Good Samaritans rush in to help neighbors during snowstorm

Maybe it takes a terrible storm or some other calamity to bring out the best in Erie people, but they always seem to rise to the challenge.

Like the driveways of so many other local residents, ours was clogged with what seemed like four feet of snow, and two hours of shoveling made a pretty good dent. But then a snowplow went by and piled up another two feet of icy snow at the end of the driveway.

Just as we were about to surrender, a man in a truck stopped and cleared the bottom of the driveway. Refusing to take any money, he just waved and moved on. I heard many similar stories about Good Samaritans during the storm, proving once again that Erie people always come through in the clutch.

• Talk about another Erie native who makes you proud, Ian Malesiewski has been admitted to Harvard Law School. In 2016, the talented wrestler and football player from Cathedral Prep was paralyzed from the neck down during a wrestling match in Akron, Ohio. Ian underwent years of treatment, but he battled back to become a top student at the University of Miami, where he majored in neuroscience.

It’s next to impossible to get into Harvard Law, but the admittance team recognized a brilliant, determined student in Malesiewski. His mom and dad must be so proud.

• Harry Hiestand, the nationally-known offensive line coach, recently rejoined Marcus Freeman’s football staff at Notre Dame. Hiestand last coached for the Chicago Bears, and he never misses an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of his mentor, the late Joe Moore. He always credit Moore with teaching him everything he knows about coaching football.

• Speaking of football on these cold days, Jack Watts says he’ll never forget the 1980 playoff game between the Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders. “When we got up in the morning in Erie, it was minus-14 degrees,” Jack said. “At the kickoff, it was zero degree in Cleveland and the wind chill factor was a minus-37 degrees. Worse yet, the Browns lost, which meant we had a very long ride home.”

• Browns fans must be shaking their heads as they watch Odell Beckham Jr. play so well for the Los Angeles Rams. He doesn’t look like the same player who spend the first half of the season with Cleveland. Truth is, Beckham is at his best in major cities like New York and L.A. He craves the spotlight and he just couldn’t get it in Cleveland.

• The Erie Times-News editorial staff lost another former colleague when Jim Haynes died Jan. 12 at the age of 67. Jim was an interesting person who had a great depth of knowledge about so many subjects. He was a skilled copy editor and a valuable person on the news desk. Originally from Michigan, Jim was a die-hard Detroit Tigers fan who could quote statistics of every player back to Hank Greenberg. He became a fixture in North East in recent years and will be greatly missed by his family and many friends.

Obituary: Jim Haynes, 67

• Dan Dahlkemper made an interesting comment about his wife, former Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper, in an online tribute. Dan wrote: “I’m pretty sure Kathy is not done with public service. Stay tuned.”

Exit interview: Kathy Dahlkemper reflects on 8 years as Erie County executive

• Erie native Pat Kloecker, now living in California, said he recently received a new book about Kobe Bryant, “The Rise” by Mike Sielski. “The book contains photos with scenes from the Cathedral Prep-Marion state championship basketball game in which you can clearly see Keith Nies and other Prep players,” Kloecker said.

“It’s noted in the book that Prep held Kobe to the second lowest point total of his senior year.”

• You can tell the race to succeed Sen. Pat Toomey is going to cost a fortune. GOP candidate Dave McCormick is already running several TV commercials, and there’s even an ad that hits back at McCormick. And it’s only January.

• The shortages at grocery and pet stores are hitting close to home. I have a feeling our two big cats might turn mean if they don’t get their generous daily rations of Fancy Feast Grilled Tuna in Gravy, but cans are hard to come by. Even Chewy, the online service that has hundreds of brands of dog and cat food, is out of Fancy Feast Grilled Tuna.

If you find our bodies clawed beyond recognition, you’ll know that there was not a single can of Fancy Feast tuna to be found.

• I will miss our St. John Grade School classmate, Lee Ann White Lazan, who died Jan. 15 at the age of 66. Lee Ann was a wonderful person — smart as a whip and a great friend to all. She worked as a pharmacist at Hamot Medical Center for 35 years, where she was known for her knowledge and skill. Lee Ann suffered from kidney disease in recent years, but she never lost her smile or sunny disposition.

Obituary: Lee Ann (White) Lazan, 66

Kevin Cuneo can be reached at kevin.cuneo1844@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Kevin Cuneo: Good Samaritans in snowstorm, Ian Malesiewski, Jim Haynes, more