Oct. 21. Meals are $15. All are welcome.

Empty Bowls by the Lake

The annual Empty Bowls by the Lake event will be held at Avon Lake High School from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21. Everyone who makes a $25 cash donation, will receive a bowl handmade by local pottery students along with unlimited soup and bread.

Admittance is free for children under 6, and $5 for those aged 6-12. All proceeds go to fund the Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central

SWEET TOOTH

BULLETIN BOARD

Ohio as well as other local food banks.

Blood Drive

Community Congregational United Church of Christ will host a blood drive from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 5. The Vitalant Bloodmobile will be at 379 S. Main Street, Amherst.

Donors are asked to eat before they donate, bring a photo ID and a list of any medications they take. To make an appointment, go to vitalant.org and search Blood Drive code 10054604.

Rotary Club of Oberlin

Rotary at the Races is 6 p.m. Nov. 11. Tickets can be purchased at oberlinrotary.org through Nov. 3. No tickets will be sold at the door.

The event is at the New Russia Township Complex, 46300 Butternut Ridge Rd. Tickets are $100 for a pair or $50 for a single ticket.

Proceeds support local and international charitable projects.

Knights of Columbus

Mark Madere of SpectraLight Photography will speak about photo restoration at the Knights of Columbus at 7 p.m. Oct. 19 in Ragan Hall, 1783 Moore Rd., Avon. Madere will explain the causes of damage and fading in photographs and how to avoid it, as well as information on choosing a photo restoration company. The public is welcome to this free event.

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

Vermilion Community Band

The Vermilion Community Band is currently rehearsing for winter concerts. The band numbers about fifty musicians and there are openings in our band for all concert instruments, especially percussion, trumpets, string bass, and woodwinds. The band meets Thursdays in Lucy Idol Center from 7:00-8:30 p.m. Call (419) 503-3721 for information.

Brownhelm Historical Association

The fourth annual Clambake is 5 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Historic Brownhelm School, 1950 North Ridge Rd., Vermilion.

The clambake will be a drive-thru again this year to pick up your order. It will be catered by Pogie’s Catering in Amherst. For $45, each dinner consists of 1 dozen clams, 1/2 dozen mussels, lemon chicken breast, corn on the cob, red skin potatoes, coleslaw, clam chowder, melted butter, and dinner roll.

You may also order an extra dozen clams if you’d like for $15.

If you would like to use a credit card, order online at https://bit.ly/BHAClambake2023. If you

want to pay by check, please send a note with your order and a check payable to Brownhelm Historical Association to: Brownhelm Historical Association

Attn: Clambake Order 1950 N. Ridge Road Vermilion, OH 44089

Due date for purchase is Oct. 14. Once you’ve placed your order, just drive on down to the Historic Brownhelm School on Oct. 21 to pick it up curbside.

Amherst Historical Society

For more info or to register for a program, please contact the Amherst Historical Society at 440-988-7255 or office@ amhersthistoricalsociety.

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.

● By My Lantern’s Light is 3-5 p.m. Oct. 21 and 22 at the Cleveland Avenue Cemetery. Tours will start every 15 minutes. Tours are $5 with ages 5 and under free and are paid the day of at the cemetery. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Please join us at Cleve-

land Avenue Cemetery 590 Cleveland Avenue, Amherst Ohio 44001. Additional parking is at St. Paul Lutheran Church 115 Central Drive, Amherst, OH 44001.

Pittsfield Township Historical Society

Local historian Matt Nahorn, of Amherst, will present information about the “prehistory of Northern Ohio” at 7 p.m. Oct. 12 at the Pittsfield Township Hall, corner of routes 58 and 303. The free program is open to the public.

Herrick Memorial Library

● READ to PUTTER: Thursdays @ 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. - Putter, our friendly therapy dog, will visit the Herrick Memorial Library every Thursday to listen to your child read. This is a wonderful way for children to practice their reading skills. Please call the Library (440-647-2120) to sign up your child for a 15-minute time slot to read to Putter.

● Fiber Arts Group

First Tuesday of Each Month @ 1:00-3:00 PM

Do you enjoy knitting/ crocheting/needlepoint/ embroidery? Join this newly formed group at the Herrick Memorial Library and work on your projects in the company of fellow fiber enthusiasts. Not interested in fiber arts but still want to come for the company? We’ll also have coloring sheets available to occupy your time.

● STORY TIMES

Through October 26. There is still time to register your child for the Herrick Memorial Library’s story times. Introduce your child to the love of books and reading by attending one of our story programs. Join us for stories, songs and other activities designed to develop language, literacy and social skills your child needs for school success. Register by calling 440-647-2120.

Baby Story Times: ages birth to 2-yrs.with an adult Wednesdays at 10:30

Family Story Times: ages 2-1/2 to 5-yrs. with an adult.

Mondays: 6:00 PM, Tuesdays: 10:30 AM, Wednesdays: 11:30 AM

● Partial Solar Eclipse Saturday, October 14 @ 11:30-2:30 Join Herrick Memorial Library staff member Nick Blank

at Union Park (old McCormick School site) for a program and viewing of the October partial eclipse; weather permitting. The Library will provide a limited number of special eclipse glasses to protect your eyes. These same glasses can be used for the April 8, 2024 full solar eclipse, so don’t throw them away.

