Trinity Lutheran Church and School, 105 Allen Street, Jenera, is hosting a Chili Cook-Off on Saturday, September 26 at 5:00 p.m.
From the organizers: "Join us for some delicious chili! You can taste-test each participant's special recipe and vote for your favorite. If you wish to enter your own chili, please bring 4-6 quarts of chili to be judged."
A gift card will be awarded for the favorite chili.
Hot dogs will be served along with other side dishes and water.
By Paula Pyzik Scott
Icon owner-editor / 567-400-4266, [email protected]
In 2025, I began printing and hand-assembling monthly Icon Highlights, a collection of articles of lasting interest for distribution to locations where people can sit and read. This month, the Ada and Bluffton Highlights have moved to a new magazine binding that creates an opportunity to increase distribution.
BLUFFTON__The Bluffton High School football team dominated visiting rival Allen East 35-13 in its Northwest Conference opener at Harmon Field on Friday, Sept. 11.
Pirate Blayne Hill returned the opening kickoff 78 yards all the way to paydirt to open the scoring and set the tone for the contest.
Bluffton led 14-0 after the first quarter. The Pirates stretched the lead to 21-0 midway through the second stanza and were never seriously threatened.
SPENCERVILLE__The Bluffton High School cross country teams competed at the Spencerville Bearcat Invitational meet on Saturday, September 12, with the Pirate girls coming in second among a five-team field in the Black Division race.
GIRLS RESULTS
Pirate Xandra Gatchel finished second in the girls meet with a time of 21:16. Teammate Tessa Tarplee came in fourth in 22:15.
Coldwater captured the girls team crown with a mere 22 points. Bluffton tallied 75 points to nose out Bellmont (Ind.) by three points for second.
By Anne Blunk, MSW, LISW-S
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Psychiatric Center of Northwest Ohio
Heading back to school means new routines, new classes, and, for some children and teens, new anxieties. Stomachaches may start before school begins, with no fever or clear cause—just a worried feeling that keeps showing up. Irritability, difficulty sleeping, frequent “what ifs,” and an overall sense of dread may also appear.
On Friday, September 4, Bluffton High School football players were honored on Senior Night at Harmon Field. They are pictured here, flanked by their families and are listed in order below. Students performing in band, cheer and flag are pictured in Fall 2026 BHS seniors celebrated on Harmon Field.
On Friday, September 4, the Bluffton High School seniors who perform on Harmon Field as part of the Friday Night football festivities were honored. Here are the band, cheer and flag seniors flanked by family members and listed in order below. The football seniors are pictured in Fall 2026 BHS football seniors celebrated on Harmon Field
9/11/2026 FACEBOOK__Business phone lines remain out of service for all three Mennonite Home Communities locations in Bluffton. This outage remains a widespread issue, affecting thousands of customers. Some customers have had service restored, but MHCO does not have any update regarding the timeframe for service restoration.
The following temporary phone numbers have been set up for each location:
BLUFFTON__The Bluffton High School volleyball team defeated visiting Elmwood in a non-league four-setter on Thursday, Sept. 10.
The Pirates improved to 6-4 with the home comeback win. They lost the first set 18-25, then regrouped to capture the final three games 25-14, 25-11, 25-17.
Taylin Goldman and Gracie Warren paced the Pirate hitting attack with 11 kills apiece. Warren also hustled up 11 digs, while Goldman made nine digs.
