Lorain County Community Guide - April 13, 2023

Oberlin

to

Commissioners:

Reinstate radio contract

Oberlin City Council unanimously passed a resolution April 3 asking the Lorain County Board of Commissioners to reconsider its repeal of a contract with Cleveland Communications Inc. to provide public safety radios to first responders.

The vote was 6-0 on the resolution that “encourages” Commissioners Michelle Hung, David Moore and Jeff Riddell to move forward with the L3 Harris radio system, and orders Clerk of Council Belinda Anderson to forward the resolution to the threemember board.

Hung and former Commissioner Matt Lundy approved the nearly $8 million contract in two resolutions on Dec. 21, with support from the Lorain County Fire Chiefs Association, the Lorain County Deputies Associa-

CARISSA WOYTACH

THE COMMUNITY GUIDE

WELLINGTON – A house fire on Johns Street left two families displaced and several cats unaccounted for on April 11.

Wellington, Camden, Oberlin and Rochester fire departments responded to the 100 block of Johns Street for a duplex on fire around 11:45 a.m., Wellington Fire Chief Mike Wetherbee said.

Witnesses reported hearing an explosion before the fire, he said, but the cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

No one was injured in either unit, but at least four pets between the two apartments were unaccounted for that afternoon.

The fire also damaged a neighboring home, including busting out a secondstory window and sending debris onto the roof. Wetherbee said crews will have to check the structural integrity of the neighboring house as well.

Christine Lorenz, who lived in the front of the duplex for the past decade, was working from home when suddenly her bedroom ceiling collapsed while she was on a call with

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tion and numerous public officials.

Citing alleged irregularities with the bid process won by CCI and its L3 Harris system, Moore and Riddell voted 2-1 on Jan. 9 to rescind the resolutions over Hung’s objection.

Oberlin Law Director Jon Clark and Fire Chief Robert Hanmer said the resolution would help first responders, including both firefighters and police, in Oberlin and elsewhere in the county.

“The position of the fire chief, of the police chief, and other county leaders is that this is the preferable system,” Clark said.

Hanmer, who advocated for the radio system in December and criticized the rescinding of the contract in January, said commissioners have put Oberlin behind in getting a new radio system up and running.

Councilwoman Kristin Peterson said the Central Lorain County Joint

Ambulance District board passed a similar resolution asking commissioners to reinstate the contract.

“It’s important we raise our voice in support of this,” Councilman Michael McFarlin said.

Wellington Village Council passed a similar resolution on Feb. 20. Moore and Riddell have been roundly criticized for the move and also taken to court. Hung has remained in favor of the original contract.

The deputies association immediately filed a health and safety grievance with Sheriff Phil Stammitti over the matter, and CCI sued the county for breach of contract in Common Pleas Court.

A consulting firm, Mission Critical Partners, recommended CCI and its L3 Harris radios to the county after a yearlong study from 2018-2019.

CCI’s bid was the only full bid received by the county. Motorola and the

state-backed MARCS did not enter a bid and Vasu Communciations of Avon entered only a partial bid.

Riddell has called the bid process used to select CCI “unethical” and “potentially illegal.” Moore has criticized “the inappropriate way the bidding was handled” and, without going into specifics, said that the board was moving ahead to remedy that issue.

Moore was not present at either an August 2022 meeting where Hung and Lundy voted to issue a “request for proposals” or RFP for bids for the radio system, nor the December meeting where the two commissioners voted to accept CCI’s proposal.

The board voted this month to enter into a contract with a new consulting firm, MCM of State College, Pennsylvania, and spend not more than $90,000 on a radio propagation study assessing Lorain County’s radio system infrastructure needs.

Distracted driving now a primary traffic offense

Drivers across Ohio can now be pulled over solely for the act of using, holding or looking at their phone behind the wheel.

Ohio Senate Bill 288 went into effect April 4, 90 days after it was signed by Gov. Mike DeWine.

SB 288 was an omnibus criminal justice reform bill, but its widest-reaching provision was a clamping down on distracted driving in the state.

Under the new law, distracted driving has been upgraded from a secondary to a primary traffic offense, meaning police can pull drivers over for a violation.

“We know that people driving nowadays are on their phones a lot,” Elyria Police Chief William Pelko said. “Now, this law enables us, if we see you

Fire destroys Wellington duplex

on your phone texting, going through social media, manipulating your phone, we can go ahead and stop you based on that.”

Previously, police could only pull over distracted drivers for a primary offense, like speeding, and add distracted driving as an additional charge.

“I think there is a problem with distracted driving,” Pelko said. “I think it’s the cause of accidents, and whatever we can do to try and lessen and alleviate those accidents is a good thing.”

For the next six months, police cannot issue primary offense citations for distracted driving, but will instead give drivers a warning and inform them they would have been charged for the offense.

Officers can still make traffic stops for distracted driving during that

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BRUCE BISHOP | The Community Guide

Firefighters from Rochester Township who responded as mutual aid to a house explosion and fire at a home on Johns Street in Wellington on April 11.

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Charlene E. Becker Mellen

Charlene E. Becker Mellen, 95, a lifelong resident of Amherst and Lorain, went home to be with the Lord on Monday, April 3, 2023 at Mill Creek of Galion.

Charlene was born July 13, 1927 in Amherst to the late, Peter A. Becker and Elsie Schofield Becker.

She graduated from the former Central School, Amherst. Charlene attended Lorain County Community College and Ohio University. She was a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking, University of WisconsinMadison. Charlene served on numerous banking committees locally, regionally and nationally. She was an active member of The American Bankers Association and The Ohio Bankers Association, where she served as one of their seminar speakers for a number of years. Charlene retired as President and CEO of Citizens Savings Bank, Pemberville. She served as Executive Vice President and Director of The Oberlin Bank Company for 26 years prior to its merger with Central Bancorp, Cincinnati.

