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Words on Wheels: Honoring the Wellers

As the family, friends, community and the racing world mourn the loss of the Weller family I reflect on what I’ve known of this great family. Jim Weller II was a prominent businessman and steel tycoon. Always with a smile and handshake. I once worked for him at the Warren plant, where once a week when in town, he would walk the plant stopping to shake hands and talk with the workers. This says a lot about the character of the man. I have worked for others who felt they were above the common workers and seldom, if ever, talked to them, but not Jim. He could connect with one and all. ...

Jimmy got what he wanted in Brook Park

The Cleveland Browns have always had a home in downtown Cleveland, but with Thursday’s news, the franchise will move outside the center of the city for the first time in the team’s history. The Ohio budget bookmarked $600 million in for the construction of a new stadium in Brook Park, a short drive out of downtown Cleveland near the airport. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine proposed a plan to double the sports betting tax to help fund sports facility upgrades throughout the state, but the Legislature elected to use some of Ohio’s unclaimed funds instead. On Friday, 92.3 The ...

A healthy Ohio River provides fascinating fishing

For many anglers, fishing is one part relaxation, one part casting and catching and one part adventure. Our pursuit of adventure pulls us to the water, motivates us to motor up around the next bend, and inspires us to try new and interesting tactics and techniques. One of my favorite ways to satisfy my yearning for adventure is to hook up the Bass Cat and drive down Route 11 to the Ohio River. I love the river. I have been there more times than I can count, starting in the early 1980s when racquetball friend Carmen Chicone and I drove to the New Cumberland Lock and Dam to fish ...

Bass and baritones: When music and fishing collide

For as long as I am able to go fishing, the charming song recited by a long-time fishing buddy will be rattling between my ears every time I am rigged up with a topwater frog for largemouth bass. Twenty years ago, Steve Zarbaugh cranked up his vocal chords to set the mood when he and I chased the topwater bite as it heated up at Mosquito Lake. His zany sense of humor was the perfect spice for our fishing trips. “Froggy went a courtin’, he did ride, sword and pistol by his side, uh huh,” he sang as we twitched and tumbled hollow-body frogs over the edges and through the holes ...

A different Father’s Day

My dad and I used to joke with one another, typically on an NFL sunday shortly after another Browns loss, that hopefully, one day, we would get to see our favorite team win a Super Bowl before we died. I used to smirk at the idea. “I’m so young. How could they not win before I die?” I would think to myself. I’m sure dad thought the same thing when he was my age. On Jan. 23, dad passed away after a brief battle with leukemia, aged 65, never lucky enough to see the Browns get their heads out of their butts long enough to make it to the Super Bowl, let alone win the big ...

House Bill 96 could impact water quality

Politics and fishing are a lot alike. You can ignite an argument without even trying. Politics, water quality and even fishing are heading to a showdown later this month, and it seems as though the folks in Ohio’s statehouse may succeed in siphoning major bucks from the people and programs that help maintain and even improve our state’s fisheries. In simple terms, Ohio House Bill 96 is the biennial budget bill, approved recently by the Senate and back in the House for conference committee negotiations before going to Governor Mike DeWine for signing. It is expected that DeWine ...