Ohio Cooperative Living - August 2024 - Carroll

CALL FOR ENTRIES 2025 cooperative calendar

Ohio Cooperative Living magazine is seeking photography submissions from our electric cooperative members. Send us beautiful landscape, wildlife, and floral photos from your cooperative hometown. Winning submissions will cash prize and be published in the 2025 edition of the cooperative calenda

Requirements

• One photo entry per household.

• High-resolution, color, digital images only.

• Only JPEG or TIF file formats will be accepted.

• Please send submissions by email attachment only to photo@ohioec.org.

• Photo format must be horizontal and capable of filling an 8x11-inch image area.

• Provide an explanation of the photo — the where, what, when — as well as who took the photo.

• Include your name, address, phone number, and the name of your co-op. For more information, visit OhioCoopLiving.com/calendar

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: AUGUST 16, 2024

INSIDE

FEATURES

22 DADDY LONGLEGS

The gangly harvestmen are about to emerge from hiding to get ready for the long winter.

25 OHIO SCUBA

The Buckeye State offers a variety of open-water diving experiences.

28 BIG MEMORIES

Big Muskie’s giant bucket is all that remains from a bygone era of strip mining in eastern Ohio.

30 ROADSIDE SHRINES

Impromptu memorials that often pop up after a tragedy help the grieving and serve as reminders to drive with care.

Cover image on most editions: Ohio might not be the first place you think of for scuba diving, but the prevalence of abandoned quarries, many of which are fed by clear spring water, has spawned a small but growing number of underwater enthusiasts (photograph courtesy of Rich Synowiec/White Star Quarry).

This page: The gangly daddy longlegs, despite its eight appendages, isn’t a spider — whereas spiders have segmented bodies, daddy longlegs have a single body segment. They also have no fangs or venom glands, and they don’t spin webs (photograph by Henrik_L via Getty Images).

What’s next?

Every year for decades, the planet has used more energy than the year before, spurred largely by the improving standard of living in developing areas. At the same time, the world has tried to move away from fossil fuel dependence and toward renewable sources in the worthwhile hopes of reducing environmental impact and gaining more independence from supply sources that are unreliable or unfriendly (or both). New energy supply technologies, therefore, always attract plenty of attention.

Still today, as has been the case for the past century, we are powered by fossil fuels. In fact, despite tremendous investment and favorable tax treatment for renewable and other new energy sources, the world has relied on steady increases in fossil fuel production to meet a nearly constant 80% of our energy needs.

There is no doubt that new and emerging technologies continue to transform our daily lives — usually for the better. Significant developments over the past several decades have reduced the impact of burning fossil fuels: improved means of converting wind and solar energy into electricity; increased efficiency of combustion engines and turbines; new and better batteries that can store larger quantities of electric energy; enhanced oil and natural gas drilling and recovery methods; and better environmental control equipment that keeps byproducts out of our air, soil, and water.

But none of these innovations and improvements has yet been a “game changer.” It’s a simple fact that, because of the sheer scale of the energy infrastructure needed to power our lives, it takes years (and more likely decades) for even the most innovative discovery to have a meaningful effect.

We don’t know exactly what our ingenuity will come up with next, but we can be certain that whatever it is, it will take time to be developed and deployed. Meanwhile, power producers still have a responsibility to keep up with the world’s constantly growing demand, so we can’t just sit back and wait. We need to keep utilizing our proven, reliable, and economical “traditional” energy infrastructure at the same time we work to develop the “next big thing.”

Pat O’Loughlin PRESIDENT & CEO OHIO’S ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES

Because of the sheer scale of our energy infrastructure, it takes years (and more likely decades) for even the most innovative discovery to have a meaningful impact.

Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives

6677 Busch Blvd. Columbus, OH 43229 614-846-5757 www.ohiocoopliving.com

Patrick O’Loughlin President & CEO

Caryn Whitney Director of Communications

Jeff McCallister Senior Managing Editor

Amy Howat Assistant Managing Editor

Neal Kindig Graphic Designer

Contributors: Jodi Borger, Margaret Buranen, Colleen Romick Clark, Getty Images, W.H. “Chip” Gross, Catherine Murray, James Proffitt, Craig Springer, and MJ Zindars.

OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING (USPS 134-760; ISSN 2572-049X) is published monthly by Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc. It is the official communication link between the electric cooperatives in Ohio and West Virginia and their members. Subscription cost for members ranges from $5.52 to $6.96 per year, paid from equity accruing to the member.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to editorial and advertising offices at: 6677 Busch Boulevard, Columbus, OH 43229-1101. Periodicals postage paid at Berne, IN 46711, and at additional mailing offices. Nothing in this publication may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc. All rights reserved. The fact that a product is advertised in Ohio Cooperative Living should not be taken as an endorsement. If you find an advertisement misleading or a product unsatisfactory, please notify us or the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Consumer Protection Section, 30 E. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43215. Periodicals postage paid at Columbus, OH, and at additional mailing offices.

DEPARTMENTS

POWER LINES

Between a rock and a hard place: The EPA says fossil fuel power plants must shut down if they can’t capture and store the carbon they produce. 8

WOODS, WATERS, AND WILDLIFE

An old salt: Underneath Ohio’s largest lake, a pair of mines produce an unexpected treasure. 10

CO-OP PEOPLE

Hops to it: Cash crop allows patient Ohio farmers to take advantage of the craft brewery boom. 13

GOOD EATS

Vim and vinegar: There’s some in every pantry; put it to flavorful use in these yummy recipes.

LOCAL PAGES

News and other important information from your electric cooperative.

CALENDAR

National/regional advertising inquiries, contact Cheryl Solomon

American MainStreet Publications 847-749-4875 | cheryl@amp.coop

Cooperative members:

Please report changes of address to your electric cooperative. Ohio Cooperative Living staff cannot process address changes.

What’s happening: August/ September events and other things to do around Ohio.

MEMBER INTERACTIVE

Diving board: Members go off the deep end to share memories of summertime fun!

Between a and a rock hard place

Because the only other option is a gamble on technology that may not work here, new EPA rules would force the closure of Ohio co-ops’ main source of reliable power.

BY JEFF MCCALLISTER

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new Greenhouse Gas Standards and Guidelines for Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants requires aggressive action to drastically reduce emissions of carbon dioxide from conventional electricity-generating facilities such as the Cardinal Power Plant, the co-op member-owned generation facility on the Ohio River in Brilliant.

The rule offers basically two ways for plants like Cardinal to reduce their CO2 emissions by 90%: Either invest billions of dollars in a system known as carbon capture and sequestration (CSS), or shut down altogether.

The white plume rising from the stacks at the coal-fired Cardinal Power Plant in Brilliant is nearly all water vapor. Buckeye Power, the member-owned generation and transmission cooperative that operates the plant, has invested more than $1 billion to install equipment that has made it one of the cleanest generating stations of its kind in the world.

The rock: Costs of shutting down

Buckeye Power, the generation and transmission cooperative that operates Cardinal on behalf of the state’s 25 not-for-profit electric distribution cooperatives, relies on the plant for more than 80% of the power it delivers to more than 400,000 homes and businesses every day. From the start, Buckeye has maintained a commitment to environmental responsibility as part of

“Buckeye Power has invested more than $1 billion in environmental controls over the past 20 years,” says Pat O’Loughlin, Buckeye’s president and CEO. “To put it in perspective, that’s over half of everything we’ve invested in the entire history of our company, and those investments have produced dramatic results in cleaner air, cleaner water, and significantly reduced solid waste such as ash.”

The improvements, in fact, not only met but usually exceeded EPA standards, and made Cardinal one of the cleanest coal-burning power plants in the world. Of course, they also increased the cost of producing electricity — a trade-off generally accepted by co-op members.

The new rules have been challenged in federal court by a consortium of utilities, trade groups, and attorneys general from 27 states, including Ohio. Troy Balderson, a Republican U.S. Representative from Zanesville, introduced legislation to overturn the standards, and Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown announced that he will support a similar effort in that chamber, specifically citing harm to energy industry workers and rural electric cooperatives.

That’s why the new EPA rule puts Buckeye Power in such a tough spot; if Cardinal must shut down, Buckeye still would have to both pay off those previous investments and provide the power needed for members to keep their lights on 24 hours a day — but would have to do so without its most economical and reliable assets.

It likely would mean purchasing power on the open market, which is not a cheap proposition, especially in the harsh weather conditions that set Cardinal’s reliability in stark contrast to renewables like wind and solar.

Because co-ops are member owned and not for profit, all of those increased costs would have to be borne by members through significantly higher electric bills.

The hard place: An impossible gamble

To avoid shutting the units down, the EPA offers the option to use CCS to meet that 90% reduction — a standard that

Continued on page 6

must be met by 2032, less than eight years from now. The EPA, in announcing its rule, even pointed to one of Buckeye’s sister generation co-ops, Minnkota Power of North Dakota, and its “Project Tundra” CCS initiative, as proof that it can be done.

Minnkota has been working on Project Tundra for almost 10 years at its 700-megawatt Milton R. Young Power Plant near Bismarck, North Dakota, making significant progress on engineering and design, permitting, and regulatory compliance.

The problem is, it’s still just a concept; even after nearly a decade, no construction has yet taken place. Now Minnkota’s CEO has announced a delay in the project because of uncertainty about the EPA’s guidelines.

So, despite the EPA’s assertion, no project has ever even been designed that would meet the requirement — at least not at the scale that would be required at Cardinal.

“There have been a few instances where smaller amounts of flue gas have been cleaned to near 90%, most of the time,” O’Loughlin says. “Our Cardinal Plant is 1,800 megawatts. That’s a big jump. It would be a huge gamble to commit billions of dollars of our members’ money to something that we’re not sure will do what the EPA is requiring, and certainly will not do it in the time frame they’re demanding.”

The bottom line

CCS at Cardinal would require the design and construction of, in essence, a major chemical plant on-site to capture the carbon from the plant’s emissions. Such a chemical plant would have its own electrical needs that would use roughly 25% of the energy that Cardinal produces, according to O’Loughlin. Once the carbon is separated, it would then require a pipeline to a geologically sound deep-well location to store it. (Ohio’s geology, much less favorable to that process than North Dakota’s, presents its own challenges.)

“Right now, the technology remains in a nascent and experimental state that is not technically or commercially viable for Cardinal,” says Craig Grooms, Buckeye Power’s chief operating officer, in a declaration of harm filed with the D.C. Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. And even if it were, he continues, “permitting, siting, design, and construction standards for CCS — including for CO2 storage and CO2 pipeline transportation from Cardinal to storage, as well as the CO2 capture technology itself — mean that any such CCS system could not be placed into service by the January 1, 2032, compliance date required by the final rule.”

In other words, says O’Loughlin, “Cardinal, and likely every other coal plant in the country, will not be able to comply with the rule, and will be left no choice but to shut down. Our grid will become much less reliable, and electricity will become a lot more expensive.”

Voices for Cooperative Power is a grassroots network of electric co-op members who help shape public policy by sharing concerns with policymakers. Find helpful links to connect you with government leaders at https://voicesforcooperativepower.com/act-now-epa.

Electric cooperatives are at the forefront of the drive toward clean carbon solutions. Above, Minnkota Power Cooperative’s Milton Young Plant began working to add carbon capture technology in 2015. Officials hope to begin construction later this year. Below, Basin Power’s Dry Fork Plant is home to the Wyoming Integrated Test Center, where researchers use 5% of the 400-megawatt plant’s flue gas to search for potentially workable new technology in a real-world setting.

How CCS works

Under the right conditions, carbon capture and storage (CCS) could be a viable method for reducing carbon dioxide emissions while preserving the reliability and dependability of fossil-fuel power plants. There are a handful of utilities testing this ambitious technology in the U.S., particularly in areas where favorable underground geology is thought to be ideal for storing CO2. Here’s how CCS works.

1Capture

Amine solution is used to separate CO2 from fossil fuel power plant flue gases.

Transport

Compressed CO2 is transported via a pipeline to an injection wellhead.

Storage

CO2 is injected into porous rock formations deep underground.

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WOODS, WATERS, AND WILDLIFE

AN OLD SALT

Underneath Ohio’s largest lake, a pair of mines produce an unexpected treasure.

BY W.H. “CHIP” GROSS

Amultitude of boaters, anglers, swimmers, vacationers, sun-chasers, and thrill-seekers flocks to Lake Erie each summer. Most of them will have no idea of the activity taking place far beneath those waters.

For the past 65 years, nearly half a mile down, two massive salt mines have been extracting more than 3 million tons of rock salt per year for use to melt snow and ice on Ohio’s winter streets, roads, and highways.

The entrance to one of the mines, operated by Cargill, Inc., is just offshore from downtown Cleveland on Whiskey Island (so named when a distillery was built on the site in the 1830s). The second mine, operated by Morton Salt, is 30 miles farther east along the lakeshore at Fairport Harbor. The property and mineral rights under the lake are owned by the State of Ohio, but the mineral rights are leased to the two operators.

“Geologists believe that the salt beds formed eons ago when an ancient, relatively shallow saltwater sea covered what one day would become the Buckeye State,” says Chris Wright, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey program supervisor. “As the waters continually ebbed and flowed in the warm tropical climate, evaporation occurred, leaving salt beds that today in some parts of Ohio measure 40 to 50 feet thick.”

The construction of the two mines took place during the late 1950s; the initial vertical shaft of each mine, sunk to a depth of about 2,000 feet and measuring about 16 feet in diameter, took about two years to complete. At that depth, the shafts take a 90-degree turn, heading north under the lake bed.

Today, the horizontal mine passageways extend several miles under the lake. The large, powerful equipment

needed to mine the salt — trucks, front-end loaders, conveyors, etc. — was lowered into the mines by first disassembling the machines into their component parts, then reassembling them at the bottom of the shaft.

The salt beds cover a vast area that includes most of eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, western New York, southwestern Ontario, central Michigan, and into northern West Virginia. So, why are the two Ohio mines located on the Erie shore?

“The answer is twofold,” Wright says. “Even though various salt layers can be found over a huge area, in Ohio they are closest to the surface along the lakeshore, making it more

cost-effective to mine there. And secondly, it was much simpler for the operators to acquire the mineral rights from one entity — the State of Ohio — than deal with the many, many individual landowners who would have needed to be contracted inland.”

The mining itself is accomplished using what’s known as the room-and-pillar technique, in which about half of the salt in a particular “room” is removed, leaving a passageway, and the other half is allowed to remain in place as support pillars for the ceiling. To loosen the rock salt at the working face of the mine, small-diameter holes are drilled about 10 feet deep into the salt, spaced every few feet. Explosive charges are placed into the holes and detonated, and the loosened salt can then be scooped up, placed in trucks, and moved to the conveyors that take it to the main shaft and eventually to the surface.

Shallow mines are a lot like caves, which usually remain at the median temperature of the environment surrounding them. For example, Ohio Caverns near West Liberty is 103 feet deep and is a constant 54 degrees year-round, which is the median temperature for that part of Ohio.

“The natural temperature within the deeper salt mines is also relatively constant,” Wright says. “About 70 degrees, with the temperature actually warming a few degrees as you descend deeper and deeper underground, due to geothermal heat.”

An interesting side note is that the salt beds in the mines are constantly “flowing,” according to Wright — albeit at a literal glacial pace. Because of the extreme pressure of the rocks above the salt beds, the rock salt attempts to fill the empty spaces where salt has already been mined. As a result, some sections of the mines are no longer safe to enter because they have become unstable.

