Recently, a large group of friends gathered at D.J.'s Lounge on Maple Street in Port Clinton to celebrate the memories of Gem Beach Dance Hall days. As we danced to the music of the '50s and '60s played by D.J. Scott, we all remembered the good times and the good friends from days gone by. These memories are part of the reason we locals love our community.

A special thank you to the following businesses who helped to make this such a special night for those of us who remember the Gem Beach Dance Hall days: Freeway Bowling, Olivers, Subway of Catawba, Landmark Hair Studio, Cruisin' Tunes, Bell Mell's, Wilson's Fitness and Tanning, Balloons, Gifts, and More, The Pharm, Jet Express, New Port Dry Goods, Phil's Inn, Bassett's Market, Second Street Diner, Mary's Blossom Shoppe, Coffee Express, Great Scot Community Market, Chef's Best Catering, Miller Boat Line and John Schaffner at the Beacon.

New businesses scheduled to open at Stevens Points Oakwood Center

STEVENS POINT -- A women's professional service and fashion firm, an interior design company and a tanning and wellness spa are the next tenants scheduled to open for business at the Oakwood Center in the Portage County Business Park.

Pink Boutique, Designers II and After Glow are all scheduled to open Feb. 1, with about 9,000 square feet of remaining office space for rent, said John Schultz, an owner of the complex.

After Glow is a European-style tanning spa, Designers II will offer interior design services and Pink Boutique is relocating its fashion consulting business from the east Highway 10 corridor in Stevens Point.

"Our first building, Building 200, was very successful," Schultz said. "A lot of it is being at the right place at the right time.

Hackworth an election veteran

Some of the most essential people during the election process are the ones who work the polling stations.And Brenda Hackworth, owner of Brenda's Styling and Tanning, has been spent the past 13 elections helping the senior citizens at Sherman Thompson Towers cast their votes. She said she was asked to work the polling station because the Lawrence County Board of Elections needed more Democratic workers since they put at least two Democrats and two Republicans at each polling station."It was something different and something interesting," she said. "I just wanted to feel like I was part of the election process." .

Tribal college: changing lives since 1977

PABLO - If she wanted to, Lois Slater wouldn't have to go any farther than a mirror to find a compelling story about how educational opportunities can turn a life around."I was a statistic," she says.She dropped out of Ronan High School in 1968, at the age of 16, to get married and have a baby.By the age of 22, she had four children.By the age of 28, she had lots of categories covered: minority, divorced, high school dropout, single mom.Today, Slater holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Montana, a master's degree from Gonzaga University, and a job � as director of development � at the tribal college where she got the ball rolling to rebuild her life.

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