Collection drive is doing twice the good work

Bouquets>> To the Night Owl Angels Relay for Life team. We usually don’t think much about the work the Relay for Life teams do in advance of the annual summertime events, but plenty of these Lorain County groups are working hard year-round to raise funds for the American Cancer Society.

One team doing just that is the Night Owl Angels team — one of more than 20 that represent Relay For Life in Lorain County.

Co-captain Carol Munger said the team is made of her family and they have supported Relay For Life for over three years.

Munger and the Night Owl Angels decided a shoe drive would be a great way to kick start their efforts.

Collected shoes will be donated to Funds2Orgs, which distributes the shoes to those in need and pays the fund raiser.

Since last month, Munger and her daughter Jessica Smith have picked up shoes in good condition that are donated, either by businesses or anyone in Lorain County.

Both women do pick-ups throughout the county every day from people who contact their team. There are also two Elyria businesses that are drop-off locations for shoes: Roxy’s Emporium, 604 Middle Ave.; and Honneys Resale and More, 230 2nd St. Altitude Trampoline Park, 1180 W. River Road in Elyria, will partner with The Night Owl Angels to help raise awareness and collect shoes Dec. 8 as well.

Night Owl Angels will pick up shoes for the drive until Dec. 27.

“There are people everywhere that do not have shoes on their feet,” Munger said. “And because of the climate this time of year, their feet can get infected or get blisters.”

The team is working toward their goal of 200 bags of shoes, and getting at least 10,000 of all sizes that are in good condition. To donate shoes to the drive, contact Munger at 440452-6530, email her likebigshow@gmail.com or reach out on the Night Owl Angels Relay Facebook page.

We wish them luck in this worthy endeavor.

BOUQUETS» To the city of Lorain for extending its leaf collection program.

Thanks to the unseasonably warm weather and the lack of snow, the city will be picking up leaves until Dec. 15.

Residents are encouraged to rake their leaves to the curb as soon as possible so city crews can clean the leaf piles placed at the curb as they circulate throughout the city each day.

Residents needing more information can call the Lorain Public Property Department at 440-244-4292.

It’s great to see the city make changes as possible to help out residents.

BRICKBATS » To David Calhoun of Akron, after he was sentenced to three life sentences in prison in the deaths of a man, the man’s girlfriend, and the girlfriend’s unborn child.

Calhoun, 26, spit on a courtroom floor in northeast Ohio and declined to give a statement after receiving the sentence on Nov. 29 in Portage County Common Pleas Court in Ravenna.

The Record-Courier reported that attorneys for Calhoun had little to say in their client’s defense. Calhoun pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated murder earlier this month in a plea deal to avoid a death sentence.

Prosecutors say Calhoun killed 33-year-old Le’Shaun Sanders, 32-year-old Sara Marsh and her unborn child outside a Ravenna Township home in November 2016. Authorities said Marsh was between eight and 10 months pregnant at the time.

We believe that Calhoun deserves his fate for committing this heinous crime.

BRICKBATS » To Akron University student Kendal Scheid, on being sentenced to three years in prison student fatally stabbing his roommate after an alcohol-fueled argument about fast food.

Scheid, 23, of Norwalk, was sentenced Dec. 5 in Summit County Common Pleas Court in Akron. He could have received up to 11 years.

He earlier pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of 23-year-old Duncan Unternaher of Newark.

Police say the friends were drunk when they argued about fast food they were eating at their off-campus apartment last December. Scheid apologized in court to Unternaher’s family.

Scheid’s attorney, Donald Malarcik, has called it an “unfortunate accident” and says Scheid had another roommate call 911 for help after the stabbing. Malarcik says Scheid could receive judicial release after six months, followed by probation.

This case provides another example of how alcoholic beverages often provide the fuel for careless behavior, leading to tragic consequences.