All Bluffton Icon News

Ohio Rural Health Transformation Program Award

MEDIA RELEASE—Ohio will receive more than $200 million from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Rural Health Transformation Program to strengthen health care across Ohio's rural communities.

MEDIA RELEASE__The following opportunities and services for January 2026 have been shared by the Bluffton Public Library, 145 S. Main.

Events and Programs 
Winter Read is for all ages and runs from January through March. Pick up a Winter Read Challenge Bookmark, complete it, and stop by the front desk to pick up a small prize!

Hot Tea Tuesdays! In January and February, stop by the library between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and get yourself a cup of hot tea to warm up with during your library visit!

Mobile Health Clinic: The next Mobile Health Clinic will be held on Thu., Jan. 8 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. All services are provided by individuals with the Ohio Northern University Healthwise program.

In December 2025, when we shared Bill Herr's article Unforgettable: The Stearns brothers, we struggled to find a photo of Ralph Stearns. Fred Steiner came to our rescue with the photo above, which shows the older Stearns brother giving a tour of the Bluffton Post Office. Ralph was postmaster from 1956-1965.

Pirate boys place 6th, girls 10th

By Cort Reynolds

LIMA – The Bluffton High School swim teams hosted and fared well at the annual Holiday Swim Invitational at the Lima YMCA on Tuesday, December 30.

Bryan captured the boys team championship with 317 points. Findlay came in second with 291 points, while Shawnee scored 235 and St. Marys tallied 226.

The Bluffton boys came in a solid sixth out of 24 teams at the day-long meet with 163.5 points.

By Cort Reynolds

BLUFFTON__The Bluffton High School girls basketball team succumbed to a second-half charge by visiting Western Buckeye League power Bath and lost 44-33 on Tuesday night, December 30.

The Pirate girls trailed 11-6 after the first quarter, but rallied to lead 21-20 at intermission. Bluffton out-pointed the Wildcats 15-9 in the second stanza as six Pirates scored.

But Bath turned the tables behind a 14-6 third quarter to seize a 34-27 lead. The visitors added a 10-6 fourth period by hitting six of 10 foul shots to win by 11.

Cross 4th, Shank 5th

By Cort Reynolds

DEFIANCE__The Bluffton High School wrestling team competed well in the rugged 49-team Tri-State Border Wars tournament at Defiance December 29-30.

The Pirate grapplers finished in 25th place at the 10th edition of the massive two-day tournament which featured schools from Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. 

Archbold won the team championship over second-place Yale (Mich.), with Eastside (Ind.) third and tournament host Defiance fourth.

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