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AMHERST NEWS-TIMES • OBERLIN NEWS-TRIBUNE • WELLINGTON ENTERPRISE Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022
Second try for bed tax on the ballot
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Volume 9, Issue 6
Halftime surprise
DAVE O’BRIEN THE CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM
ELYRIA — Lorain County commissioners are taking a second crack at putting a 3 percent hotel bed tax on the ballot in an attempt to raise money to create a county convention board and convention center to attract business gatherings and trade shows. Commissioners voted unanimously last week to place the tax on the May primary ballot, coming in just under the deadline to do so. The tax is designed to raise at least $700,000 annually. Lorain County already collects a 3 percent bed tax on hotel guests to raise funds for the Lorain County Visitors Bureau. That tax typically raises between $600,000 and $700,000 annually. Moore said putting the tax on the ballot is another opportunity to bring it to the public to vote on it. He said the board plans to create an 11-member, bipartisan convention board in the coming week. State law guarantees commissioners, local mayors and the county's David Moore largest city have a say in who is appointed to the board, and also demands their political party allegiance be split. Voters previously defeated the bed tax, labeled Issue 4 in the November election, by nearly 2 to 1. The board "could talk all day about why it didn't pass" the first time, said Moore, who said he is Matt Lundy "an anti-tax guy." As "an anti-tax guy," Moore said he likes the proposed bed tax because it will be mostly Lorain County visitors who pay it, not residents. "It's sufficient enough money to cover, let's say, a convention center and an amphitheater. It's sufficient enough to hire employees and managers to get us into the rotation for trade shows. It's a huge economic boon, but the public didn't really know what was going on last year and that was our fault. I'll say my fault," he said. Putting the matter on the ballot for May gives the county time to educate the public on the pros and cons of the tax, Moore said. BED TAX PAGE A3
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Kristin Bauer | Oberlin News-Tribune
Olivia, Cecelia, Violet and Ruth Howells rush over to hug her mother, Air Force 1st Sgt. Brooke Howells as she surprises them and husband Patrick during halftime at the Firelands boys' basketball game against Midview last week.
USAF Sergeant reunites with family at Firelands HS JASON HAWK EDITOR
HENRIETTA TWP. — Tears welled in 1st Sgt. Brooke Howells’ eyes the night of Tuesday, Feb. 1 as she sat in the Falcons girls locker room at Firelands High School, trying desperately to hold herself together. After seven months deployed in
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going to see my mascara running all over the place.” Sitting in the bleachers, watching the Falcons varsity boys take a beating from Midview, were her two sets of twins — Firelands sixth-graders Cecelia and Violet and ninth-graders Olivia and Ruth — along with her husband Patrick, who is retired from the Air Force. SURPRISE PAGE A3
Get ready for ‘blizzard babies’ JASON HAWK EDITOR
The snow flew, the temperature dropped, the fireplaces came on and the blankets came out. Things maybe got a little sexy. For many couples who stripped down and snuggled up to weather Winter Storm Landon in the most fun way possible, the predictable results will roll around in about nine and a half months. “Usually we’ll see a big spike in deliveries around September, August, and you can usually look back and know there was a snow storm,” said Erin Henry, obstetrics manager at Mercy Health Lorain Hospital. She said that after a big
Kristin Bauer | Community Guide Benjamin Studer, 7, of Huron, sleds down the trusty old sledding hill at Mill Hollow in Vermilion on Friday afternoon. Studer moved to Ohio from Louisiana recently and is enjoying his first snow. snowstorm — not the mediocre accumulations that marked the past five years or so, but a real heavyhitter — the maternity ward will eventually see a
15 percent “blizzard baby” bump. Lorain County Health Commissioner Mark Adams backed that data. “Those are true events,”
he said, looking through Centers for Disease Control statistics about national birth rates. BABIES PAGE A3
INSIDE THIS WEEK
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the Middle East nation of Qatar, where she oversaw the health and morale of Air Force enlisted troops, she was home. And she was ready to spring the surprise of a lifetime on her family, who had no idea she was hiding just a half-court away. “I’m trying to control my emotions,” Howells said, biting her lip and rocking on her heels. “But I’m going to cry when I see them. You’re
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OBITUARIES A2 • CLASSIFIEDS A4 • SUDOKU A5 • CROSSWORD B2 • KID SCOOP B6
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Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022
Lorain County Community Guide
African American music minor will be offered at college and conservatory Oberlin College and Conservatory will offer an interdisciplinary minor in African American music starting this fall. To earn the minor, students must complete 20 credit hours of related course material, including three required courses: Introduction to African American Music I and II in the Conservatory, and Introduction to Africana Studies at the college. Remaining credits may be earned by looking at the subject from any number of perspectives, with courses such as Gospel Chorus, Ethnomusicology as Activism or Beginning Hip Hop Dance. "In many regards, this program formalizes and recognizes pathways of study long pursued by students in these areas, and lines of scholarly and creative inquiry of interest to faculty and staff throughout campus,” said Dean of the Conservatory William Quillen. “We are delighted to create this program in partnership with our colleagues in the college, and we look forward to the intellectual and artistic explorations it helps inspire.” The new offering is one of numerous initiatives underway to expand the study of African American music, the college said in an announcement. They include the appointment of a new tenure-track professor in African American and African diasporic music, and an additional faculty member for the study of jazz history.
OBITUARIES Cynthia L. (Hines) Czernec Cynthia L. (Hines) Czernec, 65, of Oberlin, passed away Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, at Mercy Lorain Hospital. Born in Lodi on Oct. 22, 1956, to Larry and Bernice (nee Ellis) Hines, Cyndi grew up in Wellington. She graduated with the Wellington High School Class of 1975. She graduated from Myers University in 2002 with a BS in Business Administration. She recently retired from the Murray Ridge Center, where she was a Production Manager. Cyndi had a special place in her heart for everyone at Murray Ridge and loved taking clients on outings to baseball games and movies. Highly active in pet rescue, Cyndi cared deeply about finding new homes for dogs, even saving several by welcoming them into her own home. She will be remembered as a kind, loving, beautiful person who was patient and extremely generous with her time and gifts. Cyndi is survived by her loving husband of 22 years, Christopher; son, Ryan Carmichael of Oberlin; grandson, Ethan Carmichael of Oberlin; mother, Bernice Schaefer of Elyria; brothers, Eric Hines of Elyria and Russ Hines of Arlington, Texas; sister, Diane Yeager of Wellington and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her father, Larry Hines. Her family will hold a private service and a celebration of life will be announced at a later date. To honor Cyndi's memory, her family suggests a donation to your local animal rescue shelter or to www. animalrescuesite.greatergood.com, which she supported throughout her life. Arrangements were entrusted to Norton-Eastman Funeral Home where condolences and fond memories may be shared online at www.norton-eastmanfuneralhome.com. TIMOTHY LASSEN, 66, of Vermilion, passed away Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022, at Mercy Regional Medical Center following a brief illness. Hempel Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. AARON M. GAYHEART JR., 26, of Wellington, passed away Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022, at the Cleveland Clinic following a brief illness. Hempel Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.
Amherst’s five-year sidewalk repair effort to wrap up with $300K push JASON HAWK EDITOR
AMHERST — Up to $300,000 in repairs for sidewalks that are upheaved, cracked or crumbling will be ordered this summer on the city’s north side. Following a 6-0 City Council vote in January, the owners of 547 parcels along Route 58, Cooper Foster Park Road, Lake Street, the Apple Orchard subdivision and other neighborhoods will be notified that they must correct sidewalk problems. Councilman Chuck Winiarski, R-At Large, said an estimated 52,000 square feet of walkway have been flagged for repair or replacement this year. The push will bring to a close a five-year effort by Council to rid Amherst sidewalks of
dangers such as tripping hazards and barriers to wheelchair use. Work started in 2018 in the center of the city, including its historic downtown district. That year, the owners of 402 parcels were required to fix about 50,000 square feet of walks — either on their own or via a cityhired concrete contractor, with the cost going to tax bills. The program continued in 2019, but was put on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Amherst played catchup last year, addressing all problems that had been sighted south of the Norfolk South Railroad tracks that bisect town. The 2022 sidewalk program targets many of Amherst’s newest developments, which Councilman Martin Heberling, D-At Large, called “probably the most aggravating thing for me to
see.” The city will pay for related repairs to crosswalks, handicap access ramps and other pedestrian paths that are not on private property, said Mayor Mark Costilow. Anyone who is not required to replace their sidewalk but still wishes to do so are eligible to use the city’s negotiated pricing, said Councilman Brian Dembinski, D-Ward 1. For details, call the Amherst Building Department at (440) 988-3734. The city is preparing to bid out the sidewalk work, Costilow said. There are no firm details about when certified letters will go out to affected home and business owners, when work will commence or whether sidewalk repairs will be complete when students return to school this fall. Council President Jennifer Wasilk is already
turning her attention to roads where there are no existing sidewalks. She said Council should ensure every street with a speed limit of 35 mph or higher has walkways on at least one side. “Sidewalks help connect people in the community, give you a much better sense of the community and they make it safer for people to get out and walk around,” she said in a prior interview. Wasilk acknowledged that mandating sidewalk installation could be unpopular, a reservation echoed by Costilow. “That’s a whole lot tougher situation than repairing sidewalks that are already in existence,” he said. “It’s going to be a tough sell.” If Council wants to pursue Wasilk’s vision, it needs to steel itself for angry and loud objections, he said.
