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If you’re part of Gen X, chances are you tried to avoid death by dysentery and debated how many bullets to take with you on your Oregon Trail trip, provided courtesy of the still-popular pixelated video game. First released in 1971, the game, which has undergone several adaptations since then, was designed to help teach younger students about 19th century pioneers who journeyed along this historic westward route.

But it’s what the game, particularly its original version, doesn’t teach and show, however, that captured the interest of Ohio Northern University professors Dr. John Estell, professor of computer engineering and computer science, and Dr. Stephany Coffman-Wolph, assistant professor of computer science.

The two turned those game gaps into research and learning opportunities that continue to resonate with and benefit engineering majors. Their success with intersecting the science of digital gaming with fuller and accurate historical knowledge about Oregon Trail realities resulted in a redesigned Programming 2 course that students love, so much so that enrollment in the course doubled. A pedagogical spinoff being introduced in spring 2023 will be an interactive fiction course for both computer science and English students that Estell will be teaching with English professor Dr. Lisa Robeson.

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Bluffton High School Band director Dave Sycks reports that students attended Solo and Ensemble Adjudicated Events on Saturday, February 11, at St. Mary’s High School. The following ratings were earned:

Class A

Hannah Davis - Trumpet Solo - Superior rating
Alyssa Hoffman - Clarinet Solo -  Excellent rating

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On February 6, several Girl Scout troops from Bluffton toured the Clymer Wildlife Museum in Columbus Grove. 

One of the owners, Gary Clymer, and his grandson Thayne Clymer gave the girls a tour of the museum, which includes wild game from all over the world and a separate display of preserved fish, like the 12' long 500# Blue Marlin. 

With their tour guides' permission, the girls were able to feel the very short bristly hair on an elephants foot and a fossilized woolly mammoth's tusks as well as one of its teeth. The wooly mammoth had been found sticking out of a melting glacier years ago, during one of the Clymers' northern expeditions.   

The moose head in the picture is actually mounted at the height, the moose would stand in the wild.

Sixteen scouts and seven adults were in the tour group. The troops included Juniors (Troop Leader Whitney Utendorf, Asst. Troop Leader Jessica Pratt), Cadettes (Troop Leader Kelly Honse, Asst. Troop Leader Whitney Utendorf), and Seniors (Troop Leader Kelly Honse, Asst. Troop Leader Victoria Goddard).

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The January student of the month at Bluffton High School is Jacob Szabo, the son of Jeremy and Julia Szabo of Bluffton. Jacob is a senior with a 3.883 GPA. 

Jacob was a member of the Bluffton High School band his freshman year including marching, concert, pep and jazz bands. He has also been a member of the varsity baseball team. 

He attends and is a member of Redeemer Covenant Church in Arlington. He also attends a Bible study group hosted by freshman classmate Liliana Liberato.

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The Black Swamp Area Council's 2023 Klondike Derby for area boy scouts was just a little ahead of the snowy-slushy weather of last week. With or without snow, this annual tradition draws hundreds of BSA members. This year, 39 sled teams gathered for the competition at Camp Berry, 11716 Co Rd 40, south of Findlay--including the "Sour Patch Kids Patrol" from Bluffton's Troop 256. Other teams were from Northwest and West Central Ohio.

The daylong event challenged patrol groups of 5-8 Scouts with tests of skills, agility and endurance. Patrols competed at seven "city" stations scattered across camp. Across wet grass and mud, scouts navigated their sleds and raced against each other. To accomodate the number of sleds competing, there were multiple start times. 

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Bluffton Elementary School has released the following Honor Roll for students in the fourth and fifth grades for the second quarter of the 2022-2023 academic year. By our count, 124 students received this distinction.

All A’s Honor Roll

4th Grade:
Wesley Combs, Elijah Fry, Lydia Gratz, Gabriella Holmes, Milena King, Zachary Lehmkuhle, Averie Marquart, Mikah Miller, Sage Music, Simon Phillips, Samuel Rinaldi, McKenna Stoner, 

5th Grade:
Wyatt Amstutz, Cora Beck, Barrett Benroth, Clara Brauen, Thayne Bricker, Landon Byers, Juliana Carnauba, Wyatt Conley, Cameron Cox, Easton Dunifon, Caleb Fifer, Warren Gaertner, Breydan Glick,

Alenah Gordon-Hancock, Colton Kelly, Kyson Kleman, Amara Kohli, Kinzi Koogler, Jeht Kruse, Peyton Lieurance, Hope Luginbill, Ryker Matson, Levi Mummert, Eva Nygaard, Dominic Recker, Addison Rieman, Ethan Roby, Kadreye Scoles, Addilyn Shoemaker, Bowen Shutler, Claire Snyder, Emery Thiel, Addyson White, 

A/B Honor Roll

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