Your EVERY WEEK: your town news COMMUNITY GUIDE
Get the scoop delivered to your home weekly.
$1.25
LORAIN COUNTY
AMHERST NEWS-TIMES • OBERLIN NEWS-TRIBUNE • WELLINGTON ENTERPRISE
Thursdays
www.lcnewspapers.com
Volume A, Issue BB
Subscribe to the Community Guide
Count on us to report the top local stories
Call 440-329-7000
COMMUNITY GUIDE Don’t miss an issue!
$1.25
LORAIN COUNTY
AMHERST NEWS-TIMES • OBERLIN NEWS-TRIBUNE • WELLINGTON ENTERPRISE Thursday, March 25, 2021
www.lcnewspapers.com
Volume 8, Issue 12
Firelands tractors on parade
Vaccines opening to every Ohioan JASON HAWK EDITOR
Photos by Jason Hawk | Amherst News-Times
Firelands senior Madison Witter rolls up on her family's John Deere for the FFA's Drive Your Tractor to School Day on Friday.
FFA event celebrates family farming JASON HAWK EDITOR
HENRIETTA TWP. — Madison Witter's ride wasn't the largest of the bunch when students rolled into the Firelands High School parking lot Friday morning in an annual parade of tractors. But the senior said she is intensely proud of the 1971 John Deere 320 her father bought years ago, and is still in use for baling, raking and cutting hay. "Agriculture is really important to our school and the many people around us. It's how we grow our food," Witter said.
About 20 students rode tractors to school as Firelands held a delayed National FFA Week celebration. Among them was freshman Garrett Schlechter, riding a tractor his grandfather bought in 1980. In the past 40 years, the family's put almost 17,000 hours it. Schlechter said he is proud of the history his ride represents. It bears a dairy farm logo on the side, even though that operation no longer exists. The future of small, family farms is a concern, said Schlechter, who worries Lorain County's rural land is
U.S. Postal Service Use Only
Proms and parades
TRACTORS PAGE A3 Classifieds, legals, display advertising, and subscriptions Deadline: 1 p.m. each Monday Phone: 440-329-7000 Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday News staff Jason Hawk news@lcnewspapers.com Phone: 440-329-7122 Submit news to news@lcnewspapers.com Deadline: 10 a.m. Tuesday Send obituaries to obits@chroniclet.com
Firelands High School students show off their family tractors in an effort reinforce the importance of agriculture in America.
Copyright 2021 Lorain County Printing & Publishing Company
Making COVID vaccines available to all Ohioans starting March 29 is good news for high school seniors and Memorial Day parades, according to Lorain County Health Commissioner David Covell. He said that if the county health department goes through its entire supply of doses between now and May, the future is much brighter for celebrations and festivals. "Prom is going to be much better than we thought. Graduation, come June, the outlook is much, much better," Covell said. "It looks like we're going to have enough vaccine in the community to do more full graduation (ceremonies), and that's a good thing. In terms of Memorial Day parades, I think that's a go." Large-scale events scheduled for April are still unlikely to be held without severe restrictions in place, he said.
Oberlin College condemns violence against people of Asian heritage JASON HAWK EDITOR
OBERLIN — Following the murders of eight people at Atlanta spas last week, Oberlin College has renewed its condemnation of violence against Asian Americans. The mass shooting "serves as a horrific reminder of the xenophobia
and misogyny rooted in our society and yet another call on all of us to strengthen our commitment to social justice work," said a statement released March 18 by college President Carmen Twillie Ambar's office. A sharp rise in hatedriven incidents confirm these are "indeed unsettling times," it said. "... The urgent work of ending racially motivated violence
is a long, ongoing journey that we will walk together." The nonprofit Stop AAPI Hate — AAPI stands for Asian American Pacific Islander — has tracked 3,795 incidents of violence between March 19, 2020, and Feb. 28, 2021. It says that number represents only a fraction of violent episodes that actually happen. Verbal harassment hap-
pened in a little over 68 percent of all incidents reported, and more than 11 percent involved physical assault. Civil rights violations such as workplace discrimination, refusal of service and being denied transportation accounted for 8.5 percent of incidents. Online harassment made ASIAN PAGE A3
INSIDE THIS WEEK
Send legal notices to jyoder@chroniclet.com Submit advertising to chama@chroniclet.com
ELYRIA TWP. — Access to COVID-19 vaccines was blown wide open last week, with a surprise announcement that another 1.6 million Ohioans would become eligible. Speaking at Cleveland State University, Gov. Mike DeWine said residents ages 40 to 49 could be vaccinated starting Friday, March 19. Vaccines are also now being made available to Ohioans of any age who are battling cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease and obesity. And with assurances from President Joe Biden that doses shipped to Ohio will significantly increase, DeWine also revealed that all Ohioans ages 16 and older will be eligible for vaccination starting Monday, March 29. VACCINES PAGE A3
Amherst
Oberlin
Wellington
County OK’s $628,000 for Milan Ave. bridge • B1
City expects big energy push for new EDL gas plant • B1
State of the Schools: District is looking for recovery • B1
OBITUARIES A2 • CLASSIFIEDS A2 • CROSSWORD B2 • SUDOKU B2 • KID SCOOP B6