She was an active member of the Grow Point Foursquare Church, Amherst, since its inception, having taught Sunday School, Youth Leader, Council Member, Treasurer, as well as music ministry which extended for years with the Hour of Comfort radio broadcast. Charlene had a passion for foreign missions and made a number of trips abroad including Mexico, Romania, Puerto Rico and Israel. She enjoyed time with her grandchildren and helping others often as a caregiver.

She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Toni A. and Todd Schmitt; son, Gordon C. Mellen (Jessica Brandt); son and daughter-in-law, Kurt A. and Jackie Mellen; grandchildren, Nathan (Sharon) Schmitt, Natalie Schmitt (fiance’ Kenny Roberts), Adam Mellen, Andrew (Rachel) Mellen, Allison (Jared) Persinger, and Kyle Mellen and great-grandchildren, Delilah ‘Lila’ Persinger, Zeke Schmitt and James Lee Persinger.

In addition to her parents, Charlene was preceded in death by her husband, Gordon E. Mellen; sisters, Margie Becker Carter and Janice Bruce McLaren, and brothers, Bud Becker, Elton Becker, and Gerald Bruce.

Visitation was from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday, April 11, 2023 at Grow Point Foursquare Church, 780 Cooper Foster Park Rd., Amherst. The funeral service began at 1 p.m. with The Reverends Dreama Caudill, Beverly Beiderman, and Todd Rainey officiating. Burial will follow in Ridge Hill Memorial Park, Amherst Township.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Grow Point Foursquare Church Missions or Building Fund, 780 Cooper Foster Park Rd., Amherst, OH 44001.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to both Dreama Caudill for her years of friendship and caregiving and Mill Creek Nursing for their loving care to our mom.

Garland-Misencik Funeral Home, Amherst, entrusted with arrangements.

John M. Porter

Lorain County Civil Air Patrol Lt. Col. John M. Porter, 58, of Amherst, passed away Friday, April 7, 2023 at his residence.

Hempel Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.

Susan K. Sipe

Susan K. Sipe (nee Funk), 70, passed away Wednesday morning, April 5th, 2023, after a courageous battle with breast cancer.

A wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, and wife, she is survived by her mother, Marjorie Funk; husband, Jeff Sipe; son, James (Kelley); daughter, Elizabeth Hodge (Keith); sister, Janet Hodges (Jerry); grandchildren, Samantha and Matthew Sipe, Madison and Kayden Hodge; aunts, Vivian Seeley, and Sherrill Seeley, and many cousins, and many nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by her father Harvey; brother, Donald, and niece, Jeanna.

Susan was born in Oberlin on May 6, 1952. She grew up on the family homestead in Brighton Township next to her maternal grandparents. She was an excellent student and belonged to the FHA. She grew up learning homemaking skills from her mother and grandmother. She honed those skills at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and got her education degree in home economics, class of 1974. She taught in South Amherst and then moved to Tampa, Florida, where she met her husband. She moved to Macon, Georgia with her husband and has lived here for 42 years. She had her son and daughter and nurtured them and guided them to be the successful adults and parents they are today. She worked and lived as she endured surgery, chemo, and radiation. She and the thousands of women like her, show their indomitable spirit every day.

Dedication is the word that best describes Susan.

She was a dedicated employee of Eastside Lumber for almost 30 years. She treasured her many friends and business acquaintances from her years there. She was a dedicated fighter for the children of Bibb County. She held many offices in local PTA and Bibb County gifted programs. She later served tirelessly for 12 years on the Bibb County School Board, where she faced many difficult decisions but always put the children first.

She was also a dedicated mother and grandmother. During her children’s school years, they could always count on her to be at any event where they were participating. She was always their number one cheerleader. In her later years, she also became that cheerleader for her grandchildren. Between helping with homework, sharing her sewing skills with her granddaughters and baking skills with her grandsons, attending concerts and other school functions, traveling out of state and even overseas, Susan always made it a priority to put her grandchildren first. They were her everything and her eyes lit up every time she saw them.

The greeted friends on Monday, April 10, 2023 at Sardis-Heard Funeral Home from 4 until 6 p.m. A funeral service was held Tuesday, April 11, 2023 at 11 a.m. in Hart’s at the Cupola.

Susan will then go home one final time and have a visitation at Norton-Eastman Funeral Home in Wellington, at 1 p.m., Saturday, April 22, 2023, with funeral service to follow at 2 p.m. and burial at Brighton Township Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to Bibb County Education Foundation or to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

For her Ohio family and friends, a contribution to the Wellington Schools Endowment Fund will help create more people like Susan.

The hole she leaves in our hearts will never be filled, but the joy she leaves in our soul will never fade.

She loved, she is loved, and she will always be loved.

Hart’s at the Cupola, Hart’s Mortuary & Cremation Center, 6324 Peake Rd., Macon, GA 31210 is in charge of the arrangements.

Please visit www.hartsmort.com to express condolences.

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‘I Am Ace’ author visits Lorain County Community College

fully it repairs a little of the brokenness that others have felt.”

A Columbus-based author and content creator visited Lorain County Community College April 6.

Cody Daigle-Orians, author of “I Am Ace,” made a stop at the Bass Library Bridge on International Asexuality Day to talk about their new book and discuss their experiences as a content creator running the “Ace Dad Advice” Youtube and TikTok accounts.

Daigle-Orians, 46, of Columbus, who uses they/ them pronouns, came out as asexual, or “ace,” about four years ago and began their online project about two years ago.

For Daigle-Orians, that pride began decades ago when they came out as gay while in high school.

In 1994, there wasn’t language for what they were feeling, Daigle-Orians said. Without an online community or greater understanding of gender and sexuality, they adopted a label that didn’t totally fit, and kept it for years.

When Daigle-Orians came out as gay at 18 years old, there was a set of expectations that came with that label, they said. But when they didn’t meet those expectations within their relationships, they felt broken.

Their new book, “I Am Ace,” is a gift to their younger self, Daigle-Orians said, answering questions and providing words of encouragement they needed to hear all those years ago.

