Lorain County Community Guide - Dec. 1, 2022

Barfield retiring, McPike chosen as chief

JASON HAWK EDITOR

WELLINGTON — Police

Chief Tim Barfield is resigning effective Feb. 3. Village Coun cil voted last week to hire his successor.

In a letter to Mayor Hans Schneider late the afternoon of Monday, Nov. 21, Barfield said he will retire from his long career in law enforcement.

Following 31 years of service to the Maple Heights Police Department, he was hired as Wel lington’s chief in 2014.

“It has been an incredible honor and privilege to have served as the chief of the Wellington police,” he wrote. “Over the last eight years, I have fallen in love with this town and its people. I have worked hard to create a new culture and build a modern police department. With the current team in place and the changes

Huge raises to offset pain of inflation

implemented, I feel comfort able passing the torch to the next chief.”

Council President Gene Hartman said the decision came as a sur prise. When a special meeting was set, he didn’t expect to be accepting a resigna tion and making a new hire in the

same evening. During his tenure in Wellington, Barfield has won over resi dents, helped forge a deal to put secu rity officers in schools and established the Local Initiative to Network Compassion program to help opioid users safely find help,

Hartman said.

“We owe him a debt of gratitude for increasing the professionalism of the department,” he said.

The resignation comes about a month after a tense meeting in which an angry Barfield sparred with Hartman and other Council members over staffing.

The chief said he’s struggled to recruit and retain officers, with other departments offering more

Lighting the village

AMHERST — Staring down record inflation while also enjoying a surge in tax revenue, City Council agreed Monday to give its workers huge raises.

Most Amherst employees with get pay increases of 8.25 percent in 2023, and 3.5 percent in both 2024 and 2025 under newly-minted contracts.

Police dispatchers have an even sweeter deal, with wage hikes that work out to about 9 percent next year and 4 percent for each of the next two.

The increases will cost taxpayers just shy of $600,000 next year, including fringe benefits and “me too” deals for non-union workers, said Mayor Mark Costilow.

“Our employees are good. They’ve earned these wage increases. And with the times and the cost of every thing, I think this is fair,” he said.

The contracts were unanimously pushed through on their first reading tracked Monday by Council without comment.

In committee discussion, however, Councilman Chuck Winiarski, R-at large, said his knee jerk reac tion had been that the contracts would cost “an obscene number,” close to $1 million over three years.

His opinion changed when considering the cost of losing employees to neighboring cities with higher pay, he said — recruiting replacement workers would cost vastly more.

JASON HAWK EDITOR RAISES PAGE A2

Tim Barfield Jim McPike

Photos by Jeff Barnes | Amherst News-Times

After Thanksgiving, Santa and his elves come out! The big guy in red graced the Milan Avenue on Saturday night, during the Amherst Historical Society’s “Light Up the Village” party. The historical grounds were lit in charming holiday colors. Kids got to sit on Santa’s lap, eat hot chocolate and doughnuts and tour historical buildings. ABOVE: Jack, Emma, and Benny Mitchell of Amherst visited Santa Claus. BELOW LEFT: Chloe and Carter Hall of Amherst color and write letters to Santa with Mrs. Claus. BELOW RIGHT: Kay Beach gets up close and personal with Santa.

ANNUAL CRAZY GAMES

OBITUARIES

Ted Carmen, a 45-year resident of Bowling Green, passed away suddenly on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022, at the age of 78. He was born in Oberlin on Sept. 11, 1944, to John A. and Doro tha (Barnes) Carmen. Ted was one of four children: a younger brother, Terry and older sisters, Katherine and Patricia.

He graduated from Wel lington High School in 1962. In 1964, Ted met his wife, Pat via an introduction by his brother, Terry, and they married in 1967, celebrating their 55th anniversary this past March.

In 1965, Ted graduated from Lorain County Community College with an Associate's degree in Engineering, and he began his work career with the State of Ohio. Throughout his life, work took him to several communities in Ohio and out of state. Ultimately, due to a job transfer the Car men's moved to BG in 1977 from upstate New York, and Ted spent his remaining working years as a plant Foreman at Reed Air Products in Bradner, retiring in 2009.

Ted and Pat were blessed with three children, John Car men (Melissa), Wendi Wagner (Kyle), and Jason Carmen (Golden), all of whom are local Bowling Green residents; nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

In his retirement years, Ted enjoyed spending time with family and friends, camping at the family campground, completing sudoku and crossword puzzles and travel ing both in the states and taking cruises to international ports of call. A few of the things he was most proud of were building a log home nearly single handedly, being able to fix almost anything that was broken, and being an all-around handyman who never shied away from a chal lenge.

A private memorial service for family and close friends will be held at a later date.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Dunn Fu neral Home, located in the Historical District of Bowling Green, 408 West Wooster Street.

MARILYN CALEY (nee Mackert), 70, of Lorain, passed away Monday, Nov. 21, 2022, at Mercy Regional Medical Center in Lorain. Arrangements by Hempel Fu neral Home.

CONSTANCE

To place an obituary or death notice in the Community Guide, call (440) 329-7000.

LETTERS

Bus seat belts will save lives

To the editor:

The Ohio PTA board has recently released its authorita tive and extensive position statement on the “Support of Seat Belts in School Buses” and joined the National PTA that has long-supported seat belts in school buses for all school districts.

The Ohio PTA recommends that school districts initiate lap-shoulder seat belt installation pilot programs and this direct action by the Ohio PTA will undoubtedly be a turn ing point for school bus safety in Ohio, serve as a model for enhanced school bus safety in other states and will prevent injuries and save children's lives.

An example of a multi-vehicle school bus accident recently occurred in Avon Lake that could have been catastrophic. Also, the need for seat belts to protect chil dren on school buses even received recognition by Judge Jeanine Pirro on the October 27 edition of “The Five Show.”

Hopefully, this Ohio PTA action will wake up school districts to the risk their kids have without seat belts and encourage them to conduct pilot programs installing seat belts in their new buses.

Rudy Breglia

BALLOONS ON ‘PARADE’

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RAISES

“So my take away is that this is fair,” Winiarski said.

“It seems like a lot of money, but we’ve got a plan,” Costilow told Coun cil’s Finance Committee.

In a phone interview, he said that with infla tion pushing up consumer prices 7.7 percent over the past 12 months it’s only right to help employees keep pace.

Amherst has reaped the benefits of growing busi nesses, seeing a steady increase in tax revenue in the last few years, he said. And with no large-scale building repairs or equip ment purchases needed, he plans to significantly scale back capital spending in 2023.

In addition to higher pay, the American Federa

tion of State, County and Municipal Employees also traded Columbus Day for Juneteenth as a paid holiday. Full-time police and dispatchers made a similar deal by giving up St. Patrick’s Day in return for Juneteenth.

Union members also won the right to cash out one week of vacation per year.

“It’s hard to find em ployees, so if we can get another (week of work) out of people, I think that’s a good benefit for all of us,” Costilow said.

Employees with 25 or more years of service can also claim an additional week of vacation for each year that passes. Costilow said the incentive is meant to convince those getting close to retirement to stay

on a while longer.

A contract with the Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association includes an extra week of vacation each year for officers who have served more than 20 years. There’s also clarifi cation on how holiday pay and bereavement leave are determined, and standby pay for detectives who are on call.

“Most of the bad things that happen are in the middle of the night, and they have to change what they’re doing, their fami lies,” Costilow said.

Police will also get the ability to cash out half of their accumulated paid time off at retirement, provided they put in 25 years on the job and rack up more than 2,000 unused

ABOUT THE COMMUNITY GUIDE

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

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hours.

And sergeants who peri odically fill in for lieuten ants will get lieutenantrate pay under the new contract.

The city also committed to replacing bulletproof vests every 5 years. Previ ously, money was only made available for new vests once a decade.

Councilman David Janik, D-at large, asked whether the Amherst Police De partment will get body cameras under the deal.

Costilow said they were not part of negotiations. He later told a reporter the city will attempt to purchase body cameras in 2023, and is seeking grant funding.

“We’ll find a way,” he said.

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

Ted Carmen

“CONNIE” MAE FLINT (nee Ham mond), 73, of Amherst, passed away Friday, Nov. 25, 2022, surrounded by her loving family. Hempel Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.

FROM A1

Provided photos

McCormick Middle School fourth-graders in Wellington created a “Balloons Over Broadway” display while studying the history of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and its famous balloons. Kids designed their own balloons and showed them off Tuesday, Nov. 22. The goal of the science, technology, engineering and math project was to build and design a balloon that would stand on its own, but would also fit in perfectly at the Thanksgiving parade. The cityscape backdrop was created in math class where students used their division skills to place windows in equal rows.

