3-21-24 Lorain County Community Guide

The

Lorain County

Gallo in part credited the area’s location for Lorain County’s overall growth.

“I think people are taking advantage of the fact that we’ve got good housing stock, we’ve got affordability, good schools, businesses that are growing and expanding,” he said.

—

Overall, the report found

increases in only 30 of

Lorain County Chamber of Commerce President Tony

He said the county’s effort to bring businesses to the area is attracting residents as well, including continued growth in Avon, North Ridgeville and the townships.

He expects its legacy cities could see a boon with development at Midway Mall attracting more businesses and, by extension, infill housing in

Wellington insurrectionist gets 27 months

The Community Guide

A Wellington man has been sentenced to 27 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $2,000 restitution for taking part in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Michael Mackrell, 42, received his sentence from U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly after pleading guilty to assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers, a felony, in October. He also was ordered to spend one year on supervised release.

A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, according to federal court records, Mackrell assaulted local and federal police officers during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. This disrupted a joint session of Congress that was meant to count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election, won by President Joe Biden.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said in a news release that Michael Mackrell and son Clifford Mackrell traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally at the Ellipse. Michael Mackrell wore a camouflage jacket, an earth-tone camouflage baseball cap-style hat, green gloves,

those older cities.

Lorain County Community Development Director Rob Duncan said, “I am not surprised by the influx as Lorain County has grown every year with the exception of one since the census has been collecting these numbers. Our low taxes, availability of land and the availability of good paying jobs are some of the reasons.”

Among the state’s shrinking counties are seven large urban centers — Cleveland’s Cuyahoga, Cincinnati’s Hamilton, Akron’s Summit, Dayton’s Montgomery, Toledo’s Lucas, Canton’s Stark and Youngstown’s Mahoning.

and black pants. He also carried a green backpack, walked with a darkcolored cane, and used an American flag gaiter to cover his mouth and nose, according to federal prosecutors. He and his son then went from the Trump rally to the Capitol, where they

pushed back police barricades and illegally entered a restricted area of Capitol grounds, federal authorities said. They were carrying gas masks, bandanas, gloves and backpacks, authorities said.

Commissioners table budget vote

Dave O’Brien The Community Guide With only two of its members present at its last meeting, the Lorain County Board of Commissioners delayed until Tuesday a vote on its $84.4 million 2024 general fund budget. Commissioner Jeff Riddell recommended waiting.

“We don’t have a full board,” Commissioner David Moore said. “I don’t

think it would be appropriate to move forward without the full board.”

“And my feeling is, I’m well on record that three commissioners … doesn’t provide as much diversity as seven commissioners would, and since we only have three, to be down to two, that seems to conflict with the way I think we should do this,” Riddell said. “So I think all three commissioners’ input is important. It’s a lot of money.”

The two commissioners, both Republicans, then voted to table the matter.

The budget shouldn’t need too much discussion, Riddell said.

The board decided to use its remaining American Rescue Plan Act funding and give all elected officials and department heads the budgets they requested through the end of the year, he said.

several other local government entities about saving the Golden Acres sledding hill.

Amherst Mayor Mark Costilow said the city has been talking with the Lorain County Metro Parks about the possibility of taking over 45999 N. Ridge Road, also known as the “Golden Acres sledding hill.”

The land, along with neighboring parcels at 46001 North Ridge Road and 105 S. Leavitt Road/state Route 58, has been owned by the Lorain County Port Authority since 2013 and is the site of the former Golden Acres Nursing home, which was demolished in 2022.

The hill has been a place that Lorain County residents have flocked to in the winter months for many years and has been deemed a part of Amherst history by many residents, including Costilow.

In February, the Port Authority announced that Giant Eagle had purchased 46001 North Ridge Road and 105 S. Leavitt Road/Route 58 for $1.6 million with plans to build a GetGo convenience store and WeGo car wash. The sale has not yet been finalized.

Some Amherst residents weren’t thrilled, and Adam Cassady started a petition to prevent the sale from going through.

“The former Golden Acres property is essential to the historic character of the city of Amherst, Amherst Township, the city of Lorain and the surrounding region,” Cassady wrote in the petition on Change.org. Since going live on Feb. 3, the petition has gathered hundreds of signatures.

Costilow said the city is in talks with the Port Authority and the Metro Parks over the possible purchase of the sledding hill land.

“There is going to be some land left over that is not very conducive to further development so it is an option we are talking about,” Costilow said. “The Metro Parks already own land across the street along Dewey Road and it is a protected flood zone.”

While no plans have been made official and nothing has been put on paper yet, Costilow said the possibility is there.

COURTESY U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE Federal prosecutors say this image depicts Michael Mackrell of Wellington at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Budget ‘funding everyone’s task’

Unlike in past years, the Lorain County Board of Commissioners will not hold public budget hearings this year as the commissioners create this year’s operating budget.

