News Briefs Week Of 10/25/2021

By: 
Staff Writer

Effort promotes
rural traffic safety
Four area law enforcement agencies and Safe Communities of Wood County partnered for a weeklong effort Oct. 17-23 to promote traffic safety on rural roadways in Wood County.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol, Wood County Sheriff’s Office, and the Lake Township and Perrysburg Township police departments increased enforcement efforts in rural Wood County in an attempt to reduce the number of fatal and injury crashes.
Troopers, deputies and officers focused on safety belt and speed violations, as well as impaired driving. In addition to enforcement efforts, Safe Communities of Wood County hosted educational events to remind drivers to make good choices while behind the wheel.
So far in 2021, there have been 916 rural crashes in Wood County, 10 of which were fatal and 214 which resulted in injuries.
“Wearing a safety belt is the simplest task you and everyone in your vehicle can do to stay safe,” said Lt. Shaun Robinson, Bowling Green Patrol Post commander. “Make it a habit to wear a safety belt every trip, every time. Taking two seconds to click it can make the difference of saving your life in a crash.”
Wood County has had 1,124 speed-related rural crashes since 2016, with 16 resulting in fatalities and 375 in injuries.
“Law enforcement in Wood County teamed up to send the message to drivers that we are looking for those who are putting themselves and others at risk by driving above the posted speed limit,” said Lake Township Police Chief Mark Hummer. “Do your part and drive appropriately for the safety of all on the road.”
This year, there have been 57 OVI-related rural crashes in Wood County, with three of those being fatal and 16 resulting in injuries.
“Every time we remove an impaired driver from the road, we prevent the possibility of a family losing a loved one,” said Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn. “We want everyone to make good choices before they get behind the wheel.”
So far in 2021, there have been 283 youth-related rural crashes in Wood County, with four of those being fatal and 72 resulting in injuries.
“This has been a tough year for many families in Wood County with the loss of so many youthful drivers,” said Safe Communities of Wood County Coordinator Sandy Wiechman.
Additional crash information is available at statepatrol.ohio.gov/ostats.aspx#gsc.tab=0.

“Poe in the Parlor”
encore session
After the success of the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums’ first Poe in the Parlor event last week, the historic site has added a second reading for Tuesday, Oct. 26.
Kent McClary, Hayes Home guide, will give the dramatic reading of a selection of Edgar Allan Poe’s works at 6:30 p.m. in the (battery) candle-lit large parlor of the historic Hayes Home.
The first session, which took place Oct. 12, sold out, and Hayes Presidential has received requests for another Poe reading.
Tickets are $10 for non-members and $8 for Hayes Presidential members and are available at rbhayes.org/events/2021/10/26/events/poe-in-the-parlor/.
Advance tickets are strongly recommended. Tickets will be sold the day of the event at the museum front desk, pending availability.
Those who are not vaccinated for COVID-19 must wear a face covering. Additional safety protocols could be added. For updates, visit rbhayes.org.
Poe was one of the first authors to earn a living from his craft, and he is credited with inventing the detective story as well as being an early contributor to what later became the genre of science fiction. Poe is most often remembered for his unnerving and macabre poetry and short stories.
President Rutherford B. Hayes, a lifelong avid reader, had a three-volume anthology of Poe’s work in his personal library.
For info, call 419-332-2081, visit rbhayes.org or follow Hayes Presidential on social media.

“Talking With…”
The Black Swamp Players will be staging a one-night-only, limited seating revival of its production of Jane Martin’s “Talking With…”
The play will be performed at the Players’ theater, 115 E. Oak St., Bowling Green, Saturday, Oct. 30 at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at www://tinyurl.com/TWEncore. All seating is general admission and only 75 seats will be available. Any tickets not sold online prior to the performance will be available at the door.
Audience members will be required to wear masks throughout the performance.
Comprised of eleven monologues, “Talking With…” introduces the audience to a kaleidoscope of idiosyncratic women – from a career baton twirler to a fundamentalist snake handler, an ex-rodeo rider, an old woman who claims to have seen a man healed by a Big Mac, and many more.
Equal parts humorous and touching, Martin’s play invites audiences to share in some of the most intimate experiences that women have with parents, with spouses, with lovers, with children and ultimately, with themselves.
The production originally was produced at the Ohio Theatre in Toledo in May and was funded through the Community Resilience Fund from the Greater Toledo Community Foundation.
Black Swamp Players is nonprofit corporation that provides opportunities for area residents to experience quality, amateur, live theatre in all its many aspects. Those interested in volunteering for the organization may email president@blackswampplayers.org.

