Perrysburg, OH

Owens Community College's Novel Idea for Paying Fines

Owens Community College has a novel idea for helping needy families over the holiday season. You can pay your parking violation √ by donating canned foods or toys of up to $100.00.

Each Can will be worth $1.00 and Toys are worth $2.00 in fines for every $1.00 in their value. Owens Community College participates in Operation Breadbasket, Perrysburg Christian United, Salvation Army and Marine Corps' Toys for Tots program.

This year, food baskets, toys, and clothing will be available to be picked up by needy families at the township fire department, 26711 Lime City Rd., from 9 a.m. to noon on Dec. 15. Everyone is encouraged to make donations for the many families in need of assistance, this isn't limited to fine violation donations.

Chief Cope said this is OCC's fourth year participating in Operation Breadbasket. The college has forgiven thousands of dollars in fines in return for canned food and toy donations. "Our goal is to provide a little extra incentive for individuals to donate to Operation Breadbasket," she said.

The OCC collection point is inside the entrance to the safety and security office, which is in Alumni Hall on the Oregon Road campus in Perrysburg Township. Donations are accepted around the clock. Donations also are accepted 24 hours daily at the township police and fire stations, located next to each other.

Annie Herman, a Perrysburg Township dispatcher who coordinates Operation Breadbasket, said this is the program's 30th year.

Outerwear such as coats, hats, jackets, gloves, scarves, and boots are particularly needed. They will take anything as long as it's in good shape. A set of dishes, for instance, would be very welcomed. We have a list of 100 families from the Salvation Army."

The biggest single donor so far this season was the Perrysburg schools, providing almost 8,000 items.

Terry Teopas, principal of Frank Elementary, the schools' coordinator for the effort, said Toth Elementary collected the most items among the schools: 2,000. "It's a fun exercise for the elementary school students," he said. "They count the items, and it's sort of a math lesson."

How to Have a Neighborhood Christmas Light Contest;

If your annual outdoor Christmas displays rival those in the movie "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," then organizing a Christmas decorating contest in your neighborhood might be just the thing to get you in the holiday spirit. Follow these steps to channel your inner Clark Griswold and create some Christmas memories to remember.

"This is also a great way to sell your home. Showing potential buyers the neighborhood family christmas spirit. Stage Your Christmas Lights to sell your home - deplaying your home with class and spirit will bring buyers."

1. Step 1 :Determine different categories for participation and judgment. For example, you might divide the contest into Most Creative Use of Lights, Best Yard Display and Overall Grand Prize Winner categories.
2. Step 2 :Circulate a flyer announcing the contest throughout your neighborhood in early November. Ensure you include details such as your contact information, the date when the decorations need to be up and the different categories for judgment.
3. Step 3 :Select an impartial judge or judges to determine the winner of the decorating contest, and then supply them with the categories for judging. To ensure fairness and impartiality to all families who are participating, you might consider asking your town supervisor or village mayor to select the winners.
4. Step 4 :Collect a small donation from each of the participating homeowners to purchase the judge or judges of the contest a token gift for giving your neighborhood their time during the busy holiday season.
5. Step 5 :Ask local businesses to supply prizes for the winning homes. Consider asking garden stores or tree farms to donate a free Christmas tree for the grand prize winner, and local bakeries to donate Christmas cookies for the other category winners.
6. Step 6 : Decorate your own house with as much pizzazz and color as possible. Incorporate music, if your electrical lines will allow it, and as many twinkling lights as your house can hold. The adage "go big or stay home" clearly applies here.
7. Step 7 : Instruct the homeowners to hang a clearly visible sign on their doors on the night of judging, to designate their home as a contest participant. This way, the judge(s) will know to complete an assessment of their decorations.
8. Step 8 : Consider hosting an informal hot chocolate and cookies open house in your home for all participating families following the judging activity. The winners can be announced and prizes awarded.
   
   by: EHow contributing writer

Get a Market Plan for your Home. By knowing the Perrysburg Listing prices, what homes sold for in Perrysburg and statistics about the housing market in that area, your better prepared to Sell your Home or Buy a home. See the large view of this chart on my websites blog.

Inspirational Good Quote - When you Dance

"When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It's to enjoy each step along the way." By Wayne Dyer

Some steps are more difficult but the rewards are greater.

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It probably isn't a real shock to those of us that call Perrysburg, OH our home, but it has been named as a top 10 city for raising a family in the August issue of Family Circle magazine. And this is following the naming of Perrysburg, OH as a top 5 city to live in Ohio by Ohio magazine. So why did Perrysburg, OH make the list? There are many reasons, and I will try to fill you in on some of them.

First, I'd like to point out what some of the criteria was for choosing the award winners. The initial group of 1,700 cities had to have a population between 15,000 and 150,000 residents. Also of importance were the school system, parks & recreation, places of worship, and history. Affordable housing also played a role in the decision. You can get a really nice house here for around $500,000. Don't believe me? Just do a search!

Regarding the school system, Perrysburg is rated at the highest level (excellent with distinction) by the state of Ohio. On a personal note, my wife and I have found our son's teachers and administrators to be exceptional.

Perrysburg boasts many parks and recreational areas. There are 12 municipal parks in Perrysburg. The recreational division offers summer programs and camps for children of all ages. This year there were 26 camps offered, ranging from sports camps to yo-yo, sports writing, and science camps. Also, there were 39 other recreational programs offered, from tee ball to dodgeball to one called Games 'N Giggles (my boys loved all 3 of them, by the way). Municipal Park has a wonderful pool that is used for open swims as well as water aerobic, diving, and swimming lessons.

Fort Meigs is the largest wooden-walled fort in North America. Fort Meigs, established by William Henry Harrison in 1813, was an important part of the British defeat in the War of 1812. It continues to serve as an educational establishment to students and adults from all areas.

Perrysburg has done a great job of blending its history with the current times. There is a historic district in which many homes are on the national registry of historic homes. There is a wonderful downtown area with a blend of stores, restaurants, and offices. There are many retail businesses building stores in Perrysburg and Perrysburg Township.

Levis Commons is an open air, multi purpose planned development that includes rental and owner occupied housing, retail stores, office space, a movie theater, restaurants, and a Hilton hotel. It is a beautiful space, and has added to the attraction of Perrysburg. It is located next to the world headquarters for Owens-Illinois, the world's largest manufacturer of glass containers in the world.

Green energy is certainly a growing industry right now, and Perrysburg Township houses the largest of the solar panel manufacturing companies. First Solar is located in Perrysburg Township and has brought hundreds of great paying jobs to the local area and has helped stabilize the economy. They are continuing to expand their manufacturing facility as well as their research and development space. (If it seems like I'm bragging a little bit, I am; my wife works for them!)

Way Library has been recognized nationally as a top library and has received numerous awards. It recently ranked 10th out of 1,773 libraries in its category (10,000-24,000 population). Not only does it have a large selection of books & magazines, it also has meeting rooms, a historical room, which contains a good deal of local history, plenty of computers, and a nice play area for the children. There are always clubs and groups meeting there.

As you can see, there are many reasons why Perrysburg is a top 10 city to raise a family. I think that it's just a plain old good city to live in, whether or not you're married and whether or not you have children. Please contact me anytime, I'd love to give you a personal tour!