Village News

To the Residents of the Village of Lagrange:

I would like everyone to know that we are still holding at the three previously reported cases of Covid 19. This is great news for Lagrange. The county has a few cases added but it seems we are holding or on the downward slope. We are starting to get back to some sense of normalcy. As I reported last week, we have brought back all the Village employees and Monday we opened up the Village Hall to the public and it is going fine. We have hand sanitizer in and outside the doors and we have masks still available for people that need them, thanks to Mrs. Ulupinar, once again.

I hope all of you have seen the parade route posted on the Village web site, this route was put together by myself and Superintendent, Dan White. Our goal was to pass as many houses as possible to make it easy for people to cheer on the seniors and stay at home as much as possible. I know some of you will have to drive into the Village to see the parade and if so, you can pull into the community park to watch, go to the square or maybe even stop at a friend’s house. Our goal is to keep social distancing as much as possible so that we follow the guidelines given to us. This is a great way to let these seniors know that we appreciate all their hard work and wish them luck on their next journey. The parade will end at the new school and they will leave from there.

We are having a council meeting tomorrow, Wednesday, May 13 at 7:30 to pay bills and pass some simple legislation. We will be in and out and do only what we have to do. It is an open meeting but I would discourage everyone from coming for your safety and ours. We have scheduled a planning commission meeting on Thursday May 21 to have a hearing on the proposed apartments on U.S. Grant Street. This meeting is not yet set in stone but if it goes as planned, we will have it on Facebook Live for those who are interested. We are still not allowed to have open public meetings with more than 10 so this is the next best thing. We will keep you posted.

I would like to remind everyone once again that Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Grafton will be giving out food to people in need this Saturday from 10:00 AM till 12:00 noon. This is open to Village and Township residents of Lagrange and you should enter off of Route 57 into the parking lot.

I would like to end this update on a good note with a huge shout out to Jason Raber owner of Lagrange Hardware and Rentals. Last Friday May 8, he sent one hundred sixty-five flower arrangements to Keystone Pointe for the staff and residents, which he ordered from our local florist The Enchanted Florist. I was told he said that he has been very busy in the store and he wanted to pay it forward. This is why you support your local businesses!!!  Great job Jason!! And I hope that if you go into the hardware you let him know how wonderful this gesture was, I know I will.

Hoping you’re all safe,

Mayor Kim Strauss

Village of Lagrange

440-355-5309

To the residents of the Village of Lagrange:

I am happy to report that as of today we are still holding at three cases of Covid 19 in the Village and Township combined, this is great news and the type I like to report. I was on my weekly teleconference call today with the Mayors in Lorain County and Rebecca Starks from the Cleveland Clinic along with Dave Covell from Lorain County Public Health Services and one topic of conversation was letting people know that the hospitals are all caught up and ready to serve anyone in need. We do not want people to stay away from the hospitals if they seriously need help. These hospitals are geared up and ready to treat people and to treat people safely. Some people from the EMS squads have reported people waiting too long to call for help and this is just as dangerous as the virus if not more so.

Another topic that was discussed was whether or not Hot Stove baseball will start and at this time the answer is no. I have been asked this a lot lately. The only thing I can say at this time, is that I was told more information on this subject will be out in about three weeks. I promise to keep everyone updated as much as possible on this subject and any others that come along that are relevant in regards to our community.

As we enter this first phase in restarting the economy the Village will slowly move forward along with it. I will be calling back the bulk of our employees on May fourth to try and get back to business as usual, within reason. We will still be practicing social distancing through the work day as everyone else will be, but we also need to get back to taking care of the Village. As far as the Village offices go, we will phase this opening in a little slower as we get the building safe for the public. We will be adding hand sanitizers at the inside and outside of the main doors for people to use along with the police department so that people can come in and feel safe. We are periodically spraying the inside and the outside of the building with a solution that kills the virus and this will continue for some time. I will let you know when the building opens.

I would like to remind everyone that Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Grafton will be giving out food once again to people in need. This will be May 2 from 10:00 AM till 12:00 noon. This is open to Village and Township residents of Lagrange and you should enter off of Route 57 into the parking lot.

I would like to thank the Penfield Quilters for making masks for the police department and I would like to thank Hellen Collins and once again Mrs. Ulupinar for donating masks to be given away at the Village Offices. If you need a mask please call Mary Kay Gates at 355-5555 ext. 1 or myself at 355-5309. We will make arrangements to get you a mask.I would like to give a special shout out to Korin Adkins. This young lady has taken donations and purchased food to give to families in need with in our community. She helped a young woman with four children whose husband is in the military. This is what small towns are all about, thank you for all you have done. If someone needs help of any kind please call the Village Hall or myself and we will do our best to help.

Stay safe,

Mayor Kim Strauss
440-355-5309

To the residents of the Village of Lagrange

I am very happy to report that at this time we are still holding at one case in the Village and two in the Township and overall, our numbers county wide are starting to flatten. This is good news for us all and I want to thank you for practicing social distancing and respecting the stay at home policy, these two things are what have kept these numbers as low as they are. We must continue to keep up the good work and things will start to loosen up so that we can at least enjoy the summer although it will be the new normal that we will have to get used to as soon as we know what that is.

The one item of bad news that I have is that we have cancelled safety town for this year. With the decision to keep schools closed for the rest of this school year, I believe we must follow suit and wait till next school year and hope things are back to normal so that we can bring back safety town. To let everyone know, if you had sent in a check for registration these will be sent back.

I am in discussions now with the Village Administrator Mary Kay Gates and President of Council Gary Kincannon to figure out the best time to bring back all Village employees and when to reopen the Village Hall to the public. We will keep you up to date on these items as they are decided.

Now the part I like the most. I want to give a huge shout out to Ron and Louis Farkas from Farkas farms. They have donated $7500.00 to the Village and Township, $3750.00 was donated to the Lagrange Lions club and Second Harvest to purchase food for their food bank and $3750.00 was donated to the Keystone Schools Snack Pack program operated by Youth for Youth. Thank you very much for your generosity.

Next, I would like to give a shout out again to Mr. and Mrs. Ulupinar for once again donating more masks. They are greatly appreciated. Also, two more people have stepped up to the plate. Faye Rourke and Theresa Whatmore from the Friendship gas station on St. Route 301 asked if they could help and I said of course.  I picked up approximately 50 masks from them as donations on Monday. Please if you see any of these people give them a big thank you for helping our community. And if you need a mask or two please call Mary Kay Gates at 440-355-5555 extension 1 or my cell phone at 440-355-5309.

I would like to let everyone know about a fundraiser for 2020 Toys for Tots Season. They are hosting a virtual 5 K run because of social distancing. They know with so many people out of work this could be a tough Christmas season for many. If you are interested you can go to this link to sign up today!!!!    http://lorainvirtual5k.toysfortots.org

Stay safe out there!!!

Mayor Kim Strauss

Village of Lagrange

440-355-5309

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To the Residents of the Village of Lagrange:

As I write this update, I am constantly thinking about how our lives have changed in such a short period of time. Many have compared this to 911 but the difference is after 911 people came together to give support to each other and even that has been taken away from us with social distancing. I can’t imagine how the mothers and fathers feel that have tested positive for Covid 19 and they can’t hug their children. Speaking to my daughter who is now 30 years old is just not the same as giving her a hug to let her know that everything will be okay, I miss this the most.

As of this writing we still only have one confirmed case and that is in the Township. I was told of another in the Township but I have not been able to verify this new information. I want everyone to understand that these are cases that are confirmed by test but there could be many more that have just not been tested because they have no symptoms. We need to continue to follow social distancing rules to keep contact with others at a minimum.

I was on a conference call this week with the local mayors along with Dave Covell from Lorain County Public Health and Rebecca Stark from the Cleveland Clinic. The feeling is that our number of cases has flattened some what and that is good, what is more important is that we continue to stay safe at home to keep this trend going. Even the governor, who I think has done a great job, along with Dr. Acton agree with this. I am very proud of our community and the way we have practiced social distancing. Keep up the good work!!!!

We are going to have a council meeting shortly, probably on the sixteenth, to pay bills and clean up any business to keep the Village operating. We have to follow the sunshine law and keep it open to the public but I assure you we will only do the basics and I strongly urge the public to stay away. We will post the agenda so everyone knows what we are doing. With council, myself the administrator and the fiscal officer we already have 9 people and you are not allowed to have more than ten at one time. We are working on a way to use Zoom or Facetime for the next meeting so that people could call in to listen. I will be asking council to pass a resolution declaring a state of emergency to help us apply for federal funds when they come available. With the added shifts at the police department our general fund will be decreasing and I was just notified by the State Auditor that we need to cut 20% from our budget to account for the drop in local funds that come from the state.

I would like to end this update on a positive note with a huge shout out to Kasandra Kobak owner of Believe Dream Dare, BDD Dance Studio located in Lagrange. This young lady has been doing a once a week virtual princess story craft and sing along, not only in Lagrange but in surrounding areas. She also dressed as Elsa from Frozen and did a “quarantine birthday yard visit” where she stood on the sidewalk for just five minutes and made a little girl’s day. Thank you for voluntarily making peoples days just a little brighter!

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter,

Mayor Kim Strauss
Village of Lagrange
440-355-5309

To the Residents of the Village of Lagrange:

We are now living in a very unique and challenging time. This virus has turned everything upside down for all of us. I hope you are all safe and above all I hope you are staying at home as much as possible. Social distancing is what we can do to help the people who are trying to keep us safe, police, fire, ems, doctors, nurses and anyone else who is on the front lines. Remember they all want to go home to their families too.

I have been on phone conferences every couple of days getting updates from health agencies, hospitals and all of the local mayors throughout the county. We have been meeting every week to compare what is being done in our municipalities. One concern we have is we already see groups of teens riding around together in vehicles. This definitely does not follow the guide lines of social distancing. I have also seen kids going to the basketball courts to play together, this cannot continue so the basketball courts and tennis courts have been closed down until further notice. If just one of these kids comes into contact with this virus, they then could take it home to parents and grandparents, siblings and their other friends. I know that this seems harsh to some but it is necessary to keep everyone safe in these trying times. Warm weather is on the way and I feel these issues will continue to pop up and we must be ready.

I was on a conference call with Rebecca Stark from the Cleveland Clinic and she informed us that her figures show that our area won’t peak until the first week of May. After that we should see the numbers start to decline and improve. We must be vigilante until then and stay inside and safe. I have also been asked daily if there are any reported cases in Lagrange and at this time I can say no, but I know that this could change tomorrow.

I would like to touch on the 2020 census. The census can now be done on line and it is very easy and quick. This census is very important to the village because when we file for state and federal funds or grants it goes by population so if everyone doesn’t report accurately, we could lose out on these funds. So please take the time to fill out your census on line.

And last but not least I would like to thank the people who have stepped up and donated N95 masks and gloves to the police department. These are much needed and very much appreciated. The police department has been very busy dealing with many calls, both good and bad, and I want them to be as safe as possible. And once more if anyone knows someone who needs help getting food or medicines please call my cell or the village hall so that we can assist.

Thanking you for your social distancing,

Mayor Kim Strauss

440-355-5309

1. This weeks Council meeting has been canceled. The next meeting will be Thursday, April 16, at 7:30 p.m. This was updated this morning.

2. There is bulk pickup tomorrow (the last until further notice), however, Republic has canceled yard waste pickup until further notice.

3. There will be chipping of tree branches on April 9th and 23rd. Then the second on fourth Thursdays the rest of the summer.

4. Please fill out your Census form. It only takes a few minutes at www.my2020census.gov. The census determines how federal money is divided between states, counties and smaller government entities.

To the residents of the Village of Lagrange:

Life as we know it has changed, hopefully for a short period of time. People and businesses are adjusting as well as can be expected. I hope all of you are practicing the safe distance guidelines to keep yourselves and your families safe. We are making adjustments as well, to keep our employees safe and able to do their jobs.

We will be having a council meeting soon to take care of only basic necessities like paying bills and payroll. This meeting will not be opened to the public for obvious reasons. The Public Health chairman for Lorain County has made this very clear and I agree. We will be as far apart as possible during this meeting and we will leave immediately to keep contact with each other at a minimum. We are practicing the safe distance guidelines as well.

Charlotte Wray from Mercy Health has informed me that Dr. Gomez on Opportunity Way will be conducting virtual appointments for those that are afraid to go out but might have a problem they would like to discuss with the doctor. This is a great thing for Lagrange residents to have available, the phone number there is 440-222-4160.

We had our first resident in need. We were contacted by the resident’s daughter because she was afraid, he was running out of food and other necessities. Village employees were able to get him what he needed along with help from the Lagrange Lions Club food pantry. He is now set up with Second Harvest Food Bank to help him through these trying times. Again, if you know of someone in need in the Village let us know and we will do our best to help. On that same note the Lions food supply is getting low, if you are at the IGA and can afford to donate it would be much appreciated by everyone involved.

And last but not least, I would like to take this time to give a huge shout out to all of our safety service forces and medical personnel, doctors, nurses, fireman, policeman and the military for all that they do to keep us safe while putting their own lives in danger. Remember they all have families they want to go home to.

Hope you are staying safe,
Mayor Kim Strauss
Village of Lagrange
440-355-5309