REDSKINS WIN
Colston leads charge against Bellevue in season opener SPORTS 1B On sale this week:
Angus Pride Whole Boneless Rib-Eye
5
$ 99
FREE
Volume 28 Number 43
www.thebeacon.net
Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010
Standard Mail U.S. Postage Paid Port Clinton, Ohio Permit #80
New church springing up in downtown Port Clinton By ANGIE ADAIR ZAM Editor Todd Vossen fell in love with the Port Clinton area when he worked as a truck driver as a young man. Ohio 2 brought him through Ottawa County but now, after a few detours, he’s back delivering something a little different than before. Vossen — who was ordained while living in Texas — brought
his wife Kelly and three children to Port Clinton to start Lake Point Baptist Church. “I prayed about it, talked to my pastor and he said go for it,” Vossen said. Todd worked for General Motors after being a truck driver and was transferred around the Midwest a few times before landing in Arlington, Texas. There, the couple found Pleasantview Bap-
tist Church and Vossen found his true calling. He quit his job, finished school and he and his wife began thinking about planting a church. They looked at Colorado, New England and places in between but in the end, the couple felt a push from God to come here. “Port Clinton really never left
See CHURCH 2A
Plans released for PCMS
Bidding for construction will begin after the first of the year The Port Clinton Board of Education approved the Design Development Drawings for the new Port Clinton Middle School at their Dec. 6, meeting. “The exterior of the new middle school building has been designed to match the rest of the high school campus,” said Pat Adkins, superintendent of schools. “As shown in the renderings, the design resembles the Performing Arts Center.” The district put a design team in place
that met with architects to determine the design and to have the building meet the needs of the students and Port Clinton community. The design team consisted of Port Clinton Middle School teachers, administration and a member of the community that worked with Fanning & Howey, school architects. Construction documents are now being prepared for the bidding process that will begin after the first of the year.
PHOTO BY ANGIE ADAIR ZAM
Pastor Todd Vossen and his wife Kelly.
For local contractor participation, call Amy Runge, RJ Runge, Inc., who is the construction manager for the project, at 419-740-5781. To see the latest information about the new school facilities, visit www.pccsd.net and view the “New Facilities” link at the top of the page. The groundbreaking for the new middle school has been set for March 1, 2011, with more details to be released closer to that date.
PARENT PROJECT
Thirteen graduate program The Ottawa County Parent Project recently held a graduation ceremony for its inaugural class of 13 parents. Participants learned specific prevention and intervention strategies for dealing with their adolescent child(ren). The class met for 11 weeks and addressed such topics as drug and alcohol use, truancy, gangs, running away, violence, suicide and other criminal behavior. Parents also received emotional support by the other parents in the class by working in a support group. “By the end of the first class, I bonded with other members of the support group and it was great to find I was not alone,” said grad Kim Jones. “When people say that kids don’t come with an instruction manual, I say yes they do! This Class! This class is an important
See PARENT 2A
Hot Jobs list for Ottawa County: Auto Mechanic (OH519972) $12 to $20 Service Department Position (OH520067) $11 to $12.50 UPS Jobs www.upsjobs.com Job seekers must have OH numbers when calling or applying at The Job Store, 419898-3688, ext. 270.
By JOHN SCHAFFNER
Tell Tales
Head out to Jamestown Tavern for benefit The Jamestown Tavern on Main Street in Marblehead will host a very special benefit at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11. Simon Griffin Overmyer was just 4 days old when he died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome on Nov. 21. He was the son of Jessica and Christopher Overmyer. Obviously, there were some significant family expenses that were quite unexpected with this tragic loss. If you can’t come out Saturday night, donations can also be made by mail. Send it to Jessica Overmyer, 100 Center Street, Marblehead, OH 43440.
Tuesday was, of course, the 69th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, “a date that will live in infamy.” It was just a day or two later when the Japanese attacked the Philippine Islands, trapping the men of Company C of the 192nd Tank Battalion, on the Bataan peninsula. These men can still be seen in a photo taken of them at the Armory in 1940 just prior to their deployment. As you know, the last of the survivors of that Ottawa County unit, Herb Hrupcho, recently passed away. The story of what those men went through, both
INSIDE RECORDS 2A LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE
n
BEACON BITS 4A
during the four months defending Bataan, the surrender, the Bataan Death March, and 3 and a half years of cruel captivity, is one that should stay in our hearts forever. nnn
Congratulations to our Find Wylie contest winner this week, Debby Taber, of Port Clinton, who found Wylie in the ad for Kingseed Painting on page 9A. Debby wins a $20 gift/gas card from Friendship Convenience Stores. We’ll be hiding Wylie again this week, if you find him, n
SOUND OFF 5A
n
just drop us a note at our office at Beacon Place on Southeast Catawba Road or click on the Find Wylie icon at www.thebeacon.net. Dec. 7 was not only the 69th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, it was also my brother Chuck’s 68th birthday, as he was born one year after Pearl Harbor. Our family has always asked the question, “which was the greatest American tragedy?” nnn
We are all very saddened by the passing of Dave “Bib” Kopchak. He was just a truly nice gentle-
SCHOOLS 8A
n
CALENDAR 9A
HEATED BOAT/RV STORAGE
• Business Un e its • Mini-Storag RESERVE NOW! 419-797-6303 • 4789 E. Muggy Rd., Port Clinton, OH • www.catawbaministorage.com
man. Our deepest condolences go out to his wife Jo and the rest of their family. nnn
I got a call Tuesday from a loyal Beacon reader who lives in the Dayton area. She was happy to correct me on something I wrote in last week’s pre-season article talking about the Port Clinton Redskins. She noted that I wrote that Port Clinton had lost to Dayton Belmont, when it was Dayton Dunbar who kept the Redskins from the State title.
See TELL TALES 2A n
CLASSIFIED 4B