Amherst News-Times, 2001-12-26

              eafamfr
O    t-a    O    O
O    <fi    X    X        '*
r   OJHH
c in o o
3        i     •;
CD    <    X   »-H *fj
C ft H
(/>  r- Crt ej»
3 H M
J> O -^
I>   H   N
< «■>«>».
m *t> ts>
r-   W -1
O
O
T
Median strip raises questions — Page 2      Library offers e-mail course — Pa
o
x
]
Amherst News-Times
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2001
Locals' giving
to food pantry
doesn't slow
during holiday
AMHERST, OHIO
by ERIK YORKE
News-Times reporter
In recent months, people across
the country have been giving generously to those in New York,
Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania.
With that national tragedy still
looming large on the public's collective consciousness, it is easy to
overlook those right in your back
yard who are in need.
One local organization that has
done a lot over the years to help
local people in need is the Good
Shepherd Amherst Food Pantry and
they are working harder than ever
this year to see that area folks are
not overlooked.
The organization, housed at the
Good Shepherd Baptist Church, was
founded by Nancy Burls 18 years
ago as a way to help some people
that Burls knew could use some
help. The County Cupboard organization, now known as Second
Harvest Food Bank, asked Burls to
keep up the work by making the
Amherst Food Pantry a hunger center site for their group.
"I started it accidentally," Burls,
the director of the Amherst Food
Pantry said. "I had a friend that
knew someone who needed food
and clothing, so I made an announcement at the church. At the
end of the week, we were
overwhelmed."
Burls said that so much food and
clothing was gathered that it was divided up and given to several families. Since then, the food pantry has
CONTINUED on page 14
Volunteers get ready to pack food to give to needy families in the
area at the Amherst Food Pantry. The group will help 75 area fami
lies this holiday season.
Residents earn kudos
from city for projects
by ERIK YORKE
The Amherst Police Explorers and patrolman
John Balog pose for a photograph prior to their
regular meeting at the Amherst police headquarters. Pictured from left to right in the front row are
Kyle Gelenius, Pete Deskins, Jason Jasinski and
Balog. In the back row are Joel Miller, Mike Re-
dilla, Mike Kastanis, Ed Massey, Mark Wagner
and Dave Phillips.
Teens explore career
paths in police work
by ERIK YORKE
News-Times reporter
Nine young men, high school students, reported to the Amherst police headquarters last week.
You may have already assumed
that these teens have done something wrong. In fact, they are part of
a group called the Amherst Police
Explorers; they reported to the police station is they do regularly, to
leant the techniques and challenges
of police work.
The Explorers, a program affil
iated with the Boy Scouts of
America, has existed in Amherst for
a long time, according to the program supervisor, patrolman John
Balog.
"We had it years ago and it fell
by the wayside." Balog said. Then
we brought it back and started to be
more active."
The program allows young people the opportunity to interact with
police in a learning environment.
The Explorers work with dispatch-
en on police and 911 calls and
sometimes ride along with patrol-
persons. They wear their own uni
forms, complete with badges and
everything else you'd expect a police officer to wear, minus the gun.
They often can be seen at school
sporting events working crowd
control.
There are currently 11 members
in the group. The three members
that have been there the longest and
already have uniforms are Pete De-
skins, Kyle Gelenius and Jason Jasinski. The other, newer membere
are Ashley Frantz, John Johnson,
Mike Kastanis, Ed Massey, Joel
CONTINUED on peg* 7
News-Times reporter
Seven people will be honored this
year with City Enhancement
Awards for their work to make the
city more beautiful. Dennis Bender,
Andy Cotton, Sue Cotton, Gina
Grasso, Matt Grasso, William
Leimkuehler and Paul Lutz have all
been chosen to receive awards this
year.
The recipients, who were picked
by city council to receive the
awards, will do so at the next regular council meeting on Jan. 7 unless
there are difficulties obtaining
plaques. If that occurs they will be
awarded at a later date.
For most recipients, this is not
their first year doing volunteer work
for the city. Bender has been doing
what he can to help for the last four
years, as long as he's lived in
Amherst.
"I like this little town," Bender
said. Bender is being honored, specifically, for his work at the veteran's
park, where he did some sandblasting. However, that is not the only
service he's done for the city.
Others include planting some
bushes near where State Route 2
meets Leavitt Road as well as providing the stone for flowerbeds on
the comer of Church Street and
Tenney Avenue.
"I live here and I've got the
stuff," Bender said of why he
chooses to do the work. Bender is a
general contractor and runs Bender
Construction.
Sue Cotton said she had always
had her eye on the Tenney Avenue
wall as a potential project
"I'd been wanting to do the wall
for yean," Cotton said. She continued, saying that after the tragic
events of Sept 11, her reaolvetouo
something patriotic with the wall
increased.
"I saw lhat somebody had painted
their whole house as • fl«g." Cotton
Dennis Bender Inspects some stones he donated to tne city thai
now form a flowerbed near the gazebo on the corner of Church.
Street and Tenney Avenue In downtown Amherst.
painting. Cotton said, were local
Boy Scouts and one man who bed
just been passing by only to return
with his entire family.
Cotton's 16-year-old son. Andy,
will also be recognized by the ckjr
for bceutifiratinn wot*. The
ger Cotton donated Ms fine a*
CONTINUED on page S
said. "I went to the mayor and he
said 'go for it"
Cotton said that 18 people **>-
peered the day the wall was to be
painted to help her. AM of their
names appear en the well, beneath
an American Fl** and the caption:
God Bites America.
la the
I