Lorain County Community Guide - Aug. 25, 2022

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AMHERST NEWS-TIMES • OBERLIN NEWS-TRIBUNE • WELLINGTON ENTERPRISE Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022

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Volume 9, Issue 34

Kois and Krupka are Junior Fair royalty JASON HAWK EDITOR

WELLINGTON — Someone up there must like Christopher Krupka and Emily Kois.

While thunder threatened throughout the Lorain County Fair’s opening ceremony Sunday evening, the rain held off until after the new Junior Fair king and queen were crowned.

Or at least hatted — breaking with tradition, no red felt and chrome were placed on Krupka’s brow.

Instead, the king was fitted with a black ball cap with his title stitched across it in white.

“I don’t wear a crown in the barns,” he said, excited by the change. “Those things would just get dirty fast. I’m going to wear this every single day of the week.”

Kois said the Junior Fair boys respectfully requested the switch-up. They’d even considered going with a kingly belt buckle, but that option proved surprisingly expensive.

The queen’s headwear didn’t change. Kois donned a sparkling tiara on the small stage in front of the grandstand.

“I like the tiara better.

I think it draws a little more fanciness to it,” she laughed.

Krupka, a 2022 graduate of Elyria Catholic High School, has been part of 4-H for seven years. He is the son of Frank and Donna Krupka of North Ridgeville.

He plans to attend the University of Akron this fall to study mechanical engineering.

“I love rebuilding tractor engines. So I figure I like building, I like math — engineering sounds like the

way to go,” he said.

On the family farm, it’s his job to repair a Ford 3000, his great-grandfather’s Farmall A and a Yanmar. The Farmall is his favorite by far – it’s simple, doesn’t have a lot of wiring and it’s easy to take apart and rebuild.

Runners-up for the Junior Fair king crown — or ball cap — were Noah Clegg of North Ridgeville, who is the president of the Junior Fair board; and Elijah Kyser of Elyria, who has been in 4-H for 10 years.

Kois, of Grafton, was chosen from a field of four candidates for queen. A 2022 graduate of Midview High School, she is the daughter of Robert and Stacy Kois.

“It’s exciting, a little bit overwhelming,” she said — as a Junior Fair board member, she’s been getting ROYALTY PAGE A3

Photos by Jason Hawk | Wellington Enterprise

Christopher Krupka is named king and Emily Kois is named queen of the Lorain County Junior Fair during the opening ceremony on Sunday.

A fair amount of fun

Hudson Smith, 4, of Wakeman, helps his sister Natalie wash a Boer market goat.

Classifieds, legals, display advertising, and subscriptions Deadline: 1 p.m. each Monday Phone: 440-329-7000 Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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Photos by Jason Hawk | Enterprise

▲ Julie Palmer of Henrietta Township pets a steer named Baker Mayfield, who was raised by her daughter, Morgan Adkins.

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News staff Jason Hawk news@LCnewspapers.com Phone: 440-329-7122 Submit news to news@lcnewspapers.com Deadline: 10 a.m. Tuesday

◄ Harness racing kicks off on the fair track with 3-yearold filly pacers.

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INSIDE THIS WEEK SPECIAL: Back to school

Wellington

Wellington focuses on STEM, attendance and staffing • A4

Teachers get three-year contract, raises • B1

Oberlin Schools are ready to move past COVID • B3

OBITUARIES A2 • CLASSIFIEDS A4 • CROSSWORD B2 • SUDOKU B2 • KID SCOOP B6

Page A2

Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022

Lorain County Community Guide

TRUMPET WINS AGAIN

Health workers are safeguarding the fair WELLINGTON — In an effort to prevent disease from spreading, county health workers are supplying hand sanitizer and inspecting food vendors at the Lorain County Fair this week.

At Lorain County Public Health’s booth behind Building 17, staff are also greeting fair-goers and answering public health questions.

You can take part in “Walk for Water,” a challenge that rewards walkers with an icecold bottle of water.

View LCPH’s display focused on the full picture of health, highlighting safe transportation, clean and safe water, healthy moms and babies as well as opportunities for shadowing, internships and job and volunteer opportunities in Lorain County.

“Whether you’re at the fair, commuting to work or expecting a baby, your health and safety are our priorities,” said county Health Commissioner Mark Adams. “Every day, we work to protect your well-being, prevent diseases and promote overall health.”

That includes providing COVID-19 vaccines as well as other recommended vaccines to prevent disease.

County workers inspect every place in Lorain County that sells food, such as restaurants and grocery stores. They act as consultants and educators for homeowners that have septic systems.

LCPH also runs programs to encourage wearing seat belts, driving sober and preventing motor vehicle crashes that can be deadly.

Provided photo

The all-breed Lorain County Kennel Club Show finished with a thrill on Sunday, Aug. 14 — winning Best in Show were Heather Buehner and Trumpet, winners of the 2022 Westminster Kennel Club’s top honors. They were presented with a trophy hand-made by club member Mark Yourich.

OBITUARIES Gita Kooba

Betty J. Storrow

Gita Kooba, born Feb. 11, 1935, in Tallinn, Estonia, to Gerhart and Hildegard Poldemann, passed away Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022, in Parma at the age of 87.

Gita and her family immigrated to the United States from Estonia in 1949 when she was 14 years old.

She graduated from Summitville High School in Summitville, Ohio in 1953.

After graduating from high school, she earned a nursing degree from the Salem City Hospital School of Nursing in August of 1956. She obtained an additional degree in operating room supervision and management from New York Polyclinic Medical School and Hospital in 1958. She was employed at Cornell University as a neurosurgical nurse when she met her husband, Eino Kooba.

Gita and Eino were married on May 30, 1959, at the Finnis Synod Church in Cleveland. After Eino completed his residency they moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where she and her husband both worked at Coatsville Hospital. In 1961, they moved to West Liberty/Bellfontaine, Ohio, where they had a private medical practice until 1964 when they chose to settle in Lorain, and opened a private medical practice, retiring in 1992 after working side by side for 35 years.

Gita had a passion for traveling along with supporting her Estonian heritage participating in multiple Estonian Festivals and events worldwide throughout her life. One of her favorite places was Zurich, Switzerland, where the family lived for two years while Eino completed an internal medicine fellowship at Zurich Medical School.

She loved gardening, reading, especially history books, playing the piano which, she taught herself, and singing.

Eino would prepare a proper Scandinavian breakfast each morning. Gita cherished that special time together.

Gita loved being surrounded by family and friends and her church community. She was an active member of the Amherst Community Congregational United Church of Christ, where her prayer group enjoyed lunches at Blue Sky Restaurant. Gita spent a lot of her time graciously volunteering with the Salvation Army and numerous other community organizations and functions that she generously supported with her time.

Gita is survived by her son, Dr. Erik Kalev (Kelly) Kooba of Bloomington, Illinois; grandchildren, Teresa Kooba, Alexander Kooba, Lakyn Bowman, and Logyn Bowman and her brother, Gosta Poldemann of Powell, Ohio.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 53 years, Eino, in 2012.

The family will receive friends on Friday, August 26, 2022, from noon until 2 p.m. in the Dovin & Reber Jones Funeral & Cremation Center, 1110 Cooper Foster Park Rd., Amherst. Funeral services will follow the visitation at 2 p.m. in the funeral center with Pastor Peeter Pirn of Unity Evangelical Lutheran Estonian Church in Cleveland. Interment will follow at Ridge Hill Memorial Park, Amherst Township.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www. dovinreberjones.com.

Betty J. Storrow, 95, of Wellington, passed away under hospice care with her family at home on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022. Born on June 10, 1927, in Fairview, she was the daughter of the late Hubert and Ruth (nee Ponting) Jordan.

Betty graduated in 1945 from Wellington High School and was actively involved in every aspect of the farm life with her husband for many years before his passing in 2006. She was a 70 year member of the First United Methodist Church in Wellington. She was also a member of the LaGrange Engine Club and The Grange, and worked at Westwood Elementary cafeteria.

In her spare time, she enjoyed gardening, bird watching, listening to music - especially Judy Garland and Elvis, and tending to her livestock. She will be missed by all who knew and loved her.

Betty is survived by her children, Ruth (Scott) Anderson, Frank H. Storrow, Thomas (Rosanne) Storrow, and John Storrow, all of Wellington; eight grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren and brother, Roy Jordan.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 56 years, Frank Storrow; grandson, Steven Tolliver; great-granddaughter, Shelby Tolliver, and four siblings.

A private service will be held and burial will take place at Greenwood Cemetery, Wellington.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Betty's honor may be made to the First United Methodist Church of Wellington, Stein Hospice, or the National Diabetes Foundation.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Norton-Eastman Funeral Home and online condolences may be expressed at www.norton-eastmanfuneralhome.com.

Our condolences go out to families that have suffered the loss of a loved one.

To place an obituary or death notice in the Community Guide, call (440) 329-7000.

Vigil to remember lives lost to accidental overdoses ELYRIA — A vigil in memory of the 143 lives lost to accidental drug overdoses last year in Lorain County will be held from 5-8 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 31 at Lorain County Community College’s Spitzer Conference Center.

The event will be held on International Overdose Awareness Day. In 2022, there has been a series of unusual spikes in overdoses, said Michael Doud, executive director of the Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services Board of Lorain County, which is holding the vigil in partnership with the Lorain County Opioid Action Team.

“By coming together to remember those who lost their lives to accidental overdose and increasing the awareness of those struggling with substance abuse disorder, we can reduce the stigma and hopefully the number of drug-related overdose deaths,” Doud said.

Those in recovery and the families of people whose lives were lost to overdoses are invited to share their stories and tributes during the vigil, which is free and open to the public.

Partners in the fight against addiction will be present to share information with attendees. Free Narcan kits and other resources will also be available.

People who are unable to attend the vigil but still want to show their support are asked to light up their homes in purple on Aug. 31. They can also wear purple that day and share photos of their gatherings on social media with the hashtag #EndOverdose.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate there were 107,622 drug overdose deaths nationwide in 2021, an increase of almost 15 percent from 2020. The majority were caused by opioids, the class of pain relievers that includes fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone and morphine.

Overdose deaths also rose sharply during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, up 30 percent from 2019 to 2020.

