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Cleveland, OH

Northeast Ohio cities dealing with rock salt shortage during peak of winter season

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Northeast Ohio cities dealing with rock salt shortage during peak of winter season


UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio (WOIO) – Cleveland Heights and University Heights join other communities in Ohio and nationwide in working to combat winter weather amid a salt shortage.

Normally, a huge salt dome would be packed with mounds of road salt, but instead, they’re nearly empty, and local communities are forced to get creative because rock salt is in high demand but extremely short supply.

Dennis Pitts has been a plow driver for University Heights for 21 years and says they can only work with what they have.

“We do sensible salting, which is the main streets, intersections, and hills,” Pitts said.

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Early winter brings heavy snowfall

Northeast Ohio’s winter got an early start, and this year’s snowfall has been unusually heavy.

University Heights’ salt garage appears nearly empty, and even though they have their order in to Cargill Salt Group for more rock salt, they have no idea when it will be delivered.

“When this is usually full, it’s like 250 tons — but we also get our salt from Cleveland Heights. They’re limiting everybody. All of the cities and ODOT are getting their salt — just depends on how long it takes to get here,” Pitts said.

Communities borrowing salt to meet needs

In a post to social media, Cleveland Heights said while neighboring University Heights borrowed some de-icing salt from them, they also had to borrow 150 tons of salt from another city to cover their needs for the next few days.

In many cases, it’s the side streets that could suffer the most. A full-time Lyft driver says she’s not salty about it, but tells me it has made navigating the roads difficult.

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“It was actually harder for me to even maneuver and get out of people’s driveways because the roads were just so packed.

“We haven’t had that bad a winter for years in Cleveland, so that might have been a reason too,” she said.

Supply chain issues compound shortage

One road salt supplier in New York says that, along with high demand for de-icing salt, there are supply chain issues, labor issues, and mine production problems, such as flooding.

“Do you get a lot of calls about residential streets — people upset? You will. But nothing you can do,” Pitts said.

Snow plow drivers just ask one thing of their customers — don’t get frosty, “Be patient. That’s all you can do,” Pitts said.

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Cleveland, OH

Bodies of 2 young girls found in suitcases in Cleveland’s South Collinwood neighborhood

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Bodies of 2 young girls found in suitcases in Cleveland’s South Collinwood neighborhood


CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd on Tuesday confirmed the bodies of two young girls were found in suitcases on the city’s East Side Monday evening.

Cleveland police were called just after 6 p.m. to a field in the area of East 163rd and Midland Avenue for a suspected dead body.

According to police sources, a man was walking his dog in the area, for the first time in awhile due to the snow, and the dog hit on the scent.

The man immediately called 911.

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“The officers responded out and located a deceased individual that was in a shallow grave inside of a suitcase,” said Chief Todd.

When officers and homicide detectives got to the scene, Todd said they found the second body nearby.

According to the chief, both suitcases were partially buried in shallow graves. She said the victims had been there quite some time.

“It is traumatic for everyone. It is traumatic for those who live in the area to know that this was right there at their door step,” said Todd.

Authorities said one victim is believed to be 8-and-a-half to 13 years old and the other is believed to be 10-and-a-half to 14 years old.

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There is no indication at this time on their identities, according to police.

“locally we have no reports of missing children to match these identifications. We are checking statewide as well. We have assistance from our state federal and local partners,” said Todd.

Detectives are checking with state and federal partners as well.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner has taken custody of the bodies and will conduct further examination to determine the cause of death.

This crime scene is located near Ginn Academy in the city’s South Collinwood neighborhood.

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Police said the investigation remains in its very early stages and there is no indication of an ongoing threat to public safety.

If anyone has any information, they are asked to call the Cleveland Police Homicide Unit at 216-623-5464.

Tips can remain anonymous.



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Cleveland, OH

More than 30K FirstEnergy customers without power in Cuyahoga County

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More than 30K FirstEnergy customers without power in Cuyahoga County


CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Thousands of FirstEnergy customers are without power in Cuyahoga County this Tuesday.

The total number reached 31,785 reported outages in Cuyahoga County at noon.

That number decreased to 16,486 as of 1:10 p.m.

There were just 2,751 still without power less than an hour later at 2 p.m.

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FirstEnergy estimates power to be restored to most impacted customers between 2-4 p.m. Tuesday.

FirstEnergy spokesperson Brooke Conlan said this is due to small fires on poles.

According to Conlan, the misty rain combined with salt on the road can cause contamination on utility poles, which causes electricity to travel across the the pole and cause the fire.

Conlan added their crews are working as quickly as possible to restore power.

Due to the outages, the Parma Justice Center is closed, and all court proceedings are suspended for the remainder of Tuesday.

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Cleveland, OH

David Henry Obituary – Vermilion, OH

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David Henry Obituary – Vermilion, OH



David Henry


OBITUARY

David G. Henry, 70, of Vermilion, passed away Sunday, March 1, 2026, at his home following a lengthy illness.He was born December 14, 1955, in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and had made Vermilion his home for the past 42 years, moving from Irwin, Pennsylvania.Dave began his career with Westinghouse in Pennsylvania before relocating to Ohio in 1983. He was employed at Elyria Foundry for 20 years and later worked as a machinist for 14 years at Betcher Industries, where he retired. He was known throughout his career for his strong work ethic and skilled craftsmanship.In his free time, Dave enjoyed woodworking, taking pride in the projects he created with his hands. Above all, he cherished the time he spent with his family, especially his children and grandchildren.He is survived by his daughter, Alicia Parsons of Vermilion; his sons, David (Fiona) Henry of Bloomington, Indiana and Jonathan (Joanna) Henry of Vermilion and Anthony (Ashley) Cico of Amherst; and 13 beloved grandchildren.He was preceded in death by his wife, Darlene (nee Eckenrode) Henry in 2017; his parents, Charles and Gloria (nee Krider) Henry; his brother, Howard Henry; and his son-in-law, Cliff Parsons.The family will receive friends on Friday, March 20, 2026 from 3:00 p.m. until the time of the memorial service at 5:00 p.m. at the Riddle Funeral Home, 5345 South Street, Vermilion, Ohio.Memorial contributions may be made to Friendship Animal Protective League of Lorain County, Inc. 8303 Murray Ridge Road, Elyria, OH 44035 or Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 95000 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44195Online condolences may be made at www.riddlefuneralhome.com



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