Amherst News-Times, 2000-08-09

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Power outage rescheduled — Page 2
Swim team is perfect on the year — t
Amherst News-Time
Wednesday. August 9, 2000
Amherst, Ohio
1
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Second driver takes t
for the worse near StL. .c
Fast-moving current sucks car
under after woman loses control
by JASON TOMASZEWSKI
Delivery personnel survey the downtown situation, and how they will stop traffic for delivery of
some huge planters.
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I
Carefully, the planters are hoisted with a crane from the truck....
News-Times reporter
The Ohio State Highway Patrol
responded to an emergency phone
call early Monday rooming, through
which the caller said a car had driven off the road and crashed into a
creek on the comer of Stang and
Oberlin roads in Amherst Township.
A white Ford Taurus traveling
north on Oberlii. Road veered off
the road to the right, taking out several mail boxes and the street sign
before jumping Stang Road and
crashing into the nearby creek.
The car was trapped under 14 feet
of water, which was deeper than
normal due to the storms of the
night before.
The woman who was driving,
Pamela Flowers of Lorain, could
have been trapped inside the car for
about 45 minutes before rescue vehicles arrived, according to nearby
neighbors.
Local residents speculated that fatigue, or a possible drug reaction,
could be the reason for the crash.
The highway patrol said that the
call was made by an unidentified
passerby, who noticed the car resting in the water.
Art Smith, who is an Oberlin
Road resident, witnessed the rescue
attempt "There were guys all over
the car. They had it partially pulled
out of the water and were
get her out through the wi
Smith said.
Smith estimates that Flowers was
submerged for about 45 minutes. "I
took my wile to work around 7:15
and they didn't get the car up until
8," Smith stated.
Flowers was sent to Amherst
Hospital before being life-flighted
to Cleveland MetroHealth Medical
Center, where she is listed in critical
condition.
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And they land safely in front of the former post office building.
Parking, parking, parking
aid town renovation,
business owners decree
'     by JASON TOMASZEWSKI
______________________
Newe-Times reporter
The city of Amherst doesn't tike
what it sees when it looks at the
downtown area. That is why they
have begun what people are calling
the downtown beatification and revitalization process.
The city hopes that by revamping
the downtown area, people will
want to do their shopping there.
This is a difficult task due largely to
the tremendous drawing power that
the stores on Cooper Foster and
Leavitt Road possess. However,
some local merchants are optimistic
about the city's efforts.
Howard Mowcomber, operator of
'mftrm :J^ ~«*
Above, an Amherst Township worker replaces the Stang Road
sign which was demolished when Pamela Flowers's car struck it
before being submerged in the creek, pictured below.
- a***
Marilyn Scheidler also witnessed
the rescue attempt They tried to
pull the car out with a back hoe,"
Scheidler said.
The highway patrol does not yet
have a cause for the accident An
investigation is still pending.
The accident is similar to the one
that took place on July 11, when
Lynette Layton drove her car into a
swimming pool in the same area.
She reportedly fell asleep at the
wheel but was rescued by a passerby and the owner of the pool
A representative of MetroHealth
said Tuesday that Rowers was still
listed in critical condition and that
she had suffered a head injury.
Rt. 58 annexation hearing
ends with continuation
A public hearing on an annexation proposal of nearly 600 acres of
Amherst Township property into the
city of Amherst adjourned last
Thursday after two hours with the
focus put primarily on the debate
over the "sewer to nowhere."
The county commissioners heard
from those who oppose and those
who favor the annexation.
While the hearing took the better
part of two hours, the commissioners felt that there was more to discuss and scheduled a continuance of
the hearing for Sept. 14.
After the conclusion of that hearing the commissioners have 90 days
to come to a decision.
The sewer has not been in use
since it was constructed in 1996.
Local business people are in favor
of the annexation because it will
bring the long-awaited sewer line to
them. The city will also service the
area with police, fire, water, and
electrical.
The annexation could also generate much needed tax dollars for
the city, which it could use to make
repairs to the wastewater treatment
system.
Mayor John Higgins is adamant
that the sewer must come with annexation, otherwise the city can not afford to accept the sewer. However,
the commissioners have indicated
they will not approve the sewer connection contingent on the annexation of the area and have asked the
city and Amherst Township to develop some type of revenue sharing
plan.
The city of Amherst and Amherst
Township have until Sept. 14 to
come up with a possible revenue
sharing plan.
Amherst and Amherst Township
tried once before to create a joint
economic development plan in the
past, but it fell through after more
than a year of negotiations.
Correction
A story in last week's News-
Times stated that an annexation the
city is proposing was along Quarry
Road. That is incorrect The proposed annexation is along Rt 58. All
other tacts concerning discussion of
the annexation were correct. The
News-Times regrets the error, and
confusion this may have caused.
Ben Franklin, feels that parking is
key to breathing new life into
downtown.
"Parking js definitely the first
step," Mowcomber said. "People
aren't going to come down here if
they can't park." Mowcomber said
the potential is there, but it needs to
be taken advantage of. "There are a
CONTINUED on page 8
America's favorite sport:
baseball, with 1800s rules
Aimer Doubleday would be
proud. The Amherst Historical
Society is staging a throw
back the clock 1880s buebaU
game at the Sandstone Center
Sunday Aug. 20.
Tbe game will feature die
Sandstone Masons and the ■
Lorain County Historical Society Budceypa.
Bach team wil te wearing
uniforms reminiaoeat of the
ones worn by Doubleday and
hit Knickwbockart in *•
1800s. The uniforms were
provided by Janice Good.
The game ia free to the
public and will begin at 2
p.m. Hot-dogs, popcorn,
crackerjack, and root beer will
be available at the game.
While they win te playing
in the year 2000, the players
will te using the rales that
were, in effect for tha 1800a.
This should make for a
There will also te a
blacksmith shop in operation
on the 20th. Visitors will be
able to witness men use fire
to bend steel.
Keeping with the theme of
the 1800s, there will be a full
Civil War Federal Encampment which will te available
for inspection by the public
at 7 pjn.
All of these activities are
being sponsored by the Amherst Historical Society.