The downtown Bluffton scarecrow decorating contest is back. Scarecrow creations need to be up by Friday, October 3 to be included in the competition. Contact Liz Gordon-Hancock at [email protected] to enter this year's contest.
Any organization or business is encouraged to adopt a lamp post on downtown Main Street and put up a scarecrow or other three-dimensional, family-friendly, fall-themed figure.
The Bluffton Board of Education held its monthly meeting on September 15 in the Elementary School Media Center. Board action included approving a $1.26M bid for constructing an (artificial) turf field next to the elementary school playground.
The bid was made through a joint purchasing program, The Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS). Maumee Bay Turf, Inc. submitted a bid for $1,263,780. Construction is set to begin in mid-October.
FROM FACEBOOK__On Friday, October 10, 2025 at 3:00 p.m., the Quarry Farm Nature Preserve will host the Great Fall Sketch Mob at 14321 Road 7L, Pandora.
The hosts explain, "There is a current movement called the Urban Sketch Mob. Instead of people randomly dancing and singing together in train stations, shopping centers, etc., one person sits down with a sketch book and others join in until there is a whole studio.
The Board of Zoning & Building Appeals will meet at 6:00 p.m on Monday, September 22 at Bluffton Town Hall. The item under consideration is a variance request for off-street parking for a property at 126 N. Jackson St. where an office is being converted to an apartment.
This meeting is a followup to a September 15 public hearing.
FROM FACEBOOK__The Bluffton-Pandora Garden Club will meet at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 18 at Bluffton Public Library, 145 S. Main St.
The new program topic is "Foraging Wild Food, Forest Bathing, and the Sensory Experience of Nature." Doreen Martin, a certified natural mindfulness guide, from the Johnny Appleseed Metro Park District is the presenter.
Garden club programs are all free and open to the public.
The Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce is back in action with monthly breakfast meetings after a brief summer hiatus. The September 12 meeting introduced members to new Bluffton University President Alex Sider.
BACC director Jim Enneking also provided the following chamber updates.
FLYERS PROMOTE RETAIL AND SERVICES
Chamber members are being promoted with tear-off flyers. A list of retail businesses has been distributed and a services version is in the works.
