Sgt. Ryan Purpura, of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and Heather Jendruch holds a press conference about the effectiveness of the hands-free law. (FTP Photo/Jane Welch)
Distracted fatal crashes dropped 19% in past year
MAUMEE – Just one year after Ohio’s hands-free motor vehicle law took effect, it appears drivers are heeding the call.
Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. Ryan Purpura said during a press conference on Tuesday at the ODOT Maumee garage that the effectiveness of the distracted driving law has been “truly successful.”
Sgt. Ryan Purpura, of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and Heather Jendruch, ODOT highway technician, urges drivers to put their phones down. (FTP Photo/Jane Welch)
He credits the success to a six-month educational campaign conducted by law enforcement, which took place between April, when the law passed, and October 2023, when it went into effect.
The Patrol reported a 19-percent reduction in fatal crashes attributed to distracted driving over the previous year, despite issuing 25,000 citations this year. He also noted there were 15,400 fewer crashes.
For those unfamiliar with the law, it prohibits drivers from dialing a phone number, updating or browsing social media, browsing online, playing games, sending text messages, video calling or FaceTime, watching videos, or recording or streaming videos.
Drivers over the age of 18 can use hands-free devices that includes speakerphone in the cradle, earpiece, wireless headset, electronic watch and connecting a phone to the vehicle. These devices can only be activated or deactivated with a single touch or swipe.
Purpura pointed out that distracted driving is not limited to electronic equipment. A driver could be day dreaming, reaching for something, applying makeup or eating.
“Anything that takes your eyes off the road is considered distracted driving,” he said. There are a few exceptions. Drivers may use their phone to report an emergency or when parked on the side of the road.
Purpura, a spokesman for the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and Heather Jendruch, ODOT highway technician, urge drivers to put down their phones and stay focused on the road. It is especially important when driving in construction zones, particularly when crews are working at night, Jendruch advised.
“Pay attention. It’s not only our lives, but theirs too,” she added, “It’s important to be safe. We all want to get home safely at the end of the day.”
To learn more about the hands-free law, go to HANDS FREE.
Springfield Township firefighter Kyle Yeager controls a ladder pedestal during training at the Springfield Township Fire Station 51 in Holland. Springfield Township Fire & Rescue is asking residents to vote on Issue 17. (TFP Photo/Lori King)
Area fire departments seek funding through levies
In these polarized political times, marked by bitter presidential and congressional rivalries, issues on the local front can be all but drowned out.
And when it comes to local issues, there are plenty. Among the most pronounced are fire levy requests.
Voters in 10 Lucas and Wood county communities are asked to support either a renewal or additional funding for their respective departments.
In Wood County, Freedom, Montgomery and Troy townships, along with the Village of Wayne and City of Rossford, are seeking renewal of existing levies for personnel, equipment, fire and ambulance protection services.
Renewal levies will not cost a homeowner any additional money on their property tax duplicate.
Of the remaining five seeking funding, three are in Lucas County: Springfield Township, Harding Township, Sylvania/Sylvania Township, and two in Wood–Lake and Plain townships.
From left: Lt. Marc Welsh, HERO program leader Jodi Livecchi and Springfield Township fire chief Jonathon Ziehr accept a donation to the Springfield Township HERO program during the Springfield Township trustees meeting on Oct. 15. The HERO program, ran jointly with Sylvania Township, provides equipment, such as bathroom bars or exterior ramps that help aging residents remain in their homes. (TFP Photo/Jane Welch)
Springfield Township fire chief Jonathon Ziehr said the department is asking voters to support a five-year, 2.5-mill renewal with an increase of 3.5 mills.
Combined, the six mills would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $190 annually, an increase of $10.21 per month. Ziehr said the increase is needed to maintain the current level of service and keep pace with inflation.
“Since 2020, fire truck costs have increased 15 to 20 percent annually, and defibrillators have increased 33 percent over that time,” he stated.
Medications and other supplies also have risen. Coupled with that are personnel costs for recruitment and retention, a challenge for all departments, he noted.
Should the levy pass, the funds will be used on upgrades to three fire stations, additional personnel and EMS capital equipment purchases.
Ziehr said the levy’s failure could mean elimination of the drone program, Safety Town, specialized training and HERO .
HERO is done in conjunction with Sylvania Township and provides tools for older residents to be able to remain in their homes through modifications to exterior entries or interior rooms. In addition, 30 employees would be eliminated and staffing would only take place at two stations.
Harding Township’s levy is related to Springfield, in that the latter contracts with the former for first responder services.
A sign for Issue 17 is planted outside of Station 52 on Chrissy Rd. in Holland, Ohio. Issue 17 is the levy for Springfield Township Fire & Rescue. (TFP Photo/Lori King)
To continue that service, Harding is asking voter approval of an additional 1 mill, costing the owner of a $100,000 home $35 annually.
Sylvania utilizes Sylvania Township for fire services, and voters in both jurisdictions are being asked to approve a 2.5-mill continuing levy, which will cost $88 for each $100,000 of valuation.
Sylvania fire chief Christopher Nye explained that higher costs are just one component of the levy.
