By Elizabeth Gordon-Hancock
Parents in and around Bluffton followed some of the national trends in baby naming last year, by favoring Amelia for a girl, and Grayson and Mason for a boy.
Here are Bluffton area's top baby names of 2017, based off of the names provided to the Bluffton Icon:
Top Girl Names of 2017 - born at Bluffton Hospital: (All of these names appeared more than twice.)
1 - Addelyn
2 - Amelia
3 - Aubrey
4 - Avery
5 - Charlotte
6 - Natalie
Over the weekend Bluffton experienced a power blip that knocked out the stop lights at the corner of Main and Cherry. For a couple days the lights at that intersection have blinked yellow. The repair should be completed by the time this photo is posted.
During the 2018 Keeney Peace Lecture on the campus of Bluffton University, Sarah Thompson, Generations Fellow at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, shared a call to action.
“Whatever your major, make a commitment today to use your gifts in the service of peacemaking, lean into difficult problems, learn about what it means to decolonize the land and be ready for interruptions.
The library will host a Poetry Teatime on Feb. 13 at 3:30 p.m. featuring a time around the table exploring poetry together in a relaxed setting with a pot of tea and some treats.
Focus is on exposure to and enjoyment of poetry.
Please register before Feb. 9 if you wish to attend and let staff know of any special dietary requirements. All ages are welcome, but children under 8 must be accompanied by a participating adult.
The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive at First Mennonite Church, Bluffton, on Thursday, Feb. 8, from 1-6 p.m.
To schedule your blood donation appointment, call 1-800-RED-CROSS or go to redcrossblood.org, sponsor code “fmenncbl.”
Soup, sandwiches and cookies will be available for donors.
First Mennonite is located at 101 S. Jackson St., Bluffton. Donors should enter by the Jackson Street entrance directly across from Bluffton Elementary School. An elevator is located at that entrance.
Emmanuel United Church of Christ will hold a Fazoli's spaghetti dinner fundraiser this weekend.
The dinner is from 5 to 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 9, at the church, located at 8375 Phillips Road, Bluffton.
The dinner includes spaghetti, salad, breadstick, dessert and a drink. Tickets are available beginning Jan. 12 for $8 each by callling the church office at 419-358-1561.
Proceeds from the dinner benefit the church Faith Formation Program.
