Page 11 - 5-24-21

RURAL-URBAN RECORD, May 24, 2021 Page 11
PENFIELD TRUSTEES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10
Assistant Hall Coordinator Tom Seman received a request A Festival of Friends at Lorain County JVS
from the LC 4-H band requesting permission to practice at
the Recreation Park. As this is a public park, their request was
granted. Seman also advised that all furnace filters and drains
have been cleaned.
Roadman Albrecht reported that he and Bob Storms had dug
and poured three footers at the Cemetery. The American flag at
the Cemetery needs replaced and all Service flags are up.
Trustee Flynn reported that a pole at the corner of St. Rt.
301 & Jones Rd. on Dan Bode’s property had been snapped off.
Bode had trouble identifying the owner of the pole, but Frontier
finally fixed same. Flynn received a call from Recreation Board
Treasurer Keri Gordon advising that she needs a key to the hall
as well as the checkbook. Trustee Johnson will follow up with
Terri Bacsi regarding the return of her keys; the necessary keys
should be in her possession. Discussion was held regarding
possible office space and Zoning Inspector Brett Linden said
he could coordinate the use of the Zoning Office w/Gordon.
Trustee Johnson will do more research on the location of a
locked drop box to be mounted at the front entrance. Johnson
reminded Bill & Bob to remove weight limit signs. Johnson
reported on a potential SWAC grant project at the residence of
Rachel & Robert Duling, at 43443 Peck Wadsworth. Chairman
Conrad will follow up on this project. Johnson received a re- Lorain County JVS student athletes, their coaches and student coordinators smile at the Festival of Friends event.
quest for an address sign from a resident on St. Rt. 301. John-
son reported that the water line to Field 3 at the Recreation Park After learning that the Lorain County Special Olympics Track and Field Event was cancelled again this year due to COVID-19,
was leaking and has been disconnected. Johnson fielded a call Megan Karhusz, Lorain County JVS Job Training Program instructor, and Angela Banks, Lorain County JVS intervention special-
from resident Jerry Beko regarding stone in his yard from win- ist, knew they had to create an event that would make their students feel as celebrated and exceptional as they do at the Special
ter snow plowing. Bill & Bob cleaned the stone up. The seed- Olympics each year.
ing of the lawn around the PHS Schoolhouse was discussed. “Many of the students have been participating in the Special Olympics spring event for the entirety of their school career,”
Johnson will purchase seed. Trustee Flynn volunteered the use shared Karhusz. “And with the students that are graduating this year, we knew how upset they would be to miss out on it for the
of Gordon Farms straw chopper when lawn is seeded. last time.”
Chairman Conrad reported that Shaun Duffala is attending With the help of Jason Christner, Lorain County JVS Sports, Health and Fitness Technology instructor, and Lauren Molnar,
an OPWC Issue II meeting in Columbus and will report back Lorain County JVS Teacher Education Exploration instructor, the ‘Festival of Friends’ was created. “The more we talked, the more
on his findings. Chairman Flynn volunteered to Emcee the Me- we realized how awesome it would be to bring different programs together in a very unique way,” Karhusz said.
morial Day Observance and will make an announcement re- Sports, Health and Fitness Technology students created four stations that student athletes from the Job Training Program and
garding the formation of a Memorial Day Committee that day. the Hospitality Services program participated in throughout the day. These stations were a combination of traditional athletic
Dumpster day workers were discussed. events such as broad jump, sled pull and agility courses, and some creative teamwork activities. Sports, Health and Fitness Tech-
With no additional business to discuss, the meeting was ad- nology students managed each station, explaining the rules and demonstrating activities.
journed at 8:57 p.m. Teacher Education Exploration students were paired up with the athletes and helped them navigate their schedule of events for
the day. They cheered the athletes on as they completed events and acted as a coach to help them with difficult tasks.
“The athletes were broken up into very small groups to rotate between the stations and to account for social distancing,” ex-
Did you know? plained Karhusz. “Our hope was for these students to learn something new, step a little bit outside of their comfort zone and most
importantly, have some fun! It’s been such a weird and crazy school year, we wanted to end it on a high note with this fun event
Business owners preparing to fully reopen have much to for them.”
look forward to in the months ahead. A rapidly growing pop- The collaboration didn’t stop there. Lorain County JVS ninth and tenth graders printed the t-shirts that all students and staff
ulation of fully vaccinated potential customers looking to get wore and made the plaques for each of the athletes.
out of the house should benefit business owners’ bottom lines, The event concluded with an ice cream social where athletes received their plaques and the Sports, Health and Fitness Technol-
and the work to prepare a business and keep it safe might have ogy and Teacher Education Exploration students received volunteer certificates.
gotten a little easier as well. In April, the Centers for Dis- The Lorain County JVS PTA supplied a grant that paid for the shirts, ice cream and necessary supplies for the event.
Karhusz said the event was magical. “The excitement leading up to the event in the afternoon was palpable. Witnessing the
ease Control and Prevention acknowledged that the constant courage, passion, respect and fun that took place was an experience I will never forget,” Karhusz shared with a smile. “I’m so
cleaning of surfaces and chairs is largely unnecessary. As sci- very proud of all of the students for their participation and the Lorain County JVS staff for thinking outside the box to gift this
entists have learned more about the COVID-19 virus, they’ve experience to our students.”
learned that airborne transmission of the virus is much more
likely than transmission of the virus through surfaces. Though
it’s still best to routinely clean high-touch surfaces like door
knobs and card machines, and restaurants must still adhere
to normal cleaning procedures so customers can enjoy safe,
clean dining experiences, going all-out to clean and disinfect
other surfaces throughout a business several times per day is
likely unnecessary.
Pollinators

Without pollinators, more than 100 crops grown in the Unit-
ed States would not be able to thrive. Plants, including various
fruits, vegetables, nuts and more, rely on pollinators to ensure
to transport pollen. Though many plants are self-pollinating
and others are pollinated by the wind or water, many others rely
on insects and animals to become pollinated. The U.S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture says birds, bees, bats, butterflies, moths,
flies, beetles, and small mammals all can work as pollinators.
Examples of crops pollinated by pollinators include apples,
squash and almonds. Animals and insects help pollinate more
than 75 percent of the world’s flowering plants, and nearly 75
percent of all crops, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Ser-
vice. Unfortunately, pesticide use can diminish the number of
natural pollinators. Natural gardening and pest-control can help
protect the habitats of pollinators.

Penfield Partners 4H news

Penfield Partners 4H group on the Bike Trail.
On April 10, the Penfield Partners 4H cleaned up trash on the Oberlin Bike Trail. The
group did this as a community service project.
The Penfield Partners completed another community service project of planting flowers
and mulching the Penfield cemetery on May 15.