BY JOHN SCHAFFNER

Retired Port Clinton High School Band Director Rod Miller didn’t stay retired for very long. He announced over the weekend that he is taking over for his friend, Elmore native Jon Waters, former Ohio State Band Director and more recently the band director at Heidelberg in Tiffin.

Waters, who literally started the marching band at Heidelberg, is moving on. Rumor has it he will take the reins at my Alma Mater, Bowling Green State University. Waters went to high school at Woodmore. Congratulations to both. We maybe headed to Tiffin for the annual John Phillip Sousa concert next year!

Tickets are now available for the Greater Port Clinton Area Arts Council’s annual fall fundraiser. “Fall Into Color” will be held from 5-9 p.m. on Saturday Sept. 10, at The Arts Garage in Port Clinton. The annual fundraising event will feature a Battle of the Artists, Live Art Auction, Silent Auction, Food and Drinks and Entertainment. Tickets are $50 each and can be purchased online by visiting www.gpcaac.org and click on the “Fall Fundraiser” tab.

The GPAAC is a nonprofit organization founded in 2009 provide the communities of Ottawa County support in fostering a cooperative effort between artists and the public to promote the creative arts in our region. The Arts Garage is located in the old city street department garage at 317 W. Perry St., Port Clinton.

CJ Gosik was selected from among 176 entries who found Wylie Walleye hiding in the ad for The Que Barbecue and Brew on Page 6A in last week’s Beacon. So, CJ wins our weekly $25 gas card graciously donated by Friendship Stores.

Each week we hide Wylie in an ad for our readers to find. When one does, they 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!

Also, Wylie Walleye is eager to answer our community’s questions, keep sending them in to P.O. Box 176 or emailing them to askwylie@thebeacon.net. He has a wonderful time swimming around Lake Erie Shores here in Ottawa County getting information for you all.

Don’t forget about Memory Lane, featuring historical photographs of our area. If you’d like to submit your own, please send them with a written explanation to memories@thebeacon.net or mail to P.O. Box 176.

The Beacon has always been residential delivery, with fuel prices as they are we are doing a research of the area on who wants the paper and who does not. Please take the time to cut out the subscription form on page 2B this week and mail it back to The Beacon, P.O. Box 176, Port Clintion, OH 43452. We would greatly appreciate it.

The Ottawa County Veterans Service Office thanks our local veterans for serving our country. Ottawa County veterans can pick up school supply bags for their school-aged children from July 25-Aug. 5. Please visit the Ottawa County Veterans Service Office at 8444 W State Route 163, Oak Harbor, to pick up your free school supply bags. If you have questions, call 419-898-2089.

Lakeside United Methodist Church is offering Vacation Bible School to all children in the area, including those who are visiting for the week in Lakeside, those in the Island View/Marblehead Peninsula/Port Clinton areas, as well as members and friends of Lakeside UMC. It will be held Sunday through Thursday, July 31-Aug. 4, from 6-8 p.m. each evening.

On Saturday, Sept. 10, Oak Harbor High School will honor two elite athletes and the 1983 state runner-up boys basketball team as it inducts them into its Athletic Hall of Fame. Lindsay (Lange) Koffarnus, who graduated in 1999, had a stellar career in swimming before going on to a successful collegiate career at Purdue University. In high school, she finished in the top 10 in Ohio four times in the breaststroke, peaking at second place as a senior. At Purdue, she was an All-American three times and competed at the Olympic Trials.

Andy Jenkins, a 1997 graduate, competed at the Olympic Trials in the midst of his collegiate career at Bowling Green State University. At Oak Harbor, he was a four-time state qualifier in swimming and once for golf. Jenkins still holds three Oak Harbor swimming records and one golf record. He also had a successful collegiate career at BG and was named the 2001 Male Athlete of the Year as a senior.

The iconic 1983 boys basketball team that advanced to the Class AA state championship game and finished with a 26-1 record will be honored as well. The Rockets, led by AA Player of the Year Dan Christie, and his father, Dave Christie, the coach, won Suburban Lakes League, sectional, district and regional titles before falling to Columbus Bexley in the championship game, 77-58. Tickets for the event are $15.

Nugents Canal Yacht Club was proud to hold its 3rd Annual Youth Fishing Derby on Saturday,July 23. This is a free event for children ages 2 thru 15 (two age groups:  2-8 and 9-15) and was filled with tons of fun and amazing prizes for every kid.

The winners of the largest fish and most fish caught had first choice of prizes which consisted of inflatable paddleboards, scooters, inflatable kayaks, stuffed animals, fishing rods and tackle boxes. This was truly Christmas in July for all of the kids and their families! It was an amazing event all made possibly by the chairpersons, Chris Nagy and his wife, Lori.  Special thanks to all of the children and families that participated and help make this event so memorable.

There was an error in the 7/21 issue of The Beacon for the find Wylie the week before. The actual page was 3B not 3A in the ad for Best of the Best!

Congratulations to Ithaca College student Meabh Cadigan of Port Clinton for earning Dean’s List honors for the spring 2022 semester.

Visitors to federal public lands are invited to feature their best nature photos in the 2022 Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Photo Contest. The contest is open to entries of photos taken on federal public lands (national parks, national forests, wildlife refuges like Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, Ohio’s only national wildlife refuge complex).

Entries are being accepted on the Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge website through Sept. 6. Categories include: Birds, Landscapes/Plants, People Enjoying Nature, and Wildlife Other Than Birds. It is free to enter, and photographers may submit one photo per category.

There are also three age groups: Youth (5-12 years), Teen (13-17 years) and Adult (18+). Photos will be judged in early September. All entries will be displayed on the Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge’s website. Winners will be included in a 2023 Public Lands Calendar which will be made available for purchase later this year.

Prizes, including a free calendar, will be awarded for the winning entries. The Best of Show will be featured in the Friends Annual Report and will include a private bus tour of the refuge for up to 14 people! Full contest rules and more information can be viewed on the Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge’s website at https://www.friendsofottawanwr.org/photography-contest.html.