Help wanted: for a once-a-year writing project
HELP WANTED: Viewer participants requested. No experience required.
The first day of April beckons. Wisely, or otherwisely, The Icon invites viewers to offer April Fool's stories for this online news source.
Quite honestly, my April Fool's well is as dry as Bluffton during Prohibition. Can't think of anything worthy of print. Oh, there's the usuals...
A flock of 1,000 or more turkey vultures are headed to Bluffton. Last seen in Gomer flying this direction.
Mineral rights to several farms south of Bluffton are selling to foreign oil companies, based upon new technology of sucking oil from shale. Could be a new oil boom.
A map revealing the location of five Swiss gold coin burial sites from the 1890s in Richland Township, Ohio, was recently sold on E-bay. Each location could have up to $2,500 (face value) coins, worth hundreds of thousands on the open market.
The Ohio Tea Party plans its summer convention in Bluffton, coinciding with the Northwest Ohio Volunteer Fire Deparement's annual convention here also. Newt Gingerich may be the keynote speaker.
U.S. Route 30 is designated as the extension of Interstate 90. Modifications will begin in 2013 with no interchanges planned between Cario and Jenera.
The Ottawa National Indian Tribe Council, based in Enid, Oklahoma, plans to open a gambling casino in un-zoned Orange Township near the airport.
Bluffton High School plans to join a new athletic league based entirely on schools in Allen County. Other possible league members are Lima Senior, Shawnee, Elida, Bath, Allen East, and possibly Liberty-Benton.
See what I mean? These just don't work.
The requirements for a fantastic April Fool's story, in my opinion, follow:
1 - Each requires one second of: "Oh, my gosh, this can't be true!"
2 - Once the shock wears off, the viewer can't wait to try it on someone else.
3 - The initial paragraph or headline requires a "call to action," like: "I'll never allow this to happen," or "I better buy some of that oil stock before the price goes up."
This is where viewers enter the story. I invite viewers to submit story ideas. You may either send them as responses to this story (but the whole world will be watching), or e-mail them privately to: [email protected].
No promises, but if I use your's, it may be worth a free cup of coffee at the corner of Main and Cherry.
Stories Posted This Week
Sunday, May 4, 2025
Saturday, May 3, 2025
- Pirate baseball win vs. Tigers
- Bluffton softball edged in battle of Pirates
- Committee meetings scheduled for Bluffton Council
- #1 recommended attraction in NW Ohio is in Ada
- Mental Health Awareness event with Seth Gehle
- Ohio highway patrol promoting motorcycle safety
- Recap of Bluffton Board of Education meeting for April 2025
- Weekend Doctor: Antidepressants in the long term
Friday, May 2, 2025
- BHS seniors exhibit art at Gallery 323 through May 7
- What's in your weekend?
- Pirate softball blanked by Lancers
- Pirate baseball blanked by Lincolnview
- Laman Promoted to VP Retail Credit Manager by CNB
- Local land conservancy hires first Executive Director
- Steiner to present Swiss Family Migration program on May 21
- 850 Days of Caring volunteers will pitch in for Hancock County
Thursday, May 1, 2025
- Angel M. Langhals owned LFE/API Meters
- Allen Co. task force targets target sex and human traffickers
- Blessing of the Bikes, May 4
- Metzger honored at 2025 Black Swamp Council meeting
- Volunteer invitation for Bluffton Pathway Count in May
- Pirate tennis edges Ottawa-Glandorf
- Bluffton EMS station staffing goes 24/7 on May 1
- You are what you eat: Link to immune system
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
- Observation deck added to Motter Park cascading pools project
- Bluffton Women in Business meet May 15
- Four sportsmen stock 200 trout at Buckeye Lake
- Pirate girls, boys 2nd at Minster track quad
- Pirate baseball win vs. Riverdale
- Pirate softball loss vs. Riverdale
- Field reports from NW Ohio wildlife officers