Weather, vaccine highlight positivity

The sun is shining more frequently. More people are getting vaccinated. Nearby counties are moving away from the dreaded "red" distinction. I feel a whiff of positivity in the air, a welcomed burst as we head into spring. I want to take the second Saturday each month to talk a little bit about some of the great things going on in our coverage area. Spreading smiles is something we all should do more of. Light at the end of the tunnel • We've all heard the variations of "How long will this last?" I'm glad Gov. Mike DeWine put a measurable answer to that, as he said he will rescind all health orders when the state reaches 50 cases of coronavirus per 100,000 people in a two-week span. Numbers are plummeting, and we could in reality see ourselves reach this mark soon. Vaccinations continue to pick up speed as we hope to get to this point as quickly as possible. Looking for a personal story for a smile? Look no further than to the story of University of Findlay pharmacy student Alyssa Maier, who recently delivered the COVID-19 vaccine shot to her 105-year-old great-grandmother, Ramona Heinzerling. That's as good as it gets. Athletic success During this challenging year, we're just happy we were able to have another sports season. But with the winter winding down, it's high time to congratulate some standout teams: • Findlay High and Columbian High boys basketball, who both had banner seasons despite coming up just short in the district final. This was one of the best seasons in recent history for two of the biggest schools in our area. • The Ottawa-Glandorf girls, who competed in the state semifinal at the University of Dayton Arena on Thursday. • Carey, Columbus Grove and Ottawa-Glandorf's boys teams, who all won districts with Grove and O-G advancing to the regional finals. • Tiffin University's womens basketball team, which parlayed an improbable run through the Great Midwest Conference Tournament into a berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament. • The double handful of area wrestlers competing in the state finals this weekend. • Swimmers, hockey players, bowlers and cheerleaders who wrapped up a most unique winter season. Good news from our communities Stories of people helping their neighbors will always be a staple of our papers, but I was extra warmed when I saw a photo in a recent edition of the Review Times. Pictured was an Ohio Army National Guard specialist loading food into a truck at Fostoria Elementary School. There, some 20,000 pounds of food were doled out to nearly 500 households during a collaborative event between the Army National Guard, First Call for Help Fostoria, The United Way of Fostoria, Pantry Plus of Seneca County, the West Ohio Food Bank in Lima, the Geary Family YMCA and Fostoria City Schools. Well done, all! In more heartwarming news: • We love the innovation the world has produced in the past year. The innovative spirit of what ProMedica Fostoria Community Hospital is doing deserves praise. With March being National Nutrition Month, the hospital is helping to combat obesity by holding a healthy "Cooking with the Chef" virtual class at 5 p.m. March 16. The ingredients for the class are available free of charge the morning of the program. To register, contact Becky Bouillon at 419-436-6688 or becky.bouillon@promedica.org. • It's a great honor that Heidelberg University band director Jon Waters was selected to direct the first America's Band Directors Band during the Rose Parade in January 2022. Waters, assistant professor of music education at Heidelberg, will lead more than 250 band directors from across the country. • I am tired yet impressed after reading the story on former Findlay resident Matt Urbanski's victory in the 100-mile Tarawera Ultramarathon in New Zealand. Urbanski beat the competition by more than an hour, completing the event in just over 18 hours. • Here, here for local 4-H clubs, which are plentiful in this neck of the woods. This week is 4-H Week, and the bustling 4-H program offers 200 projects for kids age kindergarten through 19 to participate in. This is such a good program that teaches children real-life skills. I hope this collection of news, coupled with the sunshine and better vaccine news, lifts your spirits this weekend! Speer is the publisher of The Courier, The Advertiser-Tribune in Tiffin and the Review Times in Fostoria. He can be reached at jeremyspeer@thecourier.com or jspeer@advertiser-tribune.com