The Amherst news-times. (Amherst, Ohio), 1988-02-17

              MLS Drama Club presents 'Step on a Crack9 South Amherst merger meeting See Page 4 Molnar Captains OSU Softball See Page 8 See Page 3 1 "i inn immiiiii 11,11.11.11)11 i i in ii iiiiLii.iin.i ii ii iimi n.111,1,11 iM..m- I - -- mi, mi- in i - , n - .- n , 1. f ' lim, 7ni iiiii- "in - ..." "Hr I m'M''mmmm.'' 1 "1 Volume 71, Number 7 if- zM Valentine's Day celebrations Amherst celebrated Valentine's Day with dances, parties and teas. Above: Jennifer Daub, Nadine Glass, Dawn Kubic, and Jennifer Gammons pause from their dancing at the M.L.S. Dance last Saturday to pose for a picture. Right: Emily Conklin of Brighton, spoke at the Old Stone Methodist Church's Annual Valentine Tea held last Thursday night. For more pictures of the M.L.S. dance, see page 5. Area churches plan for Lent Lent, the forty days before Easter and a time of penitance for some Christians, begins today, Ash Wednesday. The following churches will be holding servicestoday and throughout Lent: St. Peter's United Church of Christ, 582 Church St., will hold an Ash Wednesday communion service at 7:00 p.m. They will also be holding midweek Lenten services every Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Park Avenue United Methodist Church, Park Ave. and Spring St., and the Old Stone United Methodist Church, 553 S. Main, will be holding a joint Ash Wednesday service at the Old Stone Church today at 750 p.m. St. Joseph Catholic Church, St. Joseph Dr., will hold two Ash Wednesday masses, at 11.-00 a.m, and 7:00 p.m. Also, beginning on Friday, February 19, there will be a 7:00 p.m. mass every Friday during the Lent season. The Amherst Congregational United Church of Christ, 379 S. Main, will hold a 7'3Q p.m. Prayer Service tonight. St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Central Drive, will have a special Ash Wednesday Holy Communion Service at 7:30 p.m. tonight. Entire Contents Copyrighted, 1988. 4 . I & If -mi It Local songwriter thinks big Song writer Todd Waites is not just waiting for his big chance, he is working hard trying to create it. Waites, age 20, moved to Amherst with his family last June. He started playing organ when he was four and has been playing some sort of keyboard ever since. Even the loss of his arm has not slowed down his love and creation of music. Since moving to Amherst, Waites reported that he has been working on his songs and looking for work. He will have his first studio date in a few weeks. Waites1 manager will then send the tapes to New York while Waites keeps working on more. "I try to play at least two hours a day. If I don't, the next time I sit down it is much harder," he said. Even so, songs do not necessarily come to him during that nicely packaged two hours. Waites does most of his writing at two a.m., he said, or any other time inspiration hits him. Partly because of his odd song writing schedule, he shys away from groups. "From eighth grade on I was in various rock bands," he said. But since moving hera Your Hometown Newspaper Since 1874, All Rights Reserved Wednesday, February 17, 1988 Photo by Tib Weaver Photo by Amy Hansen from Detroit he has not joined a group. "I like doing solo things much better." Waites' right arm was amputated in 1982 because of cancer. "Losing an arm is nothing compared with the treatment," he said, referring to chemotherapy. The greater tragedy would have been losing his music. How can you play keyboards with only one hand? "I thought oh great, there go my dreams. But a couple of weeks later I sat down and tried it out. It's Songwriter Todd Waites 1! T (r - h c- : ' :; ! ' ; );! ; : i j ; 7 v11'' Selling By Amy Hansen "911 is great, but enhanced 911 is a Lot greater," North RidgeviLle Fire Captain Andrew Wagner told a crowd assembled to hear about the enhanced emergency system last Wednesday night. Enhanced 911 will provide an instant listing of the caller's address whether or not the caller is able to speak, explained County Commissioner, Herbert Jacoby. The computer screen will also list any pertinent medical history. During the two hour "E911 Kick-off Campaign" meeting, committee members explained the costs and the advantages of Enhanced 911. The cost, according to Public Awareness Coordinator Brian Nelson, will be "less than this can of pop," Nelson said holding a can of diet Sprite. The committee has put a ballot. This translates to 35 cents a month, according to Jacoby. There will slso be 16 cent average increase in monthly phone bills, he added. If passed, E911 will also receive $500,000 in tax credit through House Bill 491, Jacoby said. "We have to take advantage of this now, Later the money will not be available." The Committee has received resolutions of support from 96 of the legislative bodies in Lorain County, Jacoby continued. really the same," he said. Waites latest ballad, "So Lost Without You" was inspired by the death of a friend, "I got a call that a guy I knew from the hospital had just died," he said. WhiLe thinking about his friend he started writing, and realized that his song would apply to anyone who had Lost someone dear. For practical reasons, Waites would like to study business at Lorain Community College and, if possible, study his dream at the Ober-lin Conservatory. in his basement studio. 988-201 Enhanced 911 This response aLlowed the committee to put the levy in front of the voters. Lorain County will be the fourth county in Ohio to iff " j I ' f r - . ,4: i. , , i i j i Brian Nelson singing The E911 Boogie." Post Office shortens hours Amherst Post Office windows will be closed on Wednesday afternoons starting today. The c Losing comes after Congress required the U.S. Post Office to cut their hours. On'ginaLly, it appeared that Post Offices would have to close on Saturdays. "We kept Saturday because that's the only day so many people can come," said Amherst Postmaster, Roland Hi rsh. The area postmasters met to decide who would shut down on what day, Hirsh explained. The Lorain main Cleaning without rnospnates Phosohorus mav be eliminated from the detergents on sale in Ohio, if the current state bills are ratified. At Monday night's meeting of the Community Development Committee, members of council agreed to support the state government in the move to ban phosphorus. Amherst's resolution must go to Council floor before it is finalized. "I see no problem with it," committee chairperson, Diane Eswine said. In fact, she had a difficult time finding any opposing point of view, she said. It currently costs the city of Amherst $102,000 a year in chemicals to remove the phosphorus once it has reached the waste water treatment plant, according to Don Woodings, Superintendent of Utilities. However, the issue en SERVING ALL OF AMHERST 25 cents have the enhanced system, coming in behind Cuyahoga, Franklin and Lucas Lucas is in the process of hooking up its system., Continued on page 8. post office will be open while Amherst's is closed. Hirsh chose Wednesdays after researching the user patterns in Amherst. "Traditionally, the town seems to cycle on Wednesday. We looked at how many stamps we sell and tried to pick the day with the least impact," he said. The closed window will save the post office approximately five hours a week. "Everything else will work as usual," Hirsh said, "the mail service, the carrier and collection will all continue." compasses more than saving iiiuncy, it, n hi uc oavmy uic lake. "Ohio is the only state in the Lake Erie group that does not have a phosphorus control," Eswine told her committee. "It phosphorus control is part of being a good neighbor." Phosphorus is used in detergents to soften the water, allowing the actual soap to clean more efficiently.In lakes, however, it is a food for algae. With increased amounts of phosphorus in the water, the aLgae grows decreasing the oxygen supply in the Lake and eventually, killing the lake's wildlife. The Lake water is a great environmental concern but also a monetary one. "We should also heLp in control of algae in Lake Erie. It Tfs very coutly to remove for bur potable-: ate r Continued on page 8.