WELLINGTON — For the last 30 years, Boy Scouts Troop 414 out of Wellington has parked cars outside of the county fair’s main gate to help fund summer camps and other activities.

This year, don’t be surprised if their familiar brown uniforms are nowhere to be seen when you pull in.

That’s because the company that owns the parking lot, T.A.P.E. Inc., has handed most of the parking duties for fair week over to its employees.

“This year they’re letting employees park cars because of the economy,” Scout Master Darrell French said. “My understanding is they’re letting them keep the money to supplement their income because of all the cuts they’ve made. The 4-H club the owner’s son belongs to is also parking one day.”

The Boy Scouts will only park cars Friday, Saturday and Sunday of fair week for $3 per vehicle. In years past the group has made between $4,000 and $5,000 from the venture, using the money to send kids to Boy Scout camp, which costs $210 per kid, as well as toward the general operating budget.

“This year it will be substantially less, but we’ll make do,” French said.

The Wellington troop will also be helping Troop 307 out of Lorain pick up garbage around the fair all week. The Lorain scouts are one of a handful of groups the fair board provides with dona-tions in exchange for services during fair week, which board Director Brian Twining said helps everyone.

“We have very special relationships with a lot of these groups so it’s great that we can all help each other out,” he said.
A few weeks ago ,the board was considering cancelling the morning parking services it typically offers in its own parking lots, a service currently performed by people who work for the fair, until the Wellington Cross Country team asked if they could park the cars for a donation.

“We’ll test this out and see how it works,” Twining said. “Instead of hiring individuals in the parking lot maybe we’ll get groups in to do it.”

Other civic groups that receive donations from the fair in exchange for services include the Black River Fullbackers Club, a group out of Sullivan, Ohio, that helps the Black River schools football programs and run the shuttle services at the parking lots; Kiwanis, which takes tickets in the grandstand; the women’s friendship sorority, Beta Sigma Phi, which seats people in the grand-stand; and a woman from Elms Retirement Village, who provides people with wheelchairs as they come into the fair.

Contact Adam Wright at 329-7129 or awright@chroniclet.com.

WELLINGTON — The county’s 4-H clubs are once again elevating trash to art.

The annual trash barrel painting contest gives the otherwise mundane barrels fairgoers will pitch their garbage into a bit of life and also conveys a message.

This year’s theme, “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” is part of the contest’s ongoing theme of protecting the environment, said Maggie Kelch, spokeswoman for Ross Environmental Services, which spon-sors the contest with the Lorain County Solid Waste Management District.

“We supply the trash barrels at the fairgrounds and do this contest as an education program for the kids,” she said.

But fair President Brian Twining said the fair remains woefully behind in offering recycling for those who are looking to get rid of their waste while attending the fair.

“It isn’t where it should be,” he said.

The fair has a few scattered recycling containers but has never really had much success with the program, he said.

“Everyone thought it was just a garbage can, and it hasn’t really progressed,” Twining said.

It’s an issue Twining said the fair board will likely revisit for next year’s fair.

For this year’s barrel painting contest, there were 31 entries from 18 4-H clubs that were judged for their neatness, creativity and conformity to the theme, according to a news release announcing the winners.

The nine winning entries will be on display at the Junior Fair barn throughout the fair. The rest will be scattered around the fairgrounds.

“We were very impressed with the artistic talent and creativity of the 4-H clubs who entered the contest,” said Sally Pecora, project manager for the Solid Waste District. “Choosing the winners was a challenging task for the judges.”

In the 5- to 8-year-old category, winners were Brownhelm Perfection, first place; Big Dogs, second place; and Blue Ribbon Buddies, third place.

In the 9- to 12-year-old category, winners were Bits & Spurs, first place; Sunset Riders, second place; and Brighton Buckeyes, third place.

In the 13- to 18-year-old category, winners were Brownhelm Perfection, first place; Another 4-H Club, second place; and Columbia Cisco Kids, third place.

First-place winners will receive a $75 prize, while second-place finishers will receive $50 and third-place finishers will get $25.

The prize money and ribbons will be awarded on Junior Fair night on Aug. 27.

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.

WELLINGTON — A Wellington nursing home abruptly announced Monday that it was closing, leaving families to scramble to find new homes for their loved ones.

Wellington Manor Nursing Home, which ranked third of 950 nursing homes in the state in the 2008 Nursing Home Family Satisfaction Survey, is shutting its doors without explanation.

The Ohio Department of Health was notified Monday that the facility planned to close immediately, said Sara Morman, agency spokeswoman.

“We quickly went to the facility to make sure there were appropriate staff and resources to care for the residents during the transition,” Morman said. “During our visit, we found that all of the residents’ needs are being met at this time.”

Still, for those who were told to move their loved ones by the end of the week, the news was shocking.

What started out as a typical visit to see his mother Monday afternoon at the facility turned into a mad dash to find her a new home by Thursday, George Rosar said.

“She had been real happy there,” Rosar said Tuesday. “To me, it’s like someone hit you in the belly. You go there expecting to visit someone and instead you learn they’re not going to be there anymore.”

Rosar said he was told the home was closing, and his mother, Gladys Rosar, had to be moved out by Thursday evening.
“We’ve never been in this situation before and didn’t know what to do,” he said. “I was just told by the head nurse that the home was closing. I have no idea where the owner is.”

