News Briefs Week of 1/6/20
Shelter temporarily
closing for renovations
The Wood County Humane Society will be closed from Thursday, Jan. 16 through Tuesday, Feb. 4 for renovations to the floors.
During this time, WCHS will be unable to house or accept animals at the shelter. Furthermore, shelter staff members will not be present for the duration of the renovation period. There will be construction personnel on location working on the building but they will not be answering the doorbell and will be unable to assist any visitors.
Andrea Szymkowiak, WCHS board member, emphasized that the community plan accordingly and asks that people do not drop off or abandon animals at the shelter.
Abandoning animals at the shelter during renovations is illegal and could result in harm or possible death to animals from exposure from not being found in a timely manner.
WCHS is actively seeking fosters to house any animals that will still be with the organization while the renovations take place. The WCHS Humane Agent will still be responding to cruelty calls, and the best way to report would be via email. The shelter does have a voicemail that will be checked daily for urgent needs and requests. For life-and-death emergencies for animals, personal veterinary care should be sought out and consulted.
“WCHS appreciates the community’s patience during this time and will be excited to see visitors once the shelter re-opens,” Szymkowiak said.
Located in Bowling Green, the WCHS is a private, non-profit, managed admission shelter providing care for homeless and abused or neglected pets. The organization receives no funding from national humane organizations for daily operations, instead relying on earned revenue and donations from individuals and businesses to fund programs such as Humane Investigations, Safe Pets, food assistance programs, low-cost spay/neuter opportunities and educational presentations.
The WCHS provides care for over a thousand animals each year—from dogs and cats, to the occasional pocket pet or farm animal. All animals admitted into the adoption program are housed and cared for as long as it takes to find their adoptive home. Visit wchumane.org for more details.
Financial Peace
University enrolling
St. John's United Church of Christ, 1213 Washington St., Genoa, will be hosting Financial Peace University classes on Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm beginning Jan. 9.
The fee for materials will be $129.99 at sign up, which includes nine lessons, an interactive workbook, a one-year Financial Peace Membership access to the online resource center and all it contains, the Every Dollar Plus budgeting app, the Ask a Coach feature, exclusive watch-from-home livestreams, accountability, encouragement and celebration in the FPU online community.
To sign up for the class visit daveramsey.com/fpu and search 43430 for the class registration link. For more information, call 419-855-3906 or email stjohns@stjohnsgenoa.org.
Tree recycling
The City of Toledo is offering free Christmas tree recycling for anyone in the community through Jan. 31 at five drop-off locations including:
• Ravine II Park at Colorado Street and Dearborn Avenue in East Toledo;
• Jermain Park, 1720 South Cove Blvd.;
• Detwiler Park, 4001 North Summit St.;
• Bowman Park, 4793 Jackman Rd.;
• Schneider Park, 2698 Schneider Rd.
The drop-off locations will be clearly marked at each park. Trees should be cleared of all decorations, lights, bags, or other materials. All trees collected will be ground into mulch by forestry crews.
Health screening
Magruder Hospital, 615 Fulton St., Port Clinton, will offer its monthly health screening Jan. 9 starting at 9 a.m. in the lab.
The screenings, offered on the second Thursday of every month, is a venipuncture/blood draw rather than a finger stick, and includes a basic metabolic panel (glucose, BUN/Creatinine, calcium, potassium, sodium, chloride, CO2, etc.) and a lipid profile (total cholesterol/LDL/HDL/triglycerides), as well as a blood pressure check. The cost is $16. Appointments may be made by calling 419-734-3131, ext. 3420.
For more info on events and screenings, visit www.magruderhospital.com.
Laurel Johnson
announces bid
for state rep
Laurel Johnson, of Weston, filed petitions with the Wood County Board of Elections to run for State Representative for the 3rd District (Wood County) as a Democrat.
Johnson grew up in Bradner and graduated from Kent State University with a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies. She interned with State Sen. Edna Brown from Toledo, working on policy development. “Wood County has always been my home,” she said. “I have a real passion to help communities that have been ignored by Columbus politicians.
Pilot ground school
The Fremont Airport and Fremont Flight Academy is hosting its 11th Annual Pilot Ground School for private and commercial certificates for aircraft and drone pilots.
Ground school will be held at the Fremont Airport – Hanger One on Saturdays Jan. 11-March 14. Classes will meet from 9 a.m.-noon. The airport is located a mile south of Terra State Community College on SR 53.
The ground school’s main objective is to give the instruction necessary for students to be confident to pass the written and oral portions of the flying test. The Federal Aviation Agency requires that a student receive ground training in several areas.
To register or obtain more info, call 419-332-8037.
Women’s Connection
Toledo East Women’s Connection is hosting a luncheon program “Sparkling Clean New Year” Jan. 9 at Bayside, 2759 Seaman St., Oregon.
Kim Belcher, Perrysburg, will share cleaning ideas with Norwex and Diane Adamzak, Walbridge, will provide musical entertainment. Theresa Herr will discuss, “Victory Over Rejection,”
Doors open at 11:30 a.m. and lunch is at noon. For reservations call 419 691-9611 or 419 836-8990.
Fire department grants
The Bradner and Pemberville-Freedom Fire departments are among the recipients of a Multi-Agency Radio Communications Systems (MARCS) grant for this year.
State Fire Marshal Jeff A. Hussey recently announced the Fiscal Year 2020 awardees for the MARCS grant, which includes 283 fire departments in 43 counties throughout Ohio.
The MARCS radio system allows first responders to communicate seamlessly, not only with each other, but with other agencies responding to an incident (i.e. fire departments from neighboring areas, law enforcement, etc.).
Bradner received $1,200 and Pemberville received $1,560 in MARCS grants.
“Better, more reliable communication means a better overall response to emergency situations,” said Marshal Hussey. “Having more agencies on a modern, state-of-the-art radio system translates to an enhanced level of safety for our first responders, and safer communities for Ohioans as a whole.”
MARCS radios are sophisticated systems, and the cost can be significant. The grant helps offset the cost of the radio equipment and user fees, making the radios possible for local fire departments, regardless of size or budget. This year, the State Fire Marshal’s office received nearly $9 million in requests for the $3 million in available funding.
Priority funding went to departments applying as part of a regional or county-wide effort, and departments that showed they are prepared to immediately begin using the MARCS radios upon award receipt.
“With these six additional county awards, the fire service in 61 counties throughout Ohio will now be operating on the MARCS or compatible systems,” said Hussey. “I encourage fire departments that did not receive funding this year to reapply next year.”
Letters detailing each department’s award or denial will be sent to applicants in the coming weeks.