Lorain County Community Guide - Jan. 5, 2023

Nurse has county's first baby of 2023

OWEN MACMILLAN THE CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM

LORAIN — Lorain County’s first baby of 2023 was born Sunday at Mercy Health Lorain Hospital, the son of an obstetric nurse who works every day in the very birthing center where he was delivered.

Maddox Atticus Gall was born to mother Kyle Dandrea of Vermilion, who is an OB nurse at the Mercy Health Veard Family Birthing Center, and father Aaron Gall at 1:09 p.m. He weighed exactly six pounds.

“He definitely wanted to make an impression,” Dandrea said.

Dandrea said she had not given much thought to the potential of Maddox becoming the Lorain County New Year's Baby until after she realized he already was.

“It does kind of make it feel even a little bit more special,” she said. “Not very many people get to go through this experience. And now he’ll know for the rest of his life he was the first baby of 2023.”

Another experience most mothers don’t have is giving birth to their child in the place they work, and with

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THE YEAR IN REVIEW

Unity for Ukraine

Painful inflation follows COVID

What are “supply chain issues,” exactly?

During the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the disease took a toll on the workforce. The problem started with stay-at-home orders across the nation, then continued when workers got sick and production dipped as a result.

As companies struggled to keep goods rolling out of their warehouses to store shelves, they were hit by problems with overseas shipping and overland trucking.

Russian

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“I know what they’re going to go through, and it gets very difficult,” said Mary Van Nortwick of Oberlin, watching television coverage of refugees trying to escape the conflict.

Her family made an escape from their home country more than seven decades ago, when Soviets invaded.

Van Nortwick’s parents, Michael and Luba Krywokulsky, herded their children from camp to camp in 1945, traveling through Austria and Germany and finally

crossing the Atlantic to find asylum in Canada.

Those memories were once more razor sharp as Van Nortwick watched Russian attack Kyiv and Odesa at the start of the war.

Since then, tens of thousands of deaths have been recorded on both sides, and an estimated 8 million Ukrainians have been left with homes, nearly all fleeing their country in the largest European refugee crisis since World War II.

Already home to a large Ukrainian population, Northeast Ohio braced to welcome refugees.

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Biden visits The Shipyards

LORAIN — President Joe Biden came to Lorain in February to announce a nearly $1 billion investment in the Great Lakes as part of Congress’ bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Appearing alongside U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan, he announced plans to remediate ecological areas of concern and bring back union jobs.

The $1 billion was to accelerate the cleanup across 22 of the remaining 25 areas of concern in the region, remediating former industrial sites such as those along the Black River, while also funding repairs to bridges and highways across the state.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine hasn’t helped. It broke major routes for exports of all kinds of goods, from oil and gas to gain, auto parts and plumbing supplies.

As troubles mounted, demand for goods didn’t dip, but supply did. And when that happens, prices soar.

To start 2022, the United States saw inflation rise at a rate not seen for 40 years.

Compared to the previous January, consumer prices were up 7 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That margin grew as the year progressed, peaking at 9.1 percent in July. From $5 per gallon gas to hard-toswallow prices on chicken, eggs, milk and vegetables, everybody has felt the pinch.

“There’s nothing that’s down.”

said Ed Stewart, president of Stewart’s TV and Appliance in Elyria, during an interview in the summer.

“A refrigerator preCOVID that would sell for $2,000 every day is now $3,000 or more,” he said.

“Gone are the days of a $499 washing machine.”

Local government budgets have also been hurt. Take Wellington, for

Courtesy of Kyle Dandrea

Kyle Deandrea and Aaron Gall pose with their new son Maddox, who is the 2023 New Year's baby of Lorain County.

Photos by Jason Hawk, Kristin Bauer, Bruce Bishop and Angelo Angel

Each year, we take a look back at the stories that will have a lasting impact on Lorain County, with a special focus on our readers in Amherst, Oberlin and Wellington. Here are some of the most important developments we covered in 2022:

President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to invade neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, stirring anger among Ukrainian immigrants and their descen

dants here in Lorain County.

Oberlin College students rally in support of the Ukrainian people in March on Wilder Bowl.

President Joe Biden

UKRAINE

OBITUARIES

Kathryn L. Whyte

She was born March 8, 1926, in Amherst.

Kathryn was a graduate of Brownhelm High School and Baldwin Wallace College. She taught English at Firelands High School until she retired in 1988. After retirement, she enjoyed working at the Amherst Public Library for many years.

Survivors include her daughters, Pam (Bill) McCourt of Vermilion, Connie (Don) Reinhard of Westerville and Cindy (Rick) Reighley of Wellington; son, Wayne (Mary) Whyte of Olmsted Township, as well as her 11 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 61 years, Wayne A. Whyte on Aug. 5, 2008; son, Donn L. Whyte of Richfield in 2018 and her parents, Elmer and Louise (nee Liembach) Kneisel.

Services were held Tuesday, Jan. 3 at Brownhelm United Church of Christ, Brownhelm, Ohio. The Rev. Dr. Kathryn Reinhard, Kathryn's granddaughter, officiated. Burial was at Brownhelm Cemetery, Vermilion. Rebroadcasting of services will be available at www. hempelfuneralhome.com.

The family suggests that in lieu of flowers memorial contributions be made to Brownhelm Congregational United Church of Christ, 2144 North Ridge Road, Vermilion, OH 44089 or the Amherst Public Library, 221 Spring Street, Amherst, OH 44001.

