Amherst News-Times, 1999-02-03

              Grapplers enjoy national ranking — Page 6    Topless dancers in the cold
Amherst News-Tim<
Wodnosd.iy.  February  3,   1()99
Amherst.  Ohio
Kids grill congress     i
during his school vi^n
by QLEN MLLER
Congressman Sherrod Brown answers
questions from Nord Junior High School eighth
graders during a 45-minute "meet your congressman'' visit. More than 40 students sought
answers to questions ranging from the impeachment of president Clinton to school dress
codes.
News-Times reporter
Would U.S. Representative
Sherrod Brown ever consider
running for president?
Not really. Despite the
good the president tries to do,
"it's an impossible job" that's
full of more pressure than he
now experiences.
And how long does he
want to keep his job?
"Until the voters decide
otherwise," he replied, noting
there are no term limits for
U.S. congressmen or senators.
The questions were among
dozens asked of Brown by
Nord Junior High School students who gathered in the
school gym Jan. 26 to learn
about the life and beliefs of a
politician.
Nord was one of three Lorain County schools Brown
visited during the two or
three days a week he tries to
spend in the 13th District he
represents.
It was his final stop on a
Lorain-Amherst school speaking lour, the kind of visits a
staff member said he likes to
make several times yearly to
interest and educate students
in politics.
But the lead off question
asked by one of 260 students
was one the congressman expected — what prompted
Brown to vote against the impeachment of President Bill
Clinton?
Without hesitation, Brown
replied Clinton's alleged actions are neither impeachable
offenses nor grounds for his
removal from office. He favors censure, an option that
would still leave a "permanent black mark" on his presidency for what the congressman called "a morally reprehensible" act
While admitting Clinton
lied under oath, Brown noted
it was a personal lie about
his own behavior and not
something that adversely affected the government.
He said Clinton's wrongdoings are of a different nature
than those committed by the
late Richard Nixon, who resigned prior to impeachment.
Nixon's crimes affected gov
ernment operations while
Clinton's deal with his personal life, he said.
Once past the big inevitable
question. Brown answered
queries for about 45 minutes
dealing with everything from
abortion to school dress
codes. Some had been previously thought out in class
with the help of teachers, according to Nord principal BUI
Mariey.
Brown said he would never
vote to impose dress codes,
but thinks standardized dress
isn't "a bad idea." It tends to
improve behavior and helps
students focus more on studies rather than what each
wears.
The congressman noted he
supports continued eduction as
a means of self-improvement
On abortion rights, he believes the choice should be
left up to the woman, her
doctor "and whoever else the
woman wants to bring into
that choice."
When asked his opinion of
NAFTA, the North American
CONTINUED on page 2
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A city street craw fHls potholes along Rt. 58
with asphalt while an Amherst patrolman fol
lows them In a patrol car to ensure their safety
on the busy highway.
Drivers, officials, workers
deal with pothole brigade
by OLEN MILLER
News-Times reporter
Potholes: they're everywhere much to the disgust of
driven and the frustration of
city officials who receive
complaints about them.
They are the result of the
hard freeze and icy road conditions of early January that
were soon followed by unseasonably warm SO-degree
tsmpwalunw Pavement, including some that was laid
down within the last two or
three yean, cracked snd
budded as a result of the frigid temperature and the quick
thaw.
Only days after working
nearly 24 hours a day to
clear streets of snow and ice,
street crews were busy again
last week, this time nairhiai
some of the i
This is th
in the last eight or
10 years because this was a
severe heave-thaw," mayor
John Higgins said. "We haven't seen something like this
for many years and it has
hurt us. This is a premature
deterioration of the streets."
The eost of the damage is
inconclusive but is expected
to cut into the amount of
work that can be done in this
year s street unprovemem
program. A large portion of
the money aurendy has bean
rttttiraicd to the replacement
of the Jackson Street bridge
over Conrail railroad tracks.
Patching wing a three-year-
old hot mix Tpurhhw began
last week and will continue
as needed. Still, complaints
come ia from drivers along
with (voices of concern from
city OulciaHS-
At ttw Ian, 25 chy council
the needed patching.
Milt Pommeranz, the city's
consulting engineer, said most
streets are "holding up fairly
well" considering the extent
of the quickness of thaw,
cracking and uplifting of the
pavement
"You've got to expect this
when you have the* kinds of
weather we've had," he
added. "About all you can do
is patch and patch, snd hope
they bold until something
permuneatcan be
he explained.
It is the degree of the
yet to come that concerns the
inayor. Funds for 1999 street
iinprovemeats are atom Hm-
iied than Mart because of the
planed retnUdtag of the
FaafaTfOn  SOMt baWM.
waste** to
*•#«
WhefMu home,' Higgins
said, to fee ami ta reaaw a
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Repeat offenders push '98
crime figures a little higher
by GLEN MLLER
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News-Times reporter
Technically, adult crimes in Amherst went up a little last year, although some of it can be blamed on
a few offenders who committed
more then one crime before being
caught or, in one case, escaping the
long arm of the law.
The 1998 Amherst Police Department's annual report reveals the
total amount of serious crimes fell
from 550 in 1997 to 381 last year.
Overall, the number of adult criminal offense arrests rose by 40, up to
501 from 461 in 1997, while juvenile arrests were 173, two less than
the preceding year.
The decreases in adult offenses
came in assaults, grand and petty
thefts and auto thefts, but the number of arsons, rapes, robberies, burglaries and breaking and enterings
increased.
The biggest increase was in rapes,
up from 4 in 1997 to 18. The increase was due to the arrest of a former Amherst school bus driver who
raped several teenage girls more
then once over nearly a 12-month
period, according to lieutenant Lon-
nie Dillon.
Burglaries, which rose from 18 to
29, were partially due to the activities of two men, one of whom was
caught after burglarizing businesses
and homes along Cooper Foster
Park Road in early spring. The other
|%^Nrexj5
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|Crimes Reported      j       j     1998 1997 1996"
ImT
3
HOMICIDE
RAPE
16
ROBBERY
11
10
BURGLARY/B&E
29
18
47
40
ASSAULT
90
116
93
84
GRAND THEFT
PETTY THEFT
AUTOTHEFT
ARSON
TOTALS
24
33
52
118
195
353
334
292
13
17
20
23
381
550
656
573
ICrimet Cleared
HOMICIDE
1        |     1998
1997
1996
"lain
RAPE
18
ROBBERY
18
82
19
95
12
BURGLARY/B&E 	
ASSAULT  __
GRAND THEFT _
PETTY THEFT __
AUTOTHEFT
ARSON   0_
TOTALS 252
culprit managed to escape police detection after breaking or cutting out
screens along parts of Lake Avenue
during warm weather.
There were 11 robberies, the
largest number since 10 were investigated in 199S. although eight of
14
14
86
91
83
22
36
80
234
199
12
13
■218
372
381
"393
them were solved. Overall, 252 (about 66 percent) of the 381
were cleared, about the sm
a in 1997.
Juvenile crimes were down two
CONTINUED on pone 8
Hospital maternity ward
scheduled to close soon
Amherst Hospital's maternity
waed wiM be closed in the com-
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Officiate MfihOfaUftoaal
The building wOl be located
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1994.
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