Neighbors: From cops to Christmas, communities display their best

Highlights from The Blade's weekly Neighbors sections:

Lizzie Swaile, 7, of Bedford, under the watchful eye of mother Christina Swaile, hops from letter to letter as she travels the path of the Alphabet Garden, where each letter of the alphabet has a flower which begins with that letter at the Children's Garden at the Bedford Public Library in Temperance, Mich. THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER Enlarge | Photo Reprints

NORTH

Bedford library's children's garden blends nature, letters

Beatrix Potter would approve. The children's garden at the Bedford Branch Library contains a replica of Mr. McGregor's garden that's complete right down to the carrots, lettuce, and cabbage Peter Rabbit stuffed himself with contrary to his mother's instructions.

It even includes the scarecrow Mr. McGregor made with Peter's jacket and shoes, just as Potter wrote in The Tale of Peter Rabbit, her beloved children's classic, along with a gate and watering can.

It's but one of several parts of the garden, open for its first full summer season, that has helped make the library at 8575 Jackman Rd. a must-visit destination for children this year.

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Perrysburg Township police officer David Molter, left, and Sgt. Monica Gottfried are putting together a "senior watch" program for the community's elderly. THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER Enlarge | Photo Reprints

SOUTH

Perrysburg Twp. seniors offered watchful eyes

A new Senior Watch Program is under way in Perrysburg Township, led by the police department.

Patrolman Dave Molter previously worked in Danbury Township, which had a Senior Watch Program. After coming to Perrysburg Township in May, 2008, he decided it would be a good idea to start the same program.

The police department periodically receives requests from loved ones of senior citizens who haven't heard from their relatives and want a police officer to go to the senior's home to make sure that the person is all right.

This sparked the idea of putting the program in place to check on senior citizens who live alone or who are far away from their families, without loved ones to check up on them regularly.

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Christmas decorations line Beeker's General Store in Pemberville in celebration of the village's Christmas in July event. THE BLADE/LISA BERNHEIM Enlarge | Photo Reprints

EAST

Annual Christmas in July event attracts crowds

Classic cars, oldies music, and Christmas carols filled the summer air as people strolled down a stretch of Front Street wearing Santa hats to celebrate Pemberville's Christmas in July.

Todd Sheets, owner of Beeker's General store and Downtown Deco, a floral design business, organizes the event each year.

This year's Christmas in July incorporated Pemberville's monthly car cruise on its opening day, Thursday.

Business owners, families, couples, and children all stepped out to admire the cars and enjoy the holiday atmosphere.

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Jason Robertson, the executive director of the Sylvania Area Family Services, stands in front of the building that will be torn down and replaced where a new $500,000 building expansion will be. THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT Enlarge | Photo Reprints

WEST

Sylvania Area Family Services agency on the grow

Sylvania Area Family Services is a shoestring operation relative to other social service agencies, but it's moving up in the world.

Tuesday marked its groundbreaking for a $500,000 expansion of its facility at 5440 Marshall Rd. The project will double, to 10,000 square feet, the size of its building, from which 6,202 food distributions were made last year to people who walked through its doors.

The expansion is made possible by a $250,000 matching grant from the state and strong assistance from the Sylvania Rotary, which raised $100,000, and other donors, including the Landman Goldman Foundation of Maumee, which gave $25,000.

The city of Sylvania and Sylvania Township each gave $50,000.

"In the last three years, we've seen a 33 percent increase in the need for our services," said Jason Robertson, the agency's executive director. "People have been needing more help than before."

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