August 2020

Covid-19 and several other issues causing scheduling challenges

Taking no action, Bluffton council reviewed scheduling issues in its police department during Monday’s council meeting.

The situation, reported by the council personnel and finance committee, which met on Aug. 5, specifically concerns vacation time.

The department has challenges due to several events, including a pregnancy and two surgeries involving officers.

Combined with that, Police Chief Ryan Burkholder anticipates problems scheduling vacations due to the continuous full-time department work during the covid-10 period that began in March.

Later this month repair work planned on pool's concrete seams

Swimmers awake!

The Bluffton Community Swimming Pool’s final week of operation is underway. The final day for swimming is Saturday, Aug. 15, according to Jenny Wilson, manager.

She said that the staff appreciates the extra steps taken by swimmers to ensure a safe operation in spite of the pandemic.

According to Jesse Blackburn village administrator, the pool will be pumped down next week to allow repair work on the concrete seams at the bottom of the pool.

The work, performed by Patterson Pools, Plain City, will begin on Monday, Aug. 24.

The Bluffton Public Library is wrapping up the 2020 Summer Program and would like to remind everyone to log their reading on Beanstack and drop their virtual tickets into the preferred prize package(s) by the end of the day Saturday, August 15!

Any paper logs may be turned in via the outdoor bookdrop by the end of the day Saturday to be included in the drawings.

Tobias Buckell's Arctic Rising, and Hurricane Fever

Local author speculates dire nightmares.

Review by Robert McCool
It's Monday in a sunny August blur where the world is in full bloom, the weather fine. During the past two days, and in addition to my regular weekend chores, I managed to read two speculative fiction novels where the weather is most definitively not fine.

Those books, Arctic Rising (Tor, ISBN 978-0-7653-1921-0), and Hurricane Fever (Tor, ISBN 978-0-7653-1922-7) byTobias S. Buckell take place in a space where global warming is transforming our world with an undesirable outcome.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine provided the following updates on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ohio as of Aug. 11.

RETURN TO SCHOOL
Currently, Ohio has left the decision to individual school districts on how to approach the new school year. 

According to information gathered by the Ohio Department of Education:

• 325 public school districts in Ohio are planning to return to school full-time which equates to approximately 590,000 students. 

By Cort Reynolds
LIMA - The Bluffton girls tennis team lost at Shawnee 5-0 Tuesday.

The defeat dropped the Lady Pirate net record to 0-2. Shawnee swept all 10 sets in the dual match.

The freshmen second doubles tandem of Caitlyn Couch and Brooke Camper came closest to winning a set, but they lost their second set in a 7-6 tiebreak (7-4 in points).

Seniors Julia Smallcombe, Olivia Barnes and Pearl Lewandowski fell in singles play. Juniors Libby Frazier and Ellie Nickel also lost at first doubles.

Ryan DeMarco, provided this photo to the Icon. Where is it? The answer is in the photo below. It's at 575 S. Main St., just north of the Dari Freeze.

 

So, you think you know Bluffton? Ryan DeMarco took this photo and shared it with the Icon. He wonders how many viewers can identify this location.

It's a tree growing inside a tree stump.

Answer tomorrow.

Bentley Road pathway extension ribbon cutting in September

Bluffton council heard updates on several bike-related topics on Monday.

Bluffton’s council streets and alleys committee, meeting Aug. 4, reported that bike racks will soon appear in several Main Street locations, encouraging the use of bicycles in the village.

Thanks to a $5,000 grant from the Allen County Health Department’s "Creating Healthy Communities,” bike riders will have 17 places to park on Main Street.

No prob; here's links to several summer presentations

This summer has looked a lot different than other summers at Bluffton Public Library.

However, COVID-19 hasn’t ended the library’s commitment to programs and events that support education, access to resources, community, and entertainment.

The library staff partnered with many  local Summer Program sponsors to provide these events digitally.

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