Pupils win mentions for Earth Day posters

Pupils win mentionsfor Earth Day posters
COLUMBUS -- Several area pupils were awarded honorable mentions in the 11th annual Earth Day to Earth Day Poster Contest sponsored by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries: Columbiana County -- Gabby Folger, ninth grade, Salem High School; Andy Place, 10th grade, Salem High; and Holly Popp, sixth grade, home-schooled; Jefferson County -- Kacee Verhovec, first grade, North Elementary; Keep Alliance Beautiful -- Brittani Venables, fourth grade, North Lincoln Elementary; and Mahoning County -- Nina Gantz, seventh grade, St. Christine School; Carlos Martin, fourth grade, St. Anne School; and Chelsea Tabek, first grade, St. Anne.
Pupils were asked to create a color poster illustrating one of these themes: buying recycled products, recycling or litter prevention. Teachers across the state judged entries from grades 1-12 and forwarded more than 330 local winning entries to ODNR for final selection. The winning posters were used to create a full-color wall poster with a & quot;trash timeline & quot; and calendar on the reverse side. The calendars will be distributed through local recycling and litter prevention offices in celebration of Earth Day on April 22 and Take Pride, Ohio! Month in April.
Handbook has tipson utility bills, rights
COLUMBUS -- The Ohio Consumer's Counsel's Consumer Assistance Handbook provides information and tips on understanding utility bills, what rights consumers have, information on energy choice programs and important utility telephone numbers. There is also information on several assistance programs consumers can sign up for if they are having difficulty paying utility bills.
The handbook is free and can be obtained by calling the OCC at (877) PICKOCC or via e-mail at occ@ccc.state.oh.us. Consumers can also view a copy of the handbook on the OCC Web site found at www.pickocc.org.