Youngsters will learn from business fair

BOUQUETS >> To the organizers of the inaugural Avon Lake Children’s Business Fair on July 28 that featured 26 children setting up tables and displaying their businesses.

This unique concept took place at Avon Lake United Church of Christ, 32801 Electric Blvd., and showcased the entrepreneurial skills of the youngsters.

Caroline Benedum, coordinator of the fair, said the goal of the event was to embolden the young people and give them the opportunity to start a business.

And the children put in a lot of hard work to get their businesses ready for the fair.

Benedum said, “They had to come up with the business all on their own. They then had to manufacture the product and make the business model by themselves.

They also had to find a source of funding to get it started; whether that be borrowing money from their parents, or using their own.

They also had to develop a marketing plan on social media and figure out how to present the product for the fair.”

We congratulate these budding entrepreneurs who came up with innovative ideas and put them into action. This was an exceptional educational event.

To the United Way of Greater Lorain County along with the Lorain County Educational Service Center and H&R Block for coordinating a Fill the Bus school supply drive that will provide students in need with supplies at 13 Lorain County school districts.

Brenda Walsh, manager at H&R Block and founder of Fill the Bus in Lorain County, said the effort started about seven years ago, when she took her grandchildren shopping for school supplies and spent about $200.

Walsh said she realized a lot of people might not have the means to spend that much money at once. So, she reached out to Greg Ring, then-superintendent of schools for the Lorain County Educational Service Center, and formed a partnership to deliver supplies to Lorain County school districts.

Bill Harper, executive director of the United Way of Greater Lorain County, said, “We believe our community can accomplish great things if we use a collaborative approach to solving any social problem.

This partnership ensures a wide distribution of supplies and we encourage others to join us in this effort, enhancing what’s out there to ensure there are no gaps, so that all kids can have what they need to succeed.”

We applaud the partnership of the groups to provide students in need in the community with school supplies.

To Dana F. Cain, the 49-year-old North Ridgeville man who will spend more than a dozen years in a federal penal institution for possessing child pornography.

Cain pleaded guilty in federal court to distribution of child pornography and possession of a computer that contained child pornography.

The North Ridgeville Police Department, Avon Police Department and the FBI investigated the case.

The investigation began in August 2016 when an undercover North Ridgeville police officer was accessing an online peer-to-peer file sharing site and identified an IP address tracked to Cain’s Avon Belden Road home.

A search warrant was executed March 30, 2017, and officers seized Cain’s Macbook computer and discovered 167 movie files containing child pornography.

From May 2015 to January 2017, Cain downloaded nearly 500 movie files containing images involving sexual assaults of toddlers and young girls.

Cain is a despicable person who deserves to sit in prison for his crimes.

To Elizabeth Zenda, the 49-year-old Pittsfield Township woman, who was sentenced July 26 to four years in prison for the drowning death of 22-month-old Annie Flynn, who was under her care.

Zenda was found guilty June 22 of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of child endangering for the Oct. 26, 2016, incident which led to Annie’s death and her 21-month-old cousin receiving brain damage.

The three-day bench trial revealed Zenda had a habit of allowing children younger than the age of 2 to play outside while she did housework and spent time on Pinterest.

Zenda had run a day care from her home for six years.

She testified during the trial she had no training in child care beyond her own experiences raising her own children.

This is a sad case, but Zenda was negligent and had to be punished.

Hopefully, Zenda’s sentence will serve as a reminder to caregivers of children that they need to watch and protect the little ones at all times.