News Briefs Week Of 10/10/22

Milkweed pod collection
Due to the drastic decline in the population of the Monarch butterfly and recent designation as an endangered species, the Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative (OPHI) is again seeking public involvement in collecting and dropping off mature common or swamp milkweed seed pods at collection stations around the state.
The seeds will be used to establish new plantings and create additional habitat for the Monarch butterfly and other pollinators throughout Ohio.
The Lucas Soil and Water Conservation District is participating in this program again and serving as a collection station for Lucas County.
Collected pods may be dropped off any time in the designated bins outside the Lucas SWCD office at 130-A West Dudley St., Maumee.
For a full list of participating Soil and Water Conservation Districts, visit ohiopollinator.org.
Milkweed is essential to the survival of Monarchs butterflies and Ohio is a priority breeding area for the butterflies. The Monarch butterflies that hatch here in the late summer migrate to Mexico for the winter and are responsible for starting the life cycle all over again in the spring.
Through Monday, Oct. 31, community members are encouraged to collect fully mature, dry milkweed pods from established plants on their property and drop them off at the nearest pod collection station.
Seed pods from common or swamp milkweed should be collected when they are dry and gray or brown in color. If the center seam pops with gentle pressure, the pods are ready to be picked. It is best to put harvested pods in paper bags or paper grocery sacks. Avoid using plastic bags because they can attract moisture and allow mold to develop. Store seeds in a cool, dry area until they can be delivered to the closest pod collection area. Label the paper bag with the county, type of milkweed and date the pods were collected.

TMA Block Party
The Toledo Museum of Art will hold its Block Party on Saturday, Oct. 15 from 4-8 p.m.
Visitors are invited to enjoy live entertainment, local food and drinks and artmaking activities for all ages inside and outside the museum. The free event, now in its seventh year, returns for the first time since 2019.
“After several challenging years, bringing Toledo together again at the museum for this highly-anticipated event feels worthy of extra celebration,” said Adam Levine, TMA’s Edward Drummond and Florence Scott Libbey director and CEO. “Whether you have visited the museum many times since 2020 or this will be your first visit back, we are eager to welcome you.”
The festivities will be spread out across Monroe Street, which will be closed to traffic between Parkwood and Scottwood avenues and extend into the museum where visitors can enjoy the newest exhibition, “State of the Art: Revealing Works from the Conservation Vault.”
DJ Jazzy Jeff will headline a series of live performances by local artists outside on the Monroe Street Terrace. Kristian Brown, 13abc news anchor, will emcee the event.
In addition, the Freedom Riders will be on horseback from 4:30-6:30 p.m. There will also be performances inside the Great Gallery of the Museum from Latin American Guitarist Hector Mendoza at 4 p.m. and Caribbean steel drum band Glass City Steel at 6:30 p.m.
Drop in for two opportunities to create unique works of art to take home. Use the mini printing press to make a print, draw in the Great Gallery using inspiration from TMA’s collection or venture outside to the lawn in front of the Glass Pavilion for Family Center fall art projects. Toledo School for the Arts will provide face painting on the Glass Pavilion lawn.
TMA studio glass artists will conduct ongoing glassblowing demonstrations on the east terrace of the museum from 4-8 p.m. with “Ellie” the Baby Dragon, a small mobile furnace.
Visit toledomuseum.org for more details.

Christmas assistance
The Salvation Army will accept applications for Christmas assistance Oct. 17-24 at salvationarmyassistance.org.
Applicants must reside in Lucas County and have a valid email. Toys will be available for children through age 12 only.

After-hours bonds
The office of Vallie Bowman-English, Clerk of Toledo Municipal Court, is now accepting after-hours bonds for the municipal courts of Maumee, Oregon and Sylvania.
The Clerk of Toledo Municipal Court has an office on the second floor of the Safety Building in downtown Toledo. The service allows defendants from Toledo’s suburbs who are incarcerated and eligible to post a bond prior to seeing a municipal court judge the ability to do so outside normal business hours.
When Lucas County consolidated its 9-1-1 call-taking and dispatch operations into one central location, the municipal courts in Maumee, Oregon, and Sylvania no longer had staff on duty after business hours and on weekends to accept bonds.
Representatives from each of the suburban courts have been meeting with representatives from the Clerk of Toledo Municipal Court’s Office and the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office to find a solution to fill this void and determined utilizing the after-hours resources in Toledo to be the best solution for defendants and the courts alike.