ABOVE LEFT: Rylee Mihocik and Everett Abbey create an Earth-themed balloon for their STEM balloon project. ABOVE RIGHT: Levi Bozman and Gabe Reese show off their Santa Claus-inspired balloon.

Photos by Jeff Barnes | Amherst News-Times The roars could be heard for blocks around Marion L. Steele High School on Tuesday, Nov. 22 during the Crazy Games. In a longstanding tradition, Amherst students spend the afternoon before Thanksgiving break in the gym, compet ing in some of the wackiest ways — three-legged relays, balloon pop relays, adrenaline-fueled games of musical chairs. They even use scoot ers and laundry baskets in a larger-than-life ver sion of “Hungry Hungry Hippos.” This year, the senior class emerged victorious.

Oberlin cops searching for suspect in Nov. Jeep theft

OBERLIN — Police are ask ing residents for help identify ing the suspect in an alleged vehicle theft that happened in broad daylight.

They are searching for a man seen on security footage at Oberlin Certified Oil, 45970 U.S. Route 20. Photos show him appearing to be a white man with a thin mustache in a dark coat or sweatshirt.

A grayish hood was pulled up over a ball cap with a Cleveland Browns helmet on the front.

Police said they believe he is connected to the theft of a gold 2011 Jeep Liberty with camouflage trim and the Ohio license plate HAS1836. The incident happened around 2:10 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, according to investigators.

They believe the Jeep may have been drive to the Cleveland area.

Anyone with information is asked to call Sgt. Patrick Durica at (44) 774-1061.

BARFIELD

FROM A1

pay. The Wellington Police Department had at that point racked up $80,000 in overtime for the year, and Council demanded that spending be reined in.

Barfield was also unhappy with the results of a study by an independent con sultant hired to look into low morale and turnover.

LeBrun Management Solu tions found employees were unhappy with scheduling.

Asked how he planned to address the problem, Barfield heatedly told Hartman to try making the schedule.

Hartman said he hopes the argument wasn’t a ma jor factor in Barfield’s deci sion to hang up his hat. He said he would have asked the same hard questions of any department head to ensure taxpayer money is being spent responsibly.

Councilman Guy Wells, who chairs the Police Com mittee, said Barfield was “expressing his frustrations with the demands of the situation” in that meeting.

Afterward, it was clear that Barfield’s resignation “was a good eventuality” and so Schneider began preparing, Wells said.

“It wasn’t pretty. There were probably some hard feelings about it,” Schnei der said.

The mayor said in a phone interview on Wednesday, Nov. 16 that Barfield had not brought up retirement or other forms of resignation as a possibility.

“I wouldn’t say he’s talked about resigning,” he said.

But public documents show that’s not true. The village began accepting resumes for the chief’s po sition earlier in the month — an application from Sgt. Jim McPike was received Nov. 15 — and Schnei der later admitted that he had not been honest about Barfield’s plans to depart.

In a behind-closed-doors meeting, Council members interviewed McPike and Lt. Josh Poling.

Wells said McPike stood out because he served 27 years “in a more diverse and complex policing situ ation” at the Cleveland Po lice Department, where he retired as a captain before being hired in Wellington in March.

His resume shows he is a graduate of Cleveland State University, the Police Executive Leadership Col

lege and the FBI National Academy. McPike also has a background in investigat ing domestic violence, sex crimes and child abuse, and has been involved with special investigations and as a crisis coordinator.

educate the people work ing here in a way that’s in line with what Barfield was able to do, too,” he said.

same evening. Schneider said he wants McPike to continue what Barfield started — modernizing the Police Department and developing highly-trained officers who desire to stay in Wellington.

continue working to foster trust between police, resi dents and businesses, with the goal of increasing foot patrols.

McPike said he’s grown to love Wellington since being hired earlier this year.

stores and restaurants, the proud supportive commu nity all add up to a quaint village that anyone would

Provided photo

This security camera image was taken at Oberlin Certified Oil on U.S. Route 20. Police believe the man is connected to the theft of a Jeep Liberty.

Board of Elections looks for ‘intent’

STAFF REPORT

SHEFFIELD TWP — The Lorain County Board of Elections held an emergency meeting last week to sort through marks on certain election ballots to determine voter intent.

Board members, elections officials and Chief As sistant Lorain County Prosecutor Dan Petticord, the board's legal counsel, reviewed 123 ballots, looking for consistent intent. The board voted to accept all but one of those ballots.

In question during the 30-minute meeting were some ballots filled out by hand where voters didn't fill in the circles completely.

Stray marks and instances where people didn't fill in entire circles, made small dots in the circle or put an "X" to strike out a selection were examined.

Other ballots weren't fully completed and at least one had correction fluid on it. One ballot had a single race that was not counted.

The review was conducted as required by Ohio law, and was a crucial step in paving the way for certifica tion of the election on Monday.

NAMI of Lorain County swears in board members

LORAIN — Three new board members were sworn in at NAMI of Lorain County’s annual meeting and din ner banquet on Nov. 14.

Cindy Amos of Carlisle Township is a retired psychi atric nurse who served in the Air Force Nurse Corps between 1974 and 1976.

Amos served as secretary for Gathering Hope House for one year and volunteers as an usher at Playhouse Square and with the Board of Public Health Medical Reserve Corps. She has facilitated the NAMI Connec tions Support Group for four years, serves on the LOSS Team, and is certified to teach NAMI classes.

Holly St. Cyr of Avon Lake is a past president of NAMI and a past president of the board of directors for Friends of Avon Lake Library. She volunteers on a 12Step Journey to Spiritual Healing through Saint Agnes Catholic Church.

Minnie Whitten is a case manager for the YWCA, serving the homeless in both Lorain and Elyria. She previously spent 12 years at the Nordson Corporation and 12 years working for the Lorain County Probate Court.

NAMI exists to improve the quality of life for people with mental illness by providing education, support groups and advocacy.

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Election: Riddell certified as the next Lorain County commissioner

DAVE O’BRIEN THE CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM

SHEFFIELD TWP. — Republican Jeffrey Rid dell is now Lorain County commissioner-elect after defeating incumbent Com missioner Matt Lundy, a Democrat, in a close race, elections officials an nounced Monday.

When all votes in the Nov. 8 election were tallied, Riddell finished with 58,964 votes (50.06 percent) to Lundy's 58,828 votes (49.94 percent), ac cording to complete and official results from the Lorain County Board of Elections, a difference of only 136 votes.

The elections board certified the results in a unanimous vote at a brief meeting at its headquarters.

Because the difference in votes between the two candidates was less than a half percent, the race goes to an automatic recount.

The recount will take place at 9 a.m. on Wednes day, Dec. 7 at the board of elections offices, 1985 North Ridge Road. The re count is unlikely to change the outcome of the race, Board of Elections Direc tor Paul Adams said.

Despite the pending recount, Lundy, who was seeking a third consecutive term on the Board of Com missioners, conceded the race to his opponent.

Riddell was on hand Monday for the final ac counting of votes, and was congratulated by those present.

"I just had to come and see it to the end," Riddell said. "Now we can go to work."

"We were in it to win it," he said. "The margin is a little thin, OK, but I still

think that's a significant change when a first-time candidate at any level goes up against a veteran. I think that speaks for — it's not necessarily a mandate — but it's a request for a change of course and I hope we'll be able to do that."

The 71-year-old selfdescribed "semi-retired" businessman who ran a family business, Consumer Builder Supply in Sheffield Township, also praised the Board of Elections.

He said a lot of work and attention to detail goes into the process of ensuring the final vote is accurate.

"I have 100 percent faith, when they do the recount, whichever way that goes, I don't have any fault with the system," Riddell said. "We should be proud as Ohioans because a lot of states don't have the pro cess we do."

Riddell said he first plans to have conversations and catch up on what he needs to know before he takes on his new role in early January.

"As the commissionerelect, I don't know that we have a work list yet, it's a little early for that. I didn't want to be presumptious and jump the gun on that. Obviously we have a little bit of work so that I can hit the ground with some kind of competency on Jan. 2."

Riddell said he doesn't have any concrete plans, except to learn his role.

"Like anything else, you've got to learn where you're at before you can figure out how to get where you're going," he said. "We all have ideas on things."

Riddell said his "No. 1" goal is to get Lorain County "ready to share in Ohio's growth."

"We had a steel revolu tion in the 1890s, we had an auto revolution in the 1950s, and now we've got a high-tech manufacturing revolution coming to Ohio and Lorain County should certainly have their share of that," he said.

That will involve getting infrastructure like water and sewer service farther out into the rural areas of Lorain County. A new Lorain County Jail also is a "foregone conclusion," Riddell said.

Riddell said his second immediate goal is to "try and fix the structure of Lo rain County government, to stop all the chaos and the exodus of people, and just try and restore some stability."

