Those two facts answer the two questions on most people’s minds in Bluffton today.
Q: How cold was it?
A: Minus 13 early Monday morning
Q: How much snow did we get?
A: 6.7 inches on Saturday
The weather stats are from Guy Verhoff, Pandora weather observer.
That -13 is 1 degree colder than the coldest temperature reported in 2018. But it doesn’t match -16 in 2009 or -19 in 2014. Yet, it is 68 colder than January 2019 high of 55 on Jan. 8.
On Jan. 19 the Bluffton Middle School celebrated its 20th birthday.
Kyle Leatherman, middle school principal, decided the event needed a birthday cake. So, on Friday during lunch students, staff and teachers had some cake and cupcakes, 20 years in the making.
Six of the teachers who were on the staff in 1998-99, and continue teaching this year, posed with the cake before it was cut into pieces.
Bluffton’s 2018 building permits totaled a whopping $13,612,185 – thanks to a $10 million building project underway at GROB Systems.
The 2018 figures compare to 2017 figures, which reached $2,433,428 in construction. In 2017, 46 permits were issued totaling $1,773,128 for residential and $660,330 for commercial and industrial.
According to Jesse Blackburn, village administrator, 65 building permits were filed with the village in 2018. Of those, 60 were in Allen County and five in Hancock.
Allen County returned to Level 1Snow Emergency on Sunday morning, according to the Allen County Sheriff's Office. Saturday evening it was increased to a Level 2.
LEVEL 1: Roadways are hazardous with blowing and drifting snow. Roads may also be icy. Motorists are urged to drive very cautiously.
