By John Schaffner

I was very sad to learn of the passing of Linda Hartlaub this past weekend. Let me join in the chorus of voices to sing her praises. Linda was one of the most dedicated citizens the City of Port Clinton has ever produced. We worked together on many projects over the years, including the purchase of the Lake Erie Waterfront east of Fulton Street to a conservancy to make certain that it is preserved. She was a dedicated City Council person and Council President for several years. She’s gone, but she made things better for many people while she was with us. I will miss her.

This is our last issue before Christmas, so I would like to personally wish all our readers a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season. I would also like to thank all those who donated to our annual Mitten Tree, which we cleared and sent to Salvation Army for distribution. Literally hundreds of you donated to the Mitten Tree this year, which will go a long way to help make hands, heads and hearts warmer this winter.

Kathy Dale of Port Clinton is our winner this week in our “Find Wylie” contest. She was chosen from among 79 contestants who found our friendly fish hiding in the ad for Bolte Real Estate on page 6B in last week’s Beacon. So Kathy 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.

Don’t forget the annual Walleye Drop festivities will be taking place in downtown Port Clinton on Monday, Dec. 31. The overall festivities will be taking in our entire area this year. Check out wyliewalleyefoundation@gmail.com for more info.

There will be open street caroling in Port Clinton this Saturday beginning at 7 p.m. The group will be meeting at the Adams Street Gazebo and will stroll down Madison Street singing away. Song sheets will be provided. Any questions can be directed to Phoebe Borman at Phoebeborman@gmail.com.

I got a chance to stop in to Catawba Jewelers this week and meet owner Christy Pooley, who is new to our area, but not really. She spent the last several years in Vail, Colorado. Before that she had worked in food sales and Ottawa County was part of her territory. She grew up in Toledo and was a frequent vacationer here. She seems like very nice lady with some very interesting inventory. Check her out at Harbor Lights Landing.

There is a Bloodmobile visit today (Thursday, Dec. 20) at the Holiday Inn Express at the causeway off Rt. 53 North from 1-6 p.m. The Bloodmobile will also be making visits to the Oak Harbor VFW on Thursday, Jan. 3 from noon to 6 p.m.; Magruder Hospital on Friday, Jan. 4 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and on Saturday, Jan. 5 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Catawba Community Hall.

Otterbein Senior Life in Marblehead has joined up with the USO to collect nonperishable items, toys, DVDs, health and wellness items and household goods that will be given directly to our military service members and their families. You can drop off your donations at Otterbein on North Shore Blvd in Marblehead, just outside the gates of Lakeside

Congratulations to Rachael Miller of Port Clinton who has graduated as a Licensed Practical Nurse from Terra State Community College. She also participated in the “Pinning” ceremony last Monday.

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, 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.