News Briefs Week of 3/07/20

Meeting, program
on digitizing set
The Oregon Jerusalem Historical Society will have an open meeting Tuesday, March 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the Brandville School Museum Complex, 1133 Grasser Street, Oregon.
At 7 p.m., there will be a program on personal digital archiving. John Dewees, from the Toledo Lucas County Public Library, will discuss what services are available from the library to digitize documents and photos, and how this can be accomplished on one’s own. Additionally, he'll discuss how to go about describing and storing those resources to ensure that digitized material will be meaningful and useful to you and future generations.

Neighborhood Pantry
The LIGHT Neighborhood Pantry at Elliston Zion United Methodist Church has changed its hours for March only.
This month, the pantry, open to residents of Ottawa County who struggle with food or financial insecurity, will be open on Thursday, March 12 from 5-7 p.m.
New visitors need to bring photo ID or and proof of residency. Regular hours will return to the second Wednesday of the month in April.
Elliston Zion is located off Elliston Trowbridge Road, north of Hellwig Road and the railroad tracks. For more information, email ellistonzionoffice@aol.com.

Retired Teachers lunch
The Lucas County Retired Teachers Association March Luncheon will be held Thursday, March 26 from noon-2 p.m. at the Toledo Country Club, 3949 River Rd.
Speaker Tamla Cole, State Teachers Retirement System assistant director of group member education, will provide an update about COLA and the stability of retirement funds.
This month’s charity is Mom’s House, which is requesting snacks, graham crackers, Goldfish crackers, pretzels, vanilla wafers, Cheerios and raisins.
Choices of lunch entrées includes chicken cordon bleu, herb-crusted pork loin with mustard apricot glaze and curried cauliflower steak. The cost is $24. Reservations are due by Friday, March 20. Send check for $24, payable to LCRTA, along with lunch choice, to Jeannine Petcoff, 15139 Todd Rd., Petersburg, MI 49270

State of the County
The Wood County Commissioners, Doris Herringshaw, Craig LaHote, and Ted Bowlus, will present the annual State of the County Address on Wednesday, March 11 at 8 a.m. in the Alvin L. Perkins Atrium at the Wood County Courthouse in Bowling Green.
Doors open at 7:30 a.m. County Recorder Julie Baumgardner, Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn, and Judge Matthew Reger will join the commissioners for the speech.
The Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce is coordinating the event. RSVPs are appreciated and may be made by calling 419-353-7945.

Hidden History
Join Toledo History Museum Saturday, March 7 at 1 p.m. to catch a glimpse of Toledo’s not so well-known history with local author Lou Hebert.
Hebert will be sharing stories from his book, entitled “Hidden History of Toledo,” which will be followed by a book signing. Copies of the book will be available for purchase. Admission is free; seating is limited.
Hebert attended the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University, but says he earned his advanced degrees in life from the many “professors” he met around bars, poolrooms, police stations, street corners and factories. As a broadcast journalist, he has netted several Emmy Awards, AP Awards and a coveted John Foster Peabody Award for investigative documentary production.
The Toledo History Museum is a nonprofit membership organization that cares for, showcases, and interprets pieces of Toledo history. It is located at 425 N. St. Clair St., in a storefront in the historic Valentine Building. The museum is open on Saturday from noon-5 p.m. and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. Admission is free, and donations are appreciated.
For more info about the museum, call 419-215-2437 or email toledohistorymuseuminfo@gmail.com.

Board vacancy
With the resignation of Monica Leppelmeier, the Lake school is looking for someone to fill the vacant seat.
Leppelmeier told the board Feb. 28 she was resigning to pursue career development opportunities.
Persons interested should fill out applications that can be found on the Lake website at www.lakeschools.org. Completed applications should be submitted to the board office located in the Lake High School no later than March 13.
The board intends to conduct interviews during the evenings of March 24 and 25.

Sturgeon program
to be discussed
The reintroduction of the lake sturgeon into the Maumee River will be the topic of the March 12 meeting of the Lake Erie Waterkeeper meeting in downtown Toledo.
The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. and will be held at Packo’s on the Park, 7 S. Superior St.
Brian Schmidt, fish biologist at the Sandusky Fisheries Research Station, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, will discuss the history and impact of this creature that can weigh up to 200 pounds and live to be well over 50 years. Tagged sturgeons, four-to-seven-inches long, were released near the Toledo Zoo in 2019 and 2018. It's believed they will swim to Lake Erie and when they mature, return to the river to spawn.
Before the 1800s, the fish were prolific but their populations were decimated by polluted water, habitat loss, and commercial fishing, said Mr. Schmidt. A desirable caviar was made from their eggs, their oil was used in lamps, and their meat was often smoked and eaten. A handful of "remnant" populations remain from which eggs are collected and fertilized for reintroduction efforts, he added, and fishing and spearing are permitted in a few areas where populations are stable.
Sturgeon won't prey on potentially invasive Asian carp but will, along with other native species, help stabilize the ecosystem, he said.
The meeting will continue after Schmidt’s 7 p.m. talk. Information at lakeeriewaterkeeper.org.

