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Once again, the global coronavirus pandemic touched every life and every segment of society. The virus and the vaccine were, sadly, the most important stories of 2021. But there were other stories. The local Top 10 list included the tragic deaths of three brothers in a farm accident, convictions in two bizarre murders and a child pornography case. Not all the news was bad, however; federal pandemic aid was welcome.
Luke Winner, 11, receives a COVID-19 shot in November from registered nurse Misty Kleman at the Mercer County Health District in Celina.
The COVID-19 pandemic stretched into its second year in 2021, bringing new challenges and a few triumphs during the tumultuous year.
Three COVID-19 vaccines were granted emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and vaccine rollout began in late December 2020.
Approximately 38% of Mercer County residents have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 36% are fully vaccinated, according to Ohio Department of Health data.
In Auglaize County, 39% of residents have received at least one dose of vaccine while 37% are fully vaccinated, according to ODH.
Both counties saw more cases and deaths with the rapid rise and spread of the delta variant. More than 2,600 new cases of the virus were reported in Mercer County in 2021, or more than 6,000 cumulative cases since the virus was first detected in March 2020.
Mercer County also saw approximately 50 deaths from COVID-19 this year, raising the cumulative death toll to 110 over the course of the pandemic.
Auglaize County had nearly 2,800 new cases of COVID-19 this year, bringing the cumulative number of cases to 5,707 since the beginning of the pandemic. The county also saw more than 40 deaths from the virus in 2021, raising the cumulative death toll to 89.
Three brothers died after becoming overcome by toxic fumes in a manure pit at their family farm near St. Henry.
Mercer Country residents mourned the loss of three brothers who died after becoming trapped in a manure pit on their family farm. Todd Wuebker, 31, Brad Wuebker, 35, and Gary Wuebker, 37, died on Aug. 10 after succumbing to toxic fumes while trying to repair a manure pump.
The eldest brother entered the underground tank first to fix a problem with the pump. When he was overcome by gases and passed out, another brother called for help and rushed in to try rescue his brother. Then a third brother went in to try to save the other two, according to information provided by The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences after the accident.
Area farmers lined their tractors and farm equipment along State Route 119 to U.S. 127 in memory of the three brothers. Residents made signs, paintings and Facebook banners to honor them.
In response to the incident and other farm-related incidents and fatalities in the region, the Versailles FFA held a farm safety event in Versailles on Dec. 13 offering education on grain bin and manure pit safety and the deadly gases produced in such confined spaces.
Three women connected to the Fort Recovery softball program were sentenced in 2021 for their roles in the murder of a Portland, Indiana, man.
Three women with connections to the Fort Recovery softball program were sentenced in 2021 for their roles in the murder of a Portland, Indiana, man.
Esther Stephen, former head softball coach, and assistant softball coach Shelby Hiestand, both of Portland, Indiana, were arrested and charged in 2020 with conspiring to murder 31-year-old Shea Briar, the father of Stephen's child. Not long after, Hannah Knapke, Fort Recovery, who played softball while Stephen was coach, also was arrested and charged in connection with Briar's death.
Hiestand shot Briar in the back on Jan. 12 after he was lured into a vehicle by Stephen and co-conspirators Hiestand and Knapke. He died hours later. Knapke reportedly agreed to allow the use of her vehicle for the deed as Stephen's vehicle would be too recognizable.
According to an affidavit, Stephen was angry because Briar had petitioned a court to establish parenting time rights for their child and had asked the court to change the child's last name.
Stephen on May 4 was sentenced to 55 years in prison for felony murder in the case. She was convicted March 18 after a jury trial. Hiestand on Sept. 24 was sentenced to 55 years in prison for felony murder. She was convicted after her Aug. 11 after a jury trial.
Knapke on Nov. 17 was sentenced to 17½ years in prison for voluntary manslaughter with 7½ years suspended after she pleaded guilty to the charge as part of negotiated plea agreement. She originally pleaded not guilty to felony murder for her role in Briar's death.
An Indiana woman pleaded guilty to murdering a Columbus man in a case that began in 2016 with the discovery of human bones near Grand Lake.
