ELYRIA — The wife of an Ohio Highway Patrol trooper has taken out a temporary domestic violence protection order against her husband after he allegedly threatened to kill her during an altercation Tuesday.

Velez

Trooper Kenneth Velez, who lives in Lorain and works as a motor vehicle inspector out of the patrol’s Medina post, was placed on administrative duty while the patrol conducts an internal investigation into the allegations, Lt. Anne Ralston said Thursday.

Velez’s gun, badge, cruiser and patrol identification have been taken from him while he is on administrative duty, which means he will wear civilian clothing and drive his own vehicle to work, Ralston said. The protection order bars the 42-year-old Velez from possessing a firearm.

The order, issued Wednesday through Lorain County Domestic Relations Court, contains a warning to law enforcement officers that Velez has access to firearms and they should proceed with caution when dealing with him.

Rachel Velez, 43, wrote in her request for the protection order that her husband “threatened my life and said I would pay for poor parenting skills because 18 year old left the house.”

A police report on the incident was not completed.

The protection order, which bars Kenneth Velez from contacting his wife, also protects the couple’s three children, including their 18-year-old son, a 16-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son. The minor children were left in Rachel Velez’s care, according to the order.

Kenneth Velez also is prohibited from entering the Lorain County Justice Center, where his wife works as a secretary for county Common Pleas Judge James Miraldi.

Kenneth Velez could not be reached for comment Thursday, and Rachel Velez declined to comment.

A full hearing on whether the protection order should be made more permanent is scheduled for July 20.

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

SHEFFIELD LAKE — When the Gaspar family received its June water and sewer bill in the mail, they thought they’d soon be drowning in red ink.

Sheffield Lake residents Joseph and Stephanie Gaspar show their water bill, which added up to $48,955.33. They’re smiling because the city has resolved the error. (CT photo by Bruce Bishop.)

“I called my husband as soon as I saw it and asked him if he thought we could have a bad leak somewhere,” Stephanie Gaspar said. “When he heard the amount, he said we would have had a sinkhole.”

The couple, who reside on West Shore Boulevard with their two children, were initially shocked to see a June bill totaling $48,955. The amount rose to an even more eyeball-bulging $55,829 if they dawdled and didn’t pay up till after the July 15 due date.

After the shock wore off, they figured it was a simple error, which it was.

“The machine simply added an extra digit,” Len Smith, Sheffield Lake’s service director said in explaining how the household’s typical monthly bill of approximately $100 rocketed into utility heaven.

The family wasn’t exactly sure how much water they typically use, but knew they hadn’t had any overflowing sinks, toilets or garden hoses left on.

“I posted in on Facebook and was getting back the usual ribbing,” Stephanie Gaspar said. “There were things like, ‘You must have got the village’s bill, too,’ or ‘You gotta stop taking those long showers.’ ”

A nursing student, Stephanie grew up in Cleveland but has lived in Sheffield Lake for years. The family moved into their West Shore Boulevard home from another address in town about three years ago.

Joseph works as a supervisor for Time Warner Cable. The couple’s two children, Emily 15, and Jake, 13, also were amused by the monstrous bill.

“That’s probably what Kalahari’s bill is a month,” Jake said.

The $48,955 figure included $33,851 for sewer charges, and $14,858 for water usage.

Once the bill was recalculated, it showed a much more manageable balance of $70.46, according to Smith.

The city Service Department realized the error about as quickly as the Gaspars did and sent a brief letter of apology that arrived Wednesday, a day after the city heard from the bemused household.

“Naturally we’re sorry for the error, and let them know that it was a miscalculation,” Smith said. “Our girls are really good at what they do.”

Contact Steve Fogarty at 329-7146 or sfogarty@chroniclet.com.

CLEVELAND — Orlando Cabrera has officially fought off Cord Phelps’ bid to replace him as the Indians’ second baseman.

Phelps was demoted Thursday to Triple-A Columbus, ending his 29-day stay in the majors. The rookie batted .196 with one home run and five RBIs in 19 games with the Tribe.

“We decided to send him down so he could play every day,” Cleveland manager Manny Acta said. “Since Orlando has been playing so much of the time, and playing well, I didn’t think it was fair to Phelps to be sitting so much.

“When I talked to him last night, I told him he should consider himself blessed and grateful. How many kids can play big league baseball when you’re only three years out of Stanford? That’s what he did.”

Phelps was called up from the Clippers on June 8, largely to put a fire under the 36-year-old Cabrera, who was not playing well in the field or at the plate.

Not coincidentally, the “O-Dog” turned things around at that point, going 21-for-71 (.296) with 10 runs in his next 20 games.

Phelps, meanwhile, not only struggled with the bat, he was very shaky playing second base.
The 24-year-old switch hitter committed five errors in his first 12 major league appearances — just one fewer than Cabrera has in 73 games at second.

“Phelps struggled defensively up here, but we know he’s got a very good glove from the minors,” Acta said. “He wishes he had played better defense, but he felt the same way we did that he hit pretty well for us.”

With Phelps back in the minors, third baseman Jack Hannahan served as utility infielder for the series opener vs. Toronto.

However, Acta hinted that Hannahan will only spend one night in that role. Pitcher Zach McAllister was sent to Columbus after the game, allowing the team to promote third baseman Luis Valbuena. He can also play second base and shortstop.

