Home Care In North Ridgeville, OH

As Michael Dowell’s long college football career comes to a close, he hopes to help Miami (Ohio) make a little more history.

The sixth-year defensive back has been a key player for the RedHawks, helping them upset Toledo 23-14 in the Mid-American Conference championship to clinch the program’s second conference title in five seasons. Dowell had four tackles and a pass breakup against the Rockets.

Miami received a bid to the Cure Bowl in Orlando where it will face Appalachian State on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. It’s the fourth straight bowl bid for the RedHawks, who are trying to win 12 games for the second time in program history.

“It feels good,” said Dowell, a former St. Edward standout from North Ridgeville. “We worked really hard for this all year. We had a lot of adversity, close games and won a lot of different kind of games. I think we’ve won every different kind of game you could win — low-scoring games, shootouts. It’s nice that we finished out on top.”

Miami’s defense has been its calling card, allowing just 16.2 points per game, second in the league behind only Ohio University at 15.4. The RedHawks are one of five teams in the MAC to record at least 10 interceptions. Toledo came in with the MAC’s best offense at 33.6 points per game, but were held to 14 in the title game. Miami’s offense was second at 26.9 points per game.

“It starts with our coaching staff,” Dowell said. “They do a great job getting us ready each and every week to play the opponent that we’re playing. And then we do a good job of executing the game plan and communicating. We play for one another. Our defense gets along really well and we go out there and play hard for one another.”

Dowell transferred to Miami after spending his first four seasons with Michigan State, following in the footsteps of his two older brothers — Andrew and David, who were standouts for the Spartans defense at linebacker and safety, respectively. Andrew now plays for the New Orleans Saints.

Michael Dowell played in 19 games during his career Michigan State, including all 12 regular-season games in 2021 with four starts, 40 tackles and three pass breakups as the nickelback.

He graduated from Michigan State with a finance degree and joined Miami to pursue a master's in business management, which was a big selling point during the transfer process.

Dowell has made an instant impact with the RedHawks, playing in all 13 games with 12 starts at defensive back last year. He piled up 97 tackles, five for a loss with two sacks, one forced fumble and six pass breakups. He had a career-best 17 tackles and a sack against Bowling Green that season.

This year, Dowell picked up where he left off immediately, coming up with interceptions in the first two games against Miami (Florida) and Massachusetts. He played in every game and finished with 61 tackles, 3.5 for a loss, a forced fumble and five pass breakups.

“I’ve played in a lot of games and I’m excited to play in this bowl game and hopefully go out with a win," said Dowell, who intends to pursue football professionally. "And also for this university, this group of guys, we’ll be the second 12-win Miami team. So we’re pretty historic here and it would be a great opportunity to be part of it.”

A number of other area athletes are on rosters of bowl-bound teams ...

For additions to the college notebook, contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or [email protected]. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.

Found behind wall as new owner began renovations to 200-year-old building

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As it was being renovated, an amazing discovery was found in The Century Tavern, which was built in 1818, just eight years after the first settlers arrived in North Ridgeville.

NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio — There's a whole lot of history in Northeast Ohio, and some of the buildings here have been around for a lot of it. One of them, the Century Tavern, was built in 1818, just eight years after the first settlers arrived in North Ridgeville.

In that time, it's had several owners, but it's revealing its secrets for the latest one.

“This you really couldn't walk into, and I just decided to open it up. Completely take it back to 1818,” said the owner of the Century Tavern, Thomas Kelly.

In 2019, Kelly bought the old Century Tavern. Much has changed in the two centuries since the first beams were laid, but as he began renovations, the building slowly revealed its hidden history.

That includes the original bricks from when the building was first built, the visible stress on the wood, and a door frame and glass that’s more than 200 years old. But there’s one hidden gem that brings many questions.

“I didn't even know this was here, and suddenly I started pulling a wall back, and I saw a face, and I thought, wow,” said Kelly.

Behind the wall was a painting done on the plaster that shows three Native Americans sitting. Kelly thinks it was painted by a Native American tribe.

Bill Noll with the North Ridgeville Historical Society saids even though the painting doesn't include an artist's name, it is possible a Native American painted it.

“Ridgeville had a tribe of Indians that used to come through here all the time, and they'd stop and do some training in the city,” said Noll.

Kelly believes the painting dates back more than 100 years. He plans to cover the painting with a plastic barrier and preserve it with the rest of the building.

“The place was just like a beautiful woman that just got reincarnated,” Kelly continued, “I hope the old lady appreciates all I’ve done for her" — all so he can give North Ridgeville a piece of history to appreciate.

Now since Tom still isn’t sure who painted the art, Native American historians are asking for pictures of the brush strokes or even a chip of the paint so they can decide which artist or tribe is responsible for creating it.

Kelly hopes to open the Century Tavern by St. Patrick’s Day 2024.

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NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio — The North Ridgeville City School District is thanking the community for passing a bond issue that will bring in a total of $143 million to build a new high school, auditorium and transportation center.

It was the third time the district, in recent years, had asked voters to approve a ballot measure.

The district said the high school is outdated and overcrowded, with more than 1,400 students in a space with a total capacity of 900.

"We are excited for students. We're excited for the community," said David Pritt, the district's assistant superintendent. "This has been a struggle we've had for a long time. The important next steps for us is to start to engage the community, engage the staff engage the students to find out what is this building look like. What are the features that it needs to have."

The district said the new school should be ready for students within four to five years.

Once the new school is up and running Pritt said the old building will be demolished.

"It will become green space. It will become parking lot and may become practice fields," Pritt said. "But it will provide some other support services for the new building."

