Leap Day

Today is February 29th and that happens only every four years. I wasn't going to post anything today. It's a good day to stay in and catch up on some reading. However, I got curious about how Leap Year came about and thought if I don't write anything today I will have to wait another four years for Leap Day to come back around.

So, I went to Wikipedia and found some interesting facts. There's a lot of mind boggling facts and I could bore you to death with a bunch of technical mumbo jumbo. Fact is I got bored with it myself and decided to keep this simple. Keeping simple is easy for me. It comes naturally.

Quite simply an extra day was added to the Gregorian calendar once every four years so we can match up to the solar year. The solar year is six hours longer than our normal 365 days. It was decided that the date would be February 29th and that date is called Leap Day. Leap Year is any year that can be evenly divided by the number four. The next Leap Year will be 2012.

A person born on February 29th is called a "leapling". The newspapers commemorated a few leaplings in today's editions. For instance Virgil Marelli of ELO was pictured in the ER and has been around for 84 years but today is only his 21st birthday. I surely hope he feels 21. Go buy yourself a drink Virgil. You're legal now. Have a great one.

Some folk traditions that go along with this year is that in most English speaking parts of the world it is permissible for a woman to propose marriage to her man in a Leap Year. In old England it was punishable by law if the man refused. However, in Greece it is considered unlucky to get married in a Leap Year. Go figure. Evidently Sadie Hawkins wasn't Greek.

So fellows if your reluctant to pop the question to your gal watch out. You're fair game to have the tables turned on you this year. Question: if a woman proposes to her man does she have to buy the engagement ring?

Found the picture of the post card above on Wikipedia. It's a hundred years old and they noted it was public domain. You can click on it to enlarge.

So Happy Birthday to all you leaplings. Hope to see you again in another four years.

Now back to the book...

ole nib

Great Job Tigers

It was a disappointing ending but there was absolutely nothing for Coach Thompson and the Wellsville Boys Basketball Team to be ashamed of. They played a heck of a game last night and fought to the end. They just ran out of clock. Also, it's my humble opinion that they were a baby step away from being 23-0 if it wasn't for illness and injury. Their only regular season lost was when Zane Carter was playing with a neck injury and last night D.J. Douglas was playing while suffering with a case of the flu. It things like that that can take away from a team's effectiveness. Basketball is a team sport and if one of your starters is hurting it's usually going to cost ya.

Last night the Shadyside Tigers came out with the hot hand and there were times when the Wellsville Tigers couldn't buy a basket. Those 3 pointers can change a score in a hurry. Also there were hints from the wkmxlive announcers that WHS was being victimized with some "home cookin" with the referees. Who is Mike Coin? Or is it Coyne? At any rate he wasn't being praised for his objectiveness for being impartial.

Before wrapping this up I want to thank Terry Brown and his team at wkmxlive for being there. I really enjoyed listening to all the games they did and I normally don't follow roundball. Because of them I really got into it this year. You guys "came a long way baby!" I saw 57 viewers on last night.

To the seniors on this year's team we want to wish you the best of luck in whatever the future holds in store for you. To the rest of the guys we just want to let you know we're looking forward to next year. To all of you and the coaches we thank you for the exciting times. Stand tall. We're proud of you.

Man! What a ride...

ole nib

Sheriff's Trial Continued

From the headlines in today's Morning Journal we read that Columbiana County Sheriff Dave Smith's defense team yesterday filed motions to withdraw their demand for a jury trial and to withdraw their motion to suppress/dismissal of evidence. That motion to suppress evidence was for the urine test results. It came back showing Smith was way over the legal limit.

According to Tom Giambroni yesterday's court filings caught the Cambridge Law Director by surprise. Today a continuance was granted and there will be a "coordinated change of plea" hearing on April 18.

This should come as no great surprise. There was certainly a hint of some legal wrangling going on when Smith pulled out of the primary seeking re-election. Plea bargaining is a very common practice especially for a first time offense and it is also a money saver for all concerned.

Exactly what they are bargaining for is any body's guess and probably won't be public knowledge until the April hearing. Smith refers all questions to his attorney and his attorney apparently isn't taking calls. It will be interesting to see what comes about in April. Right now we don't know the reasons behind any of it and we can only speculate with Smith's reluctance to let us know.

What I don't understand is if they are plea bargaining why wasn't the Cambridge Law Director involved? Surely he has a fax machine. Isn't he part of the legal process down there?

