Story and photo by Jake Dowling, Icon summer intern
Heard of the saying, 'there's no place like home?' For Gordon Diller, funeral director of Chiles-Laman Funeral Home, Bluffton, there is no better place for a home than a funeral home.
"It has always been nice to work here," Diller said. "My home is upstairs and so I have always been able to raise my family in a funeral home."
Funeral homes that serve as a home are not as common as they used to be, but for Diller, that has meant the world to him.
Dancers' Elite will start its summer classes on Wednesday, July 11. Classes run for six weeks. Classes are in ballet, tap, jazz and tumbling. Ages 3 and up.
Call Debbie Garlock at 419-358-0900 or 419-235-0811 for more info or to register. Dancers' Elite is a member of the Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce and on Facebook.
Garlock is a graduate of Dance Educators of America and has been teaching dance for 37 years.
Fortman Insurance Services, Inc., celebrated its first anniversary in Bluffton on July 1.
The Ottawa-based company opened a branch office at 115 N. Main St., Bluffton, in the former Book Reviews store front on July 1, 2011.
Fortman's expansion to Bluffton took place due to the expanding number of clients outside Putnam County, according to Catherine Fortman.
"The need to expand to a second location made sense. Because the business had several customers in the Bluffton area, the expansion into Bluffton made sense," she said.
The Hancock County Sheriff's Office is conducting increased patrol from July 3 through July 5 thanks to grant funding from the Ohio Traffic Safety Office, according to Sergeant Matt Kinsinger of the patrol.
Deputies will pay particular attention for violations such as driving under the influence, and failure to yield and speeding; all of which are leading actors in fatal crashes. There will be zero tolerance for driving under the influence and seat belt violations.
Fallen trees, branches, and other debris after the recent storm have many area residents out cleaning up their yards and neighborhoods. The Allen County Health Department is issuing a reminder to all residents to be sure that they are up- to-date on their tetanus vaccination.
By 9 a.m. today, (July 3) AEP Ohio had restored power to
approximately 55 percent of the 660,000 customers affected by the
catastrophic storms that moved through the state June 29 and the
additional 20,000 outaged by the July 1 evening storm.
Meteorologists continue to show the threat of possible thunderstorms
through the end of the week. Temperatures are forecasted to remain in the mid-90s throughout this period.