Boo on the Boat
From Friday, Oct. 29 through Halloween Day, the National Museum of the Great Lakes (NMGL) invites visitors to trick-or-treat aboard two of Toledo’s most historic haunts – the Col. James M. Schoonmaker Museum Ship and the Museum Tug Ohio.
Young “goblins and ghouls” can trick-or-treat in costume from the pilot houses to the galleys and everywhere in between while on a scavenger hunt for goodies. Treats will be distributed using pre-portioned, sealed bags at stations to help youth explore Great Lakes history in a fun, age-appropriate way. Children with food allergies will have access to non-food treats in alignment with the Teal Pumpkin Project.
Additionally, on Saturday, Oct. 30, NMGL will welcome back artist Don Lee to draw free caricatures.
Boo on the Boat activities are included with the price of general museum and ship admission. The event is free for members. All children must be accompanied by an adult.
To learn more and reserve tickets, visit nmgl.org.

Spirit of Wood Co.
The Wood County Commissioners will recognize eight individuals from across the county with the 2021 Spirit of Wood County Awards on Sunday, Nov. 7 at 2 p.m. in the Alvin L. Perkins Atrium at the Wood County Courthouse Complex, Bowling Green.
The 2021 award recipients include Bowling Green residents Alan Sundermeier, Agricultural Leadership; and Beatriz Maya, Liberty Through Law/Human Freedom; Village of Grand Rapids resident Deb Archambo, Education for Civic Responsibility; Center Township resident Jack Jones, Industrial/Economic Development and Perrysburg residents Walter Churchill, Jr., Industrial/Economic Development and Irma Wolf, Self-Government.
The Robert Bettinger family, of Washington Township, and Deb Buker, to be awarded posthumously, were each selected for the Lyle R. Fletcher Good Citizenship Award.
The Spirit of Wood County Awards are presented to current and former citizens of Wood County in recognition of outstanding service to their communities and Wood County. The County Commissioners have been honoring outstanding citizens since 1987.
Nominations are accepted throughout the year. For more information about the awards, visit co.wood.oh.us.

Auditions set
The Black Swamp Players will hold auditions for Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer-Prize-winning play, “August: Osage County” Nov. 6 from 2-5 p.m. and Nov. 7 from 6-9 p.m. at 115 E. Oak St., Bowling Green.
Those auditioning will be asked to cold read from the script. More details are available at https://tinyurl.com/AOCMailchimp.
The play calls for a cast of 13: six men (age mid-30s through late-60s) and seven women (age 14 through late-60s). Due to the graphic nature of subject matter around the 14-year-old character, the director would prefer to cast a “young looking” adult.
“August: Osage County” will be performed Feb. 18, 19, 25, and 26, 2022, at 8 p.m. and Feb. 20 and 27, 2022, at 2p.m. Heath A. Diehl is directing the production.
Written by Tracy Letts, “August: Osage County” focuses on a Midwestern family in crisis. After the alcoholic patriarch mysteriously disappears, the Weston family converges on the family homestead in Oklahoma, where their many secrets, lies, and betrayals are, over the coming days, laid bare.
Learn more at blackswampplayers.org.

Veterans invited
to pinning ceremonies
All veterans are invited to attend a Commemoration & Pinning Ceremony sponsored by Stein Hospice, the Ottawa County Veterans Service Office and Ottawa County Senior Resources.
Dates and locations include:
• Nov. 9 - Elmore Senior Center (held at the Genoa Senior Center, 514 Main St., Genoa). Lunch at 11:30 a.m. Ceremony at noon. RSVP by Nov. 1 by calling 419-862-3874.
• Wednesday, Nov. 10 – Genoa Senior Center, 514 Main St. Lunch at 11:30 a.m. Ceremony at noon. RSVP by Nov. 1 by calling 419-855-4491.
• Monday, Nov. 15, 2021 - Oak Harbor Senior Center, Ottawa County School Building, 8200 W. SR 163, Oak Harbor. Lunch at 11:30 a.m. Ceremony at noon. RSVP by Nov. 1 by 419-898-2800.
Veterans are asked to RSVP with their name, phone number and whether they wish to have lunch. The event is free for all veterans and a guest.

Village starts
leaf pickup
Annual curbside leaf pickup in the Village of Oak Harbor will begin the week of Nov. 1, and will continue as long as weather permits. Residents are asked to rake leaves to the curbside in rows and avoid raking piles into the street.
Leaves may also be taken to the green waste site at the Christiansen Road location, which is for village residents only. Leaf debris must be removed from bags or containers, when deposited.
Leaf pickup questions may be directed to the public works department, 419-898-1823.
The village administration is reminding residents that Oak Harbor’s sign ordinance covers signs placed inside the corporation limits, whether they are political in nature — for or against any candidate, levy or issue, regardless of affiliation — or year-round, non-political “personal belief” signage.
“Freestanding signs, containing constitutionally protected free speech, shall not exceed six square feet and not be located in the public right of way,” said Randall Genzman, village administrator.
He said there is no limit to the number of signs to be placed, time frame of display or language used on the signs. Penalties for violations and non-compliance cannot exceed $100 per day.
For information, call 419 898-5561, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday – Friday, or visit the village website, oakharbor.oh.us.

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