n JAN. 1 - - Gary Ness and Tim Guthrie have worked together for six years, and on occasion, shared a game of golf. Now they share life in a literal sense. Guthrie, 39, of Ashtabula, donated a kidney to Ness, 59, of Madison. Ness suffered with kidney disease for the past 15 years. About a year ago, he began dialysis - - a grueling process that filters the patient's blood.
- JAN. 2 - - Shaun Cahill recently moved to Ashtabula to help out his family. He is finally able to make ends meet. He got a job, a house and is feeling pretty comfortable with his situation. A big part of his financial stability is his credit card debt, which Cahill describes as "controllable, but definitely up there." Cahill's financial stability - - like many other Americans - - will be disrupted by several credit card companies that are doubling their minimum payments beginning in January.
- JAN. 3 - - Ralph E. Clark appeared in Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court for a pre-trial - - only four days after prosecutors issued nine subpoenas to potential witnesses in the highly publicized murder case, court records show. Among those on the subpoena list are law enforcement officers, a firefighter, an ambulance worker and some of Clark's adult children. The action came shortly after Judge Ronald Vettel denied a motion to suppress the taped and written confessions police recorded during interviews with Clark, records show.
- JAN. 4 - - Ralph E. Clark has until noon to decide whether he will negotiate a plea deal with the county prosecutor, a judge said. Clark, 44, faces life in prison without parole if convicted of the May 7, 2005 murder of his estranged wife, Carolyn, 43. Prosecutors said Ralph Clark killed her at her Ashtabula apartment in a botched murder-suicide.
- JAN. 5 - - It was a day of excitement and smiles as students returned to the new Geneva High School after vacation. Students had no problems navigating around the expansive one-story structure. Staff and students have had maps of the facility since September, said GHS Principal Joanne Daniels. Students took tours of the new school before the holiday break. However, to make sure everything went smooth, volunteers were on hand to help direct students.
- JAN. 6 - - A federal energy bill approved last year could energize Conneaut's chances of securing a $1 billion coal-fired power generating plant, said Joseph Moroski, Ashtabula County Commission president. The energy bill details a wide range of information pertaining to energy projects, including applicable taxes and regulations, he said.
- JAN. 7 - - Blustery winter weather greeted new City Manager Anthony Cantagallo Friday as he toured the Ohio Department of Transportation facility at 5520 West Avenue. The city is interested in purchasing the facility, which included a 55-year-old garage, a salt done and several out-buildings, said Jim Rodgers, service director. The facility has been vacant since November when ODOT moved to new, larger headquarters at the southwest corner of Seven Hills Road and Route 11 in Plymouth Township.
- JAN. 8 - - In a snug bedroom in Conneaut, 75-year-old retiree Clarence Baugher can talk with people around the world. He doesn't use a telephone, that would be too costly. Since 1954 as a licensed amateur ham radio operator, Baugher keeps up with his hobby of tuning in to places most of us have not heard of or even visited. A Korean War veteran, Baugher was discharged in 1951 serving eight years in the Ohio National Guard.
- JAN. 9 - - Higher taxes will build new school buildings in the Jefferson Area Local School District this year. But before the first brick can be placed, district residents have to open their checkbooks and pay just under $21 million over the next 28 years. In May, voters said yes to a building program that will replace three of the district's schools, including two elementary schools. The junior and senior high schools will be combined. The 5.96-mill bond issue passed by a margin of 1,887 to 1,434, according to the Ashtabula County Board of Elections. Residents received the first installment of the bond issue in this year's income tax bill, raising taxes $50 per $100,000 of home valuation.
- JAN. 10 - - A 35-year-old Williamsfield Township man, John R. Marsh, could face the death penalty if found guilty of the Christmas night shooting deaths of his wife, Jennifer and a male friend, David Beach, 32, of Richmond Township. An Ashtabula County grand jury returned multiple criminal indictments, which were released to the public. March is charged with six counts of aggravated murder with specifications, two counts of kidnapping with firearm specifications, three counts of aggravated burglary with firearm specifications, two counts of attempted kidnapping with firearm specifications and one count of aggravated robbery with firearm specification. The murder charges carry specifications for which the death penalty may be imposed.
- JAN. 11 - - A Lakeside High School mother says the high school has a daily problem with student fights and school administration won't do a thing about it. Kathy Crislip said her two teenage daughters are afraid to attend LHS. Fights, and students carrying weapons, are a problem, and administrators won't do anything about it, she said. Crislip said her daughter Kassandra was jumped by another female student, between classes. Then the same student punched Kassandra while both students were inside the principal's office, Crislip said.
