News Briefs Week of 12/23/19

Fisheries research
funding announced
The State Controlling Board has approved the release of funding for improvements to the state’s fish research office in Sandusky.
The $290,000 project at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ (ODNR) Sandusky Fisheries Research Unit office involves several elements, including a new roof.
The primary mission of the Sandusky Fisheries Research Unit is to assess and manage fish populations and fisheries in Lake Erie's Western and Central basins and their tributary streams.
The facility houses staff members, a research lab, and research vessel to monitor the food web, the spread of exotic species in the lake, and the abundance, growth, age, diet and health of fish to insure habitat protection and resource integrity, according to ODNR.
All work on the project is scheduled for completion by June 15, 2020.

State of the
Communities
The public is invited to the “State of the Communities” meeting to discuss the 2020 outlook in government, education and the economy on Wednesday, Jan. 22, from 7:45 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in the Oregon Room at St. Charles Hospital.
Representatives from the following communities will be featured: Oregon, Northwood, Walbridge, Lake Township, Jerusalem Township, and East Toledo. RSVP to Bethany Williams, EMBCC Interim Executive Director, at 419-693-5580 or email her at director @embchamber.com

New Year’s Eve bash
Start Sandusky County’s 200th birthday year with a New Year’s Eve party featuring live music, hors d’ oeuvres and a champagne toast at the Elks Lodge, 436 Croghan St. in downtown Fremont.
The celebration, hosted by the Sandusky County Bicentennial Committee, will run from 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31, on the second floor of the Elks.
Tickets are $20 per person and include hors d’ oeuvres and the midnight champagne toast. Classic Trendz will perform live music, and there will be a cash bar.
Tickets are available online at www.bicentennial2020.org or in-person at Color Haven Paint & Supply, 105 N. Stone St., Fremont, and the Sandusky County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 712 North St., Fremont.
Ticket holders will receive a wrist band that will allow them to leave the event to participate in other New Year’s events happening in downtown Fremont and return to the party. For information on other events happening downtown, visit https://www.facebook.com/FremontNYE/.
The New Year’s Eve party is the kickoff to a year of celebration for the county bicentennial. The bicentennial committee is planning numerous events throughout the year around the county.
A schedule of events and details are available at www.bicentennial2020.org or like the bicentennial on Facebook at @SanduskyCounty2020.

House passes Latta
internet access bill
On Dec. 16, the House of Representatives voted to pass a bipartisan bill introduced by Energy and Commerce Ranking Member of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee, Congressman Bob Latta, that works to ensure federal resources are allocated to communities that lack access to the internet.
H.R. 4229, the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act, or the “Broadband DATA Act,” would improve broadband map accuracy so that federal resources can be distributed to communities that do not currently have the digital capabilities they need in order to keep pace with the rest of the country.
“Our country’s technological capabilities are revolutionizing the way Americans communicate and work with each other, but due to inaccuracies in our maps that identify where people can and cannot access the internet, some people are being left behind,” Latta said. “The passage of this bill means more Americans, whether they live in urban, suburban, or rural communities, will be able to participate in our 21st century economy, because we will be able to better pinpoint where internet access is lacking so that funding can be appropriately dispersed to areas that need it most. I encourage my colleagues in the Senate to swiftly consider this bill so people across the country can engage in the digital age.”

“Howl-i-day”
adoption event
Lucas County Canine Care & Control is holding a “Home for the Howl-i-days” adoption special through Monday, Dec. 23.
To help all the canines in the Canine Care Center find a home for the holidays, all dog adoption fees will be reduced to $10 plus the cost of a 2020 license ($25 in Lucas County).
The reduced adoption fee includes everything that’s provided in a full-priced adoption – a behaviorally and medically evaluated dog that has had its initial vaccines, heartworm testing, deworming, spay/neuter surgery, a microchip, and license.
As of today, more than 40 dogs and puppies are searching for new homes at the Canine Care Center, with more dogs going up for adoption each day.
Not able to adopt right now, but still looking to help this holiday season? Lucas County Canine Care & Control, 410 S. Erie St., is looking for volunteers who are at least 18 years of age. Donations of blankets, towels and dog supplies are also welcome.
To learn more about Lucas County Canine Care & Control and view dogs up for adoption, visit www.lucascountydogs.com.

PERI Chapter 82
to meet Jan. 13
Chapter 82 of the Ottawa County Public Employee Retirees Inc. will meet for lunch on Monday, Jan. 13 at 11:30 a.m. in the multi-purpose room of Riverview Health Care Campus, 8180 W. SR 163, Oak Harbor.
After lunch, the group will adjourn to the chapel for a program and business meeting, which will include a presentation on COLA and VIA Benefits by Dave Robenstine, District 1 Representative.
Call Carolyn Nusbaum at 419-836-8926 by Tuesday, Jan. 7 for dinner reservations.

