Happy Mother's
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Page 1 - THE VILLAGER - May 7 - 13, 2020 “Celebrate the Power Happy Mother’s Day of Community” Complimentary Copy see page 3 The Villager staff sends best wishes to all our readers. We’re looking forward to Volume 26 Issue 14 covering all the wonderful May 7 - 13, 2019 community events coming www.TheVillagerNewspaper.com up in the future. With God, all things are possible.... May God be with us all. Firefighter Finds Silver Lining Amid the Covid-19 Crisis Nothing could have prepared Steven Acord for this. gave him every tool he needed to be a good firefighter and The North Ridgeville firefighter and EMT-paramedic a good paramedic. says he and the entire fire house are adjusting to the CO- But today, what makes firefighters, EMTs and para- VID-19 crisis one day at a time. medics successful is the ability to adjust. From simply be- “We’re doing our best, but the COVID-19 crisis has just ing at the fire house to procedures on emergency calls, this been a different animal,” he said. pandemic has changed everything. Steven always knew he wanted a career that made him “Work is a lot different than it normally is right now,” and his family proud. It took him some time after high he said. “When we aren’t on calls, we are socially distancing school to figure out what that was, but once he did there ourselves from each other and wearing masks around the was no looking back. station. On calls we are much more concerned with getting “My plan changed twice before I realized I wasn’t hap- an early temperature on the patient and quickly determin- py. I wanted to do something more fulfilling and I chose ing if the patient is at risk of having COVID-19.” this field. Once I started classes I gave 100% effort,” Accord At the North Ridgeville Fire Department, one squad said. is dedicated to responding to calls in which the patient has any COVID symptoms. The goal is to limit the chances of Steven Accord Those classes were at Lorain County Community Col- lege where he earned his paramedic certification and as- exposure. and son Isaac sociate of science degree in fire science. Both programs “The fire department must continue to operate, so it’s continued on page 2 Westlake Police Make His Day! Westlake Porter Library On the morning of April 23, Westlake PD along with Westlake Fire and Service Depart- Announces Reopening Plans ments came together to wish a brave cancer In accordance with the plan for reopening businesses and organi- survivor and Westlake resident a Happy 3rd zations in Ohio announced by Governor DeWine on Monday, April 27, Birthday. Westlake Porter Public Library will begin reopening procedures starting Special thanks to The Westlake Town Cri- the week of May 3. ers for helping to organize the much appreci- The plan for bringing back in-person services will occur in three ated drive by. #staysafewestlake #inthistogeth- parts while ensuring that the library continues to be mindful of the erOhio. health and safety of both patrons and staff. Staff will be cleaning the building and preparing materials for circulation throughout the re- Happy Birthday Emmett! opening process. Information courtesy of the Westlake Police Curbside service and telephone reference services are the Department. first part of the gradual reopening plan. The official start date for See more photos on page 6 and on The both will be announced soon. When curbside service begins, patrons Westlake Police Department Facebook page at will be able to pick up new or existing holds by parking in one of several facebook.com/WestlakePolice. parking spaces in front of the building. Patrons will then call the library and provide their name and parking spot number. A WPPL staff mem- ber will bring out the materials in a plastic bag and place them in the St. Bernadette Students Cheer Seniors trunk of the patrons’ vehicle. Any materials returned to the library will Senior living homes across the globe have had to halt visitation privileges for be quarantined for 72 hours. the friends and families of their residents due to the coronavirus pandemic, The The second phase will be opening the building for com- Normandy Senior Living Campus included. This has caused many of our residents puter use on Tuesday, May 12. Patrons should call the library to to feel lonely and isolated. reserve a computer for a specific time and day. Those reserving a com- Thankfully, the students at Saint puter must have a library card, no guest passes. There will be a limit of Bernadette Elementary School have one person to a computer but there may be exceptions for two family been kind enough to send