TMC NEWS: 5 QUICK CLICKS

Mom trades her baby for a used car

Man tried to cash $50,000.00 check from God

Teen girls knock off bank

Politicians and their gas guzzling jets

Planning a WEDDING?

PROGRAMMING NOTE

Tonight NewsChannel 5’s Chief Investigator Duane Pohlman reports on the popular internet site, MySpace.com and how registered sex offenders use the site to meet children.

Tune in tonight at 11 to watch the investigative report every parent must see.

FLOOD WATCH ISSUED

The National Weather Service has issued a FLOOD WATCH from Thursday through Friday morning for portions of North Central Ohio, including Lorain County.

Rain showers will spread into the area early Thursday and continue heavy at times through Thursday night before tapering off Friday. Rainfall amounts across the area are expected to range from 1 to 2 inches. In addition warmer weather air will accompany the rain resulting in melting snow. The combination of the rainfall and melting snow could result in flooding. Flooding is possible in low-lying areas and along rivers and streams.

The threat of flooding will be heightened further along rivers susceptible to ice jams. The onset of flooding due to ice jams can occur quickly as the flow of water stops abruptly behind the ice. People near rivers and large streams should monitor levels frequently.

A flood watch means there is a potential for flooding based on current forecasts. You should monitor later forecasts and be ALERT for possible flood warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding occur.

TMC NEWS will send out an EMAIL ALERT if the flood watch is upgraded to a FLOOD WARNING. If you have not yet signed up for our EMAIL ALERTS you can do so now by just emailing your request to tmcnews1@aol.com

ADMIRAL KING EVACUATED

Admiral King High School in Lorain evacuated their students and faculty this morning after a bomb threat was found written on a bathroom wall in the school. Lorain Police did a search of the building and cleared it for the students to return to the building a short time later.

Lorain Fire Department received a fire alarm at the school while they were responding so they made their response, a full response. It was later learned that a faculty member, to help evacuate the students, activated the fire alarm.

The Lorain Board of Education has offered a $1,000.00 reward for the arrest of the person responsible for the bomb threats made on their school buildings.

RESCUE IN PUT IN BAY

UPDATED
A search and rescue mission concluded tonight in Put-In-Bay after two Cleveland area men fell through the ice on Lake Erie after a night of ice fishing. Donald and Ronald Mickey fell through the ice sometime before 9pm between Green Island and South Bass Island.

Donald Mickey was able to get out of the water on his own, on South Bass Island and when he couldn’t find his brother he went to get help. He ended up breaking a window at a Rangers office where he was looking for a phone to call for help. A resident of the Island saw this and assisted him in contacting the authorities. Put-In-Bay Police Lt. Travis Campbell told TMC NEWS that they received the call for help at 9:10pm. “We received the call of 1, possibly two men in the water. When Put-In-Bay EMS got to Donald Mickey they found him to be hypothermic and he had some lacerations from breaking the window but otherwise he was ok.”

Lt. Campbell said that the rescue consisted of Divers from the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, Put-In-Bay Police and Fire Departments, U.S. Coast Guard stations in Marblehead and Detroit and Toledo Life Flight. “There was also an Island resident who assisted rescuers by bringing his air-boat out to take the firefighters and divers out to Mr. Mickey.”

Rescuers reached Ronald Mickey at about 10:30, he was holding onto the ice keeping his head and shoulders above the water. Mickey had apparently been able to get out of the water at one point but fell back in. Rescuers reached him at about 10:30. Lt. Campbell said that Mickey had no feeling in his lower extremities but was able to communicate with rescuers.

Donald Mickey remains in fair condition at the University Medical Center of Toledo while his brother’s condition has not been released. Both were flown to the hospital by helicopters after the rescue.

YOU WRITE THE CAPTION

A couple of our faithful readers saw this sign at the KFC in Elyria on Cleveland Street and called our Tip Line. The Tip Line is usually set up for Breaking News or tips on investigative pieces but we’ll take what we can get at this point.

We welcome your ideas for a caption, just drop them in the comments section.

WOMAN JUMPS FROM BURNING HOME WITH BABY

Elyria Fire Department responded to the 200 block of Parmely early this morning after receiving a call from a woman who said her house was on fire and that she had to jump from a window with her infant child.

Elyria Fire Department Captain Joe Pronesti said when Firefighters arrived on scene they had light smoke showing. “We got here we had light smoke showing and then when Engine 3 started to stretch a line they had a problem with their pumper, that put the pumper out of service so that kind of put us in a little bit of a pickle. Engine 2 came down and laid a supply and took over pump operations.”

