STRONG START
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Volume 29 Number 29
www.thebeacon.net
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Stage is set for weekend festival The seventh annual Perch, Peach, Pierogi and Polka Festival will be held in downtown Port Clinton at Labor Day Weekend. The fun-filled event will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at 109 E. Perry St. Once again, Lake Erie yellow perch sandwiches and dinners
will be served along with pierogis and peach cobbler. Drinks will be available in the beer tent. The Black Tie Dance Studio will provide free polka lessons at 5 p.m. Saturday for those wishing to improve their polka skills and the ever-popular pierogi-eating contest will be at 4 p.m. Sunday.
The Duane Malinowski Orchestra will perform from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. This band is considered by many to be the top polka band in northwest Ohio. Duane and his orchestra have performed at Caesars’ Windsor, the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas, Traverse City’s Leelandau Sands
Casino and on Caribbean Cruises. Duane released his first polka CD last year, “Through the Years — the Two Sides of Duane.” Highlighting the weekend music will be the Del Sinchak Band from Youngstown. Del will play from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday and again from noon to 4 p.m. Sun-
day. The Del Sinchak Band has seven successful releases on the award-winning Peppermint label. The National Cleveland Style Polka Hall of Fame nominated four of these albums for the Album of the Year. The National
See FESTIVAL 10A
Report card roundup The Ohio Department of Education recently released 2010-2011 district report cards. Benton-Carroll-Salem and Danbury districts both earned the designation of Excellent while Port Clinton earned Effective. Six possible designations exist: Excellent with Distinction, Excellent, Effective, Continuous Improvement, Academic Watch and Academic Emergency. Four measures of performance are used as the basis for the overall rating: state indicators, performance index, adequate yearly progress and value-added measure.
State indicators
PHOTOS BY ANGIE ADAIR ZAM
ROCKIN AND ROLLIN Revelers soaked up the sun, some suds and the sounds of rock ‘n’ roll at United Way’s annual Gem Beach Rocks party on Catawba Island Saturday.
Algea in lake a growing threat By ANGIE ADAIR ZAM Editor In recent years, Lake Erie has seen an increase in algae, particularly blue-green algae capable of producing toxins. Last year the Harmful Algal Blooms kept people out of the water and thanks to record levels of nutrients pouring into the lake, this year isn’t looking much better. According to Dr. Jeffrey Reutter, Direc-
Current warnings • Kelleys Island State Park Beach: Algae Bloom Advisory effective beginning Aug. 24 • Maumee Bay State Park Beach: Public Health Advisory effective beginning Aug. 19. Microcystins > 50ppb
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tor of the Ohio Sea Grant College Program, the blue-green algae can cause nerve issues, stomach problems, rashes, tingly fingers, numb lips and asthma-like symptoms for those who come in contact with it. Those effects are dependent on the level of toxins present in the water and the age and health of the person that comes in
Online For complete reports from each district and school, visit Interactive Local Report Card Home. Here you will be able to locate information detailing proficiency test results, graduation rates, financial data, and demographics. ilrc.ode.state.oh.us/
By JOHN SCHAFFNER
Tell Tales
Kelleys Island swim benefits kids One of the nicest annual events here on the North Coast is the Kelleys Island benefit swim. Each summer for nearly 20 years, Jeni Hammond and Cindra Mielke take on this swim to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network. This year the water was rough on Sunday, Aug. 7, but they made it from Gem Beach to Kelleys Island in 4 hours and 20 minutes. Their wish kids this year are Marianna, 8, from Bellevue, and Randy, 6, from Sandusky. Both will be headed to a Florida Theme Park thanks to the efforts of these great gals. They are pictured here with some of their recent “wish kids” … Daniel from Gibsonburg and Taylor from Marblehead. They are still
See LEGAL 10A
See TELL TALES 2A
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See REPORT 11A
See ALGAE 10A
As a result of the latest budget signed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich, free community newspapers such as The Beacon in Port Clinton and Huron Hometown News in Huron will be able to carry official “Public Notice” advertising. Starting September 29, 2011, free community papers will finally be “legal” for the publication of legal notices. A key provision in the new Ohio budget reformed the legal notice process. Among the significant changes were modern eligibility requirements allowing placement free community papers like The Beacon and Huron Hometown News as well as expanding visibility online. Going forward, you will no longer need to pay a price per copy to read important government notices which have already been paid for with tax dollars.
INSIDE RECORDS 2A
State indicators are based on state assessments, attendance and graduation rates. For grades three through eight and 10, at least 75 percent of the students tested must score proficient or higher to meet the test indicator; for 11th grade graduation tests, 85 percent must score proficient. Other requirements include 85 percent attendance rate and 90 percent graduation rate. • B-C-S Schools met 26 of 26 indicators • Danbury met 25 of 26 indicators falling just shy of the 75 percent requirement for fifth-grade math scores with 73.2. • Port Clinton City Schools met 22 of 26 indicators falling short in the mathemat-
AROUND OTTAWA COUNTY 3A
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Jenni Hammond and Cindra Mielke recently completed their annual Kelleys Island Swim from Gem Beach to Kelley’s. When they finished, they were greeted by a couple of past Children’s Miracle Network beneficiaries from last year’s swim, including a youngster from Marblehead, Taylor Wilhite.
BUSINESS0 7A
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