Annual cotillion spotlights debutantes

NORTH RIDGEVILLE

— Following months of planning and training and hard work by its young debutantes, the Lorain County Section of the National Council of Negro Women put on its fifth annual Vision of Beauty Cotillion Saturday night.

Nine young women from Lorain County spent the late fall and winter months taking courses on life skills, including communications, financial literacy and having healthy relationships. They also learned dance and etiquette, in anticipation of Saturday night’s main event with its classic white dresses and dancing in front of family and community members.

Lorain County NCNW holds fundraisers and accepts donations throughout the year to support the program, so it isn’t a financial burden on the young women or their families. Amid a flurry of activity the 8820 Event Center on Bender Road on Saturday night, two of the debutantes took a break to talk about what the program meant to them.

Jada McCall, 17, a student at Lorain High School, said she was introduced to program by

Radios

FROM A1 over the Multi-Agency Radio Communications System preferred by the state of Ohio.

Wetherbee and other fire chiefs tested each system and said L3 Harris was the best option for their needs, enabling ease of communications inside of buildings

Taylor Whitfield, another debutante she knew through the Lorain International Pageant princess. Meetings started in the fall and dance lessons in January, she said.

Jada already had some dance experience, but learned some new skills in etiquette class like how to set a table.

“I never even knew there was a specific way,” she said. Taking part in the program allowed her to meet new people, learned greater self-worth, and become “a little more confident,” she said.

Jada also is a National Honor Society member, a track and field athlete, cheerleader and copresident of Lorain High School Peer Mediation.

A future exercise physiology student at The Ohio State University — where she is also thinking about taking American sign language — Jada said she was excited for Saturday night’s finale.

Kavonna Shepherd, 18, a student at Elyria High School, said some of the cotillion’s former alumni and her cousin encouraged her to get involved.

A self-described “extrovert” and member of Elyria High School’s Link Crew, who helped mentor incoming first-year students and volunteered running on Wi-Fi. “Mission Critical Partners agreed to sit down and review the RFP with county officials and quickly left the table. Could it be that they refused to compromise their integrity?” Wetherbee wrote.

“Personal feelings and political agendas put aside, commissioners Moore and with the Lorain County Urban League, she said the program is about coming together, working together and building friendship.

The future Tennessee State University nursing student encouraged anyone who is interested in going through the program to do it.

“Everyone is so supportive,” Shepherd said. “They’d have a huge support group.” For more information on the debutant program, email lorainncnw@gmail. com.

Riddell still owe everyone an answer on why they voted to rescind the vote for L3Harris and breach the county’s contract with CCI (Cleveland Communications), with no grounds for their accusations of wrong doing or illegal activity.”

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The Chronicle-Telegram ABOVE: Debutantes and their escorts parade through The 8820 event center at the fifth annual Lorain County Section of the National Council of Negro Women’s Vision of Beauty “Masterpiece of Greatness” Cotillion on March 18.

RIGHT: Debutante

Jada McCall and her mother Melissa Martinez, of Amherst, dance together.

CCW FROM A1 numbers decreased by about 42 percent. Under state law, permit holders who wish to renew their licenses must do so every five years with county sheriffs, who also are responsible for suspending and revoking licenses. Ohio sheriffs denied licenses to 825 applicants who failed to meet man-

THE CERTIFICATION OF QUALIFICATION OR THE ACCEPTABLE LETTER OF APPLICATION ATTACHED TO THE OUTSIDE AS DIRECTED.

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ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS CITY OF LORAIN, OHIO LOCAL ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS ORC COMPLAINCE BIDS ROADWAY REHABILITATION FOR VARIOUS STREETS Sealed bids will be received by the Law Department of the City of Lorain, Ohio under the following schedule: TIME AND PLACE FOR RECEIVING BIDS: UNTIL - 11:00 AM, Monday, April 3, 2023 Lorain time, City dated requirements and revoked 454 licenses for felony convictions and/or mental incompetence, as required by law, according to Yost’s office.

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Bidders must be listed on the ODOT pre-qualified list for highway construction. Bidders shall submit a list of available equipment, and labor shall be paid not less than the prevailing wage rate as determined by the Ohio Department of Commerce for Lorain County. NO BID WILL BE OPENED WITHOUT THE CERTIFICATION OF QUALIFICATION OR THE ACCEPTABLE LETTER OF APPLICATION ATTACHED TO THE OUTSIDE AS DIRECTED.

Bids must be accompanied by Certified Check or Cashier’s Check or Letter of Credit equals to ten percent (10%) of the amount bid, or a bond for the full amount of the bid as a guarantee that if the bid is accepted, a contract will be entered into and a performance bond properly secured. Should any bid be rejected, such instrument will be forthwith returned upon proper execution of a contract. Cash deposits will not be accepted. Each bidder must insure that all employees and applicants for employment are not discriminated against because of their race, creed, color, sex or national origin. All bidders must comply with the provisions of the American licenses were suspended, six revoked and six denied. In Lorain County in 2020, there were 792 new licenses issued; 1,048 licenses renewed; 49 licenses suspended — seventh most among the 88 counties, according to the attorney general’s office; seven licenses revoked; and eight licenses denied.