Commissioners Jeff Riddell and David Moore, both Republicans, gave an update on the budget process at their meeting Tuesday night. Commissioner Michelle Hung, a Republican, was absent due to illness.

Riddell said all elected officials and department heads, whose combined requested budget for 2024 was $84,433,814, will get what they asked for.

The board “will be funding the ‘ask’ for each department,” Riddell said. “Public hearings to negotiate are not going to be necessary, because we’re going to be funding everyone’s ask.”

That will be possible with more than $6.1 million in remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds that the county hasn’t yet committed or spent. The money must be committed by the end of 2024.

Riddell said the county also is expecting a “modest” bump in its sales tax revenue this year.

Moore said change is not something everyone is accustomed to, but he and the rest of the board want a new formula for the county budget giving more details on spending.

“We’re not warning, but we’re showing and teaching what we’re looking to do” by identifying needs versus wants in each department and elected office and letting leaders in each know where they’re short or where they may have miscalculated, he said.

“We’re being proactive to show the county is being fiscally responsible without raising any taxes,” Moore said.

Riddell said for the first time in “decades,” the county has budgeted $2 million for capital expenditures such as sewers, economic development and infrastructure.

That will help the county pay its share when grants and awards through the state or federal governments come up, and the county can guarantee it can provide matching funds when necessary, Riddell said.

The county also increased its budget carryover, or rainy day fund, by more than $1.8 million between December 2022 and December 2023, he said.

The carryover was $21,302,901 in December 2022 and $23,114,881 in December 2023, “another sign of a healthy cash position,” Riddell said.

Moore and Riddell said they hope to vote on and pass the permanent 2024 budget on Friday.

Commissioners approved a temporary, nonbinding $84.4 million tax budget for 2024 last year and the county operates on a temporary budget for the first 90 days of the year until permanent appropriations are passed. The permanent 2024 budget is due to the Lorain County Auditor’s Office by April 1.

Commissioners said the board welcomes comments from the public. Riddell can be reached at (440) 329-5112 or jriddell@loraincounty.us; Moore at (440) 329-5301 or dmoore@loraincounty.us; and Hung at (440) 329-5101 or mhung@loraincounty.us.

Aging grant

The board also approved an agreement with the Lorain County Office on Aging to administer a one-time $927,000 Healthy Aging Grant from the Ohio Department of Aging.

The money will be used to help senior citizens in Lorain County eat properly, fix or convert their homes for better comfort and mobility, preserve independence “and promote a healthy, independent, active lifestyle,” according to the board and Nicolle Bellmore-Pierse, director of the county Office on Aging.

Money will be available for food assistance and res-

Prison union pickets in snow

Dave O’Brien

The Community Guide

Members of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association and supporters spent a cold Monday picketing outside the Lorain and Grafton correctional institutions in Grafton to raise awareness as they negotiate a contract.

Chelsea Yeager, an OCSEA Chapter 4720 Executive Board member and corrections officer at Lorain Correctional Institution, estimated that 30 to 40 workers and supporters took part in Mon-

day’s informational picket.

The entire organization has been on a “Bargaining Blitz” since Thursday that ends today ahead of fact-finding in ongoing negotiations between the union and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

Yeager said the picket saw good turnout from unionized staff at both the Grafton and Lorain correctional institutions on Avon Belden Road, and got “a lot of support from drivers going by.”

“We are all very appreciative to

see our brothers and sisters get the support they deserve,” she said. “It’s important that we get that, when lives are on the line.”

The negotiations involve wages, benefits and concessions. Yeager said wages have not kept up with inflation, and the union hasn’t been made whole on wages going as far back as the 2008-2009 Great Recession.

“We’re not asking for exorbitant amounts, we just want something fair for ourselves and everyone,” she said.

taurant voucher programs, digital literacy and for home modifications, including accessible bathrooms, ramps, showers, grab bars, walkways and more.

There is also funding for transportation to hospitals, social work and partnerships with local nonprofit and civic organizations.

Bellmore-Pierse said her office gets 80 calls per day and there are 200 people on a waiting list for assistance that the grant will help provide.

“We are very grateful for the opportunity to administer this grant and support aging Lorain County adults to age in place” at home, she said.

The agency’s phone number is (440) 326-4800 or you can email info@lcooa.org, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visit lcooa.org for more information.

Seat belt resolution

The board also heard from school bus seat belt advocate Rudy Breglia of Avon Lake, who successfully petitioned commissioners for a resolution “consenting to support efforts to establish a seat belt program for the county school district buses.”

Breglia said he is a citizen advocate who wants “the safest form of transportation for our children.” He said he has gotten other cities including Lorain, Avon Lake, Vermilion and Sandusky to pass resolutions asking their local school districts to install seat belts on their school buses.

Breglia said four to five children are killed and about 17,000 injured on school buses each year. Seatbelts “stop children from being traumatized, injured and killed in school bus accidents,” improve behavior and the environment on buses and help schools retain bus drivers, he said.

All 18 boards of education in Lorain County should consider the risk they take running school buses without seat belts, Breglia said.

Contact Dave O’Brien

County gets $5M infant, maternal grant

The Community Guide

Three organizations focused on maternal and infant health in Lorain County and elsewhere in Ohio have received more than $518,000 in funding from the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday.

Produce Perks Midwest Inc. received $198,126 to expand and enhance the InfantVitality Produce Prescription program, or IV-PRx, in Lorain and Hamilton counties.

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Cleveland will get $160,000 to deliver 36 twohour educational programs on how to identify the signs of poor mental health and addiction, strategies on how to help in times of need, and stress management skills in Lorain, Cuyahoga, Lake and Summit counties.

Health Care Access Now received $160,000 to expand

the Maternal and Child Health Care Coordination Program in Lorain, Cuyahoga, Lake and Summit counties.

Statewide, 19 community and faith-based organizations received a total of $5 million “to improve supports to pregnant women and newly parenting families,” according to a news release.

The grants provide funding to begin or expand services to improve infant and maternal health and support new families where there are gaps, and support pregnant women and newly parenting families up to 12 months after a child is born.

Infant mortality is defined as the death of an infant before their first birthday. The infant mortality rate is the number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births.

Ohio infant mortality was 6.9 per 1,000 live births in 2021. The Ohio and national goal is 6.0 or fewer infant deaths per 1,000 live births.

BRUCE BISHOP / CHRONICLE

Members of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association Chapter 4720, the union representing employees of the two prisons in Grafton, picket outside Grafton Correctional Institution on Monday.

Sewer rates to go up by 10% in Amherst

AMHERST — Amherst City Council has voted unanimously to adopt a new sanitary sewage rental rate that will raise sewage bills by 10 percent.

“We have been studying the rate for a few years and the city has lost money on sewer rates the last three years,” Amherst mayor Mark Costilow said. “The original fix was going to be we have a big loan for our wastewater treatment plant that was to be paid off by the end of this year and the $200,000 we pay every year for that was not going to be needed and could go to this.”

When Council approved an EPA study on wastewater collections earlier this year, the study showed that significant improvements

were needed at the wastewater plant causing the city to need to borrow money again.

The mayor said to prevent losing $200,000 per year, the city would need to vote to increase the sewage rates by 10 percent.

“This means that if your sewage bill is $25 a month it will now increase by an additional $2.50,” he said.

Despite the increase, the mayor said that comparison data shows that the city still has one of the lowest in the area for sewage rates.

“I hate to increase them but there hasn’t been an increase in 20 years and we are losing money,” Costilow said. “Under these new rates, we should hopefully stop losing money within four years.”

Additionally the $5 charge for after 5,000 gal-

lons of sewage collection will also be raised by 10 percent. After one year the rate will decrease to a 5 percent increase over the next three years until the city reaches a balance in funds.

The mayor also said some of the funds could go toward a future proposed infrastructure bill on the wastewater treatment plant if needed.

“Even when people are using a significant amount of water, we are still within the most reasonable rates,” Costilow said. “There is not another fix.”

The rate hike will take effect in 30 days. Residents will see an increase in their bills April 11.

Contact Lauren Hoffman at (440) 328-6902 or lhoffman@chroniclet.com.

fear a proposed development in Amherst will lead to traffic and safety issues.

Known as the Quarry Creek Residential Development, the 174-unit neighborhood is being proposed on 22 acres of land along North Dewey Road near an existing mobile home park. Developed by Richard Sommers of Chardonbased Sommers Real Estate Group, the new neighborhood would be built in phases and include several duplexes and triplexes. This is where the concern arises for many residents, including Megan DuBois, who lives off of Dewey Road.

“With the 150 homes already in the mobile home park plus these additional 174 units, that’s a lot of cars coming down the dead-end road,” she told Amherst City Council during a meeting Feb. 26. “North Dewey is skinny, it has no curbs and my main concern is safety if something were to occur and emergency vehicles couldn’t get into the neighborhood. That’s bad.”

DuBois said that about a year and a half ago her family was stopped on North Ridge Road for two hours because of a crash that had occurred in front of Dewey Road.

“Imagine if someone in the trailer park or one of

the new proposed homes had a heart attack while no cars including emergency vehicles could get through,” she said at a Council meeting Monday night. “Or a fire — we need to have a back way in and out for emergency vehicles.”

Rock Creek Run, an adjacent neighborhood located off of Leavitt Road, has a dead-end street, Spruce Tree Lane, that could theoretically connect to North Dewey, creating a pathway through the two neighborhoods, but residents of Rock Creek have objected, Amherst Mayor Mark Costilow said.

“It’s going to create a speedway between the two roads and I understand why they don’t want that,” Len Gilles, another homeowner off of Dewey Road, said.

Costilow also said that connecting the two streets might be an issue due to a city pump station in the way.

Sommers asked Council on Friday to table the discussion of approving the development plan for two weeks so he can accommodate Council and residents’ worries.

