News Briefs

By: 
Staff Writer

Woodville 4th of July
The 81st Woodville 4th of July Celebration will be held June 28-July 1 at Trail Marker Park, located on South Cherry Street.
The celebration will kick off Wednesday at 7 p.m. with the opening of the beer tent, which will feature polka music through 10 p.m. Pick-up for 5K Race packets will be held from 7-9 p.m. at the raffle stand.
In addition to rides, midway, bingo, Big Six and raffles, daily highlights include:
Thursday:
• 5 p.m. – Midway and rides open.
• 5-8 p.m. – Car Show – (orchard).
• 6 p.m. – Heidi’s Twirlers (tennis court); Dance Party with A&J Sound (front stage).
• 7:30 p.m. – Various local artists performing (beer tent).
• 8 p.m. Water fun with the Woodville Fire Department.
• 11 p.m. – Cash drawing, $100.
Friday:
• 5 p.m. –Midway and rides open; Race registration opens (bridge).
• 6 p.m. – Kindred Soul (front stage).
• 7:04 p.m. – Kids One-Mile Fun Run (bridge).
• 7:30 p.m. – 5K Race (bridge); Mood Lifters (beer tent).
• 11 p.m. – Cash drawing, $250.
Saturday:
• 12 p.m. – Midway and rides open; Grand Parade.
• 1 p.m. – Glittering Stars Dance Company (front stage).
• 2 p.m. – Parade awards (front stage).
• 2-5 p.m. – Woodville High School/Woodmore Reunion.
• 5 p.m. – Kids bicycle drawing.
• 6 p.m. – Dem Bonz (front stage).
• 7:30 p.m. – Kindred Soul (beer tent).
• 10 p.m. – Fireworks.
• 11 p.m. – Cash drawing, $1,000.
Ride tickets are $1.25 each, $20 for 20 or $25 for a wristband (rides require three to six tickets each).
For more information, visit Woodville4th.com or @woodville4th on Facebook or follow Wdvl_4thOfJuly on Twitter and wdvl_4thofjuly on Instagram.

Artificial intelligence
scam discussion set
The Lake Township Police Department, in conjunction with its Neighborhood Watch program, will host a meeting to discuss how scammers are utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to scam unsuspecting victims out of money and their identity.
The discussion will be held Tuesday, June 27 at 7 p.m. at the Lake Township Hall, 27975 Cummings Rd. Millbury. There is no charge for the event and no pre-registration is required.
“People are being scammed out of millions of dollars and their identity is being stolen through these scams when they are thinking they are talking to their relatives and friends,” said Ron Craig, Lake Township Police Department’s crime prevention officer and community policing officer.
Craig said the AI being used is so good, even experts are being fooled by the technology.
Details will be provided during the meeting as to how the scammers are gaining access to a person’s voice, using the new technology of AI to duplicate that voice, then using information that is readily available to complete the scam.
“We will also inform people how they can protect themselves and thwart these types of scams,” Craig said. “We hope the public will attend this Neighborhood Watch meeting to learn details of the scams.”
Members of the township’s Neighborhood Watch groups are encouraged to attend the meeting as well.
Government officials estimate that $10 billion dollars are lost annually to various types of scams.
“We get reports on a regular basis from people, especially seniors, who are either victims of scams or potential victims. We had one resident who lost more than $6,000 in a scam that involved money being sent to Hong Kong,” Craig said. Once people lose their money or identity to scammers, there is little law enforcement officials can do to get it back.
“Most scammers are operating from outside the United States, so they are usually beyond the reach of even the FBI,” Craig pointed out.
For more information, call 419-481-6354.

Blood drive set to
honor Meridith Beck
Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge are teaming up with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive at the Visitor Center on Saturday, July 8 in memory of Refuge Friend, Meridith R. Beck, who passed away in February at the age of 82.
The blood drive will be held from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Refuge Visitor Center. To schedule an appointment, visit redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=ONWF or call Aimee Arent, Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge executive director, at 419-707-7756.
Beck had a lifelong mission of service to others and to the environment. For five years, she worked with the American Red Cross serving military hospitals, including a one-year assignment aboard the Navy hospital ship Repose in the waters of Vietnam.
She served as the director of the Ottawa County Red Cross from 1972-1975. She was also a conservationist and worked tirelessly to preserve America’s natural beauty.
“Meridith was one of a kind. She loved the refuge and was always so excited to bring friends for visits to see the dozens of eagles here. And she lived for the tundra swan migration in the fall,” Arent said. “She had also volunteered for several years as part of the North American Butterfly Association’s butterfly count in remote parts of the refuge. She even created her own little backyard butterfly oasis where migrating monarchs would flock to as they crossed the lake on their journey to Mexico.
“She was an incredible advocate for wildlife, for youth – especially women starting conservation careers – and for the conservation of the Lake Erie marshes,” Arent said. “Meridith’s life revolved around service to her community. We feel that we can keep her memory alive by carrying on her mission of service to the community by supporting the causes she cared about.”
The Refuge is located at 14000 W. SR 2, Oak Harbor – look for the big green building off of Route 2.
The Refuge’s Wildlife Drive will also be open on July 8. Visitors are welcome to take the seven-mile, one-way gravel road back through woodland, prairie, and wetland habitats. The Wildlife Drive entrance is in the Visitor Center parking lot. The drive is open from sunrise to sunset, weather-permitting.

