Amherst News-Times, 2002-03-06

              Who would you ask to dinner? — Page 3 I Your pets make the paper — Pages 8-9
Amherst News-Time
WI-DNF.SDAY, MARCH (», 2(11)2
AMH1RST. OHIO
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Principal finds n , \
wanted for paro j
violation in hallway
"he road to state
Amherst grappler, Brian Cesear, scores a
nearfall against Andrew Legg of Fremont Ross
during last Saturday's consolation semifinals en-
route to a 6-0 victory. Cesear finished fourth in
the state after a sixth place last year. The story
about Cesear's weekend is on page 6.
by AMY PERSINQER
News-Times reporter
After being confronted at
Powers Elementary School
last Thursday, a man wanted
on a parole violation stemming from a murder
conviction, was arrested in
Norwalk after allegedly stealing $78 from a school there.
A Toledo resident, 44-year-
old AI DeBoe has a history
of violence and criminal behavior. He has been in and
out of prison most of his
adult life for minder, burglary
and drug trafficking.
He was wanted at the time
of his arrest for parole violations in addition to suspicions
that he was responsible fa-
thefts in Huron County
Schools the day before he
was seen at Powers.
Powers principal Dave Anghilante confronted the man
who was walking in the halls
of the school, according to
Amherst police Sgt Dan Jasinski. DeBoe told the principal he was looking for the
school board offices to apply
for student teaching.
Jasinski said that DeBoe
provided Anghilante with his
identification which Anghilante documented. After talking, the man left and the
principal followed him out.
When the man caught Anghilante attempting to copy
down his license plate number, he became agitated and
threatened the principal, according to Jasinski.
Jasinski said that Anghilante attempted to contact the
school resource officer. Patrolman Jon Balog but was unable to, so he called the police department
DeBoe was picked up in
Norwalk for allegedly stealing
money from a purse in a
school office there.
Superintendent of schools
Robert W. Boynton sent out
letters to parents the following day to apprise them of
what actually happened.
Schoolchildren don't seem
to have been in any immediate danger at any time. Allegedly DeBoe's intent was
theft.
Man won't get money for street repairs
by AMY PERSINGER
News-Times reporter
In a surprising turn of events, city
council has informed a local resident that the city will not be reimbursing him for costs he incurred
when he repaired a sewer line
underneath a city street and repaired the street after completing the
work.
In January, George Walts attended a council meeting to inform
council that he felt a city ordinance
requiring its citizens to pay for any
costs of repairing all lines up to the
main including, though not specified
in the ordinance, excavation and repair of city roadways, wasn't fair to
residents.
He told council that after he discovered his tie-in had collapsed
under the street he was surprised to
leant that it was his responsibility to
fix it.
He had his tie-in repaired at a cost
of approximately $3,500 and had to
pay $500 for a road opening permit
The money for the permit will be
returned to him, according to utilities supervisor Ron Merthe, after he
has the road repaired in the spring.
Amherst's Ordinance 912.02(d)
states, "the owner of all houses,
buildings or properties used for human occifrare-/( e**jAwmeni. recreation or ^H^jpu^oses, situated
within life city and abutting on any
street alley or right of way in which
there is now located..a public sanitary or combined sewer of the city, is
hereby required, at his expense, to
install suitable toilet facilities
therein, and to connect such facilities directly with the proper public
sere in accordance with the provisions of this chapter..."
Walts also feels that the collapsed
tie-in is a direct result of paving and
roadwotk that was con.olded.jx.
Autumn Drive by the city laflTjiHa.-
mer. Merthe said that after talking to
the foremen involved, he doesn't
think the city caused the collapse.
There are others who see things
Walts's way, though.
"It's a known fact that on Autumn Drive it's the city's problem,"
councilman Steve P'Simer said, referring to problems residents on Autumn Drive have been having since
the roadwork was done.
Merthe said that Waltses' prob-
jtap is different from those who
"complained earlier in the year that
the city had damaged their lines.
In a telephone interview last
month mayor John Higgins said that
after meeting with Merthe, the city
would be paying the Waltses half
the cost of the repairs they had to
make.
