A look back at some of The News-Herald's top stories in 2022

Dec. 30—Fatal fires and convictions in murder trials throughout Northeast Ohio were among the subjects of stories that captured the attention of News-Herald readers in 2022.

Here is a month-by-month recap of some of this year's top local stories:

January

—A Benedictine High School football player was indicted by a Cuyahoga County grand jury on multiple charges stemming from the Dec. 11 shooting death of a 13-year-old boy outside a Euclid home.

Duane Jackson, 18, of Cleveland, was indicted on charges of aggravated murder and two counts of murder, all of which are unclassified felonies. He was also indicted on a variety of other felony charges.

Maurco Toler was shot and killed on the front lawn of a residence in the 25700 block of Zeman Avenue in Euclid around 2:40 p.m., Dec. 11. Euclid police stated that the gunfire came from a passing vehicle.

Euclid detectives worked with multiple agencies to identify Jackson, a Benedictine High School football player, as one of the suspects involved in the shooting. The U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force arrested Jackson in Cleveland Jan. 12.

In May, a second suspect, 18-year-old Leroy Billips, was arrested and charged with similar crimes in connection with Maurco's death.

Billips and Jackson both are scheduled to stand trial early next year in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court for their alleged roles in the fatal shooting.

February

—University Hospitals Lake Health President Cynthia Moore-Hardy announced on Feb. 17 that she would be retiring from her position effective March 31.

As president and CEO of Lake Health for 25 years, prior to the unification with UH, Moore-Hardy was instrumental in helping to grow and transform Lake Health into a fully integrated health care system, complete with 11 facilities, including three acute care hospitals.

Throughout her tenure, Moore-Hardy oversaw major capital investments, including the opening of TriPoint Medical Center and Lake Continuing Care Center.

March

—Laketran was awarded $14.6 million to pay for the majority of a project that will upgrade its bus garage and add to its operations and maintenance facility.

The countywide transit agency received that funding in the form of a Buses and Bus Facilities Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration.

Laketran CEO Ben Capelle said when federal funds become available, shovel-ready projects are often the most competitive.

"We've been planning these upgrades since ridership spiked prior to the pandemic and that demand continues to grow, and we anticipate it to grow even more with gas prices rising and our population aging," he added.

April

—A Geauga County Common Pleas Court jury on April 4 convicted a woman of murder in the death of a newborn child authorities said was dumped in the woods in Ohio almost three decades ago.

Jurors deliberated for a few hours before reaching a verdict in the case of Gail Eastwood Ritchey, 51, of Euclid.

She was acquitted of aggravated murder.

Newspaper carriers found the body of the newborn on Sidley Road in Thompson Township in March 1993, about a month after the child was born.

Community members paid for a funeral, burial and a headstone marked "Geauga's Child."

On May 24, Judge David Ondrey sentenced Ritchey to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 15 years.

May

—The cargo ship MV American Courage ran aground in Lake Erie near the breakwater at Fairport Harbor Lakefront Park.

MV American Courage was carrying limestone when it got stuck around 9 a.m. May 22. Coast Guard Station Fairport investigated the soft grounding and found no signs of injury to the crew, damage to the ship or pollution in the lake.

Another freighter arrived and helped in a lightering operation, unloading the American Courage's cargo of limestone to make refloating the freighter easier. Three small tugboats also arrived to help.

The freighter was refloated around 3:30 or 4 a.m. May 24 and was able to move into Fairport Harbor under its own power.

June

—Craig Heath was appointed as the new superintendent of Mentor Schools on June 14.

He replaced Bill Porter, who resigned from the position to become principal at Sterling Morton Elementary School in Mentor.

Heath, who was 51 years old at the time of his appointment, came to Mentor Schools from Delaware City School District in Ohio, where he served as assistant superintendent. He officially took over as Mentor Schools superintendent on Aug. 1.

July

—Painesville Police Department, with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force, arrested 20-year-old Demarco A. Jones of Willowick for the 2019 killing of Timothy E. Meola.

Meola, a 65-year-old male Painesville resident, was found dead inside his Mentor Avenue residence on Sept. 7, 2019. Police had been called to the home for a welfare check when they found the deceased Meola. His vehicle had also been stolen.

The alleged murder took place while the defendant was 17 and the case was originally heard in the Lake County Juvenile Court. But it was bound over to the general division of Common Pleas Court at a hearing on Aug. 30.