Pronesti said that the fire, which started in the kitchen, rendered the house inhabitable so the Red Cross has been called in to assist the family. An early estimate puts the damage at $25,000.00.

LifeCare Paramedics were on scene to treat the woman and her child then released them to the care of friends. The woman’s husband was on his way to Cleveland when he got word of the fire. “This was suppose to be my day off, I don’t think I will get much relaxing done today now. I am just very relieved that my family is ok though.”

To view all photos:CLICK HERE

TMC NEWS: 5 QUICK CLICKS

Warrants issued for blood tests in DWI cases

Teacher takes iPod away from student, student breaks teacher’s neck

Supreme Court may put a stop to Police pursuits

School districts move to uniforms

Aww, RATS!

MAN FIRES WARNING SHOT

Elyria Police responded to a residence on East River just south of University Saturday night after a resident reported hearing shots fired. While Officers were on their way Jeffrey Rudnitskas called saying that he had arrived home and found an intruder in his residence. He stated that he chased the intruder out the rear of the residence and fired a warning shot into the ground with his 12-gauge shotgun.

When Officers arrived they found Rudnitskas standing in the driveway with the shotgun in his hand. Officers ordered him to place the weapon on the ground, which he did. Rudnitskas gave Officers the following account of what happened. He and his fiancée arrived home and observed that the dining room lights were on and he was sure that they had been turned off when they left. Having had break-ins in the past he thought that someone was in his home. Rudnitskas had his fiancée and infant child remain in the car while he and his dog entered the home. He snuck to his bedroom and got his shotgun and searched the house. When he got to the attached garage he said he found a male going through his toolbox. The intruder then ran out of the back door and continued eastbound toward Michigan Ave. Rudnitskas stated he chased the suspect to the foot of his porch where he (Rudnitskas) fired a warning shot into the ground. He then went back inside and phoned the Police.

Rudnitskas described the intruder as a white male wearing all black and carrying a 9mm handgun.

Elyria Police Officer Rick Walker and his K-9 arrived a short time later to begin tracking the suspect. Officers did not observe any fresh footprints; the snow was perfectly in tact with no signs of any disturbance in the area. The K-9 was not alerting to anything either.

Jeffrey Rudnitskas

Officers returned to Rudnitskas and advised him that the lack of evidence did not support his version of the incident. Moments later Rudnitskas finally admitted that there was no intruder. He stated that after arriving home and finding the light on doing a search of the home and not finding anyone, he went onto the back porch and fired a single shot into the ground to scare off any “potential intruder”. He said after firing the shot he called the Police and made up the story of the armed intruder.

Rudnitskas was charged with Inducing Panic M-1, Discharging a Firearm M-4 and Falsification M-1. Officers removed the shotgun and one other rifle from the home as evidence along with the spent shotgun shell.

JUST A LITTLE OFF THE TOP

And All For A Good Cause!

Last November Sue Scarbrough discovered a lump on her breast while taking a shower. On December 14th she learned that it was Cancer. Scarbrough and her husband, Russ, told their family, as most people in their situation would do. The Scarbrough’s however had an extended family to tell as well. You see Russ and Sue are both members of the Elyria Township Fire Department. Russ has been with the Fire Department, on and off, for about 20 years. Sue joined the Department a little over three years ago. “I went to EMT school so I could learn some of the lingo and get an idea what they are doing out there”. When Sue received her certification as an EMT she took it to the station to show her husband and she was given a pager and placed on the roster. Since then she has one of the highest yearly on scene percentage rates of anyone on the department, going to an average of 85 to 90% of calls each year. Her husband says that if Sue doesn’t show up on a call people call the house making sure she is ok.

When the news spread through the Department about the Breast Cancer the other members weren’t sure what to say or do. Russ compared it to the time when Sue had part of her finger cut off at a call about a year ago. “You always feel like you can fix things, she cuts the end of her finger off, ok we take her to the hospital and we get it fixed. With this one, everybody had that feeling of, how the hell do I fix this for her? I don’t know how, I can’t. It’s a helpless feeling. Nobody knew what to say and this group is rarely speechless but this hit them hard and they didn’t know what to say.”

Saturday was the Fire Departments annual “Cabin Fever” Steak Fry held at St. Vincent’s on North Ridge Road. As a show of support to Sue some of the guys on the Department had their heads shaved. Elyria Barber Richard D. Shupp from the Shupp Shop Barber Shop volunteered his time and expertise in shaving about a half dozen heads. Elyria Township Firefighter Dave Keener said, “Sue is a part of the family and we love her and wish her the best and we want to make sure she is ok. We are a Fire Department, you basically sign on the line I’m willing to die for you, and I’m willing to go all the way. If you go down inside I will go right in after you. That is what we do for each other; everybody takes care of everybody down here. It really is a second family and we’ll be here for Sue for whatever she needs.”

