Amherst News-Times, 2000-08-16

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Sandstone Masons to debut — Page 3
Bus routes are listed — Pages 5 7 *
Amherst News-Tinu
Worinesdny,  August   16, 2000
Residents
scramble
to aid lady
in need
by JASON TOMASZEWSKI
News-Times reporter
1 Oood things happen when people
iA the community come together.
Such was the case for an elderly
Amherst resident who found herself
without a house. The community,
led by the Sandstone Office on Aging, was able to comb the area for
the 86-year-old woman and find her
suitable housing.
The woman was living by herself
in what the building inspector called
substandard housing. Because she
never married, her only family was
an older brother and sister. She relied on the Office on Aging for meals and an occasional checkup, according to executive director Nine
Lorandcau. However, when the
building inspector condemned her
house she was left with no place to
go.
Enter the Sandstone assistance.
The center made an attempt to get
her into the Lorain County Metropolitan Housing Authority, but there
Was a 90-day wait So they did the
only thing they could do. They set
the woman up in a hotel, where she
received three meals a day and occasional company.
. The hotel stay lasted six weeks
With the American Red Cross picking up the tab for two weeks, a local
donor paying for one, a local church
paying for one, and other local sources paying for the rest of her stay.
' "Our board made this a top priority ," said Lorandcau. "They went
right to work."
All of the meals were provided by
tbe meals on wheels program that
the center provides. "Quite a few of
the meals were brought by local
families, most of which were prepared at home," stated Lorandeau.
"The amount of energy from the
community volunteers was
amazing."
■ While the woman sat in the hotel,
the center's board, which is made up
entirely of volunteers, worked feverishly to find an adequate home for
her. The search ended when they
found an open spot in Albright
Terrace.
The woman is said to be enjoying
her new home, while the center is
breathing a sigh of relief.
'. "She was left with no safety net
after her house was condemned,"
said Lorandeau. This just shows
you what a community can
accomplish."
The center is currendy looking
for driven for their meals on wheels
program. Anyone who is interested
should call the Center on Aging at
988-2817.
Amhorst, Ohio
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Above one of the Goodwill Games participants can't wait to get in    Pele proud. Below right a camper looks to go deep,
i the action. Below left campers display footwork that would make
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Games bring goodwill to town
Mayor John Higgins opened the
Goodwill Games with a balloon liftoff Thursday at St Joseph Church.
The games are a culmination of a
nine week camp for 5- to 12-year-
olds held every year in Amherst
The thing that makes this year's
event so special is that it is the first
time that the three camps in the dio-
cese have come together in
Amherst
'This is very special because this
is the first time we have all been
together here," said games director
Maureen Vazzano.
The three camps that were represented in Amherst were St Joseph
Church in Amherst the Center for
Pastoral Leadership in Wickliff, and
Camp Corde in Parma.
The day-long camp, which is intended to instill a sense of sportsmanship and fair play, began with
the 2S0 kids breaking into groups to
work on fundamentals. Each group
would work on the basics of a particular sport The kids worked on
hand-eye coordination as well as
teamwork.
The spons that were included
were football, basketball, kickball,
soccer, and volleyball.
After a group lunch the kids were
back in action participating in team
games. Here the kids learned how to
use the techniques they learned in
the morning session in the team setting. The groups rotated among several atypical games that are loosely
related to the sports.
The theme of the Goodwill
Games came from Peter Yarrow's
"Don't Laugh at Me" program,
which attempts to curb the ridicule
of children.
"We eliminate the competitiveness and play just for fun," said
Vazzano.
The camp was led by a group of
40 councilors from all over the area.
Most of the councilors are college
students, or recent graduates. "They
(the councilors) did a great job,"
praised Vazzano.
While the St Joseph camp is a
yearly event it will probably be
another two years before the joint
camp is held in Amherst again. The
joint camp is on a rotating basis
with the other two locations.
"I think that we are one of the
best kept secrets in the area," Vazzano said. This is just a cool place
to be." Judging from the turnout
Thursday Vazzano is right
tor    it
families
by VICKIE HAUFF
News-Times correspondent
Western Reserve Arabians, Ltd.,
of 1246 Park Avenue will hold a
charity auction to benefit the Family
Focus Center based in Lorain.
Teresa Stencil owns the hone
farm with her husband and is one of
the original founders of the Family
Focus Center. She hopes to raise
$20,000 from the horse auction this
weekend.
"Some friends and I saw a real
need in the community," Stencil
said. "Foster families were waiting
months for support, so a small group
of us got together and decided to
help out"
The Family Focus Center is based
in Lorain but serves the entire
county and some surrounding counties as well. Services include psychological counseling and evaluations and full family support when
emotional strain and hardships arise.
The center is open to all in need
and is part of the Lorain County
Health Network. It was established
in 1997 and has placed programs
such as SKIP (Support For Kids
with Incarcerated Parents) into local
schools where kids can receive on
site professional counseling.
Stencil will be auctioning four to
five donated Egyptian Arabian
horses to raise money which will all
be donated to the Family Focus
Center. According to Stencil there
are more than 5,000 Egyptian Arabians in the entire world and she has
23 of them in AmhersL
"These horse are very rare," she
said.
Potential buyers come from as far
away as Africa, Saudi Arabia and
Australia to buy from Stencil and
she hopes the local public will attend the auction for a first hand look
at these special beauties.
"All no-profits need money and
the Family Focus Center does such
wonderful work. I am happy to be a
part of it"
The FFC will have information
available at the auction site and
hopes to inform as much of the
public as possible of it's services.
The Family Focus Center is located at 209 W, 4th Sl in Lorain or
call 440-244-4999. For more information on the Arabian Hone auction contact Teresa Stencil at
988-9558.
What's your favorite show? Why, crocs...
by JASON TOMASZEWSKI
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News-Times reporter
. Who warns to be a millionaire? It
seems like a ludicrous question. Of
course everybody would like to be a
millionaire. Perhaps that is why the
television game show is crushing
the competition in the ratings game.
\, People are tuning in every night
tp see if Joe Avenge will walk
away with the big money.
..The amazing popularity of tad
shows such as "Who Wants to be a
Millionaire?" and "Survivor" is
sjw»""g network executives and
critics alike. People just can't seem
to took away. That is, people outside of Amherst
, While these shows continue to
cause a craze across the country, the
residents of Amherst simply are not
caught up in it at least the ones approached by the News-Times last
"I don't see how anybody has the
time to sit down and watch television any more." says Tanny
tar view
of the essence, and they would
rather do other things than watch tv.
But what about the shows they do
watch when they get a spare minute
or two? Naturally then they will
check out these hot new shows.
Right? Wrong.
Mowcomber said that she has
never seen a single episode of Survivor. Just about everyone else who
wu asked about the keystone shows
of the summer said that they don't
really pay that much attention to
them either.
"I have only seen one episode of
Millionaire just so that I could have
something to say if someone
brought it up," stated Don Dovala.
Bobbi Forrest claims that she
might watch Millionaire if there is
nothing else on at the time.
So if no one in Amherst is watching Millionaire or Survivor, just
what is on their tube?
The Crocodile Hunter! Yes Crocodile Steve Irwin is the moat popular show
Young, old, i
they just can't fat enough of
MM Koperde* and Aaron Kaene say they ami get enough of
the Crooodta Hunter.
la Aaimal Planet's daredevil
The gay Is an ataohae hnwfc,"  Street ia ftaaaia There was a   *•»'«
said Larry Nietait of Son* MUa show where he dove oa a
and Pteep Plat dam Tha Acme Hour it tope.
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