April 2023

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UPDATED October 11, 2023.

Dwight D. Baumgartner, 95, passed away April 5, 2023 at Mennonite Memorial Home, Bluffton. Dwight was born July 16, 1927 in Pandora to the late Elmer and Emma "Viola" (Vermillion) Baumgartner. On June 21, 1947, he married Irene Suter Baumgartner who survives. 

Dwight was a graduate of Pandora High School and was a veteran serving in the United States Army - 9th Infantry - 2nd Division. He was a machinist at Ex-Cello Corporation, Bluffton. 

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By Cort Reynolds

Playing at home, the Bluffton softball team fell 5-4 to Arcadia on Tuesday evening, April 4.

The Pirates dropped to 2-3 after suffering their third straight non-league loss. The last two defeats have come by just one run apiece.

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Andrew Paul "Andy" Reichenbach was born June 10, 1980 in Columbus, Indiana to Jennifer and Dean Reichenbach. It was there that he learned to love Jesus, music, and sports. At Columbus North High School, Andy loved playing on the basketball team and playing guitar in his band, The Lost Poets. (PHOTO).

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By Ethan Stearns, sports information assistant

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Bluffton University baseball team finished a three-game series with Defiance on Monday, April 3, 2023, with a 5-2 victory, completing the sweep while improving to 11-7 and 5-1 in the Heartland Conference. The Defiance baseball team fell to 3-14 and 0-5 in the HCAC.

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FINDLAY--Eggs were essential on the farm and were easy to come by as most pioneers raised chickens. Mrs. Boylan will be frying eggs on the cookstove, brewing fresh coffee and talking with guests about the many ways pioneers cooked with eggs. Stop by the wagon shed to visit with the chickens and see if any of the hens have laid eggs. 

Litzenberg Memorial Woods, McKinnis House. 1-4:00 p.m.
All ages are welcome. Free; registration is not required. 

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The following announcement was made by the Bluffton Police Department on Facebook:

The Bluffton Police Department has received several complaints recently regarding school bus and school zone safety. Our officers will be taking a proactive approach to these complaints and you will see an increased police presence around the schools to help keep our youth safe. 

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Glad to see March 2023 and its weather in the rear view mirror? Here is the month's weather summary from NWS weather observer Guy Verhoff of Pandora.

March Weather Observations Chart

MARCH 2023 - PANDORA OBSERVATIONS

Avg. Temp. 39.0

Normal Avg. Temp 37.5

Normal Avg. Prec 2.58

Max Temp 65 on March 1

Min Temp 17 on March 19

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Eleven local high schools swimmers will represent the Lima YMCA this week for the YMCA National Competition April 3-7 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Swimmers are from Ada, Bath, Bluffton, Elida, Shawnee, Van Wert and Wapakoneta high school swim teams and will represent the Lima area.

All swimmers had to qualify with top time cuts to be invited to Nationals. The competition will include more than 325 teams with more than 1000 swimmers from YMCA teams across the United States.
This year is the 100th year of this competition and past Olympic swimmers and other professional swimmers will be in attendance. Swimmers are coached by head coach April Dorman of Bluffton and assistant coaches Jeff Bowlus, Lima; Luke Kleman, Glandorf and Scott Newman, Lima.

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By Cort Reynolds

ELIDA – Bluffton High School softball lost an extra-inning nailbiter at Elida 8-7 Monday evening, April 3.

The Pirates dropped to 2-2 after the seesaw, non-league loss.

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Apollo Career Center superintendent Keith Horner has issued the following invitation to the communities served by the ACC high school:

Greetings from Apollo Career Center!

This is your official invitation to one of our biggest celebrations. We are always excited this time of year because of the great events ahead: Signing Day, National Honor Society Induction and Senior Honors Night.

One that may be of particular interest to you is ApolloPalooza, Thursday, April 13, 5:30-7:00 p.m. ApolloPalooza is a campus-wide, community celebration of partnerships, programs, students, alumni, community members and career tech education. Apollo Career Center, unlike most public schools, does not have the traditional extracurricular activities that allow us to open the building to the public. Furthermore, high school and adult classes are happening day and night so the campus is always in use. For ApolloPalooza, all labs and classrooms, adult education and high school, will be open for tours, demos and hands-on activities.

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