Scarbrough said that if anything good came from all of this it is that a cousin of hers who has never had a mammogram before decided because of her situation she would be tested. They did discover a lump and are now waiting on word back from a biopsy. “She is 41, not married and no children and said she had just never considered having one so I am glad that it is being taken care of now.”

Sue was not at a loss for words when I asked her how she felt about the Department and what they have done for her. “I grew up as an only child, but that I’m not anymore. I love these people and I want to thank them for being there for me because without them I don’t know how I would get through this. I’ve had a few really bad days and it always happens to be when there is a call and they are there. Thank God I have them.”

To see more photos: CLICK HERE

LINKS:

The Ireland Cancer Center

About Breast Cancer

RESCUE ON ROSEWOOD

Christopher Smith was getting ready to go to dinner tonight when kids started banging on his Rosewood Apartment door yelling that their friends were trapped down at the bottom of the hill. Smith said he went with the kids behind his apartment building where the kids were sledding and somehow ended up on the other side of a creek that runs behind K building of the apartment complex.

“When I got down there I saw the kids on the other side of the creek. They had gotten over there after sledding down the hill but when they tried to cross back over they realized the ice was breaking apart. I give the kids credit for not trying to cross back over the shaky ice. It could have been much worse if they had tried to get back.”

Smith went back up the hill and contacted the Police Department who dispatched the Elyria Fire Department for the rescue.

Elyria Fire Department Lt. Rick Thraser explained how the rescue went down. “When Engine Four arrived the scene they found two small children on the other side of the bank, they had been sledding and when they went across the water they picked the wrong bank to go to. We sent in two rescuers, they traversed the river and carried the kids back and we brought them up the bank and turned them over to LifeCare.” When asked about the kids condition Lt. Thraser said that they were fine, just a little cold.

To see more photos: CLICK HERE

ICE STORM WARNING

UPDATE: 4pm

The National Weather Services has upgraded their earlier Winter Storm Watch to an ICE STORM WARNING from 2am Saturday through noon Sunday. The storm is expected to hit the Lorain County area around 4am dumping up to ¼ inch of ice on trees and power lines. Easterly winds are expected to increase between 15 and 25mph with gusts over 30 MPH early Sunday. This could take down tree branches and power lines, strained by icy accumulations.

An Ice Storm Warning is issued when heavy accumulations of ice will cause hazardous if not impossible driving conditions. You should consider POSTPONING ANY TRAVEL. If driving is avoidable, use extreme caution and carry a Winter Emergency Kit in case you are stranded. Roads may become blocked by down trees and power lines.

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SECOND THREAT ON SOUTHVIEW

Lorain Southview High School received another bomb threat this morning at 9:20am. School officials evacuated the students again to area school buildings and contacted the Lorain Police and Fire Departments.

Lorain Police searched the building and cleared it for the students to return to the building less than an hour later.

Dean Schnurr, Director of Communications for Lorain City Schools said that the Lorain Board of Education has offered a $1,000.00 reward for the apprehention of the person or persons making the threats.

Anyone with information are asked to contact the Lorain Police Department at 440-204-2100.

EARLY MORNING SHOOTING

Elyria Police were called to the area of Furnace Street this morning around 3:30 after a complaint of hearing gunshots. Police searched the area but found nothing. Then a couple hours later Police received a report of a man lying in the road in the 300 block of Furnace Street. Police responding to the area spotted a car leaving the scene and pulled it over on Broad Street across from McDonalds, inside they found a victim with multiple gunshot wounds. LifeCare Ambulance Paramedics responded and transported the victim, Omar Ward, 27, to Elyria Memorial Hospital. The victim was flown a short time later to Metro Health Medical Center in Cleveland. Two of the three men in the car were taken into custody on outstanding warrants.

Elyria Police are investigating.

To see more photos: CLICK HERE

FORMER LORAIN FIREFIGHTER WANTED FOR BANK ROBBERY

Former Lorain Firefighter James Mielcarek is being accused of walking into the Fifth-Third Bank on Broadway this afternoon and robbing it. Police say Mielcarek went into the bank around 3pm and handed a note to the teller. He left on foot with an undisclosed amount of money.

TMC NEWS has learned that Mielcarek was hired by the Lorain Fire Department in August of 1988. Due to personal problems he was asked to resign from the Department about 10 years ago. Mielcarek is the brother of Mike and Butch Mielcarek, owners of Ghoulardi’s Restaurant on Broadway in Lorain.

