By John Schaffner

Welcome to the big Fourth of July weekend!This will officially be a four-day holiday weekend. The population of our area increases significantly. The traffic will be unusually heavy, so I suggest if you have to go anywhere, leave early and be patient.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” … Thanks to the efforts of Port Clinton Mayor Mike Snider, the “Flags of Honor” will be on display at the corner of Perry and Jefferson streets. I am told this is a “must see” display. Also, we are also carrying our American Flag supplement this weekend. Once again, to show your patriotism, we encourage all of you to post this in your front window. Thank you.

Karen Hiller from the Cleveland area is our winner this week in our “Find Wylie” contest. She was chosen from among 100 entries who successfully found our friendly fish in the ad for Lakeside Chautauqua on Page 4A in last week’s Beacon. Karen wins a $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 the contest.

We will be hearing the familiar drone of engines of the Ford Tri-Motor overhead this weekend. The EAA “Tin Goose” Chapter 1247 of Port Clinton will be offering rides in Liberty Air Museum’s historic Ford Tri-Motor on July 6 at 7 p.m.
Afterward, they will have one of the original Island Air Lines Tri-Motor pilots, Dave Nehls, for some entertaining hangar talks about flying the Tin Goose back in the day. Dave worked for the airline from 1962 to 1965 and regularly flew the two Fords, N-7584 and N-7684, in service to the islands. The general public is invited and welcome to hear his stories under the wing of the Ford on July 6 at 7 p.m. in the museum hangar.

The Riverview Healthcare Campus is hosting a special “Patriotic Parade” at their facility on Wednesday, July 3 at 2 p.m. Kids are asked to dress in Red, White and Blue, bring decorated wagons, trikes, strollers, buggies or other riding toys (no motorized vehicles). Adults should bring a “noisemaker” and join in. An Ice Cream Sundae Bar will follow the parade provided by the Riverview Auxiliary in their multipurpose Room. For more information, call Riverview at 419-898-2851, Ext. 6075.

The Port Clinton Chamber of Commerce is once again hosting Friday night “Riverfront Live” music events at the north end of Jefferson Street.

Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Lab staff members will present “Lake Erie Science” at Lakeside Chautauqua this summer from July 9 to July 30. The talks, held most Tuesdays at 2 p.m. at Lakeside’s Steele Memorial Bandstand and Gazebo, are free and open to the public, but require paid admission and parking passes to the Lakeside community.
Speakers will cover a wide range of topics, from trash pollution and invasive species to water quality and native snakes. They will also answer questions about Lake Erie, Ohio Sea Grant’s current work, and the research and education going on at Stone Lab.

From now through July 9, the Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge group is selling raffle entries to win a beautiful quilt handmade by one of their extraordinary volunteers. This special volunteer has spent her time, talent and materials to create a gorgeous Americana-themed quilt, and then DONATED it to them with the condition that we use it to raise funds for Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge.
Raffle entries will be sold for $10 each. You can purchase as many entries as you would like. Your name will automatically be entered into the drawing for as many entries as you purchase. The winning entry will be drawn on Wednesday, July 10 at noon. The winner will be notified by phone following the drawing. The quilt measures about 60 x 82.5”.

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 July 11 and appointments can be made by calling 419-734-3131 ext. 3420.
Also, Magruder Hospital will host the monthly Alzheimer’s Support Group on Monday, July 8, 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.

Congratulations to Rachael Johnson of Oak Harbor who recently graduated from Ohio Christian University with a Bachelor of Arts in Business.

The Port Clinton Knights of Columbus Council will be hosting a special Bloodmobile this Monday, July 8 from noon to 6 p.m. at Denny Bergeman Hall on West Perry Street. Walk-ins are welcome.

Your new Mobile App is available for you use! It is called “Lake Erie Coastlines” and it’s FREE! Just download it on your iPhone or Android device from the App Store. It is chock full of useful information on local events, things to do and places to go. “Lake Erie Coastlines” … enjoy!