Congrats to Ritenauers on bundle of joy

BOUQUETS >> To Lorain Mayor Chase Ritenauer and his wife, Lisa, who announced the arrival of their daughter, Quinn Addison, who was born Feb. 4.

Ritenauer used Twitter to publish a photo of the sleeping baby girl at 4:11 p.m. Feb. 10.

In his Twitter message, the mayor included a reference to the Feb. 6 deadline for candidates to file their petitions to appear on the ballot in the May primary election.

Incidentally, Ritenauer filed his petitions Feb. 4 to run for a third term as Lorain mayor.

Ritenauer said, “With last week as filing deadline week, some people have been awaiting some kind of announcement from me. Well, here you go!”

He added, “We’re ecstatic. Lisa and I are a week in and are really just happy new parents.”

Ritenauer said becoming a parent is a lot of adjustment, but a lot of good adjustment.

We congratulate the Ritenauers on their new bundle of joy.

BOUQUETS >> To Lorain County commissioners for approving a $532,007 grant Feb. 6 for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Lorain County to use for mentoring, tutoring and parental engagement at each of its 18 county sites.

Executive Director Michael Conibear and Director of Operations Tony Dimacchia say they are excited about the grant and what the organization will accomplish with the funds.

Dimacchia said, “This is the first time that (Lorain County) Job and Family Services created this proposal and put it out to the community to see if they can serve some more kids.”

The Boys and Girls Clubs will use the funds to grow outreach to children receiving temporary aid from 6 years old to 18.

Locally, the organization serves 1,200 children a day.

Dimacchia said, “The idea is to provide these services and engage these kids and engage these families and give them some resources that can support their quality of life and improve their quality of life. Ultimately, the goal is if there is a child or family that are utilizing the great social services that we have at Job and Family Services, how do we get them the resources they need to get them out of that arena and to be able to support themselves?”

We applaud the commissioners for awarding the funding and we’re quite confident the Boys and Girls Clubs of Lorain County will get the job done.

BRICKBATS >> To Sarah N. Conway, the 25-year-old former teacher who had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student was sentenced Feb. 8 to a year of community control.

Conway, of Sheffield Lake, pleaded guilty to an amended indictment of disseminating matter harmful to a juvenile, a misdemeanor, as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Conway, who taught at Willow Creek Positive Education Program, 1600 Durkee Road in Eaton Township, surrendered her social worker’s certificate and has agreed to never get a teaching certificate in Ohio.

Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will said officials will place Conway on a watch list to ensure she does not attempt to teach again.

Will said the victim was not Conway’s student, but he had helped in one of the classes where she taught grammar.

Police said they were alerted to the relationship when Conway filed a harassment complaint against the student March 21, 2018, and admitted she was in a sexual relationship with the teen.

During the investigation, officers learned the relationship began while the student was underage.

Police said text messages revealed there was a break in Conway and the victim’s relationship and that sexual activity and harassment had occurred.

Conway used her position of authority and took advantage of a minor.

But authorities will keep tabs on her for a year. BRICKBATS >> To Darnell D. Stennis, the 27-year-old Peoria, Ill., man arrested Feb. 5 in Westlake after he allegedly was using a 26-year-old woman as a prostitute.

Stennis was charged with promoting prostitution and could face more charges.

Westlake police Capt. Jerry Vogel said officers received a call at 2:40 p.m. from Lakefront Bus Lines reporting one of its buses on Interstate 90 near Crocker Road was stopped due to a female rider reporting to the driver she was being held against her will by a male on the bus.

The woman told police she and Stennis had traveled through several states while “working” before ending up on the side of the road in Westlake.

Stennis denied the allegations and said the two merely were traveling as a couple.

Westlake investigators are working with the Cuyahoga County Human Trafficking Task Force gathering evidence to present to a grand jury to determine further charges.

Stennis is innocent until proven guilty, but he has a lot of explaining to do.