By Liz Gordon-Hancock

The following five land transfers took place in the Bluffton Exempted Village School District for the month of November 2024 as reported on the websites of Allen County Auditor Rachael S. Gilroy and Hancock County Auditor Charity A. Rauschenberg.

ADDRESS - SALE DATE - SALE PRICE - LAND USE - FROM/TO

Commercial

THURMAN ST – 11/13/2024 – $40,000 – Commercial structures – From Andrew & Annette Herrmann to GRASS FARMER LLC

Residential

9051 HANCOCK RD – 11/8/2024 – $475,000 – Agricultural land with house and building – From Susan Holstein to Jacob & Kelli Blackburn

303 PARKVIEW DR – 11/21/2024 – $100,000 – Residential vacant land – From THREE S DEVELOPMENT GROUP LLC to SAHAJ BLUFFTON PROPERTIES LLC

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Bluffton University’s 130th and 131st performances of Handel’s “Messiah” have been sold out. Doors to both performances will open at 7 p.m. Guests are encouraged to arrive early and have their tickets ready.

The 130th performance will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6, in Yoder Recital Hall, Bluffton University, and the 131st performance will be at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7, in Winebrenner Auditorium, University of Findlay.

Comments requested by Friday, Dec. 20, 2024

LIMA – The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) District 1, in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Executive Order 11988, is seeking public comments regarding the following proposed projects:

ODOT is proposing to paint various bridges in Allen, Defiance, Hancock, and Wyandot counties.

Allen County 

County Road 173 structure over Interstate Route 75 at mile marker 4.83, about two miles southwest of the village of Beaverdam.

By Katie Prater, ONU PharmD Candidate 2025 and Karen L. Kier, Pharmacist
On behalf of ONU Healthwise Pharmacy 

In 1992, Billy Ray Cyrus released his song Achy Breaky Heart. Originally, this song was written by Don Von Tress in 1990 and initially released as Don’t Tell my Heart by the Marcy Brothers in 1991.

Melvin Dale Dawson, age 94, of Bluffton, passed away at Willow Ridge, Freda House, Bluffton on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, surrounded by his family. 

He was born on September 16, 1930 in Allen County, Ohio to the late J. Fred and Georgia L. (Cowan) Dawson. Melvin married Dorothy Anspach and she preceded him in death on March 26, 1994. He later married Marjorie A. Winegardner on September 1, 1995 and she survives in Bluffton.      

By Cort Reynolds

BLUFFTON – The Bluffton High School girls basketball team dominated visiting Defiance 60-37 in a non-league contest Tuesday night, December 3.

Entertainment for the December 7 and 8 SCHS Christmas Open House at Schumacher Homestead, 8350 Bixel Rd., has been announced as follows:

From December 9-18, Bluffton Elementary School will be conducting a "Cans and Coins" community service project with two goals: to collect items for the food pantry and collect money for community needs.

This year, the coin collection will benefit the new Village of Bluffton park on Snider Rd. that will include a soccer complex.

All coins will go in the jug by the front entrance. All food items will go on/under the table by the front entrance.

If the tub is filled with money one time time, principal Kori Bernal will surprise students with "something fun and crazy."

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Click photos to enter gallery mode and view at your own pace. PHOTOS provided by Trevor Bassitt.

Olympic athlete Trevor Bassitt, 26, Team USA Track & Field and 5x World Medalist, competed in the men’s 400-meter hurdles in the 2024 summer Olympics. See part 1 HERE.

By Benji Bergstrand

As Trevor Bassitt began to settle into life in the Olympic Village and tune up for his 400m hurdle preliminary race one thing that wasn’t high on his to-do list was sightseeing. “I had been to Paris before for a race in 2023. I had seen the Eiffel Tower,” Bassitt said. Plus, there was all the walking. “If you weren’t going to an Olympic site where they had a shuttle, you would have to walk a good ten minutes out from the village because all the roads were shut down and they wouldn’t let people through without a credential, and there are few things I hate more than unnecessary walking, so I didn’t go sightseeing too much.”

The village itself provided Trevor plenty of opportunities for entertainment and exploration. At over 130 acres and supporting a population of over 14,000 people, it truly was a village within the city of Paris. “The Village itself was massive,” Bassitt said. “I didn’t even see every part of it. There were shuttles that could take you anywhere in the village you wanted. There was a grocery store, a Paris 2024 merchandise store, a Samsung store and there were vending machines all over with free Coca Cola products for the villagers. They also had some interactive games and scavenger hunts athletes could do to try and get pins.” ▶︎

Diane Dray, 77, entered eternal life on December 2, 2024. She was the daughter of Charles and Ola (Marshall) Conrad who preceded her in death. Diane was married to Fred Dray who also preceded her in death. 

She is survived by her sister, Charlene (Harold "Bud") King of Bluffton, Ohio; nephew Christopher Lee of Findlay, Ohio; and numerous cousins and friends, including her pet cat, Elvis. Diane grew up in Bluffton, and after graduating college, moved to Spring Arbor, Michigan, where she and her husband established their home. 

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