Presidential Book Club
One of the staff assistants to the man who ran President Ronald Reagan’s White House will speak with the Presidential History Book Club during its June meeting at the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums.
Katherine Hutto, who was James A Baker III’s staff assistant during Reagan’s first term, will join the book club virtually at noon on Wednesday, June 28.
The club will discuss “The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III,” by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser. Admission is free, and participants do not need to have read the book to attend.
The meeting will take place in person in the Hayes Presidential auditorium and online via Zoom.
To join through Zoom, visit zoom.us/j/8483954717?pwd=YVg0a2xVa0dseEtjR2R4SVZ4VWZ0dz09. The meeting ID is 848 395 4717, and the passcode is HPLM.
Baker influenced and advised Republican presidents from Gerald Ford to George W. Bush, as well as worked on many of their campaigns. In addition to leading Reagan’s staff, he served as U.S. secretary of state under George H.W. Bush.
Hutto worked with Baker in the Reagan Administration from 1980-1985 and was his staff assistant for four years.
In 1986, she moved to Amman, Jordan, to work as private secretary to Jordan’s Queen Noor. Three years later, she returned to the United States and worked as Noor’s U.S. executive assistant until 1996.
Hutto is a native of Chevy Chase, Maryland, and lives in Winter Garden, Florida. She has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Georgetown University.
She also has some connections to the descendants of President Rutherford B. Hayes. She attended school with descendant Stephen Hayes, a former Hayes Presidential board president who passed away in 2020, and is a childhood friend of Stephen’s widow, Theo Tuomey Hayes.
“The Presidential History Book Club is excited to invite Mrs. Hutto to discuss this book on an individual who had such an impact on the presidency,” said Dustin McLochlin, Hayes Presidential historian who leads the book club. “We have been lucky to have a number of authors and experts discuss many of the presidents in our book club, but we have never had an individual who actually worked for an administration.”
For the full book club schedule, visit rbhayes.org/news/2022/11/16/general/presidential-history-book-club-discusses-titles-about-american-presidency/.
For information, call 419-332-2081, or visit rbhayes.org.

‘Stairway to Zeppelin’
Led Zeppelin tribute band, Stairway to Zeppelin, will be live at Sauder Village for a summer concert on Saturday, July 29.
Tickets are now on sale for the evening concert on the 1920s Main Street at Sauder Village.
“We’re excited to have live music back at Sauder Village with a spectacular concert featuring Stairway to Zeppelin, a band that pays homage to one of the greatest rock and roll bands Led Zeppelin,” said Jeanette Smith, marketing director. “At this concert on Main Street you’ll hear songs like ‘Rock ‘N Roll,’ ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ ‘Whole Lotta Love,’ ‘Heartbreaker,’ ‘All of My Love’ and many more.”
Doors for the concert will open at 6 p.m., with local artist Lee Warren performing at 6:30 p.m. and Stairway to Zeppelin taking the stage at 8 p.m. Sandwiches and snacks will be available for purchase on Main Street and the Soda Fountain will be open with sundaes, chocolate malts, cherry phosphates and other treats for sale. Adults can order wine, craft beers and the latest Prohibition cocktails at The Broken Barrel Speakeasy along Main Street.
Tickets are $30 for general seating and $25 for Sauder Village members and are available online at saudervillage.org.
While some bleacher seating will be available, guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs to relax and enjoy the concert on the 1920s Main Street. Coolers are not allowed.
Sauder Village is located at 22611 SR 2 in Archbold.

Water utility
aid extended
Families needing help with water utility expenses are encouraged to seek assistance through the Great Lakes Community Action Partnership (GLCAP) Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP).
The deadline to apply for assistance has been extended to Sept. 30.
GLCAP-LIHWAP provides financial assistance for households to prevent water utility shutoffs, re-establish water service, establish new water service or pay for service transfers. GLCAP-LIHWAP serves residents of Ottawa, Sandusky, Seneca, and Wood County who are at or below 175% federal poverty guidelines (e.g. $23,783 annual income/household of one; $52,500 annual income/family of four).
Funding for the program has been provided through the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services via the Consolidated Appropriations Act and American Rescue Plan Act.
“Before this funding, we were not able to assist families facing unaffordable water bills or needing help starting water service,” GLCAP Energy Assistance Manager Joyce McCauley-Benner said. “Since the inception of the program in 2021, we have now been able to meet these needs in our communities and encourage those in need to reach out to GLCAP for help.”
For more information or to apply, visit glcap.org/waterhelp or call 567-432-5046.