For those unable to attend please visit the funeral home's website to share a memory and sign the guest register, www.hempelfuneralhome.com.

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.

CLASSIFIEDS

FIRST BABY

FROM A1

Every

028-104-002;

The Fiduciary further alleges that the subject of this complaint is for the sale of the above described property, and for the sale proceeds to be used for debts and administration expenses of the estate of Mary Taylor. The Complaint prays that all defendants be required to answer and set up their interests in said real estate or be forever barred from asserting the same.

You are required to answer the complaint within twenty-eight (28) days after the last publication of this notice, which will be published once each week for six (6) consecutive weeks. You are required to file an answer by February 10, 2023.

In the event of your failure to answer or otherwise respond, judgment by default will be ren-

a beneficiary agrmt w/ Neighborhood Alliance to provide economic relief to the org. 25422* Appropriation. (*Denotes legislation was passed as an emergency L.C.C.G. 12/29/22; 1/5/23 20713594

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THE YEAR IN REVIEW

UKRAINE

FROM A1

There is a significant Ukrainian population in Parma, but also in Lorain, drawn to the area by the steel industry, according to the Lorain Historical Society.

Ukrainians established St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and St. Mary Ukrainian Orthodox Church, both on Lorain’s south side.

“Ohio welcomes, and will welcome, any refugees who come from Ukraine,” St. Mary’s V. Rev. Dmitri Belenki said.

“We are a welcoming state, we’re a welcoming people. We’re a nation of immigrants. We’re a state that was built by immigrants.”

Several families have since been welcomed to live in Lorain County.

Their cause was taken up at the beginning of the year with collection drives at area businesses.

Sliman’s Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Amherst raffled a Jeep to support local refugees, for example.

Larissa Reidy, owner of Richard J. Reidy Funeral Home in Lorain, and a first-generation Ukrainian immigrant, also took a direct hand in the relief effort.

Because she grew up speaking her family’s native tongue at home,

Reidy signed up to be a translator in Eastern Europe.

While waiting to go overseas, she collected loads of medicine and food to deliver to Pokrova Ukrainian Catholic Church in Parma.

“It saddens me that we have to watch something like this in the 21st century. Our hearts go out to the Ukrainian people,” said veteran and DAV Commander Don Attie, who helped load up trucks to support Reidy’s efforts.

Retired Marine Cpl. Jason Keith also jumped into action. The owner of Colonial Barber Shop in Wellington devised plans to fly to Poland and then on to Ukraine on a humanitarian mission.

“I wanted to go over and help in one way or another,” Keith said in March, with harsh words for Putin: “I don’t think the big bully should go in and push everybody out just because he wants it. And all the civilians who are stuck in the middle, it’s not fair to them, either.”

Oberlin College immediately condemned Russia’s aggression. President Carmen Twillie Ambar counted a number of students and employees with ties to Ukraine among the campus com-

INFLATION

FROM A1

example, where cost overruns have plagued construction of a new police station, about doubling original cost estimates and causing huge delays because some key supplies just aren’t readily available.

Across the country, from building repairs and renovations to school bus and snow plow purchases, bloated price tags have been passed on to taxpayers.

Inflation would have been bad even without the pandemic, many experts say. The pandemic accelerated the retirement of millions of baby boomers — but those millions would have left the workforce anyway.

Boomers are the largest generation in American history. While worker shortages have often been

munity.

“Like many of you, I have spent the past number of days watching the Russian military’s violent invasion of Ukraine with a mix of horror and disbelief,” she wrote in an open letter to the campus community. “I join the chorus of voices condemning this unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation and the violence visited upon its people.”

College students gathered outside Wilder Hall in March for a vigil, symbolically standing in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

David Nasr-Zalubovsky, a student from Ukraine, referred to Putin as “Putler,” combining his name with that of Adolf Hitler, and said despite his “dirty tactics” Ukraine has not given up and surrendered.

“Ukrainians did not abandon their arms and run back home as Putler recommended and instead, they fought ferociously from the onset of hostilities, despite all the odds against them, and are still sustaining without surrendering, and as we speak,” NasrZalubovsky said.

Diana Tymochko, a native of western Ukraine, said wars between the territory making up Ukraine and Russia have been happening intermittently

blamed on “people not wanting to work these days,” the fact is that there are simply fewer Gen X-ers and Millennials to step into vacated roles.

It should also be noted that American inflation has been relatively tame compared to other places around the world.

The global inflation rate in 2022 averages 8.8 percent. Some nations — such as China, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and Japan — have defied the odds with small bumps. But others have been devastated. In Argentina, inflation hit 92.4 this fall, and Turkey’s rate is 84.39 percent.

As of November, the year-overyear inflation rate is 12 percent in Russia, 11.8 percent in Italy,

for centuries.

For Ukrainians abroad, there is a feeling of guilt for not screaming louder to force the world to take more action, she said.

“That is why I'm standing here right now in front of you and speaking to you,” Tymochko told the crowd of protesters.

“I am grateful to everyone who reached out to me and is checking in on me and asking me how I feel. But unfortunately, the question is irrelevant, because like every one of you, I'm here right now. And when I go to bed today, I don't have to worry from waking up from the explosions. I don't have to worry that Russian missiles will be the hole in my roof or wipe away my existence.”

In very tangible ways, the conflict has now become a proxy war between the United States and Iran. The U.S. has supplied Ukraine with Patriot missiles and funding, bolstered by NATO support, while Iran has reportedly sent ballistic missiles and drones to Russia.

As Ukrainian resistance has pushed back significantly against Russian forces, Putin’s threats have grown dire. He has increasingly raised the idea of deploying nuclear weapons.

10.7 percent in the United Kingdom, 10.4 percent in Germany, 9.9 percent in the Netherlands and 7.8 percent in Mexico.

The good news is that prices are starting to slowly retract. Gas prices, notably, have fallen to a national average of $3.15 per gallon, according to AAA — in Lorain County, the hovered between $2.85 and $3.35 just before New Year’s Eve.

On Dec. 29, the Labor Department reported the jobless rate continues to fall. The most recent Consumer Price Index numbers also show inflation had retreated to 7.1 percent on the year.

That’s still sizable, but less than economists had predicted through the early parts of 2022.

LORAIN COUNTY COMMUNITY GUIDE (USPS 673-960) is published every Thursday, 52 weeks per year by Lorain County Printing & Publishing Company, 225 East Ave., Elyria OH 44035.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Lorain County Community Guide, PO Box 4010, Elyria OH 44036.

SOLUTION

Kathryn L. Whyte (nee Kneisel), 96, of Amherst, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, at Ganzhorn Suites in Avon, following a full and meaningful life.

the help and care of their coworkers. To most that would be strange, but to Dandrea being surrounded by her colleagues in the birthing unit added to the special event.

“They are my work family, I love

every one of them,” she said. “It’s a very special experience because as I said, we are like one big family.”

year the first baby of the New Year receives a large basket of baby care supplies and other gifts

by the workers at Mercy Health and the Lorain Fire Department.

Dandrea contributes to that basket, but this year she will be its recipient.

Oberlin’s Russell named Nat’l Teacher of the Year

OBERLIN — Kurt Russell — the beloved Oberlin High School history teacher, not the “Tombstone” actor — was named the 2022 National Teacher of the Year in a surprise ceremony in April.

He’d been chosen the prior fall as Ohio’s Teacher of the Year, which put him in the running with three others: Whitney Aragaki of Hawaii, Autumn Rivera of Colorado, and Joseph Welch of Pennsylvania.

Russell’s students gathered in the OHS auditorium to watch the winner revealed live on CBS Mornings, and literally jumped out of their seats screaming when his name went out over the airwaves.

“He is the whole high school experience,” thensenior Pearl-Hannah Gunn said.

Teens described Russell as a mentor who “actually runs the high school” and “holds the school together like no other person.”

Russell has been recognized for tackling tough subjects, including racism: "I don't like to pull punches. I like to make sure students know the truth," he said.

He teaches AfricanAmerican history, U.S. history, International Baccalaureate history of the Americas and a course on race, gender and oppression.

His style is to present facts and challenge students to reach and defend their conclusions about history through college-style debates.

“It’s not a typical class where it’s a teacher in front

of the class lecturing,” he said. “It’s more a conversation. We discuss. We read primary sources and we make connections between them.”

In April, he was welcomed to the White House by President Joe Biden.

Teaching is one of the hardest jobs in the nation, and is too often politicized by legislators, Biden told teachers of the year from all 50 states who gathered in the East Room to be honored.

America’s teachers spend their lives trying to lift up children, he said, and they

should not be targets in a culture war.

“We ought to give you a raise,” Biden told Russell and his companions.

Since being announced as National Teacher of the Year, Russell has toured extensively, speaking about his methods and outlook on education.

In early December, he returned to the White House to dine at Biden’s first state dinner. He and wife Donna were seated with Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and First Lady Jill Biden’s sister, Bonny Jacobs.

Knife-wielding man shot by Wellington police officer

WELLINGTON — Body camera footage showed the whole, horrific scene unfold.

After yelling and throwing furniture through a window during a July 23 incident, Scott Bakker emerged from his Courtland Street home and charged, knife in hand, directly at two police officers.

Ptl. Allan Geitgey and Cpl. Kayla Chrosniak could be seen on video backing away and yelling warnings. Then Chrosniak fired a ranged stun gun, but Bakker shook it off and turned on her.

That’s when Chrosniak opened fire with her sidearm. From body the perspective of her camera and one worn by Geitgey, she could be seen squeezing off two shots.

Bakker fell, wounded in the stomach.

Chrosniak knelt by his side, holding a towel against the suspect’s abdomen, and soothing him until paramedics arrived.

After a lengthy investigation by the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office, county Prosecutor J.D. Tomlinson announced in October that Chrosniak would not face any legal trouble for her actions during the

July incident.

She “had no choice” but to fire on Bakker, who “posed an immediate threat to Chrosniak’s safety, to the safety of Patrolman Geitgey and to the safety of any other officer that would have responded,” said a report released by Tomlinson’s office.

Wellington Mayor Hans Schneider also said he believed it was immediately clear based on video evidence that the shooting was justified.

A Lorain County grand jury indicted Bakker in September on two counts of first-degree felonious assault — one for each officer involved — and one count of fifth-degree felony obstruction of official business.

Court records show he has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. In October, he was referred by the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas to a mental health diagnostic center to see whether he is competent to stand trial.

Bakker is now free on $15,000 bond. A pretrial hearing was held in late November, with another scheduled for Jan. 13.

Riddell defeats Lundy for commish

Only 137 votes kept Lorain County Commissioner Matt Lundy, the lone Democratic member of the board, from being elected to a third term.

Once all the votes were counted by the county Board of Elections, first-time candidate and Republican businessman Jeff Riddell came out on top in the race.

