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The Boogie to Pemberville See page 12
Shoveling sidewalks not a priority
RESS January 20, 2014
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Not forgotten See page 16
Serving i Th The E Eastern astern t Maumee M Bay Communities Since 1972
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By Kelly J. Kaczala Press News Editor kkaczala@presspublications.com
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A demolition this size requires a demolition plan be submitted to and approved by the city... Northwood’s Bob Anderson See page 3
Simone Eli, Mobile’s (Ala.) FOX10 sports anchor.
Genoa’s Eli an on-air hit in Mobile By Mark Griffin Press Contributing Writer sports@presspublications.com Former Genoa High School and Bowling Green State University basketball standout Simone Eli still looks the same, but her vocabulary has changed somewhat. “I say ‘y’all’ in every sentence,” she said. “That was one of the first things I picked up on, and saying, ‘yes, ma’am’ and ‘no, ma’am.’ ” Eli, 22, joined the FOX10 news team last May as a sports anchor/reporter. Her new adopted home is now Mobile, Ala. — which is 923 miles from Genoa. Eli, who does the station’s sports broadcasts at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. each night, said Mobile is the 59th largest TV market in the country. “We’re the No. 1 station in the market, for both shows,” Eli said. “That was before I even came here.” Eli, a two-time All-Ohio player at Genoa who played point guard on three Mid-American Conference championship teams at BGSU (2010-2012), worked as a sports commentator and reporter for BCSN and for a TV station in Bowling Green while she was in college. Last spring she sent her resume to former Fox Toledo general manager Gary Yoder, who is now the GM at Fox10 in Mobile. “I interned at Fox in Toledo when I was a freshman in college,” Eli said. “I really didn’t know Gary personally, I just knew of him. I sent him my resume and said, ‘hey, you might remember me from back in the day.’ He had an idea of who I was through college basketball at BG.” Yoder passed her resume to the news
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I was extremely intimidated. Now I’m the biggest Nick Saban fan. He was so much fun to talk to.
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Mayor Mike Seferian said the city is reluctant to issue citations to property owners for not shoveling their sidewalks following a heavy snowfall because some are unable to keep up with city plows covering them back up again. Councilman James Seaman at a council meeting on Monday said he had received complaints from some residents about blocked sidewalks after the most recent snow storm. “A few citizens were complaining to me about sidewalks - basically why don’t we get on them,” said Seaman, though he said it is difficult for some property owners along busy roads to keep their walks cleared after the plows push the white stuff back onto the walks several times per day,. “There were some low temperatures when the snow needed to be shoveled. That’s pretty hard on even fairly fit people of a younger age,” said Seaman. “But I was wondering, on the main roads, in some cases, when the snow plow goes through, it will put snow back onto the sidewalk. It’s not something we really can control. The first priority is the road. I understand that. But I guess, if a person were diligent, and they lived in a certain area, and they shoveled their sidewalk, they could end up having to shovel it extra times because of the plowing. I don’t know how we address that or how we put it in perspective. I don’t know if there’s an easy answer.” “You’re correct in one regard,” Seferian said to Seaman. “It is a difficult situation and there’s no perfect answer for it.” The city is flexible when deciding whether or not to cite property owners for not shoveling their sidewalks following snow storms, said Seferian. “What we traditionally do is we grant latitude to those people. Of course the streets have to be plowed. It is not only the top priority, it is the priority,” he said. Sometimes, when crews are plowing the roads, they will help property owners open up their driveways if they are plowed in, he added.
director at Fox10, and Eli got a call a few days later. “About a week after that, I got my first big phone interview,” Eli said. “They wanted to bring me down to Mobile. They flew me down and it was such an awesome experience. I wore a suit and it was like 101 degrees here and I was sweating the whole time. We went to see alligators and I loved Mobile already.” A week went by and Eli hadn’t heard anything. On April 29, the day before her 22nd birthday, the news director called and offered her the position of sports director. “I wanted it right away, but I wanted to talk to my mom (Rebecca),” said Eli, who earned a masters degree in sports administration from BGSU last May. “He totally understood. The next day, on my birthday, I called back and accepted pretty much my dream job.” Meeting Nick Saban Eli had never even been to Alabama prior to her interview in Mobile. The only thing she could relate to with Alabama was
the Crimson Tide football team’s rout of her beloved Notre Dame in the 2013 national championship game. “I hated (coach) Nick Saban and Alabama because they beat the crap out of Notre Dame,” Eli said. “The SEC is a powerhouse, and being from Ohio and looking down at these schools from the South, now that I’m here, I’m already drinking the SEC Kool-Aid. It did not take long.” Eli began working at Fox10 on May 20, and within two weeks she sat down for an interview with none other than Saban, who was promoting his Nick’s Kids Foundation. “It was the greatest experience ever,” Eli said. “I was so nervous. My first question, he was like, ‘Who is this new young chick?’ I was extremely intimidated. Now, I’m the biggest Nick Saban fan. He was so much fun to talk to.” Eli, whose duties include covering Alabama and Auburn football as well as the New Orleans Saints, said the entire region literally lives and breathes football year round. “The high school football down here, I’ve never seen something valued so much in the community,” Eli said. “Growing up in Ohio, football and basketball was such a big deal. Down here, football is the only thing that matters. All the big games have sold-out crowds.” Just in the past two months Eli has had the opportunity to cover two of the wildest college football games of the 2013 season. She said she covered a college or pro game every week of the season, but three stand out.
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