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Local News

North Ridgeville soldier home after close call in Afghanistan

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

NORTH RIDGEVILLE — Two months ago, an improvised explosive device blew up beneath the armored patrol vehicle carrying Army Spc. Joshua Kearney in Afghanistan and tossed it about like a children’s toy.

“It was like a soccer ball being kicked,” said Kearney, 23. “The truck flipped two times and landed on the passenger’s side.”

Everyone inside the Mine Resistant Ambush Protective vehicle was alive, but they all were banged up.

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Kearney’s head was pounding from a concussion, muscles in his neck and shoulders were torn, and he suffered a cracked vertebra.

Training kicked in for Kearney, a 2007 graduate of the Lorain County Joint Vocational School, who is home until next Wednesday for some rest and relaxation.

Kearney, who was harnessed into the gunner’s seat, got out of the vehicle to make sure they wouldn’t be attacked again.

“I grabbed my M-4 (rifle) and crawled out of the gunner’s hatch to make sure there wasn’t a second IED,” he said. “Sometimes they do what’s called a ‘daisy chain’ — they’ll plant another bomb relatively close to the first one.”

Kearney helped his lieutenant tend to the driver, who had a concussion as well as leg injuries, and to an Afghan translator who also was hurt.

Kearney credits the 43,000-pound vehicle with saving their lives.

“If it had been a Humvee, I don’t think I’d be here,” he said.

There was a terrible odor in the air, and the blast blew a hole in the ground 7 feet deep, and 17 to 20 feet wide and long.

The force of the blast melted dirt into the truck’s chassis, and tore off thick bulletproof glass windows and blew open the top hatches, Kearney said.

It also broke straps inside the truck, launching gear and ammunition into the air like weapons.

“I got hit in the head with an ammo canister, and those weigh about 25 pounds,” Kearney said. “My fifth vertebra was cracked, and my doctor said I’ll probably have chronic back pain for the rest of my life.”

When help arrived, the soldiers eventually discovered that the bomb had been triggered by someone lying near a wooded area.

Kearney suspects the attack was engineered by forces loyal to the ousted Taliban or the Haqqani Network, an insurgent group The New York Times called “the Sopranos of the Afghanistan War.”

Kearney, who was awarded a Purple Heart, said he’ll return to Afghanistan and presumes he’ll work on fueling helicopters until his enlistment is over in December.

He is in the 4-1 field artillery, 3rd Brigade 1st Armored Division, whose motto is “First Or Not At All!”

While home, he has enjoyed the company of family and friends, especially his wife Anne, a 2006 graduate of Elyria Catholic High School.

He also found a little time to work on his 1987 Toyota Supra with his dad, Richard, who served in the U.S. Navy.

Kearney, who arrived in Afghanistan in September, said his other close calls in the war involve being shot at with high-powered rifles.

“There’s this weird supersonic crack — it’s almost like someone snapping fingers — and you’ll hear it hit close to you, and a split-second later, you hear the sound of the gunshot coming from the hills,” he said.

Asked if the U.S.-led NATO forces are winning the war, Kearney replied, “Yes — slowly but surely.”

“Our whole fight is counterinsurgency — to win over the locals and get them on our side to see what we’re doing as a good thing and to trust the (Afghan) government,” he said. “We’re already starting the drawdown process — the goal is to be out in 2013, which is a pretty lofty goal.”

Kearney said he is looking forward to returning to civilian life but is glad he served his country.

Upon his return, he plans to study at Lorain County Community College and earn a mechanical engineering degree.

“I eventually want to open up my own small machine shop,” he said.

Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.

Former OSU coach Jim Tressel takes job with Akron

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

AKRON, Ohio — Former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel is going back to school— in a newly created position at the University of Akron.

The school announced Thursday that Tressel has been hired as vice president for strategic engagement and will earn a base salary of $200,000 per year. The job starts May. 1.

University officials say he will work with alumni, community organizations and friends of the school to develop strategies and efforts to help students succeed.

Akron president Luis Proenza said in a statement that Tressel will bring his energy, leadership, passion and compassion to the university.

Man sought in abduction, assault and Dollar General robbery arrested

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

A man who is a suspect in both an Elyria robbery yesterday and an assault and abduction in Lorain was arrested this morning in Oberlin.

Mitcheal J. Orr II, 30, was picked up by the Elyria Police Department’s Neighborhood Impact Unit and U.S. Marshals at his father’s home, in the 14900 block of Baird Road, about 10 a.m. Orr was arrested without incident, according to Tony Keffer, U.S. Marshals Service task force coordinator for Lorain County.

