Don’t forget the annual Peach, Perch, Pierogi and Polka Festival at the Denny Bergeman Knights of Columbus Hall on E. Perry Street in Port Clinton this weekend. There will be lots to do, great music to listen and dance to, and plenty of good food to enjoy.

What has become a summer holiday tradition in Port Clinton, just got better. The Ottawa County Republican Women use the three holiday weekends each summer to line Perry Street in Port Clinton with American flags. They will do it again this Labor Day weekend, but will continue to fly the flags through the following weekend to observe the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York City, Washington D.C. and Shanksville, Pa.

I think that is pretty special.

Denise Zavagno of Catawba was selected from among 142 entries who found Wylie hiding in the ad for the Peach, Perch, Pierogi and Polka Festival on Page 4A in last week’s Beacon. So, congratulations to Denise, 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 Annual Green Island Race will be sailed out of Port Clinton Yacht Club this Sunday, Sept. 5. There will be feeder races sailed from Sandusky and Toledo coming in Saturday afternoon. The Green Island Race is a long-standing tradition at PCYC.

The good folks that make up the Friends of Ida Rupp Public Library will wrap up the Labor Day holiday around downtown Port Clinton with its Ice Cream Social on the Plaza in front of the library on Tuesday, Sept. 7. They’ll be celebrating the group’s 45 years of supporting the Ida Rupp Public Library with a program of music, prizes and local authors — and ice cream! The Ice Cream Social will relocate to the Ida Rupp Community Room inside should there be rain.

The GRANDlove program at the Ottawa County Family Advocacy Center (OCFAC), which supports grandparents and others raising grandchildren in need of support, has a GRAND Celebration scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 12 from 3-5 p.m. at the beautiful new Hopfinger Zimmerman Memorial Park, 4909 W.Oak Harbor SE Rd., Port Clinton, just west of State Route 53.

The GRAND Celebration is to honor the special grandparents and many others who serve a critical role in the community by providing stable, loving, supportive environments for the children. Jack and Lorraine Zimmerman built the lovely free family park and picnic shelter with lots of support from their friends. The GRANDlove Program will provide food and refreshments, prizes and live music by Chip Richter, said Paula Adkins of the OCFAC.

The heat was on last Thursday, Aug. 26, as the Ohio State Highway Patrol organized a OVI checkpoint for a couple of evening hours, checking 564 cars driving down Perry Street near Buckeye Boulevard in Port Clinton. Highway Patrol officers, aided by Port Clinton police officers and Ottawa County sheriff’s deputies, discovered local drivers were quite law-abiding. Only five drivers were detained longer than about 20 seconds by officers, and only one person was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

That’s not always the case. In a three-year time period, there were 24 OVI-related crashes within three miles of where the OVI checkpoint was performed last week. The State Highway Patrol recorded 111 arrests over that same time period in that area, showing Port Clinton was an area of concern.

The Benton-Carroll-Salem School Board of Education met on Tuesday, Aug. 24, where the board presented a commendation to B-C-S Treasurer Cajon Keeton for his work and leadership in developing a new school funding formula for Ohio. Keeton was instrumental in the Cupp-Patterson school funding group, which was named for Ohio House Speaker Robert Cupp and Rep. John Patterson, which brought together leaders from across the state to update and modernize the funding formula.

Monarch butterflies are gearing up for their fall migration. Using environmental cues, the monarchs know when it is time to travel south for the winter. Some fly as far as 3,000 miles to reach their winter home in Mexico!

Peak migration dates for our area in NW Ohio are Sept. 8-20. During this time, pay close attention to the trees and blooms in your yard or in natural areas near you. Sometimes thousands of butterflies can be seen at once as they form roosts to help generate warmth during the night!

Please join the Ottawa County Soil and Water Conservation District on Wednesday, Sept. 22 for its 69th annual SWCD Meeting and Banquet.  A BBQ will be held at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds. Tickets are $10 and you have your choice of BBQ Chicken or Beef Brisket, baked potato, rolls, green beans and a variety of pies.  We can promise it will be “finger lickin’ good”!

Entertainment for the evening will be the Bridge County Bluegrass Band. This group of five talented musicians from neighboring counties in NW Ohio have been playing since 2006. They play a variety of traditional bluegrass, instrumentals and even some “newgrass” songs of newer music.

SWCD members can cast a ballot for election of one supervisor between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. and the banquet will begin at 6:30 p.m. The SWCD Cooperator of the Year award will also be given to an individual/business/agency that has shown outstanding support to our conservation efforts either past or present. Contact the District office at 419-898-1595 where staff members can assist with tickets or call Board of Supervisors members, including Rich Thorbahn, Todd Hecht, Roland Sandrock, Jim Sass or Bill Hartman.

The highly-praised “Eddie Adams: Vietnam” exhibit at The Arts Garage in Port Clinton will continue its run through Sunday, Nov. 14. The very moving installation of famed war photographer Eddie Adams black-and-white images, complete with historical artifacts and uniforms, was a wonderful way for the Greater Port Clinton Area Art Council to open the arts facility. The exhibition is free, and all are invited. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The GPCAAC needs volunteers to sit the gallery. Contact Exhibit Chair Barbara Radebaugh at radstar47@aol.com.