Amherst News-Times, 1997-03-26

              Page 8 j Family faces Ford closing — Pa
Amherst News-Time
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Wednesday, March 26, 1997
Amherst, Ohio
Lois Von Gunten
Associate
principal
to retire
from MLS
by KATHLEEN KOSHAR
News-Times editor
Lois Von Gunten isn't sure
what kind of reputation she'll
take with her when she leaves
the school district at the end of
June.
As the associate principal of
Marion L. Steele High School
for the past eight years, she's
been the head disciplinarian for
the nearly 1,200 students at the
school.
The school board earlier this
month accepted Von Gunten's
notice that she will be retiring at
the end of June.
School superintendent Howard Dulmage said the associate
principal's job will be tilled
again; Von Gunten was the only
associate principal in the district
and the high school would have
a tough time operating without
two principals.
A graduate of Firelands High
School, Von Gunten did two
stints with the Amherst schools.
She was a guidance counselor at
the high school, left for three
years to serve as an associate
principal in Westlake and returned eight years ago to Steele.
She was also an English and
speech teacher at Bluffton High
School (she earned her degree at
Bluffton College) and at South
Amherst High School. Von
Gunten was also a guidance
counselor in South Amherst for
six years.
One of her primary job duties
here as been the discipline of the
high school students.
"I'm sure there's some students who will think of me a.
tough," she said. "But I like lo
think that I have been lair and
consistent."
Another one of her job duties
as been as advisor to the Student
Council, a position which has
been one of her favorites. The
council is in charge of the annual Gallery of Success event
which i onors alumni of the
school foi their accomplishments and dedication.
"I'm really glad that (hat's
been a part of my job duties,"
she said. "That has been a really
great group of kids and it's great
to see former students come
back who are so appreciative of
the honor."
In the past eight years, she's
also done a lot of committee
work and observed many teachers in the classroom as part of
her job.
"Amherst is really a great
place. When I left I wanted to
come back in the worst way,"
she said.
With her own children grown,
Von Gunten said she is not certain yet what she'll do during
retirement
"I'm not leaving because I've
'had it' or anything like thai. But
there just comes a time when
you'll know when you want to
retire," she said.
CONTINUED on  page 2
Mom's
leaves £
son-in-law
in hospital
Acting skit-tish
■ -^h0!^ to crack jokes in    was sponsored by the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce, who
&__3S_; L iyr_LJ_"iSEm  . 6d- byT?en °"SS-' durmg Malors    aave its Citizen of the Y*ar *"ard to News-Times columnist Fay
Nite 97 at the Antlers Hotel in Lorain. The mayor's secretary/Sally    van Nuys Ott
Cornwell, and local banker Dale Rosenkranz, perform. The event
Competition puts market out of biz
People in Amherst who prefer
the convenience and manageable
Size of a neighborhood market
now have one less option; Harold's Sparkle Market at 7513
Leavitt Road has closed.
The Sparkle Market, which
shut its doors on Match 22, has
been owned by John Harold for
the last eight yean, and has been
a future in tbe community "for
something like SO years," according to one employee.
In recent years it has been losing money because it has been
unable to stay competitive with
larger operations.
"Ever since Super K opened
up we have been losing custom
era," said Debbie Waseleski.
who works both ia the office
and at « cashier at Harold's.
"And when all of that work was
being done on 58 and Middle
Road, we lost even more
mnoi—rtri
.'I §M inhere. They never
came back,"
Waseleski has been an employee ot Harold's far the past
sk years and was one of the but
four employees left before the
closing. The store began laying
off employees gradually over
the last month, as the various de
pattments exhausted their stock.
Most of the 38 employees
who were laid off have not yet
found were and arc currently re-
ceiving uoempkrvment benefits,
according to Waseleski. "1 personally don't know <
jag to dO yet — I t_v« no
plans,"
Mae- of the Sparkle Market's
business was from older people
in the community, who have
told Waseleski that they enjoy
shopping at a smaller place like
Harold's, where the employees
know ihem by name. "They
have 'old me they are really going to miss the place — and so
wUlL"'
Harold also owns another
Sparkle franchise on Lake Avenue in Elyria, and is in the pro-
He also owns die building and
property, according to Waseleski, and will by to sell it or
lease, although bo new tenant
has been lined up.