Applications for grants

Communities planning water quality improvement projects may be eligible for grants from Ohio EPA covering 100 percent of a project’s costs. Ohio EPA has issued a request for proposals, with applications due March 16.
The funding is being made available through Section 319 of the federal Clean Water Act, which addresses nonpoint source pollution affecting lakes and streams. The Agency anticipates more than $2.5 million in funding will be available to local governments, park districts, soil and water conservation districts, and others to implement water quality improvement projects to reduce sources of impairments such as nutrients, habitat, channelization, and sediment. To be eligible, projects must be included in a watershed plan known as a Nine-Element Nonpoint Source Implementation Strategy.
This year, these subgrants will provide 100 percent of the project cost and have a maximum three-year term. Local participants are not required to provide matching funds. Ohio is providing the necessary match through state funded projects.
Historically, communities have used these funds to implement agricultural nutrient reduction practices, stream restoration, acid mine drainage abatement, storm water quality retrofits, and more.
Applications for 2020 nonpoint source implementation projects must be received by March 16, 2020. The application and request for proposals are available on Ohio EPA’s website.
Prospective applicants should review the announcement and application forms carefully and direct questions to John Mathews, nonpoint source program manager, at 614-265-6685 or john.mathews@epa.ohio.gov; or to Rick Wilson, technical program specialist, at 614-644-2032 or rick.wilson@epa.ohio.gov.

EPA tests drinking water

Ohio EPA recently announced that it has begun collecting samples to test for the presence of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Ohio’s drinking water.
The testing, which is being conducted as part of the statewide PFAS Action Plan, will determine if the chemicals exist in any of Ohio’s 1,500 public water systems. Approximately 250 schools and daycares with their own public water systems are being tested first.
“Children are considered a sensitive population when exposed to environmental contaminants like PFAS,” said Ohio EPA Director Laurie A. Stevenson. “We need to ensure the water that children drink at these schools and daycares is not contaminated with PFAS above the Ohio PFAS Action Levels.”
PFAS are manmade chemicals used in products such as carpeting, upholstery, cookware, food packaging, and firefighting foam. PFAS can be transported through rainwater run-off or migrate through soil, posing potential contamination threats to surface and ground waters.
Although there are currently no national drinking water standards for PFAS nor mandates for its testing, Governor Mike DeWine called for the development of the PFAS action plan to identify the extent of PFAS chemicals in Ohio’s drinking water systems. If PFAS is detected in a public water system, Ohio EPA will work to help the system to implement preventative and long-term measures to reduce PFAS-related risks.
Ohio EPA will provide the test results to each public water system and publish the data publicly on Ohio’s interactive PFAS website, pfas.ohio.gov under the “data” tab. Once a sample is collected, testing is anticipated to take several weeks due to the complex nature of analytical methods.
Ohio EPA expects to complete sampling of Ohio’s 1,500 public water systems, including those that serve communities, schools, daycares and mobile home parks, by the end of 2020.
Ohio EPA and ODH are also working together to provide the public with educational information and resources regarding PFAS, including information for individuals that have private drinking water wells.
For more information on PFAS and Ohio’s PFAS Action Plan, visit pfas.ohio.gov.

Humane Society
fundraiser set
A fundraiser for the Humane Society of Ottawa County will be held Sunday, March 15 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Ciao Bella ristorante italiano, 3880 Harbor Light Landing Dr., Port Clinton.
Diners may choose between a spaghetti and meatball or fettuccini Alfredo dinner. The cost is $10 per dinner. Dine in or carry out. Reservations will be accepted.
The fundraiser will also include a silent auction at 1 p.m.
Call Ciao Bella at 419-734-2426 for reservations.

Voters urged to
plan routes to poll
The Ottawa County Board of Elections reminds voters in the Harris 1, 3 and 4 precincts that the Elmore bridge on SR 51 will be closed as of March 16.
Voters should plan on traveling alternate routes on Election Day, March 17, to reach the polling location at American Legion Post #279 at 345 Sherman St.
Early voting is available at the Board of Elections Office, 8444 W. SR 163, Oak Harbor, from 8 a.m.-7 p.m. during the week of March 9-13. Early voting is also available Saturdays March 7 and 14 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday, March 15 from 1-5 p.m. The last day to early vote is Monday, March 16 from 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
Call 419-898-3092 for more details.

Housing Complex

Oregon City Council will consider for approval a Special Use request to build a proposed 217 unit multi-family housing complex at 4050 Navarre Avenue and 900 S. Lallendorf on March 23.
The Oregon Planning Commission heard the matter at a hearing on Jan. 21. The hearing was continued on Feb. 18 due to some opposition from area residents.
The property would require a Special Use permit because it is currently zoned C-4, which allows commercial development.
The applicant is Harry Glitz for owner Val V LLC.
Dallas Paul, of the NAI Harmon Group, Talmadge Road, Toledo, represented the applicant at both Planning Commission meetings.
The Project Review Committee suggested there should be a 50-foot rear building line setback. Within that 50 foot building setback, there should be a 25-foot landscaping buffer.
Some area residents expressed concerns about increased traffic congestion and proper buffering at the site.
The site encompasses 27 acres. The Special Use request is for the back 18.5 acres. The frontage will be used for commercial development, which is currently zoned C-4.
The project will be done in phases. There will be one bedroom and two bedroom units ranging between 800 square feet to 1,200 square feet. Rent will vary, with the highest expected to be $1,300 per month.