This week on our show we get bonus coverage.  Meet Miranda Schlatter, owner of Maid to Achieve Cleaning Service and co-owner of Double Ds Dairy Bar in Melrose.  Meet Erika Dobbelaere, co-owner of Double Ds Dairy Bar and a graduate of the Panthers for Careers program at Paulding High School.  Hear how education, workforce, business, entrepreneurship and economic development all play together for the good of the county.  Thanks to OhioMeansJobs, you can tune in Tuesdays & Thursdays at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., or listen online at www.my1027.org/paulding-county-business-weekly/. Paulding County Business Weekly is also available in podcast form through Apple, Google & Spotify.

Paulding County Firefighters and EMTs the eight fire departments and six EMS agencies took part in a day long School Bus Safety and Extrication class, Saturday April 24th. The class was held at the Paulding County Training Facility, in Paulding, Ohio. The __ firefighters and EMTs participated in the knowledge of school bus construction, safety features and ways to extricate victims from a school bus once involved in an accident.

Every year, over 550,000 school bus vehicles are on the road each day, traveling nearly 22 million miles each day. School Buses are the leading means of transporting of individual on the road each day. There are close to 21,000 bus accidents each year and unfortunately, 55 fatalities occur, with 10 of those being occupants on the school buses, each year.

In 2019, the world saw the Archbold School Bus Accident, caught on surveillance camera, when the school bus was stopped, to drop off two elementary school children. The video shows the bus getting hit from the rear by an east bound semi-tractor trailer. Fortunately, there were only minor injuries to the bus driver and semi driver. It could have been a far different story had the bus been full of students. Back in the spring of 2012, a Hicksville Exempted Village School Bus was involved in a two vehicle accident at the intersection of St. Rt. 11 & 49. In that accident seven members of the Hicksville Baseball team were taken to the hospital as well as the driver and six passengers in the van that struck the bus.

By: Nancy Whitaker

It is always an exciting time when a new school year begins. Some like it; others hate going back. Of course 2020 brought with it the deadly Covid19 virus and classes were taught at home for a while and many events were cancelled. 

Now on a normal school year there are new clothes to buy, plus school supplies and wondering who you will have for teachers. Will they be mean or nice?

I think the night before school started, my own kids were too excited to sleep and appeared to be more than ready for a new school year.

Of course, looking back, I was always excited for school too, but I got very few new clothes and about all the supplies we needed were a (box of 8) Crayolas, a Number 2 yellow pencil, some disgusting looking paste and a yellow tablet. In fact I recall kids eating the paste at school which was white and gooey.

I found an internet story about a homeless man who dug through the trash cans looking for money or food. 

Well the story is that this man died after consuming the paste. He remains unidentified, but his epitaph reads: 1902 – the man who ate too much paste.

I had to walk down a long lane to get to the school bus and many times the snow was so deep. The bus driver could barely see my head. This was when I was in grade school. In high school I still walked to school, as we had moved into town. 

Of course this has been many years ago and things have really changed. There are a lot more school supplies to buy and the technical age has arrived. We have options such as computers, the internet and online classes if you want. Have you ever wondered what the schools were like 100 years ago? 

As I was looking through some of the history of schools in the 1800s I ran into a letter written by a student in 1901. 

Students were given the assignment to write a letter explaining what they thought schools would be like in 2002. Here is the letter that I found very interesting,

“Hello, My name is Amanda and I just started grade 2. My older brother, Bill, is in Grade 6 and my younger sister, Sarah, is in Kindergarten. 

My teacher asked us to write a note to students 100 years from now to tell them what school is like now and to try to imagine what it will be like for them. Father thinks people will have given up on school by then. He thinks school is a big waste of time. But I think there might still be schools. There might even be two or three teachers in a school instead of just one!

My brother and sister all go to the same school and we share one big classroom. Miss Matheson is the teacher. She teaches all the kids in our community and from the farms nearby. Right now Miss Matheson is living at the Durkson’s house. But next month it will be our turn to board her. 

I’m very excited about having her move in with us. She’s very pretty and so smart! I wonder if one day parents will build the teacher her own house?

Miss Matheson teaches everyone from Kindergarten to Grade 12. But there aren’t very many students in the higher grades. Billy is in Grade 6 now. Father says this will be his last year in school. He needs Billy to help more on the farm next year. Billy already misses school around harvest time. 

I go to school most of the time, except when I have to help mom go to market to sell our eggs. I think that in 100 years, there will be special days off so that kids can help sell eggs and won’t have to miss class to do it.

I like school most of the time. We practice writing, reading and arithmetic. We use small chalkboards to practice math and we use pens that we dip in ink to practice writing. I like writing with the pen, but I hate when the boys dip my hair in the ink! If there are still schools in 100 years, I’m sure the boys will still be dipping the girls’ hair in ink.

We have to buy our own books and Father says it’s too expensive to buy new ones each year. I always have to use Billy’s old books. He took pretty good care of them. Father would have taken him behind the wood shed if he hadn’t! But it would still be nice to have a new book, just once

It’s chilly this morning. We have a big stove at the front of the room to keep the class warm in the winter, but we don’t get any wood for it until it’s cold all day. In the autumn we have to wear our sweaters in the mornings until the sun warms things up. I think in 100 years, they’ll be able to start the stove in autumn so their fingers won’t be so cold in the mornings.

I made our lunches today. Sarah helped. She liked packing the old syrup buckets full of the sandwiches I made. 

I wonder if in 100 years, kids will still bring their lunches to school in old syrup buckets? Maybe they’ll get brand new ones instead.

Billy never has time to eat his lunch. He’s too busy taking care of his horse. He’s so lucky to be able to ride to school. Sarah and I have to walk. I know it’s only one mile and that lots of kids have to walk farther, but it would still be fun to ride a horse. I think in 100 years all of the kids will have their own horses and be able to ride to school, even the girls.

It’s almost time for recess, so I’m going to finish my note now. One thing’s for sure, if there’s still school in 100 years there will still be recess!

Amanda.”

Has anyone ever went to a one room school? Do you think Amanda would be surprised at the schools today? Did you walk to school? Let me know and I’ll give you a Penny for Your Thoughts. 

Open registration period runs from December 1st through January 31st.  For your convenience, registration/licensing can be done online through the Paulding County Auditors webpage, as well as through the US Postal Service or by utilizing the drop box at the east side doors courthouse.  (include a self-addressed stamped envelope)

Cost for registering/licensing can be found online at: Paulding County Auditor website: www.pauldingcountyauditor.com

A small handling and shipping fee will be added for online registration.

Any dog found to not be registered/licensed after January 31st will receive a citation which can carry a fine of $112 + costs.  Then you will also be required to register/license you dog at that time at a cost of $36.  So, you can spend  now to save about $150 later.  Kind of a no-brainer! 

David Bash, Paulding County Dog Warden

On December 16 an officer responded to an alarm at the Dollar General. The building was locked up and fine. Owners were notified.

On December 17 a resident of North Main St. made a noise complaint. The officer arrived and asked the person with the loud music to keep it down due to the late hour.

On December 17 a security alarm was going off on a local business according to the Sheriff Dispatch. Upon investigation the building seemed fine and the business owner was contacted.

On December 18 a resident reported a man with a truck and trailer attempting to remove the barricades at Park Villa Apartments. The vehicle was located and the driver was told he could not move barricades. The driver responded that he was lost.

On December 18 an officer assisted the State Patrol in a vehicle search and drugs were located. 

On December 19 a Pit Bull mix was reported running near the Root Beer Stand. The officer located the dog and returned it to the owner. 

On December 19 a resident reported a crack in his driver side window, believing to be from a BB gun. The officer investigated and could not find anyone with a BB gun in the area. The officer wrote up a report for insurance purposes.

On December 19 in the evening a vehicle was found in the Antwerp UMC church parking lot. The person was playing Pokemon Go.

On December 20 during a traffic stop an officer found a warrant for the person driving. The driver was driving under suspension, marijuana could be smelled but no drugs were found in the vehicle. The suspect was arrested and transferred to Defiance County Sheriff custody.

On December 23 a motor vehicle accident was reported at the PitStop. The officer wrote up the report.

On December 26 a report of a water main break on North Main St came in and the Village Administrator was contacted.

On December 26 an officer performed a welfare check on a resident of whom that family had not been in contact with in several days.

On December 27 a resident called about improper dumping at the recycling center. An officer contacted the person about the rules for the recycling site.

On December 28 A call was received about a stolen car dolly from a local business. A Sheriff Deputy was called and assisted with recovering the stolen product.

If you would like to report any suspicious activity or if you have any questions, please contact the Antwerp Police Department, 419-258-2627. They are always ready to serve the residents of the Village of Antwerp!