“Our safety forces have studied this road and there are a lot of backup plans in place if an emergency access road isn’t put in,” Costilow said. “This also isn’t unique to Amherst as there are several hundred homes with one way in and out

across the state that have contingency plans in place. Still, the developers are willing to go the extra mile to see if there is something we can do.”

The city of Amherst commissioned a traffic study conducted by Andy Comer and TMS Engineers that concluded that while there is a need for a left turn lane on North Ridge Road, traffic is not expected to become overwhelming.

“Under Ohio Revised Code, if you want to install a traffic signal, typically it requires a warrant study and engineering document to justify the installation,” Comer said. “With the traffic counts, the traffic volumes and the projected traffic volumes, we found that a traffic signal is not warranted at that intersection.”

Comer also said that crash history is not significant enough in the area to warrant installing flashing red and yellow lights. What is required for the new neighborhood is the addition of a 150-foot left turn lane on North Ridge Road into North Dewey, he said.

If approved, the development will be built in five phases. Home units will include duplexes and triplexes and will begin at $285,000 and will include a homeowners association.

Contact Lauren Hoffman at (440) 328-6902 or lhoffman@chroniclet.com.

said. Each has gone through the district board of review to be approved. “Both of these are phase projects so I am unsure of how long they will take but the builders are anxious to get started right away,” Costilow said.

By phase projects, Costilow said he means that they will be built in phases.

If approved, these two facilities will join another recent self-storage unit built at the old Amherst Lumber Co., 700 Mill St., which was approved last April.

The Community Guide

OBERLIN — Monday morning started a little differently for Oberlin Elementary School student Harlo Johnson.

Instead of heading to her classroom, Harlo reported to the principal’s office, where she chatted with Oberlin Elementary School Principal Felicia Webber.

Following the chat, she began the morning announcements and then went for a walk around the school visiting different classrooms where she handed out birthday cards, stickers and pencils to students.

“Hello Principal Harlo,” classmates called out to her as she visited.

For one day, Harlo was the principal of Oberlin Elementary

School, the last of six students elected for the role in a program that began in January.

“As part of our winter benchmarking and diagnostics, any student who showed any progress, even one point, on their assessments were entered into a drawing to be principal for the day,” Webber said. “If they improved on both their reading and math assessments, they were able to get two tickets.”

A winning ticket was pulled from every grade level.

“All of the students were really excited about the opportunity and while some ‘principals’ were more shy than others, others were ready to do the announcements and visit classrooms,” Webber said. “Something that

really made this more meaningful was students being excited and eager to tell me about the growth they made on their diagnostics and their hope of being principal of the day…I want every student to feel proud and excited to share their progress.”

In addition to recording the morning announcements, greeting students and passing out birthday wishes, the student principals also had a special lunch with a friend in the conference room and made surprise phone calls home to family members and other district administrators.

“I was excited and surprised to be picked,” Harlo said. “I often wondered what Mrs. Webber did during the day and now I know.”

Lauren Hoffman

The Community Guide

NEW RUSSIA TWP. — Twelve young ladies took center stage last week as the National Council for Negro Women Lorain County branch held its biggest Vision of Beauty Cotillion Ball yet.

Starting six years ago under the direction of Tamara Jones, the Vision of Beauty Cotillion Ball is a night to honor young Black women as they enter adulthood.

“These young ladies started the program in August and throughout the past few months they have learned dances, they learned about social graces and have bonded with each other as women,” Jones said. “Nowadays you see such a negative energy between young girls, especially in this age group so to see them start as strangers in August and now come together as friends; it’s a great experience.”

Elegantly decorated tables filled the hall at The Lodge of New Russia Township on Saturday night as white curtains served as a backdrop. Neatly decorated flower bouquets were arranged for each young woman as they donned their white wedding-like dresses complete with white gloves and silver high heel shoes. Next door,

twelve young men put on their white tuxes and adjusted their ties, waiting to escort the women.

“One young man came in and he’s like ‘Oh my god, I feel like I’m at my wedding!’ and you know, that’s what the night’s about,” Jones said. “This is a good time to see them come together and see the fathers and father figures dance with their daughters, and the moms and grandmas and mentors are all there for them as well.”

Debutantes Zoey Coleman and Amara Jackson said the experience for them has been one they will never forget.

“This has taught us about our finances and relationships and I feel like us as women, we need that,” Coleman said. “We have also all gotten a lot closer from our first meeting and we have built that sisterhood.”

In addition to the 12 senior debutantes, 12 junior debutantes were also featured at the ball, a first for the event.

“We have always had junior debutantes at the event before to serve as helpers but this is the first year that we have debuted them alongside our senior debutantes,” said Holly Clayton, chairperson of education with the NCNW of Lorain County.

“It makes me so happy seeing these young girls, I look and it’s like, ‘Oh my god, it’s our future right here before us, the white dress and everything’; it is amazing.”

Both the senior and junior debutantes received crowns during the ceremony, a ritual in the world of debutante balls. And for some of the debutantes, the ritual went even deeper.