We'll just have to wait and see...

ole nib

Busy Week For Newshounds & Bloggers

This week is going to be busy for us. With basketball games, dinners and court hearings there will a lot of fodder for the print media and old fools like me.

Starting off Wednesday evening the WHS Boys Basketball team travel to Byesville to take on Shadyside in the first game of the Districts. Byesville is just south of Cambridge off I-77 in case you were wondering. I had to refresh my memory. I know the guys are going to go down there and put on a clinic on how the game is played. The game is scheduled for 7 P.M. and barring any technical difficulties wkmxlive said they will be there. Good luck to all.

Thursday is going to be doubly busy with the Ohio Elections Commission holding a probable cause hearing on McClellands complaint filed against Mayor Joe Surace. That's suppose to be in the morning in Columbus. Then Thursday evening is the Chamber of Commerce dinner at the high school. A V.P. from Baard Industries is to be the keynote speaker and the last I heard there were fewer than 10 tickets available. I think I read that the max capacity is 400.

Then on Friday the focus will be in Cambridge, OH, for Sheriff Dave Smith's pre-trial hearing for his OVI citation. The last news I remember is that his defense was trying to get the urine test results thrown out.

J.C. Amato's arraignment was suppose to have been on Thursday but I read in one of the papers that it was pushed back to March 28th. There was no reason given for the delay in the papers.

Not wanting to look ahead I won't mention what's coming up next Saturday. I don't want to get anywhere close to putting a jinx on anyone.

Yes indeed there will be a lot of food for thought offered up this week as we see the various issues unfold. Stay tuned...

ole nib

Whatta Game !!!

Congratulations to the Wellsville Tigers Boys basketball team on their winning the Sectional last night. For most of the game my heart was in my stomach. The Tigers didn't take a lead until late in the fourth quarter and then they traded that back and forth. It was nearly in the last two minutes of the game that they finally put it away. The final score was 57-50.

The guys from wkmxlive said they were playing nervous and that may be true. I know I sure as the devil was. With the regulars and great play off the bench they came through. Now their record is back to 0 - 0 as they move on to the District in Byesville at Meadowbrook High School. In spite of what a couple of the players were quoted as saying there is a lot of us that did give them credit to win and I just know they will be able to do it against Shadyside this week. I just hope they don't wait until late in the game to prove it.

Congratulations are also in order for all the people who made the AP All-East District teams. You know who you are. The Tigers were well mentioned in not only the boys but the girls too in Division IV.

Good luck this coming week. Don't let the distractions take away your focus. Play your game. I know you can do it. I just hope my heart can take it.

ole nib

303 Wells Avenue

When I wrote about Wellsville's council meeting last week I was wondering where this property was located. I found it. It's on the river side of the street. Most of the east-west streets in the village have even numbered addresses on the river side of the streets and the odd numbered ones on the hill side. Not true on Wells. I never realized that. Was it always that way? Back before they made Route 7 a four lane there use to be houses on the hill side.

This is the property that was given to the village. It was announced that they intend to tear it down and make a small play ground or something that can be enjoyed by the public.

Learn something new everyday...

old nib

Old East Liverpool Train Depot

"john doe smith" came through for us again. Thanks "john".

Above is a picture of the EL train depot that their auditor mentioned last week and by gosh, I do remember it. In his post on ORL I asked Matt Stewart if he had a picture of the old depot. I didn't remember it and thought if I could see a picture it might shake off some of the cob webs. Mr. Smith picked up on that and sent us one. It did the trick. I don't know who took the picture or where it is from but I wanted to share it with you all.

For some reason when I first looked at the picture the late Hans Hacker popped in mind. This is the kind of subject he was noted for painting. He may have. That's something else I can't remember.

ole nib

Pennsylvania Railroad Station - Wellsville

I recently got reminded that I've been sitting on this picture of a very old post card sent to me last year. It was one of several that our good friend "john doe smith" sent. I was saving this for a story that's been in the back of my mind for some time now but I still have to do some research for that.

In her recent ramblings at the EL city council meeting this past week their auditor mentioned a train depot up there that I don't remember. That jogged my memory of this one. I don't remember this one either but with this picture I can visualize it.

Wellsville's depot was located at 3rd & Riverside. When I was a young 'un that location was the same as you see it today with the O'Hara Realty & Nationwide Insurance offices. I think that house was the home of the owner of the hotel that was next door.

Obviously this picture was taken back when Wellsville was still a transportation center for moving goods in-land from this river village. It was certainly before the coming of the motorized vehicles. Although it is not dated I'm guessing early 1900s. Whattaya think?