Merthe said that the discussion he
had with the mayor involved the
presumption that the city was responsible for the damage, and in
that case the city would have paid
the entire coat
The Waltses have since received
a letter from council clerk Olga Si-
vinski stating that council would not
CONTINUED on page 2
City gives final thumbs up
to creation of cop auxiliary
It's official: an auxiliary police
unit is going to be formed to supple-
ment the Amherst Police
Department
City council last week voted 7-0
to approve formation of the auxiliary police unit
In January, police chief Lonnie
Dillon proposed an ordinance developing an auxiliary police force
within the Amherst Police Department He suggested starting the unit
with three local men, who had already volunteered, and adding one
officer per year until the unit
reaches its maximum of 10 officers.
Rich Wolfe, Ron Yacobozzi and
Ken Bring all started training with
the Lorain County Sheriffs department training program in January,
anticipating council's approval of
the force.
The unit will be completely volunteer. None of the officers will receive pay and will be required to
work a certain number of hours per
month. The ordinance does provide
for some start-up costs for the new
officers.
Dillon indicated that he plans for
the unit to be self-supporting
eventually.
Dillon said the volunteer force
will be used to assist officers in a
variety of ways. The auxiliary officers will be used instead of regular
officers at some sporting events and
supplement the regular force at parades, the Old Time Jamboree, and
other events. Auxiliary officers can
also ride along with regular officers
so they aren't alone or required to
call another car when it-spending to
calls.
The ordinance will go into effect
30 days after it is signed by mayor
John Higgins. Wolfe. Yacobozzi
and Bring will complete their training in May.
Three girls, all Marion L. Steele High School
seniors qualified as finalists for the National Merit
Scholarships based on their PSAT scores and es
say submissions. The girls should know by May if
they won one of the scholarships.
Three high school girls
National Merit finalists
Organ is. ailing, but church
community comes to rescue
The Amherst schools continue
their educational winning streak
with the announcement of three National Merit Scholarship finalists
from Marian L. Steele High School.
The students, seniors Holly Sleas-
man. Heather Stay and Kristen Jacovetti, all scored in the top three
quarters of one percent of die more
than 1,250,000 students who took
the PSAT Matt their junior year.
The  scholarships  vary  from
$1,000 to $2,500 and are baaed on
CONTINUED on page 2
Spring is around the corner, time
to start thinking about that bit of remodelling that needs to be done, and
all the costs that come with it
St Peter's United Church of
Christ has some remodelling to do
of their own that will cost them
$40,000. But they aren't working oo
the church or the parsonage or even
the parking lot That $40,000 price
tag is to restore the church's
72-year-old pipe organ.
The Chi Rho organisation of St
Peter's will be hosting a family style
roast beef dinner Saturday, March 9,
to help benefit the Organ Restoration Fund. The event begins at 6
p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and
$6 for children 4-12. Children up to
three years old eat free. The church
will only sell 100 tickets to the
event
The leather bags that push the air
through the organ's pipes are beginning to crack and dry out The organ
is still working but beginning to
malfunction. Church secretary Bea
Yohn said that the members wanted
to repair it before it quit working
altogether.
She said that the organ is an integral part of their set-rices and the
church would miss it if it breaks.
The organ was installed by MP.
Muller Pipe Organ Company ia
1930 at a coat of $4,970. The i
pany had installed 5,773 pipe t
CONTINUED on page 2
I
New water rates start customers boiling
by AMY KRMNQER
News-Times reporter
No one's happy to get utility bills, but some Amherst
residents were more than a
littk surprised by their March
1 utility bill from the city.
there is aome con
fusion as to when the water
rate hike that mayor John
Higgins announced at the Feb
11 council meeting was going
to go into effect
Higgins announced at the
Feb. 11 council meeting that
rates for water would be increased on the first of March.
He also sent out a letter
that moat residents received
later that week that said the
rale increase would be reflected on the March 1 bill.
The ate hike actually went
into effect on Jan. 1, six
weeks before the mayor's announcement 10 a-aaa^twr^a.  JjyJ
three days after the safety-
service director, Sherrill
McCloda signed off on the
Higgins said that if the cky
had wailed a couple of more
months to increaae the rates
the water fund would be
brake.
He also said that the
they are paying to
supply wtter to
increased by 30 ,
The dty iae't reo*_*ri*r-g a
baft rate for
cky of Elyria, which in-
creased Amherst's coat
more, arrowting to Higgins.
He said Aroheat is trying to
find out if there is same error on Elyria's aide, a alow
meter for example, causing
Elyria to overcharge the dty.
letter was a little
the rate hike had to be im-
He mid the cky
$200,000 alike
Wart one
Teery
the
He add, too, that it
be tine for Amhent %%\
into ways of
i