The Medina County Gazette

Day-care operator in Ohio charged in child-porn probe

Associated Press — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:08:36 +0000

SALT LAKE CITY — An Ohio man whose home was used as a day care center has been charged with making pornographic videos of young boys after an investigation that also led to charges against a Salt Lake City man.

The Utah Attorney General’s office said 49-year-old Darin Casper, of Cleveland, pleaded not guilty this week to 150 counts of sexual crimes against children.

Ohio authorities were led to Casper after a 2010 investigation of child exploitation in Utah, where an internet crimes task force had interviewed 27-year-old Dino Prste. The Salt Lake City man subsequently was charged with 20 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

Authorities said they seized approximately 1,500 child pornography images in Ohio and are trying to identify victims. The day care center has since been shut down.

Ohio unemployment rate down for 9th straight month

Associated Press — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:18:48 +0000

COLUMBUS — Ohio’s unemployment rate has dropped for the ninth month in a row.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said today that seasonally adjusted joblessness inched downward from 7.5 percent in March to 7.4 percent in April. The state’s non-farm payrolls shrunk by 3,400.

Nationally, the unemployment rate for April was 8.1 percent, down from 8.2 percent in March.

The number of unemployed Ohio workers decreased by 7,000, from 438,000 in March to 431,000 in April.

The state saw gains of about 2,900 jobs in government, 1,900 in professional and business services and 1,500 in education and health services.

Manufacturing has been helping to drive recovery in Ohio, but that sector lost 1,400 jobs last month.

Medina couple to pitch business at 8 tonight on ABC reality show

Kiera Manion-Fischer — Fri, 18 May 2012 11:12:47 +0000

MEDINA — A Medina couple will face the sharks on tonight’s season finale of the ABC reality show “Shark Tank.”

Frank Campitelli and Debrae Barensfeld own Nitroforce Industries, a startup company that makes fitness products.

Frank Campitelli, of Medina, co-founder of Nitroforce Industries, a fitness startup company, demonstrates the NITROSWING, a product he invented that is designed to help golfers improve their swing. (GAZETTE PHOTO BY KIERA MANION-FISCHER)

According to the show’s premise, entrepreneurs pitch their product or business ideas to a panel of wealthy investors, or “sharks,” in hopes of getting funding.

They pitched their company’s home gym, the TITAN 1000, as well as the NITROSWING, which is a training machine designed to help golfers improve their swing and distance in their drives.

Campitelli invented both products, he said, and built the prototype for the TITAN 1000 in his garage.

The machines are manufactured overseas, he said, because they couldn’t have sold them for about $1,000 if they had been produced in America.

So far, 120 TITAN 1000s have been made, Barensfeld said.

The show was filmed in Los Angeles last September.

Barensfeld’s father died two days before they were supposed to leave for Los Angeles, and she was considering canceling the trip, but her family urged her to do it, she said.

“We should have been more excited than I felt,” she said.

The couple said they couldn’t talk about whether they got a deal with an investor until after the show airs because of their confidentiality agreement.

Campitelli said he applied to be on the show in order to get national exposure for the products.

Campitelli said they went in feeling confident because they believe in their ideas. They asked the sharks for $250,000 in exchange for 10 percent ownership of the company.

They said they wanted to spend the money on more manufacturing and marketing.

“It takes money to get on TV,” Campitelli said.

The two have been in a relationship for 10 years and work together, so they trade ideas 24/7, they said.

The couple will celebrate the show’s airing with a small get together at their house with family and friends.

Tune in 8 tonight on ABC to find out how Campitelli and Barensfeld did.

Contact Kiera Manion-Fischer at 330-721-4049 or kfischer@medina-gazette.com.

Infant girl’s death possibly due to SIDS

Medina Gazette — Fri, 18 May 2012 11:10:23 +0000

MEDINA — The Medina County coroner said Thursday an infant’s death earlier this week possibly was because of sudden infant death syndrome.

Dr. Neil Grabenstetter said a preliminary examination of the 2-month-old girl did not show any trauma, but added that the coroner’s office also would look at toxicology reports.

Sudden infant death syndrome is defined as the death of a child younger than age 1 that cannot be explained after a thorough investigation, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Police and paramedics were called to an apartment in the 500 block of Birch Hill Drive at about 2 p.m. Tuesday and found the child dead.