Hayes Home Holidays
Recently discovered Christmas stockings and glass ornaments from the 1950s that belonged to Hayes Family members will be some of the decorations used during Hayes Home Holidays, taking place Dec. 20-22.
Tour the historic Hayes Home in the evening and discover the holiday traditions of President Rutherford and First Lady Hayes, as well as their descendants, who lived in the Hayes Home until 1965.
The tour and decorations will also feature later generations of the Hayes family, including stories from the 1950s. The home will be modestly decorated to be historically accurate as to how multiple generations of the Hayes family, would have kept the house at the holidays.
The event, back for its second year, includes a holiday-themed tour of the Hayes Home, as well as light refreshments and games in the museum and access to see the “Hayes Train Special” model train display. Activities are inspired by White House Christmases and will include an indoor snowball fight.
The home tours last about an hour and are at 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Ticketholders can participate in the museum activities and see the “Hayes Train Special” before or after their tour, depending on their tour time. The museum activities and “Hayes Train Special” will be open until 8 p.m.
To start the tour, a guide will lead participants from the museum to the historic Hayes Home by lantern light. Then, costumed greeters will welcome guests into the home in the evening, a time the house is not usually open for tours. Visitors will see parts of the home and learn about the Hayes family’s Christmas and New Year’s traditions. This year, the tour includes parts of the second floor of the house.
Guests will enjoy wassail, a non-alcoholic drink that was served during the president and first lady’s day. The tour also will include an interactive experience.
Tickets are available by online at https://www.rbhayes.org/events/. Tickets will be sold the days of the event, subject to availability.
Tickets are $20 for adult Hayes Presidential members, $25 for adult non-members, $8 for members ages 6-18, $10 for non-members ages 6-18 and free for kids 5 and younger (members and non-members).
The Museum Store also will be open during this event for any last-minute holiday shoppers.

Noon Year’s Eve
Bring the entire family to the Toledo Zoo on New Year’s Eve to ring in the New Year a little early – at noon. This family-friendly event, focusing on making 2020 a greener year, will take place Tuesday, Dec. 31 from 11 a.m-1 p.m.
Together with family and friends, the Zoo will celebrate the stroke of noon with the raising of its re-designed recycling ball, a cascade of biodegradable confetti, apple juice toast, a chorus of “Auld Lang Syne” and more. Throughout the celebration, guests can make conservation reZOOlutions and enjoy craft time, an ice-carving demonstration, animal feeds/enrichment, along with the Ice Slide in the Winter Village sponsored by Kroger.
Noon Year’s Eve is free with Zoo admission. The Zoo admission gates will be open on New Year’s Eve from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. with Lights Before Christmas presented by KeyBank beginning at 3 p.m. and grounds closing at 9 p.m.
More information about Noon Year’s Eve and all Toledo Zoo events can be found at toledozoo.org.

Gavarone files
election petition
State Sen. Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) formally filed petitions for election to a full, four-year term in the Ohio Senate.
Gavarone’s candidacy for the 2020 election follows her appointment by the Senate in February, filling the vacancy created by former State Sen. Randy Gardner, who became chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the Senate’s Committee on Higher Education as well as holding seats on the Senate’s Education Committee; Government Oversight and Reform Committee; Health, Human Services & Medicaid Committee and Judiciary Committee.
The district includes Erie, Ottawa, Wood and parts of Fulton and Lucas counties. As a resident of Wood County for more than three decades, Gavarone has served in several committee leadership positions as a member of the Bowling Green City Council.

Rape trial to
start in Feb.
A trial for a Walbridge man accused of rape and disseminating material harmful to juveniles has been scheduled for Feb. 25, 2020 in Ottawa County Common Pleas Court.
James E. Carter, 79, Drouillard Road, was arrested after being indicted on two counts of rape and one count of disseminating harmful matter.
According to the indictment, Carter engaged in sexual conduct with a child under 10 years old between May 1 and July 31, 2006. The second rape count alleges the same charge occurred between March 1 and May 31, 2007.
The dissemination charge covers the March 1-May 31, 2007 time period.
Carter has pled not guilty to all of the charges.
The rape charges carry sentences of life in prison and the dissemination charge is a fourth degree felony.
Pre-trial hearings are set for Jan. 6 and Feb. 12, 2020.

Band to tour
Orlando, Fla.
The Oak Harbor High School Rocket Marching Band will tour Orlando, Florida later this month and New Years Day. The band departs Oak Harbor on Dec. 27 and returns Jan. 2. Visits at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom and Epcot are planned. The band has been selected to perform in "Mickey's Once Upon A Christmastime" Parade on Dec. 29 and will participate in a Disney workshop, where students will have the opportunity to work with a professional Disney musician and record a Disney soundtrack in one of Disney's studios.