• Travel agent is recent graduate of College of Disney Knowledge
Terry Schneider may have a swirl of pixie dust surrounding her these days.

• Book traces history of Center Ridge Road
Center Ridge Road may give North Ridgeville residents headaches from time to time, but a recently released book by Carol Klear illustrates its history should be cherished.

• Charity Ball will assist the needy in Avon, Avon Lake
Avon and Avon Lake will kick off their largest fundraising event, the 20th anniversary Charity Ball for Community Resource Services.

• AVON
%%webhead%%AVON %%ewebhead%% Avon Library,37485 Harvest Drive. (440) 934-4743 or lorain.lib.oh.us. A free Introduction to Word program will be held 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Registration is required. Linda McVey from the YMCA will give a free health talk 7 p.m. Wednesday. Preschool Story Time begins the week of Jan. 19. Times are 7 p.m. Mondays and 10:30 a.m. or 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. For ages 3-5. AVON LAKE Avon Lake Library,32649 Electric Blvd. (440) 933-8128. Special Collections -- Do you have a special collection you would like to share with the community? The library displays special collections on a monthly basis throughout the year. If interested, call (440) 933-8128, Ext. 249. You can find out about upcoming events and services at the library by tuning into ALCTV, channel 99. "Check This Out" is the library's new monthly show, featuring hosts Gerry Vogel and Jill Ralston. Join us 1 p.m. today for a presentation on the largest eagle's nest in Lorain County and the early studies of these great birds. NORTH RIDGEVILLE North Ridgeville Library,35700 Bainbridge Road. (440) 327-8326 or lorain.lib.oh.us. Teens in sixth- through 12th-grade are invited to join Teen Community in Action. The group meets monthly and helps with special projects during the summer. Pick up an application at the library. The library will now offer a rotating foreign language collection with fiction and nonfiction titles in French, Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic and Hindi. Both children's and adult titles are available and new titles are rotated in every 60 days. A free Computers for Beginners program will be held 10:30 a.m. today. Registration required. The American Red Cross will offer a two-session Babysitting Basics program 1-4:30 p.m. Saturdays and Jan. 17 for ages 11-15. Fee required. To register or for more information, call (440) 324-2929. A special one-woman production, featuring Carol Starre-Kmiecik as Clara Barton, will be presented at 2 p.m. Sunday.

• A PLACE IN THE SUN: First Federal of Lakewood gives students scholarships
Several local high school seniors were awarded $500 scholarships for their academic and athletic achievements from First Federal of Lakewood by President and Chief Executive Officer Gary R. Fix.

• Holiday event brings festivities to town
Participants say North Ridgeville's 2008 Holiday on the Ridge celebration was a great success.

• Laughter sometimes becomes proper response to police calls
Although police work hard to fight crime and keep the streets clean, they get called for something hilarious at least once a week. Here's a collection of the most ridiculous things officers had to deal with last year: TACO BELL NOT WORTH THE TRIP:A customer waiting in the Avon Lake Taco Bell drive through at 1 a.m. this September notified police of a late-night snacker who seemed to be driving while intoxicated. Police arrested the driver with the beer munchies after the informant called back to say he was back in line again. JUKEBOX STRIKES A CHORD:Avon police questioned a man walking home from Dusty's Tavern at 3:20 a.m. this November. When they asked him about the multiple wounds on his hands he explained that he got into a fight with the bar's jukebox before leaving. After police gave the man a ride home, Dusty's bartender confirmed the story and showed police the blood all over the jukebox. MAD ABOUT HALLOWEEN:Shortly after Halloween, an enthusiast ripped off the Haunted Forest in North Ridgeville. About $600 of scare tactics were stolen, including two strobe lights, paint, a clown mask and a Freddy Kruger mask. STICKY SITUATION:Someone poured maple syrup all over an Avon resident's front door. WHAT HAPPENED?:A follow-up investigation of a weekend fight at Johnny Malloy's in Avon Lake revealed that the parties involved were unable to verify what actually took place. WEEKEND SLUMBER PARTY:Two men attempting to pick up their buddy from the Avon jail in the wee hours of a Saturday morning last month got booked themselves as they were both intoxicated. One of the men appeared drunk and nervous as he paced around the lobby. The situation was too much for him and he took off, leaving his friend stranded in the lobby. Police stopped the vehicle and charged him with operating a vehicle while intoxicated as well as possession of drug paraphernalia. His friend was arrested for public intoxication, so all three spent the night in jail together. PARTY HEARTY:North Ridgeville police responded to a back yard to investigate reports of gunfire and subsequently arrested an intoxicated man for partying with his handgun. UNFORTUNATE RESEMBLANCE:An Avon woman called police last spring after losing another job. She claimed that she has been mistaken for a woman whom a Wellington man likes to take to cemeteries in order to satisfy his sexual fetish. KIDS CAN'T APPRECIATE STATUE:Kids who couldn't appreciate a statue on Avondale Avenue in Avon got busy smashing it to pieces. A witness saw four boys jump out of car, destroy the sculpture and then drove off. Police were able to catch up with the youths. YOU CAN NEVER BE TOO CAUTIOUS:An Avon woman called police to report several incidents of an unknown man knocking on her door. Police were able to find the mystery visitor, who turned out to be an Elyria Memorial Hospital employee who was trying to deliver a gift card. A RATTLE AND A HISS:Avon police received information about a large snake chasing kids down around a neighborhood. Police were not able to confirm the report. GAS PUMP WENT FOR A RIDE:A forgetful driver pulled out of Speedway on Darrell Avenue in Avon Lake after forgetting to remove the gas pump from the vehicle. A concerned motorist followed the hurried driver, as who sped off with the gas hose still attached. Police caught up with the vehicle and the driver returned to the gas station to assess the damage. OFF ROAD RUCKUS:During the spring, many riders return to the mud tracks on their all-terrain vehicles. Police had received more than a dozen calls about ATVs or dirt bikes trespassing on property at great speeds or causing trouble. Police issued several warnings to these riders. Police also enforced the riders to stay off of private property and to use caution when riding. STAYING ON BEAT:Police confronted a man with a shaved head along Electric Boulevard in Avon for yelling and using swift hand gestures. The man denied any malice and told police he was singing along to his favorite rap song. FLYING COLORS:Police received a report of paintball enthusiasts on the loose in Avon Lake. Two cars were reported to have been struck by the paintballs, creating a colorful mess. FRIENDLY DEER CAUSES PROBLEMS:Police received a call from an upset Avon resident fed up with a neighbor feeding deer. When the resident complained about the deer causing damage to the yard, they were advised that the incident was a civil matter. BABY MOMMA DRAMA:A woman showed up to an Avon home, in search for her baby's daddy. The resident had called police after the woman pounded on the front door for 10 minutes, but when police arrived, the woman had left. When police were able to track her down, she told them she was convinced that the father of her child lived there. She was advised to stay off private property. CAT ALMOST SAVED BY AVON RESIDENT:An Avon woman went out on a limb, literally, to help a runaway cat. The cat had climbed up a tree and refused to come down, so the woman climbed all the way up to reach it. The woman soon became stuck in the tree herself and police and fire officials arrived at the scene to rescue the woman and her friend from the tree. ALLIGATOR GREETING:Police received several complaints about an unwelcome sunbather at Miller Road Park in Avon Lake one summer day. A man spent time on the beach with his pet alligator until police arrived to the park and asked the happy couple to leave. LOVE THY NEIGHBOR:An upset Avon Lake resident called police when his neighbor mooned him. Police contacted the exhibitionist and advised him there are more mature ways to handle confrontations. CAUGHT RED HANDED:An Avon resident reported an unusual theft during the harvest season. The man told police that thieves had picked all the cherries from the trees on his property, and an investigation ensued. Staff writer Stephanie Furst contributed to this article.