Valbuena is batting .314 for the Clippers and was named to the International League All-Star team. Jason Donald, another candidate to be called up, is at .286 after missing 60 games with knee and hand injuries.

Second baseman Jason Kipnis also was chosen for the Triple-A All-Star Game and is hitting .301, but Acta said he would not be getting the call.

Feisty Fausto

Pitcher Fausto Carmona, who is on the DL with a right quadriceps strain, tossed the baseball from 60 feet prior to Thursday’s game. He will throw a bullpen session on July 13 when the Indians return from the All-Star break, then return to the starting lineup five days later.

“We’re going to push Fausto to the back of the rotation so he’ll have as much time as possible,” Acta said, breaking into a smile. “I’ll give you the rest of the news about my rotation in a couple of days, but if you want to start working backward from Carmona now, be my guest.”

Carmona is 4-10 with a 5.78 ERA in 18 starts this season. The 2010 All-Star has given up an American League-high 67 earned runs and ranks second in the circuit with 10 losses (one behind Baltimore’s Jeremy Guthrie).

Scuffling speedster

Left fielder Michael Brantley went 2-for-4 with two runs and a stolen base Wednesday in the series finale against the Yankees, preventing him from going hitless in the three-game series.

After batting .297 in April, the Indians’ leadoff hitter has seen his average drop in each successive month. Brantley hit .278 in May, .231 in June and was at .208 in July before Thursday night’s game.

“He went through a rough spot, but Michael knows the strike zone real good, so those guys can work their way out of things pretty well,” Acta said. “I was really happy with the way he swung the bat last night.”

Brantley went 0-for-8 in the first two games of the New York series, making him 16-for-87 (.184) over his last 22 games.

Minor details

• Columbus closer Zach Putnam allowed three runs, four hits and four walks in 11⁄3 innings Wednesday, allowing the Louisville Bats to steal a 3-2 home victory. It was Putnam’s first blown save in eight opportunities this year and ruined a terrific performance by Justin Germano, who took a perfect game into the sixth while making a spot start.
• Second baseman Tyler Cannon had a run-scoring double among his two hits, but Double-A Akron dropped a 4-1 decision to the Altoona Curve. Joe Gardner took the loss after allowing four runs in six innings.
• Ace pitching prospect Drew Pomeranz tossed eight shutout innings for Single-A Kinston in its 3-1 win over the Lynchburg Hillcats. The talented lefty, who is 3-2 with a 1.87 ERA, is rumored to be in line for a promotion to Akron next week.

Roundin’ third

• McAllister became the sixth Indians player to make his MLB debut this season. The others are Phelps, outfielder Ezequiel Carrera, third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall, reliever Josh Judy and starter Alex White.
• The Tribe owns the best home record in the AL at 27-15 and is 3-1 on its seven-game homestand following the win Thursday night.

Contact Brian Dulik at brisports@hotmail.com.

CLEVELAND — Matt LaPorta took full advantage of the national spotlight to announce his return to the Cleveland Indians lineup Wednesday.

Laporta

Just hours after coming off the 15-day disabled list (right ankle sprain), LaPorta showed a national ESPN audience why he was the cornerstone of the trade that sent 2007 Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia to the Milwaukee Brewers three years ago today. He went 2-for-4 with singles in his first two at-bats in the Indians’ 5-3 win over the New York Yankees.

LaPorta, who was receiving treatment on his ankle after the game and was unavailable for comment, also made a pair of fine defensive plays, one diving to his left to snare a shot by Nick Swisher that looked destined to be a double down the right-field line in the second inning to preserve Cleveland’s 2-0 lead.

“When the defense makes plays like that it gives me extra confidence to just go out there and pitch,” said Justin Masterson, who pitched eight shutout innings to earn his seventh win of the year.

For LaPorta, the injury gave him a chance at a new beginning. Prior to turning his ankle while getting caught in a rundown in a June 17 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he was mired in a 17-for-85 slump over his previous 25 games.

“This is a really important year for (LaPorta) for his development,” manager Manny Acta said. “We need him to stay healthy and continue to learn and improve.”

Since making his major league debut, LaPorta has yet to live up to the hype that came along with being one of the top prospects in all of baseball and being selected with the No. 7 pick in the first round by the Brewers in the 2007 draft. He was also a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team that brought home the bronze medal from Beijing.

Over his first three seasons, LaPorta’s career average is just .234. His home run numbers have increased from two in 52 games his rookie season to 12 in 110 games in 2010. So far this season he has hit eight homers in 60 games.

If he’s to ever claim his place among the elite first basemen in the American League, however, his home run output likely needs to double. After hitting .254 in 2009, he slipped to .221 last season. He is hitting .248 this season.

Even after his early season struggles, LaPorta ranks ninth among American League first basemen in batting average and RBIs (31).

One thing LaPorta has done well in his career is hit against the Yankees. He had the highest career average (.303) against New York of any Indian in Wednesday’s starting lineup. Earlier this season, he had a two-hit, two-RBI game in an 11-7 loss at Yankee Stadium.

“He’s definitely an important bat to have back in the lineup,” Acta said. “He’s been up and down this year but he’s always a threat every time he steps up to the plate.”

Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.