ELYRIA — Brandon Rutherford wants you to come to Elyria.

Brandon Rutherford, of Invest Elyria, right, has organized an art show on Sunday at Ely Square. Eight-year-old Carsen Ponczocha, left, is going to display his work “Flowers in the Sun,” at the show. His sister, Braeden, 4, center, said she probably will have works on display as well. (CT photo by Chuck Humel.)

And this weekend, to check out the region’s artists. Rutherford, the founder and lead organizer of Invest Elyria, a grassroots community group, is hosting an art show 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday on the square in Ely Park.

“We’re looking for people to show all forms of art — a whole plethora of things,” said Rutherford. “And I’m leaving that open to interpretation by others, because I don’t want to be the guy who says, ‘This is what art is.’”

In that vein, Rutherford invites people of all ages and levels of expertise to participate, and hopes to draw people from around the county. The show is free for art-gazers, but will cost a $10 for those art-displayers (to cover fees for the event, he said — and it’ll be waived for anyone under 18).

The event is sponsored by Invest Elyria, which has gained momentum over the past year. The organization’s purpose has been to unite Elyrians to take pride in where they live and to “improve the morale and the communication between residents and city leaders,” according to the founding plan for the organization.

Rutherford, a former City Council candidate, explained that the group focused on three themes when defining its goals — Green Elyria, Buy Elyria and Connect Elyria — but admits that, like the art show, not everything falls so neatly into one category.

“I want to bring events to Elyria to get people downtown and to support small, local businesses,” said Rutherford. “And I want Invest Elyria to be a tool for the community… it’s all about positive movements in the city.”

He hopes this art show will bring people downtown for the weekend to get out and meet one another and participate in something local.

Ed Stewart, a graphic artist in Elyria and the designer of the Invest Elyria logo, thinks that the art show fits well with the organization’s goals.

“It goes along with ‘buy’ and ‘connect,’ I think,” Stewart said. “It’s local people experiencing art with other local people.”

He and his friends Ray Koepff, an acrylic painter, and Jean Jensen, an art instructor at Clearview High School, will be showing their work.

“I’ll be down there actually working with pastels,” Stewart said. “And if any kids come around, I’ll involve them in the process: I believe in participatory artwork.”

The idea for the art show came from a member of the Invest Elyria Facebook group, when the organization was in its nascent stages. Rutherford looks to community members and those who are interested in moving Elyria in a “positive direction” to engage in the conversation and to help organize events. He has already seen success in pushing for composting in downtown businesses and restaurants and creating a network of small business owners from across the city to support one another.

Rutherford is also working within the Elyria school district to start a “Young Elyrian” group to take on tasks they feel passionate about.

“I want people to be inspired, and I want them to feel like they matter in Elyria. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel, just pushing it to get it rolling again,” Rutherford said.

If you’re interested in more information about the art show, including registration, contact Brandon Rutherford at (440) 897-9429.

Contact Emily Kennedy at 329-7243 or ekennedy@chroniclet.com.

WESTFIELD TWP. — A 41-year-old township man was struck by lightning Tuesday night while inside his residence.

A bolt of lightning reportedly went through a glass door or window while Fred Waters was inside the home, according to Rich Fletcher, the Westfield Township fire chief. Waters home is located at 5355 Kennard Road.

Rescuers from Westfield Township Fire & Rescue arrived at the house at about 8:15 p.m. Tuesday and found Waters alert and oriented, Fletcher said.

The chief said Waters was in his garage when five medical personnel arrived at the scene. The victim was transported to Medina Hospital.

“In this situation you take precautions and treat any injuries,” Fletcher said. “You check vital signs to see if they’re normal and administer oxygen if necessary.”

A Medina Hospital spokeswoman said this morning Waters remains in stable condition.

Contact Steve Grazier at (330) 721-4012 or sgrazier@medina-gazette.com.

CLEVELAND — It was bullpen warfare at its best Tuesday at Progressive Field for the opener of a pivotal series between the top two teams in the Central Division.

And the Indians won the battle.

A marathon night at the ballpark ended with Tigers reliever David Pauley hitting Kosuke Fukudome with a pitch with the bases loaded and one out in the 14th inning, giving the Indians a 3-2 victory.

The game was tied at two for 11 innings before Cleveland finally won it in walk-off fashion.

The win, the Indians’ 12th straight at home over the Tigers, left them trailing first-place Detroit by three games in the division standings.

Neither starting pitcher, the Indians’ Justin Masterson nor Detroit’s Doug Fister, figured in the decision, both departing after a rain delay of two hours and three minutes and the Tigers coming to bat for the third inning.

Both allowed two runs, the Indians getting both of their runs off Fister in the first on a single from Asdrubal Cabrera and a sacrifice fly from Carlos Santana.

Detroit didn’t require a hit to drive in either of its runs off Masterson in the second, with the first three batters reaching then riding home on ground outs.

Both bullpens took over from there.

Starting with left-hander Duane Below, Detroit’s bullpen retired 13 straight (12 from Below) before Santana drew a one-out walk in the seventh. The Indians didn’t get a hit until a leadoff double from pinch hitter Jason Donald in the eighth.