Mielcarek now has a warrant out for his arrest and anyone with information about where he is should contact the Lorain Police Department at 440-204-2100.

UPDATE
Police have Mr. Mielcarek in custody

ARRESTS MADE

Sheffield Village Police have arrested two juveniles in connection with this morning’s bomb threat to Brookside High School. Police traced the call and made the arrests this afternoon. One of the suspects, a female, is a student at Brookside who had been suspended from the school.

The 16 year old male suspect was a former Southview student. Officials believe that the male is responsible for the threats to both Brookside and Southview. The calls were made 6 minutes apart.

NEW THREATS / NEW SCHOOLS

SOUTHVIEW HIGH SCHOOL

Lorain Southview High School was evacuated this morning after they received a bomb threat. Dean Schnurr, Director of Communications for Lorain City Schools said that a call was made to the school at 11:03 this morning from a young male caller stating that there was a bomb on the premises. “We immediatley notified the Lorain Police and Fire Departments and evacuated the students and faculty to neighboring schools. We performed a search of the building with Police and Fire Officials and after finding nothing we had the students and faculty returned to finish out the school day.”

The Lorain Board of Education is offering a $1,000.00 reward to anyone providing information leading to the apprehention of the person who made the threat.

Schnurr said that he and the school will work clsoely with the Lorain Police Department as they proceed with the investigation.

BROOKSIDE HIGH SCHOOL

Brookside High School received a bomb threat around 11am as well. The students were evacuated to the Middle School down the street as Sheffield Police and Fire Officials searched the High School. The building was given the all clear at 12:48 and the students were cleared to return.

MIDDLE SCHOOL UNDER LOCK DOWN

South Amherst Middle School went into Lock Down this morning after receiving yet another threat to the school and Firelands School District Interim Superintendent Max Shoff said the school would remain in lock down throughout the night with constant surveillance.

Shoff said that the Amherst Middle School received two threatening phone calls on Friday; one specifically saying that there was a bomb in the building. The school acted quickly in moving the kids to a safe area. “Friday, when we received the phone call and it was an actual bomb threat, we were in the process of transporting students, they were already on buses coming in and we also had parents who had and were dropping students off to the school. So what we did was contact our transportation supervisor had the buses routed to the high school and alerted them to unload the students into the gymnasium. Then we shuttled buses over to the Middle School to pick up students who had come in by parents plus the faculty and evacuated the building over to the High School.”

The Lorain County Bomb Squad did a search of the building and everyone felt confident that there was nothing to be concerned about and since it was so early in the morning the students were brought back to the school to finish the day.

This morning a call was made to the school at 8:14 but since the schools had delayed the opening of the schools by 2 hours due to heavy fog nobody was in the building to take the call so it went to voice mail. A secretary checking the voice mails this morning discovered the call at 9:35 and quickly alerted the Principal who contacted the authorities about the threat. The Principal, Tony Resar, had already briefed his faculty and staff after last Fridays threat to check their rooms as soon as they arrived to look for anything suspicious or out of place. Resar also put the school into lock down as soon as he heard the call. Shoff said that he along with the Principal and the authorities listened to the call a couple times and although the word bomb was never used in this mornings call it still had a "threatening nature" to it so the decision to evacuate the building was made and by 10:15 the kids were being put on buses and transported to the high school.

Police Chief Roger Kimble said that his Department is working closely with Detectives from the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office to track down who has been making these calls. “The voice is a male and we speculate him to be between the ages of 16 to maybe 19. We believe the calls were made from a residence, not a pay phone and that is because of no real background noises like traffic.” Chief Kimble added that this is a very serious offense, “This is a felony that can result in being sent to prison for years, so this is not just some prank it is a serious crime and we take it very serious.”

If anyone has any information regarding this case they can contact the South Amherst Police Department at 440-986-8118 or the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office at 440-329-3709

FINDING THE ODOR

When Amada Street started smelling a foul odor coming from her basement she first thought it was a lacquer. Street contacted the city and advised them of the strange odor and they told her they would send someone out soon. Street became concerned after the smell started getting stronger so she contacted the Elyria Fire Department.

“I told my mom that I wasn’t sure what it was so to be safe I wanted to have the Fire Department check it out. After I called them I grabbed my little bird and took him across the street where he would be safe.”

Elyria Fire Department Assistant Chief Ron Brlas spoke with TMC NEWS at the scene and gave us the following details.

