Ohio

For fishing splendor, the wonder that is Cold Creek hardly seems home in Ohio

Published

9 months ago

March 16, 2025

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For fishing splendor, the wonder that is Cold Creek hardly seems home in Ohio

Dave Golowenski
| Special to The Dispatch

Few streams in Ohio keep their cool sufficiently throughout the summer to sustain cold-water fish.

Cold Creek, a 5-mile, meandering run of clear water that starts from holes in the ground and flushes into Sandusky Bay within view of Cedar Point, is one. The Ohio Division of Wildlife operates a trout hatchery near a source hole where rainbows are grown from eggs.

Lake Erie’s steelhead fishery is almost entirely a product of that Castalia hatchery.

Cold Creek, meanwhile, is a product of local geology where lowland water seeps into a limestone base and at a few sites emerges in volume cool and refreshed at 50 degrees, more or less, but without much oxygen.

Cold Creek is prone neither to freezing during the winter nor to warming during the summer. The oxygen problem long has been addressed, enough at any rate to suit fish.

Near the entrance to the hatchery and just outside state property, the winding, tentacled creek flows steadily over a dark, undulating bottom, passes under a bridge, then disappears just beyond showy evergreen shrubs growing on both banks. The picturesque package hardly seems home in Ohio.

Rainbows of size and in numbers suspend in the shallow water. Facing a steady current, their dark backs blending with the bottom makes them a little hard to locate at first, especially when the shimmering surface glows at angles under reflected sunlight.

Along the creek toward the bay are stretches of private land with fly aficionados who can afford to pay big money for limited access to stocked rainbows, browns, brookies and a few brown-brook hybrids.

A pay-to-fish site is located near the creek’s entry to the bay. Fish are caught, though at what frequency is hard to say. Not hard to say is the setting doesn’t match what’s a few miles upstream.

Most years, including this one, the wildlife division opens a half-mile stretch of Cold Creek inside hatchery grounds from May through September. The catch, so to speak, is that dates and times are assigned to winners of a lottery open to applicants through the end of this month.

The entry cost is a non-refundable $3. Applications, along with details, can be found at the web site wildohio.gov. A single application may be submitted through the Ohio Wildlife Licensing System or by using the HuntFish OH mobile app.

Winners will be notified by email in early April at which time they will be able to download through their customer accounts a permit and instructions covering fishing date and times. Applicants age 16 and older must hold a current Ohio fishing license.

Permit winners can bring a limited number of guests.

Turkey draw

The wildlife division this month is holding a drawing that might interest turkey hunters looking for a place to bag a gobbler. At stake are permits entitling holders to participate in controlled hunts at five wildlife areas.

Two of the locations – Killdeer Plains in Wyandot County and Killbuck Marsh straddling Wayne and Holmes counties – are within reasonable driving distance of Columbus and central Ohio.

Applications, which require a $3 non-refundable fee, are available through the end of the month via the web-based licensing system or by using the HuntFish Ohio mobile app.

Successful applicants will be notified by email.

Trout stocks

Rainbow trout stockings, which eventually will include 90 sites, including many in central Ohio, began last week with infusions in five locations.

Heritage Park Pond in Groveport is scheduled to get fish on March 19, Blue Limestone Park in Delaware on March 20. Details on additional stockings will be forthcoming.

outdoors@dispatch.com

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Ohio

After her son died in car wreck, Ohio mom fought for public records

Published

5 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

After her son died in car wreck, Ohio mom fought for public records

A mom searching for answers about her son’s death in a car wreck won a victory on Dec. 19 when the Ohio Supreme Court ordered the Richland County Sheriff to release records to her.

The court ruled in a unanimous decision that Andrea Mauk is entitled to three sets of records withheld by the sheriff, with only Social Security numbers being redacted. Mauk will be awarded $2,000 in damages but will not receive attorney fees.

On June 23, 2023, 18-year-old Damon Mauk lost control of his 1998 Ford Mustang and slammed it into a tree. His mother wanted to piece together what happened, collect his belongings and grieve the loss of her child. She didn’t think she’d have to fight for public records and take her case to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Following the crash, Richland County Sheriff’s deputies, a township fire department and the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded.