As COVID-19 hospitalizations decline, medical leaders describe new challenges DYLAN REYNOLDS THE CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM
As the number of COVID-19 patients in local hospitals continues to decline, officials from area hospitals shared their perspectives last week about what comes next. At a meeting of the Lorain County Community Protection Team, one topic of discussion were the challenges that are emerging in health care at this point of the pandemic. “I think as a community and as a society, it is now going to be, ‘How do we assist our children and deal with the mental health burden as a result of the pandemic? How do we deal with the workforce issues that we have at hand across our hospitals?’” said Dr. Rebecca Starck, president of the Cleveland Clinic Avon Hospital. The Clinic’s workforce has been challenged, Starck said, with caregivers becoming exhausted from
the effects of working with such sick patients for so long. In some cases, she said health care workers have experienced patients “who aren’t necessarily appreciative of the work that is being provided and the care that is being provided.” The peak of the omicron variant surge hit Northeast Ohio hospitals at the beginning of the year, but other parts of Ohio and many states are still peaking, Starck said. “The long-term effects are real and that is where we have to focus our attentions,” she said. Char Wray, chief nursing officer of Mercy Health Lorain, said a shortage of blood is another issue affecting health care today. “Every day we report out how much blood is available. What we’ve seen across the nation, and it’s not unique to Northeast Ohio, is a national shortage. Blood drives have not been occurring, people have not been donating blood. They are struggling with
the same staffing constraints that we are all struggling with.” She suggested that people who are interested could consider donating blood. Though the number of patients in the hospitals are declining, the medical officials said there are still sick coronavirus patients in their facilities. Wray said the plummeting numbers of COVID-positive patients does not mean “critical care still isn’t overwhelmed with incredibly, incredibly critically ill patients.” “That, unfortunately, will linger on for several more weeks,” she said, adding that while there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel, diligence is still needed. The Community Protection Team is a group of local officials in the public health, medical, government and social services fields who meet biweekly to discuss the state of the COVID-19 pandemic in Lorain County.
Free STD testing clinic to be held at LCCC Testing for HIV and other sexually-transmitted diseases will be offered in a free walk-in clinic from 1-6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at Lorain County Community College’s College Center Commons, 1005 Abbe Road North, Elyria. The event will include
confidential, free testing as well as free food and performances by local poets and musicians. “It’s important to learn your HIV status so you can discuss a treatment option with your doctor and talk with your partner,” said Lorain County Health Commissioner Mark
Adams. HIV is an infection that may lead to AIDS if not treated. There is no cure for HIV or AIDS, but there are treatment options to help people live longer, healthier lives. Partners supporting this event include MetroHealth, Planned Par-
enthood Lorain Health Center, Family Planning Services of Lorain County, Lorain County Public Health and the National Council of Negro Women. For more information, contact NCNW President Regan Phillips at (440) 452-8690 or lorainncnw@ gmail.com.
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SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD ON PAGE B2
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Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022
Lorain County Community Guide
NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY AT WHS
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BED TAX FROM A1
Commissioner Matt Lundy said the fall ballot is crowded with statewide races and that the county will have an easier time getting the message of the tax through in May than in November. "Unless you put your head down in a hotel room in Lorain County, you're not going to be paying the bed tax," he said. As for the proposed convention center, Lundy said he's not talking about building something to rival the 2.2 million-square-foot International Exposition Center in Cleveland or "some elaborate Taj Mahal." He said he wants something "that's functional, not flashy," as well as "efficient" and "effective" for large crowds and events that now have to look outside the county to find adequate space. Such a building also could serve as an emergency shelter during storms or other weather emergencies, Lundy said.
Provided photo
Congratulations to the 21 Wellington High School students who were recently inducted into the National Honor Society: Dustin Andolsek, McKenna Chappell, Hope Dudziak, Maya Feron, Scott Hook, Kennedy Jerousek, Jacob Knapp, Jaclyn Krakomperger, Taylor Morris, Marshal Mull, Lily Oswald, Sophia Palmison, Alexandria Peck, Heather Reininger, McKenna Soboslai, McKenna Solkiewicz, Miranda Sorg, Joyce Stallard, Jillian Stannard, Jessie Teter and Isabella Watters.
New waterborne paint system at JVS PITTSFIELD TWP. — Lorain County JVS collision repair students are getting ahead of the game in their career tech field thanks to NAPA Auto Parts in Elyria. Store owner Rich Farmer helped get a new waterborne paint system installed in the collision repair career lab at the Route 58 vocational school. “When I visited the program and learned of their need, I worked with my suppliers to provide the collision repair program with the latest and greatest waterborne paint program there is,” said Farmer, a product of the school himself. According to Farmer, this system is so new that many body shops don’t have the technology yet, so the students at the Lorain County JVS are ahead of the game. The waterborne paint system has scales and computers for measuring, and shows students how to mix the paint perfectly so there is minimal waste, he explained. “Being a waterborne product, it is much better for the environment than the former chemical base system, said Farmer. “Now you have ease of disposal, ease of cleaning up, safety with not having to breathe in any chemicals, so it is a pretty cool product.” Juniors and seniors learned the computer and mixing systems, how to prepare a panel to get it ready to be sprayed, how to put a sealer down to get it to bond to the panel and then apply the final finish coat. Provided photo “I’ve been wanting to get a more modern paint system Junior Caleb Hammonds sprays a sample panel into my program,” said JVS instructor Lonnie Higey. “I’m with a new waterborne paint system at the Lorain thankful to NAPA for making this happen.” County JVS.
SURPRISE FROM A1
To the best of their knowledge, Mom wasn’t due home for another month. But Brooke, who in civilian life works for the Firelands transportation department, had recruited the school district’s help to hoodwink the gang. The stateside Howells were told they would be honored at halftime as a Purple Star family in a show of patriotic support. That made sense, coming from Firelands, which has been designated a Purple Star District by the Ohio Department of Education for its support of students and families connected to the military. So when the buzzer sounded, the Howells were ushered onto the hardwood with white flowers in hand to be recognized — and gasped when Brooke walked onto the floor in her fatigues. Olivia dropped her flowers and flew into her mother’s arms first, the rest of the Howells a half-step behind.
The homecoming sent basketball fans, Falcons and Middies alike, to their feet in a storm of cheers. Finally, slowly, reluctantly untangling arms, the Howells were whisked out of the gymnasium and into a private room to laugh and cry away from the crowd. Firelands High School Principal Catherine Keener said she was thrilled to be part of the reunion. “They are just a really hardworking, fantastic group of people,” she said of the Howells. “Brooke emoboddies what we would all want our kids to look up to.” The evening’s subterfuge had taken some military-grade spy work. Brooke said she’d been keeping touch with her kids via video chat while overseas, and they’d been tracking her movements and she’d slyly disabled the “find my phone app” that allowed them to do so. Upon landing in Dayton on Sat-
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urday night, she was required to go through military protocols for returning from deployment. Brooke had managed to keep her whereabouts secret for four days. She drove back to Lorain County Tuesday and laid low, ready to spring the incredible surprise on her loved ones. “I’m just looking forward to having meals with my family, being able to go into the kitchen and cook,” she’d said while waiting in the locker room. Cooking is a family tradition in the Howells household, and pasta is a favorite. Brooke said she wanted nothing more than to stand over the stove making pasta with Brussels sprouts, chicken, bacon and a cream sauce, then kick back on the couch to binge-watch “Survivor” together.02: Air Force 1st Sgt. Brooke Howells hugs her husband, Patrick, who is retired from the Air Force and was last deployed in 2003.
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BABIES FROM A1
Since August is time and again the busiest for births, that makes December the month when folks are getting busy the most, he said. That might have something to do with the holidays as well, Adams admitted, but in general the August-to-October frenzy at hospitals correlates back to the late-December to February frenzy in the bedroom. There’s also a clear curve related to the period between Martin Luther King Jr. Day and President’s Day, when winter storms tend to be more severe, he said. With regard to Landon, the question is one of intensity, according to Adams. Road closures can have an effect on these mini-baby booms, but “I don’t think it got that bad,” he said. Some neighboring counties — Erie and Huron — issued Level 3 snow emergencies, effectively closing roads. After going with a low-level warning about driving conditions for most of the storm, the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office eventually ratchet up to Level 2, telling people to stay off the roads unless travel was absolutely necessary. Power outages can also do the trick, said both Adams and Henry. Cuyahoga County had about 3,000 people without power for a couple of hours during the storm, but Lorain County escaped similar issues. The “blizzard baby” idea was popularized in the Northeast blackout of 1965, when more than 30 million people in New England and Canada were left without power for up to 13 hours. But they weren’t left without anything to do. They made the most of that time in the dark, wink wink. Ever since, widespread weather events like the Blizzard of 1978, the Great Ice Storm of 1998 or Superstorm Sandy in 2012 have been followed by baby boom speculations. Yet just how potent the “blizzard baby” phenomenon is has been the subject of some scientific debate. There’s a lot of anecdotal evidence for crowded maternity wards just the right amount of time after the worst winter months. But actual studies haven’t too conclusively linked “baby, it’s cold outside” to a later “my water just broke.” One 2007 study published in the Journal of Population Economics was able to draw a dotted line between lower-severity hurricanes and birth rates. It said the data showed the worse a storm gets, the less likely people are to, ahem, get jiggy with it. “We also find that most of the changes in fertility resulting from storm advisories come from couples who have had at least one child already,” its authors wrote. Henry, whose career has included seven years at Mercy in Lorain and before that 12 as a nurse at University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center, shared her opinion of any study that doesn’t validate a poststorm wave of births. “They’re definitely wrong. We notice it for sure,” she said. Mercy has already seen a tremendous surge in births — a 21 percent jump in 2021 — which Henry said is the direct result of UH closing its Elyria birthing center. The more the merrier, she said: “I’m hoping for lots of babies.”
