BY JOHN SCHAFFNER

I had an opportunity to chat with Ottawa County Prosecutor James VanEerten last week about the recent rash of “smash and grab” robberies that have infiltrated here. Suffice it to say to our female readers, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR PURSE OR ANY VALUABLES IN YOUR CAR!

There will be a very special fundraiser for the Light House Sober Living residences. It is a special breakfast to be held at the Masonic Lodge at 118 Monroe St., Port Clinton on Saturday, Feb. 15 from 8-11 a.m. No prices, just a free will donation for a very worthy cause.

Frank Vokral is the winner this week in our “Find Wylie” contest. He was chosen from among the entries who found Wylie hiding in the ad for Arter Furniture on Page 8A in last week’s Beacon. So, Frank 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.

The Annual Port Clinton Kiwanis “Night at the Races” will be held at the Elk’s Lodge on Buckeye Blvd. this coming Friday, Feb. 7. Tickets are available from any Kiwanian. It’s a lot of fun betting on the ponies! Be sure to put your money down on “Mean Mary Alice”!!!

Speaking of Kiwanis, Lesa Heredia, the director at the Humane Society of Ottawa County was the speaker at the lunch meeting of the Port Clinton Kiwanis Club last week. One of the issues they deal with is “Feral Cats” and their efforts to trap them to find them a home.

These are wild animals, and the suggestion was for local farmers and other rural residents to adopt these cats and turn them into “Barn Cats” to take care of critters such as rats and snakes. Sounds like a good idea to me.

The Humane Society of Ottawa County and a charity organization called “The Clothes Bin” have partnered to receive and distribute old clothing, shoes and textiles. If you have items you were going to get rid of anyway, take them to the green recycling bin at the Humane Society parking lot at the corner of Sand Rd. and Christy Chapel Rd. east of Port Clinton.

The Ida Rupp Public Library is holding a “I Love My Library Bookmark Design Contest.” Forms are available at the library on South Madison Street in Port Clinton, the Erie Islands Library, the Marblehead Peninsula Library, or at The Beacon office. Designs must be turned in by Monday, Feb. 24 by 8 p.m.

The winning bookmarks from each age group will be printed and distributed at the library. Winning artists also receive a $15 “Books-a-Million” gift card. Only one entry per contestant and you must be 17 years old or younger to participate.

Tickets are still on sale for the Marblehead Purse Bingo event on Saturday, March 7 at Danbury School. The event is hosted by the Marblehead Peninsula Chamber of Commerce and the Danbury Parent Teacher Organization.

Magruder Hospital will host its monthly Alzheimer’s Support Group on Monday, Feb. 10, at 9 a.m. in the Conference Center. Meeting on the second Monday of each month, the group provides helpful tips, education, encouragement and resources to family, friends and caregivers of anyone dealing with dementia and memory loss.

Magruder Hospital will offer its monthly screening on the second Thursday of every month starting at 9 a.m. in the lab.  The test is a venipuncture/blood draw rather than a finger stick, and will include a Basic Metabolic Panel (glucose, BUN/Creatinine, calcium, potassium, sodium, chloride, CO2, etc.) and a Lipid profile (Total Cholesterol/LDL/HDL/Triglycerides), as well as a Blood Pressure check.  The cost is $16. The next screening will be Feb. 13. Appointments can be made by calling 419-734-3131 Ext. 3420.

Marie Bowman works on her horseshoe game in preparation for the upcoming Otterbein Assisted Living Olympics. The Olympics will kick off on Tuesday, Feb. 11 with an opening ceremony at 12:15 p.m. The theme for this year’s competition is Love Around the World and will feature food from countries Italy, Mexico and Canada.

Otterbein Marblehead Residents will compete against other Otterbein campuses in Corn Hole, curling, basketball shots, horseshoes, golf, bowling and trivia.   The Olympics will last three days, with the closing ceremony taking place on Thursday, Feb.  13.