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Thursday, June 13, 2024
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Volume 10, Issue YY
Annoying little harbingers of summer are back Owen MacMillan The Community Guide
BRUCE BISHOP / COMMUNITY GUIDE
Scary-looking but harmless, mayflies cling to the window of Vermilion City Hall.
In one of the surest — though certainly not the most popular — harbingers of summer in northern Ohio, the first large flock of mayflies has descended upon Lorain County. A swarm of the bugs, also known as Canadian soldiers, large enough to appear like a large cloud on the National Weather Service Cleveland’s Doppler radar flew in last week. “It’s not unusual for our
Doppler radar to detect mayflies this time of year,” NWS meteorologist Keith Jaszka said. “It does seem to be at least once or twice this time of year that there will be a swarm large enough that they show up as weak radar echoes.” The appearance on the radar was no issue to the weather service, Jaszka said, as its meteorologists on the Great Lakes have a wealth of experience spotting those pesky blips and sorting them out from real
weather patterns. “We are well-versed in how they appear on doppler radar, as are our meteorologists at nearby stations including in Detroit,” he said. “We’ve never been confused by mayfly-related radar echoes … they look like relatively smooth blobs and look quite different from rain showers, for example.” It is not unusual for insects to appear on the radar between 1,000 and 4,000 feet, Jaszka said.
Jaszka said this is also very common, as the mayflies spawn predominantly in the shallower, warmer waters of western Lake Erie and come down to earth as they move to the southeast. Jaszka said as is the experience of just about anyone who grew up on the shores of Lake Erie, Lorain County is likely due for at least a couple more major swarms this summer.
Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.
NOACA acts on charging stations
Watchers were really hawk-eyed Crowd gathers to help fledgling caught in fence Owen MacMillan The Community Guide
When Lorain resident Jerry Fleming spotted a crowd gathered around a fledgling hawk huddled against a fence at Lakeview Park on Friday, he feared something was wrong and swooped into action. “I just pulled up and they were here, so I came over to see what was wrong with him,” Fleming said. “... I thought maybe he was caught in the fence and I just had gloves on me, so I went over to see if I could get him untangled. Fleming got a hold of the hawk, who let out a loud screech as he was apprehended. The group then began debating what to do next. Eventually, Janice Farrall, who BRUCE BISHOP / COMMUNITY GUIDE volunteers to rescue injured wildlife, This fledgling red shouldered hawk, found against the fence on the was brought in to take the bird to the baseball field in Lakeview Park, keeps an eye on his rescuers. Lake Erie Nature and Science Center “Stuck in the fence, we’ll check ply returned him to a tree in Lakevto be checked. his wings and make sure there’s no iew Park healthy and happy, although Farrall said the hawk was a fledgbreaks. If there’s any breaks (the perhaps a bit annoyed. ling, perhaps still learning how to science center) will do a wing wrap Whatever the hawk’s feelings on fly. She said that he appeared to be the encounter, Fleming said he was in fine shape, but that she would take or a leg wrap, I usually don’t do the rehab.” happy to help ensure the young bird him in just to be sure. At the Lake Erie Nature and Sciwas OK. “Everybody said he got stuck in “It’s cool to be that close to one, the fence so that’s my guess,” Farrall ence center, the young bird received said. a clean bill of health, so Farrall sim- for sure,” he said.
I-90 widening, bike maps for region also in the works The Community Guide
The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, or NOACA, board of directors has taken several actions that will affect Lorain County. The NOACA board approved Phase 2 of its electric vehicle, or EV, charging design and installation program to design and install EV charging stations in Lorain, Cuyahoga, Medina, Geauga and Lake counties at a cost of $18.75 million. NOACA’s Long Range Plan and Transportation Improvement Program, or TIP, also was amended to include four projects worth $250 million. One is the nearly $144 million Interstate 90 rehabilitation and repavement project, which involves the addition of another lane to
convert from four to six lanes from the Ohio Turnpike booth to the French Creek Bridge in Lorain County. The board also approved a contract with Tierra Plan worth $120,500 to develop a web-based application for NOACA’s bicycle maps in each of the five counties it serves. The maps currently are only available in hard copy or in PDF on the NOACA website. “The maps provide cyclists with the location of bike routes and facilities throughout the region and are unique in that they highlight the level of traffic stress that vehicular traffic imposes on cyclists along these routes. The maps also include information about amenities, such as points of interest along routes.
Taste of History Canteen Pub Crawl tonight in Amherst The Taste of History Canteen Pub Crawl is tonight from 7-10 p.m. in downtown Amherst. Alcohol will be allowed on the streets in designated areas. There will be military vehicles in the streets and reenactors in uniform and
period dress. For people coming to the Canteen Crawl, please help welcome and meet reenactors from multiple states who are making The Taste of History possible, while supporting local businesses. For reenactors who can
attend, please dress in your uniform or period civilian attire. Some businesses are even decorating their windows like last year to welcome everyone, as well as to celebrate our freedom. This is the official kick-
off for Military History Preservation Group and the Amherst Historical Society’s The Taste of History, Friday and Saturday, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., at Sandstone Village. For more information, see Page A7 or office@ amhersthistoricalsociety.
INSIDE THIS WEEK Amherst
Powers gets pollinator garden. A3
STEM grant
Nords give LCCC $5 million. A4
Spouse gets year
Husband-shooter sentenced. A5
SPORTS A6 • CROSSWORD A7 • SUDOKU A7 • KID SCOOP A8