Three men rob Nite Life Tavern

Three men robbed the Nite Life Tavern at 195 Milan Ave. early this morning (May 9, 1975) taking a considerable amount of money from a cash bag and the cash register. They also took the bartender's watch and a customer's billfold and watch. The robbery occurred at 2:45 a.m. just after the bar closed. "I have no idea how the three black males got into the building through the back door," bar manager Ruth Dillingham said. "I was certain that door was locked as I locked it myself. They came in and announced, "This is a stick-up." Two of the men had hand handguns and one of them used one of them to bash Dillingham when he had trouble removing the watch from her wrist and he believed she may have seen his face even though he was masked. She still had a headache this morning. The bandits ordered Dillingham to lay on the floor, face-down behind the bar. The patron, Richard Reer, was ordered to do the same next to the pinball machine. After the three made a search for the money, they ordered the two into the men's restroom. They shoved a cigarette machine in front of the door to hinder their exit. "It happened so fast that when the police asked, I couldn't even give them a decent description as to what they were wearing. I was so shook with the gun in my face and all that, I haven't even added the amount I figure was taken," Dillingham said. All Dillingham knew was that one of the guns was short-barreled and the other a longer-barreled gun. "It's the first time I have went through something like this," she stated. "And I hope it's the last." Lion bites girl A 13-year-old Toledo girl was said to have been bitten by a supposedly tame lion at a Bellevue residence. Although the owner of 2 1/2-year-old cat claims the girl was just scratched by the animal, others say the scratch looked more like a bite. Either way, Rachel Stark was treated and released from Fisher-Titus according to a sheriff's report. The owner of the lion, Lee Daugherty, Ohio 20 East, claimed the girl and her parents trespassed on his property and went to the lion's cage at the rear of his home. It was his belief that the scratch came when the mother of the victim saw the girl petting the lion and she quickly grabbed the girl, pulling her arm back through the cage door, causing the deep scratch. This is the second lion report out of the Bellevue area. Three months ago, worried residents in the area of Lyme School, issued a complaint that another property owner, David Chuvante, was keeping a lion in a cage on his property. The two animals are not one and the same. Gfell wins. So does Western Reserve St. Paul's senior middle-distance runner Mike Gfell won his two specialties , the mile and the half-mile, Joe Gross won the 400 and Mike Watkins took the shot, but that was not near enough as the Flyers lost to Western Reserve in a dual track meet, 83-44. Gfell ran his fastest mile of the year (4:43.5) and then went half that distance in winning the half in 2:14.1. Gross stayed in front of teammate Tim Ruffing in the 440, winning 56.8, also his fastest time of the season. Watkins won the shot with a toss of 42-7. Western's Steve Ross doubled up in the hurdle events with St. Paul's Brian Pusateri right behind him on both occasions. Lynn Olcott also had a double, the 100 yard dash and the discus while Steve McGuckin won the 220. Gale Dauch took the 2-mile. Olcott, Jerry Morrow, Bill Schnell and John Pickett won the short relay — just a shade off the school record — while Ross, Dauch, Terry Wright and Pickett combined to win the four-lap event. Morrow topped McGuckin by one-quarter inch in the long jump with a solid 18-8 1/4 leap while Dave Emery won the vault and Pickett and Cory Stoner tied at 5-4 in the high jump. Smith has best time Monroeville's Ron Smith takes the fastest time (51.8) into Saturday's 440 yard dash at the Wynford Class A Sectional track meet. Others in the area with highly competitive times include New London's Bryan Granneman in the high hurdles (15.3), Mike White, Monroeville, 100, 10.3, Herb Gregory, New London, mile, 4:35.4, Granneman, low hurdles, 21.0, Kyle Heyman, Monroeville, 880, 2:07.5 and Gregory 2:07.1, White, 220, 23.3, shot put, Mark Clark, South Central, 45-1 ½, discus, Lynn Olcott, Western Reserve, 137-0, long jump, White, 20-10, Joe Sprowl, Monroeville, 20-4, high jump, Granneman, 6-2, Paul Roeder, Monroeville, 6-1. Smith would do his part on Saturday in winning the 400 in the time of 52.5 but it was White who stole the show at the meet as he set meet records in both the 100 (10.3) and 220 (22.8), the latter also a Monroeville school record. He placed sixth in the long jump (18-9) and anchored the short relay team which also got a ticket out (1:36.8). Also on that team were Ron Webb, Andy Bores and Tom Smith. Roeder would finish fifth in the high jump to advance while Heyman also advanced after a sixth place finish in the mile. The best finish, a record-breaking performance, from the other area entries, came from Granneman in the high hurdles (15.3). Meanwhile, four AA athletes advanced to the District Meet at Bowling Green. Willard's Roger Winemiller will advance in three events, finishing second in all three, the high jump where he set a school record 6-2 1/4, and both the 100 and 220. Also advancing for Willard is Brian Bevier after a third place finish in the 880 (2:02.5). Edison advanced two, John Bostater in the shot. A fifth-place finisher last year in the state, Bostater threw 52-4 3/4 Saturday. He was fifth, just missing in the discus. Jeff Spradlin was the second Charger to advance, getting out with a fourth place finish in the 100. B&O decision would hurt The decision by the B&O Railroad to close 24 miles of track in Huron and Eric counties would certainly hurt several area grain elevators located near the track. The railroad has requested permission from the Interstate Commerce Commission to abandon track between Willard and Wilmer near Sandusky. That line passes through stations in Centerton, Havanna, Monroeville, Kimball and Prout Junction. Although the proposed shutdown has the blessing of the United State Railway Association, it will do certain financial damage to Monroeville Cooperative Grain, Seaman McClean, Central Erie Supply, and Havana and Omar Grain and Supply, all of them asking for a hearing on the matter. Frank Konst, the manager of Monroeville Co-Op, said it will not shut the elevator down but admits not being able to ship as much as 20 percent of his grain by rail car would certainly hurt profits. Seaman-McLean transports most of its grain on the Norfolk & Western but the Monroeville firm uses a quarter-mile leg of the B&O to get to the N&W line. Don Boehler, the sales manager of the S & M says the company is considering buying that quarter-mile of track to keep the elevator operating smoothly. Sommers heads humane society The new Huron County Human Society president is David Sommers. He succeeds Kenneth Conway, who has served the society for eight years. Conway has taken a place on the board of trustees. Other officers elected at the annual meeting were Dr. James Ryder, vice-president; Mrs. Roger Waite, corresponding secretary, Miss Ruth Gfell, recording secretary; and Mrs. Gerald Kitchens, treasurer. Elected trustees were Dr. Larry Gfell, Mrs. Lawrence Toole, Raymond Sizemore and Miss Martha Brown. Viet family arrives A Viet family arrived in Norwalk Sunday with an incredible story to tell. The mother and four children of Alan Myers' wife were among the last to leave the country before its fall. They made it out all because of Norwalk native Alan Myers, a Marine who worked in Vietnam at an Army and Air Force Exchange, and two other former Marines. Myers, along with an obscure ex-Army captain, James Collins, spent three weeks in South Vietnam rescuing by boat more than 100 South Vietnamese. Myers, who lives at 26 Stoutenburg Dr., in Norwalk, kept the evacuation plot a secret until Sunday when he received word that Collins was also safe, in his case, on the island of Guam. Another former Marine, Bruce Cleveland, a native of Washington, DC, was also involved in the flight of the two families. It was his fiancé that he was attempting to air-lift out of Saigon. Although much of the plan was top secret, families involved could only hope that plans would work out. And they did, perfectly. Don Hohler is a longtime reporter and correspondent for the Norwalk Reflector.