JVS moves to fire teacher

OWEN MacMILLAN THE CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM

OBERLIN — The Board of Education of the Lorain County Joint Vocational School voted unanimously to suspend teacher Jason Rodriguez without pay and initiate a firing procedure against him on Monday night.

The board met in executive session before Superintendent Glenn Faircloth made a recommendation that the board pass the resolution.

The resolution passed unanimously, suspending

A century of Chinese art

Rodriguez without pay effective immediately, stripping him of his benefits and initiating termination proceedings of his limited teaching contract.

Faircloth declined to comment on why he recommended Rodriguez be fired, saying that employee suspension and termination proceedings are private.

Rodriguez filed a lawsuit against the JVS in Common Pleas Court in November. The ChronicleTelegram is pursuing a copy of the lawsuit, as well as Rodriguez’s personnel file.

JASON HAWK

“Sesame Street” cocreator Lloyd Morrisett, an Oberlin College graduate who served for many years on its board of trustees, died Sunday, Jan. 22 of natural causes at his San Diego home. He was 93.

In an announcement, Sesame Workshop called him a “wise, thoughtful and kind leader” who was fascinated by how technology could be used to reach kids.

“Without Lloyd Morrisett, there would be no ‘Sesame Street,’” said co-creator Joan Ganz Cooney. “It was he who first came up with the no- tion of using television to teach preschoolers basic skills such as letters and numbers. He was a trusted partner and loyal friend to me for over 50 years, and he will be sorely missed.”

Born in Oklahoma City during the Great Depression, Morrisett moved to New York City as a toddler and later to California.

In a 2004 interview with the Television Academy Foundation, he said his father — a college professor — always believed that small, liberal arts colleges were the best places to study. Oberlin was on the younger Morrisett’s list of finalists when picking a

SESAME PAGE A2

JASON HAWK | Oberlin News-Tribune

“Climbing Over the Great Snow Mountain” by Shen Jiawe is on display at the Allen Memorial Art Museum in Oberlin as part of a new exhibition on Chinese paintings and drawings. Curator Kevin Greenwood said it’s an example of political propaganda from the 1970s.