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Lorain County Board of Elections looking for poll workers in 2022 DAVE O’BRIEN THE CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM
The Lorain County Board of Elections is encouraging prospective poll workers to sign up and help ensure elections run smoothly. To open the polls in Lorain County, nearly 1,100 workers are needed each election day. Poll workers are paid a minimum of $150, including for training, for working at a polling location on an election day. Workers also are needed to help set up the polling locations the day before each election, elections Director Paul Adams said. There have been problems in the recent past recruiting enough poll workers.
"It's not just working on Election Day. Approximately 100 help on the day before the election, help set up polling locations, get equipment delivered, set up for poll workers when they arrive on Election Day," Adams said. "When you take into consideration all the people helping us the day before, the evening of, moving bags around and collection supplies on election night, you're dealing with well over 1,000 people." The Lorain County Board of Elections is providing poll worker informational Zoom meetings to learn more about the opportunities to participate. To participate, visit VoteLorainCountyOhio.gov and sign up for one of two informational Zoom meetings on either Feb. 17 or Feb. 22. There is
an orange button visitors may click to sign up, Adams said. The informational sessions give prospective poll workers a chance to see what positions exist and "what might be the best fit for you," Adams said. Some possible recruits may also figure out that staffing the polls isn't right for them, but find another spot among the work force that is the right fit, he said. The 2022 primary election is May 3. The 2022 general election will take place on Nov. 8. Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. each day. The elections board "would like to take this time to give a big 'Thank You' to the hundreds of dedicated poll workers that have worked faithfully over the years to ensure that our elections run efficiently," it announced.
54th annual LC Scholastic Art Exhibit JOHN BENSON CORRESPONDENT
ELYRIA — After a year in which it seemed like the entire world went virtual, it’s nice to have in-person events, albeit safe with masks, returning to the calendar. This includes the 54th annual Lorain County Region Scholastic Art Exhibit, which is open now through March 11 at Lorain County Community College’s Beth K. Stocker Art Gallery. “We have 512 pieces that came out of more than 1,200 pieces submitted,” Stocker Arts Center Operations Coordinator Beth Bryan said. “This year's exhibit is exploding with color, humor, psychedelia and whimsy. Heavy topics are covered as well but the colors and mediums chosen all deftly use skill and great precision. The overall vibe is upbeat." It’s no surprise to hear the students, who over the past two years had to overcome many obstacles associated
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“Comparison Destroys Personality” by Sarah Walton, junior at North Ridgeville High School. with going to school during a pandemic, parlayed their often-trying experiences into uplifting pieces of art. The exhibit draws from public, parochial and private middle, high schools and home-schoolers (ages 12 to 18) from Lorain, Erie and Huron counties. Categories include architecture, ceramics, glass, comic art, design, digital, drawing, illustration, editorial cartoon, fashion
design, jewelry, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, video game design and senior portfolio. “Last year we did a virtual exhibit,” Bryan said. “We didn’t do in-person at all. We created a video with gallery-like rooms, exhibition-like spaces and put those up online. We also posted photos of all of the artworks on our Facebook page. It actually went over
really well. “Now we’re very much excited to get back to inperson. One of the things about seeing the works just in photo format is that you can’t see how large it is, you don’t get to see the texture. You can only kind of guess. Although we try to provide as much detailed information as possible, it’s just simply not like seeing the real thing, which is always more impressive.” “We’ve outgrown the former space we used to have the Gold Key ceremonies so we moved it to the Hoke Theatre,” Bryan said. “This way it’ll be more formal but also more rewarding for the students to get to sit up on stage, hear from the speakers and get their awards. Also, their families can watch from the audience. That’s free and open to public.” All students, employees and visitors are required to wear masks inside all buildings on the LCCC campus including the Beth K. Stocker Art Gallery, regardless of vaccination status.
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LEGALS NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS Please be advised that Lorain City Council will host a public hearing on Monday, March 14, 2022 in the Lorain City Council Chamber at 200 West Erie Ave., Lorain, Ohio. The hearing will commence at 5:45 p.m. to discuss the following item: ZCA 1-2022 - An application to rezone PPN: 02-01-006-131004 @ 1154 West 17th Street from B-2 to R-3. William Arnold is the applicant. The Lorain City Planning Commission met on February 2, 2022 and recommended approval of the item above to
Lorain City Council. Copies of all documentation related to this proposal will be on file for public inspection in the Office of the Clerk of Council, 200 West Erie Avenue, Lorain, Ohio. Please contact Nancy_Greer@cityoflorain.org for additional information. NANCY GREER, CMC L.C.C.G. 2/10-17/22 20697285 ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS CITY OF LORAIN, OHIO LOCAL ROADWAY REHABILITATION PROJECT OHIO PUBLIC WORKS COMMISSION ROUND 35 CONTRACT A OXFORD DR, RITA DR, AND ASHLAND AVE ROADWAY REHABILITATION Sealed bids will be received by the Engineering Department of the City of Lorain, Ohio until: TIME AND PLACE FOR RECEIVING BIDS: UNTIL - 11:00 AM, Friday, February 18, 2022 Lorain time, Engineering
Department, Lorain City Hall 4th Floor. TIME AND PLACE FOR OPENING BIDS: 11:15 AM, Lorain time, City of Lorain Council Chambers, Lorain City Hall 1st Floor. COMPLETION DATE: September 15, 2022 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 perfor-
mance 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 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 the Engineering Department, 200 West Erie Avenue, Lorain, Ohio, 44052 between the hours of 8:30 AM and 4:30PM Monday thru Friday. Electronic packages may be secured, via email Joseph_ Pritchard@cityoflorain.org or the city website, 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 L.C.C.G. 2/3-10/22 20696502 ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS CITY OF LORAIN, OHIO LOCAL ROADWAY REHABILITATION PROJECT OHIO PUBLIC WORKS COMMISSION ROUND 35 CONTRACT B MISSOURI AVE, ELYRIA AVE, AND LAKEVIEW AVE ROADWAY REHABILITATION Sealed bids will be received by the Engineering Department of the City of Lorain, Ohio until: TIME AND PLACE FOR RECEIVING BIDS: UNTIL - 11:00 AM, Friday, February 18, 2022 Lorain time, Engineering Department, Lorain City Hall 4th Floor. TIME AND PLACE FOR OPENING BIDS: 11:45 AM, Lorain time, City of Lorain Council Chambers, Lorain City Hall 1st Floor. COMPLETION DATE: September 15, 2022 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 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 the Engineering Department, 200 West Erie Avenue, Lorain, Ohio, 44052 between the hours of 8:30 AM and 4:30PM Monday thru Friday. Electronic packages may be secured, via email Joseph_ Pritchard@cityoflorain.org or the city website, 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 L.C.C.G. 2/3-10/22 20696497 ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS CITY OF LORAIN, OHIO 2022 UTILITIES DEPARTMENT PURCHASE OF STONE AND CONCRETE Sealed bids will be received by the Utilities Department of the City of Lorain, Ohio until: TIME AND PLACE FOR
RECEIVING BIDS: UNTIL - 9:45 AM EST, Friday, February 18, 2022, Utilities Department, 1106 First Street 44052. TIME AND PLACE FOR OPENING BIDS: 10:00 AM EST, Friday, February 18, 2022, City of Lorain Council Chambers, Lorain City Hall 1st Floor. Enter into contracts for the purchase of stone and concrete used by the Utilities Department. All in accordance with specifications now on file at the Law Department. 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. The bid check/bond should be enclosed in the sealed bid, but in a separate envelope clearly marked ‘BID CHECK/BOND’ with the bidders name & address on the bid check/ bond envelope. Each bidder must ensure that all employees and applicants for employment are not discriminated against because of their race, creed, color, handicap, sex or national origin. All bidders must comply with the provisions of the American with Disabilities Act. Bidders shall be required to comply with all Federal and State laws and regulations concerning these matters. Bid blanks and specifications may be secured at www. cityoflorain.org or at the Law Department, 200 West Erie Avenue, Lorain, Ohio, 44052 between the hours of 8:30 AM and 4:30PM Monday through Friday. Bidders are required to use the printed form which will be available upon application. The Director of Public Safety/ Service reserves the right to make separate or combination awards and to accept or reject any or all bids and to waive any informalities in the bids received. By order of the Director of Public Safety/Service. L.C.C.G. 2/3-10/22 20696693
Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022
Cooking classes for all ages ELYRIA — Lorain County Community College is offering non-credit cooking classes for both adults and children. All adult courses run from 6-9 p.m. and kids’ classes run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., all in the LCCC Culinary Institute’s kitchens. One adult can attend each child’s course for free. To register, visit www.lorainccc.edu/ cookingclasses. Adult courses offered include: • “Oysters Are for Lovers” on Friday, Feb. 11 • “Work with Us” on Friday, Feb. 18 • “Down on the Bayou” on Friday, Feb. 25 • “Tasty Tapas” on Friday, March 11 • “Sage and Seed Presents: South America” on Friday, March 25 • “The Butchers Grind” on Friday, April 8 Children’s courses include: • “The Mac and The Cheese” on Saturday, Feb. 19 • “The Whole Enchilada” on Saturday, March 12 • “Smashburgers” on Saturday, March 26 • “Stir-Fried” on Saturday, April 23 • “Frosted” on Saturday, May 7
LCPH looks to give $100,000 Lorain County Public Health is seeking applicants for its Healthy Places grants. The agency aims to fund $100,000 in projects that will build healthier communities and make a longlasting impact for health. Any nonprofit, government agency or community organization that serves Lorain County can apply at www.loraincountyhealth.com/ healthygrants for up to $25,000. The deadline to apply is March 1. “LCPH recognizes that often it’s the boots on the ground that have the best ideas for improving the health of the community,” said county Health Commissioner Mark Adams. “We especially encourage small nonprofits to apply, particularly if they’ve never been awarded a Healthy Places Grant before.” Proposed projects should change the physical landscape to improve health in a public space. Examples include walking trails, bike racks, lighting, community art, community gardens and urban farms. LCPH staff offer technical assistance both through the application process and during project implementation. LCPH will notify awardees on March 14. All grant projects must be completed by Dec. 31.
