Amherst News-Times, 1998-11-04

              Residents shocked by fee — Page 3       | Who's WHO is important — Page 11
mherst News-Times
o.
ember 4,  1998
Amherst, Ohio
C
■
H   <t
.
■E
-      -
rru..
all mortar
ies crew
working on roof
Serious mortar deterioration
to the bell tower atop city
hall will add $5,000 to the
cost of repairing the historic
building's old roof.
The defects were discovered
last week by repair crews
hired to replace a leaky slate
roof and make the more th:-"
century-old building structurally sound.
The extra expense will be
paid out of contingency funds
set aside for the $400,000
project, which is expected to
be completed by spring.
The discovery may have
prevented the bell tower or
part of it from collapsing. Jim
McCullough, a foreman for
the Mid Air Construction
Company, said sections of the
tower probably could have
fallen through the roof.
Workmen found large sections of sandstone had been
pried away from the tower by
as much as three inches due
to years of expansion and
contraction caused by
weathering.
"It's a good thing they discovered this when they did
because   a heavy snow or
strong wind storm could have
brought it down and caused
lots of damage or injury,"
mayor John Higgins said.
The worst section was the
tower's south wall facing
Beaver Court. Parts of it,
which were bowed outward,
are being taken apart and re-
mortared block by block.
Stone blocks in the remainder
of the tower are being
wedged upward so mortar can
be forced between them,
McCullough explained.
"It's a very time consuming
thing, but it will be solid
when we're done," he added.
The deterioration is not uncommon in century old buildings. Mid Air is doing similar
repair work to a county
building in Canton, McCullough said.
Had the south side collapsed, the mayor and McCullough said   the remainder
would have collapsed as well.
"Il would have been a
domino effect because, in effect, it would have had three
legs and the weight would
have caused it to sag and
give way," Higgins said. "If
that would have happened, we
would have had 25 tons of
stone coming down."
The repairs also involve replacing badly rotted wood and
arc expected to be completed
within one or two weeks.
Higgins has taken special
interest in the restoration project because he wants to see
Amherst's history preserved as
much as possible.
Mayor John Higgins and construction foreman Jim McCullough look over some of the
Not only is city hall 'a fed- '%*''*r'z"~ '
erally designated landmark, it
also is used as the city's logo
on a variety of publications.
"It's the grand old lady of
town, so it should be fixed
and saved," he said.
The $400,000 borrowed
'through the sale of municipal
bonds does not include second floor interior renovations.
A group of residents is trying
to raise about $70,000 for
that restoration project
In the meantime, the mayor
has been looking for literature
and other materials that describe the original interior of
the building. Although historical information is available, it
mainly deals with the build- j
tag's history and exterior.-  v"' -
damage done by years of weathering to city
hall's bell tower.
—    ThU photo shows some of the damage up close.
Police captain shares top county honor
by GLEN MLLER
Barb Cowger-Vllag!
News-Times reporter
Two weeks ago, police captain
Barbara Cowger-Vilagi was surprised to learn she had been nominated for the prestigious Women of
Achievement Award.
She was just as surprised to win it
Oct. 28 during the 20th anniversary
of the award held at DeLuca's Place
in the Park.
Cowger, who was nominated by
mayor John Higgins, shared the
award with Stella M. Frances, principal of Irving Elementary School in
Lorain. A total of nine women were
nominated.
"I was surprised about this from
the start," she said. "There were a
lot of really very deserving women
in this group that make just a multitude of contributions to their professions and the county."
The award is given yearly to women who have achieved distinction
in business, civic affairs, education
and other professions.
A 23-year veteran of the Amherst
police department, Cowger-Vilagi
has found time to serve on several
community organizations, including
the W.G. Nord Center's board of directors since 1996.
Cowger-Vilagi credited "dedication and perseverance" for her
achievements, saying her law enforcement profession has enabled her
to help others.
Her comments were echoed by
Higgins, who said the captain "has
shown a dedication to her work,
community and fellow employees."
She was especially pleased by a
letter written by her son, councilman Edward Cowger, supporting
her nomination.
Cowger wrote how his mother
taught him and his brothers to believe in "giving back to the
community."
"That letter meant more to me
than I can tell you," she added.
She also serves on the county's
domestic violence task force, the
county 911 review board, the
American Legion and VFW ladies
auxiliaries, and is a United Way
coordinator for the city.
The highest ranking female police
officer in Lorain County, she be
came a patrol person in 1975, when
local and area law enforcement was
still dominated by men.
That didn't stop her from advancing through the ranks.
"She's highly respected in the
community not only for doing an
excellent job, but as a trailblazer,"
the mayor said. "She has gone into
what was once hallowed ground in
Amherst and gone well."
