Get Protected from Vaccine-Preventable Diseases

Lorain County Public Health (LCPH) offers recommended vaccines for children, teens, and adults at locations across the county. Vaccine appointments can be made at 440-284-3206; walk-ins are also welcome.

Vaccine clinics this April include:

  • Weekdays, 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
  • Lorain County Public Health, 9880 South Murray Ridge Road, Elyria
  • *Extended vaccine clinic hours on April 3 through 6 p.m.

Wednesday, April 10, 2 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday, April 17, 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

Wednesday, April 24, 2 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Clinic times and dates are subject to change. Bring vaccine record if available, photo ID, insurance card, and cash, check, or Visa/MasterCard. All children under age 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. LCPH participates in the Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program to provide vaccines to children who qualify; no child in the VFC program is denied vaccines for inability to pay.

LCPH also provides vaccines for those traveling outside of the country. Travelers attending the travel clinic will receive needed vaccines, medications, and health education to travel safely and return home healthy. Call to make a travel clinic appointment; walk-ins not accepted.

Residential Trash Collection Services UPDATE

In an effort to standardize and stabilize the cost of residential trash and recycling collection services, the Elyria Township Trustees voted to join the Lorain County Solid Waste Trash Consortium in 2018. Those services were put out to bid by the Consortium in the last quarter of 2018, generating bids from three providers. On January 14, 2019, the Trustees voted to enter into a five-year contract with Rumpke Waste and Recycling Services to be the sole provider of solid waste and recyclable materials collection services for waste generated by residential units, township facilities and Township special events. These services will begin the first week of April.

Residents will be receiving a mailer from Rumpke that will spell out the cost and services to be provided. Everybody will start off with a 95-gal trash cart and a 65-gal recycling cart. Once the service begins, you can call Rumpke Customer Service at 800-828-8171 to request either a 65-gal or 35-gal trash cart.

Republic will cancel your residential service at the end of March and issue a refund for the April collection and being to pick up the old carts on Monday, March 25. They hope to be completed by Saturday, March 30, 2019. The residents will need to leave the old carts at the street after the March 25 trash collection until they are picked up. You will not have to call to cancel service or to schedule the cart pick-up.

If you have any further questions after reading the upcoming mailer, please contact your Township Trustees or Rumpke Customer Service.

Richard L. Hutman, Chairman, Elyria Township Trustees

Arrive Alive

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day responsibly! Free rides home in Lorain County!

Melting ice, warming temperatures and longer days are signs of the changing outdoor scene in Northeast Ohio. Cabin fever lessens for some in mid-March and the urge to get outside increases.

And thoughts turn to fishing.

Trout fishing is a great spring activity many enjoy, especially since the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) stocks many local waters. Our area provides great river fishing for steelhead and smallmouth bass.

Trout are not native and don’t naturally reproduce in Ohio. Water temperatures are too warm in the summer for trout to hold over until fall and survive in the cooler waters.

This, coupled with the fact many take the fish home to eat, doesn’t hold well for seeing fish year after year without stocking efforts.

One area in Ohio that is conducive to trout fishing a good portion of the year is the Clear Fork of the Mohican River. Before the cold snap earlier this week, the upper section in Bellville in Richland County produced some small brown trout.

The upper section of the river has a lot of fly anglers with water conducive to the technique, so a few of us headed out there to try our luck.

It’s not easy finding open water at the end of February and early March, so a fish is a fish no matter how small it is.

The section we fished in Bellville has a lot of private property, but there are some public spots off of Route 97. The best access can be found in Mohican State Park in Loudonville below the Pleasant Hill dam, as stocking programs in spring and fall keep the river stuffed with trout during these seasons.

While Mohican may be the best spot if seeking to river fish for trout, the ODNR stocks trout in our backyard in local lakes and ponds.

Many of those stockings are happening in the next month or so.

In Lorain County, Walker Road Park will get a stocking on April 12. Located in Avon Lake on the border of Bay Village, it is nice and set back off the road.

This is a spot with good access around the pond and last year had plenty of trout. I and a few others fished this pond frequently.

Rowland Nature Preserve Lake, located off Murray Ridge Road in Elyria Township, is the only other spot to be stocked in Lorain County. ODNR has it scheduled for April 11.