• AVON
%%webhead%%AVON %%ewebhead%% Avon Library,37485 Harvest Drive. (440) 934-4743 or lorain.lib.oh.us. The Evening Book Discussion Group will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday and discuss "Dispatches From The Edge." New members welcome. A free Introduction to Word program will be held 6-7:30 p.m. Jan. 13. Registration is required. Linda McVey from the YMCA will give a free health talk 7 p.m. Jan. 14. Preschool Story Time begins the week of Jan. 19. Times are 7 p.m. Mondays and 10:30 a.m. or 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. For ages 3-5. %%webhead%%AVON LAKE %%ewebhead%% Avon Lake Library,32649 Electric Blvd. (440) 933-8128. Special Collections -- Do you have a special collection you would like to share with the community? The library displays special collections on a monthly basis throughout the year. If interested, call (440) 933-8128, Ext. 249. You won't want to miss the holiday display in the children's department. You'll find everything from nutcrackers to steadfast tin soldiers and little drummer boys. The library has all of your "Season's Readings" for your holiday pleasure. Whether its great cook books, holiday music CDs, large print books, downloadable books, new release books and DVDs, or magazines with recipes for entertaining, it's all right here for your enjoyment. You can find out about upcoming events and services at the library by tuning into ALCTV, channel 99. "Check This Out" is the library's new monthly show, featuring hosts Gerry Vogel and Jill Ralston. Winners of the EarthFest 2008 art, poetry and essay contest will be posted through Monday. Join park manager Grant Thompson for a guided walk/hike through the woodlands of the Kopf Family Reservation. Hikers will depart from the library at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Join us 1 p.m. Jan. 8 for a presentation on the largest eagle's nest in Lorain County and the early studies of these great birds. %%webhead%%NORTH RIDGEVILLE %%ewebhead%% North Ridgeville Library,35700 Bainbridge Road. (440) 327-8326 or lorain.lib.oh.us. Teens in sixth through 12th-grade are invited to join Teen Community In Action. The group meets monthly and helps with special projects during the summer. Pick up an application at the library. The library will now offer a rotating foreign language collection with fiction and nonfiction titles in French, Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic and Hindi. Both children's and adult titles are available and new titles are rotated in every 60 days. A free Computers for Beginners program will be held 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 5 and 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 8. Registration required. The American Red Cross will offer a two-session Babysitting Basics program 1-4:30 p.m. Jan. 10 and 17 for ages 11-15. Fee required. To register or for more information, call (440) 324-2929. A special one-woman production, featuring Carol Starre-Kmiecik as Clara Barton, will be at 2 p.m. Jan. 11.

• Richard J. "Dick" McCrann
%%webhead%%Richard J. "Dick" McCrann %%ewebhead%% Richard J. "Dick" McCrann, 68, died Dec. 20 at his home in North Ridgeville, following a long illness. Mr. McCrann was a lifetime resident of Lorain County. He was a graduate of Elyria Catholic High School and retired from Harshaw Chemical after 43 years of service.

• Person of the Week
There is plenty of wonderful, well-written teenage literature stocking area library shelves, and Kay Marvin of North Ridgeville is ready to recommend them all.