Amara Jackson comes from a long line of debutantes, she was a junior debutante at a previous ball and her sister Arizona Thomas is one of the junior debutantes.

“It’s surreal to be here tonight as a debutante and to have my sister with me,” Jackson said. “I have four siblings and I think they’re all going to continue this legacy of being debutantes and an escort.”

The night was also special for the parents and mentors like Winifred Kennard, the grandmother of Niyanna Farmer.

“This was an eight-month process and it’s amazing to see them being introduced to something like this,” Kennard said.

“It’s a whole different environment and I am so proud and overwhelmed with everything they’ve done for these girls.”

Dave O’Brien

The Chronicle-Telegram

Stop Toxic Spread, a group of residents fighting Ross Environmental Services’ plans to expand in Eaton Township, recently dismissed an appeal filed with the state to prohibit the company from increasing its hazardous waste storage space.

The group filed an appeal with the state Environmental Review Appeals Commission, or ERAC, to stop the Ohio EPA from approving a request by Ross to modify its existing permits.

According to documents filed with the ERAC in January, attorney Gerald Phillips gave notice he was no longer representing the group on appeal and asked for more time to respond to a motion to dismiss the appeal filed by Ross.

Phillips filed documents dismissing the appeal on Feb. 21, and the commission did so in an order dated Feb. 28, according to commission documents.

In a statement, Ross said it was “pleased with the dismissal of the appeal, particularly since it shouldn’t have been filed in the first place.

“This was a baseless appeal that had multiple errors of fact about the company, many of which we addressed in our previous rebuttal,” the company said. “The appellants chose to dismiss their case rather than to respond to the many points of error in our motion to dismiss.”

In a motion to dismiss the appeal filed with the ERAC, Ross argued that the appeal was filed too late and that Phillips and Stop Toxic Spread didn’t have standing to challenge the company’s request for a modified

permit. Ross asked the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in July 2023 to allow it to add two container storage areas on its property on Giles Road. The request was granted in November. The company said the additional hazardous waste storage areas would not increase the volume of waste on site.

Phillips and Stop Toxic Spread alleged in the appeal that there was a lack of “due diligence” for the public health, safety and welfare and that the storage expansion request should be denied.

They argued due process and proper procedures weren’t followed, that Ross didn’t properly inform local and state officials of its plans, that the company failed to consider safety hazards, violated hazardous waste storage rules and had been cited in the past, among other allegations.

Ross alleged the appeal contained errors and promised to fight it. The permit modification approval “has no impact upon anyone’s property, let alone creating an increased risk of harm, because the volume of hazardous material stored by appellee Ross remains exactly as it was prior” to the permit modification approval, the company argued to the ERAC.

Phillips confirmed Monday that he is no longer representing Stop Toxic Spread, though he retained control over the name of the group until last month.

Karen Johnson, one of the citizen organizers in opposition to Ross’ plans, also confirmed Monday that the appeal had been dismissed and that she and co-organizer Elizabeth Rattray had parted ways with both Stop Toxic Spread and Phillips.

Ross received permission to rezone 65 acres of its Giles Road property from light industrial to heavy industrial ahead of plans to build a monofill there.

A “monofill” is a type of landfill that contains only one type of material.

Ross said it plans to bury waste ash from its incinerator in an environmentally safe way, though opponents of the plan argue.

After township trustees voted 2-1 to approve the plan in October, residents gathered enough signatures to get a referendum on the ballot that supporters hope will be able to overturn the trustees’ decision.

PHOTO PROVIDED Oberlin Elementary student Harlo Johnson, “Principal for a Day” chats with real Principal Felicia Webber.

LAUREN HOFFMAN / COMMUNITY GUIDE

Back row from left are Isabella Corley, Zoey Coleman, Taylor Ford, Larissa Moore, Amara Jackson, Ariyah Bivins, Miya DeLane Stevens and DaMycha Smith. Front from left are Niyanna Farmer, Naurica Young, Jasmine Miller and Essence Wren. They debuted at the National Council for Negro Women Lorain County cotillion.

Man arrested after calling schools

Told Wellington High he was Cleveland police officer

Lauren Hoffman The Community Guide

WELLINGTON — An Amherst man is in custody after several phone calls to Wellington and Elyria schools last Thursday morning in which he claimed to be a police officer and requested to visit the campuses.

Nathaniel Reynolds, 26, of Amherst, was arrested about 5 p.m. that day and was charged with impersonating a police officer. He was booked at the Lorain County Jail.

Wellington Superintendent Ed Weber said the high school received a call at 7:16 a.m. from Reynolds, who said he was a Cleveland police officer and requested a meeting to visit a teacher at the school.

“Our staff member who answered the phone told him that she cannot let visitors into the school and it was at this point that he said the teacher was a former teacher of his … and he wanted to bring her flowers,” Weber said.

He was a former special needs student of hers and he never came

to the school, Weber said.

