Issuu

11 MONTH CD

11 MONTH 11 MONTH CDCD

8 MONTH CD

87 MONTH CD MONTH CD

CD CD 2.05 SPECIALS 2.05 SPECIALS

%% 4.35 APY APY 2.50% APY2.50 %

APY APY 4.20% APY %

Visit our locations or Visit oneone of ourof locations or THIS IS A LIMITED TIME Minimum amount THIS IS A LIMITED TIME OFFER. Minimum amount required to OFFER. open Certificate of Deposit account isrequired $250. In orderto open Certificate of Deposit account is $250. In order

Your Community Bank. Your Community Bank.

to obtain the disclosed Annual Percentage YieldThe a Annual minimum daily balance of $250.00 is required. The Annual to obtain the disclosed Annual Percentage Yield a minimum daily balance of $250.00 is required. www.fflorain.bank www.fflorain.bank Percentage Yield ispenalty accurate of October 18, 2022. A penalty may be imposed for early withdrawal. Percentage Yield is accurate as of October 18, 2022. A may be as imposed for early withdrawal. Februar y 28,2023.

440-282-6188 440-282-6188

Fees reduce earnings on without the account. Rates are subject to change without notice. Fees may reduce the earnings onmay the account. Ratesthe are subject to change notice.

COMMUNITY GUIDE

$1.25

LORAIN COUNTY

AMHERST NEWS-TIMES • OBERLIN NEWS-TRIBUNE • WELLINGTON ENTERPRISE Thursday, March 9, 2023

Submit items to news@LCnewspapers.com

Volume 10, Issue 10

Wellington backs L3 Harris radio system DAVE O’BRIEN THE CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM

Wellington Village Council recently passed a unanimous resolution calling for the Lorain County Board of Commissioners to reinstate a contract with Cleveland Communications Inc. for the L3 Harris emergency radio system. The 6-0 vote on the four-page resolution took place Feb. 20, Mayor Hans Schneider wrote in a Facebook post.

“This is a public safety issue that has been taken over by politicians putting the worst of politics before health and the safety of the citizens they serve,” he wrote. “The process that led to the decision to purchase the L3 Harris system was open, thoughtful, researched and honest.” The decision to go with CCI and the L3 Harris radio system was made Dec. 21 by Commissioners Michelle Hung and Matt Lundy. They voted 2-0 to enter into a contract with

CCI and spend nearly $8 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to provide the radios and associated technology to Lorain County sheriff’s deputies and Lorain County fire departments not already on the system. Commissioner David Moore was not present at that meeting. On Jan. 9, he and newly elected Commissioner Jeff Riddell voted 2-1 over Hung’s objection to rescind the contract, saying the bidding process won by CCI

and its L3 Harris radios was improper. Moore and Riddell have said they are restarting the bid process so it is fair to all parties. Riddell, who replaced Lundy at the beginning of the year, said it took the county two years to get through the bid process won by CCI, and asked for “a few months to do it right for the taxpayers.” Following that vote, Parma-based CCI sued the county and the Lorain County Deputies Associa-

tion filed a grievance with Lorain County Sheriff Phil Stammitti over health and safety concerns. The lawsuit is pending in Lorain County Common Pleas Court before visiting Judge Thomas Pokorny, a retired Cuyahoga County Common Pleas judge. The deputies’ grievance has not yet gone to arbitration, LCDA President Adam Shaw said. Moore said Thursday that he is “committed to fixing the radio infrastructure in Lorain County.”