Cleveland relievers were just as stingy, shutting out the Tigers on six hits over the final 12 innings.

With both pens working magic, there weren’t many opportunities, but the Indians blew one after Donald delivered the double in the eighth.

Donald advanced to third on a groundout from Ezequiel Carrera before Acta went to one of his favorite moves — the squeeze play — only to have it backfire.

Though it has worked nearly every time he has employed it this season, Michael Brantley couldn’t reach an outside breaking ball, leaving Donald standing up and tagged out by Detroit catcher Alex Avila.

The Indians got just two more hits after the Donald double, one of them from Travis Hafner that was sandwiched between two walks to load the bases for Fukudome in the 14th.

Fukudome had struck out in his four previous at-bats and appeared headed for a fifth when Pauley got ahead 1-2. But Cleveland’s right fielder was plunked on the left arm, touching off a rare walk-off hit-by-pitch celebration.

It was the first time the Indians won in that fashion since Alex Cole was hit by a pitch to force in the game-winning run on June 11, 1991, vs. Toronto.

A total of 15 pitchers took the mound in a game that began at 7:06 p.m. and ended at 1:52 a.m.

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Fan him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

CLEVELAND — One of the Indians’ two key injured components, right fielder Shin-Soo Choo, could be back in the lineup by the start of next week, but the prognosis on the other, center fielder Grady Sizemore, isn’t as positive.

Though it had been speculated, Cleveland manager Manny Acta confirmed that Sizemore, on the disabled list with a right knee injury and recovering from abdominal surgery, would not return by the end of the month.

Acta said Sizemore, who has played in 61 games this season after consecutive injury-plagued years, has not participated in any baseball activities but could begin playing catch and swinging a bat by the end of the week.

He would not commit to Sizemore beginning a minor-league rehab assignment in early September, nor to how much the three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove award winner could contribute if he is able to return.

“Who knows?” Acta said. “Who knows if Choo is going to be major contributor. We we won’t know until these guys are back on the field.”

Choo (broken left thumb) began a rehab assignment Monday at Class A Lake County, where he served as the designated hitter Tuesday night. Acta said Choo would be evaluated in Cleveland today before playing in higher-level games in the minors until his activation.

“Assuming everything works out well and he feels comfortable, I would say a week of rehab games,” Acta said. “It’s still going to be a day-to-day evaluation thing.”

Choo, batting .244 with five home runs and 28 RBIs in 72 games this season, has been sidelined since June 25.

(bullet) Acta said RHP Carlos Carrasco (right elbow inflammation) is expected to miss the next three weeks, two thanks to the injury and another week while serving his six-game suspension.

“The medical staff doesn’t think it’s a long-term thing,” Acta said of Carrasco’s injury.

Tigers talk

The Indians had recent history on their side as they opened a pivotal three-game series against Central Division-leading Detroit, winning 11 straight against the Tigers at Progressive Field dating back to last year.

Cleveland had won four of six games against Detroit this season, including all three at home.

“I would rather be four games up,” Acta said of the Tigers’ lead over the Indians in the division standings. “There’s still a lot of games left. I don’t like to talk about series. I like to talk about today. We’re the ones trailing. We’re the ones that have to close the gap and not allow them to get too far away.

“We saw how tough it is to make a deficit. We held a seven-game lead for almost two months. But I’ve also seen deficits made up pretty quick in this game.”

Bullpen blues

It was not a good road trip for Cleveland’s relief corps, which had a hand in all four losses during a seven-game stint against Boston and Texas.

“It’s the cycle of the season,” Acta said. “They’ve been so good. There’s going to be times that they struggle. We were facing two good teams.”

Cleveland’s pen, a strength of the team for much of the season, posted a 4.54 ERA in July with a 4.87 ERA in August (through Monday).

Minor details

The Indians named Triple-A Columbus outfielder Jerad Head their minor league player of the week for July 31-Aug. 6. Head, a non-drafted free-agent acquisition in 2005, hit .393 (11-for-28) over the span, with five homers and 11 RBIs in six games. He entered Tuesday batting .290 with the team lead in homers (23) and RBIs (63) in 97 games. … Double-A Akron RHP Austin Adams was named Eastern League pitcher of the week for Aug. 1-7, going 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA in two starts over the span. Adams, a fifth-round draft pick in 2009, is 9-8 with a 3.81 ERA in 22 starts for the Aeros.

Roundin’ third

Beginning with Tuesday’s series opener against Detroit, the Indians play 12 straight games and 15 of their next 18 against division opponents. Of their remaining 49 games, 37 are within the division. … The Indians signed local product Brian Ruiz (41st-round draft pick), an outfielder out of Lincoln West High School. Acta met Ruiz at a speaking engagement in Cleveland last year. … Tonight, 7:05, STO/WTAM 1100-AM/WEOL 930-AM. Jimenez (6-9, 4.64) vs. Porcello (11-6, 4.49).

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Fan him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.