January 2012

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By Mary Pannabecker Steiner

2011 wasn't a good year for found money, at least in comparison to the last four years. Guess the tanked economy made people more careful about picking up coins when they dropped them on the street.

Ever since some friends admitted that they don't allow themselves to end their daily walk until they've found at least one penny, we've adhered to the same rule. Most of the time, it works out. Sometimes, we have to give up and come home empty-handed.

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Courtney McLaughlin performing in Orlando

Bluffton fourth grader, Courtney McLaughlin, competed in a National Talent Showcase in Orlando, Fla., Dec. 14-21, and came home a winner.

According to her parents, Jim and Lisa McLaughlin, Courtney placed first in Cold Read, second in TV Commercial and second in Singing in her age group while in Orlando.

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Due to its growing popularity, The Bluffton Icon now offers an RSS feed for all classified ads. The feed is available at www.blufftonicon.com/classifieds/rss.xml.

What is an RSS feed?

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A discussion of Nicholas Kristof's book "Half the Sky" will take place in the family room of Maple Crest Senior Living Village on Monday, Jan. 23, at 3 p.m. (note time change, was originally 2:30 p.m.) Maple Crest Senior Living Village is located at 700 Maple Crest Ct., Bluffton.

Copies of the book are available at Bluffton Public Library, 145 S. Main St., Bluffton.

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Bluffton's January Relay for Life meetings are Thursday, Jan. 5, in the Bluffton town hall, according to Adam Blevins.

The Relay committee will meet at 6 p.m., and all teams are encouraged to attend our team meeting / rally at 7 p.m.

"If you haven't signed your team up yet, we'll have access to sign your team up online," said Blevins.

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Jazzercise classes are starting, Monday, Jan. 9, in Bluffton, according to J'aime Stratton, instructor.

Class times are Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. in the basement of English Lutheran Church, 111 Grove St.

Contact J'aime Stratton at 419-371-8422, [email protected], or facebook.com/blufftonjazzercise, or visit jazzercise.com for more information.

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Sometime in 2012 an Icon viewer will "click" on The Icon - and it will register as click number one-half million.

That's correct. In 2011 The Bluffton Icon continued to rack up an impressive growth of total views and individual viewers, according to its owners Fred and Mary P. Steiner. During 2012 the Icon's total views will reach one-half million.

As of Dec. 31, The Icon has had 443,197 total views since it was launched in September 2009.

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Twice-monthly community meals continue in 2012, sponsored by the Bluffton Inter Church Board.

The meals are at 6 p.m. each first and third Thursday of the month at the Bluffton Senior Citizens Center. The meals are free and open to the public. Persons interested in making a donation may bring non-perishable food items. All donations go to the Bluffton Community Assistance Program's food pantry.

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BFR is the place to start for winter exercise.

Adult Fitness class options include aerobics, water exercise, Zumba
dance fitness, YogaFit, senior fitness options and Total Body
Conditioning, according to Carole Enneking, BFR director.

"Try out any BFR class for one time without any fees. Class
fees for non-members are $5 and $3 for BFR members. Purchase an AnyClass Card for additional savings. BFR does not require pre-registration for fitness classes; participants are encouraged to attend a variety of classes," she said.

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Marcile Suter

Marcile Suter, 97, of Bluffton died at 6:40 a.m. Jan. 1, 2012, at the Mennonite Memorial Home, Bluffton. She was born Sept. 5, 1914, in Bucyrus, to Robert and Ida Auch Rindfuss. On June 30, 1940, she married Winford Suter and he preceded her in death on Feb. 18, 1997.

Marcile and Winford met at Bluffton College. Winford's entire career was with Nationwide Insurance, formerly known as Farm Bureau Insurance and so the family over the years made their home in six or seven different communities such as Brooklyn, Conn., Canfield, Ohio, and finally Dover, Ohio.

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