Superintendent reactsAfter the election, Superintendent Roxann Ramsey-Caserio issued the following statement:

After the election results, The North Ridgeville City School District learned Issue 16 has passed. The passing of Issue 16 will give our students the safety to thrive, space to learn, and an environment for excellence. As the planning process progresses, we will ensure these new buildings have state of the art security systems and an environment that suits the evolving strategies of education. We are thankful for the support of the community. We will be able to design a safer facility with enough space for our growing enrollment. We look forward to the positive impact the new high school will have on our students, staff, and our entire community.The project will take approximately four to five years to complete. There will be several planning and Board of Education meetings open to the public as next steps get underway.

Superintendent Roxann Ramsey-Caserio

Bond issueIssue 16 is a 37-year, 6.26-mill bond issue. It will bring in $143 million and cost residents $219 per year per $100,000 in home valuation.

Residents reactMaria Friday currently has a senior in the district. Friday is an elementary teacher, in a neighboring school district, who voted for the bond.

"Nobody wants to see their taxes go up, but educating students should be the public's number one priority," Friday said.

Tony Hugel said he voted against the bond. He said he's concerned with the rapid growth of housing developments in North Ridgeville and the domino effect.

"What happens when all those younger families become older like us (and) no kids (in the district)?" Hugel said. "All of a sudden you've got a school that's bigger than it really needs to be."

Future needsThe district said its elementary school remains overcrowded, and leaders will need to address the issue. Pritt said next school year, eight academic trailers will be ready for use at the elementary school, which is capable of accommodating 200 students.

When asked if the district will need to ask voters for additional money to address concerns at the elementary level, Pritt said, "The timeline is hard to say what that would look like right now. So, our focus is going to be on getting this one (new high school) up and running, and we'll do the best we can with the facilities that we have at our younger levels."

NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio -- By a slim margin, residents of the North Ridgeville City School District rejected a $190 million bond issue for school construction and renovation on the May 2 ballot, according to final, unofficial results from the Lorain County Board of Elections.

There were 3,566 votes cast in favor of the 8.32-mill bond issue and 3,603 against. The bond issue was to fund the construction of a new high school and elementary school.

Superintendent Roxann Ramsey-Caserio was not available for comment Tuesday night.

“Due to the numbers being so close, we are awaiting the certified results that include provisional and outstanding absentee ballots. Once the data is received and finalized, we will make a statement regarding the future of the district,” stated Brooke Roshong, the district’s manager of communications.

District officials had warned that if the bond issue failed, students would see larger class sizes; have fewer course offerings, including full-day kindergarten, AP courses and STEAM electives; and see a reduction in district-provided transportation.

This was the last chance to utilize Ohio Facilities Construction Commission funds to trim the bond balance and for the district to receive $30 million to $33 million from the state to reduce the overall cost of the project, according to district information.

Voters in November rejected a combined school district bond issue and city tax increase. After a community survey, it was decided to separate the issues.

School officials explained that the district saw a 10 percent increase in enrollment over the last five years, creating space needs and pressure on the aging facilities.

Total enrollment this year is 4,711 and is expected to reach 4,803 in 2024, according to the district’s bond issue brochure.

The current enrollment at the high school is 1,416, while the capacity for the building is only 900, requiring the use of modular classrooms, the superintendent noted earlier.

The enrollment at Liberty Elementary School is 650, with a building capacity of 520. Bond issue backers stated that this has required dividing the library to make room for music classes, and closets have been converted into classrooms where there are no clocks or speakers, no heat or air conditioning, and a lack of mobility.

The cost to community members would have been $24.27 per month per $100,000 of the market value of their home.

Fifty-four percent of the bond issue was earmarked for the new high school, with 36 percent slated for a new elementary building.

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NORTH RIDGEVILLE — City Council approved the final plans for Ridgeville Farms Senior Housing, a new subdivision for residents 55 years or older.

The subdivision, developed by SLK Capital Holdings, will consist of 26 detached housing units each containing two residences.

“It is affordable housing for seniors,” Councilman Bruce Abhens, Third Ward, said. “I’ve heard from the master planning committee (that) they are looking for more affordable housing for this community. This seems to fit the plan very well.”

The development will be off state Route 83, just south of South Central Park between the park and the Ohio Turnpike.

The North Ridgeville Planning Commission approved the final plans in August, with the requirement that SLK commit to constructing a sound barrier along the turnpike.

SLK agreed and Council approved the commission’s measure by a 5-1 vote on Monday.

The lone vote agains’t the development came from Councilwoman Holly Swenk, Ward 1, who said she had concerns about its impact on traffic and safety services.

“I feel like this development is going to add to the amount of EMS calls for our already overburdened fire (department),” Swenk said. “... I feel this is going to cause traffic nightmares pulling out of the development.”

Swenk pointed to a recent Ohio Department of Transportation traffic study that found that in a 24 hour period on Aug. 23, 15,339 vehicles traversed state Route 83 just north of where the subdivision will be built.

In an Aug. 31 meeting of the North Ridgeville Planning Commission, SLK representative Ryan Kozak told the commission the subdivision would emphasize having an affordable and accessible community for seniors.

He said there would be certain income requirements necessary to qualify for the housing, in addition to the 55 or older age requirement.

Kozak also said the residents would be provided “food bags, nutritional education (and) cooking classes.”

Ridgeville Farms received conditional use approval from the Board of Zoning Appeals in 2021, but SLK had not received the tax credits it expected for the project.

Those tax credits were awarded this year, Kozak said, so SLK began work on the project again and expects to begin accepting residents in the summer of 2025.

The project was one of 29 that received funding from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency for its 2023 Low-Income Housing Tax Credits program. The program awarded $29.9 million in total tax credits.

The program provides funding to developers making housing for people who are low to moderate income, meaning the Ridgeville Farms units will be available only to seniors falling within those state income thresholds.

Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or [email protected].