The Amherst news-times. (Amherst, Ohio), 2000-05-03

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Amherst News-Time
Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Amherst, Ohio
Musical chairs:
schools deal
>
with retirees,
reorganization
i
i
:     by KATHLEEN WILLBOND
I' 	
News-Times editor
The Amherst schools will lose
hundreds of years of experience
'when teachers, administrators,
coaches and don-certified personnel
retire at the end of this school year.
Assistant superintendent Tim Logar, who has been with the district
for more than 20 years, will retire,
as will long-time transportation
supervisor Ruth Williams and
Shupe Middle School principal
Steve Demko.
Leaving also are language arts
teacher Barbara Brown, after 31
years in education (21 in Amherst);
speech and language pathologist
Brenda Cartmell after 26 years of
service in Amherst; speech and language pathologist Arlene Dinallo after 10 years in education (seven locally) and language arts teacher Rebecca Dolinar after 28 years in the
Amherst district
Physical education teacher and
coach Ed Dolinar, a teacher of 32
years (30 in Amherst) has announced his retirement
Library and teacher aide Marlene
Shannon, after 10 years in Amherst
and 16 in the education field, will
retire along with teacher aide Kathleen S.rb who baa logged 24 years
in the Amherst schools.
Extended first grade teacher Patti
Wegehaupt, a teacher in Amherst
for 25 of her 32 years in education,
will retire.
Powers elementary school's head
cook, Pat Beeder, will retire after 27
years in Amherst, along with part-
time high school cook Betty Hostler, who has been with the district
for 22 years.
High school science teacher Greg
Huber will retire after 28 years in
Amherst and 30 years in education.
Harris elementary teacher Kim
Patchin has been in education for 28
years, 23 in Amherst, and has decided to retire, along with high
school business teacher Arlene
Towne, who has been with the Amherst schools for 23 of her 25 years
in teaching.
Also leaving is Patricia Bain-
bridge, a school bus driver with 24
years of service in the Amherst
schools.
With so much talent walking out
the door, superintendent Robert
Boynton and the board of education
has had a lot to deal with over the
last few months.
The schools are in the midst of
trying to deal with overcrowding,
replacing eight retiring teachers
over the early summer months, and
finding a replacement for the transportation supervisor.
With so many students in the district, and a complicated bus schedule to maintain, Boynton said Ruth
Williams's shoes will be hard to fill.
But he does expect someone to be
hired within the next month.
Although a long-time administrator in the Amherst school district,
Boynton is also a newcomer compared to some of the veteran staff
members, having just logged his
second academic year as
superintendent
Boynton said the district has dealt
with massive retirements )in the past;
in fact, two years, he said more veteran teachers retired than this year.
"When  I  interviewed with the
CONTINUED on page 8
Nature's bounty
The warm sun and cool breeze last week al- toria Stawicki, 15 months, play with a ball at their
lowed kids, many on spring break, to take to the grandmother's house on Middle Ridge Road,
outdoors and revel in mother nature and (News-Times photo by Keith Gribbins)
summer-like weather. Christine, behind, and Vic-
New
bid g
to local
company
by KEITH GRIBBINS
News-Times reporter
The Lorain County MetroParks
accepted a bid Wednesday, April
19, that will begin construction on
the state's first city/county Metro-
Park on the 72-acrc property just
south of Rt 2 that will be the West
Side Park.
Bender Construction, of Avon,
was awarded the job at a price of
$1,061,900. Bender Construction
was one of six biders considered by
the MetroParks. Owner Dennis Bender, a resident of Amherst, has experience in this type of work, stated
MetroParks director Dan Martin,
constructing the entire Black River
Trail around seven years ago.
"The bid came in just right And
we're very pleased to see these guys
get the project They have the experience and the knowledge for these
types of projects,*' explained Martin.
"It's not like building a house. You
don't build a hundred of these
things, so it's nice to get a contractor with experience."
The $1.8 million project is an effort of local teamwork. The City of
Amherst, the Lorain County Metro-
Parks, and the local community
have come together to raise a third
each of the needed funds to get the
park on its feet The park will include a timber pavilion, soccer field,
a 1.5 mile paved multipurpose trail,
a variety of bridges and walkways,
and a wealth of mother nature.
The city will take care of the
park's maintenance, while the MetroParks will tackle the park's programs, many of which can be held in
the timber pavilion.
The park will also ease the overcrowding of the city's Maude Neiding Park facilities, according to
CONTINUED on page 8
Mail carriers to help stamp out hunger May 13
Letter carriers will collect
food donations from postal
customers in Amherst and
South Amherst on Saturday,
May 13 as part of the nation's
largest one-day effort to "Stamp
' Out Hunger," announced Nancy
Denslow, coordinator of the
Amherst drive.
Stamp Out Hunger is coordinated by National Association
of Letter Carriers and the Amherst Post Office. The food donations collected on Saturday,
May 13 will be donated to the
Second Harvest Food Bank of
North Central Ohio which provides food supplies to
emergency food pantries and
hot meal programs in Lorain
County.
In last May's drive,
7,765-pounds of non-perishable
food donations were collected
as carriers delivered the mail to
postal customers in Amherst
and South Amherst
"Letter carriers are proud to
be part of this important community activity," remarked
Denslow. "Rain or shine the residents of Amherst generously
donate non-perishable food to
their neighbors through the
Food Bank."
"The need for food for hungry families continues despite a
strong economy," said Jim Ka-
stro, executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank. "A real
paradox exists between our unprecedented prosperity and families struggling to find sufficient
resouces to feed their families."
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Take it away
The Bumpers International traveling team     spring. At tight Jacob Kolcum whirls a pitch to    Harris Elementary School. At left Dominic   Times photos by Koto Qribbins)
takes some time las! Tuesday to get in a little     Brent Parham while catcher Ryan Bartizal road-    Orseno cant quite catch up to a pitch that
practice and soak up the warm, dry weather of     ies himseH for the outcome on the field behind    catcher Bartizal has an exact read on. (News-
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