On Thursday afternoon, Weber said he talked with Reynolds and told him he needed to stop.

“I talked to him about an hour ago and told him that while I understand his intentions were not to cause harm, he is a stranger and we don’t know him and since this is a school we have to take precautions,” Weber said. “He told me he understood.”

Weber said Reynolds made other calls to Wellington and other schools.

Elyria Superintendent Ann

Schloss confirmed Reynolds contacted Elyria Schools on Thursday.

“We received a call from him earlier today asking for a teacher that no longer works here,” she said. “He also did not come onto our campus.”

Wellington police officer and school resource officer Ben Hogan said Reynolds was arrested.

“When he called the school he was very persistent on speaking with the teacher and told staff that he wanted to come surprise her,” Hogan said. “He never identified himself but instead said he was a Cleveland police officer, which

Floral shop selling pieces of high school bleachers

Lauren Hoffman

The Community Guide

WELLINGTON — Everyone has memories of their high school gymnasium and bleachers. Whether it was excitedly squealing in the stands as a basketball game commenced to lounging through another boring schoolwide lecture, Samantha Stump said high school bleachers have seen it all, or at least that’s what she’s counting on with her latest fundraiser.

“A lot of life happens in that gym and on those bleachers so we thought it would be fun to have your seat from history,” she said. “That’s really where this fundraiser first started.”

Stump, owner of The Platinum Petal floral shop in Wellington, said the idea first started when she was helping clean up the gym last summer.

“The high school got new bleachers last summer and so, of course, the old ones needed to be torn out,” she said. “I spend quite a bit of time at the high school and so I knew they were going to be torn out and thrown away so I decided we should save some of them.”

After rescuing the pieces of wood, Stump and a few friends cut them down into squares to sell in her shop in hopes of raising funds for Wellington High School’s post-prom.

Many of the squares still have carvings, gum and pieces of non-slip tape on them that add to their appeal, Stump said.

The responses so far have been overwhelmingly positive.

“I have had people call and ask if we can ship out of state to them

Pieces

because they have moved away,” she said. “I think when you move away, your high school is a bit more important to you.”

Others have purchased them as gifts to former teachers, friends and classmates.

“A gentleman bought his seat to send to his high school basketball coach from the ’80s from Wellington because he felt he would appreciate it,” she said. “It’s a good cause and people want to have their seat, especially in a small town like this.”

The pieces of wood are available for $5 each and consist of a small square portion similar to a seat. All proceeds raised go back toward funding post-prom for Wellington.

“We are a good place for fundraisers and people have loved this one,” she said. “People want to own their

own seat in history.”

The Wellington post-prom is planned to be held at Main Event in Avon. Designed as a three-hour lockin, the event will include bowling, arcade games and access to the ropes course as well as unlimited drinks, pizza and a gelato bar. Additionally, students will receive shirts as keepsakes of the event.

No date has been announced on when prom or post-prom will be held. Calls to Wellington Superintendent Ed Weber were not returned by deadline.

The keepsakes are available at The Platinum Petal, 110 S. Main St., during normal hours.

Contact Lauren Hoffman at (440) 328-6902 or lhoffman@chroniclet. com.

Easter Egg Scramble sponsored by Main Street Wellington

The Community Guide

WELLINGTON – “Three, two, one, go!”

Nine-year-old Nicholas Cyrus rushed forward along with the others determined to collect as many Easter eggs as possible. While other kids began dropping to the ground in squats, Nicholas had a different method. He launched himself into the air and dove onto the gym floor, covering a few eggs in the process. His hands reached out around him at eggs, hastily throwing them in his basket before diving again.

Nicholas was just one of more than 300 kids who

gathered at Wellington town hall last week to participate in the annual Easter Egg Scramble event hosted by Main Street Wellington. “We have been doing this event for three years now but before us, the Wellington Chamber of Commerce first organized it,” said Jenny Artnz, director of Main Street Wellington. “And as you saw, we call it a scramble because we are not necessarily hiding the eggs but rather laying them out on the gym floor for the kids to rush and grab.”

Artnz said about 4,500 plastic eggs were meticulously filled with candy a few weeks before Saturday’s event. What took over an hour to fill was

empty in minutes.

“Volunteers from the Wellington Women’s League came and helped us fill the eggs, which took around an hour and a half and once we say go, they’re gone in seconds,” Arntz said. “It’s crazy and that’s why I make sure to tell people to not be late because the event goes really fast.”

This year’s event prob-

ably was the fastest on record, Artnz said, with cleanup efforts coming just under a half hour after the starting point. Kids up to fifth grade each had their shot in four age group rounds to collect the eggs. Baby to pre-K, kindergarten to first, second to third and fourth to fifth were each grouped in the rounds.

“I think the pre-K group had the most people.”

we determined that he was not and never was.”

Hogan said Reynolds was at one point employed as a Cleveland auxiliary officer, but no longer is.

“We are very thankful for Officer Hogan’s quick response as an SRO in the school and the school staff for reporting the suspicious activity,” Wellington Police Lt. Josh Polling said. “We are glad to have such good officers and staff at our school.”