cards, let- members working together. ters, and videos to our residents who The final step in reopening WPPL will be opening the haven’t been able to spend time with entire building. The timing of this will occur in accordance with their families these past few weeks. guidelines laid out by state and local government in order to ensure the We cannot thank these students safety of WPPL patrons and staff. enough for thinking of our residents “On behalf of the Westlake Porter Public Library Board of Trust- during these tough times. Their days ees and Staff, thank you for your patience while our building has been have been brightened tremendously. closed to comply with the State of Ohio’s Stay-At-Home Order,” said Li- We are looking forward to the day brary Director Andrew Mangels. “We look forward to seeing you at the library!” continued on page 4 Page 2 - THE VILLAGER - May 7 - 13, 2020 Firefighter Finds Silver Lining Amid the Covid-19 Crisis continued from page 1 the television or follow the news of the crisis – imperative that our personnel stay healthy he sees enough to know the latest while he’s at during these times,” he noted. work. Accord said every new process they im- Instead, he focuses his time on his wife plement today will prepare them during a fu- and his one-year-old son. ture crisis – a positive he chooses to see now. “I believe a silver lining has been the “We can have better protocols in place amount of time we are spending together as a and stockpile personal protective equipment,” family,” Accord said. “I have always worked a he said. “And I am confident that we will all lot and expressed wanting to spend more time come out of this stronger.” at home. My son gives me all the smiles I can Another silver lining shines when he handle, and my happiness is not going to be walks out of the fire house after a 24-hour affected by this virus.” shift and into his home. He doesn’t turn on Accord, second on right. with fellow North Ridgeville Firefighters A Family on the Frontline UH St. John Blood Drive For Rebecca Sullivan’s fam- Want to make a difference during these unprecedented times? Do- ily, emergency medicine is just a nate blood. way of life. It’s where it all start- UH St. John Medical ed, literally. Center is hosting a blood Sullivan, a registered nurse drive on Tues., May 19 from in the emergency room at Mercy 2-7 p.m. in Auditoriums A Health – Lorain Hospital, met & B. Please schedule your time by calling (440) 322-5700. Site Coordina- her husband Matt, a North Rid- tor is Paul Forthofter. geville firefighter and paramed- Donors can also make an appointment at www.vitalant.org/Ohi- ic, in Lorain County Communi- oDonorPortal or by calling 1-877-25-VITAL. Donors interested in the ty College’s paramedic program. UH drives can use the sponsor code sjmc. “We met in the LCCC pro- gram in 2009, got married in 2012, and had these crazy kids in 2015,” Sullivan said. Those crazy kids are twins, Aidan and Harper. And to them, their frontline COVID-19 fight- ing parents are just doing their jobs. “They know daddy works on a fire truck and in an ambu- Rebecca Sullivan, RN, EMT-P lance, and mommy works in an emergency room,” she said. In May 2017 Sullivan graduated from LCCC’s Emergency medicine has always been Sullivan’s RN program and began working in the emergency calling. She had just gotten her driver’s license when room at Mercy. She was ready for the challenge but A March Blood drive at UH St. John a serious accident happened in front of her car. So didn’t expect to be on the frontlines of a global pan- brought a lot of community support. she pulled over and ran to help, keeping pressure on demic within a few years. Please mark your calendar for May 19. the motorist’s head wound until paramedics arrived. “Am I anxious? Yes. But can I handle it? Yeah,” “One of the paramedics said to me, ‘Wow. You she said. “I’ve been in stressful situations in my job; did a really great job. You should think about doing it’s just something I deal with in my profession.” this’,” Sullivan said. What makes her most anxious is the possibility University Hospitals Reaches That’s when it clicked. of passing the virus to someone she loves. “I felt like emergency medicine was my thing,” “I don’t want to spread this or give to anyone Goal of Collecting 100,000 she said. “I’ve always taken pride in helping people I care about,” she said. “Matt and I are both on the in urgent need.” frontlines, but we’re taking extra precautions at work After Sullivan graduated from Elyria High and at home to protect everyone.” Homemade Masks School she enrolled in Lorain County Community One of those precautions is social distancing.