He joins two other

Republican commission ers on the board, Michelle Hung and David Moore, both elected in 2020 over incumbent Democrats.

Hung and Moore have frequently been at odds with each other since it was revealed Hung voted to hire her lover Harry Wil liamson as Lorain County 911 director in January 2021 without revealing the relationship to Lundy and Moore.

When news of Hung's affair with Williamson became public, Williamson was fired by Lundy and Moore. Moore also de manded Hung's resignation but she refused to give it. Numerous lawsuits followed that firing and others, with some still ongoing.

The board also is on its third county administra tor since January 2021 and numerous directorlevel employees were fired, resigned or took new jobs elsewhere while contro versy swirled around the Hung and Williamson affair.

Lundy concedes A former two-term state representative and Avon Lake city councilman, Lundy was first elected commissioner in 2014.

He said he accepted the outcome of the vote and conceded the election to his opponent, while prais ing the "professional and dedicated" members of the Board of Elections and their team and saying the race was a "good example of how Republicans and Democrats can work to gether."

"A lot of people don't think their vote counts, but it does," Lundy said. "If this isn't a glaring example of how your vote counts, I don't know what is."

He said he reached out to Riddell by phone on Moday to congratulate his successor, talk about a transition of power and discuss several projects that are in progress in Lo rain County.

In a prepared state ment he also shared with The Chronicle-Telegram, Lundy wrote that he hopes the close race "will serve as an example to all Lorain County voters that your vote counts and your vote can make a difference."

"As I talked to voters at the polls on Election Day, I saw many in wheelchairs and using the assistance of walkers to get in their polling location to vote. Sadly, too many in some

of our communities stayed home," Lundy wrote. "To them I say don’t lose faith, reach out to your elected officials with challenging questions seeking answers. Please get engaged and stay engaged. Your vote is your voice.

"I love Lorain County and I’m greatly concerned about our county's future. I have worked hard to be the stabilizing force on the board, to bring common sense to the board to make sure the work of the people gets accomplished. With out me there, I fear there will be turmoil and chaos," Lundy wrote.

"I am also concerned about the deep division in our county and our coun try. We need to be civil with one another. We need to get back to practicing 'the golden rule' to treat others as we want to be treated," he wrote. "There’s no need to be nasty. Be kind. What is most impor tant is not what party you belong to. What is most important is making our county a better place for our children, our seniors and our families."

Lundy also thanked "our amazing campaign team," calling them "among the best and brightest, dedi cated to making our county a better place."

"I am so proud of you and was honored to be your candidate," he wrote.

Lundy also thanked Lo rain County's residents "for the faith and trust you have placed in me to serve as your state rep and as your county commissioner."

"I dedicated myself each day to 'social justice' by trying to find ways to help our families and protect consumers. Let us never forget that we are our brother’s keeper. We need to lift up others when they are down," he wrote.

In a phone interview, Lundy — whose first ca reer was a radio and televi sion journalist and who for a time also was assistant safety service director for the city of Elyria — said he has no plans to return to the private sector but hopes there is still a place for him the public sector.

"I really enjoy public service and government work, getting things done for the people. I still have a fire burning in me. I have a lot of energy. I hope there will be an opportunity to serve the community in one way or another," he said. "I don't know what God has planned for me... I can't predict the future."

Carissa Woytach | Chronicle

Lorain County Republican Chairman David Arredondo, left, shakes hands with Commissioner-elect Jeff Riddell following the Board of Election's certification of results on Monday.

Bruce Bishop | Community Guide Lorain County Board of Elections officials from both sides of the political aisle review ballots that were rejected by voting machines. They worked to double-check what each voters’ in tent was on ballots with stray or unusual mark ings. Pictured are Democrat Anthony Giardini and Republican Marilyn Jacobcik.

Not-Forgotten Box Begins Monday

KRISTIN BAUER THE CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM

ELYRIA — Since 1958, the NotForgotten Box food and toy drive conducted in partnership with the Salvation Army of Elyria has helped bring a joyful Christmas to Lorain County families.

So when these toy donations pour into the The Chronicle-Telegram’s lob by — about 8,800 toys were delivered in 2021 — the impact is really felt.

These donations helped more than 1,028 children in 569 households last year alone — bringing a joyful Christmas to Lorain County families who might otherwise not have been able to provide an idyllic holiday to their children.

The number of donations that came in exceeded the yearly goal of 8,000 toys. This didn’t include food, coats, blankets, stuffed animals and other items packaged with the toys that were donated.

All of this was made possible by the generosity of the community of Chronicle and Lorain County Com munity Guide readers.

While the goal is still to collect 8,000 toys, Lucy Velez, who coordi nates the toy drive at the Chronicle,

has said there is really no other program like the Not-Forgotten Box, where donations exceed that number every year.

She said she hopes that is the case again this holiday season since the apparent need in the county is greater.

There are 449 families signed up for help with the Salvation Army so far, many of whom have asked for both toys and food.

This year’s Not-Forgotten Box campaign was kicked off with dona tions from the American Legion Post 12, out of Elyria, and the Safety Council with the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce.

The American Legion Post 12 donated $3,000 the organization has raised throughout the year.

Post 12 member Ed Murphy helped start the Not-Forgotten Box, deliv ering toys in wood-paneled station wagons. The group has donated for six decades since — the post has no plans of stopping.

Post Cmdr. Manuel Cantu said the American Legion likes to help the community where they can: “We like to do things for other people.”

Anthony "Tony" Gallo, president of the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce, echoed similar senti ments, citing the Not-Forgotten Box

as a unique opportunity to rally the business community to help families in Lorain County.

Gallo said the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce is happy to have been able to donate for more than 15 years.

“Because we are so businessfocused, the fact that we are able to engage the businesses to want to help the community and families in Lorain County means a lot to us,” Gallo said.

The Lorain County Chamber of Commerce collected nearly 200 toys from 90 businesses involved with Safety Council in one month.

Gallo added the interest among busi nesses in donating has only been posi tive with more pitching in every year, “Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd.”

The Not-Forgotten Box is a mas sive undertaking made possible by the Lorain County community, and it is a labor of love for everyone involved.

Food and toy collections begin Dec. 5. People can give and drop off toys, clothes, food, checks and cash from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at The Chronicle, 225 East Ave. (en trance off Third Street), Elyria.

The Saturday drop-off date is on Dec. 10 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Chronicle.

LORAIN COUNTY JVS HONOR ROLL

Fontaine, Curtis Gilles, Tyler Henderson, Samuel Herchler, Richard Jandrew, Marissa King, Aaron Kirk, Michael Landin, Izeck Manges, Benjamin McKee, Emily Miller, Jeremy Partlow, Alyssa Pennington, Isaac Stokley, Brennen Szilagyi, Bryant Szilagyi, Dakota Vaughn, James Whitaker, Devon Wiles, Vayda Wiles, Garrett Yakunovich, Devon Yurglic

LorMet donates $25K to Second Harvest for food

AMHERST — LorMet Community Federal Credit Union visited Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio last week, presenting the Lorain-based nonprofit with $25,150 raised through a recent mem ber match campaign, according to a news release.

Knowing the contribution would be matched, the credit union responded to the challenges faced by local families and food banks throughout 2022.

Since 2016, LorMet has contributed more than $157,000 to Second Harvest, providing an estimated 836,000 meals.

“When we began our first member match cam paign for Second Harvest back in 2016, our goal was to not only encourage our members to make a difference in the Lorain County community through donations, but also contribute as an organization and double the impact we’re able to make together,” said Daniel Cwalina, president and CEO of LorMet Community Credit Union. “Raising money for a cause is a partial commitment and when those dona tions are matched, it’s our experience that donors react strongly. Looking back, it’s incredible to see the number of families we’ve been able to impact over the last seven years thanks to the generosity of our members.”

Second Harvest CEO Julie Chase-Morefield thanked LorMet for its continued generosity.

“Each year, LorMet and their members step up to help the vulnerable in the community when they need it the most,” she said. “We want to make sure people get the food they need especially during the holiday season and we can, because of LorMet Credit Union’s commitment to our neighbors and friends.”

Langston hosts Literacy Night for Oberlin families

OBERLIN — Langston Middle School will hold a Family Literacy Night from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1.

It will feature dinner, poetry readings, a book fair, literacy stations, raffle baskets, community organiza tion tables and a story time with National Teacher of the Year and Oberlin High School history teacher Kurt Russell. Story time will be at 6:30 p.m.

“We are very excited to showcase our poetry readings from our sixth grade students who are participating in the Writing in the Schools program during (language arts) classes with Lynn Powell and Oberlin College students,” said Principal Sheila Hicks.

A book fair will be held in the library and open throughout the evening to allow for families to purchase materials.

Dinner will be available for families who have preregistered. That deadline is closed.

