The Knoll Crest Shopping Center parking lot will be the site for a very special event this Saturday, May 19. It is a Rally for Kids in support of CASA — Court Appointed Special Advocates — and Joyful Connections. There will be gobs of activities for young and old alike. All of the activities for the kids will be free. The Ottawa County Sheriff’s office will be there for child fingerprinting. There will also be a 5K run/walk, a Cornhole Tournament, a sidewalk sale with 20 vendors, basket raffles, food and a Grocery Run Raffle for a 3-minute shopping spree at Bassett’s Market. So, make it a point to stop by and join in the fun this Saturday.

One of Port Clinton’s top success stories is the Conestoga Neighborhood on the City’s east end. Since the neighbors joined together to make that part of Port Clinton a better place, crime rates and police calls have dropped dramatically. The first meeting/potluck of the year for the group will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. tonight (Thursday, May 10). The meeting will be held at the Lakeview Park shelter house. Mayor Vince Leone will be the featured speaker and Charlene Watkins from WSOS will also be on hand to discuss the Chip Program.

If you’re a mother, you’ll probably get some nice cards and flowers on Mother’s Day. But of course, your greatest gifts are your children themselves. And since you want to see them happy and financially secure, perhaps you can use this Mother’s Day as an opportunity to consider ways to help your children at various stages of their lives.
So, let’s take a look at steps you can take:

I have mixed emotions writing this column because it will be my last Coffin’s Corner for The Beacon. It’s always tough to leave a job you have really enjoyed, but it is necessary to recognize when the job has come to an end. For this and other meaningful retirements in my life, such as teaching and coaching, the only way to explain the reason was to say, “It’s just time.”
I am amazed that it has been four years and 40 columns since I asked Beacon publisher, John Schaffner, if I could write a column for his newspaper. I hoped I could draw on my experiences from coaching and teaching physical education for more than 20 years to give advice to parents and coaches on ways to help kids succeed in sports. 

When it comes to estate planning, we each have our job and duties to complete a valuable estate plan.  

THE ATTORNEY
• 1 — FACTS, CONCERNS AND TRUTH DETECTING.  Anyone can prepare documents. It is the job of the attorney to learn as much about the family unit as he can.  We must look through the niceties to determine just how the family relates to each other. We must look into future generations to determine if they can continue the business or if it should be sold. We must glean from conversations your values, your desires, and how each member of the family fit into the family puzzle. The more we learn, the more we can design a plan to protect you, your assets and your future generations.