Amherst News-Times, 2001-08-29

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Wednesday. August 29. 2001
Amherst. Ohio
Utility increa? i
is $2 to cover
cost of fixing
wastewater woe
by ERIK YORKE
Howdy there
Thomas Phillips, a four-year old cowboy from Amherst, sits atop
Tootsie just prior to riding off to compete during the Lorain County
Fair last week. Bryan Gardner, also from Amherst, holds the lead
line. Tootsie is owned by Dolores Grill, of Oberlin. Young Phillips
won the heart of the judges, as well as ribbon for his
horsemanship.
News-Times reporter
Amherst residents will pay an extra $2 a month for utilities starting
next month. Resulting from an ordinance passed by city council last
year, the cost for utilities has been
increased to pay for improvements
to the city's wastewater treatment
plant.
Starting next spring, mayor John
Higgins said, about $8.5 million in
improvements to the plant will begin. Higgins said that he hoped the
improvements would take 18
months to complete.
The utility bill increases will pay
for those improvements over the
next 20 years. Higgins said. He said
the increase will be $2 starting in
September and will total about $4
over the next three years. It will be a
permanent increase.
St. Joe's welcomes new
associate pastor to job
by ERIK YORKE
News-Times reporter
Amherst's Catholic residents are
getting to know a new associate pastor at Sl Joseph Catholic Church.
Father George Vrabel takes over for
Father James Schmitz.
"It was a nice surprise because I
grew up in Lorain," Vrabel, 46, said
of his new assignment in Amherst,
Vrabel attended Lorain Admiral
King High School.
Vrabel said that the usual assignment for associate pastors lasts five
years. He spent the last six years at
SL Richard's in North Olmsted.
Prior to that he served as associate
pastor at SL Francis Xavier in Medina and Sl Mary's in Chardon. He
attended seminary at SL Mary's
Seminary in Cleveland.
Vrabel will assist in giving mass
at SL Joseph as well as participate in
religious education at the Sl Joseph
Catholic School
I
In his late teen years and early
twenties, Vrabel said he had already
begun to feel an inclination toward
the priesthood. At (hat time, however, he didn't see it fitting into his
vision of the future.
At that time Vrabel wanted to become a dentist He attended the University of Cincinnati for two years
and then went to the Ohio Slate University, finishing his undergraduate
work and attending dental school
Rev. George Vrabel
He practiced dentistry in Lorain
•for just under four yean before realizing once and for all that»he
needed to sell his practice and become a priest. The inclination that
he had felt as a young man had become too powerful to ignore.
"I needed to find the answer to
'What if?' that was so strong inside
me," Viable said. "Friends asked me
'Why did you change?'
Fulfillment."
"My hope is that as a parish
priest, not only can I develop a relationship with parishioners, but that
somehow I can sense the pulse of
their needs," Vrabel said.
Vrabel said that he takes as much
from his parishioners as he hopes he
gives. He said mat sorrksfifties when
parishioners come to him with problems he too may walk away with
something that could help him in his
own life.
"They help me a tot," he said.
"We're in it together."
At first, Vrabel said, moving to
Sl Joseph's in Amherst was a difficult transition from busy North
Olmsted.
"The quiet was almost loo quiet,"
Vrabel said. SL Richard's in North
Olmsted, where Vrabel was last assigned, was located on Lorain Road
across from the Great Northern
Mall. Vrabel said that not hearing
the trucks and other street noises
from inside his office took some
getting used to.
Regardless, Vrabel said that he is
happy in Amherst One reason is
that being from Lorain, he is familiar with the area.
"I already know where the Drag
Mart is," Vrabel said.
.  Another reason that Viable is
happy with his new assignment are
the parishioners themselves.
"The people here are just extremely friendly." Vrabel said.
Masses at Sl Joseph's are at 9
a.m. on Monday, Wednesday and
Friday; 7 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday; Saturday at S pjn.; and Sunday
at 7:30 ajn., 9 ajn., 1O.30 a.m., and
noon.
High five
There were a lot of high fives last Friday night after Amherst
opened their season by not just beating Admiral King, but keeping
them scoreless. Above, the Comet mascot and one of the cheerleaders help to pump up the team last Thursday night during a pep
rally planned by the Quarterback Club. The pep rally, and the football game, was a total success.
Moment of treasure
Myrt Slavlk (left) and Frances Decierzyk
(middle) show off Precious Moments merchandise to customer Lori Johnson. The sale was a
partrtanevertatRk»eHiC<>Hectt)leslnAm-
herst td raise breast cancer awareness. Also
there was the Precious Moments Care-A-Van
visit to the business.
Fire department to test
hydrants through Oct. 1
The Amherst Fire Department will be testing the city fire hydrants starting Saturday, SepL 1, and continuing until about OcL
1.
The testing of these fire hydrants is for the fire department re-
cordt to check wafer flows in te chy. Residents are advised that
if the water ia their hone btpftiiw cloudy, they should tun fee
faucet an and let the water rua until clean.
For no* mfanaation. call *e fire department at 988-4117.
"Nobody likes an increase, not
even admiiustration," Higgins said
He said that the decision had to be
made as the current wastewater
treatment plan was not meeting certain permit requirements.
Every six months, city officials
will review the amount of income
from the utility bill increase to make
sure it is meeting the repayment
schedule for the plant
improvements.
"Hopefully we're going to get a
loan from the E.P.A. (Environmental Protection Agency). Ihe Ohio
Water Authority," Higgins said. He'
said that the rate for that loan, at ap-
proximately 3.9 percent, would be
the lowest
Higgins said that about two-rhirdt
of the current plant will be replaced.:
He also said that there would be
some expansion on the site.
City superintendent of utilities
CONTINUED on page 2
Woman
charged
for arson
of house
on Rt. 58
Ihe cause of an April
house fire at 8500 Leavitt
Road in Amherst Township
was arson, and on Aug. 16,
Janet Edmonson was indicted
on two counts of aggravated
anon for the Maze.
The house, which is owned
by area busninessman Archie
Abraham, was severeyiy damage by fire on or about April
23, cent documerts show.
Edmonson lived in the house
with her two daughters Kayla,
12 and Ashley, 9 and her
live-in boyfriend Kenneth
Young, according to the
reports.
The two young girls were
in the house at the time,
which is why there is a second charge of aggravated arson, explained detective
Randy Koubeck of the Lorain
County Sheriff's Department
"It's a good thing everybody got on," Koubeck said.
He said (hat he believed the
two girls are now with near
biological father, Donald
Edmonson.
According lo the sheriff's
report, Janet Edmonaon was
noted n the victim at the
time of the incident Kmrtwr*
said that two days later, she
was determined lo be a suspect n s result of harassing
phone calls made to Young's
place of employmem being
traced to the area when she
was located.
No comment could be
made as of yet aa to how *_
fire was rtartnd, but the location when it was set has
to be ast on me porch,"
fTOJKWr
totem
had no binary of
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CONTINUED on patje t