Community News – The Oberlin Review

Ohio Generally Prepared for COVID-19 Outbreak, Data Models Suggest

March 31, 2020

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to spread across the country, statistical models produced by public health professionals show that, in comparison to other states, Ohio is well-prepared to weather the pandemic. While statewide testing rates continue to lag behind national averages, Ohio’s capacity of available hospital beds is projected to be sufficient to handle the peak of the outbreak. As of Monday afternoon, 27,275 COVID-19 tests had been conducted across the state, with 1,933 positiv...

DeWine Issues Stay-at-Home Order; Oberlin Businesses Struggle with Consequences of Coronavirus

March 23, 2020

Oberlin business owners are worried that they will need to lay off workers after Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s Sunday announcement that the Ohio Department of Health is issuing a “stay-at-home” order for all of Ohio. The order is meant to reduce the spread of COVID-19, which — as of Monday afternoon — had hospitalized 104 people in Ohio, with 442 confirmed cases in the state overall. Even before the formal order, local businesses in Oberlin were battling the financial impact of the pandem...

College, Local Officials Continue to Respond to COVID-19 Outbreak

Nathan Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief

March 20, 2020

As more cases of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, are confirmed daily in the United States and around the world, local Oberlin leaders — both College administrators and City officials — continue to respond to the pandemic. Currently, the only publicly confirmed COVID-19 case in Oberlin is an employee in the College’s Campus Dining Services. This case was announced to the campus community in an email sent by President Carmen Twillie Ambar late Sunday night. According to Interim Chief of Staff David Hertz, Lorain County Public Health and the College are in regular contact, and LCPH is conducting an ongoing investigation into the confirmed case on campus. Hertz added that LPCH stresses that people who feel ill sho...

Local Congressional Candidates Respond to Primary Delay

Nathan Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief

March 18, 2020

Editor’s note: Voters wishing to request an absentee ballot, including students at home, can find instructions for how to do so by following this link: www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/absentee-voting/. Voters can view their current registration address by following this link: lookup.boe.ohio.gov/vtrapp/lorain/vtrlookup.aspx#. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced late Monday night that Ohio would delay its primary election, which was originally scheduled for Tuesday, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of voters as the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic continues to spread across the state. After recommending the same action earlier Monday afternoon and being turned away by a Franklin County judge, DeWine directe...

Congressional Candidates Campaign in Oberlin

Ella Moxley, Senior Staff Writer

March 13, 2020

Despite fears over the novel coronavirus — or COVID-19 — community spread, Democratic candidates running in Ohio’s fourth Congressional district have ramped up their campaign efforts. Some candidates, including Shannon Freshour and Jeffrey Sites, have increased their presence in Oberlin in recent weeks. Freshour, Sites, and Mike Larsen will all be on the ballot during Tuesday’s contest for the Democratic congressional nomination. The winner will face incumbent Republican Congressman Jim Jordan, the founder of the far-right House Freedom Caucus who has represented the district since 2007. Independent candidate Chris Gibbs also plans to run in the general election against Jordan. Sites, a warehouse assistant manager a...

Drug Exposure Reactions Raise Questions in Scientific Community

March 13, 2020

Testing done by the Lorain County Crime Lab determined last month that the substance that caused seven people to experience overdose-like symptoms in October was crystal methamphetamine, and not fentanyl, as previously suspected. The ramifications of this result still echo through the community of police officers, emergency medical technicians, and Mercy Allen Hospital nurses who were affected. The original incident — which occured on Oct. 29, 2019 — involved a call about a suspicious indiv...

Community Responds to College’s Demolition of Village Housing

February 28, 2020

Last month’s demolition of seven Village Houses has sparked conversation over whether the College should have been more intentional in consulting the surrounding community before making the decision to tear the houses down. The College currently has no plans to build on the vacant lots, and some residents are concerned about how the demolition could change the character of their neighborhoods. Carrie Handy, director of planning and development for the City of Oberlin, says her office has received a ...

Ginko Gallery and Studio Owner Reports Break-In of Store

Nathan Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief

February 28, 2020

Ginko Gallery, a downtown business known for its art supplies and its resident kittens, suffered a break-in robbery earlier this week. Oberlin Police Department officers were called shortly after 9:00 a.m. last Friday, Feb. 21 in response to a broken window at the gallery, which is located at 19 South Main Street. According to Liz Burgess, OC ’73 and gallery owner, nobody was harmed in the break-in. However, store merchandise was damaged when the front window was broken, and the front register’s cash tray was taken, according to the police report. Burgess said that she has received support from Oberlin community members following the break-in. “I am just relieved that no one was hurt and only a few pieces of artw...

School Construction Concerns Residents; District Maintains All Is Well

February 14, 2020

As Phase I construction on Oberlin City Schools’ new combined school facility continues, district and school board leadership maintain that the project is proceeding on schedule and on budget, despite community concerns to the contrary. In particular, some residents have expressed unease about the demolition of Oberlin High School’s football field in order to make space for the new building. In November 2018, voters approved a bond measure that would, over 37 years, generate $17.8 million t...

The 2010s: Moments That Defined a Decade

February 7, 2020

Ambar’s Appointment Following an extensive nationwide search, Carmen Twillie Ambar was introduced in May 2017 as the 15th president of Oberlin College and Conservatory. She is the institution’s first Black and second woman leader in its more than 180-year history. Ambar was selected to replace outgoing President Marvin Krislov, now president of Pace University, at a particularly challenging moment in Oberlin’s institutional history. Faced with a growing structural budget deficit as soon a...

Concerns Over Low Participation in U.S. Census Loom Over Ohio’s Future

February 7, 2020

With the U.S. Census approaching this spring, local activists and government officials are working to ensure that all residents of Lorain County are counted. The census is a once-a-decade process by which the federal government counts the population and gathers demographic data on all residents of the U.S. “We only have a shot every 10 years,” said County Commissioner Sharon Sweda, who is part of the Complete Count Committee for Lorain County, a group of nonprofit organizations, school districts...

Independent Congressional Candidate Visits Oberlin on Listening Tour

December 13, 2019

Chris Gibbs, who is planning to run for Representative Jim Jordan’s seat in Congress as an Independent, met with potential constituents at The Corner Joint on Wednesday. Gibbs is currently traveling around Ohio’s fourth congressional district, which includes Oberlin, on a listening tour as part of the exploratory phase of his campaign. Gibbs is a farmer, the former chair of the Shelby County Republican Party, and a former supporter of President Donald Trump. After becoming frustrated with politi...