Riddell was sworn in, joining fellow Republicans Michelle Hung and David Moore on the board. It is the first time in memory that Republicans have held all three seats, and a reflection of shifting political winds in Lorain County.

Lundy, who had been a commissioner since 2015, has taken the job of Elyria safety-service director.

National Teacher of the Year Kurt Russell, who has taught at Oberlin High School for 25 years, talked to 110 new Lorain County teachers this summer about how to effectively reach students and stoke their passion for learning.

New Commissioner Jeff Riddell

Former S. Amherst fire chief pleads guilty to felony theft

SOUTH AMHERST — A procession of tankers and engines moved slowly down Route 113 in late March to honor the village’s former fire chief, David Faight.

After giving 50 years of his life to South Amherst, retiring in 2003, Faight died at age 84 and was interred with honors at Evergreen Cemetery.

GOING, GOING GONE

Ronald “Al” Schmitz

But something was strange — his successor, Chief Ronald “Al” Schmitz, was nowhere to be found as firefighters from all over paid their respects. Asked about his whereabouts, village personnel wouldn’t give a direct answer.

The reason became clearer about a month later, when Schmitz was indicted by a Lorain County grand jury on felony counts of theft in office and tampering with records. Ahead of the indictment, Schmitz had quietly resigned. “Due to the current demands of my full-time job, I feel I need to step down and retire,” said a letter dated Jan. 20.

South Amherst Mayor David Leshinski said that at that point, he hadn’t been aware of any potential wrongdoing. Instead, he said some firefighters had been rubbed the wrong way by Schmitz’s leadership style.

Investigators from the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office later approached Leshinski and village Fiscal Officer Michelle Henke about allegations Schmitz had not attended mandatory training sessions while remaining on the payroll.

Leshinski previously say there were discrepancies in the way firefighter certification was recorded, and that process has since been corrected.

Schmitz was arrested by sheriff’s deputies in April and released on bond. A jury trial was scheduled for Dec. 19 in the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas, but the case never advanced that far.

In October, he pleaded guilty to the felony indictment. He was placed in a diversion program and required to pay restitution of $1,067 and a $240 supervision fee, with no jail time.

Former Golden Acres meets its fate

AMHERST TWP. — The former Golden Acres Nursing Home building has been wiped from the map. After delays through the summer, A1 Land Development started demolition in early October under a $238,000 contract from the Lorain County commissioners.

Workers started at the rear of the building, using excavators to tear into the walls — which President

and CEO J.J. Janson said was easier than had been expected.

It didn’t take long for the old structure’s central tower to be reduced to rubble, and crews moved inexorably south until Golden Acres was gone.

The building served as the county’s tuberculosis clinic before becoming a nursing home, and finally closed due to financial

pressures in 2015.

An unsuccessful levy in 2018 would have saved the building and transformed it into the RecoveryOne drug addiction treatment center.

Golden Acres had been valued at more than $1.5 million, according to the county auditor’s office, but needed repairs and no tenant could be found to occupy it.

Head Start defendants' charges are dismissed

After nearly 30 years of court battles and appeals, Joseph Allen and Nancy Smith had child sexual abuse charges against them dismissed in Lorain County Common Pleas Court in February.

County Prosecutor J.D. Tomlinson and defense attorneys, including several from the Ohio Innocence Project, successfully petitioned Judge Chris Cook to dismiss the cases shortly after he granted the pair a new trial.

Allen was released from a lengthy prison sentence and Smith, who has been free since 2013, cried and hugged supporters. Both always denied abusing children on Smith's Head Start bus route in Lorain in 1994, but were convicted in court and sentenced.

Allen and Smith both have since filed court actions seeking legal declarations of innocence.

The rapid peak and decline

The COVID-19 pandemic was hotter than ever when 2022 began.

In early January, cases spiked to scary heights as omicron swept the nation like wildfire. New cases soared past 20,000 per day in Ohio.

“Our spike is straight up in the air,” Health Commissioner Mark Adams told the Lorain County commissioners as the omicron mutation became COVID’s dominant form in the United States.

It spread much faster than the virus’ previous generation, but over time had also become less lethal.

That meant cases were rampant, about twice as many as the worst day in Winter 2020-2021, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

Testing kits were wiped from store shelves, and libraries ran dried. Omi-

cron did in two weeks what the delta variant had taken months to accomplish.

Vaccinations softened the blow. They didn’t 100 percent stop vaccinated people from becoming sick, but greatly reduced symptoms and increased the ability to fight off the virus.

At the height of the early 2022 surge, 97.5 percent of those hospitalized had not been vaccinated, health experts said.

By late January, Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff was hopeful omicron’s rein was peaking — but it dragged on past expectations.

“The bottom line is this: COVID-19 is not going away, and omicron is not just a little cold for everyone,” he said in a news conference. “Lives are still at risk and lives, sadly, are still being lost.”

Most Americans had

of COVID-19

been infected by COVID by the time May rolled around, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The disease remained in fairly heavy circulation through the summer, and was running rampant again as back-to-school sales started.

By early August, COVID cases had pretty much plateaued, however, and students started the fall semester without the precautions or fears of the past two years.

That doesn’t mean the virus disappeared, though. Tests of sewage samples in Lorain and Elyria have showed COVID remaining at relatively high levels, according to Adams.

At the same time, case counts and hospitalizations have fallen off dramatically. Two conclusions can be reached from the trend: The

disease is becoming endemic, and many who are getting mildly sick are no longer reporting it to health officials and primary physicians.