Overdose Lifeline trainings are offered for free in Lorain County. These courses are aimed at educating and training the public on the facts of addiction, the opioid crisis, combating stigma and harm reduction.

Contact Jinx Mastney at (440) 434-5711 or jmastney@mharslc.org to request a training for your faith community, school, workplace, civic organization or other group.

Kendal Artist Talks reopen to the public in Oberlin A retrospective exhibit of paintings, prints and other pieces by Ohio-based artist Elaine Albers Cohen is on display in Kendal at Oberlin’s gallery through Monday, Oct. 10.

Cohen will give speak at 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9 in the Heiser Lounge — the first artist talk open to the public since the pandemic began in March 2020.

Visitors will be temperature-screened for COVID symptoms and masks are required.

Cohen graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art and Case Western Reserve University, where she received

a degree in art education. She studied enameling with K. Bates, ceramics with Toshiko Takaezu and finished an independent study in ceramics at BaldwinWallace College, where she created large sculptural vessels.

After graduation, Cohen worked in the Lorain City Schools as a high school art teacher. She now works from her home studio in Avon.

Cohen has exhibited in many galleries and shows around the country, including the Boston Mills Art Show in Ohio, the Cola Bjel Gallery in New York and William Ris Gallery in New Jersey.

She has received merit awards from the International Society of Experimental Artists and the North Coast Collage Society. Cohen has been involved with the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve since its beginning and became an Archived Artist in 2011.

“Because of travel and the study of many primitive cultures, my works reflect a wide variety of symbols and designs that tell a story or set a mood,” Cohen said.

The exhibit is open for public viewing during business hours.

LETTERS Letters to the editor should be: • Written to the editor. We do not allow open letters or those to specific residents, politicians, or groups.

• Concise. There is a limit of 350 words on letters.

• Polite. Letters that use crude language or show poor taste will be rejected.

• Opinions. We reserve space for letters that share a unique perspective. Press releases are not letters and will be considered for publication in other parts of the paper.

• Free of advertising, product or service endorsements or complaints, poetry, language that could raise legal problems, or claims that are measurably false.

• Signed. Include your name, address, and daytime telephone number for our records. Up to two signatures.

• The deadline to submit letters is 10 a.m. each Tuesday. They are used on a space-available basis. We reserve the right to edit any submission for length, grammar, spelling, and clarity, or to reject any submission.

SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD ON PAGE B2

SOLUTION TO SUDOKU ON PAGE B2

ABOUT THE COMMUNITY GUIDE LORAIN COUNTY COMMUNITY GUIDE (USPS 673-960) is published every Thursday, 52 weeks per year by Lorain County Printing & Publishing Company, 225 East Ave., Elyria OH 44035.

SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $40 for 52 weeks in Lorain County; $45 in Erie, Huron, Ashland, Medina, and Cuyahoga counties; $50 in all other Ohio counties; $55 outside Ohio.

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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Lorain County Community Guide, PO Box 4010, Elyria OH 44036.

Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022

Lorain County Community Guide

Page A3

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Seen here from the east, Firelands High School doesn’t have a true “front.” The public entrance is on the west side of the building facing Vermilion Road, while buses will drop students on the far side to enter from the east.

Ribbon to be cut Aug. 31 at the new Firelands HS JASON HAWK EDITOR

HENRIETTA TWP. — A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Firelands High School will be held at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 31 at 10521 Vermilion Rd. The $23 million, 106,000-square-foot building opens this fall, and the ceremony will be the first time the public can head inside.

Approved by voters in 2018, it includes space for academics, the arts, agricultural education, two gymnasiums, a stage, extended learning areas, offices and a kitchen to serve to students in grades 6-12.

“The dedication of this building is made possible by the countless individuals who saw the need to improve our educational environment,” said district Superintendent Mike Von Gunten. “Because of the part-

nership with our community, we are able to open this new building, which will serve our students and the residents of Firelands, for many years to come.”

The ribbon-cutting will be held on the east side of the building, which is the far side from the roadway. In the event of rain, the celebration will be moved into the auxiliary gym.

The school system will have a staggered start this fall. Grades 1-6 and 9 will head back to class on Tuesday, Sept. 6, while grades 7-8 and 10-12 will begin Wednesday, Sept. 7. Kindergarten will begin Friday, Sept. 9.

With the opening of the new high school, all classes will be consolidated on Firelands’ Vermilion Road campus.

The former South Amherst Middle School has been vacated and sold to Industrial Realty Group for redevelopment.

Amherst history museum tours The Quigley Museum, located on the corner of Milan Avenue and South Lake Street in Amherst, will be open for tours every Sunday from 2-4 p.m. through November.

The Amherst Historical Society museum is the original house built by Joseph Quigley in 1832, and the build-

ing is a rare example of early sandstone architecture. The museum displays exhibits that celebrate accomplishments of Amherstonians since the founding of the city.

For more information or to schedule a group tour, call the historical society at (440) 988-7255.

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morning show host said choosing who will get the award is difficult “because so many people work so hard to make this the best fair in all of Ohio. And if you’ve been to other fairs, you know what I’m talking about.”

Jordan, a lifelong resident of Wellington, took part in 4-H as a boy. His children were in 4-H, his mother was a 4-H advisor and this year his granddaughters are showing cows at the fair.

Over the years, Jordan has served in scores of ways, from the building and grounds committee to overseeing the demolition derby and tractor pulls, sales, scholarships and annual church service on the fairgrounds.

“This is one busy, dedicated, committed guy,” Adams said.

The award caught Jordan by surprise.

When he was asked to present Kois and Krupka with scholarships, he “knew something was up” and quickly found it was a ploy to get him to the stage.

“It’s a pleasure to serve,” he said, taking the award in stride.

The Lorain County Fair runs through Sunday, Aug. 28.

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ready for months to show her own Boer goats and chairs the Junior Fair Boer goats committee.

Now she’s preparing for a new chapter.

As a freshman at Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute, Kois will major in agriculture science education and special education and minor in Spanish.

Runners-up for queen included Natalie Calfo, daughter of Joe and Amy Calfo of Wellington; Chloee Howard, daughter of Peter and Christina Howard of Spencer; and Allison Tuggle, daughter of Curtis and Marisa Tuggle of Amherst.

Sunday’s opening ceremony included the raising of the American flag, a performance by the 4-H band and presentation of 4-H scholarships.

It also included recognition of Chris Jordan, a 15-year member of the Lorain County Fair board, representing Pittsfield Township.

He was presented with the Clair Hill Memorial Award, given by Lorain County Printing and Publishing, which owns The Chronicle-Telegram, WEOL AM 930 and the Lorain County Community Guide.

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Page A4

Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022

Lorain County Community Guide

BACK TO SCHOOL

Wellington focuses on STEM, staffing and attendance JASON HAWK EDITOR

WELLINGTON — Roughly 950 students are expected to attend classes this year in Wellington school buildings, reporting for the first bell on Monday, Aug. 29.

Superintendent Ed Weber said he wants to build on academic progress seen last year. He also expects the Ohio Department of Education’s annual report card to show the school system improving for the sixth straight year.

That’s a big deal — Wellington has spent much of the past decade clawing its way out of a state watch for overall performance while also fixing its special education program.

“Things are all looking better, although you might say it’s just been slow and steady progress,” Weber said. “But we’re back to being a reputable organization.”

“I think you can say we are not a failing school system anymore,” he added later. “We are in good shape, and we want to be up there with the very best.”

More science, technology,

engineering and math courses have been added to the offerings this fall at McCormick Middle School. They include courses on energy and the environment, green architecture, hovercraft, robotics and solar cars.

Weber said exposure to STEM concepts at a younger age helps provide students with options from middle school through college. The classes help kids decide whether attending the Lorain County JVS or going with a more liberal arts track is the right fit.

Increasing Wellington’s basic literacy rate remains a high priority, Weber said.

Last school year, teachers saw big gains there as students recovered from the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, including periods of fully remote and hybrid learning.

Returning to in-person classes every day in 2021-2022 helped tremendously, Weber said.

At the same time, the Wellington Schools saw problems with attendance across the board.

Those issues were especially transparent at Wellington High School, where the daily attendance rate was in the 80-90 per-

Sandstone fundraisers

The Amherst Historical Society will hold garage sale fundraisers at its Sandstone Village, 763 Milan Ave., from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday through October.

Feel the rhythm

Cardio drumming is held at 6 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday at the LCCC Wellington Center, 151 Commerce Dr. Be sure to take your own bucket, ball and drumsticks. The cost is $5.

Amherst City Golf League

Aug. 16 results and standings from Forest Hills: Ted Svenson shot 40 for low gross while Louis Vida had low net of 32. League prizes were won by Louis Vida and Wally Cipo.

Current standings: • Team 8 — 172 points, Star Builders — 153, Sons of American Legion — 143, Amherst Sportsmens Club — 140, Team 1 — 140, Team 11 — 139, Dr. Stocker Optometrist — 129, Hempel Funeral Home — 127, Steve Polansky Meat Market — 116, Olde Town Pizza — 113, Team 7 — 111, Team12 — 101.

CLASSIFIEDS NOTICE SKILLED Basket Weaver wanted to make Amish Baskets for our store. We will come to you. All baskets will be paid for at pick up. Steady income. If interested call 440-864-3620 or write to 9794 Leavitt Rd. Elyria, OH 44035

LEGALS DECLARING IT NECESSARY TO CONSTRUCT SIDEWALKS IN THE CITY OF LORAIN, OHIO AND REQUIRING ABUTTING PROPERTY OWNERS TO CONSTRUCT THE SAME. Lorain City Council passed Reso. No.24-22 on June 6, 2022, requiring the following property owners to construct/ repair sidewalks in accordance with the provisions of ORC Section 729 and Lorain Codified Ordinance Ch. 903.

The specifications and cost estimates prepared by the City Engineer are on file and listed below: The owner of said lots abutting/abounding the proposed sidewalks above shall construct and/or repair, in accordance with said sections, plans and specifications of file in the Clerk of Council and City Engineering Office within a period of 30 days after the service of notice. The Council shall have the same construction/repair completed and the entire cost shall be assessed on the property of each defaulting owner made in a lien thereon, to be collected in a manner provided by law, with penalty and interest. Any person objecting to an assessment on said list shall file an objection in writing with the Clerk of the Legislative authority @ 200 West Erie Avenue, Room 103, Lorain, Ohio, within two weeks after the expiration of the receipt of notice provided for herein.