“We have a team working on this issue as we speak,” he wrote in a text message. Riddell said Thursday he had not heard the news from Wellington, nor had he read the resolution, so he wasn’t able to comment on it. Because CCI has sued the county, “I can’t comment on what we would or wouldn’t do in response,” he said. Riddell said critics of the vote to rescind the contract “lack an understanding of RADIO PAGE A2

Ross Incineration gets 40 tons of East Palestine debris DAVE O’BRIEN THE CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM

Some 40 tons of debris and materials containing trace amounts of vinyl chloride are to be burned to ash by Ross Incineration Services on Giles Road in Eaton Township, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday. The Ohio EPA said that number was out of approximately 700 tons of solid waste removed from the site where a Norfolk Southern train derailed while carrying hazardous chemicals through East Palestine on Feb. 3. Approximately 1.8 million gallons of liquid wastewater also is being disposed of at facilities in Sandusky County and in Michigan and Texas, the Ohio EPA said. Trace amounts of vinyl chloride, a carcinogenic gas used in the manufacturing of plastics such as PVC pipe, are believed to be in the debris that Ross Incineration Services received, according to the Ohio EPA. Andy Sedlak, chief spokesperson for Ross Environmental Services, said March 1 the amount of chemicals expected in the materials is “very small trace amounts” — in parts per million, he said. All materials arriving at the company’s incinerator are subject to testing and verification before they are burned, Sedlak said. Sedlak said the company, which has headquarters in Elyria and has been in business since 1949, has been fielding many questions since it was named late Feb. 27 as one of the recipients of the East Palestine debris. EAST PALESTINE PAGE A3 Classifieds, legals, display advertising, and subscriptions Deadline: 1 p.m. each Monday Phone: 440-329-7000 Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday

U.S. Postal Service Use Only

News staff news@LCnewspapers.com Phone: 440-329-7122 Submit news to news@lcnewspapers.com Deadline: 10 a.m. Monday Send obituaries to obits@chroniclet.com

BRUCE BISHOP | The Chronicle-Telegram

Passing South Dewey Road, Amherst, a Norfolk Southern train hauls varied cargo including placard mounted tankers carrying Vinyl Chloride, Stabilized on March 1.

Amherst to bring derailment training to Lorain County CARISSA WOYTACH THE CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM

AMHERST — It’s been a month since a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine. But long before that, an effort to bring hazmat training to Lorain County was underway. Amherst Councilman Brian Dembinski, D-1st Ward, said he reached out to Norfolk Southern’s Operation Awareness and Response team last year, asking if the railway company had hazmat training for first responders. Norfolk Southern’s hazmat training train will be in Lorain County in September, Dembinski said — available for free training for first responders throughout Lorain County and the surrounding area. The railway’s training allows first

responders to practice on a rolling lab, simulating what would happen if a train carrying hazardous materials derailed in their area. Since 2019, the “safety train” has visited 23 communities across 14 states, according to Norfolk Southern’s website. Dembinski noted when Amherst had a derailment in December 2020, it was lucky all that train was carrying was grain. But the situation brought the need for training into focus — something the ongoing cleanup in East Palestine has brought to the forefront again. “Everyone is committed to this,” he said. During a news conference in East Palestine on March 1, Gov. Mike DeWine touched on the need for training echoed by East Palestine Fire Chief Keith Drabick. DeWine said he’s spoken to fire chiefs throughout the state, and all

have expressed interest in training for derailments. He said he spoke to the CEOs of Norfolk Southern and CSX and both companies expressed a “desire to work with us to dramatically increase that training.” Much of the state’s rail miles run through rural areas with volunteer fire departments — like those in East Palestine, DeWine said — making training a goal of his. “This affects not only East Palestine, but every community (a rail line) goes through,” he said. Jessica Fetter, director of the Lorain County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, said that the county is always planning for train derailments that involve hazardous materials. “Lorain County is highly industrialized and a lot of hazardous chemicals are present in both facilities as well as those that travel through as we are TRAINING PAGE A3

INSIDE THIS WEEK Amherst

Oberlin

Wellington

Amherst Steele student takes second at Rock Off ● A6

Eastwood Elementary could see second life as housing ● A5

Endurance Challenge teaches teamwork ● A4

OBITUARIES A2 • CLASSIFIEDS A4 • CROSSWORD A7 • SUDOKU A7 • KID SCOOP A8