My how times have changed...

ole nib

Good Luck Tigers

Wanted to write a short note to wish the Wellsville boy's basketball team good luck this coming Saturday night. The Tigers take on the Hawks of Hiland High School. Hiland is located out in Amish Country near Berlin. They beat Strasburg this past Monday 58-53 in their first game of the Sectionals.

Couldn't find much info on-line about the Hiland team. Their web site is nowhere near what WHS has. Did find out they are seeded #3 for the tournament and they were not ranked in the last AP poll. Couldn't even find out what their regular season record was.

Before I go on I have to correct myself. I've been calling the first round of the play-offs the districts. I stand corrected. The first round is the Sectionals. The Districts come up next with the winners in New Philly moving on to play in the District tournament. We'll have more on that later. For right now I don't want to look ahead of Saturdays game.

For right now I just want to wish the Tigers the best of luck. Being unrated I'm sure Hiland will be at the top of their game. They will be gunning to knock off a state ranked team. I've said it before but it ain't going to get easy. From what we've seen all season the Tigers can do it. The coach said all they need to do is play ball control. They have to do that and keep down to earth with their heads in the game. They just have to remember there is no tomorrow if they don't play their game. They know that and I'm sure they will do it. Go get 'em guys. We are all pulling for you and I for one can't wait.

Incidently, Malvern slaughtered Conottin Valley 83-42 in their game. They are in the upper tier of the sectionals. The Tigers are in the lower tier and don't have to even think about Malvern for the moment. They just need to think about Hiland.

If Roger Miller can contain himself we'll be listening Saturday night. He gets pretty excited.

Once again - Good luck guys.

ole nib

Last Tuesday's Council Meeting

Council met this past Tuesday for their regular scheduled meeting and according to accounts in both the local papers it was business as usual. Neither of the reporters noted any flaming arrows being shot at the past meeting.

Councilwoman Rosie Goss was there and she addressed recent comments about her attendance record. I was kind of surprised at the many comments both pro and con on this matter in my last "Looking" post. I wrote they didn't have a quorum and consequently couldn't get much accomplished at that session. I didn't think it was a big deal. It happens and things have to wait until the next time. It can be frustrating for the other members but it's nothing to get your dander up about.

In a written statement Ms. Goss explained that she missed the February 5th meeting due to an illness in the family. She also noted that she works the late shift for 12 hours at time at her place of employment and stated that family and her job comes first. For that I have to praise her. That's how I feel. You have to have your priorities and although some out there might not agree attending a meeting is not all that big of deal. Most council members put in a lot of time taking care of village business that's done on their own. Not everything is accomplished at the meetings. It's time spent that most of us don't realize. It's time that for the most part is not reported in the local papers. Taking care of a family, working a job and working for your constituents is a tough balancing act. I don't personally know Ms. Goss but from I've been reading she is doing her best. In all honesty I don't think you can fault her for that.

In other business Village Administrator Jim Saracco brought up pot holes. There are some pretty nasty ones on Wellsville village streets. However with the weather we been having lately you might just as well fill them up with snow & ice. It would be just as effective when you have spring time temperatures one day and then go back to winter weather the next. Nothing is going to hold up until it gets warm and stays warm. From what I've seen the street crews are doing a heck of a job so far this winter.

Council is working on getting an amusement tax on pool tables and pinball machines. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't there already an ordinance of the books for this? It's in my mind that there was. Maybe it got thrown out when we went from city to village status.

John McMahon was reported as saying they hope to have a handicapped accessible ramp for village hall in place in time for the upcoming primaries weather permitting. I know the area around the back door is mostly uphill but that entrance immediately around the door is at ground level. That could be used as an alternative.

Are sewage rates going up or was this already covered with automatic increases? Seem to recall something of that nature being reported on last year. Council approved a cost-of-living raise to Earth Tech. That was the first question that popped in mind when I read that.

Finally, where the devil is 303 Wells Ave? I meant to check on that when I was out and about yesterday. Of course I forgot and now I'm trying to visualize the location. I'm thinking that would be on the hillside of the street and there isn't any houses on that side above the floodwall. At any rate the property was given to the village and it was noted the house will be torn down. The land will then be used as a play ground or small park since it's in the flood plain.