Bell-ringers needed

The Salvation Army’s Wellington Service Unit is looking for volunteers to ring the bell and collect money for next year’s budget.

Kettles will be at Village Market, Apples and Farm & Home Hardware from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. through December. The fundraising goal is $20,000 and an anonymous donor has provided matching funds to get started.

To sign up, visit:

• tinyurl.com/BellsApples

• tinyurl.com/BellsFarmHome

• tinyurl.com/BellsMarket

Avon:

Darroch, Ryan Dzuban, Keirsten Hummel, Andi Kehl, Thomas Keller, Jass Kloepfer, Reis Leder, Yeliel Martinez, Nyqueze Ortiz, Peyton Stefanich, Lauren Trifiletti, Mya Viets, Maeve Walsh, Joseph Weatherspoon Jr., Anthony Wolf, Morgan Zseberan

Avon Lake: Megan Andrews, Bradley Babbitt, Gavin Bristow, Emma Brown, Emma Campbell, Gracey Crnjak, Benjamin Hale, Tyler Hammond, Griffin Harrington, Brandt Holub, Ryan Manor, Destiny Rasor, Zander Skiles, Lilian Von Glahn, Alexandra Wagoner, Steven Woyat, Ben Zimmerman

Brookside: Tyler Blodgett, Alexzandra Boyd, Mason Clapp, Haley Custer, Evan Drachenberg, Brennen Gainer, Danielle Hall, Carynne Hickerson, Mindy Jackman, Jacob Kelovsky, Blake McClung, Rylee Quickle, Timothy Rowe, Gianna Ruocco, Danilyn Schwarz, Allison Smith, Emilio Smith, Jessica White

Clearview: Jack Bailey, Kalie Branham, Pedro Cerna Jr., Tiahna Cook, Isabella Cupek, Ava Dotson, Caid Fernandez, Isabella Giusti, Jayla Graham, Jozaiah Guerra, Caleb Hammonds, Autumn Jones, Christopher Jones, Noah Joseph, Brooke Kelly, Logan Klamer, Jameson Mccall, Brandon Mercer, Emanuel Moore, Gregory O’Hern, Angie Ortiz Santiago, Kristhine Ortiz Santiago, Jocelyn Pallens, Dezmin Payne, Gabrielle Petrisko, Mykaela Rivera, Emma Roach, Evangely Rosado, Antonio Santana, Ryan Seaburn, Jason Thomas, Siddalee Tindale, Nathaniel Velazquez, Kylee Weese

Columbia: Antonio DeBlasis, Delaney Friscone, Nick Fumich, Elliott Hart, Kirby Herrera, Ava Hunt, Calder Jessen, Gabrielle Kalin, Gary Lash, Amanda Markosky, Evian Meyers, Sandra Miller, Zoe Napier, Marissa Roberts, Owen Trujillo, Peyton Vangilder

Elyria: Chloe Adair, Ayden Amato, Joshua Arnold, Christan Betz, Keasia Blue, Jayden Brannon, Jaida Brooks, Joshua Buckey, Mandolin Buckles, Charlize Cannon, Jeremiah Cruz, Matthew Deel, Gianeylis Del Valle Merced, Augustin Dimascio, Jeremiah Donovan, Adrain Dotson, Kameron Fox, Cameron Fryer, Mya Galindo, Ava Gastelum, Jackson Goodspeed, Douglas Grimes, Kathryn Holliday, Havana Jantz, Trent Jones, Nicole Justice, Briana Keith, Faith Keith, Haylie Kelly, McKenzie Landford, Lashea Lowry, Taylor Martin, Francisco Mazariegos, Nikolas Maze, MiKayla McAuliff, Owen McGuire, Blake Metcalf, Jayden Milks, William Miller, Jaclyn Myers, Gabriella Napier, Xaiden Natal, Adrionnah

Keystone: Alexandra Aslanidis, Camryn Broad, Jameson Bryant, Lanie Dove-Gondor, Allison Dubber, Erin Friel, Olivia Gardner, Cooper Graham, Gabrielle Grudier, Eric Guzman, Joseph Hawkinberry, Chelsea Hood, Helayna Houston, Sakura Ito, Brayden Jackson, Emily Jirousek, Kelsey Kovacs, Owen Maiden, Tristan Mullins, Kyle Naylor, Pietra Parensa, Olivia Rounds, Joseph Scheiman, Lea Stumphauzer, Maeve Vana, Michelle Zheng

Midview: Blake Ansel, Devin Ansel, Delton Beckman, Aryanna Blakenship, Giovanni Cross, Hailey Crum, Amari Cruz, Christine Delfosse, Scott Drevenak, Austin Dye, Tyler Dye, Morgan Eid, Zachary Eid, Zylaya Glover, Savana Hollingsworth, Chloe Ibosh, Joshua Lang, Raylynn Layne, Maggie Lenhart, Ashton Logan, Jordan Lottman, Chloe Miller, Venessa Payne, Tru Preston, Beau Rybicki, Madison Sagar, Lucas Schupp, Zachary Smith, Emily Stonestreet, Hayden Strauss, Jordan Toth, Alexis Turner, Ty Wilson

North Ridgeville: Sukaina Abidi, Malachi Ables, Kaylie Blank, Brian Bowman, Chloe Breeding, Robyn Buskirk, Dillinger Chapman, Makena Chapman, Mason Creek, Samantha DeCara, Cheyenne Deese, Kendel Durst, Nolan Eyman, Cody Fitch, Ava Frymier, Caleb Gill, Elijah Gould, Delayne Grimes, Jack Harrington, Cody Hart, Jax Hayes, Victoria Heinz, Luna Iparraguirre, Elaina Jackson, Tyler Jaworski, Eric Jurina, Ivy Kandiko, Adam Kingsley, Anthony March, Olivia Medina, Dale Millar, Shyanne Montes, Nickolaus Moore, Evan Perez, Erin Pfeuffer, Katherine Pfeuffer, Lilly Price, Makayla Renton, Isaac Rink, Ethan Sante, Miranda Sedlak, Isaac Shropshire, Zachary Sorma, Alexander Stano, Abby Terrell, Peter Vlach, Mitchell Weiss, Tyler West, Morgan Yaksic

Oberlin: Akhira Algarin, Rebecca Boardman, Marianna Frank, Bryan Grooms, Ryleigh Hacker, Airiana Holt, Breanna Smith, Zachary Webb, Kirk Yochum, Alyssa Zimmerman

Ohio Connections Academy: Brett Beaumont

Wellington: Elizabeth Buckingham, Matthew Buga, Noah Clark, Dominic Danesi, Austin DeRodes, Michael Dietrich, Chloe Dovel, Autumn Dudziak, Hayden Fleming, Trevor Gasper, Nathan Glavich, Jackson Harris, Caiden Helms, Robert Hendricks, Lillian Hurst, Whitney Kirschner, Nathan Krosse, Brayonna Leiby, Duane Lilly, Copper McConnell, Adam Michalak, Nathan Michalak, Madison Mickey, William Mohler, Matthew Mohrman, Corwin Scyoc, Shiloh Smith, Jaidan Span, Austin Sutherland, Lucas Sutherland, Nathan Sword, Kierstin Taylor, Sadie Willis

Kristin Bauer | Chronicle

Anthony Gallo, president of the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce, and Kristine Kuhn, office and financial manager of the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce, deliver bags filled with nearly 200 toys from 90 businesses involved with Safety Council to be donated to the Not-Forgotten Box at The Chronicle-Telegram.

PITTSFIELD TWP. — The Lorain County JVS has announced its first quarter honor roll for the 2022-2023 school year. It recognizes students who have achieved a GPA of 3.5 or higher. The 378 students who achieved this honor are: Amherst: Jadyn Brockmeyer, Vanessa Candelario, Branden Carpenter, Antonio Castro, Lane Dean-Dielman, Samantha Figueroa, Morgan Grose, Baylor Gross, Trystan Hoopes, Christopher Keiper, Mason Krause, Jacob Kuchnicki, Marcus Lacey, Elia Manter, Keyshla Maysonet, Amanda McElheny, Micah Mercado, Veronica Mudrock, Hayden Nagy, Jessica Nickoloff, Caden Noll, Riley Pinter, Javier Ramos, Emily Reed, Conner Riley, Cayden Robinson, Jacob Sprinkle, Hope Spurlock, Valyn Survance, Ben Susi, Nicholas Taddeo, Isabel Taylor, Danielle Teele, Ryan Trowbridge, Carter Walton, Ryan Watkins

Owen Carbone, Corbin

Pinkston, Hannah Pressnell, Jackson Rice, Mitchell Rice, Jonathan Roberts, Logan Rutz, Mikayla Rutz, Zoe Scheithauer, Blake Shawkey, Logan Sheldon, Jeremy Snyder, Ashley Stanek, Jace Walters, Sebastian Whitehair, Norman Wirth, Dylan Wymer

Firelands: Logan Adkins, Tyler Anderson, Samantha Boyd, Lauren Brown, Lucas Brushaber, Chancellor Chenoweth, Graham Deshuk, Brian Diaz, Lyla

Holiday open house

The Friends of the Amherst Public Library will hold a holiday open house from 4:30-6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1 at the library. Visit with Friends members and enjoy tea and cookies. This event is open to members of the Friends and anyone who is interested in joining or learning more about the organization. For more information, call (440) 988-4230.

