The Amherst news-times. (Amherst, Ohio), 1997-08-20

              Bus routes begin on Page 3 CC coach gives up his post — Page
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Amherst News-Times
Wednesday, August 20, 1997
Amherst, Ohio
Cops want more
permanent locale
for kids to learn
safety's lessons
by GLEN MILLER
News-Times reporter
If it is up lo police, the children of
Amherst will have a cily of ihcir
own.
The police department has
launched an effort to make Amhersl
a safe place for kids by building a
permanent safety city where they
can learn the rules of the road.
Based on a concept created by
patrolman Les Carrender, the department wants to build a Safety
Cily immediately south of ihe police
station on N. Lake Street.
It will replace the 20-year-old
Safety Town held two weeks every
summer in the parking lot of Powers
Elementary School on Washington
Street.
The collapsible buildings used at
Powers will be replaced with permanent structures constructed to look
like businesses that donate money
for their construction. Each building
will be four by four feel in
dimension.
Carrender began his money-
raising efforts last week by seeking
support from the Amherst Rotary
Club. The Falbo Construction Co. in
Amherst has agreed lo donate S500
worth of concrete and Carrender is
hoping other businesses will follow
suil.
"Wc arc going big lime. Wc are
irying lo gel enough people to back
litis with a S500 or so donation," he
explained. "It won't be lo scale, bui
wc hope }o make this a small version of Amhersl."
Preliminary plans call for a four-
block area with streets, a working
traffic light and even railroad tracks
children will have lo drive over. The
entire Safely City will be placed in a
fenced in 100 by 70 foot concrete
New staff
members
in school
area.
A pavilion where safety classes
can be held also will be buill.
The cost cannot be determined
until Carrender, who also is the department's DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officer takes his
plans lo an architect. So far, only
rough plans have been sketched out
on paper.
Carrender has been considering
ihe project for several months and
hopes it will enable him lo add
children to the safety program. This
summer, several children had lo be
turned away because the four classes were each filled with 39 children. The iwo-week program has
momjng and afternoon classes for a
total of 126 children.
"Wc hate turning kids away, but
we can only handle so many kids in
each class. With this, maybe wc can
go to ihrcc weeks," Carrender said.
"The city is growing fast and we
have more kids, so wc need a longer
program for ihcm."
A third week would enable Car-
render and volunteers to teach an
additional 78 children.
He hopes to break ground on
Safety City by Oct.l and finish in
the spring so the 1998 program can
be held next summer at the proposed facility.
"We're a growing community, so
I think we need a permanent facility," he said. "Some other cities like
Lorain have this and it's been beneficial to them."
Businesses interested in donating
to the project should contract Car-
render or dispatcher Teresa Anto-
poulos at 988-4421. A donation account for the Safety Cily also has
been established at Lorain National
Bank.
j district
f
Increased enrollment has added
two additional leathering positions
lo the school district, creating a total
ol" 206 teachers.
Based on district projections, aboul 3,700 students are expected lo
bo enrolled when the district opens
ihe 1997-98 school year on Thursday, Sept. 28.
There will be many new faces in
ihe classrooms, including new students and teachers as well. The list
of new teachers this year includes
the following:
• Amy Kamnikar, an Ashland
University graduate who will teach
mathematics at Nord Junior High
School.
• Heather Zehel, a former Marion
L. Steele High School student who
will start her leaching career as a
language arts teacher at Nord. She is
a 1996 graduate of Baldwin-
Wallace College in Berea.
• Kalhryn DiFranco, who formerly taught at Firelands High
School and Keystone High School,
will leach family and consumer science al Nord. She is a graduate of
Ashland University.
• Julie Smith, who also graduated
from Ashland University, will be a
prc-school teacher at the special
school for disabled children al ihe
Rehabilitation   Center  of  Lorain
County.
• Amy Modock, a 1997 graduate
of Anderson University, will teach
sixth grade at Shupe Middle School.
She   formerly   was   a   substitute
CONTINUED on page 3
Little charmer
Angela Alessio, six, daughter of Kevin and Ca-   on bell chimes in the childrens' playground at
sey Alessio, of Vermilion, plays a summer song   Maude Neiding Park.
Goats small but big in competition
by KATHLEEN KOSHAR
News-Times editor
If history repeals itsell during
fair week, Greg Scighman won't
be a happy camper.
After four years of placing
second in the showmanship
competition with his pygmy
goat, Frisky, he's hoping his
luck will change and this fifth
year of competition will be the
sweetheart year.
Scighman, 15, and his
brother, Rob, 18, are no strangers to ihe Lorain County Fair
circuit. They've shown a variety
of animals at the fair in the past
including ducks.
But Seighman's pygmy has
become his specialty; the goat
has won some awards including
ihe spate oI*second place showmanships and last year's Best
Dressed Animal in the fair
parade.
Frisky donned a presidential
theme for the event. And in
1993, Scighman took home a
best duck award.
Rob's pygmy, Tommy, hasn't
fared so well in front of the
judges, but thai has not deterred
the older boy from entering ihe
fair contests.
The two goats, purchased
from York Farms, were acquired
when ihey were just months old
as pan of a Firelands Farmers
4-H project.
Sieghman will be a sophomore al Firelands High School
this fall where he is a member of
ihe FFA group.
Despite their pygmy status,
ihe goals weigh in somewhere
between 50 and 60 pounds but
Ihey  are easy  lo  work  wilh,
Seighman noted. Ihe goats live
in the Scighmans' backyard and
have become neighborhood
celebrities.
Greg Seighman and Frisky.
They often roam ihe backyard, like pets and enjoy each
other's company as well.
Last Friday, Seighman and his
falhcr, Bobby, were preparing lo
lake the family camper from
CONTINUED on page 2
Speed
bewar
Resid<
on loc
by GLEN MILLER
News-Times reporter
Speeders beware. The Amherst
Police Department is out to nab you
if you are caught putting too much
pedal to metal in some of the city's
residential neighborhoods.
Beginning last week, patrolmen
armed with portable radar guns began standing in neighborhoods
throughout the city in an attempt to
catch speeders and motorists who
fail to stop at stop signs.
The crack down was prompted by
a growing number of complaints to
the police department, city council
members, mayor John Higgins and
safely service director Sherrill
McLoda about heavy-footed motorists. The majority have come from
parents who fear their children may
be struck by drivers with an over aggressive foot.
McLoda said the complaints have
increased since the beginning of
summer because of the increased
presence of children playing in
neighborhoods. Many arc reported
between 4 and 6 p.m., the time
when motorists are in a hurry to get
home from work and often ignore
speed limit and stop signs.
According to McLoda and police
chief William Hall, many complaints have come from residents
living in the city's northeast section,
particularly around Cherry Valley
Drive.
Few people adhere to the posted
25 mile per hour speed limit signs.
Others do little more than tap their
foot on the brake rather than coming
to a complete stop at stop signs,
Hall said.
'The stop signs are there for a
reason. People have to think about
what they expect when they are
pedestrians," McLoda added. "If
you have kids, it is kind of scary,
down right dangerous."
Several alternatives have been
discussed at council meetings, including speed bumps and additional
stop signs. McLoda, however, noted
the city could be held liable if a motorist has an accident after striking a
speed bump on a public street.
In addition, state traffic laws prohibit the city from indiscriminately
placing stop signs in an attempt to
slow down traffic, a suggestion of
several concerned residents. They
only can be placed at street comers
or intersections, she explained.
Hall advised against parents trying to make a citizen's arrest because it could result in a motorist
suing them. Instead, residents can
help by writing down the license
numbers of residential traffic violators and giving them to police.
Although state law requires an officer see the violation, Hall said patrolmen will (jack down the motorist
and inform them of complaints
against their driving.
"Just because we can't cite them,
that doesn't mean we can't warn
them and let them know we'll be
watching," Hall said.
Patrolmen will not permanently
locate their radar in any one location
and will continue their spot checks
until complaints cease. They will
reinstate them if there is a resurgence of complaints. Hall said.
So far, no car-pedistrian accidents
have been reported, although the
danger exists as Amherst continues
to grow and more new families —
and motorists — move into the city,
McLoda said.
"No one wants their child hit and
people driving wouldn't want it to
happen to their's nor be the person
responsible," McLoda said.
Hall said the department used to
get complaints from neighborhoods
located east and west of N. Lake
Street until the new police station
was built in the area.
"Our presence and the presence
of more cruisers coming and going
seems to have helped," he added.
"We're hoping presence in the other
neighborhoods will do the same."