“We try to be good stewards of taxpayers money,” he said, working to maintain equipment for an extended time frame.
“We have applied for and been awarded multiple grants from various entities. These grants offset the cost of items, such as self-contained breathing apparatus and department portable radios,” Nye added.
But of greater concern to the chief is the ability to recruit and retain staff. “Quite frankly, since COVID-19, it’s been a challenge. It’s a free-agent market.”
Passage of the levy would allow the department to add six to nine personnel in the coming years. Nye emphasized the need for additional personnel, pointing out there have been times when calls overlap, which depletes resources. It leaves no one available to cover should another call come, resulting in a mutual aid call.
Nye crunched the data recently and found that the department has had up to three hours over a 24-hour period when no one was available at their station due to overlapping calls.
He commended area fire departments for their prompt response on those occasions. “We all work well together,” he said.
The chief worries that failure of the levy would only worsen the problem and affect response times. “That’s a big concern for us.”
Across the Maumee River in Wood County, officials echoed their Lucas County counterparts.
Plain Township is seeking a five-year, 2-mill replacement levy, which will generate additional funds for fire services.
Township trustee Jim Rossow said the township contracts for fire/EMS services with four of its neighbors – Bowling Green and Middleton, Washington and Weston townships.
“The bottom line is we know when our contracts are up. We know everyone will want more money,” Rossow said.
The trustees chose a replacement levy at the same millage to cover the projected additional costs, including expenses, overhead and state mandates. He noted that township residents will be paying the equivalent of what those jurisdictions’ residents pay for the service.
“We need that [levy] to keep up with the level of service we get. We have four good fire departments,” Rossow said. “We will be happy if it passes.”
Also on the ballot for additional funding is Lake Township, seeking renewal of 1 mill with an additional 1.5 mills.
Lake Township fire chief David Henninger said if approved the funds will be used strictly for hiring paramedics.
According to the township’s website, the levy “is vital to continue to operate the fire department,” and the chief pointed out that his department, like others throughout the state, are in need of and competing for paramedics.
“This will give us four full-time paramedics. Ours now are all part time,” he added.
If passed, it will cost the owner of a $100,000 home $53 annually or $4.42 per month.
The chief is optimistic it will pass. Reaction by the community, he said, “seems to be positive. These young people want and deserve full time with benefits.”
SWANTON – Fall is making its mark, encouraged by shorter days and a few doses of colder weather.
The yellows, golds and reds of the hardwoods are coming on, but the best color is still along the edges where sumac, sassafras, wild grapes, Virginia creeper, poison ivy, and a variety of ferns continue to glow.
This recent image features the brilliant reds of a stand of sumac invading a tall grass prairie in Oak Openings Preserve. Nearby, an entire upland forest floor is dotted with thousands of colorful young sassafras. The sassafras understory segues into a different understory in a wet forest dominated by the golds, yellows and bronzes of ferns.
The idea of peak fall color implies that there’s a single best time to get outdoors. But peak color in the prairie is different from peak color in the oak-dominated forest, which is different from a maple and tuliptree forest, which is not the same timing as peak color in bottomland forest, and so on.
Fall color has been with us for several weeks and will continue to evolve and cycle, each species in its own time, into November.
Savor it. Many parts of the world aren’t blessed with fall color like ours.
Huncho Zarnahan, from left, Matt Thomas and Voshon Cousin sell vintage clothing at A Martian's Closet.
Toledoans shop for vintage treasures, bargains
TOLEDO – Hundreds gathered to thrift vintage clothing, home goods, vinyl records, toys, collectibles and other nostalgic wares during the Ohio Vintage Fest on Oct. 12.
The event, held at the Glass City Center, was originally exclusive to Columbus when it started in December 2021, but has since expanded, finding venues throughout Ohio, including Toledo.
Ohio Vintage Fest organizer Sam Brann watches people shop at about 50 vendor booths.
Sam Brann, organizer of Ohio Vintage Fest, who does the marketing, management and behind-the-scenes planning for the event, noted the fest was brought to Toledo because it is a big city with a growing vintage scene.
“The main thing is I believe that products aren’t made as well as they were 20, 30, 40 years ago,” he said. “Compared to how they’re being made today, in sweatshops and using child labor, a lot of the stuff being sold at these types of events is holding up better than modern clothing.”
He added that several items on sale were made in the U.S, and since modern clothing is based on vintage items, the event was a chance for people to buy original instead of a remake.
Brann believes that one of the biggest appeals for buying vintage is affordability. With exceptions, the majority of the items were under $30. There are some booths with items that cost less than $5.
Haylee Falzone was one of the shoppers browsing the booths of about 50 vendors. She ended up purchasing a necklace, earrings and a ring with an opal stone from VBroadway Finds.
“Anything vintage just gives me a warm, cozy feeling,” she exclaimed, expressing that people tend to gravitate toward vintage for its nostalgic factor. “I’m also Christmas shopping.”
Falzone said she would attend Vintage Fest again if it returned to Toledo in the future, and Brann thinks that’ll happen.
