Today is December 22, 2022. This Sunday is Christmas Day. Yesterday was the Winter Solstice, and from now on, the daylight hours get longer. We at The Beacon would like to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas.

I’m writing this on Tuesday, but the weather forecast for the weekend is for a White Christmas.

Last Sunday evening, Mary Alice and I made our annual Christmas Lights tour around Port Clinton, Catawba and parts of Marblehead. The highlight again this year was the display on 5th Street in Port Clinton, a half block west of Fulton. It’s a display set to music and it is amazing!

Last Wednesday I attended the Tri-Club Christmas lunch with Kiwanis, Rotary and Lions Club members in attendance. The entertainment was provided by the “Touch of Class” vocal group from Port Clinton High School directed by Bruno Bush. They are an acapella (no musical accompaniment) group now and they were superb!

Don’t forget, our friend Wylie Walleye is on vacation for the rest of the year. I hope he doesn’t get a sunburn!

Coach Ryan Wiechman and the Port Clinton High School Girls Softball Team will be hosting a youth clinic for grades K-8.  The clinics will be held at the PC Athletic Boosters Fieldhouse on Jan. 7 and Jan. 21. Grades 5- 8 will be from 8-9:30 a.m.; Grades K – 4 will be 9:30–11 a.m. Cost is $10 per player or $20 per family.  Registration will take place on site the morning of Jan 7. Registration for Spring Youth Softball will also be taking place for grades 6-8 and Summer Youth Softball for ages 14 and under.

Benton-Carroll-Salem Local School District recently held a student council exchange with Toledo Woodward High School on Thursday, Dec. 8. This exchange was designed to help students cultivate relationship-building and problem-solving skills to become successful citizens, workers, learners and community members.

On Wednesday, Dec. 14, Bataan Memorial Intermediate hosted their annual program to benefit the local Holiday Bureau. Students brought a non-perishable food item to donate and then enjoyed a sing along of some holiday favorites.

Toby Farrell, Bataan Intermediate Music Teacher, coordinated the musical entertainment which included the Bataan Intermediate Show Choir, Bell Choir and Recorder Choir. This program is a tradition that began in the 1970s by then principal Bill Pope at the former Jefferson Elementary School.

Catawba Stewards of Little Free Libraries have readied both the West Harbor Landing and Dr. Nehls Preserve boxes with books for the holidays and Winter.

The group is partnering with The Black Swamp Conservatory to do the Storybook Trail at Dr. Nehls Preserve on Muggy Road on Catawba. The Trail starts just off the Book Box and you can drive to the water and view several pages from your car. You will need to do the rest on foot. At the end you can check out the actual book to take home and read.

On Friday, Jan. 6, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. the Port Clinton Knights of Columbus will again partner with the American Red Cross to conduct a Blood Drive at the Denny Bergeman Hall, 109 E. Perry St. To schedule an appointment, call 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733- 2767), or visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter the sponsor code PCKOC. Walk-ins are welcome but those with appointments will be served first.

Did you know that Golden Rule was the first boat in the world to engage in environmental direct action? In 1958, four men sailed to the Marshall Islands aboard Golden Rule to protest the nuclear testing that was devastating the islands and sending radioactive fallout around the globe.

Veterans for Peace operates Golden Rule, which set sail this fall and will arrive in Lake Erie’s Ohio border this July and early August. Along the loop, the crew and staff hope to hold education workshops and community events in northern Ohio cities. They have tentative event commitments in Sandusky and Toledo, and they would like to add more. For more information, contact Bill Good at 740-407-5219.