Pirates dominate, win first district softball title

Bob Daniels — Fri, 18 May 2012 10:57:38 +0000

NORTH RIDGEVILLE — They say it’s gorgeous in Massillon this time of year, and Black River’s softball team will experience its loveliness firsthand next week after winning the North Ridgeville Division III District.

The Pirates got the offense rolling early and cruised to a 12-1 victory over Columbia on Thursday for the school’s first district championship.

Black River’s Taylor Goff scores as Columbia catcher Sara Viccarone can’t handle the throw. (GAZETTE PHOTO BY CHUCK HUMEL)

It earned Black River (21-9) a spot in the Massillon Regional, where the Pirates will collide with Canton Central Catholic at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Massillon Community Park. Black River will be the visiting team against CCC, which defeated Loudonville for the Creston District crown. Columbia, which also lost to the Pirates in the regular season, fell to 15-10.

Victory came with an 11-hit attack spearheaded by Kailey Summers’ double and two singles, and the pitching of Dagmar Smith, who hurled a three-hitter, struck out eight and walked none. Columbia’s sixth-inning run was unearned.

“I feel a lot of pride for our school and these girls,” Smith said. “They deserve this so much and I’m just happy to have helped get them here.”

It was particularly gratifying to her because she missed a dozen games in the regular season. She injured her back diving back to first base and is only now nearing 100 percent.

“This game, I didn’t even feel it, there was so much adrenaline pumping through my body,” said Smith, who remembered losing in last year’s district final to Loudonville. “Last year we were nervous. We had never made it that far and didn’t have that kind of experience. This year we knew what we had to do and we did it.”

While not perfect because of an infield error, Smith faced the minimum 15 batters through five innings. She didn’t allow a hit until Raiders catcher Sarah Viccarone drilled an RBI double with two out in the sixth. The hit scored Kaley Marshall, who reached on a leadoff error.

The Pirates put the game out of reach with a four-run first inning sparked by Smith’s single to left field on the second pitch of the game. They strung together three hits, three walks and sent eight batters to the plate. Dagmar Smith, Jessica Chidsey, Summers and Nora Smith scored.

“I said at the end of last year when we played in the district championship, ‘Look out next year, because these kids got a taste of it,’” Pirates coach Merle Simmons said. “I could tell by the look in their eyes that they weren’t done. I told them, ‘Last year we were a good team, this year we’re a great team.’ Who knows what can happen for this team?”

Black River added three runs in the third on an error, Summers’ double and a single by Nora Smith. It became 8-0 in the fifth after catcher Taylor Goff led off with a first-pitch triple to the right-field corner and scored on Summers’ infield hit.

“I’m speechless,” Summers said. “I’m so happy for them (teammates). I’m just happy to be here.”

The Pirates scored four times in the seventh inning on hits by Goff, Summers and Leah Sprague. The rally included Hannah Messenger’s team-leading fourth RBI, a bases-loaded walk with nobody out. Messenger drove in two runs with a first-inning single and another when she grounded out to the left side in the third.

“I feel like each of us are part of the team, and once someone goes, it piles up,” Messenger said. “Most of the game I felt we had no problem doing what we had to do. We were on top of everything today. We played the best we could.”

Contact Bob Daniels at sports@medina-gazette.com.

Bucks can’t shake nerves in baseball loss to Tallmadge

Rick Noland — Fri, 18 May 2012 10:55:05 +0000

AKRON — It took the Buckeye baseball team 17 years to get back to district competition. It took one inning for Tallmadge to show it was going to send the Bucks to the exit.

The top-seeded Blue Devils scored five times in the opening inning Thursday and coasted to an 8-0 victory over fifth-seeded Buckeye in Akron Division II District semifinal action at Summit Lake Park.

Eli Kraus

Tallmadge (19-8) will play third-seeded Hoban, a 4-0 winner over No. 2 seed St. Vincent-St. Mary in the second game of the afternoon, for a district championship today at 4:30 p.m. The Bucks (17-10), in the district tournament for the first time since 1995, can still win the outright Patriot Athletic Conference Stars Division title with wins over Keystone on Monday and Black River on Tuesday.

