Cleveland, OH
Seattle teammates, Northeast Ohio natives celebrate homecoming at Progressive Field
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Progressive Field is about 20 miles from Raley’s Tree Farms in Hinckley, but growing up working in the family business for Mariners outfielder Luke Raley, the ballpark might as well have been located on the other side of the moon.
“When I was at the tree lot, I didn’t talk about baseball,” Raley said. “Not for any reason other than I was there to sell Christmas trees, not talk about baseball.”
Generations of Northeast Ohioans have gotten their Christmas trees from the family’s lot on Ridge Road, but few made the connection that the 6-foot-4 lad strapping saplings to their car roofs would someday go on to have a career in the big leagues. Nowadays, Raley says it happens more often than you’d think. But when he worked on the lot, Major League Baseball was the last thing on his mind.
“It’s just one of those things that people kind of put two and two together and realize we get our trees from Raley’s Tree Farm,” he said.
Baseball is all that’s on Raley’s mind this week as his Mariners are in town for three games against the Guardians. In Tuesday’s series opener, Raley collected two hits including his first home run in his hometown ballpark. He also picked up his first career ejection after arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt in the ninth inning of Seattle’s 8-5 win.
Raley, who starred at Medina Highland High before he was drafted out of Lake Erie College by the Dodgers in 2016, said despite missing the end of the contest it has been fun coming back to Cleveland and being able to see family and friends. But there is definitely work to be done.
“Being successful is kind of the back of my mind,” Raley said. “I want to have good at-bats, want to do the right things for the team, so that’s most important.”
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Raley’s Seattle teammate, Dominic Canzone, is making his first trip to Progressive Field as a big leaguer. The Walsh Jesuit product and Sagamore Hills native said he grew up a big fan of Kenny Lofton and the late-1990s Indians teams that won six division titles in seven seasons. But the memory that stands out to him whenever he walks into the ballpark is watching Rajai Davis hit a game-tying home run in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series against Chicago.
“That was just the loudest I’ve ever heard any venue in sports to this day,” Canzone said.
In Tuesday’s series opener, Canzone went hitless in three plate appearances with a strikeout before being replaced in right field by Mitch Haniger. But like any ball player who grew up in Cleveland, the experience of taking the field at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario was special.
“I think it’s one of the most beautiful ballparks out there,” Canzone said. “They do a great job, especially with the surface. So, no complaints there and it’s been just an awesome week so far.”
Raley said it has been fun having another Clevelander along for the ride in his second trip to Progressive Field as a pro. Having an ally to defend Northeast Ohio in the clubhouse has also helped.
“It’s just kind of how things go in the clubhouse when you go back home, you get some smack talk (from other teammates),” Raley said. “It’s nice to have Dom here to defend The Land.”
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CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – For the second day, Northeast Ohio school districts are receiving bomb threats.
On Friday morning, two schools in the Elyria City School District, the high school and Ely Elementary, received bomb threats.
Both schools are evacuating students, and emergency responders are on the way, according to a social media post.
All other district schools are in a lockout status as a precaution.
The district asks that family members not come to the schools or call school offices at this time so emergency communication lines remain available.
Elyria Police said that the department is working with the district to ensure the safety and security of students and school personnel following the threats.
“We are aware that neighboring school districts experienced similar swatting-related incidents yesterday, and our investigative personnel are working diligently with our law enforcement partners to identify the source of these threats,” police said.
Five Northeast Ohio school districts received bomb threats on Thursday, including:
- Alliance City School District
- Amherst Exempted Village Schools
- Cleveland Metropolitan School District
- Lorain City School District
- Shaker Heights School District
Below are the details from each district and the protocols in place to protect students and staff.
ALLIANCE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Alliance Police Department confirmed there was an ’anonymous’ robo-voice style call that came into the high school saying there were ’20 pipe bombs’ outside of the school” before 12:30 p.m.
Officers rushed to the high school and Rockhill Elementary School campuses “due to an alarm in which we were not getting a response from the school,” according to APD.
APD shared that the schools evacuated the students temporarily as officers conducted a sweep of the area.
“Nothing was found, thankfully,” APD Lt. Christopher McCord stated. “The school staff, and especially the students, did a great job of staying calm and making everyone’s jobs easier, smoother, and safer.”
“We will be looking into the source of the threats to hold those responsible accountable, if possible,” McCord added.
