Coaching girls: It’s different than coaching boys. I’ve waited a long time to write about this because male coaches (and some female) tend to be skeptical about my observations. I will plunge ahead anyway, because during 21 years of coaching girls at the high school level, I experienced the same unique issues, year after year. Please understand that not every girl reacts the same way to all situations, but the patterns are pretty common. My goal in letting myself in for all the protests I will receive, is to get parents and coaches to realize girls and boys are different (duh) and need to be coached with the differences in mind.

Today is Volume 30, Issue 1 of The Beacon. That means we are beginning our 30th year as a community newspaper serving the people of Ottawa County.
Much has changed over the past 29 years since we began publishing in a tiny upstairs office at 106 W. Perry St. in Port Clinton. One big change has been the Internet. Many newspapers have been adversely affected by making choices about what to put online and what not put there. Fortunately for The Beacon, our circulation has remained virtually unchanged for 29 years, while our website has grown dramatically in popularity and readership.

Last week we ran the story about “The Last Shot” at the Port Clinton Middle School Gym/Auditorium. That got local historian Lock Zeis going and he went back into the archives of the Ottawa County Museum and pulled out an article in the Port Clinton Herald from Dec. 16, 1937, highlighting the FIRST GAME at what was then the brand new high school gym/auditorium! It was a 22-8 Port Clinton victory over Oak Harbor and drew a crowd of nearly 1,000 people. The player of the game was Gene Bolte, who replaced “Big Jim Sims” at center and was a rebounding machine.

One of Ottawa County’s true pioneers and philanthropists, Jack Schiller, passed away recently.
Schiller was truly an accomplished individual having served as a delegate of President Eisenhower for the People to People program and also served on trade missions to Europe, Asia, South America, Australia and China for Ohio Gov. Jim Rhodes.
About a year ago, he was named a Trustee Emeritus for the Ottawa County Community Foundation. He started his own Agri-business, Hayward and Company, in 1932. Jack was 103.

Valentine’s Day is almost upon us.  To celebrate, you may want to present your loved ones with chocolates, flowers or any number of other traditional gifts. But if your valentine also happens to be your spouse or your life partner, you also might want to show your love in another way  — by making sure you have adequate insurance.
Just consider some of the things that life insurance can do for you and your family: