Kudo to angler on catch that won contest

BOUQUETS >> To Clarence Mitchell Jr., the 63-year-old Sheffield Lake man who attributed God’s will to winning the 2018 Walleye Fall Brawl.

On the third day of fishing at Edgewater Park in Cleveland, Mitchell pulled in a 30.5inch 13.745-pound walleye Nov. 30. The contest started Oct. 19 and ended Dec. 2.

Mitchell, a Flint, Mich., native, along with charter boat captain Darryl Smith and fellow angler Chris Johnson were on Lake Erie near The Cleveland Crib, which is the main intake for the city’s water supply at Edgewater, about 3.5 miles off shore.

After three hours, the fish took a bite of his line, which was baited with a Bandit lure.

When asked why he was able to snag a big one when so many had failed, he attributed his success to God.

The retired auto worker and former U.S. Marine reserve said, “They called it luck, I called it God’s work. I didn’t put the fish to my lure. We was talking about winning, hoping, and it happened.”

For defeating the other 6,336 anglers from 26 different states, Quebec and Ontario who entered, Mitchell won a fully-loaded Warrior V21-21 DC boat worth $100,000.

Mitchell sold the boat and gear for $75,000, which he intends to share with Smith and Johnson.

We congratulate Mitchell and his crew on their big catch.

BOUQUETS >> To Lorain County Community College, 1005 Abbe Road in Elyria, for announcing it is increasing security on the sprawling campus.

The college’s board approved Dec. 6 to move forward with the implementation of door and window security as part of a $1 million grant from the state.

Tracy Green, vice president of strategic and institutional development at LCCC, said, “We received the grant a year ago, and have been trying to figure out the best way to utilize the funds. We decided to put the addition on adding locks to classrooms, and office doors, and improving window protection.”

Green said all classrooms will get locks because, “We also have a very open campus which forces us to take these measures. There has unfortunately been an increase in school violence nationally.”

Another security measure is to make some windows bullet resistant with window film.

The improvements will begin in the next month, and it is a six- to nine-week process.

We commend LCCC for taking steps to improve security to better protect people while they’re on the campus. BRICKBATS >> To Bruce Arnoff, 57, of Solon, and John P. Sullivan, 30, of East Cleveland, the last two of three defendants convicted in the shooting death of a Lakewood man in a murder-for-hire plot that took place in Elyria.

Both men pleaded guilty Dec. 10 in Lorain County Common Please Court to murder charges in the killing of Willie M. Fisher, 47.

Arnoff, who orchestrated the homicide, will spend 33 years to life in prison; Sullivan, the triggerman, was sentenced to 39 years to life in prison.

Patrick Gall, 19, of East Cleveland, is serving 28 years to life for his role in the murder.

Investigators said Fisher, a handyman, was an employee of Arnoff, who was contracted to clean up the area around a convenience store in the 1300 block of East Avenue.

Prosecutors said Arnoff paid Sullivan and Gall $500 to kill Fisher, whom Arnoff was unhappy with due to drug issues.

These monsters are where they belong. To take a life for $500 doesn’t make any sense. BRICKBATS >> To Robert McGann, the 60-year-old Huron man who will serve four years in prison for a drunk driving crash that killed his Painesville passenger.

Lake County Common Pleas Court Judge Vincent A. Culotta sentenced McGann on Dec. 10 on aggravated vehicular homicide charges. McGann’s license also was suspended for 10 years.

In November, McGann pleaded guilty to second-degree felony aggravated vehicular homicide that killed 57-year-old Michael P. Corrigan on Sept. 24, 2017.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said the crash occurred when McGann was driving his 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee on state Route 2 toward state Route 44.

As the vehicle exited Route 2 east, the SUV traveled off the left side of the off ramp briefly before re-entering the ramp and crossing the right shoulder of the ramp.

Corrigan, the lone passenger, was ejected from the vehicle as it overturned and was thrown about 35 feet.

Both men were transported to TriPoint Medical Center in Concord Township. Doctors pronounced Corrigan dead.

McGann, whose blood alcohol content was above the legal limit, subsequently was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland.

Now, McGann will have four years behind bars to think about the poor choice he made when he decided to drive drunk.