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These are some photos taken on Thursday from the 2023 Wauseon Homecoming. Click on the link above to access the photos. They are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Earlier this July, Swanton’s Memorial Park was the site of the Fulton County Chapter of Girl Scouts of Western Ohio Summer Camp. Currently the are 22 Girl Scout Troops with approximately 225 members in Fulton County according to GSA Leader Patti Leach who oversees the operations of all the county’s troops. This year’s summer camp hosted 40 girls along with 16 adult and teenaged volunteers and it ran Monday, July 10th thru Friday, July 14th, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM all five days.
“Our theme this year was the ‘Magic Girl Scout Bus’, based off the ‘Magic School Bus’,” said Ms. Leach. “We had singing, crafts and games and each day was a different theme. Monday, we learned about dinosaurs. Tuesday was all about science so, we did a lot of science experiments with the kids. Wednesday was about water so, we learned about the Amazon (river) and the rain forest. Thursday was about the good ol’ outdoors so they learned fire building and trail signs and those types of things. Friday was about the Girl Scouts and we learned all about the founder of Girl Scouts, Juliet ‘Daisy’ Gordon Low and different Girl Scout traditions.
There was little down time during the camp as the girls were also received lessons in outdoor cooking, knife safety, fire safety and many other life skills. “They start their own fires. They do their own cooking. The adults are just there to help give them guidance to all of that,” explained Ms. Leach. And, fortunately for the happy campers, the weather was perfect the entire time.
Photo: Fulton County Girl Scout Camp
PRESS RELEASE: Swanton, Ohio – A consortium has formed out of the necessity to help our young people understand how they can achieve their dreams right here in the NW Ohio region.
Building on the very successful culture shift at Swanton Local Schools around workforce readiness, the Swanton Parents Club has funded an immersive experience that will connect our middle school students directly with local businesses through an interactive mural painted on the expansive wall in the Middle School Career Center.
Nationally recognized muralist Dave Rickerd has been commissioned to create the interactive experience which will be revealed during open house to kick off the exciting new school year on August 15th from 6-6:30.
The mural painted on in the Career Center includes 200 area businesses as you face west from the Lucas/Fulton County line. The interactive mural will include a QR code. Upon scanning the code, an electronic replica of the mural will appear on your device. Each business will be a hot link. Tap it and you immediately are immersed in that company’s customized experience created to reach our young people while they’re still in middle school.
It’s clear that if our young people are more exposed to opportunities right in their own backyard, we will keep our best and brightest right here in our region. Remote users will enjoy the same experience through the solution provided by NwOESC IT web team.
Embedded in the mural are “There’s no place home” images as a fun way to remind our young people about the great opportunities that await them right here in our region when they graduate from High School or College.
The new consortium formed organically immediately after the Swanton Parents Club announced their decision to fund the mural. Instead of requesting donations from our very generous business partners, we are very pleased to use this as our way of demonstrating that regional Educators and Community Members are stepping up in a big way to do more than their fair share to help solve the workforce dilemma.
The Fulton County Economic Dev Corp Office immediately began to actively assist as well as the OhioMeansJob office. The NwOESC is funding and hosting the electronic experience behind the QR code.
“I couldn’t be any more excited about how this idea has come to fruition and the impact we will make together to improve how we educate our kids utilizing this novel approach,” – Chris Lake, Swanton Local Schools Superintendent.
“It’s immediately evident as soon as I saw the mural for the first time how many unique career opportunities we have in our region. I’m impressed beyond belief!” – Matt Gilroy FCEDC Director.
The Chief of Swanton’s Fire and Rescue Department, Ed Dziengelewski, has submitted a letter of resignation to Mayor Neril Toeppe and the Village Council. Below is an announcement from the desk of Mayor Toeppe:
“The Village of Swanton has had the benefit of Chief Dziengelewski’s decades of experience in the Fire Service. He has served as a Firefighter, EMT, Captain, and most recently as Fire Chief. We wish him well as he pursues additional opportunities and challenges in the Fire Service. I quote from the Chief’s letter of resignation. ‘I wish you all the best moving forward as I have felt this was a great place to work.’ The Chief’s last day with the department will be Friday, July 28th.
Village Administrator Shannon Shulters will begin an immediate search for Chief Dziengelewski’s replacement.
Photo: Chief Dziengelewski’s with another well known firefighter.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/LpjMSR248aD5LboY7
Just weeks after a tremendously successful turnout at Swanton’s first Block Party in the recently established DORA, it was deja vu all over again as the Swanton Chamber of Commerce held Block Party II last evening. Some of the proceeds will be donated to Fulton County’s Habitat for Humanity. Entertainment was provided by JP and the Big Deal with a great mix of Rock and Country. The next Block Party is scheduled for Saturday, August 26th.
Click on the link above to access photos from the event. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: JP and the BIG DEAL
https://photos.app.goo.gl/amTLV7f5vW8Xwp186
Swanton resident Shannon Heilman began liquidating products through a Facebook group heavily during COVID. When the world was at a standstill and shops were closed, she wanted to be able to have necessities and “wants” at fingertips length. She noted it was so fulfilling to be able to make connections with people during such a trying time. About a year ago she suffered a medical crisis, and it brought her life to a standstill. She wasn’t sure what her future was going to look like, so she took a break and began helping out a close friend at her liquidation warehouse located in Swanton (Buy to Win).