Our condolences go out to Mayor Joe Surace, his family and all of the Surace-Baker family for the loss of Joe's mother Sadie. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Next meeting is March 5th according to Erin Colella of the MJ. Is that correct? The fifth is on a Wednesday.

ole nib

Save A Little On Groceries

With the last raise in the minimum wage and the rising cost of gasoline we have all seen the cost of groceries going up too. With the cost of fuel it is costing more to transport the items from the farms and manufacturers to the grocery shelves. With the raise in minimum wage it is costing more to have store employees to stock those shelves. Most of those folks stocking the shelves work at or near minimum wage. I know the missus and I have noticed it's taking more money to put food on the table. I'm sure you have too.

In last Sunday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in their Personal Business column was an article entitled "How to cut down on those grocery bills". It got my interest and I thought I would pass on the high lights and some of my thoughts to you all. They noted that the cost of eggs have gone up 30% and the cost of juices and pet food are up 15% just in the past year. You may think that those are small percentages but it all adds up at the check-out. The Post-Gazette picked up on the story from a new magazine called ShopSmart put out by Consumer Reports.

Some of the marketing tricks in the grocery business have been used for years. Colleges even offer degrees in these marketing tricks to separate us from our money. A lot of them are done in a sly manner that we may not notice or even realize. Did you ever wonder why the milk is nearly always in the back of a store? It's rare to see any store that is not set up this way. I don't care what chain they are. The answer is simple. It's to get us to walk through the whole store and see everything they offer on our quick stop on the way home to pick up a gallon. Most of those quick stop customers will notice something else they may or may not need and pick it up. A lot of people suddenly realize they do need a buggy before they even get to the dairy section.

Studies have found out that a large portion of what we pick up at the store is a decision made once we get inside the doors. Now this has long been a pet peeve of mine. How many times do we say to ourselves "oh I don't need a list. I know what we need"? Suddenly we see the half dozen items we went shopping for mushroom into a buggy full of merchandise. Make a list. Stick to it and ignore the other stuff. If it ain't on the list we must not have needed it.

Grocery stores are set up with you in mind. They have the attractive displays set up to fool you into thinking it's being offered at a reduced price. If you check the labels on the shelves you'll find it's the same price. Learn your prices. They have the flashing coupon dispensers that make us think "hey I can save 50 cents on this item! I can't pass that up." If it's not on your list pass it up. You don't need it. They have folks at special stations offering samples and maybe even some of those coupons to entice you to buy their products. They have some shelves set up at angles so we can see down the whole aisle at all that is stocked there. It's all done to trigger that impulse decision to add that item to your purchases even it's not on your list.

Another savings is manufacturer's coupons. According to ShopSmart coupon users save an average of 10 cents on the dollar. Again it doesn't sound like much but at the end of a year it could add up to hundreds of dollars. You can get coupons on various on-line sites and the Sunday papers are usually loaded with them. Clipping and printing coupons and using them is smart shopping for us.

Of course those coupons are for a specific product which brings me to the next point. How many of you are name brand product snobs? Generic and store brands are generally less expensive and studies have found that most of them are just as good. The missus and I have found this to be especially true with ketchups, mustards, salad dressings and items in the pickle line. Most of those items are made by the same companies that give us the "name brands". What? Do you think there is a plant somewhere that only makes generic items? A lot of those store brands are the very same product as the name brand. The only difference is the labeling and price.

Another trick they brought up that I heard about years ago is the placement of items on the shelves. Usually the more expensive items are from eye level down to knee level. It's located so it's right in front of our eyes. The better priced and less profitable items can mostly be found above or below that area. Take a few moments to check the higher or lower shelves.

Checking the weekly advertisements is another way to keep some money. If you don't have time to go from store to store to stock up on the weekly specials keep in mind that most stores offer to be competitive with their competition and match those prices. I've been told by a Wal-Mart cashier that they will match anyone in the 25 or 30 mile radius of the store. All you need to do is bring the ad with you. We get the Steubenville paper every week to get the Kroger and Riesbeck ads. We have found that it is rare we don't find something that we can save on. Think about it. Get something that's on sale and save a little bit more with a coupon. How much more savvy can you get?

My final piece of advice is teaching yourself to say NO. It's easier to say no to yourself but you frequently have to say no to your spouse, your kids or any other shopping companion you have with you. If you can teach yourself that then you can save some big bucks over the course of a year. "It's not on the list. No, we don't need it." Wasn't that easy?

