News Briefs Week of 10/7/19

Retired teachers
to meet Oct. 24
The Lucas County Retired Teachers Association will meet Thursday, Oct. 24 at noon at the Inverness Country Club, 4601 Dorr St., Toledo.
The luncheon will include presentation of scholarships and music presented by a string quartet from Toledo School for Arts. The charity for the month is “Leading Families Home.” Members wishing to donate may check “The Slate” for a list of requested items.
Entrée choices include chicken crêpe, carved pork loin or Oriental vegetable pasta. Reservations are due by Wednesday, Oct. 16. Send lunch choice and a check for $21 payable to LCRTA to Jeannine Petcoff, 15139 Todd Rd., Petersburg, MI 49270.

Birmingham Hall
of Fame banquet
Birmingham Hall of Fame’s 43rd Annual Inductee and Scholarship Banquet will be held Sunday, Oct. 20 at 4:30 p.m. at the United Steelworkers Hall, 2910 Consaul St., Toledo.
Social hour will begin at 4:30 p.m., with the banquet to begin at 6 p.m. Dinner will include Chicken Paprikas and Pigs-in-the-Blanket served family style.
Terry Giovanoli, Michelle Giovanoli, Steve Hornyak, Dr. Tom Kellar, Kristine Ruedy and Carl Peatee will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The Birmingham Hall of Fame was founded in 1976 as a charitable organization for the Birmingham Ethnic Community in East Toledo. In the first two years of existence, all profits were given to the Birmingham Coalition for advancement and development of the neighborhood. During the following years, profits were donated to the four neighborhood churches, and community activities.
In 1991, The Birmingham Hall of Fame Scholarship Program was established. The program awarded college scholarships of $750 to a few outstanding high school students.
The Birmingham Hall of Fame continues to provide financial aid to the Birmingham Community and neighborhood churches.
Banquet tickets are $30 for adults, $15 for children ages 6-12 and free for children younger than 6. To order dinner tickets, call Takacs Grocery & Meats at 419-693-9233 or stop by the store, located at 1956 Genesee St., Monday-Saturday between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Mobility-impaired
deer hunt lottery
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Parks and Watercraft, in coordination with the Maumee Valley Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, will host a mobility-impaired controlled deer hunt at Maumee Bay State Park on Saturday, Nov. 9 and Sunday, Nov. 10.
All lottery applications for the hunt must be received by Saturday, Oct. 19. To obtain an application, visit maumeevalleynwtf.com. Only one entry per hunter will be accepted, and permits are non-transferable.
Call 419-410-5824 for more info.

LMHA symposium
Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority (LMHA) will host an event to help inform the community about the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program Thursday, Oct. 10, from 5:30-7 p.m. at The Summit Event Center, 23 N. Summit St. in downtown Toledo.
Karen Baird, interim vice president of the Housing Choice Voucher Program and Jennifer Smith, manager of the program, will be the main presenters.
The goal of the symposium is to educate the community about the Housing Choice Voucher program, including taking advantage of the program from a community housing and landlord/developer perspective. The HCV Program can create opportunities for partnerships and affordable housing solutions with funding for:
• Tenant-based rental assistance;
• Project-based rental assistance;
• Homeownership assistance.
Organizations that will benefit from attending the symposium include non-profit organizations, multi-family developers (both non- and for-profit), landlords, support service providers, financial institutions and organizations interested in learning about the HCV program. Any organization involved in housing support for their clients should find the program interesting.
The Housing Choice Voucher Program, formerly known as Section 8, assists individuals and families in finding affordable housing in the private market. Under this program, LMHA pays a portion of the rent on behalf of the individual/family. The individual/family pays the landlord the difference.
LMHA will not deny any family or individual the opportunity to apply for or receive assistance under the HCV program on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, familial status, disability, military status or sexual orientation.
LMHA’s jurisdiction covers the counties of Lucas, Fulton and Wood (excluding the city of Bowling Green) in the state of Ohio and Monroe County in the state of Michigan.
The symposium will also provide an opportunity for the community to discuss their particular housing needs with LMHA officials.
“We want our communities to be more aware of all of the benefits that the Housing Choice Voucher Program can offer to those seeking housing and those who can provide housing on the private market. It’s really a win-win for everyone and LMHA stands ready to help,” said Demetria Simpson, LMHA president and CEO.