“There is no danger of cracks reaching all the way up to the bottom of Lake Erie and allowing the lake water to suddenly flood the mines,” Wright says. “It’s really nothing to worry about.”

W.H. “Chip” Gross is Ohio Cooperative Living’s outdoors editor. Email him with your outdoors questions at whchipgross@gmail.com. Be sure to include “Ask Chip” in the subject of the email. Your question may be answered on www.ohiocoopliving.com!

Chris Wright, geology program supervisor for the ODNR, Division of Geological Survey, displays rock core sections of an Ohio salt bed. The clearer section has fewer impurities. The salt beds under Lake Erie, formed eons ago, can measure 40 to 50 feet thick (above right), and today, miners use the room-and-pillar technique to remove the salt for use in above-ground applications.

Hops to it!

Cash crop allows patient Ohio farmers to take advantage of the craft brewery boom.

BY MARGARET BURANEN

According to the Ohio Craft Brewers Association, there were 434 craft breweries in the state of Ohio at the end of 2023. More are opening all the time.

And that gigantic growth curve has created an equally growing opportunity for a number of Ohio farmers: Those breweries need hops.

Hops add bitterness to balance the sweetness of malt in beers. Different varieties of hops contain varying levels of oils and acids, and those are what give beers their distinct flavors.

“Different breweries want different varieties of hops,” says Amy Berridge, a member of Kenton-based Mid-Ohio Energy Cooperative. Berridge, her mother, Rubiana Berridge, and her sister, Lori Tucker, own Three Chicks Farm in Morral, in Marion County. In 2014, Three Chicks added hops to its lineup of crops, which also includes soybeans, wheat, alfalfa hay, and Christmas trees.

“When we were considering growing hops, they told us that it would be easy and make a lot of money,” Amy Berridge says. “It is neither.”

Logan Minter, associate professor and extension and field specialist for specialty crops at Ohio State University’s South Center, says hops grew wild in Ohio until Prohibition, but then hop production shifted to northwestern states. Part of Minter’s research now involves finding and cultivating wild hop plants. He hopes to find strains that are more resistant to insects or have other beneficial properties.

Minter confirms that, while hop acreage in Ohio has increased in the last 10 years, the number of those growing the stuff has declined despite the demand.

“First, it’s a labor-intensive crop,” he says. “Then there is a relatively high installation cost, and a significant annual operations cost after that.”

Minter says with all that initial investment, it takes about three years for a farmer to break even, and only then will

most farmers begin to make a profit from their work; Berridge says that was her experience as well.

The hop yard at Three Chicks Farm measures threequarters of an acre. They began with small, established plants their first year, and those plants took about three years to develop enough roots to produce a full crop. They’ve since added a second variety. Once established, Minter says, hop plants will produce a crop for 25 years or more, though they are susceptible to various diseases and pests and require a certain vigilance.

The plant itself is referred to as a hop; its flowers are the hops that flavor your brewski. Hops flowers are referred to as cones, because they look like small green pine cones. The cones grow on bines (bines, not vines) that are supported on strings. Some growers use strings made of coir from coconuts, but Three Chicks uses special hop strings made of paper. Metal cables hold the strings to wooden poles or trellises that stand 16 to 20 feet tall.

For the September harvest, “we cut off the bines close to the ground and untie them from the trellises,” Berridge

Continued on page 12

Left: Hops blooms resemble pine cones; above, the plants grow on strings made from paper or coconut fiber hanging from cables; below, the harvester separates the cones from the rest of the plant.

says. “Then the bines and strings go through a mechanical harvester that separates the cones and sends them out the side.”

Berridge says that most breweries want the cones in pellet form for efficiency and consistency. So after the cones are removed from the bines, they are sent away to be dried, converted into pellets, and then put in bags to be sold.

While breweries are the major customers for hops, there are other uses. The citrus-like scent of the cones makes them suitable for some cosmetics. Tea made from hops (Berridge’s verdict: “not bad”) can promote sleep. Hops can be used to flavor food as well.

“We made some macaroons with hops,” Berridge says. “They were really good and won first place at the Marion County Fair.”

As labor-intensive as it is to grow hops, Berridge says, selling them is even harder. “You have to sell directly to your customers, to build relationships with them, because there is no central marketplace for hops,” she says.

To that end, Berridge is also a member, and treasurer, of the Ohio Hop Growers Guild, which has about 70 members who can lean on one another for help with everything from pest control to sales and marketing. The guild connection led Three Chicks to an arrangement with another hop farm to sell its hops.

And even with cooperation among the guild, Minter sums up hop growing and beer production: “It’s a lot easier to drink beer than it is to make it.”

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GOOD EATS

Vim and vinegar

There’s some of the sour stuff in every pantry; put it to flavorful use in these yummy recipes.

PICKLE-BRINED GRILLED CHICKEN

Prep: 10 minutes | Chill: 4+ hours | Cook: 7 minutes | Servings: 4

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast

1¼ cups dill pickle juice (jarred vinegar pickles, not fermented)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

NOTE: Pickle juice is chock-full of vinegar, which makes for a flavorful, tender, and juicy chicken marinade. Other uses for pickle juice: Pickle another batch of vegetables, liven up potatoes, add a dash to a Bloody Mary, or pour over unwanted garden weeds! Slice chicken breasts in half for thinner pieces, which are better for marinating and grilling. In a container with lid, mix together all ingredients except chicken, then submerge chicken in marinade, cover, and refrigerate for 4 to 8 hours.

Preheat grill to 350 F. Lightly oil grates to prevent chicken from sticking. Using heat-safe tongs, pull chicken out of marinade, shake off excess, and place on grill. (Discard marinade.) Cook 5 to 7 minutes per side, until internal temperature reaches 165 F. Remove from grill and let rest 5 minutes before serving. Pair with your favorite side dishes.

Per serving: 148 calories, 3 grams fat (0.5 gram saturated fat), 83 milligrams cholesterol, 167 milligrams sodium, 3 grams total carbohydrates, 0 grams fiber, 26 grams protein.

RECIPES AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY CATHERINE MURRAY

BALSAMIC POLENTA BOWL

Prep: 15 minutes | Cook: 50 minutes | Servings: 6

5½ cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup cornmeal

2 tablespoons salted butter

2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half

1 medium red onion, sliced in half moons

2 tablespoons olive oil salt and pepper

3 to 5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided ½ cup crumbled feta cheese ½ cup chopped walnuts

NOTES: For crispy Brussels sprouts, follow the recipe as written. For more tender Brussels sprouts, use one baking pan and the vegetables will steam while roasting. For a meaty version, mix in some crumbled bacon or pair with chicken, beef, or pork tenderloin.

In a medium pot, bring water and salt to a boil. Sprinkle in cornmeal while continually whisking until polenta thickens enough to bubble and pop. Lower heat and switch to stirring with a spoon or silicone spatula to prevent burning for a few more minutes, then cook uncovered, stirring every 5 minutes until polenta thickens and separates from sides of pot, 40 to 50 minutes. If it becomes too thick or clumps, incorporate a bit more water. Stir in butter until glossy and smooth. While polenta is cooking, work on the Brussels sprouts.

Preheat oven to 400 F. On two shallow baking pans, toss Brussels sprouts and red onion with oil, spread out in a single layer, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast 12 to 18 minutes. When they’re close to desired doneness, toss, drizzle with 2 to 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, and top with feta and walnuts. Roast another 5 minutes.

Portion out polenta in bowls, top with roasted Brussels sprouts, and drizzle with some more balsamic vinegar.

Per serving: 354 calories, 19 grams fat (6 grams saturated fat), 22 milligrams cholesterol, 342 milligrams sodium, 39 grams total carbohydrates, 7 grams fiber, 10 grams protein.

SUPER-SIMPLE COLESLAW

Prep: 10 minutes | Servings: 6

8 cups coarsely sliced green cabbage

½ cup shredded carrot

½ cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup+ red wine vinegar

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients — carefully at first, then as the cabbage wilts from releasing water, it’ll be easier to stir and incorporate the dressing. Refrigerate up to 4 days (give it a good stir before serving).

Per serving: 158 calories, 14 grams fat (2 grams saturated fat), 0 milligrams cholesterol, 212 milligrams sodium, 7 grams total carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 1.5 grams protein.

APPLE CIDER CRUMBLE CAKE

Prep: 20 minutes | Bake: 50 to 60 minutes | Servings: 9

Filling/streusel crumble

¾ cup packed brown sugar

1 cup flour

Cake batter

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

½ cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

½ cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup apple cider

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

NOTE: Did you know the combination of 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 tablespoon vinegar can be used in place of an egg (as a leveling agent) in many baked goods?

Make the filling/streusel: Cut butter into the dry ingredients (brown sugar through cinnamon) with a fork, pastry cutter, or food processor until a crumb forms and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl, mix cake batter’s flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla until lightened in color. Add half the dry ingredients to the bowl. When mostly combined, add apple cider and apple cider vinegar. Once combined, mix in remaining dry mixture. Finish off with a spatula to avoid overmixing.

Spoon/pour half the cake batter into a greased 8x8-inch (or 9-inch round) baking dish, covering all corners with batter. Sprinkle a thin layer of streusel crumbs over the batter, then pour remaining batter on top, smoothing out to the edges of the dish. Sprinkle remaining streusel in an even layer across the top. Place on a cookie sheet on the middle rack of the oven and bake 55 to 65 minutes — if streusel crumble darkens too quickly, lightly cover with aluminum foil. Cake is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

Per serving: 408 calories, 11 grams fat (6 grams saturated fat), 27 milligrams cholesterol, 318 milligrams sodium, 74 grams total carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 4 grams protein.

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ELECTIONS OPEN AUGUST 1

Members to vote on board trustees and proposed changes to the cooperative’s Code of Regulations

You’re not just a customer; you’re a memberowner. That’s why you have a vote not only for Carroll Electric Cooperative’s board of trustees, but also for proposed changes to our code of regulations.

Members of Carroll Electric Cooperative will choose trustees to represent board districts 1, 4, and 8 this year. Also on the ballot are proposed updates to the coop’s code of regulations. The Carroll Electric Board of Directors is asking for your support to approve updates to our code of regulations. A summary of these proposed changes, written by our attorney and approved by our board, may be found on pages 18C to 19.

Co-op Ballot, an independent service provider, is managing the election by printing and mailing ballots, overseeing the online voting portal, and receiving and tallying all votes. More information about voting may be found on page 18A.

How to cast your vote

Starting Thursday, Aug. 1, Carroll Electric members can vote online via a secure link available on the co-op’s website (http://cecpower.coopballot.com).

To cast your vote online or by phone, you will need your account number, which is found on your printed or emailed monthly billing statement, and the last four

digits of your Social Security number. If you wish to avoid providing part of your Social Security number, please request a mail-in ballot.

Paper ballots must be mailed using the provided, prepaid envelope and cannot be accepted by the cooperative’s office. Only original paper ballots should be submitted; no photocopies are permitted. If a member submits more than one ballot, or more than one voting method is used, the first ballot received by the independent service provider will be considered final.

Timeline

Voting opens on Thursday, Aug. 1, and will close Saturday, Sept. 28, during the business meeting portion of the annual meeting. The business meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. Any ballots received by the independent service provider after the close of voting will not be counted, so please allow ample time for delivery if casting your ballot by mail.

Results of the election will be announced at Carroll Electric Cooperative’s annual meeting, which will be held at the Carroll County Fairgrounds on Saturday, Sept. 28 . Results will also be posted on the co-op’s website and published in Ohio Cooperative Living magazine.

Carroll Electric Annual Membership Meeting You’re invited!

Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024

Carroll County Fairgrounds, Carrollton

8:45 a.m.

9:30 a.m.

Registration and Q&As with board members, operations, and right-of-way crews

Business meeting

*No lunch will be served this year. Coffee and donuts will be available prior to the start of the business meeting.

Each member who votes online, by phone, or through the mail or attends the annual meeting will receive a $10 energy credit. Members in attendance have the opportunity to win additional energy credits during a drawing at the conclusion of the business meeting.

Win additional energy credits

Those in attendance for the in-person annual meeting on Sept. 28 at 9:30 a.m. will automatically be entered for a drawing for additional energy credits.

2 - $250 energy credit drawings

2 - $150 energy credit drawings

3 - $100 energy credit drawings

4 - $50 energy credit drawings

OFFICIAL NOTICE

The annual meeting of members of Carroll Electric Cooperative, Inc., is scheduled to be held Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, at the Carroll County Fairgrounds to take action on the following matters:

1. The reports of the officers, trustees, and the nominating committee.

2. Election of three trustees of the cooperative districts 1, 4, and 8.

3. All other business that may come before the meeting or an adjournment thereof.

Kevin Tullis, Secretary-Treasurer Carroll Electric Cooperative, Inc., Board of Trustees

Your voting questions answered

When does voting begin?

Online, telephone, and mail-in voting begins Aug. 1. Inperson voting at the annual membership meeting begins at 8:45 a.m. on Sept. 28.

Why is my SSN required?

The last four digits of your Social Security number (SSN) serve as the unique identifier that ties you with your account. This is how we know it’s you casting the vote and not someone else. Online and telephone voting require the last four digits of your SSN to gain access to the ballot.

Do I have to provide my SSN?

Carroll Electric understands that not everyone is comfortable providing a portion of their SSN. Therefore, you may request to have a paper ballot mailed to the residence on file with the cooperative or vote in person at the annual meeting without providing the last four digits of your SSN. one eight eight eight four zero zero

Voting begins Aug. 1

Vote online.

Vote at www.cecpower.coop or through the SmartHub app on your mobile device.

Vote by mail.

Call 855-340-1786 to request a ballot be mailed to you.

Vote by phone.

Call 855-340-1786 to cast your ballot.

Vote in person.

Vote at the annual meeting Sept. 28.

Where can I vote?

You can vote through our website, www.cecpower.coop, or via the SmartHub app on your mobile device. You can also vote by telephone or request to have a paper ballot mailed to you by calling 1-855-340-1786. Or, vote in person at the annual meeting of members scheduled for Sept. 28 at the Carroll County Fairgrounds.

Are proxies allowed?

No. Proxies were eliminated when the new voting methods were introduced. With nearly one month to cast a vote, more than ample time is provided for every member to find a moment to vote.

How many trustee candidates can I vote for?

You may vote for one candidate in each district up for election, regardless of the district in which you reside. All members vote for all trustee candidates.

How many ballots can I cast?

Only one ballot per membership may be cast.

What happens if I change my mind after I’ve already voted?

You are unable to change a ballot once it has been cast. Attempting to cast a second ballot will not be allowed.

When does voting end?

Voting ends at the annual membership meeting on Sept. 28, once the Carroll Electric board president closes the election (approximately 10 a.m.).

Will employees or board members know how I voted?

Carroll Electric has hired Co-op Ballot, a third-party election services vendor, to implement the election. At no time will Carroll Electric employees or board members have access to any information that would permit them to determine the voting of an individual.

How do you know a member will only cast one ballot?

Co-op Ballot, the third-party election services vendor hired to implement the election, has checks and balances in place that will catch any attempt to cast a second ballot, regardless of voting method. Co-op Ballot will closely monitor the election for voter fraud.

CARROLL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE LOCAL PAGES

District 1: Gary Snode, incumbent

Gary Snode and his wife, Sue, reside on the family farm located in Brown Township, Carroll County. The farm has been in the Snode family since 1918. They are currently building a herd of Angus cattle — now at 25 — and also raising hay, straw, melons, pumpkins, and other vegetables to sell in the farmers’ markets and wholesale.

