Mentor award winners are congratulated

BOUQUETS >> To the winners of two annual Mentor Police Department awards: Patrolman James Collier, on being voted Officer of the Year by his peers, and Karen Brooks, who serves as administrative assistant to police captains, for being named Civilian of the Year.

Collier joined the department on Dec. 27, 1988. He plans to retire at the end of this year.

“During his tenure with the Mentor Police Department, Officer Collier’s focus has been to put the citizens of Mentor first and he has contributed to our community in a variety of ways,” Chief Kevin Knight said.

Collier’s other awards include the Knights of Columbus Blue Coats Award, two Exceptional Service Awards and six Letters of Commendation.

On April 16, he will be presented the 2018 Crime Prevention Practitioner of the Year by the Ohio Crime Prevention Association in Dublin.

Brooks, who was hired in 2012, performs a number of tasks that support the day-today functioning of the department, including daily bulletins and the officer vacation books.

In addition to her administrative work for the captains, Brooks also helped Capt. Ken Gunsch renovate the patrolmen’s lounge last year.

“She used her talents to make a dramatic difference to update and modernize the lounge,” Knight said.

We congratulate Collier and Brooks on receiving these well-deserved accolades.

BOUQUETS » To the Lake County Board of Developmental Disabilities Willoughby Branch, for the success of its 11th annual chili cook-off on March 28.

The Willoughby Branch noted that the event has been held in conjunction with Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month since 2008.

Each year as a way to give back to the community in gratitude for its support, the agency donates the proceeds from the event to another organization.

“Other than the great chili that is made by our staff, families and providers, what is great about this Chili CookOff is that our individuals who serve on the Willoughby Branch Advocacy Committee choose a charitable local organization to donate all proceeds from the event,” said Bob Fratino, director of Community Employment Services.

“In the true spirit of community engagement, our individuals actually visit the organizations they donate to, and present them with a check.”

This year’s recipient was Forbes House, Lake County’s only domestic violence shelter.

The winner of the event was a chicken chorizo chili made with sweetened cocoa, brown sugar and other spices by Ashley Cuzzens, the community integration specialist at the Willoughby Branch.

We hope that the Willoughby Branch continues the tradition of its chili cook-off for many more years to come.

BRICKBATS » To Fasshon Shivers of Columbus, after she was sentenced to four years in prison for texting a photo of herself pointing a semiautomatic handgun at her 17-month-old daughter.

Shivers received the prison term March 26 after pleading guilty to attempted kidnapping and a gun specification. A felony charge of kidnapping and a misdemeanor charge of child endangerment were dropped.

Shivers will be eligible for early release after serving one year in prison.

Prosecutors say Shivers took the photo at her Columbus home and texted it to the child’s father May 31. The woman’s lawyer says Shivers was “overwhelmed” and “trying to force the father to be a better dad.” Regardless of Shivers’ desire to influence the father, she made a very unwise decision to point a semi-automatic handgun at her child.

BRICKBATS » To Kayla Wilson of Cincinnati, upon being sentenced to nine years in prison and receiving a lifetime suspension of her driving privileges for a hit-and-run crash that killed a teacher.

Wilson, 23, was handed the prison term March 27 after pleading guilty to charges of aggravated vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident.

Investigators say the Cincinnati woman hit 74-year-old Mark Klusman on Dec. 9. He died of his injuries weeks later.

Klusman and other volunteers had been cleaning up leaves and debris along a road before the collision.

He was a longtime teacher at Elder High School in Cincinnati. The 1961 Elder graduate was teaching computer science in his 51st year as a teacher at the school.

As for Wilson, we believe that a substantial prison term was justified based on the serious crime that she committed.