All 2019 building permits are posted at the bottom of this story -
Village of Bluffton building permits totaled nearly $850,000 in the third quarter of 2019, according to the village office.
Twenty-four permits were issued from July 1 through Sept. 30, which included five commercial and the rest residential. The largest two permits in the third quarter were houses, listed at $293,000 and $290,000.
Total Bluffton building permits for 2019 have reached $2.3 million. The chart below lists all permits filed this year.
Icon viewers:
The Bluffton Public Library wishes to thank Fred Steiner of the Bluffton Icon for raising funds in support of the library during the guided Cemetery Tours of Maple Grove Cemetery on October 20th and 21st.
Steiner led registrants around Maple Grove Cemetery, telling stories of Bluffton residents from history. Thank you to each registrant who donated as well. We are thankful for the wonderful patrons, community members, and businesses that support the library.
FROM ADA ICON - Two 1992 Ada High School classmates, Troy Erickson and Billy Watterson, using the name Ada Boyz Holdings, LLC, intend to develop a distillery with a bar and restaurant and a greenhouse for growing hemp on a site in the Ada industrial park, bordering State Route 81.
The intended land purchase required action in two special Ada meetings. First, Ada council, passed an ordinance on Oct. 17, transferring the property to the Ada Community Improvement Corp. (CIC). Next, CIC on Oct. 23 passed a motion entering a real estate agreement with Ada Boyz Holdings, LLC.
An October local vendor "pop up shop" takes place at The Centre of Bluffton, 601 N. Main St., 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 26. The event is open to the public.
Vendors include:
• Rodan+Fields
• DeTerra
• Younique
• Color Street
• Thirty One
• LuLaRoe
• Tastefully Simple
• Damsel in Defense
• Scentsy
• Tupperware
Bluffton University’s Grace Albrecht Gallery will host the art exhibit “Anthrotopographies” by John Sabraw.
In “Anthrotopographies,” Sabraw unearths the topographies created from the extraction of natural resources to examine their paradox as being wondrous feats of human ingenuity and engineering, yet also emblematic of our consumption and hubris.
Opening Oct. 28, the exhibit is free and open to the public through Dec. 12. Gallery hours in the Sauder Visual Arts Center are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 1-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Dr. Amy Mullins, associate professor and director of graduate programs in education, will present the Colloquium "Crack the Code: Phonics Resources for Mature Students," at 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25 in Centennial Hall’s Stutzman Lecture Hall.
During the presentation, Dr. Mullins will provide a brief review of the history of phonics instruction and discuss the need for phonics resources that are appealing to more mature students. Dr. Mullins will also explore an innovative phonics resource, Crack the Code, which she has created to assist more mature students in becoming readers.
An author program and reception for Jeff Gundy, professor of English, will be held at 4 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 24, in the Reading Room of Musselman Library.
Gundy will read from his latest book, “Without a Plea: Poems” and play a few songs on his guitar. Students from Gundy’s poetry class will also take part in the presentation.
Several collections of poems by Gundy have been published in recent years, including “Abandoned Homeland,” “Somewhere Near Defiance,” “Songs from an Empty Cage” and “Spoken Among the Trees.”
The Icon talked with Brad Dailey, 9232 Dixie Highway, Bluffton, the newly appointed member of the Bluffton school board. He will be sworn in during the November meeting. Here is part of our conversation.
Icon: What interested you in seeking a spot on the school board?
I chose to seek a position on the school board because I want to see Bluffton Exempted Village Schools continue to have success in providing students with the excellent education that it has for many years.
S. Mark "Buck" Albright, 61, died Oct. 20, 2019, at Sanford Health in Bismarck, North Dakota. Mark was born May 23, 1958, in Elwood, Indiana, to the late Dale and Doris (Edds) Albright. On Nov. 22, 1995, he married Debra Garrison Albright who survives.
Mark graduated from Bluffton High School where he played football and wrestled and attended Ohio University. He was a communication engineer for Charter Communications, co-owned Albright's Antiques with his wife, and was a member of First United Methodist Church in Bluffton.
By Cort Reynolds
FINDLAY - The Bluffton girls soccer team lost 7-0 to top-seeded Liberty-Benton in Div. III district semifinal action Monday evening at Findlay High School's Elmer Graham Stadium.
The fifth-seeded Lady Pirates finished their season 10-7-1 with the defeat. The state-ranked Lady Eagles improved to 16-1-1 with the convincing victory.
The Eagles advance to the district finals Saturday, Oct. 26 at 3 p.m. in Findlay vs. third seed Mansfield Christian. L-B is 9-0 at home this season.
