BY JOHN SCHAFFNER

The Port Clinton Rotary Club is hosting its 12th annual Rotary Pizza Challenge on Monday, April 24 from 4-7 p.m. at Gideon Owen Restaurant and Winery. Celebrity Judges determine best specialty pizza, High School Judges let us know which is the best pepperoni in town.

YOU vote for the People’s Choice.

Tickets are $12. Children under 12 are $6. All the pizza you can eat with a cash bar. Proceeds fund scholarships for Port Clinton and Danbury high school students AND help finish the fight to eradicate Polio for good.

Registration is now open for the 6th annual Warriors Wangling Walleye Fishing Tournament to be held on Friday, April 28. It’s a special event to raise funds for local veterans’ groups and is open to anglers of all ages.

It is a 4-person team format. Entry is $400 per team (or $100 per person) and must be received by April 21.

A number of local charter captains have donated their time to take participants out on the lake for this event. There is no additional charge, but early entry is encouraged as charter boats will fill quickly.

This tournament not only supports our veterans, but provides a great day of fishing, camaraderie and friendly competition for everyone, according to Tournament Chairman Tim Larcey. Warriors Wangling Walleye is a local non-profit group founded to honor, encourage and help support U.S. military veterans and their families. Since its inception, the organization has donated over $54,000 to a variety of veterans groups including the Navy Seal Foundation, the Ohio Veterans Home, Wreaths Across America, Save A Warrior and many others. For complete tournament information, or to register for the event, visit www.WarriorsWanglingWalleye.org.

Congratulations to Terri Rush of Marblehead selected from 172 entries who found our friendly fish hiding in the ad for 1812 Food & Spirits on page 8 in last week’s Beacon. Terri 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.

The Friends of Immaculate Conception School in Port Clinton will host their 35th annual fundraising auction on Saturday, April 22. The theme this year is “British Invasion” and the ICS gym will be converted to the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame for the evening. Reservation forms are available online at www.portclintonics.net/2023-auction-2. Tickets are $75 per couple and $50 for individuals. Return your reservation and payment by Friday, April 7 to: ICS Office, 109 W. 4th St., Port Clinton, OH 43452. Sounds like a fun evening.

The Oak Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce has a history of providing quality family friendly events to the community, and one of those events is the Oak Harbor Independence Day Celebration. To help offset the rising costs of this event the Oak Harbor Chamber Foundation will be holding a Reverse Raffle on Saturday, May 13 at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds. Just $50 gets you in the door, dinner and a chance to win over $5,000 in cash and prizes, with a top prize of $2,500 cash! In addition to the cash prizes, there will be several raffle items, games, and more!

They are also looking for raffle items and donations. Contact the chamber at 419-898-0479 or chamber@oakharborohio.net if you are interested in purchasing a ticket or donating to the event. Proceeds from the raffle benefit the Free Independence Day Celebration on July 3.

Easter is April 9, which makes Good Friday April 7. There will once again be a Good Friday cross procession around Port Clinton starting at Noon. It starts at St. Thomas Episcopal. They are looking for volunteer participants. If you are interested, contact Pastor Chris Boyd at 419-797-4628. There will be a practice at Trinity Methodist on Monday, April 3 at 4:30 p.m.

Caitlynn Noble of Oak Harbor will perform with the University of Findlay Choirs along with the Fostoria High School Choir to perform “Choral Festival.” The concert will be held at 3 p.m., Sunday, April 2 in the Donnell Theater at the Marathon Center for Performing Arts. It is a free performance.

The Port Clinton Kiwanis Community Diaper Drive will be held until the end of March. Donations of diapers of all sizes can be dropped off at A La Carte Café and A La Carte After Hours. They will be stored at the United Way Hygiene Closet until distribution.

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.

Carrying on the proud tradition of the Port Clinton High School DECA program, they had a strong contingent at the Annual DECA State Competition and Career Development Conference, held recently in Columbus.  Both Isaac Apple and Mia Sanchez placed in the top 12 at the State of Ohio DECA competition. Sanchez will continue her DECA journey in Orlando, Fla., on April 21-26. Port Clinton DECA students also participating in the state contest were Joseph Apple, Olivia Perry, Katherine Rodgers, Olivia Rodgers, Christen Sayre, Wyatt Siefke, Jessica Waddell, Jordan Waddell, Aidan Weber and Taylor Werling. Bill Hollister is the PCHS Marketing Instructor and DECA Advisor.