Lorain County has continued to bounce between yellow and red on the CDC’s map that tracks COVID trends.

In Ohio and across the nation, cases and hospitalizations are slowly creeping up again, according to year-end numbers.

As of Dec. 29, Ohio has recorded just under 3.3 million cases and nearly 133,000 Ohioans have been hospitalized since the pandemic started. The statewide death toll is 40,840.

In Lorain County, more than 86,000 people have reported being sick, and 4,423 have been hospitalized.

There have been 1,038 deaths in the county due to COVID-19.

Ohio Innocence Project attorney Mark Godsey hugs Nancy Smith and smiles after getting her a new trial.

ABOVE: The county’s former Golden Acres facility is shown before

demolition began. BELOW: It’s last remaining section is shown standing in November as A1 Land Development neared the end of the destruction process.

Gibson’s Bakery saga ends with $36.5 million payout

OBERLIN — In the days that followed the 2016 presidential election, angry protesters chanted and held signs condemning Gibson’s Bakery, the eatery that has operated on West College Street since 1885.

The rally resulted in a civil suit and eventually a trial, in which jurors found Oberlin College responsible for defaming Gibson’s Bakery.

Now the long saga is finally over. After appeals by both sides, the Ohio Supreme Court declined to take up the case, and the college agreed to pay the surviving Gibson family members more than $36.5 million.

"We can confirm that all

funds have been disbursed and that the family is continuing with the process of rebuilding Gibson's Bakery for the next generations," attorney Brandon McHugh of the law firm Plakas Mannos, which represented the Gibsons and the bakery in court, said in mid-December.

The college did not provide any new comment.

Instead, spokesperson Andrea Simakis pointed to a Sept. 8 statement on the Oberlin College website. It said the college had started payment of "awarded damages and accumulated interest."

The statement said the college was disappointed by the

court's decision, called the lengthy legal matter "painful for everyone" and voiced hope that the end of the court fight "will begin the healing of our entire community."

The ordeal had started in Fall 2016, when an Oberlin College student tried to buy alcohol with a fake ID and shoplifted several bottles of wine at the bakery.

When confronted, he ran. Allyn Gibson, the son and grandson of the owners, chased the student out onto the street where the two got into an altercation.

Witness accounts vary on what happened next, but two

other students waiting for their friend ended up in an altercation with him and Allyn Gibson.

The students were later charged with misdemeanors and pleaded guilty in Oberlin Municipal Court, reading statements saying Allyn Gibson had the right to do what he did.

Student protesters gathered to decry the bakery and its owners as racist, claiming it had a history of discrimination against students of color.

Then-Vice President and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo also was present during the protest. She was accused in court of supporting the protesters by handing out flyers.

Amherst library opens $5.8M addition

AMHERST — The doors of a vastly expanded and remodeled Amherst Public Library were opened to the public in July, after taxpayers funded a $5.8 million overhaul to the Spring Street facility.

Ground was ceremonially broken in July 2021 on a two-story, 7,500-square-foot addition on the south face of the building.

The old library had long needed more space, said Director Don Dovala. The project was aimed at creating areas for activities, and separating children and adult areas.

Following long COVID-19 closures, the library again was shuttered for the final phase of construction throughout Spring and Summer 2022.

When it reopened, the interior was unrecognizable. Gone was the 1970s aesthetic that generations of Amherst families had been accustomed to.

Now visitors enter through sliding doors and are greeted with an information desk and self-checkout kiosk. The ground floor is home to the adult fiction and nonfiction collections, movies and music and a business center with rows of computers.

The second floor has been transformed into a colorful space for

younger kids, with soft seating and low bookshelves. There’s also an area sectioned off for teens.

Smaller study rooms sit off to the side, and a large community room offers enough space for up to 200 people to gather for programs. An

open-air terrace looks out on Spring Street and Tenney Avenue.

“It was a little difficult, but it was something we needed to do. And the end result — I hope everybody sees it was worth it,” said library spokeswoman Becky Denes.

$8M ‘Fairs Forever’ project launches at the fairgrounds

WELLINGTON — An $8 million plan is on track to reshape the Lorain County Fairgrounds.

Fred Pitts, a third-generation fair board member and Wellington Township trustee, said a year-round facility is needed to host events to help keep the fair up and running.

Fairs can't survive on "just one week a year," he said.

Plans call for a three-phase expansion of fair facilities starting in 2023.

The first is a 45,000-square-foot, climate-controlled exposition center with an open floor plan to host year-round events to generate money to pay for the fair.

The layout would fit exhibitions, competitions, trade shows and sporting events. The estimated cost would be $5 million.

The second phase involves replacing two existing Junior Fair beef barns with one 14,000-square-foot barn at a cost of $800,000.

Phase Three involves putting $2.2 million into a covered arena and parking lot improvements. The arena could host shows and be a staging area for equine events.

Lorain County commissioners have

pledged $1.5 million toward the cause. The Lorain County Agricultural Society has fronted another $1.5 million.

Additional donations of $500,000 had been received for the “Fairs Forever” drive, according to tracking on a website dedicated to the project.

“The pandemic certainly raised some financial issues, but when exploring what needed to be done to secure the financial future of the fairgrounds while maintaining the mission, it was determined that transitioning to a year-round use facility was a good idea,” says the online pitch.

“We looked at other organizations that have done that successfully and believed that, as the largest tourist attraction in Lorain County, it was in the community’s best interest to create a facility that could be used for a variety of events all year long.”

Engineer Larry Knoble has been hired as construction manager for the project, and a survey crew has been tapped. Patricia Egan of Beyond Fundraising is spearheading an effort to fund Fairs Forever.

Donations are being accepted at fairsforever.com.

Ford has big plans for 1,800 more jobs, electric vehicle at its LC plant

Ford Motor Co. announced in June that it planned a massive expansion at its Ohio Assembly Plant in Lorain County.

The plant, which resides in Avon Lake, Sheffield and Sheffield Lake, will receive $1.5 billion in investments for expansion and Ford expects to add 1,800 jobs at the plant, which would double its current workforce.

The Ohio Assembly Plant investment is just one portion of a national expansion plan from Ford, which is set to

invest $3.7 billion and create more than 6,000 jobs across Ohio, Michigan and Missouri.

The plant now produces medium-duty trucks and Super-Duty chassis cabs, but Ford announced that the expansion will include the capacity for producing an electric vehicle.

Other parts of the plan are still light on details as well, with Ford yet to announce in which towns the plant already covers the expansion will actually take place.

She also was adviser to the Oberlin Student Senate, which issued a proclamation in support of the protests that was posted on campus.

The protests fractured the 100-year-plus business relationship between the bakery and the college, and the bakery sued after its owners said the college interfered with its business, refused to apologize or to issue a statement saying the Gibsons and their bakery weren't racist.

Bakery co-owner David Gibson died in November 2019, and his father and co-owner, Allyn "Grandpa" Gibson, died in February. Raimondo now works at a university in Georgia.

Wellington water plant catches fire

WELLINGTON — Of all the places a fire could strike….

Flames tore through the Wellington water treatment facility at 23687 Pitts Road in late September, destroying office areas. They were contained before they could harm critical filtration equipment, though the machines were taken offline for a time.

“It could have been a lot worse. Thank God there’s no life lost,” said Mayor Hans Schneider in the aftermath.

No hazardous materials were exposed to the fire, for example. They are stored in another building on the property.

The fire started in the plant’s basement garage. According to Assistant Fire Chief Troy Pitts, and later confirmed by other village officials, the source was a village-owned vehicle that had been parked there and somehow ignited.

Clean-up costs had reached $250,000 by November and continue to climb. Village Manager Jonathan Greever said then, and again in December, that he was working with Wellington’s insurer to make sure those expenses are covered.

Temporary walls have been built inside the water plant to winterize it. No concrete plans for reconstruction have been approved, but Schneider made it clear his goal is to swiftly move to do so.

Since the fire, Oberlin city workers have been handling routine quality testing of Wellington’s water samples under a mutual aid agreement. Greever said it will be quite some time before that changes.

Oberlin College trustees end ‘Finney Compact’ from 1835

Professors protested in October, hoping to head off “sweeping and permanent changes” to Oberlin College’s bylaws — changes they said would cut faculty voices out of key decisions about the institution’s future.

“I want to be in the room and have a voice in discussions about laying off our custodians and our cafeteria workers,” said Cynthia Taylor, associate professor of computer science, speaking to a large crowd from the steps of Wilder Hall. “I want to have a voice in conversations about cutting the health care benefits and the pay of the people I work alongside.”

At stake was the “Finney Compact,” an agreement with college President Charles Finney in 1835. It assured faculty would have a hand in determining Oberlin’s strategy and growth.

Trustees voted to repeal the compact. According to professors, that limits their sway to decisions related solely to

curriculum. It removes them from decisions about student well-being, including health, as well as staffing, said Christina Neilsen, chair of art history and a member of the local American Association of University Professors chapter.

Julie Weir, president of the Oberlin College Office and Professional Employees union, said doing away with the Finney Compact was “nothing more than a power grab.”

Board of Trustees Vice Chair Lillie Edwards wrote in an op-ed published on campus that the change was aimed at countering “economic, administrative, regulatory, statutory and even political constraints that were unfamiliar decades ago.”

A lack of clarity in the bylaws “has hampered our ability to respond nimbly to extraordinary challenges (like a pandemic) and plan responsibly for the future,” she said.

The new addition on the Amherst Public Library was unveiled Monday when the library had their ribbon cutting event.

Kids collect bags to help the homeless

OBERLIN — Fifth-graders at Oberlin Elementary School helped collect plastic bags to be turned into “compassion carpets.”

Teacher Katie Schulz said the bags will be used by women of the First United Methodist Church, who crochet plastic mats for homeless people in Lorain County. Bags were collected both by students and via bag swaps at Oberlin IGA.

“Since last Earth Day, I can’t begin to tell you how this collection has grown and the lives it has touched,” said Oberlin Re-

Read to therapy dogs

cycling Coordinator Lori Sprosty. “I’m so pleased seeing how a simple act can make such a difference.”

Fifth-graders also talked to younger peers about the importance of recycling, collecting items and the compassion carpets.

“This project does wonders for all involved because it shows students how important it is to recycle, because they can actually see a final product and know that it is being used by those less fortunate,” Schulz said.

Canine reading buddies will be at the Amherst Public Library at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7 and 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17. Take along your favorite book or choose one from the library’s collection.

Adult winter reading

The Amherst Public Library’s adult winter reading program will run from Monday, Jan. 9 to Friday, Feb. 24.

Pick up a reading activity sheet at a first floor information desk and get started. Return your sheet for a small prize and entry into a grand prize drawing.

Amherst school board meeting

The annual organizational meeting of the Amherst Board of Education will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 9 at the Marion L. Steele High School Creative Learning Center, 450 Washington St., Amherst.

