All Bluffton Icon News

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COLUMBUS, Ohio– The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Forestry is urging Ohioans to follow the state’s outdoor burning regulations and to take precautions if they plan to burn debris this spring. Ohio law dictates that most outdoor burning is prohibited in unincorporated areas from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. March through May.
 
“Each spring, wildfires ignite in Ohio due to careless trash and debris burning,” said ODNR Division of Forestry Chief Dan Balser. “If Ohioans follow safe burning practices and obey regulations, they can help prevent wildfires.”
 

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Registration deadline: March 9

The Bluffton Center for Entrepreneurs (BCE) is once again hosting the Small Business Information Series and the Ropp Triplett Business Plan Competition.

The Business Plan Competition is open to any entrepreneur with a business idea, or a business that has been in operation for three years or less.

The 2025 Small Business Information Series will be held on Tuesdays from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. beginning on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 and ending on April 15, 2025. 

The classes will be hosted locally on the third floor of the Bluffton Town Hall. Classes will be broadcast live from the Borra Center at Rhodes State Collage. 

Please note that online, remote class opportunities will exist should you not be able to make every session.

For more information, or to register, click HERE.

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Open house to be held on April 1

LIMA — The Lima-Allen County Regional Planning Commission (LACRPC) has announced that Rebecca Phillips is its new executive director. The vote was made official in a special board meeting with the organization’s executive committee on Feb. 20. Phillips’ new role became  effective immediately following the vote.

LACRPC is also the administrator for the newly designated West Central Ohio Rural  Planning Organization (WORPO), which came to fruition in December 2024.  “With our service area expanding from Allen County to now include seven additional  counties because of WORPO, I want to ensure we continue to meet the needs of all of our  stakeholders,” Phillips explained. “We have a lot of projects coming up, so I’m looking forward  to sharing and discussing them with the community.” 

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Blanchard Valley Hospital, a division of Blanchard Valley Health System, is on Newsweek’s list of the World’s Best Hospitals 2025. 

A repeat winner of this award, BVH received additional recognition this year in two categories, infection prevention and patient experience.

The award list was announced on February 26, 2025, and can be viewed on Newsweek’s website.

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By Paula Pyzik Scott

The Village of Bluffton is among communities finding Klu Klux Klan recruiting flyers on the ground, according to Mayor Richard Johnson at the Monday, February 24 council meeting.

Johnson asked residents to turn in any flyers found to Town Hall. 

He characterized the flyers as an attempt to draw attention to an upcoming convention and “create fear and intimidation toward members of our village.” He stressed that “this is unacceptable and is not representative of our village. Hate is not to be tolerated in our village.”

News reports indicate that the flyers have been distributed in places including Ohio and Kentucky along I-75.

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The Village of Bluffton has issued notice of a public hearing to be held before the Streets, Alleys, Lights and Sidewalks Committee to consider the proposed vacation of a portion of Vine Street between N. Jackson Street and N. Lawn Avenue.

Hearing Date: March 25, 2025
Time: 5:30 pm
Location: Bluffton Town Hall – 3rd floor Community Room
154 N. Main St., Bluffton, Oh 45817

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