Owner and administrator Kay Justice left town with no forwarding address or phone number, said a nurse who did not want to give her name.

Justice’s listed Wellington telephone number has been disconnected.

Rosar said the family quickly decided it was in Gladys’ best interest for her to live with family members instead of going to another nursing home.

“My mother is 95 years old, and I don’t think she even knows she is moving, but still, this isn’t right,” Rosar said. “I didn’t have the slightest idea this was going to happen.”

According to the nurse who had worked at the facility for almost three years, Justice sent letters to the nursing director as well as to her lawyer and accountant telling them to close up the nursing home and sell it along with her home and personal vehicle.

The money is then to be used to pay creditors, the nurse said.

In addition, everyone was told not to speak to the media.

“We came into work Monday, and just like that were told we are out of a job,” the nurse said Tuesday. “I’m still in shock. I’m devastated and angry — angry we have to find new jobs in this bad economy but also angry that all the residents will have to find new homes.”

With just 13 patients, Wellington Manor was more like a family than a long-term care facility, said another nurse, who also did not want to give her name.

“We didn’t even see this coming,” said the nurse, who worked there for more than five years. “We just had this huge carnival for the residents. I can’t believe someone would spend all that money on a party and then just leave town.”

One of the nurses said that in hindsight she suspected something was wrong with the longtime owner.

“Kay used to come in and have long talks with everyone and stay until all hours of the night,” she said. “But over the last few weeks, she would come in for short visits to either drop off schedules or paychecks and wouldn’t say much to anyone.”

A search of federal court records did not turn up any bankruptcy or civil cases against Justice. Also, there are no lawsuits, foreclosures or liens filed against either Justice or Wellington Manor in Oberlin Municipal Court or Lorain County Common Pleas Court.

Justice, whose parents, Ellis and Ocie, founded the nursing home in 1969, helped out as a child and took over after her parents died in the 1980s.

The state last inspected the nursing home in July 2008, according to online records.

At that time, Wellington Manor had no deficiencies or code violations and was give a 100 percent compliance score.

A year earlier in June 2007, the nursing home had five minor violations, but none rose to the level of jeopardizing patient care or was indicative of substandard care, the report said. The errors were immediately fixed, and the facility was given a 93 percent score.

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

Emerging onto the country music scene in 2003 after appearing on reality show “Nashville Star,” Miranda Lambert has become one of the hardest working singers in Music City.

Lambert

Her 2005 album “Kerosene,” for which she co-wrote 11 of the 12 tracks, debuted at No. 1 on the country charts and eventually went platinum with hit singles “Me and Charlie Talkin’,” “Bring Me Down,” “Kerosene” and “New Strings.”

Lambert quickly put to rest any talk of a sophomore slump with her 2007 album “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” which included top 20 singles “Famous In a Small Town,” “Gunpowder & Lead” and “More Like Her.”

Now the 25-year-old Texas native, who is scheduled to play Aug. 25 at the Lorain County Fair, is poised to release her new album “Revolution.”

The Chronicle-Telegram talked to Lambert via e-mail about her success, her love of fair food and more.

CT: Let’s talk about your new album “Revolution.” How does this project find you stretching your musical wings?

Miranda Lambert: It comes out Sept. 29, and the name came up in discussions simply because I do feel like it’s revolutionary. I’ve grown up a lot since “Kerosene” and “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.” I think this album shows a maturity, but it’s also revolutionary because I truly created an album where all of my influences come shining through. It’s something that I want fans to listen to start to finish. If you hear just one song you won’t get the full picture, but I didn’t stray too far away from my typical sound. I’m excited for everyone to hear it.

CT: Stylistically speaking, how does this album differ from “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend?”

ML: It’s in the same vein, but I really covered a lot of themes on “Revolution.” My bass player sort of summed it up once and said, “You write country songs, but put rock and roll behind them.” It’s pretty true. There is a song called “Sin for a Sin” that fans of “Gunpowder & Lead” and “Kerosene” will really like. There is really something for everyone. Lots of fun songs that will be amazing to perform live, and a few ballads and one slower song that made me cry for two hours when I first heard it.

CT: Looking back to your last album, do people constantly tell you stories about dating or being a crazy ex-girlfriend?

ML: Ha! They do. But the stories don’t compare to what I see when I perform that song live. I think a lot of guys and girls can relate. When I perform that song people in the audience literally go crazy.

CT: Last year at the Lorain County Fair you made a surprise appearance to sing “Home” with Blake Shelton (Lambert and Shelton are dating). Is there any chance he’ll be paying back the favor during your upcoming show?

ML: I don’t think so. He’s pretty busy this summer and is just wrapping up on the George Strait tour. But who knows, maybe he’ll surprise me too and show up.

CT: Any memories of Lorain County Fair last year?

ML: Yes, many fun memories. I love playing fairs in the summer. I think everyone comes ready for a good time and it really helps us get into it up on stage. I cannot wait to play for y’all again.

CT: What is a must-eat fair food?

ML: Anything fried.

CT: Finally, why should people come out to see your Lorain County Fair show?

ML: If they want to have a fun night and forget about their problems for an hour and rock out!

Miranda Lambert

• When: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 25
• Where: Lorain County Fairgrounds
• Cost: $30
• More information: www.loraincountyfair.com