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LORAIN COUNTY
AMHERST NEWS-TIMES
Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019
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OBERLIN NEWS-TRIBUNE
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WELLINGTON ENTERPRISE
www.lcnewspapers.com
DON’T MISS IT! SPECIAL BONUS SECTION
Volume 6, Issue 33
PRAYING FOR A CHANGE
LORAIN COUNTY FAIR THE 174TH ANNUAL FAIR RUNS FROM AUG. 19-25 IN WELLINGTON
Beer garden part of ‘new and improved’ year JASON HAWK EDITOR
File photo
Tucker Webb, 10, of LaGrange, smiles as he shows his steer to potential buyers during the annual beef auction at the Lorain County Fair in 2018. Webb and his steer, named Stubby, earned the "Modern Beef Steer Grand Champion" title.
Granger Smith to open Monday night on stage
"This year is a year of improvement" at the Lorain County Fair, said president Ron Pickworth. The 174th annual fair will unofficially start Saturday morning with the 4-H Cloverbud Show and Tell. Gates will officially open at 8 a.m. Monday, with a noon ceremony and crowning of the Junior Fair king and queen. During the week, you'll notice changes big and small. By popular demand, box seating at the grandstand has been updated to give a bit more space. "People must have gotten bigger over the years," joked Pickworth.
Kids’ Day, launched last year, will return Wednesday with even more family-oriented activities for families. The truck pull that evening will for the first time be affiliated with the Ohio State Tractor Pullers, which is sure to bring in top-tier talent from around the state. Maybe the biggest change for 2019 is the addition of a beer garden located next to the grandstand. Drinking will be limited to a tent there as well as the grandstand itself. "You can't walk around the grounds with it," said Pickworth. Staffers have been trained to make sure drinking doesn't get out of control. Your driver's license will be scanned and you'll
get a wristband to show you're eligible to buy two cans at a time. Organizers don't expect many problems to arise from the beer garden. Some other Northeast Ohio fairs have had alcohol sales for years and report the results as largely trouble-free, Pickworth said. The Medina County Fair started selling alcohol three years ago. Folks involved there helped advise the Wellington-based fair board throughout the past year. Concerts are among the biggest draws for the fair each year, and Pickworth said he expects Granger Smith and Foreigner to bring the crowds. Smith, who will perform IMPROVED PAGE E3
A THRILL A MINUTE!
JASON HAWK EDITOR
Texas country music sensation Granger Smith will open the Lorain County Fair with a grandstand concert the evening of Monday, Aug. 19. "Granger, he's kind of been on our wish list," said senior fair board member Brian Twining. "We have lists in our heads and our briefcases that we watch — young up-and-coming acts on both sides, rock and country. It just worked out that the path he's traveling, he can come through Wellington." He said the goal is to have one act like Foreigner, which will play Tuesday, Aug. 20, to appeal to an older audience, and another like Smith who appeals to younger fair-goers. Also known by his alter ego, Earl Dibbles Jr., the 39-year-old Smith hails from Dallas. He taught himself to play guitar at age 14 and within a year was playing small weekend venues in Texas. As a college freshman, he made his first album, then landed a songwriting deal with EMI Music Publishing and moved to Nashville. Smith's independent album "Dirt Road Driveway" rocketed up the charts to number one in 2013. Two years later, he signed his first deal with a record label and quickly had a hit with "Backroad Song." If you're a country fan, you may also know hits such as "Happens Like That," "The Country Boy Song," "If the Boot Fits," and "City Boy Stuck." Most recently, Smith released the patriotic single "They Were There" in December. Success has allowed Smith and his band to perform in
Our special Lorain County Fair preview is included in this week’s edition as Section E!
BULLETIN BOARD
File photo
Crystal Burger of New London lets out a scream while her daughter Madison Howell smiles wide on a thrilling coaster called G Force.
FAST FACTS
Thursday, Aug. 15 SMITH PAGE C3
Last year at the fair...
About 114,000 admission tickets were sold for the 173rd Lorain County Fair, held last year. Storms early in the week hampered attendance and paid admission was down about 1,000 from 2017. Blazing hot temperatures and menacing black clouds have a big impact on the fair, according to director Ron Pickworth. Perfect weather and no school would boost attendance, but “you live with what you get,” Pickworth said.
• The Lorain County Fair opens at 8 a.m. each day from Monday, Aug. 19 to Sunday, Aug. 25. • Admission is $5 at the gate. Children ages eight and under are free. Credit and debit cards are accepted at Gates 1, 3, 4, and 6. No checks are accepted. Parking is free. • There is no official closing time. Exhibitor buildings close at 10 p.m. Food vendors will stay open as long as they are selling. • Midway ride tickets are $1 each.