Take a little time. Make that shopping list. Get those coupons and check out the ads. Maybe you'll save enough to get something nice for yourself...

ole nib

Wellsville Now 20 & 1

What did I say 'bout it ain't going to be easy? The Tiger's boys basketball team took the first game in district play this evening by a final score of 69 - 66 over the Crusaders of Steubenville Central.

wkmxlive had some technical difficulties but we were able to pick up the game near the end of the third quarter with the Tigers in the lead 53 - 43 going into the final frame. From there it got to be a heart stopper. From what the announcers said Steubenville was living by the three pointers. However, in the last seconds of the game it was an easy three pointer that finished them off. With less than nine seconds to go Central had a wide open shot to tie the game and send it in to overtime only to miss.

Don't have any stats to give you. wkmxlive's stat man wasn't there tonight. From some of the comments made there seemed to be some question on the referee's vision. Sounds like Coach Bug has to have them work on holding the ball in the next few practices. There was a lot of stealing the ball by Central. Might want to work on the foul shots too.

At any rate both teams played tough and the Tigers were able to avenge last year's lost in the district to the same Steubenville team. Great game guys.

The Tigers will be back in New Philly Saturday night. The Mayor said they will play the second game at 8:00. Hopefully we won't need any heart medication for the next one!

Go Tigers...

ole nib

First Anniversary

Today - February 16th - is the first anniversary of "Looking Out My Window". I can't believe it's been a year since I started playing with this. What do they say? Time flies when you're having fun.

Thanks to all the readers and commenters. It's not only been fun. It's been interesting too. I hope you think so too. Lord willing I hope we can continue to exchange ideas and different thoughts on the various subjects. I look forward to it. There's a lot of things coming up that we're looking forward to seeing.

Stay tuned as we enter the second year...

ole nib

The Longest Month

February has the fewest calendar days of any month of the year but to me it is the longest month on the calendar. By this time in February I have had my fill of winter and long for the coming warmth that spring brings us. I eagerly anticipate the budding of the spring flowers and the colors of new growth Mother Nature presents us with. If we only could get through February.

Take today for example. We had beautiful sunshine but it was still as cold as a well digger's patootie as is evident with these pictures I took this morning. The snow is still very much dominating the hillsides, roof tops and sidewalks that weren't shoveled after this past week's weather. In fact it was 27 degrees F when these pictures were taken.

It did warm up a little bit more during the course of the day and some of that snow & ice started melting. Tomorrow's forecast is for more warmer temperatures which will melt away even more of the frozen stuff.

I can't really complain. Our winter has been on again and off again this year. We got a taste of spring a little while back with near record high temperatures. That all helps a bit but me and my achy joints still long for spring to hurry up.

If it wasn't for that pesky ground hog...

ole nib

WHS Tigers Finish 19 - 1

Sixth ranked WHS Tigers finished out the regular season with a 92 - 80 win tonight over back-yard rival Beaver Local. The Tigers never trailed in the scoring tonight and the closest the Beavers came was a 33-33 tie with 5:07 left in the second quarter. The Orange & Black took a six point lead into the locker room at half-time.

In the second half the Beavers came out with a bucket to get within four and that's the closest they got for the rest of the game. At one point the Tigers had a 21 point lead with 2:36 left in the third.

Jeremy Carter went out with an ankle injury with 1:30 left in the 2nd quarter but came back to play for a bit late in the third quarter. Lets hope that ankle gets better over the week-end.

With the score 86-73 with 1:41 left in the fourth quarter both teams cleared the benches with substitutions. Deshaun Pullie banged in a three pointer to make it 89-73 in favor of the guys from the ville and it was just a matter of running out the clock from there. It was an exciting game for Wellsville but you also have to give credit to the Beavers. They hung tough the whole game and never quit fighting. They don't call them the Fighting Beavers for nothing and they have nothing to hang their heads about.

Scoring honors was taken by Zane Carter with 23 points followed by Douglas with 21 and brother Jeremy with 20. Russell took the game high honors for the Beavers with 20 points. At the end of the game Wellsville was presented with the ITCL trophy.

Once again wkmxlive.com did an outstanding job broadcasting the game and they will be in New Phily Monday night. Right now they will only be able to do the audio. It is costing $50 to do that which they got covered. It will be an additional $50 to do the video. All donations are welcome. It would be nice to see the film if some folks want to be generous in making it possible to pay the fees. Contact Terry Brown if you can kick in. They got the people to do the work if they can find the donors.

The Tigers next game will be Sectional Tournament play next Monday at 6 P.M. in New Philly. They will be taking on the Steubenville Central Catholic Crusaders and we will all be pulling for them. Now we can start thinking about the tournaments but I may have mentioned this before, it ain't gonna get any easier.