The rental facility of the Restored Country Barn is used for weddings, receptions, and social events of all kinds. They are presently restoring the Haynam house in Minerva, which was Sue’s grandparent’s home. It will be used as overnight lodging for out-of-town wedding guests.

District 4: Harold Sutton, incumbent

Harold Sutton and his wife, Susan, reside in Ross Township, Jefferson County

Sutton is involved full-time in the farming industry, farming more than 500 acres.

Sutton served as secretary of the Carrollton Farmer’s Exchange Board for 35 years and was also the former president of the Jefferson County Farm Bureau and Rural Preservation Group. He is a member of America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC and the Ohio Electric Cooperatives Political Action Committee. In addition, he currently serves as Carroll Electric’s board president and has been a board trustee for the past 24 years.

Sutton has been a member of Carroll Electric since 1984. He believes that his role as a trustee is “to hire, provide guidance,

District 8: Vince Carter, incumbent

Vince Carter and his wife, Tanya, live in Harrison Township, Carroll County. Vince has worked for the Ohio Department of Transportation for 36 years and is currently serving as the transportation administrator at the Carroll County full-service maintenance facility. Vince and Tanya, along with their two daughters, Tait and Laiton, own and operate Haynam’s Sweetcorn. The family plants, cultivates, harvests, and distributes local, hand-picked sweet corn. Vince has been a Carroll Co-op member since 2007 and a director on the board of trustees since 2021.

Vince is a Carrollton High School graduate and a Kent State University alumnus. He has completed the Ohio Certified Public Manager’s Program through Cleveland State University, which is a nationally certified development program for state and local government leaders. This past year, he received his Credentialed Cooperative Director Certificate and is currently working on acquiring his Board Leadership Certificate.

Gary has been a member of Carroll Electric since 1962 and has been a Carroll Electric trustee for 18 years. He is a member of America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC, the federal political action committee of the nation’s electric cooperatives. Snode feels strongly that the role of the trustee is to listen to the needs and concerns of each member and respond quickly. He believes the biggest challenge facing the electric industry remains the rising cost and reliability of electricity.

Co-op trustee certifications

• Credentialed Cooperative Director

• Board Leadership Certificate

• Director Gold

and evaluate the general manager of the cooperative and to be fiscally responsible in decision-making.” Sutton believes that a challenge facing the electric industry is keeping electric rates as low as possible while meeting service expectations of members and complying with government regulations, all while providing a safe work environment for employees.

Sutton has two sons, Scott and Matthew, and two grandchildren, Sofia and Wally.

Co-op trustee certifications

• Credentialed Cooperative Director

• Board Leadership Certificate

• Director Gold

Vince is seeking another term because he believes concerns in the energy sector have increased significantly over the past five years and feels that he brings a developed skill set from professional and personal experiences that benefits the board and the membership. He’s committed to listening, learning, and navigating the needs of the internal and external customer, and is dedicated to analyzing appropriate solution options, and being a valuable team member for constructive operations.

He believes future challenges for the co-op will be navigating and influencing federal environmental policies that directly affect electric generation that is needed to meet the demands of the future and provide safe, reliable and affordable electric to the members.

Co-op certifications:

• CCD

Co-op memberships:

• America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC and OECPAC

Proposed changes to

Carroll Electric Cooperative’s code of regulations

The Carroll Electric Board of Trustees has proposed several changes to our code of regulations.

Below is a summary of those changes written by our attorney and approved by our trustees. Members will vote to approve or deny these proposed changes to the code of regulations. A copy of our code of regulations, with the proposed changes, may be found on pages 18D to 19.

CARROLL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE CODE OF REGULATIONS SUMMARY OF PROPOSED AMENDMENTS

I. Article I (MEMBERS)

Section 1(c) was revised to delete paragraph three, which required that all applications for membership that were not accepted by the Board were subject to a vote by membership. The change no longer requires members to vote on the acceptance of new members receiving service.

Section 2: This section was amended to clarify that members are responsible for connection charges along with all other fees of the Cooperative within its schedule of charges as such may be amended from time to time.

Section 3: Amended to account for members who may have solar, back-up generators, or other self-generated sources of electric power used at their property but still purchase electric energy from the Cooperative. Members are still prohibited from purchasing electric energy from any entity other than the Cooperative.

Section 5: This Section was deleted as the Cooperative has never expelled a member and doesn’t foresee the need to expel members.

II. Article II (MEETING OF MEMBERS)

Section 1: Amended to provide the board flexibility in scheduling the annual meeting rather than requiring the annual meeting be held during either August or September.

Section 2: Amended to increase the number of members needed to require a special meeting and to specify the reasons or issues to be addressed and voted upon at a special meeting.

Section 3: Amended to include an updated timeline of notice to take into consideration all forms of notice.

Section 6: Amended to update agenda for annual meeting and eliminate the need to vote on approval of minutes. The annual meeting agenda will not require the inclusion of unfinished business or new business but allow flexibility in allowing other items if necessary.

III. Article III (TRUSTEES)

Section 8: Amended to reflect changes to the governing accounting systems with which the Cooperative is required to comply based upon governmental regulation.

Section 9: Amended to clarify that the board may hire contractors and/or consultants to aid the board as it deems necessary but is not responsible for the hiring and termination of employees of the Cooperative other than the President.

IV. Article V (OFFICERS)

Section 1: Amended to change the title of board officers in line with industry standards to avoid confusion between Board officers and position of President / CEO of the Cooperative, who is an employee of the Cooperative. The remaining sections of this article were amended to properly apply the updated board titles.

Section 7(g): Amended to remove the requirement that the Cooperative mail a copy of the Code of Regulations upon request, as the Code of Regulations is available on the Cooperative website and available at all times to members through access to the Cooperative website.

Section 11: Amended to be consistent with Article III, as the Board is only responsible for the hiring and termination of the President / CEO and is not responsible for the hiring and termination of any other employees of the Cooperative.

CARROLL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE LOCAL PAGES

CARROLL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. CODE OF REGULATIONS

(as amended through August 26, 2017) Carroll Electric Cooperative, Inc. PO Box 67 - Carrollton, Ohio 44615 1-800-232-7697 – www.cecpower.coop

(All proposed changes are shown in red type, with new language underlined and deleted text crossed out.)

ARTICLE I MEMBERS

Section I. Qualifications and Obligations. Any natural person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, or body politic, who is now a patron or hereafter becomes a patron, may become a member in the Cooperative by:

(a) Making a written application for membership therein and paying the membership fee hereinafter specified;

(b) Agreeing to purchase from the Cooperative electric energy as hereinafter specified; and

(c) Agreeing to comply with and be bound by the Articles of Incorporation of the Cooperative and this Code of Regulations and any amendments thereto and such rules and regulations as may from time to time be adopted by the Board of Trustees.

Provided, however, that no natural person, firm, corporation or body politic shall become a member unless and until he/ she or it has been accepted for membership by the Board of Trustees or the members. The Cooperative may, but shall not be required to, issue a certificate of membership to any member. No member may hold more than one membership in the Cooperative.

At each meeting of the members held subsequent to the expiration of a period of six (6) months from the date of incorporation of the Cooperative, all applications received more than ninety (90) days prior to such meeting and which have not been accepted by the Board of Trustees shall be submitted by the Board of Trustees to such meeting of the members, and subject to compliance by the applicant with the conditions set forth in sub-divisions (a), (b), (c) of this section, such application for membership may be accepted by a vote of the members at such; meeting. The Secretary shall give any such application at least ten (10) days prior notice of the date of the members’ meeting to which his application will be submitted and such applicant may be present and heard at the meeting.

(d) With respect to members of the Cooperativerporation, all husbands or wives of members shall automatically be considered as joint members without the necessity of making an additional application therefor, but subject to the limitation as to voting herein contained; and upon the death of said member the membership shall automatically pass to the surviving husband or wife.

Section 2. Membership Charges.Membership Fee. The membership fee shall be $10.00, the payment of which shall make the member eligible for one service connection. Members shall be responsible to pay service connection charges along with any other applicable fees as set forth by the Cooperative within its schedule of charges as such may

be amended from time to time. The membership fee shall be $10.00, the payment of which shall make the member eligible for one (1) service connection. An additional fee shall be paid for each additional service connection requested by the member.

Section 3. Purchase of Electric Energy. Each member shall, as soon as electric energy shall be available, purchase electric energy only from the Cooperative all electric energy used on the premises specified in the member’s application for membership and shall pay therefore monthly at rates which shall from time to time be fixed by the Board of Trustees. It is expressly understood that amounts paid for electric energy in excess of the cost of service are furnished as capital and each patron shall be credited with the capital so furnished as provided in this Code of Regulations. Each patron shall pay to the Cooperative such minimum amount per month regardless of the amount of electric energy consumed, as shall be fixed by the Board of Trustees from time to time. Each patron shall also pay all amounts owed by him/her to the Cooperative as and when the same shall become due and payable.

Section 4. Non-liability for Debts of the Cooperative. This private property of the members of the Cooperative shall be exempt from execution for the debts of the Cooperative and no member shall be individually liable or responsible for any debts or liabilities of the Cooperative.

Section 5. Expulsion of Members. The Board of Trustees of the Cooperative may, by the affirmative vote of not less than two-thirds (2/3) of the members thereof; expel any member who shall have violated or refused to comply with any of the provisions of the Articles of Incorporation of the Cooperative or the Code of Regulations or any rules or regulations adopted from time to time by the Board of Trustees. Any member so expelled may be reinstated as a member by the vote of the members at any annual or special meeting of the members. The action of the members with respect to any such reinstatement shall be final.

Section 56. Withdrawal of Membership. Any member may withdraw from membership upon payment in full of all debts and liabilities of such member to the Cooperative and upon compliance with such terms and conditions as the Board of Trustees may prescribe.

Section 67. Transfer and Termination of Membership. Membership in the Cooperative and the certificate, if any, representing the same shall not be transferable, and upon the death, cessation of existence, expulsion or withdrawal of a member or cessation of service, the membership of such member shall thereupon terminate, and the certificate of membership, if any, of such member shall be surrendered forthwith to the Cooperative. The Board of Trustees shall adopt rules governing the membership status of person whose service

is temporarily discontinued. Subject to the payment of all debts and liabilities of a member to the Cooperative, upon any such termination of membership and the surrender of the member’s Membership Certificate, if any, the Cooperative shall pay to such member or his personal representative, the amount of the membership fee paid by such member. Termination of membership in any manner shall operate as a release of all right, title and interest of the member in the property and assets of the Cooperative, except as to allocations of capital credits made pursuant to Article VIII hereof; provided, however, that such termination of membership shall not release the member from the debts or liabilities of such member to the Cooperative.

Section 78. Removal of Trustees. Any member may bring specific charges of malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance against a trustee and, by filing with the Secretary in writing a detailed description of each charge and the evidentiary basis therefor together with a petition signed by ten per centum (10%) of the members, may request the removal of the trustee by reason thereof. If more than one trustee is sought to be removed, individual charges against each such trustee and the evidentiary basis for each such charge shall be specified. For purposes of this Section, “malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance” means an act or omission amounting to gross negligence, fraud, or criminal conduct, which has a material adverse effect on the business and affairs of the Cooperative. At the next regular or special meeting of the members occurring not less than forty five days after the filing of such charges, the member bringing the charges against the trustee shall have an opportunity to be heard in person or by counsel and to present evidence in support of the charges; and the trustee shall have the opportunity to be heard in person or by counsel and to present evidence in response to such charges. No trustee shall be removed from office unless the specific charges against such trustee are supported by clear and convincing evidence. The question of the removal of such trustee shall be considered and voted upon at the meeting of members and any vacancy created by such removal may be filled, by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining trustees, for the unexpired portion of the term and until a successor shall have been elected and qualified. The removal of no more than two trustees may be considered or voted upon at any meeting of members. In addition, the Board shall remove any Board member who fails at any time to meet the qualifications set forth in Article III, Section 3.

Section 89. Nothing contained in this Article, or elsewhere in the Code of Regulations, shall be deemed or construed to prevent or prohibit the Cooperative from selling electric energy or rendering services to non-members, in proper cases, nor to prohibit the Cooperative from executing and performing franchise contracts with municipalities providing for the sale of electric energy and rendering of services to said municipalities.

ARTICLE II MEETING OF MEMBERS

Section 1. Annual Meeting. The Cooperative shall hold an Annual Meeting each calendar yearThe annual meeting of

the members shall be held during the months of August or September of each year, at such place in Carroll County, State of Ohio, as shall be designated in the notice of the meeting for the purpose of electing trustees, passing upon reports covering the previous fiscal year, and transacting such other business as may come before the meeting.

Section 2. Special Meetings. Special meetings of the members may be called by at least fivethree (53) trustees or upon a written request signed by at least twentyten per centum (210%) of all the members. Petitions by members for a special meeting must state the reason for the special meeting and issues to be voted upon at said meeting. It shall thereupon be the duty of the Secretary to cause notice of such meeting to be given as hereinbefore provided. Special meetings of the members may be held at any place within the County of Carroll in the State of Ohio specified in the notice of the special meeting.

Section 3. Notice of Members’ Meeting. Written or printed notice stating the place, day and hour of the meeting and, in case of special meeting, the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called shall be delivered not less than tenseven (107) days nor more than forty-five (45) days before the meeting shall take place, either personally, by mail (including publication within a magazine mailed to the members) or authorized communication equipment in the case that the Board determines that voting for the meeting shall take place in person, nor less than thirty (30) days, in the case that the Board determines that voting for the meeting shall take place by mail or authorized communications equipment, nor more than sixty (60) days before the date of the meeting, personally or sent by the use of authorized communications equipment, or by United States mail or overnight delivery service, with postage or fees prepaid (including publication within a magazine mailed to the members), by or at the direction of the Secretary or by the persons calling the meeting, to each member. If they are mailed or delivered by overnight delivery service, such notice shall be deemed to be delivered when deposited in the United States mail or with the overnight delivery service, addressed to the member at his address as it appears on the records of the Cooperative, with postage or fees thereon prepaid. If personally delivered or transmitted by the use of authorized communications equipment, the notice shall be deemed to have been given when delivered or transmitted. If sent by means of authorized communications equipment, the notice shall be sent to the address furnished by the voting member for transmissions by authorized communications equipment. The failure of any member to receive notice of an annual or special meeting of the members shall not invalidate any action which may be taken by the members at any such meeting.

Section 4. Quorum. The members entitled to vote present in person or participating in the meeting through voting by mail or authorized communications equipment at any meeting of the members shall constitute a quorum.

Section 5. Voting. Each member shall be entitled to one (1) vote and no more upon each matter submitted to a vote at a meeting of the members. At all meetings of the members at which a quorum is present all questions shall be decided by a vote of a majority of the members voting thereon in person

CARROLL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE

or by mail or authorized communications equipment, as the case may be, except at otherwise provided by law, the Articles of Incorporation of the Cooperative or the Code of Regulations. If a husband and wife hold a joint membership they shall jointly be entitled to one (1) vote and no more upon each matter submitted to a vote at a meeting of the members. The Board shall determine in each case the means by which votes shall be cast at any meeting of the members, i.e. whether voting shall take place in person or by mail or authorized communications equipment, or any combination of the foregoing means.

Section 6. Order of Business. The order of business at the annual meeting of the members, and so far as possible at all other meetings of the members, shall be essentially as follows:

1. Call of the Roll.

2. Reading of the notice of the meeting and proof of the due publication or delivery thereof, or the waiver or waivers of notice of the meeting, as the case may be.