Zero Proof Mix-Off at LCCC

The 21st Annual Zero Proof Mix-Off will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1 at Lorain County Community College’s Spitzer Conference Center in Elyria.

This free event features nonalcoholic drinks prepared by com munity groups, encouraging people to drive sober and serve non-alcoholic options at parties, especially around the holidays. Last year, the Ohio State Highway Patrol won the Best Taste Award for its drink, “Declawed,” which mixed lemon, lime and orange juices with club soda and simple syrup. Among this year’s entries are “Winter in Rome” by the Lorain County JVS FFA and “Punch Float” by the Wellington Schools.

Santa visits South Amherst

South Amherst’s annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony, featuring a visit from Santa, will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1 at the village fire station and Village Hall.

See ‘A Christmas Carol’

Travel back to when live radio broadcasts would bring stories to life through the use of special sound effects and vocal range.

Wellington Friends of Theater will stage “A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1 at the Patricia Lindley Center for the Performing Arts in Wellington.

See the story of Jacob Marley, the three ghosts and Ebenezer Scrooge in this holiday production that is complete with radio commercial breaks. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $11 for adults and $6 for senior citizens, students and children. Cash or check only. There are no pre-sale tickets.

Discuss ‘Ranger Confidential’

The Wellington Reservation Book Club will meet at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1 at the Lorain County Metro Parks Wellington Reservation Center on Jones Road.

The group is reading “Ranger Confidential” by Andrea Lankford during November. At the meeting, readers will discuss it and choose their next book. Light refreshments will be pro vided. New members are welcome.

Holiday toy drive

A toy drive will be held by the Peggy Karolak Insurance Agency and Wellington Fire District from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2 at 805 Patriot Dr., Wellington.

It will feature cookies, hot cocoa and elves. New, unused and unopened toys will be collected for kids in need, with donations going to Well-Help. While toys will be accepted for babies to 18-year-olds, there are usually fewer donations for ages 12-18, so consider giving one item for a teen.

Final First Friday in Wellington

Main Street Wellington’s final First Friday event will be held from 4-7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2 in the village’s downtown.

The K-Kids, a group of up to 80 younger students and their parents, will carol around town from 5-6:30 p.m. Most retailers will have holiday sales and restaurants will have specials. At 7 p.m., Main Street will “light” the Tree for Those Who Serve, also known as the Veteran’s Tree at the Town Hall gazebo.

The ceremony will be followed by an outdoor performance by Janice’s Dance Studio Competition Team.

Christmas program at EC

The 2nd Annual “Miracle on Poplar and Gulf” will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2 at Elyria Catholic High School.

A “Journey to Bethlehem” performance will begin at 5 p.m., with a live nativity featuring real animals at 5:30 p.m. A lighting ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. There will also be a Christmas bazaar and musical performances. Children attending are invit ed to dress as angels or shepherds and be part of the events. The event is free. Elyria Catholic requests attendees take an unwrapped toy to be donated to children in Lorain County.

Help ‘Light Up Vermilion’

Light Up Vermilion will return for an eighth season from 5-9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2 in the city’s downtown and Exchange Park.

Main Street Vermilion is planning family-friendly activities, and many stores and restaurants will add extra hours for holiday shopping and dining.

Winners of the Vermilion Arts Guild’s annual Vermilion Elementary School coloring contest will be named at 5 p.m. at Exchange Park. Santa Claus will arrive at 6 p.m. downtown, where Mayor Jim Forthofer will count down to the community tree lighting at 6:15 p.m. The Ritter Public Library will host a free Christmas concert by the Vermilion Community Band at 7 p.m. with refreshments.

Vote for your favorite business window display, take part in a scavenger hunt, visit Christmas alpacas at the park, collect treats and enjoy the sounds of Christmas carols.

Miracle on Main Street

Miracle on Main Street will be held at 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2 in downtown Amherst.

The event is sponsored by Main Street Amherst and Sliman’s. The Madrigals of Steele High School will perform at 5:45 p.m. at Town Hall. The annual Christmas parade will kick off at 6 p.m., starting from the Amherst Public Library and traveling along Park Avenue to Town Hall, where there will be carols and Santa will help light the city’s tree.

Old Fashioned Christmas

Grafton’s Old Fashioned Christmas will be held starting with a ribbon-cutting and grand reopening for Main Street at 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2 in front of Town Hall.

Phase I of the “Envision Main Street” project provided safety updates from Erie Street south to Mechanic Street, including new curb and storm water improvements, sidewalks and cross walks, pedestrian rapid flash beacon locations, walkways over the railroad tracks, a new streetscape, lighting and paving.

While downtown, enjoy the sights, activities and holiday ambi ance from 6-8 p.m. Santa will arrive at 6 p.m. at the GraftonMidview Public Library. The evening will feature carolers, band performances, crafts and snacks.

The Old Fashioned Christmas is planned by members of Main Street Grafton.

Christmas shopping for kids

The Santa Shop will return from 4-7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2 and Saturday, Dec. 3 at the Carlisle Visitor Center, 12882 Diagonal Rd., Carlisle Township. It will be held during the Lorain County Metro Parks’ Night Lights event.

This is an opportunity to encourage children to do their own shopping for parents, siblings, friends, grandparents, teachers or even pets. There will be many gift ideas to choose from, and free gift wrapping is available.

The Santa Shop is sponsored by Friends of Metro Parks in Lorain County. Proceeds benefit the county park system.

Winter wonderland in Oberlin

“Walkin’ In a Winter Oberlin” will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3 in the city’s downtown.

A holiday lights parade will kick off the event, traveling down W. College Street. A holiday tree lighting will immediately follow the parade.

There will be free horse-drawn sleigh rides, visits with Santa at the Hotel at Oberlin, s’mores courtesy of Oberlin firefighters, cookies and hot cocoa courtesy of the Oberlin Rotary Club and Salvation Army, ornament decorating, an art market, ice sculp tures, performances, raffles and more.

The event is sponsored by the city of Oberlin, Oberlin College and local organizations and businesses.

See ‘The Nutcracker’ on stage

North Pointe Ballet will present “The Nutcracker” at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3; and 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 4 at the Lorain Palace Theatre, 617 Broadway, Lorain.

Featuring thrilling theatrical elements and colorful larger-thanlife sets and costumes, the holiday production is set to the clas sical score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Audience members will see professional dancers perform alongside students from local dance studios. The ballet integrates live narration to guide the audience through the story.

Hearing-impaired patrons will be able to follow along with an American Sign Language interpreter at every performance. Participants from Murray Ridge School and North Pointe Ballet’s A Chance to Dance program will join the cast during a special sensory-friendly matinee on Saturday, Dec. 3.

Tickets can be purchased at northpointeballet.org/nutcracker or by calling (440) 245-2323.

Educators interested in tickets to a field trip performance at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 2may email leanna@northpointeballet.org.

Christmas in Henrietta

The first Henrietta Christmas celebration will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 4 at Henrietta Township Hall, 12050 Vermilion Rd.

Kids can take homemade ornaments to hang on the township tree, which will be lit at 6:30 p.m. when Santa arrives. There will be crafts for children, hot chocolate and doughnuts.

For more information, email fourhands4@zoominternet.net.

Memories of Sandy Ridge

The Black River Audubon Society will present Tim Fairweather and his program “Musings of a Naturalist Life” at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at Sandy Ridge Reservation, 6195 Otten Rd., North Ridgeville.

Fairweather had been a naturalist with Lorain County Metro Parks for almost 33 years, retiring at the end of October. Through photos and stories, he will recount some of his favorite memories at Sandy Ridge and his recent trip to Hog Island Audubon Camp in Maine courtesy of BRAS.

The program is free and open to the public.

Free Christmas concert

The Wellington Community Chorus will perform a free

The

Republican Club meeting

The Avon-Avon Lake Republican Club will meet for breakfast at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at Sugar Creek Restaurant, 5196 Detroit Rd., Sheffield.

Charles Giunto, board member of Ohio Value Voters, will speak. Attendees are responsible for their meals.

Oberlin library meetings

The Oberlin Public Library board will meet at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 8 at the library. A regular meeting will be fol lowed by a 2023 organizational meeting.

