.st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By David Gambino, cleveland.com A North Ridgeville school teacher accused last year of stalking a man says the victim lied to police (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media CLEVELAND, Ohio - A North Ridgeville school teacher accused last year of stalking a man has denied the allegations A Cuyahoga County Common Pleas judge set her bond at $5,000 and ordered her to enroll in a court-supervised release program previously set to begin next week before Judge David Matia Freeman’s former boyfriend told Westlake officers that she stole two backpacks containing laptops medications and his wallet in early November The former boyfriend also told police that Freeman had gone to his job and his home unannounced exchanged evidence with prosecutors last month in an 85-page filing The document includes numerous screenshots of text messages between Freeman and the victim from between April and November of last year Freeman said in the filing that she is not guilty of the charges because she was in an ongoing intimate relationship with the victim at the time which involved sharing access to each other’s bank accounts Freeman said she and the victim had planned to spend the night together Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer reached out to Kinlin for comment Freeman’s accuser and then-fiancé moved out of their shared residence in May Freeman said they decided to continue working on their relationship She said the victim invited her to follow him to his new apartment on Nov the victim sent her a text message threatening to call the police The filing says Freeman was confused by the message so she drove to his apartment to have a conversation “I did hit his window because he would not have a conversation,” says Freeman’s account of the incident parked my car in the parking lot next to his apartment and walked back to his car “I took his bookbags and walked back to my car Taking the bookbags was not (for) monetary value It was so that he had to have a final conversation with me to explain what was happening because he told me that we were in a relationship.” Freeman alleges that she was attempting to return the victim’s laptop the next day in the parking lot of Lee Burneson Middle School when Westlake police arrested her Matia granted Freeman’s request to end her court-supervised release Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Brandon Piteo opposed the move and said in a filing that court supervision has ensured that Freeman is abiding by her bond conditions The case is set for a pretrial conference next Thursday Freeman is listed in the North Ridgeville School District directory as a fourth-grade teacher at Ranger High-Tech Academy She has been placed on administrative leave Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer reached out to the school for comment Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices A 200-year-old tavern in North Ridgeville is uncovering the mysteries hidden beneath the surface ahead of its grand opening Taverns are often places filled with tall tales and colorful characters 200 years of stories are etched into the walls “It may sound trivial or really like nothing but when you're alone and you're just looking at stuff like that you're talking to these people,” said Tom Kelly News 5 first introduced you to Kelly about a year and a half ago as he was trying to solve one mystery hidden in his North Ridgeville tavern RELATED: Possible century-old Native American painting found inside wall of North Ridgeville tavern “I was just swinging that sludge hammer swinging Who painted it and what it represented were unknown that artwork is protected by plexiglass and framed with a history of its discovery The painting is a replica of a famous piece called Chant to the War Bonnet possibly a nod to Ohio’s Native American roots “These are the original Indians that were on the painting and the names were on there,” said Bill Noll with the North Ridgeville Historical Society Noll believes the mural was created in the late 1930s or early 1940s “If you look at when plastering was done in the 30s,” Noll continued “If that was about the time they put the plastering on the walls and stuff It’s possible the mural was painted by a Native American traveler passing through Tom believes there’s a sealed-off tunnel that was once part of the Underground Railroad “This was the last stop before they hit Lake Erie and crossed to Canada the tavern tells a story that spans generations Though he never expected to be in the middle of history Tom is now ready to add his own chapter to the story “[If] anybody from anywhere in northeast Ohio wants to stop in If you're interested in experiencing a piece of history the tavern will have its grand opening this weekend Between The Bun restaurant in North Ridgeville held a fundraiser to help pay down school lunch debt in the North Ridgeville City School District Co-owners John and Lacia Rutherford said the event Lacia said this week the business will hand over a check for $2,000 to the school district “We are sincerely grateful for the incredible generosity of the businesses, the community and the customers of Between the bun. You are all beacons of hope and inspiration,” the business said on its Facebook page “We feel blessed to live and have a business in a City that embodies the