By Cort Reynolds
BLUFFTON - Host Bluffton outscored Wapakoneta 24-17 in the second half to pull out a 51-46 non-league boys basketball win Tuesday evening.
Bluffton bounced back from its first loss last Saturday despite being down 29-27 at halftime. The Pirates took the lead with a 13-8 third period as Jared Piercefield scored eight key points.
Bluffton then won the fourth period 11-8 as senior Luke Denecker tallied eight points. The Pirates buried 11 three-point goals to pave the way to a hard-fought victory.
The Bluffton Exempted Village School District is currently accepting applications from students interested in attending the school district through open enrollment for the 2020-2021 school year.
Students from any school district in Ohio may apply and enroll in Bluffton Schools tuition free. Students are admitted on a full-time basis only.
Applications are approved annually on a firs-come, firs-served basis and approval is subject to grade level enrollment and educational programs.
Louis David Risser Jr., 92, died Jan. 7, 2020, at the Hilty Memorial Home, Pandora. Louis was born June 10, 1927 in Pandora to the late Louis and Elizabeth (Hodge) Risser. On June 18, 1949, he married Margaret DeVore Risser who preceded him in death on Jan. 3, 2019.
Louis graduated from Pandora High School and served in the U.S. Marines during World War II and the Korean Conflict. After returning from the war, Louis took over the family farm until 1968 when he went to work for Proctor & Gamble in Lima.
Bluffton University’s Grace Albrecht Gallery will host the art exhibit “Human Targets” by Margaret Brostrom and George Cooley, Jan. 8-Feb. 23, 2020.
Considered “activist” art, the artists question politics, human issues and murky intentions and consequences by transforming official NRA human silhouette targets into their own statements on the annual 33,000 gun related deaths in the United States.
The exhibit is free and open to the public. 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.
St. Mary’s Christian Preschool will soon accept registration for the 2020-21 school year, according to Katie Hohenbrink, director.
The preschool will hold an open house from 6 to 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 16, at the church, 160 N. Spring St. Contact Hohenbrink at 419-236-5372 or Amanda Stechschulte at 419-303-3290 for registration and enrollment costs.
Classes times:
• Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays
8:15 to 11:15 a.m. (doors open at 8:05 a.m.)
• Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays
12:15 to 3:15 p.m. (doors open at 12:05 p.m.)
By Paula Scott, BCE Executive Director
The BCE is looking forward to an exciting 2020. We will be awarding prizes, holding brown bag discussions, and expanding the ways we help new and improving small businesses in the four counties surrounding Bluffton.
Do you have a New Year’s resolution for your business? We’ve got your bases covered with the Ropp Triplett Business Plan Competition, which begins on Wednesday, January 15. We are awarding $7500 in prizes to new businesses and improving 45817 businesses.
Former Bluffton High School principal and later Bluffton superintendent Steven D. Castle, 57, died on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019, at Mount Carmel Emergency Room Franklinton, Columbus.
He was born on Sept.10, 1962, in Lima, to Charles R. and Barbara F. (Newland) Castle, Sr., and they survive in Ada. On Nov. 18, 1990, he married Beth A. Burklo and she survives in Dublin.
Here are the most popular baby names of 2019, born at Bluffton Hospital this year. Of the nearly 100 reported to the Icon, the top names were Amelia for a girl, and Barrett or Waylan, for a boy.
Of the 45 girls reported born at Bluffton Hospital, only two were named the same name: Amelia. All other baby girls were christened with unique names.
Of the 48 boys reported born at Bluffton Hospital this year, only four shared names: two were named Barrett and two were named Waylan.