One of her best known endeavors
was her involvement in convincing
voters to appro' a $3 million levy
for the construction of the new police station on U. Lake Street.
"She worked tirelessly and unselfishly on getting the new Amherst police facility built," Higgins
CONTINUED on page 2
Daughter's
tale is family
story for all
»
Terrisa Green Rudolph,
daughter of Bill and Joanne
Green of Amherst, is a 1990
graduate of Marion L. Steele
High School. Her husband. Jay,
son of Fred and Judy Rudolph
of Amherst, is a 1989 graduate
of MLS.
They have two youngsters,
Nicholas, six and a half, and
Savanna, eight and a half
months eld. The Rudolphs live
in Kingsiand, Georgia, about
five miles from the Florida
Terrisa wrote Ibis article for
the Submarine Wives dob.
Her mother contacted the
Newa-Tknet to determine
whether the newspaper would
Utoso print the article.
"I believe dUe article would
ke of irtatolt to ttosra people
aad it esp k>ve
He protects pur
country; she waits
patiently for return
I decided to write Ibis
story as a way for people to
learn what life is like aboard
a trident submarine. When I
say aboard, I mean from the
perspective of the submarine
wife, not the sailor himself.
But before I do this, though.
I think it's necessary to talk
a little about the
itself.
Trident submari
sideied deteneata. Basically
they go out imp the oceans,
"si*", aad try 10 mm the
bad guys of the world into
behaving ftomaolves. Tbey me
out than to help aa prevent
am. Tkey do it by not fating
the other guy know where all
our nuclear resources might
dents, other than their purpose
and equipment. Tridents are
manned by two crews instead
of one. They are appropriately
called the blue crew and the
gold crew. Bach crew consists
of avproumately ISO officers
and f Hrttd pttwrmntl Bon
crews lake aims operating the
boat in what at} roughly a
off schedule.
With that said, I'M get on
with this wife's story of Life
.
be «t any given tame. to
Tense ie elea a aaajpv de- tat
aaa a.aaajpe sir
maammeaamat
<JPA'8) Wat Sm
lha) *mmmmsih <•*%*. ally, TOfllM,
""     I"     ,'  .. ,'l    '■ ,'
'.'.) Mill'
mamw.
50 cents
Man, 52,
accused
of raping
teen girls
by QLEN MLLER
News-Times reporter
A 52-year-old Amherst man —
once a school bus driver — b*s been
charged with allegedly raping four
teenage girls after reportedly luring
them to his home with an elaborate
sexual blackmail scheme.
Amherst police said Andrew
Bishop, of 675 Elyria Ave., has
been charged with eight counts of
rape and eight counts of corruption
of a minor for reportedly raping the
Nord Junior High School girls over
a period of a year.
Detective Alex Molnar said police prefer not to discuss their investigation in detail until the case is
presented to die Lorain County
Grand Jury.
Bishop reportedly blackmailed
the teenagers by telling them he had
a videotape of them showing their
breasts to some younger boys.
He did not approach die girls
while driving a school bus, but may
have overheard the girls talking about the incident on a cordless phone
conversation that was received by
his police scanner.
Bishop told the girls one of their
fathers had made the tape and sold it
to him for $500. He also threatened
them by saying they would go to jail
if they contacted police or told their
parents.
On another occasion. Bishop
claimed to have a home security
system with a camera that he had
used to take additional pictures.
He claimed he would escape punishment because he was doing nothing wrong.
The teenagers were raped over a
period of a year and on several different occasions.
The girls reported never having
sex before being approached by
Bishop.
Molnar said Bishop was captured
by Portsmouth police while in a
bingo parlor. His brother lives in the
southern Ohio town.
Police are unsure if he was attempting to flee the state. Regardless, Molnar said they believe he left
Amherst after somehow learning die
teenagers had reported ike rapes to
their parents, who then informed police Oct 16.
"All we know is that he wasn't
home when we went there for him
later that night," he said.
Molnar said subsequent interviews with Bishop's relatives and
his ex-wife revealed it was unusual
for him not to be home and to miss
work, Molnar said.
He pleaded not guilty to the
charges during arraignment in Oberlin Municipal Court Oct 28 and his
being held in the Lorain County
Correctional Facility on $150/100
bond.
School superintendent Robert
Boynton said Bishop also had foiled
to report to work for several days.
He has since been suspended without pay for failure to show up to
work and will be dismissed at a
forthcoming board of fhtratiqa
He said he wasn't aware of the
charges against Bishop until contacted by police.
Bishop had a good driving aad
employee record. He also had received treiaiag ia child
Lskst    mmW   asWHaaaWtW
*«BtfCikawaia
ente mayea
"We km 300
aamaeMm
•ddai. -Wi
->