The Call
We got a call from 1839 West Ave for a gas odor in their house. When the first crew arrived they detected quite a large odor in the basement of the structure so from that point on we have been trying to locate the source of the odor.

The Process
We were looking in the sanitary sewers, apparently the storm sewers were ok but the problem was coming from the sanitary sewers. We worked with the waste water personnel to locate the source. We were using our Multi Gas Detector that detects an array of gases but basically we were looking for flammable liquids in the sewer. In a couple of instances it was picking up a flammable liquid but then as we got further down Oberlin Road it was showing clear so we headed to the South Maple area.

Finding the Source
We had product in the sewer at Oberlin Road and Maple Street and as we made our way up Maple one of the guys noticed a strong odor of gasoline at 358 Maple.

Fire officials discovered that a vehicle parked in the driveway at 358 Maple Street was leaking gas from their tank and that gasoline was leaking into the basement of the home and then into the sewer system. Tom Kelly, Emergency Management Agency Director, arrived on scene a short time later to access the scene for hazardous materials and clean up issues. Brlas said that there was gasoline in the basement and although they can get that cleaned up his concern is how to stop the leak and if the soil around the house is contaminated. “If that is the case then someone will have to come out and dig that up.”

To see more photos: CLICK HERE

GIRL TRAPPED UNDER SNOW

Eaton Township Fire Department responded to a residence Monday afternoon after receiving a call of a young girl trapped under snow.

The 10 year old girl and her friend had dug a cave into a snow mound at the end of her driveway then the girl became stuck, head first, in the mouth of the cave. Family and friends came to her rescue but it was the girl’s father who pulled her out of the snow mound. When he got her out she was blue and not breathing, he then began mouth to mouth resuscitation until Fire Department arrived, by that time she was breathing on her own and somewhat alert.

Eaton Township Fire Chief Phil Slack spoke with TMC NEWS about the call. “We received the call around 4:30 this afternoon and we responded to the home. When our crews arrived the family had already gotten the little girl out from under the snow. Our squad then transported her to Elyria Memorial Hospital.”

The girl was then flown from Elyria Memorial to Cleveland Metro Health Medical Center where she is now listed in stable condition.

TMC NEWS has decided not to release the name of the child due to her age.

AWNING COLLAPSES, TRAPS WOMAN

Elyria Fire Department received a call this afternoon of a woman trapped under an awning that had collapsed at the Cleveland Street Invacare.

"We arrived on scene with two engines and our Rescue truck; it took 32 minutes to extricate the victim. She was in an outside designated smoking area when the awning collapsed. We used our Jaws of Life and airbags to extricate the young lady. The victim was conscious but was obviously in a lot of pain." Captain Robert Donofrio, Elyria Fire Department.

We asked Captain Donofrio to explain how the extrication went. “Basically it’s like a wedge, you have to slide an airbag underneath between the individual and whatever is holding her down and then you inflate the airbag, it almost turns into a large pillow and then you put some shoring equipment underneath, that’s cribbing equipment and then you deflate it and then you go a little bit deeper and increase it and it opens up kind of like a clam shell.”

"She is one of our associates that works in the warehouse here, one of about 40 and she was taking a break when unfortunately the roof caved in. We are going to do our own investigation at this time and we have some of our people checking other roof tops similar to this one to see if we need to do anything to secure them." Joe Usaj, Human Resources manager from Invacare.

Usaj also wanted to thank the Elyria Fire Department, LifeCare Ambulance, Elyria Police Department and all the other rescuers who helped our associate. “Their response time was amazing and they were extremely professional and did an outstanding job getting her out of there safely and quickly. Our prayers and thoughts are with our associate tonight."

Metro Life Flight landed at the scene and took over care from the LifeCare Paramedics. The victim was then flown to Metro Health Medical Center in Cleveland.

To see more photos: CLICK HERE

SEMI ROLLS OVER ON I-90

Traffic on I-90 this morning heading westbound was slowed down after a Semi hauling trash rolled over shutting down one lane. The driver was able to exit the cab through the back window without any injuries. Specialized tow trucks were called in to upright and remove the semi. When asked what the plan was to upright the truck a representative of Dunlap’s said they were first waiting to clean up the debris. “We have trucks coming that will first pick up the debris and get that out of the way then we have yet another truck to come help us get this thing back up on its wheels.”

Elyria Police are investigating the crash.

To see all photos: CLICK HERE

PLANE CRASH AT HOPKINS

A DELTA Airlines Commuter plane skidded off a runway and went through a fence during a sudden white out at Cleveland Hopkins Airport. The flight (DELTA 6448) originated in Atlanta and landed at Hopkins around 3pm this afternoon.

