The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld its decision from earlier this year overturning Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Burge’s order acquitting Nancy Smith in the controversial Head Start child molestation case.

Allen

Smith

The Supreme Court ruled in January that Burge didn’t have the power to acquit Smith of the charges that led to her imprisonment for nearly 15 years before Burge freed her and codefendant Joseph Allen in 2009.

Burge had acquitted the pair after a flaw in the original sentencing entries — the entries were supposed to note Smith and Allen were convicted by a jury, but didn’t — prepared following their convictions during their 1994 trial was discovered. The judge said he reviewed the evidence in the case in preparation for new sentencing entries, but became convinced there wasn’t enough evidence to convict them.

County Prosecutor Dennis Will and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office fought Burge’s decision to the state’s highest court, arguing that Burge should only have corrected the flaw in Smith’s sentencing entry rather than effectively reopening the case and the Supreme Court agreed.

Allen’s case isn’t covered by the Supreme Court decision, but a 9th District Court of Appeals decision has said Burge lacked the power to revisit his case as well. Two other appeals — one dealing with Smith’s case and the other with Allen’s — also were dismissed by the Ohio Supreme Court today.

Burge has said that unless the Supreme Court reverses its decision from January, he will have little choice but to return Smith and Allen to prison.

Attorneys for Smith have been working on several other efforts to keep Smith, who like Allen denies molesting 4- and 5-year-old children on her Head Start bus route in the 1990s, back to prison.

Read Wednesday’s Chronicle for more on this story.

ELYRIA — Mayor Bill Grace, Holly Brinda and David Ursi Jr. traded words Monday at Elyria High School, where students hosted a debate for the candidates and peppered contenders with question about improving city roads to bringing jobs to the city and how each feels about the controversial Senate Bill 5.

The debate was mostly amicable with the candidates using their allotted time to speak their views. However, Grace and Brinda did not mince words when speaking of the other.

More photos below.

Brinda is unprepared and untested, according to Grace, who she is trying to unseat by securing the Democratic nomination in May.

Grace, who is seeking a fourth re-election, is wasteful, has misplaced priorities and places aesthetics over basic city services and business development, Brinda said.

With a format that included both a five-minute opening and closing statement as well as two minutes each to answer six questions designed and asked by students, all three had an equal amount of time to rally potential voters to swing their way.

Ursi, the only Republican to attend the debate, will face off against fellow Republican Ray Noble on May 3.

He vows to give $20,000 of his salary back to the city and hire one student a month to work as mayor for the day, if he is elected.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

NORTH OLMSTED — Lorain mayoral candidate Chase Ritenauer has resigned as North Olmsted’s safety-service director after a federal investigation determined that he was in violation of the Hatch Act, which prohibits government workers who deal with federal money from running in partisan elections.

Ritenauer

Ritenauer, who is running in the Democratic primary against Lorain Mayor Tony Krasienko, said he resigned Sunday to avoid being in violation of the law. Krasienko is also being challenged by City Councilman Mitch Fallis, D-at large.

Ritenauer said he first learned of the investigation — which was spurred by a complaint filed with federal authorities — in February and has been cooperating with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel ever since.

“They basically said if you withdraw your candidacy or resign as safety-service director there’s no issues at all,” he said.

Ritenauer said he didn’t think he’d have a problem remaining on the job in North Olmsted while running for office because he didn’t directly oversee federal grant money as part of his job duties and wasn’t paid through a federal grant. But he was told by federal officials that because he oversaw the police and fire chiefs, who do deal with federal grants, he was actually violating the Hatch Act.

North Olmsted Mayor Kevin Kennedy said he was disappointed to lose Ritenauer and is now looking for a replacement. He said he would consider hiring Ritenauer back if the primary doesn’t go his way.

Ritenauer said that leaving North Olmsted will give him more time to concentrate on the campaign.

“I’m all in for the city of Lorain,” he said.

Read Saturday’s Chronicle for more on this story.

ELYRIA — Convicted killer Daniel Kovarbasich was found to have violated his probation this morning for allegedly threatening to stab a guard at the Lorain County Jail earlier this year.

CT file photo.

Daniel, 17, was convicted last year of voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault for the Jan. 22, 2010, beating and stabbing death of 55-year-old Duane Hurley.

The teen, who was tried as an adult, was sentenced to five years of probation over the objections of prosecutors, but has been held in the county jail while his lawyers and county Common Pleas Judge James Burge’s staff look for a place where he can receive court-ordered residential treatment.

Daniel testified during his trial last year that he killed Hurley in Hurley’s North Ridgeville because the older man was molesting him. Hurley’s family has denied that allegation.

Daniel and another juvenile inmate at the jail, Terrell Fennell, allegedly discussed stabbing the guard with homemade knives after he told them to quite down. Both teens were punished by jail officials and could face criminal charges.

Assistant County Prosecutor Tony Cillo said Daniel had taken two golf-sized pencils and melted the plastic from a shaving cream bottle to form a longer pencil. Daniel’s lawyer, Michael Stepanik, said his client didn’t deny violating the rules, but had altered the pencils to make it easier to write.

Cillo said Daniel disassembled the pencils before guards searched his cell.

Daniel’s probation officer recommended that he be sent to prison for violating the rules, but Burge said that the teen would remain on probation.

Read Saturday’s Chronicle for more on this story.