ALS Toledo Walk
The ALS Association Northern Ohio Chapter will host the 16th Toledo Walk to Defeat ALS on Sunday, Oct. 6 at Promenade Park.
The Northern Ohio Chapter expects approximately 600 participants and hopes to raise $70,000 at the Toledo Walk.
Registration opens at 11:30 a.m. and the opening ceremony begins at 12:45 p.m. Participants will enjoy family-friendly activities, live music and the camaraderie of those united in the fight to defeat ALS.
Smash Dawgz Food Truck will be onsite selling gourmet hot dogs.
For more information, visit http://web.alsa.org/2019toledo.

“People’s Choice”
Two Northwest Ohio companies, Shelby Joe’s Sloppy Joe Sauce and Sitto’s Bakery, were voted as co-recipients of the “People’s Choice” award from the Local Food Show held Sept. 10 at the Stranahan Theater’s Great Hall in Toledo.
The event showcased regional food products to buyers and distributors during an invitation-only session. The public enjoyed the opportunity to sample and purchase products in the last 90 minutes hours of the show.
Attendees voted for their favorite product, which ultimately resulted in a first-place tie.
Produced in Bowling Green, Shelby Joe’s Sloppy Joe Sauce offers three flavors including original, sweet and gluten-free. A fourth flavor will be added soon. Products are found in several stores across Ohio.
With an online store that ships nationwide and products available in several Northwest Ohio grocery stores, Sitto’s Bakery features individually formed artisan pastries made with quality, natural ingredients.
To learn more, visit Shelby Joe’s on Facebook, and sittosbakery.com.

I-75 bridge repair
Travelers along southbound I-75 have felt a rough transition on the bridge approaches over I-280, and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) plans to fix that beginning Friday, Oct. 4 at 9 p.m.
The southbound I-75 bridge over I-280 was constructed with the I-75 widening and reconstruction project from Lagrange Street to I-280. Since the work was completed in fall 2017, some long-term settlement occurred in the bridge approach, which caused a significant dip at the bridge abutment.
To repair this dip, crews are going to overlay the approach slab and mill and resurface the asphalt leading to the approach slab. ODOT will divert southbound I-75 traffic to the Stickney Ave./Lagrange St. exit ramp off Exit 208. Drivers can also take southbound I-280 to Greenbelt Parkway (Exit 11) to get back on northbound I-280 to southbound I-75. Southbound I-75 traffic not exiting in Toledo can continue southbound on I-280 to westbound SR 795 back to I-75.
“We will extend MDOT’s two-lane construction zone down to I-280 where traffic will be diverted. We know this will cause congestion, but the diversion allows crews to get in, make the repairs quickly, and reopen southbound I-75 within about 10 days,” said Pat McColley, ODOT District 2 deputy director.
ODOT chose the full diversion of southbound I-75 traffic rather than maintaining one lane on the bridge (phased construction) for these benefits:
• Shorter construction/restriction duration of 10-14 days compared to three to four weeks of congestion for phased construction;
• Less risk extending the project into colder conditions and not meeting construction specifications;
• Better finished bridge because crews won’t have to match pavement joints;
• Enhanced safety for crews without live traffic right next to them;
• Enhanced safety for motorists because all traffic utilizing Exit 208 for I-280 and Stickney Ave./Lagrange St., so less weaving traffic;
• An estimated $50,000 of savings.

Siren test
The Ottawa County Emergency Management Agency will test the Emergency Planning Zone sirens for the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station on Oct. 11 at noon.
The 54 sirens will be activated for three minutes as part of a required annual test.

Coats for Families
The Salvation Army in Ottawa County has partnered with the Cousino Restoration and the Ottawa County Community to provide new and gently used warm winter coats for local children and families in need.
The Salvation Army’s “Coats for Families” program, which will run through January 2020, is based on donations from the general public of new and gently used coats only that will be cleaned by Cousino Restoration.
Last year, The Salvation Army collected and distributed more than 1,018 coats to local families in Ottawa County. This is the 25th year the program has been providing coats to the local residents.
Donations of new coats may be dropped off at the Salvation Army, 1834 East Perry St., Port Clinton. For more details call Salvation Army Director Maureen Saponari at 419-732-2769.

Volunteers sought for
bed-building effort
Since April Granny’s Kitchen, located at 1105 W Main St., Woodville, has been donating 20% of their Saturday proceeds to the Maumee Valley Chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a nonprofit organization that builds and delivers beds to children who do not have a bed.
Volunteers are invited to come Granny's Kitchen to help build beds on Saturday, Oct. 12 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. All ages and abilities are welcomed. No experience is necessary.
For more details, call Granny’s Kitchen at 419-849-2203 or visit www.grannyswoodville.com. To learn more about Sleep in Heavenly Peace, visit www.shpbeds.org or call the Maumee Valley Chapter at 419-482-8144.