To break its first-place tie with Keystone, Buckeye will have to play better than it did against Tallmadge, which has qualified for five state tournaments.

“I think the nerves got us,” Bucks coach Steve Wright said. “Once we got through the first, it was a ballgame, but it was too late.”

Buckeye sophomore starter Eli Kraus (4-3), who had been solid all season, allowed eight of the first nine batters he faced to reach base. The left-hander ended up facing 10 batters in the first inning, giving up three hits and four walks.

Kraus managed to pitch out of some trouble — Tallmadge left two runners on in each of the first four innings — but gave up a pair of unearned runs in the fourth. He exited after giving up six hits, six walks and hitting a batter — he didn’t have a strikeout — in five innings.

“I didn’t get an outside call or an inside call,” Kraus said. “You can’t blame everything on the umpires, but I don’t usually walk five or six guys like that.”

The same strike zone had no ill effect on Tallmadge starter Matt Shomo (3-0), who gave up just three singles — two were by Joe Bruening — while walking three and striking out 10 in a distance-going performance.

“One through nine, everybody in our lineup can hit,” Bruening said. “It’s just when the first person falls apart, not everybody picks them back up. It happens.”

Buckeye’s best chance to get back in the game came in the top of the third, when it loaded the bases on a walk by Ben Szustak, a single by Sam Kraus and a walk by Tyler Nichols, but cleanup man Scott Cloudy flew out to center to end the inning.

“That would have changed the whole game,” Eli Kraus said. “Those are motivation runs. We might have still been behind, but that’s what gets us up. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don’t.”

Added Wright: “That was very key. The other team was getting a little pressed, but they were able to get through it. They’re a good team. They did exactly what they were supposed to do.”

The Blue Devils pushed across a pair of insurance runs in the fourth, then added a single tally in the sixth when Johnny Linn doubled — it was the only extra-base hit of the day — off Nichols to plate Cordt Skraba.

Other than the third, the only time the Bucks got a runner past first was the sixth, but Cory Schultz hit a sharp grounder to third to end the inning.

“It’s been a great run,” Wright said. “I would have liked to have gone further, but what they accomplished hasn’t been done in a long time here.”

Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com.

Blue Devils can’t overcome critical errors vs. Hudson

Albert Grindle — Fri, 18 May 2012 10:53:16 +0000

HUDSON — Nearly everything lined up for the Brunswick baseball team Thursday in the Hudson Division I District championship.

The second-seeded Blue Devils matched top-seeded Hudson in hits and left-hander Gerry Salisbury matched his counterparts pitch for pitch.

Brunswick right fielder Gary Clift Jr. juggles the ball in the fifth inning. (GAZETTE PHOTO BY JUDD SMERGLIA)

The far right column of the scoreboard told the story, however, as two errors on one play proved costly in a 3-2 loss.

Hudson (24-2) advances to face Massillon Perry at Canton’s Thurman Munson Stadium in the regional semifinals, while the Blue Devils (23-5) are still without a district title since 2000.

“We probably led the state in defense, and to fold like this is unacceptable,” coach Todd Winston said. “We hit too many balls in the air. You can’t do that and expect to win. It’s very disappointing.”

Brunswick fell behind 2-0 in the second inning — the Explorers stretched it to 3-0 on an RBI single from Tim Kennedy (2-for-3) in the sixth — and never recovered.

The gut-wrenching part was a potential double-play ball that turned into a disaster.

With runners on first and second, cleanup hitter Duncan Moran slapped a grounder directly at second baseman Kyle Burson, who entered the game with just two errors in 79 chances.

Unfortunately for Brunswick, Burson booted it for the initial error and threw wide to first to allow Johnny Taylor to score.

The next batter, Michael Cluster, struck out for what should have been — at the very least — the third out. Instead, the error allowed Will Stribrny to make it 2-0 with an RBI single to center.

“Our defense, we thought, was the best,” Lees said. “But we’ve got to hit, too.”

As for the offense, it was too little, too late.

One day after struggling with Highland starter Jacob Pries’ slow curveball, the Blue Devils had similar issues against Hudson’s Nate Andrasik (3-0). Brunswick put the ball in play consistently — it only had two strikeouts — but was swinging recklessly as Andrasik only had 39 pitches through four innings.

