News Briefs
Walk-in flu clinics
In an effort to keep the community healthy during the upcoming respiratory virus season, Toledo-Lucas County Health Department is offering public walk-in clinics at the following local locations:
• Wednesday, Oct. 9, 9:30-11 a.m., Jerusalem Township Hall, 9501 Jerusalem Rd., Curtice.
• Tuesday, Oct. 15, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., East Toledo Senior Center, 1001 White St.
• Tuesday, Oct. 15, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Oregon Fire Station, 1040 S. Wynn Rd., Oregon.
All insurances may be billed, including Medicare Part B and Ohio Medicaid. Vaccines are available to everyone, regardless of insurance status.
Visit lucascountyhealth.com for more details.
Birmingham Hall of
Fame Banquet set
The Birmingham Hall of Fame will hold its 45th Annual Inductee and Scholarship Banquet Sunday, Oct. 13 at 5 p.m. at United Steelworkers Hall, 2910 Consaul St., Toledo.
Banquet tickets are $25 per person. To order dinner tickets, call Carolyn Schimmel at Paramount Tax Solutions at 419-693-0911 or stop by the office at 715 S. Coy Rd., Oregon, Monday- Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
This year’s inductees include Angela Stokes, Nathaniel Jackson, Rory Cook and Tom Giovanoli.
The Birmingham Hall of Fame was founded in 1976 as a charitable organization for the Birmingham Ethnic Community in East Toledo. During the first two years, event profits were given to the Birmingham Coalition for advancement and development of the neighborhood. In subsequent years, profits were donated to the four neighborhood churches and community activities.
The Birmingham Hall of Fame Scholarship Program was established in 1991 to award college scholarships to a few outstanding high school students. To date, $315,000 in scholarships have been awarded to entering college students.
The Birmingham Hall of Fame continues to provide financial aid to the Birmingham neighborhood churches, sports teams and worthy organizations.
Tackle Hunger Challenge
A Tackle Hunger Challenge will be held in conjunction with the Oak Harbor Rockets vs. Genoa Comets football game Oct. 11, from 5:30-7 p.m. in the Oak Harbor High School parking lot.
Donations of non-perishable items will be accepted for LIGHT Neighborhood Pantry in Elliston.
Voting equipment test
The Ottawa County Board of Elections will conduct a public test of voting equipment on Monday, Oct. 7, at 12 p.m. The test will be held at the Board of Elections office, located at 8444 W. SR 163, Oak Harbor in the Veterans Memorial Building.
Visit boe.ottawa.oh.gov for more info.
Urban NWR Day
Join Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and the East Toledo community for a day of events at Navarre Park, 1001 White St., Toledo on Saturday, Oct. 12.
The event is being held in observance of Urban National Wildlife Refuge Day, which kicks off National Wildlife Refuge Week, by partnering with Toledo City Parks and One Voice for East Toledo.
The day’s schedule includes:
• 10 a.m.-12 p.m.: Community Trash Pickup. Volunteer to help clean up Navarre Park and the surrounding neighborhoods. Supplies (gloves, bags, trash pickers, etc.,) will be provided. Volunteers are encouraged to wear comfortable walking shoes and to bring water. A guardian is required to accompany youths ages 15 and younger.
• 12 p.m.-2 p.m. Activities and Tree Plantings. Grab a bite to eat and enjoy family-friendly activities, games and crafts in the park. Tree plantings will take place at 1 and 2 p.m.
Everyone is welcome.
For more information about Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge events, call 419-313-3236, visit the refuge’s website, fws.gov/refuge/Ottawa/or connect on Facebook at facebook.com/OttawaNWR.
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge is located 15 miles east of Toledo or 16 miles west of Port Clinton on the north side of SR 2.
Warrant for rape
suspect issued
The Ottawa County Prosecutor’s Office and the Ottawa County Major Crimes Unit is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a man charged with rape, kidnapping, felonious assault, and failure to appear.
The Ottawa County Common Pleas Court has issued a nationwide warrant for Sabah Al-Talaqani’s arrest following his failure to appear for a jury trial.
He was released from custody after posting a $500,000 cash bond.
Al-Talaqani, 27, tampered with an electronic monitoring device on Sept. 20, according to the prosecutor’s office.
His last known address is 6414 Plainview Ave., Detroit, Mich., and he is known to have connections in Michigan, Washington, Ohio, Florida, and Georgia.
Anyone with information about Talaqani’s location should contact the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office at 419-734-4404 or the prosecutor’s office at 419-734-6845.
Tips can also be submitted electronically to prosecutor@co.oh.us. Callers may remain anonymous.
Pickleball court
dedication set
A ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony of the Donald Z. Petroff Pickleball Courts will be held Oct. 7 at 5:30 p.m. at 5401 Starr Ave. extension.
Petroff was elected mayor of Oregon in 1971, serving two terms. In 1981, he was elected judge of Oregon Municipal Court – a position he held for 24 years.
Petroff has been an advocate for installing pickleball courts in the city for years. A committee was formed and the Oregon Recreation Complex was chosen.
Applications for
grants approved
The Wood County Planning Commission has approved applications for Community Development Block Grant funding.
The commission approved applications from:
-Village of Custar; $110,000 for High Street improvements.
-Village of Portage; $61,000for manhole and septic tank improvements.
-Northwest Water and Sewer District; $65,890 for sanitary sewer connections and septic tank abandonment.
The county is eligible for $328,000 for up to three projects.
If approved, the water and sewer district will use grant funds to help homeowners in the Dunbridge area connect to a new sewer system and close old septic tanks, Theresa Pollick, public information officer for the district, said.
Any leftover funds may be used to assist low and moderate-income families in other areas of the district with similar connections.
Road closures
The Ottawa County Engineer’s Office has announced a bridge project on Portage River South Road over Sugar Creek has been extended through Oct. 18.
Originally, the contractor, Vernon Nagel, Inc., had set a completion date for Sept. 27.
The work will continue to require the full closure of the bridge, which is located between Hessville Road and State Rt. 590.
A detour route will continue to be posted.
In another project, resurfacing work on Thompson Road will require the road to be closed Oct. 9 through Oct. 11 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Thompson Road, between Langram Road and Catawba Avenue, will be closed with the exception of emergency vehicles.
Gerkin Paving, Inc. is the contractor.
Park district webinar to discuss grants
The Park District of Ottawa County will host a free webinar Oct. 17 to discuss the 2025 Parks and Trails Improvement Grant Program.
Up to $200,000 is available to Ottawa County political subdivisions, schools, and libraries, said Jannah Wilson, executive director of the park district.
She will be answering questions from participants and the webinar will be posted to the park district website following its live broadcast.
Eligible applicants may request up to $50,000 to be used for permanent improvements to public outdoor recreation spaces/facilities/trails or equipment to maintain spaces/facilities/trails. Grant funding may also be used for planning, public surveys and engineering if the plans correlate with an outdoor recreation improvement on property owned or under long-term lease to the entity applying for the grant, Wilson said.
To date, the park district has funded more than 20 projects throughout Ottawa County including playground renovations, trail surface improvements, story walk trails, the Veterans Park & North Coast Inland Trail restroom project in Genoa, and assistance with the Duff Homestead acquisition on South Bass Island, among others.
Preregistration for the optional virtual meeting is required. To receive a meeting link to the free live webinar, email jwilson@ottawacountyparksoh.org by Oct. 14.
Grant applications will be accepted through Jan. 10, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. Judging will take place the week of Jan. 20.