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5 Pirate boys on 1st team All-NWC soccer; 11 earn All-NWC notice

By Cort Reynolds

BLUFFTON__The Bluffton High School boys soccer team placed five players on the Northwest Conference first team in voting recently conducted by the league coaches.

Pirate senior Isaiah Kohli was named the 2025 NWC Player of the Year as well.

He led Bluffton to a 3-0 NWC mark and a 5-9-3 overall record this fall. The Pirates are 49-0-0 all-time in league play with 11 NWC titles in 11 seasons.

Mehaffie named Coach of the Year, 9 players earn all-league notice

By Cort Reynolds

BLUFFTON__The Northwest Conference champion Bluffton High School girls soccer team placed four senior standouts on the 2025 all-league first team in voting recently conducted by the conference coaches.

The Pirates claimed the league title with a 6-0 record.

Bluffton mentor Jamie Mehaffie was also named NWC Coach of the Year by his peers.

By Cort Reynolds

BLUFFTON__The Northwest Conference runner-up Bluffton High School volleyball team placed two standouts on the 2025 all-league first team in voting recently conducted by the conference coaches.

The Pirates finished second in the NWC with a 6-1 record, and are 15-7 overall.

Bluffton 6-0 senior hitter Kendall Stackhouse was named first team All-NWC, as was versatile junior Karlie Lora. Stackhouse leads Bluffton with 278 kills. The 6-1 Lora has hammered 220 kills, made 48 blocks and hustled up 144 digs.

By Lainey Oswalt, Student Pharmacist, and Karen Kier, Pharmacist
ONU Healthwise Pharmacy

A Pew Research Center study found 90% of U.S. adults use smartphones, which translates to 293 million people. This number has more than doubled since 2011. The study recorded a 97% use of smartphones by adults age 18 to 29 years old. The Pew research reported that 15% of adults are smartphone dependent, meaning they do not subscribe to high-speed internet, but rely on their phones.

A brilliant blue sky turned Buckeye Lake into a seemingly perfect mirror reflecting items near and far. Turn the image sideways to check out an alternate "ink blot test" perspective.

Ann Benner, age 83, passed away at home on September 27, 2025, with her husband of 64 years by her side. Ann was born in McComb, Ohio, on May 8, 1942, to the late Dale and Pauline (Sheidler) Zeisloft. She is survived by her husband, Robert Benner; children Shari (Chris) Long of Hendersonville, TN; Jason Benner of Mt. Juliet, TN; grandchildren Ava, Jack, Logan Benner; Stella Long; brother Dean (Kay) Zeisloft of Findlay, Ohio. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brother Edwin Zeisloft of California.

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