Amherst News-Times, 1997-11-12

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Amherst News-Time
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Wednesday, November 12, 1997
Amherst, Ohio
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Newcomers bump incumbents from city
Robert Sisler and David Rice
don't think their political careers are
over despite their losses in the Nov.
4 contest for city council.
"I'm down but not out. I think my
political career is just beginning and
people will hear more from me in
the future," Sisler said.
He was appointed to council in
1996.
He lost the race for first ward
council member to challenger Ter-
rance A. Trastcr by 86 votes. Traster
won 505 and Sisler 419 votes, according to unofficial election
results.
"Eight votes wasn't much but it
made the difference," Sisler added.
"I wish him luck and I'll be willing
to lend him and the council a helping hand if they ask."
The opposite was true for Rice.
He  was trounced, losing by 426
votes to challenger Steve P'Simer.
Rice chose to run as a write-in candidate. He won 98 votes while 524
voters cast their ballots for P'Simer.
Rice, who has traditionally run as
an independent, said he sought reelection as a write-in candidate because he failed to file with the board
of elections on time.
"I'm disappointed but I intend to
keep on doing a lot of things that I
Detention pond
could help end
Beaver Creek's
flooding trouble
A cily land deal lo obtain two
acres for a detention pond for storm
water will result in a new business
and save the jobs of aboul a dozen
people.
Under an agreement worked oul
by the city, KTM Inc., a Lorain
company lhal assembles motor cross
motorcycles, will move lo Amherst
and locale its headquarters on three
acres of land. The property is located on Milan Avenue west of N.
Lake Street.
In turn, the city will get two acres
of adjacent land it needs for a much-
sought-after detention pond. In addition, the nearby Highpoint Trailer
Co. will be purchased by KTM. The
company, which makes trailers for
motor cross motorcycles, was lo go
oul of business, according to mayor
John Higgins.
Il employs _ooui  12 people.
The deal was announced by Higgins during a Nov. 3 city finance
committee meeting. Il was expected
to be approved by city council on
emergency Nov. 10.
"I believe this will be a win-win
situation for the cily in obtaining the
jobs and serving as a site for (water)
detention," the mayor said.
The arrangement has been under
negotiation for about six months.
Negotiations involved at least two
dozen meetings with the city, KTM,
lhe Amherst Eagles Club, Amhcrsl
businessman John Penton and High-
point Trailers, he added.
It involves a total of five acres of
land located immediately west of a
laundromat on Milan Avenue. The
trailer company is located behind
the laundromat.
The front three acres ncxl lo the
laundromat will be sold to KTM by
Penton for ils headquarters. The two
acres located behind it is the site of
lhe proposed detention pond.
KTM has 22 employees.
The Eagles Club has an option on
all five acres under a deal worked
oul several years ago with Penton.
In order to get the two acres, Higgins said Penton has agreed lo donate the land lo the Eagles, from
which the cily will buy it for
540,000. In turn, KTM will buy the
remaining three acres from Penton
for an undisclosed amount.
The mayor said the cily chose the
two acres because the Lorain
County Engineer's Office determined il is the best site for a detention pond to relieve flooding in the
area. It will be built at the base of
lhe Conrail railroad tracks.
The land "is like the bottom of a
dish" and will collect storm water
lhal might overload the sewers in
the area, Higgins explained.
The detention pond is part of plan
lo alleviate storm water flooding in
the cily through the construction of
a scries of holding ponds.
The pond will be paid for by state
Issue II public works money. The
S40.000 payment to lhe Eagles Club
will serve as the city's in-kind share
of local funding for the grant, Higgins said.
The money will come from city
council's contingency fund.
Close to nature:
kids learn lesson
in caring for hurt
animals at center
by NITA OFFINEER
News-Times correspondent
Charles Lindbergh, as an old
man, declared lhal if he could be a
young man again, he would choose
a career lhat kept him more in contact with nature than with science
saying, "In wilderness I sense the
miracle of life, and behind it our scientific accomplishments fade to
trivia."
Love, respect and caring for nature comes when exposure to il allows people to leave with feelings
of being connected to and having an
understanding of the living things
around them.
Powers Elementary School kin-
dergartners were provided with the
opportunity' lo see and touch some
very special creatures that inhabiiat
our world.
For a few days in October, all
Powers kindergarten classes visited
the Lake Erie Science and Nature
Center, located on Wolfe Road, Bay
Village, in Huntington Reservation,
Cleveland Metroparks.
