Many people locally, including me, were shocked and saddened to learn of the untimely passing of Nancy Bailey. She and her husband Geoff were good friends. Nancy was a very sweet person and very professional in her business life with Tri-County Appraisal. She was the daughter of Hank and Josephine Jadwisiak, who I believe were at the gates of Heaven to welcome their daughter. Our condolences go out to Geoff and their children Erica and Jason.

I was fortunate to attend the wonderful concert put on by a local community choir Sunday evening at Trinity Methodist Church. Greg Fox directed, and it was a magnificent program of stirring patriotic music. Because I learned it in High School, I was able to sing along with the finale, Battle Hymn of the Republic. I hope I can join the choir for next year’s July 4th celebration.

Margaret Baker from Catawba was selected from among 139 entries who found Wylie hiding in the ad for Bassett’s Market on Page 3A in last week’s Beacon. So, congratulations Margaret! 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.

The American Red Cross will hold a Community Blood Donation today (Thursday, July 8) at the Holiday Inn Express located near the Causeway on State Rt. 53 North. The Bloodmobile will be held from 12 noon to 6 p.m. Red Cross reports an urgent need for blood donations right now.

The raffle to benefit Wreaths Across America – Ottawa County was quite successful. The total raised was $4,055! These funds will go towards purchasing wreaths that are laid on our veterans’ graves in December. Bill Howey won the YETI cooler filled with spirits, Lisa Curtis won the Adirondack chair and side table, Paul Butzen won the Put-in-Bay package and a consolation prize of tickets for the Miller Ferry went to Jeff Brubaker.

Special thanks and recognition goes out to the County ticket sales outlets: Howey’s House of Brews in Oak Harbor, Rayz Café in Genoa, Happy Hooker Bait in Carroll Township, the Port Clinton VFW Post and the Portage Inn in Elmore. Donations to purchase wreaths are always welcome. Wreaths are $15 and checks can be made out to Wreaths Across America and sent to WAA-Ottawa County, 8444 W. SR 163, Suite 102, Oak Harbor, Ohio 43449.

The Ottawa County Fair will pull out all of the stops this month as it plans the 2021 slate of grandstand shows, food exhibits, harness racing and spotlights new attractions from Monday, July 19 to Sunday, July 25. The fairgrounds is vibrating as officials prepare to put last year’s subdued county fair because of the pandemic behind them. Making its debut will be an autocross on Wednesday, followed by the Broken Horn Rodeo on Thursday, both at 7 p.m. The always popular Demolition Derby is on Friday, with the big OSTPA Tractor Pull on Saturday.

The kids fishing derbies will wrap up the fair on Sunday morning.

The Women’s Roundtable, a safe, confidential women’s support group in Port Clinton, will provide women a resource for learning, sharing and a sense of community. Starting Wednesday, July 14, meetings are held on Wednesdays from 6-7 p.m. at the Sutton Center, said Barb Phillabaum, Family Development Coordinator at Community Support Services. Everyone is invited to join the support group, and topics discussed allow for connecting, bonding and healing. The inaugural guest speaker is Kimberly Brown, a dedicated Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor. For information, call 419-612-7377.

The Salvation Army needs volunteers to ring the bell for the “Christmas in July” Red Kettle Campaign.  This community event will take place on July 23-24 from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. There will be several kettle sites set up with bell ringing volunteers needed at each site.

The sites involved are: Twin Oast and Friendship Food Stores (both PC and Catawba locations). All proceeds will help support The Port Clinton Salvation Army Service Center. If you are interested in ringing the bell for “Christmas in July” or would like to make a donation please contact Director, Maureen Saponari – 419-732-2769, 1834 East Perry Street,  Port Clinton, OH  43452 or maureen.saponari@use.salvationarmy.org.

The Salvation Army-Port Clinton Service Unit is also accepting applications and donations for the “Tools for School Program.” The Port Clinton Service Center “Tools for School” program will assist all school aged children in Ottawa County that are in need of school supplies and book bags for the 2021-22 school year. Applications are available at The Salvation Army Office, United Way, The Sutton Center, Community Support, JFS and all Ottawa County Libraries.

The Marblehead Merchants Group will celebrate Christmas in July on Saturday, July 24 from noon to 7 p.m. There will be a wide variety of sales by the local merchants, and plenty of food and refreshments available along Main Street.

One of the best annual events on Catawba Island is coming up this Saturday, July 10. It’s the annual Catawba Island Volunteer Fire Department’s Chicken Barbecue. It’s really good!

The Toledo Symphony put on a wonderful outdoor concert for the residents at Otterbein Senior Life in Marblehead.