There were 70 passengers on board, including one infant and 4 crew members and although no injuries were reported, 3 people have been taken to Southwest General Hospital for evaluation.

Passengers told NewsChannel 5 that they thought the plane was coming down too fast during the landing. When the plane went to turn at the end of the runway, it slid through the fence. One passenger took a picture with her cell phone as the plane sat on the fence.

For more details and photos: NEWSCHANNEL 5

To check Airport Delays: FFA FLIGHT DELAY INFORMATION

CLEVELAND STEET CRASH

A LifeCare Ambulance struck a vehicle this afternoon after witnesses say the car slowed down to avoid striking a dog in the roadway. The crash occurred on Cleveland Street in front of Stewart Appliances around 1pm while both vehicles were traveling eastbound on Cleveland Street.

Three people from the car were taken to Elyria Memorial Hospital to be checked out. Neither of the Paramedics received any injuries from the crash. The Paramedic driving the ambulance was cited for Assured Clear Distance.

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Distracted while driving

Toyota + Daytona = Bad News

GRANDMA GOT BOOTED FROM A TOW TRUCK

We met a Grandmother Saturday night that wanted to pass on some advice to anyone driving along Route 2 this winter. “Make sure you have a bag of cash with you in case you go off the road and are unfortunate enough to have Remington Towing show up to help you.” Betty Pagel was driving home along Route 2 Saturday night just after 8pm when she lost control of her car and went into a ditch just west of Middle Ridge Road. The Ohio State Patrol showed up to help the Grandmother and called for a tow truck to pull her car from the ditch. A short time later Remington Towing service arrived at the scene; Pagel got into the front seat with the driver and he right away asked if she had cash with her. Pagel, who had just come from spending an evening with her Grandchildren, had only $40.00 in cash on her but said that when she got home she could get a debit card or credit card for him. It was then that Pagel said the man told her that for him just showing up costs $75.00 and that he won’t do anything without full cash payment. Pagel told him again that all she had on her was the $40.00; it was then that he told her “get out of my truck, we don’t do billing”. Pagel climbed out of the truck and he drove away. Pagel shared the story with the State Trooper; he then had D&A Towing dispatched to the scene. David Vaughn of D&A Towing and his father David of Vaughn’s Auto Repair, both of South Amherst went to the scene to assist the woman, each in their own truck. While pulling the car out of the ditch a car traveling westbound struck the flatbed tow truck pushing it approximately 6 feet. The car that struck the tow truck received severe front-end damage and had airbag deployment. David Jr. was behind the flatbed truck at the time securing Pagel’s car and was pushed by the truck and thrown back. Although an ambulance was called to the scene for Vaughn he refused transport to the hospital saying he would go get checked out later.

The parents of the young man who was driving the car that struck the tow truck arrived to see their son and check things out. The father was quick to say that he didn’t understand why the tow trucks had to be where they were making their son strike the truck. The young man stated that he did not see the trucks and that he believed he was traveling approximately 25mph.

Once the State Patrol cleared the trucks Vaughn went to Pagel and told her that they were going to take her car to a safer place to lower it and release it to her. Pagel, sitting in the back of the Patrol car, reached for her $40.00 and offered it to Vaughn who quickly refused and said, “no charge ma’am” and walked away. Pagel said that gestured made her believe that there are certainly people who care in this world. Pagel also was upset that Vaughn’s truck was struck and that the younger Vaughn was injured. “If that rude man had helped me in the first place none of this would have happened. I am glad though that I met these two kind men and the Patrolmen, they have showed me so much kindness.”

LIVE SHOT INTERRUPTION

SCHOOL'S CLOSE THURSDAY

Elyria and Lorain City Schools will be closed Thursday due to inclement weather.

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GOOD SAMARITAN

While out and about today looking for snow stories and pictures, I overheard something interesting on the police scanner an Officer who had been sent to the ramps to I-90 for cars stuck in the snow. The Officer stated that numerous cars got stuck after they pulled over to attempt to help others that were stuck. He said there are just a lot of “Good People” out here trying to help. Well, I happened to find one of those good people assisting a total stranger on Livermore in Elyria who could not get their car out of the driveway. Bruce Bishop, owner of Bishop Photography, pulled up with his SUV and tow straps and offered his assistance. After a couple tugs the car was freed.

This was Bishop’s fifth time today pulling someone out of the deep snow drifts. Like most Good Samaritans after the car was freed Bishop was on his way with a Thank You and waves from the family, perhaps off to find number 6.

WEATHER ADVISORY

The National Weather Service has issued a SNOW & BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY until 8pm. The Winter Storm Warning has expired.

