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THE PRESS • 2PRESSPAPERS.COM • OCTOBER 31, 2012
NRHS senior is BSA Troop 303’s 18th Eagle Scout S HEFFIELD LAKE / N ORTH R IDGEVILLE By John Edwards
“Becoming an Eagle Scout means a lot to me because it shows my dedication to scouting and the dedication of a lot of people who helped me get there,” North Ridgeville resident Andrew Okes said Oct. 20. Okes became Boy Scout Troop 303’s 18th Eagle Scout in less than two decades on Oct. 20. If anyone in attendance at Okes’ Eagle Court of Honor ceremony at Sheffield Lake United Church of Christ last Sunday was prouder than Andrew himself, it was his mom, Deborah Vargyas. “I’m very proud of Andrew; he’s the
Andrew Okes only one of my three sons in Troop 303 who made Eagle Scout,” Vargyas said. “We moved from Sheffield Lake to North Ridgeville in 2008 when An-
drew was an eighth-grader. All my sons attended S-SL schools and were members of Troop 303. We’d all done a lot of work for the troop and all the boys’ friends were fellow Scouts, so they continued in Troop 303. “Andrew and his brothers liked the leaders, and we all were comfortable with Troop 303,” Vargyas said. “At that time we didn’t know anyone in the North Ridgeville troop. It was hard commuting at first, but his grandma helped, and later, his brothers could drive to meetings in Sheffield Lake. Now Andrew drives himself. He knows I’m as excited and proud as he is.” Okes is a North Ridgeville High School senior studying diesel mechanics at Lorain County Joint Vocational School. He’s a pretty normal
kid, with a part-time job at a Burger King after school. He enjoys bowling, his girlfriend, his new puppy and his new role as an uncle to his brother’s little son. Eagle Scout is the highest honor the Boy Scouts of America can bestow, and it’s an achievement for which he has worked long and hard. He even has the Eagle Scout symbol on his NRHS class ring. His brothers, grandmother and aunt, Debra Pierson, were also proud of him – and they all watched as Okes received his Eagle Award and proclamations honoring his achievement from Sheffield Village Mayor John Hunter and Sheffield Lake Mayor Dennis Bring. Contact John Edwards at news@2presspapers.com
Council accepts planning commission’s approval of site plan for new school SHEFFIELD By John Edwards
At its Oct. 22 regular meeting, Sheffield Village Council unanimously accepted the planning commission’s approval of preliminary site plans for the new school for grades 7-12 on Harris Road north of Brookside High School (BHS.) Sheffield-Sheffield Lake City Schools hopes to begin construction of the new building but is currently awaiting wetland remediation permits from the Ohio EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The district’s architect, MKC Associates, has already advertised for bids on preliminary site plan work, including tree removal and construction of in-ground infrastructure for the new building; however, no action can
be taken until approvals to buy 8 acres of forested wetland property in Erie County are received from the state EPA and USACE. Council also accepted the planning commission’s recommendation to set a date for a public hearing on a request by Green Acres Dude Ranch, 1736 Abbe Road (formerly the Bill and Dorothy Crawford farm) to rezone 20 residential acres west of the railroad tracks and north of the ranch as a multifamily residential zone. The public hearing was set for 6 p.m. Dec. 10. Planning commission members approved Green Acres’ lot split last week, and plans call for construction of a residential community for senior citizens, consisting of townhouse apartments with attached garages by Gerent-Doane Construction, on the property to be re-
zoned. Mayor John Hunter said the site plans for the project have not yet been presented to the planning commission, and council’s final vote on rezoning for the project would be taken at the Jan. 14 regular meeting. In other legislative action, Village Council unanimously approved an ordinance to purchase right-of-way property from A.R.T. Holding LLC (Ruby Tuesday) for the Ohio Department of Transportation’s widening of Abbe Road from the Detroit Road intersection southward to the north entrance of Lorain County Community College, with turning lanes and new traffic signals. ODOT set a Nov. 1 deadline for Sheffield Village to acquire the land for the road widening. Ruby Tuesday will be dropped from a list of 17 property owners who will be named in an eminent domain suit to ac-
quire rights of way for the project, which ODOT hopes to begin in the spring of 2013. Sheffield has filed to take those 17 rights of way by eminent domain unless, like Ruby Tuesday, the other owners agree to sell. Council also approved the resignation of service department worker Larry Sheets effective Dec. 31, 2012, and the rehiring of Sheets as a full-time employee on Jan. 1, 2013. By rehiring Sheets after his retirement, the village will realize savings on Sheets’ benefits while still retaining his services as a fulltime employee after retirement. Finally, Village Council cancelled its Nov. 12 regular meeting in observance of Veterans Day. Council’s next meeting will be at 7 p.m. Nov. 26. Contact John Edwards at news@2presspapers.com
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