Learn about Prussian records The Lorain County chapter of the Ohio Genealogy Society will meet online at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 14. Stephen Wendt, a professional genealogist, and librarian will present “Hitting the Prussian Genealogy Jackpot: Beyond Church Records.” Sometimes church records are not enough to make further progress with Prussian family research. Gain a better understanding of other types of records with this Prussian case study. This virtual program is open to both members and the public. To take part, contact meetings@loraincoogs. org to be added to the invitation list and to receive the online link.
Learn about Black soldiers Join Adrienne Sato for a Black History Month program about the creation of a new self-guided tour highlighting African American Civil War soldiers memorialized in Westwood Cemetery, Oberlin. The Oberlin Heritage Center presentation will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 22 via Zoom. Sato is a second-year Oberlin College student from Louisville, Kentucky, and an intern at the Heritage Center. She will discuss her year-long work researching the formation of African American Union regiments and the individuals who answered the call, as well as provide biographical narratives of a few of these men. The program is free. Pre-registration is required at www.tinyurl.com/OberlinWestwood.
Wellington school board meetings for 2022 The Wellington Board of Education has released its calendar for this year’s meetings. All are held at 6 p.m.: • Tuesday, Feb. 15 at Wellington High School • Tuesday, March 1 at Westwood • Tuesday, March 15 at Westwood • Tuesday, April 5 at Westwood • Tuesday, April 19 at McCormick Middle School • Tuesday, May 3 at Westwood • Tuesday, May 17 at WHS • Tuesday, June 7 at Westwood • Tuesday, June 28 at Westwood • Tuesday, July 5 at Westwood • Tuesday, July 19 at Westwood • Tuesday, Aug. 16 at Westwood • Tuesday, Sept. 6 at Westwood • Tuesday, Sept. 20 at McCormick • Tuesday, Oct. 4 at Westwood • Tuesday, Oct. 18 at WHS • Tuesday, Nov. 1 at Westwood • Tuesday, Nov. 15 at Westwood • Tuesday, Dec. 6 at Westwood • Tuesday, Dec. 20 at McCormick
$10,000 in STEM grants SULLIVAN — Black River Elementary and Black River High School will each be awarded $5,000 to expand science, technology, engineering and math learning projects through the Ohio STEM Learning Network Classroom Grant Program, funded by Battelle. In total,151 classrooms across 55 Ohio counties join Black River in winning grants. The elementary school will use the funds to teach children about energy-efficient vehicles. Grant funding will allow Black River High School students to study biomedical science. “This program will create connections with other schools throughout Ohio and provide countless new STEM opportunities for our students,” said Principal Tracey Lambdin.
Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022
Lorain County Community Guide
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Two Powers teachers in running for 2022 LifeChanger of the Year JASON HAWK EDITOR
AMHERST — Deanna Walther and Jackie Fink, both teachers at Powers Elementary School, are in the running for the title of LifeChanger of the Year and up to $10,000 in cash prizes. The LifeChanger program recognizes outstanding public school educators who make a difference in students’ lives. Walther and Fink fit that bill, said Principal Brian Teppner. “Not only are they exemplary teachers who really differentiate instruction for their kids, they’re just excellent examples of the quality of education we provide here at Powers,” he said. Both build great relationships with kids and are humble, never looking
Jackie Deanna Fink Walther for praise. “That’s not why they do the work that they do,” Teppner said. The duo was nominated by their colleague, Amherst literacy coach Erica Kaufmann. Walther, who teaches second grade, is credited for going above and beyond to improve her own skills, collaborate with others and communicate with parents. “She stands out among staff be-
New Russia meeting
A work session to discuss upcoming projects will be held by the New Russia Township trustees at 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 14 at the township offices, 46300 Butternut Ridge Rd. The meeting is open to the public.
Take the 1,000,000 steps
The Lorain County Metro Parks are challenging teams of four to take the 1,000,000 Step Challenge during March. Registration is open from Feb. 14-28 at Splash Zone in Oberlin. Your team can work toward its million-step goal anywhere throughout the month, but steps must be recorded at Splash Zone. A log book will be located at the front desk.
‘Brown Crayon’ author visits
Michael G. Williams, author of “The Brown Crayon,” will visit Oberlin for a public book signing and community gathering at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 17. It will be held at 6 p.m. at the Oberlin Elementary School, 210 North Park St. Event participants should enter through the cafeteria doors off Park Street. The visit is part of the Oberlin City Schools’ Black History Month celebration, in cooperation with OberlinKids and the Oberlin Public Library. Williams will spend time earlier in the day with students. Grant dollars from the Oberlin Schools Endowment Fund and the public library will allow every Oberlin elementary student to each receive a copy of his book, which uses crayons as an analogy to talk about racism and
cause she's a learner who's always willing to move forward for her students,” Kaufmann said. “Deanna is open to new ideas, and she motivates those around her to be their best.” Fink, who teaches third grade, is often compared to Ms. Frizzle from “The Magic School Bus” books and cartoons. That’s because she encourages students to make mistakes and get messy in the name of learning, according to Kaufmann. She said Fink’s influence has changed her own life — she taught by her side for several years as an intervention specialist. “I learned so much from Jackie during those years. She inspired me to think differently, dive deeper and to constantly be a learner,” said Kaufmann. “Jackie Fink helped make me the educator I am today. She is a LifeChanger.”
self-image. “This book will change the way we see colors. Young children will have no problem understanding the lesson and, hopefully, the parents who read the story to their children will help them see the beauty in all colors,” said Williams.
Amherst library meeting
The Amherst Public Library board will meet at 6 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 14 at the library. The meeting is open to the public.
Now a third Friday instead
Main Street Wellington’s First Friday event last week was snowed out as Winter Storm Landon swept the United States. The “Go for the Gold” Olympics-themed event has been rescheduled for 4-7 p.m. on Feb. 18 — the third Friday of the month — in downtown Wellington. Designed to promote the village’s business community, it will feature prizes and other fun.
See ‘Limbs and Leaves’
A solo exhibition featuring works by Ken Long will be held throughout February at the Lorain County Metro Parks Carlisle Visitor Center Art Gallery, 12882 Diagonal Rd., Carlisle Towship. The Northeast Ohio-based artist specializes in processed and composite photographic images. “Limbs and Leaves” will feature images of trees and leaves created using neural net software.
Provided photo
Jill Bean and AVI Food Services Director Matt Phillips prepare packed lunches for Oberlin City Schools students the day before Winter Storm Landon hit.
Even when snow closes schools... OBERLIN — As Winter Storm Landon bore down on Lorain County last week, Oberlin City Schools cafeteria workers got busy packing. They made bagged lunches for interested students to take home, ensuring that everyone would have access to food when school was canceled. More than half of Oberlin students rely on the school lunch program. “While we typically do not provide meals during snowstorms, there have been a lot of conversations of pre-planning for this particular snowstorm and we are prepared to help our students,” said Superintendent David Hall.
Steak dinner in Pittsfield A Swiss steak dinner will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12 at Pittsfield Community Church, located at the corner of routes 58 and 303. Dinners are $12, and served dine-in or carry-out.
Ganson is Rotary’s senior of December The Oberlin Rotary Club honors a high school senior each month during the school year. These young people are recognized for character and positive attitudes. The Oberlin Rotary Club will donate $25 to a charity or project of the student’s choosing in their name. SARAH COLSON OBERLIN HIGH SCHOOL
The Oberlin High School senior honored for the month of December is Katrina Ganson. She has played flute in the marching band all four years of high school, rising to drill captain in her senior year. Ganson is attending preseason practice with the softball team to prepare for
her first softball a retirement gift season. for the Oberlin She has also City Schools. participated in the Believing in serOHS Art Club, and vice, Ganson has was chosen as an been a member of Ohio Representathe Interact Club, tive for the 2020 the community Global Youth service club of Katrina Institute conferOberlin High Ganson ence, where she School, sponsored presented her paper by the Oberlin on food insecurity in Chad. Rotary Club, throughout Ganson has won many high school. She served awards for her artwork, as club president for her including eight Scholastic junior and senior years. awards. She received a red The BackPack Program, ribbon award for Cleveland run by the Interact Club, Clinic Expressions, a comhas been a very meaningpetition in which particiful experience, according pants create pieces of art to Ganson. She was aware that connect to medical of the program as a young research papers. She has child and has been able to done commissioned artsee the impact it has made work for various patrons, in our community. Her including the Oberlin ColBackPack experience led lege opera department and Ganson to apply for and
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receive an OHS Phoenix Grant from the Oberlin Schools Endowment Fund to provide free books to BackPack recipients. “I used a lot of my free time to carefully organize this project and put a lot of care into choosing books for the students that I thought they would enjoy and feel represented by the characters in the books,” she said of the Winter 2020 project. Ganson also served one summer with the Appalachian Service Project, making home repairs in West Virginia. Ganson was recently accepted by early decision at Oberlin College, where she plans to continue her art studies and take a wide array of courses in the humanities and sciences.