There, along wilh instructor, Pal
have been volunteering al for some
lime," he said. "It's not like I don't
have the opportunity to help oul because I do and want to. I will keep
my hand in things."
Rice said he will continue serving
on a downtown revitalization committee and a sports festival group
that raises money for improvements
to lhe city's parks and recreation
programs.
John Mishak was unchallenged in
his re-election bid as fourth, ward
council member and captured 670
votes.
Newcomer Edwin Cowgcr was
unchallenged in his bid for the second ward seat and collected 669
votes. Cowger replaces Nancy
Brown, who was elected to fill the
at-large seat of Diane Eswine.
Eswine was victorious in her bid
in-
ger
to become city
cumbent John I
Darlcne Klingenmier.
Council members at large John
Dietrich and David Kukucka also
were unchallenged and won reelection. Brown garnered 1,955 votes,
Dietrich 2,031 and Kukucka 1,960.
Council president Wayne White,
who was unchallenged, collected
2,750 votes.
Lombrix, the kindergarten sludents
saw, touched and heard aboul the
uniqueness of animals from both our
area, and distant worlds.
Lombrix first introduced the students to a Soulh American
chinchilla, which she said live in
caves and arc the softest animals in
the world. Nexi, the children petted
a snow white rabbit, and a baby
opossum.
Lombrix explained lhat lhe opossum's mother, while pregnant, had
been hit by a car and taken to the
Nature Center. One of the baby
opossums was then raised al the
Center, and Lombrix said the animal
thinks it is a human.
She also said lhat opossums are
the only North American animal to
carry ils young in a pouch, and have
lhe most teeth than any other land
animal in the world. Lombrix also
said, though scientists do nol know
why, opossums live for only two
years.
The kindergarten sludents were
also able to see an Eastern Screech
owl.  Lombrix  explained  lhal the
CONTINUED on page 2
Adam Molnar plans to return to school when he can; for now, he is a computer whiz at the high school media center.
Music student also cancer survivor
Adam Molnar doesn't think
about his near death from cancer
nearly 10 months ago. He's
more intent on fulfilling his
dream of becoming a music
teacher.
On New Year's Eve 1996, the
1995 graduate of Marion L.
Steele High School was diagnosed as having lymphoblastic
cancer, an advanced form of
lymphoma lhal usually is fatal.
Difficult illness sidelines
Molnar, baffles his doctors
He nearly died last February
when he contracted an infection
while undergoing chemotherapy.
He survived but has been left
without feeling in the fourth and
fifth fingers of bolh hands, a
side effect of the four regiments
of chemotherapy that saved his
life.
Molnar, 21, also lives with
pain in some toes of both feet,
another side effect.
While a MLS student, Molnar
won the Sousa Award, the high
est music award a high school
student can win. While in
school, ne played in the marching band, concert band, jazz
band and others, including the
Lorain County Community College band.
His nightmare began last year
while majoring in music education al Eastern Michigan Uni-
CONTINUED on page 6
Instructs Pat Lombrix ot the Lake Erie Science and Nature Center
introduces Powers Elementary School kindergarten students to
Peta the opossum.
Buses, underground
tanks on school list
of next year's repairs
Voters who approved a two-
mill replacement levy for the upkeep of the city's schools can
expect to see at least $250,000
spent on much-needed projects
before long.
The two-mill renewal levy
was approved Nov. 4 by a vote
of 3,690 to 2,407, a margin of
about 60 to 40 percent, according to unofficial election results.
It will generate $547,000 annually over five years.
Two projects, new school
buses and underground fuel
tanks, are high on the list of improvements that a permanent
improvement committee is expected to review early next year.
The group, which will meet in
late January or early February, is
expected to approve spending at
least $100,000 on two 4.000 gallon fuel tanks for school buses.
One will be for gasoline, the
other for diesel fuel.
They will replace an old
8,000 gallon gasoline tank buried near the school district's bus
garage on Washington   Street,
according to assistant superintendent of schools Timothy
Logar.
Located adjacent to Powers
Elementary School, it must be
dug up and replaced in order to
comply wilh U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules, he
added.
Also high on the list may be
the purchase of two new school
buses, each costing about
$55,000, and a new rooftop
heating and air conditioning unit
for Nord Junior High School.
Ihe school district has been
replacing old units over the last
several years. Each costs between $50,000 and $60,000, Logar said.
How the remainder of the money will be spent will be determined by the committee. Il will
receive recommendations from
school principals and a special
administrative subcommittee, he
added.
The funds cannot be used for
staff salaries.
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