AMHERST EXEMPTED VILLAGE SCHOOLS
The Amherst Exempted Village School confirmed at 10:25 a.m. that Marion L. Steele High School and Walter G. Nord Middle School received a bomb threat.
AEVS said all district facilities were placed on a level 1 lockdown before the two schools were evacuated to a safe location under the supervision of administration and staff, according to district protocol.
The Amherst police and fire departments teamed up with the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office to perform perimeter and building sweeps to determine if the threat was substantiated, said AEVS.
The perimeter sweeps of the two schools were complete by 11:34 a.m., and law enforcement then conducted the interior sweeps of the buildings, AEVS explained.
Amherst Junior High School and Powers Elementary School lifted their lockdowns at that time and resumed normal procedures, according to AEVS.
AEVS also confirmed at that time that all students and staff were accounted for and safe.
The Amherst Police Department completed its sweep of Steele High School and cleared the building of any threat by 11:51 a.m., AEVS updated.
Students were dismissed for the day at that time, according to AEVS.
AEVS instructed student drivers to leave the campus, and students unable to immediately leave were to stay at the school until they could be picked up by a parent, guardian, or approved emergency contact.
The bus routes were running at the scheduled normal dismissal time for students who need a ride home, AEVS added.
APD completed its sweep of Nord School and cleared the building of any threat by 12:32 p.m., AEVS updated.
Nord School students were safely escorted back into the building, according to AEVS, after evacuating to the New Beginning Church as a safe location.
AEVS instructed parents, guardians, and approved emergency contacts who wanted to pick up their student to report to the school’s front entrance, where staff and APD officers would help.
Classes, activities, and normal dismissal procedures resumed as scheduled for students who stayed at the school, AEVS shared, and bus dismissal also proceeded per usual.
“We appreciate the cooperation, patience, and support of our families and community throughout today’s situation,” AEVS stated.
According to AEVS Superintendent Mike Molnar, all evening activities at the school will continue as scheduled, and school will resume on Friday.
Molnar added that AEVS will have an increased police presence at schools on Thursday night and Friday.
CLEVELAND METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Cleveland Metropolitan School District confirmed two threats were received on Thursday morning. The threats were against East Tech High School and Buhrer Dual Language Academy.
According to CMSD, Cleveland police and CMSD’s Department of Safety & Security conducted an investigation and found the buildings to be safe.
From the information gathered during the searches, Cleveland police believe both calls were swatting incidents.
Classes at both schools were uninterrupted, and the school day progressed normally.
Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s Communications Officer Jon Benedict added that parents were informed about the incident.
LORAIN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Lorain City School District confirmed the high school has been evacuated due to a bomb threat on Thursday afternoon.
This is the third Northeast Ohio school district to receive a bomb threat on May 7.
The district announced the evacuation of Lorain High School at 12:23 p.m., and dismissed students at 12:40 p.m.
Bus riders were escorted to the buses waiting to take them home, according to LCSD.
LCSD said many elementary and middle school students were at the high school for the dance showcase.
Those elementary and middle school students were brought back to their home schools, said LCSD.
All students and staff are safe and following established protocols, LCSD stated, and these measures are being taken out of an abundance of caution.
The district safety team and law enforcement partners continue to investigate this threat.
“Your students’ and our staff’s safety is our top priority,” LCSD stated.
A 19 News crew is on their way to the scene to learn more.
SHAKER HEIGHTS SCHOOL DISTRICT
Shaker Heights High School received its second threatening phone call this week on Thursday, the district confirmed.
Shaker Heights School District said it immediately teamed up with the Shaker Heights Police Department to investigate the threat and determined its credibility.
SHSD said it was aware of the other Northeast Ohio school districts that received similar threats on Thursday.
“Based on the SHPD’s assessment and established safety protocols, the decision was made to continue normal school operations rather than initiate a shelter-in-place,” SHSD stated.
Additional SHPD officers and a K-9 unit were sent to the school out of an abundance of caution to support the safety and security of the building as the investigation continues, SHSD added.
Orrville City Schools were also placed on a soft lockdown on Thursday.
However, this was not a bomb threat, nor any direct threat to the school.
The soft lockdown was a precautionary measure for an incident that happened not just off school property, but out of the town.
This is a developing story. Return to 19 News for updates.
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