The snow and blowing snow advisory is for lingering snow showers, blowing and drifting snow. Northwest winds of 15 to 25mph this evening will continue to cause blowing and drifting snow, especially in open areas. Untreated roads or roads prone to drifting snow will continue to be difficult or impossible to travel.

The winds are expected to diminish late tonight and new snow accumulations early tonight will average an inch or less except up to two inches locally.

TODAY IN PICTURES

This crash occured on the Cascade Sledding hill late this afternoon. No injuries were reported.

Cascade Sledding Hill

Don't forget the bags on your shoes!


Creative way to advertise

Snow Fort

Diggin' Out

To see more photos: CLICK HERE

ICE STORM CANCELS HEARING IN DC

There was to be a hearing in Washington DC this morning concerning the “Warming of the Planet”. The hearing was canceled after an Ice Storm hit the DC area.

HEARING NOTICE
Tue Feb 13 2007 19:31:25 ETThe Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality hearing scheduled for Wednesday, February 14, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. in room 2123 Rayburn House Office Building has been postponed due to inclement weather. The hearing is entitled “Climate Change: Are Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Human Activities Contributing to a Warming of the Planet?” The hearing will be rescheduled to a date and time to be announced later.

EMA OPENS EOC

When the reports of a major snowstorm heading for Lorain County started coming in, the Lorain County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) went into action.

Alice Webber, Emergency Operations Manager, said they were watching weather radar, monitoring the National Weather Service website and was in on conference calls with the National Weather Service throughout the day. The agency received requests from Community Health Partners in Lorain and Elyria Memorial Hospital to help them get their employees to and from work during the worst part of the storm. Webber opened the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and organized volunteers from the Erie Shores 4X4 club and local ham radio operators. The team had a dozen drivers at the ready to pick up nurses and other essential staff members and take them to and from work.

Tom Kelly, Lorain County EMA Director is in Washington DC at a conference for EMA Directors and has been monitoring the situation closely. Webber plans to be staffing the EOC until Kelly returns from DC Wednesday morning, that is if his flight is not canceled.

LCT TO ROLL, EXPECT 2 HOUR DELAY

Lorain County Transit will be rolling out their fleet Wednesday but they want riders to know delays are expected. With poor road conditions and more snow expected throughout the morning and into the afternoon the buses should be on about a 2 hour delay.

EVENING UPDATE

Well the little Panhandle Hook snow machine is here and is causing problems in our area. Traffic has been slowed down and evening classes and events have been canceled. Cleveland Hopkins has had 144 cancellations by 5pm and expects more tonight as the snow continues. North Abbe Road this afternoon was backed up from Rt. 57 to LCCC and most other roadways are all slow going. Officials continue to ask people to stay home and off the roads tonight unless absolutely necessary.

Elyria Police have closed down traffic to the Gulf Road hills tonight after one of their own cruisers got stuck at the bottom of one of the hills. The Police say that once the Street Department is able to make travel safe on the hills they will re-open the hills to traffic.

UPDATE: 10:00pm
NEWSCHANNEL 5 is reporting that the heavy snowfall is expected to get worse before it gets any better. Overnight accumulations could bring our total up to another foot of snow with snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour possible. Cleveland Hopkins has reported totals of 5 inches of snow with some areas reporting 10 inches and again, the worst is yet to come. Wind Chills are expected to dip below zero overnight and in areas where there are Blizzard Warnings they could go as low as 15 below.

Chief Meteorologist Mark Johnson said that we can expect another 2 to 4 inches of accumulations during the morning hours, but conditions should “significantly improve” as the day turns into night and the snow diminishes.

Our friends to the west in Huron, Erie and Sandusky counties have a blizzard warning in effect until 7am.

NO SCHOOL Wednesday in Lorain or Elyria. For NEWSCHANNEL 5’s COMPLETE list of closings: CLICK HERE

The Elyria Police Department still have the hills on Gulf Road Closed. Conditions have not gotten any better and travel is still too dangerous on the hills.

Check back in the morning for overnight pictures and stories.

EMERGENCY SNOW BAN ISSUED

Charles Camera, City of Lorain Street Superintendent, has issued a SNOW BAN for the City of Lorain. The ban will be in effect until Thursday February 15th. For a complete list of streets in the ban: CLICK HERE

For continuous coverage of this snow storm visit NEWSNET5.com

TMC NEWS: 5 QUICK CLICKS

Keep up to date with the snow storm that will be blowing through our area over the next 30 hours or so by visiting Newsnet5.com for live updates.

