AVON LAKE SOLDIER CRITICALLY INJURED

Photo Courtsey of NewsChannel 5

The father of Soldier Colin Smith, a 2005 graduate of Avon Lake, reported today that his son was injured while fighting in Iraq and is listed as brain dead on life support in Germany. It is still unkknown what happened, details are slowly coming in.

Grief counselors were on hand at Avon Lake High School to help the students and faculty who were dealing with the news. Students first thought that Smith had died so they began building a memorial but quickly took it down when they got the official word from the family.

Friends say that one Smith's goals was to be in the military and to serve his country, that is where he wanted to be.

ELYRIA HALLOWEEN PARADE

I'll assume he is a freshman at EHS
HOLY MOSES!

Elyria presented their 90th Halloween Parade featuring all the schools in the city, Elyria Fire, LifeCare Ambulance, Elyria Police, Lorain County Sheriff’s Department, The Book Mobile, EHS Marching Band, Dillon’s Deputies and oh yeah, Ronald McDonald. The announcer told the crowd that this is the one oldest Halloween Parades in the nation at 90 years.

To see more photos: CLICK HERE

BAD WEATHER / BAD CRASHES

Above: Two car crash at Rt. 82 & Rt. 252 in Columbia Station

Below: Single car roll over on Rt. 57 at the Black River Bridge
No injuries reported at either crash

Road conditions were bad due to the wintery weather that came through our area this morning causing serveral car crashes. Most were minor while some sent victims to area hospitals. This is a reminder for the upcoming winter season to slow down and keep an eye on the road.

APARTMENT FIRE UPDATE

This video provided to TMC NEWS by Gage Hume

TMC NEWS talked with Elyria Fire Assistant Chief Ron Brlas about yesterday’s fire on 4th Street.

TMC NEWS: What did you find when you pulled up on scene?

Chief Brlas: Upon arrival, we had the entire rear of the structure fully involved with fire. The fire was working its way from the rear porch towards the front of the building. Our Engine 1 crew made an initial attack with a 2 1/2" line from the exterior, then made an interior attack with a 1 3/4" line.

TMC NEWS: I understand there was something about this building that made fighting the fire tricky.

Chief Brlas: There was a center dividing wall that ran the length of the building that made fighting the fire difficult. Positioning crews was difficult due to this wall and the heavy heat and smoke conditions.

TMC NEWS: Everybody got out ok?

Chief Brlas: A crew searched the building to make sure all occupants were out. Three residents were found in a first floor apartment and were removed unharmed.

Brlas said that Elyria Fire received assistance from Lorain Fire at the scene while Avon Fire manned our station while we were involved with the fire.

The damage estimate for the fire is $200,000.

MILLER SENTENCED

Former City of Lorain Safety Service Director Craig Miller was in court today to be sentenced after being found guilty last month by a jury of Obstruction of Justice.

Miller’s Attorney’s Kevin Spellacy and Mark Stanton both read brief statements to Judge Christopher Rothgery asking him to show leniency to their client. Both spoke of Miller’s clean record and of his family life and service to the community.

The Prosecutor, Anthony Cillo, took “umbrage” with the letters that were sent in support of Miller by Officials who sent their letters on government letterhead. Cillo pointed out Mayor Craig Foltin’s, stating that not only did the Mayor use the city letterhead but he also misstated the facts and the law itself. “It’s not proper for another public official to try and use his influence and his letterhead, when the city lost money, to try and get this court to reinstitute a misdemeanor that was not even available.”

Miller spoke to the Judge and said that from the beginning he said the “buck stopped at his desk”. He said that when he met with the police and misstated the date that he spoke to the ethics commission he realized it and went back to them the very next day and told them about it. “Had I been more diligent with the lease to begin with none of this would have happened, I make no excuses. I owe the tax payers better, of the hundreds if not thousands of contracts that I have signed or approved over the last six years, I have done so with the best of my ability for the tax payers. I regret what has happened and I am sorry to the tax payers and I am deeply, deeply sorry to this Court."

Then it was time for Judge Christopher Rothgery to speak. “Much like in the Johnson case, everything that is before me, other than this offense, tells me that you have made every attempt to lead a law abiding life. I have determined that a non-prison sentence would not demean the conviction." Rothgery then sentenced Miller to 3 years probation with basic supervision. 40 hours of community service and he was ordered by the court to pay his fines and court costs.

It was after that that Rothgery dropped the bomb on the courtroom. Rothgery echoed the Prosecutors sentiments about the officials sending in support letters using government letterheads. "The last community control sanction I am going to impose will be 10 days in Lorain County Correctional Facility. Those will be served beginning this date sir. That is not necessarily for a question of specific deterrence, in other words I am not doing it because I think it will stop you from committing the offense in the future. I think, as indicated by your attorneys, your abject humiliation, the problems you’re going to have with employment in your chosen field in the future, those are all things that will remind you daily of the mistake you made. But it’s for others as well. Perhaps some of those others who wrote letters to this court, for them to reflect on what they say and what they do when they take those steps as public officials."

Miller was then led out of the courtroom by two Lorain County Sheriff Deputies as his family and supporters watched on.

ELYRIA APARTMENT BUILDING FIRE

Elyria Firefighters are battling a blaze at this hour in a two story, 4 unit building on 4th Street between Middle and West Ave. The fire has shut down traffic on Middle Ave. at 4th street and of course 4th Street between Middle and West. There are no reports of injuries at this time.

Stay tuned to TMC NEWS for more details on this breaking story.

To see more photos: CLICK HERE

OPEN LETTER FROM WOIO 19 NEWS

To: TMC NEWS

I want to apologize for the unintentional misuse of your photos from the recent Trench Rescue. The two photos used by 19 Action News were emailed to us by an emergency response team member who wishes to remain anonymous. This person says that they received the photos via an email that was sent out by TMC NEWS to a lot of emergency response employees. In any event, after viewing the TMC NEWS blog site, it is clear to me that these photos were taken by TMC NEWS. The photographer did call the station to alert 19 Action News that these were his photos and he did not want them used. The reporter and manager, both working on a deadline, did not follow through on this call until after the story had aired. In retrospect, it would have been better to hold the story until we could clear out any issues concerning the photos and their use. I have explained this to the photographer and I also wanted to publicly state my apology, here on the TMC NEWS blog.

Dan Salamone, News Director, 19 Action News

LORAIN FIRE SENDS WOMAN TO HOSPITAL

Lorain Fire Department responded to a house fire on West 2nd Street early this morning. When crews arrived they discovered smoke coming from the attic vent. The fire was contained to a second floor apartment in the Kitchen area of the multi-dwelling home. One of the tenants attempted to put the blaze out with a fire extinguisher but was unable so he left the building to wait for the fire department.

Fire officials believe the fire had been smoldering for hours before being noticed by the occupants. The cause of the fire was determined to be electrical. One of the occupants, Gloria Willingham, was taken by LifeCare Ambulance to Community Health Partners to be treated for smoke inhalation.

It was determined that the smoke detector had no working batteries. A fire official stated that had the detector had a working battery in it the fire would have been discovered much sooner. “This could have been a very tragic scene, it should serve as a reminder for people to check their detectors and make sure they have working batteries.”

NORTH RIDGEVILLE HOUSE FIRE

North Ridgeville Fire Department responded to a house fire on Timber Edge Drive, off Bagley Road this morning. When crews arrived they found a single level home with heavy smoke and the garage fully involved. Firefighters worked to knock down the fire with the assistance from North Olmsted Fire Department. Neighbors say when they came out of their house they saw huge flames shooting from the garage area. “I was shocked when I saw the fire then it seemed like only a couple minutes before the fire trucks started showing up. They put the fire out quicker then I thought they would be able to with as big as it was. I live right next door and at first I was worried that it would spread to my house by they got it out in time so we had no damage.”

No injuries were reported at the scene and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

To see all photos: CLICK HERE

ESCAPEE'S CRASH INTO TREE

Two 17 year old males who escaped from the Lorain County Detention home last night crashed into a tree on LaGrange Road near Myrtle this afternoon. The escapee’s were in a stolen black Ford F-150 when the Lorain County Sheriff’s Department spotted them on Rt. 301 heading north. The juveniles fled from the Sheriff and after about one mile they crashed head on into a tree. One of the two juveniles was ejected from the vehicle but landed on his feet. Carlisle Township Fire Department and LifeCare Paramedics treated and transported the two juveniles to Elyria Memorial Hospital where Metro LifeFlight was waiting to take them to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. Officials found items in the back of the truck that were taken in robberies early this morning.

Elyria Police and Elyria Fire secured an area at McKinley Elementary School on East River for a second helicopter to land while LifeCare transported the LifeFlight crew from the school to the ER to pick up the second victim.

To see more photos: CLICK HERE

A MESSAGE TO OUR READERS

Since the start of TMC NEWS our photos have always been made available to local Fire, Police and EMS, as well as the general public, by not locking the photos on our site or on our SmugMug account. This allowed people to download pictures for their own private use. Many local fire departments have been using our photos for training purposes and I know many people have downloaded pictures that they liked from our “In The Community” section. Unfortunately that all will end effective immediately due to the actions of WOIO Channel 19 News last week. For those of you who missed that one please read the "FOR THE RECORD" story on our main page.

To all local emergency agencies, if you see pictures that you feel could be used for training in your department please just contact me and we will make them available to you either through a disc or giving you a password that will allow you to download off of the SmugMug account.

Many of you have voiced your outrage at what WOIO did, some have called for a boycott and the publisher of the blog Word Of Mouth has been rallying his people to send emails to the news director and station manager at WOIO. I have tried to make contact with the news director last week, after being redirected by the station managers secretary, but have not heard back from him at this point. If you would like to voice your opinion on this matter to the news director at WOIO his email is dsalamone@woio.com.

ROLL OVER ON WEST ROAD

An early morning single car roll over crash sends 3 teenagers to the hospital, one by helicopter to Metro Health Medical Center with the other two going by ambulance to Allen Medical.

