News Briefs

Diabetes Get-together
The next Magruder Diabetes Get-Together will be held on Thursday, Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. in the Magruder Conference Center, 615 Fulton St., Port Clinton.
These free get-togethers are for anyone dealing with diabetes or pre-diabetes, including family and friends. The topic for February will be, “Sexuality, Urinary Health and Diabetes.”
Discussions are led by certified diabetes care and education specialists. Participants will learn, ask questions, support one another and share stories.
RSVP not required. For more information, call 419-732-4047 or email tstadler@magruderhospital.com.

Blues & boogie-woogie
pianist set to perform
The Pemberville Freedom Area Historical Society will present blues and boogie-woogie pianist Mark Lincoln Braun in concert Saturday, Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the Pemberville Opera House, 115 Main St.
“Mr. B” has become one of the premiere purveyors of a vanishing art. Having learned his craft firsthand from the early masters, he is a rare and living link to the first generation of blues and boogie pianists.
Tickets are $12 and are available in advance at Beeker’s General Store, 226 E. Front St., Pemberville or by calling Carol at 419-287-4848, as well as at the door.
The concert is presented as part of the ongoing Live! In the House Series. Learn more at pembervilleoperahouse.org.

Drugs, alcohol
may be factor
in fatal crash
Alcohol and marijuana impairment is a suspected factor in a fatal two-vehicle crash Jan. 21 on State Rt. 2 near Lyon Road in Jerusalem Township.
Caleb E. Moore, 23, Cleveland, was westbound on Route 2 when his vehicle went left of center and struck the eastbound vehicle driven by Terry Miller, 67, Curtice. A passenger in Miller’s car, Mary Spetz, 92, Oregon, succumbed to her injuries and died.
Miller was taken to Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center with serious injuries and Moore was taken to St. Charles Hospital with minor injuries.
The crash is under investigation by the Toledo Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
All occupants were wearing seat belts.

CAUV enrollment
deadline March 4
The 2024 Current Agricultural Use Value (CAUV) renewal forms have been mailed in Wood County to property owners currently enrolled in the program.
Matthew Oestreich, county auditor, said eligible property owners who are not currently enrolled may also apply for the program now.
CAUV applications are to be filed with the county auditor’s office by the first Monday in March, this year by March 4. Eligible property owners must renew each year with no renewal fee. There is a $25 initial filing fee for all new applications. If renewal forms are not returned by March 4, the auditor will be required by law to value the property at its market value and recoup the tax savings for the past three years.
Current Agricultural Use Value authorizes the county auditor to assess farmland at its crop production value rather than its market value. It protects farming operations by gearing the tax base to the production of the land rather than its potential for development
CAUV soil values are set by the Ohio Department of Taxation and are adjusted every three years for each county. New values were issued for the 2023 tax year and are effective for tax years 2023, 2024 and 2025.
“Wood County has 9,521 individual real estate parcels on Ag Use,” Mr. Oestreich noted. “A total of 314,900 acres in this program brought a tax savings to agricultural landowners last year of nearly $22 million,” Oestreich said.
If you are not currently enrolled in the CAUV program and you believe you may be eligible contact your county auditor.
Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment which created the program and since 1974 most of the state’s agricultural land has been taxed at this value instead of market value.

Waterline inventory
contract awarded
The Northwestern Water and Sewer District trustees recently awarded a project contract to identify waterline materials for several Wood County public water systems.
The project is being funded through an agreement with the Wood County commissioners, using $1 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act grant funding.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency requires that public water systems inventory the materials of all water service lines by October 2024. This project will identify those lines which are of unknown materials.
The project contract was awarded to Kyle Sherman Excavating for $746,400. Work is scheduled to begin in March and continue through September. The project involves excavating the public and private sides of the water main to determine the materials. This type of work will not typically require water service interruptions. Customers will be notified in advance of work taking place.
“The District completed a similar project in 2023 in the village of McComb using grant funding from the Ohio EPA,” said Tom Stalter, District Engineer. “We volunteered to administer a similar effort for other public water systems in the county with a combined, single project that will benefit these communities.”
Public water systems participating include the Village of Bradner, City of Fostoria, Village of North Baltimore, Village of Tontogany, the City of Perrysburg, and the district.