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2-00-051-101-002, 1127 East Erie Ave, STEFANSKI IRENE M & CHESTER L $3960. 2-01003-103-005, 1053 East Erie Ave, GORDON TODD $2592.

2-01-003-103-010, 1033 East Erie Ave, ZIENTARSKI DAVID J & KIDD NICOLE L $5256.

2-01-003-107-008, 960 East Erie Ave, EASTLAKE PROPERTIES LTD $2340. 2-01-003-102-013, 937 East Erie Ave, ROLL JULIUS PETER & TSIRONIS JOHN $5184.

2-01-003-107-007, 936 East Erie Ave, DIESEL & DG LLC $2040. 2-01-003-107005, 914 East Erie Ave, EMT INVESTMENTS LLC $300.

2-01-003-107-002, 910 East Erie Ave, EQUITY TRUST COMPANY $2220. 2-01-003106-004, 826 East Erie Ave, WEINS PROPERTIES LLC $3096. 2-01-003101-014, 825 East Erie Ave,

TOWNE DENNIS A & JOANNE E $7836. 2-01-003-101-010, 813 East Erie Ave, OSORIO ORREGO MARLIN $3432.

2-01-003-101-007, 801 East Erie Ave, PUTRINO JAYNE & REID DEBRA ALLEN $2736.

2-01-003-104-007, 758 East Erie Ave, WENGERD CHRISTINA M $3816. 2-01-003104-003, 712 East Erie Ave, OHIO PROJECT LLC $1260.

2-01-002-103-032, 637 East Erie Ave, WILSON LORETTA F $3156. 2-01-002-103-031, 629 East Erie Ave, WILSON LORETTA F $3792. 2-01-002107-003, 628 East Erie Ave, HARPER DONALD L & HARPER SHARON K $1584.

2-01-002-103-030, 617 East Erie Ave, YESTREBI AARON $4116. 2-01-002-103-029, 607 East Erie Ave, HAGWOOD HERBERT M JR $3216.

2-01-002-103-026, 557 East Erie Ave, BRITVEC EDNA E $3024.

LCCG 8/11,18,25/22 20706700 PUBLIC NOTICE To UNKNOWN FATHER, whose last known address is unknown in Lorain County, Ohio, you have been named as a Defendant in the legal action entitled Patricia Wright, and Mother, Angela Horvath, et al. This action has been assigned Case No. 22 JG 63349 and is pending in the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas, Elyria, Ohio with the Honorable Judge Sherry Glass presiding.

The object of the Complaint filed in the above-captioned case is for paternal grandparent, Patricia Wright, to be granted custody by their Complaint for Legal Custody of minor child, K. H., born 01/18/2013.

You are required to answer the Complaint within twenty-eight (28) days after the last publication of this Notice, which will be published one day pursuant to Rule 16 of the Ohio Rules of Juvenile Procedure. The last publication will be made on the 22nd day of September, 2022.

Your time for answer will commence on that date as service of process by publication will be deemed complete as of the last date of publication.

In the event of your failure to answer or otherwise respond within the time allowed by Ohio law and the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure, judgment by default will be rendered against you without further notice for the relief demand in the Complaint."

LCCG 8/11,18,25; 9/1,8, 15,22/22 20706825

cent range, according to Weber.

“The high school never broke back into the 90s, so we really need the high school to hit its attendance target of 93 percent this year,” he said.

Social and emotional supports are also important for helping get students back on track, especially at McCormick, he said.

Nathan Morris, an educator of 20 years, has been named dean of climate and culture for the middle school building. His job will be to coach staff and students toward good decisions before more difficult situations develop, Weber said. Morris’ new role will be similar in ways to an assistant principal, counselor and mentor.

Students are only one part of the equation, though.

“The hard part going into this year is that staffing has been difficult for us,” Weber said.

With the first day of school just around the corner, he’s still working to fill open positions for bus drivers as well as teachers in math, science and other core subjects.

The National Education Association says schools across the United States need roughly 300,000 more teachers than have

applied for jobs this year. Boomers, the largest generation in American history, are retiring at a rapid clip, some younger teachers are frustrated and leaving the profession, and studies show fewer college students taking up education majors. Efforts to recruit more people into teaching slowed during the pandemic.

Weber said that mix means Wellington will likely need substitutes to cover some classes for at least a few weeks until permanent staff can be hired.

Luckily, he still has full-time building subs hired during the worst of the COVID crisis.

The plan had been to end their contracts this year, but it quickly became evident they are still needed, he said.

This year is also all about managing financial resources wisely, Weber said. Paving was completed earlier in 2022 at Wellington High School’s driveway loop, and some roofing repairs were made at Westwood Elementary School.

The list now includes getting rid of barbed wire around the Dickson Street field house and making minor locker room

repairs. The Board of Education also voted in August to replace the WHS bleachers, though Weber said it will be a year before that happens because of supply chain issues.

For capital improvements, the big question continues to be the future of Westwood Elementary.

The 70-year-old building has seen better days, and voters have rejected multiple attempts to pay for large-scale renovations.

District Treasurer Mark Donnelly said the students who attend kindergarten through third grade there deserve to have a building that’s in good working shape.

That means putting money into it for maintenance, he said, regardless of the cost.

Enrollment will be a deciding factor in what happens to the elementary school, said Weber.

If it were declining, it might be plausible to close Westwood and consolidate grades at McCormick.

But the opposite is expected.

Weber said Westwood’s enrollment is up by 20 percent over what was forecasted, with significant growth in kindergarten and third grade.

BULLETIN BOARD OHS 50th class reunion

The Oberlin High School Class of 1972 will hold its 50th reunion celebration on Sept. 23-24.

Members will meet at 5 p.m. Friday at The Hotel at Oberlin, and on Saturday for dinner at Steel Magnolia restaurant. Sign up by emailing northsho@ix.netcom.com or by messaging the Oberlin High School Class of 1972 page on Facebook.

Back-to-school preview

The Oberlin City Schools will hold an “open doors” back-toschool event from 4-6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 25 at Oberlin Elementary School..

Students, parents and community members are invited into the district’s buildings to meet with teachers and other staff prior to the first day of school. There will be vendors and activities geared toward school-aged children.

Clydesdales in Amherst

The Budweiser Clydesdales will visit downtown Amherst on Saturday, Aug. 27.

Main Street Amherst will hold a special vendor sale and car show from 4-7:30 p.m., much like Walkin’ on Wednesdays but on the weekend. The horses will appear during the event. Park Avenue and Church Street will be closed to traffic starting at 1 p.m.

Vintage and vintner social

The Oberlin Heritage Center will hold an evening of picturesque views and drinks from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 30 at Quarry Hill Winery, 8403 Mason Rd., Berlin Heights.

Plenty of seating is available indoors and outdoors. Tickets are $40 per person and include two drink tickets for a glass of wine, a beer or a non-alcoholic drink, as well as hors d'oeuvres.

Guests will also enjoy live acoustic music and several raffles.

Proceeds from this special event support the Pat Murphy Endowment for Heritage Preservation. Attendees can also hear a brief history of the winery, which was founded in 2005.

Register at www.tinyurl.com/OHCwinery.

Plastic in the Great Lakes

Lara Roketenetz will present “Plastic Pollution in the Great Lakes” at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 6 for the Black River Audubon Society at the Carlisle Reservation Visitor Center, 12882 Diagonal Rd., Carlisle Township.

While we often hear about the extent of plastic pollution in the oceans, freshwater water bodies face some of the same pressures. Roketenetz will present data from local, regional and national sources and also discuss the importance of reducing plastic pollution, as well as collective action that can help our lake and the people and animals that depend on it.

She serves as director of the University of Akron Field Station where she educates students from kindergarten to college on environmental issues. Roketenetz helps organize beach clean-ups in the Greater Cleveland area with partner organizations such as Black River Audubon and Keep the Lakes Great to raise awareness and action for Lake Erie.

This program is free to the public.

Republican breakfast

The Avon-Avon Lake Republican Club will hold a breakfast from 8-9 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 7 at Sugar Creek Restaurant, 5196 Detroit Rd., Sheffield.

Barbara Whitmore of Ohio Votes Count will speak on perceived issues with voting. Attendees are responsible for their meals.

Republican club meeting

The Avon-Avon Lake Republican Club will meet at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 8 at Father Ragan Knights of Columbus Hall, 1783 Moore Road, Avon.

Author and radio host Tom Niewulis will present “Constitution and the Bill of Rights Defense.” Lorain County Commissioner David Moore will speak about county issues. The cost is $5 for guests.

Night at the Races

The Amherst Marching Comets’ Night at the Races will be

The Lorain County Community Guide Bulletin Board is for local nonprofit and not-for-profit events. Items are published on a space-available basis and will be edited for style, length, and clarity. Send your items to news@lcnewspapers.com. held ats 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10 at Amherst Eagles Aerie 1442, 1161 Milan Ave. The fall fundraiser will include food, drinks, raffles and horse betting. Proceeds go toward the cost of the marching band’s trailer fuel and competition costs, Senior Night, eighth grade night and all other costs and instrument repairs not covered by the school district across all grade levels.

This event is restricted to people ages 21 and older. For tickets, visit www.tinyurl.com/MarchingComets.

Wine tasting at Findley

The 7th Annual Friends of Findley State Park Wine Tasting will be held from 2-7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10 at the park’s campground pavilion.

Sample vintages from local wineries and enjoy live music, food and drawings while raising money to support the state park. No outside food will be allowed.

Admission is $20 and includes a souvenir wine glass, five tastings and an entry to win a wine basket valued at $100.

Additional tasting tickets will be available to purchase. Sealed bottles will be sold for off-site consumption. Proceeds benefit projects and educational programs at the park. ID will be required. Cash or Paypal will be accepted. No pets.

For more information, email secretary@friendsoffindley.org.

Schoolhouse celebration

The Pittsfield Township Historical Society will host a public event from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11 at 16889 State Route 58 to celebrate the restoration of its historic 1836-1846 wood framed, one-room schoolhouse.

This 187-year-old wooden schoolhouse is a rare find and great progress has been made in restoring it to its original form. Shawn Godwin of Historic Preservation & Restoration Services has led the project for more than 10 years and will attend.