3. Approval of minutes from prior annual meeting by unanimous consent if no objection raised. Reading of unapproved minutes of previous meeting of the members and taking of necessary action thereon.

4. Presentation and consideration of reports of

officers, trustees and committees.

5. Election of trustees (in the case of voting in person).

6. Announcement of the results of the election, including in the case of voting by mail or authorized communications equipment.

7. Any other items to be brought before this body at this time.

8.6.Adjournment.

7. Unfinished Business.

8.9.New Business.

9.10. Adjournment.

ARTICLE III

TRUSTEES

Section 1. General Powers. The business and affairs of the cooperative shall be managed by a board of nine (9) trustees which shall exercise all of the powers of the Cooperative except such as are by law or by the article of Incorporation of the Cooperative or by this Code of Regulations conferred upon or reserved to the members. The Board shall divide the service area of the Cooperative into nine (9) districts so that each district provides Trustee representation to as equal a number of members as practicable. Whenever possible, district boundaries shall be composed of political or major geographical features. The Board shall annually review the make-up of the district and shall have the power to change the boundaries of such districts whenever in their opinion; the purpose of this section requires such a change.

Section 2. Election and Tenure of Office. At each annual meeting of the members, three (3) trustees shall be elected for a three (3) year term by ballot, by and from the members. Trustees shall serve during the term for which they have been elected or until their successors have been elected and qualified, subject to the provisions of Article I, Section 8 of this Code of Regulations. Board members shall be elected by a plurality vote of the members. In the case of a tie vote, the election to such office shall be decided by a flip of the coin. In the case of voting in person, the election shall take place by secret

ballot at the meeting of members. In the case of voting by mail or authorized communications equipment, ballots shall be distributed to the members, and voted on by the members, prior to the meeting of members, and the election results announced at the meeting of members (following the tabulation of in-person votes, if any), all in accordance with this Code of Regulations.

Section 3. Qualifications. No member shall be eligible to become or remain a trustee or to hold any position of trust in the Cooperative who:

1. is not a bona fide resident in the designated district served by the Cooperative, or

2. is in any way employed by or financially interested in a competing enterprise or business selling electric energy or supplies to the Cooperative, or a business primarily engaged in selling electrical or plumbing appliances, fixtures or supplies to the members of the Cooperative., or

3. has not been a member of the Cooperative for all of the 12 consecutive months immediately preceding such person’s election to the Board, or

4. is not a member in good standing of the Cooperative. For purposes of this Section, “good standing” means not late by more than 30 days in payment of any Cooperative bill for service more than twice in the immediately preceding twelve month period prior to such person’s election to the Board or in the immediately preceding 12-month period at any time after such person’s election to the Board, or

5. while a Board member, has failed to attend more than 75% of Board meetings in any calendar year, unless the Board member’s failure to attend is excused by the Board, or

6. has pled guilty or been convicted of any felony offense in the immediately preceding five-year period prior to such person’s election to the Board or in the immediately preceding five year period at any time after such person’s election to the Board, or

7. has an immediate family member serving on the Board or as an employee of the Cooperative. For purposes of this Section, “immediate family member” means father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, brother or sister by reason of blood, marriage or adoption, or any other person residing at the same premises as the Board member, or 8. is not a natural person.

When a membership is held jointly by a husband and wife, either one, but not both, may be elected a trustee, provided, however, that neither one shall be eligible to become or remain a trustee or to hold a position of trust in the Cooperative unless both shall meet the qualifications hereinabove set forth.

Nothing in this section contained, shall, or shall be construed to; affect in any manner whatsoever the validity of any action taken at any meeting of the Board of Trustees.

Section 4. Nominations. It shall be the duty of the Board of Trustees to appoint not less than 120 days before the date of a meeting of the members at which trustees are to be elected, a committee on nominations consisting of not less than five (5) nor more than eleven (11) members who shall be appointed so as to give equitable representation on the committee to the districts from which board members are

to be elected and to the geographical areas served or to be served by the Cooperative. No officer or member of the Board of Trustees shall be appointed a member of such committee. The committee shall prepare and post at the principal office of the Cooperative at least 90 days before the meeting a list of nominations for trustee (such list to include not more than three (3) nominees for each position), but any fifteen (15) or more members may make other nominations in writing over their signatures not less than 60 days prior to the meeting and the Secretary shall post the same at the same place where the list of nominations made by the committee is posted. The Secretary shall deliver with the notice of the meeting a statement of the number of trustees to be elected and showing separately the nominations made by the committee on nominations and nominations made by the petition, if any. In the case of voting by mail or by authorized communications equipment, the Secretary shall also deliver a ballot (and instructions for completing and returning the ballot to the Cooperative) with the notice of the meeting of members, or, separately, at approximately the same time that the notice of the meeting of members is delivered. Additional nominations from the floor at any meeting of the members shall not be permitted. Notwithstanding anything in this section contained, failure to comply with any of the provisions of this section shall not affect in any manner whosoever the validity of any election of trustees.

Section 5. Vacancies. Vacancies occurring on the Board of Trustees shall be filled from those eligible members within that district by a majority vote of the remaining trustees. A trustee elected to fill a vacancy shall serve the unexpired term of his predecessor and until his successor shall have been elected and qualified.

Section 6. Compensation. The Board of Trustees may by resolution provide a reasonable compensation to be paid to each trustee for his services rendered on behalf of the Cooperative as a trustee and also provide for expenses incurred therein. A trustee may also receive compensation for his services rendered as an officer of the Cooperative but shall not receive compensation for his services rendered in any other capacity, except in an emergency. No close relative of a trustee shall receive compensation for serving the Cooperative, except in an emergency, and in that event, such compensation may be fixed by the Board of Trustees, provided, however, if the emergency exists for more than ninety (90) days, then such compensation shall be specifically authorized by a vote of the members. As used in this Section, “close relative” means the relationship of father, mother, brother, sister, son, and daughter, existing by reason of blood, marriage, or adoption.

Section 7. Rules and Regulations. The Board of Trustees shall have power to make and adopt such rules and regulations, not inconsistent with law, the Articles of Incorporation of the Cooperative or this Code of Regulations, as it may deem advisable for the management administration and regulation of the business and affairs of the Cooperative.

Section 8. Accounting System and Reports. The Board of Trustees shall cause to be established and maintained a complete accounting system, which among other things,

subject to applicable laws and rules and regulations of any regulatory body, shall conform to such accounting system as may from cone to time be designated by the Administrator of the Rural Utilities ServiceElectrification Administration of the United States of America. The Board of Trustees shall also after the close of each fiscal year cause to be made a full and complete audit of the accounts, books and financial condition of the Cooperative as of the end of such fiscal year. Such audit reports shall be submitted to the members at the following annual meeting.

Section 9. Contractors / Consultants. The Board may engage contractors and/or consultants from time to time to assist the Board as the Board deems appropriate. This authority shall include, but is not limited to, the engagement of an Auditor to perform an annual audit of the Cooperative. Agents and Employees. The Board of Trustees may employ and discharge agents and employees and fix their powers, duties and compensation, subject, however, to the provisions of Article III, Section 6 of this Code of Regulations in regard to compensation of trustees and close relatives of trustees. The Board of Trustees may from time to time vest any of the above authority in the General Manager of the Cooperative.

ARTICLE IV

MEETING OF TRUSTEES

Section 1. Regular Meetings. A regular meeting of the Board of Trustees shall be held monthly at such time and place in Carrollton, Carroll County, Ohio, or such other place, as the Board of Trustees may provide by resolution. Such regular monthly meetings may be held without notice other than such resolution fixing the time and place thereof.

Section 2. Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Board of Trustees may be called by the President, or any three (3) Trustees. The person or persons authorized to call special meetings of the Board of Trustees may fix the time and place for the holding of any special meeting of the Board of Trustees called by them.

Section 3. Notice Notice of the time, place and purpose of any special meeting of the Board of Trustees shall be given at least five (5) days previous thereto, by written notice, delivered personally or mailed to each trustee at his/her last known address. If mailed, such notice shall be deemed to be delivered when deposited in the United States mail so addressed, with postage thereon prepaid. The attendance of a trustee at any meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except in case a trustee shall attend a meeting for the express purpose of objecting to the transaction of any business because the meeting shall not have been lawfully called or convened.

Section 4. Quorum. A majority of the Board of Trustees shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the Board of Trustees, provided, that if less than a majority of the trustees present may adjourn the meeting from time to time without further notice.

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Section 5. Manner of Action. The act of the majority of the trustees present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the Board of Trustees.

Section 6. Attendance at Board Meetings by Persons other than Trustees. Members of the Cooperative shall have the right to attend meetings of the Board of Trustees in accordance with such policies and procedures relating thereto as may be adopted by the Board of Trustees, including, without limitation, policies and procedures relating to the number of Cooperative members who may attend Board meetings at one time, the purpose or purposes for which Cooperative members may attend Board meetings, advance notice requirements for attendance, limitations on attendance while the Board is meeting in executive session, and limitations on the time which members may have to address the Board. The Board of Trustees may also adopt policies and procedures relating to attendance at Board meetings by persons other than Cooperative members, including, without limitation, policies and procedures relating to the exclusion of persons other than Board members and members of the Cooperative from attendance at Cooperative Board meetings.

Section 7. Access to Membership List. Any member of the Cooperative, or the agent or attorney of such member, shall have the right to examine the Cooperative’s membership list at any reasonable time as determined by the Cooperative for the purpose of (a) nominating qualified candidates for election to the Cooperative’s Board of Trustees by petition, or (b) campaigning and soliciting member votes for any qualified candidate properly nominated by the nominating committee or by petition for election to the Cooperative’s Board of Trustees. For these purposes, the membership list shall consist solely of, and such member or its agent or attorney shall only have the right to examine, the names and addresses of each member of the Cooperative as such names and addresses are contained in the Cooperative’s records. For these purposes, and upon the request in writing of such member or its agent or attorney to the Cooperative, such member or its agent or attorney shall also have the right to obtain from the Cooperative one copy of the names and addresses of each member of the Cooperative as such names and addresses are contained in the Cooperative’s records and in such form as the Cooperative maintains such records; provided, however, that such member shall reimburse the Cooperative its reasonable costs incurred in connection with such copying. Nothing in this Section is intended to prohibit the members or trustees of the Cooperative or their agents or attorneys from examining the books and records of the Cooperative, including its membership list, for any other reasonable and proper purpose and at any reasonable time, as determined by the Cooperative. The Board of Trustees of the Cooperative may adopt policies and procedures relating to access by Cooperative members and trustees to the Cooperative’s books and records, including the membership list.

ARTICLE V OFFICERS

Section 1. Number. The officers of the Cooperative shall be a ChairPresident, Vice-ChairPresident, Secretary, Treasurer,

President / CEO and such other officers as may be determined by the Board of Trustees from time to time in accordance with Section 15 of this Article V. The offices of Secretary and of Treasurer and such other offices as may be created pursuant to Section 15 of this Article V may be held by the same person.

Section 2. Election and Term of Office. Each officer, except the President / CEO General Manager and any officer appointed pursuant to Section 15 of this Article V, shall be elected by ballot, annually by and from the Board of Trustees at the first meeting of the Board of Trustees held after each annual meeting of the members. If the election of officers shall not be held as such meeting, such elections shall be held as soon thereafter as conveniently may be. Each officer shall hold office until the first meeting of the Board of Trustees following the next succeeding annual meeting of the members, or until his successor shall have been duly elected and shall have qualified, subject to the provisions of this code of Regulations with respect to the removal of officers.

Section 3. Removal. Any officer or agent elected or appointed by the Board of Trustees may be removed by the Board of Trustees whenever in its judgment the best interest of the Cooperative shall be served, except that the Board of Trustees may, in its discretion, agree in a written employment agreement to conditions inconsistent with this Code of Regulations concerning the removal of the President / CEOGeneral Manager

Section 4. Vacancies. Except as otherwise provided in this Code of Regulations, a vacancy in any office may be filled by the Board of Trustees for the unexpired portion of the term.

Section 5. ChairPresident. The ChairPresident shall:

(a) Be the principal officer of the Cooperative and shall preside at all meetings of the members and of the Board of Trustees.

(b) Sign, with the Secretary, certificates of membership, the issue of which shall have been authorized by resolution of the Board of Trustees and may sign any deeds, mortgages, deeds of trust, notes, bonds, contracts or instruments authorized by the Board of Trustees to be executed, except in cases in which the signing and execution thereof shall be, expressly delegated by the Board of Trustees or by this Code of’ Regulations to some other officer or agent of the Cooperative, or shall be required by law to be otherwise signed or executed.

(c) In general shall perform all duties incident to the office of Chairpresident and such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Trustees from time to time.

Section 6. Vice-Chair-President. In the absence of the ChairPresident, or in the event of his/her inability or refusal to act, the Vice-Chair-President shall perform the duties of the ChairPresident and when so acting, shall have all the power of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the ChairPresident and shall perform such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him/her by the Board of Trustees.

Section 7. Secretary. The Secretary shall:

(a) Keep the minutes of meetings of the members and the Board of Trustees in one or more books provided for that purpose.

(b) See that all notices are duly given in accordance with this Code of Regulations or as required by law.

(c) Be the custodian of the corporate records and of the seal

of the Cooperative and see that the seal of the Cooperative is affixed to all certificates of membership prior to the issue thereof and to all documents, the execution of which on behalf of the Cooperative, under its seal, is duly authorized in accordance with the provisions of this Code of Regulations.

(d) Keep a register of the post office address of each member which shall be furnished to the Secretary by such member.

(e) Sign with the ChairPresident, certificates of membership, the issue of which shall have been authorized by resolution of the Board of Trustees.

(f) Have general charge of the books of the Cooperative in which a record of the members is kept.

(g) Keep on file at all times a complete copy of the Code of Regulations of the Cooperative containing all amendments thereto, which copy shall always be open to the inspection of any member, and at the expense of the Cooperative forward a copy of the Code of Regulations and of all amendments thereto to each member.

(h) In general, perform all duties incident to the office of secretary and such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him/her by the Board of Trustees.

Section 8. Assistant Secretary. The Assistant Secretary, if one is appointed by the Board of Trustees pursuant to Section 15 of this Article V, need not be a member of the Board of Trustees and shall hold office until relieved by the Board of Trustees. The Assistant Secretary shall assist the Secretary in the performance of the Secretary’s duties as requested by the Secretary or by the Board of Trustees.

Section 9. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall:

(a) Have charge and custody of and be responsible for all funds and securities of the Cooperative.

(b) Receive and give receipts for moneys due and payable to the Cooperative from any source whatsoever, and deposit all such moneys in the name of the Cooperative in such bank or banks as shall be selected in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Regulations.

(c) In general perform all the duties incident to the office of Treasurer and such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him/her by the Board of Trustees.

Section 10. Assistant Treasurer. The Assistant Treasurer, if one is appointed by the Board of Trustees pursuant to Section 15 of this Article V, need not be a member of the Board of Trustees and shall hold office until relieved by the Board of Trustees. The Assistant Treasurer shall assist the Treasurer in the performance of the Treasurer’s duties as requested by the Treasurer or by the Board of Trustees.

Section 11. President / CEO General Manager. The board of Trustees may appoint a President / CEOGeneral Manager who shall be an employee of the Cooperative and who may be but who shall not be required to be, a member of the Cooperative.