Nice game tonight guys. Good luck next week. We'r off and running...

ole nib

Friday Morning Ramblings

Yea I'm still writing. I'm just got kind of sluggish with all the gloomy weather this past week. Got a little peppy yesterday with the sunshine but by the time I completed my chores I ran out of steam.

The Do-Not-Call list for sales calls turns five years old this year. When it was set up back in 2003 there was a stipulation that folks had to re-register after five years. They are working to change that in Washington to make it permanent but who knows when that will be. You can take care of re-registering at http://www.donotcall.gov/ or by calling 1-888-382-1222.

Book signing tomorrow at the Coffee Fusion in ELO with Robert Sullivan autographing his book "I Laugh Now So Not to Cry". It is from 1 - 2:30. The book is written from a journal he kept when he devoted himself to his wife's care after she was stricken with a stroke. His wife Rose became bed fast and he took care of her at their home. Proceeds from the book go to the Relay for Life team.

The Ohio Highway Patrol is asking for your help to make our roads safer. If you see or know of an area that is frequented with aggressive drivers they are asking that you report it to them. Then they can assign patrols to that area in hopes to correct the situation. You can file a report on-line at http://www.statepatrol.ohio.gov/ or by calling 877-7PATROL.

I've been hearing that our area hospitals are nearly full to capacity with flu victims. According to the CDC there are two strains of the flu virus that was not included in this years vaccine. By the time they were discovered it too late to include them in this year's formula. They are called the Brisbane and Yamagata strains. Those little bugs are nasty.

Have you notice the new line of Clorox cleaners called the "green works"? They are suppose to be environmentally friendly but not one of them is a disinfectant. If you use them it may make everything look clean and shiny but still have raging bacteria present. What's the purpose?

The weather has been playing havoc with the WHS Tigers attempt to finish out the regular season for boys basketball. I hope they get the game played tonight as rescheduled. They have to be in New Philly next week. The boys moved back up the number six on the final AP poll this week. They're still number one in our hearts.

In his last "Notes on a napkin" column retired ER editor Glenn Waight noted he was old-fashioned and always wore a shirt and tie in school and on the job. To him casual dress suggests a sloppy mind. Wonder what he thinks of newly appointed ER managing editor Jim Mackey who the next day was pictured in a sweater vest and open collar? What is the purpose of a tie anyway?

Cedar Point is going to have a new ride this year called the Skyscraper. It will dangle riders 160 feet in the air while spinning them around at 55 mph. At $20 - $30 a pop for two minutes of a barf provoking thrill nooo thanks. I'll pass even if I could afford it.

The county's audit for 2006 found no findings for recovery. Did that include the Health Dept.?

Wellsville's Crime Watch is going to devote more resources on youth education. I think that is an excellent move and congratulate them.

The auto-makers are feeling the bite of the sinking economy. GM is offering early retirement to some 74,000 hourly workers. They figure they can replace up to 16,000 of them with new hires at half the wage rate they are paying the senior employees. Toyota is offering 7-year loans to new car buyers to boast sales. The national trend is to trade in your car for a new one every two or three years. The trade is normally used as the down payment for the new one. With a seven year loan there won't be any equity built up in your car's value to make that kind of deal. Back when I started buying cars three years was the maximum you could get a loan for. For $3,000 you could get a heck of a nice car back then.

The $9.7 million judgement against the BWD district has got me in a dither. We pay exorbitant water rates now for all the new trucks, plants and legal fees. From what I read in the papers it sounds like to me they were trying to sneak out the back door on a bad deal made years ago. Why would you sign a 30 year contract to buy something you intended to produce yourself in a few years? I think that needs to be investigated. Are they subject to the state PUCO rules and regulations? I think the whole thing needs to be investigated.

Finally, radio station WKLC-FM in St. Alabans, WV, was having a St. Valentine's Day contest where the winner got an all expence paid divorce. That is sick. Did you know that St. Valentine's Day got started back with the ancient Romans & Greeks as some kind of fertility rite? I didn't either but heard it on the radio yesterday.


ole nib

Flood Threat Passed

Looks like we dodged the bullet on flooding for the time being. According to the National Weather Service the river crested at 1 A.M. this morning in Wellsville. The river will be slowly falling in the next 24 hours. By this time tomorrow the river should be two to five feet below the level they are today. At least the firemen don't have to worry about putting up the flood wall just yet. Let's hope that the next time will be an exercise.

