There will be a special celebration of the storied life of Dr. and Lt. Col. Harold Brown, our Tuskegee Airman who recently passed away, to be held on Saturday, March 4 at 12:30 p.m. at the Liberty Aviation Museum on W. State Street, east of Port Clinton.

It is certainly appropriate to honor this man who helped save the world , survived a NAZI POW Camp, changed the thoughts of many about segregation, educated himself to educate others and shared his extraordinary experiences with so many. He was a leader in his church and became a beacon of good in a world that wasn’t always so respectful in return. Port Clinton Mayor Mike Snider has requested Gov. Mike DeWine to have all flags in the in Ohio and the local community lowered to half-staff on that day.

Congratulations to Daniel Mielke of Sandusky selected from 165 entries who found our friendly fish hiding in the ad for Vein & Body on Page 8 in last week’s Beacon. Daniel wins our weekly prize of a $25 gas gift card provided us by the Friendship Stores throughout the area.

We will continue to hide Wylie each week in an ad. To enter the contest, look for the link on our website, www.thebeacon.net.

Port Clinton City Schools are accepting nominations for teachers to receive the Excellent Teacher Award.” Nominations may be submitted by staff members, students, community members or anyone else wishing to nominate.  A panel of teachers, board members, administrator and community member will select up to three teachers from each building to be recognized.

The nomination form can be found at www.pccsd.net under the News section. Nominations will close at midnight, March 31.

The West Sister Island Sunset Cruise, a fundraiser for the Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, will be held in May and highlight the largest Great Blue Heron and Great Egret rookery in the U.S. on a cruise around the island on the Jet Express — and watch the sunset near the island’s lighthouse. Researchers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Ohio Department of Natural Resources will be on board to talk more about the rookery. Early bird tickets available to members only are $75 and help to support our conservation efforts at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge.

Hors-d’oeuvres are included in the ticket price and a cash bar will also be available on board.

It’s Lent. That means the Port Clinton Knights of Columbus will be holding their Friday Fish Fries starting this week at the Denny Bergeman K of C Hall on E. Perry Street. They will serve from 4-6:30 p.m. every Friday. Dinners are $14 or drive-through for $12.

The St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry has re-opened in Port Clinton in the Port Clinton Plaza Annex behind Rite-Aid, Visions, Slater’s, Lily and Gerts and Bassett’s in Port Clinton. They will be open Thursdays from 4-6 p.m.

Joyful Connections in Oak Harbor has brought new and exciting programs focusing on kindness for the entire Ottawa County community. It now offers Parent Coaching – an individualized opportunity for parents to improve their skills and be mentors for their own children.

They also realized that food insecurity reaches beyond their walls so they opened a Little Free Pantry outside their facility. With the generosity of local donors and several grants, they can now supply food, cleaning supplies and personal items 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They wish they could predict what 2023 will look like but they do know this — they will continue to operate from kindness and would ask you to join them!

Oak Harbor High School will be hosting a series of Summer Employment Job Fairs. In order to introduce students to all we have here in Ottawa County, Oak Harbor High School will be hosting three Mini Job Fairs this Spring:

• Friday, March 3
• Friday, April 14
• Friday, May 5

The job fairs will take place during lunch periods (11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.) in the Auditorium lobby. There will be tables set up to showcase Ottawa County employers and introduce career opportunities to students.

The Red Cross Bloodmobile will be making a visit Friday at Magruder Hospital this Friday, March 3 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Give blood and save a life.

On Wednesday, March 8, the Port Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce will hold a special Job Fair at Port Clinton High School. They are inviting local high schools and the general public to participate in this hiring event for Chamber members. Registration forms can be found at admin@portclintonchamber.com to reserve your spot.

Ottawa Soil and Water is once again holding their annual Tree & Shrub Sale. They are now taking orders for a wide variety of plants for spring delivery. You can order and pay online or download a tree order form by visiting www.ottawaswcd.com.

You can also call 419-898-1595 to have a form mailed to you. Deadline for ordering is March 31. Supplies are limited so they urge you to order soon.

Gabrielle Maringer of Lakeside Marblehead has been named to the Dean’s List at John Carroll University for the Fall semester. Students eligible for the Dean’s List must have completed a minimum of 12 semester hours within one semester and have a quality grade point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale.