Thursday, June 20, 2024
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Volume 10, Issue YY
Nordson moving jobs to S.C. wants to grow Shutting down manufacturing in Amherst; office jobs will remain company but is landlocked on the On Tuesday, he said he is still waiting to hear the Nordson Corp. is planexact number but his underning to take all its manufac- standing is that about 140 turing jobs — the Industrial blue-collar manufacturing Coating Systems division jobs are leaving and about — out of Amherst and 300 office and white-collar move them to South Caro- jobs are staying. lina, city leaders learned. Lara Mahoney, vice Amherst Mayor Mark president for investor relaCostilow said he first got tions & communications at the news in a brief phone Nordson, did not return a call on Friday. call seeking comment left Dave O’Brien The Community Guide
for her. Costilow said, “They called me and talked to their employees about the same time. “I guess it’s a decision that’s made, there’s nothing to do.” Costilow said the news was “horrible,” especially for any families in town that rely on those jobs. Nordson has “been a
great partner, a great business, a great organization in Amherst for some time,” Costilow said. “It’s a good company.” About 300 jobs, believed to be mostly salaried positions, are expected to stay although Costilow again said he didn’t have the exact number. Nordson engineers, manufactures and sells
products for dispensing adhesives, coatings, sealants and biomaterials; fluid management; testing and inspection products; and for UV curing and plasma surface treatment, according to its website. It is headquartered in Westlake. Costilow said he believed the decision may have been made in part because the
County offers help to stay cool
Ground broken on expo at fair Richard Perrins The Community Guide
WELLINGTON — Shovels hit dirt as the Lorain County Fairgrounds broke ground on the construction of the 55,000-square-foot exposition center Friday morning. The building will be named the Ross Exposition Center after the Ross Foundation, a nonprofit that provides grants for educational and community-focused projects in Lorain County. Friday’s groundbreaking also marked the beginning of construction for the Maureen M. Cromling Memorial Horse Arena, a covered courtyard that will be built next to the exposition center. Bill Cromling III, president of Ross Transportation Services and a member of the Ross Foundation’s board of directors, said the horse arena was named in honor of his mother, who brought a horse to the fair every year. Maureen Cromling worked in the family business, now known as the RossWay Group, for years, See FAIR, A2
Amherst property, which is located on Nordson Drive, west of state Route 58 and north of Middle Ridge Road. “They need to grow and they can’t,” he said. “It’s very early,” Costilow said. “From what I understand — and again, it might not be accurate — they’re not going to close it until November.”
The Community Guide
Lorain County Community Action Agency’s Summer Crisis program is now accepting appointments. The program, which provides eligible households with a one-time payment of electric bills, central air conditioning repairs and air conditioning unit and/or fan purchases, starts July 1. Qualifying households must be at or below 175 percent of the Federal Poverty Line ($65,625 for a family of four in 2024), and meet one of the following criteria: n At least one must be 60 years or older. n A household member with a medical condition worsened by extreme heat. n The household has received a disconnection notice for electrical service, or has been disconnected. n Enrolled in a Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP) Plus for the first time. n An existing PIPP customer in default. Customers can receive up to $500 in utility assistance; or up to $1,500 for central air conditioning repairs. Phone appointments start July 1. Limited appointments will be available at the Lorain County Office on Aging, 534 Abbe Road S., Elyria; Second Baptist Church, 427 Chapman Lane, Elyria; and Lorain County Office on Aging in Wellington, 105 Maple St. For more information, contact LCCAA at (440) 245-2009.
BRUCE BISHOP / CHRONICLE
Cool as a butterfly
Ken Fenderson, of Oberlin, beats the heat by spending some time inside the Oberlin Public Library on Monday. The building is one of the designated cooling centers in the city.
Commissioner candidate guilty of DUI Carissa Woytach The Community Guide
Dimacchia
LORAIN — A Lorain councilman and candidate for county commissioner was found guilty of a DUI from earlier this year. Tony Dimacchia, D-at large, pleaded “no contest” to DUI, a
misdemeanor, and was found guilty of the charge by visiting Judge John Ridge. A second charge of refusal to submit to chemical tests after a prior conviction, also a misdemeanor, was merged with the DUI charge by the prosecutor
and dismissed, according to court records. Ridge sentenced Dimacchia to 180 days in the Lorain County Jail, with all but three days suspended, and fined him $600. Dimacchia will have to either serve the jail term and/or complete a
driver’s intervention program by Sept. 13 and follow all treatment recommendations. Dimacchia’s driver’s license was suspended for one year starting April 2, according to Ridge’s sentencing order. An ignition interlock device was ordered to be
installed on Dimacchia’s vehicle. The conviction stems from an incident April 2. Dimacchia was cited with operating a vehicle while impaired after a minor crash at the West Erie Gas & Food at West Erie Avenue and Kolbe Road.
INSIDE THIS WEEK Amherst
Taste of History is big success. A3
Oberlin
City celebrates 29th Juneteenth. A5
Wellington
Police blotter. A4
SPORTS A6 • CROSSWORD A7 • SUDOKU A7 • KID SCOOP A8