A Marion, Indiana, woman on Dec. 23 pleaded guilty in Mercer County Common Pleas Court to one count of aggravated murder in a case that began in 2016 with the discovery of bones near Grand Lake that later were determined to be human.
Sarah Buzzard's guilty plea was part of a negotiated plea agreement that will spare her the death penalty. A second aggravated murder charge and 16 other felony counts against her were dismissed by judge Jeffery Ingraham as part of the plea deal. She is scheduled to be sentenced at 1 p.m. Jan. 20.
Buzzard, 30, had been charged with killing and dismembering 21-year-old Ryan Zimmerman of Columbus. His skeletal remains were found on Jan. 23, 2016, east of U.S. 127 at the mouth of Coldwater Creek by a woman walking her dog.
Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey during a late August news conference shared major updates on what he described as a complicated and unusual case that had taken many twists and turns.
Buzzard was arrested on Aug. 25 at her residence in Marion and later allegedly confessed to strangling Zimmerman and dismembering his body, Grey had said.
A second suspect, Buzzard's wife, Naria Jenna Whitaker, 33, also of Marion, Indiana, upon learning she too would be arrested for her alleged role in the crime, pulled a handgun from her purse and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Grey had said.
Celina city council members voted against legislation that would have made Celina a sanctuary city for the unborn.
Celina city council members on Nov. 22 voted 4-3 against legislation that would have made Celina a sanctuary city for the unborn and effectively outlawed abortion in the city.
The ordinance was officially defeated after three public readings that brought massive crowds of people who gave hours of impassioned testimony in support of and against the legislation.
Shortly afterward, petitions were filed with the Mercer County Board of Elections seeking a recall election of councilmen June Scott, Mike Sovinski, Myron Buxton and Eric Lochtefeld, all of whom voted against the sanctuary city legislation.
Board of elections members in December struck down the recall effort.
In the absence of a city charter that authorizes the use of recall regarding municipal officers, the four petitions for recall of the city councilors should be rejected and denied access to the ballot, county assistant prosector Andy Hinders wrote in an opinion on the matter.
No Ohio Revised Code section, state statute or city of Celina ordinance or rule exists providing for the recall of Celina elected officials, board members agreed. Citing the lack of any legal basis or authority under law authorizing the use of recall of municipal officers, board members voted to reject the petitions.
Millions of dollars from the federal American Rescue Plan Act poured into local governments in Mercer and Auglaize counties.
Millions of dollars from the federal American Rescue Plan Act poured into local governments in Mercer and Auglaize counties in 2021.
State, local and tribal governments are expected to use the money to support public health expenditures, address negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency, replace lost public sector revenue, provide premium pay for essential workers and invest in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
The Mercer County government alone took in $3.9 million through the American Rescue Plan Act. A second allocation of the same amount will arrive a year later, together providing nearly $8 million.
An additional $4.7 million was awarded to local municipalities as part of Ohio BUILDS water infrastructure grant program, which was funded through the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
The village of Minster will receive a $2.5 million grant to build a new 1.25-million-gallon water tower and the city of Celina will receive $680,000 to replace a failing water line.
The village of New Bremen was awarded $685,000 to dredge sludge from its wastewater lagoons, part of a plan to come into compliance with new requirements in the village's Ohio Environmental Protection Agency wastewater discharge permit.
The village of Rockford received $850,000 to help build a new water tower that will replace the existing one, which is almost 80 years old.
Robert Bailey's remains were returned. He died in the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor.
Area residents welcomed home Robert Edward Bailey on Memorial Day after his death in the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan, launching the United States into World War II.
Bailey's surviving family finally saw the former Navy Shipfitter's remains returned after almost 80 years, burying him beside his brother and parents following a public procession.
It wasn't until this year that Bailey's remains were identified by DNA testing. Until Jan. 19, 2021, Bailey had been listed as missing form World War II.
Bailey was the first Mercer County resident to die in World War II. The Coldwater Veterans of Foreign War Post 5135, which was later co-named after Bailey and First Lieutenant Luke Schockman, also of Coldwater, hosted his funeral service.
