Beekeepers group invites public to get close to a hive

NEW WATERFORD -- People who want to get up close and personal with a hive full of bees will have that chance at 2 p.m. Sunday.
The members of the Columbiana-Mahoning County Beekeepers Association are inviting the public to their meeting at the home of Bruce and Andria Deafenbaugh, 1305 Beard Road.
The speaker will be John Beilhart, the bee inspector for Mahoning and Columbiana counties.
Association member Debbie Schrader said visitors are welcome to hear Beilhart speak about working with bees and his duties as a bee inspector.
There will be a smoker contest, demonstrating the use of the device that helps beekeepers control bees, she said.
If weather conditions are right -- dry and warm -- Beilhart plans to show how beekeepers can control movement of the bees by making a bee beard, Schrader said.
She said Beilhart will use a queen bee to have the other bees in the hive swarm on his face.
She said the Deafenbaughs will open an active hive, weather permitting. Any willing visitors can put on the protective beekeeper garb for a close inspection of the hive, she said.
Schrader said there are about 30 members in the two-county group.