Amherst News-Times, 2000-07-19

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Little League All-Stars compete — Pa|
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Amherst News-Time
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Wednesday, July 19, 2000
Amherst, Ohio
Car crashes fence; plunges into a po
by VICKIE HAUFF
News-Times correspondent
Imagine the looks on the faces of
police last Tuesday morning when
they arrived at SS6S Linn Road to
And a car submerged in Betty Re-
horeg's swimming pool.
Imagine Betty Rehoreg's surprise
when she heard a noise and looked
out to see a car — and driver —
sliding into the pool.
Lynette Lay ton, 46, of Lorain was
traveling north on Oberlin Road
when witnesses say her car slowed
down momentarily and then sped up
again, traveling through an intersection at North Ridge Road before hitting a utility pole on North Ridge
Road.
According to police, the car then
went airborne fix about 74 feet before it bottomed out on a down-
slope where it continued to travel
onto the Rehoregs' property.
Betty said her husband Louis had
just left the house to get gasoline for
his lawn mower when she heard a
loud noise. She said she immediately looked to see if someone had
crashed into him as he left the driveway but when she saw he was driving away, she looked to North Ridge
Road and that is when she saw
smoke coming from her swimming
pool area from the comer of her eye.
She rushed to the pool where she
found Layton's car teetering on the
edge of the 10-foot end of the pool
with Lay ton slumped over her steering wheel.
"I was scared," Betty said. "I
didn't have any help."
Thinking quickly, Betty rushed
back into her house to call 911 and
when she returned to the scene, she
found a good Samaritan, who had
uncoiled a rope from one of the Rehoregs' landscaping displays and af-
CONTINUED on page 5
Despite the unusual circumstances of last Tuesday, the Rehoregs, Louis and Betty, and their granddaughters, plan to have a
safe summer, though they probably won't be doing much
swirhming.
Overpass
to honor
man who
aided cop
by VICKIE HAUFF
News-Times correspondent
A man who was killed while trying to help an Amherst police patrolman has been honored by the
city.
City council last week voted to
name the RL 2 overpass at Crosse
Road the James R. Hunt Memorial
Bridge.
The decision was encouraged by
mayor John Higgins, after he received a letter from Hunt's son on
May 25, requesting his father be
honored.
"I am sending you this letter as a
request to acknowledge a person
that is unlike many people in today's society." the letter read. "My
only request is that my lather be recognized in a way that be deserves.
My rather has helped countless people on many occasions, putting
other's needs and interests before
his own."
On Feb. 25 while assisting at a
crash scene on the overpass, good
Samaritan James Hunt of Vermilion
and Amherst police officer Marc
Zappa went over the Rl 2 bridge
that passes over Crosse Road, when
8 vehicle speeding past the scene
nearly struck them. Hunt was killed
as a resulL
- Zappa sustained compression
fractures to his back, injuries to his
legs, pelvis, arms, a collapsed lung
snd broken ribs in the fall and will
be in therapy through September.
' The concern end kindness people have shown us is very thought-
fed," Zapr^ said of the outpouring of
support he and his family have received from Amherst citizens as
well as people from all around Lorain County and police departments
as far away as Cleveland.
"It has really helped my family
through all of this, especially the
kids," he added.
Zappa received well wishes from
aroaet the nation v well as numerous flowers, cards, meals, gifts, vol-
fbr baby-sitting and errands
family and neighbors.
IUEO en page
Police and fire department divers were quick to jump into this
swimming pool, made murky by the car crash, to search for a child
that might have been in the submerged car. A good Samaritan who
stopped at the scene and helped save the driver's life, left without
giving his name to the residents.
%,   Vie i 'ni I mi e«et • Qlllnei ■  -
City hires downtown director
by KATHLEEN WILLBOND
News-Times editor
Greg Balbierz sees beauty
in rubber and sandstone.
Once involved in the economic development of the
city of Akron — the rubber
capital of the world — Balbierz is prepared to bring the
same kind of downtown rejuvenation to AmhersL the
sandstone capital of die
world.
Balbierz was hired earlier
this month as Amherst's new
downtown coordinator. A native of western New York, he
attended the University of
Chicago where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees
in political science and urban
studies.
He started his career in the
seventies with the city of
Chicago, working in the department of development and
planning. He then moved to a
position with Cleveland
Heights as its community development planner working to
improve commercial and retail
development, the use of block
grants, housing and other
grant monies.
During the 1980s, Balbierz
had moved to the city of Akron to work in economic de-
velopmenL where he served
as the liaison to the Downtown Akron Association.
There he was active in projects involving the University
of Akron and Quaker Square.
In Akron, he saw the initiation of a business improvement district special tax, one
of just a handful in the country at the time.
Balbierz was a charter
member of the Ohio Downtown Association, the predecessor of the current Downtown Ohio organization, a
group which helps communities get their "main street"
areas back on track.
Balbieiz's development
roots go even further, to the
city of WiUoughby. where he
was also director of planning
"*    t
The city's new downtown revitalization
coordinator. Greg Balbierz, stops to chat with
a worker in the downtown area.
and development and heavily
involved in that community's
downtown restoration.
Moat recently, Balbierz has
been working as an independent consultant, until he spotted the position of downtown
revitalization coordinator of
Amherst advertised.
He was chosen from among
more than 30 applicants for
the job. He started the week
of July 4 and helped where
he could with the Amherst
Historical Society-sponsored
Jamboree festival
A resident of the east side
of Cleveland. Balbierz said he
brought friends to Amherst to
enjoy the Jamboree and get a
look at Amherst's historical
downtown.
When asked what he thinks
about AmhersL he said, "I
think k's a diamond in the
rough. It has a tot of history,
and a quality group of landowners and business owners."
CONTINUED on page 2
Coastal
mayorthon
makes pit '
stop here
Mayor John Higgins participated
in the First Family Pledge Millennium Mayorthon July 11.
Mayorthon is a nationwide campaign sponsored by the American
Red Cross along with the American
Society of Transplant Surgeons to
raise awareness of the importance of
organ and tissue donation.
The campaign's goal is to make
the critical need for organ and tissue
donors one of the first public health
problems to be solved in the new
century.
Starting at San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, hundreds of mayors from large cities to small towns
are joining in the first ever coast-to-
coast mayoral relay.
San Francisco mayor Willie
Brown kicked off the 20 week event
on April 16,2000 taking the special
baton and walking across Marina
Greens Park.
Since then the baton has made its
way across the country by way of
mayor, former and current, handing
it off to one another.
South Amherst mayor diet Areata picked up the baton and arrived by fire engine to South Amherst village hall where he signed
the First Family Pledge and handed
off the baton to Higgins.
Higgins carried the baton via police cruiser driven by patrolman
Luther Smith to Amherst City Hall
where he also signed the First Family Pledge.
After a short speech on the steps
of city hall, Higgins signed the First
Family Pledge, a pledge stating that
he will discuss with family and
friends the need for organ and tissue
Tbe large canvas holding mayoral
signatures will be added with other
canvases collected throughout the
campaign and will be displayed ia
Washington D.C. on Labor Day
weekend in the nations capital
where a celebration will be told.
The baton will be carried 5,913
miles on its journey and apecW
mayors were arranged to cany flit
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