Wellington Fire District and Southern Lorain County Ambulance responded to the report of the crash on West Road. All victims were able to get themselves out of the car immediately after the crash. The driver, who lives not far from the crash site, was the one who called 9-1-1 from his cell phone; his next call was to his parents who arrived on scene a short time later.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

SHOOTING AT THE FLAMINGO

Police were called to the Flamingo Night Club on E. 28th Street in Lorain early this morning for a man down, possibly shot. When the police arrived they found patrons running out of the club onto E. 28th Street yelling that a man had been shot. When police went inside they found a man lying on his back, holding his stomach. The man, later identified by police as 23 year old Isaias Castro of Lorain, told police that he had been shot in the stomach but refused to say who shot him.

During the investigation police learned that Castro might have attempted to shoot someone else and accidentally shot himself. Police also learned that Castro had been involved in an earlier incident where he and a few other males had brandished a weapon at a patron at the Noise Night Club on W. 21st Street and damaged a vehicle before fleeing in a Black 2003 Ford F 150. The police located that truck next to the Flamingo and when they went to secure the vehicle they discovered a male exiting the truck. That man, later learned to be Freddie Sanchez, was stopped and detained. During a search of the vehicle police discovered a baggie of a white chunky substance where Sanchez had just exited (passenger side front seat). The item found was tested and by police and tested positive for crack cocaine. While police were patting down Sanchez they discovered that he had been shot in the right calf area. Sanchez refused to comment on his injury and was then taken to Community Health Partners for treatment.

LifeCare Ambulance paramedics treated Castro and transported him to Community Health Partners. Castro was LifeFlighted a short time later to Metro Health Medical Center in Cleveland for his wounds.

Police were told by one witness that they observed Castro “pushing his way into the dance area reaching down towards his waistband area.” The witness stated he heard a small “pop” a short time later then everyone started running for the exit.

Another witness told police that he observed Castro “walk from the dance floor area over to the pool tables, go down on his knees then lay down on the ground.”

HAPPY 100th EFD

The Elyria Fire Department celebrated their 100th anniversary today at their downtown station. Many of the retired firefighters made it for the celebration along with the 1938 ladder truck. The hours were spent reminiscing about the good old days and how much things have changed. Some of the retired firefighters were asked what their most memorable moments were from their time spent on the department. Although the memories varied from man to man, one memory was the same amongst all of the guys asked, the camaraderie. Time spent working and living together, a real brotherhood like no other.

To see all photos: CLICK HERE

TRAILER FIRE IN AMHERST

“I heard someone pounding on my trailer door yelling fire; I was scared that it was mine that was on fire. When I came out I saw that it was the trailer behind me and the flames were shooting up so high, I couldn’t believe it.”

Those are the words of a neighbor living behind the trailer that caught on fire at 239 Sands Ave. off North Ridge Road in Amherst late last night. The neighbor, who only wanted to identify herself as Sandy, said that the woman who pounded on her door and many others was a woman who had just come home from Cedar Point with her son. “I wish she had stayed around so I could have asked her name, I really appreciate the fact that she took the time to get out of her car and warn all of us.”

Neighbors say that the Amherst Fire department responded quickly and as one neighbor said, “with a lot of trucks and a lot of fireman”. Firefighters quickly got the blaze under control and worked to save the trailers next door. The Amherst Fire Department will be investigating the cause of the fire.

Sandy wanted to make sure that we pass on a message to the Good Samaritan, just in case she reads TMC NEWS. The message, Thank You!

ARMED ROBBERY AT ECONO LODGE

Elyria Police responded to the Econo Lodge on Griswold Road Friday night when a clerk from the motel called stating that a man with a gun was robbing them. The clerk hid in a back room until the Police arrived. The man, described as a black male, 6’ to 6’3”, wearing a grey hoodie with a purple scarf around his face, prescription glasses and dark blue jeans. The man reportedly used a black handgun during the robbery.

Elyria Police are investigating.

LIGAS INDICTED

The Lorain County Grand Jury handed down a 4 count indictment against former Elyria Police Officer Vincent Ligas. Ligas served as a patrolman for 4 years with the Elyria Police Department and was also the President of the Elyria Police Patrolman’s Association before resigning that post last month. It was in his capacity as the President of the Patrolman’s Association that the Ligas has been accused of theft. Ligas is accused of using the association’s credit card for his own person use to the tune of over $6,000.00.

The indictment
Count One – Theft, 2913.02 (A)(2)
The Jurors of the Grand Jury of the Stat of Ohio, within and for the body of the County aforesaid, on their oaths, IN THE NAME AND BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF OHIO, Do find and present, that the above named defendant, in the county of Lorain, unlawfully on or about April 1, 2006 through August 31, 2006, did with purpose to deprive the owner, Elyria Police Patrolman’s Association, of certain property, to wit: US Currency, knowingly obtained or exerted control over said property beyond the scope of the express or implied consent of the EPPA, or a person authorized to give consent, the value of said property being Five Thousand or more, in violation of section 2913.02(A)(2) of Ohio Revised Code, a Felony of the fourth Degree, contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided, against the peace and dignity of the State of Ohio.