“It exists to help other ace folks not feel broken,” they said. “And if I can do that, hopefully, that repairs a little bit of the brokenness that I have felt and hope-

The TikTok account started after their barber encouraged them to get on the burgeoning social media app. And despite DaigleOrians’ protests based on their age, they made a post identifying themself as asexual and came back to new followers and comments about not knowing asexual adults existed.

Bringing a background as an educator, Daigle-Orians decided to become in part the mentor they had as a teen and fill a need in a mostly internet-based community.

Since then, they’ve seen that online following grow. And through going on tours for their book, they’ve met some of those longtime online followers in person.

Organizers Zarai Aquino and Lia Douglas were some of those online followers. Aquino, president of LCCC’s Asexual and Aromantic Community and Education Club, contacted Daigle-Orians and asked them about coming to the college.

For Daigle-Orians, their book and the stop at LCCC and beyond are investments in the future while still connecting to the past, they said.

“In forging that connection with the past as we live out our present, we’re ultimately investing in our future. All that we do today for ourselves … is carving out a space for whoever comes next. For whatever ace person in the days, months, years ahead of us who has questions, who is unsure, who is broken, who feels like they’ll never fit anywhere … we are making space today for that person.”

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‘I Am Ace’ author Cody Daigle-Orians visisted Lorain County Community College on April 6.

Commissioners consolidate bond anticipation notes

The Lorain County Board of Commissioners consolidated five bond anticipation notes for millions of dollars in ongoing or completed infrastructure projects at its meeting April 4.

Doing so saves the county thousands in transaction fees in anticipation of issuing a larger future bond to help pay off public infrastructure projects, county officials said.

A bond anticipation note “is a short-term interestbearing security issued in advance of a larger, future bond issue. Bond anticipation notes are smaller shortterm bonds that are issued by corporations and governments, such as local municipalities, wishing to generate funds for upcoming projects,” trader and investment adviser James Chen said in an article for Investopedia.

Commissioners issued:

● $6,230,000 in bond anticipation notes for the Emerald sewer project in Columbia Township.

● $6,030,000 in bond anticipation notes for the Sandstone Ridge Phase 1 improvements, “including a new county highway, storm sewers, sanitary sewers, waterlines, a new sanitary pumping station, and other related improvements” in the development off state Route 58 near the Ohio Turnpike in Amherst Township.

● $2,950,000 in bond anticipation notes for con-

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FROM A1

a coworker, she said. She said she didn’t smell any natural gas before the explosion, but did afterwards. Her bedroom shared a wall with the unit which caught fire.

“I was trying to figure out what was happening, and then when I saw the smoke start coming into my bedroom I got out of the house,” she said while sitting on the back of a South Lorain County Ambulance watching fire crews douse the remaining hot spots of her home.

The woman who rented the back unit, where the fire started, was not home when crews first responded. A

DRIVING

six-month window.

Starting Oct. 5, distracted driving will be an unspecified misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $150 and 2 points against a driver’s license.

Punishments scale up with repeated offenses, and a second violation within two years can lead to a fine of up to $250.

Fines are doubled in a work zone.

Under the new law, it is illegal to even hold or “physically support” an electronic device except holding it to one’s ear or answering a phone call with a single tap or swipe.

Drivers older than 18 can use a hands-free device, but only if they are not physically supporting the device or entering any symbols into it.

There is an exception to the law when stopped at a traffic light or when reporting an emergency.

Exemptions apply to first responders using an electronic device in the

structing and purchasing sanitary sewer improvements related to “Project Apple Pie,” the secret code name for what became the Carvana facility built on the former Spiegelberg Orchards in Elyria Township. That project is done, the sewers are in, and Carvana is up and running, Commissioner Jeff Riddell said.

● $1,220,000 in bond anticipation notes to pay the costs of construction and other improvements at the Lorain County Engineer’s Office’s garage. That project has been completed, and the engineer’s office will pay off what was borrowed with revenue from the motor vehicle gas tax, county officials said.

● $960,000 in bond anticipation notes for the Boone Road widening project in Columbia Township.

● $740,000 in sanitary sewer improvement bond anticipation notes “for the purpose of paying the cost of construction and acquiring sanitary sewer system improvements” for the Hampshire Farms development in Amherst Township.

Budget Director KC Saunders said the county borrowed money to fund those projects. As long as they remain notes, the county only makes interest payments, he said. When the projects go to bond, there are transactional costs, and Saunders said it doesn’t make financial sense to absorb all those costs separately.

“This is money we already borrowed,” he said,

and the notes are being extended another year before going to bond. “We’re not going to bond yet, but we will be.”

That’s when principal payments will begin, Saunders said. Because commissioners consolidated all the notes, they will pay only one transaction fee instead of six. Riddell said bond fees can be in the “tens of thousands of dollars if not more.”

“It’s not just filing a mortgage and you have collateral,” he said. “Public financing is much more complex. … Sooner or later, we have to start paying on the principal.”

Chuck Brooky, business manager for Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 758 in Amherst, asked commissioners during public comments to hold off on the vote on the engineer’s garage bond anticipation notes until the engineer’s office assigns a prevailing wage coordinator to work with unions on highway and bridge projects.

Brooky first raised concerns about the issue on March 24.

A prevailing wage law requires contractors on public projects to pay regionally standard hourly wages, benefits and overtime, according to the Affiliated Construction Trades of Ohio.

Rates are calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor and Ohio Department of Commerce and established by local standards and competitive practices.

The explosion blew out the front of the home and did damage to the neighboring home had a window frame blown out along with part of the roof peeled off.

friend of hers which drove her to the scene Tuesday said she was a single

mother who had just rented the unit and started to move in from Medina last week.

course of their duties, utility workers in an outage or emergency situations, licensed radio operators and commercial truck drivers operating a data terminal.