This piece of water opened to anglers a few years ago and is one of the most accessible lakes around the area for people of all ages, skills and abilities.

Cleveland Metroparks also stocks in some of their lakes, as their stocking fund has been doing well over the last year. They update their Facebook page and post a fishing report each Thursday which includes which pieces of water were stocked.

Before going out, make sure you have a new Ohio fishing license for the year. The 2018 license expired Feb. 28. New for 2019, your license is good for one year from the day you bought it as now everyone’s license will expire at different times. There are also multiple-year and lifetime licenses available to purchase. It can be done online through ODNR.

Also, there are places that still sell licenses in person, believe it or not.

Fishing season will be here before we know it. Spring isn’t too far off, even though it feels like it is.

THE DRUG & OVERDOSE EPIDEMIC IN LORAIN COUNTY

Preservation of the health, safety, and welfare of our county residents is a responsibility we take seriously. Fatal drug overdoses keep rising in Ohio with the Ohio Department of Health recently reporting a 20% increase. The impact is being felt in our community at an alarming rate.

ere in Lorain County (population 306,000), new research estimates 35,000 residents are misusing or abusing opioids*. Last year, 132 overdose deaths occurred. Some of the dead included grandparents. An alarming number of infants are being born displaying withdrawal symptoms due to drug exposure. 75% of our children being placed in foster care in the county is due to parental substance abuse.

Fentanyl is now being mixed with all kinds of street drugs triggering overdoses and death. It is alarming to report that the federal government has assigned two designations to our county because it has become one of the leading drug trafficking counties in the nation. This drug activity is harmful to our families, our children and our local economy ($200-million/year negative economic burden*).

This Public Awareness Report will provide you with the latest information on the severity of the toll the drug epidemic is having on our county. We continue to work with law enforcement and those on the front line. Public Awareness Report


BUDDY CONNECT PILOT PROGRAM

Friendships are just plain good for you. In fact, social connectedness is strongly linked to a person’s overall health, including risk for chronic diseases, depression, happiness, and suicide. To better connect Lorain County adults ages 55 and over to the community, the Lorain County General Health District is launching the Buddy Connect Pilot Program—for no cost. Starting this fall, two phone calls from a volunteer buddy will help you or a loved one to connect to the community; home visits are also available. Call 440-567-4120 to sign up or to volunteer.

NEED HELP PAYING YOUR GAS BILLS?

FirstEnergy’s (NYSE: FE) Ohio utilities, remind customers having difficulty paying their utility bills that they may be eligible for special financial assistance programs. In Ohio, customer assistance programs include:

• Percentage of Income Payment Plan Plus (PIPP Plus)

The Percentage of Income Payment Plan Plus (PIPP Plus) is an extended payment arrangement that allows Ohio customers meeting program guidelines to pay a percentage of their income or $10.00 per month, whichever is greater, instead of their usual electricity bill. Eligible customers must have a household income at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level. For more information, call (800) 282-0880.

• Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP)

HEAP is a federally funded grant program administered by the State of Ohio Department of Development through a network of local community action agencies. HEAP provides customers help with paying winter heating bills, and occasionally summer cooling bills. For more information, call (800) 633-4766 (Ohio Edison and Toledo Edison customers); or (800) 589-3101 (Illuminating Company customers).

• Salvation Army Emergency Hardship Programs

The Salvation Army organizations across the Ohio utility territories offer emergency assistance programs for those who have suffered a recent financial hardship and need temporary help to pay their electricity bill. Program funding is provided by FirstEnergy’s Ohio employees and customers. The distribution of funds is administered by Salvation Army agencies located throughout Ohio. Contact your local Salvation Army agency to learn more.

• Emergency Assistance

Additional help in paying utility bills may also be available to low-income residents through local county departments of human services, community action agencies, soldier’s relief commissions or veteran’s services offices. Listings for these resources can be found in the blue pages at the front of your local telephone directory, or you can call your county government or visit them online to learn

more.

