BASKETBALL Medina’s Teske to join G League C1 Today’s weather Serving HIGH: 22 Medina County LOW: 15 since 1832 n n n Sunrise: 7:51 For home delivery, call (330) 725-4166 Sunset: 5:04 T HEHE G AZAZ E TTETTE FRIDAY, December 25, 2020 $1.25 A white Christmas? Snow problem Bob Finnan then snow, with temperatures drop- getting. After it transitions to snow, and bridges in 17 counties across extremely low temperatures such as The Gazette ping into the upper 20s and wind the highest snowfall totals will be Northeast Ohio. Those counties calcium chloride or beet heat. gusts as high as 30 mph. in the snow belt region of Northeast include Ashland, Ashtabula, Craw- For those of you yearning for a AAA is predicting a 30 percent drop The weather service said it will be Ohio, where the most persistent lake ford, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Huron, white Christmas, your wish will come in the number of Ohioans travel- cloudy today, with as much as 1 more effect snow is expected. Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, ing during the holiday travel period, true. inch of snow in the morning. The ODOT asks motorists to slow down, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, which runs from Dec. 23 through The National Weather Service pre- temperature is expected to drop to as maintain a safe following distance Trumbull and Wayne counties. Crews Jan. 3. Public health concerns over dicts that as much as 4 to 6 inches of low as 15 degrees overnight. behind other vehicles and allow extra will work around the clock in 12-hour COVID-19 are keeping nearly three- snow could fall from late Thursday The Ohio Department of Transpor- time to reach their destinations. It shifts. fourths of Ohioans home this holiday, into Christmas morning for Medina tation reports it will be spreading hol- said the best option would be to stay There are 272,000 tons of salt on AAA reports, as 96 percent of those County and the surrounding region. iday cheer by keeping the roads safe home. hand in Northeast Ohio. Plummeting who do travel will be driving to their There was a 100 percent chance and passable. More than 250 snowplow drivers temperatures will reduce the effec- destination. of precipitation Thursday. Rain was It won’t be able to pretreat the roads will be plowing and salting inter- tiveness of salt, forcing crews to mix expected to turn to freezing rain and because of the rain the region will be states, state and U.S. routes, ramps in additives that are more effective at See SNOW, A3 COVID-19 survivors thankful Jonathan Delozier sider myself very lucky.” The Gazette Paulett said he’s taken rec- “I’m still on oxygen, but I’m ommended safety precautions weening myself off that and since the pandemic’s onset in it’s been getting better little by March but that his experience little,” Granger Township fire revealed areas where he could Chief Jim Paulett said Thurs- be more stringent. day, painting the picture of He also offered advice to a relatively best-case recov- the community as widespread ery scenario from his severe vaccine distribution nears but COVID-19 infection. daily case counts continue to The 67-year-old serves as a mount. volunteer firefighter in Summit County and as a security guard “Be kind,” Paulett said. “Lis- for Cleveland Clinic along with ten to what experts are telling his duties as Granger chief. us and understand how differ- He spent 10 days in the hos- ent people are feeling. Don’t pital in early- to mid-Septem- do a lot of social gathering and ber, a time in which doctors’ I really do think the biggest JACK KOPANSKI / GAZETTE PHOTOS outlook for recovery was not thing is patience. Hopefully, in 501 Thayer Place in Wadsworth has been adorned with Christmastime projections over the past week. always positive. six months or so we’ll be start- However, Paulett’s condi- ing to get out of this.” tions took a turn for the better Lodi resident Greg Frary in the latter days of his hos- starting in early April spent pital stay and have steadily Wadsworth display draws crowds three and a half months in mul- improved ever since. tiple hospitals with COVID-19. Jack Kopanski the Fourth of July, Bicksler “I guess it’s a real gift, this That included seven weeks in The Gazette decided he wanted to con- time of the year especially,” Paulett said. intensive care, 16 days on a WADSWORTH — In only tinue doing them for Hal- loween and running through “I’m sorry for the people ventilator while in a medically about five months, Drew Christmas and New Year’s who haven’t recovered and for