May 2023

  • /

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – New user-friendly features have been announced for www.OhioMeansJobs.com 

The updates are coordinated by InnovateOhio, the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. These new features take a faster, streamlined approach to connect unemployed Ohioans with jobs while helping employers identify new talent. The enhancements are the next phase to improve customer experience with www.OhioMeansJobs.com

  • /

Join us in thanking our advertisers of the week. They make it possible to provide FREE news updated daily.

Ed Reichenbach-State Farm Agent, 341 S Main St, Bluffton, OH 45817; 419-358-7781

First National Bank of Pandora, 112 Cherry St, Bluffton, OH 45817; 419-358-5500

Meet our Bluffton Icon advertisers HERE.

  • /

The following graduates from the Ada Icon and Bluffton Icon readership areas received their Associate degrees from Rhodes State College following spring semester 2023.

  • /

Teacher Appreciation Week video by Ohio Lottery HERE.

“You think it’d be hard to learn Latin, but she does such a great job,” says Ella, a Bluffton High School student featured in a video about teacher Brigette Hoff, who won an adventurous field trip in the Teacher Appreciation Week Giveaway from the Ohio Lottery and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

  • /

UPDATE POSTED AT 9:53 A.M.

According to www.13abc.com / 13 Action News early on Wednesday, May 24, "A police department in Henderson, Kentucky ... "had arrested one of the men that escaped from the prison in Lima earlier this week."

James Marion Lee was arrested but Bradley Gillespie, fled on foot and had not yet been apprehended. Gillespie was convicted for a double murder.

The following media release was issued at 11:32 p.m. on Tuesday, May 23:

LIMA – The Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and  Correction are investigating after two inmates, Bradley Gillespie, 50, and James Lee, 47 escaped from the Allen/Oakwood Correctional Institution (AOCI). 

Today [Tuesday, May 23] during a prisoner count at 11:00 a.m., ODRC officials determined Lee was missing. Angela Stuff, AOCI warden, approved an emergency count of all prisoners in  the facility and escape posts were manned. During the emergency count, it was  discovered Gillespie was also missing. The ODRC notified law enforcement and officers from multiple jurisdictions, the Allen County Sheriff’s Office, and the Patrol responded to the facility. 

During the course of the investigation, prison officials determined Gillespie and Lee  were last observed on surveillance video inside the facility at 8:41 a.m. on May 22. 

The Patrol continues to work with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners  to investigate potential leads.

CONTINUES

  • /

Warning from the Allen County Sherrif's Office:

2 inmates have escaped from Allen-Oakwood Correctional Institution in Lima, Ohio. Information is limited at the moment. Please be aware and use caution. If you see either inmate please DO NOT APPROACH. Immediately call 911.

James Lee – 47 years old. Male, brown hair, blue eyes, 300 pounds

Bradley Gillespie – 50 years old, male, bald, blue eyes, 200 pounds

The Sheriff's Office will update with more information as it is available.

  • /

Barbara Ann Zimmerly, 82, died on May 17, 2023 at Sunrise Senior Living, Findlay, from complications of Lewy Body Dementia. She was born on November 16, 1940 in Wapakoneta,Ohio to Helen (Wisener) and Kermit Katterheinrich.  She married Denver (Junior) Zimmerly on April 2, 1960. They celebrated 60 years of marriage before his death on November 29, 2020. Also preceding her in death were her parents, sister: Nancy Harrod, brother; James Katterheinrich and brother-in-law and sister-in-law; Larry and Shirley Zimmerly. 

  • /

Mohawk FFA Chapter and Cory Rawson High School earn annual Paint-The-Plow titles

LIMA, Ohio (May 23, 2023) – The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) District 1’s annual Paint-the-Plow contest winners are Hancock County’s Cory-Rawson High School and Wyandot County’s Mohawk High School.

  • /

A PROCLAMATION FROM BLUFFTON MAYOR RICHARD JOHNSON:

WHEREAS, public works services provided in our community are an integral part of our citizen's everyday lives; and

WHEREAS, the support of an understanding and informed public is vital to the efficient operation of public works systems and programs including water, sever, streets, public buildings, solid waste collection, landfill, wastewater disposal, code enforcement and engineering to provide these essential services to our citizens; and

  • /

A tradition dating back to 1868 continues to bring veterans and families together across the nation and in Bluffton. The tradition, originally called Decoration Day and now known as Memorial Day, is decorating the graves of America’s war dead.

In Bluffton, the members of American Legion Post #382 understand the bond and tradition: “We invite citizens of Bluffton and surrounding communities to join us in remembering those who died for our Freedom.”

A Memorial Day Parade will start from the Bluffton Town Hall. All who wish to participate, should be at the Town Hall, 154 N. Main St., by 9:15 a.m.

Pages