In voting by Northwest Conference baseball coaches for the 2014 baseball season. senior Damian Helm, a pitcher/first baseman from Crestview was named Player of the Year. This follows Helm's selection as player of the year in basketball and receiving co-player of the year honors last year in baseball. Helm was a near unanimous selection receiving 159 out of a possible 160 points in the balloting.
In voting by Northwest Conference softball coaches for the 2014 baseball season. senior Kirstin Hicks, a pitcher/first/third baseman from Crestview was named Player of the Year after being runner-up for that honor during the 2013 season. In a close vote, Helm edged out junior Hope Schroeder of Columbus Grove by 3 points with senior Erin Conkle of Allen East finishing another 4 points back.
Daniel L. Sommers, Powell, Ohio, died at his home on May 19, 2014. He was a certified prosthetist/orthotist in Columbus.
He was born Oct. 22, 1954, to Dean and Darlyn (Garmatter) Sommers in Bluffton, Ohio, where they still reside. Dan married Debra L. (Anderson) Sommers, also from Bluffton, in 1983. He is also survived by brothers Bill, three nephews, Andrew (Ali), Eric (Amanda), and Ryan; and Tom (Cindy) Sommers, two nieces Jene and Adele, all from the Bluffton area.
Although Columbus Grove won the boys' Northwest Conference track championship for the 3rd year in a row with Coach Chris Grothaus being voted as Coach of the Year by his peers. Senior Noah Stratton (Bluffton) was voted as the Male Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row. Stratton won first place in both the 400m Dash and the 4x200m Relay while finishing 2nd in the 200m Dash and the 4x400m Relay.
It's a multi-cultural world out there. Just ask Bluffton elementary students. As visitors and students enter the elementary lobby they view an art project that demonstrates how multi-cultural our world is.
Ordinance 03-14, the most talked about Bluffton council ordinance in years, passed on May 20.
Better known as the Bluffton sidewalk ordinance, it technically amends an earlier sidewalk ordinance 07-13. That earlier ordinance stated that sidewalks be constructed and maintained in "all" residential area of the village.