Contact Lauren Hoffman at (440) 328-6902 or lhoffman@ chroniclet.com.

Dave O’Brien The Community Guide

Some changes are coming to the Lorain County Crime/Drug Lab, including new equipment and a new name.

State funds totaling $425,000 will help the lab buy a new piece of testing equipment and add a fourth analyst to its staff, its director said. Plans also are in motion to change the name to the Lorain County Forensics Lab, Director Gillian Camera and Commissioner Jeff Riddell said.

State officials announced Friday, March 8, that the lab will receive $425,000 in additional state funding through the Ohio Crime Lab Efficiency Program.

Camera said that money will go toward purchasing a liquid chromatographymass spectrometer, an instrument that she said “will allow us to continue working through our backlog” of testing and develop faster tests of materials submitted to the lab.

Why is this important?

In another form of testing, called gas chromatographymass spectrometry, the heat involved in the testing process can affect compounds in the testing samples, Camera said.

Liquid chromatographymass spectrometry doesn’t have that issue, she said.

Some of the state funding also will go toward hiring a fourth analyst in the lab, which currently has three.

The funding has yet to be officially accepted by the commissioners, but Camera said the board “has been very supportive in approving grant funding for the lab and putting new equipment in and getting the lab where it needs to be.”

Another $250,000 award from the state Crime Lab Efficiency Program in 2022 allowed the lab to buy a second gas chromatographmass spectrometer. The first and only one the lab had prior to that was 18 years old, Camera said.

The Crime/Drug Lab tests materials and does fingerprinting services for Lorain County courts and law enforcement. Its annual budget is approximately $600,000, two-thirds of which comes from the county’s general fund and one-third of which comes from fees and grants.

Several attempts to pass levies to fund the lab or move it out of the basement of the County Administration Building on Middle Avenue in Elyria have failed in recent years.

Most recently, Issue 22 — a 0.25-mill, five-year additional levy benefiting both the Crime/Drug Lab and the county Coroner’s Office — was defeated at the polls in November.

New name, new gear for crime lab County OKs $1M for paving

for

ministration funding worth $277,286 will come through NOACA with the county responsible for the remaining $69,322.

The board also voted to accept $190,912 in Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction funding to replace defective sprinklers in the Lorain County Jail that were recalled 25 years ago but never replaced.

That project will go out to bid immediately, with bids due May 2 and work to take place from July to October, Deputy County Administrator Karen Perkins said. Contact Dave O’Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.

Lauren Hoffman

of the old Wellington High School gymnasium bleachers are shown for sale at The Platinum Petal floral shop in Wellington on Monday. The money will be used for the school’s postprom.

BRUCE BISHOP / CHRONICLE

THE COMMUNITY GUIDE Kids begin their “hunt.”

Nora and Griffin Clark, 6 and 3, from Wellington grin as they inspect their eggs for prizes during the 2024 Easter Egg Scramble.

Tony DiFranco

The 2024 Lorain County Division III Basketball Player of the Year, Sean Whitehouse, of Wellington, completes a dunk in the Slam Dunk competition.

Columbia’s Nathan Borling is the winner of the 2024 Lorain County Mr. Basketball Award.

Amherst’s Tristyn Young gets two points past Avon Lake’s Brandon Bromley in the Rising Stars Game.

The 2024 Lorain County Division I Player of the Year, Jayden Crutcher, of Elyria, gets a dunk in the Rising Stars Game.

Amherst’s Eli Solak hits a shot over Columbia’s Logan Menge in the Rising Stars Game.

Amherst’s Landon Bray drives past Firelands’ Chris Radman in one of the Senior All-Star games.

The Lorain County Boys Basketball Coaches Association hosted the Lorain County boys basketball teams which honor county Seniors and underclassmen in a 3 Point Competition, Dunk Competition and Senior All-Star games and the Rising Stars Game.

Photos by Russ Gifford, The Community Guide

Oberlin senior of the month

The Oberlin Rotary Club’s “Senior of the Month” for February is Oliver Knijnenburg.

Knijnenburg has played on the OHS Tennis Team throughout his high school career. He is the number one player on the team and has lost only seven matches to date.

He also played three years on the OHS Soccer Team. An outstanding student, Knijnenburg has been admitted into the National Honor Society and the Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica, serving as senior advisor for the latter.

Knijnenburg has been accepted to Oberlin College on the Robinson Scholarship, which is available to OHS students. He plans to major in Biology and minor in Hispanic Studies.

Oberlin briefs

Oberlin Heritage Center will install three bike racks throughout the City of Oberlin along with QR code tags to educate residents about bike amenities and nearby trails.

• Oberlin City Schools will update the Safety Town equipment at Oberlin Elementary School to provide traffic safety education for youth.

• Our F.A.M.I.L.Y. will expand the Legion Field Community Garden in Oberlin with a new section dedicated to seniors, people with lower mobility and children.