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Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022
Lorain County Community Guide
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AMHERST — It didn’t take long for a nondescript blue house and garage to be torn to shreds Monday, Jan. 31 at the corner of Tenney Avenue and Mill Street. T.G. Eschtruth of Lorain demolished the building as part of a trade between the city of Amherst and businessman Paul Bires. The city is planning to put 60 new parking spaces where the house stood, said Mayor Mark Costilow. “It’s all about economic development,” he said. “Even on a weeknight, you go downtown and parking is hard to find. None of these businesses downtown can grow without more parking.” He credited the late Mayor John Higgins with starting expansion of downtown parking more than 20 years ago. Since then, City Hall has consistently sought out deals to provide more lots. In return, Bires gets to develop the last
remaining downtown Amherst green space, located on Church Street, across from The Brew Kettle and Amherst Cinema. Used sparsely throughout the years during festivals and other events, the plan is to build a commercial building. Bires said he intends to fill it with three or four retailers and potentially a restaurant. Condominiums will be built above the commercial space. But when construction will begin has yet to be decided. Bires said “everything is in a holding pattern” due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the cost of building materials. “One minute the lumber prices come down, and the next they go up,” he said. “… Nobody knows what’s going to happen. That’s the problem.” The land swamp was negotiated by the Amherst Community Improvement Corporation and approved by City Council. It includes a three-year sunset clause — if progress isn’t made within that window, the land reverts to the city.
Oberlin Schools celebrate 49 Black History Month, more
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Demo paves the way for parking, retail and condos JASON HAWK EDITOR
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Tom Eschtruth of TG Eschtruth Inc. demolishes a home off Tenney Avenue in Amherst. The demolition will make way for a parking lot for the city.
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OBERLIN — While February is Black History Month, the contributions of people of color are celebrated “all day, every day” at Oberlin Elementary School, said Principal Meisha Baker. It’s important to integrate Black history all year long, not just during one month, she said. "It's great that Black History Month is celebrated, but in the Oberlin Elementary School, every day is used to bring awareness to African American culture," she said as she pointed to a larger-than-life picture students made of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was among the pictures colored by third-graders and hung on the school’s first and second floors. Langston Middle School literacy coach Tiara Beard sent an email at the end of January highlighting classroom resources that celebrate Black history. “Black History Month is a month that we celebrate the great achievements and successes of African Americans, but there is so much more to be learned, and it often takes more than one month,” Beard said. With today’s technology advances, it is easy to find a podcast or even schedule a virtual tour of the Natural Museum of African American History and Culture Collection. Oberlin High School is starting off each day with a “Moment in Black History” on the morning announcements, said history teacher Kurt Russell. To start the month, Oberlin College music librarian Kathy Abromeit spoke to
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Third-graders at Oberlin Elementary School created larger-than-life drawings to hang inside their building in honor of Black History Month.
high-schoolers in Black Music in the African Diaspora about Negro spirituals. The interdisciplinary course is taught by both Russell and Oberlin City Schools orchestra director Audrey Melzer. “Every day, students are getting a glimpse into a moment in Black history, but it’s important to acknowledge that… Black history isn’t just a moment, it’s a lifetime,” Russell said.
ICE, ICE, BABY
Angelo Angel | Community Guide
Jess Parrish works on an ice sculpture Saturday while people gather around to watch at the Vermilion Ice-AFair. The day-long winter celebration returned this year to the lakefront community with music, food and characters from Disney’s “Frozen.”
B
OUR TOWNS
Lorain County Community Guide • Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022
EcoLeague steps up Partisan maps
spur Oberlin’s Burgess to run
JASON HAWK EDITOR
Jason Hawk | Amherst News-Times
Lia Morrison and Lucy Fenik, juniors at Marion L. Steele High School in Amherst, are behind their school club’s non-holiday food drive. They said hunger exists everywhere, regardless of how welloff a town may seem — even Amherst.
Seeing hungry classmates inspires club’s food drive JASON HAWK EDITOR
AMHERST — Peel back Amherst’s reputation as a middle class town, and poverty and empty stomachs aren’t hard to find, say Lia Morrison and Lucy Fenik. Hunger can be hard to recognize, said the juniors, who are officers in the EcoLeague club at Marion L. Steele High School. In an interview last week, they said too many of their classmates don’t know where their next meal will come from. “On a scale of one to 10, it’s a 10,” Morrison described the problem.
They’ve resolved to help by asking the city’s downtown business community and every teacher in the school to help collect nonperishable goods throughout February to go to Second Harvest Food Bank. The EcoLeague, with adviser and science teacher Angie DeLeon, recently asked Main Street Amherst members to lend helping hands, and were greeted with a chorus of approval. Their goal is to have a donation box in every downtown storefront, where residents can drop off canned goods. And they’re asking residents to give the good stuff — 1,000 pounds
of pantry cast-offs like pickled beets or creamed spinach won’t help as much as peanut butter, pasta, corn, tuna and cereal. DeLeon said Amherst teens have learned hunger isn’t an issue just at Thanksgiving and Christmas. “You always hear people looking for donations for not just food but clothes and gifts at the holidays,” she said. “We always say, ‘Let’s help our fellow man,’ but we don’t keep thinking that way at random times of the year.” And of course hunger isn’t just an Amherst problem, she said. It can FOOD DRIVE PAGE B2
After years of rumors, Sheetz coming to Amherst Big Boy land JASON HAWK EDITOR
AMHERST — Construction of a Sheetz gas station and convenience store has started on a stretch of land that has been the source of speculation for two decades. The 6,000-square-foot store is tentatively scheduled to open this summer, according to company spokesman Nick Ruffner. It will include self-service
kiosks, a car wash, 12 fuel pumps and will sell madeto-order food. A narrow strip of Route 58 just north of Route 2 was home to Bob’s Big Boy until 2001, when it closed as the company struggled with finances. The restaurant was torn down a short time later. The Big Boy footprint has contracted from more some 1,000 locations in the 1970s to just 69 today — two still operate in Cleveland and Frisch’s
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runs franchises to the west in Port Clinton, Fremont and Tiffin. Over the years, rumors have surfaced again and again about the former Amherst Big Boy property. The whispers had it becoming a Dave & Busters, an Olive Garden or a Chick-fil-A. “There have been different rumors throughout the years, and that’s what they always were — just rumors,” said Teresa Gilles, director of Main Street
Amherst. She said a Sheetz will be a welcome addition to the busy Route 58 commercial corridor, though she expressed reservations about adding traffic to an already-congested area. City Building Inspector Dave Macartney said Sheetz will have access on Kresge Drive as well as a curb cut onto Route 58, but the latter will be rightturn-only due to a median. SHEETZ PAGE B2
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OBERLIN — Fed up with gerrymandering, Bryan Burgess is running for the Ohio House of Representatives in the newly-proposed District 53. After serving on Oberlin City Council for a decade, he sat out two years due to term limits, and was just re-elected in November to return. Burgess, 43, said he hadn’t planned to seek state office until he saw maps published Jan. 25 by The ChronicleTelegram — they showed attempts by the Republican-led state Redistricting Commission to consolidate the party’s power. And they made his blood boil. When Ohioans voted in 2018 to Bryan amend the state Constitution, they Burgess expected an end to warped political map-making, Burgess said. “Instead we got this ridiculous doodle to create ‘safe’ districts for incumbents,” he wrote in a social media post announcing his candidacy. “Help me prove that no district is ‘safe’ when they blatantly ignore the will of the people.” After a weekend blitz collecting signatures at Slow Train Cafe in Oberlin Dick Stein and the Bricklayers Training Center in Amherst Township, he filed to run as a Democrat against incumbent Dick Stein, R-Norwalk. If the Ohio Redistricting Commission’s latest map holds up to Supreme Court scrutiny, they’ll fight for a retooled 53rd District that will encompass southern Lorain County, the townships along its western edge to the lakefront and will wrap around Elyria to the south to include Eaton and BURGESS PAGE B2
County, Statehouse races attract full slate of candidates DAVE O’BRIEN THE CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM
The deadline for candidates to file to run in May primary elections came and went last week, with a number of first-time candidates putting in their names for consideration for county offices or to represent Lorain County in the statehouse. The following candidates filed with The Lorain County Board of Elections to run in the May primary:
Commissioner Incumbent Lorain County Commissioner Matt Lundy, a Democrat from Avon Lake, is facing a challenge from businessman Jeff Riddell, a Republican from Henrietta Township. Riddell owns and operates Consumer Builders Supply in Sheffield Township and is a former member of the Lorain County Community College Board of Trustees. Lundy has been a commissioner since 2015. Prior to that, he served several terms in the Ohio House, was a member of Avon Lake City Council and was a TV news reporter.
Auditor Incumbent Lorain County Auditor Craig Snodgrass, a Democrat from Lorain, is facing a challenge from businessman Rodger Roeser, a Republican from Sheffield. Snodgrass has been auditor since 2013, when he was first appointed to the post, and is a certified public accountant and former Lorain City Councilman. Roeser is a first-time candidate for office and former journalist who owns his own advertising, marketing and public relations firm in Sheffield.
Judges Running to replace retiring Common Pleas Judge Mark Betleski are Melissa Kobasher, Kim Meyers and Zachary Simonoff, who will face off in a three-way Democratic primary. Avon Lake Municipal Judge Darrel Bilancini is uncontested in the Republican primary for the same seat. Incumbent Common Pleas Judge Christopher Rothgery and Domestic Relations Judge Sherry Glass Strohsack are uncontested in their Democratic primaries to return to the bench.
51st Ohio House District Sarah McGervey and Martin Gallagher, both of Avon Lake, will face off in the Republican primary.
