A first-class letter sent by the Icon from Bluffton, Ohio to Bluffton, Ohio took four days this past week. Hand-postmarked about noon on Wednesday, January 7, the letter was received at the Icon PO Box on Saturday, January 10.
MEDIA RELEASE__The Bluffton Exempted Village School District iscurrently accepting applications from students interested in attending the school district through open enrollment for the 2026-2027 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 first-come, first-served basis and approval is subject to grade-level enrollment and educational programs.
Village Administrator Jesse Blackburn provided the attached 2025 Zoning Permits Summary for the village council at the December 22 regular meeting. The total dollar value of cost estimates is $12.9M with $6M in residential permits and $6.9M in commercial permits.
COMMERCIAL PROJECTS
Gerken Materials, Inc. is listed as submitting the largest project, an asphalt plant with a cost estimate of $6M. Commercial projects with estimates of at least $10K are:
Happy Monday, Blufftonites! Here are BlufftonIcon.com's top stories from the week that was, January 5-11. For a chronological look Icon content, visit blufftonicon.com/archive.
PAULDING__The Bluffton High School girls basketball team went on the road and lost to former conference foe Paulding 64-42 on Saturday, January 10.
The Pirate girls dropped to 8-7 overall after the road defeat. The Panthers improved to 11-1 with the convincing victory.
The Panther girls built an 18-9 lead after the first period. A 15-4 Paulding second stanza extended their advantage to a commanding 33-13 at intermission.
Bluffton was only outscored 31-29 after intermission.