Count Two – Theft, 2913.02 (A)(3)
The Jurors of the Grand Jury, being first duly sworn, further find and present, that the defendant, in the County of Lorain, unlawfully on or about April 1, 2006 through August 31, 2006, did, with purpose to deprive the owner, EPPA, of certain property, to wit: US Currency, knowingly obtained r exerted control over said property by deception, the value of said property being Five Thousand Dollars or more but less than One Hundred Thousand Dollars, in violation of section 2913.02(A)(3) of the Ohio Revised Code, a Felony of the Fourth Degree, contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the state of Ohio.


Count Three – Misuse Of A Credit Card, 2913.21 (B)(2)
The Jurors of the Grand Jury, being first duly sworn, further find and present, that the defendant, in the County of Lorain, unlawfully on or about April 1, 2006 through August 31, 2006, did, with purpose to defraud, did obtain property or services by the use of a credit card, in one or more transactions, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that such card was expired or been revoked, or was obtained, was retained, or was being used in violation of the law, in which the cumulative retail value of said property or services was Five Thousand Dollars or more but less than One Hundred Thousand Dollars, in violation of section 2913.21(B)(2) of the Ohio Revised Code, a Felony of the Fourth Degree, contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the state of Ohio.

Count Four – Theft In Office, 2921.41 (A)(1)
The Jurors of the Grand Jury, being first duly sworn, further find and present, that the defendant, in the County of Lorain, unlawfully on or about April 1, 2006 through August 31, 2006, being a public official or party official, did commit a theft offense, as defined in division (K) of Section 2913.01 of the Revised Code, when the defendant used his office in aid of committing the offense or permitted or assented to its use in aid of committing the offense, in violation of Section 2921.41 (A)(1) of the Ohio Revised Code in which the value of property or services stolen was Five Thousand Dollars or more but less than One Hundred Thousand Dollars, in violation of section 2913.21(B)(2) of the Ohio Revised Code, a Felony of the Fourth Degree, contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the state of Ohio.

If convicted Ligas faces a maximum 5 years in prision for the theft in office and the theft and misuse of a credit card each carries a maximum of 18 months in prision. Ligas is now free after posting a $10,000.00 personal bond.

SIX ESCAPE HOUSE FIRE

To see all photos: CLICK HERE




Officials say that six people were able to escape a house fire early this morning on Parsons Road in LaGrange Township. Firefighters responded to the report of a house fire around 1:30am and when they arrived they found flames shooting out of the east side of the home.

“When we arrived we found a two level, single dwelling with fire coming off the side of the home. There were six people in the house sleeping when the fire started but they smelled the smoke and they were able to get everybody up and out of the house to safety.” Chief Rader, LaGrange Township Fire & Rescue

Carlisle Township and Grafton Township fire departments assisted LaGrange in fighting the fire. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

FOR THE RECORD

Last night a story aired on WOIO 19 News during their 6pm newscast about the trench rescue in Eaton Township. I learned around 3:30pm that WOIO was working on the story and that they were going to be using photos that I had taken at the rescue. When I discovered that the story they were working on was that they believed a fight between the Metro LifeFlight crew and the Firefighters at the scene took place. I contacted WOIO immediately and spoke both with the managing editor and the reporter preparing the story. I was told that the photo was sent to them through an email therefore they could not determine the ownership of the photo so they were going to run with it. I advised them that all they had to do was view my website to confirm ownership. I advised both the managing editor and the reporter that I was NOT granting permission for them to use any of my photos for their story. Both dismissed me and they ran the story and the photos anyway.

A couple of points:
1. Metro LifeFlight advised WOIO that there was not a fight at the scene.
2. Officials in Lorain County advised WOIO that there was no fight between the Metro LifeFlight crew and fire officials.
3. I advised both the managing editor and reporter that I was right there shooting pictures and did not see a fight between the LifeFlight crew and fire officials.


WOIO chose to use time in their 6pm newscast to tell a story about the trench rescue. The story was not how a hundred plus men and women came together one morning and worked together to save one mans life, a man who has a wife and small children. Egos were set aside that morning, territories were not a topic, all the professionals worked in concert and brought Buddy Burton out of that hole alive. That is what the airtime should have been used for, not for an accusation that was received through an email by a person would not even go on camera for the piece.

DOG GONE IT

A puppy made his way into the Emergency Room waiting room area today through a set of automatic doors. Hospital security was able to hold the puppy in a side room until Elyria Police arrived. Police took the pup into custody and transported him to the dog pound. The dog was remaining tight lipped as to why he was inside the ER.