induced coma and continuous Bicksler’s house has gone Eve. He later decided not the families who have to pull dialysis treatment. from just another house in to do any New Year’s shows together to get through that. He was reached Christmas a neighborhood cul-de-sac and was forced to cancel his Right now, I’m just trying to go Eve after completing some to a holiday hot spot in Wad- Christmas Eve shows due day by day, do a little exercise. last-minute shopping. sworth. to the snowstorm moving The doctors have been fantas- “There’s some lingering Beginning this year on July through Northeast Ohio on tic.” 4 and with several months effects like joint pain, nerve Thursday night into today. “Hopefully, I’ll be the off the pain and having to take blood of preparation and research The shows last about 30 oxygen and good to go again,” thinners so I don’t get any more behind him, Bicksler, who minutes and are composed he added. clots,” Frary said. has lived in the Wadsworth of videos that Bicksler has “I haven’t been cleared to go home for “seven or eight picked from the Digital back to full work yet but I con- See THANKFUL, A3 years,” began projecting hol- Pressworks’ offerings. Shows iday-themed light displays are still, tentatively, sched- on his garage at 501 Thayer Homeowner Drew Bicksler has worked with Digital Pressworks since the Fourth of July to get curated uled to happen today, Satur- Place. day and Sunday, with each seasonal videos that he can display on his garage. “I went to Disney and I saw night having showings at COVID updates the projection on the castle make this a reality. I finally Pressworks offerings are 5:30 and 7 p.m. and I was like, ‘That is so In such a short time since found a company called Dig- videos for Valentine’s Day, cool. I want to do the same he began doing these shows, ital Pressworks and he is an Fourth of July, Halloween, thing on my house,’” Bicksler Bicksler said he has been take a holiday said. “I did some research independent guy that makes Christmas and New Year’s. blown away by the commu- The Gazette care units to date. Ohio has lost looking for different com- all of these videos.” After seeing how well nity response. 8,456 residents to COVID-19. panies that might be able to Included in the Digital the projections worked for The Ohio Department of See DISPLAY, A3 Locally, Medina County has Health is giving Ohioans a seen a total of 8,622 cases with break today from the news of 408 hospitalizations and 93 new coronavirus cases and deaths. This is an increase of deaths. about 110 new cases reported The department will not Abandoned Hinckley child doing ‘well’ in the past 24 hours. update its COVID-19 dash- Jack Kopanski further information when I can.” ble. He is a typical 3-and-a-half-year-old Despite many Ohio nursing board because of the Christ- The Gazette The chief added there has been over- boy and is a size 4T/5T.” home and long-term care facil- mas holiday. Reporting will whelming support for the boy from the Police responded to the cemetery at ities being closed to outside HINCKLEY TWP. — A 3-year-old boy resume Saturday and reflect community, ranging from offering to buy 12:16 p.m. Wednesday after a witness said visitors in an effort to slow the who was abandoned at Home Memorial him Christmas presents to families want- she saw a blue midsize car speed away case counts for two days. spread of COVID-19 among Gardens Cemetery on Wednesday after- ing to take him into their homes. from the cemetery with a young boy and But here is where Ohio the facilities’ very vulnerable noon is doing “very well,” Hinckley Police “I would like to thank everyone for dog chasing after it. and Medina County stood patients, many Medina County Chief David Centner said. their kindness in wanting to buy Christ- The little boy was taken into protective on Christmas Eve, more than nursing homes are dealing Centner said the boy is staying with mas presents for Tony, take him in and custody and Medina County Children nine months since COVID-19 with outbreaks today. a foster family in Medina County and adopt him,” Centner said. “You all are Services was contacted. changed life. This includes Aftercare of that his parents have been identified. amazing people and why we have such a Anyone with additional information In Ohio, there are now a total Wadsworth, where 37 new resi- The department is working with Medina great community here in Hinckley, all of is asked to contact the Hinckley Police of 653,650 confirmed and prob- dent cases and nine staff cases County Children’s Services.