Premium ice cream and homemade pies will be provided.

There will be games for children and “cow pie squares” with a live cow. You can bet on a square for $10 for a chance to win a 50-50 raffle. A country blues band will provide music.

Learn about FamilySearch

The Lorain County chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society will meet virtually at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 12.

Peggy Lauritzen will present "Navigating Our Way Through FamilySearch." To join this program, contact meetings@loraincoogs.org and ask to be added to the list.

FamilySearch.org changes frequently and there are many hidden assets that many people do not utilize. This virtual program is open to the public and free.

Rochester chicken dinner

A barbecue chicken dinner will be held by pick-up only from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17 at the Rochester fire station on Eagle Street.

The menu includes a half-chicken, potatoes, corn and roll for $12, with proceeds supporting the volunteer fire department.

There will also be a 50-50 raffle and basket raffles.

Harvest of the Arts

The 39th Annual Wellington Harvest of the Arts, a juried craft fair featuring about 70 folk and fine art vendors, will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 18 at the Herrick Memorial Library, 101 Willard Memorial Square, Wellington.

There will be indoor and outdoor vendors, a lunch cafe and a handmade quilt raffle. Admission and parking are free. This is a fundraiser for the library’s community programming.

For more information, call (440) 647-2120.

Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022

Lorain County Community Guide

Page A5

No more onion rings

After 59 years, Brighton church’s iconic fair booth closes JASON HAWK EDITOR

WELLINGTON — It’s the end of an era. After 59 years, the Brighton United Methodist Church’s familiar booth has disappeared from its home under the Lorain County Fair grandstand.

The venture that started in 1963 with deep-fried onion rings over the years became a go-to booth for shrimp baskets, fish and Pepsi.

Darrell French, who spent more than three decades working behind the counter, remembers an endless parade of sleepy-eyed 4-H kids who would show up to eat shrimp and french fries for breakfast.

“It’s not good for you,” he laughed. “But that’s what people like. Fried food is good no matter what it is.”

Onion rings always remained the staple, and French said church volunteers made sure prices stayed low — after all, dining all week on Provided photo fair food can get expensive.

After debate through much of 1963, members of Brighton United Methodist Church’s Young farm families from the Couples Club, which later was renamed the Friendship Club, opened a deep-fried onion Brighton church’s Couples Club rings booth at the Lorain County Fair. It has closed after 59 years. hotly debated starting a fair booth in early 1963. At first, the idea was a more permanent booth, and Ed International. ages, she said. struck down in a 6-7 vote, accordDonahos crafted the sign that was Growing older, the couples who Atlantic Foods couldn’t provide ing to handwritten minutes from seen by generations of fair-goers. founded the fair booth stepped any clam strips or onion rings in those meetings.

By 1966, onion rings and other down in 2002. Business was 2021, said Wacker and French.

Late in the summer, debate fare were raking in $3,120. In the smooth until latter years.

Without the fair favorites to rely continued with the possibility of decades that followed, the booth Katherine Wacker, who worked on, and with COVID keeping selling ice cream and soft drinks. became the largest source of revethere for decades and has been a many volunteers from filling 180 Eventually, with Fair Week closing nue for Brighton United Methodist. member of the church since 1971, four-hour shifts, the booth’s fate in, members decided “it had to be The church also directed much of said membership shrank dramatiwas sealed. onion rings or nothing at all,” and the money to an array of nonprofits cally in the last decade and staffing “Our membership is getting the booth was approved. and relief efforts, including Habitat the booth became difficult. older. We’re getting tired. It was That first year, it brought in for Humanity, flood and hurriThen came the COVID-19 just a decision we had to make,” $318.25 in net sales, for a $260 cane victims, missions projects, pandemic. It closed all but Junior Wacker said. “The ones who were profit, the minutes show.

Well-Help, Wellington firefighters, Fair activities in 2020, choking off there day-in and day-out decided The next year, Harvey Funk built Boy Scouts and Builders for God revenue and causing food shortwe just couldn’t do it anymore.”

With a vote of the church council, the die was cast.

As goes the fair booth, so too may go the church at the corner of state routes 18 and 511. Wacker said it’s been struggling for years and the pandemic has decimated its finances.

Average Sunday attendance has fallen to 10 to 20 adults and eight children. Gone are a full-time paid pianist, a choir director and Sunday school teacher. The Rev. James Ellis is stretched thin, shared by congregations in Brighton, Rochester and Nova.

Swiss steak dinners served on election days have also been halted — they used to draw about 500 inperson diners, plus 200 carry-outs, with money buoying the church’s operations.

“All of our fundraising has been practically nil from March 2020 to today,” Wacker said.

“Like all small churches, we’re struggling.”

French, now 65 and dealing with intense arthritis, said it is difficult to say goodbye to all the memories made under the grandstand.

Yet after decades of being there at 6 a.m. and cleaning up long after dark, he’s relieved to have a rest: “I liked seeing the people, but it’s an awful lot of work,” he said.

With the booth turned over to a new vendor, French said he doubts he will travel to the Lorain County Fairgrounds at all this year. Instead, he will enjoy the first Fair Week vacation in many years.

Wacker also said there is zero chance of a fair booth revival — “I’m just keeping my fingers crossed the church will stay open,” she said.

A lifetime of memories, measured by passing fairs RINI JEFFERS FOR THE COMMUNITY GUIDE

WELLINGTON — If he’s lucky, a man’s life will carry him through a lot of seasons.

He will be young and he will be old. He will know a time to work and a time to retire. He will see the fruit of his labor count for something . For some men, the trail markers those lives would travel are marked early and marked deep. Ray Hildebrandt, 89, of Carlisle Township is one of those men.

He can tell you how old he was when he found his lifelong career (10), exactly when he met his wife, Sally (just hours after he came home from the service in 1955), when they bought their home (June 1960), the day this daughter graduated from college or this grandson was born.

No matter what the season of Hildebrandt’s life, one constant has remained: the Lorain County Fair.

In the past 85 years, only two things have stopped him from going: the Army and a heart attack.

The first time he went?

“That would have been 1937, 1938,” he said, settling back into his easy chair at his family home, just three miles or so as the crow flies from where he grew up on LaGrange Road. “I was 4.”

Back then, the fair was in downtown Elyria on its original home site since the 1850s through the Great Depression. Hildebrandt remembers it off West Avenue and Third Street.

“We were just looking at cows.

It’s not like today. There was no racing. There were cows, sheep.

People raised chickens and showed them,” he said. “It was not big grounds, all dirt roads, all mud.”

Hildebrandt remembers riding to the fair from his family’s home in his dad’s 1929 Lincoln coupe — not, at the time, considered a nice car. But the fair was still the biggest excitement of the year, and a chance to see everybody you know, he said.

In just a few years, the fair went through a sea change: In 1941 it moved to the Wellington fairgrounds.

“That was the best thing that ever happened to it. It struggled through the war years, but it continued to grow,” he said.

For years he would go with the family of a lifelong friend, Gerald Squires.

“He was a good friend of mine from school, we’re still friends. His parents treated me real good and I’d work on their farm, tying wires on the baler. They’d take me out to the fair with them,” he said.

The family would take their cattle and livestock 4-H animals out to the fair and leave the kids out there to sleep on straw in the back of the cattle truck, park in the infield of the racetrack. They would pack food and Hildebrandt would cook while his friend took care of the animals.

Hildebrandt remembers the fair in 1948 when the back pocket of his old jeans caught on a fence rail and ripped off, taking his billfold with it. When he discovered it missing later, the loss was indescribable. All the money a boy had — $13 made picking strawberries for a penny a quart, mowing lawns, tying up hay for a penny a bale — was missing.

“It took you a long time to make $13,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do.”

A friend told him they were calling for him at the judge’s station.

When he went down to see what was going on, an adult said, “Hey, you lose something?”

Someone had found his wallet with his name inside and a small religious medal he’d found one day at school and slipped in there. He didn’t even know why. He always carried it with him, even years later when he went off to the Army.

Every penny was there, too.

Then there was the fair of 1949, when he fought the chimp. “That was a big one,” he said, thinking about it for a minute. “But I don’t know that it was my favorite.”

That was the year — long before the days of animal rights activists, he points out — when one of the midway attractions was a chance to box a chimpanzee.

For rural Lorain County, this was quite an opportunity. Even better, and more alluring, was the prospect of making money off the deal.

“They’d pay you a dollar a round and nobody would go in. So I said I’ll be the first one to go in,” he said.

“That chimpanzee would run from me. Then it would lay down like it was hurt. It didn’t do nothing to me.

It had these things tied on his hands

Provided photo

Ray Hildebrandt and his daughter Monica Denowski enjoy the family's favorite Lorain County Fair attraction, the demolition derby, in a previous year. so he couldn’t scratch me. We figured out if you stood in one corner, he pretended he was hurt. If you stood in another corner, he would run from you. And if you stood in another corner, he would beat hell out of you.

“We figured that out real quick, watching the trainer,” he said. “I made $3. But then another friend of mine, he couldn’t be showed up and he went in there and it jumped up around his neck and started drilling him like a speed bag. I made it out OK but Jay didn’t. His dad got all over me: ‘If you didn’t do it, he wouldn’t have done it!’ I said what did that have to do with me? He got a bloody nose and everything.”

Hildebrandt was a grown man before he missed a fair.

He graduated from Elyria High in 1952 and at 20 he left for the U.S. Army during the Korean War, but “once they heard I was coming they called a truce,” he joked. He spent most of two years in Germany before coming home.

“My buddy, mother and dad picked me up. I was home a couple hours, making my rounds to see what I missed, and I met my wife at the White Horse custard and ice cream stand that used to be on the corner of 16th Street and West Avenue,” he said.

“My mom was a 16-year-old counter girl working there,” said his daughter, Michelle Dolensky.

“He was an almost-22-year-old service man.”

“I waited three months to ask her out on a date, because I wanted to

make sure my service man language was cleaned out,” he said, shrugging. “She was the only one I ever dated.”

Eventually they figured out they had, technically, met each other before: He had been a sixth-grade crossing guard and she, a little blond girl with a Polish mother, crossing the street at West Avenue and 13th Street years before.