Above are pictures I shot yesterday of the rising waters. There is one taken from the train tressel looking at the Kenney Arena. The others are around the Wells Street bridge. The scale is on that bridge. I think it is the one the guys from WFD keep an eye on when it comes time to consider erecting the flood wall. Then there is the picture of the 10th St. water fall. With the snow & ice melting on the hill top it got active but I've seen it more looking like Niagara Falls.

We should be back to winter weather by Sunday. It's suppose to be very cold.

Stay warm...

ole nib

J.C. Arrested

Tonia Amato's mother Kathy has a blog titled Remembering Tonia. Here is her post for today:


"Today as I was with my friends for lunch the phone call came in from Lynn Grimshaw that we had been waiting for but dreading. Our son-in-law, JC Amato, has been arrested for the murder of our daughter, Tonia. All along I really didn't want to believe it. I almost wanted them to figure out that someone else had done it and that JC was just there. I know that is crazy but I didn't want to think that someone we tried so hard to get to know, to bring into our family and to care about, could commit this horrible act. According to the news he was already released on bond and he is under house arrest. I think I am still in a little bit of shock. We have been waiting and waiting and then all of a sudden, BOOM, the arrest happens, bail is decided and he is released. I guess a sense of relief that this part of the news is done with. We can at least go into the weekend without wondering what the new week will hold.I am so grateful that I was there with my friends, they immediately prayed with me and I was able to calm down enough to drive home. Rick and I made phone calls to all of our family and friends just to give them the news that we had. More will come up as time goes by.I don't think I know how I am truly feeling yet. Not sure how to even process this. I do know that we are not alone and that is unbelievably wonderful. Prayers are needed and felt by all of us!"

Posted by Tonia's Mom at 4:11 PM

Kathy I hope you don't mind that I copied & pasted your post. Thank you for your indulgence. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and the whole Brundage family as well as the Amato family. May the good Lord see all of you through all this.

Evidently J.C. was one of the 28 secret indictments out of the 39 the Grand Jury issued in their last session that we read about in today's papers. I'm sure the papers will be all over it in tomorrow's editions.

ole nib

Thoughts Bouncing Off My Window VI

Man-oh-man, if it isn't one thing it's another. My collection of clippings that I save for ideas keep piling up and I'm having a rough time finding a moment to do any writing. Yesterday I was all set to devote some serious time to the blog and the phone rings just as I was set to start. Had to shut it all down, put it away and leave to take care of other things. If it ain't the missus it's the kids assigning me homework. I need a place to hide!

Baard Energy
Things continue to move along with Baard becoming a reality. They are getting their permits filed with the EPA for approval. Eventually there will be public hearings before the EPA gives the company their final approval. State Sen. Jason Wilson spoke at the Realtors meeting last month encouraging their members to invest in the future to get ready for the influx of people Baard will bring about. Tracy Drake told us the river crane is set for final inspection and testing. That's the crane they recently installed in Wellsville's Port Authority facility to unload coal barges. The Chamber is getting ready for a dinner on Feb. 28th at which Stephen Dopuch, V.P. of Baard's Energy Business Development, will be the key note speaker. Apparently they are expecting a huge crowd. It was moved from the Alumni Center to the WHS gymnasium to handle the crowd. Finally Tom Giambroni tells us Baard got an inadvertant boost from the US DOE. They want to devote more capital studying the shooting of CO2 into the ground which is what Baard proposes at the new plant.

County Health Commissioner
Trial date for Bob Morehead's charges of fraud and theft in office has been scheduled for Aug. 12th. They are calling this a speedy trial? I guess the wheels of justice do move slowly. A retired judge from Stark County will be hearing the case. An attorney from the State Auditor's office will the prosecutor.

New Businesses
The old Potters Bank & Trust building on the square will be reopened Feb. 26th as the Buckeye River Saloon. It will be an OSU Buckeye theme bar. Hopefully Mrs. Gates will have better luck with this one. She previously leased the building to others that had a rough time keeping the place civilized. It has been sitting vacant for several months. We're glad to see she hasn't given up and being a Buckeye football fan I hope for the best.

We now have a full fledge accounting firm in the village by the name of MAA & Associates. It is operated out of Mary Jo Needham's home on Riverside and according to their web page they offer a full line of accounting services. Mrs. Needham has been a CPA for nearly 22 years now and is licensed for all three states in our surrounding area. If you need help with taxes, investments. payroll or whatever check them out.

