GPA

“Michigan has won the Blood Battle the last three years, and hopes to continue the streak,” said Bonnie Meridieth, Director of Donor Recruitment for the Western Lake Erie Region of the American Red Cross “Ohio State had taken home the traveling trophy for five consecutive years from 2003 to 2007, and are eager to regain it.”

An extra incentive – all donors Nov. 1-20 can enter to win a pair of tickets to the OSU vs. UM game Nov. 26.

Wall of Honor 
Rossford High School SOS Club (Serving Our Soldiers) will host the unveiling of the Wall of Honor displaying photographs of graduates of Rossford High School who have served or are currently serving in the military.

The event will take place Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium with a reception of light fare to follow. The community is welcome to attend.

RSVP to Martha Fellman at the high school at 419-666-5262 (ext. 1329) or email mfellman@rossfordschools.org by Nov. 9.

Military friendly
Owens Community College has earned the distinction of being designated as a Military Friendly School by “G.I. Jobs,” a nationally-recognized magazine for military personnel transitioning into civilian life.

The 2012 Military Friendly Schools listing honors the top 20 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools for exemplary efforts in embracing America’s military service members and veterans as students.

“Owens Community College’s Office of Veterans Services is extremely honored to be chosen as a Military Friendly School,” said Vickie Adams, Owens Director of Veterans Services, which is dedicated to assisting veterans, active service persons, reservists and eligible dependents in their pursuit of a college education. To date, 318 individuals are involved in Owens’ veterans services programs.

Northcoast Jobs
The Northcoast Jobs Connection Job Stores and the Seneca One Stop offer numerous services and resources for job seekers and employers. Seminars are free and open to anyone in the community.

November seminars being offered at the Ottawa County Community Resource Centre, 8043 W. SR 163, Oak Harbor, include:

• “Get a Job, Get a Better Job” – 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Nov. 3, 10, 17 and 24.

• “Individual Job Search Appointments” – 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Nov. 3 and 7. Come prepared to work one-on-one with a specialist to discuss a job search create an impressive resume.

• “Reemployment Session” – 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Nov. 17. Employment service professionals will cover several topics including job search tips and trends, completing applications, creating resumes and interviewing.

• Free computer classes – Nov. 14 – “Intro to Computers,” 9 a.m. to noon, and “Internet Basics/Email,” 1 to 4 p.m.; Nov. 28 – “Word and Correspondence,” 9 a.m. to noon, and “Excel,” 1 to 4 p.m.

For more information on the Job Stores, visit www.northcoastjobs.org or in Ottawa County, call the Job Store at 800-665-1677.

Genoa Boosters plan sale
Genoa Area Music Boosters are conducting a Fruit and Flower Sale through Nov. 7. Call 419-855-0361 or e-mail tmpressley@yahoo.com to place an order.

Looking ahead: Santa’s Secret Shops
Benton-Carroll-Salem schools will hold Santa’s Secret Shops for the 2011 holiday season.

R.C. Waters shop will be held Dec. 9; Graytown’s shop will be held Dec. 14. During the in-school holiday

Shopping event, children can purchase “secret” gifts for family and friends in the safety and security of their own school.

This year, the schools are going with a local Santa’s Secret Shop. Local businesses or individuals that wish to participate can set up a table in the gym at the school and have items for sale. The items should range between $1 and $5. The students can then browse the selections and make their purchases.

The parent group will provide lunch to all participating businesses. There is no charge to set up a table.

Vendors interested in participating may call Valerie Winterfield at 419-898-0479.

Small Business Basics
The Ohio Small Business Development Center at Terra State Community College is offering free, two-hour seminars, “Small Business Basics,” designed to answer questions about starting, buying or expanding a small business.

This seminar will address the basics of name registration, licensing, taxes, zoning, business entities, employees, insurance, financing and business planning.