TMC NEWS: FIRST 100 DAYS

100 Days, 20,000 hits

Today marks the 100th day of TMC NEWS being online. I wanted to take this chance to thank all of the people who check this site every day, even those of you who just check in from time to time, it’s appreciated. One of the questions I get the most is, what is this TMC NEWS thing all about? Well, I’ll tell you. Most of you remember the idiot who robbed the bank in Lorain years ago then led the police on a chase throughout the county. The chase happened to end up across from my Studio in downtown Elyria when Cheney, who couldn’t make the turn onto Broad from Middle, drove into a parked car, pushing a woman into a store front window. Being the seasoned news veteran that I was at the time, I was able to capture it all on video. That video was seen on every local station as well as across the world on CNN & FOX NEWS. The video is still shown today on many video clip shows. Shortly after that crash I signed a contract with NewsChannel 5 to provide them with stories in the Lorain County area. That relationship lasted several years up until the news director, Jim LeMay, was promoted and shipped out of town. The new administration was not a fan of outside bureaus so our contract was not renewed. There I was, left out on the street. Well, not really on the street, but not chasing news anymore.

Since then I have missed shooting news. In July I happened to be close to a house fire call in Sheffield Township so I stopped by and snapped a few pictures. I was first going to post them on my personal blog, but then I decided to create a news blog for it. A couple days later I posted the news of my friend’s child being born. I emailed the link to some friends to force them to look at the pics and read the stories and well, the rest they say is history.

Since then the site has grown to be much bigger then I had imagined it would be. There have been 155 stories posted, not all have been huge news stories. I did cover that tree down on Glenwood and Columbus St. and I still hear about that one from a certain TMC NEWS fan. TMC NEWS is just online to allow people another source of newsgathering. I still read the Chronicle Telegram everyday, I still watch NewsChannel 5 every night. I catch hell for this but I even read the Austin Statesman everyday as well. TMC NEWS cannot be at every breaking news stories; I try, but can’t get to them all. The hope is, that the stories that are presented on TMC NEWS are presented fairly and in a unique way .

The Future of TMC NEWS
Not much will change on TMC NEWS. People seem to like the layout of the site so that will not change much. We expect to be making an announcement before the end of the year, some very exciting news. Since my first love in shooting video and since we have been developing relationships with some Cleveland TV stations TMC NEWS will be adding video cameras to our equipment list. You will still see still pictures and plenty of them along with the stories we bring you. The addition of the video is just to make TMC NEWS a stronger news source in our area. One other change that you will see in the near future will of course be an ad banner. I PROMISE you all that there will never be pop-ups and for those of you that are on our email list your emails will never be shared with anyone. One of the compliments that I get on the site is how clean and simple it is, that will not change either. I like the clean look and I love simple.

Chatter Boxes
The comments section has been a favorite of a lot of people. Some like to leave comments, most like to just read them. Since July we have seen many that are funny (Jason & Haasenfoose), some that are infuriating, others have been enlightening and there have been a few that tug at the heartstrings. In the future I hope to have a site where you have to post your name and city in order to post a comment. The ability to comment anonymously has brought out the nasty side of some people. I am not trying to censor anyone; if you want to voice your opinion that many other people may disagree with I have no problem with that as long as you post your name as well.

Who are you people?
As I said with the comments section, we hear from a lot of you through that section. I also receive emails from people asking questions or just commenting on the site. I recently received an unexpected email from WKYC anchorman Tim White complimenting the site and offering words of encouragement. The email was very kind and greatly appreciated. When we had the “email drive” back a couple months ago I learned that we have readers from not only outside of the Lorain County area, but outside the state. TMC NEWS has readers in Texas, Tennessee, Florida, North Carolina and California. We did not reach the goal of adding 1,000 emails to the list but we did add more then I thought we would. I suppose this is where I ask you; did you all send out mass emails to family and friends telling them to get signed up for the TMC NEWS EMAIL ALERTS? No, well get off your butts and get it done. If Mike Polutnik can do it anyone can. For those of you that we have not heard from feel free to drop us a line. You can email at tmcnews1@aol.com or leave a comment here attached to this posting.
I look forward to hearing where everybody is located; lets add some news states to the list. There must be some Elyria folks in Las Vegas. There is one other person who is a supporter of TMC NEWS that I want to thank. I call her my “copy editor”. She will email me after reading the posts and tell me what words I misspelled. I have told her that when I open my mailbox and see an email from her I start getting nervous wondering what word I messed up.

Well, that’s it now you can get back to work. Thanks again for reading and I hope you keep checking back to see what we have found, “In Our Community”.

EARTHQUAKE HITS HAWAII

BREAKING NEWS
An Earthquake registering 6.6 hit Hawaii at 7:07am this morning. At this point there are no reported injuries or deaths.

A Disaster Declaration has been signed by Hawaiian Governor Linda Lingle for the entire state. The Hawaii National Guard has stated that they are ready to go if needed.

Electric is out island wide and many major roads are closed due to damage. Airports are operating on generator power at this time and remain open loading people on planes by portable staircases. Some flights have been canceled but in most cases flights are still departing and arriving at airports in Hawaii.

Reports of structural damage at the Kona Hospital is sending patients to their sister hospital in Hilo about 30 minutes west of their location.

The Earthquake hit approximately 157 miles south of Honolulu near the area of Kona.

Officials at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that this quake was too small to trigger a Tsunami but large enough for them to give a “heads up warning” to all islands while they investigated. Officials stated that it only took them a couple minutes to determine and to advise the islands that NO Tsunami was expected.