- JAN. 12 - - Lakeside High School is safe and there are not a large number of fights, students say. Chris Rosetti, an LHS senior disagrees that fights among students are a big problem at the school. Rosetti doesn't fear walking into the school and administration does keep things under control. Rosetti and others reacted to comments by Kathy Crislip, a parent of two LHS student in an article. Crislip said fighting and intimidation at the school were a problem and administrators weren't doing anything about the problem.
- JAN. 13 - - Officials from several communities put their heads together to discuss moving forward with a proposed centralized dispatching center for the county. The proposed center would be a separate entity, not affiliated with one particular community. It would have it's own board and be housed in it's own location, with fire and emergency medical services separate from law enforcement, said Peggy Carlo, Saybrook Township trustee.
- JAN. 14 - - As preparations began for his trial, murder suspect Ralph E. Clark instead, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder with a gun specification in a negotiated plea arranged between his court appointed lawyer, Hobart Shiflet and County Prosecutor Thomas Sartini. Clark, 44, of Jefferson, is charged with the May 7, 2005 murder of his estranged wife, Carolyn.
John R. Marsh, 35, of Williamsfield, entered into a plea of not guilty to multiple murder charges during his Common Pleas Court arraignment. Marsh appeared subdued as he sat in court before Judge Ronald Vettel. The judge appointed two attorneys, David Doughton of Cleveland as lead defense counsel and Ashtabula County Public Defender Marie Lane as co-counsel. The father of three is charged with the Christmas night shooting deaths of his wife, Jennifer, 30, and a male friend, David Beach, 32, of Richmond Township.
- JAN. 15 - - Former "American Idol" finalist Scott Savol has been keeping himself busy since the end of the show working on recording his first album. He made his way back to the area, though, to begin working on a different project at Wood Shed Recording Studios. Savol, along with eight other local bands, are recording an album titled Ohio Zone. The album will feature everything from mellow music to metal music, said Keith Lipovich, of Tevis Entertainment Inc. Savol will record two songs that will be featured on the compilation album.
- JAN. 16 - - The Madison Board of Education is defending it's decision to cut transportation and is working to educate district resident about it's upcoming levy with a series of town meetings and an informational Web site. As students and parents fall into the routine of driving, walking and organizing rides to and from the high school every day, the board has updated the Web site www.madisonschools.net with a property tax calculator and levy information link.
- JAN. 17 - - Gasoline prices in Ohio have dropped more than 7 cents during the last week, giving consumers a small break at the pumps, AAA reports. This price break was expected after the holiday travel season, when demand declines and the market relaxes, AAA East Central director of communications Bevi Norris said. At $2.30, Ohio gas prices are just under the national average of $2.32 per gallon, though Ashtabula's average price is $2.39 per gallon at the pumps.
- JAN. 18 - - An investigation into a Madison village councilman that resulted in drug charges was initiated in Ashtabula County, where additional charges could be filed, investigators said after his first court appearance. Councilman Larry Buck's attorney accused narcotics agents of deliberately waiting to arrest Buck, forcing him to spend a long weekend in jail. Attorney Leo Talikka made the accusation before visiting Judge Michael Learner during Buck's video arraignment in Painesville Municipal Court on drug trafficking charges. Buck pleaded not guilty, but was released on a person $25,000 bond.
- JAN. 19 - - A power outage in Jefferson resulted in two basketball games being canceled at Jefferson Area High School and a boiler unit malfunctioning there. Power surges with a brown-out started about 6 p.m. Principal Thomas Harrison said maintenance personnel were evaluating the damage to the electric motor on the boiler from the electric power surges.
- JAN. 20 - - City officials began an aggressive plan to go after homeowners who are responsible for blighted properties and squalid living conditions. The first target was 3419 Lake Ave., a vacant gray house with white trim, owned by Salihu Hasan of Cleveland and filled with enough junk, trash and debris to load several city dump trucks. Under City Manager Anthony Cantagallo's ordinance enforcement program, property owners who refuse to fix or clean up their properties will be slapped with a bill, said Dom Iarocci, the head of the city's sanitation department.
