Trinity Evangelical United Methodist Church was filled with guests for the Wyandot County 4-H endowment dinner Monday evening. Items also were auctioned to raise endowment funds.

BUCYRUS — The Ohio State Highway Patrol is encouraging all motorists to buckle up this upcoming holiday season and continue to do so throughout the new year. From 2013-15, 1,151 people who were not wearing an available seatbelt died in crashes across Ohio.

The city of Upper Sandusky has qualified for an approximately $50,000 grant to transform an underutilized area at Bicentennial Park into basketball courts, Mayor Scott Washburn reported during a regular council meeting Monday.

The Upper Sandusky Police Department is investigating a report of a juvenile being grabbed by a person wearing a clown mask near the bike path behind Harrison Smith Park on Monday evening. A complainant stated five juveniles were confronted by three people wearing clown outfits in the area, and officers met with deputies from the Wyandot County Sheriff’s Office to search in the area of the old reservoir, according to a report by the USPD.

SYCAMORE — A house fire that occurred Wednesday afternoon in rural Sycamore is under investigation by the state Fire Marshal’s Office. A rural Sycamore man called in the fire at his residence at 16 CH 36 in Sycamore Township about 12:10 p.m. Sycamore Fire arrived on scene at approximately 12:15 p.m., and firefighters immediately observed heavy smoke coming from the home.

COLUMBUS — After the most deer-vehicle crashes on Ohio roadways in years, Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor is stressing driver precaution this November, a peak month for deer movement.

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame inducted the class of 2016 in a ceremony at Thursday at the Lincoln Theater in Columbus. Nineteen Ohioans in this year’s class joined the 498 others who are enshrined in the hall, which is dedicated to recognizing Ohio veterans who, after their military service, put their skills and abilities to work in their local communities.

Local schools and agencies will offer special programs to mark Veterans Day on Friday. Mohawk School is inviting local veterans to join in its celebration of 240 years of American veterans Friday in the Performing Arts Center.

Area residents are invited to honor their family members who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, past and present, by submitting their photos for a special Veterans Day salute in The Daily Chief-Union. The feature will include veterans, both living and deceased, as well as men and women who currently are serving.

Bethany Lutheran Church sleeps on a small knoll on the southeastern corner of CH 97 and CH 53, the paint peeling and the brick walls discolored with age. But the church remains strong, still fighting the elements with the dignity that only an old country church can express.