Glad to see so many make voices heard

BOUQUETS >> To everyone who took the time to cast a ballot in Tuesday’s election. Of the 158,700 registered voters in Lake County, the Elections Board notes that 94,306 ballots were cast. That’s a 59.4 percent turnout.

In Geauga County it was a similar story. Of the 66,740 registered voters, 42,336 cast ballots. That’s a 63.4 percent turnout.

And while those are solid numbers, we can’t understand why every one of those registered didn’t cast a ballot — and why everyone who could register did not, for that matter.

Ohio certainly makes it easier than ever to make your voice heard with options to vote ahead of time in person or by mail or on Election Day at a polling booth.

Sure, some would-be voters had planned to cast a ballot on Tuesday and then an unforeseen issue cropped up.

But we’re betting that didn’t happen to 64,000 Lake Countians and 24,000 folks in Geauga.

So, again we thank those who voted, and urge those who did not to join us at the polls next time.

BOUQUETS >> To those who took part in St. Gabriel’s Community Day of Service.

More than 530 parishioners volunteered for the Day of Service, visiting more than 70 facilities to help with maintenance, yard work and other service projects.

Recipients include WomenSafe, Project Hope and Altercare.

Projects also involve leafraking for private homes of the elderly and physically disabled.

One of the project highlights was a tailgate party in St. Gabriel school gym, thrown for Deepwood residents.

About 70 guests attended the party this year, enjoying food, fellowship, games, crafts, music, dancing and getting their photos taken with the “Hollywood” backdrop so they could be stars for a day. Participants autographed their own photos and some asked others to sign them.

“They’ve got a lot of love for each other,” said volunteer Danielle Milam, who organized the Ohio State-themed tailgate party.

She and her family have helped run the event since it began six years ago.

“It’s probably the best day of the year,” she said.

Planning for the Day of Service begins in June. It got its start when Pope Francis issued a call to serve.

“We heard about other churches doing similar events, so we wanted to try it,” said Volunteer Coordinator Allison Capella.

“Our hope is that people are inspired to continue to serve throughout the year in their own ways and possibly develop relationships, especially with the elderly and home-bound we serve.”

We share in that hope and encourage others to work to make our community a better place.

BRICKBATS>> To those who would scam us out of our hardearned money. We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: Be wary of scams.

According to an Eastlake police Facebook post, a resident reported to them that a man and woman called her claiming that they were with the IRS.

They told her she owed about $5,000 in back taxes. They instructed her to go to the store and buy Google Play Gift cards.

“This is a reminder that there are many scams going around,” the department wrote in the Facebook post. “The IRS will never call you nor will they ever take back pay in gift cards. Visit irs.gov if you have any questions.”

The number that showed up on the resident’s caller ID was the Willowick Police Department’s.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, scammers are using fake caller ID to trick prospective victims into thinking that the call is local. The practice is called ID spoofing.

“Don’t rely on caller ID to verify who’s calling,” the FTC stated in a post on its website. “It can be nearly impossible to tell whether the caller ID information is real.” We echo the FTC’s advice: If you get a strange call from the government, hang up. If you want to check it out, visit the official (.gov) website for contact information. Government employees won’t call out of the blue to demand money or account information.

Don’t give out — or confirm — your personal or financial information to someone who calls.

Don’t wire money or send money using a reloadable card. In fact, never pay someone who calls out of the blue, even if the name or number on the caller ID looks legit.

Feeling pressured to act immediately?

Hang up. That’s a sure sign of a scam.