- JAN. 21 - - A dozen or so uninvited "guests" busted up a party on West 37th Street, providing neighbors with an up-close version of "Cops." Two people were arrested around 11 p.m. after Ashtabula Police Department's Special Operations Group (SOG) and the county-wide Special Weapons And Tactic team, raided an apartment at 1002 W. 37th Street. Inside police found five women, one man, a BB gun, and what appeared to be an egg-sized bag of crack cocaine, a large one-gallon sized bag of marijuana, and several small sandwich bags filled with marijuana and crack cocaine.
- JAN. 22 - - The scuffed hardwood dance floor of Kelly's Jewels Dance Hall jumps underneath the hundreds of cowboy boots stomping across it every week. Line-dancers from all walks of life pile into the popular country-western watering hole each week to boot-scoot to the tunes of Trace Adkins, Keith Anderson and Brooks and Dunn. Whether they're doing the "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk," the "Watermelon Crawl" or the "Boot Scootin' Boogie," these folks line up week after week and execute the dances with precision.
- JAN. 23 - - A sharp increase in state-sponsored health care has an Ohio senator looking for the culprit, and he can say he found it at Wal-Mart. State Sen. Robert Hagan, D-Youngstown, introduced the Fair Share Health Care legislation last week that will require Ohio's largest companies to pay a higher percentage of workers' health-care costs in an effort to relieve an overburdened state health-care system, legislative aide Gregg Paul said.
- JAN. 24 - - Area officials are hopeful local manufacturers won't suffer from cuts in operations announced by Ford Motor Co. Monday. The automotive giant said it would cut as many as 30,000 jobs and shut down 14 facilities by 2012 to compensate for losses suffered in the U.S. market during the past several years. Several Ashtabula County manufacturers, especially those that specialize in plastics, create parts and components for the auto industry.
- JAN. 25 - - A typical winter day, with heavy white snowflakes falling from the gray skies outside of Manor Home Geneva. But inside, the residents were buzzing with excitement as they awaited the arrival of their favorite Cleveland Indians players. Tribe members, hitting coach Derek Shelton, catcher Victor Martinez, relief pitcher Rafael Betancourt and starting pitcher Cliff Lee visited the home after dining with more than 200 fans at the Indians Press Tour at the Geneva State Park Lodge and Conference Center.
- JAN. 26 - - A deadly driving trend begun last year threatens to continue unabated in 2006. So far this month, four men - - three from Ashtabula County and one from Geauga County - - have died in traffic accidents. The carnage has local Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers wondering whether a repeat of 2005, which saw 26 traffic deaths within the county's borders, is ahead. Raising fears is the fact Ashtabula County notched three traffic deaths in January 2005, as well.
- JAN. 27 - - After nearly four years of study and speculation, Dominion officials announced they will not build a coal-fired power generating plant in Conneaut. Lack of available capital - - not the Conneaut site - - was the reason the $1 billion project will not go forward, said Mark Lazenby, Dominion spokesman in Richmond, Va. When Dominion announced the start of a feasibility study in 2002, company officials warned, and continued to warn, that the project may not bear fruit. Still local and county officials were disheartened by the news.
- JAN. 28 - - The history of Ashtabula County's Underground Railroad Trail was the highlight at the Ashtabula Arts Center. Twelve 60-inch by 40-inch markers tell the history of the Underground Railroad and are displayed at the center. The markers are indoor duplicates of larger, clear fiberglass markers that will be installed along the Western Reserve Greenway Trail. Each marker will be located near road intersections, said Kevin Grippi, a volunteer for the project.
- JAN. 29 - - Two Ashtabula County men were transported by MedEvac helicopter to Hamot Medical Center in Erie, Pa., following a high speed pursuit which resulted in a crash. Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers attempted to stop a 1998 Jeep Wrangler which was reported stolen from the Circle K in Ashtabula. The Jeep was followed for a short period of time on Stanhope-Kelloggsville Road.
- JAN. 30 - - More than 100 area residents made a statement by protesting in front of the new Wal-Mart Supercenter on Route 20 in Madison Township, delivering the message that the store is not welcome in the community. The underlying message of the protest is the high costs to the community of the store's low prices. Bruce Miller of Mentor said one of the big concerns is loss of business to area retailers, like Giant Eagle.
- JAN. 31 - - State dollars will help a chunk of property on Conneaut's East Side fill the development void created by the now-defunct Dominion power plant project. The city of Conneaut learned it had received $625,000 to help improve a portion of the East Conneaut Industrial Park. The money will help match a $325,000 federal grant for the park's growth announced in 2004.
Star Beacon Print Edition: 01/01/2007
