News Briefs

Halloween

Extravaganza

The Village of Walbridge will hold a Halloween Extravaganza Saturday, Oct. 26, from 1-5 p.m.

The event will kick off with a Costume Parade starting at 1 p.m. at the Walbridge Library, 108 N. Main St. The parade will make its way to the village administration building.

At 2 p.m. the movie, “Hocus Pocus,” will be shown in the administration building’s newly remodeled Walbridge Hall, where kids can also enjoy hot dogs, ice cream and popcorn. While the movie is playing, there will be face painting by Lake High School students, along with temporary tattoos, coloring and rock painting.

Immediately following the movie, the fun will move to the building’s back parking lot for trunk-or-treating, which will run from 4 to about 5 p.m.

For more information, visit walbridgeohio.org for more information.

Rail Plan Survey

The Ohio Rail Development Commission is inviting stakeholders to participate in an update to the State of Ohio Rail Plan.  The Ohio Rail Plan is required to be updated every four years to remain competitive for federal grant opportunities.

An online survey is available for the public to provide their thoughts on the current state of the rail network in Ohio, the importance of the rail network to them, and any concerns they may have as well as priorities they would like to see the State of Ohio pursue.

The survey can be found at: https://metroquestsurvey.com/isd72

“The Ohio Rail Plan is an important document for us. It is a way to hear from all parties in Ohio: businesses, communities, railroads, and the public, on what the rail network in the state means for them. We look forward to receiving this input,” said Matthew Dietrich, executive director, Ohio Rail Development Commission.

The latest Ohio Rail Plan was published in 2019 and can be found at rail.ohio.gov/staterailplan.

Ohio AG suing

Boeing’s board

Attorney General Dave Yost is suing Boeing’s board of directors on behalf of two Ohio pension funds, seeking accountability for a pattern of safety and compliance failures that have harmed the company and its investors.

“The safety failures at Boeing are endangering lives and threatening the financial security of shareholders,” Yost said. “Running a safe, respectable company starts with the people at the top – and it’s time for them to be held accountable.”

Yost’s office – representing the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio – accuses Boeing board members of breaching their fiduciary duties by failing to properly oversee the company.

The lawsuit asserts that board members and senior management, including former Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, failed to implement adequate safety measures or to address whistleblower concerns about the company’s production processes.

Boeing’s safety and compliance failures culminated in a near catastrophe involving a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft earlier this year. In addition, an Alaska Airlines flight carrying 177 passengers was forced to make an emergency landing on Jan. 5 after a panel of the aircraft blew off shortly after takeoff.

The lawsuit contends that board members and senior management knew about the ongoing unsafe practices but even today fail to address them, choosing instead to prioritize profits over safety and regulatory compliance.

Yost is seeking to compel Boeing’s board of directors to improve safety and oversight of the company. The lawsuit is pending before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Bell ringers needed

The Salvation Army is in need of volunteer Red Kettle Bell Ringers this Christmas season.

Those wishing to volunteer to ring a kettle bell may sign up at RegisterToRing.com or email Laura Henthorn at Laura.Henthorn@use.salvationarmy.org or call 419-241-1138, ext. 105.

Callers may inquire about other volunteer opportunities this Christmas season.

Bell-ringing shifts are at various store locations in Lucas County as well as in Bowling Green, Monday-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Nov. 22-Dec. 24.

For more information about the Salvation Army, visit SalvationArmyNWOhio.org.

Natural disaster

areas designated

Five Ohio counties have been declared primary natural disaster areas due to drought conditions with eight additional counties eligible as contiguous counties.

The natural disaster designation allows the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency to extend emergency credit to farm operators in primary counties and contiguous counties through emergency loan assistance.

Emergency loans can be used to meet recovery needs, including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation, or to refinance certain debts.

FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available, and repayment ability. The deadline for producers in designated primary and contiguous counties to apply for loans is June 16, 2025.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, these counties suffered from a drought intensity value during the growing season of 1) D2 Drought-Severe for eight or more consecutive weeks or 2) D3 Drought-Extreme or D4 Drought-Exceptional.

Primary counties eligible are:

Ohio – Defiance, Fulton, Henry, Lucas and Williams.

Contiguous counties also eligible:

Indiana – Allen, DeKalb and Steuben.

Michigan – Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe.

Ohio – Hancock, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam and Wood.

On farmers.gov, the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster Assistance-at-a-Glance fact sheet, and Loan Assistance Tool can help determine program or loan options.

To file a Notice of Loss or to ask questions about available programs, growers should contact their local USDA Service Center.

Election data

project launched

State Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) has announced that the Ohio Secretary of State's office has launched a beta project for Ohioans to view voting trends and statistics during the early voting period.

"Ohio has a strong election system that serves as a national model for excellence, but we can always improve," Gavarone said. "The DATA Act gives voters an extra layer of trust and transparency in our elections through an apples to apples comparison of election data all housed in a centralized database. ‘’

This bill was the first effort by any state to require standardized definitions and election record retention.

The DATA Act was included in House Bill 33, the state's main operating budget that passed last year.