Recycling program
under new contract
During a Sept. 7 special meeting, the board of directors for the Ottawa Sandusky Seneca, Solid Waste District voted to approve a new vendor contract to service the Aim To Be Green Township Recycling Program.
Rumpke Waste and Recycling will now service the program. Rumpke was the first company to hold the contract to service the Aim To Be Green recycling bins when the program started in 2012.
Since the time the program started 10 years ago, OSS has recycled 74 million pounds of material. Recyclables will now be sent to the Rumpke Materials Recovery Facility and transfer station in Mansfield, Ohio to be processed.
Accepted materials now include:
• Glass bottles and jars of all colors.
• Metal cans – aluminum cans, steel cans and lids, empty aerosol cans with the lids and tips removed.
• Plastic bottles (empty, crush, reattach lid).
• Plastic tubs – containers for butter, sour cream, etc. Lids should be reattached prior to recycling.
• Plastic cups (remove/discard straw, reattach lid).
• Paper – newspaper, magazines, cardboard, mixed office paper and envelopes, paperboard (cereal boxes), pizza boxes free of food debris and grease, telephone books and catalogs.
• Paper cups (remove/discard lids, straws and stoppers).
• Cartons – food and beverage cartons, such as milk, juice, soup, wine, broth and other cartons.
Other recycling tips suggested by Rumpke include:
• Mix all items together – no separation required.
• Empty all bottles, jugs and cans.
• No need to remove labels.
• For cartons, remove plastic caps and straws.
• Never place medical sharps or needles in the recycling.
• Don’t use plastic bags.
• Flatten cardboard boxes to save room for more material.
The Aim To Be Green recycling services are possible only through public funding. Revenue is not generated from the material as collection and processing costs exceed returns. Because service is billed per the number of containers and frequency of emptying (not by weight), saving space by keeping contamination out, and only recycling what was mentioned before will save money.
For more information, call or email The District at 419-334-7222, ossonline@recycleoss.org or visit RecycleOSS.org.

Museum to hold
virtual fundraiser
Support the Wood County Museum through a virtual fundraiser being conducted through Saturday, Oct.15.
Visit the museum’s online auction at 32auctions.com/wcmgala2022 to bid on prize packages. Bidding closes at 8 p.m. on Oct. 15. All proceeds from the virtual auction will support the efforts of the Wood County Museum & Historical Society to bring the community award-winning exhibits and no- or low-cost education programs and experiences.
Featured themed gift baskets include items and experiences from artists, merchants and restaurants across Ohio including Toledo Museum of Art and Toledo Zoo, Hancock Hotel, Metroparks Toledo, Miller Ferries Put-In-Bay and Middle Bass Island, Wild Side Brewing Company, Imagination Station and more.
Prize packages encompass collectibles, art and get-away experiences. Those wanting to support the historical society fundraising goal of $15,000 can also purchase a “no-show” ticket for $55/person or donate directly from the auction site or the museum website at woodcountyhistory.org.
Support for the virtual event was provided by anonymous donors, and Dolores Black and Janet Parks, Sandy and Doug Kerr, Mike and Terri Marsh, Amplex Internet, George and Edna Clemans, Andrew Kalmar and Cathy Zywer, Jim and Shirley Philo, George Stossel and Vicki Knauerhase, Lynn and Betty Wineland, George and Susan Winters, The Copy Shop and many others.
For more information, visit woodcountyhistory.org or follow the Wood County Museum on Facebook and Instagram.

Wreaths Across
America signup
Wreaths Across America will lay wreaths Dec. 17 at 11 a.m. at four Ottawa county cemeteries, including Clay Township Cemetery in Genoa, Harris Township Union Cemetery in Elmore, Salem Township Union Cemetery in Oak Harbor and Riverview Cemeteries in Port Clinton.
The Wreaths Across America committee is seeking veterans to participate in the ceremonies by laying one of eight ceremonial wreaths.
To be added to the list, veterans may call Sara Toris at 419-898-2089 and indicate their cemetery of choice.

Seeking bee
venom

A local entomologist, Russell Lamp, is again offering to remove yellow jacket nests for free if they haven’t been disturbed or sprayed.
He is collecting yellow jackets for their venom, which he provides to pharmaceutical companies that manufacture medical vaccines.
While yellow jackets nest on buildings and in the ground, Lamp prefers to remove in-ground nests.
If an in-ground colony is active, about 50 to 100 yellow jackets will be entering or leaving the nest in about a minute.
Some of the largest nests Lamp has encountered were in mulch or compost piles and raised gardens. They prefer to nest in sandy soils, he said.
To contact Lamp call 419 836-3710. He is willing to travel to Ottawa and Lucas counties and northern Wood County.

Siren testing
Ottawa County will test the Emergency Planning Zone sirens for the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station Oct. 14 at noon.
The sounding of the 54 sirens located in Ottawa and Lucas counties will last for three minutes.
The annual testing is required by federal regulations.
For information contact Fred Petersen of the Ottawa County Emergency Management Agency at 419 734-6900.

Elmore lauded
The Village of Elmore was honored during the 2022 American Municipal Power annual conference last month in Columbus.
Elmore Municipal Light and Power received a Mutual Aid Commendation in recognition of providing mutual aid assistance to the Village of Genoa during an emergency Aug. 10-11, 2021.
“The AMP board of trustees hereby commends this member system and their employees for exemplary and efficient efforts in restoring power to the Village of Genoa and its customers during its storm related outage,” a resolution by the AMP board says.