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PERRY – Recent figures indicate that the Perry Center allocates 93.5 percent of its income to those in need.

MENTOR - The 42nd Annual Law Day Breakfast hosted by the Lake County Bar Association was held May 1 at LaMalfa in Mentor.

MADISON - Just before midnight on Thursday, June 7, the Madison Township Police Department received a report of an elderly male sitting within a lane of travel in the 7700 block of Middle Ridge Road.

MENTOR - The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has received numerous calls from citizens the past few days explaining they received a call from either Sgt. Leonbruno, Capt. Leonbruno or Sheriff #3 stating they missed jury duty and there is a warrant for their arrest unless they pay a bond over the phone until they can get to court.

LAKE COUNTY – Bus riders who take Laketran’s local routes around town are getting more for their bus fare this summer. Laketran recently announced Locations along Laketran, a summer-long promotion that features a business each week along Laketran's Local Routes 1-6 that offer a discount just for being a Laketran rider.

Eastlake – More than 60 North High School students from the Willoughby-Eastlake School District signed a beam that will be part of the new high school now under construction. The students, who were selected by teachers for the honor, personified the ideals of respect, responsibility and readiness to learn.

Perry - As part of an ongoing tradition of honoring Northeast Ohio’s brightest high school chemistry students, area high school science departments were invited to nominate their top students for the 2018 American Chemical Society (ACS) Young Scientist Award.

Mentor – The Lake County Board of Developmental Disabilities/Deepwood’s Broadmoor School, which serves students with developmental disabilities up to age 22, teamed up with Kirtland High School and Eastlake Middle School students to host its annual Wheel, Walk, Run event May 18.

Perry - Perry Local School District is pleased to announce the winners of the 2018 R. A. Horn and Franklin B. Walter Awards. Each year, the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities recognizes a special educator or team, and one student from each of Ohio’s 16 State Support Teams (SST) for exemplary contributions and performance.

PERRY – Art Buser, eight years retired, has no typical weeks.

FAIRPORT HARBOR - The Lake County General Health District held their annual Just Run Lake County event Saturday, May 26 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Village of Fairport Harbor along the shores of Lake Erie. This event was an opportunity to empower families, children and adults to live healthier lives through active lifestyles.

Painesvillle – The Fine Arts Association (FAA) celebrated the power of the arts and its superheroes at the 2018 annual benefit, held May 11 at Lake Erie College Arthur Holden Center. Many of the guests added to the celebration by attending in their favorite superhero costumes.

ANDOVER – If you are looking to make a difference in the lives of families stricken with the financial burden of caring for a child with a life threatening illness (as is their mission statement) you won’t want to miss this year’s Ride4thEM’s Having Fun, Helping Families event scheduled for July 28 from 9 am. until 5 p.m. at Pymatuning State Park Main Beach in Andover. (From June 22 edition).

ORWELL-Two nine year old Grand Valley Elementary school mates, Jocelyn Cozad and Violet Morse decided to set up a little summer business of their own-selling homemade lemonade on Saturday, June 9. In front of Jocelyn’s Leffingwell Dr. home and with the help of Mom Roberta Cozad , up went an umbrella, table and couple chairs for the enterprising young ladies.

HARTSGROVE – While she ended up taking a bit of a hiatus for a while after falling and breaking her arm, Owner of Mixed Emotions Farm Carrie Dennis is glad to be offering horse lessons and camps at her business once again within its location of 4380 State Route 534 in Hartsgrove.(From June 22 edition).

LINESVILLE – While many family farms have faded out over the years Lisk’s Heritage Farm, at its location of 16560 Airport Road, has been family-owned for around 73 years now in Linesville, Pa.(From June 22 edition).

 ROAMING SHORES – If you’re in the process of planning a party or like to indulge your sweet tooth you may want to check out one of Roaming Shores’ newest home-based businesses, J&J Bake Shop. (From June 22 edition).

LINESVILLE – While many ice cream venues in the area offer your typical choices of cold treats like cones, milkshakes, flurries and sundaes, 50-year-old Barney’s Dairy Supreme at its location of 202 Penn Street in Linesville goes above and beyond in its variety for customers.(From June 22 edition).

PHOTO BY ROBERT LEBZELTER
Bernie Baker with some of the bicycles for sale at his West Prospect shop.