They didn’t marry until she graduated from high school. Sally passed away last year, just three weeks short of their 62nd anniversary. Their lives involved the fair, too.

He remembers a double date to the fair in the ‘50s, when he realized he’d ripped his pants. He left Sally and the other couple at the fair while he nipped over to his aunt’s house near the fairgrounds to sew them up in pinch before returning.

Once their two daughters arrived, it was their annual pilgrimage, too.

Dolensky said she remembers spending Family Day at the fair, when the Carlisle Township Fire Department would usually be the fire department on duty for the day.

Her father retired in 1996 as the longtime fire chief of the department. She and her sister, Monica, would get the ride pass and spend all day on the Scrambler, the Dodge-Em cars, the Ferris wheel, the Zipper. They’d long for the fair food but often ate the “whole meal” at the Grange Hall. “We didn’t like it as kids, we wanted the junk,” Dolensky remembers.

“You had to have to corn dog, the fries with vinegar, the lemon

shake-ups. The sugar would be this thick in the bottom. We’d save the cup and add water to it to get every bit of the goodness,” Dolensky said.

“The cotton candy, maybe. Caramel apple, definitely.”

“You’d be tired and exhausted and it was fun, ride all the rides and play the games. Throw the ping pong balls and bring various goldfish home in a bag,” she said.

“And then it was time for school to start again.”

Hildebrandt has watched the fair change over time. He remembers when the bathrooms had no running water and dirt floors, with outhousestyle seats inside. He remembers the old livestock barns, and the year the famous Clydesdale horses visited and circled the racetrack.

There was the bicentennial year, when a blast furnace was onsite to mold a brass bell for the county. He watched the molten brass pour into the mold, which then took days to cool. More recently, a family member was married on the porch of the blacksmith shop.

He knew to never fall for the freak shows — “I don’t believe them, they’re all fake” — and until he got a disability parking permit he still parked by Gate 4, by “Dad’s tree” that he planted in the 1940s as a 4-H project. He’s lived to see his own kids follow him into 4-H. He’s lived to see his grandsons love the fair, too.

Then came 2000. Aug. 10 of that year, a heart attack put Hildebrandt into the hospital for more than two weeks. Some of that time he was in an induced coma in the intensive care unit. He was just getting out during Fair Week, his daughter recalled.

“We probably already had tickets bought for the demolition derby already,” she said.

“I probably could have gone if somebody could have wheeled me around,” her father answered, while she just shook her head.

That was the only other year he’s ever missed. He’s already got his membership pass and his demolition derby tickets purchased.

They’ve borrowed a wheelchair from the Amvets so he could keep easily attend this year.

Will he ever quit going to the fair? “The day they put me in the ground,” he said.

Page A6

Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022

Lorain County Community Guide

Circus delivers thrills and chills to the county fair JASON HAWK EDITOR

WELLINGTON — Standing atop stilts and raising his voice over the Lorain County Fairgrounds, ringmaster Kyler Raisor welcomed all to the Cincinnati Circus thrill show.

The feats spectators would see Monday afternoon were real, he warned: “The stunts are dangerous! The fire is sizzling!”

Ariana Rinehart twisted and twirled on a high rope and Gia Bolton flung hula hoops around her arms and torso, but a storm cut short the first show of Fair Week before fire twirling and ax throwing could begin or the “Wheel of Death” could be set in motion.

The wheel is the big “ooh and ahh” grabber of the show, said Ali Weibel Shepard, who pulls double duty as the circus’ artistic director and a performer. She runs around a circular cage high in the air, while at the end of other arm of a steel beam Bolton swings from a trapeze bar.

“We make dreams come true,” Ali Weibel Shepard said. “You know when you’re a kid and you see something truly amazing? We try to give that feeling to everyone.”

Circuses have changed tremendously in the last 40 years. The days of trained lions, tigers and elephants are largely history, due to complaints of mistreatment.

The Cincinnati Circus Company has a number of touring groups with varying shows; the stunt show has “no animals, no clowns, because that’s just too much,” said Weibel Shepard.

Instead it focuses on the unique skills of each of its four performers — “We do all kinds of dangerous tricks,” she said — and the act is constantly evolving to include new derring-do.

Weibel Shepard, who hails from Dayton, has been with the circus for 12 years, and got her start as a design student at the University of Cincinnati.

A friend who was a juggler

convinced her to take a job there, promising flexible hours, she said. When the circus started touring in 2012, she was part of the original cast and has since climbed the high-dive ladder, so to speak.

“It’s hard to retire from the circus. There’s something stressful but magically about it,” she said.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused catastrophe for circuses, causing many to shut down. Weibel Shepard said the Cincinnati Circus survived by changing — instead of touring, its performers stayed put. They hosted drivethrough shows, welcoming long trains of cars that slowly drove past to see the acts.

Now they’re back out on the road. The circus will run all week at the county fair, with free daily showings at 1, 4 and 7 p.m.

The troupe keeps its stunt show fresh by mixing in different themes each day, from a traditional big top-style show to pirates, Batman, safari and outer space flavors.

Each show averages 45 minutes, but can go longer if the performers get carried away trying out new bits or acts, Weibel Shepard said.

Photos by Jason Hawk | Wellington Enterprise

TOP RIGHT: Performers Ali Weibel Shepard, Ariana Rinehart and Gia Bolton get ready to begin the Cincinnati Circus Company’s thrill show Monday at the Lorain County Fair.

LEFT: Ariana Rinehart swings around a vertical rope, flipping and contorting her body to the amazement of the crowd below.

TOP LEFT: Ringmaster Kyler Raisor stands on stilts, introducing circus acts.

See classical ballet performed at Lorain’s Lakeview Park North Pointe Ballet will present “Ballet in the Park II” at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 26 at Lakeview Park in Lorain.

The performance will kick off the company’s seventh season of making classical ballet accessible. Presented in partnership with the Lorain County Metro Parks, the free concert will feature classical and contemporary choreography presented outdoors near the park’s historic rose garden.

Audience members are encouraged to take a blanket or chair to sit on for lawn seating. Admission is free and no reservations are required.

North Pointe Ballet is a nonprofit organization founded by director Janet Strukely-Dziak in 2016. It offers familyfriendly professional ballet productions, field trip matinees and sensory-friendly performances in Lorain and Cuyahoga counties, as well as several missionbased programs, including community engagement workshops and performances for K-12 schools and community organizations.

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Lorain County Community Guide • Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022

B

Wellington teachers get raises, three-year contract JASON HAWK EDITOR

WELLINGTON — Teachers will get a 3 percent raise this year, due to a new contract approved last week by the Wellington Board of Education.

The three-year deal includes pay increases of 2.5 percent in 2023 and 2.25 percent in 2024 for the district’s 78 teachers, guidance counselors and other licensed professionals.

Those increases are higher than what has typically been negoti-

ated in the past, said Superintendent Ed Weber.

But the raises don’t come anywhere close to keeping up with inflation, he said. In the past year, the prices of consumer goods have risen by 8.5 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Weber described the contract as “great for kids and fair to teachers” based on what the district can afford to pay while keeping the books balanced.

Budget shortfalls in previous years have limited raises or resulted in wage freezes.

District Treasurer Mark Donnelly said four staffers who have resigned or retired in the past year were not replaced. The cost savings “allow us to breathe easier when it comes to handing out raises.”

The increases added up to about $158,000 per year when including the cost of wages, retirement, Medicare, workers’ compensation and health care benefits, he said.

The Wellington Schools aren’t flush with money, but they have improved their financial position in recent years.

A surplus at the end of fiscal year 2022 allowed Donnelly to move about $400,000 into the permanent improvement account, where it can be tapped for repairs to roofing, playgrounds and other maintenance.

The district is also considering new bleachers at Wellington High School and the purchase of a new maintenance truck to plow and salt parking lots, he said.

Income is expected to remain stable the next couple of years, with a renewal levy likely to hit the ballot in 2023, Donnelly said.

The Wellington Schools’

finances were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, said Weber.

Federal relief money came to the rescue, and the district is no longer worried about the prospect of layoffs, he said.

There are some trade-offs, however.

Wellington teachers’ new contract bars working spouses from using the school system’s insurance coverage, if the spouses can get insurance from their own employer. That’s potentially a large added expense for some CONTRACT PAGE B2

WHAT’S UP, FRESHMEN? ‘It’s the global

marketplace come to town’

Oberlin’s truck woes give a glimpse into the auto industry’s shortages JASON HAWK EDITOR

Photos by Jason Hawk | Amherst News-Times

AMHERST — Wearing a brand new costume and showing off some mad dance skills, Comet Man welcomed about 300 freshmen to orientation at Marion L. Steele High School on Friday morning. Principal Joe Tellier said he wanted to make experience a memorable one for new students, giving them the red carpet treatment at the school’s courtyard entrance. “For some of these freshmen, it’s the first time they’ve set foot on our campus,” he said. Cheerleaders and marching band members were there to welcome freshmen, who got fist bumps from Comet Man and passed through a giant inflatable football helmet on their way inside Steele. Tellier said the old Comet Man costume was badly deteriorating — trying it on himself just for fun, he felt pieces crumbling and said it smelled pretty bad, too.

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OBERLIN — It was a deal that seemed cut and dry.

When Oberlin city workers needed a 2022 Ford F600 hooklift truck, Council approved a $125,230 purchase from Valley Ford of Cleveland.

That was in December. So why hasn’t the city gotten its vehicle?

“Ford never built that truck,” Public Works Director Jeff Baumann told Council last week.

This summer, the dealership reached out to let him know the heavy-duty vehicle isn’t coming.

With limited parts available to build, automakers have had to make decisions about what they can and can’t produce, according to Jenny Loveland, who handles government sales at Valley Ford.

“The chip and other commodity shortages that are ravaging my industry began to catch up with the manufacturers around (the) second quarter of this year,” she wrote to Baumann. “This is an unprecedented time in the auto industry, with production down 85 percent.”

“The auto industry Modern vehicles is changing, with a can contain up to 150 major shift toward microprocessors that automation and control everything electric vehicles. from engine timing to These require yet turn-by-turn directions, more chips, causing according to Kelley further strain on an Blue Book. already stretched But those microchips industry.” are in high demand and short supply.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, auto companies scaled back their orders to the chip manufacturers. The electronics industry didn’t, though — it saw consumers rush to buy laptops, smartphones and other digital devices as they changed gears to work and learn from home.

