The Multiple Sclerosis benefit Walleye Fishing Tournament will be held on June 5. It is an opportunity to help people with multiple sclerosis and enjoy a day of walleye fishing . Sign up by getting a group of six friends, customers or co-workers to fill a boat. The fully-stocked boat will set sail from the Midway Marina in Port Clinton.

More than 150 anglers are expected to participate in the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s 24th Annual Walleye Fishing Tournament. The anglers are treated to a continental breakfast starting at 6:30 a.m. before they head out to fish aboard a charter boat with a licensed charter boat captain at the helm. Each boat is stocked with food, beverages, bait and ice.  

When the participants return in the afternoon they take part in a light dinner and win prizes while their catch is being cleaned and bagged for them to take home.  Prizes are awarded for first, second and third place, for largest fish and stringer.

The cost for a boat with six people is $1,200.  Individual tickets are also available for $250. After May 30, the price for a boat will increase to $1,300 and individual tickets will no longer be sold.

The money raised through the MS Walleye Tournament helps more than 20,000 Ohio residents living with multiple sclerosis. Funds are directed toward services like transportation, durable medical equipment loan, friendly-visitation programs for those who are homebound or hospitalized and self-help groups.  Funds also support research efforts at Ohio institutions like the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Case Western Reserve University and The Ohio State University Medical Center where MS researchers are working to find the cause and a cure for the disease.

Join presenting sponsor Shamrock Companies Inc. and other participants as they fish for walleye and for a cure.  Call Tony Bernard at 614-515-4608 for more information or visit  www.MSohiobuckeye.org.

About Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system, interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and the body. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with more than twice as many women as men being diagnosed with the disease.  MS affects more than 2.1 million people worldwide.

About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
The National MS Society addresses the challenges of each person affected by MS by funding cutting-edge research, driving change through advocacy, facilitating professional education, collaborating with MS organizations around the world, and providing programs and services designed to help people with MS and their families move their lives forward. The Society is dedicated to achieving a world free of MS. Join the movement at www.MSohiobuckeye.org.

Composting is one form of recycling that can happen right in your backyard. Catawba Island Township, Sandusky County Park District, Ottawa County Soil & Water Conservation District and the Ottawa, Sandusky, Seneca Joint Solid Waste Management District are sponsoring a Compost Workshop on Wednesday, May 22nd. The Compost Workshop will demonstrate how composting yard waste, food scraps, and other organic materials are used to create a nutrient-rich soil conditioner for yard or garden. 

Pre-registration is required to attend one of two available sessions because of limited space. The pre-registration deadline is Tuesday, May 21. The first session will begin at 10 a.m. and the evening session will begin at 6:30 p.m. There will be a charge of $5 to participate.

Each year the workshop is sponsored in one of the District’s three counties. The 2013 workshop will be featured in Ottawa County at the Catawba Island Township building located at 4822 E. Cemetery Road, Port Clinton. The compost workshop is open to all District residents including all residents of Fostoria and Bellevue. 

“It doesn’t make any sense to throw away materials that can be turned into compost in your backyard,” said Tim Wasserman, Director of the Ottawa, Sandusky, Seneca Joint Solid Waste Management District.  "We want to offer these workshops to educate residents on the proper way to create and maintain a compost pile.”

The workshop will cover basic techniques and essentials of composting.  These aspects include the composting process, materials to place in your pile, common compost problems and other helpful information.

Registered participants will be put into a drawing to win composting and gardening door prizes.  In addition, participants will be provided with snacks and a tour of Catawba Island Township's compost area and Cedar Meadow Nature Preserve.

Residents may pre-register by calling the Ottawa County Soil & Water Conservation District office at 419-898-1595. Information regarding the workshop can also be found on the OSS Solid Waste District’s website at www.recycleoss.org. or on Facebook at Ottawa Sandusky Seneca Green Recycling Scene or on Twitter by searching: OSS Solid Waste @Aim2BGreen. For more information call the District's main office at 419-334-7222 or toll-free at 1-888-850-7224.

When John Minier of Catawba was preparing his boat for the season, he found that the boat had an uninvited passenger. Fortunately, having wintered in Arizona, Minier was well-prepared with his handy snake-catching tool and the snake was soon encouraged to take a swim and find other lodging.

The 33rd Anniversary of the Walleye Festival is a little greener.  Festival goers and vendors are encouraged to recycle glass, cans, cardboard and plastic at the Walleye Festival. The recycling is coordinated by Main Street Port Clinton in cooperation with Republic Services and the Ottawa, Sandusky, and Seneca County Joint Solid Waste District.

For more information, please visit www.walleyefestival.com.

Ohio hopes to lead the nation again with the highest number of participants for the “Ready, Set, Wear It!” life jacket safety awareness events on Saturday, May 18. These events will kick off National Safe Boating Week, May 18-24, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).

According to the Recreational Boating Statistics 2011 released by the U.S. Coast Guard, 70 percent of all fatal boating accident victims drowned, and of those, 84 percent were reported as not wearing a life jacket.