The Bluffton Icon

By Cort Reynolds / Photo from Facebook BLUFFTON__The Bluffton High School girls tennis team won two home matches on consecutive nights Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 21-22. The victories improved the Pirates' record to 8-5 with two matches remaining before the sectional tournament. On Monday, Bluffton earned a big 4-1 win over Bath to celebrate Senior Night in style. Senior Willow Angel won easily at second singles 6-0, 6-1. Senior Bekah Rehm captured her third singles match 6-3, 6-1.

By Paula Pyzik Scott Bluffton Icon editor, , 567-400-4266 The Bluffton Exempted Village Schools Board of Education held a regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, September 21, with Board President Roni Kaufman conducting the meeting. Business included contracts with seven employees and 26 substitute teachers. A donation of $375 was received from Bluffton Community Assistance Corp. The meeting agenda is here.

Before you submit AI-generated designs to the Icon, please check for text and image inaccuracies. By Paula Pyzik Scott / 567-400-4266 The Ada Icon and Bluffton Icon are now receiving AI-generated ads and promotional materials. If you use these tools, watch for the following issues. MISSING OR INCORRECT INFORMATION I've received AI-generated flyers with wrong dates and non-existent websites. My options are to not use the flyer, crop out the errors or to create a replacement design.

FROM FACEBOOK__The Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce has announced the theme for this year's annual Blaze of Lights Festival, which takes place on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 28. A "Classic American Christmas" has been made this year's theme to coincide with the America 250 celebrations.

MEDIA RELEASE__Due to the weather, the Pandora-Gilboa Homecoming Parade has been rescheduled for Friday, September 25 at 5:30 p.m. Parade participants, please line up on Friday between 5:00–5:15 p.m. The Homecoming Ceremony will begin on Friday, September 25 at 6:00 p.m. with the past Kings and Queens being announced, to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of when Pandora and Gilboa consolidated into one school. The 2026 Homecoming King and Queen crowning ceremony will follow.

FROM FACEBOOK__You can enjoy an evening of chess at the Bluffton Public Library on Tuesdays. The library offers open chess night from 5:30 -7:30 p.m. and is open to all ages. Tables and chess boards are provided on the main floor of the library. Participants may also bring their own.

Carol Jean Bucher, 92, passed away September 18, 2026 at the Bridge Hospice Care Center in Findlay. Carol Jean was born June 9, 1934 in Hancock County, Ohio to the late Dwight and Lucille (Badertscher) Frantz. On April 22, 1955 she married Richard Bucher who preceded her in death on July 20, 2022. Carol Jean graduated from Cory-Rawson High School. She had worked at Cory-Rawson schools and was a homemaker and farm wife. Carol Jean was a member of St. John's United Church of Christ, Bluffton.

Robert “Bob” Lee Sweigart, 85, passed away peacefully with his wife at his bedside on September 18, 2026 at his residence. He was born on January 29, 1941 in Lancaster, Ohio to the late Walter and Cora Estella (Sheets) Sweigart. On August 23, 1964, he married Janice V. McKenzie in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Bob graduated from Lancaster High School in 1959 and served in the U.S. Air Force from 1960-1964 including eighteen months in Korea.

MEDIA RELEASE__A question posed nearly a century ago to Bluffton University alumni Rick Ramseyer’s grandmother continues to raise important questions about citizenship, conscience and what it means to serve one’s country. Ramseyer ’83, a journalist and author, shared the story of his maternal grandmother, Martha Graber, a Mennonite registered nurse and conscientious objector who was twice denied U.S. citizenship after refusing to say she would take up arms to defend the United States.

Free event hosted by Bluffton Ohio Historical Society On Saturday, October 10, at 11:55 a.m., the Bluffton Ohio Historical Society (BOHS) will reenact the moment when John Dillinger walked into Citizens National Bank on August 14, 1933 and stole $2,100. The historically accurate script is written by Fred Steiner, narrated by Kevin Gratz, and involves a dozen volunteers playing the parts of eyewitnesses to the daylight robbery.