SHEFFIELD TWP. — Rick Runion said he’d recently put his stepdaughter Yvonne Jones Xolo’s two children to bed when his son Ricky yelled to him that her apartment next door at 2072 Garfield Ave. was on fire.

“We just followed him outside and ran next store,” Runion said early Friday morning standing near the burned one-floor, wood-framed duplex. “By that time it was too late. We saw flames coming out of the roof.”

No one was injured by the fire, called in about 10:20 p.m. Thursday, said Fire Chief Joe Bandagski. It took between 20 to 30 minutes to contain and firefighters continued to douse embers around 1:30 a.m.

Bandagski said the blaze broke out in the rear bedroom of apartment where Jones Xolo lives with her children Alexis Sweeney, 9, and Jason Sweeney, 7, and her husband, Poly Xolo. The cause of the fire was undetermined early Friday morning. The fire destroyed the apartment. The vacant next door apartment sustained minor damage.

Jones Xolo was too upset to speak, but Runion said she had left her children for him to babysit around 9:30 p.m. while she went to work.
The family, which the Lorain County chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting, lost all their possessions in the fire.

“Everything is gone,” said Sandy Jaram, Jones Xolo’s aunt, who said she plans to seek donations. “They only have the clothes that they’ve got on their backs.”

Jones Xolo and Poly Xolo work nights at the Blue Sky Restaurant in Amherst.

“They were making it, but they struggled payday to payday,” Runion said. “They didn’t have a lot of luxuries, but they survived.”

Contact Evan Goodenow at 329-7129 or egoodenow@chroniclet.com

The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency will funnel more than $2.5 million into Lorain County to fund the repair of two bridges as well as help with highway maintenance.

The projects, which will include bridge deck replacement, noise wall panel replacement, signal maintenance and repair, median barrier rail construction and bridge repairs, are part of Connects 2030, NOACA’s long-range transportation plan.

“These repairs to aging roads and bridges will help keep Northeast Ohio’s transportation network in good and safe operating condition,” said NOACA executive director Howard R. Maier.

Work will be completed in the upcoming construction year.

An estimated $1.94 million likely will be awarded to fund the repair of twin bridges on state Route 57 just north of Grafton Road in Eaton Township. The award includes engineering, design and construction costs with 80 percent of the funding coming from federal funds and the Ohio Department of Transportation picking up the remainder.

Another $613,600 likely will be awarded to the city of Lorain to fund the repair of a bridge on state Route 58, just east of Nantucket Drive. The project is being funded with money from ODOT and the state surface transportation program.

In Elyria, the closed Ford Road bridge was not included in this funding cycle, but Mayor Bill Grace said the city is still exploring funding options.

ODOT representatives surveyed the bridge recently and are working with the city to determine what funding source would be best for the project. The one-lane bridge, which spans the Black River and has been a crossing point between Midway Boulevard and Gulf Road since 1953, closed in December 2008 because of poor condition and needs nearly $1 million in repairs.

City officials have said the repair costs could increase because state regulations require bridges to be two-lane bridges, which means the Ford Road bridge will have to be rebuilt.

Grace said the city will decide soon which funding source to go after: a loan from future state Issue 2 funds or a special state municipal bridge fund.

The repairs needed by the steel truss bridge run the gamut and include several deficiencies that were noted by engineers the last time the bridge was inspected, in early 2008. At that time, the report noted that its floor is in poor condition.

The asphalt is wearing, with numerous chips and cracks. Also, the deck expansion joints leak onto the steel structure, and loose joints exaggerate a vehicle’s impact on the bridge, among other things. The report listed 16 recommendations to repair the bridge.

NOACA also approved funding to replace rumble pavement strips on area highways as well as install energy-efficient traffic signals.

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

WELLINGTON — The horse king and queen were named during the horse royalty contest at the Lorain County Fair Monday afternoon, but it wasn’t just their mastery of all things equine that earned them their crowns.

Winners Aaron Sterk, 16, of Wakeman, and Skye Reid, 17, Wellington, had to perform well in the public speaking contests, interviews, written essays, tests and dinner etiquette.

The contestants also showed their horses all summer.

Skye, a 10-year member of the Trailblazers 4-H Club and A senior at Keystone High School, was speechless after donning her tiara and lugging her 4-foot trophy off the dirt show field.

“Accomplished,” was all she could muster after being asked how she felt.

The crown was something most of the teens coveted for nearly a decade.

Newly crowned king Aaron Sterk, the only male in the competition, said it had been a dream of his to win king since he was 7 years old.

“I’m excited,” the 16-year-old said. “I finally got the opportunity to win this.

“It’s the biggest trophy around so it’s a great opportunity.”

Aaron is a 9-year member of Trailblazers 4-H Club.

He is a junior at Firelands High School.

Contact Adam Wright at 329-7129 or awright@chroniclet.com.

WELLINGTON — Three years ago, the people who owned Twin Hickory’s Midnight tried to discourage Heather Pataky’s family from purchasing the 11-year-old miniature horse.

Three fair titles and dozens of state competition wins later, Heather knows her family made the right choice.

“They told us it would be a mistake to buy him,” she said. “Now he wins all the time.”

The horse won with her sister in 2006 and won a young man the miniature horse prince competition before that.

On Monday, Twin Hickory’s Midnight brought Heather her own princess title in the miniature horse competition at the Lorain County Fair.

The 16-year-old, a junior at Amherst Steele High School, has been in 4-H for eight years.

“I’m shocked,” she said after being crowned. “I thought someone else was going to win. It was my first time, and I had no idea what I was doing.”

While the horse helped earn her some showmanship points, Heather most defiantly earned her crown by doing well in public speaking, essay and an interview to win. Judges chosen by the miniature horse committee pick the winners.

Commonly mistaken for ponies, these horses generally range in size from 28 to 38 inches in height. It’s thought that their origins date back to 17th century France.

The prince this year was Luke Hyer, 15, who was the only male to compete this year. Luke is a junior at North Ridgeville High School and a Ranger football player. He showed his 2-year-old horse named Lollypop.

Contact Adam Wright at 329-7127 or awright@chroniclet.com.