The Blue Devils also had just seven groundball outs, with one on a sacrifice bunt by Burson.

Brunswick finally showed patience in the sixth and it paid off with two runs. Lees doubled to bring in Kyle Michalik, while designated hitter Corey Welsh came through with an RBI single three batters later.

The last gasp came in the seventh, as Explorers sophomore Kevin Zullo walked a pair before giving way to ace Brian Malerick, who pitched five innings Wednesday in a semifinal win over Twinsburg.

Malernick induced Michalik into a fielder’s choice, then got Lees to foul out in front of the Hudson dugout with runners on second and third.

“It should have never reached that point,” Winston said.

The loss spoiled a gritty effort from Salisbury, who almost single-handedly kept the Blue Devils within striking distance. The junior retired nine of the next 11 batters after falling behind 2-0 and stranded eight runners overall.

“Gerry did an outstanding job,” Winston said. “He truly did.”

The bottom line was the Blue Devils, who were 7-0 in one-run games heading into the day, dug too deep a hole to survive.

“It’s been a great year,” Lees said. “We tried. It just didn’t happen.”

Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.

Pioneers beat Bees to win softball title outright

Brad Bournival — Fri, 18 May 2012 10:50:40 +0000

MEDINA — With Elyria’s softball team dominating Northeast Ohio Conference Valley Division softball since the league’s inception in 2007-08, the chance to win league titles doesn’t come around that often for other schools.

So when Medina didn’t play well Thursday with a chance to tie the Pioneers for the conference crown, Bees coach Jessica Toocheck wasn’t pleased and let her players know it.

Medina’s Vanessa Scoarste fields a throw as Elyria’s Maria Masters dives back to second base safely in the fifth inning. (GAZETTE PHOTO BY AARON JOSEFCZYK)

It came in the postgame huddle after a lackluster 6-2 loss to Elyria where Medina played its way out of a potential win.

“It’s frustrating and it’s disappointing when we come out against Elyria, which is obviously a very strong team, and we don’t put our best on the field,” Toocheck said. “At times I think we didn’t try our hardest.

“We had great efforts from some players. We have to have all of our players from the top of the list to the bottom of the list coming through and making plays and giving their best efforts.

“I just think that we weren’t ready from the beginning. We preached all season long that you have to be ready from the start. I don’t think warm-ups were clean and that affected our game.”

Toocheck wasn’t being hypercritical, but the Bees (22-4, 8-2) didn’t look like the Barberton Division I District champions that beat Copley earlier this week.

Medina had a chance to snap a streak that dates back to 2003 with its first league title, but gave up two first-inning runs with some sloppy play.

Maria Vanadia was able to bring the Bees back with a two-run home run in the bottom half of the frame, but Medina managed just one hit the rest of the way.

“(Toocheck) wanted this the most,” Vanadia said. “She’s been here before. She’s been through this. She definitely showed us how much she wanted it. We knew she wanted it, but we didn’t know she wanted it that bad. … I’ve never seen her more frustrated.”

The frustration came to a head in the fifth, when the Pioneers (24-2, 10-0) plated three runs. Though one run was earned, it probably shouldn’t have scored as Marie Masters rounded second too far on a sacrifice bunt and could have been picked off.

Melanie Woodard followed with a two-out single and Elyria plated two more on an error, then sailed the rest of the way behind Caitlyn Minney (19-1).

“There are a lot of plays in a game that can be momentum swingers,” Toocheck said. “Maria came out huge with her home run, but on the defensive end we had some that went in their favor.

“They’re an aggressive team. They’re ready to take the next base and on defense they’re ready to make the next play. That’s where we need to be. You have to learn from this. You have to learn that you have to be ready to go from the beginning and you have to be up in every single game.”

The good news is Medina was able to play a regional team before it takes on Aurora next week in the round of 16. The bad news is the Bees have to close the gap if they want to see the Pioneers again in the state finals.

“We have to focus,” Vanadia said. “We have to practice for our upcoming games and we can’t overlook anybody. We have to work hard from when practice starts to when practice ends to when the game starts to when the game ends.”

Contact Brad Bournival at sports@medina-gazette.com.

John Guilford spins away with discus title

Paul Heyse — Fri, 18 May 2012 10:48:18 +0000

EATON TWP. — Black River senior John Guilford could have given himself a lot of reasons not to look at himself as the discus favorite Thursday at the Midview Division I District track meet.