Orr is suspected of beating and kidnapping the mother of his child Tuesday morning on Oak Point Road, according to Lorain police Lt. Roger Watkins. Watkins said Orr stole the white Kia the woman was driving.

The woman was not seriously injured, and Lorain police said the assault happened about 8:15 a.m.

Orr, whose last known address was the 200 block of Park Meadow Drive in Elyria, has a criminal record that includes convictions for domestic violence and theft.

He is suspected of robbing an Elyria Dollar General following that incident.

The store robber was described as a white male in a green short-sleeved shirt, according to an Elyria police report. An employee told police the man approached the register in the store, 622 Leona St., at about 9 a.m. with something silver in his hand, which looked “almost like a stun gun with grips,” according to the report.

The man demanded money and can be seen in surveillance footage pulling bills from the register, then lifting the cash drawer. The man left in a small vehicle, which went south on Leona Street, the report said.

The vehicle was found abandoned by Elyria police in the Foxes Lair apartment complex at 2280 West River Road about 6:15 p.m. Tuesday.

Indians: Tribe nabs possible LaPorta replacement

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

CLEVELAND – It wasn’t the big fish they hoped to hook on the free-agent market, but the Indians may have found their replacement for first baseman Matt LaPorta.

Cleveland acquired one of Tampa Bay’s top prospects Tuesday, sending cash to the Rays for first baseman Russ Canzler. Canzler, 25, was the International League’s most valuable player last season after batting .314 with 18 home runs and 83 RBIs in 131 games for Triple-A Durham.

Canzler, a right-handed hitter, was a strong candidate to open the year at first for the Rays before Tampa Bay signed Carlos Pena – a player the Indians had strong interest in this offseason.

With LaPorta, also a top prospect upon his arrival in Cleveland, failing to live up to expectations on the big league level, Canzler is expected to get the opportunity to compete this spring for the starting job at first. If he doesn’t make the club in that capacity, the versatile 30th-round draft pick of the Cubs in 2004, could secure a roster spot as a utility infielder.

“He’ll come and compete for a spot on the major league team,” Indians general manager Chris Antonetti told Indians.com. “The specific position at which, or the spot on the team he’ll be competing for, will be dependant upon a number of different things, including the other guys competing and how the roster takes shape in spring.

“One of the things that we’re attracted to about Russ, in addition to his offensive ability, is his defensive versatility. He has played and is capable of playing first base, third base, left field, right field and has experience at all four of those spots.”

Canzler, who has minor league options, was in line to start at first for the Rays before Pena arrived. Tampa Bay’s starter at the position last season, Casey Kotchman, is a free agent, with the Indians also showing interest in him this winter. Already looking as though he would begin the year in the minors after the Pena acquisition, Canzler was designated for assignment when the Rays signed infielder Jeff Keppinger on Friday.

That cleared the way for the Indians to trade for him.

The Indians have been searching all offseason for a right-handed power bat, with repeated interest in those playing first base, a spot LaPorta, despite a wealth of opportunities, has failed to secure on a fulltime basis since arriving in a trade from Milwaukee in July of 2008.

He’s batted .234 with 23 homers and 94 RBIs in 217 games for Cleveland over the past seasons.

Canzler’s offensive progress came slow through the minors, but he has found his stroke the past two years. He hit .287 with 21 homers and 66 RBIs for the Cubs’ Double-A affiliate Tennessee before his MVP season in 2011. He made his major league debut with the Rays last year, going 1-for-3 in three games.

Though he has said he feels comfortable bringing the current roster to Goodyear, Ariz., for spring training, Antonetti remains open to adding more players to the mix. Cleveland is still in the market for Kotchman and is also one of six teams reportedly interested in Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.

“Our focus will be to continue to try to improve the roster,” Antonetti said. “We’ll certainly continue to do that in the weeks leading up to spring training.”

Canzler assumed the 40-man roster spot of pitcher Fausto Carmona, who is on the restricted list and is still being detained without a visa in the Dominican Republic after being arrested on false identity charges.

 

Deadline date

Arbitration-eligible players, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and relief pitcher Rafael Perez remain unsigned. Arbitration cases in MLB begin being heard today.

Cabrera, an all-star who hit .273 with 25 homers and 92 RBIs in 151 games last year, is asking for a one-year salary of $5.2 million in 2012, while the Indians are offering $3.75 million.

Perez, a staple in the bullpen since 2008, is asking for $2.4 million. Cleveland is offering $1.6 million.

 

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