Distracted driving

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.

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

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

FIRE PAGE A3 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

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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