TMC NEWS OP-ED: BROWN v DEWINE

How do you choose one candidate over the other? Do you decide by watching their TV ads? God, I hope not. Do you decide by reading their literature that they send to your home, or does that get pitched out in the trash like the mailers for Arby’s? Do they even send literature anymore? Do you look at their websites? Do you get information from the Bill O’Reilly “No Spin Zone”? I recently attended two rallies in Ely Square in downtown Elyria for the democrats. Just for the record, had the republicans held a rally in Ely Square, while I was awake, I would have attended theirs as well. I wanted to hear what they had to say; I was waiting to hear their ideas. Well, politician after politician stepped up to the microphone and basically didn’t say a lot. I did hear “It’s Time For A Change” about a zillion times in various fashions. I suppose the rallies were more to “rally the troops”. Get their base off their butts, get them excited and make sure they go vote and get their families and friends to vote, more so then to inform and win over undecided voters.

To see the full OP-ED piece visit our OP-ED section. We then encourage you to post a comment or if you would like to write an opposing piece we welcome that as well.

FATAL HOUSE FIRE

BREAKING NEWS

Metro LifeFlight on the ground
Chief Ray Anthony speaks with media

A house fire in Columbia Station turns fatal when a trapped occupant is unable to get out in time. Columbia Township Fire Department Chief Ray Anthony said they received a call of a house fire with a person trapped on Landing Lane around 2pm this afternoon. “When we arrived we found a two story residential wood framed house with a lot of smoke coming out. We got in and ventilated through the back, flames started coming out the back and then we got it knocked down and then we found the person in the back part of the house. The most extensive damage was to the C side, which is the back side of the home.”

When the Columbia Township Fire Department was dispatched to the fire and was told that a person was trapped inside they immediately had Lorain County 9-1-1 dispatch Metro LifeFlight to the scene. A landing zone was set up directly across the street in an empty lot where the helicopter touched down about 20 minutes after the call.

Chief Anthony said that he has called in a county wide investigating team and the Fire Marshall to investigate to determine the cause of the blaze. Columbia Township, Eaton Township and Liverpool Township all worked together to fight the blaze. The name of the victim is not being released at this time pending notification of family.

To see all photos: CLICK HERE

EMS GRADUATION

LifeCare Training Academy EMT-B Grads

The LifeCare Training Academy graduated their latest Emergency Medical Technician - Basic class tonight. For pictures and details check out our "In The Community" section.

EARLY MORNING HOUSE FIRE

Tremayne Howard was on his way home to Wellington after work this morning when he spotted a house on Oberlin Road near Parsons engulfed in flames. Tremayne started blowing his car horn pulling into the neighbor’s driveway to warn them of the blaze next door. The people who he warned wanted to thank Tremayne saying that they are not sure what would have happened had he not spotted the fire and chose to alert them.

The home was vacant at the time of the fire. The owner has had the house up for sale for a couple weeks. Neighbors say that he has been doing a lot of remodeling getting it ready to sell.

Oberlin Fire Department with mutual aid from Carlisle Township, Wellington Fire District and South Amherst fought the blaze. No injuries were reported at the time of this posting.

TRENCH COLLAPSE IN EATON

BREAKING NEWS

To see all photos: CLICK HERE

A 28 year old man was buried in mud and water this morning on Rt. 57 south of Capel Rd in Eaton Township. The call to Eaton Township Fire Department came in around 10am of a trench collapse and man trapped in a hole, covered in dirt. Eaton Fire immediately dispatched Metro LifeFlight and requested mutual aid from Grafton Fire Department and other surrounding communities.

Joe Arthur, EMS coordinator for Eaton Township Fire Department said that when first responders arrived scene they found the man buried up to his head and having difficult time breathing. They were able to uncover him down to about his waist and maintained an airway the entire time. At that time he was buried too deep for the local resources so we had to call in multiple resources from other communities. Rescuers had to secure the hole before the rescue could continue. Arthur stated that without the resources from the special rescue teams from Lorain County and Cuyahoga County the man may not have made it. “They did an excellent job.”
When asked how the rescue went Arthur explained that the first thing they did was shore up the walls to make the area safe for the rescuers to go down in the hole. There is about 6 foot of dirt above your head, if that comes down then you have rescue workers trapped too.

The man trapped is a 28 year old male has been identified as Ross "Buddy" Barton from the southern Ohio area. The man was working for a company that was contracted to do the work on the water lines.

With more then 100 rescuers and after more then 2 hours of being buried in the hole, the man was freed and taken to an ambulance where the Metro LifeFlight Doctor was able to stabilize him for the helicopter ride to Cleveland.