Disabilities Act. All federal minority business enterprise and women business enterprise requirements shall be met. All contractors and subcontractors involved with the project will to the extent practicable use Ohio products, materials, services and labor in the implementation of their project. Bid blanks and specifications may be secured at www. cityoflorain.org. The Director of Safety/Service reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids. By order of the Director of Safety/Service LCCG. 3/16, 3/24/23 20716805

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Please be advised that the City of Lorain will host a public hearing on Monday, March 27 in the Lorain City Council Chamber at 200 West Erie Ave., Lorain, Ohio at 5pm to discuss the plan of operation and governance for the energy aggregation program. Please contact Breanna_Dull@ cityoflorain.org for additional information.

BREANNA DULL, CMC L.C.C.G. 3/16, 3/23/23 20716920

NOTICE OF MEETING

The South Lorain County Ambulance District will have a meeting at 6PM on April 11, 2023 with a committee meeting.

Amy Szmania, Clerk South Lorain County Ambulance District LCCG 3/23/23 20717053

Lorain County Community College President Marcia Ballinger is calling on state leaders to provide a greater share of higher education funding to community colleges.

On March 16, Ballinger recapped her efforts at LCCC’s Board of Trustees meeting, saying she argued to leaders in Columbus that community colleges remain underfunded and to meet the moment and opportunities that exist with Ohio’s workforce needs, community colleges need a funding boost.

Ballinger testified March 14 before the Ohio House Finance Subcommittee on Higher Education in support of House Bill 33, the biennial budget bill for fiscal years 2024-25.

With a recommended $1 billion in new spending for higher education through the state share of instruction, only 30 percent is targeted toward community colleges, with approximately 70 percent supporting four-year universities.

“And the challenge with part of that is that 70 percent of the new jobs that are being created by JobsOhio and others,

70 percent of those jobs don’t require a bachelor’s degree, they require an associate’s degree or a credential. And so one of the messages that we have been sharing is that it would be more beneficial to have an increased share going to community colleges because the expectations for the 23 community colleges statewide has never been greater,” Ballinger said.

With employers in need of skilled employees, Ballinger stressed Ohio industry cannot afford to wait years for the investments that are needed.

“That just isn’t feasible,” she said.

Ohio Association of Community Colleges President Jack Hershey testified to the Higher Education Committee, requesting an additional $150 million in funding each year for community colleges, arguing the current balance heavily favoring universities “does not seem right.”

“Every day, leaders at our colleges are working with business and industry, local chambers of commerce, and local or regional economic development leaders on how to address their desperate need to hire qualified workers, and hire them quickly,” he said.

“None of this is meant to imply that the state should ignore the value and importance of bachelor’s degrees; however, the reality is that the postCOVID labor market is moving away from the traditional reliance on bachelor’s degrees, toward one that places more value on in-demand shorterterm skills-focused programs. We see this shift in demand not only from local employers, but from students as well.” Universities receive $100 million more per year than community colleges, Hershey said.

Ballinger and Hershey are also asking Statehouse leaders for an increased allotment of grant funds available to community college students. They argued the Ohio College Access Grant should be replaced with the Ohio Work Ready Scholarship.

During the pandemic, LCCC created shorttrack, 16-week certificate programs, providing a credential for students seeking an entry path into high-demand industries.

LCCC currently has 65 short-track programs that currently do not receive state funding, something Ballinger and Hershey would like to see changed.

OBERLIN – Oberlin College and Conservatory recently recognized six faculty members with Excellence in Teaching Awards for the 2021-22 academic year.

The recipients are:

● Ana María Díaz Burgos, associate professor of Hispanic studies.

● Megan Kaes Long, associate professor of music theory.

● Bryan Parkhurst, assistant professor of music theory and aural skills.

● Renee Romano, Robert S. Danforth Professor of History.

● Keith Tarvin, professor emeritus of biology.

● Dang Thai Son, professor of piano.

A ceremony was held for the recipients at college President Carmen Twillie Ambar’s home on Feb. 28, the college announced.

The annual Excellence in Teaching Award recognizes faculty in the college and conservatory who have demonstrated sustained and distinctive excellence in their teaching at the college and conservatory, the col- lege said in a news release. An award is given in each division of the college: Arts and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and natural sciences and mathematics.

The College Faculty Council solicits nominations, which are then reviewed by a faculty committee.

The conservatory dean recommends six to seven conservatory faculty to the Conservatory Faculty Council, and together they review and narrow the list of recommendations to three recipients.

Lorain County Auditor

Craig Snodgrass is taking his legal dispute with the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals, Ohio Tax Commissioner and owners of the Nexus pipeline to the next level: The Ohio Supreme Court.

