This is the 17th installment in this series. Click here for the previous installment.
This column’s focus is on John Ulrich Amstutz, a farmer and tradesman, whose farm was located on the south side of the Allen-Putnam County Line Road, just east of where the Suter Morning Star Cider Press is today.
On his farm, John U. had a jewelry shop, clock shop, cider press, cane press for sorghum and a machine shop. He was also an undertaker and made over 400 coffins in 43 years.
Remember last summer when village employees replaced the water meter in your lawn?
The project involved 1,450 meters, each containing a radio transmitter that sends water usage by household to the village for monthly billing purposes. That project took all summer to complete.
This fall, after discovering some glitches in about 277 of the radio transmitters, Sensus, the company serving the contract announced that it will replace all 1,450 radio devises in the meters at no cost to the village, according to Jesse Blackburn, village administrator.
Bluffton University freshman Montez Archer Jr. (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King) followed up his Heartland Conference Player of the Week by being named to the D3football.com Team of the Week.
Archer had a career day in just his second collegiate football game on Saturday. The starting cornerback was one of six players from the Heartland Conference to be honored nationally this week. He helped lead the Beavers to a 49-14 road thumping of Manchester University on Saturday, March 6, 2021.
Registered voters in the village of Bluffton will vote at The Centre, 601 N. Main St., during the May 4 Ohio primary election.
Voters were notified this week that the polling location will move from the Bluffton elementary school, where it was located for several decades, to The Centre.
According to Kathy Meyer, director of the Allen County board of elections, voters must receive a notification of a polling location move 90 days prior to an election, thus the yellow post card sent through the U.S. Postal Service announcing the location change.
At their winter meeting, the Bluffton University Board of Trustees discussed current business, welcomed a new member and granted three sabbaticals for the 2021-22 academic year.
Trustees heard reports on enrollment and retention, reviewed progress of strategic plan launching initiatives, and discussed new COVID-19 policies and protocols on campus.
Bethny Ricks, West Liberty, Ohio, recently joined the board as an at-large member.
Several area students are on the Ohio State-Lima autumn semester dean’s list. Criteria varies by college. It is usually based on the GPA for that specific term and the number of credit hours taken. Many colleges require a minimum of 12 graded credit hours with a 3.5 GPA or higher.
Isabella Angel, a senior, is the Bluffton High School February student of the month.
She is involved in several school activities including flag corps, academic team, Art Club, National Honor Society and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions).
One of her art pieces was selected for a juried art show and she has also won multiple academic awards.
In her spare time she enjoys creating art projects, watching movies and hanging out with her friends. She is employed at Luke’s.
Cheryl A. Miller, 71, died March 8, 2021, at Mercy Health - St. Rita's Medical Center in Lima. Cheryl was born Aug. 14, 1949, in Bluffton to the late David and Bernice (Scott) Slane. On June 30, 1968, she married Dale A. Miller and he survives.
Cheryl graduated from Lafayette-Jackson High School, obtained her associate's degree from Owens Technical College and a bachelor's degree from the University of Findlay.