“If I’m talking to somebody that’s around my age in their 20s, it’s a great place for you to get a whole new wardrobe, and you don’t have to break the bank to go do it,” he said. “If I’m talking to somebody that’s in their 30s, 40s and 50s, you’ll be able to relive the decades you grew up in because it’s all stuff from when that person was growing up.”
The next Ohio Vintage Fest will be held in Cincinnati on Oct. 26.
Drew Wise sells watches for Wise Choice LLC. (TFP Photo/Steven Bieber)Hundreds of shoppers showed up for vintage merch. (TFP Photo/Steven Bieber)
Allie Edmonds sells Jewelry for her store Psychedelic Sunflower Vintage.
Sabina Rodriguez congratulates Toledo’s Top Talent winners Luis Gomez, Mariah McCarter and Oscar Tovar. The awards ceremony was held at Taylor Hyundai of Perrysburg on Oct. 10. (TFP Photo/Autumn Vasquez)
Top 3 winners of talent competition awarded at ceremony
The top three winners of a local talent competition, Toledo’s Top Talent, took home prizes totaling more than $3,500 for their hard work and dedication this season.
The final round of the competition was held on Sept. 22 at the Peristyle Theater at The Toledo Museum of Art and featured five remaining finalists who battled it out for the top three winning spots.
A ceremony was held at Taylor Hyundai of Perrysburg on Oct. 10 to award the first, second and third place winners: Oscar Tovar, Luis Gamez and Mariah McCarter. They won $2,000 and a recording contract, $1,000 and $500, respectively. The ceremony featured food from Antojitos Laredo Tacos, sweet treats from Telera’s Bakery/Panaderia, giveaways and individualized awards presented to each winner.
The winners of Toledo’s Top Talent: Mariah McCarter, 10; Luis Gomez, 20; and first place winner Oscar Tovar, 18. (TFP Photo/Autumn Vasquez)
“Toledo’s Top Talent is just one way we can showcase some of these kids and the talent that really is in Northwest Ohio,” said Steve Taylor Jr., dealer at Taylor Automotive Family.
Toledo’s Top Talent is an annual 12-week talent competition open to performers ages 8-24 in the greater Toledo area. Now in its second year, the competition partners with the City of Toledo, Taylor Automotive Family, The House of Chaos and Mas Y Mas Guidance and Supportive Services to fund the competition and its prizes.
Tovar, 18, is the first-place winner. He is an electrical engineering student at The University of Toledo and a second-year competitor in Toledo’s Top Talent. In the first season of the competition, Tovar placed 2nd place overall and he said his experiences last year helped him improve his confidence as a performer. It also prepared him for the rigor of this year’s competition.
“Last year I imagined myself as a singer,” he said. “But this year, I was like no, I am a singer, and I need to perform like one.”
Tovar won $2,000 and a recording contract with San Antonio-based music producer Gilbert Velasquez. Tovar and Velasquez have begun collaborating on the details of the contract and they will be recording, mixing, mastering and producing an original single or cover that is set to be released early next year.
“To me [the first place prize] means hard work and effort. I think I can finally see that when you put in the work you get what you deserve and that means a lot to me,” Tovar said after the ceremony.
He added that he is looking forward to using his experiences to become a mentor for the younger competitors in future seasons of Toledo’s Top Talent.
James Leasure, of Taylor Automotive Family, stands with grand-prize winner Oscar Tovar. (TFP Photo/Autumn Vasquez)
Gamez, 20, took home the second place prize of $1,000 after placing fifth overall last year. Gamez said he accessed his performances last season, and worked to improve himself as a person and as a musician this year. He worked on things such as his versatility and his stage presence, but his biggest challenge of all was his battle with sciatic nerve pain in his back, which hindered his ability to perform at his best.
“I couldn’t walk; I couldn’t run; I couldn’t perform the way I wanted to perform,” he said. “It wasn’t until I started to practice music that it gave me the energy to go work out. And once I got my back pain in order, my creativity exploded.”
Gamez challenged himself by performing different styles of music for each round of the competition this year, including cumbia, rock, opera and abuelito, a variation of mariachi. He said he plans on maintaining a diverse style in his upcoming multi-genre album that is set to drop in April 2025.
Gamez said winning the second place prize means a lot to him because he will be using his prize money to fly to Mexico and visit the ashes of his late mother.
“When my mom passed away, her ashes were taken to Mexico with my grandma to have her next to my grandpa,” he said. “It would be amazing to fly there and get to see her.”
Gamez plans on taking this special trip at the end of this year or early next year to honor her.
His upcoming album, as well as his other songs, Siete Dias and Carne Asada Cypher, can be streamed on all platforms, including YouTube and Spotify.
Toledo’s Top Talent will be making a change next season, as it is being introduced into Toledo Public Schools in 2025. The competition will remain open to the public, but event organizer Sabina Rodriguez said it is likely that Toledo’s Top Talent team will have tocapthe number of contestants moving forward.
“We’ve been trying to get into TPS since the first year we started,” she said. “We’re going to be all throughout the city because we’re going to be in all TPS schools and pulling from all different areas.”
Auditions will be held in-person and virtually throughout the month of April, and the 2025 season will run from the beginning of May until the first week of September.
