Wednesday, August 26th, 2020
Only four new cases reported in the area
By Leslie Gartrell
CELINA - A 61-year-old St. Henry man reportedly is the 13th person to die from COVID-19 in Mercer County.
The newest death was accompanied by two new confirmed cases, raising the county's total to 754, according to a county health district news release on Tuesday. [More]
Indians give coach first varsity victory
By Colin Foster
ST. MARYS - A different face patrolled the sideline for the Fort Recovery volleyball team Tuesday night.
The winning outcome was very similar to past seasons.
Fort Recovery opened its 2020 campaign with a 25-19, 25-15, 25-17 sweep of St. Marys at Murotech Court to give Travis Guggenbiller his first win as head coach of the program. [More]
Obituaries on August 26th, 2020
Martin J. Fahncke died on Monday, August 24, 2020, at Otterbein, St. Marys, Ohio. He was 101. [More]
Ann C. Ridgway, age 72, of Portland and formerly of Fort Recovery, died August 24, 2020 at the Bluffton Regional Medical Center, Bluffton, IN. [More]
Local pictures on August 26th, 2020
Subscriber stories on August 26th, 2020
CELINA - City councilors are getting closer to enacting a new sidewalk program, with at least four members supporting the city's shouldering the entire cost of the repair or replacement of existing sidewalks.
CELINA - U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Troy, spoke with members of the business community on Tuesday about the events of the past year and tried to give them an insight into what could be coming.
MENDON - Village council members approved bidding $86,500 for a used bucket truck.
Street commissioner Randy Severns in June said the village's buc
Mercer County's unemployment rate continued to improve in July, as the county improved its standing from eighth-lowest to third-lowest unemployment rate in the state.
Area Roundup
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
The 2020 cross country season got underway for area teams as St. Henry hosted the Mercer County Meet at the Wally Post Athletic Complex.
CELINA - The last 10 months have been a whirlwind for Celina football.
After finishing 3-7 a season ago, the Bulldogs - as did every other football team in Ohio - had to prepare to play not knowing if they would actually get the chance due to the pandemic.
COLDWATER - Veteran Coldwater football coach Chip Otten is taking a playoff-style approach to the 2020 football season that was in doubt for some time and is still a concern.
FORT RECOVERY - Fort Recovery has players who have proved capable of getting it done at a high level.
The Indians are now out to prove they can win at a high level.
MARION LOCAL - Marion Local had question marks across the board last year, and answered by winning the Division VII state championship.
Coach Tim Goodwin and company have fewer question marks entering the 2020 season.
MINSTER - Last season, the Minster football team enjoyed a year in which they finished 10-2 overall and at 7-1 in the Midwest Athletic Conference, they enjoyed a share of their first league championship in 30 years.
NEW BREMEN - The bar was set high last year.
But the 2020 New Bremen Cardinals want to raise it even higher.
New Bremen played eventual state cha
ROCKFORD - Joel Henkle was optimistic that the Parkway football team could begin to turn things around in 2019.
The result was a 4-6 season in his first season as head coach of his alma mater, a vast improvement after the team won just six games the previous five seasons combined.
ST. HENRY - After finishing the 2019 season with a 1-9 record, St. Henry football coach Brad Luthman is focused on returning a winning attitude to the Redskins program.
ST. MARYS - Following a four-year stint in which the St. Marys Roughriders grabbed at least a share of the Western Buckeye League title three times,
CELINA - Celina will assume the "Bourne Identity" as Angela Bourne takes over as head volleyball coach this season, replacing Amy Sutter, who went 94-79 and 48-15 in the Western Buckeye League with two league titles in seven seasons as coach.
COLDWATER - For Nikki Etzler to maintain the winning that the Coldwater volleyball program has achieved in the past few seasons - with 88 victories over the past four seasons and a state runner-up finish in 2017 - some reloading will be required.
FORT RECOVERY - The Fort Recovery Indians have continued taking steps forward, in the Midwest Athletic Conference and the state rankings. 
Maybe t
MARIA STEIN - Anthony Chappel paid homage to his favorite coach, the New England Patriots' Bill Belichick, when he wore a short-sleeved hoodie during this summer's Mark Ruschau Classic in New Bremen.
MINSTER - Head coach Cami Garman embarks on her 11th season at the helm of the Minster Wildcats hoping to improve on her squad's 15-9 finish from 201
NEW BREMEN - As the fate of the volleyball season hung in the balance this summer, New Bremen coach Diana Kramer repeatedly told her team one thing: control what you can control.
ROCKFORD - Parkway volleyball coach Jordan Henkle will have a youthful team this season as the Panther try to build from last season's 9-15 campaign.
Parkway has four sophomores and four juniors on the roster, with three of the four returning starters being either 10th- or 11th-graders.
ST. HENRY - St. Henry has been one of Ohio's top-ranked teams on a yearly basis.
Bench boss Tricia Rosenbeck's team was led on the court by a talented - and now graduated - bunch in 2019. And the coach knows this year's team will have to work a little extra to be successful.
ST. MARYS - Caley Yoder's first season as head volleyball coach will have her coaching a St. Marys team that brings a lot of experience back from a 9-15 squad that went 4-5 in the Western Buckeye League.