An analysis by J.P. Morgan Research found that by the time vaccines rolled out, allowing automakers to rev up their factories again, the chip-makers weren’t ready to handle the volume.

“While the COVID-19 pandemic was the initial catalyst for the chip shortage, structural factors are also part of the picture,” the research firm said. “The auto industry is changing, with a major shift toward automation and electric vehicles. These require yet more chips, causing further strain on an already stretched industry.”

A big part of the issue is reliance on overseas operations.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine and COVID resurgences in China have continued to wreak havoc on supply chains, J.P. Morgan said.

In the past, government orders have typically been given preference when parts were scarce, Loveland told Baumann, according to a memo provided to Oberlin City Council.

But now market conditions are so severe that even that courtesy isn’t possible, she said.

That means Oberlin isn’t getting its Ford F600. The dealership has offered instead to provide a Ford F550 for $141,390 — a price increase of about $16,000.

“This is an odd thing. It’s the global marketplace come to town,” Baumann said.

His workers still need a new truck. With a 9-foot dump bed, the ability move dumpsters and to quickly hook up big tools like Oberlin’s brine tank, the all-purpose workhorse serves any number of uses throughout the year.

The Public Works Department bought its first hooklift equipped truck — a 1.5-ton Ford F550 — in 2004 and a second one, similarly equipped, in 2009.

Now the 17-year-old model is just about exhausted.

Baumann said he can continue using it until the replacement is delivered, then sell the aging vehicle to the highest bidder online.

City Council voted 6-0 to approve the new truck purchase with emergency status, hoping not to be thwarted again.

MARKETPLACE PAGE B2

SUBMIT YOUR NEWS TO: NEWS@LCNEWSPAPERS.COM

Page B2

Lorain County Community Guide

If nature cooperates, Oberlin’s wetland will open in September JASON HAWK EDITOR

OBERLIN — A new wetland habitat and park, shaped from the basin of a former reservoir on Morgan Street, is on schedule to open to the public in mid-September.

Two city reservoirs existed sideby-side next to Oberlin College’s Arboretum for decades. When the Ohio Department of Natural Resources demanded about $1 million in repairs there in 2019, Oberlin officials went with a different plan.

They hired Big Trees Inc. of Valley City to instead drain the western reservoir. The company has spent nearly a year moving earth.

“It’s a big change, and I’m hopeful people will be pleasantly surprised,” said Oberlin Public Works Director Jeff Baumann.

The job has taken longer than expected, mostly due to draining the basin, which delayed planting and seeding.

Big Trees’ subcontractor, Schirmer Construction, has also been delayed “by larger economic forces including materials and labor shortages that have pushed them behind schedule,” Baumann said.

Now a boardwalk and observation deck have been completed, along with stairs on either side of the wetland spillway and handrails for stone stairs on the southwest corner of the project.

Those stairs will be refurbished to connect to the college’s arboretum, which features trails, bridges and towering trees.

Big Trees is finishing grading now at the wetland, planting more trees and shrubs and will soon complete construction of a trail that loops around the water, Baumann said.

Water is being returned via rainfall and pumping. As it rises again, Big Trees will place “plugs” — 360 starter plants such as dark green bulrush, soft rush, broadleaf arrowhead and great blue lobelia.

The wetland will also be seeded with a mix of 20 native plant species.

As work finishes, Big Trees will remove access drives it used for construction and build a circular gathering area with pavers.

That work will ideally happen before the end of the month, Baumann said. Final seeding and site cleanup is slated for the first two weeks of September.

“I’m excited for the public to see it and enjoy it,” he said. “That land-

scape has been changed dramatically, and only a handful of (workers) have seen it.”

Oberlin Recreation Superintendent Ian Yarber is eager for the property to open as a park.

“We do know a lot of people miss being able to walk around the reservoir. The wetlands add a whole other educational dimension,” he said.

The plan is to eventually place informational signs to teach visitors about the ecosystem and the native plants, birds, insects, fish and frogs that make a home there.

The city’s Recreation Commission has talked about possibilities for the long-term development of the park.

Yarber said there are a lot of ideas: remodeling the fire-damaged waterworks building as a nature center, building restrooms, adding a “nature play” playground.

Some residents also want docks there to accommodate canoeing, kayaking and rowing, he said.

Those options are expensive. Yarber said it’s unlikely any will come to fruition for at least three to five years.

In the shorter term, he expects dog-walking, hiking, fishing and small weddings to make a comeback on Morgan Street.

West College to be repaved for $967K JASON HAWK EDITOR

OBERLIN — Smith Paving & Excavating of Norwalk has been awarded a $967,250 contract to repave West College Street.

While no timeline has been set yet, Oberlin Public Works Director Jeff Baumann told City Council last week that he intends to see the job done by the end of the year.

The project includes re-

placement of failing rolled curbs, new curb and driveway aprons, milling down and replacing 3.25 inches of asphalt and painting new pavement markings including bike lanes.

Based on the declining condition of the roadway and curbing, the project was bumped to the top of the list for 2022, Baumann said.

The city’s estimated cost for the work was $1.05 million. Three other bidders shot past that mark.

A big chunk of the project — 37 percent — will be covered by a state grant of $400,000.

Council voted 6-0 to approve the contract with emergency status so the project can get underway as soon as possible.

Oberlin officials have already started looking ahead to 2023. Council also voted to apply for $248,000 in Ohio Public Works Commission grants to repave East Hamilton Street from Route 58 to

the city limits.

The total project cost is estimated at $512,618.

Resurfacing the entirety of Hamilton Street, both the east and west sides, would cost about $1.5 million, Baumann said.

Doing so would exhaust the entire project budget for next year.

Council wants to reserve money to start preparing for construction of bike and pedestrian paths south to U.S. Route 20, where Aldi is under construction.

SCIENCE ACROSS 1. Out of harm’s way 5. Street, in Paris 8. *Citric or sulfuric one 12. *Female gamete 13. Comedian Carvey 14. Excessively fat 15. Trunk extension 16. Wading bird 17. Savory jelly 18. *Distance per unit of time 20. Prep a salad 21. Omit or suppress 22. Hair goo 23. Preterm infant, colloquially 26. Free from slavery 30. Rapid escape 31. Lady slipper, e.g.

34. Ruptured 35. Goodbye, in Puerto Vallarta 37. Long, long time 38. Greek Bs 39. “Cheers” regular 40. Sheep’s coat 42. Over the top, in text messages 43. Tangle up 45. a.k.a. sea hawk 47. U.N. workers’ grp.

48. Xbox user, e.g.

50. Zero, on a court 52. *Vertical distance 55. Pavarotti, e.g.

56. *Radical, in math 57. Smidgen 59. *Chemically inactive 60. With competence 61. Countess’ husband 62. *Ammonia or baking soda, e.g.

63. ___ canto 64. Proofreader’s mark DOWN 1. Source of light, in Spanish 2. Tel ____, Israel 3. Cloud of particles 4. Bald Eagle to Americans, e.g.

5. Fanatical 6. Rallying cry to the workers of the world 7. ____-peasy

8. *____ zero, lowest possible temp 9. Large edible mushrooms 10. Osiris’ wife 11. Yuletide mo.

13. Chancier 14. Like Cheerios 19. Mixtures 22. Cowboy’s shoe prod 23. *Two-dimensional shape 24. *Radioactive noble gas 25. Middle Eastern V.I.P.s 26. Collier’s office 27. *Energy-converting device 28. Very angry 29. Easily irritated 32. *Basic unit of life

Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022

Columbia Gas signing up customers for budget plan

Columbia Gas has announced that enrollment is open to all customers for the 2022-2023 budget plan.

The budget plan is free and open to all Columbia Gas customers. During August, customers may sign up for the budget plan in one of three ways: • Pay the "budget payment" amount on their August bill • Online at columbiagasohio.com/budget • Call (800) 344-4077 to speak with a representative The budget plan lets customers avoid higher heating costs in the winter by spreading payments out over 12 months.

Once enrolled, customers will pay the "budget payment" amount listed on their monthly bill through July 2023. The budget payment amount will be the same each month, eliminating guesswork and avoiding increased heating costs during the winter season, Columbia Gas said.

Accounts are reviewed and adjusted, if needed, for accuracy in March. Budget plan amounts are calculated individually by looking at previous usage rates, 30-year typical weather and the present and estimated cost of natural gas.

The Ohio Department of Development, in partnership with the Ohio Public Utilities Commission, has increased the Percentage of Income Payment Plan, or PIPP threshold, from 150 percent of the federal poverty level to 175 percent.

PIPP is a payment reduction program that allows eligible customers to pay just 5 percent of their monthly income or $10 for their gas service each month.

CONTRACT

FROM B1 teachers’ families.

Some classroom sizes may also grow, Weber said. On average, there are 17 students for every Wellington teacher, which is quite low when compared to other districts.

There are also some changes to the school calendar. Under the new contract, the teaching workday was extended by 10 minutes, while the number of work days decreased from 186 to 181.

Those five days will come off the end of the year, not from mid-year vacations, said Weber.

The contract was also designed to simplify some policies, such as how coaching and other extracurricular pay is handled, he said.

Dave Conklin, president of the teachers' union, said it was “an engaging process with a lot of dialog from both sides.”

He did not sound thrilled by the final outcome of negotiations, even though union membership voted to accept the deal.

“Any time you compromise, you never get everything you want. Neither side does,” Conklin said.

MARKETPLACE

FROM B1 Funds are available from Baumann’s budget, which has a $290,000 positive balance.

J.P. Morgan Research says chip production is now slowly catching up. It expects a boost from the arrival of more chips late this year.

Global car production is forecasted to rise by 7 percent in fiscal year 2023, the firm said.

The U.S. Department of Commerce said the chip shortage could last into 2023.

On Aug. 9, President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law. The $280 billion bipartisan legislation package includes about $52 billion in subsidies for American chip manufacturers, $24 billion in tax credits to help build new factories like Intel’s Ohio plant and many more billions for research and development.

Biden called it “a once-in-a-generation investment in America itself, a law that the American people can be proud of.”

Companies responded immediately by pledging huge investments in semiconductor manufacturing, according to the White House.