Through this friendship and opportunity, she was able to rejuvenate her passion and wants to share it with Swanton. The Main Street Trading Post, located at 113 S. Main Street, is a small, quaint shop that will offer all brand-new brands that you will recognize, quality items, and at a bonus at a discounted price. Shannon wants to bring another small shop to Main Street that will allow a bit more variety while exploring the Village.
A ribbon cutting with family, friends, local business owners, Village Officials and the Swanton Chamber of Commerce was held today to announce their arrival onto the Downtown Swanton Business District scene. They will be opening for Christmas in Swanton on Saturday, July 29th, from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM and will continue with the following regular hours: Tuesday thru Saturday, 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
Click on the link above to access photos from the ceremony and new business merchandise.
Photo: Shannon Heilman cuts the ribbon to open a another new business in Downtown Swanton
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Apparently, Mother Nature did not receive the memo from the Delta Chicken Festival Parade Committee that stated, “Don’t Rain on My Parade” because, from start to end, that’s all it did. No let up. However, it did not stop the parade from taking place as the floats, the twirlers, the Delta High School Marching Panthers and dozens of other participants traversed the entire route to the delight of the brave spectators that shook off the weather and lined Fernwood and Taylor Streets.
Click on the link above to access the photos from the parade. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/8YEQq13s9MaaQzEf9
Photos from Friday evening at the Delta Chicken Festival, before the rains came. Click on the link above to access the photos. They are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/51VTRHGmaZ12n7Bp7
At their meeting on July 11th, the Swanton Lions Club officially chose October 28, 2023 as the date for their enormously popular Halloween Hoopla held in Downtown Swanton. The Club has begun to organize the wonderfully exciting activities including games and bouncy houses that will fill a large portion of Main Street as local businesses pass out all kinds of delicious candy. The precise time will be published at a later date. Click on the link above to see some of the photos from last year’s celebration.
There are several reasons to hold a special election, one not conducted in the month of November, in the State of Ohio such as the need to fill a sudden or unexpected vacancy of an important position or to vote to recall an elected official. Elections that do not meet that criteria often fall under the suspicion of being held at a period of historically low voter turnout to improve the passing of a controversial measure. The motivation behind placing Ohio 2023 Issue 1 on the ballot on August 8, 2023, could not be more obvious. “Just move along. Nothing to see here, folks.”
Pulled from the internet is a brief explanation of what the measure entails:
What is Ohio’s Issue 1?
If voters approve Issue 1, future amendments to the Ohio Constitution will need a 60% affirmative vote to pass, rather than the simple majority vote of 50% plus one vote that’s been in place since 1912, according to The Associated Press.
Also, petitioners seeking to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot in Ohio would need to gather signatures from at least 5% of electors in the most recent gubernatorial election in each of Ohio’s 88 counties, rather than just 44 counties.
Issue 1 also eliminates the state’s “curing period” for constitutional amendment petitions, which gives petitioners an extra 10 days to gather additional signatures, if needed.
Supporters of Issue 1 say the measure would protect the Ohio Constitution from special interest groups.
“By raising the threshold for constitutional amendments to 60%, the people will ensure amendments have widespread support and tell special interests that our constitution is not up for grabs,” reads an argument for the proposal signed by state GOP lawmakers. “By requiring signatures from voters in every county, special interest groups will no longer be able to cherry pick where they gather signatures.”
Meanwhile, opponents of Issue 1 say it would end majority rule in the state.
“It means just 40% of voters can block any issue, putting 40% of voters in charge of decision-making for the majority,” reads an argument against the proposal signed by state Democrats. “It would destroy citizen-driven ballot initiatives as we know them, guaranteeing that only wealthy special interests could advance changes to our constitution.”
Though the changes to the signature threshold and curing period would only apply to constitutional amendments proposed after Jan. 1, 2024, the new vote threshold requirement would take effect immediately upon passage — possibly impacting the next general election.
Issue 1 would raise the threshold needed for voters to approve an abortion rights amendment that could appear on the Nov. 7 ballot, which would enshrine access to abortion in Ohio in the state constitution following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade last summer. Petitioners for that amendment last week submitted more than 700,000 signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office, which now must be verified by county election boards.
My question is, why not wait until the general election on November 7, 2023? That is just three months away when voter turnout tends to be the highest. The State of Missouri has a very similar measure to be decided this year, in November, where it should be. Having the vote at the peak of vacation season only confirms the mistrust many of us have in politicians and our political system overall.
Currently, two states, Florida and Illinois, require a 60% super majority to amend their constitution. Ohio and 37 other states require a 50% plus one vote simple majority with the rest lying somewhere in between. The impact of Issue 1’s approval will have a major impact on the lives of all Ohioans for a long time and we do not deserve to have it “slipped” past us while our attention may be diverted. Let us all decide. Or at least most of us.
Photo: Fulton County Sample Ballot
Fulton County Ohio Media 