The President / CEOGeneral Manager shall:

(a) be the chief executive officer and shall be responsible for the general direction, coordination and control of all operations in accordance with policies adopted by the Board of Trustees;

(b) have supervision over and be responsible for the operations of the Cooperative and shall, in performing this duty, carry out and execute the policies adopted by the Board of Trustees;

(c) prepare for the Board of Trustees such reports and budgets as

are necessary to inform the Board concerning the operation of the Cooperative; and

(c)(d) Be responsible for the hiring and termination of employment of all other employees of the Cooperative; and (d)(e) in general perform all duties incident to the office of chief executive officer and perform such other duties as the Board of Trustees may from time to time require of him/her and shall have such other authority as the Board of Trustees may from time to time vest in him/her

Section 12. Bonds of Officers. The Board of Trustees shall require the treasurer or any other officer of the Cooperative charged with responsibility for the custody of any of its funds or property, to give bond in such sum and with such surety as the Board of Trustees shall determine. The Board of Trustees in its discretion may also require any other officer, agent or employee of the Cooperative to give bond in such amount and with such surety as it shall determine. In lieu of bonding, the Board may obtain liability insurance to cover the risks to the Cooperative that would otherwise be covered by bonding of the treasurer and other officers, agents or employees.

Section 13. Compensation. The compensation of any officer, agent, or employee who is also a close relative of a trustee, shall be determined as provided in Article III, Section 6 of the Code of Regulations, and the powers, duties, and compensation of all other officers, agents, and employees shall be fixed by the Board of Trustees.

Section 14. Reports. The Officers of the Cooperative shall submit at each annual meeting of the members reports covering the business of the Cooperative for the previous fiscal year and showing the condition of the Cooperative at the close of such fiscal year.

Section 15. Additional Officers. In addition to the officers mentioned in Section 1 of this Article V, the Cooperative may have such other officers as the Board of Trustees may deem necessary and may appoint, each of who shall hold office for such periods, have such authority and perform such duties as are provided in this Code of Regulations or as the Board of Trustees may from time to time determine.

ARTICLE VI

CONTRACTS, CHECKS AND DEPOSITS

Section 1. Contracts. Except as otherwise provided in this Code of Regulations, the Board of Trustees may authorize any officer or officers, agent or agents to enter into any contract or execute and deliver any instrument in the name and on behalf of the Cooperative, and such delivery may be general or confined to specific instance.

Section 2. Checks, drafts, etc. All checks, drafts or other orders for the payment of money, and all notes, bonds or other evidences of indebtedness issued in the name of the Cooperative shall be signed by such officer or officers, agent or agents, employee or employees of the Cooperative and in such manner as shall from time to time be determined by resolution of the Board of Trustees.

Section 3. Deposits. All funds of the Cooperative shall be deposited from time to time to the credit of the Cooperative in such bank or banks as the Board of Trustees may select.

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ARTICLE VII

MEMBERSHIP CERTIFICATES

Section 1. Certificates of Membership. Membership in the Cooperative may be evidenced by a certificate of membership which shall be in such form and shall contain such provisions as shall be determined by the Board of Trustees not contrary to, or inconsistent with, the Articles of Incorporation of the Cooperative or this Code of Regulation. Such certificates shall be signed by the ChairPresident and by the Secretary of the Cooperative and the corporate seal shall be affixed thereto.

Section 2. Issue of Membership Certificates. No membership certificates shall be issued for less than the membership fee fixed in the Code of Regulations, nor until such membership fee has been fully paid in cash, and such payment has been deposited with the Treasurer.

Section 3. Lost Certificate. In case of a lost, destroyed or mutilated certificate, a new certificate may be issued therefore upon such terms and such indemnity to the Cooperative as the Board of Trustees may prescribe.

ARTICLE VIII

NON-PROFIT OPERATION

Section 1. Interest or Dividends on Capital Prohibited. The Cooperative shall at all times be operated on a cooperative non-profit basis for the mutual benefits of its patrons. No interest or dividends shall be paid or payable by the Cooperative on any capital furnished by its patrons.

Section 2. Patronage Capital in Connection with Furnishing Electric Energy. In the furnishing of electric energy the Cooperative’s operations shall be so conducted that all patrons will through their patronage furnish capital for the Cooperative. In order to induce patronage and to assure that the Cooperative will operate on a non-profit basis the Cooperative is obligated to account on a patronage basis to all its patrons for all amounts received and receivable from the furnishing of electric energy in excess of operating costs and expense properly chargeable, against the furnishing of electric energy. All such amounts in excess of operating cost and expense at the moment of receipt by the Cooperative are received with the understanding that they are furnished by the patrons as capital. The Cooperative is obligated to pay by credits to a capital account for each patron all such amounts in excess of operating costs and expenses. The books and records of the Cooperative shall be set up and kept in such a manner that at the end of each fiscal year the amount of capital, if any, so furnished by each patron is clearly reflected and credited in a appropriate record to the capital account of each patron, and the Cooperative shall within a reasonable time after the close of the fiscal year notify each patron of the amount of capital so credited to his account. All such amounts credited to the capital account of any patron shall have the same status as though they had been paid to the patron in cash in pursuance of legal obligation to do so and the patron had then furnished the Cooperative corresponding amounts of capital.

All other amounts received by the Cooperative from its

operations in excess of costs and expenses shall, insofar as permitted by law, be (a) used to offset any losses incurred during the current or any prior fiscal year and (b) to the extent not needed for that purpose, allocated to its patrons on a patronage basis and any amount so allocated shall be included as a part of the capital credited to the accounts of patrons, as herein provided.

In the event of dissolution or liquidation of the Cooperative, after all outstanding indebtedness of the Cooperative shall have been paid, outstanding capital credits shall be retired without priority on a pro rata basis before any payments are made on account of property rights of members. If at any time prior to dissolution or liquidation, the Board of Trustees shall determine that the financial condition of the Cooperative will not be impaired thereby, the capital then credited to patrons’ accounts may be retired in full or in part in such amount and in such manner, method and timing as the Board shall determine in its reasonable discretion. Any such retirement of capital shall be made in such order of priority as the Board shall determine in its reasonable discretion.

Capital credited to the account of each patron shall be assignable only on the books of the Cooperative pursuant to written instructions from the assignor and only to successors in interest or successors in occupancy in all or part of such patrons’ premises served by the Cooperative unless the Board of Trustees, acting under policies of general application, shall determine otherwise.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code of Regulations, the Board of Trustees shall have the authority at any time to establish, modify, amend, or revoke policies for the premature retirement and payment of capital credited to the account of any deceased patron or former patron of Carroll Electric Cooperative, Inc., who is a natural person. Such policies may, but shall not be required to, permit any patron to designate, in a form and manor to be prescribed by the Board, a beneficiary to who any accumulated but unpaid capital credits shall be paid upon premature retirement thereof following the death of such patron. Such policies may, but shall not be required to, establish a priority schedule of those persons to who prematurely retired capital credits shall be paid in the absence of an appropriate designation by the patron. Such policies shall be of general application for all patrons and former patrons to who credit unretired capital accounts are maintained by Carroll Electric Cooperative, Inc., provided that the financial condition of the cooperative shall not be impaired thereby. Payment by the Cooperative in accordance with duly established Board policy shall constitute a complete bar to any further or additional liability on the part of Carroll Electric Cooperative, Inc., with respect to decedent’s capital credits.

Notwithstanding any other provision of the Code of Regulations or other provision of the membership certificate, if any patron or former patron fails to claim any cash retirement of capital credits or other payment from the Cooperative within two years after payment of the same has been made available to him/her by notice or check mailed to him/her at his last address furnished by him/her to the Cooperative, such failure shall be and constitutes an

irrevocable assignment and gift by such patron of such capital credit or other payment to the Cooperative. Failure to claim any such payment within the meaning of this section shall include the failure of such patron or former patron to cash any check mailed to him/her by the Cooperative at the last address furnished by him/her to the Cooperative. The assignment and gift provided for under this section shall become effective only upon the expiration of four years from the date when such payment was made available to such patron or former patron without claim therefore and only after the further expiration of 60 days following the giving of a notice by mail and publication that unless such payment is claimed within said 60-day period, such gift of the Cooperative shall become effective. The notice by mail herein provided for shall be one mailed Cooperative to such patron or former patron at the last known address and the notice by publication shall be two consecutive insertions in a newspaper circulated in the service area of the Cooperative, which may be the statewide publication. The 60-day period following the giving of such notices shall be deemed to terminate 60 days after the mailing of such notice or 60 days following the last date of publication thereof, whichever is later. The patrons of the Cooperative, by dealing with the Cooperative, acknowledge that the terms and provisions of the Articles of Incorporation and this Code of Regulations shall constitute and be a contract between the Cooperative and each patron, and both the Cooperative and the patrons are bound by such contract, as fully as though each patron had individually signed a separate instrument containing such terms and provisions. The provisions of this Article VIII shall be called to the attention of each patron of the Cooperative by posting in a conspicuous place in the Cooperative’s office.

ARTICLE IX WAIVER OF NOTICE

Any member or trustee may waive, in writing, any notice of meetings required to be given by this Code of Regulation. In case of a joint membership a waiver of notice signed by either husband or wife shall be deemed a waiver of notice of such meeting by both joint members.

ARTICLE X DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY

The Cooperative may not sell, mortgage, lease or otherwise dispose of or encumber any of its property other than:

(a) Property which in the judgment of the Board of Trustees neither is nor will be necessary or useful in operating and maintaining the Cooperative’s system and facilities; provide, however, that all sales of such property shall not, in any one (1) year exceed in value ten per centum (10%) of the value of all the property of the Cooperative.

(b) Services of all kinds, including electric energy.

Personal property acquired for resale; unless such sale, mortgage, lease, or other disposition or encumbrance is authorized at a meeting of the members by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the members voting thereon at such meeting in person, or by mail or authorized communications equipment, and the notice of such proposed

sale, mortgage, lease or other disposition or encumbrance shall have been contained in the notice of the meeting; provided, however, that notwithstanding anything herein contained, the Board or Trustees, without authorization by the members, shall have full power and authority to borrow money from the United States of America, any agency or instrumentality thereof, or any recognized leading institution, and in connection with such borrowing to authorize making and issuance of bonds, notes, or other evidence of indebtedness and, to secure the payment thereof, to authorize the execution and delivery of a mortgage or mortgages, or a deed or deeds of trust upon, or the pledging or encumbrance of any or all of the property, assets, rights, privileges, license, franchises and permits of the Cooperative, whether acquired or to be acquired and wherever situation all upon such terms and conditions as the Board of Trustees shall determine.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of the Article, nothing contained herein shall be deemed or construed to prohibit an exchange of facilities with other electric companies when in the judgment of the Board of Trustees the facilities are of approximately equal value, but in no event shall the value of the Cooperative’s facilities exchanged within one (1) year exceed five per cent (5%) of the assets of the Cooperative.

ARTICLE XI FISCAL YEAR

The fiscal year of the Cooperative shall begin on the first day of January of each year and end on the thirty-first day of December of the same year.

ARTICLE XII

MEMBERSHIP IN OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

The Cooperative shall not become a member of any other organization without an affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of all members of the Board of Trustees.

ARTICLE XIII

SEAL

The corporate seal of the Cooperative shall be in form of a circle and shall have inscribed thereon the name of the Cooperative and words, “Corporate Seal, Ohio.”

ARTICLE XIV AMENDMENTS

This Code of Regulations may be altered, amended or repealed by the members at any regular or special meeting, provided the notice of such meeting shall have contained a copy of the proposed alteration, amendment or repeal. The Board of Trustees may recommend alterations, amendments or repeal of the Code of Regulations to be adopted by the members at any regular or special meeting. The Secretary shall cause a copy of the Board-recommended alteration, amendment or repeal to be included in the notice of any such regular or special meeting. The members may recommend alterations, amendments or repeal of the Code of Regulations

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to be adopted by the members at any regular meeting of the members by submitting to the Cooperative at least one hundred and eighty (180) days prior to such meeting a copy of the proposed alteration, amendment or repeal together with a petition signed by at least 1% of the members, which petition recommends adoption of the proposed alteration, amendment or repeal. Upon a determination by the Board of Trustees that the proposed alteration, amendment or repeal is legal and proper, the Secretary shall cause a copy of the member-recommended alteration, amendment or repeal to be included in the notice of any such regular meeting. The Board may make technical, non-substantive, changes to any such member-recommended alteration, amendment or repeal so that it is in proper form for inclusion in the Code of Regulations prior to its submittal to the membership for approval. The members may also recommend alterations, amendments or repeal of the Code of Regulations to be adopted by the members at any special meeting of the members called by the members for such purpose in accordance Article II, Section 2, of this Code of Regulations. Upon a determination by the Board of Trustees that the proposed alteration, amendment or repeal is legal and proper, the Secretary shall cause a copy of the proposed alteration, amendment or repeal to be included in the notice of any such special meeting. The Board may make technical, non-substantive, changes to any such member-recommended alteration, amendment or repeal so that it is in proper form for inclusion in the Code of Regulations prior to its submittal to the membership for approval.

ARTICLE XV EFFECTIVE DATE

This Code of Regulations to be effective on and after August 29, 1953.

ARTICLE XVI INDEMNIFICATION

Section 1. General. The Cooperative shall indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending, or completed action, suit, or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative other than an action by or in the right of the Cooperative by reason of the fact that he/she is a or was a trustee, officer, employee, or agent of the Cooperative, or is or was serving at the request of the Cooperative as a trustee, director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, domestic or foreign, nonprofit or for profit, partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise, against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him/ her in connection with such action, suit, or proceeding if he/ she acted in good faith and in a manner he/she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interest of the Cooperative, and with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, he/she had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful. The termination of any action, suit

or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which he/she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interest of the Cooperative, and with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, he/she had reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was lawful.

Section 2. Action or Suits in Name of Cooperative. The Cooperative shall indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending, or completed action or suit by or in the right of the Cooperative to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that he/she is or was a trustee, officer, employee, or agent of the Cooperative, or is or was serving at the request of the Cooperative as a trustee, director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, domestic or foreign, nonprofit or for profit, partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise against expenses, including attorney’s fees, actually and reasonably incurred by him/her in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if he/she acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonable believed to be in or not opposed to the best interest of the Cooperative, except that no indemnification shall be made in respect to any claim, issue, or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable for negligence or misconduct in the performance of his/her duty to the Cooperative unless and only to the extent that the court of common pleas or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application, that despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstance of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnify for such expenses as the court of common pleas or such other court shall deem proper.

Section 3. Indemnification for Expenses of Successful Defense. To the extent that a trustee, director, officer, employee, or agent has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit, or proceeding referred to in Sections 1 and 2 hereof or in defense of any claim, issue, or matter therein, he/she shall be indemnified against expenses, including attorney’s fees, actually and reasonably incurred by him/her in connection therewith.

Section 4. Procedure for Indemnification. Any indemnification under Section 1 and 2 hereof, unless ordered by a court, shall be made by the Cooperative only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the trustee, director, officer, employee, or agent is proper in the circumstances because he/she has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in sections I and 2 hereof. Such determination shall be made.

(a) By a majority vote of a quorum consisting of trustees of the indemnifying corporation who were not and are not parties to or threatened with any such action, suit, or proceeding or (b) If such a quorum is not obtainable or if a majority vote of a quorum of disinterested trustees so directs, in a written opinion by independent legal counsel other than an attorney, or a firm having associated with it any attorney, who has been

retained by or who has performed services for the Cooperative or any person to be indemnified within the five years or (c) By the members or

(d) By the court of common pleas or the court in which such action, suit, or proceeding was brought.