Pelko said that his officers have been prepared to be on the lookout for distracted driving and are ready to explain the new rules before citing begins in October.

The State Highway Patrol maintains a dashboard on distracted driving crash statistics and reports that between 2018 and April 3, there have been 62,324 distracted driving-related incidents in Ohio.

Of that number, 1,828 resulted in fatalities, including nine fatal crashes in 2022. In 2022, there were an additional 67 serious injury crashes that were caused at least in part by distracted driving.

“I just want to remind the people out there, you know, we are out there for their safety and the last thing we want to respond to is

an injury accident because somebody was answering a text or on their phone,” Pelko said. “Everybody wants to go home and hug their loved ones, and we want to make sure people can do that. That’s what (this) law is for.”

In April 2018, Avon passed a distracted driving ordinance similar to the one that Ohio has now adopted, which City Council President Brian Fischer said has made the city safer.

“I’m happy that the state explored this,” he said. “And that now Ohio has caught up to Avon on this.” Avon’s ordinance does not have the same exemption for drivers stopped at traffic lights, but Fischer said it is an important step forward in combating distracted driving.

“Anybody driving anywhere sees everybody is on their phone,” Fischer said. “So any legislation that gives law enforcement a chance to combat that and educate people is good.”

BRUCE BISHOP | The Community Guide

Old Prospect School gets new name

OBERLIN — The old Prospect Elementary School in Oberlin will now be known as the “Oberlin Enrichment and Activity Center,” City Council decided April 3.

The city’s Recreation Commission voted unanimously recently to change the name of the South Prospect Street property, Recreation Superintendent Ian Yarber and Recreation Commission Chairman Kevin Miller told council.

To call it the “Oberlin Activity Center” didn’t take into account “the actions taken around the community to bring people together,” so “Enrichment” was added, Miller said.

Councilwoman Elizabeth Meadows said she was impressed, but recommended more.

“I’d like to add something to it, believe it or not:

‘The Oberlin Enrichment and Activity Center at Prospect’ because so many people have come to know it as ‘Prospect,’” she said.

The building is at 36 S. Prospect St.

The resolution will be effective after May 2 because the building is a polling place for the primary election. To change the name immediately could create confusion, council members said.

“Prospect Park” will refer to the grounds of the nearly 4-acre property.

The former elementary school, with nearly 39,000 square feet of space, closed in 2021 when Oberlin Schools opened Oberlin Elementary School on North Pleasant Street.

The city and the schools then made a trade: The Prospect property to the city in exchange for less than half an acre of land adjacent to the former site of the Pleasant Street School, across from Oberlin High School, to the Board of Education.

The Oberlin Enrichment and Activity Center will serve as a community center, the headquarters of the Oberlin Recreation Department and other city offices, and serve as an educational space for young children.

Council unanimously approved a facility use agreement with OberlinKids Community Collaborative

to use space at the Oberlin Enrichment and Activity Center for its free child enrichment programs Oberlin Kids Director Jenn Keathley said the program for children up to 5 years old is free for children, parents and families in the new $30,000 OberlinKids Community room at the center.

The OberlinKids program has no income restrictions, is “100 percent free of

Oberlin’s Cooper International Competition for Piano returns

The Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition returns in 2023, bringing some of the world’s most talented young musicians to the campus of Oberlin College and Conservatory every summer, the college announced April 7.

The 2023 competition will see a return of the piano competition with a slightly condensed format and the finals featuring three pianists in performances of complete concertos with The Cleveland Orchestra at their home venue, Severance Hall, in Cleveland.

The competition will take place from July 29 through Aug. 4, and is open to outstanding pianists from around the world between the ages of 13 and 18.

The prize package totals $40,000 in cash awards — including a $20,000 first prize — and all three concerto finalists will be awarded full four-year tuition scholarships to Oberlin Conservatory, pending admission.

The last time the Cooper Competition for piano was held was in 2018. The pandemic interrupted the cycle and international travel.

“We are thrilled to bring back the Cooper piano competition and

to collaborate with the Cleveland Orchestra once again as we celebrate the best young piano talent in the world,” said Oberlin professor of piano Robert Shannon, Cooper piano competition director and jury chair.

Daily competitive rounds begin on July 31, and build toward the finals on Aug. 4, in which three finalists each perform a complete concerto with The Cleveland Orchestra, conducted by David Robertson.

An Honors Recital, celebrating outstanding performances from the competition’s semifinal round, will take place on Aug. 3 in Oberlin Conservatory’s Warner Concert Hall. All rounds of the competition and the Honors Recital are open to the public. Sessions in Warner Concert Hall are available free of charge.

Tickets for the Cooper Competition Concerto Finals at Severance Hall will be available at www. clevelandorchestra.com or by calling (800) 686-1141. All rounds will be webcast live to a global audience via oberlin.edu/ livestream.

The 2023 Cooper Competition jury consists of esteemed pianists from the Oberlin Conservatory faculty and acclaimed performer-pedagogues from throughout the world.

The jury is led by

Cooper Piano Competition Director and Oberlin Conservatory professor of piano Robert Shannon. It includes fellow Oberlin professors — and winners of international competitions — Angela Cheng, Dang Thai Son and Stanislav Ioudenitch.

Distinguished visiting jurors include Ewa Pobocka, a prize-winner of the 10th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw and a teacher at the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz; and Boris Slutsky — soloist, recitalist and professor at The Yale School of Music. Applications for the 2023 competition must be submitted by April 25.

For a complete competition schedule, application and more information, visit www.oberlin.edu/ cooper-competition.

Founded in 2010, the Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition is dedicated to presenting an international competitive opportunity to outstanding young musicians.

It is made possible through the generosity of Thomas Cooper, a 1978 graduate of Oberlin College, and his wife, pianist Evon Cooper.

The Cooper Competition alternates annually between piano and violin and is open to participants between the ages of 13 and 18.

charge” and helps children build social-emotional skills, Keathley said.

