The Gift of Giving light display in the parking lot across from Harmon Field has been delighting children of all ages for generations. With over 10,000 lights, a rocking soundtrack by Manheim Steamroller (used with permission), and the heart-warming story of a tree hoping to be picked as a Christmas tree. This display is a can’t-miss tradition for many area families.
The care and maintenance for a community icon of this scale takes a lot of work, and that effort has been generously donated for the last three years by the electrical apprentice program at GROB Systems in Bluffton. American Legion members had been caring for the display previous to that. “The year prior to us taking over responsibility for the system, I spent a few hours with Fred Rodabaugh and Larry Core to see how they and the other American Legion members went about the setup,” said Electrical Training Instructor Evan Steiner, “They provided me with a circuit diagram and labeled pictures of the display showing the relative location of the trees, animals, Frosty, etc..”
Happy Holidays! The Bluffton Icon and Ada Icon will be in holiday mode from Christmas Eve on Tuesday, December 24 to New Year's Day on Wednesday, January 1.
Content will be updated with breaking news including sports and obituaries, but our office will be closed. Please continue to send information 24/7 to [email protected] and leave messages at 567-400-4266.
LIMA – The Bluffton High School wrestling team finished a strong second at the 12-team Allen County Invitational meet on December 21 that was hosted by Shawnee High School.
Allen East beat out the Pirates 249.5 points to 206.5 to win the team title.
Bluffton’s Mason Shank won the heavyweight division championship with a perfect 5-0 mark on the day.
Shank went 4-0 in pool play with three pins. He then decisioned Bath’s Kyle Slaght 9-4 in the bracket championship match to win the crown.
Freshman Ronald Kaufman went 3-0 in the 106 lbs. bracket and beat Lima Senior’s Corbin Phillips 15-2 in a majority decision for first place.
Junior Evan Grothause took second in the tough 190 lbs. division. He went 2-0 in pool play with two pins. He then pinned two more foes in the quarterfinals and semifinals to reach the title bout.
After Trevor Bassitt failed to advance out of the preliminary heat in the 400m hurdles at the Paris Olympics, there were no alarm bells going off, no panic setting in. He had been there before. The 2024 season had tested and taught him. Adversity didn’t scare him.
Trevor had experienced a hamstring injury in late March that had nagged at him through the rest of the season. “I had bounced back pretty quickly,” Bassitt said. “But it never really got back to full strength so I was kind of operating with my left leg at 85-90% the rest of the season.”
LIMA – The Bluffton High School boys basketball team used a big fourth period to pull away and defeat Linden-McKinley STEM Academy (Columbus) 62-45 in the opener of the Kewpee Holiday Classic doubleheader at Lima Senior on Saturday, December 21.
The Pirates improved to 5-0 with the victory. Bluffton has won its four games by a combined total of 165 points (33 ppg).
Linden-McKinley fell to 0-5 after the defeat.
The Pirates led 17-11 after the first quarter, and held a 31-26 advantage at halftime. The Pirates led 42-34 heading to the final quarter.
Bluffton outscored L-M 31-19 after intermission, including 20-11 in the fourth period, to win by 17.
Senior Blake Sommers tallied 21 points to pace the victors. He scored 12 points in the first half, including seven in the opening stanza.