Jones' trial on aggravated murder, murder and and other charges in connection with Meola's death is scheduled for February in Lake County Common Pleas Court.

—A 42-year-old Willoughby homicide "cold case" investigation was been solved, according to the city's police department, which held a news conference July 13 to reveal the perpetrator of the crime.

Chief James Schultz said authorities have identified former Eastlake resident Stephen Joseph Simcak as the killer of Nadine Madger, who was discovered in her residence on Grove Avenue, where she lived with her husband, Mark, and infant son, Dan.

The 25-year-old Madger was stabbed over 40 times on Jan. 11, 1980.

A portion of Morley Road in Concord Township caught fire in July, closing the road for several days.

Concord Township Fire Chief Matt Sabo noted that when the department first measured the road's temperature, it registered more than 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat affected areas of the road well beyond the fire, and portions of the road turned to liquid.

August

—A white substance that was discovered in the Grand River turned out to be a nontoxic vegetable-oil product accidentally released by a Painesville Township company, fire officials said.

At about 6:30 p.m., Aug. 13, the Painesville Township and Fairport Harbor fire departments were informed about a white material in the river.

The source of the vegetable-oil product was Erie International Group. Located at 679 Hardy Road in Painesville Township, EIG is a manufacturer in the oleo-chemical sector that produces industrial- and feed-grade products.

The Lake County Hazardous Intervention Team responded and a containment boom from Lubrizol Corp. was placed on the river at Lake Metroparks Grand River Landing in Fairport Harbor Village.

"Once the product reaches the boom, it will be vacuumed off," according to a joint news release issued on Aug. 14 by the Fairport Harbor and Painesville Township fire departments.

September

—Two people died in an early-morning fire Sept. 8 at a residence on Taylor Wells Road in Hambden Township.

Hambden Fire Chief Scott Hildenbrand confirmed 9-year-old Chloe Sharp and her 38-year-old mother, Katrina Heiden, were killed. Two males, including a 7-year-old boy, transported themselves to University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center. The man was admitted for his injuries while the boy was treated and released.

Hambden Fire Department responded to the report of the fire at 2:24 a.m., Sept. 8.

October

—A Lake County Common Pleas Court jury found Julian Lawrence, 26, guilty of the November 2021 murder of Ollie Timall Gipson Jr.

Judge Eugene Lucci presided over the case in which the jury on Oct. 13 found Lawrence guilty on the charges of aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, two counts of kidnapping and marijuana trafficking, according to a news release from the City of Painesville. Gipson was 22 at the time of his death and a father of two.

On Oct. 26, Lucci sentenced Lawrence to life in prison with the possibly of parole after 44 years.

November

—Richard J. Regovich became the 81st commissioner for Lake County as he was sworn in Nov. 29 by Lake County Common Pleas Court Judge John P. O'Donnell.

Securing the designation as the Republican nominee by defeating Morris Beverage III in the May 3 primary, Regovich won the seat — an unexpired term ending Jan. 1, 2025 — in the Nov. 8 General Election by defeating Democratic challenger Maureen Kelly.

Regovich previously served as Willowick Ward 1 councilman, a position to which he was appointed, and, most recently, as the city's mayor for six years.

—Cleveland firefighter Johnny Tetrick, who lived in Kirtland, was killed Nov. 19 in the line of duty while responding to a crash on Interstate 90.

At approximately 8:15 p.m., Cleveland Firefighters Engine 22 responded to I-90 eastbound at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard Drive for a motor vehicle crash involving a flipped vehicle, according to a Cleveland Fire Department Facebook posted. During the response, Tetrick was struck by a vehicle. The driver of the vehicle fled the scene, according to the post.

Tetrick, 51, who had worked as a Cleveland firefighter for 27 years, was transported to University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

A Cleveland man, 40-year-old Leander Bissell, later was arrested and charged with hitting and killing Tetrick.

December

A Mentor woman died in a fire that broke out in a mobile home during the early morning of Dec. 18.

Julie A. Insley, 63, was pronounced dead at the scene of the blaze, a Mentor Fire Department news release stated.

Mentor firefighters were dispatched at about 2 a.m. Dec. 18 for a report of heavy black smoke in a mobile home at 7166 Mentor Ave., Lot 24. The incident was called in by a neighbor at the Mentor Green Mobile Estates.

Mentor Fire Department ruled that the fire was caused by smoking in bed.