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.
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.
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.
PHOTOS Bluffton Icon / CLICK to enlarge and view at your own pace
By Paula Pyzik Scott
High winds peeled off some large roof panels on the Ream McElroy VFW Post #3981 on Monday, December 29. Weather forecasts for the area included gusts of up to 45 miles per hour.
A crew was constructing a temporary cover at midday on Tuesday, December 30. The weather continued to be bitter cold and windy with some snow flurries.
The VFW post is located north of the Village of Ada on State Route 235.
Early on Sunday morning, December 28, a high-speed chase ended in Bluffton with the arrest of Joshua Wesley Rainer of Fairborn, according to the Findlay Courier.
The pursuit began in Fostoria after a vehicle failed to pull over for law enforcement. The chase ended on foot in a field near Bluffton. A passenger was released.
Fostoria Police, Findlay Police and the Ohio State Highway Patrol were part of the law enforcement response.
