Arts & Entertainment

UFOs, Crop Circle Presentation At Westlake Porter Library

When Tom Wertman showed up last year to speak about Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) at the Westlake Porter Library, more than 125 people turned out and admittance was closed. 

Wertman, the chief investigator for MUFON of Ohio (the Mutual UFO Network) will return to Porter Library on Wednesday, July 31 at 7 p.m. (Doors open at 6:30 p.m., registration required.)

“Ohio has some of the highest crop circle formations in the country,” Wertman, who has given more than 70 talks in the past three years, said. Last September, an individual flying an aircraft looked down and saw a crop circle formation.

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“It got out on the Internet,” Wertman said. "An individual down there who specializes in formations in that area asked me and another person to come down. Unless you see it yourself, you can’t imagine the enormity of it.”

Unlike some crop circles debunked as being manmade, the corn was not broken at the base but bent above the ground.

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“I’m not sure if it falls into UFO, but it falls into the unknown,” Wertman said.

He’ll discuss that case as well as the surprising results of their findings and an analysis on the corn stalks.

“There were some unusual effects to the corn,” he said.

The PowerPoint presentation will include photos and have a strong focus on UFOs in Ohio.

“One historical case goes back to the 1990s in Trumbull County,” Wertman said.
“I’ll go back and forth between older and newer cases.”

He’ll also include one case from the 1970s of a man walking by Tri C east in Warrensville Heights.

“He said he saw a large blimplike object,” Wertman said.

The sighting was by the a Nike Missile Base, when missile bases were being shut down.

“I dug and researched and can’t find any information on this,” he said, but noted another documented case near a missile base in Montana.

“Some bases  (in Montana) were shut down when UFOs approached; I knew one of the individuals in Montana who was there. You have to ask, is there a connection to reaching out to missile bases?”

The discussion may include potential alien contact. Wertman recounted a recent case involving a woman in Canton.

“This person’s experiences go back to 1970s when it was discovered she was ‘missing time,” Wertman said.

“Some people snicker but she has gone through hypnotic sessions by a professional (Bud Hopkins) who believes she was abducted.”

Hopkins believed the woman’s abduction was real.

Several other unrelated women in Stark and Summit counties have had similar experiences.

Wertman, who volunteers at MUFON but who has built a career in the education field, said he expects a few raised eyebrows. 

“There are some skeptics who show,” he said. “I have no problems with people being skeptical. As an investigator you have to be skeptical. I have to have facts.”

Wertman, who is also a member with the Cleveland UFOlogy Project, the nation’s oldest UFO group, has given more than 70 talks in the past three years and has been on 14 radio and television programs.

“This is presented in a professional manner,” he said. “There’s a good flow.”

Attendees questions are welcome. Last years discussion lasted approximately one and a quarter hours, but questions led to the group closing down the library.

“People can bring their experiences, if we run out of time they can leave information including their contact information,” Wertman said.

Register online or by calling 440-250-5460.


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