This is a fictional account of Ben Roethlisberger's "hometown" of Cory Rawson, Ohio.

"CORY RAWSON, Ohio" - Irma Shelhorn seems a nice grandmotherly type. You know, gray hair in a bun, rosy cheeks, half hose rolled down below her print house dress. That she may have committed murder is just a rumor.

I found Irma sweeping chicken feed off the front porch of the general store here, where she has served as mayor for 22 years, running unopposed in every election since 1994, when she beat Homer Dibley, the undertaker and village medical examiner, by a 22-3 vote.

Cory Rawson isn't a big place. Some will insist it isn't even a place. But Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger says otherwise. It's listed as his hometown now, which I guess is a way for him to flip the middle digit at some folks in Findlay, his old hometown, who haven't been real supportive lately.

There is a Mt. Cory, Ohio, and there is a Rawson, Ohio, and there is a Cory-Rawson High School right smack dab in the middle that serves both communities. Spike Berry, the old football coach, was mayor of that consolidation for three decades.

But nobody ever heard of Cory Rawson, Ohio, before the Steelers' 2010 roster was printed. I found it, though. Turn onto Hancock County Road 313 just past the high school and after about an eighth of a mile you'll find a well-rutted dirt road to the left next to a creek that meanders through a grove of trees back behind Spike's stadium. There it is, like a mirage, in a clearing just before you get to

Ross Lake - Cory Rawson, Ohio, population 19.

(Dibley explains that six people have died since the '94 election, when even Mrs. Dibley voted for Irma Shelhorn. He lists four natural deaths, one accidental, and one homicide, which was how Irma became the Widow Shelhorn, although nobody informed the county sheriff because old Ralph, Irma's husband, drank some and was just rotten to the core.)

Anyway, the next homicide here will happen if and when Irma ever gets her hands, or her waffle iron, on Roethlisberger. He might claim to be from Cory Rawson, Ohio, but Irma says the folks here don't want him.

"He's a jerk," the mayor said, pressing a cold glass of sweet tea against her forehead. "I understand the drinkin', but that stuff with the girls, hell, even Ralph never did nothin' like that. And Ben 'purt near killed himself on that motorbike once too. And now, worst of all, he turned his back on his roots. I bet Findlay don't want him no more either. I know we don't, for dadgum sure."

It's a little odd that Big Ben would change hometowns. He reportedly told the media in Pittsburgh that he never really lived in Findlay, despite going to Findlay High School. That's interesting, because during his rookie NFL season I visited the home of Ken and Brenda Roethlisberger for a story on them and daughter Carlee, and the ranch house was right there on the south side of Findlay, not far from Blanchard Valley Hospital. They even showed me Ben's bedroom.

Mayor Shelhorn, meanwhile, insists Ben never slept in Cory Rawson, Ohio, and isn't welcome to now, either, although there is a house for sale where Orville Wilbur, who flew the crop-dusting plane, lived before he woke up a bit hung over one foggy morning and walked into the propeller. Accidental death, Dibley ruled.

Rest easy, Irma. If you don't want him, Ben will probably list equally fictional Liberty Benton, Ohio, as his hometown next season.

Contact Blade sports columnist

Dave Hackenberg at:

dhack@theblade.com

or 419-724-6398.

First Published August 18, 2010, 4:53 a.m.