ELYRIA — Power came back on about 7:30 a.m. for downtown Elyria.

Most of downtown was without power for about four hours, starting about 3:30 a.m., according to the Elyria Fire Department. School has been canceled for Elyria High, but all other Elyria schools will be in session today, according to the district.

The outage was caused by wind knocking down wires at East and Depot streets, according to Ohio Edison..

At the time of the outage, Ohio Edison told the Fire Department power should be out about three or four hours. The Police Department said Ohio Edison declined to predict when power would be restored, saying they were operating in “storm mode.”

Fire Station 1 reported about 6 a.m. it was up and running under emergency power.

The Police Department had put out stop signs at a number of downtown intersections “as a courtesy” but stressed that the law requires that nonfunctioning traffic signals be treated as four-way stops. Officers were in the process of putting out flares at other interesections, according to the department.

Chronicle-Telegram subscribers should expect significant delays in delivery of their newspaper, and some may not receive their paper at all. Because of that, the Chronicle “E”dition is free to read online today only.

The Vermilion home where Jeremy Simko was murdered last week has been broken into twice since police wrapped up their investigation, according to Jack Bradley, attorney for the Simko’s wife, Julene.

Simko

Vermilion Police Chief Bob Kish said police were called to the scene about 2 p.m. yesterday when Simko’s family reported the home had been broken into.

“We’re investigating entries to the residence,” Kish said. He wouldn’t say what if anything was taken or the manner in which entry was made.

Bradley said he went to the house with Julene Simko and her mother at 2:30 p.m. Saturday to review the crime scene, and the three noticed it appeared someone had tried to pry open a large safe in the home’s entrance hallway.

There were no signs of forced entry to the home, and the three assumed at the time that investigators had damaged the safe during their processing of the crime scene, Bradley said.

Police then were called to the residence late Saturday or early Sunday because neighbors heard dogs barking, Bradley said.

Julene Simko went to the home again on Sunday afternoon to get clothing for her husband’s funeral and noticed there had been another break-in attempt, Bradley said.

“A living room window was open, and the deadbolt was punched out of the front door,” Bradley said. The safe was more heavily damaged this time, he said, but the burglars still did not manage to get into it.

The safe had contained weapons, but they were all taken by police, and the safe contained nothing of any value, according to Bradley.

“There had been break-ins in that neighborhood for a while,” Bradley said when asked if Julene Simko had any idea what the burglars might be looking for.

Police took the Simkos’ surveillance equipment, but Bradley said he was confident there would be increased security in the area by Vermilion police.

“They would like to catch the person or persons who did this,” Bradley said, adding that doing so could possibly aid their initial murder investigation.

“There are many things people have jumped to conclusions about” after Jeremy Simko’s death, Bradley said. “Based on the new developments, we hope they will rethink those conclusions.”

Obituary information provided to The Chronicle today told a little more about Simko.

From the obituary:

Simko, 36, was born in Lorain on July 7, 1973, and had been a resident of Brownhelm Township for the past nine years; he had previously resided in Sheffield Township.

He was a 1991 graduate of Clearview High School, where he was a member of the varsity wrestling team, competing in the 135-pound weight class. Following his graduation, he attended Hocking Technical College in Nelsonville, Ohio.

He was employed as an arborist for both Edwards Tree Service and Davey Tree Service before founding his own firm in 1997. Simko and his wife, Julene, worked to develop Simko Tree Service into one of the premier tree services in northern Ohio.

Simko was an avid naturalist always looking for ways to preserve and enjoy nature. He was regarded as a gifted tree climber and a meticulous worker. He was strong, intelligent and a very determined and savvy businessman. He was also a creative entrepreneur who always looked for ways to perfect his craft and please his clients.

Simko enjoyed campfires and spending time with friends. He was also a good cook and great teacher. One of the gifts he will leave behind is the knowledge he bestowed upon his nieces and nephews. He taught them about trees, how to swim, how to hunt and how to drive. What he cherished most, however, were long hikes with his wife, Julene (nee Knick), and their four German Shepherds.

In addition to Julene, his wife of 10 years, Simko is survived by his mother, Rose Mager of Sheffield Township, by his father, Robert J. Simko of Cooksburg, Pa., by sisters, Melanie M. Simko of Westlake and Hillary A. Duran of Elyria, by his paternal grandmother, Mary Simko of Avon, by his mother-in-law and father-in-law, Judy and Rolando Maldonado of Lorain, and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his maternal grandmother, Lillian Mager, maternal grandfather, Joseph Mager, and by his paternal grandfather, John Simko.

