It could be the best thing since sliced bread. Some call it a "better mouse trap." Whatever you call it, The Bluffton Icon's garage sale map is finding friends among garage salers in the community.

The Icon this week launched a garage sale map. The map lists every garage sale posted on The Icon.

"Several garage salers have asked if we could create a map," said Fred Steiner of The Icon. "We've experimented with at least four different versions and are happy to officially launch it.'"

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Here's an advance photo of the Northwest Conference boys' basketball team champions from Bluffton High School during the 2019-20 or '20-21 season, or so.

Making up the photo are participants in the Bluffton Lil' Pirates basketball camp from first to fourth grades. The camp took place recently. Over 90 boys from grades first through eighth participated.

On Tuesday skywatchers witnessed a rare planetary spectacle, as the planet Venus appeared to cross the face of the sun. If you missed it, you're out of luck. This once-in-a-lifetime event won't happen again until 2117.

The story behind the photo and video.

Friday afternoon, around 3 p.m., my cell phone rang. It was Bluffton Police Officer Rhodes. He told me that he spotted two American Bald Eagles in the field across the Maple Crest and wondered if I was interested.

Before his statement was finished I had grabbed my camera and was heading out the door. On my way the cell phone rang again. It was Lynda Best. Her husband saw the eagles and called her. She call me, too.

I have a 300 mm zoom lens for bird watching, so I figured where ever these birds were I could locate them.

BHS state track competitors

For Bluffton High School Pirate track fans, here are important links for those following BHS at this weekend's state track meet.
Bluffton girl qualifiers
Julie Althaus 11 4x800R, 4x400R
Alaina Bixel 12 4x200R
Hannah Chappell-Dick 12 4x800R, 4x200R, 800, 4x400R
Alissa Garmatter 12 4x800R
Lydia Guagenti 12 4x200R, 400, 4x400R, HJ
Karli Leugers 11 4x200R
Jill Steinmetz 10 4x800R, 4x400R

The Bluffton High School alumni men's basketball tournament is Saturday, June 2, according to Todd Boblitt, BHS boy's coach.

Games begin at 9 a.m. Admission is $2 for spectators and all proceeds support our Lil' Pirate Basketball Program. Games are played in the new gym.

For tournament brackets open the attachment at the bottom of this story.

Team rosters follow:

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