The fight is over whether Nexus should pay the share of property taxes it promised to Lorain County entities when its backers first proposed building the natural gas pipeline.

Snodgrass estimates the pipeline will underpay the Ohio counties along its route $600 million over the next 30 years. Lorain County was promised $7.3 million in taxes the first year Nexus was in operation, but received less than half that in back taxes under a settlement between state tax officials and Nexus owners.

Under the deal, the multimillion-dollar corporations would pay taxes on only 58 percent of the Nexus property tax valuation.

“After lengthy consideration and input from multiple stakeholders in Lorain County and throughout the state of Ohio, I have decided to file an appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court to challenge the final decision and order of the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals relating to the valuation and assessment of the Nexus pipeline system for tax years 2019, 2020, and 2021,” Snodgrass announced in a news release Monday.

“I have made this important decision because I believe that an appeal would be in the best interests of Lorain County and the political subdivisions in Lorain County, and would be in the best interests of county auditors throughout the State of Ohio,” he wrote.

Snodgrass has said Nexus is not paying enough and has shorted the Lorain County JVS, Firelands, Keystone, Midview and Oberlin school districts;

Lorain County Public Health; the Wellington Fire District; the Central Lorain County Ambulance District; Kipton and several Lorain County townships of promised tax revenue.

The disputed tax value also will affect Columbiana, Erie, Fulton, Henry, Huron, Lucas, Medina, Sandusky, Stark, Summit and Wayne counties.

In his statement, Snodgrass wrote that Ohio legislators “expressly provided county auditors with the statutory right to appeal any final determination made by the Tax Commissioner relating to the ‘true value’ of public utility personal property.

This statutory right was granted because county auditors are in a position to provide an important check on the Tax Commissioner’s rulings.”

A BTA decision, a 2-0 vote made Feb. 9, strips Snodgrass of his legal right to appeal and challenge the value of the pipeline from 2019-2021 “and every year thereafter,” he said.

That will cost Lorain County and political subdivisions within $15.7 million for the last four tax years, 2019-2022 “and significantly more in personal property tax revenue thereafter,” Snodgrass said Monday.

An appeal also saves his office and other county auditors the “time and expense of intervening in all future personal property tax proceedings filed with the Board of Tax Appeals in order to protect their statutory rights, even if they agree with the Tax Commissioner’s determination,” he said.

The BTA decision “will wrongfully bind county auditors to the terms of settlement agreements reached between the Tax Commissioner and the taxpayer, even if the county auditor was not a party to the settlement agreement and did not know the contents of the settlement agreement when it was entered,” Snodgrass said. “This imposes an undue burden and expense upon county auditors that conflicts with the plan language of the statute.”

The 256 mile-long pipeline cost an estimated $2.6 billion to build — $400 million to $500 million more than initial estimates — and its builders argued it should be taxed on less than half that: $950 million instead of an initial taxable estimate of $1.68 billion.

After the state tax commissioner put the taxable value at more than $1.4 billion, Nexus asked for a reassessment, was denied, then appealed to the BTA in 2020. Nexus asked for a second reassessment, which was again denied. It then appealed to the Board of Tax Appeals in September 2020. In February 2022, then-Ohio Tax Commissioner Jeffrey McClain struck a deal with Nexus’ corporate owners/partners DT Midstream and Enbridge on the lower value.

That led to Snodgrass’ appeals, for which he has taken some heat but also found support from the Board of Commissioners.

At his board’s March 7 meeting, Commissioner David Moore reminded the public he voted against hiring a law firm to represent Snodgrass in the appeal in September 2022.

“I said it was an unwinnable case, and that was true,” Moore said March 7. He said he has been fielding calls and messages from other counties and his own constituents about the Nexus controversy.

Moore said he was given a legal opinion that he can’t reverse the vote to hire the law firm to represent Snodgrass, whom he has accused of wasting money.

Commissioner Jeff Riddell said March 7 there is pressure on the board to get Snodgrass to accept the settlement so Nexus tax money can be released to Lorain County school districts that had budgeted it for use.

“There’s a settlement, but that money is not being paid,” he said March 7, encouraging school districts and those affected to contact Snodgrass “and let their issues be known.”

In a statement to The Chronicle-Telegram March 13, Commissioner Michelle Hung said she has supported Snodgrass since he decided to uses his legal authority first to hire an appraiser then a law firm to appeal the state’s position in court.

Snodgrass was doing his job when he hired an appraiser and a law firm to fight the state and Nexus, she wrote.

“The residents don’t have high-priced lobbyists work- ing for them, and they look to their elected officials to make sure this is a good deal for the schools and our children’s future,” she wrote. “I am not OK with the schools losing money, and the possibility of the residents being asked yet again for a levy to support the schools because corporate business isn’t paying their fair share.”

Hung wrote that she didn’t see a downside to taking the matter to the Ohio Supreme Court. The tax shortfall for Lorain County is “not a one-time loss,” she wrote. “It will be our schools and our children that suffer the effects of the shortfall.”