Any determination made by the disinterested trustees under (a) above in this Section or by independent legal counsel under (b) above in this Section shall be promptly communicated to the person who threatened or brought the action or suit, by or in the, right of the Cooperative under Section 2 hereof and within ten days after receipt of such notification, such persons shall have the right to petition the court of common pleas or the court in which such action or suit was brought to review the reasonableness of determination.

Section 5. Payment During Pendency of Action. Expenses, including attorneys’ fees, incurred in defending any action, suit, or proceeding referred to in Sections I and 2 hereof, may be paid by the Cooperative in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit, or proceeding as authorized by the trustees in the specific case upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of the trustee, director, officer, employee, or agent to repay such amount, unless it shall ultimately be determined that he/she is entitled to be indemnified by the Cooperative as authorized in this Article.

Section 6. Indemnification Not Exclusive. Indemnification provided by this Article shall not be deemed exclusive of any other - rights to which those seeking indemnification may be entitled under the articles or the regulations or any agreement, vote of members or disinterested trustee, or

otherwise, both as to action in his official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office, and shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a trustee, director, officer, employee, or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors, and administrators of such a person.

Section 7. Insurance Against Liability. The cooperative may purchase and maintain insurance of behalf of any person who is or was a trustee, officer, employee, or agent of the Cooperative, or is or was serving at the request of the Cooperative as a trustee, director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporate, domestic or foreign, nonprofit or for profit, partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise against any liability asserted against him/her and incurred by him/her in any such capacity, or arising out of this status as such whether or not the Cooperative would have the power to indemnify him/her against such liability under this Article.

Section 8. Use of Term “Cooperative.” As used in this Article, references to “Cooperative” includes all constituent corporations in a consolidation or merger and the new or surviving corporation, so that any person who is or was a trustee, officer, employee, or agent of such a constituent corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such constituent corporation, as trustee, director, officer; employee, or agent of another corporation, domestic or foreign, nonprofit or for profit, partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise shall stand in the same position under this Article with respect to the new or surviving corporation as he/she would if he/she had served the new or surviving corporation in the same capacity.

Trustee education

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) Director Education programs are specifically designed to help electric cooperative directors, at every stage of their service, understand their roles and responsibilities, stay up to date on the key issues and trends in the industry, and prepare to meet the challenges facing electric cooperatives now and in the future.

The Director Education programs are offered in three parts, taken in progression from fundamental to advanced.

The Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD) curriculum consists of five courses designed to provide essential knowledge and skills required of cooperative directors.

The Board Leadership Certificate (BLC) is the next step in advancing the

knowledge and experience trustees need to govern their board effectively. The BLC can be attained after earning the CCD and then completing a total of 10 credits from courses including grassroots, power supply, cooperative business model, governance, finance, communications, technology, and risk management.

The Director Gold Program recognizes directors who have earned their CCD and BLC credentials and are committed to continuing their education throughout their service on the board. Directors must earn three credits from a list of approved continuing education programs within a two-year period from the time their last Director Gold credential was awarded.

Carroll Electric recommends that every co-op trustee receive educational training so that he or she is versed in the electric industry to help serve you, our consumer-members.

CarrollsupportsElECtriC junior County fairs!

You may not hear Carroll Electric’s name ring out as a buyer at your county’s fair live auction, but that does not mean we are no longer supporting our area’s youth. In fact, we are supporting more of our membership’s youth!

As we did last year, we will continue with a donation to each county’s Junior Fair Board, benefiting more than just one child. We are happy to continue supporting our communities and wish everyone well this fair season!

The Carroll Electric to observe Labor Day.

will be closed on Monday, Sept. 2

Your body’s temperature is regulated by water.

Shouldn’t your home’s temperature be regulated by water?

The comfort of radiant meets the efficiency of geothermal

Geothermal heat pumps circulate water underground to provide the ultimate in energy-efficient heating and air conditioning. Radiant systems circulate water throughout your floors to provide the ultimate in luxurious comfort. WaterFurnace’s new HydroLogic radiant panel married to our 5 Series OptiHeat unit is simply the easiest way to combine the two worlds. You’ll love your warm, toasty floors—and you’ll adore your utility bill. Contact your local WaterFurnace dealer today to learn more. The Earth’s temperature is regulated by water.

Daddy longlegs

The gangly harvestmen are about to emerge from hiding to get ready for the long winter.

BY CRAIG SPRINGER

The month of August is like an early Thursday morning of a given week: Just as Thursday means the week’s coming to a close, August marks the waning of summer. Goldenrod flowers glow in fallow fields, and if you pay it mind, you will feel the first breath of autumn by month’s end.

Daddy longlegs have noticed; come August, the gangly guys and gals have procreation in mind, and begin to gather en masse to mate and prepare to overwinter. Sometimes you’ll find them in aggregations of a few to a few hundred individuals, which helps ensure a greater likelihood of both successful breeding and making it through winter.

That’s why they are also known as harvestmen — for their gregarious nature at harvest time. They live throughout Ohio, on the farm, in the forest, in the suburbs, in your gardens, and in every corner of every city. And they are good to have around.

But first, here is what they are not: Even though they’re also known as shepherd spiders, daddy longlegs are not spiders. Bug scientists, otherwise known as entomologists, put them in the order Opiliones, which comes from the Latin term for “shepherd,” so named because they resemble shepherds of old who used stilts to rise over their flocks and keep a lookout. Spiders are in the order Araneae. More on that later.

Daddy longlegs are mostly that: long legs. They have a pill-like body that rises well above the ground, lifted by eight stilt-like legs. And those legs are for more than just walking: They are sensory organs — a combination of smell and touch and transportation, all in one.

The legs are also essential for defense, but not the way you might think. Your common garden-variety spiders can make tracks, fast, when threatened, which of course is an

effective defense mechanism. Not so for daddy longlegs — they just sort of mosey along. When attacked by a predator such as a bird or a cat (or a spider), they shed a leg. The discarded legs are preprogrammed to wiggle and tremble for maybe as long as an hour, to confuse and throw off the would-be predator while the daddy longlegs ambles on its remaining legs to the shelter of a woodpile or leaf duff. Next time you see a daddy longlegs, take note as to how many legs are missing; the appendages do not grow back. Daddy longlegs may also bob and weave and quiver in the face of a predator, and they throw off a noxious odor.

More differences: While genuine spiders use fangs to inject their prey with toxic venom, daddy longlegs do not produce venom, nor do they have fangs. Instead, they secrete tiny globs of glue to secure live prey, then rip and shred their food, and they are fastidious about it. While spiders weave webs for capturing their prey (araneae is Latin for “a spider’s web”), daddy longlegs lack the talent and the silk glands for such work. Daddy longlegs graze along, eating flower pollen, animal dung, stink bugs, mites, beetle larvae, caterpillars, aphids, and grasshoppers. After meals, they’re known to clean their forelegs by raking their appendages through their mouth.

One more difference between spiders and daddy longlegs: the eyes. Spiders possess acute vision, as they should, having eight eyes. Daddy longlegs have only two eyes, and even those, the entomologists posit, exist mostly to discern light and shadow. It is, after all, through the wafting of legs in the air that daddy longlegs find their way, rather than by sight.

And, oh, by the way, that direction-finding dance may be good for another thing: If you happen to lose a cow, lore has it those waving legs will guide you toward your missing bovine.

longlegs

Ohio

Scuba

The Buckeye State offers a variety of open-water diving experiences.

BY JODI BORGER

Ohio might not be the first place that comes to mind for scuba diving, but with Lake Erie and numerous former quarries turned dive sites, the state has developed a solid reputation among enthusiasts. For Rich Synowiec, it’s become his life’s work.

Rich Synowiec took his first breath underwater in 1979, when he was 10 years old. Later, when he needed a summer job in 1988, he started working as a stock boy at a diving school and quickly took the opportunity to become a certified diver.

As it turned out, that summer job would eventually become his career. He became a certified scuba instructor in 1990 and began managing dive shops almost right away. He soon purchased Divers Incorporated and in 2007, took over as scuba concession contractor for White Star Quarry in Gibsonburg, in Sandusky County.

“I was going through college and never finding exactly what I really wanted to do,” Synowiec says. “I was an early entrepreneurial spirit and I wanted to do something that I would love to do — not necessarily something I would make a million dollars doing, but I never wanted to hate my job.”

For decades, quarries around the country provided the building blocks of the cities they served. Over the past half-century, as quarry operations gradually ceased, those leftover deep pits almost immediately filled with water. It wasn’t long before scuba divers noticed what had become ideal settings for their hobby, and soon enough, began to see their recreational potential. White Star Quarry, for example, offers a unique experience that attracts divers from throughout the Midwest.

Divers can explore sunken boats, vehicles, and various structures placed to create an engaging underwater landscape, and the quarry is home to a variety of freshwater fish species including bass, bluegill, catfish, and koi.

One of its most appealing features, however, is its water clarity. Visibility can range from 30 to 50 feet on a good day, making it an ideal spot for underwater exploration. The quarry’s maximum depth reaches about 75 feet, with plenty of shallow areas for novice divers and deeper sections for those seeking more of a challenge.

“Every single person on the planet should try scuba diving.”

Synowiec’s on-site dive shop offers rental gear, air fills, and a range of diving accessories. Several local dive trainers conduct classes and certification courses on-site, providing a safe and controlled setting for learning the basics or advancing skills.

In his position today, Synowiec says he sees a gap in the demographic for scuba diving, typically between the ages of 20 and 40, likely because of when divers begin to have families. However, he encourages young people to bring their families out to enjoy the surrounding park’s numerous on-shore amenities.

White Star Park offers a range of recreational activities, including hiking, fishing, and picnicking. Families and guests can enjoy the scenic beauty of the park while divers explore the underwater world.

“White Star Park is a really family-oriented park that has diving as just one of its opportunities,” Synowiec says. “Diving only takes an hour, but there are so many other areas to explore.”

Whether you’re a seasoned diver or just starting, this unique diving destination in Ohio offers a memorable experience with its clear waters, intriguing underwater attractions, and aquatic life.

Synowiec is now married with two daughters, and diving has become a family affair over the years. Meanwhile, Synowiec admits his own parents still wonder when he’ll get his “real job,” but 34 years later, he still loves what he gets to do every day.

“Every single person on the planet should try scuba diving,” Synowiec says. “They get over the fear of being underwater because they are replacing fear with knowledge. They are replacing apprehension with skill. They are replacing timidity with perseverance. And when you look at that kind of a level of what people are able to do, it becomes something spectacular.”

Ohio diving

A selection of other spots around Ohio to scuba dive:

Gilboa Quarry

3763 Old State Route 224, Ottawa, 45875

• Maximum depth: 120 feet

• Average visibility: 26–30 feet

• Attractions: Underwater private jet, helicopter, tower wreck, rainbow trout, paddlefish, and an underwater wall for rappelling to depths below 100 feet.

North Point Quarry

1500 Mt. Vernon Road, Newark, 43055

• Maximum depth: 31–35 feet

• Average visibility: 5–10 feet

• Attractions: Paddlefish, catfish, albino catfish, bluegill, bass, and some fresh water clams. There are sunken boats, an ambulance, a bathtub, a toilet, various skeletons, an underwater platform, and more.

Lakeview RV Park

2715 Sugar Grove Road SE, Lancaster, 43130

• Maximum depth: 60 feet

• Visibility: 10–30 feet, depending on weather

• Attractions: A tranquil scuba diving experience in a 16-acre, reasonably deep spring-fed quarry. Many underwater attractions — twin engine airplane, Frito Lay truck, car, boat, weed bed reef, etc. — are strategically placed at various points throughout the lake.

Natural Springs

206 South Washington Street, New Paris, 45347

• Maximum depth: 40 feet

• Average visibility: 11–15 feet

• Attractions: Variety of wildlife including bass, catfish, freshwater jellyfish, and grass carp over 4 feet long; several sunken cars and boats.

Lake Erie

• Lake Erie is a vast dive site rich in history, ideal for experienced divers to explore its many shipwrecks. Many dive shops around the state offer diving excursions.

Ohio state parks

• Numerous Ohio state parks allow scuba diving in various lakes, as long as divers check in advance with the individual parks. Visibility at most, however, is limited.

Big Muskie’s giant bucket is all that remains from a bygone era of strip mining in eastern Ohio.

Ｍentioned in most places, it will set an angler’s heart racing — but mention “Big Muskie” in southeast Ohio and it’s likely to bring on intense memories, curiosity, or the warm and fuzzy feeling that at one time, right here in Ohio, the largest dragline excavator the Earth has ever known operated for the Central Ohio Coal Company.

“I felt so blessed to run all that equipment,” says John Paul Reed, of Waterford, who says he ran all kinds of heavy equipment for the Central Ohio Coal Company back in the day. But Big Muskie, also known as the 4250 dragline, was the top of the heap. “If anybody ever finds out you worked with Big Muskie, they have all kinds of questions.”

The massive machine was constructed by the BucyrusErie Company. It stood more than 222 feet tall, its boom reaching out 310 feet, and it moved at a blistering pace of about 9 feet per hour. Big Muskie was constructed on-site in Morgan County — it took 340 rail cars and 260 trucks to ship all its components, followed by more than 200,000 man-hours to assemble. It weighed 27 million pounds and cost $25 million ($200 million today), and operated for 22 years — from 1969 until 1991.

In total, the machine moved about 608 million cubic yards of material at the coal mine. But it never moved coal, which is something most people don’t realize. Big Muskie scooped away dirt and stone, called overburden, so that smaller machines could come in and scoop coal from the seams.

BIG

According to Reed, the coal seams could be as much as 140 feet or more beneath the surface and could run anywhere from 18 inches to 3 or 4 feet thick. After the smaller excavators removed the coal, Big Muskie and its crew replaced the overburden where it had been.

Reed was an all-around company guy, running massive bulldozers, pumping water from ponds, and anything else needed — including keeping Big Muskie’s components well-oiled. That included the 330-foot twin booms.

“When it shut down, we’d climb the boom and make sure everything was OK,” he says. “Make sure the lines were greasing and there were no broken lines and everything was getting properly lubed so you wouldn’t have a bearing go out.”

It took seven men to make Big Muskie work: an operator, two oilers, two dozers, a welder, and an electrician — and more help was available if needed. One of those electricians was McConnelsville resident Dave Bailey, who worked on Big Muskie for a decade.

“I was on it until the very last day it operated,” he says, wistful pride in his voice. “I worked on anything that had to do with the electrical systems. And most people don’t know it, but Big Muskie ran on electric. It took about twothirds the power of Las Vegas. We were highly trained and certified by the federal government.”

Like Reed, Bailey says that when folks find out he worked on Big Muskie, they've got questions.

Opposite page: Big Muskie works the strip mine in southeast Ohio during the heyday of coal in the region (photograph courtesy of Ohio Department of Natural Resources).

All that remains of Big Muskie, besides memories, is her bucket, on display at Miner's Memorial Park near McConnelsville (photograph by James Proffitt).

Roadside reminders

Impromptu memorials that often pop up after a tragedy comfort the grieving and help folks remember to drive with care.

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAMES PROFFITT

In February 2022, a crash on Ohio 19 in Ottawa County took the life of Shannon Roberts’ 17-year-old son, Richie, and his friend, who was driving. “He was a great kid and didn’t deserve what happened,” she says. “It was a complete accident and nobody’s to blame.”

