n SEPT. 1 - - An Ashtabula County sheriff's deputy is switching hats to be the school resource officer at Lakeside High School. The Ashtabula Area City School Board of Education recently worked out a plan to hire deputy Sgt. Cary Nelson, a 25-year veteran law enforcement officer.

- SEPT. 2 - - A small crowd of boaters gathered along both sides of the Ashtabula River in Ashtabula, to watch work crews unload a dredge into the water - - a major first step in the three-year, $50 million project. Crews will begin removing contaminated sediment from the bottom of a one-mile stretch of the river bottom.

- SEPT. 3 - - Anglers, boaters and environmentalists are up in arms about the Coast Guard's proposal to establish a weapons training zones on Lake Erie. The Coast Guard wants to establish four areas on the lake, as well as 30 other zones on the four other Great Lakes, where they can train using live ammunition.

- SEPT. 4 - - It was Labor Day weekend and the final days for Erieview Park in Geneva-on-the-Lake, as it planned to close forever. The official last day will be Sept. 9., with an auction of the amusement rides set for early October.

- SEPT. 5 - - The Great Geauga County Fair goes on despite aftermath of Ernesto. Fair visitors enjoyed a large assortment of fair fare that included apple cider, funnel cakes, snow cones, corn dogs and more.

- SEPT. 6 - - The man police believe shot and seriously wounded a 25-year-old Ashtabula man Aug. 22 is behind bars, awaiting formal charges of attempted murder. Joseph Schmeisser of Ashtabula surrendered to police about 4 p.m. on Sept. 5 at a home in the 2900 block of Route 45 in Saybrook Township.

- SEPT. 7 - - Joseph Schmeisser, 25, of Columbus Avenue appeared in Ashtabula Municipal Court on charges of attempted aggravated murder with a weapon, a first-degree felony. If convicted Schmeisser could spend 10 years in prison and be fined up to $10,000. The charges stem from an incident that happen Aug. 22 in Saybrook Township home, where another Ashtabula man was shot.

- SEPT. 8 - - The historic Ashtabula Harbor Lift Bridge will be revamped in 2007, but not without affecting motorist. In order for the bascule-type bridge to receive $2 million worth of upgrades, traffic must be rerouted.

- SEPT. 9 - - A Conneaut women was arrested after she killed her boyfriend's dog by throwing it down a flight of stairs, according to police reports. Donna Steverding, 41, 260 Sandusky St., has been charged with cruelty to animals, a second-degree misdemeanor, and domestic violence, a fourth-degree misdemeanor, according to Conneaut Municipal Court reports.

- SEPT. 10 - - Barring snags, work could begin this year on Conneaut's first large-scale residential development in years. Initial plans call for single-family dwellings to sprout on property on the north side of Gateway Avenue, east of Route 7, Michael Battaglia, of Conneaut Gateway LLC, said. Battaglia will discuss his ideas for the project with the city's planning commission.

- SEPT. 11 - - The Don Burns Orchestra played to a crowd at Walnut Beach. It was the last band to perform for the season at the Walnut Beach summer concert series. The concert held during the summer were free to the public.

- SEPT. 12 - - Ashtabula City Manager Anthony Cantagallo denied that city police are engaging in racial profiling in making arrests within the city's black neighborhoods. The profiling and accusation of police brutality was raised during a community meeting spear-headed by NAACP leadership in Ashtabula.

- SEPT. 13 - - Dismissed traffic tickets topped the list of concerns at a city safety forces committee meeting. Vice President Josephine Misener said she believes revenue created by traffic cases could mean an additional police officer on the street, but that's not what is happening.

- SEPT. 14 - - A Perry Township woman said to be despondent over her mother's death set fire to her home killing her 25-year-old son who suffered from cerebral palsy. Mike Henry died in a house fire at 3424 Parmly Road.

- SEPT. 15 - - Lisa Henry, of Perry Township, faces murder and arson charges and could spend the rest of her life behind bars. Henry is accused of setting fire to her home and killing her disabled son.

- SEPT. 16 - - An E. coli outbreak traced to California prompted local grocers to clear their shelves of spinach. The outbreak that killed one and made 90 others sick was traced to Natural Selection Foods, based in San Juan Bautista, Calif.

- SEPT. 17 - - Conneaut was the scene of a D-Day re-enactment that played out the events of June 6, 1944. One of history's most epic battles was revisited at Conneaut Township Park, with more than 300 re-enactors staged the invasion before an estimated 2,000 spectators.

- SEPT. 18 - - Andover honors hero, U.S. Army Sgt. David Gordon. Gordon, 23, of Williamsfield. Gordon was killed Sept. 7 when the Humvee he was driving rolled over a landmine outside of Baghdad, Iraq.

- SEPT. 19 - - A .45-caliber pistol and stacks of cash were among items seized by local law enforcement in a drug bust Friday night. Six people face a litany of felony drug charges after the bust, which began when the Ashtabula Police Department's Special Operations Group, along with the county SWAT Team and member of TAG raided a home on Strong Avenue.

- SEPT. 20 - - Someone's sick idea of fun is putting motorists on Route 307 in real jeopardy, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. During the past several weeks, vandals have been spreading dangerous debris on a stretch of the state highway in the Dorset Township area.

- SEPT. 21 - - Ohio has recorded more than a dozen cases of E. coli-related illness in recent days, but none originated from Ashtabula County, according to local health officials. Sept. 16, a number of cases involving illness and even a death were linked to bad spinach from Natural Selection Foods, based in San Juan Bautista, Calif.

- SEPT. 22 - - Conneaut school administration building will become an accounting office. The board of education had put the building up for auction, but had no bidders. It then listed the one-story building with a private real estate firm, finally selling it to Raymond and Jennifer Palagyi for $147,500.

- SEPT. 23 - - A watershed plan for the Ashtabula River is in the works, thanks to a $55,600 grant to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The study of the river will be done over the next three years.

- SEPT. 24 - - When the Giant Eagle closed it's doors one year ago, Conneaut lost it's largest supermarket and an anchor in the Gateway Plaza shopping center. Local leaders are still optimistic the big building and the void in the city's retail sector will be filled sooner than later.

- SEPT. 25 - - A coal train loaded with coal bound for the Ashtabula docks never made it as a derailment sent cars flying off the tracks in Wayne Township. The train, which had 105 cars, was on the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks when the derailment took place.

- SEPT. 26 - - Unlike recent years, flu vaccine will be in good supply for the upcoming sneezing season. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported earlier this month that vaccine manufacturers expect to produce and provide more than 100 million does of vaccine within the United States by early January.

- SEPT. 27 - - After putting in seven years as Ashtabula County administrator, Joe Pedro, is calling it quits. At the commissioner's meeting, they publicly thanked Pedro for his dedication and service to the county.

- SEPT. 28 - - Portions of an ancient glacial lake, known as Morgan Swamp in Morgan Township, will be open to the public soon, for bird-watching, photography and hiking, by the Nature Conservancy, according to it's Ohio director, Richard Shank.

- SEPT. 29 - - Lots of cockroaches are turning a quiet Conneaut neighborhood upside down. Residents claim their homes are being infested by bugs living in a vacant Marshall Street house.

- SEPT. 30 - - Two weeks after vigorously defending his court against criticism, Municipal Court Judge Albert Camplese now proposes a new, formal policy for filing traffic tickets. The proposal comes after discussion of dismissing traffic tickets was discussed at a Ashtabula City safety forces committee meeting.

Star Beacon Print Edition: 01/01/2007

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