The number of tickets required is posted on each ride. A $20 unlimited ride stamp can be purchased from 1-10 p.m. on Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Satuday; a $15 Kids' Day special is available from 1-10 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday and 1-9 p.m. on Sunday. • If you have questions, visit the secretary's office to the north of the grandstand near the main gate. • A lost and found box is located
at the secretary's office. The Lorain County Sheriff's Office and ambulance station at the main gate also has lost and found items. • No pets are allowed on the fairgrounds. • Beer will be sold this year for the first time. It will be permitted only in the beer garden and grandstand, not on the midway. • A wheelchair and motorized scooter vendor can be found by Gate 4.
• WELLINGTON: “Welcome to Kindergarten” will be presented at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 15 at the Herrick Memorial Library. This special story time is for children who will be attending kindergarten this fall. Children attending will receive a box of school supplies. Register by Aug. 13 at the library or by calling 440-647-2120. • OBERLIN: The Indigenous Peoples’ Day ComSUBMIT YOUR NEWS TO: NEWS@LCNEWSPAPERS.COM mittee will meet from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 15 at the Oberlin Public Library. Attendees can see the film “Indian School: A Survivor’s Story.” During the late 19th and 20th centuries, across the U.S. and Canada, the federal governments habitually required Native American children to attend residential boarding schools. Beginning with the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania (1879), the goal was assimilation. The motto was, “Kill the Indian to save the man.” There were 519 schools in the U.S. and 126 in Canada. This film, from the victims’ own voices, details the boarding school experience. • VERMILION: The Women Business Owners Network will meet at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 15 at The Pavilion Grill, 5542 Liberty Ave. The meeting will be held during Vermilion’s Third Thursday event. Wear comfortable walking shoes to visit the musicians up and down Main Street and Liberty Avenue. The hostess for this meeting is Theresa Riddell BULLETIN BOARD PAGE A3
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Steve Manheim | Chronicle-Telegram
Jim Jones of Vermilion, right, stands at a gun violence vigil held Aug. 8 at United Church of Christ in Vermilion.
Congregation seeks end to violence CARISSA WOYTACH THE CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM
VERMILION - Praying for an end to gun violence should mean more than sending thoughts to those affected, United Church of Christ Congregational member Judy Brizzolara said at a vigil last Thursday evening, calling on congregation members to take action. "We pray not only with mouth and mind, but also with hands and feet," she said. "We ask God to comfort and heal those hurting and ask her to do her work through us to help us act on her behalf. I don't know what the ultimate answer is, but I do know the solution is not with more violence, but with more love." The Rev. Mindy Quellhorst's congregation organized the vigil in
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Karen Rossi, who organized the vigil, noted the evening's gathering was not only about mass violence, but for those lives lost to suicide involving guns, or more localized shootings. Last month in Lorain, two teenagers were killed and one died by suicide with a firearm. Illustrating the individual impact, congregation member Pat Stein told those gathered something she's "never told anyone before" — the story of her sister's suicide. Stein said growing up her sister had mental health problems that were brushed off by her parents, which grew into intense paranoia as she got older. Bouncing between counties in Florida and at times California, her sister was hospitalized after attempting to kill herself multiple times. VIOLENCE PAGE A2
$595K per year levy sought for crime lab BRUCE WALTON THE CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM
ELYRIA - The Lorain County commissioners have approved placing a levy on the November ballot for the county crime and drug lab. The 0.08-mill, five-year levy would generate about $595,000 annually. It would cost $2.80 annually for a $100,000 home. The lab tests drugs seized by police
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the wake of mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, which have left more than 30 dead and dozens injured. Her call to action was echoed throughout the evening, including in language from the Rev. John Dorhauer, general minister and president of United Church of Christ. Standing on the church's front lawn, more than 70 people gathered, holding candles and signs reading "Do Something" — a chant taken up by protesters in Dayton. Many of those who spoke in Vermilion called for legislation to ban assault rifles, expand background checks and pass "red flag" laws, which would allow courts to issue temporary orders barring someone from possessing guns based on showing imminent risk of misuse. A federal proposal is in the works.
during investigations. It has had a difficult time covering the costs of the testing and is projected to be over budget again this year just as it was last year. If passed, the levy will help with getting the lab out of the red as well as provide funding for more testing, equipment, staffing, and other costs in the next five years. County Commissioner Matt Lundy said the funding for the crime lab will be helpful in working to ensure its
ability to effectively operate during the opioid crisis. "We're certainly in an epidemic here and when these crimes happen and when people die, people want answers, and the crime lab plays a very important part in helping with our investigations," he said. The commissioners discussed the issue last year to determine how much the levy could generate to make a better decision before putting CRIME LAB PAGE A2
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