Here are some of the responders that assisted with the rescue:
Eaton Township Fire & Rescue
Grafton Township Fire
Elyria Fire Department
Avon Fire Department
Oberlin Fire Department
LifeCare Ambulance
Lorain County Emergency Management Agency
Lorain County Sheriff’s Department
Lorain County Technical Rescue Response Team
Metro LifeFlight
Cuyahoga Regional Strike Team
Southwest Emergency Response Team
Grafton Police Department

CHASE ENDS UP IN WOODS

A chase going through the streets of Elyria started after a 41 year old male from Cleveland lifted a stack of leather jackets from the Dillard’s store at Midway Mall. The chase ended when the man drove his pick up truck into the woods behind a machine shop on Taylor Street in North Ridgeville. Lorain County Sheriff’s office dispatched a K-9 unit to assist in tracking the suspect. The suspect was spotted near the Ridgeville Shopping Center on Center Ridge Road a short time later, police and the K-9 unit searched the stores but did not find him. The next morning the police received a call that sent them into the men’s room at A&C Tire on Center Ridge Road where they found the suspect.

The man, Joe Rose, has been charged with Robbery, Receiving Stolen Goods and fleeing. The leather jackets were recovered from the truck Rose was driving. Rose was recently released from prison after being convicted on similar charges.

THIRD CRASH FOR LIFECARE

If you are superstitious and believe bad things come in threes, then that means LifeCare should be accident free now for a while. Crash number three occurred Tuesday afternoon on Gulf Rd near Elyria Catholic High School when a car rear-ended a LifeCare Ambulance returning to its station. The crewmembers and the occupants of the car that struck them were all ok at the scene requiring no medical assistance.

Elyria Police are investigating the crash.

REMINDER: This Friday is the "13th" so watch out for the black cats and all that other nonsense.

YANKEE PITCHER REPORTED KILLED IN NY PLANE CRASH

Picture of Cory Lidle checking out his plane several months ago

The plane that flew into the 50 story residential building on E. 72nd Street in NYC was owned and flown today by NY Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle.

FBI reports that Lidle was the only person on the plane at the time of the crash and that Lidle did not survive. In total 2 people have been reported killed and sixteen people have been admitted to area hospitals with injuries sustained from the crash. Eleven of the sixteen injured are NY Firefighters, injuries are not known at this time. Witnesses state that the plane was flying “erratically” before crashing into the building.

NORAD Commander Timothy Keating reports that fighter planes were dispatched immediately over numerous cities in the US and Canada, just as a “precaution”. The fighter planes are still in the air and will be until Commander Keating and the Secretary of Defense determine that all is clear.

FBI states “No indication of terrorism”.

SMALL PLANE CRASHES INTO NYC BUILDING

The FAA is reporting that a multi engine small airplane has crashed into a 20 story residential building on E. 72nd Street in New York City just moments ago. Flames can be seen shooting from the apartment building windows during LIVE coverage on CNN & FOX NEWS.

TOPS TO CHANGE HANDS IN 2007

Well, I don't know about "never stops"

Get the scissors ready to start cutting up your Tops Bonus Cards, after January they will be useless at 18 of the nearly 50 locations in the northeast area. Giant Eagle is buying up their competitor’s stores and plan to announce even more as soon as agreements are completed. Union officials are working closely with Tops & Giant Eagle in an effort to protect as many full and part time jobs in the area.

The Tops store on Cleveland Street in Elyria is one of the 18 that has been purchased already and will be taken over in January 2007. Other cities affected are, Medina, Norwalk, Fairview Park, Fairview, Fairlawn, Parma, Bedford and several in Cleveland.

RT. 301 ROLL OVER CRASHES

To see all photos from this crash: CLICK HERE




A deer crossing Rt. 301 near Parsons early this morning was the cause of a single vehicle roll over crash. Carlisle Township Fire Department and LifeCare Ambulance responded around 6am to Rt. 301 and Parsons for a truck on its roof. Chief Russ Gardner of the Carlisle Township Fire Department said the driver was thrown from the vehicle approximately 50 feet after striking the deer. The Fire Department had arranged for Metro LifeFlight to land at the scene but due to a long ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) LifeCare Ambulance transported the victim to Elyria Memorial Hospital. Metro LifeFlight later transported the victim from EMH to Cleveland.

Gardner told TMC NEWS that they also responded to Rt. 301 near Slife Rd. approximately 5 hours later for another single car roll over in a ditch. A 16 year old female was northbound on 301 and lost control of her vehicle ending up in the ditch. Central Lorain County Ambulance District transported the female to Allen Medical Center in Oberlin for treatment.

Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating both crashes.

ANOTHER AMBULANCE STRUCK

A LifeCare Ambulance was struck Monday afternoon at the intersection of E. 28th Street and Denver Ave. This is the second LifeCare Ambulance that was struck within 15 hours of each other. Early this morning, around 12:30am, an ambulance was struck on W 21st Street and Washington Ave when Angela Cisneros ran a flashing red light in her rented Chrysler 300M.

TMC NEWS has learned today that the Cisneros, after admitting to the Lorain Police Officer that she had had “several beers”, refused a field sobriety test and then later refused to allow staff at Community Health Partners to draw blood to determine her blood alcohol level.
Cisneros, because of her admission of drinking “several beer”, the officer noting her balance was unsteady and that her speech was somewhat slurred, was charged with DUI.