Rocked with grief and not knowing really what else to do, she decided to put up a memorial — a taller cross and two smaller ones on either side, with photos of her son and his friend and a small collection of items left by friends, family, and the community. The memorial isn’t at the exact site where the crash occurred, though very near, about 15 feet off the roadway. “It was better and safer to have it where it is now,” she says. “And we got permission from the landowner to put it up.”

Drivers in Ohio pass them by, often without a second thought — a small cross or a bouquet of flowers, a candle or a stuffed animal, any of a number of seemingly insignificant trinkets. But to the folks who have erected these roadside memorials, they mean the world.

“There’s a sense of honor and respect” to them, says Matt Bruning, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Transportation. It’s unfortunate, to say the least, but in Ohio more than 1,000 people a year die in traffic crashes. Most folks who set out to honor loved ones lost on the roadside don’t check with ODOT first; they just do what feels right.

Officially, roadside memorials on ODOT rights-of-way are illegal. In fact, anything placed on those rights-of-way requires a permit — and the state does not issue such permits. But it doesn’t get a lot of enforcement attention from state officials. In fact, season after season, ODOT workers dutifully mow around memorials, and generally they’re not disturbed. Bruning says ODOT doesn’t track the number or location of the impromptu shrines, and to his knowledge, no one has ever been cited for erecting one.

Above, Shannon Roberts placed a memorial near where her son, Richie, and his friend died in a crash in Oak Harbor in 2022. Center, a pair of simple crosses and bouquets mark the site of a fatal crash on Ohio 2 near the Edison Bridge in Erie County. Right, a memorial on State Route 2 honors three people killed in a 2017 crash.

“But at the same time, we have to keep safety in mind and the ability to do our jobs,” Bruning says. “They can become a hazard and our crews have to maintain the roadsides around them. If we ever do have to take action, we’ll take that roadside memorial back to our closest garage and make every effort we can to find the person responsible so we can return it to them, and hopefully they can find another way of doing it.”

So it’s a subtle truce: ODOT safety concerns and respect for the grief of Ohio families coexist with unobtrusive crosses and mementos of those lost tragically on the state’s roadways. “I guess one thing I would add is that when we do take down a roadside memorial, it’s not from a place of disrespect,” he says. “It’s just that safety is our No. 1 priority.”

Roberts says she never really noticed roadside memorials, or thought much about them, before the accident. But that’s all changed now. “I feel like I see a lot of them everywhere now,” she says. “Honestly, I think the bigger the better. Anything to bring awareness to safety and stupidity all at the same time.”

Roberts lives in nearby Fremont and drives by her son’s memorial often.

“We’ll go out there, hold our memorial at the site,” she says. “We do see new flowers or rocks and a picture here or there. We don’t have a set time limit on it, but I’d like to keep it up and keep some kind of awareness going on. Especially for young kids and everyone driving who’s not taking into consideration it’s not just their own lives, but that everyone else on the road is in your hands, too.”

Or, another way...

The State of Ohio offers a way to more permanently honor someone’s memory rather than erecting homemade roadside memorials.

The Adopt-a-Highway Litter Program is a safe, useful — and legal — way to honor someone killed in a crash. The program allows people to “adopt” a mile of state highway by collecting trash there four times a year. Friends and relatives can get together and reminisce while they accomplish something positive. The state provides trash

bags, grabbers, and disposal of collected trash along that stretch of road. ODOT will then erect an official highway sign in memory of that loved one. “I wish people would just keep their trash inside their vehicles, but unfortunately, they don’t, and taxpayers spend millions a year to deal with it,” says Matt Bruning of ODOT. “This is a safe way to both impact the problem and to memorialize a loved one.”

For information, visit https://www.transportation.ohio. gov/programs/adopt-a-highway.

MARKETPLACE

2024 EVENTS

NORTHWEST

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

THROUGH SEP. 15 – NWORRP Museum Summer Hours, Northwest Ohio Railroad Preservation Inc., 12505 Co. Rd. 99, Findlay, Sat./Sun. 1–4 p.m. $3; 12 and under, $2 (includes 1 train ride ticket per admission). Museum tours, quarter-scale train rides, model train displays, games, play area, and more. 419-423-2995, www. nworrp.org, or www.facebook.com/nworrp.

THROUGH OCT. 12 – The Great Sidney Farmer’s Market, 109 S. Ohio Ave., every Sat. 8 a.m.–noon. Vendors from all around the area provide great food, crafts, and more! 937-658-6945 or www.sidneyalive.org.

AUG. 7, SEP. 4 – Down on the Farm Story Time, Proving Ground Farm, 5670 E. Twp. Rd. 138, Tiffin, 10 a.m. Stories and activities are geared for preschoolage children and focus on farming and nature in a picturesque outdoor setting. Families welcome! 419447-7073, www.conservesenecacounty.com, or follow Seneca Conservation District on Facebook.

AUG. 10–11, SEP. 7–8 – Findlay Flea Market, Hancock Co. Fgds., 1017 E. Sandusky St., Findlay, Sat. 9 a.m.–4 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Free admission. Variety of merchandise: new, used, vintage items, crafts, and more. Vendors welcome! Contact Christine at 419-619-0041 or findlayfleamarket@gmail.com for more information.

WEST VIRGINIA

AUG. 15–17 – Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival, downtown Bucyrus. Grilled brats and other festival foods, parades, craft and art show, rides, games, and free entertainment. 419-562-2728 or www.bucyrusbratwurstfestival.com.

AUG. 18 – NW Ohio Low Brass Collective Summer Concert, Allen East High School Auditeria, 9105 Harding Hwy., Harrod, 4 p.m. Free and open to the public. Come hear musicians from around northwest Ohio and beyond play classical tunes. www.facebook.com/people/NWOhio-Low-Brass-Collective/100085554007401

AUG. 18 – Sunset Jazz and Art Festival, on the Towpath Trail, Grand Rapids, 2 p.m. to dusk. Free admission. Art, food. and beverages for purchase. Bring lawn chairs. NO coolers. www.grandrapidsartscouncil.org.

AUG. 18 – West Central Ohio Community Concert Band, Piatt Castle Mac-A-Cheek, 10051 Township Rd. 47, West Liberty, 6 p.m. Free. Bring chairs or blankets for this outdoor lawn concert. www.piattcastle.org.

AUG. 22 – Fourth Thursdays Back to School, downtown Lakeview. Bring your family and friends downtown for dinner and live music while you purchase the latest school supplies on your list from each local business. Collect your Shopping Passport stamps for an additional chance to win. www.facebook.com/ downtownlakeviewohio.

AUG. 24–25 – Family Fun Weekend: “Back to School Bash,” Northwest Ohio Railroad Preservation Inc., 12505 Co. Rd. 99, Findlay, 1–4 p.m. $5. Games, quarter-scale train rides, bounce house, and other family-friendly activities and events. 419-423-2995, www.nworrp.org, or www.facebook.com/nworrp.

AUG. 30–SEPT. 1 – Perch, Peach, Pierogi, and Polka Festival, downtown Port Clinton, Fri. 4–9:30 p.m., Sat./ Sun. 11 a.m.–9:30 p.m. $8/day, $20/weekend, under 18 free. Lake Erie yellow perch sandwiches and dinners,

AUG. 30–SEP. 1 – Labor Day Celebration, Oglebay, 465 Lodge Dr., Wheeling. Live entertainment, face painting, balloon art, inflatable fun zone, Revolutionary War battle reenactments, a woodcarver’s show, skydiving performance, music, and an unforgettable fireworks display. 877-436-1797, whodorowski@ oglebay.com, or www.oglebay.com.

pierogis, Polish sausage, peach pie and ice cream, and polka music! Free polka lessons Sat. and Sun. at 4 p.m. 419-341-9226 or www.kofc1750.org.

AUG. 30–SEP. 2 – Labor Day Festival, 576 Township Rd. 174, West Liberty. Enjoy a fun-filled weekend at Lions Park! Flea market, vendors, and food trucks. See antique tractors in all their glory as they parade through the streets of the village. www.mywestliberty.com.

AUG. 30–SEPT. 5 – Fulton County Fair, Fulton Co. Fgds., 8514 St. Rte. 108, Wauseon. www.fultoncountyfair.com.

SEP. 6 – Art, Wine, and Jazz Festival, downtown Bellefontaine. Walk from store to store sipping samples of Ohio-made wine and exploring different pieces of art from local artists. www.firstfridaysbellefontaine.com.

SEP. 7 – Hobo Dinner, AuGlaize Village, 12296 Krouse Rd., Defiance, 4 p.m. Donation is $20. Fundraising event. A delicious Hobo Stew will be prepared in a huge kettle over an open fire and served with bread and butter and a selection of desserts. Beverages provided. Purchase tickets in advance. 419-990-0107, villageauglaize@gmail. com, or www.auglaizevillage.com.

SEP. 7 – Napoleon Fall Festival and Car Show, Henry Co. Fgds., St. Rte. 108 S., Napoleon, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Food trucks, crafts, swap meet, kids’ games, and more. Car and truck show judged by River City Rodders Car Club, with awards at 3 p.m. For more information, call 419-265-4605

SEP. 8 – Findlay Fall Model Train Show, Northwest Ohio Railroad Preservation Inc., 12505 Co. Rd. 99, Findlay, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. $5; 12 and under accompanied by an adult will be free. Model trains, toy trains, and railroad memorabilia. Quarter-scale train rides: $3 adults, $2 children. 419-423-2995, www.nworrp.org, or www.facebook.com/nworrp.

AUG. 30–SEP. 1 – West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival, West Main Street, Clarksburg, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. Wide array of authentic Italian “street food,” complete with pastries; entertainment for all ages; carnival midway with rides and games; and much more. 304622-7314, wvihf@wvihf.com, or www.wvihf.com.

AT LEAST 90 DAYS prior to the event, send an email to events@ohioec.org, or mail your information* to:

Ohio Cooperative Living 6677 Busch Blvd. Columbus, OH 43229

* Make sure to include all contact information! Ohio Cooperative Living will not publish listings that don’t include a complete address, phone number, or website for more information.

2024 EVENTS

CENTRAL

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

the last Sunday of each month, see how corn was ground 200 years ago. 614-321-4833 ext. 103 or www. fairfieldcountyparks.org/events.

AUG. 2, SEP. 6 – First Friday Art Walk, downtown Zanesville, 5–8 p.m. Come downtown on the first Friday of each month, when all our participating galleries, studios, and small businesses are open at the same time! Visit the Artist Colony of Zanesville’s website for a map of current participants: https://artcoz.org/arts-district-map.

AUG. 17 – Columbus Food Truck Festival, Franklin Co. Fgds., 4100 Columbia St., Hilliard, 11 a.m.–10 p.m. $5 advance, $10 at the door; 12 and under free. Fifty of the best food trucks in Ohio, along with live music, handcrafted items from local artisans/crafters, and shopping at the Columbus Vintage Exchange. www. columbusfoodtruckfest.com.

THROUGH AUG. 25 – CAPA Summer Movie Series, Ohio Theatre, 55 E. State St., Columbus, Wed.–Sun. 7:30 p.m., Sun. matinee 2 p.m., “Cartoon Capers” Sat. 10 a.m. Series showcasing classic films and cult movies. 614-4690939 or www.capa.com.

THROUGH SEP. 28 – Sunbury Farmers Market, 36 Cherry St., on the Square of Sunbury, 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Offering local products — handmade, homemade, or homegrown. Vendors welcome. 740-513-9192 or sunburyohiofarmersmarket@gmail.com.

THROUGH OCT. 26 – Coshocton Farmers Market, 22442 Co. Rd. 1A, Coshocton, Sat. 8:30 a.m.–noon. Fresh, locally grown, in-season produce; baked goods; and handmade artisan crafts. For up-to-date information about vendors who will be attending the market, visit www.facebook.com/coshoctonfarmersmarket or email market.manager@coshfarmmarket.org.

THROUGH OCT. 27 – Rock Mill Days, Stebelton Park at Rock Mill, 1429 Rockmill Place NW, Lancaster, Wed./ Sat. 11 a.m.–2 p.m., Sun. 1–4 p.m. Tour the restored 1824 gristmill, walk the covered bridge, and view the waterfall near the headwaters of the Hocking River. On

SOUTHEAST

THROUGH SEP. 1 – Tecumseh! Outdoor Drama, Sugarloaf Mountain Amphitheatre, 5968 Marietta Rd., Chillicothe, 8 p.m. $30–$50. Witness the epic life story of the legendary Shawnee leader as he defends his sacred homelands in the Ohio country during the late 1700s. www.tecumsehdrama.com.

THROUGH NOV. 2 – Athens Farmers Market, Athens Community Center, 701 E. State St., Athens, Wed. 9 a.m.–noon. Open year-round Sat. 9 a.m.–noon. Voted Ohio’s #1 favorite farmers market! 740-593-6763 or www. athensfarmersmarket.org.

AUG. 17 – Cambridge Main Street Classic Car Show, Wheeling Avenue, Cambridge, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. One of the longest-running car shows in the area, with close to 300 entries. Author/journalist Jimmy Dinsmore will be

AUG. 8, SEP. 12 – Inventors Network Meetings, Rusty Bucket, 3901 Britton Parkway, Hilliard, 43026 (614-7775868, MyRustyBucket.com), 7 p.m. Informal meetings for networking and invention-related discussion. 614-4700144 or www.inventorscolumbus.com.

AUG. 9–10 – Carroll Community Festival, Bessie Benson Park, Center Street, Carroll. www. carrollareahistoricalsociety.weebly.com.

AUG. 9–11 – Coshocton Sunflower Festival, Coshocton KOA, 24688 Co. Rd. 10, Coshocton, Fri. 12–7 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Purchase tickets online. Over 50 varieties of sunflowers, wagon ride to the field, live music, food trucks, wine and beer garden, and craft vendors. 740-502-9245 or www. coshoctonsunflowerfestival.com.

AUG. 11–17 – Muskingum County Fair, Muskingum Co. Fgds., 1300 Pershing Rd., Zanesville. Information and schedule available at www.muskingumcofair.com.

AUG. 16–18 – Fairfield County Antique Tractor Club Truck, Tractor, and Toy Show, Fairfield Co. Fgds., 157 E. Fair Ave., Lancaster. Feature tractor is Case. Field demos, hit-and-miss engines, steam engines, sawmill, tractor pulls, and more. 740-407-2347 (Doug Shaw), dstractorlover@sbcglobal.net, www. fairfieldcountyantique tractorclub.com, or follow Fairfield Antique Tractor Club on Facebook.

speaking at 1 p.m. Food and entertainment throughout the day. www.facebook.com/events/2060171497709441

AUG. 18 – Annual Rod Run and Car Show, Yoctangee Park, downtown Chillicothe, 9 a.m. Free. Top 50 awards and specialty awards. Schmidt’s Sausage Truck will be on-site; also games, door prizes, cash drawings, raffles, and music. www.downtowncambridge.com.

AUG. 23 – BeachFest, Paint Street, downtown Chillicothe, 7:30–10:30 p.m. Free. Before the Sands in the Streets volleyball tournament, enjoy an evening of beachside fun in our downtown with live music from 20 Ride, a Zac Brown tribute band. Sand toys available for children. www.downtownchillicothe.com.

AUG. 24 – Sands in the Streets, Paint Street, Chillicothe, 10 a.m.–8 p.m. Free. We unload 300 tons of sand on the streets of downtown Chillicothe to welcome volleyball teams and spectators back for a day of competition and fun, with 8 semi-professional, 8 competitive, and 16 recreational teams. www.downtownchillicothe.com.

