Community News – The Oberlin Review

Off The Cuff: John Elder and Steve Hammond

April 6, 2018

John Elder and Steve Hammond are co-founders of the group Citizens for Safe and Sustainable Energy, an environmental group that has been working to fight the NEXUS pipeline and advocate for Oberlin’s Community Bill of Rights. Hammond is also the Pastor for Oberlin’s Peace Community Church. The group has been fighting the NEXUS pipeline since 2013, pursuing lawsuits, engaging community members, and advocating with City Council. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. How did y...

First-Year Looks to Transform Local Politics, Runs for District 56

April 6, 2018

While most Oberlin students are once again settling into campus life after spring break, College first-year Claudia Olaes is running for local office. A pre-med student minoring in Art and Politics, Olaes has taken academic leave this semester to run for the Ohio House of Representatives in District 56. The Democratic incumbent, Dan Ramos, is unable to run for re-election due to term limits, so the Lorain native is campaigning for a vacant seat against three Democrats and one Republican. Olaes may be young, ...

Sidewalks, Social Justice Discussed in State of the City Address

Tess Joosse, Staff Writer

March 30, 2018

Filed under Community News, Features, NEWS

City Council President Bryan Burgess and City Manager Rob Hillard addressed past successes, such as improvements in city services, public works, social justice, and energy sustainability, as well as challenges and future projects in Oberlin’s State of the City address last Thursday. Burgess also gave the attendees an update on construction of the NEXUS pipeline, which he said will inevitably be built, despite local activists’ best efforts. For several years, the city has engaged in litigation aimed at rerouting the NEXUS pipeline, which in recent months has become the subject of several protests in the community. However, since a federal judge ruled in favor of NEXUS in December, Burgess said construction is ex...

Final Pipeline Vote Rejects NEXUS Settlement

March 9, 2018

Oberlin City Council voted unanimously to reject a proposed settlement with NEXUS Gas Transmission Monday night. The council was previously split on accepting a deal with NEXUS, voting 4–3 for the deal at the previous meeting on Feb. 20. The meeting contrasted with earlier hearings on the settlement. At the Feb. 20 meeting, students both picketed and directly addressed members of council, but on Monday those in attendance were silent and reserved. Students held signs and provided emotional te...

Mercy Health Will Merge with Bon Secours Health System by End of Year

March 2, 2018

Mercy Health, the hospital network that operates the Mercy Allen Hospital in Oberlin, is merging with the Bon Secours Health System in a move that would create the fifth-largest Catholic health system in the country. While details such as the leadership and name of the new network are still being negotiated, the merger will be finalized by the end of the year. Maureen Richmond, Senior Director of Integrated Communications for Mercy Allen Hospital, said that the company does not expect the merger to i...

Council Votes to Settle with NEXUS

February 23, 2018

“They’re breaking our laws, they’re taking our rights, but we won’t give up without a fight,” chanted the more than 60 Oberlin students and community members who protested during Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Councilmembers voted 4–3 to move forward with a potential $100,000 settlement with Enbridge, the company set to build the NEXUS pipeline. After nearly an hour of public comments asking Council to oppose the agreement, the ordinance authorizing the city manager to execute the...

Off the Cuff: Clarence “Ryan” Warfield, Oberlin Police Chief

February 16, 2018

Chief Clarence “Ryan” Warfield is the recently appointed city of Oberlin Chief of Police. A native of northeast Ohio, Warfield, a former sergeant from the city of Elyria, brings an impressive skill set to the position including specialties in interrogation, voice analysis, body language study, youth violence training, and death scene investigative skills. He also served as a police academy instructor in the martial art of Krav Maga and worked with the Lorain County Drug Task Force. Although ...

Court Denies Dismissal of Gibson’s Charges

February 9, 2018

The College and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo responded to a November lawsuit brought by Gibson’s Bakery. In December, the College attempted to file a partial motion to dismiss some of the charges lodged, but were ultimately denied in court. The lawsuit emerged from a conflict between Gibson’s Bakery owners Allyn and David Gibson and three students in November 2016, after then-College sophomore Elijah Aladin was accused of shoplifting a bottle of wine from the bakery. This accusation res...

City Council Votes to Wait on NEXUS Settlement Decision

February 9, 2018

Oberlin City Council did not proceed with an emergency vote on a proposed $100,000 settlement with NEXUS at the council’s regular meeting Monday night. After hearing the public’s opposition to the settlement, the council voted to not accept the offer from NEXUS and wait until further public discussion was possible. The terms of the settlement dictate that the city not engage in any further litigation intended to interfere with construction of the pipeline and grant full easement rights in e...

OHC Celebrates Black History Month

February 9, 2018

In recognition of Black History Month, the Oberlin Heritage Center’s Museum Education and Tour Coordinator, Amanda Manahan, will present an illustrated program about the history of Oberlin’s Black business owners this weekend. According to Manahan, the program will highlight between 16 and 20 people, their accomplishments and struggles, and their continuing legacies in town. Black entrepreneurs have had a presence in Oberlin since the mid-19th century. John Watson, for example, was a former...

Security Notebook

February 9, 2018

Filed under Campus News, Community News, Recent Stories, Security Report

Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018 3:21 p.m. Campus Dining staff reported a brown two-shelf push cart missing from the Science Center food court area. No value was given at the time of report. 5:18 p.m. Facilities staff reported graffiti in two different locations on campus. The graffiti, written in marker, was found in the Firelands Apartments men’s restroom and on an electrical box in Robertson Hall parking lot. A work order was filed for removal. Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018 12:05 p.m. A student reported the theft of their bicycle from outside a Goldsmith Village Housing Unit. The bike is valued at $150-$200. 7:40 p.m. Safety and Security Officers responded to a report of graffiti in a restroom on the first floor of Bibbins H...

OES Requests Landfill Gas Recovery System

December 8, 2017

The Office of Environmental Sustainability is attempting to reduce Oberlin College’s carbon footprint and boost its sustainability reputation by cutting emissions through a new landfill gas recovery system that was proposed during a presentation to the Board of Trustees yesterday. “[The video] highlights carbon neutrality progress over the past decade and introduces the proposed heating solution utilizing waste heat from the electrification process at the landfill,” said Bridget Flynn, the...