The Bluffton Senior Center is happy to announce that it now has a lift for visitors to use at the back entrance. This will allow anyone who has trouble with steps to access the building from the municipal parking lot.
The lift can bring people and materials up the 22 inches from the parking lot into the building where there is an automatic door.
The Bluffton Senior Center Board thanks the Allen County Board of Developmental Disabilities for the Accessible Communities Grant that helped pay for the lift and its installation. The board would also like to thank the Village of Bluffton, administrator Jesse Blackburn; Mayor Rich Johnston and the Village Council for their help on the project. MORE ▶︎
Groundbreaking ceremonies for the Bluffton Community Dog Park on March 14 were a time for smiles, cheers and tears. The creation of a place for dogs to run safely off leash has been highly anticipated by area dog owners. That included Bluffton teacher and heart transplant recipient Katrina Riepenhoff, who passed away after a sudden illness in 2024. Her family has become a key supporter of the dog park.
Many at the well-attended event wore green t-shirts bearing the message “Live like Katrina Riepenhoff” and “Because I knew you, I have been changed for good”--and paw prints. Also in attendance were Baxter and Tilly, Riepenhoff’s two dogs and her parents, Becky and Joe Riepenhoff.
Some half of the guests were Riepenhoff’s students at Bluffton Middle School. MORE ▶︎
Local Boy Scouts are distributing door tags on March 1 to notify Bluffton residents of the Scouting for Food program.
They are asking residents to "recycle an old grocery bag and place canned goods or non-perishable items inside it for pick up by one of your neighborhood scouts. Items collected will be donated to your local community food pantry. No glass items, please.
"Place bagged donations on your front step by 9:00 a.m. on the second Saturday in March for pickup [March 8].
