BY JOHN SCHAFFNER

The really cold weather is just around the corner. If anyone — especially kids — need a warm coat, hat or gloves, check in with Director Maureen Saponari at the Salvation Army district office in Port Clinton. Call 419-732-2769 to schedule an appointment. There are quite a few coats to choose from right now.

The Oak Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce has a history of providing superior benefits to its members and quality family friendly events to the community. The Chamber is celebrating its 50th anniversary and is inviting everyone to join them for an open house celebration on Thursday, March 5 from 5-8 p.m. at the Eagles Nest Hall, 210 Jefferson St., Oak Harbor. There will be hors d’oeuvres, drinks, and networking.

Sheila Farrant of Oak Harbor is the winner this week in our “Find Wylie” contest was chosen from among the entries who found Wylie hiding in the Wistinghausen Florist & Greenhouses ad on Page 3B in last week’s Beacon. So, Sheila wins our weekly $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 our weekly contest.

Firelands Caregiver Support Group will meet on Wednesday, Feb. 19, from 3-4:30 p.m. at Firelands Presbyterian Church, 2626 E. Harbor Rd.  Over the past few months, it has successfully created a community of support for people involved in caring for the ones they love.

If caregiving is leaving you feeling depleted, they would love to have you join them for some welcome renewal and camaraderie. Call Anne O’Malley (440-488-3055) or Carol Clemons (419-732-0644) with any questions.

The Beacon’s Coffee with the Editor is expanding this month, with R Coffee in Harbor Light Landing in Port Clinton hosting an especially early session on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 a.m. Sherry Kaplan Roberts wonderful coffee is the bomb, the pastries are awesome, and so will be a visit from Mayor Michael Snider of Port Clinton.

Stop by R Coffee before heading off to work, and connect with Editor D’Arcy Egan.

To get in the mood for Burning Snowman Fest at Waterworks Park in Port Clinton on Feb. 29, shirts and hoodies are already on sale at the Put-in-Bay T-shirt Company on Second Street in Port Clinton. To help people get around to the bars and taverns, a shuttle to nine area establishments will be running from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The Magruder Hospital Nutrition Department is offering monthly Diabetes Get-Togethers on Thursday, Feb. 20 at noon in the Conference Center on. The Magruder Diabetic Educators will discuss diabetes complications. The group meets from September through May and is for anyone dealing with Diabetes or Pre-Diabetes, including family and friends.

Light refreshments will be provided and no RSVP is necessary.  For information, call 419-732-4027.

Magruder Hospital will host an educational luncheon on Heart Medications in the Conference Center on Monday, Feb. 17 at noon. Magruder Pharmacist Jon Keeley, R.Ph., M.S. will present the program on what they are, how they work and why there are so many. This luncheon is part of a monthly education serieein the hospital’s conference center, which features a different topic and speaker each month. The luncheon series is open to the public and costs $6. The program is free if you do not wish to have lunch. To make sure they have enough seating, please RSVP for the by noon on Feb. 14 by calling 419-732-4061.

Jennifer Schoen Linkus, a 1999 grad of Port Clinton High School, was named the 2019-20 Elementary Distinguished Literacy Teacher of the Year for South Carolina’s Spartanburg County, recognizing excellence in reading instruction. Jennifer Linkous is a 4th grade teacher at Abner Creek Academy.

“If you ask anyone what my favorite things are, they would say kids and books,” Linkous says. “In a time when we have a teacher shortage and many teachers are choosing to leave the classroom, I chose to go back. I have always had the heart of a teacher and I love being able to spend every day with my students.”

Jennifer is the daughter of Bob and Jeanie Hille of Port Clinton and Mike and Debbie Schoen of Tiffin. She graduated from Ohio Northern in 2003 and has masters degrees from Southern Wesleyan. She and husband Andy Linkous live in Duncan, S.C. and have two kids, Cary and Grant.

Each small house is home to 10 residents, and includes private suites, a large living room, dining and kitchen areas with home-cooked meals.

The “Small House” concept Otterbein SeniorLife brought to Ohio at its Marblehead campus 10 years ago to meet the needs of seniors for rehabilitative care will have a companion house this summer.

Otterbein SeniorLife is currently the largest provider of an innovative skilled nursing home model that is changing the way America cares for elders and rehab guests. The “Small Houses” are uniquely designed to de-institutionalize traditional skilled nursing home care.

The “Small Houses” are uniquely designed to de-institutionalize traditional skilled nursing home care.

The inaugural small house, called “The Jane Baker House,” has been so successful and so well received that Otterbein Marblehead is creating a companion small house for long term care nursing. It is expected to open this summer.

The house will be called The Cornerstone Cottage at Marblehead, and Otterbein SeniorLife is planning a grand opening ceremony in May.

Small houses are not designed from a hospital approach, as are many nursing homes. Each small house is home to 10 residents, and includes private suites, a large living room, dining and kitchen areas with home-cooked meals. They small houses feature a schedule that is determined by each resident, providing exceptional care in a home setting that is close to everything residents need.

An Otterbein small house equals a big difference in senior care.

Otterbein Marblehead Executive Director, Jen Lenthe, said that at Otterbein SeniorLife, “We live our mission everyday of enhancing the quality of life and holistic growth of older persons. We are so proud to offer this innovative approach to nursing care to our community.”

Otterbein operates nine small house neighborhoods, including locations in Monclova, Perrysburg, Maineville, Springboro, Middletown, Union Township, Loveland, Gahanna and New Albany. Each small house employs about 75 people.

Otterbein also offers six full-service SeniorLife communities (Marblehead, Lebanon, Cridersville, Pemberville and St. Marys in Ohio and one in Franklin, Ind.) as well as a southwestern Ohio-based home health agency and hospice.

For more information about the Marblehead Small Houses or to a loved one on the waiting list, call Otterbein at 419-798-8203.