spirit of compassion and kindness!” I interviewed Lacia Rutherford and school cafeteria cashiers when the restaurant donated more than $1,800 RELATED: North Ridgeville restaurant eliminates school lunch debt with help from community Lacia said that as a parent of school-aged children she could relate to families' struggles and wanted to turn the restaurant’s first anniversary into an opportunity to help the community The North Ridgeville City School District said the city's fire police and public works departments recently held a city-wide basketball tournament and raised $1,300 to contribute toward student lunch debt The district said its current outstanding lunch debt is $959.32 and the donations will also create credit to apply toward future needs We have the address for the funeral home & the family on file If you're not happy with your card we'll send a replacement or refund your money Mytnick created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories © 2025 Bogner Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services Made with love by funeralOne Ohio — Madelyn Krese and her driving teacher hit the road Friday with a mission – to check out an unusual new roundabout in Lorain County The peanut-shaped project is the first of its kind in Northeast Ohio It opened Friday morning after several months of construction The roundabout cost roughly $1.5 million to build It’s meant to boost visibility and safety on Stoney Ridge a two-lane road that runs past subdivisions North Ridgeville's mayor told News 5 that the stretch of the street was prone to accidents and near-misses RELATED: Unique peanut roundabout to open soon in Lorain County Krese said the new configuration feels much safer Though drivers move more slowly – the speed limit in the roundabout is 15 miles per hour – traffic flows more smoothly trucks and SUVs passed through around lunchtime on Friday Some drivers barely paused at the yield signs before easing into the curves while others came to a complete halt and surveyed the scene but it's actually a yield sign,” observed Don Glauner an instructor who has watched plenty of drivers navigate roundabouts for the first time He sat in the passenger seat as Krese handled the wheel “She did very well!” he said after the pair pulled over for a brief interview Drivers aren’t sitting at intersections and wasting gas while waiting for a break in traffic the rounded shape and slower speed make collisions less dangerous “You don’t have to worry about getting t-boned by somebody at 35 The city is asking drivers to remember a few basic rules: Chandra Gilson saw an announcement on the city’s Facebook page that the roundabout was open She lives nearby and is thrilled by the transformation – and the end of the construction detours.“It’s awesome,” said Gilson who was on her way to drop off belated Christmas gifts She described the previous road design as “a nightmare,” one that led to backups on Mills and risky left turns City officials started talking about solutions a few years ago An outside engineering firm drew up two sets of plans: A more traditional intersection with a traffic signal the roundabout proposal was safer and less expensive Mayor Kevin Corcoran told News 5 earlier this month Construction started in September after some delays related to a gas main and other utility lines in the area RELATED: Construction begins on unique peanut roundabout in Lorain County “We’re pretty excited about it,” Corcoran said Some of that won’t happen until the spring Krese and Glauner passed through twice on Friday “I’m gonna be driving around here a lot more her instructor offered a bit of advice for other drivers Patricia A. Kinley (nee Myers), age 85, of North Ridgeville, passed away on Tuesday, March 18, 2025 at her daughter’s home in North Ridgeville. She was born on March 1, 1940 in Johnstown, Pa and has been a resident of North Ridgeville... View Obituary & Service Information Kinley created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories Edward S. Biro, age 58, of Sheffield Lake, passed away on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, at Metro Health Medical Center in Cleveland. Born in Cleveland and raised in North Ridgeville, Ed moved to Sheffield Lake 20 years ago, where he made his... View Obituary & Service Information Biro created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories Send flowers to Edward's Celebration of Life North Ridgeville is accused of unlawfully prosecuting a man who left an angry voicemail with the city's water department .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Adam Ferrise, cleveland.comCLEVELAND Ohio — A North Ridgeville man has sued the city over his overturned conviction for a profanity-laced message he left for a water department employee who repeatedly hung up on him after his water was shut off Matthew Golga was arrested, convicted and spent three days in jail for misdemeanor telephone harassment before an Ohio appeals court tossed out the conviction The appeals court found Golga never intended to harm anyone said it’s “unimaginable” that someone can be convicted and jailed for making an angry phone call “It really makes you wonder what the First Amendment is supposed to mean if that can happen in this country,” Pattakos said filed Friday in federal court in Cleveland Public Utilities Director Tara Peet and Police Chief Michael Freeman