Micron announced it will spend $40 billion on memory chip manufacturing, creating up to 40,000 jobs. It plans to increase the U.S.-made share of chips from 2 percent to up to 10 percent in the next decade.

Qualcomm and GlobalFoundries announced a partnership that includes $4.2 billion to make chips in Upstate New York. Qualcomm said it will increase semiconductor production in the United States by up to 50 percent in the next five years.

33. Tiller’s tool 36. *Plant- and animal-eater 38. Continually annoy 40. Back, to a pendulum 41. State of harmony 44. Heads-up 46. Prigs 48. Shakespeare’s theater 49. *Model of Earth 50. Diva Horne 51. Change for a five 52. Saudi, e.g.

53. “Doggone it!”

54. Hibernia 55. *Tebibyte abbreviation 58. Deli order

SOLUTION CAN BE FOUND ON PAGE A2

SOLUTION CAN BE FOUND ON PAGE A2

Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022

Lorain County Community Guide

Page B3

The Big Read asks Oberlin to delve into ‘Homegoing’

BACK TO SCHOOL

JASON HAWK EDITOR

Provided photo

Lisa Thacker, a sixth grade social studies teacher at Langston Middle School, creates a classroom display about the continents.

Oberlin schools ready to move past COVID JASON HAWK EDITOR

OBERLIN — “This is the year of coming out of COVID,” David Hall said last Thursday, taking a brief break from his busy day.

That morning, Oberlin City Schools buildings sprang to life again, opening doors to teachers eager to get their classrooms ready for the new year.

As superintendent, Hall was less worried about hanging posters and arranging desks than he was about dealing with the 10-ton elephant in the room: the lingering effects of the pandemic.

His mission this school year is to help kids recover from the anxiety and shock of the past two “COVID years” and get them back on track academically.

“We know from last year that some kids are going to be coming up with socialemotional needs,” he said.

Whether they are straight A students or just barely hanging in there, entering kindergarten or starting their senior year, students are carrying a lot of baggage into 2022-2023, Hall said.

After quarantines, cancellations and masks, many need tutoring. They need mentoring. They need normalcy.

Most of all, they need to know there are people they can talk to about how they’re struggling, Hall said. Like many other school districts, Oberlin enters the year armed with counselors and social workers.

“I’m worried about the stuff we don’t see. That’s the problem,” he said. “You may see them acting out. You look at the data and see how they’re doing… You also see the kids walking around holding so much inside.”

The first day for Oberlin students at all grade levels is Monday, Aug. 29. About 850 to 900 students are expected to attend.

They’ll find academic coaches waiting at Oberlin Elementary, Langston Middle

and Oberlin High School. They’ll find new textbooks for science, American Sign Language, financial literacy and health.

They’ll find more opportunities for handson experiments. They’ll find Oberlin College tutors returning. They’ll find a larger playground at the elementary school, giving more space to burn off energy. And preschoolers will find a five-day week instead of the four-day schedule offered in the past.

“We’re getting out of COVID and getting back to normalcy, to field trips, going places, having speakers coming back in,” Hall said.

Kids will also be greeted by a new assistant principal at Oberlin Elementary.

Following the departure of Celina Bigio for the Elyria Schools, Felicia Webber is stepping into the No. 2 spot.

The Phoenix also have a new athletic director in Bryce Johnson, who is taking over for former AD John Carter.

More changes are in the wind. Hall said spring interviews with teachers revealed there’s a need to address the culture within the school system, and to improve communication.

Students will also be asked to weigh in via a “youth truth” survey. It will ask how they feel about academic challenges, how well they are engaged, relationships, working with others, obstacles to learning, college and career readiness, instructional methods and social-emotional health.

A grant will be used this year to provide “restorative practices and cultural humility” training for all staff members. He described it as “addressing people’s heart, what makes them individuals” and having open conversations about how everyone’s experiences differ.

Principals have also been working to get parent groups back together, now that COVID dangers have greatly diminished. The goal is to get parents more involved inside the school buildings again, Hall said.

Caution as Oberlin College students return OBERLIN — Masks will still be required indoors this fall semester at Oberlin College, at least for a few days.

The college will require them from Aug. 28 to Sept.

10 to reduce the chances of COVID spread as students return, according to a notice to the campus community.

Exceptions will be made for athletics and other approved activities.

Meals will be grab-and-go

during that same period, and students, faculty and staff are encouraged to keep 6 feet from each other.

“We are a well-vaccinated community with extremely high percentages of our faculty, staff, and students being fully vaccinated,” the bulletin said. “We believe we can continue to be safe and provide a transformative educational experience by applying a prudent combination of

protocols.”

Oberlin College continues to require COVID-19 vaccination, though there are medical and religious exemptions.

Students can begin moving in Sunday, Aug. 28 and classes begin Thursday, Sept. 1.

There will be no classes on Labor Day, and fall break will run from Saturday, Oct. 15 to Sunday, Oct. 23.

OBERLIN — Reading is good for the soul. But it can also cast light on uncomfortable truths.

Oberlin College will use a $9,400 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to explore one of the world’s darkest chapters, by asking the community to read Yaa Gyasi’s novel “Homegoing” together.

It tells the story of half-sisters born in different villages in Ghana in the 18th century. Spanning 300 years, it describes how one branch of the family was caught up in centuries of warfare against British colonists in Africa while the other was enslaved in the American South.

Making it through the book has been difficult, “just thinking about slavery in itself, the whole act of taking people from one land to another against their will,” said Eboni Johnson.

In addition to organizing the NEA’s Big Read in Oberlin, she is an outreach and programming librarian at Oberlin College and a member of Oberlin City Council.

Johnson, who is Black, has traced her ancestry to West Africa and said her great-grandparents were born into slavery.

“That’s not all that far removed, if you think about it, from the end of slavery,” she said.

Amanda Manahan, museum education and tour coordinator for the Oberlin Heritage Center, has also read “Homegoing” and agreed it was a difficult read — yet highly recommends it.

“There were parts of the book that I had to put it down for a little bit, especially some of the stories of the women,” she said.

Manahan, who is white, said she was moved by the struggles of the novel’s characters to overcome both racial and gender barriers. Many experienced sexual abuse.

Turning each page, Manahan hoped to see new generations of the family find a better life. But as she read on, the hardships continued to rain down through the years.

The Big Read will kick off in September. Oberlin College, The Oberlin Heritage Center, the Oberlin Public Library and other groups will partner to host book discussions, history tours and creative activities centered on the themes of “Homegoing.”

Johnson said those programs will tie into the city’s role in the Underground Railroad and fight for abolition of slavery.

She is working to schedule a reenact-

ment detailing the experiences of Sara Lucy Bagby, the last slave to be prosecuted as a runaway slave under the Fugitive Slave Act. Bagby escaped and made it to Cleveland before she was captured and returned to servitude in Virginia.

The Heritage Center will offer free “Freedom’s Friends” tours at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 29 and 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8, starting at the First Church in Oberlin.

They focus on landmarks connected to the cause of abolitionism in the city’s past. Manahan said the tour highlights the brave people who freed themselves from slavery and those who guided others to safety; but also covers the underlying racial issues the community had to overcome, even after the Civil War and emancipation.

A read-aloud is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 21 in conjunction with Banned Books Week at the Oberlin Public Library.

Another is being planned on campus, where people can read passages from their favorite book that has been challenged or removed from schools and libraries.

“Homegoing” has often been targeted by groups seeking to remove it from shelves.

In March, parents in Georgia demanded it be pulled from shelves in the Cherokee County Schools, which have 42,000 students.

In May, the Nixa Board of Education in Missouri voted to restrict access to copies of the novel, allowing them to be checked out of a high school library only with parental permission.

The American Library Association tracks attempts to remove books from public spaces. It says many of the most culturally important and influential titles are often targeted, including “The Great Gatsby,” “The Catcher in the Rye,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Song of Solomon,” “1984,” “The Lord of the Flies,” “Catch-22” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

The Big Read program has been going since 2006, using $24 million to fund more than 1,700 programs nationwide.

Oberlin last received a Big Read grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2011.

“It is inspiring to see how NEA Big Read grantees like Oberlin College utilize these books as launchpads for their own programming, often creating opportunities for community conversations, new partnerships and encouraging participants to incorporate art into their daily lives,” said Maria Rosario Jackson, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Take extra caution as schools reopen As children return to school, AAA East Central has launched its annual “School’s Open, Drive Carefully” campaign.

It encourages parents to talk about the importance of school zone safety with their teen drivers and younger children, and advises motorists to take extra caution when traveling through school zones or near buses.

“Since children can move quickly and cross the road unexpectedly, it is important to obey speed limits and be ready to stop at a moment’s notice,” said Lori Cook, safety advisor for AAA East Central.

According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic

Safety, a pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling at 20 mph is about two-thirds less likely to be killed as compared to a pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling at 30 mph. Moreover, nearly one in five children ages 14 and younger who die in traffic crashes are pedestrians.

AAA offers drivers this advice to keep children safe: • Ditch distractions.

Research shows that glancing away from the road for just two seconds doubles the chances of crashing.

• Stay alert. Don’t rush into and out of driveways.

Expect pedestrians on the sidewalk, especially around schools and in neighbor-

hoods. Mind vehicle blind spots, check for children on the sidewalk, in the driveway, and around the vehicle before slowly backing up.

• Brake for buses. It may be tempting to drive around a stopped school bus, but not only is it dangerous – it is against the law.

• Watch for bikes.

Children on bicycles are often unpredictable, so expect the unexpected.

Motorists should slow down and allow at least three feet of passing distance between their vehicle and bicyclists.

• Plan ahead. Leave early and build in extra time for congestion. If possible, modify routes to avoid school zones.

85 SOUTH MAIN STREET OBERLIN OHIO 44074 AUGUST 25, 2022

BOARD AND COMMISSION MEETING DATES ALL MEETINGS WILL BE Live Streamed @ http://oberlinoh.swagit.com/live NOTICE: DISABLED MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY WHO MAY NEED ASSISTANCE, PLEASE CALL 775-7203 OR E-MAIL: banderson@cityofoberlin.com NOTICE REQUIRED: TWO (2) WORKING DAYS IN ADVANCE OF MEETING (48 HOURS) CLERK OF COUNCIL’S OFFICE.