Both are open to the public.

Republican Christmas party

The Avon-Avon Lake Republican Club Christmas party will be held at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 8 at Father Ragan Knights of Columbus Hall, 1783 Moore Rd., Avon.

It will feature visits by Santa; State Rep. Gayle Manning, R-North Ridgeville; State Sen. Nathan Manning, R-North Ridgeville; candidate for Lorain County commissioner Jeff Riddell; and Summit County Magistrate Scot Stevenson.

Snacks and refreshments will be available. The cost for guests is $5.

Wellington band concerts

The McCormick Middle School and Wellington High School bands will perform holiday concerts at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 8 at the Patricia Lindley Center for the Performing Arts.

Empty Mugs at First Church

The annual Empty Mugs event, hosted by Oberlin Community Services and the Oberlin Pottery Co-op, will be held from 1-4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10 at the First Church in Oberlin, 106 N. Main St.

It will feature a free concert from 1-2:30 p.m. by the Oberlin Conservatory of Music’s Smokin’ Brass Band and Oberlin Choristers.

An assortment of local, handmade pottery will be sold from 2:30-4 p.m., with all proceeds going to support OCS. There will also be food and hot drinks.

Breath of Heaven

The 25th anniversary of the Breath of Heaven live nativity will be held from 4-8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10 and Sunday, Dec. 11 at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 15617 Mason Rd., Vermilion.

An Oberlin tradition of many years before moving to Vermilion, the free event tells the Biblical story of Jesus’ birth. Dramatic presentations begin every 15 minutes.

Amherst library meetings

The Amherst Public Library board will meet at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 12 at the library. A regular meeting will be fol lowed by a 2023 organizational meeting.

Both are open to the public.

How to find marriage records

The Lorain County chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society will hold a virtual program at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 12.

Roslyn Torella will present “Did Your Ancestor Marry at a Gretna Green?” Learn about the history of a “Gretna Green marriage,” and how to find eloping couples and their marriage records, even in Ohio.

This online program is free and open to the public. Email meetings@loraincoogs.org to be added to the list to receive a link to join in.

Hop aboard the Jingle Bell Bus

The Jingle Bell Bus will offer holiday rides through Amherst at 6 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 14.

It will depart from the Main Street Amherst Community Center, 255 Park Ave., and travel through the city to view Christmas lights, with caroling along the way.

Space is limited and tickets must be pre-purchased at tinyurl. com/JingleBellBus. The cost is $5 per person per ride.

Wellington choir concerts

The McCormick Middle School and Wellington High School choirs will perform holiday concerts at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 15 at the Patricia Lindley Center for the Performing Arts.

North Pole adventure

The Workshop Players will present “Santa Sing-A-Long” at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 17 and 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 44820 Middle Ridge Rd., Amherst Township.

The North Pole adventure will include holiday shenanigans, songs and fun. This season, children of all ages are invited to see Santa and give him their Christmas wish lists, make cook ies, sing songs and engage in holiday storytelling to celebrate the season.

Tickets are $12 each, or five for $50. No tickets will be sold at the door. To reserve tickets, call (440) 634-0472.

Christmas concert at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 140 S. Main St., Wellington.

concert will feature solos, duet, piano and full chorus numbers with an appearance by the Grinch. There will also be Christmas carols for adults and kids.

Right on target

Brownhelm lights its Christmas tree

OWEN MACMILLAN THE CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM

BROWNHELM TWP. — Despite wind and rain Sun day evening, about 50 residents gathered in front of the Historic Brownhelm School and Museum to kick off the holiday season with a Christmas tree lighting.

Savage Society thrower heads to World Axe Throwing Championship

JASON HAWK EDITOR

AMHERST — The ax slipped smoothly from Stacy Christiansen’s hand Sunday and spun head over handle to the wooden target, landing with a satis fying thud.

After three years of practice, he has the motion down perfectly — which is why Christiansen, 26, of Canton, has qualified for the 6th Annual World Axe Throwing Championship this weekend in Appleton,

Wisconsin.

“He’s got such a com mitment. The drive he has to be a better thrower is admirable. He’s in the zone,” said Drew Losse, owner of Savage Society Axe Throwing in Amherst.

The pair are close friends, and Christiansen makes the 90-minute trek across Northeast Ohio each week to hone his skills at the Cooper Foster Park Road sports facility.

“I love it. Drew is a friend of mine, and I like to support my friends,” Christiansen said.

At the world champion ship, he’ll represent Sav age Society and compete for a $50,000 prize pool, which is the largest ever offered by the World Axe Throwing League.

Christiansen will com pete in the big ax, hatchet duals and knife-throwing games with partner Bren nen Wozniak of Sandusky.

If he performs well, he may make it to the finals, which will be aired by ESPN on Sunday, Dec. 4.

Savage Society is one of more than than 350 WATL venues in 19 countries.

More than 20,000 people took part in league tourna ments this year to deter mine who would make it to the championships.

Christiansen, origi nally from California, is a Coast Guard veteran who recently moved to Ohio. It happened after meeting Holly, a fellow ax-thrower who he discovered on TikTok after a tournament in Medina. Christiansen relocated to Canton to be with her in 2020, and last year they tied the knot.

The weather made the process of lighting a 50-foot cherry tree difficult, and the tree’s lights flicked off and on, eliciting alternating cheers and groans from the crowd.

But the tree did light, and people were welcomed in side the gym area of the school-turned-museum, which was alive with the sights and smells of the holidays.

“I’m just thrilled, we have got a great Christmas tree lighting committee,” Brownhelm Historical Association President Marcia DePalma said. “I wanted a Hallmark Christmas tree lighting. In October, my son rented a cherry picker to put all the lights on, and now it’s raining.”

The event was not all about the lighting of the tree, DePalma said, but rather bringing the community

‘White Noise’ hits theaters

JASON HAWK EDITOR

Flickering in and out of the 2 minute 38 second clip are shots of his house on Forest Street in Oberlin.

“There’s a snippet where Greta Gerwig is looking out a window. That’s my bedroom she’s standing in,” Andrews said.

A film crew shot at the home for six days over the course of several weeks last July. “White Noise” was shot entirely in Northeast Ohio, including Wellington, where Herrick Avenue storefronts were reinvented with 1980s signage.

“White Noise” is scheduled to start streaming on Netflix on Dec. 30.

It got a limited theatrical release starting Friday — but good luck seeing it. The flick isn’t playing at the Apollo Theater in Oberlin, Atlas Cinemas at Midway Mall or Regal Cinemas across the region.

The closest screen to watch it is at Gateway Film Center in Columbus, according to the movie’s official website.

Regal Cinemas says it will carry the film beginning Dec. 9, though it’s unclear whether it will be shown at Cobblestone in Elyria, Crocker Park in Westlake or Regal Medina.

Andrews said he plans to see the movie Monday at an invitationonly screening for crew and VIPs in Cleveland.

He’s curious to see just how much his house appears in the film — it has

OBERLIN — To Erik Andrews’ eyes, pieces and parts of the new trailer for “White Noise” look aw fully familiar.

a starring role as the home of profes sor Jack Gladney, played by Adam Driver.

The trailer shows the Gladney fam ily gazing out of Andrews’ attic at a train crash in the distance, where a

black plume of toxic smoke threatens his idyllic college town.

Another scene shows the Gladneys rushing down the front steps as a

Owen MacMillan | Chronicle Brownhelm residents hold their breath as a community Christmas tree is lit Sunday night in front of the Historic Brownhelm School and Museum.

File photo

Greta Gerwig and Adam Driver walk past one of the murals painted especially for the movie “White Noise” in Wellington.

Photos by Jason Hawk | Amherst News-Times

Stacy Christiansen of Canton puts in a last-minute practice session Sunday at Savage Society in Amherst before heading to the World Axe Throwing Championship in Wisconsin.

CLAUSES THERE FOR SMALL SHOPS

FROM

together to start celebrating the holidays.

“We do not have a ‘town’ here in Brownhelm, so this building has become more or less the center of town, in a sense,” she said. “We have our very active historical group, but for something like this it’s nice because a lot of people who are not members of our organization are com ing here. So it’s kind of drawing the community together.”

DePalma’s daughter Jennifer led the group in a number of Christmas carols while residents enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies.

Even Santa, played by Grant Thompson, made an appear ance to sit by the smaller tree inside and meet with kids. Jennifer DePalma and the crowd welcomed him with a rendition of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

Along with bringing the community together and having fun, the event was also intended to do some good for the community, as DePalma and the BHA members collected donations for Road To Hope, an addiction recovery clinic in Elyria.

“We are really happy that people have been very gener ous and we are bringing in a lot of donations for that,” DePalma said. “So that feels like community too.”

