Amherst News-Times, 2001-09-26

              Homecoming king, queen tapped — Page 5    Interim pastor takes helm — Page 12
Amherst News-Times
Wednesday, September 26, 2001
Amherst, Ohio
50 cents
Girl falls 10 feet
from apartment
complex bridge
A 7-year-old Lorain girl fell 10
feet from a suspension bridge at
Pinecrest Apartments on Sunday,
Sept. 16. The girl, Dina Marinez,
was riding her bicycle across the
bridge when she lost control and fell
into Beaver Creek below.
According to the police report of
investigating officer Mike Murphy,
the suspension bridge was in need
of repair. The report stated that the
bridge, which stretches approximately 30 feet over the creek, was
supported by metal cables. Of the 38
total cables, the report stated that 17
were broken.
Murphy's report also staled that
the handrail on the bridge had fallen
down in certain areas and was ineffective. The report also mentioned
that there were several loose boards
along the entire length of the bridge.
Because of the injuries sustained
during the fall, Martinez was life-
flighted to Metro General Hospital,
the report said.
The bridge has been blocked off
with yellow caution tape, preventing
others from using it
Apartment manager Kay McKee
denied any knowledge of the inci-
The bridge has been blocked
by police tape to keep anyone
from crossing it again.
dent and declined comment on
whether or not the bridge would be
repaired.
"I wasn't here when the incident
happened,'' McKee said.
CROP Walk will help
raise money for needy
Local residents interested in walking for a good cause can participate in the annual CROP — Christian Rural Overseas Program
. — Walk in Amherst on Sunday, Oct 7.
CROP was started in 1947 as a way for others to help midwest
farm families share their grain with Europeans following World
Warn.
Today, contributors who sponsor CROP Walkers will help to
support other overseas assistance efforts, such as programs in Pakistan, Iraq and Taiwan, where families suffer the effects of
floods, landslides and typhoons.
Locally, 25 percent of the money raised from the walk will stay
in the community, as a contribution to the Amherst Food Pantry.
Last year, walkers raised $6,410 through the walk and a program through which the Nordson Corporation matched every
penny raised.
Anyone who would like more information about the event, or
would like to walk or sponsor a walker, should contact local coordinator Tom Jewell at 988-7213.
Seatbelt campaign
nets 43 citations
for local violators
The Amherst Police Department
took part in the state of Ohio's
"What's Holding You Back?" seat-
belt awareness campaign over the
period Aug. 24-Sept 3. Lt Dennis
Seger called the campaign a
success.
"I believe we have a pretty good
compliance rate," Seger said of the
number of Amherst residents who
wear their seatbelts. The campaign
was aimed at those people who do
not wear them, attempting to increase the number of people who
do.
Amherst patrol officers put in 95
hours of enforcement during the
11-day period, pulling over many
more vehicles than usual during that
time. Seger said. He added that the
officers still had to have probable
cause lo pull people over according
to state law.
Probable cause can include going
as little as one mile per hour over
the posted speed limit or having a
light out on one's vehicle in addi
tion to more serious offenses such
as drunk driving.
Officers made 104 traffic stops
during the campaign, giving out 63
total citations and 51 traffic warnings. They issued 43 restraint citations to adults not wearing safety
belts and gave two warnings.
Seger said the department applies
for a grant every year for traffic enforcement, meaning their efforts to
curb any vehicular violation including failure to wear seatbelts is not
simply a once a year campaign. He
said that 22 percent of all accidents
in the city of Amherst take place on
Stale Route 58.
The police department received
$5,000 in state grant money for the
state sponsored "What's Holding
You Back?" campaign. Seger said
that most of that money will go to
pay for the overtime put in by the
Amherst police officers during the
campaign. The rest, a little less than
25 percent, will go toward their employee benefits. Seger said.
Students collect
cash to aid victims
by ERIK YORKE
New*-Tlme* reporter
In the aftermath of what may be
the createat tragedy in the history of
the United States, people from
across the country have come
together to help. Here in Amherst,
many young people have chipped in
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