100th CAREER WIN
Students join relief efforts
Coach Joe Miller hits milestone with win over Toledo Christian SPORTS 1B
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Standard Mail U.S. Postage Paid Port Clinton, Ohio Permit #80
200TH RED HORSE SQUADRON
Unit readies for deployment BY ROBERTA REDFERN
build and repair structures and manage utilities. It’s very rewarding work that we do (over there),� Skomrock said. “We make life better for other people. We build living quarters so they are not sleeping in tents. We build shower units so they are not using temporary units. Instead of landing on bad runways, they are landing on good runways. But it still stinks leaving your family. “As commander, I have to worry about everybody. So having my
Heading to the Middle East soon for his third deployment leaves Col. Mike Skomrock, of Oak Harbor, with mixed emotions. His wife, Joyce, and his middle son, Chris, will be anxiously awaiting his return. But his other two sons, Robert and Andy, are going with him as they are also members of the 200th Red Horse Squadron Ohio Air National Guard out of Camp Perry. The unit’s main purpose is to help
sons there is a mixed blessing.� Skomrock will command about 140 service men and women from the Port Clinton unit, who will soon join hundreds more from the Red Horse’s attached Mansfield unit and head overseas. The two units will be augmented with active duty personnel and other guardsmen from eight different states for the mission, which includes multiple locations in Iraq and Afghanistan. For security rea-
Richard Ellis (far right) a service officer with the Port Clinton VFW Post 2480, presents a U.S. flag to a group of service personnel from the 200th Red Horse Squadron, Air National Guard, during a send-off breakfast See RED HORSE 4A last week.
Beacon gets a face-lift Changes coincide with anniversary BY JOHN SCHAFFNER Publisher
STAYING WARM
Robert Gedert took this photo of grandson Aidan Meister, Marblehead, peeking out after the snow at Grandpa's Sand Road home.
One family, five generations
Wendy Stallings, 27, Valerie Mowel, 48, Sandra Lambert, 66, Lillian Larsen, 90, and newborn Peyton Lillian Stallings.
How did Lillian Larsen feel being introduced to her greatgreat granddaughter? "Overexcited," she said as she held the newborn — Peyton Lillian Stallings — in her arms. "She's so tiny ... she's named after her grandma." This isn't the first time the 91-year-old has met a greatgreat grandchild, but this is the first time in that generation the baby's been a girl. "She's just so excited," said Wendy Stallings, Peyton's mom and Lillian's great-granddaughter. Through the commotion of the pair's first meeting at Edgewood Manor, the flashing of
Lillian holds Peyton — the fifth generation of living ladies — for the first time. cameras and oohs and aahs of passersby, Peyton slept quietly in Lillian's arms.
"She's going to be a good girl," the great-great grandmother said.
BY JOHN SCHAFFNER
Tell Tales
John Waite — you will be missed Dr. John Waite lost his long battle with pancreatic cancer last week, although he stayed with us a lot longer than some thought possible. He did make it to his own benefit dinner and party a couple of weeks back at Port Clinton Yacht Club. Some time ago, his picture graced our front page when he capsized his Interlake sailboat and was caught on camera being towed in, stern first, with the front half of his boat submerged. There was John,
standing regally at the stern, his face set like flint looking forward. At his funeral service on Saturday, there were lots more great stories about John’s many adventures and misadventures. I will miss him. He is sailing solo now, in fair winds and calm seas. ——— We had 117 correct entries in our Find Wylie contest last week. Our winner is Cheryl Car-
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roll, of Catawba, who found Wylie in the Nagoya ad on page 6A last week. Bertha wins a $20 gift card from Friendship Convenient Stores. We’ll hide Wylie again this week. If you find him, drop us a note at our office ‌ or click on the Find Wylie icon online at www.thebeacon.net. ——— Members of St. Thomas Episcopal and Peace Lutheran Churches will be serving up a free Community Meal tonight Q
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(Feb. 18) at St. Thomas Guild Hall on East Second Street in Port Clinton from 5 to 6:30 p.m. These two churches share the same pastor, Mike Wiechers. All are welcome! ——— The Lenten season is officially upon us, and that means fish fry heaven! St. Boniface in Oak Harbor and the Port Clinton Knights of Columbus will begin their reg-
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Hours: 8:00 - 4:30 Monday - Friday s (EATED "OAT 3TORAGE s -INI 3TORAGE s "USINESS 5NITS s
It was Feb. 18, 1983, another typical cold and dreary February in Port Clinton and Ottawa County. I had just sold my interest in a radio station in Bowling Green and, with the help of my wife, made the decision to launch a free community weekly newspaper. Thus The Beacon was born. In the mid-1970s, I had managed the Port Clinton Press, and enjoyed the work. Now, 27 years and a lot of grey hairs later, we begin again with a new look for The Beacon. Last summer, we were lucky enough to attract a talented Angie Adair to join our team. She and I had talked for several years about it, and the opportunity presented itself last June. You see, Angie is either a newspaper editor with incredible graphic design skills or she is a graphic designer with incredible newspaper editorial skills. Anyway, the look of The Beacon has remained pretty much the same since we changed over to a broadsheet format in 1999. I challenged Angie to give us an upgrade and have it ready for our 27th Anniversary edition. Now, you get to view the finished product. First, we wanted to standardize our flag (logo) in an effort to “brand� ourselves. Our Webmaster Paul Wallen came up with the new design some time ago and it has been a part of our Web site. Now it is going to be a part of our newspaper as well. As a weekly, we sometimes have space issues where we just can’t seem to find enough room for all of the important stories about life and living here in Ottawa County. So, Angie re-worked the page headers along with other graphic elements to open up more space for news content. She had already re-designed our Community Calendar to allow for more information in a format easier to read. We hope you like the changes. More may be on the way. As has been the case for the last 27 years, The Beacon is now and will always be a work in progress.
What do you think? Do you like the new look? Think something else should be changed? E-mail angie@thebeacon.net
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