The Brownhelm Historical Society will continue its Christmas season events this weekend, when it holds what DePalma called a “Pioneer Christmas” at the Benjamin Bacon House Museum in the Vermilion River Reservation.

The event is officially called the “Old Fashioned Holi day” and is a collaboration between members of the his torical society and the Lorain County Metro Parks.

It will consist of re-enactors demonstrating by candle light how a Christmas celebration would have looked during the 1860s. The re-enactment will be held from 3-7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3 and Sunday, Dec. 4.

WHITE NOISE

FROM B1

mass evacuation begins.

Andrews said he was able to briefly meet director Noah Baumbach and cinematographers prior to filming, and chatted with Driver for a few minutes on his own front porch as the actor waited for rehearsal to begin.

The pair discussed the nonprofit Arts in the Armed Forces, which Driver, a Marine, founded to help veterans and service members. They also talked about what it was like to “kill” Harrison Ford when Driver played Kylo Ren in the “Star Wars” franchise. Andrews vividly remembers craning his neck upward to meet the eyes of the 6-foot-2 star, who compliment ed his house.

Film crews made temporary cosmetic changes to the exterior of the Andrews home, drawing attention from neighbors, he said. “There were a lot more people walking their dogs by our house for those six weeks than normal. People were really curious about what was going on,” he remembers.

Because filming happened at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were also rigorous rules for keeping the virus in check. The Andrewses were tested every other day during the shooting window, and crew members lined up for nose swabs every week, he said.

From the limited footage in the trailer, it’s hard to spot other specific Ohio filming locations.

It features interiors of a 1980s grocery store, but it seems unlikely that portion took place in Wellington. The village’s downtown was transformed into the fictional town of Black smith, with a record store, RadioShack, Western Union, a travel agency, an electronics retailer, movie theater, salon and other small shops — none of which have yet been revealed.

In a blog post by the Greater Cleveland Film Commission, Baumbach talked about filming in Ohio.

“It’s a very distinct place and it was a great place to shoot because they’re not as used to having movies there,” he said. “So many of the people in the background, in the college, those are real kids and their parents that live there. They aren’t actors. And the people at the barracks, many of them aren’t actors — they’re just people who wanted to be in the movie. It was the best experience I’ve had with bringing a community into a movie.”

The trailer itself is highly stylized, with a dark comedic sen sibility. Netflix describes the flick as “offbeat” and “cerebral,” and while Baumbach directs the tone seems more in line with works by Wes Anderson.

With a reported budget of $80 million, “White Noise” isn’t a low-budget movie, and the high-gloss trailer makes it look like every penny of that and more was spent.

In addition to Driver and Gerwig, the cast features Don Cheadle and Andre 3000. Legendary composer Danny Elfman provides the score.

“White Noise” premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival in August. It opened the 2022 New York Film Festival in September and screened at the 31st Philadelphia Film Festival in October, building buzz.

So far, the film has a positive rating with critics on the re view aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, with 73 percent saying “White Noise” is “fresh.”

Their consensus: The movie “may occasionally struggle with its allegedly unfilmable source material, but Noah Baumbach succeeds in finding the humorous heart of its surprisingly timely story.”

Jake Coyle of the Associated Press rated the movie highly.

“In very ’80s environs, Baumbach’s film always remains — purposefully, I think — a self-conscious work of literature adaptation, juggling big themes and highly literate dialogue with a screwball touch,” he wrote.

But A.O. Scott of The New York Times wasn’t as kind, call ing the movie “an expression of sincere and admirable faith. I just just wish I could believe in it.”

“White Noise” is rated R for brief violence and language.

SAVAGE

Now they share an ax-throwing setup in their garage, where they can practice.

“The one I have now is anchored to the house. It’s not falling down anytime soon,” he said.

Why is that important? Because after meeting Holly, Christiansen bought her a custom ax for her birthday — and the first time she threw it, the target fell and snapped her fibula in half.

For the past year, Christiansen has been throwing at Savage Society in Amherst, getting friendly coaching from Losse.

The duo also pairs up for dual competition, although Losse isn’t heading to the championships this time.

Christiansen’s come a long way in a short time. He first picked up an ax at a Halloween tournament in 2019.

He said he immediately fell in love with the feel of slinging the heavy tool through the air. Soon, he’d gotten a job managing an axthrowing venue in Georgia.

Then COVID-19 struck. Chris tiansen said he started aggressively practicing his throwing when the entire world shut down in the early days of the pandemic, and found a global gallery of competitors who threw virtually with each other in the Quarantine Axe Throwing League.

“That’s what really grabbed me. I got to meet a lot of people in the community,” he said. Soon he was friends with pros from Ireland to

Australia.

That’s where he forged a friend ship with Losse.

When pandemic restrictions lifted, Christiansen started traveling to Amherst. He said Savage Society welcomed him with open arms.

“The first impression was about the environment, the music play ing, and there’s a lot of room in that facility,” he said.

While practicing, he’s tried to envision himself winning the championship in Wisconsin. Yet

he’s

“I talk to myself

say, ‘One throw at a time. One throw at a time.’ You can’t focus on anything else,” he said.

Even if he is knocked out quickly, Christiansen said the trip will be valuable for another reason. He is preparing to graduate from Los An geles Film School, and his capstone project is a documentary on the ax

South Cedar Street in Oberlin was closed at the intersection of Oak Street for filming.

Christiansen said

nervous to go up against competitors who have far more experience.

and

throwing community.

Savage Society owner Drew Losse and World Axe Throwing Championship qualifier Stacy Christiansen.

FROM B1

Photos by Jeff Barnes | Wellington Enterprise Main Street Wellington pulled out all the stops for Shop Small Saturday, and Santa and Mrs. Claus were there to help. The iconic Christmas couple welcomed children at Town Hall. While Black Friday has become a day for big boxes and online retailers, Saturday was a time to support local brick-and-mortar businesses. There were also pop-up shops downtown, and a craft bazaar at First Congregational Church. ABOVE: Santa and Mrs. Clause took time out of their busy schedule to visit with all the good boys and girls in the area. BELOW: The Gingerbread Man spread happiness throughout downtown Wellington, welcoming Trent and Becky Hill of Wakeman.

Suit alleges blackmail in spat between local Republicans

DAVE O’BRIEN THE CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM

Former Lorain County Administrator Tom Wil liams filed a lawsuit against Lorain County Commis sioner Michelle Hung; her boyfriend, former Lorain County 911 Director Harry Williamson; and Wil liamson's attorney Brian Bardwell last week in Cuyahoga County Com mon Pleas Court.

The 10-page lawsuit requests civil damages for alleged criminal acts by the three defendants, civil conspiracy and negligence. It seeks more than $25,000 in compensatory and punitive damages, at torney fees and court costs. The case is assigned to Judge Michael Russo.

Williams alleges that Hung — both individually and in her capacity as a county commissioner — as well as Williamson and Bardwell "knowingly en gaged in an unlawful enter prise to extort money from Lorain County, Ohio, the Lorain County Commis sioners ... (and) Williams, through gross misrepresen tations and the unlawful use of misrepresentations of privileged information provided by Defendant Hung to her lover, Defen dant Williamson, which formed the basis of a sham and retaliatory lawsuit filed by Defendant attorney Brian Bardwell."

Williamson's own lawsuit over his firing, filed in Lorain County Common Pleas Court in January, "is founded on perversions and misrepresentations concerning the governance of Lorain County and the termination of Defendant Williamson in an effort to extort a substantial settle ment at the expense of the taxpayers of Lorain County, Plaintiff Williams and others," according to Williams' lawsuit.

Williams further alleges

that Hung committed perjury under oath as part of a conspiracy with her, Williamson and Bardwell, and that she used a "base less reliance on attorneyclient privilege and execu tive session privilege as a sham to disguise" the alleged conspiracy to extort a settlement of $1 million or more in Williamson's lawsuit.

Williamson's lawsuit is "chock full of misstate ments of fact related to Defendant Williamson's termination from Lorain County as a result of his ongoing sexual relationship with Defendant Hung."

Hung declined to com ment on Williams' new lawsuit last week.

"On the advice of legal counsel, I cannot comment on pending litigation," she wrote in a text message to a Chronicle reporter.

Reached by phone, Bardwell said Williams is suing him "for being a lawyer" and that "is not something you can sue someone for."

Bardwell said he won't accept Williams' "wild theories."

"It's a goofy complaint. You can't sue a lawyer for being a lawyer, so I'm not sure what he's trying to do here," Bardwell said.

As for his own client, Bardwell said he's not even sure what Williams is accusing Williamson of doing.

Williams has "accused Harry (Williamson) of suing him. He'd admit he sued Tom Williams, but you can't just sue someone because they sued you," Bardwell said. "I don't know what Tom Williams is doing, what Tom Wil liams' lawyer (William Novak) is doing. They've gone pretty far off the res ervation."