The board will elect a president and vice president, and conduct other business. The meeting is open to the public.

Amherst library meeting

The Amherst Public Library board will meet at 5:45 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 9 at the library. The meeting is open to the public.

Color your stress away

An adult coloring session will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 9 at the Amherst Public Library.

All supplies will be provided, along with a variety of coloring page options for all levels of skill, as well as tea and cocoa. This program is intended for ages 14 and up. Registration is required at www.amherstpubliclibrary.org or by calling (440) 988-4230.

Explore old census data

Lorain County in the 1950 Census: Insights and Discoveries” will be presented to the Lorain County chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 9 in a virtual meeting.

Genealogist Scott Norrick of ancestralpast.com will teach attendees how to discover the unique life of our ancestors’ communities. This online program is open to the public and free. Contact meetings@loraincoogs.org to be added to the list to receive a link to the meeting.

Herrick library meeting

The Herrick Memorial Library board will hold a 2023 organizational meeting at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 10 at the library in Wellington. It will be followed immediately by a regular meeting. Both are open to the public.

Get your game on

The new Tabletop Game Time club will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 10 at the Amherst Public Library.

Intended for ages 12 and up, it meets on the second Tuesday of each month. You do not need to have attended previous sessions to attend this one. A variety of 2-6 player card, strategy and party games will be available, including Catan, Bohnanza, Sagrada, Splendor, Azul, For Sale and more.

Ambulance district meeting

The South Lorain County Ambulance District board will hold its 2023 organizational meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 179 East Herrick Ave., Wellington. It will be followed by a

United Way recruiting tax season volunteers

United Way of Greater Lorain County is recruiting local volunteers to assist with free tax preparation services for area residents.

The Lorain County Free Tax Prep Coalition prepares and files federal and state tax returns at no cost to households earning less than $60,000 per year. In 2022, its tax preparers filed more than 1,500 federal tax returns, bringing more than $2.5 million to Greater Lorain County communities.

For the 2023 tax season, approximately 50 volunteers will be needed to serve as IRS certified tax preparers.

“We are excited to provide this vital service to our neighbors while ensuring the confidentiality and safety of our customers, volunteers, and staff,” said Christine Matusik-Plas, community impact director at United Way of Greater Lorain County. “This program is two-fold. Not only are we putting hard-earned dollars back into the pockets of local families,

but we are providing our volunteers the opportunity to gain essential knowledge about how tax law works to make a difference to others.”

No prior experience is necessary to become a tax preparation volunteer. The free IRS certified training will be conducted at United Way’s headquarters in downtown Lorain in January.

In addition to preparing and filing state and federal tax returns, certified volunteers also will have the opportunity to inform filers about eligible tax credits such as the federal Earned Income Tax Credit.

Retired financial professionals, collegeaged youth exploring careers in the finance industry and adults interested in helping their community are all excellent volunteers. Bilingual volunteers are especially needed for this upcoming tax season.

For more information, visit uwloraincounty.org/taxvolunteer or call (440) 277-6530.

Winning snow plow contest names revealed

AMHERST TWP. — “Plow Chicka Plow Wow.”

That’s the newly-named snowplow that will be stationed this winter at the Ohio Turnpike’s maintenance building on Oberlin Road.

Joshua Kerr of Hartville picked the moniker in the Turnpike’s second annual Name-a-Snowplow Contest, winning a $100 gift card.

Matthew Sanchez of Lorain was also a winner. He picked “The Big LePLOWski” as the name of the plow that will be station at the Turnpike’s Mahoning County maintenance building in Canfield.

Other winning snow plow names were Ctrl-Salt-Delete, Ohio Thaw Enforcement, The Blizzard of Oz, You’re Killin’ Me Squalls and Clearopathtra.

They’ll be stationed at maintenance

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regular meeting at 7 p.m. Both are open to the public.

Lewis book group

The C.S. Lewis and Friends Book Group will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 10 at the Amherst Public Library’s DeLloyd Room.

Readers will discuss Lewis’ book, “A Grief Observed.” For more information, contact Marcia Geary at (440) 988-9803 or mgeary@gearylawllc.com.

Republican candidates night

An Amherst Republican Candidates Night will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at the Amherst Public Library. Meet Republican candidates, ask questions and sign petitions.

Free NAMI course

The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Lorain County, in conjunction with Wesley United Methodist Church, will host a basic education course from 6-8 p.m. beginning Wednesday, Jan. 11 and consisting of six sessions through Feb. 15.

Free classes will be held at the church, 220 W. 7th St., Lorain. They are for parents, caregivers and other family who provide care for people ages 22 and younger who are experiencing mental health symptoms. The course is taught by a trained team with lived experience raising a child with a mental health condition.

To sign up, call (440) 240-7784 or email office@nami-lc.org.

Oberlin library meeting

The Oberlin Public Library board will meet at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 12 for its 2023 organizational meeting, followed by a regular meeting. Both will be held at the library and are open to the public.

Make ‘tiny art’

Registration for the Amherst Public Library’s Tiny Art Show will open at 11 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 13.

Using a provided kit, artists of all ages are invited to create a tiny work of art that will be displayed in the library. Each kit includes a 4-by-4 canvas, paint brush, palette and a selection of acrylic paints. Artists are also welcome to use their own supplies to create their mini masterpiece.

A limited number of kits will be available by registration. Registered artists will be able to pick up their kits beginning Friday, Jan. 20. Completed works should be returned to the library no later than Monday, Jan. 30 to be included in the art show.