SUBMIT YOUR NEWS TO: NEWS@LCNEWSPAPERS.COM
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FOOD DRIVE FROM B1
be found everywhere, and DeLeon has seen its specter while teaching in Sandusky and Columbia schools as well. “It seems no matter where I’ve taught, there’s always a food issue,” she said. “There are always going to be families who struggle to find meals.” The EcoLeague was founded five years ago at Steele to explore the deepening environmental crisis, and what students can do about it. It was shelved last year as COVID-19 cases caused schools to adjust, and revived by Morrison this fall. Now she serves as its president with Fenik as vice president. The pair said they’ve studied the effects of the throw-away fashion industry on the environment, as well as greenwashing — misleading corporate claims that products or services are environmentally sound. But what struck them the most was looking at food waste, something they could see every weekday during the lunch hour. “In the cafeteria we throw away so much food it’s ridiculous,” said
SHEETZ
CANDIDATES
“I think they’re planning on moving fairly quickly to get the site prepared and get construction going,” Macartney said. While Sheetz will be built on the former Big Boy land, the project will involved demolition of the vacant BP gas station next door, he said. That property has a deed restriction that requires it to remain green space until 2029, at which time it could potentially be developed. Founded in 1952 and based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Sheetz will become the seventh gas station in the Route 58-Cooper Foster Park Road area. Amherst Mayor Mark Costilow said the chain store will be a welcome addition to the city because of its highly visible location. The long-vacant lot has been an eyesore, and is the first property travelers see when they exit Route 2. “You turn around the corner and wonder why the first lot in Amherst is empty,” Costilow said.
The winner will take on incumbent state Rep. Joe Miller, D-Amherst. The district includes Amherst, Avon Lake, Lorain, Sheffield and Sheffield Lake.
FROM B1 Fenik. The standing rule is that when buying a lunch, you have to take one piece of fruit, she said. Most students end up tossing it, preferring fries, burgers and other junk staples instead. Morrison said she started to understand how hunger and ecology collide while taking part in Chicagobased Eco Circle International, a youth-led nonprofit that focuses on sustainability. Food insecurity, waste, agriculture and deforestation are linked, she said: “I think it all comes down to where all of our trash in going, and that’s intersectional with our marine life, our soil and where all of our trash is going.” Microplastics — tiny shards from consumer waste — make their way into the water stream and then into fields. Plastic is the most prominent form of debris found in the Great Lakes, according to the National Ocean Service, posing a threat to aquatic life and decreasing the quality of Lake Erie’s water considerably.
BURGESS
FROM B1 Columbia townships. The 53rd District also extends west into Erie and Huron counties, taking in Vermilion and Norwalk. Oberlin, regarded as a Democratic stronghold since its voting base leans more than 90 percent to the left, is included in the district as an odd peninsula. “A week ago, I didn’t know I was doing this,” Burgess said just before turning in petitions to the Lorain County Board of Elections ahead of Wednesday’s deadline. “I expected to be on Oberlin Council for the foreseeable future. But I’ll serve where I’m needed, and there’s an opportunity here.” Burgess, who has been a registered Republican in the past, said he may be considered too conservative for liberal voters and too liberal for conservatives who live in the district — but he hopes to strike the right balance.
He also said he doesn’t know Stein personally but does not think much of the three-term representative. “He doesn’t share a sense of unity within his own party and with his own constituents,” Burgess said, referencing how Stein has openly taken shots at his own party’s leader, Gov. Mike DeWine, during the COVID-19 crisis. Nor does he believe the interests of either Oberlin or southern Lorain County have been particularly wellrepresented in the five years Stein has held office, Burgess said. While City Council members often have conversations with constituents in grocery store aisles and at high school football games, most residents don’t feel that kind of connection to their state representatives, he said. “I wish the state government had the same level of trust local government does,” he said. “I want to
change that.” If elected, Burgess said he would work in Columbus for some of the same programs that have made a difference in Oberlin residents’ lives — the city, for example, has made funds available to help insulate homes and make other energy-efficient upgrades. Oberlin has also developed an aggressive Climate Action Plan to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. Ohio is a decade behind on similar efforts — which would be good for health, tourism and the environment — “but that doesn’t mean the state can’t catch up,” Burgess said. Jobs are another area where Lorain County needs a champion, he said. They’re desperately needed in Northeast Ohio, and “not in my backyard protectionism” won’t help bring employers here, said Burgess.
Kings and Queens ACROSS 1. Outback birds 5. Pilgrimage to Mecca 8. Well, to Sofia Loren 12. Impose a tax 13. No way! 14. Malicious burning 15. ____ over 16. Radiant light 17. Ran easily 18. *”The King of Staten Island” star Pete 20. Goyim, alt. sp. 21. Mork from Ork, e.g. 22. Common furniture wood 23. “Der Ring des Nibelungen” composer 26. Petroleum product (2 words) 30. Shakespearean fuss 31. Loan shark 34. Village People hit 35. City in France 37. Street, in Paris 38. Show in progress (2 words) 39. Tiny purse 40. Was almost out of gas, e.g. (2 words) 42. *First H in HRH 43. Type of bag 45. Unguarded 47. Brick and mortar carrier 48. Resize a dress, e.g. 50. “For ____ the Bell Tolls” 52. *Netflix royal drama (2 words) 55. Bridal veil fabric 56. One who hoes 57. Not far 59. Orderly arrangement 60. Drunkard, slangily 61. Stare 62. Country club pegs 63. Drivers’ licenses, e.g. 64. *2019 movie “Queen & ____” DOWN 1. Not Moose or Shriner 2. Fitting reward 3. Iris holder 4. Forest spirit 5. Gingerbread sculpture 6. Kitchen garb 7. *Billie ____ King 8. *Queens neighbor
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Lorain County Community Guide
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52nd Ohio House District Incumbent state Rep. Gayle Manning, R-North Ridgeville, will be challenged by Regan Phillips, a North Ridgeville Democrat. The district includes Elyria, Avon, North Ridgeville and South Amherst. A member and leader of a number of civic and charitable organizations, Phillips said Wednesday that she chose to run because "representation matters." "I really want to continue to serve and advocate for my community, which I've been doing for a really, really long time, and have an impact on issues" with what she called a "fresh-faced perspective." Phillips said her community experience and involvement has assisted her along the way, and she knows how to work on boards and committees. "I'm going to give it my all, and put my all into it," she said.
53rd Ohio House District Incumbent state Rep. Dick Stein, R-Norwalk, looks to face a challenge from Brian Burgess, a Democrat currently on Oberlin City Council. The district includes Vermilion, Oberlin, Wellington, LaGrange, Grafton, Kipton, Rochester, numerous Lorain County townships and portions of Erie and Huron counties.
Ohio Senate District 13 Incumbent state Sen. Nathan Manning, R-North Ridgeville, will face a primary challenge from Kirsten Hill, an Amherst Republican who has represented Lorain, Erie, Huron, Ottawa, Wood, Lucas and Fulton counties on the Ohio State Board of Education since 2019. District 13 includes the entirety of Lorain County and smaller portions of Erie and Huron counties. Hill also is chairman of the Lorain County TEA Party. The winner of the Republican primary will face the winner of the Democratic primary between Anthony Eliopoulous and Josh Garcia, both of Lorain and who both filed to run for the seat. A Lorain native and 2014 graduate of Amherst Schools, Eliopoulous was involved in Democratic politics at Ohio University, where he earned a commission as a lieutenant in the Ohio Army National Guard. "The reason I'm doing this is because I'm ready to put my heart and soul into it," he said. Just this week, Eliopoulous left his job as military and veterans affairs liaison for Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown. Eliopoulous said he watched closely at how Brown empathized with others and took what he learned back to Washington D.C., "and I think that's what I bring to the table: I'm an empath and I listen. I want to go out and meet people where they're at." A young businessman and Democratic organizer who previously ran for Congress in 2018, Garcia said he has been part of a number of local Democratic campaigns, including Democrat Shannon Freshour's unsuccessful campaign to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan in the 2020 congressional race. "Lorain and Lorain County are at a point where we have to start thinking outside the box, and there are some things in the city of Lorain we can expand on," he said. Garcia said he hopes to bring some more diversity to Columbus as a person with Irish, Polish and Mexican heritage whose Mexican grandmother immigrated to the United States in the 1920s. "It's time for us younger ones to step up," Garcia said. "It's time for Ohio to start this push for a little blue wave." Hill did not respond to a request for comment.
State Central Committee Incumbent Republican State Central Committeeman David Arredondo of Lorain is facing a primary challenge from both Peter Aldrich of Elyria and Mike Witte of Amherst. Jean Anderson of Vermilion filed petitions to challenge fellow Republican Patty Stein of Norwalk, the incumbent state Central Committeewoman. Ann Tanner, a Democrat from Elyria, is unopposed in the primary for state Central Committeewoman, while Democrat and former state Rep. Dan Ramos is unopposed for state Central Committeeman. Candidates for U.S. Congress have until March 4 to file their petitions. Ohio voters also will see congressional elections, a race to select a new U.S. senator to replace retiring Republican Rob Portman of Cincinnati, and a gubernatorial election this year.
