Week of October 26th, 2020
Just one last shameless request to support HCBDD--

A lot of people don't understand that CLI and HCBDD are completely separate. CLI takes a lot of risks that HCBDD isn't comfortable with. It's not fair that some voters may blame HCBDD for what CLI does. HCBDD is not the boss of CLI anymore.

What is true is that HCBDD has a renewal levy on the ballot this November. HCBDD provides funding to ALL DD provider agencies-- including CLI. Because of how Ohio is funded, at least .40 cents of every dollar spent in Huron county on adult DD services comes from HCBDD. If the levy fails, this means that HCBDD will not have enough money to pay providers like CLI to provide those direct services to people with DD.

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!!!
Zoom Olympics is still going strong. Want to bring your A game and verbally harass others in a physical threat free visual format? We've got your venue!
Anybody that knows this guy, knows that Mark is a bit full of IT.

Apparently, one (unsanctioned) event in CLI's Zoom Olympics is to "act like John," who says that he's not sure exactly what Mark's doing, but that "he's not flattered"
The Seminary Shakers definitely keep in moving. Jeff (left) works on the flyswatter-beachball event at the Zoom Olympics, while Tommy & Bill take a pretty laid back approach to yoga and yoga balls below.

John's Usual Excuses & Apologies--

CLI worked our way through another potential COVID issue. One of our hubs was preparing to shut down this week, pending the outcome of a test, which can still take 3 to 7 days. That delay is frustrating. In this case, the results came back much more quickly (negative) this time, so this group didn't have to miss any days-- although they weren't able to go bowling on their normal Friday slot. If we did have to quarantine this group, thanks to to the safeguards that we have in place, were able to limit the potential quarantine to 8 people (5 clients & 3 staff). The earlier we know a potential problem the better!

Infection rates are going up in Ohio. CLI doesn't want to do anything to threaten client or staff health. When Chris Christie tells you to take it seriously, it might be time to reflect...
It seems like a lesser evil to continue to participate remotely for a little bit vs. having the CLI team be the only dorks wearing masks, which doesn't seem right either. So, we made a tough executive decision that we will not support the CLI-sponsored men's team to bowl with the regular league on Wednesday night for now.
The guys will still be able to bowl on an alternate day/time away from the regular league & CLI will cover 50% of their weekly league fee to offset the hassle/embarrassment. The great thing about bowling leagues is that they really do want us, so it's possible that this group's absence might influence future compliance. But for now, CLI has to default to ensuring health & safety. Obviously, it is up to any of the guys if they still want to bowl with the league as normal. However, they will have to do that without CLI support until we know that doing that won't make them sick.

Sorry to be all about COVID this week, but obviously it has been front & center lately. I want to make sure that we all keep our guard up.

Happy Halloween. The kids & I will be carving pumpkins (and roasting seeds) on Tuesday this week. Hope you find time have some fun (in between all the handwashing).
John
Firelands Local LLC Update:
James Johnson
419-921-6400
From James Johnson, GM

This has been a very busy week for Firelands Local.

MTD has been going extremely well. This has become a great partnership. Our folks have been welcomed with open arms and feel like they are now part of the MTD family. MTD started this relationship as an experiment. Our partnership has gone well enough that they will implement this in their other factories. Not only is this a benefit to our community, it will benefit other people with disabilities in different locations.
 
I'm going to run this contest for one more week because there have been last-minute questions:
 
As you have probably noticed, I am a big fan of nature and its beauty. I have decide to create a new segment for my section.

Where in Huron County am I? I will include a picture taken from the past week. You get to guess where it was taken. The pictures will always be from Huron County. If you think you know where it is from, please email or text me your answer. You can be as detailed as you want. Please also include your name with your guess. Tiebreakers will be broken based on detail of answer. This week's is fairly easy to start off with………..
Ben found a particularly cool painted rock at Sofias Park. Both parts of this activity are fun-- painting the rocks and walking (or biking) around looking for artistic treasures.
STEPS services anyone?

Trust us, it is every bit as cool as Jen makes in look
in this picture.

Suck it
Daniel-San!
Who says there's NO FREE LUNCH? We know people--
How is CLI able to afford giving away free food when we (and everybody else is hustling to break-even)?

It's a good question. The answer is that CLI invested a (very) small amount of seed money in April to open up a new checking account just for the Good Works Cafe. After that, it's been 100% funded by donations.

Our on-going investment now is just time. CLI is always looking to help people give to their local community. Got an idea of something that a small group can to do to help? Let us know!
The FREE Good Works Cafe will runs every Friday at 11:30 am until they run out of meals.
If you or a friend want a delicious meal but cannot get transportation, we can deliver to you for a $20 donation!

*Donations are accepted & 100% go to future Fridays.*
Spread the word!