On the second day of winter storm Elliott, being out of doors continues to be dangerous due to extreme cold, wind, snow and ice.
For the Bluffton area, the National Weather Service a Winter Storm Warning until 1:00 p.m. and predicts "Mostly cloudy and cold, with a high near 9. Wind chill values as low as -25. Breezy, with a west wind around 25 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph."
COLUMBUS – According to provisional statistics, 16 people were killed on Ohio’s roadways this Thanksgiving holiday. During the five-day reporting period, from Wednesday, November 23 at midnight through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, November 27, 16 people were killed in 15 fatal crashes. In 2021, there were 14 fatal crashes in which 17 people were killed.
Of the 16 killed this year, two were pedestrians, 10 were not wearing a seat belt and six crashes involved impaired driving.
On Tuesday, November 22, the Van Wert County sheriff's office announced that in an act of vandalism, thousands of domesticated mink were released from Lion Farms USA Mink Farm, some 33 miles from Bluffton. On November 27, a Bluffton Icon reader reported that a mink was spotted on County Line Rd. near the Village Park.
Some 10 thousand mink are believed to have escaped from among the 25 thousand or more that were released. Many were killed on roads near the farm.
The Bluffton Police Department reminds us that wild mink do live in this area and have been spotted in recent years.