Yes, this stuff all happened in the Lima region this past year. A look back at the Top 10 roses and thorns of 2015:
BEST OF ROSES
10. Dancing chief: Lima City Police Chief Kevin Martin and Tanya Shafner, of Tanya’s Dance Studio, team up to win the “Dancing with Lima 2015” fundraiser.
9. Keeps cool: Sgt. Kevin Siefker of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office stayed calm when he tried to serve a court summons and was greeted at the door by a man holding a gun. Siefker pulled his own weapon and after a brief, tense standoff, convinced Daniel Tijerina, 53, to put down his weapon.
8. Loyalty: Jim Stewart, 71, says it is no secret why he has worked 50 years for Virtual Technologies Group in Lima. Simply put, it is “a pretty interesting job.”
7. Fog day: When school was canceled because of fog in mid-April, the Schumakers of Ottawa — Noah, 10, Lee, 9, and mother, Jill — went out and picked up trash along the road, filling three large bags.
6. School pride: A large Lima Senior banner flew proudly at a military outpost in Afghanistan earlier his year, thanks to five Lima Senior graduates stationed there: Sgt. Jared Vezina (Class of 2002), Staff Sgt. David Neal (2005), Spc. Ricky Martin (2009), Spc. David Duran (2011) and Pvt. Taylor Bennett (2011).
5. Quick thinking: Gabe Brooks could tell kindergartner Leah Coppler was highly embarrassed and ready to quit the children’s track meet at Elida Elementary School after the she stumbled and fell hard during the race. Thinking quickly, the 32-year-old man sprinted onto the track, helped her get up, and ran the remaining 90 meters with her to the finish line.
4. Wow! Could you do this:
•Sydney Santaguida won a $1,000 gas card from Marathon when she made a basket from half court during half time of the Lima Central Catholic state championship game in March.
•Lex Boedicker, of Bath Middle School, won the King of Swat home run derby at Cooperstown Dreams Park in Cooperstown, New York, when he clobbered five home runs to beat out 103 others in the 12-and-under classification.
•Xavier Simpson scored 59 points in breaking the Lima Senior single-game scoring record in the Spartans 103-57 win over Fremont Ross.
•Much to the angst of Ohio State football fans, Tyler O’Connor, of Lima, threw a 22-yard touchdown pass and played a perfect game at quarterback as Michigan State ended the Buckeyes 23-game winning streak with a 17-14 victory.
3. Truckin’ safely: Truck driver Jeffrey Perine, of Lima, has driven his Freightliner tractor-trailer more than 2 million miles without being involved in an accident. That’s the equivalent of more than four trips to the moon and back; more than 80 trips around the world; or 1.4 million trips from the Lima Mall to the Allentown Road Kewpee.
2. Citizenship: To Jay Laubethal, the junior varsity coach of the Fort Jennings boys basketball team. After the varsity game is over, he has his team pick up all the trash in the gym left by fans from both sides. They do this at home and away games.
1. Life savers: Neither floods, fires nor vicious dogs could stop the heroism of these men:
•Lima police officers Matt Woodworth and Sam Crish entered a burning home on Haller Street, fought through the smoke as they climbed the home’s stairway, and carried a disoriented Tonya Brown to safety.
•Shane Kelly, of Lima, swam out to save Steve Bergeron after he noticed Bergeron drowning in the flash-flooding between Lowe’s and the Allan Nott car dealership. Kelly credited the rescue to his grandmother, Theresa Lewis, who insisted he take swimming lessons.
•Scott Eversole, a postal employee, likely saved the life of Lima police officer Mark Link, when he fought away two pit bulls that attacked the off-duty officer.
WORST OF THORNS
10. Sweet tooth: Two men, evidently hungry for a good piece of pie, entered the Kewpee on Allentown Road in April and swiped the pie display case.
9. I’m telling: A Lima teen called police, complaining that his mother took away his cellphone and started yelling at him while he was trying to play basketball.
8. Look alive: The Social Security Administration informed 54-year-old Jim Hight, of Pandora, that he was dead. The very much alive Hight was surprised to get the news.
7. Hello, officer: If running a stop sign and hitting a car isn’t bad enough, it’s a double bogey when the car being slammed into is a police cruiser. Justice Kontz, 23, of Lima, pulled that one off when he failed to stop for a stop sign at the corner of Central and High streets. Three people were injured in the crash, including officer Aaron Baker.
6. Who’s laughing now?: A Lima man arriving home from the bar thought he would sneak up on his woman friend and scare her as she was washing the dishes. He succeeded, evident by his stab wounds and trip to Lima Memorial Health System’s emergency room.
5. Whoops: During a murder trial, an Allen County court security deputy accidentally put the defendant in a holding cell with an inmate who was scheduled to testify against him. A fistfight quickly ensued.
4. The cliff: A group of five alleged adults, ages 21 to 31, decided to seek some adventure by checking out a stone quarry at 2 a.m. One of the guys ended up falling 30 feet off a cliff. Two others guys scaled down the side of the cliff to rescue their friend, but were unable to get back up.
3. The mic’s on: A group of teenagers working at a fast-food restaurant in Wapakoneta accidentally left the outdoor microphone on at the drive-through. The conversation they were having about their drug exploits is overheard by everyone waiting in line and recorded by a customer.
2. Cat cruelty: Two people in Glandorf were being sought in June after they stole a cat from a woman’s porch and cut off its tail.
1. The rant: Alicia Knuckles, 28, began throwing trays at staff members of Wendy’s on Harding Highway after she was refused a refund from a purchase she made days earlier. At one point Knuckles and shift manager Laura Adkins spit on each other. The incident was captured on video and posted on YouTube.
PARTING SHOT: Have a Happy New Year.
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