SPRING showers bring April flowers along with many fundraising events. THE East Toledo Family Center’s 2024 Gala titled “Building for a Better Tomorrow,” at the Glass City Metropark Market Hall along the Maumee River, raised $20,000. That’s thanks to the sponsors, volunteers, auction donors, and nearly 200 guests who feasted on edibles by The Garden by Poco Piatti. DJ Todd Miller entertained as guests partook in silent auctions, blind auctions, and raffles. Available items included “cubes” sold with a gift worth $25, and a $50 box that contained items worth at least $75. The family center, located at 1020 Varland Ave., has said that its mission is strengthening and serving the community one life at a time by giving individuals the tools they need to be successful in life.

GRAND RAPIDS, Ohio — Harmon H. Benschoter of Grand Rapids, Ohio, an area engineer who was a Navy veteran of the Korean War, died April 20 at ProMedica Flower Hospital. He was 89. He died of emphysema, daughter Pam Roberts said. “He was an extremely hardworking, humble, loving family man,” Mrs. Roberts said. Mr. Benschoter retired in the mid-1990s after 39 years at the Johns Manville wallboard factory in Waterville, where he had advanced through the ranks from maintenance worker to plant engineer.

Dogs remain available at the Lucas County Canine Care & Control Office. For information, call 419-213-2800. For a complete list of available dogs, go to lucascountydogs.petfinder.com. A $100 adoption fee includes spay-neuter, a heartworm check, microchip ID, vaccinations, and a behavioral evaluation. Dogs killed Dogs killed April 18 under the direction of Kelly Sears, director of the Lucas County Canine Care & Control: Breed and description; reason; intake type and date with location found if stray. Dogs killed for poor behavior on body-handling and resource-guarding assessments are scored on a scale of 5, with higher scores being more aggressive. Dog-aggression assessments are not scored:

As a trial attorney I remain in awe of our jury system. Every day, Americans obtain and receive justice in our courts. Trials are not perfect and one if not both sides usually wish that the result differed in some manner, but overall, justice is overwhelming achieved. Trials require patience because in a trial, there is no running score as in a tennis match — it is the final verdict that determines winners and losers. I urge all to await the outcome of the jury verdict in every case before weighing in on the fairness of a trial. The fact that a party to litigation may rant and rave outside the courtroom has nothing to do with whether justice is obtained inside the courtroom. If a defendant’s denial of guilt were the equivalent of innocence, we would need no prisons, or courts for that matter. In fact, prisons are filled with convicts who proclaimed their innocence before, during, and after their trial!

Maumee’s decision to restrict travel through the downtown from two lanes in each direction to one lane in each direction has created a horrendous bottleneck. In theory, it’s good for Maumee because it provides for on-street parking in front of downtown businesses, and it means two less lanes of traffic for pedestrians to cross when on the main business avenue. It will also mean less truck traffic, which is probably good for the older buildings in town. Read more Blade editorials

Toledo and Lucas County are heading to court with the assertion that the Ohio and U.S. Environmental Protection Agencies have totally failed in their duty to protect Lake Erie water quality. Since the lake is the water source that 500,000 people in Lucas, Wood, and Fulton counties in Ohio and south Monroe County in Michigan rely upon for survival, this is a serious allegation. (“Toledo, Lucas Co. to file new EPA suit,” Tuesday) Read more Blade editorials The city and county are joining the Environmental Law and Policy Center in a lawsuit alleging the U.S. EPA approved an Ohio EPA rule on the total daily maximum load-(TDML) that is too weak to restore the Western Lake Erie Basin.

As said by Freddy Miyares, who played Raymond Santana in the Netflix series, When They See Us, “They say ‘boys will be boys.’ When they say ‘boys,’ they not talking about us. They talking about other boys from other places. When did we ever get to be boys?” When did the “Central Park 5” ever get to be boys? The youngest 14, the oldest 16, that was the time when they were supposed to be boys. Instead that opportunity was swept from under them and they had to be men, when they were just kids. The Central Park 5, now also known as the Exonerated 5, were five boys who were at the wrong place at the wrong time, convicted of crimes they did not commit, rape and assault. Submit a letter to the editor

DETROIT — There’s little doubt that immigration is a major issue in this year’s presidential campaign. How it will affect the outcome is not certain. But what you might not know is that exactly a century ago, the issue of immigration and keeping unwanted people out was an enormous issue nationally and in Michigan. And a courageous young Detroit attorney stood up to challenge the bigots and eventually won a major victory in federal court and got a bitterly anti-immigrant law declared unconstitutional. First, a little background: You may think of the Ku Klux Klan as something in the Deep South. But in 1924, they were hugely powerful in Michigan and the Midwest too. They held a huge rally in Jackson that attracted more than 100,000 people.

Birth ProMedica Toledo Hospital Allison and Jesse Wintrow, Pemberville, girl, April 21.  

Here is a closer look at Wednesday’s Game 3 of the ECHL Central Division semifinals between the Toledo Walleye and the Kalamazoo Wings. THREE STARS 1. John Lethemon, Toledo: Outside of two first-period goals, Lethemon was a brick wall in front of the net for the Walleye. He finished with 29 saves on 31 attempts on Wednesday. In the playoffs so far, he’s stopped 54 of 58 shot attempts. 2. Trenton Bliss, Toledo: The Walleye’s second-leading point-getter put a bow on their four-goal win over the Wings when he scored an empty-netter with just over three minutes left in the game. He also got an assist, and thus far has five points in the playoffs.