AUG. 31 – Bark in the Park, Yoctangee Park, Chillicothe, 9 am.–3 p.m. Free. Presented by the Ross County Humane Society, this car and bike show is open to all makes, models, and years ($25 registration). DJ, 50/50 raffle, food, door prizes, and trophies for the Top 35 www.downtownchillicothe.com.

SEP. 2–8 – Belmont County Fair, Belmont Co. Fgds., 45420 Roscoe Rd., St. Clairsville. General admission $10 A family tradition since 1849. www.belmontcountyfair.org.

AUG. 30–SEP. 1 – Coshocton Flint Festival/Flint Ridge Knap-In, Coshocton Co. Fgds., 724 S. 7th St., Coshocton, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Ancient art of chipping arrowhead, other native crafts, gems, handmade items, entertainment, and family fun! 330-473-7041 or 419-6321274

SEP. 5–7 – Marion Popcorn Festival, downtown Marion, 11 a.m.–midnight. Free admission. Parade Thur. 6 p.m. Concerts, rides, games, arts and crafts, entertainment, food, and, of course, popcorn for all! 740-387-FEST (3378) or www.popcornfestival.com.

SEP. 6–7 – Lithopolis Honeyfest, Columbus St., Lithopolis, Fri. 3–7 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.–7 p.m. Honey tasting, honey bake-off and bake sale, beekeeping demos and education, honey competition, arts and crafts exhibitors, mead garden, and much more. 614-769-3824 or www.lithopolishoneyfest.com.

SEP. 10, 17 – Friendly Ties Square Dance Club Lessons, Pickerington Senior Center, 150 Hereford Dr., Pickerington, 7–9 p.m. First two lessons are free; $5/ person per class after Sep. 17. Come join in the fun and reap the benefits — physically, mentally, and emotionally. 614-316-5838 or www.friendlyties.org.

SEP. 14 – Battle of the Bands, Circleville Eagles, 135 E. Main St., Circleville, 7–11 p.m. $5. Outdoor concert with food vendors and drinks. www.pickaway.com.

SEP. 6–8 – Ohio River Sternwheel Festival, Front and Greene Sts., Marietta. Sternwheeler races, car show, pageant, 5K run, entertainment, food, and fireworks. 740-373-5178 or www.sternwheel.org.

SEP. 7 – Phil Dirt and the Dozers, Monroe Theatre, 104 N. Main St., Woodsfield, 7 p.m. Starting at $25 866-537-0413, www.monroetheatretickets.com, www. historicmonroetheatre.com, or find The Monroe Theatre on Facebook.

SEP. 7 – YOTĒ, Tar Hollow State Park, 16396 Tar Hollow Rd., Laurelville, 8 a.m. $40–$99. Single-loop course of primarily single-track trail with some bridle trail and forest roads mixed in. Distance options of 50K/25K/5M. Cash prize to top male and female of each distance, top 3 male and female overall awards. https://ultrasignup.com/ register.aspx?did=113085

SEP. 9–15 – Guernsey County Fair, Guernsey Co. Fgds., Old Washington. 740-489-5888 or www. guernseycountyfairgrounds.org.

SEP. 13–15 – Ohio Pawpaw Festival, Lake Snowden, 5900 U.S. 50, Albany. Fun-filled and educational community event celebrating one of America’s largest native tree fruits, with food, entertainment, contests, arts and crafts, and much more. pawpawfest@gmail. com, www.ohiopawpawfest.com, or www.facebook.com/ share/6bef3anBLQQGHS3A/?mibextid=eQY6cl.

THROUGH AUG. 29 – Kayak Excursion, Hueston Woods State Park, 6301 Park Office Rd., College Corner, Thur. 1 p.m. Meet at the Nature Center to learn kayaking basics and then take a guided trip on Acton Lake. Space is limited; signup begins Thur. 9 a.m. at the Nature Center. www.ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/ hueston-woods-state-park.

THROUGH AUG. 30 – Night Hikes, Hueston Woods State Park, 6301 Park Office Rd., College Corner, Fri. 9:30 p.m. Meet at the Indian Mound in the campground for a nighttime adventure. Please wear appropriate footwear. www.ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/ hueston-woods-state-park.

THROUGH AUG. 31 – Orienteering, Hueston Woods State Park, 6301 Park Office Rd., College Corner, Fri. 5 p.m. Meet at the Nature Center to learn to navigate with a map and compass. We will be off trail; long pants are recommended. www.ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/ find-a-property/hueston-woods-state-park.

THROUGH SEP. 25 – Bluegrass Wednesdays, Vinoklet Winery, 11069 Colerain Ave., Cincinnati, Wed.

NORTHEAST

THROUGH SEP. 1 – Steubenville Catfish Crawl, downtown Steubenville. Ten 5-foot-long, intricately painted fiberglass catfish will be on display around the downtown. Grab a map and find them all! Maps available at Leonardo’s Coffeehouse, 159 N. 4th St. www.steubenvillenutcrackervillage.com/catfish.html.

AUG. 9–OCT. 12 – Plant and Animal Fiber Exhibit, McCook House Museum, 15 S. Lisbon St., Carrollton, Fri./Sat. 10 a.m.–5 p.m. $3. See a variety of handmade items from local crafters including baskets, rush, reed, caned bottom chairs, woven rugs, wall hangings, knitted and crocheted items, and much more. 330-437-9715 or kathorn4120@gmail.com.

AUG. 10–11, 17–18, 24–25 – Shaker Woods Festival, 44337 County Line Rd., Columbiana, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Over 200 crafters and artisans dressed in Shaker period clothing will demonstrate and sell their handmade wares. www.shakerwoods.com.

AUG. 16 – Grady Miller: Blues, Americana, Country, and Bluegrass, John Streeter Garden Amphitheater, 2122 Williams Rd., Wooster, 6:30 p.m. Free, but registration recommended. The Akron-based duo of Cathy and Michael Grady will perform their thoughtfully crafted original music. In the event of rain, the concert will be held at Fisher Auditorium, 1680 Madison Ave. 419853-6016 or www.ormaco.org.

6:30–8:30 p.m. Enjoy dinner, wine, and an evening of free entertainment by Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass. Reservations recommended. 513-385-9309, vinokletwinery@fuse.net, or www.vinokletwines.com.

AUG. 16, SEP. 20 – Bluegrass Night, Fibonacci Brewing Company, 1445 Compton Rd., Cincinnati, 7–9 p.m. Free. Enjoy lively bluegrass music by Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass, a wide variety of craft beers at the Beer Garden, and food truck eats. 513-832-1422 or http://fibbrew.com.

AUG. 16–24 – The Great Darke County Fair, Darke Co. Fgds., 800 Sweltzer St., Greenville. $7, under 12 free. $25 for 9-day pass. 937-548-5044, contact@darkecountyfair. com, or www.darkecountyfair.com.

AUG. 17 – Family Program: WildLife Excursion, Wild Hearts African Farm, 7010 Jordan Rd., Lewisburg, 11 a.m. Free. Led by Amanda Badger. Registration required. 937962-5561, pcpdevents@gmail.com, or  www.preblecountyparks.org.

AUG. 24 – The Tour De Donut, downtown Troy. A fun, unique bicycle event, where your ability to eat donuts is just as important as your ability to ride your bicycle fast! Kick off the weekend on Aug. 23 with the Donut Jam in downtown Troy, 5–10:30 p.m. www.thetourdedonut.com.

AUG. 30–SEP. 1 – Oktoberfest, 2361 Hamilton-Cleves Rd. (Rte. 128), Hamilton, Fri. 6–10 p.m., Sat. 1–11 p.m., Sun. 1–8 p.m. Oldest Oktoberfest in the tri-state area. Authentic German food, wiener dog races, live music, and much more. Car show Sun. 12–4 p.m. www. www. libertyhome.net or go to the Liberty Home Association page on Facebook.

SEP. 5 – Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass, Harry T. Wilkes Conference Center, 1601 University Blvd., Hamilton, 7 p.m. Free. Presented by Miami University

AUG. 18 – Northern Ohio Doll Mini and Bear Show, Strongsville Best Western, 15471 Royalton Rd., Strongsville, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. ($6; children free), early bird 9 a.m. ($15). Antique, vintage, and modern dolls, bears, and toys; supplies and accessories. Door prizes, ID/ valuation, restringing (fee). Food available for purchase. 440-283-5839 (Eileen Green), phdofdolls@yahoo.com, or www.dollshowUSA.com.

AUG. 18–25 – Lorain County Fair, 23000 Fairgrounds Rd., Wellington. Ohio’s second-largest county fair. 440647-2781 or www.loraincountyfair.com.

AUG. 24 – Jazz under the Stars: Hip to That, Uptown Park, 79–89 Public Square, Medina, 7 p.m. Free. Cleveland-based jazz quartet specializing in tunes from the Great American Songbook, jazz standards, and pop tunes with a jazzy twist. Bring lawn chairs, blankets, and picnics to enjoy this upbeat concert. In the event of rain, the concert will be held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 317 E. Liberty St. 419-853-6016 or www.ormaco.org.

AUG. 24–25, AUG. 31–SEPT. 2 – Great Trail Arts and Crafts Festival, Great Trail Festival Grounds, 6331 Canton Rd., Malvern, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. $5–$7, under 10 free. Celebration of American folk art, with distinctive arts and crafts, living history, live music, clog dancing, tomahawk throwing, and more. 330-794-9100 or www. greattrailfestival.com.

AUG. 30–SEPT. 2 – Firelands Labor Day Festival, New London Recreation Park, 2 Blake St., New London. Truck and tractor pulls, demolition derby, games, rides, vendors, concessions, and more. 419-929-4091 or www. newlondonoh.com/calendar.

AUG. 31–SEP. 1 – Toronto Festival of the Arts, downtown Toronto, Sat. 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Handmade arts and crafts, food, live entertainment. www.focusintoronto.com.

SEP. 6 – First Fridays on Fourth, 155 N. 4th St., Steubenville, 6–10 p.m. Free. Monthly themed

Regionals Appalachian Studies. Enjoy an evening of lively bluegrass music with lightning-fast instrumentals, close harmonies, and entertaining novelty songs. 513-785-3175 (Matthew Smith) or www.facebook.com/ MiamiRegionalsAppStudies.

SEP. 6 – Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass, Clinton County Corn Festival, 958 Main St., Wilmington, 7–9 p.m. $5 937-417-8488 or https://cornfestivalonline.com.

SEP. 6–8 – Clinton County Corn Festival, Clinton Co. Fgds., 958 W. Main St., Wilmington. $5, under 12 free; weekend pass $10. Featuring Minneapolis-Moline. Corn Olympics, antique tractor pulls, horse pulls, antique cars and trucks, hit and miss engines, steam engines, food, crafts, and more. 937-383-5676 (Dale Mayer) or www.cornfestivalonline.com.

SEP. 14 – 5K Run/Walk/Hike, Garber Nature Center, 9691 OH-503 N., Lewisburg, 9 a.m. $20; 12 and under, $10. Registration required @ Speedy Feet. 937-962-5561, pcpdevents@gmail.com, or www. preblecountyparks.org

SEP. 14 – 2024 Solar Eclipse Presentation, Garber Nature Center, 9691 OH-503 N., Lewisburg, 7:30 p.m. Astronomer Terry Mann. Registration required. 937962-5561, pcpdevents@gmail.com, or www.preblecountyparks.org

SEP. 15 – White Water Shaker Village Tour, 11813 Oxford Rd., Harrison, 2–5 p.m. Free. Established in 1823, White Water is one of the 24 Shaker communal villages founded in the United States. Learn about the daily life of a Shaker; discover the styles of businesses they conducted; and check out our collections of Shaker goods. Explore the property to see the stable, barns, and historic outbuildings of this 200-year-old village.  www.whitewatervillage.org.

celebration featuring art, crafts, games, food trucks, live entertainment, and activities to stimulate the imagination. www.theharmoniumproject.org/first-Fridays.

SEP. 7–8 – Antiques in the Woods and Vintage Too, Shaker Woods Grounds, 44337 County Line Rd., Columbiana, Sat. 9 a.m.–4 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Top-quality antiques and collectibles, food, and entertainment. 330-482-0214, www.youngstownlive.com/ event, or follow Antiques in the Woods on Facebook.

SEP. 7–8 – Pioneer Days, Historic Lyme Village, 5001 St. Rte. 4, Bellevue, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. The Village — composed of three log houses, a one-room schoolhouse, log church, blacksmith shop, general store, 1836 farmhouse used by the Underground Railroad, and more — comes alive with costumed reenactors, encampments, and demonstrators. www.lymevillage.org.

SEP. 7–12 – Wayne County Fair, Wayne Co. Fgds., 199 Vancouver St., Wooster, gates open 8 a.m. $4/day. Ohio’s foremost agricultural fair. 330-262-8001 or www. waynecountyfairohio.com.

SEP. 8 – Canton-Akron Comic, Toy, and Nostalgia Convention, St. George Event Center, 4667 Applegrove St., North Canton, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. $5; 6 and under free. Free parking. Comic and toy vendors, guest comic creators, hourly prizes. 330-462-3985, jeff@ harpercomics.com, or www.harpercomics.com.

SEP. 8 – QS Jazz/Qwik Silver: “Songs of Societal Injustice,” Wadsworth Public Library, 132 Broad St., Wadsworth, 2–3 p.m. Free, but registration recommended. 419-853-6016 or www.ormaco.org.

SEP. 9–21 – “Celebrate the Constitution,” Historic Fort Steuben, 120 S. 3rd St., Steubenville, Mon.–Sat. 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Free. Annual exhibit and activities focusing on the nation’s founding document and the issues and personalities of the time. 740-283-1787 or www.oldfortsteuben.com.

Diving board

1 4 2 5 3 6

1. My granddaughter Evelyn at age 2 (now 5) along with her mother, Madison. She was so proud of herself and having the best time jumping in, then hopping out and repeating!

Diana Aikin, Pioneer Electric Cooperative member.

2. Our son flying from the diving board. Ashley Schumm, North Central Electric Cooperative member.

3. Our granddaughter, Malia Brooks (age 10), showing off her gymnastic skills in her new sport: diving. Cheryl Fortman, Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative member.

4. This is my granddaughter Addi at her birthday party Denise Loy, Washington Electric Cooperative member.

5. My daughters, Bridgette and Britton, doing what they love — jumping into the pool together!

Carrie Bussing, North Western Electric Cooperative member.

6. Moeller sisters Madison (left) and Abbie going off the diving boards together last summer.

Jenny Moeller, URE member.

For November, send “Oh my gourd!” by August 15. For December, send “The night before Christmas” by September 15. Upload your photos at www.ohiocoopliving.com/memberinteractive. Your photo may be featured in our magazine or on our website. Send us YOUR picture!

Drop off your completed entry form at the Ohio's Electric Cooperatives Education Center on Wheat Street at the 2024 Farm Science Review.

Name:

Electric co-op name:

Email address:

*Must be an Ohio electric cooperative member to enter and win. Winners will be drawn at random from among all eligible entries received.

FARM SCIENCE REVIEW

September 17–19, 2024

Molly Caren Agricultural Center | London, Ohio STOP BY OUR BUILDING!

Using energy wisely is important on the farm and in the home.

When you attend the Farm Science Review, make sure to visit the NEW Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives Education Center to find exhibits, energy-saving tips, demonstrations, and free popcorn!

Farm Science Review, sponsored by Ohio State University, is the largest agricultural event in our region, drawing more than 130,000 visitors every year. It’s a fun, educational event for farmers and non-farmers alike.