News Briefs

10th CommUNITY
Film Festival set
The Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities, in partnership with FilmToledo, and the Maumee Valley Partners for Inclusion, will host its10th CommUNITY Film Festival Sunday, Aug. 18 at the Maumee Indoor Theater, 601 Conant St.
The event is open to the entire community. Doors open at 1 p.m. and the show starts at 2 p.m.
CommUNITY Film Fest showcases amateur films made by individuals with developmental disabilities. The goal of the films, which run no longer than five minutes, is to celebrate contributions made to the community, challenge assumptions, and enhance respect for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Fifteen short films will be showcased on the big screen, competing in different categories, including the coveted Best of the Fest Award, as selected by a panel of judges.
The five-person panel includes Lucas DD Superintendent Michele Myerholtz, Maumee City Councilman Scott Noonan, local journalist Jaden Jefferson, and two individuals served by the Lucas DD board who are previous Film Fest winners. New this year will be a People's Choice Award, as voted on in real time by the audience at the festival.

CNC machines
donated to Clay
High School
The Clay High School Career and Technology Department recently hosted an open house, showcasing new donated equipment: a Computer Numerical Control Milling Center and a Trak Machine CNC Lathe.
Combined, the machines have a value of $109,000.
The donation was from Richard and Marion Leonhard of California, who have a relationship with vendors that sell the CNC systems and want to provide opportunities for expanding access to machining equipment.
The Clay department partners with Track Machine Tools to provide specialized equipment for the school’s Advanced Manufacturing and Machining program laboratories.

10th CommUNITY
Film Festival set
The Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities, in partnership with FilmToledo, and the Maumee Valley Partners for Inclusion, will host its10th CommUNITY Film Festival Sunday, Aug. 18 at the Maumee Indoor Theater, 601 Conant St.
The event is open to the entire community. Doors open at 1 p.m. and the show starts at 2 p.m.
CommUNITY Film Fest showcases amateur films made by individuals with developmental disabilities. The goal of the films, which run no longer than five minutes, is to celebrate contributions made to the community, challenge assumptions, and enhance respect for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Fifteen short films will be showcased on the big screen, competing in different categories, including the coveted Best of the Fest Award, as selected by a panel of judges.
The five-person panel includes Lucas DD Superintendent Michele Myerholtz, Maumee City Councilman Scott Noonan, local journalist Jaden Jefferson, and two individuals served by the Lucas DD board who are previous Film Fest winners. New this year will be a People's Choice Award, as voted on in real time by the audience at the festival.

CNC machines
donated to Clay
High School
The Clay High School Career and Technology Department recently hosted an open house, showcasing new donated equipment: a Computer Numerical Control Milling Center and a Trak Machine CNC Lathe.
Combined, the machines have a value of $109,000.
The donation was from Richard and Marion Leonhard of California, who have a relationship with vendors that sell the CNC systems and want to provide opportunities for expanding access to machining equipment.
The Clay department partners with Track Machine Tools to provide specialized equipment for the school’s Advanced Manufacturing and Machining program laboratories.

Lane closure on
Norden Road
Beginning Aug. 12, through approximately Sept. 13, motorists can expect to experience a lane closure in the block of Norden Road between Navarre Avenue and Corduroy Road in Oregon.
The lane closure is necessary to permit Hank’s Plumbing & Heating Co., Inc. to install a new waterline along the east side of Norden Road. The contractor will be responsible for maintaining one lane of traffic through the work zone by using portable traffic signals.
The work is expected to be completed by 5 p.m. on Sept. 13.
Motorists with any questions or comments should contact the Oregon Department of Public Service at 419-698-7047 or by email at eng@oregonohio.org.

OSS recycling
grants awarded
Winners of the competitive funding grant from the Ottawa Sandusky Seneca Solid Waste Management District have been announced.
Local winners are:
-Sandusky County Park District, $5,000 for six picnic tables for White Star Beach made of 71 percent recycled plastic.
-Woodville Township, $3,063 for the OSS Township recycling drop-off site. The camera system will be used to combat illegal dumping with the help of the Sandusky County Sheriff’s Office.
-Campfire Sandusky, $6,552 for recycling bins made of 25 percent recycled content.
-Benton Township, $4,956 for six waste receptacles for Graytown Park and four baseball dug-out benches – all made from 100 percent recycled content.
The OSS board of directors awards grants in January and June.
For information about the grant program contact Gary Baty at gbaty@recycleoss.org or call 419 334-7222.

Village holiday
events planned
Walbridge Village Council has accepted the recommendations of Mayor Ed Kolanko for Halloween and Christmas events.
The mayor recommended Oct, 26 as the date for the Halloween event. It will include a children’s costume parade, a movie in the administration building, and a Trunk or Treat.
Council also gave its approval to the mayor’s suggestion the Christmas parade and tree lighting be held Dec. 9 at 5:30 p.m.
“We have a little different momentum this year and we’re going to change the direction a little here,” the mayor said. “We’re going to be using our administration building as the location to have a Trunk or Treat. We have some great space we’re going to use. We’re looking to do a tree lighting early in our administration building and have Santa inside greeting the kids and families afterwards. We have some great space here that is ideal for parking,”

Pickleball courts
named in honor
of Petroff
A resolution recognizing Donald Petroff and naming the pickleball courts at the William P. Coontz Recreation Complex in Oregon the “Donald Z. Petroff Pickleball Courts” has been passed by city council.
The resolution notes that Petroff has served the city for decades. He was elected mayor in 1971 and served two terms. In 1981, he was elected to the Oregon Municipal Court as presiding judge – a position he held for 24 years.
He has been an advocate for pickleball courts in Oregon for years and approached the parks and recreation department with the idea of bringing the sport to Oregon.
A committee was formed to review various options and city officials decided to transform city-owned property into pickleball courts at the recreation complex.
“Through Mr. Petroff’s hard work, persistence, and patience, this concept became a reality,” the resolution says.

AG challenges Kroger antitrust lawsuit

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost last week urged a federal court to toss an antitrust lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission to block a merger between Kroger and Albertsons.
"The FTC's tunnel vision in this case risks chilling the very competition that it seeks to protect," Yost said. "A full view of the competitive landscape shows no reason to delay this deal further."
In an amicus brief filed with a U.S. District Court in Oregon, Yost and three other state attorneys general ask the court to let Kroger's acquisition of Albertsons proceed. Yost and his counterparts contend that the FTC's opposition to the deal is based on a flawed understanding of the marketplace in which the two retailers operate.
The FTC – joined by eight states and the District of Columbia – sued in February to halt the merger, arguing that it would stifle competition and lead to price hikes for consumers.
Yost and his co-authors on the brief dispute those claims and point to a lack of evidence supporting the FTC's conclusion. They say the case is instead driven by an FTC policy goal – to block all mergers of large grocery chains.
According to the brief, the merger of Kroger, based in Cincinnati, and Albertsons, headquartered in Boise, Idaho, would create a stronger competitor in the retail grocery market.
To preserve competition, Kroger would divest stores in areas where the chains currently have overlapping operations. The retailers, which announced plans to merge in October 2022, have more than 5,000 stores throughout the country, with only a 10th of them overlapping, the brief says.

I-75 rest stop
closed for
maintenance
The Ohio Department of Transportation will close the Northbound I-75 rest stop for one day on Aug. 20, for pavement maintenance.
Parking lots on the passenger vehicle/car side of the rest area will be closed beginning at approximately 6 a.m. and remain closed until 8 a.m. Aug. 21. The restroom/refreshments building will also be closed.
Barrels and barricades will close the passenger vehicle parking entrance. Commercial truck parking will be open and accessible to tractor trailers during the closure, however the restroom/refreshments building will remain closed.
The northbound rest area is located near mile marker 179, about 4 miles south of central Bowling Green.

Sculpture to arrive in Gibsonburg
To redevelop the former downtown site of an abandoned and blighted gas station into a vibrant downtown park area, the Village of Gibsonburg will be welcoming a special sculpture to The Logyard Park on W. Madison Street on Aug. 19.
“Spirit” is an 8-foot, hand carved wooden bear sculpture that will stand in the center of the park.
The name “Spirit” was chosen by judges in a contest held earlier this summer. Sharon Sutton submitted the name, saying “Gibsonburg has always been known for the spirit in the schools and the community.”
Sculptor Kris Connors of Custom Sculpture in Nickelsville, Virginia has been creating “Spirit” out of white pine, using chainsaws and other carving tools. When the sculpture arrives in Gibsonburg it will be affixed to a poured concrete platform.

Commissioners
hire assistant
The Ottawa County commissioners have approved the hiring of Brandi Overmyer as administrative assistant in the commissioners’ office.
The hiring is effective Aug. 19 and the pay rate is $22 per hour.

Road contracts
approved
The Ottawa County commissioners have approved a contract with Gerken Paving, Inc. for 2024 asphalt/concrete resurfacing of township roads.The contract is for $658,587.
The commissioners also signed a contract with Gerken for pavement striping of township/county roads for $126,308.