Meetings on Zoom are offered every other Thursday from 2 – 3 p.m. beginning Apr. 23. The meeting is open to anyone who has experienced recent loss and is dealing with issues related to grief.

Those interested must call (419) 238-9223 Ex. 1114 to get the access codes to join online or by phone.

The goal of the monthly “Hope for Tomorrow” group is to empower the grieving with a new perspective through sharing with others in similar circumstances. The group normally meets monthly on the first Wednesday at CHP Home Care & Hospice in Paulding.

Do I need to store my food in the garage or wipe my groceries with a disinfectant when I get them home from the grocery store to keep safe from coronavirus?

While some people choose to wipe their groceries down with a disinfectant cloth when bringing them home from the grocery store as a preventive measure against the coronavirus, that is not a step that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said is a requirement. Nor does the CDC recommend that consumers must quarantine their food purchases in the garage before bringing them into the house.

This is because groceries are not frequently touched surfaces, and the risk of them containing COVID-19 is low, says Sanja Ilic, food safety state specialist with Ohio State University Extension, the outreach arm of The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

“There have been no reports as of this time to suggest that COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, has been transmitted by handling food or food packaging,” she said. “Coronavirus is not a gastrointestinal illness and cannot be contracted by ingesting contaminated foods, nor does it multiply on foods.

“The chances of contaminating your refrigerator with the virus are low. The virus needs to get to your respiratory tract to make you sick.”

COVID-19 most often transmits person-to-person through droplets that are produced when an infected individual coughs or sneezes. The virus is most often transferred to another individual when droplets directly reach their nose, mouth, or eyes, or through close contact such as a handshake. The virus can also transmit when a person touches an object or surface with the virus on it and then touches their mouth or eyes before washing their hands.

However, since current evidence suggests that the novel coronavirus can remain viable for hours or days on a variety of surfaces, cleaning of high-touch surfaces such as door handles followed by disinfection is recommended by the CDC as a best practice to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 and other viral respiratory illnesses in households and community settings.

“While you don’t HAVE TO clean and sanitize food packaging, if you or your loved ones are at increased risk from infection, and you feel anxious, you can wipe shelf-stable and ready-to-eat food packages following the instructions on the label of the sanitizer or wipe,” Ilic said, “and let it air dry before storing.

“However, it’s important that you don’t wash your produce using soap and water, as the soap may be toxic. Simply rinsing the produce under clean running water will suffice.”

With that in mind, Ilic suggests the following steps after getting home with your groceries:

Wash your hands upon arrival from the grocery store and before storing foods.

Do not store groceries outside the home.

Refrigerate perishable food promptly; don’t overload your refrigerator.

If you buy a large quantity of produce, think about freezing some of it to avoid waste.

Use or freeze raw meat and poultry before their expiration dates to stay safe and reduce waste.

If reusing nylon and plastic grocery bags, clean the inside and outside of the bags with soapy water, and then rinse them. You can also spray or wipe down the bags inside and out with a diluted bleach solution or a recommended disinfectant. Always allow the bags to air dry completely before storing and reusing them.

If using a cloth reusable grocery bag, wash the bag in warm water with normal laundry detergent and dry the bag on the warmest setting possible.

When cleaning surfaces in your home, Ilic recommends the following:

Always clean dirty kitchen surfaces with soap and water before you sanitize them. If you do not do this, the sanitation step is not going to be effective.

Use a disinfectant product on the surfaces, according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Commercial disinfectants come in three forms: liquid, spray, or wipes. All have different instructions that have to be followed in order for the disinfectant to be effective.

Do not use concentrated bleach for disinfecting. It is very toxic.

Do not use any surface cleaners on your hands, in place of hand sanitizer. They might cause damage to the skin.

If using bleach as a disinfectant, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for application and proper ventilation. You can prepare a bleach solution by mixing 5 tablespoons (1/3 cup) bleach per gallon of water or 4 teaspoons bleach per quart of water. Make sure to use containers of bleach that have been open no longer than 30 days, as bleach can break down over time.

Lastly, here are some ways you can protect yourself in order to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission from packaging or delivery:

Practice handwashing and use hand sanitizer before and after handling packaging. It’s important to wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds each time. Hand sanitizer is also an option if you do not have access to soap and water. Use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

If you use delivery for restaurant food, after you receive the food, unpack it and dispose of the packaging, and then wash your hands. Do not touch your nose, mouth, eyes, or face until after this procedure is complete.