Amherst News-Times, 2000-03-08

              School bands stage free event — Page 31 Comets ousted from tourneys — P.
Amherst News-Time
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Wednesday, March 8, 2000
Amherst, Ohio
I
MLS grappler wins state championship
Wrestler Jake Percival faces Joe Zinkan in the final match of the
state championship finals. The senior won his bout, bringing home a
state title.
by KEITH GRIBBINS
News-Times reporter
Perfect
Marion L. Steele High School
wrestler Jake Percival was 35-0
when he moved to the mat lo face
Joe Zinkan, of Cincinnati Moeller,
anodier undefeated senior at the
63rd State Wrestling Championships at Value City Arena. Not a
loss on the year for the 140 pound
contenders as they eyed each other
before the match.
Percival, a two year runner-up at
the state tournament, had been in
this situation before. Wrestling since
the second grade, Percival had
tangled in more than 500 matches in
his career, including three trips to
state. The Comet had won 130
matches in his high school tenure
and lost only six others, most of
those as a freshman. That all seemed
to pinnacle Saturday, March 4 when
everyone turned to watch the two
grapplers battle in one of the most
significant matches of the
tournament.
The Comet came in the aggressor
and emerged the winner, taking
home  Amherst's  first ever State
Championship in uic mm ■ ..resiling program history.
"He did an amazing job. I'm ecstatic. I'm at a loss for words. His
performance has brought home the
state for Amherst," Coach Bill
Walker stated. "It's quite an accomplishment And it says something
about Jake Percival."
"Next to giving birth to him, this
is the most exciting thing," mother
Tammy Percival said about the win.
"It's a big weight lifted off him. It's
really awesome."
Percival just out wrestled his opponent, Walker said. Three takedowns and one escape led Percival
to a 7-3 victory over Zinkan. It was
in the second period that the senior
Comet broke his opponent, according to Walker.
"He out conditioned him. You
could tell in the second period that
his opponent was getting tired. Then
Jake took control," explained
Walker.
Now ranked number one in the
nation, Percival is gearing up for
Nationals in Pittsburgh on March
23-26.
But what led Percival to a number
CONTINUED on page 7
Nordson will cut 145 jobs here
by KEITH GRIBBINS
News-Times reporter
The Nordson Corporation last
Tuesday released a structured plan
to eliminate 1SS union and 35 nonunion jobs at their Amherst and
Elyria plants in an attempt to make
the company more efficient
Starting on May 31, Nordson will
begin a series of operation transfers
from northern Ohio to Georgia and
Alabama, as explained in their corporate Action 2000 Plan, that is
aimed at increasing the company's
Business
planners
promote
downtown
efforts
by KEITH GRIBBINS
News-Times reporter
The Amherst Downtown Business Association (ADBA) met last
Thursday morning to discuss local
business and bramstotm for ideas to
help promote commerce for the Amherst area.
Nubbx Card
Jim Hinton, a representative for
Nubix, a Dublin, Ohio-based company, addressed the association with
a presentation on the company's
benefit card.
Nubix provides cards that give
customers incentives to shop at certain establishments by giving a discount to card members. Hinton was
urgeting local business owners for
interest in being a Nubix provider,
providing a discount for card own-
en, to help promote business in the
operating efficiency and accelerate
earnings.
The plan stated that 145 jobs will
be eliminated from the Amherst
plant 45 more positions in northern
Ohio, and the Elyria plant would
eventually close.
"It's a difficult situation because
jobs are involved, and we take that
very seriously," corporate communications representative Brace- Waf-
fen explained. "It tends to become a
concern to the community but we've
always been strongly supportive in
Amherst for years. The support for
the community is still there, we're
just   trying
efficient"
to   become   more
Nordson released in October of
1999 the corporation's Action Plan,
a 24-month company wide initiative
to realign Nordson's management
structure for optimum performance.
According to the update, the Action
Plan looks to consolidate business
operations, streamline manufacturing processes, wimijkgi^ (ha development of innovative products, provide access to new markets through
both internal growth and strategic
acquisitions, and accelerate financial growth.
Back in October, Nordson also
announced that they would be laying off workers, but did not have a
figure, stated Waffcn.
"We announced on Oct 27 that
we're going to consolidate our operations to be more competitive and
move faster in the global economy.
Now we've added specificity to the
plan and made it as detailed as possible so employees have time to*
handle and manage their situations
and to pursue new employment opportunities,'' explained Waffen.
