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Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023
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Volume 10, Issue YY
Santa wears a badge
JVS: Ban on book decision delayed Lauren Hoffman The Community Guide
LAUREN HOFFMAN / COMMUNITY GUIDE
Amherst police Officer Ryan Lamb shops with Trenton Terry, 7, as he looks for robots during Shop With A Cop at Target.
Shop With A Cop makes wishes come true for kids Lauren Hoffman The Community Guide AMHERST — For 8-year-old Audrey Gula and her mom, Ashley Linn, the holidays this year were going to be hard. “This is probably one of the hardest Christmases we’ve had until this event came out of nowhere,” Linn said. “They have definitely turned it around and this is probably going to just make her whole entire Christmas, I know it has mine.” Linn was talking about the Amherst Police Department’s Shop With A Cop event at the Amherst Target on Oak Point Road on Sunday afternoon. Organized in partnership with the Amherst Fraternal Order of Police, the event was a first for both the department and the store, bringing many smiles along the way. The concept is simple, said Sgt. Brian Griffin, vice president of the FOP. “We took 10 kids and paired them up with 10 cops from our department to go shopping for gifts for the holidays,” he said. “While the kids’ focus
Instead of piling into their parents’ cars, the kids got a chance to ride shotgun in their officer’s police car. A cacophony of sirens tore through the afternoon air as Trenton Terry, 7, and Isaac Knowles, 12, each took to the array of buttons near their seat, laughing with joy as the sirens roared louder. was on buying items for themselves, we also made sure they got a few things for their families as well.” With many other neighboring departments like Lorain and Elyria already with similar events, Griffin said it was “about time” Amherst hopped on board. The 10 children participating ranging from ages six to 13 were chosen by social workers in Amherst Schools. “The social workers in the schools know these kids and knew who would benefit from this kind of thing the most, and we’re really thankful for them,” Griffin said. “And this is just the start. While we were small this year, we plan to keep growing the program to give more kids great Christmases.” Many of these families have faced job loss,
homelessness, military deployments, economic shortcomings, difficulties related to COVID-19 or other hardships, Griffin said. But the day’s events gave the children a welcome distraction. After pairing up with officers at the station, the next stop was Target. But instead of piling into their parents’ cars, the kids got a chance to ride shotgun in their officer’s police car. A cacophony of sirens tore through the afternoon air as Trenton Terry, 7, and Isaac Knowles, 12, each took to the array of buttons near their seat, laughing with joy as the sirens roared louder. See SHOP, PAGE A5
Firelands Hall of Fame is returning Lauren Hoffman The Community Guide HENRIETTA TWP. — Twenty years ago, the Firelands Athletic Hall of Fame inducted what it thought at the time was to be its last class. Now in 2023, the school district’s Hall of Fame has returned in a different form. Instead of sticking strictly to the athletic achievements of Firelands’ greatest alumni, the new Firelands Hall of Fame will honor high school alumni or founding members of the district who have gone on to have significant success in life. Additionally, individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Firelands Schools or founding districts also will be recognized, according to the Hall of Fame committee. “At the time of the Revolutionary War, nine towns in Connecticut were burned down by the
British soldiers and the residents of those areas sought restitution from the Connecticut Legislature, Lori Kneisel, committee chair for the Firelands Hall of Fame, said. “In 1792, 500,000 of their most-western acres were set aside for these citizens who had been affected by the flames.” The land soon became known as the Fire Suffers’ Lands or Fire-Lands, which became Firelands. In 1803, these “Firelands” became a part of the new state of Ohio. “This land started to become settled in 1808 and saw a big settlement after the War of 1812,” Kneisel said. “Then, in 1952, the Firelands Local School District was founded.” The school district covers portions of Amherst, Amherst Township, Birmingham, Brownhelm Township, Camden Township, Florence Town-
ship, Henrietta Township, Kipton, New Russia Township, South Amherst, Vermilion and Vermilion Township, serving more than 1,750 students. The committee is excited to emphasize that the Hall of Fame is all-encompassing and honors achievements in all aspects of life, Kneisel said. While applications for this year have now closed, applications for the next year’s induction will be accepted through Oct. 1 of each year. Nominees will receive notification by Dec. 1. This year’s ceremony is planned for the weekend of March 15-17 and will be held in the Firelands High School Cafeteria. Applications for the Hall of Fame can be found at shorturl.at/byJV8 as well as on the Firelands Hall of Fame’s Facebook page. Contact Lauren Hoffman at (440) 328 6902 or lhoffman@chroniclet.com.
The Lorain County Joint Vocational School Curriculum Board did not reach a decision on whether to restrict the teaching of John Green’s “Looking For Alaska” during its board meeting. The decision has been pushed to January. “The board president said that the book is still in committee work as of now and will be done in January,” Glenn Faircloth, Lorain County JVS superintendent, said during the board meeting Thursday night. Students finished reading the book Dec. 8. It is not currently being taught. Opponent of the book and Wellington Schools representative Ayers Ratcliff was not amused. “You mean the book is still in committee work?” he asked Faircloth. “I don’t care if they’re still working on the decision. I want to know how we ended up with that book in our school for five years.” Green’s 2005 award-winning novel “Looking For Alaska” has been central to several heated debates both the Wellington School Board and the Lorain County JVS Board have been fielding in recent months. The point of contention started when Amherst parent Diane Kerecz heard about her daughter’s discomfort with a book they were reading in school. “One day my daughter came home and she told me that they were being read this new book in class and that she was uncomfortable with it,” she said. “I had never heard of the book and so I went and got the audiobook and I was horrified.” Kerecz’s complaints with the book were picked up on by Ratcliff, who brought it to the attention of the Wellington School Board. On Nov. 28, the board voted to ask the JVS to suspend teaching the material. The JVS turned to its curriculum committee to review the material and see how it fits into the rest of the grade’s teachings. “I am not one that wants to ban books, never in my life have I ever called for it,” Kerecz said. “But I do think this book is not appropriate for 14-year-olds to be reading, I mean the movie version of this book is rated R 17+. No version of it belongs in a ninth-11th grade classroom. “Right in the parent student handbook on Rule 6 it addresses the use of vulgar, profane, abusive or threatening language,” she said. “It says that no student should use this kind of language spoken or printed and yet our teachers are allowed to shout these words at our students and call it education?” While the handbook does contain the rule, Faircloth said that it applies to students rather than educational content. Other board members said they disagreed with Kerecz and Ratliff. They said many don’t realize the message that the book is trying to teach. “They don’t know the characters’ names, they don’t know the message, all they care about is the page with the sex scene,” Stephen Coleman, the representative for Columbia Schools, said. “The book is about the perils of growing up and delivers a lesson to our students.” If the board decides not to restrict the book from being taught, Kerecz said she understands but urges that they move it to a different grade. Contact Lauren Hoffman at (440) 328 6902 or lhoffman@chroniclet.com.
INSIDE THIS WEEK Amherst
Tobacco licensing on hold. A3
Oberlin
Sex discrimination suit dismissed. A5
Wellington
School Superintendent retires. A4
OBITUARIES A2 • LEGALS A7 • CROSSWORD A7 • SUDOKU A7 • KID SCOOP A8