Ohio residential customers of FirstEnergy’s utilities looking for a convenient way to manage their electric bills also can sign up for the FirstEnergy Installment Plan, which allows customers to make consistent monthly payments to avoid the impact of seasonal highs and lows in their electricity bills. To apply or learn more about programs to help keep electricity bills affordable, visit www.firstenergycorp.com or call Ohio Edison customer service at (800) 633-4766; The Illuminating Company customer service at (800) 589-3101; and Toledo Edison customer service at (800) 447-3333. Ohio Edison, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., serves more than 1 million customers across 32 Ohio counties. Connect with Ohio Edison at www.ohioedison.com, on Twitter @OhioEdison and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OhioEdisonThe Illuminating Company serves more than 750,000 customers across Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake and Lorain counties. Follow The Illuminating Company on Twitter @IlluminatingCo and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/IlluminatingCo. Toledo Edison serves more than 300,000 customers in northwest Ohio. FollowmToledo Edison on Twitter @ToledoEdison or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ToledoEdison.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation’s largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company’s transmission subsidiaries operate more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Visit FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and follow on Twitter at @FirstEnergyCorp.

LORAIN COUNTY OFFICE ON AGING

The core services offered by Lorain County Office on Aging are designed to promote the health, well-being, and independence of at-risk aging and disabled adults living throughout Lorain County. Services include:

Aging & Disability Resource Network (residents 60+ & adults with a disability)

Information & Assistance

Benefits Screening & Assistance

Options Counseling to help aging & disabled adults remain safely in community settings

Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP)

Support Services to maintain health, well-being & independence

Housekeeping Services

Chore Services

Home Delivered Meals

Transportation Assistance to Health Care Appointments

Food Pantry Services (including home delivery of commodities and fruits & vegetables)

Senior Dining Program

RSVP (volunteer opportunities for Lorain County residents 55+ years)

Senior Years Newspaper

Health Education Services

Kinship Care Program

Main Office

320 N. Gateway Blvd., 2nd Floor

Elyria, OH 44035

(440) 326-4800

Services: Benefits Assistance, Support Services, Options Counseling, Information & Assistance, Senior Dining, Food Pantry Services, Chore Services, Housekeeping Services, Transportation to Healthcare Appointments, Kinship Services, RSVP Volunteer Program, Senior Years Newspaper, Health Education Services.

Service Area: Lorain County

http://lcooa.org/index.php/about-us

DO NOT KNOCK REGISTRY

Tired of unwanted door-to-door sales? Sign up for the Do Not Knock Registry at blocktheknock.com.

How will a door-to-door solicitor know to not come to my house? Solicitors must request a permit from the Elyria Township Fiscal Officer to be able to sell door-to-door. At that time, Pat will provide them with the Do Not Knock Registry listing the addresses that they are not allowed to go to. You will also receive a Do Not Knock window cling to place near your front door for further notification to solicitors that you’re on the Do Not Knock Registry.

Does the Do Not Knock Registry prevent ALL door-to-door solicitors from coming to my house? No. Non-profit organizations are still allowed to knock on your door.

What should you do if a solicitor still knocks on your door? Ask what organization they’re with. Non-profit organizations like public schools or churches are not regulated by the same rules as for-profit solicitors. Request identification. If you feel the solicitor is in violation of the Do No Knock Registry contact the Fiscal Officer or one of the Trustees to report them. And remember never, ever give anyone a copy of your utility bill.

For more information, go to blocktheknock.com.

LORAIN COUNTY EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEM

February 18, 2015 -- This link is to register for the County's Emergency Notification System. It's free to all residents of Lorain County. Emergency Notification System

WRAP MATTRESSES AND UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE IN PLASTIC FOR DISPOSAL

Due to the increasing number of bed bug infestations, all mattresses and upholstered furniture MUST be wrapped in plastic in order to be picked up. If a mattress has been ordered for removal and is out for collection on your scheduled bulk pickup day and it is not wrapped in plastic, the hauler will NOT remove the mattress. ALL mattresses, whether infested with bed bugs or not, are now required to be wrapped in plastic. It is a health hazard to the drivers, workers, and residents for the mattresses to be exposed.

The plastic isn't necessary when disposing mattresses and upholstered furniture during Dumpster Days.

AGRICULTURAL TIRES & COLLECTION CENTER

Agricultural Tire Collection

Collection Center