Crushers fans cheer as the team arrives at All Pro Freight stadium Thursday night. (Photo by Steve Manheim, The Chronicle-Telegram.)

AVON — There weren’t a whole lot of fans gathering outside of All Pro Freight Stadium on Thursday night, but the crowd that was there made its presence felt.

Despite delays in travel, about 35 fans waited for the bus carrying the Frontier League champion Lake Erie Crushers to arrive.

When it did, at 10:06 p.m., the fans who waited, some for a few hours, let their professional baseball team know how much their championship win meant to them.

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Vermilion’s George Grayshaw, a season ticket holder, arrived at 8:10 p.m. and was the first person there.
“I used to live in Detroit, and when you waited on the Wings and Pistons to come back (from winning titles), you got there a couple of hours early,” he said. “I got here, and I was like, ‘Anyone? Anyone?’ ”

David Pilger, a season ticket holder from Sheffield Lake, arrived  at 8:30 p.m. with his wife June and sister-in-law Joan.

“These players are very respectful of all the fans,” Pilger said. “Children, adults, it doesn’t matter.”

Grayshaw listened to the web cast of the Crushers’ 13-10 Game 5 victory Wednesday over the River City Rascals in the St. Louis suburb of O’Fallon, Mo.

“I was up until 4 a.m. last night because my adrenaline was going from listening to that win,” he said. “And then my alarm went off at 6 a.m. Even with that, here I am.”

As the bus pulled in, the fans clanged their cowbells, held up signs and cheered. The cheers got even louder as head coach John Massarelli led the troops off the bus.

“It’s unbelievable, really unbelievable,” Massarelli said. “Thank you to the fans. They made my job easier.”
The players were tired from the long trip and the championship celebration. However, many hung around for almost an hour just talking with the fans.

“What an unbelievable season,” said designated hitter Gordon Gronkowski.

There is still no official word if there will be an official rally or parade for the team in the next few days.

Contact Dan Gilles at 329-7135  or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

Crushers players enjoy their victory with a champagne spray Wednesday at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O’Fallon, Mo. (Photo by David Richard, The Chronicle-Telegram.)

Unbelievable.

The dream goal for an inaugural season for the Lake Erie Crushers came true Wednesday night at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O’Fallon, Mo., as the Crushers emerged from an offensive slugfest to defeat the River City Rascals 13-10 and win Game 5 of the Frontier League Championship Series.

That’s right, the Lake Erie Crushers, the first-year expansion team, are Frontier League champions, and are bringing a championship home to Avon, Lorain County and Northeast Ohio.

“When I managed in Washington (Pa.), I thought that was the best setting in minor league baseball, and what we experienced this year, in Avon at the Freight with those fans, this surpassed that,” Crushers manager John Massarelli said. “These people are fanatical about this team. I’ve never experienced anything like it in the Frontier League, to see that much excitement and passion from this community and from this team. I could manage this team for 15 years.”

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Many fans made the 10-hour trek to O’Fallon, just outside of St. Louis, while 2,100 other fans listened to the live Webcast by Dave DeNatale on the team’s Web site.

The Crushers are scheduled to leave Missouri and head home with the Frontier League Champions Cup this morning. Plans for a potential welcome home rally or parade are still up in the air.

Contact Dan Gilles at 329-7135.

Lake Erie Crushers outfielder Tyler Johnson is on top of the heap Wednesday as the Crushers ended their inaugural season atop the Frontier League with a wild 13-10 victory in the deciding Game 5 of their championship series against the River City Rascals in O’Fallon, Mo. (Photo by David Richard, The Chronicle-Telegram.)

Elyria businessman Mark O’Donnell pleaded guilty Wednesday to a bribery charge stemming from an expansive investigation into the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Garfield Heights office.

The guilty plea could send O’Donnell, 60, to prison for up to a year.

O’Donnell is the owner of Elyria-based North Shore Door Co. and has been described as a cooperating witness in the investigation that began in April 2007 after a former employee of O’Donnell’s sent an e-mail to the state accusing him of offering gratuities to ODOT officials.

O'Donnell

“He made thousands of dollars in payments to an ODOT official to increase his sales,” said Ryan Miday, spokesman for Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason.

The money was funneled to ODOT officials in a number of ways, Miday said, but would not elaborate on how or to whom the payments went.

But in a report completed last year by Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles, Charles accused O’Donnell of hosting an annual “ODOT Boat Day” on his 36-foot boat for himself, ODOT officials, vendors and Cleveland strippers, all of whom would spend a day “drinking, swimming and frolicking.”

