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More than 500 swimmers and their families will descend on Kenton on July 7-8, for the 41st annual Elks Invitational Swim Meet and Western Ohio Aquatics League (WOAL) Championship. The WOAL meet is for swimmers aged 5-18 who are members of a league team.

The Kenton Municipal Swimming pool is the host site for the even, which will host teams from Ada, Bluffton, Findlay, Kenton, Shawnee Country Club, Wapakoneta, Westside and Van Wert. These eight teams will compete for the 2023 league title.  

Events start at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, July 7 and will conclude around 2:00 p.m. Day two will start at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 8 and conclude around 3:00 p.m. The league champs will be crowned at the end of day two.  

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By Paula Scott

Want to know when you or your neighbors can discharge fireworks? Ohio law regarding fireworks changed on July 1, 2022. It is now legal to discharge 1.4G consumer fireworks on specified dates. A white paper from the state fire marshal is summarized below. The full document is HERE.

Discharge is permitted on specific days and at specific times if not banned or further restricted by a local political subdivision. Ohioans may discharge 1.4G consumer fireworks only from 4 p.m. until 11 p.m. (with specified variations) on the following dates: 

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On Sunday, June 25, beloved husband, father, brother, pastor, and friend, Ronald John Williams, age 66, entered Glory after a period of declining health.

Ron was born on January 29, 1957, in Reno, Nevada, to the late Richard and Dorothy (Locher) Williams. He graduated from Bluffton High School in 1975, and Bluffton College in 1980.

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The following article provides highlights from the July 2023 Golden Age News from the Bluffton Senior Citizens Center, 132 N. Main. The Senior Center will be closed on Tuesday, July 4.

July 2023: A great month to enjoy the little things like freedom, friends and popsicles. Some of us will be heading west this month. Don’t have too much fun without us! There will still be lots of things to do at the Senior Center while we are gone. Come and check them out.

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At the June 14 meeting of the Bluffton Ohio Historical Society, brothers Darrell and Dan Groman gave a close look and detailed history of their 1940 Chevys. It was a mini preview of the Festival of Wheels to come. Each society meeting at 7:00 p.m. on the 2nd Wednesday of the month features a presentation as well as business to develop the new group.

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The Swiss Community Historical Society of Bluffton and Pandora will host its second Summer Saturday event at the Schumacher Homestead, 8350 Bixel Rd., on Saturday, July 1, from 1:00-4:00 p.m. The special activity will feature Van Risser demonstrating and sharing some examples of hearth cooking.

During the early years Swiss Settlement cooks used a back fire and pulled hot coals forward under a cast iron pot. They learned to control their fire and plan what kind of heat was needed for different tasks—roasting, boiling, frying, stewing, heating water for washing, etc. A steady supply of firewood was essential and was probably logged, cut up, and carried into the house by the men and boys.

The public is invited to attend this event. Docents in period costumes will be on hand for guided tours of the air-conditioned house, as well as the summer kitchen, garden, workshop and barn. 

Private tours may be arranged for Mondays-Saturdays by contacting Susie Gratz at [email protected] or calling 419-358-4822 and leaving a message.

July 1, 2023
Schumacher House 8350 Bixel Road, Bluffton
1:00-4:00 p.m.

Admission is $5, free for those under age 17 and members.

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Bluffton Exempted Village Schools will hold a Board of Education Meeting at 7:30 p.m. on June 27, 2023 in the Elementary Media Center, 102 S. Jackson St.

The meeting agenda:

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The following agenda outlines the Village of Bluffton Council Meeting to be held at 7:00 p.m. on June 26, 2023 at Bluffton Town Hall, 154 N. Main St. (also attached as PDF.)

AGENDA

Opening Ceremonies

Call to Order, Mayor Johnson presiding

Pledge of Allegiance

Minutes

Approval of the minutes for the Village Council meeting held on Monday, June 12, 2023

Bills

Public Comment:

Committee Reports

Insurance Committee:

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The Apollo Career Center High School has issued the attached June board agenda for the regular board meeting scheduled for Monday, June 26, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. 

The meeting will be held in Apollo's Board room. 

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Bluffton University was recently named to the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society’s 2023 Transfer Honor Roll in recognition of the dynamic pathways the university has created to support community college transfer students.

Bluffton is one of the 208 colleges and universities selected for the honor. Colleges were named based on PTK’s “Transfer Friendliness” rating.

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