Council also codified the name of the “Oberlin Underground Railroad Center,” which just makes official “what we’ve already been calling it for years,” Meadows said. That building is at 278 S. Main St. In related business, council discussed growing concern about doggy-dos and doggy-don’ts at Prospect

Park behind the Oberlin Enrichment and Activity Center.

With children using the facility more and more, there are concerns that citizens have created what Councilman Ray English called “an informal dog park” there. Oberlin has a leash law and a pooper-scooper ordinance, which not everyone is following, Councilman Kelley Singleton said.

“I think we need clear signage and need to enforce our ordinance to create a safe space for the children playing there,” English said.

City Manager Rob Hilliard said efforts will begin with education and clear signage, and follow with “the full extent of the law.” “Educate, be clear, inform and enforce,” he told council.

‘Senior of the Month’

Each month the Oberlin Rotary Club honors select students as “Senior of the Month.” These young people are recognized for their good character and positive attitude. They have contributed their time and energy to helping the school and community and are excellent role models. The Oberlin Rotary Club will donate $25.00 to a charity or project of the student’s choosing in their name. The Oberlin High School senior honored for the month of March is Alexandra (Sasha) Chen. Chen has been a member of the Academic Challenge team throughout high school, serving as Captain for the last two years. During that time she was twice named as a Lorain County Scholastic Games Standout Scholar. She says she has enjoyed watching the growth of all team members over the years and the spirit of competition with other teams.

Academic Challenge, she says, has encouraged her to learn beyond the bounds of the classroom about the wider world. Her interest in international issues was also sparked by her involvement in the Ohio Model United Nations, reviving this club in her junior year and serving as President for two years. She

also serves as coPresident of the Spanish Honors Society.

Chen has been a member of the Drama Club her junior and senior years. She said she is usually behind the scenes doing costume design and stage makeup, but this spring she will make her debut on stage in High School Musical. This show will be performed May 1820 at OHS.

Chen has also played cello in the Oberlin Orchestra program since the 5th grade. She was also chosen to join the Tri-M Music Society, serving as President during her senior year. Tri-M supports the music department and works on projects to spread the love of music across the school district. This past October she was part of the OHS String Quartet for the national tour of Beatles vs. Stones: A Musical Showdown. She says it was exciting to be part of a professional music production, including being interviewed on the local Fox 8 TV station. Being part of the Quartet at this level required tremendous commitment and long hours rehearsing with Ms.

Audrey John Melzer,

OHS Orchestra Director. Her love of music extends to her involvement outside of school. She has played cello with both the Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra (NOYO) and the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra (COYO). She has been taking lessons at the Oberlin Community Music School with many teachers for the past nine years, performing solo and with chamber ensembles.

In addition to the previously mentioned Honor Societies, Chen was also inducted into the National Honor Society. She is a Daughter of the American Revolution (DAR) Good Citizen Award Winner and the DAR Chapter Essay Competition Winner, which provides college scholarship money. She is also a 2021 NOYO Concerto Competition Winner. Chen works as a dining room attendant at Kendal at Oberlin. She says working with members of a previous generation, the people who built the world she was born into, has been a transformative experience. She says Kendal residents are always interested in hearing about school, all her activities, and her plans for the future.

Believing in the Rotary motto, “Service Above Self,” Chen has provided free Spanish tutoring as part of the Spanish Honors Society. She has also volunteered with the Oberlin Heritage Center on the Latino History of Lorain Exhibit, which highlights the Latin American influence on Lorain County. With COYO, she has played in performances that are free to the public, such as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day concert.

Chen was accepted to Oberlin College (early decision) on a Robinson Scholarship and plans to double major in neuroscience and political science, with a minor in cello performance. She plans to take a gap year following her undergraduate degree to do research and travel abroad. Beyond that, she hopes to attend medical school.

Oberlin’s former Prospect Elementary School will now be home to the city’s Enrichment and Activity Center.

DAVE O’BRIEN THE COMMUNITY GUIDE

SARAH COLSON OBERLIN HIGH SCHOOL

ALEXANDRA (SASHA) CHEN

‘When you can’t breathe, nothing else matters’

OBERLIN — Synapse Biomedical Inc. has received Food and Drug Administration premarket approval for its NeuRx diaphragm pacing system device, which allows quadriplegic patients to breathe without a ventilator.

“When you can’t breathe, nothing else matters,” Synapse co-founder Dr. Raymond Onders said, borrowing a slogan from the American Lung Association. “We look to that in helping people utilize their diaphragm muscles to breathe more naturally.”

The NeuRx device electrically stimulates the diaphragm to contract and relax, pulling air in and out of the lungs. It operates similarly to how a cardiac pacemaker stimulates the heart to keep it pumping.

In 2008, NeuRx received a Humanitarian Device Exemption from the FDA, allowing it to be implanted in patients, but only in hospitals that undertook lengthy review and approval processes.

“The catch is that you have to have each and every hospital that you work with, on an annual basis, give their approval of what you’ve done,” Synapse CEO Anthony Ignagni said. “So every hospital has to go through the paperwork review that the FDA normally does.”

Hospitals had to renew that approval every year, and Ignagni said that NeuRx was available in between 20 and 25 hospitals every year across the country.

After gaining premarket approval this month, the NeuRx device can be used in any hospital in the U.S. that is capable of safely implementing it.

This approval opens up the life-altering technology to more than 400 trauma centers in the U.S. and thousands of new patients.

“It makes it infinitely easier,” Ignagni said. “A hospital in Oklahoma, or

in the middle of Texas, that has a spinal cord patient can call us up and we can send a device and go down there and help them through the surgery, and get that patient off the ventilator within 10 days.”

Onders is a surgeon at University Hospitals who co-founded Synapse Biomedical alongside Ignagni and with assistance from University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University.

He has worked in the field of spinal cord injuries for more than 25 years, and he said he was glad to finally see their work available to more hospitals and patients.