The report said O’Donnell was trying to win the favor of Dennis Kratochvil, the ODOT district facilities manager, and the district equipment manager, Terrence Kosmata.

Kratochvil and Kosmata have not been charged in connection with the allegations, although Kratochvil has pleaded not guilty to an allegation that he threatened a witness in the case.

O’Donnell declined to comment Wednesday but said last month that the allegations against him centered on money he paid to help fund Christmas parties thrown by ODOT workers at Cleveland strip clubs.

O’Donnell’s attorney, Ronald Skingle, also declined to comment Wednesday.

Charles’ report said that in exchange for the bribes, Kratochvil allowed O’Donnell to overcharge for labor, assess a fuel surcharge to ODOT and purchase off-contract products.

O’Donnell is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 28 and has no agreed-upon sentence.

Two other ODOT vendors who already have pleaded guilty in connection with the ODOT case, Christian Hilty and Jeffrey Bauer, have each received six-month prison sentences.

Both Hilty and Bauer also have been working with investigators in connection with the case.

In addition to O’Donnell, Hilty and Bauer, six other people were charged last month in the initial round of indictments issued in the ODOT investigation. All have been described as cooperating witnesses and swiftly pleaded guilty.

Among the others who pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing are Craig Gorsuch, president of West Shore New Holland in North Ridgeville. Gorsuch pleaded guilty to bribery and was expected to be sentenced today, but that hearing was postponed, Miday said.

Gorsuch gave hunting trips and rifles, among other incentives, to ODOT officials in exchange for business at his company, according to the report.

Prosecutors have said as many as 31 people ultimately could be charged in the investigation.

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

ELYRIA — The Fire Department is ready to move forward from the fire management audit and may have the city administration’s support in doing so.

More than a vocal show of support, Mayor Bill Grace said the department could get a financial one as well if residents support the income tax increase in November. To the shock of many Wednesday, Grace said assuming revenue comes in as projected, the Fire Department will get about $1.1 million of the new funds the 0.5 percentage point increase will generate.

This will allow the city to bring back most, if not all, of the eight firefighters that were laid off in early September.

The 0.5 percent income tax increase will be a permanent increase that will generate about $5.6 million in additional revenue. City leaders originally said 80 percent of the money will be needed to maintain current service levels and the remaining 20 percent would be divided between the Parks and Recreation, Police and Street Maintenance departments.

Grace told council members and residents his plans to fund the department Wednesday night at a meeting of the Public Utilities, Safety and Environment Committee meeting. Called by Councilman Mike Lotko, D-at large, the purpose of the meeting was to start discussions about where the Fire Department should go in the future.

Still, Councilman Kevin Brubaker, D-at large, questioned if Grace would hold true to his plans for the Fire Department.

“If I recall correctly, the ordinance associated with the tax issue said that 80 percent would go toward maintaining existing services and doesn’t designate money to Fire Department,” he said.

Regardless, Fire Chief Rich Benton said he is ready to move the department in a different direction.

Of the many things he plans to do in the future, Benton said it’s time to eliminate the problem of firefighters not knowing which truck or station they will be working on a given day. He plans to institute true ladder companies and true engine companies. The difference in duties is dramatic and knowing the equipment is the key to success, Benton said.

“They will train on that truck and drill on that truck every day until they become masters of the equipment,” he said.

Benton said ladder companies are responsible for ventilation, search and rescue, forcible entry and property salvage among other things at a fire scene. They pave the way for the engine companies, which are solely responsible for laying supply lines and putting water on the fire.

Benton said there was a time when each firefighter knew their job backwards and forwards and did not have to worry about knowing everything because they didn’t know what truck they would be riding from one day to the next.

In addition, Benton said future plans also call for implementing ongoing EMS training, reorganizing the command structure and getting the new $1.2 million ladder truck in service as soon as possible.

There have been a lot of questions associated with the truck because it was purchased and outfitted without a water pump, but Benton said it is a stunning piece of equipment that should be used.

“If we are going to have a true ladder company, you should know a ladder company doesn’t pick up a hose,” he told council members. “With two pumpers and the ladder truck, we will have more than enough water to supply a fire scene.”

Grace said the administration is also becoming convinced that the ladder truck should be used instead of sold like the McGrath Consulting Group recommended in the fire audit.

“Now that we have it, it is equipped for us,” he said. “It has everything on it but water.”

The productive conversation was welcomed by the few residents in attendance.

“I think I speak for all residents when I say I think Elyria is understaffed,” said Warden Avenue resident Brenda Williams. “If something happens, I don’t want us to be one man short when it comes time to get me out of my house.”

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