Special to the Tribune Chronicle Host Alfonso Ribeiro, second from left, is shown on the set of "Amercia's Funniest Home Videos" with, from left, Linda Grunder, Rich Coss and Michael Harnichar. The three current and former Newton Falls employees will appear on Sunday's episode of the long-running series.

To view video, CLICK HERE:

NEWTON FALLS – A runaway squirrel could bring $10,000 to a trio of current and former Newton Falls employees.

Linda Grunder, who retired in January as utility billing administrator, and Rich Coss and Michael Harnichar, who both work in the streets/maintenance department, will appear on Sunday’s episode of ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos,’ which airs at 7 p.m. on ABC.

The video that got them on the show was shot in December 2017, when a squirrel got loose in the village’s finance administration building.

“It was all us girls in there so we called Rich Coss and Michael Harnichar,” Grunder said. “Anytime we needed something moved or something like that, we called them. They started going after the squirrel, and I decided I’m going to video it. It was hysterical.”

After chasing it around the office with an empty box, they eventually catch the critter … at least briefly. The video ends with the animal jumping out of Coss’ hands and lunging at Grunder.

“I wish we had a video of Linda’s reaction,” Coss said. “That would be better than my reaction. That was one of the most fun experiences I’ve had while working at the city of Newton Falls. We laughed for 15 minutes after it happened.”

When Grunder showed the video to friends and coworkers, several suggested she send it into ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos,’ but she never got around to it. It was Grunder’s boss, Fiscal Officer Anna Musson, who asked Grunder for a copy of the video and sent it to the show.

Someone from the show called the office asking to speak to the owner of the video on Jan. 10, 2019, during Grunder’s retirement party.

“She said, ‘This is ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos.’ Your video was selected to be shown on the air,” Grunder said. “Yeah, right. It was my retirement party. I thought someone was pranking me.”

The caller eventually convinced her it was legitimate and told her she would receive a T-shirt if the video actually appeared on television.

The next day Grunder got a second call that the clip had been selected as one of the top three videos, and the producers were going to fly her, Coss and Harnichar to southern California to appear on the show.

“I was in total disbelief,” Coss said. “It happened so fast. It was hard to believe it was happening.”

The trio flew to Los Angeles on Jan. 25 with the show picking up all of their expenses and putting them up in a hotel near where the show is taped in Manhattan Beach, California, the next day. It took close to three hours to film the hour-long episode with host Alfonso Ribeiro.

The trio isn’t allowed to reveal what happened, but they are guaranteed at least $2,000 for a third-place finish. Second place earns $3,000 and the weekly winner will get $10,000.

Coss said it was great to get to leave snowy northeast Ohio for sunny southern California in January, and Grunder loved the whole experience.

“Just the excitement of being in Hollywood,” she said. “Weáre small town people. This kind of stuff doesn’t happen to us.”

agray@tribtoday.com