Issues 9. ESPN trophy 10. Denials 11. December 31st, e.g. 13. Lowest points 14. Plural of alga 19. Intestinal obstruction 22. Opposite of their 23. *Prince Charles’ domain 24. Temples’ innermost sanctuaries 25. Not stay in (2 words) 26. Perceive by touch 27. *The NBA’s Kansas City-____ Kings (1972-75) 28. More unfriendly 29. *Late “Live” King of CNN 32. Russia’s mountain range 33. Seek a seat 36. *The last “king” of Russia 38. Proprietor
40. *The ___ Queen, regal chess character in “Through the Looking Glass” 41. Public disapproval 44. Cozy and comfortable 46. Two of these do not make a right 48. Near the wind 49. Potato soup partner, pl. 50. “She ____ a Yellow Ribbon” 51. Add to payroll 52. Native of Thailand 53. Lash mark 54. Member of National Socialist German Workers’ Party 55. Giant pot 58. “Shiny Happy People” band
SOLUTION CAN BE FOUND ON PAGE A2
Though not yet numbered by the Board of Elections, the following levies are to be included on the May 3 primary ballot: • Lorain County, an additional 3 percent hotel bed tax for the creation of a county convention board and convention center. • Amherst Exempted Village Schools, a 4.9-mill, five-year renewal for current expenses. • Amherst Exempted Village Schools, a 6.51-mill, 10-year renewal for emergency requirements. • Black River School District, a 6.4-mill, five-year renewal for emergency requirements. • Clearview School District, a 2.58-mill, 10-year renewal for emergency requirements. • Mapleton School District, a 3.2-mill, five-year additional levy to avoid an operating deficit. • North Ridgeville City Schools, a 4.9-mill, 10-year additional levy for emergency requirements. • City of Avon, a 0.15 percent, 10-year income tax increase to raise funds for the purpose of purchasing and developing park land. The Board of Elections next meets today, Feb. 10, to certify petitions and assign numbers to the ballot issues.
Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022
SPORTS
Lorain County Community Guide
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Send sports news to news@lcnewspapers.com. Deadline for all submissions is 10 a.m. each Tuesday. Printed as space is available.
Senior Night victory
HS BOWLING
Photos by Russ Gifford | Wellington Enterprise
A 54-30 win over Brookside was a nice Senior Night pickup for Wellington. Seniors Tori Paramore had 11 points and Teddi Hardoby put 10 on the board, while Brooke Lehmkuhl led all scorers with 13 points. For the Cardinals, Shyanne DeLeon had a team high 11. After a competitive first quarter, the outcome of the game was never in question: The Dukes held their opponents to single digits in the remaining three periods.
• The Amherst varsity girls have established a winning tradition: For the third year in a row, they topped the leader board at the North Shore Bowling Conference Tournament, held at Rebman Recreation in Lorain, to win first place with 3,621 points. Senior Makayla Velasquez finished third overall with a 590 series, going 193, 212, 185. Allison Taylor had a 559 series to finish fourth, and Hannah Aschenbach rolled a 545 series for sixth place. Other Amherst scores: Melissa Nunez, 469 series; Amanda McElheny, 134 game; Tori Miller, 131 game and a SAW game of 117. • The Wellington Dukes girls bowling team won the Division 2 title Sunday at the North Shore Conference Tournament. Whintney Kirschner led all Division 2 bowlers with a 598 series. Trinity Farr rolled a 493 series and Heather Reininger rolled a 465 series. • The Comets varsity boys finished second overall with 3,992 points at the North Shore Bowling Conference Tournament. JP Gregory led the team with a 622 series that included games of 212, 202, 208. Zack Zakrajsek was close behind with a 608 series on games of 225, 176, 207. Other Amherst scores: Micah Mercado, 598 series; Logan Stewart, 205 and 148; Thomas Heider, 202 and 159; Nathan Palos, 184; Jacob Stawicki, 149.
SIGNING DAY • Abbie Graves, a senior at Black River High School, has signed to play volleybal at the Community College of Beaver County. The decision was announced Feb. 2 on National Signing Day. • Wellington High School senior Cayden Sherepita has committed to run track at Tiffin University. He signed a letter of intent Wednesday, Feb. 2 on National Signing Day. Sherepita was a regional qualifier for the 100-meter dash in Spring 2021, and has also been honored for his work on the football field, where he was named All-Northeast District Defensive Player of the Year as defensive end. He was also a first team All-Ohio team selection. • Marion L. Steele High School senior Torre Weatherspoon, who consistently scored for the Amherst Comets, has signed to play football for the Notre Dame College Falcons. His decision was announced Feb. 2 on National Signing Day.
ABOVE: The four Wellington girls basketball seniors celebrate on Senior Night: Amanda Spiekerman, Teddi Hardoby, Tori Paramore and Karlie Frenk.
Cheerleaders going to state
LEFT: Paramore tries to get past a Brookside defender.
In regional competition Sunday, the Amherst Comets qualified for the Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators Cheer and Dance State Championship. State preliminaries will behin Saturday, Feb. 26 at Pickering North High School.
PHOENIX FALL IN OVERTIME
KRAMER STRIKES
Angelo Angel | Amherst News-Times
Photos by Erik Andrews | Oberlin News-Tribune
The Phoenix traveled to Lagrange for a key Lorain County League contest this past weekend. Celebrating five on Senior Day, Keystone stormed back from a 17-point first half deficit to claim a 64-60 overtime win. The Wildcats' first lead of the game wasn't until the overtime, but once they had it, they did not relinquish it — making clutch free throws down the stretch to thwart any Phoenix rally. ABOVE: Oberlin’s Marcus Perry drives the baseline. BELOW: Phoenix senior Marius Harrell sprints out on the break with the rock as Oberlin looked to push the pace of play against the Wildcats.
Avon’s Ethan Szewczyk is hit hard by Amherst’s Thomas Hall during a rough-and-tumble game Saturday at North Olmsted Recreation. The Comets came out on top 4-1, with three goals from Joey Kramer and an insurance goal from Nick Ciura. Will Umland was the only Eagle to find a way past Amherst goalie River Ambroz, who had 21 saves. Avon’s Ben Boka had 19 saves.
85 SOUTH MAIN STREET OBERLIN OHIO 44074 FEBRUARY 10, 2022
BOARD AND COMMISSION MEETING DATES ALL MEETINGS WILL BE Live Streamed @ http://oberlinoh.swagit.com/live NOTICE: DISABLED MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY WHO MAY NEED ASSISTANCE, PLEASE CALL 775-7203 OR E-MAIL: banderson@cityofoberlin.com NOTICE REQUIRED: TWO (2) WORKING DAYS IN ADVANCE OF MEETING (48 HOURS) CLERK OF COUNCIL’S OFFICE.
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Lorain County Community Guide
A DISH BEST SERVED COLD
Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022
FINAL SEASON
Erik Andrews | Oberlin News-Tribune
Oberlin celebrated its senior girls varsity basketball players and their parents before the game on Monday evening. A tip of the cap to Emerson Freas, Elizabeth Canseco and Jennah Ortiz for their dedication and commitment.
LAST GAME AT HOME Kristin Bauer | Amherst News-Times
The Comets’ Torre Weatherspoon rebounds the ball during Friday night’s game against Avon Lake. The 71-56 Southwestern Conference victory was sweet revenge for Amherst, which suffered its biggest defeat of the season — a 77-58 drubbing — to the Shoremen in December. This time around, the Comets jumped out to a 17-11 advantage before throttling back. They went into overdrive with a 28-19 fourth quarter. Austin Bray led Amherst with 23 points; George Fayer contributed 18 and George Gotsis put 16 on the board. Avon Lake was led by Isaac Richardson with 13.
SECOND HALF SURGE Photos by Russ Gifford | Wellington Enterprise
Clearview stomped on Black River’s early lead last week, coming out of the locker room energized after halftime to claim a 56-52 win. Sabian Alvarado was everywhere, but especially deadly from behind the 3-point line as he racked up a game high 20 points. Teammate Ayden Cruz chipped in 17 more. Johnny Kray led the Pirates with 12 points, and had backup from Evan Ladina’s 10-point performance. RIGHT: Black River's Johnny Kray hits for three points against Clearview. BELOW: Black River’s Andon O’Neal moves past Clearview’s Keith Colvin.
Photos by Erik Andrews | Oberlin News-Tribune
The Phoenix varsity girls fell to the Cardinals 65-28 in their final home game of the 2021-2022 campaign. Coach Brian Joyner's team stands at 2-14 (0-13 in Lorain County League play) as they travel to Brooklyn on Saturday to face the Hurricanes. Next Wednesday, Oberlin opens state tournament sectional play against the district's top-seed Apple Creek Waynedale. ABOVE: Oberlin's Victoria McCown fights for a rebound. RIGHT: Candace Locklear on the dribble drive.
TOP OF THE CONFERENCE
CORRECTION Andre Yarber was incorrectly named as Silas Brandt in a photo in last week’s edition from the Oberlin Phoenix varsity boys game at Rocket Mortgage Field House. We apologize for the error.
Thomas Fetcenko | Community Guide
Keystone's Helayna Houston drives the ball to the hoop while Columbia's Sadie Schulke guards her during a hotly contested Lorain County League showdown on Saturday. The Raiders edged out the Wildcats 36-35, fending off another contender for the conference crown.
Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022
Lorain County Community Guide
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Feeling ‘sparktacular’ in North Ridgeville KRISTIN BAUER COMMUNITY GUIDE
NORTH RIDGEVILLE — Cheers, chants and claps echoed through the hallways at North Ridgeville High School on Monday afternoon as the Sparkle cheerleading team rehearsed. The students came to dance and extend a helping hand to teammates learning new moves during the routines. They celebrated as they mastered skills, completed cheers and ended the practice sitting in a circle, complimenting one another. Senior Jada Mangus smiled as she praised a teammate who learned an entire routine during a single practice. To an audience, the team looks like any other, with students moving and dancing in sync while cheering on student athletes. However, the program is unique. Sparkle pairs students with and without disabilities on the same team in an inclusive and accepting environment. The cheerleaders learn skills and routines while developing lasting friendships. Acceptance, teamwork and spreading school spirit are the tenets the cheerleaders practice on and off the court, head coach Stefanie Guadino said. “The support has been overwhelming,” assistant coach Stephanie Fuchs said. “The student body is extremely supportive of the Sparkle program.