“We really hope that this will allow these patients that are injured in more rural areas to get access to this technology earlier,” Onders said. “That’s really kind of our hope after all these years because it really is life-changing for these patients.”

Approving the device for use on a new patient was time-intensive for trauma centers, and many do not have the research and approval framework in place at all, meaning it was impossible for them to ever treat a patient with a NeuRx device before approval.

Traumatic spinal cord injuries are very rare, the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center estimates there are about 17,730 new cases in the U.S. each year.

This rarity means that traumatic spinal cord injuries and their treatment are sometimes overlooked in the medical research field.

“Spinal cord injured patients are really a small group of orphaned patients,” Onders said. “It’s an injury that changes everything. And ventilators are tough, they’re terrible. It’s really life-changing to

get someone off a ventilator.”

Onders and Ignagni both spoke about their experience seeing what NeuRx returning independent breathing to patients does for their physical and mental well-being.

The second patient ever to successfully be implanted with the NeuRx device was actor Christopher Reeve, who is best known for his role as Superman in the 1978 and 1980 films.

Reeve suffered a spinal cord injury during a horse riding competition in 1995, and in 2003 he was implanted with a precursor to the NeuRx by Onders.

After his surgery, Reeve told CBS News about being able to breathe and speak and about regaining his sense of smell.

“I actually woke up and smelled the coffee,” Reeve told CBS in 2003. Patients on NeuRx are still breathing with assistance, but without the noise or impact to sense of smell and speaking ability a ventilator brings.

“When somebody is on a ventilator, it changes everything,” Onders said. “There is always noise from that ventilator, everybody knows you’re on a ventilator. They may still be quadriplegic, but you have a little bit more normalcy.”

Undergoing a traumatic spinal cord injury and becoming quadriplegic immediately alters the life of a patient, but Synapse seeks to ease the burden of that trauma.

“(Our devices) are not cures for the injury, but they provide a sense of independence,” Ignagni said. “You can go to church without a ventilator whooshing behind you, you know, you can go to the movies, you can

go back to school. We’re not curing spinal cord injury, but we are providing a reduction in the level of injury.”

FDA premarket approval not only allows for NeuRx devices to be used in more hospitals but speeds up the process dramatically.

This is crucial, as Synapse’s data has shown that the earlier a newly paralyzed patient is fitted with a NeuRx device, the faster the device can help them breathe without a ventilator.

Ignagni said that a spinal cord patient who is implanted with NeuRx within two weeks of their injury can be taken off of their ventilator, on average, 19 days earlier than a patient without the device.

This allows patients to avoid complications of long-term ventilator use like pneumonia and can save hospitals roughly $140,000 per patient.

“So better outcomes for patients, you save the hospitals money, and obviously the resource burden on caregivers in the hospital is much reduced,” Ignagni said. “So at this time where they are already experiencing a lot of burnout in hospitals from COVID and everything, this is right where we need to be.”

The team at Synapse continues to look for further ways their technology can change lives.

Ignagni said the company is actively developing a temporary version of the NeuRx device, and Onders has explored its potential for use in other cases.

“Our mission is to be a sustainable company that really helps people with our neurostimulation technology,” Ignagni said. “It’s about getting out there and helping patients.”

Oberlin College students shine in theater design competition

STAFF REPORT

Oberlin theater students excelled in the biennial Venue Renovation Challenge, an event co-sponsored by the American Society for Theatre Consultants and the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, the college recently announced.

The competition took place at the United States Institute for Theatre Technology’s conference in St. Louis in March, according to a March 29 news release.

Students work in teams with an American Society for Theatre Consultants professional to propose and document a theoretical renovation to a venue or space on or near their campus, according to the college.

The Oberlin team’s presentation focused on proposed renovations to Oberlin’s Hall Auditorium, the longtime home of main

stage opera and theater productions on campus.

The students’ proposed renovations to Hall Auditorium topped submissions from graduate school programs, according to Oberlin College.

The Oberlin team earned a second-place finish, topping teams from Yale and Ohio State, and also won the Director’s Award, a prize established by the United States Institute for Theatre Technology to acknowledge the best undergraduate team in the competition. The team consisted of Nelson Gutsch, Ansel Mills, Leanne O’Donnell, Nova Gomez, all from the class of 2025; Andrew McCraken and Charley Davis, both class of 2026.

The students were mentored over the past year by Howard Glickman, Oberlin College class of 1992 and an associate principal at Auerbach Pollock Friedlander.

Wellington railroad crossing to get LED lighting upgrades

WELLINGTON — The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio announced the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway crossing on Erie Street in Wellington will receive upgraded LED lights as part of a $1.17 million package across 15 counties, according to a news release.

Wheeling & Lake Railway will install LED lights at grade crossings at a cost of $7,500 for each crossing.

PUCO is responsible for evaluating Ohio’s public grade crossings to determine the need for installing

active warning devices. Since the PUCO began implementing these evaluations, the annual number of train-motor vehicle crashes in Ohio has decreased significantly, from 356 in 1990 to 61 in 2022. The Ohio Rail Hotline, at (866) 814-RAIL (7245), provides Ohioans with a toll-free resource for all railroad crossing questions. For more information regarding these crossings, access the Ohio railroad information system website at gradecrossings.puco. ohio.gov.

PROVIDED | Oberlin Theater Department

From left, Oberlin College students Andrew McCracken and Nelson Gutsch, pose with United States Institute for Theatre Technology’s Lee Asbell-Swanger, and mentor Howard Glickman.

“We really hope that this will allow these patients that are injured in more rural areas to get access to this technology earlier.”

Dr. Raymond Onders

Black River bests Keystone

ABOVE: Black River’s shortstop Tyler Mrakuzic (2) look over to first to try to make an out against Keystone on Monday, April 10.

Comets collide with Middies

Pirates slide for a steal

RUSS GIFFORD | The Community Guide

Black River’s Noah Hopek slides into second base safely for the steal against Crestview. The Pirates lost against the Cougers 8-7 on April 7 at Black River High School.