KALAMAZOO — After surrendering two goals on the first two shots in Game 3 of the Central Division semifinals, Walleye goaltender John Lethemon came to the bench with a message. After taking ownership, the goalie's Toledo teammates responded with six unanswered goals to post an emphatic 6-2 win over the Kalamazoo Wings on Wednesday night. “During the first media timeout, he came over to the bench and said, “That's on me. I'll do better,'” Walleye coach Pat Mikesch said. “The whole bench knew he was gonna be better. There's no hesitation there, and that's why he's won so many games for us. The response was big.”

NAPOLEON — Working extra in chilly conditions didn’t seem to bother Vinny Gallaher on Wednesday. The Clay senior pitcher was on fire throughout the entirety of the Eagles’ key Northern Lakes League baseball game at Napoleon High School. Gallaher tossed a nine-inning no hitter on just 99 pitches, outlasting Napoleon’s Trey Rubinstein in a fast-paced pitchers’ duel, as Clay broke through late for a 3-0 victory on the road. “It’s always special. You just go out there and throw your game and, if it happens, it happens,” Gallaher said. “But it’s a great feeling to have.

Toledo City Councilman Theresa Morris is hoping her colleagues will make an exception for cul-de-sac and dead-end street projects planned for the 6th District she represents. An ordinance passed in 2010 requires that sidewalks be installed on streets scheduled for major improvements. Five cul-de-sacs in her district are scheduled for road reconstruction, but some residents on two of those streets — Brenner Court and Bay View Court — are opposed to sidewalks being installed, she said at council’s agenda review meeting last week. “The roads desperately need to be improved there,” Ms. Morris said. “What I would like to see is the option for residents on cul-de-sacs to have the option to petition not to have sidewalks as part of the streets project.”

The Toledo Mud Hens came into Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Worcester Red Sox with their top two pitchers — Matt Manning and Keider Montero — lined up as the starters. Both starters were not at the top of their games as their pitch count mounted, but each put their team in a position to win and the Mud Hens ended up sweeping the twin bill with a 5-3 win in Game 1 and a 3-2 victory in the Game 2.  Manning went four innings in the first game, while Montero lasted just three innings in the second game. “Mainly with two strikes [their command was off a touch] and they weren’t able to put guys away,” Mud Hens manager Tim Federowicz said. “They did a nice job of staying in the game. They didn’t get to the full five innings that they were supposed to throw but they still gave us a competitive outing and kept us in the game.”

CURTICE, Ohio — The body of a Holland man was recovered Wednesday afternoon from Lake Erie near Anchor Pointe Marina, according to a Lucas County Sheriff’s Office news release. Troy J. Valentine, 62, of the 1900 block of Roycroft Road, had been missing since the night of April 14. The investigation continues.

BOWLING GREEN — The trial for a former high school athletic trainer accused of raping students continued Wednesday at the Wood County Courthouse. Zachary Gibson, 32, faces over 20 charges, including sexual battery and using a minor in a performance. Much of Wednesday’s testimony was spent linking social media and phone data to Mr. Gibson and his alleged victims. Lt. Rod Smith, a supervisor for the Wood County Sheriff’s Office detective bureau, said he started investigating Mr. Gibson in April, 2022.

Lucas County Commissioner Anita Lopez said she did not violate any laws and will be working on her “ability to communicate under stress” following a six-week investigation into her interactions with her executive assistant, Andrew Urrutia. Mr. Urrutia was placed on paid administrative leave on March 12, a week before the Democratic primary. Officials have confirmed Mr. Urrutia was not the target of the investigation, but he has remained on paid leave. A report by an outside investigator related to Mr. Urrutia's administrative leave has been completed but county officials have refused to release it, claiming the report is not a public record. According to Ms. Lopez, as part of the investigation, “a number of interviews were conducted regarding an issue that occurred, and the conclusion was no law was violated. It was suggested that I receive some improvement on my ability to communicate under stress.”

With little discussion, the Metroparks Toledo Board of Park Commissioners entered into a 20-year agreement Wednesday with Toledo Pickle LLC to manage and operate a family recreation center inside one of the historic Vistula District’s largest buildings. The board also entered into a 50-year agreement with J&M Cruise Lines to provide river and lake cruises and water taxis from a soon-to-be restored dock at its present location near Jefferson Street and Promenade Park Both actions were approved by 4-0 votes, with one of the board’s two vice presidents, Lera Doneghy, absent. The family recreation center, a major part of the five-mile Glass City Riverwalk, will be inside a building at 1030 Water St. in North Toledo that the city of Toledo has agreed to vacate.

Ohio’s state tourism agency is emphasizing out-of-state visitors, and its promotional materials consistently include attractions in the Toledo area, TourismOhio’s recently appointed director told a local luncheon organized Wednesday by Destination Toledo. Sarah Wickham, formally the state tourism director and chief communications and marketing officer at the Ohio Department of Development, said research shows 90 percent of overnight guests to Ohio are satisfied with their visits, 90 percent of visitors would recommend Ohio trips to their relatives and friends, and 83 percent intend to make another visit within 12 months. Those numbers support TourismOhio’s recent pivot to focus its marketing budget on out-of-state visitors, Ms. Wickham told the luncheon attended by numerous representatives of tourism-focused businesses as well as Destination Toledo representatives. “It starts with a visit. If people come to Ohio, they love it and they want to come back,” said Ms. Wickham, who was appointed as TourismOhio’s director in August and before January, 2023 was director of communications for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

There are superheroes, and there are heroes. Fremont’s Mark Coleman played the larger-than-life first role as a champion wrestler and Ultimate Fighting Championship star. He lived the second one. You probably saw the headlines last month.