LORAIN — A fire this morning damaged a vacant Lorain home.

Firefighters were called to 3411 Dallas Ave. at 6:31 a.m. They arrived and found the home fully engulfed in flames and the roof about half gone, according to Assistant Chief Roy Cochran.

The fire was out in about 40 minutes, Cochran said.

A Fire Department investigator remains on scene, but Cochran said firefighters believe the fire started in a second-floor floor joist. He said the cause is believed to have been electrical.

Cochran estimated damage at $26,500, which he said is about a 50 percent or 60 percent loss.

No one was hurt in the fire.

If you were an Indians fan back in the mid-90s, you couldn’t help but love Manny Ramirez.

Now, you can’t help but feel sorry for him.

As most of the world knows by now, Ramirez, who was a rising star during the Indians’ glory days of Central Division titles and World Series appearances, tested positive for a banned substance for the second time in his career. Rather than face a 100-game suspension, the 38-year-old Ramirez informed MLB that he would retire.

If Ramirez has truly left the game, it brings an end to arguably the most enigmatic career in the history of baseball.

Arguably the majors’ best right-handed hitter for an extended period, Ramirez spent much more of his time as one of baseball’s whackiest players.

His memorable moments of borderline insanity — coupled with certified stupidity — on and off the field are well-known and far too long to list.

So, in that respect, the shameful ending to what could have simply been one of the greatest hitting careers ever, is a fitting one.

Ramirez should be ashamed for never taking the game seriously. For a guy that changed his bizarre hairstyles on a consistent basis, he never quite got around to changing his approach to a professional one. Unlike countless other top-shelf players, he never played the game the right way.

Ramirez should be ashamed for wasting his abundance of God-given talent that most players would die for. He was a great hitter for a spell, but he could have been a great player his entire career.

Among many other things that again are too long to keep listing, Ramirez should be ashamed of his countless acts of immaturity that created strife in nearly every big league clubhouse that he entered.

And finally, Ramirez should be ashamed for cheating, testing positive twice for banned substances.

It is this that is almost certain to keep Ramirez out of the Hall of Fame. With 555 home runs, 1,831 RBIs and a lifetime .311 batting average, the 12-time All-Star was a pretty safe bet to get the call to the Hall on his offensive stats alone, even with the antics and lackadaisically bad defense.

The steroid stuff changes everything, and it should.

But while it is tough to feel sorry for a player that on top of making millions of dollars, tarnished his image, career and the game with his own hand along the way, there should be no bitter Manny memories for the Indians and their fans.

Outside of his occasional lapse in the field and laughable off-field incident, Ramirez, who grew up in Cleveland amongst a myriad of established veteran stars, toed the line.

And he produced at the plate — boy, did he ever (30-plus home runs and 100-plus RBIs in five of six seasons from 1995-2000) — as he rose from highly-touted prospect to budding superstar right before Tribe fans’ eyes.

Plus, though his entire career will now be under question, there have been no allegations of banned substance abuse while Ramirez played for the Indians. If there was anytime Ramirez didn’t take them, it was early in his career.

Outside of departing taking more money elsewhere, which nearly every star player in Cleveland has done, Ramirez did little to sully his relationship with Indians fans.

Manny really didn’t start “being Manny” full force until he departed Cleveland via free agency for Boston prior to the 2001 season.

A world title with the Red Sox followed but so did confrontations with veteran leaders in the Boston clubhouse and unreasonable trade demands to the front office.

Ramirez finally got his wish when he was traded to the Dodgers during the 2008 season. That ushered in “Mannywood” in LA, but that quickly soured, as Ramirez was suspended for 50 games the following season for testing positive for a steroid masking substance.

The Dodgers traded Ramirez to the White Sox during the 2010 season, and the Sox unloaded the Manny baggage as fast as possible, granting him free agency at the end of the year.

That left Tampa Bay to play sucker, and the D-Rays did, signing Ramirez to a one-year contract worth $2 million. They got five games and one hit out of him before Ramirez went off the rails again with a 100-game suspension that brought him to this shameful completion.