Look out below
Michelle and Mason Hoffman take a ride down   vantage of a recent sunny Sunday to go outside
the slide at Maude Neiding Park. Hoffman, her   and play,
husband Mark and their three children took ad-
City may
I rent space
to church
downtown
by BILL ROSS
News-Times reporter
Once a place to pick up mail and
send packages, the former post office on Park Avenue may soon become a place of worship.
Negotiations are underway to
sign on new tenants for the building
which is owned by the city but not
utilized. The lease would be for 18
months.
Mayor John Higgins said that after advertising bids for possible renters for two weeks, the city has received one bid that looks promising.
The bid is from the Trinity
Evangelical Free Church, and if it is
accepted, it will provide die city of
Amherst with revenue for the building which is eventually planned for
use as city offices.
"Right now our priority is to renovate city hall to make it safe, so
the post office has been put on
hold," Higgins said. Since the building has been sitting vacant for years,
it is hoped that by leasing the building, new tenants would provide money for renovations as well as extra
income for the city.
Although the mayor would not
disclose terms of the lease until a
deal has bean finalized, he did say it
would provide a substantial amount
of revenue. The new tenant would
also be responsible for maintaining
the grounds, parking and any
improvements.
Any renovations would have lo
be approved by the city engineer.
"They are comfortable with die
terms," Higgins said. "Now the
board of controls needs to meet, and
if all goes well, the lease papers will
CONTINUED on page 2
by BILL ROSS
News Times reporter
An Amherst man with a long history of domestic violence arrests is
recovering from wounds sustained
from a shotgun blast to the groin by
his mother-in-law, after reportedly
threatening her and his wife on
March 13.
Donald Calvert, 27, of Hamilton
Road, was taken to the MetroHealth
Center in Cleveland to be treated for
injuries that include losing a testicle
and severe damage to the upper portion of his left leg.
Amherst police detective Jim
McCann said the incident began
when Calvert started making
threatening phone calls early in the
evening to the Hamilton Avenue
home where he and his wife, Susan,
24, and their three children have
been staying with her mother since
last December.
At 7:12 p.m., Mary Jane Alford,
63, called the Amherst Police Department, saying that Calvert was
intoxicated and had been was trying
to break into the residence, after she
had refused to let him in.
According to McCann, while officers were responding to the call,
Calvert forced open the door vhile
yelling threats and lunging forward
Two minutes later, Calvert's wife
called the police and told them
someone had just been shot.
As of March 18, Calvert remained hospitalized and doctors had
given him no indication as to when
he would be released. "I'm not doing too^ood," Calvert said, adding
that he had already undergone two
surgeries, including a skin graft
At the time of the interview,
Calvert was due for seven to 10
days of bed rest and then physical
therapy.
Calvert disputes statements made
by Alford, that he had been
threatening to kill her and her
daughter. "I didn't have a gun, I
didn't have nothing. If I was gonna
kill somebody, I'd have a weapon."
But Alford has no doubt that
Calvert was planning to kill them,
and said he has been arrested many
times before for attacking both her
and her daughter.
"One time he came in drunk, put
his hand on a Bible and swore he
was going to kill her," Alford said
"He took her head and started
smashing it against the table and
wouldn't stop, and when I tried to
stop him he grabbed and shook me,
bruising me up real bad."
Although Calvert admits to having been arrested in the past for
domestic violence, he said he and
his wife had been getting along fine
ever since they moved in with Al-
| ford. The move was supposed to allow them to get back on their feet
financially, since he is unable to
work at his previous plumbing bade
because of a bad back.
"I even bought her flowers that
day, and I just called to say I was
coming home," he said. "I never
threatened anybody."
Calvert's version of the story is
that he had been out drinking, and
when he called to say he was coming home, Alford told him to stay
away. He further reported that because he lives at the Hamilton Street
home, he felt he had a right to be
inside.
"Yeah, sometimes I go out and
drink, but she (Alford) treats me like
a dog and makes me sleep in the
garage — and I ain't no dog or anything. So, yeah I did break the lock
off, but I didn't break down the
door. I just stuck my left leg in and
she went and shot me."
Alford admits that Calvert bought
his wife roses, but believes it was
for an alibi — and that he planned
in advance to commit murder.
Tint he calls to say he is going
to. Kentucky and then he sends
roses. Next thing he does is call lo
say he's coming home to kill us, and
Sue begged him to stay away. When
he not to the door and we wouldn't
CONTINUED on page 2
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