News Briefs

Kindergarten
registration
parent night
Benton-Carroll-Salem School District will host a Kindergarten Registration Parent Night Thursday, April 25 at 6 p.m.
Attendees should use the main entrance of the Oak Harbor Intermediate School building. Children need not attend the Parent Night.
Parents/guardians attending the meeting will get information about B-C-S kindergarten, receive an enrollment packet, and schedule a screening appointment. Kindergarten screening appointments will be held Monday, June 3 and Tuesday, June 4 at R.C. Waters Elementary. Students entering kindergarten will be screened in the areas of vision/hearing, motor skills, concepts and language.
Those who cannot make the parent meeting should call the school office at 419-898-6219 after April 25.
To be eligible for kindergarten, a child must be 5 years old by Aug. 1. All kindergarten students need to be screened and registered to begin the school year.

Genealogy class
Learn how to get started on tracing a family history during a genealogy class being offered Sunday, April 7, at 2 p.m. at the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, Spiegel Grove, Fremont.
The class will meet in the research library.
Head librarian John Ransom and librarian Sharon Barnett, who regularly help patrons with their genealogy questions and research, will lead the class.
The class fee is $15 per person. Reservations may be made online at rbhayes.org/news/2024/03/06/general/learn-how-to-begin-tracing-a-family-history-with-genealogy-class-at-hayes-presidential/. Advance reservations and payment are required. Class size is limited to 25 people.
Ransom and Barnett will show participants the basics of getting started on genealogy and what resources are available to them at the Hayes Presidential Library.
For more information, call 419-332-2081 or visit rbhayes.org.

W.W. Knight
ramp replacement
The Wood County Board of Park Commissioners announced a project to replace the entrance ramp at the W.W. Knight Nature Center, located at 29530 White Rd. in Perrysburg Township.
The publicly bid project was awarded to KCS Contracting from Holland, Ohio, and will commence on Monday, April 15. Completion is expected by the end of June 2024.
The project will involve removing the existing deteriorated entrance ramp and replacing it with an accessible concrete structure. A key feature of the new ramp will be a heated surface so that shoveling and salt will no longer be needed.
From April 15-May 24, the Nature Center will be open to park visitors, however, no scheduled activities or programs will be permitted. As the entrance ramp is the primary access for people with mobility-related disabilities, this access will be diminished during the first six weeks of construction.
Beginning May 24 through the end of construction, a temporary accessible entrance will be available at the western end of the building.
For more information on the ramp replacement project, contact Andrew Kalmar, assistant director, at 419-353-1897.
Discouraging Canada geese
Visitors to the W.W. Knight Nature Preserve will notice measures being taken to discourage Canada geese from residing in the park. These measures will not harm the geese, rather, they will disrupt park features that the geese find appealing – encouraging them to go elsewhere.
Two examples of these disruptions are coyote decoys that will be regularly moved around the pond, and a temporary low fence along portions of the pond that will discourage easy access to the water. These measures will remain in place until July, and their efficacy will be evaluated.
For more information regarding these temporary measures, contact Steve Thomson, park police chief, at 419-353-1897.
For more information about Wood County Parks, visit wcparks.org.

Ottawa Co. preps
for America’s
250th anniversary
On July 4, 2026, America will celebrate its 250th anniversary, and states across the nation are already preparing for a year-long string of events.
The Ohio Commission for the U.S. Semiquicentennial, also referred to as America 250-OH, are leading preparations in Ohio.
The Ottawa County Commissioners passed a resolution establishing the Ottawa County-America-250 Committee – a volunteer committee to help guide celebratory events in Ottawa County.
The committee, comprised of representatives from various businesses, organizations and government entities across the county, – met March 25 to adopt a charter and brainstorm about ways the county can celebrate the nation's 250th anniversary.
Linda Huber, of the Ottawa County Historical Society; Brian Shifflet, of Shores & Islands Ohio and Jannah Wilson, executive director of the Park District of Ottawa County, are co-chairing the committee.
The committee will aim to engage stakeholders from across the county; inspire individuals, organizations, schools and businesses to participate in the celebration; collaborate with groups on joint projects and share information with the America-250 Ohio organization.
Locally, the celebrations will be focused on the warmer months – March through October – in 2026. Local residents are encouraged to create events at any time, and they are welcome to contact the committee for information and guidance.
The committee discussed several possible events, including reenactments, self-guided historical tours and guided field trips and bus tours.
For more information about Ottawa County-America 250, contact Linda Huber at abhawkins57@me.com.

Earth Day cleanup
Northwood Neighborhood Block Watch invites area residents and their grade or high school-age children to help at an hour of spring litter pick up to commemorate Earth Day on Wednesday, April 17 at 6 p.m.
Participants should meet at shopping center corner of Wales and Oregon roads, across from gas station.
The group will be cleaning up Wales Road. A Northwood police officer will join in the cleanup. Northwood Police Department will supply the gloves, vests and equipment for the effort.

P.E.R.I. Meeting
Public Employees Retirement Inc. (P.E.R.I.) Chapter #82, Ottawa County District 1, will meet Monday, April 15, at 1:30 p.m. at the Ottawa County Community Resource Center, located at 8043 W. SR 163, Oak Harbor (note date and meeting time change).
The meeting is open to all P.E.R.I. members, P.E.R.I. guests, pre-O.P.E.R.S and O.P.E.R.S retirees of Ottawa County and surrounding counties. Those who have questions or concerns regarding their benefits are encouraged to attend.
Guest speaker Kathy Withrow, of Heartland Hospice, will share information on hospice care.
Future meetings have been tentatively set for July 8 and Oct. 14.