In November, seminars will be offered:

Nov. 2 – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Ottawa County Improvement Corporation (conference room), 8043 W. SR 163, Oak Harbor;

Nov. 9 – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Tiffin Area Chamber of Commerce (conference room), 19 W. Market St., Tiffin

Nov. 16 – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Erie County Chamber of Commerce (conference room), 225 W. Washington Row, Sandusky

Nov. 22 – 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Terra State Community College (Building B, Room 101), 2830 Napoleon Road, Fremont

These events are free and open to the public.

To register or for more information, call Bill Auxter, Director of the Ohio Small Business Development Center at Terra Community College, toll-free 800-826-2431 or 419-559-2210 or contact him by email at bauxter@terra.edu.

Owens receives training grant
Owens Community College has been selected as one of only 32 higher educational consortium groups nationwide to receive a U.S. Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grant for targeted training and workforce development to help economically dislocated workers who are changing careers.   Owens, along with nine other community colleges from around the country, will receive a $19.6 million grant for workforce training that targets the health professions.

The $19.6 million grant is part of nearly $500 million in first round of grants to community colleges for job training and workforce development. The U.S. Department of Labor is implementing and administering the program in coordination with the U.S. Department of Education. Owens will receive $1.4 million as part of the three-year grant initiative.

Owens will focus its efforts on academic curriculum and professional development specific to health educational programs, advising, experiential learning resources and employment services, highlighted by an Owens career services representative providing “on-site” career and educational assessment advice to incumbent health professions workers at such health care organizations as ProMedica.

Terra, UT announce partnership
The Early Childhood Education department at Terra State Community College will collaborate with the University of Toledo in an initiative that will benefit special needs families.

With the help of a grant, “The Partners’ Project” will enhance Terra’s curriculum as a means of better preparing early childhood educators to work with young children who have special needs and their families.

Terra is the first community college to be selected for the project, which will be extended to four other community colleges in the next four years.

The purpose is to include content related to evidence-based practices into the early childhood education curriculum and enhance the quality of inclusive practicum sites for Terra's early childhood education majors.

Faculty will participate in revising the Early Childhood Education Program and curriculum; participate in a series of webinars designed to enhance their knowledge and skills; collect data and fully implement the necessary changes necessary to better prepare our students and ourselves for the role of inclusion in the field of early childhood education.

For more information on the Early Childhood Education program at Terra, call Stacey Pistorova at 419-559-2216.

Cell phone drive
Ottawa County Christian Academy in Oak Harbor is conducting a cell phone drive, which will run through the end of the school year.

Proceeds from the drive will go toward meeting the school’s operational costs.

All cell phones will be accepted. Chargers and phone accessories are not needed. Drop boxes have been set up at the school, located between SR 163 and SR 105, just past Oak Harbor High School. Phones may be dropped off weekdays between 8 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

For more information, call 419-898-3888.

Info on Niles Beach sought
Bowling Green State University student Aimee Weidner, of Graytown, is seeking information regarding the old Niles Beach for a research project she’s conducting.

Weidner, a senior Environmental Science major with a specialization in Education and Interpretation and a Canadian Studies Minor, is working with Maumee Bay naturalist Dana Bollin and BGSU’s Dr. Edmund Danzinger.

Her independent study project involves collecting background geological and ecological history of the Black Swamp, native peoples and early Euro-American settlers; a study of Niles Beach, a look at Maumee Bay State Park history and a study of invasive species in the park.

Specifically, Niles is looking for information on Niles Beach. “I’d like to obtain copies or stories from Niles Beach’s heyday, from the late 1800s through the 1950s – to understand what the beach was like prior to the purchase by the State of Ohio,” she said. “I would also like to gather any information on those families displaced by the purchase of property in this area by the state.”

Weidner says she’d to make the project a public education tool to show how different generations have changed the landscape around them, as well as how the landscape has effects on people.

“I also hope to educate the public about control of invasive species and that habitat destruction for our own recreation is an all-around bad idea,” she said.

For more information, contact Weidner at 567-277-1242 or email aimeew@bgsu.edu.