The Oberlin Heritage Center has announced a new promotion for fourth grade students in partnership with America 250-Ohio, the official state commission responsible for spearheading Ohio’s celebrations around America’s semiquincentennial in 2026. The 4th Grade History Pass will allow fourth-grade students to use the pass at more than 10 institutions throughout Ohio, including The Oberlin Heritage Center, Ohio History Center, Cincinnati Museum Center and Western Reserve Historical Society/Cleveland History Center. A comprehensive list of participating locations where the pass can be redeemed is available at America250-Ohio.org/ fourth-grade-pass. To participate, a pass can be acquired from the America 250-Ohio website where there is an option to select a printed or digital version for download. The program will end on December 31, 2026.

Firelands Genealogy meeting

The Firelands Genealogical Society will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at the Laning-Young building (9 Case Avenue, Norwalk) with Kayla Cicola of Ohio Connectivity Champions. Participants will gain valuable safety insights to navigate the digital world responsibly. Topics include maintaining privacy, avoiding online scams, strategies for keeping your personal information secure, and tips for social media use (including things to look for in bot/AI profiles). Genealogists use online services in research, and like anyone else, must be careful! This meeting is open to the public free of charge. The non-profit group is a chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society. More information may be found at https://www.hcc-ogs.org

OHC Eclipse Party

On April 8th, the 2024 Solar Eclipse will cast its shadow over northeast Ohio, creating a once-in-a-lifetime event. The Oberlin Heritage Center invites you to join the celebration at Mill on Main (95 S. Main Street)

The event runs from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is $25. Eclipse glasses are complimentary with registration, Register on oberlinheritagecenter.org, by emailing tourinfo@oberlinheritage.org, or by calling 440-774-1700.

Lauren Hoffman

The Community Guide

AMHERST — A local gas station has set a new record for itself of selling out its corned-beef sandwiches in less than five hours for St. Patrick’s Day.

Ali Muhammed, owner of Ali’s Sunoco, 979 N. Leavitt Road, said the tradition of selling the cornedbeef Reubens has been something special for his customers.

“We have been selling corned beef here for St. Patrick’s Day for about five years, and I was doing it across the street at Marathon for 12 years before that,” he said. “With my deli business in the gas station, we are always busy, but St. Patrick’s Day is definitely our busiest day.”

Muhammed said preparations start early with reinforcements being called in to help rearrange the kitchen.

“Instead of cooking in our corner spot, we take up a third of the store and have lots of helping hands,” he said. “I have always dreamed of opening up my own restaurant, and I figured I would come into the gas station business to set it up, let it run itself and open that restaurant, but I haven’t been able to step away.”

Because of his attachment to his gas station business, Muhammed said he decided to bring the restaurant to him and began cooking gyros.

“It was phenomenal with the gyros, but I needed something else to get people in because you don’t eat gyros seven days a week. So we added on extra sandwiches, including the corned-beef Reubens,” he said.

Since then, Muhammed said St. Patrick’s Day has taken on a life of its own, growing year after year. And with it, so does the amount of meat.

“We bought 540 pounds of beef, and after processing it, we had 200 pounds of corned beef that we sold out of in about five hours today,” Muhammed said. “It’s crazy.” Muhammed said lines circled the shop and went out the door as customers began showing up early Sunday morning.

“I am so proud and thankful for the community, we wouldn’t be able to do this without them,” he said. “We have had customers come in and help out with the day like Amy Jaymes, and because of their word of mouth, we are able to make sales like this.”

Contact Lauren Hoffman at (440) 328-6902 or lhoffman@chroniclet.com.

Mo Sohail, Rakan Salameh, Branden Hershberger and Ali’s Sunoco gas station owner Ali Muhammed pose at the gas station on St. Patrick’s Day.

LAUREN HOFFMAN / COMMUNITY GUIDE

If you ever wanta goatfor apet, you shouldget morethanone.

Yes!

Grazers or foragers?

Foragersprefer leaves and theseeds on topof wildgrass.They will also eat grass.

Tryanswering eachofthese questions. Then read KidScoop with afamily member and find out which ones you got right.

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Goats canclimb trees

Goats pupils areround

In nature, goatsroam mountaintops andreachas hi hibl ik

Howmanygoats canyou nd

There is amyth about whatgoats eat. It claims goats eatanything andeverything. Often, goats are drawnchewingontin cans.

This is not true. Goats are very picky eaters. Theyonlyeat plants. But even then, they will refuse to eatdirty hay. They prefer to eat looking up and enjoy freshleavesontrees.

Goats liketoeat tin cans.

Goatburps areloud.

Goats areforagers

Goats areone of the rst animals tamed by humans.

Goats liketo live alone

Goats canlearn their names

Goats have one big stomach.

Baby goats arecalled kids.

Standards Link: Reading Comprehension:

Baby goatsare called kids.Each kidhas a unique call,and along with its scent, thatishow its mother recognizes it from birth not by sight

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