By Joshua Ebel, MD
Urology, Blanchard Valley Urology Associates
March has arrived. For many men, this is a time to take it easy and enjoy watching your favorite (or not-so-favorite) college basketball team compete in March Madness.
For others, it’s your last break before a busy spring of outdoor work around the yard or in the fields. For these reasons, March has often also been considered the perfect time to think about a vasectomy. ESPN has even covered the trend of men scheduling vasectomies in March, and local trends reflect this as well. Some clinics even report a 50% increase in vasectomies through March.
Above) Dignitaries Ken and Kitty Keller congratulate Bluffton Lions on the 90th anniversary of their charter. Additional photos follow this article.
By Paula Pyzik Scott
The Bluffton Lions Club celebrated the 90th anniversary of its charter with a banquet and program on March 5 providing both a history of the club and an international context for its future work.
The R.L. and Etta L. Triplett Memorial Foundation is accepting applications for scholarships to be awarded to Bluffton High Schools seniors planning to enroll at Bluffton University in the fall.
Scholarships of $2,000 were presented to an individual BHS seniors in 2022 and 2023 during the May academic awards ceremony.
The amount of the 2024 award is dependent upon the number of student recipients. Students must be a Bluffton High School senior planning to attend Bluffton University who is not eligible for tuition exchange.
Are you a baker ready to sell your home-baked goods? Are you a farmer looking for value-added opportunities for crops you’ve grown or livestock you've raised?
This weekend, Et Cetera Inc., the parent organization of Book Reviews, Et Cetera Thrift Shop, and supporter of Bluffton Ten Thousand Villages, is hosting one of several 50th anniversary celebrations. At 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 10, the non-profit will present “Celebrating Fifty Years of Fashion” at the Bluffton Middle school Cafetorium.
By Matt Burkholder
The Nature Conservancy
Farmer Advocate for Conservation Coordinator [email protected]
Does Riley creek have to turn brown after a rainfall event?
The short answer is no. But why does it turn brown? Most farm field’s drain into lakes and streams in our community. Unfortunately last fall many farm fields were tilled bare, exposing soil to erosion. Often a fall tillage pass is done to break up the soil and reduce compaction caused by heavy machinery. Heavy machinery will always make some compaction. The last two fall seasons were very dry; as a result I would argue there wasn’t as much compaction made as farmers think. After a tillage pass is made rain water does infiltrate into the soil quickly. Soon after that the topsoil crusts over and water infiltration begins to decline, resulting in the need for another tillage pass. As farmers and landowners it is our responsibility to reduce erosion. The annual rate of soil erosion in Ohio is approximately 2.7 tons. That is not acceptable and it doesn’t have to be this way.
By Megan Gushrowski, Pharmacist and Karen L. Kier, Pharmacist
On behalf of the ONU Healthwise Team
If someone uses the idiom to “take it with a pinch of salt,” they are asking you to consider or evaluate a statement because one may be skeptical about the truthfulness. Others may think of a pinch of salt when it is used in cooking. However, a pinch of salt (sodium chloride) does have an impact on one’s health.
A diet high in sodium is a known contributing factor to high blood pressure and a recent study shows it may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus. A study published by the Mayo Clinic in November 2023 asked people whether they always, usually, sometimes, or never/rarely added salt to their food and then followed these people to see if they developed type 2 diabetes.