Oberlin Heritage Center

● An introduction to historical redlining in Oberlin is 6:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at the Oberlin Library. Redlining is the discriminatory practice in which services, often financial services like loans, are withheld from neighborhoods often occupied by minorities, low-income, or otherwise marginalized groups. It is also a term used to describe many forms of housing segregation.

● The Oberlin Heritage Center is offering a number of options for guided and self-guided tours during this year’s Parents Weekend. Tour fees range from $3-$6 for adults; OHC members and children under 18 enjoy ALL tours free. Drop-in visitors are welcome for the selfguided Oberlin Origins tour of the Monroe House or to reserve an outdoor tablet tour, while all other tours and history walks require advance registration. Please visit oberlinheritagecenter.org for more information and to make an online reservation. In case of rain at start time, the tour/history walk will be cancelled and fees refunded. All tours are open to the public.

Friday, November 3: Self-Guided Tours 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Guided Tour of the Jewett House 1:30 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.

Saturday, November 4: Self-Guided Tours 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Freedom’s Friends 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Architecture Tour 2:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.

Sunday, November 5:

Architecture Tour 10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Civil War to Civil Rights 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.

____ brew

43. Breathe in

45. Westernmost city in Germany

47. Soldier’s bed

48. Mensch, alt. sp.

50. Italian car brand

52. *Jolly livestock raisers?

55. Russia’s hard liquor

56. Ctrl + Z

57. Consumes food

59. Checks out

60. Famous French couturier (1905-1957)

61. Heavy Metal’s Quiet ____

62. Caustic soda

63. Newsman Rather

64. Kill, as in dragon

DOWN

1. Clever humor

2. Unfortunately, exclamation

3. Actor Nolte

4. Island in French Polynesia

5. *Donut filler

6. Checked out

7. Bleats

8. Rocky & Bullwinkle and Mary Kate & Ashley, pl.

9. To a very great degree (2

words)

10. Not bright

12. Sacred choral compositions

13. Roundish

14. *Sweet tooth, technically

19. *___ Musketeers, spelled out

22. Drops at dawn

23. *____-Frutti

24. Highlander’s dagger

25. Sage and rosemary

26. *Scoop holder

27. Averse

28. “Drove my chevy to the ____”

40. Arthur, to friends

41. Hard feelings

44. I to Greeks, pl.

46. TV’s “Where everybody knows your name”

48. Opposite of depression

49. “____ ____ a high note”

50. Same as fogey

51. Inactive

52. “Ant-Man” leading actor

53. Not top-shelf in a bar

54. Greek portico

55. Radio knob, abbr.

29. Southeast Asian org.

32. Relinquish, as in property

33. Clergyman’s title, abbr.

36. *Single serving treat

38. Embarrass

58. Farm pen SOLUTION

It’s abird! It’s aplane!It’sa squirrel???

ow do some squirrels fly? They don’t have wings like birds.

The flying squirrel has aflap of skin that stretches from its front legs to its hind legs. When it stretches out its legs, these skin flaps form “wings.”

The squirrel uses these to glide from tree to tree

Use the code to learn some amazing facts about the flying squirrel.

Flying squirrels can glide as far as feet (meters).

Flying squirrels live in the forests of Asia, Europe and North America. Most of them grow to be to inches long (- centimeters).

Some Asian flying squirrels grow to be more than feet long (meter)!

SECRE TCODE:

1 024369 7 58

ne day,whena squirrel came backtothe cozy hole in the oaktree where her little babies were _______, she saw afrightening sight. A lumberjack was in the tree, _alimboff.In horror,she watched him pull

Standards

her four hairless babies from the nest. She knew she would have to act fast!

Not _amoment, she climbed the tree, then up the man’spant leg and grasped one of her babies in her mouth.

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The flyingsquirrels are having afeast, but which foods will they eat? Start with theletter in the square andread every other letterinthe bordertofind outwhat foods flying squirrels like to munch. Then circle those foods.

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S E I R N R S N S U T F U S N G I G G E B I E C S T E

Talking Pictures

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Flying squirrels use their tails to change direction and even move up and down. They turn and dive like stunt pilots and even turn somersaults! Using their tails as brakes, they land feet first and sink theirsharp claws into the bark of atree. After landing in atree, they climb up higher in the tree and look around for the next landing.

Standards ©2023byVickiWhiting,Editor Je Schinkel,Graphics Vol. 39,No. 45

Areyou an eagle-eyedreader? Read the paragraphs belowand circle the seven errors you nd. Then rewritethe paragraphs correctly on the lines beloworaseparate sheet of paper

My dog Jethro started running across the lawn toward the tree and barking lowdly.The too squirrels scrambled up to the highest branch of the tree.

As Iwent back to raking leafs, an acorn bonked poor Jethro on the head.

Did the squirrels throw that acorn? I’ll never no, but they sure seemed to be giggling!

Use the columns in the newspaperas guidesto cut out longstripsof paper. Measure your newspaper strips and line them up to show the number of feet (or meters) aflying squirrelcan glide.

Standards Link: Measurement: Use standard and non-standard units to measure.

ANSWER: Have

This week’sword: Up

Use the word glide in a sentence today when talking with your friends, and family members.

Iwatched thesquirrel glide from treetotree in my backyard. in theAir

Up in the air,it’sabird, it’saplane, no it’s… Finish this story about something flying through the air