February 2011

Tim Berta, survivor of the Bluffton University baseball bus accident in 2007, recently landed a job as assistant baseball coach of Lourdes College, Sylvania, Ohio. The college is launching a baseball team for the first time and will play its inaugural season in 2012. This story is about Berta's joining the school as a coach.

Several Bluffton High School musicians earned Superiors (I) and Excellents (II) at the recent solo and ensemble contest. Those students follow:

Superiors ("I")

Class A
Danielle Rhonemus voice
Liz Diller voice
Mary Woodruff cello
Meredith Bixel piano
Julian Harnish piano
Jane Sycks trumpet

The Icon spotted YOR 4 in the Maple Crest parking lot. We'd appreciate viewer response concerning this plate's meaning.

Dear Area Business,
The parents of the Bluffton High School Junior Class are in the process of organizing Post Prom activities for Saturday, April 30, 2011. It is the responsibility of the Junior Class parents to sponsor and conduct this event for the BHS Junior and Senior Classes.

Good news for The Gift of Giving, the Light show extravagance at Bluffton's Blaze of Lights. The show has found a home for off-season storage.

Pavel Shekochikhin

Pavel Shekochikhin, Bluffton, and a student at Apollo Career Center, proved his skills in welding recently. He won second place in the Skills USA Welding competition. He advances to state competition. Shekochikhin is a senior in the Apollo Career Center welding program.

Kgosi Mafoko, chief of the village of Pitseng, Botswana, talks with Louise Matthews, director of Bluffton University^aEURTMs Lion and Lamb Peace Arts Center, during a tour of the center. Mafoko traveled to Bluffton with Nthati Phetlhu, a language and culture instructor who worked with Bluffton students who visited Pitseng for cross-cultural experiences in 2007 and 2009. Another group of 10 Bluffton students is going there this May.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Bluffton University sends students abroad every year to learn about diverse cultures. But the university rarely gets to thank the hosts for those cross-cultural experiences in person.

The opportunity arose this week, though, when two visitors from Botswana came to Bluffton to see for the first time the campus and community that sent groups of students to the African nation in 2007 and 2009, and will do so again this May.

Moderate icing possible for the northern AEP Ohio area is predicted Thursday night and early Friday.

A developing winter storm over the southern plains on Thursday will track into the Ohio Valley by Friday.

While its still to early to pin down exact amounts preliminary information suggests the possibility of moderate freezing rain accumulations (perhaps 1/4" - 1/2" ice) in a band from Muncie, Ind., to Canton.

On Wednesday evening, according to AEP's forecast, it appears the main icing threat is north of Columbus.

Bluffton High School girls' basketball season ended in the opening sectional tournament round on Feb. 22. Leipsic defeated Bluffton 62 to 48 in a contest at Ottawa-Glandorf.

A box score of the game plus a season summary may be found as attachments at the bottom of this story.

Pandora council voted to retain the services of Scott Basinger, village solicitor for 2011. The action took place at Pandora's most recent councl meeting.

To view minutes of the meeting open the attachment at the bottom of this file.

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