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AMHERST NEWS-TIMES • OBERLIN NEWS-TRIBUNE • WELLINGTON ENTERPRISE Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022
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Volume 9, Issue 38
Libraries ‘It felt like an eternity’ brace for battles JASON HAWK EDITOR
Asking questions about books isn’t a problem. Trying to get them pulled from shelves — well, that’s another story, said Cheryl Grizzell, chief operating officer of the Lorain Public Library System. A nonfiction book titled “Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships and Being Human” has attracted attention in the last couple of weeks at the North Ridgeville Branch Library. The graphic novel is aimed at teens, and answers questions about puberty they might not feel comfortable posing to parents, Grizzell said. ““It’s going At least one person has to be a fight asked for and been given a form to challenge its if they try to place on the shelves, but challenge. that form had not been I believe returned as of Friday. “What people can be everything offended by is so subjecshould be for tive, and someone else might want that informaeverybody.” tion," Grizzell said. "We Janet Hollingsworth, have to keep it there for Herrick Memorial Library everybody.” Attempts to ban books at public and school libraries have been on the rise across the nation in the past year and a half. The American Library Association attributed the trend to conservative activism, and said titles with LGBTQ+ themes and sexual content are challenged the most. Earlier this month, the ALA put out a call to action, asking for people to show up at school and library board meetings to oppose censorship. The organization said it supports intellectual freedom and “a parent’s right to restrict reading materials for their own child but not for all.” The ALA is tracking news reports of book-banning efforts far and wide, including in Florida, New Hampshire, Texas and Wyoming. Staff at a Montana library resigned last month after finding several books in a return box, blasted by gunfire. A GOP congressional candidate in Virginia tried to criminalize libraries distributing LGBTQ+ books to LIBRARIES PAGE A2 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
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Photos by Jason Hawk | Amherst News-Times
With a police escort, Amherst firefighters haul a “wounded” person out of Nord Middle School on Monday morning. The effort was part of a mass shooter drill that involved a range of agencies from across Lorain County.
Amherst drill tests emergency response to fake school shooting JASON HAWK EDITOR
AMHERST — Kristen Kowalsick died immediately. The special education teacher was the first victim Monday morning when a blue Honda coupe “crashed” through the front door of Nord Middle School and a gunman jumped out, popping off shots in an elaborate drill. Roll-playing as a deceased student, Kowalsick lay in a puddle of fake blood at the entrance. Her job was to be found by police and medics as they looked for survivors.
Copyright 2022 Lorain County Printing & Publishing Company
A Honda "crashed" through the front doors of Nord Middle School. Police staged it there with soft but realisticlooking shards of glass as part of an active shooter training drill.
State report cards roll out star ratings JASON HAWK EDITOR
A five-star rating system has replaced the old A-to-F letter grades on this year’s Ohio school report cards, which were released last week by the Ohio Department of Education. Each year, it evaluates the performance of every district and school building
in the state based on how students fare on standardized tests. The Ohio Federation of Teachers, which represents some 20,000 members statewide, said this year’s report cards demonstrate what many teachers have already observed. “Our students need more support to fully bounce back from the pandemic and remote learning disrup-
tions in the last few years,” said President Melissa Cooper. In Lorain County, Avon Schools scored the highest, with a total of 24 stars across five categories. It earned five stars for student test score achievement, graduation rate, early literacy and “gap closing,” which shows how much students who are disadvantaged or had fallen behind
caught up. It received four stars for “progress,” or how well all students do in gaining ground. Lorain City Schools scored lowest, picking up just 11 stars across all categories. “The report card is a snapshot in time and ours shows better than expected progress in key measures,” REPORT CARDS PAGE A3
INSIDE THIS WEEK
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“From the time the car first came through to when the first officer came, it felt like an eternity,” she said. Nothing about the morning was real. Teachers, firefighters, medics and heavily-armed officers from law enforcement agencies across Lorain County all were briefed on what to expect — they all had roles to play and knew the script. “Places everybody, places,” Amherst police Lt. Dan Makruski announced at 9:11 a.m., and an eerie quiet settled in. A few minutes later, Ohio National Guardsman Michael Valentine drove the Honda up DRILL PAGE A4
Special
Oberlin
Wellington
Ohio food banks to get $50M in federal relief • A5
City Council, LCCC team up for workforce scholarships • A2
POW/MIA chair, turnstile are added at stadium • B1
CLASSIFIEDS A4 • BULLETIN BOARD A6 • PUZZLES B2 • SPORTS B3-B5 • KID SCOOP B6