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Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023
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Volume 10, Issue YY
8,000 toys collected, distributed Mason Jones The Community Guide
LAUREN HOFFMAN / COMMUNITY GUIDE
The 247 participants take off from the starting point at Community Congregational United Church of Christ for the third annual Jingle All The Way 5K on Monday. Each runner carried a jingle bell to jingle while running.
On your mark, get set,
Jingle!
Third annual run raises $5,200 for Blessing House Lauren Hoffman The Community Guide AMHERST — “Three. Two. One. Jingle All The Way!” No sooner than those words were spoken, close to 250 runners and walkers took to the streets of Amherst on Christmas Eve morning to participate in the third annual Jingle All The Way 5K. Hosted by Community Congregational United Church of Christ in Amherst, the Jingle All The Way 5K is the brainchild of pastor Brian Russell, an avid runner himself. “I was talking with some members of the congregation one day when we began talking about how cool it would be to have a race of some sort,” he said. “Well, those thoughts soon became actions and in 2021 we held our first 5k race.” But, the plan was not complete, Russell said, without a cause to benefit from the run. Russell said he knew right away he The Lorain wanted to donate to a charCounty Youth ity helping children and that’s when he found BlessBrigade ing House. “This race has kind of raises $2,200 become my wife, Elizabeth, for Blessing and mine’s family tradition,” Russell laughed. “No House. A2 one does things on Christmas Eve because they think pastors will get mad at them, but I’m a pastor so I don’t care; it’s just a great idea.” Sunday morning was the event’s third annual, but only the second race to have been run. Record low temperatures last year caused the church to cancel days before Christmas Eve, but that cancellation only brought more people, and donations, back for the next year, Russell said. “I am very, very proud of Amherst and our congregation,” he said. “They showed up for us and our charity Blessing House and it’s truly amazing.” There were 247 runners aged 2 to 80 who participated in the 5K and $5,200 was raised. Amherst teenager Jacob Mihalic finished first in the race with others quickly in tow. “There are so many parts of this event that are so awesome,” said Sister Mary Berigan, executive director and co-founder of Blessing
ELYRIA — It was toy distribution day Wednesday, and the nearly 8,000 toys and bundles of food collected by The ChronicleTelegram’s Not-Forgotten Box for the Salvation Army were handed out to families in time for Christmas. About 400 people pulled up to the Salvation Army and volunteers delivered the boxes and bags to their vehicles. “To see the outpour of love that this community has for the children that are in need within this community is tremendous,” Capt. Osha Agnewel of the Salvation Army in Elyria said. “We try to make sure that every donation we receive is distributed to the community, and even families that didn’t sign up beforehand come in and request the holiday items and we give it to them, as we make sure that everyone in the community is cared for and receives their share of the holiday treats.” Osha said she and the volunteers arrived at the Salvation Army at around 7:30 a.m. Distribution started at 9 a.m., and the crew worked nonstop until the line dwindled down at around 4 p.m. “It’s a go-go, but we make sure every family is served,” she said. Some volunteers are recurring helpers while some are just starting to help out. Lorain Correctional Institution warden’s assistant James Wesson started helping this year and said the whole event is about the kids in the community — making them feel loved by showing what the Christmas spirit is all about by uplifting them with these donations. Recurring volunteer Shelly Litton has helped out for the past nine years. She hosts a fish fry fundraiser dedicated to a friend who died who loved the Salvation Army charity, and the proceeds go to the Salvation Army. This year, it raised $15,000, she said. “I like coming to this event because I like to see it through and carry on his memory by doing what he loved to do: helping the community’s children,” she said. Recipients such as Kathleen Brown and Stacey Dilliard said they are thankful. “It’s grateful and it’s a blessing,” Stacey Dilliard said. Contact Mason Jones at mjones@chroniclet.com.
Deputies save K-9 who swallowed ball The Community Guide
LAUREN HOFFMAN / COMMUNITY GUIDE
Pastor Brian Russell of the Community Congregational United Church of Christ in Amherst warms up the crowd with his rendition of “Jingle Bells” before the race. House. “While obviously the financial support is always helpful, this again puts our name out there for people so that they can refer people to us when families are in need.” Now in its 19th year, Blessing House is a children’s crisis care center in Elyria. Parents can voluntarily place their children in the home for a period of time while they address different concerns at home. “We take in children from birth to 12 that come from all walks of life,” Berigan said. “It could be a parent who is hospitalized, parents dealing with domestic violence, a housing issue; any number of conflicts, we are here as a safe place for kids to stay.” During their stay, the children’s basic needs
are met. Children in school are also kept in the same school they were going to before coming to the home to keep them as comfortable as possible. “I was approached by Pastor Russell a few years back where he told me about their idea for the race and I remember thinking that it was just a wonderful idea,” she said. “Now at our last board meeting all of us had bells, and instead of saying amen at the end of our prayer, we just all jingled. It was so cute.” Blessing House is at 6115 Olivet Ave. in Elyria. It can be contacted at (440) 240-1851 or info@ BlessingHouse.org. Contact Lauren Hoffman at (440) 328-6902 or Lhoffman@chroniclet.com.
The quick actions of two Lorain County corrections officers saved the life of one of their canine partners earlier this month. Scott Holbrook, a corrections K-9 officer at the Lorain County Jail, was rewarding his K-9 partner, Roby, for good behavior at the jail when disaster struck. Holbrook gave Roby a tennis ball attached to a string, a toy officers frequently used to reward good performance on activities like the obedience training. Roby swallowed the ball! Holbrook continued trying to dislodge the ball and began performing CPR as fellow officer Angela Bzdak helped. Roby passed out, relaxing his throat enough for Holbrook and Bzdak to remove the ball. They gave him CPR and Roby woke up. The dog was quickly able to breath and stand, and “was back to normal in a short period of time and deemed medically OK,” taccording to the sheriff’s department. “There is no doubt that the actions of Officer Scott Holbrook, Roby’s handler, and Angela Bzdak saved Roby’s life,” Sheriff Phil Stammitti said.
INSIDE THIS WEEK Amherst
Claus Road is Santa outpost. A3
Oberlin
Sergeant on Santa’s sleigh. A4
Wellington
City to get Expert Crane HQs. A5
FREE MEALS A7 • CROSSWORD A7 • SUDOKU A7 • KID SCOOP A8