as defendants It accuses them of retaliatory and malicious prosecution North Ridgeville Law Director Brian Moriarty said he hadn’t yet seen the complaint and declined comment The lawsuit says the water department on Feb shut off Golga’s water over $185 unpaid bill Golga hadn’t received notice that his water would be shut off an employee repeatedly told him the only way to get it restored was to pay the full amount but he could pay the bill in three days when he got his paycheck it was particularly important for people to wash their hands to stop the spread of the coronavirus only for the same employee to hang up on him When the employee let one call go to voicemail If you’re f---ing trying to kill me by turning my f---ing water off And if you’d like me to come down to the f---ing thing who was new in her role as the director of public utilities She also denied him the ability to pay the bill in a few days Golga talked with city Safety Service Director Jeff Armbruster who allowed Golga to pay $31 and promise to pay the rest after he got his paycheck in exchange for turning his water on Golga later that day sent an email to a City Council member that criticized Peet and her department who asked the police chief to prosecute Golga for the message he left and the harsh words he used during some of the calls but the 9th Ohio Court of Appeals reversed the conviction in a split decision Pattakos said he was “disappointed” that North Ridgeville officials refused to settle out of court “If they would have made a settlement offer that would have reasonably compensated Mr Golga for throwing him in jail for three days for exercising his First Amendment rights Adam Ferrise covers federal courts at cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. You can find his work here The Lorain County Prosecutor's Office announced Thursday that two North Ridgeville police officers did not use unreasonable force when a man was fatally shot during a confrontation on May 8 the North Ridgeville Police Department was notified by the White County Sheriff's Office in Tennessee about a man named Jason Norris who killed his girlfriend and may be in the Northeast Ohio area in a stolen vehicle North Ridgeville PD used a Flock camera to determine that Norris was spotted in the area an officer went to a home in the 4800 block of James Road that he was familiar with which had "ties to the state of Tennessee," Tomlinson said Another officer then went to the intersection of James Road and Paula Boulevard Officers ordered both individuals not to move but Norris ignored and went down the driveway Tomlinson said the officers identified themselves as police and continued to order the man not to move He then turned towards one of the officers and fired a single shot the officers fired their service rifles at the man Tomlinson wrote that "Norris was attempting to kill these officers and he was clearly a danger to all of the North Ridgeville police officers stationed at the scene." "The issue of whether Norris was actively resisting arrest at the time he was killed is clear and this brief standoff ended with Norris' life." who told us she had no idea anything was wrong when Norris showed up unexpectedly at her home RELATED: Man killed by North Ridgeville police was on the run after allegedly killing his girlfriend, says police chief I looked out the window and he was laying in the driveway," the grandmother said She said a family member helped her piece together what happened and he told me Jason had shot his girlfriend and that was her car he came up here in," said the grandmother Lewis Ray Matthews, age 84, of North Ridgeville, passed away at his home on Tuesday, January 21, 2025. He was born in Denbo, Pennsylvania and had been a resident of North Ridgeville for 54 years. Lewis served in the US Army during the Vietnam... View Obituary & Service Information The family of Lewis Ray Matthews created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of William Werner of North Ridgeville, OH. He passed away peacefully on January 16, 2025 with family by his side. He was 95. Don was born on January 18, 1929 in Bellevue, PA to Margaret Kenny... View Obituary & Service Information "Don" Werner created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories It is with great sadness that we announce the passi.. Share on FacebookShare on X (formerly Twitter)Share on PinterestShare on LinkedInCLEVELAND Ohio (WOIO) - Three people are facing animal-related criminal charges following a traffic stop for “dangerously slow” driving in Lorain County 51-year-old Kevin Baker of Cleveland was driving 38 mph in a posted 65 mph zone Monday night on SR 10 near SR 83 When officers pulled Baker over they found 11 cats confined in a small pet carrier inside the vehicle Both Baker and 40-year-old Sylvia Higgs of Cleveland Baker also faces felony charges for weapons while under disability and receiving stolen property Police said Dixon abandoned two pit bulls in the lobby of the North Ridgeville Police Department Donald “Don” A. Edgar, age 72, of North Ridgeville, passed away on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at University Hospital Elyria Medical Center. Don was born in Elyria and graduated from Elyria High School in 1972. He had been a resident... View Obituary & Service Information Edgar created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories