MEDIA RELEASE__On Saturday, July 12, the Bluffton-Pandora Swiss Community Historical Society will host the second of this summer’s Second Saturday events. Visitors are invited from 1-4:00 p.m. at the Schumacher Homestead, 8350 Bixel Road, Bluffton.
There will be several displays related to hunting and trapping in this area during the second half of the 19th century. At that time these activities were basic survival skills, as settlers depended in part on wild animals for food and clothing.
LIMA__On July 2, Allen County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Reed dismissed felony charges against Ronald Powell of Findlay, who was alleged to have discharged a firearm while being pursued by Bluffton Police officers in December 2021.
The Lima News has reported that Reed found the state in error when it provided Powell with the wrong address for the Common Pleas Court, which delayed his request to proceed to trial within 180 days.
UPDATED with service and visitation__Dean A. Diller, 93, of Anchorage, Alaska and formerly of Pandora passed away July 1, 2025, at Willow Ridge-Betty House in Bluffton. Dean was born March 20, 1932 in Pandora to the late Earl and Alma (Luginbill) Diller. On September 1, 1951, he married Alice (Baer) Diller and she preceded him in death on April 14, 2008. On November 28, 2009 he married Carol (Roten) Diller who survives.
JULY 2 MEDIA RELEASE__The Village of Beaverdam Council will hold its Annual Budget Hearing to discuss the proposed 2026 Tax Budget.
The hearing will be held on July 15, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. The hearing will be held at the Town Hall in the Council Room. The hearing is open to the public.
A copy of the proposed 2026 Tax Budget is available for public examination in the office of the Village Fiscal Officer, 101 W Main Street, Beaverdam, Ohio during normal operating hours.
Janet A. Messinger, 93, passed away peacefully on June 30, 2025 at the Mennonite Memorial Home in Bluffton, Ohio. Janet was born March 13, 1932 in Kalida, Ohio to Floyd and Fanny (Basinger) Stover, who preceded her in death. Her sisters, Betty Baxter, Annabelle “Annie” Ropp and her best friend and dog, Tippie also preceded her in death.
RICHLAND TOWNSHIP__On July 1, 2025, at approximately 3:02 p.m., the Lima Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded to a report of a crash on I-75 near Beaverdam, Ohio in Allen County.
Donald Eckler, age 82, from Lincolnton, North Carolina was driving a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado southbound in the northbound lanes of I-75. Mr. Eckler hit a 2022 Mercedes- Benz Sprinter van head on. The Mercedes-Benz was driven by Yazan Aljayousi, age 22, from Dearborn, Michigan.
