By John Schaffner

Big-time congratulations to Stacy and her crew at Bistro 163. The Toledo Blade just came out with their restaurant ratings and guess who is No. 1? How about an award of 5 Stars giving the top ranking in the region to Bistro 163! Also listed is a 4-Star rating for 1812 Food & Spirits  on Sand Rd.

Check out The Beacon’s newly reformatted and redesigned Web Site, www.thebeacon.net. One of our specialized business services is Destination Designs, a custom Web Site Design company. Particular thanks goes to our favorite intern, Dalton Chapman of Marblehead.

Operation Bright and Loud will take place this Saturday at 8 a.m. in Port Clinton as the Port Clinton Police and Fire Departments will officially welcome home local Marine Isaiah Zapata, who earned quite a few honors from the Marine Corps. The procession starts on Buckeye Boulevard and locals are welcome to join in the procession.

Jane Lampe of Catawba Island is our winner this week in our “Find Wylie” contest. She was chosen from among 81 contestants who found our friendly fish hiding in the ad for Twin Oast Brewery on Page 10 in last week’s Beacon. So Jane is the winner of a $25 gas card graciously donated by Friendship Stores. Each week we hide Wylie Walleye in an ad and our readers, when one of them finds him, can either bring in a contest entry cut out of the paper or log onto our website … www.thebeacon.net … and let us know where he is, thus entering, and possibly winning the contest.

So sorry to learn of the death of Sr. Mary Jo Mike, the Principal at Immaculate Conception School for many years in the 80s and 90s before moving to Biloxi, Miss. just in time for Hurricane Katrina. She was well loved by her students, teachers and the parents.

The First Annual Blessing of Lake Erie will take place at Noon this Saturday, Jan. 12 at Clemons Park, across the street from Holy Assumption Orthodox Church in Marblehead. After the service, they will be serving hot soup, sandwiches, hot chocolate, coffee and tea.

The Magruder Hospital Nutrition Department is offering monthly Diabetes Get-Togethers on the third Thursday each month at noon in the Conference Center. There will be a different topic and speaker each month. For the January 17 get together, Magruder’s Physical Therapy will do a program on “Stay Active and On Track.” The group is for anyone dealing with Diabetes or Pre-Diabetes, including family and friends. Light refreshments will be provided and no RSVP is necessary.  For more information, call 419-732-4027.

Magruder Hospital will also host the monthly Alzheimer’s Support Group on Monday, Jan. 14, at 9 a.m. in the Conference Center. Meeting on the second Monday of each month, the group provides helpful tips, education, encouragement and resources to family, friends and caregivers of anyone dealing with dementia and memory loss. For more information about these programs as well as other support groups, events and screenings, go to www.magruderhospital.com and click on the events calendar.

Port Clinton High School and Middle School are offering free admission for home athletic events for government staff (Coast Guard, Border Patrol and other agencies) impacted by the partial Federal Government shutdown. Just show your government ID and the whole family receives free admission.

This time of year, The Beacon starts getting a little “skinny” thanks to our seasonal marketplace. However, we want to encourage all of our readers to please regularly check out our website, www.thebeacon.net. What we can’t fit on the pages of the newspaper, we will always try to fit on the pages of our website. Thanks.