| The WSOS Press - October / November 2003 |
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After School Program participles in National Lights On Campaign |
The Fremont City School's and Clyde-Green Springs' New Directions After School Programs joined other after school programs across the nation on October 9 in the national Lights On After School campaign. Students in the Fremont program, led by the Ross High School community band, paraded through the streets of Fremont with flashlights to draw awareness of the after school program in the community. The after school program in both communities is operated by WSOS Community Action Commission Inc.
At the same time, the students in the Clyde program conducted a rally at the South Main Elementary School. This is the first year of participation for students in Clyde.
Rep. Jeff Wagner, R-Sycamore, attended the event and addressed the students and parents stressing the importance of having a safe place for children to go after school.
The campaign, sponsored by the Afterschool Alliance, is conducted to create awareness of where lights are on for children after school. It aims to bring attention to the need for programs to keep children safe after school, help working families, and improve the academic achievement of children.The alliance was established on the belief that the need for after school programs are not adequately addressed. |
WSOS plans CCC Camp re-opening
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| A ribbon-cutting ceremony is in the planning stages for the re-opening of the Quilter Civilian Conservation Corps Camp, located in Green Springs in honor of its operator, WSOS Community Action Commission Inc. Details will be released when available. |
Board Profile
Traci DiBlasio hopes that her experience is an asset to WSOS
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Full name: Traci Jean DiBlasio
Address: Bowling Green, Ohio
Family: Parents John and Pat DiBlasio of Newark Ohio; two sisters and one brother.
Board Status: She joined the board in March 1998 as an appointee of HomeAide of Bowling Green, representing the public sector of Wood County. Her current term expires in December 2004.
Goal as a board member: Traci said her goal is to be an asset to the WSOS organization, its staff, and other board members.
Occupation: Traci is currently the Relationship Manager at Key Bank in Bowling Green where she has worked for five years, and for the past two years she has also worked as a registered representative with McDonald Investments, a Key Corp. company.
Hobbies and interests: She said she loves to read, hike and play golf. She also gets great satisfaction from participating in community service activities.
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Little Bark Creek development has its first tenant
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One of the four houses WSOS developed in the Little Bark Creek subdivision in Fremont is now occupied and a part of the community.
Fremonter Adrienne Fausey received the key to her new home recently in a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Fremont Mayor Terry Overmyer and David Eddy of National City Bank, which helped finance the home.
These three-bedroom homes, made possible by a grant from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency's Housing Development Assistance program, were made available to income-eligible residents in Sandusky County. The modular homes are manufactured by Randall Homes of Waverly, Ohio. They are offered at reduced rates, and the homebuyer is eligible for down payment assistance and homeownership counseling also provided by WSOS.
Loan closings on the other two homes are expected to be completed by November while a fourth is still available for purchase,
There is also help available for residents seeking help to buy other homes. The Down Payment Assistance (DPA) and homeownership counseling programs are available to help residents with down payment amounts and with planning for homeownership. For more information, call Martha at 419-334-8911. |
Seniors plan Fall Festival
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Ottawa County seniors have scheduled Nov. 12 for its Annual Fall Festival. The event will be at the Camp Perry recreation hall and begins at 11 a.m. Details of entertainment will be available later.
Cost to attend is $6, and must be paid in advance. Tickets are available at Magruder Hospital and any WSOS Senior Center in Ottawa County. The event is a collaboration of Magruder Hospital, The News Herald, and WSOS Senior Programs in Ottawa County.
This year's theme is "And the Band Played On." There will be a Toot Your Own Horn contest where contestants will show off their musical talents, and there will be lots of door prizes. Call 419-734-1481 for more information. |
Director's Corner
Community Development is making big strides
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Despite the difficult budget cuts that we've all had to face for the upcoming year.WSOS Cornmunity Development remains optimistic about the future and committed to the goal of helping to improve the quality of life in rural communities.
We' ve just finished another record year in the RCAP program, serving over 300 communities and leveraging more than $79 million in infrastructure funding for them. We also just received information that the Great Lakes Region led the country in leveraged funds for the previous year, with Ohio being the #1 state in the nation. Way to go, Ohio RCAP staff!
We have some exciting new partnerships this year. We've been working with the National Environmental Service Center at West Virginia University to provide training on safety and security to small water systems and RCAP and ERA staffers in the states throughout our region. We are also developing partnerships with WVU's National Onsite Demonstration Project that will focus on helping communities find more affordable solutions for wastewater disposal.
In other efforts, we've worked with the OSU Cooperative Extension Service and Ohio Rural Water to develop and deliver training to over 40 small communities on managing their utilities better. The training is focused on building technical, managerial, and financial capacity to operate these systems.
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Family Services and Child Development have begun the process of merging operations. This merger is to help WSOS provide seamless, continuous service to participants. The department has been re-named Family Development and will be led by Vice President Cheryl Denny, former director of Family Services. Jacquie Wells, former Child Development Director, will be the new director of Family Development.
Once again WSOS staff joined other community members in participating in the annual Make a Difference Day volunteer activities on Saturday, October 25. Employees volunteers by helping with a recycyling project conducted by the local recycling agency and helping the local food pantry collect and sort donations.
The WSOS 2002 Annual Report is complete and expected to be mailed in November.
The Stunt Kids of the New Directions After School program have been invited to perform in Tiffin's Christmas parade on Dec. 6. Also, they'll be in Clyde's parade, Nov. 21, and Fremont's parade, Nov. 22 respectively. The Stunt Kids are after school program students who perform routines while riding unicycles. The unicycles were donated by the late Paul Oberst through the Kiwanis Club.
TRIPS now has a new director, WSOS President/CEO announced the hiring of Fremont resident Kellie Sears to lead the transportation program, which is a collaboration community agencies. Sears, former vice president of Bobby's Truck & Auto Repair, succeeds Cheryl Babione who resigned in August. |
Familiar Face
After 35 years, DeLa 0 still finds joy with preschoolers
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Full name: Susana DeLa 0
Address: Perrysburg Ohio
Family: Husband Juan; daughter Tanya: son Jaun Pilar; and 10 wonderful grandchildren.
Occupation: Currently, Susie is a Home Visitor serving families in Wood County, a position she has held for the past 20 years. She joined WSOS in 1968 as a teacher assistant.
Favorite part of the job: She said she loves her job because it is the one place where she is the tallest in the class. However, she also enjoys listening to what her preschoolers say. They can be entertaining she said. She also enjoys seeing the progress they make while in the program.
Goals: For Susie, striving to live each day to its fullest and making each day better for every person she comes in contact with, makes her feel fulfilled.
Hobbies/Interests: She loves to go dancing and shopping. When she is tired from dancing and shopping, she enjoys watching the Women's Channel on television.
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