With our area having experienced several tragic deaths in recent years, the Stephen Ministry of St. John Lutheran Church in Oak Harbor is sponsoring a mini-seminar on suicide and tragic death. Topics to be covered are signs and symptoms of potential problems, the help available, coping with the loss, what to say and not to say to families who have lost a loved one and the question of where God is in these situations.

The speakers will be Joyce M. Gates, M.A., LICDC, LPCC of C.O.P.E.; Joe Vidal, Coroner’s Investigator; and Pastor Debra Domeier of St. John Church. The seminar, to be held at Salem Township Community Center, 11650 W. Portage River South Road, Oak Harbor, beginning at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30, is open to everyone. There is no cost to attend, and reservations are not necessary. For questions, please call the church office at 419-898-6474.

The National Day of Prayer will be observed on May 2 on the grounds of the Ottawa County Courthouse in Port Clinton. Clergy from Port Clinton area churches will be leading prayers at the service which will begin at 12 noon.

The National Day of Prayer was signed into law in 1952 by President Harry Truman, and in 1988 President Ronald Regan signed the law that set the date as the first Thursday in May.

Attendees may want to bring a chair or a blanket. Should it rain, the services will be held in Immaculate Conception Church. For further information, contact Carol Fox at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 419-734-1239.

Lakeside Chautauqua will be holding their the annual Mother’s Day Brunch on Sunday, May 12, at Wesley Lodge (510 Central Avenue). There are two seating times available for the brunch buffet, 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The cost is $20 per adult, $8 per child (ages 6-12), and children age 5 and under are free. There are no gate pass admission fees for this event.

The Port Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce and Ida Rupp Public Library will be hosting a free workshop titled “From Wall Street to Main Street: Myths, Miscues and Investment Fundamentals”, presented by Allison Falls, CFA, on Tuesday, April 23 at the library.  

In this educational and informal discussion Falls will demystify the financial pundits and in plain language highlight investment fundamentals such as asset allocation, diversification, risk and return and volatility. Falls is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and the CFA Institute. 

Registration is at 8:30 a.m. with the workshop beginning at 9 a.m.  To register, contact the Chamber at 419-734-5503.

A very accurate description of a Lake Effect Spring.  Shared by Sandy Braunworth, Oak Harbor 

“The sun was warm but the wind was chill. 
You know how it is with an April day 
When the sun is out and the wind is still, 
You're one month on in the middle of May. 
But if you so much as dare to speak, 
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch, 
A wind comes off a frozen peak, 
And you're two months back in the middle of March.”