Then today around 5pm another LifeCare Ambulance, while returning to their station, was struck by a vehicle on E 28th St near Denver Ave. Both crewmembers were reportedly ok and the driver of the other vehicle was transported to Community Health Partners with injuries that did not appear to be serious.

When contacted by TMC NEWS about having two Ambulances involved in traffic crashes within 15 hours of each other, Herb de la Porte, Vice President of LifeCare said, “LifeCare Ambulance Inc operates around 40 vehicles within Lorain County. With over a million miles of combined travel each year in mostly urban settings, accidents will happen. Our goal is to continually find ways through review and training to maximize the vehicle’s visibility and minimize the damage when there is a collision”.

We wanted to know, with having so many vehicles on the road 24 hours a day 7 days a week, how do you reach that goal. de la Porte said there are 5 main points to achieving that goal and shared them with us. We wanted to share them with you, feeling it was important for the public to see especially in light of the two crashes within 15 hours of each other.

Driving Credentials: Although the state law allows anyone with a driver’s license to drive and ambulance, the professionals driving for LifeCare Ambulance have to comply with much stricter requirements. Anyone with more than 4 points on their license is automatically excluded from driving any LifeCare vehicle and everyone has to follow a defensive driving course with annual recurrent training, including an obstacle course. Failure to pass also means an automatic exclusion.

Safer ambulances: Last year we shifted to a different type of ambulance where the portable lifesaving equipment in the rear compartment is securely stored and there is less of a chance of it becoming a projectile in case of a collision. The vehicle’s rounded corners may also help absorb impacts better than the traditional square boxes, while keeping the occupants better protected inside.

Seat belts: Seat belt use on attendants and patients is mandatory and penalties are high if they are not worn. The only time seatbelts do not have to be worn is when the paramedics are working on a patient in the back. To minimize the risk of a collision at that time, you may have noticed that, although an ambulance will almost always respond to an emergency with lights and sirens, they will only go to the hospital that way if the patient is truly critically ill or injured.

Increased visibility: In our newest vehicles, the traditional painted red stripe has been replaced by highly reflective red and blue tape that increases the visibility of the unit dramatically.

Cameras: Since 2001, the vast majority of LifeCare vehicles have had a Drive Cam (www.drivecam.com) device mounted in the vicinity of the rearview mirror. This device records everything that happens in front of the vehicle as well as the driver’s compartment but only puts video in memory if the vehicle has a sudden change in speed or direction like in hard braking, cornering or a crash. A supervisor can download a period from 10 seconds before the event to 10 seconds after onto a laptop and review it. In both these crashes, the footage was downloaded and shared with the police department. In both cases, they not only represent an impartial view of what exactly happened in the seconds leading up to and following the crash, but also graphically show the trauma that our four EMT’s endured simply because someone failed to pay attention to a traffic light.

It should be noted that in both cases LifeCare was found “not at fault” by the police and the video from the Drive Cam’s, that de la Porte spoke of, support those findings.

BOMB THREAT ON PLANE

A Continental Express Jet carrying 17 passengers and crew members from Cincinnati to Newark, was diverted to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport after a passenger claimed to have a bomb on board.

The plane landed at Hopkins at 9:02pm and was positioned on Pad 4, which is near the IX Center. Police set up a 1,000 feet parameter and after making contact with the airplane The Cleveland Bomb Squad and SWAT team members boarded the plane with a portable stairway and took the passenger into custody without incident. The other passengers were then removed from the plane, isolated and then briefed by officials.

The passenger’s name that made the threat was not released but Lt. Thomas Stacho of the Cleveland Police Department states that the passenger does not face any local charges rather the charges, if any, would all be federal.

ROLL OVER ON LEO BULLOCKS PKWY

A single car “roll over” crash on the new Leo Bullocks Parkway near the bike trail this afternoon sends one victim to Cleveland Metro by helicopter. The car went off the road and into the woods near the Gateway Industrial Park where Elyria Firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to extricate the victim. LifeCare Ambulance Paramedics provided patient care and prepared the victim for the LifeFlight crew who landed at the scene of the crash.

Elyria Police are investigating the crash.

CAR CRASHES INTO AMBULANCE

A LifeCare Ambulance returning to their base from Community Health Partners was hit by a car at W 21st St & Washington Ave. in Lorain late last night.

“Our squad, LifeCare Unit 330, was traveling eastbound on W. 21st St. around midnight when they were struck by a vehicle that pulled out in front of them from Washington Ave. (The traffic light at the intersection was flashing yellow for east and westbound traffic on W. 21st St. and red for north and southbound traffic on Washington Ave.) The car, traveling south on Washington Ave. struck the ambulance and together the two vehicles hit a truck causing minor damage to the truck. The driver of the truck was following one of our other ambulances transporting a relative to Community Health Partners. That gentleman was not injured and signed off at the scene. The woman who pulled out in front of the ambulance also signed off at the scene stating that she was not injured. The two paramedics were both taken to Community Health Partners for injuries that they received in the crash. We expect both to be released tonight.

Herb de la Porte, Vice President of LifeCare Ambulance.

Lorain Police is investigating the crash. To see more photos: CLICK HERE