A former one-term Republican Lorain County commissioner, Williams served as county adminis trator under Hung, Com

When Williams was fired, Hung, a Republican, and Lundy, a Democrat, refused to pay a severance package that the board had agreed to when he was hired. Lundy initially voted against the severance pack age but was overruled 2 to 1 by Hung and Moore, also a Republican.

Williams was Moore's campaign manager in the latter's successful 2020 bid for commissioner.

In his newest suit, Wil liams claims the board resolution to pay his sever ance package was "infor mally withdrawn illegally and without justification" and misrepresented in the media.

He claims the real motive for Hung voting to fire him was to retaliate against him after he outed Hung's ongoing, adulterous sexual affair with Williamson to Chief Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Dan Petticord, the commission ers' legal counsel, in July 2021.

During the same time frame, Williams said in his newest lawsuit, Hung and Williamson were involved in obtaining a contract for a new countywide radio communication system and that Williamson had a "special relationship" with one of the bidders.

Williams also claims there was a "temporal relationship" between the timing of his meeting with Petticord, Hung and Lundy's efforts to fire him and his firing.

Both married at the time, Williamson and Hung began an extramarital affair in September 2020, Hung admitted in a deposition in Williams' first lawsuit against the county, which sought to reinstate his sev erance package.

Hung later voted to hire Williamson as Lorain

County 911 Director in January 2021 after she took office, while their affair was still ongoing and with out informing either Lundy or Moore of the affair.

When Lundy and Moore did find out about the af fair, they voted to fire Wil liamson on Aug. 3, 2021. Hung abstained from that vote.

Williamson sued the county, Moore, Lundy, Williams, former county administrator Jim Cordes, attorney Amanda Martin sek and her firm Ulmer & Berne in Lorain County Common Pleas Court in January. Martinsek and her firm had previously given outside legal counsel to the county.

In the lawsuit, William son admitted the affair with Hung began prior to him being hired to work for the county in January 2021. He alleges that county officials retaliated against him for being a "whistleblower," interfered with his civil rights, wrongfully termi nated him, tampered with and destroyed evidence and public records, told lies and committed intimidation.

That case still is making its way through court. A status hearing is sched

uled before visiting Judge Thomas Pokorny on Dec. 5. Following his termina tion, Williams sued the county in federal court over its failure to pay his prom ised severance package. The county and Williams settled that lawsuit in May, with Williams getting a $450,000 payout.

The county spent ap proximately $150,000 to pay its attorneys to fight the case.

Williams now says Bardwell tried to in timidate him into settling Williamson's case against Williams and the other defendants and also tried to intimidate the other defendants in Williamson's lawsuit.

Williams' new lawsuit alleges that Bardwell's "re lentless efforts demanding a quick 'blackmail' settle ment of over $1 million have been unceasing."

Hung also allegedly passed privileged text messages and lies about closed executive sessions of the Board of Commis sioners to Williamson, according to Williams' lawsuit.

"In sum, the defendants lied and engaged in a

coverup during their de positions in the Williams' federal case and Defendant Williamson seeks to gain financial benefit from their wrongful acts through his sham lawsuit," Williams' new lawsuit states.

He further claims that Hung, Williamson and Bardwell have caused him emotional distress, embar rassment, loss of selfesteem, reputation, income and net worth.

"Moreover, upon infor mation and belief, De fendant Hung also made settlement proposals for a financial settlement in her current divorce action the fulcrum of which depend ed on Defendant Wil liamson’s ongoing health strongly demonstrating how very intertwined Defendant Hung and Defendant Williamson’s financial estates remain," according to Williams' new lawsuit.

Williamson and his wife, also named Michelle, dis solved their marriage in Lorain County Domestic Relations Court in March.

Michelle Hung filed for divorce from her hus band, Jeffrey Hung, in May. That matter remains open.

missioner David Moore and Commissioner Matt Lundy from Jan. 4 to Aug. 18, 2021.

Photos by Jason Hawk | Wellington Enterprise

Sure it was for a good cause. But a drive to benefit the nonprofit food pantry Well-Help was also about smashing pie into the faces of three volunteers-turned-victims. By collecting enough donations, kids at McCormick Middle School went into Thanksgiving break last Tuesday with the thrill of pie-ing Mayor Hans Schneider, Superintendent Ed Weber (BELOW) and teacher Robert Ronsky (ABOVE). “These eighth-graders had it out for me,” Weber quipped before getting a face full of whipped cream.

Photos by Angelo Angel | Community Guide

Andrew Schaffer, 20, of Strongsville, crossed the line in 36:48 on Thanksgiving morning to win the 54th Annual Penton Memorial Turkey Trot at Lorain County Community College. He is a member of the U.S. Air Force Academy Marathon Team, and ran the Penton Memorial for the fourth time. Hannah Weibel, 32, of Ashland, was the top women’s finisher in 46:43, for 18th place overall. Many who took to the course were dressed in feathers or turkeyshaped hats, a longstanding tradition. Others ran alongside their dogs. Proceeds from the race benefit the LCCC cross country teams.

Comets one step ahead

BURNED ON THE ICE

Thomas Fetcenko | Amherst News-Times

Amherst's Nick Ciura takes the puck down the ice while guarded by Hudson's Andrew Clark in Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League action last week. The Comets started hot, with two first period goals from Vinny Kelley. Hudson pulled even in the second period, then went on to extend the scoring streak to four straight. Nick Ciura added a late goal, but Amherst fell 4-3. The Explorers outshot the Comets 35-28 and Amherst goalie Maguire Mihalek recorded 31 saves. Amherst left the ice with an 0-2 season start.

Photos by Russ Gifford | Community Guide

Trent Branchen posted 18 points last week to lead Amherst to a 53-41 win over Oberlin in non-conference play last week at the 22nd An nual DiFranco Memorial Classic at Midview. The Comets’ Cole Norris scored 13 and Trent Odelli had 10 more. The Phoenix kept pace in the opening period, but fell behind 15-7 in the second and were unable to recover lost ground despite an 18-point performance by Omario Hopkins. TOP: Oberlin's Omario Hopkins steals a pass to Amherst's Cole Norris. LEFT: Amherst’s Trent Odell gets fouled by Oberlin’s Josiah Bowen-Pride at the basket. ABOVE: Oberlin's Chris Walker gets to the basket.

VALERIUS IN CONTROL

BESTED BY THE RANGERS

Thomas Fetcenko | Amherst News-Times Firelands' Mia Sutorius passes the ball to Bella Simmons while she's guarded by Vermilion's Abby Gawry on Saturday. The Falcons picked up the non-conference win, 47-27, dogging the Sailors and forcing 31 turn overs. Lauren Valerius led the way with 12 points and 21 rebounds.

Russ Gifford | Amherst News-Times North Ridgeville found a 78-53 non-conference victory over Firelands last week at the 22nd Annual DiFranco Memorial Classic at Midview. Rangers forward Jake Boynar was hard to stop, picking up 27 points, and had backup from Griffin Turay with 24 points. The Falcons were led by Nate Draga with 13 points. ABOVE: Firelands' Niko Gotsis and Nate Draga battle for the ball.

Photos by Russ Gifford | Wellington Enterprise After trailing 29-27 late in the first half, Black River went on to suffer a 71-53 loss to the Mansfield Christian Flames last week in non-conference action. Riley Kubitz finished with 19 points and six rebounds, and Morgan Kubitz racked up 17 points and seven rebounds in the road game. ABOVE: The Pirates’ Riley Kubitz gets a layup at Mansfield Christian.

I got the pet robot fish by first setting a goal to save the money to buy it. The fish costs $59!

That seemed like an enormous amount of money, but Wendy suggested I think of the $59 as a series of smaller goals.

So I made a goal to save $10. After I did that, I made the goal to save $10 again.

I worked hard for my money. Put a check in the box next to each job that I did. If you checked the right boxes, they add up to exactly $10.

April wanted to be able to sink 25 baskets in a row. At first she could only sink about three in a row. Twenty-five was a big goal, but breaking it into smaller goals saved the day.

First, April set the goal of sinking five baskets in a row. Then 10, then 15, then 20 and finally—she did it! April sank 25 baskets in a row!

Mowed the lawn ..................................... Made my bed (mom expects me to do that every morning!) ...............

Walked the dog .......................................

Took out the trash one night .................. Did the dinner dishes five nights ...........

Newspaper Search for a Successful Person

Find an article from the newspaper about a person you believe has achieved success. It might be an athlete, actor, businessperson or community volunteer. Write the name of the person and the success that he or she is recognized for. List the things you think that person had to do to succeed.

Standards Link: Civics: Identify examples of civic responsibility.

Wendy gave me a great idea! It really worked!