There is good news on the Covid-19 front in Ottawa County. Our death total is now up to 73 deaths, up only one from last week. Also, there were only a total of eight additional cases in the county in the same time frame.

The incidence of the virus is considerably lower here than in the rest of Ohio, over 20% lower. The Ottawa County Health Department is moving forward with distributing the vaccine.

Happy 40th Anniversary on Monday for Jeff and Joan Bryden. Jeff was Editor for the North Coast Business Journal for many years, and also was President of the Port Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce. Joan was a radio host on WPCR and was also President of the Kiwanis Club of Port Clinton. They live in Sarasota, Fla. now.

Linda Brilla of Bay Township was chosen from among 121 entries who found Wylie hiding in the ad for McCarthy’s on Page 6A in last week’s Beacon. So, congratulations Linda. You are the winner of 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.

Ottawa County Senior Resources has announced that it will be participating in the 19th annual March for Meals, a month-long, nationwide celebration of Meals on Wheels for our senior neighbors who rely on this essential service to remain healthy and independent at home, now even more so amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

This year, Ottawa County Senior Resources will celebrate with a “March for Meals Day,” where seniors across the county can have the opportunity to pick up a boxed lunch provided by one of our local restaurants. In addition, the boxed lunch will also be served to our home delivered meals clients.

“In the last year, we have experienced a 30% increase in the demand for our services in all parts of Ottawa County,” said Dianne Martin Mortensen, Director of Ottawa County Senior Resources. In 2020, despite the pandemic that affected all aspects of our normal life activities, Ottawa County Senior Resources served nearly 500 home delivered meal clients with a total of 62,030 meals.

The Marblehead Peninsula Lions Club is hosting an Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt this year in lieu of its traditional Easter Egg Hunt, announced President Tod Kelly. Six area merchants have graciously stepped up to serve our community. They are The Marblehead Galley, The Marblehead Soap Co., Martha and Molly’s, The Pink Perch, Teriyaki Designs and Village Pro Hardware.

Each business has already begun giving eggs to local kids from a basket of 100 eggs, and each business has a specific color egg. Children and their parents, grandparents or guardians will then set off to “collect the rainbow” by visiting each business to get all six different colored eggs.  Each egg is filled with candy and a raffle ticket. No purchase is necessary to receive an egg and it is not necessary to collect eggs from all businesses.

According to event co-chairs Heidi Gast and Marla Hirt, the club will draw one winning ticket from each participating business on Saturday, March 27, at 2 p.m. The drawing will be held via Facebook. Each winning child will receive a $20 Walmart gift card, and each winner’s parent will receive a $10 gift certificate from the local business. For more information, contact Heidi Gast at 419-341-2206 or hgast812@gmail.com or Marla Hirt at 419-341-0828 or mkhirt125@gmail.com.

The Red Cross Bloodmobile will be making another visit to the area today (Thursday, March 18), at the Holiday Inn Express off State Route 53 just north of State Route 163. They will be there from Noon to 6 p.m. Also, the blood drive at Magruder Hospital scheduled for Friday, March 19 has been moved to the Elks Lodge on Buckeye Blvd.

Port Clinton City School District recently opened the new Port Clinton Field House for student athletes. With current Covid-19 precautions, a community open house is not possible, however, thanks to the generosity of Brandon Fitt and Real Living Morgan Realty Group, the community can take advantage of a virtual tour.

Using the same technology for 3D home tours, the company donated a 3D tour available on the district website at www.pccsd.net.  Now everyone can visit and see all the facility has to offer.

There is a new survey online asking residents, particularly residents of Catawba, about the uses of the new Nehls Memorial Nature Preserve on Muggy Rd. To participate in the survey, log onto www.friendsofottawanwr.org/Nehls-Memorial-nature-preserve.

We have told you about the Lenten Fish Fries at St. Mary’s in Marblehead and at the Denny Bergeman K of C Hall in Port Clinton. We wanted you to know that St. Boniface in Oak Harbor is also holding weekly Friday Fish Fries.

Chef Patrick puts on the finishing touches for a special dining experience for the Independent living residents at Otterbein SeniorLife.