During the investigation, a trooper told a deputy to leave Damon’s iPhone and wallet in the car, according to Mauk’s court filings. Instead, the deputy took the belongings to the hospital and handed them off to someone who said he was Damon’s dad.

Mauk didn’t understand. Damon’s father was largely absent from his life. How could he have been there to pick up the wallet and phone?

A few weeks after the fatal crash, Mauk asked for records, including: the sheriff’s report and inventory of items taken from the car, body camera footage from deputies who gave away the belongings, the report, photos and videos created by the patrol and more.

Mauk, of the Mansfield area, received some but not all of the requested records. Mauk hired attorney Brian Bardwell to pursue records she believes exist but weren’t provided or were improperly redacted.

The sheriff’s office claimed that some of the requested records were exempt from disclosure because they are confidential law enforcement records or personal notes. The court privately reviewed the records withheld from Mauk and determined that they should be released.

The decision in favor of releasing records runs contrary to recent rulings from the high court.

In 2024, the court held that the cost of sending troopers to protect Gov. Mike DeWine at a Super Bowl game weren’t subject to disclosure and that the Ohio Department of Health should redact from a database the names and addresses of Ohioans who had died, even though that death certificate information can be released on an individual case basis.

In 2025 the court ruled that police officers’ names may be kept confidential if they’re attacked on the job, giving them privacy rights afforded to crime victims.

State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and @lbischoff on X.

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Ohio

No. 21 Ohio State women beat Norfolk State 79-45

Published

17 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

No. 21 Ohio State women beat Norfolk State 79-45

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kylee Kitts scored 13 points, Jaloni Cambridge added 11 and No. 21 Ohio State rolled past Norfolk State 79-45 on Thursday night for its eighth straight win.

Dasha Biriuk added 10 points for Ohio State, which is 10-1 overall and 7-0 at home.

Kitts was 6 of 12 from the field, and grabbed 10 rebounds to go with two steals and two blocks. Cambridge was 4-of-8 shooting and had eight rebounds and two steals.

Cambridge scored seven points in the first quarter as the Buckeyes jumped out to a 20-10 lead and built a 43-21 halftime advantage. Kitts and Cambridge each scored nine first-half points.

Ohio State outrebounded Norfolk State 55-32 and scored 21 points off 17 turnovers.

Jasha Clinton scored 18 points to lead Norfolk State (5-9). Ciara Bailey had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Up next

Norfolk State plays at Elon on Sunday.

Ohio State hosts Western Michigan on Mondahy.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

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Ohio

Menards to pay 10 states, including Ohio, $4.25 million in rebate settlement

Published

1 day ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Menards to pay 10 states, including Ohio, .25 million in rebate settlement

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio is part of a multistate lawsuit settlement against home improvement store Menards.

According to the state Attorney General’s Office, Ohio and nine other states reached the settlement with Menards, a Wisconsin-based home-improvement retail store, over allegations of deceptive rebate advertising.

The 10-state led investigation revealed that Menards would give shoppers the impression that they were getting an immediate discount while shopping through its advertising, when in fact, savings actually came in the form of a rebate or in-store credit.

The investigation raised concerns with Menards’ marketing strategy and sales practices, alleging the following of the company:

Advertised 11% off or 11% off everything that suggested an instant price cut, even though customers received only a rebate on future purchases.
Listed prices already at an 11% discount, reinforcing the idea that shoppers were getting an in-store discount.
Failed to clearly explain the important limits of the rebate program, burying key details in the fine print.
Tell customers that Rebates International was a separate company handling rebates, even though it is operated by Menards itself.

The settlement, announced Thursday, included an agreement by Menards that it would, in part, discontinue ads suggesting immediate discounts, clearly explaining the rules, limits, and conditions of its rebate program, and offer customers an easier path towards claiming rebates, both in person and online, among other changes.

In addition, Menards will pay participating states $4.25 million in fees, of which $365,173.05 will go toward the Ohio Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Enforcement Fund.

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