It was a fine day for an impromptu, walking St. Patrick's Day survey in downtown Bluffton. The Icon walked from College to Elm, asking all and sundry to share their level of enthusiasm for the holiday.
2 - Needed to be reminded what day it was.
22 - Were wearing green, including one with a green pen in their pocket.
7 - Were planning to celebrate at a gathering or by going out.
12 - Expected to eat or drink something green. The jello cake to be served at the Senior Center dinner added greatly to this count.
By Alexander Nixon, student pharmacist and Karen Kier, Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU HealthWise team
A proverb: "he who sleeps forgets his hunger." You do not notice hunger when you are fast asleep. This has significance for your health, especially the impact of the pandemic. For the last few years, we have focused on the current crisis of COVID-19. We may have been so focused that other critical parts of our health lapse. Several studies have published data that we have been ignoring some important health issues.
The 1933 John Dillinger bank robbery in Bluffton is the theme of a presentation at 10 a.m. on Monday, March 21 at the Bluffton Senior Citizens Center, 132 N. Main.
Fred Steiner will give the presentation, which includes several photographs, a map of the Dillinger escape route, a hand-out of Ted Biery’s Bluffton News account of the robbery, plus the retelling of eye-witness accounts from persons Steiner interviewed over the years.
The talk will also include several oral history accounts that are very interesting, but not accurate, in Steiner’s opinion.
A Bluffton Clean Up event is scheduled from 9:00-11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 19. Individuals are invited to gather at the Bluffton Sportsmen's Club, 405 S Spring St. Volunteers may split up from there to work at secondary locations.
For those interested in participating in this Spring Clean: "Please bring gloves, wear brighter clothes, know it will likely be muddy, and in certain sections sticker bushes are around so wear appropriate clothing."
The Quarry Farm Nature Preserve & Conservation Farm, rural Pandora, will conduct a spring sparrow hike on Sunday, March 20, the first day of Spring 2022.
From 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. hikers will celebrate World Sparrow Day by seeing how many different species of sparrows can be spotted on the nature preserve. Findings will be submitted to ebird, one of the world’s largest biodiversity-related science projects.
Bluffton Boy Scout Troop 256 was out (again) on Saturday, March 12, for a second weekend covering the entire Village of Bluffton for the Scouting for Food program. The previous weekend, scouts left door hangers notifying residents of the food drive; this past weekend, they picked up the donated items for the Bluffton Food pantry.
Troop leader Victoria Goddard reports: "The generous folks of Bluffton donated over 900 items to the local Bluffton Food Pantry. The Scouts picked up and sorted the donated items.
It is possible that as many Bluffton residents pass Monday evenings scrolling through the offerings of streaming services and cable TV, they are missing one of the most compelling and consequential reality shows, now well into its second century of seasons. Every second and fourth Monday at 7 p.m., a revolving cast of characters gathers in front of a live audience to deliberate and make decisions that keep this town operating smoothly. It plays like a courtroom procedural with flashes of drama and comedy. At the end of each episode, audience members get to stand up and leave a review. No ticket is required for entry.
On March 14, Mayor Rich Johnson convened the meeting and ushered the six Council members through a quick approval of the last meeting's minutes and paying of the Village's bills.
Bluffton Marathon at 205 S Main has been a work site in recent days, while crews installed test wells as part of followup on a 2019 chemical release. Filling in this hole was all that remained to be done at the time of the Icon's visit.