So, Indians fans, you don’t need to feel sorry for the way Ramirez’s career ended, just for how it turned out after one of your boys of summer left Cleveland.

Feel sorry for a kid that remained a child for his entire baseball life and never realized or cared how good he could have been without all the nonsense or the steroids.

Feel sorry for a guy that just didn’t get it.

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

ELYRIA — What do you want to know from the candidates seeking to lead Elyria for the next four years?

Noble

Ursi

Brinda

Grace

Tell us, and we’ll ask those questions for you and publish their answers in the paper prior to the May 3 primary in which four candidates, two Democrats and two Republicans, will face off.

The candidates are Mayor Bill Grace and Democratic challenger Holly Brinda and Republican hopefuls Ray Noble and Dave Ursi.

Some select readers will be chosen to be used for a video question-and-answer with the candidates that will be posted online.

Residents can submit questions to lroberson@chroniclet.com or ctnews@chroniclet.com using the subject line “Question to the Candidate.” Questions can also be mailed to Newsroom, C/O The Chronicle-Telegram, P.O. Box 4010, Elyria, OH 44036.

All submitted questions must include the name, address and phone number of the resident for verification purposes. Questions must be received by 5 p.m. April 13.

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

ELYRIA — A glossy political advertisement paid for by the Ohio Democratic Party touting the successes of Mayor Bill Grace that hit local mailboxes this week frustrated the Democratic challenger who he’ll face in the May primary.

Grace

Brinda

Democratic challenger Holly Brinda said the party is giving him financial support that she is not receiving.
The mailer, which speaks to the new automated trash program, state Route 57 and Grace’s 12 years of experience, was sent to thousands of homes.

Grace said no one should be surprised the state party is offering its assistance. It happened when he ran in 2003 and 2007 — races in which he bested his opponents.

“We are contributing to the party, and they are paying for the mailings,” he said. “I have been an important member of the party, been helpful in all layers of the Democratic Party for years. It shouldn’t be of any surprise to anyone that the party is making their resources available.”

Yet Brinda, who is running against Grace for a second time after failing to secure the Democratic nomination in 2007, said she is not happy that state party leaders are getting involved in a primary election. She received the mailer Tuesday at her home on Windward Drive.

“The concern I have about that is when a political party takes a side in a primary, it doesn’t allow for local citizens to voice their opinions,” she said. “I do feel that, if in fact the state Democratic Party did pay for the piece, then it should do the same with other candidates. Democratic candidates should be treated equally.”

Chris Redfern, chairman of the state Democratic Party, said he supports and endorses Grace in his re-election.

“He is a great leader for a great region of the state, and I am happy to call him my friend,” he said. “He is welcome to use the indicia anytime he wants.”

The indicia is the party’s marking for bulk mail used in place of stamps, and Redfern said it is a fairly common practice by those who support and are supported by the party. Last election, more than 400 candidates and incumbents used the indicia in mayoral, judgeship and township trustee races.

Seth Bringman, communication director for the state Democratic Party, said the state party does support several candidates across the state, and a number of mailings went out for candidates in several races. Grace was the only candidate in Lorain County to receive such support, he said.

“It’s done on a case-by-case basis. In collaboration with local Democratic leaders and county Democratic parties, we determine which candidates we support,” he said. “We work with individual campaigns on content and mailings given as an in-kind contribution by the ODP to the campaign.”

Bringman stopped short of calling the support an endorsement for Grace’s re-election. Only the full statewide executive committee can offer an official endorsement.

Brinda said she has placed a call to the state Democratic Party and is waiting on a return call to see if the same courtesy will be extended to her.

“It’s not something I would initiate on my own, but I would take it because right now my opponent has been given a financial advantage over me by my own party,” she said.

Brinda said she has a disclaimer on all of her campaign literature, including a mailer that should hit households this week, letting residents know it is paid by her residents committee, Citizens to Elect Holly Brinda.

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