The results are in. Here are winners of this year's residential Christmas lighting contest in Bluffton.
The contest is conducted by the Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce, which awards $500 in total prize money.
One of the guiding rules is an attempt to include different residential display winners each year. Also judges, led by team leader Lauren Beasley, reviewed all lighting displays inside the village limits. In addition, residents who requested to be judged were given special consideration.
Prizes are Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce gift certificates.
The third issue of Slippery Elm, The University of Findlay’s annual literary journal, is available for purchase.
According to journal editor and Associate English Professor Dave Essinger, a total of 661 submissions were received, up from 416 in 2014. Consequently, the acceptance rate was approximately six percent, down from about eight percent last year.
It took 10 rounds and finally came down to “hypnotic,” “obscure,” and “nationalism,” for Nicole Boyle, Bluffton sixth grader, to win this year’s middle school spelling bee.
The bee, held on Dec. 11, included 12 contestants from grades six, seven and eight. Another sixth grader, Caleb McKenzie, was runner-up.
Bluffton Lions Club obtained two truckloads of bottled water (4,000 pounds of H 2 O) over the weekend as Lion Clubs in the Northwest District of Ohio received a semi load of water from an anonymous donor.
Bluffton Lions sent two pickup trucks to Napoleon where the water was distributed.
Dennis delivered one load to Our Daily Bread in Lima. Arliss delivered his truckload to the Bluffton food pantry and to area apartments in Bluffton.
In this photo, several local volunteers and Boy Scouts helped unload the water.
Bluffton High School's November student of the month is Patrick Rhonemus. He is the son of Michael and Tenna Rhonemus of Bluffton. Patrick is a senior at BHS and has a 3.559 GPA.
He is a member of the Bluffton High School band participating in the marching, jazz, concert and pep band programs. He also shares his musical talents as a member of the show choir, chamber and concert choirs.
Janette Benroth Reineke, Bluffton artist, wrote a book about it.
Titled, “Fear No Art,” with a subtitle, “You can do it!” the book is a manual of ideas, lesson plans and creative skills for teaching art.
Reineke should know. After a career teaching pre-school, kindergarten, first grade, elementary and junior high art in public schools she spent the most recent 14 years providing art classes in area retirement communities including Mennonite Home Communities of Ohio.