Kristin Bauer | Community Guide
North Ridgeville High School junior Nadeen Sulaiman, 16, senior Nadia Irizarry and junior Elena Hilson, 17, practice a dance move together for one of their routines on Monday afternoon. The Sparkle cheerleading program at North Ridgeville High School met to rehearse for its upcoming Sparktacular Showcase. Sparkle is the school's inclusive cheerleading program, pairing students both with and without disabilities. When we come out and perform at different events, like the soccer program for instance, they cannot wait until we are there.” Fuchs said the head coaches from North Ridgeville’s athletic teams have been supportive, taking group photos of the students together and encouraging the students at every event. The North Ridgeville student body also
comes out to cheer on the team. North Ridgeville senior and Sparkle captain Hunter Roseto said, “Sparkle means everything to me.” Roseto remarked the program proves anyone can do anything, brings equality to everyone and builds strong relationships for its participants. While coordinating routines and choreography ahead
LED BY LEHMKUHL
of “Sparktacular,” Roseto took time to individually work with students to perfect dance moves. The Sparkle program at North Ridgeville falls under the national nonprofit organization Generation Spirit, a national high school program aimed at providing inclusion to school-based spirit teams. “I think it’s definitely taught
our students a lot of good leadership skills,” Guadino said. “The big thing about Generation Spirit is they really encourage that this is student-led.” According to Guadino, the captains plan the routines, placement, cheers and music while the coaches are there to advise and coordinate scheduling and logistics. Nineteen students participate on the Sparkle team — a number that continues to grow since the program’s inception in 2015. The students sometimes join without any prior cheer or dance experience, and come from other sports or academic clubs wanting to participate. For North Ridgeville senior student and captain Xiomara Parraguirre, she is leaving fulfilled, having made an impact at the school. “I’m definitely going to cry, that’s for sure, but it’s kind of going to be a fulfillment,” she said, referencing today's Senior Night Event before the Rangers basketball game. “I think because it’s been four years and it’ll be the last game. It’s going to be sad, but I know I have made an impact in the school and for everyone that’s in the program.” The North Ridgeville High School Sparkle cheer team will participate in the Sparktacular Showcase at Springfield High School on Saturday, Feb. 26, along with other area cheer teams.
GREGORY DOES IT ALL Russ Gifford | Amherst News-Times
Russ Gifford | Wellington Enterprise
With 15 points, Brooke Lehmkuhl was responsible for nearly a third of the Dukes’ tally in their 46-31 win last week over neighboring Black River. The Pirates started slow, falling behind 11-3 in the first quarter and 30-9 at the half. And while they had Abbie Graves, her 10 points weren’t enough to keep pace with the Wellington shooting game. While Lehmkuhl was the only Duke to break into double-digits, Teddi Hardoby, Tori Paramore and Karlie Frenk were all on the cusp with 9 apiece. ABOVE: Wellington's Teddi Hardoby scrambles to get a loose ball to her teammate Tori Paramore.
Aden Gregory dismantled the Falcons last week, tearing up their ranks for 26 points and 10 rebounds as he led Midview to a 68-45 non-conference victory in Henrietta Township. The top Middies scorer was impossible to stop, racking up 15 points by halftime. The Falcons made some adjustments in the second half to try to contain him, but Gregory continued to pick apart the Firelands defense. LEFT: Firelands' Brock Grude passes the ball off on a fast break against Midview.
SCHOLARS ALEX STEINDL of Oberlin has been named to the dean’s list for the Fall 2021 semester at Miami University. Steindl is studying finance. ALEXANDER WOOD of Oberlin has graduated from Champlain College after the fall semester. LEAH SUNDERMAN of Wellington has been awarded a $15,000 Fellows’ Scholarship at Baldwin Wallace University. A freshman graduate of Elyria Catholic High School, Sunderman is majoring in finance. JACQUELYN RALPH of Wellington has earned a $21,000 President’s Scholarship at Baldwin Wallace University. A graduate of Keystone High School, Ralph is majoring in biology. CAPRICE CAIN of Wellington has been named to the president’s list for the Fall 2021 semester at Southern New Hampshire University. SARAH RITTER of Amherst was among the University of Findlay students to receive a lab coat at the College of Pharmacy’s White Coat Ceremony. The event signifies a student’s entrance into the third year of the six-year program, which is the first year of professional courses. FRANCES RADWAY of South Amherst was elected president of the Student Occupational Therapy Association at the University of Findlay for the 2021-2022 academic year.
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Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022
Lorain County Community Guide
© 2022 by Vicki Whiting, Editor Jeff Schinkel, Graphics Vol. 38, No. 10
he Winter Olympic Games are being held in Beijing, China. The emblem of this year’s Games combines traditional and modern elements of Chinese culture and winter sports. Inspired by , the Chinese character for
Each athlete who competes in the Olympics takes an oath. Use the code to complete the missing words and then read the entire oath aloud to your family!
“winter,” the emblem shows a skater at the top and a skier at the bottom. The blue represents dreams, the future and the purity of ice and snow. The red and yellow are the colors of China’s national flag.
What time is it in Beijing?
Beijing, China is 16 hours ahead of San Francisco. When it is 3 a.m. on Wednesday in Beijing, it is 11 a.m. Tuesday in San Francisco, Calif.
OOOPS! Some of the words melted out of this article. Can you figure out where each of the missing words belongs?
Meet the Mascots In Mandarin Chinese (the official
dialect of China), “Bing” has several _________, the most common being ice. “Dwen Dwen” means ________ and lively. Olympic mascot Bing Dwen Dwen is a panda who wears a body “shell” made out of ice, which looks like an ______________ suit. This represents new technologies for a _______ with infinite possibilities. The shell also _______ the panda to skate, snowboard and ski alongside the Olympic athletes!
Complete the clocks below to show the different times. Todd lives in San Francisco, in the Pacific Time Zone. His pen pal Kierra lives in New York, in the Eastern Time Zone. Their friend Zylah lives in Oklahoma, in the Central Time Zone and her cousin, Tomas lives in Colorado, in the Mountain Time Zone. Complete the clocks below so that they show what time it is in each time zone when it is 6 a.m. in Beijing.
Shuey Rhon Rhon is a Chinese lantern that represents warmth and _______. Shuey Rhon Rhon is the mascot of the Winter Paralympic Games in Bejing, an international __________ event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. These Games are held every four _______ directly following the Winter Olympic Games.
Pictograms
TODD
TOMAS
ZYLAH
Standards Link: Math/Measurement: Tell time to the nearest hour.
Can you read these Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics pictograms? Do the math to match each pictogram to the name of the sport it represents.
33 - 5 = SPEED SKATING 37 - 7 = CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING
41 - 9 = ICE HOCKEY 35 - 8 = SKI JUMPING
Olympic mascot and pictogram artwork ©2022 IOC | www.olympics.com/ioc/beijing-2022
Do the math to locate Beijing and other Chinese cities on the map.
12 - 3
13 + 7
12 = Beijing 10 = Yanqing 9 = Zhangjiakou 15 = Shanghai 13 = Guangzhou 16 = Nanjing 11 = Wuhan 14 = Shenyang 20 = Chengdu
BEIJING
Look at the Time Zone map to see if you are in the same time zone as California. If not, what is the time difference between where you live and California?
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. At the Olympic Games, a picture is worth a thousand words in hundreds of languages. A pictogram, a picture symbol, will be used at the Games to help people all over the 31 - 9 = BOBSLEIGH world understand what is 32 - 8 = FIGURE SKATING happening.
13 + 6
KIERRA
8+2 6+6
17 - 6
20 - 6
8+8
12 + 3
7+6 19 - 2
19 = Lhasa 17 = Hong Kong
Standards Link: Reading Compreension: Follow simple written directions.
Symbols
Sports teams use names and mascots to communicate strength, their location, etc. Look through today’s sports section to select one team and make a list of things you think that team wants to communicate with their name or logo.
Standards Link: Use a variety of media to locate information.
PICTOGRAM SKATING HOCKEY MASCOT SPORT EVENT MATH CHINA PANDA GAMES HOURS TIME FLAG SKI ICE
SYMBOL SEARCH
Look for five symbols in today’s newspaper. Show them to a friend to see if they can tell what the symbol represents. Standards Link: Research: Use the newspaper to locate information.
= EQUALITY
= HONOR
= BETTER
= PROMISE
= RULES
= CHEATING
“We __________ to take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the _______ and in the spirit of fair play, inclusion and _________. Together we stand in solidarity and commit ourselves to sport without doping, without ________, without any form of discrimination. We do this for the ______ of our teams, in respect for the Fundamental Principles of Olympism, and to make the world a ______ place through sport.”
Logo Language Companies and organizations select logos to represent them. For example, the Red Cross has a large red cross in its logo. Look through today’s newspaper and see if you can find a logo that goes with each of the following:
• Uses words and images • A company aimed at kids • Gives a positive feeling • One you don’t recognize • Uses only an image • Uses an animal image
Standards Link: Use a variety of media to locate information.
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H T R P G M A T H D G O S R A S R U O H
A C N S L N T U M Y
M S T T F S D V S E
This week’s word:
ROBUST
E A E N C S Q A P K
The adjective robust means strong, healthy and full of energy.
B T I V E R Y I R O
The robust snowboarder was not seriously hurt when she fell.
S M C V W L K N O C
S K A T I N G H T H
L M A R G O T C I P
Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognize identical words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns.
Try to use the word robust in a sentence today when talking with your friends and family members.
VALENTINE’S SURPRISE
Make up a Valentine’s Day story about a Valentine’s Day surprise. Who was surprised? What was the surprise?