ASHTABULA – B.J. Baker Bicycle Sales and Service has been in business longer than most people have had television sets.
Bernie Baker Jr. said his father, Bernie Sr., opened the original bike shop in 1949 and Bernie Jr. started working in it as a child, after school, on weekends and during summer months.
Those older bikes were sturdy and were handed down from generation to generation, Baker said.
Today’s bikes have more of a life span, he said.
“The biggest changes are bikes have gotten so light, almost 10 pounds lighter, and gears,” he said.
Baker has a large assortment of bicycles for adults and children, ranging in price from $110 to $1,000.
He also has some classics, like an antique refurbished Murray bicycle from the ‘60s, made in Tennessee, he is selling for $200.
He estimates bike sales are 60 percent for adults, 40 percent for children.
“People come in and say, ‘The doctor told me I need to get a little more exercise.’ People who walked or ran can’t do it anymore because of the pounding of the joints. A bike is so much better,” Baker said.
One great joy for Baker is when someone comes in with a boyhood bike he or she found in the parents’ barn or garage and wants it fixed up.
“We fix it up and the person gets on the bike and all of those memories come back,” he said.
He also fixes bikes that belonged to a loved one.
Among his stock, a scooter-like bicycle young kids push but it has no pedals. Kids learn to balance and get ready to ride a real bike. The price is cheap, too, at $40.
Baker has a tandem, a bicycle for two, he is selling at $369. “That’s a crazy price. It’s insane,” he said.
He also has all of the accessories, like helmets, locks, speedometers, mirrors as well as parts who for who want to fix it themselves.
There are bikes for every age and wallet. There are accessories to pull younger children, like trailers and strollers. There are recumbents.
When people come in, Baker said, “I ask their price range to narrow it down. I ask what style of bike, street or trail, comfort or racing or road bike. Sometimes I show them something they might like and something else catches their eye.”
Baker also repairs any kind of bike there are parts for.
“Somebody buys a bike off the internet, we’ll assemble and service them,” he said.
Many department stores sell bikes but don’t service them. A woman came in with her disappointed daughter who had a piece break on her new bike. The store doesn’t fix them and didn’t have another of the bike. Baker fixed it.
Buying a bike from Baker won’t necessarily break the bank. “We have real good prices,” he said.
“We have a lot of entry level-priced bikes, starting at $110 for adults,” he said.
Everything is assembled to minimize hassles.
There is a 30-day free checkup on new bikes.
“There’s all kinds of reasons for having a little store like mine. We fix problems,” Baker said.
It is open at 966 W. Prospect Road, Mondays through Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Fridays until 7 p.m. and Saturdays until 3 p.m.

ASHTABULA – Alex Asteinza’s original dream was to open what became Rennick Meat Market restaurant, except in New York.

Among the pluses for a Big Apple location, lots of little Italian food stores to buy meats, cheeses and pastas to add to the meals.

Among the minuses, to open such a place in Brooklyn would cost $2.5 million, Asteinza said.

While Rennick, named after the meat shop it was located in decades ago, has been doing well on Bridge Street, Astienza and business partner Jennifer Pociask have had to take the time to find the ingredients they need to prepare their meals.

“We don’t have time to drive to the West Side Market,” Astienza said, referring to a Cleveland location.

The result is yet another business for Bridge Street, Market Provisions at 1025 Bridge St.

Not only can it supply ingredients for their restaurant, but for other people to buy as well.

Like Oscar Wilde cheeses, spices, pastas with lots of shapes, sizes and ingredients, each with its own sauce.

Pastas come in something like 50,000 shapes. One has been dubbed the priest strangler because a man of the cloth chocked on it.

Various pastas use eggs, white or other flours and spinach.

“Shapes work better with different sauces,” he said.

“We have cheeses and meats that are imported from all over and all are delicious,” he said.

Astienza said opening his dream restaurant in Ashtabula was the best decision, not just because it was cheaper. “We have good people running it. We are training people. We have team workers who have been here since we opened four years ago.

“It’s a smaller community, a slower pace,” he said.

Plus agriculture isn’t far off.

“We are going to talk to local farmers to bring in local produce,” he said.

Market Provisions is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 10 to 6 on weekends. It is closed Tuesdays.

JEFFERSON – Kevin Phillips is a man with a family.
It’s one of the reasons Jefferson has been such a good fit since they came here June 1.
Phillips is the new pastor of First Baptist Church, replacing Ed Pickard, who retired.
“We’ve enjoyed being here, with all of the great things in the community for kids,” he said.
The children, twins Daniel and Emma, 9, and Lila, 6, and wife Brenda enjoy the running club.
“We are thrilled with the things we’ve gotten into here since June 1. There’s a lot of surprises,” he said.
They are happy the fairgrounds are so close, a great place for the kids to ride bicycles.
They are preparing for Vacation Bible School. They were looking forward to activities at the Jefferson Depot, spotlighting life a century ago.
Phillips’ last position was in Madison, Wis. While acknowledging Jefferson is a much different place, he said, “Being right downtown is so much fun. You are able to walk to everything. It is great to be living in the city center.”
There are similarities to Madison, as in snow.
“Everybody warns me about lake effect snow but I’m from Wisconsin,” he said.
And Phillips isn’t really a stranger to the county, either. His wife’s parents, Paul and Peggy Woods, live in Orwell.
Phillips said he took some time off and is anxious to get back to pastoral duties.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and master’s degrees from Moody Bible Theological Seminary and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
As for coming to Jefferson, Phillips said, “We found out about the pastoral opening here. They found out about me. We decided it would be a good fit.
“Our belief in Christ, our views on the Bible are the same. They are important to the church. They are important to me,” he said.
“The church has been gracious and generous. It has made us feel welcome. We’ve had a great three weeks so far,” he said.
Phillips said he also believes in serving the community.
“Jesus said to let your life shine out for all to see your good deeds,” he said.