Page B4

Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022

Lorain County Community Guide

SPORTS

Send sports news to news@lcnewspapers.com. Deadline for all submissions is 10 a.m. each Tuesday. Printed as space is available.

BURIED IN PARMA

SILVER LINING

Photos by Angelo Angel | Amherst News-Times

It wasn’t the best season opener in Comets football history. Overwhelmed by Patriots running backs, Amherst took a 44-15 loss last Thursday to Valley Forge in play at Byers Field in Parma. By the time Landon Fallenstein scored on a quick dump from Cole Norris in the third quarter and tacked on a 2-point conversion via a pass to Mason Fisher, the Comets were down 30-8. Bishop Fryson went on to score another Amherst TD on a 1-yard run.

Nathan Stewart added the PAT. Norris ended the night with 59 passing yards and Fryson led the green and gold on the ground with 66.

Photos by Russ Gifford | Wellington Enterprise

When Dukes senior quarterback CJ Polen injured his ankle Friday, Western Reserve had a 21-0 lead. Landon Wright stepped into the spotlight and led Wellington was the silver lining, mounting two scoring drives to get the Dukes to 21-12 by the time the clock expired in Collins. Wellington’s Josh Nocella finished the night with 42 rushing yards on six carries and 43 yards receiving, while Wright went 11-20 for 111 yards in the air. Johnnie Kinter had 24 receiving yards for the Dukes.

ABOVE: Wellington's Josh Nocella gets past Western Reserve's Chris Buchanan. BELOW: Wellington's Nolan Sasack picks up yardage after a catch at Western Reserve.

ABOVE: Amherst’s Spencer Leibolt and J.R. Bires chase down Valley Forge’s Dylan Schonberger at Byers Field, Parma.

RIGHT: Amherst’s Cole Norris is hit hard and fumbles.

COLEMAN TIES IT UP JANICEK LEADS FALCONS

Downsizing 101 Russ Gifford | Amherst News-Times

The Comets battled to a 2-2 draw in their first match Presented by of the season, coming from two behind to tie the North Olmsted Eagles non-conference action.

Jennifer Herron in Underwood, Kamille Coleman scored both equalizers, theRealsecond on a penalty kick Senior Estate Specialist after being dragged down at the mouth of with theHoward goal.Hanna Amherst keeper Natalie Pleban finished the game with seven saves.

ABOVE: Amherst's Kamille Coleman moves onto a pass against North Olmsted.

Thursday, July 14th at 2pm

Russ Gifford | Wellington Enterprise

Location: St. Mary of the Woods 35755 Detroit Rd. • Avon, OH 44011

Take the Stress Out of Downsizing and Come to a Lunch & Learn!

Join us as Jennifer Herron Underwood discusses downsizing tips, Upcoming Seminars prepping and pricing your home for sale, contracts, inspections,

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Morgan Janicek scored twice to lead Firelands on a 7-0 rampage over Wellington. The Falcons’ Bella Simmons notched a goal and racked up four assists in the match. Keeper Kenzie Janosik had a single save to keep the Dukes off the scoreboard.

ABOVE: Wellington's Jaclyn Krakomperger and Firelands' Bella Simmons battle.

Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022

Lorain County Community Guide

FALCONS RUN UP THE TALLY

Page B5

Commissioners approve $1.6M in ARPA grants DAVE O’BRIEN THE CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM

Photos by Russ Gifford | Wellington Enterprise

Gabe Toth came through with a goal, but otherwise it was a tough day for Wellington as the boys were bested 9-1 by Firelands. Alec Urbansky and Garrett Yakunovich each found the back of the net twice to lead the Falcons. Additional points were added to the tally by Preston Cairns, Ty Griebe, Ryan Zimmermann, Silas Skvor and Trace Karoloak.

ABOVE: Wellington keeper Connor Norton comes out to collect the ball against Firelands.

BELOW: Wellington's Gabe Horoschak tries to knock the ball away from Firelands' Trace Karolak.

The Lorain County Board of Commissioners handed out more than $1.6 million in grants last week from the county's share of American Rescue Plan Act funds, including $1.5 million toward new construction at the Lorain County Fairgrounds in Wellington.

Numerous Fair Board directors were present at the meeting, a week after some of them gave commissioners a preview of an $8 million plan to build a new exposition center, Junior Fair beef building, a covered outdoor arena and to improve parking.

The board's vote was unanimous to approve the request made Aug. 10.

The fair draws an estimated 120,000 people to Lorain County each year, and many of the grants handed out were to organizations that promote a positive business atmosphere in Lorain County along with tourism, arts and culture.

Fair Board members said the fair can't survive on just one week of business each year. They want to spend the $8 million they said the new buildings will cost to expand non-fair week offerings to include sporting events, trade shows and entertainment.

Senior Fair events were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic and the fair board lost $1.5 million as a result. State and local grants made up about $300,000 of that lost funding.

The $1.5 million grant was the largest handed out by commissioners from the county's more than $60 million share of ARPA funds.

Republican Commissioner Michelle Hung said she found it "wonderful" to attend Fair Board meetings in the past month to hear what it takes to prepare for the annual event. "Thank you for everything you do for our county and our community," she said, including helping to preserve the "rich culture and history of Lorain County."

Twelve additional $10,000 grants went to multiple organizations around the county that were negatively affected by lesser crowds or the inability to raise money during the COVID-19 pandemic in the past two-plus years.

Hung and Commissioner Matt Lundy, a Democrat, voted for all of the allocations.

Republican Commissioner David Moore voted for the Lorain County Fair grant, but declared himself "present" when it came time to vote on the 12 smaller grants.

Moore said he would have preferred to spend the money on infrastructure and economic development or use it to boost municipal public works or economic projects. "Feel-good stuff," he said, "doesn't help infrastructure and economic development."

Moore said the grant to the fair is different because "it's generational" and will pay dividends in the future. He noted that Fair Board members said Aug. 10 that plans have been in the works for 40 years to build new facilities that will ensure the fair is financially stable for years to come.

Moore also said he hopes to give more ARPA grants for economic development this year.

Among the nonprofit organizations that received the $10,000 grants was the Main Street Amherst "to support and market local businesses" affected by the pandemic.

Main Street Wellington received $10,000 after it had to pull some money from its endowment to help it cover costs in 2020. Director Jenny Arntz said the grant will help her organization fix up its building.

The Oberlin Business Partnership also received $10,000 toward its efforts to promote economic growth and development, from micro-businesses to individual entrepreneurship and small business.

The pandemic saw downtown Oberlin businesses "severely challenged," Executive Director Janet Haar said.

The Amherst Historical Society received $10,000 to help it continue providing public programs and historical education. The group was "handcuffed" when the pandemic shut down its fundraising activities which help it promote among other things "our rich history in sandstone," Executive Director Sandra Kaiser said.

The Oberlin Heritage Center got $10,000 to provide educational programs and tours. Business manager Bethany Hobbs said the center's four historical buildings including an 1836-era oneroom schoolhouse help preserve and share Oberlin's heritage through summer camps, field trips for students, and housing historical collections.

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Oberlin girls soccer, under the leadership of second-year head coach Ben Eiskamp secured the first win of the season, a 4-1 victory over the visiting Lorain Titans. Juniors Mercy Shuck and Katlyn Streator each struck for a pair of goals as the Phoenix moved to 1-0 on the young season.

First-year goalie Michaela Streator recorded six saves during the match, surrendering a goal to a penalty kick during first half action. ABOVE: Karen Regalado-Martinrez dribbles past her Titans opponent.

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Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022

Lorain County Community Guide

© 2022 by Vicki Whiting, Editor Jeff Schinkel, Graphics Vol. 38, No. 38

Take the safe path to school, not the shortest one. Help Amy find the best path to school.

Select a word to complete each safety rule. Then, cut out these rules and put them on your refrigerator or bathroom mirror as a daily reminder.

Finish the sentences using these words:

My name is ____________ and I take time to be safe. I always look ________ ________ before ____________ the ____________ .

I walk, and don’t _________ .

I never walk between parked ________ . I cross streets only at ______________ or _____________ .

I ____________ up when riding in a car and wear a ____________ when riding my bike.

1. Wear light colored ______________ at night.

2. Do not wear clothing with ____________ or jewelry that can get caught on playground equipment.

3. Walk or skate _________ traffic, so you can see oncoming traffic.

4. Wear an approved bicycle _____________ if you are riding a bike or scooter or skating. If you travel on

How many differences can you find between these two school busses?

Many children are injured each year while getting on or off school buses. This is because the bus driver cannot see certain areas around the bus. The danger zones are shown below.

Avoid these danger zones by always taking 10 giant steps away from the bus after you exit. Always wait for the bus driver or another adult to tell you when it is safe to cross the street.

Before and After Photo

Select a photo from the newspaper.

What do you think happened before this picture was taken? What do you think happened after?

skates or a skateboard, also wear _________ guards and elbow and _______ pads.

5. Don’t walk or skate alone.

6. Before you go anywhere,

Standards Link: Reasoning: Students distinguish between observation and inference.

CHECK FIRST with the

It’s fun to be safe!

(Check in again if you

____________ in charge. ___________ your plans.)

7. Never take a __________ with someone without checking with your parents first.

Do the math to reveal these important car safety tips.

Standards Link: Number Sense: Calculate sums.

DIFFERENCE CORNERS BOOSTER WALKING SAFETY DANGER BUCKLE HELMET STREET PARKED RIDING ZONE SEAT CARS BUS

Standards Link: Health: Know concepts and practices concerning injury prevention and safety.

B R T E E R T S U B B S E A T E R E S T

U P S G M E Z A W F

C E A L N O T Y A G

K Y E R N A W T L N L H O E K A D E K I

E C N E R E F F I D

Y S C A R S D A N I

R E T S O O B S G R

Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognize identical words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns.

Back to School Safety

Cause and Effect

Many times headlines tell “what happened” in the news. This is the effect. Select an article to find out what caused the effect reported in the article’s headline.

ANSWER: By school buzz!

Standards Link: Reading: Understand organizational and informational text (cause and effect).

Complete the grid by using all the letters in the word SAFETY in each vertical and horizontal row. Each letter should only be used once in each row.

Some spaces have been filled in for you.

Be safe! Write three safety tips for kids going back to school.