The Tiny Art Show will be displayed in the library throughout the month of February. Artwork will be returned to artists the first week of March.

Get your fill of fish

A fish fry dinner will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14 at Pittsfield Community Church, 17026 State Route 58. The cost is $14. All are welcome.

bays along the 241-mile toll road.

More than 5,500 names were submitted in October and November. Fifty were chosen to go up for public vote.

The contest was fun, but is also used to put out a safety-first message.

“Motorists should take every precaution to avoid passing the snowplow trucks and allow extra space for the crews to clear the road. Don’t crowd the plow,” said Ferzan Ahmed, executive director of the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission. “The safest place to be on the road is behind a snowplow truck.”

More than 100 trucks are mobilized this winter to clear 1,395 miles of Turnpike lanes of snow and ice. They span 13 counties and 14 service plazas.

The entire length of the toll road can be cleared once per hour, according to Ahmed.

MLK Day ceremony

Oberlin’s “Rededication to the Dream” ceremony will be held at 12:15 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 16 via Zoom.

Join the Metro Central Unit of the NAACP for this annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day ceremony. The free event can be accessed at tinyurl.com/MLKRededication or via the Oberlin Heritage Center page on Facebook.

No registration is required. Support for this event is also provided by the Bonner Center at Oberlin College.

Wellington school board

The Wellington Board of Education will meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17 at the McCormick Middle School cafeteria. The meeting is open to the public.

Murder mystery auditions

Auditions for the Friends of the Lorain County Metro Parks’ annual murder mystery will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17 at the Carlisle Visitors Center, 12822 Diagonal Rd., Carlisle Township.

No experience is necessary. Auditions will involve a cold reading from the script. Show dates will be April 28 and 29 and April 6 and 7, with a matinee on Sunday, May 8.

For more information, call (216) 544-3865.

Scanning Saturdays

The Oberlin Heritage Center will hold “Scanning Saturdays” from 10:30 a.m. to noon and 1-4 p.m. on Jan. 21 and 28 at the Oberlin Public Library.

Do you want a high-quality digital copy of your grandmother's high school graduation photo? Or maybe of a snapshot of your uncle when he was in the service? Or a slide from that memorable vacation?

The Heritage Center can help you preserve and share your photographs. Collections Manager Maren McKee can also share ideas for storing and labeling your photo collection. Participants are asked to take a flash drive to take copies home.

Appointments for this free service to scan up to 10 items are not required but are highly recommended. Make an appointment by contacting Maren at history@oberlinheritage.org or (440) 774-1700.

OHC is also looking to expand its collection of Oberlin images from the recent past. If you have photos that document community events, church history, neighborhoods, families and businesses from the 1960s on, consider making an appointment during Scanning Saturdays.

Metro Parks fundraiser

The annual Friends of the Lorain County Metro Parks Winter Indoor Rummage Sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28 and Sunday, Jan. 29 at Henry’s Barn, 46223 U.S. Route 20, Oberlin.

Donate household items in a drive-up drop-off format from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 22; 1-7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 23; and 4-7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 25. No clothing, shoes, large furniture, Christmas trees or electronics.

All proceeds benefit the county park system.

Democrat club meeting

The Avon Democratic Club will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9 at the Avon Senior Center, 36786 Detroit Rd.

Discussions will involve 2023 and 2024 elections and Democratic candidates.

Jeff Barnes | Wellington Enterprise

The Builders Club of McCormick Middle School in Wellington volunteered some time to spend with the residents at the Sprenger Health Care Elms Retirement Village on Wednesday, Dec. 21. They enjoyed crafts along with cookies and drinks. Club members also received a check for $250 from the Ohio District of Kiwanis Foundation to forward to Haven Center Homeless Shelter. The money will be used to further efforts to help displaced Lorain County residents.

The visiting Phoenix jumped out to an early 15-12 lead after the first quarter in LaGrange, but from there it was Keystone’s game. The hosts ran off 10 straight points to start the second quarter and never looked back as they headed to the locker room up 27-22. The Wildcats appeared much sharper in their return from the holiday break. Some uneven play led to multiple turnovers for the Phoenix and doomed any serious attempts to come back late in the game, giving Keystone a 69-51 victory. ABOVE: Oberlin's Omario Hopkins drives to the hole in second half action.

FIVE GOALS FOR CIURA

Jeff Barnes | Amherst News-Times Amherst’s Gavyn Cumberledge looks for an open teammate during the Parma Holiday Tournament on Thursday, Dec. 28. The Comets rallied for six goals in the second period, on the way to a 10-2 avalanche win over Avon at the Michael A. Ries Ice Arena. Nick Ciura opened the scoring for Amherst, then ripped four more into the back of the net while Vinney Kelley and Gage Cohoon each put two past Eagles goalie Olivia Vanuch. Zach Owens had the icing-on-the-cake goal in the third period. Amherst goalie Maguire Mihalek had 10 saves.

HOLD ON TO THE BALL

Jeff Barnes | Amherst News-Times

Jim Aunspaw of Firelands looks for an opening to pass as Brandon Bulatovich and Eddie McTear of Valley Forge apply pressure on Friday, Dec. 30. Turnovers plagued the Falcons, leading to a 60-57 non-conference loss on their home turf. Nico Gotsis led the Firelands boys with 14 points, while Aunspaw had 12 and Christopher Radman put up 10.

Photos by Erik Andrews | Oberlin News-Tribune