WHS Tigers
Since last writing about the boy's basketball team the Tigers dropped one spot in the AP Poll which I don't understand. Must have something to do with strength of schedule is my guess. The last few teams they have played do not have winning records for the season. They play their final regular season game next Tuesday. It's a make-up game with Beaver Local. Didn't know Bug Thompson was a religious man. According to what I read the coach put the fear of God into the team at half time this past Tuesday with the game against Lowellville. The Tigers let the Rockets get within five at the break. After the intermission they came out as if the devil was on their tails. This team continues to impress me with their depth of talent. Jaimon Edison finished that game with a game high 27 points.

Senior Night will be next Tuesday but this past Tuesday D.J. Douglas got honored early. His father, Mark Douglas, is in the Army and was being deployed overseas yesterday. God's speed for a safe return Sarge. Thanks to WKMXlive you can follow the Tigers no matter where Uncle Sam sends you if you have a computer handy.

Speaking of Coach Thompson - did you see the piece on him in last Sunday's ER Riverstyle section? It was a full page write-up. In my opinion it is a justly deserved honor. Now we know where the nick name Bug came from. We just don't know why. The coach said he didn't either. He thinks it might have come from him being quick. Guess we'll just have to speculate on how he got tagged with that one.

Bob Lloyd's Photo Collection
In Sunday's MJ Lifestyles section Bob Lloyd's collection of historic Wellsville WFD and flood pictures was featured. Erin Colella did a nice job with it. A friend of mine told me about Bob's collection. He had several pictures of some of the floods at the open house they had a few months ago. It is impressive and there are scenes of Wellsville's past I have never seen before. It is amazing to see how much this place we call home has changed over the years.

Wellsville Council
Not much to report on the last council meeting. They didn't have enough people for a forum. Maybe they should schedule them around the Tiger's games. That's just a wild guess. Other than that they are thinking of looking into buying the old Sky Bank building next door, going for a $1 million dollar bond, giving village employees a raise, collecting an amusement tax and shot down the village landlord's request to be forgiven a sewage bill. Did you see the piece in yesterday's MJ about the Governor's Council on People with Disabilities comittee reviewing the states more than 1.2 million handicap parking tags? Guess the village's concern is also a statewide issue.

S.H. Bell
If you been following the papers the EPA is on this business about their polluting ways. Can't help of thinking about the coal dust problem we had/have in the ville and how similar it sounds to me. It will be interesting to see how this will be handled. From the write ups it makes WTI concerns seem trivial.

ole nib

Amato Case Heads Up

I'm sure most of you have read or heard of Tom Giambroni's story that appeared in the MJ this past Sunday and was repeated in the ER on Monday that the Grand Jury is going to hear the Amato case. He told us the Grand Jury meeting was extended and Special Prosecutor Lynn Grimshaw is ready to present his case.

Today I heard from a very reliable source that that will happen beginning tomorrow morning. Apparently Mr. Grimshaw feels he has all his ducks in order and is ready to go. They have a list of witnesses including Dr. Jack Amato. Even J.C. was given the chance to speak.

In a day or two we will learn what the Grand Jury decides and go from there. We should be use to waiting but I can't wait. I would love to be able to sit in and listen to it all.

ole nib

Tigers Win ITCL

With the overwhelming win over the Leetonia Bearcats tonight the Wellsville Tigers took sole possession of the Inter-Tri County League in their tier. Congratulations guys. You're the best in my book.

Briefly the Tigers won tonight with a final score of 90-60. The Bears came out cold and just couldn't seem to get into the game. Are they the Bears or the Bearcats? Which ever the Tigers took a 12 point victory from 'em back in December. According to the WKMX announcers it wasn't the same team that played tonight. Last month they showed a lot more confidence and were hitting the three pointers. That wasn't the story tonight.

From what I heard the Tigers are playing their game. However, I did get the feeling that they were showing some mercy. Seems to me that Zane Carter was passing up some shots and passing off. I may be wrong. There's nothing wrong with that. That's good sportmanship. We know if a kill factor is needed the Tigers got it in 'em. Right? Run & gun.

I'll leave the details for our local print media. I really don't want to infringe on their turf. There will be a make-up game with Beaver Local on Tuesday - Feb. 12th. We will get that shot for the area bragging rights. There's no doubt that the coach will play smart. Show them who's boss and then let the starters rest.

The Tigers next show is Tuesday night against Lowellville. Good luck guys. Great game tonight. A special thanks to Terry Brown and the guys for bringing the game to us tonight. It was wonderful.

Just remember it isn't going to get any easier. Play your game. People are watching.

ole nib