Firefighters and bystanders rescued five small children from a roaring Harlem fire yesterday - to the cheers of onlookers who feared the worst.

A man in a trench coat pulled a shotgun and opened fire at Salt Lake City's Trolley Square on Monday evening, perhaps killing as many as five people, police and witnesses say.

Mountains of trash stuffed inside a woman's car in Cape Cod, Mass., caused the car to accelerate and crash, according to police. (Bruce may want to look at this story)

The Police announced their first tour in decades Monday at a rehearsal at the Whisky a Go-Go as a throng of fans crowded near the legendary Sunset Strip nightclub.

CRASH IN SOUTH AMHERST

South Amherst Fire Department responded Monday morning to the intersection of Oberlin & Albrecht Roads after a car traveling north on Oberlin Rd spun out and struck a car heading south. Firefighters worked for about 20 minutes extricating the female out of the car that spun out. She was then transported by LifeCare Paramedics to Amherst Hospital here she was later taken to Metro Health in Cleveland by ground instead of helicopter due to the weather. The victim from the other car was treated and transported to the hospital for minor injuries.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

MAJOR WINTER STORM EXPECTED

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued an URGENT WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE this afternoon for northern Ohio.

The storm, that the NWS is calling a “Major Winter Storm” is expected to roll into Ohio tomorrow morning and last through Wednesday late morning. “Low pressure over the southern plains will move into the Ohio Valley by Tuesday. Deep Gulf moisture will spread across the region as it moves east. This will allow heavy wintry precipitation to develop Tuesday morning and continue into Wednesday.” Although most of the precipitation will fall as snow there may be a period of sleet late Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday evening.

The NWS is predicting that “much of the area will see 7 to 14 inches of snow by Wednesday afternoon.”

MIDWAY MALL STABBING

DEVELOPING STORY
Elyria Police responded to the Midway Mall around 2pm today after receiving reports of a large fight in the area of the Harry Buffalo restaurant. The initial reports were that 6 men, one of whom had a knife, were attacking one man. Before Police arrived on scene one man had been stabbed and the attackers had fled the area. LifeCare Ambulance Paramedics transported the victim from the Midway Mall to Elyria Memorial Hospital Emergency Room.

Update
The victim, Estep Dalton, 15 of Lorain, was treated for two stab wounds and released from Elyria Memorial Hospital Sunday evening.
The suspects were found and taken into custody within 2 hours of the attack. The suspects in custody are, Jason Dewitt, 29, of Lorain. The suspect vehicle that fled the scene is registered to Dewitt. Kyle Kocher, 21, of LaGrange and Jacob Cammel, 20, of Massillon.

The Elyria Police Department is investigating the attack.

TMC NEWS: 5 QUICK CLICKS

Here are links to 5 stories we found on other sites that you might find interesting.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition swung through Columbus last November to build a new home for a 9/11 Hero. Although the family is very grateful to the crew and all the volunteers, they are now wondering how they will pay for the bills that have doubled since they received their new home.

Barack Obama announces he is running for President to “transform the US”

Hannibal Rising Review

The New York Post, Weird But True

GPS SHOES

SEX OFFENDER ARRESTED

One week ago Lorain Police Department issued a HIGH LEVEL LISA ALERT after a 16 year old female reported that a man in the 4100 block of Riverside Drive attempted to pull her into a car. The man who was driving a black sedan attempted to pull the girl into the car through the passenger side window, the girl was able to break free after striking the man several times. The Lorain Police Detective Bureau created a composite drawing based on the description provided by the victim and released it on the LISA ALERT system. Less than a week later after an intense investigation Lorain Police arrested and charged Lorain resident Christopher Hartley, a registered Sex Offender, for the attempted abduction. Hartley, 37, lives at 4600 Riverside Drive, just blocks from where the incident took place. The arrest was made after the Police looked at other sex offenders in the area as well as talking to the victim again and getting a positive identification of the suspect from the victim. Hartley is listed as a registered sex offender on the Lorain County Sheriff’s Department eSorn web site. Hartley was indicted in March of 1996 for Corruption of a Minor, Sexual Imposition and Disseminating Matter Harmful to Juveniles, charges he plead guilty to in October of 1996. Hartley was sentenced to a little over 3 years in Lorain Correctional Institution and was labeled as a Sex Offender. The State attempted to get Hartley listed as a Sexual Predator but the Court found that the State had “failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant is a Sexual Predator”.

Searching within a one mile area of where the incident took place we found 12 registered Sex Offenders, 1 Habitual Sex Offender and 1 Sexual Predator. To conduct your own search of your neighborhood visit the Lorain County Sheriff's Department web site.