Good to see elected officials giving back

BOUQUETS >> To Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio, 5510 Baumhart Road in Lorain, for inviting local elected officials and representatives Dec. 17 to its facility to package food for students and families in need.

Susan Bartosch, director of external affairs for Second Harvest, said the food goes to its School Pantry Program to provide food to local schools.

Second Harvest officials said there was a good representation of government officials working the assembly line, placing items in boxes and preparing to send them.

So much of what Second Harvest do is dependent on legislation.

Bartosch said, “It’s kind of good for those who make the decisions to see firsthand how it goes into effect.”

Julie Chase-Morefield, president and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio, said, “It’s excellent to have these legislators participating. It’s nice to see, and their efforts immediately go to help those in need.”

We commend the elected officials who participated in this noble effort.

BOUQUETS >> To Robert Henry Wallace, the 74-year-old Oberlin Police Department officer who is calling its quits after a long and storied career.

Wallace, one of the most well-known and loved cops in Oberlin, will retire Dec. 21 after 34 years on the force.

He serves as the community service officer and captain of the Oberlin Police Auxiliary.

Wallace, known to many as Henry, moved to Oberlin in 1967.

He said he chose to get involved with the police in 1984 at the urging of then Oberlin police Chief Robert “BJ” Jones, whom Wallace worked under the first 16 years he was with the Police Department.

A year after joining the force, Wallace started what he calls his crowning achievement: Operation Checkmate.

Wallace said, “It was the first program in the country like that where we went doorto-door checking on elderly people. People who were retired and weren’t too healthy, we checked on them regularly.”

We wish Wallace the best as he enters a new chapter of his life.

BRICKBATS >> To James “Jamie” Collins, the 35-year-old North Ridgeville woman who learned Dec. 13 she will serve 26 years in prison for torturing a 3-yearold girl.

Collins pleaded guilty Oct. 22 to multiple counts of felonious assault, endangering children and domestic violence for the six months of physical abuse she levied against the child in 2016.

Collins told Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James L. Miraldi she was sorry and that lives were ruined.

Lorain County Assistant Prosecutor Donna Freeman told Miraldi that Collins repeatedly punched the girl in her face, broke her nose then twisted it which has left her permanently disfigured, broke her right arm, pulled out large clumps of hair from the girl’s skull as well as repeatedly held her head underwater while in the bath.

The abuse only came to light Sept. 26 when Collins took the victim to the hospital for the broken arm.

Miraldi said, “The description provided by the state is hard to rebut by the physical evidence in the case. The picture that the court has of what happened with this child is no different than had this child been tortured and that’s how the court summarizes the experiences this child went through.”

The justice was appropriate for this case to deter others from committing similar crimes against children.

Collins should have known better.

BRICKBATS >> To Michael A. Meinke, the 39-year-old Elyria man who is facing felony charges after he allegedly spit on and threatened a police officer Dec. 13.

Meinke was charged with intimidation, harassment by inmate, domestic violence, assault, obstructing official business and resisting arrest.

Officers responded for a possible assault at 8 p.m. on Turner Boulevard.

Police first saw a woman, who had bruising and red marks around her face and neck, the report said.

Officers said Meinke had been drinking and allegedly assaulted the woman. Police then arrested Meinke. While taking Meinke to the cruiser, police said Meinke turned his head and spit in the face of an officer. While a hood was being placed on his head, he threatened to harm another.

Because of his long rap sheet, which includes two prior domestic violence convictions, Meinke’s domestic violence charge was upgraded to a felony.

Meinke is innocent until proven guilty, but these are serious allegations.