Visitation will be 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Gluvna-Shimo-Hromada Funeral Chapel, 3224 Broadway, Lorain.

The family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Friendship Animal Protective League, 8303 Murray Ridge Road, Elyria, OH 44035.

VERMILION — Vermilion police are calling the shooting death of a man early this morning suspicious.

Officers were called to a home at 2001 North Ridge Road just after 6 this morning and found Jeremy Simko, 36, dead of a gunshot wound in a bedroom.

“We have information that leads us to suspect that it needs looked into more than the average suicide,” according to Police Chief Bob Kish.

“He was shot in a manner that causes us great concern,” Kish said. “We don’t know at this point if it’s a homicide or a suicide, but we’re treating it as a suspicious death.”

Lorain County Coroner Paul Matus said he didn’t expect to rule on a cause of death until late this week or next week.

Simko and his wife, Julene, were in the house when police arrived, but Kish wouldn’t say whether it was believed anyone else was in the house at the time of the shooting.

Watch Vermilion Police Chief Bob Kish talk about the shooting:

Julene Simko was taken to Community Regional Medical Center, where she was treated and released, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

“She was very distraught, very upset,” according to Kish. “She was having difficulty communicating with us and was crying and emotional” but did not have any obvious physical injuries or gunshot wounds.

“We thought she needed to get checked out,” Kish said.

The Simkos own and operate Simko Tree Service, which is based at their home and other buildings on their property.

According to the Simko Web site, “Jeremy and Julene Simko are honest, trustworthy, and hardworking people. We have an excellent safety record and take pride in our work. Quality is key at Simko Tree Service.”

View Vermilion shooting in a larger map

A neighbor, who didn’t want to give her name, said she wasn’t close with the Simkos but had seen them just yesterday raking leaves in their yard.

“They were always together,” the neighbor said. “Always. If you saw one, you saw the other.”

Police remained on the scene late Wednesday and planned to have the house secured for at least another day, Kish said. Julene Simko had not returned to the house, and Kish couldn’t say where she was.

Officers were searching the yard and driveway area with metal detectors midday today.

“It’s a large house, a large barn, two out-buildings, a large area of land with houses far apart, and we need to question residents and neighbors,” Kish said when asked about the length of time being spent processing the scene.

Vermilion police and the coroner were being assisted by the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation and the Lorain County prosecutor’s office.

A number of animals were on the property, and police were making arrangements to be sure they were taken care of, Kish said.

Kish said there were three to five dogs, all of which were secured, and a handful of geese and chickens.

Contact Rona Proudfoot at 329-7124 or rproudfoot@chroniclet.com.

HENRIETTA TWP. — A large fire this morning completely destroyed a large maintenance workshop at Born Implement in Henrietta Township.

At least six fire departments responded to 11645 Gifford Road, and a large cloud of dark smoke could be seen for miles around.

No one was hurt in the fire, although several loud explosions as the barn burned made for some tense moments for onlookers.

Scroll down for more photos.

Owner Howard Born said workers in another building on the property noticed smoke a little after 10 a.m. and called 911.

The building, which Born said had been one story and approximately 120 feet by 60 feet, was a workshop where employees serviced farm equipment Born sells.

Born said two loud explosions as firefighters battled the blaze were likely drums of used motor oil. The first explosion sent several large flaming chunks of the barn flying through the air, one landing close to one group of firefighters. The second sent a large cloud of flaming gases into the sky just over onlookers’ heads.

Paul Opalenik of Birmingham, a local photographer who was snapping pictures at the scene, was splattered with little flecks of oil in the first blast. His camera lens was splattered as well, prompting him to call it a day.

A crowd of about a dozen people, some of them Born employees and some of them wearing Born Implement sweatshirts milled around the fire scene, many of them on cell phones.

Howard Born could do little but watch and field a constant stream of cell phone calls from friends and family as word about the fire spread.

“How am I feeling?” he repeated to one caller. “Awe, hell …” he responded, apparently at a loss for words.

But Born was keeping things in perspective.

“My son was killed three years ago in a bad car wreck,” he said. “After that, I deal with problems in a different way.

“This is a material thing that can be fixed,” he said. “It’s awful, but thank God nobody was hurt.

Firefighters from South Amherst, Amherst, Vermilion and Florence, Camden and Rochester townships responded.

Contact Rona Proudfoot at 329-7124 or rproudfoot@chroniclet.com.