Wellington shut out at Wendy’s Spring Classic

RUSS

THOMAS FETCENKO | The Community Guide

Amherst’s Nevaeh Sadler (4) slides safely into third base, colliding with Midview’s third baseman Addison Reisinger (1) on Monday, April 3. The Middies rallied for a close 2-1 win against the Comets.

Wildcats beat Dukes

RUSS GIFFORD | The Community Guide

Wellington’s Riley Reyna sends the ball to the plate against Keystone. The Dukes lost to the Keystone Wildcats 5-4 on April 4 at Wellington High School.

THOMAS FETCENKO | The Community Guide

RIGHT: Black River’s pitcher Noah Hopek throws against Keystone. The Pirates beat the Wildcats 2-0.

GIFFORD | The Community Guide

Wellington’s Haley Harper makes the flip to second base for an out against Loudonville. Wellington lost 24-0 on Saturday, April 8 at the Wendy’s Spring Classing in Ashland.

activities and more.

Duke Pride Carnival

Wellington Schools Duke

Pride Carnival is 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday at Wellington High School. A free breakfast will be from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

The carnival benefits free/reduced lunch students.

Amherst Historical Society

● Afternoon Tea is 1-3 p.m. May 21 at The Grange Hall in Sandstone Village. Please join us for tea and refreshments, enjoy beautiful wedding dresses on display, and tour the Village gardens maintained by the Amherst Garden Club. Tickets are $20 per person, $15 for members. Please RSVP by May 15 to (440) 988-7255 or office@ amhersthistoricalsociety. org. Payments can be made by cash, check or card.

You can also register and pay by card using https://form.jotform. com/230463915767161

● The Sandstone Village Car and Bike Show will be June 4 with registration from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. and the Car Show from 12-4 p.m. There will be a photo area, Village building tours, garage sales, a blessing of the cars and bikes, raffles, DJ, food court, and more! Spectator parking will be at Amherst Junior High School with shuttle service to Sandstone Village.

● The Taste of History Military Living History event is 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 17 at The Sandstone Village, 763 Milan Ave. The event will have samples of military food and rations, displays, kids’

Pittsfield Community Church

● The Pittsfield Community Church’s “Springspiration Day” is April 18.

Registration is at 10 a.m., concert at 10:30 a.m., salad lunch at noon.

For reservations, call Margaret at (440) 9655773 or Phyllis at (440) 647-347.

The special guest is Cheryl Wellert, CEO of DAT Travel and Christian Treasure Seekers, which plans family-friendly and faith-based vacations.

● The church’s Fish Fry Dinner is 5-7 p.m. Friday. Dine-in or carry-out available. Meals are $15 and all are welcome. The church is located at the corner of state Routes 58 and 303.

Avon Democratic Club

Join the Avon Democratic Club for our meeting on 6:30 p.m. today at the Avon Senior Center at 36784 Detroit Rd. All are welcome.

Candidates Geoffrey Smith and Wayne R. Nicol will discuss their campaigns for Municipal Judge of the Avon Lake Courts. The Avon Lake Municipal Court serves Avon Lake, Avon and Sheffield Village.

To learn more about the ADC, visit our website at www.avonohdems.com

Avon-Avon Lake Republican Club

The Avon-Avon Lake Republican Club will

CARTOON CHARACTERS

BULLETIN BOARD

The Lorain County Community Guide Bulletin Board is for local nonprofit and not-for-profit events. Items are published on a space-available basis and will be edited for style, length, and clarity. Send your items to news@lcnewspapers.com

meet 6 p.m. April 20 at the Knights of Columbus Ragan Hall, 1783 Moore Rd., Avon. The evening’s speakers will be County Commissioners David Moore and Jeff Riddell and County Administrator Jeff Armbruster. Sarah McGervey, executive director of Right to Life of Northeast Ohio will also speak. Members are free and guests are $5.

League of Women Voters of the Oberlin Area

The League of Women Voters of the Oberlin Area will hold a public informational meeting about Ranked Choice Voting and what it could mean for Lorain County voters. The meeting is in the Dye Auditorium of the Oberlin College Science Center at 6:30 p.m. April 26. Speakers will include Justin Wells, the Co-Executive of Ranked Choice Ohio, and Duncan Buell, Chair Emeritus in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of South Carolina, a noted researcher in electronic voting, and currently visiting professor at Denison University. The meeting will consider what ranked choice voting has to offer the voters of Lorain County and what difficulties lie in wait before any implementation can hap-

pen. Parking will be available in the Woodland Street lot across from the science building.

Knights of Columbus

The Knights of Columbus will present “Behind the Scenes: TV News” at 7 p.m. April 20 at the Knights’ Ragan Hall, 1783 Moore Rd. in Avon. Paul Orlousky, a recently retired TV news reporter and author will speak. RSVP by April 17 to rudybreglia@ gmail.com

Amherst Library

● Canine reading buddies is 6:30 p.m. April 18.

● Create special occasion makeup looks with makeup artists Sarah Swanzer and Elsie Salgado, for ages 15-and-up at 6:30 p.m. April 17. Attendees must bring their own makeup brushes. Registration is required.

● Celebrate spring with a short story contest. Youth of all ages are invited to enter the Amherst Public Library’s short story contest now through April 29. Winners will be chosen by May 5.

● Learn how to make your own cleaning products at the Amherst Library’s program 6:30 p.m. April 20 with baking soda, vinegar, peroxide, castile

soap and essential oils.

● Adapted storytime is 10:15 a.m. April 22.

A creative storytime for children is 11:30 a.m. April 22. The program is designed for ages 2-5 and their caregivers. Dress for a mess.

● The Library’s Japanese Tokusatsu club will meet at 6 p.m. April 25. The group is recommended for ages 15-and-up. The group meets the fourth Tuesday of the month. To register for events, or for more information, call the library at (440) 9884230 or visit amherstpubliclibrary.org.