Guilford missed his entire junior year with a torn labrum and fouled out of the discus a week ago at the Patriot Athletic Conference Meet. But Guilford knew he had to face up and handle the pressure.

John Guilford

Mission accomplished.

Guilford won the competition with a career-best throw of 153 feet, 11 inches, crushing his previous best of 147-6 set a month ago at the Northwestern Invitational. The winning toss came on his second attempt of prelims.

He easily outdistanced Holy Name senior Frank Shaffer (138-7) and Orrville junior Austin Seigrist (136-5). Seigrist was the No. 1 seed (148-2), in front of Guilford.

“It feels pretty good,” Guilford said. “I have no complaints. I wasn’t really expecting to win. I was pretty mad after conference. My first throw at conference was a foul. That got me frustrated. Then I just kept trying to overthrow it. My first two throws were out of the sector. The last one I stepped out of the ring.”

But he got his act together and technique straightened out from the big disappointment at the PAC Meet and chalked up the biggest day of his high school track career.

Guilford is within range of the school record of 155-6 set in 1996 by Blake Owen. Not bad for a guy whose career-best was 123 feet entering the season.

“I didn’t practice discus much as a sophomore. I just did it,” said Guilford, a Division IV All-Ohio defensive end headed to Valparaiso. “I was more of a jumper and sprinter.”

The Buckeye boys 4×800-meter relay of juniors Bob Auber, J.J. Grzincic, Austin Lepole and Ryan Gallagher was second (8:28.28) to Norwayne (8:21.25). Grzincic’s effort in the second leg was particularly instrumental, as it vaulted the relay from sixth into first.

“Bob got stuck in there. There were so many people,” Grzincic said. “I just got on the outside and pushed my way around. It was a very good day for me. I haven’t run this well in a while. I wanted to give Austin the lead then Ryan some more room to push.”

The top four finishers in each event advance to the Lexington Regional. The top four finishers for the girls advance to the Bedford Regional.

District action at Midview continues Saturday, with field events starting at 10 a.m. and running events at 12:30 p.m.

Contact Paul Heyse at sports@medina-gazette.com.

Jacob Dunbar remains perfect on year in tennis

Brian Dulik — Fri, 18 May 2012 10:46:40 +0000

OBERLIN — Jacob Dunbar has earned his second straight trip to the Division I state tennis tournament.

The Cloverleaf sophomore decisively won his first two matches Thursday at the Oberlin College District, remaining unbeaten on the season and clinching a spot at next weekend’s Ohio prep championship in Columbus.

Jacob Dunbar

Dunbar becomes just the fourth singles player in Medina County history to qualify for state in back-to-back years, joining older brother Ethan (2009-10) and Medina’s Patrick Thompson (2001-02) and Kris Karson (1990-91).

The reigning Gazette MVP defeated Solon’s Brian Yang 6-2, 6-2 in the first round, then wiped out St. Ignatius’ Nathan Griffin 6-3, 6-0 in the quarterfinals. The top six finishers at Oberlin will advance to the state tourney.

Next up for Dunbar in the semifinals is Hudson’s Steven Boslet, who upset Lake’s Ross Whittaker 7-5, 6-4 in the quarters.

The other half of the draw features Westlake senior Colton Buffington against Aaron Sandberg of Walsh Jesuit. Sandberg pulled off the other stunner in the round of eight by beating Shaker Heights’ Peter Smetona 6-3, 6-2.

Dunbar is very familiar with his fellow semifinalists, which will make things quite interesting when play resumes Saturday at 9 a.m. He defeated Sandberg in the Medina Sectional championship last weekend, while Boslet finished third at the same event.

Buffington, meanwhile, handed Dunbar his first high school loss in the 2011 Oberlin District semifinals. When the brackets were released five days ago, most local coaches predicted them to meet in the 2012 final.

“That was the first thing my coach (Mike McGee) looked for, where Colton was placed,” Dunbar said. “It would be a great match if we could play again.”

Dunbar finished fourth at state last year, while Buffington was a quarterfinalist. Both players lost to Lexington’s Nick Wong, who placed third.

Contact Brian Dulik at brisports@hotmail.com.