Chase ends in arrest
The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man and charged him with failure to comply, fleeing, and eluding after a high-speed chase June 21.
Nathaniel Sturdivant, Jr. was lodged in the Ottawa County Detention Center on third degree felony charges.
A sheriff’s deputy on patrol was alerted about 8:45 p.m. about a Nissan Sentra driving erratically eastbound on State Rt. 2. The deputy initiated a traffic stop and the vehicle pulled over but then sped off. Reaching speeds of 120 MPH, the Sturdivant vehicle exited Rt. 2 at State Rt. 101 in Castalia and stopped on Maple Avenue where he was arrested.
Sturdivant had an outstanding felony warrant for contempt of court and improper handling of a firearm out of the Summit County Sheriff’s Office and misdemeanor failure to appear warrants out of the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office, Garfield Heights Police Department, and Stow Police Department.

Fremont car show
set for July 1
Downtown Fremont will be hosting its second of three Fremont Federal Credit Union Car Shows for the season on July 1 from 5-8 p.m. on the streets of Downtown Fremont.
Registration for the car show is free and goes on rain or shine. Pre-registration to the car show is recommended by visiting https://downtownfremontohio.org/car-shows/ to register online or calling/texting 567-342- 4758 by June 30 at 1 p.m.
The car show entrance is on Front Street as you enter from State Street. Day of check-in for show participants will be in Lot A (Brady Parking Lot) on Front Street.
Awards and trophies will be awarded at 7:45 p.m. Dash plaques and goodie bags will be given to the first 150 participants and there will also be a 50/50 raffle plus door prizes.
Food trucks and special vendors will be a part of the car show also. At 5:30 p.m., Down Thyme Café will be hosting Frankfurter Feast 2023, the annual hotdog eating contest where you can compete against others in a rapid hotdog downing event. The winner receives an official 2023 Championship Belt at the intersection of Front & Garrison Street.
Fill out the online form at https://shorturl.at/fmDE3, or call 419 332-4334 to be added to the list of participants.
After the car show, there will be a 4th of July fireworks display at dusk at Rodger Young Park.
Between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. on July 1 there will be no parking on Front Street between Croghan Street and Hayes Avenue and on Garrison Street between Arch Street and Bidwell Avenue. Also there will be no parking in the Lot A (Brady Parking Lot) starting at 2 p.m. until 10 p.m.

Fatal crash in
Jerusalem Twp.
The Toledo Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating a single vehicle fatal crash that occurred June 17 at 1:24 a.m. on Metzger Marsh State Road near Bono Road in Jerusalem Township.
The preliminary investigation shows an ATV, operated by Nicole Glynn, 29, Rossford, was driving southwest on Metzger Marsh State Road when the driver failed to negotiate a curve, the vehicle overturned, struck the embankment, and rolled.
The right front passenger Timothy Weiland, 45, Oregon, was pronounced deceased at the scene. Nicole Glynn along with two other passengers, Andreonia Giles, 26, Perrysburg, and Kelsey Meldrug, 23, Toledo, were all transported to St. Vincent’s Hospital with serious injuries.
The accident remains under investigation.

Mosquito control
grants awarded
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $816,000 in grants to 46 municipalities and departments for mosquito control.
The funding is designed to help mitigate the spread of mosquito-borne viruses such as Zika, West Nile, and La Cross Encephalitis.
In Northwest Ohio, 11 county and city health departments are receiving grants. They are:
-Ottawa County Health Department, $16,370
-Village of Pemberville, $7,460
-Wood County Health Department, $20,000
-Village of Liberty Center, $15,340
-Ashland County Health Department, $25,000
-Erie County Health Department, $15,230
-Galion City Health Department, $13,000
-Hancock Public Health, $24,360
-Henry County Health Department, $8,400
-Richland Public Health, $14,980
-Shelby City Health Department, $11,700

Tornado follow-up
Following the destruction caused by an EF2 tornado that swept into Ottawa County on June 15, the county commissioners have declared a state of emergency.
By executing the disaster declaration, the commissioners are permitting the use of emergency funds various agencies may have available while residents continue to recover from the storms.
Permits are needed for larger damage repairs and are available at the county building department. Also, questions about verifying contractors can be directed to the building department office at 419-734-6767.
Jennifer Widmer, county auditor, is advising property owners with buildings damaged or destroyed to complete an application for the Deduction for Destroyed or Damaged Real Property Form (DTE 26).
The form is available at the auditor’s website: https://ottawaohauditor.ddti.net. Questions should be directed to the auditor’s office at 419-734-6740.
Fred Peterson, director of the county Emergency Management Agency, is encouraging residents to review the tornado warning procedures and sign up for the county’s free cell phone alerting program at:https://entry.inspironlogistics.com/ottawa_oh/wens.cfm.

Denial recommended
for zoning requests
The Lake Township Zoning Commission is recommending a request to rezone a 33.3-acre parcel along Woodville Road be denied.
The commission met Wednesday to hear two zoning applications.
Hillabrand Holdings, LLC, had submitted a request to rezone the parcel from an R-2 residential zoning classification to a B-3 commercial zoning.
With the commission’s decision, the non-binding recommendation will be submitted to the township trustees, who will consider the application in July.
The zoning commission also heard a request from Cold Forge to rezone about 1.31 acres also along Woodville Road from the B-1 commercial classification to an M-1 industrial classification.
The commission delayed action on that request for 30 days while decibel sound tests can be conducted.
Earlier this month, the Wood County Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend denying the two zoning change requests.

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