Ohio Genealogical Society

The Lorain County chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society will have a virtual program on finding ancestors in Census records at 7 p.m. Monday. The program is free and open to the public. Contact meetings@loraincoogs. org to receive a link to the meeting.

Brownhelm Historical Society

Brownhelm Historical Association is hosting their first Grandma’s Attic Sale of 2023 at the end of April. We’ve finally cleared out all the backlog of donations received during COVID, so this sale will feature anything and everything! From kitchenware and household goods, to antiques, tools, and furniture, you’re sure to walk out with an armful (or car load!) of treasures. We are also putting on our spring plant sale, so definitely stop by to stock up on beautiful spring foliage for your yard! Please note that everything will be half price on Saturday and we will also be holding a $2/ bag or $5/box sale the following Monday, May 1st, at 10am. All proceeds from this sale will go toward the restoration and maintenance of the Historic Brownhelm School.

Amherst Workshop Players

The Amherst Workshop Players will present “Free To Be … You And Me” at 7:30 p.m. April 27, 28, 29; May 5, 6 and 3 p.m. April 30 and May 7 at 44820 Middle Ridge Rd. Amherst. Call the Box Office for

tickets at (440) 634-0472. Tickets are $18.50 each and group rates are available.

Doors open 45 minutes before show time

NAMI of Lorain County

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) of Lorain County will be holding their 8-session weekly Family to Family educational class beginning Tuesday April 25th and ending Tuesday, June 13th from 2pm to 4pm at the NAMI of Lorain County office, located at 6125 South Broadway, Lorain. NAMI Family-to-Family is a free educational program for family, significant others and friends of people with mental health conditions. It is a designated evidenced-based program. This means that research shows that the program significantly improves the coping and problem-solving abilities of the people closest to a person with a mental health condition.

NAMI Family-to-Family is taught by NAMI-trained family members who have been there, and includes presentations, discussions and interactive exercises.

To register or inquire call NAMI at (440) 2408477 or email office@ nami-lc.org.

Firelands

Genealogical Society

The Firelands Genealogical Society (OGS) is holding its Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner on Monday, April 24th, at the Elks Club, 2949 State Route 250 in Norwalk (just south of Fisher-Titus Hospital).

Social time will start at 6 p.m. and dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m.

The meal is $20 per person and includes honeyroasted chicken, green beans, roasted red potatoes, salad, and brownie parfait for dessert (includes gratuity). Reservations should be mailed by April 17 to the Firelands Genealogical Society, PO Box 923, Norwalk OH 44857.

Our dinner, annual meeting, and awards presentation will be followed by some Genealogy Fun and Games. Help support the programs of this great nonprofit by joining us in an evening with great friends and comradery.

Mozart’s “L’____ del Cairo”

66. Like a whistle?

68. Optical illusion creation (2 words) 69. “Time,” e.g., colloquially 70. Hint of color 71. “The Way We ___” 72. Farm pen 73. Skedaddle

DOWN

1. What hedonism and idealism have in common

2. Rejections 3. Flatfoot’s lack 4. Pie option 5. Calamitous

6. One of the Eagles

7. *Pluto or Snoopy

8. Acrobat maker

9. Rural building

10. Homesteader’s purchase, sing.

11. Nabisco’s “Chips ____!”

12. To use a Singer

15. Dairy industry missing person-seeking prop

20. Nordic glühwein

22. Ooh and ____

24. Troublemaker

25. *Fudd’s first name

26. Line to the audience

27. “It is silent,” in sheet music

29. Living space

31. Don Johnson’s Bridges

33. Bake an egg

34. *One of the Pickles

36. Like a broken horse

38. *Phineas’ stepbrother

42. Be a parasite

45. Just about (2 words)

49. Hula necklace

51. Builds a tower, e.g.

54. Very small particles

56. Opposite of ecbatic

57. Ready for picking

58. A bit cracked

59. Not the life of the party

60. Same as cagey

61. Lotto variant

62. Palm starch

63. Gift topper

65. *Garfield or Tom

67. Butterfly catcher SOLUTION

32. Plaudit and pomp

his Easter,Buzz and Beeper didn’tfind eggs in their baskets. They found amysterious message! Every bunny needs abuddy and these bunnies need YOUR help to discover how to read the message.

O L W M A Z E TH

Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Follow simple written directions.

The secret code to crack the answer to this riddle is hidden in this egg border.

is the letter A

To find out what letter each egg stands for,find

The alphabet follows in order by going clockwise around the border.Eachegg stands for one letter of the alphabet.

Beeperdidn’tfinish coloring her egg. Do therestfor her Havemore fun with yourbuddy!

Drawanegg and color half of it.

Thenlet your buddyfinish your design.

How many eggscan youfind on this pagein60 seconds? Race yourbuddy!

Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Eye-hand coordination.

With apartner,readanewspaper article. One of you must choose to be aperson in the article and the other should be the reporter.Decide what questions were asked to get the relevant information and then role-play the interview

Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Ask clarifying questions about essential textual elements, restate facts and details, clarify and organize ideas.

F

Whomdoyou trust? Do you know why? Can youfinda picture in thenewspaper of someoneyou trust? Can you find apictureof someoneyou would not trust?

Standards Link:

Health: Students recognize and identify positive character traits in themselves and others.

Crack Up! :Answer TO HICKENS.RCVECO

How many times can you find the word EGG in the puzzle?

Hint: The word EGG is spelled forward, backward, up, down and diagonally Youmay use the same letter more than once.

Standards Link: Letter Sequencing: Skim and scan reading.

This week’sword: ANSWER:

MYSTERIOUS

The adjective mysterious describes something strange or not easily understood.

Tryto use the word mysterious in asentence today when talking with your friends and family

Easter Bunny Spotted!

Write about catching sight of theEaster Bunny leaving eggs.

the

The baskets that belong to Buzz and Beeper are identical.