CONTINUED on page 5
Nordson officials have announced they will cut 145 jobs from the
Amherst facility.
Cookie shop family affair in S. Amherst
"We need providers first because
they give value to the card," Hinton
_SL_ed.
Ihe card is aimed at building a
gped customer base for businesses
«t no cost including advertising,
iy cost is the discount the bu-
; need to provide, explained
„'re looking for a good probate that's very broad," Hin-
, card will cost customers
$29.95 every year, but can be used
m Often as the individual wants. The
eld b along the lines of an entertainment booklet but according to
tpnsf>w, the card works better be-
cuslomers feel the booklets
CONTINUED on page 6
by KEITH GRIBBINS
News-Times reporter
Have you been searching
and salivating around town
for a new place to quell your
insatiable sweet tooth?
Unsatisfied with those
factory made cookies and
cakes that come in a bag at
the market you've began a
personal crusade to find those
homemade sweets like your
mom or grandma used to
make?
Well then, the soon to be
opened Gingerbread House is
were you can find those old-
fashioned homemade treats to
feed that sweet monkey on
your back. Delve into cookies, brownies, cakes, and chocolates made from scratch
that once placed on the palate
will take you back to the
kitchen of your youth when
the occasion of homemade
sweets was a holiday in itself.
"We have a very homey
atmosphere here. We specialize in good-old-fashioned
homemade cookies and cake.
Stuff you would probably .
make in your own kitchen,"
explained co-owner Mark Foster. "Everything is made from
scratch, no mix. And it's
fresh. If it's not sold, I end
up eating it"
FOster and his wife Kathleen, the cooking backbone
behind the shop, are teaming
up to give South Amherst a
place for families and companies to stop in and a get a
homemade sweet explained
Mark Foster. The stare, still
remodeling presently, is slated
for Us grand opening on
April 1.
•   "All of our recipes, are
family .recipes. They're not
The Gingerbread House win be opening on
April 1 to service the area with a variety of
sweets including homemade cakes, brownies,
cookies, and chocolate candies. Pictured, co-
owner Mark Foster holds his daughter Matey
behind the counter of the store at 121 E. Main
St. in South Amherst.
from a cook book," Kathleen
Foster staled.
The foundation of the store
will be built around selling
homemade cookies, cakes,
brownies, and chocolates.
They will also carry old-
fashioned hard candies and
loUypops.
The note's specialty items
will center on cookie bouquets, specialty cakes, and unique cookie and chocolate
molds whose end products
can be used for a variety of
to
things.
Cookie bouquets and baskets will be a one of the
store's hot items, according
the couple. Individuals or
companies can pre-order baskets filled with cookies and
sweets to be given as presents to friends, family mem-
ben, co-workers, or just about
anyone.
"We'll penonaUze cookies
for your order. Our baakeli
will be (kcorated nicely, but
unlike some cookie baskets
that rely on decorations alone,
ours will have good tailing
cookies aa well.'* Mark Foster
said.
Cakes » also oa the forefront of specialty tans far
the Gingerbread House. In the
in not
just your typical flat
cakes but three
structures far cu Homers. A
treasure c nest. slSDutts tamo,
dirt bike track, and a whole
miniature train cake with each
car filled with candy are only
a few unique specialty cakes
Kathleen has devised and
created.
"We'll put as much as you
want into a cake and it will
literally be the center piece of
your table," Mark Foster
smiled.
And with a plethora of
molds the couple can meld
chocolate or cookie dough
into nearly any shape. Roses,
mugs, soccer balls, and businesses cards, are only a few
of the shapes the owners can
manipulate their sweets into
for a customer.
"We have as many candy
molds as cookie cutters,"
Kathleen Foster smiled.
Along with making a quality product the couple wants
to begin a good community
relationship with the citizens
of South Amherst The Fosters want companies, businesses, schools, and community
organizations to look to them
for help with their employees,
members, and community
events.
"We want to get involved
with the community. Partake
in special events, police, fire,
schools, fundraisers. We want
to donate bade to the community, because we live here
too," Mark Foster staled.
So once April Fool's Day
is upon us, the couple are
looting to have The Gingerbread House at 121 E. Main
St open far business and
ready to give a little sweetness to the city of South
Amhent If you get laungry a
little earlier or are imerested
in the business pffHBtf'W
their tasty morsels at an event
give Mark and. KtfMeen Foster a caH at (440) 916-2597.
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