Local veterans and families along the path of Bailey's funeral procession showed their respect by holding flags and signs or solemnly holding their hands over their hearts as the procession passed. A line of motorcycles also joined the procession.
Contract negotiations between Parkway teachers and the board of education have stalled for months.
Teachers, students and community members in the Parkway Local Schools District rallied in support of teachers as contract negotiations have stalled for more than eight months.
Teachers have been working under a contract that expired June 30. Negotiations began in April, Parkway Education Association spokesperson Ryan Twigg had said.
A federal mediator was brought into negotiations in July, but school board members later dismissed the mediator, PEA president Anita Morton had said. A new federal mediator, Kevin Moyer, was brought in for the negotiations in November.
District treasurer Debbie Pierce had said the district's current three-year contract with teachers started July 1, 2018, and expired on June 30. Teachers were given raises of 2.5%, 2% and 1% for 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Morton said the main sticking point has been agreement on an acceptable health care package.
School board meetings for months have been awash in the color red as community members, staff and students wearing red shirts have packed the meetings. Contract negotiations are ongoing.
Former Rockford mayor pleaded guilty to one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography.
Jeffrey Armstrong, a 51-year-old former Parkway school board member and Rockford mayor, pleaded guilty Nov. 19 to one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography as part of a negotiated plea agreement, facing up to 20 years in prison.
A federal grand jury earlier in 2021 indicted Armstrong on one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography, according to documents filed at the U.S. District Court's Northern District of Ohio.
The indictment reads that from Feb. 10 to Feb. 22, 2021, Armstrong knowingly received and distributed visual depictions involving the use of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including prepubescent minors, documents state.
Armstrong initially was charged with coercion and enticement and receipt and distribution of child pornography.
Armstrong on Feb. 10 allegedly engaged in a conversation through an online message application with an individual he believed to be interested in sexual relations with minor females. The individual was actually an FBI online undercover employee.
"The complaint alleges that Armstrong knows two underage females that he was hoping to engage in sexual activity with, a 5-year and a 6-year-old," the FBI news release states.
Sentencing is set for 1 p.m. March 7, 2022, in court room 204 before Judge James R. Knepp II, according to court information.
Officials continue to pursue building treatment trains and wetlands to improve local water quality.
Improving water quality through constructing treatment trains and wetlands continues in the area. Excess nutrients that run off mostly agricultural land feed toxic algal blooms in Grand Lake. Algal blooms, fish kills and resulting odors also have become a problem in the Miami-Erie Canal that runs through downtown St. Marys.
St. Marys was approved for $3.5 million in H2Ohio grant money to construct a roughly 65-acre water-cleansing treatment train for the Miami-Erie Canal and $850,000 for the acquisition of property to be used for the project.
The Mercer Wildlife Area also was awarded a $1.7 million H2Ohio grant to complete several wetland restoration projects with the goal of filtering out nutrients before they flow into Grand Lake. Wetlands provide an area for water to spread over, allowing sediment and nutrients to drop out. Wetland plants and trees protect against erosion and their roots take up nutrients.
The first phase of the project will involve turning half of a 40-acre tract along State Route 703 across from Kozy Kampground into wetlands and grassland. The other half would continue to be farmed, though tiles will be installed to provide subsurface irrigation and direct water from the farmland into the wetlands for treatment.
Local officials continue to seek funding for the Chickasaw Creek Treatment Train. Once this project is complete, a natural wetland filtration system will have been installed on every major tributary that flows into Grand Lake.
Officials see the installation of treatment trains on lake tributaries as a way to lessen the amount of nutrients flowing into the lake and reduce algal blooms.
Numerous natural wetland areas that used to surround the lake have been lost to development over the years.
Several machine sheds and hay storage buildings were destroyed at this dairy farm near the intersection of Fox and Meiring roads Friday afternoon when a tornado touched down near Fort Recovery. The house and main cow barn are still standing.
1. An EF2 tornado packing winds up to 115 mph touched down shortly after 4 p.m. on June 18 and swept through parts of Fort Recovery.
No injuries were reported but the tornado, considered strong on the six-tiered Enhanced Fujita Scale, left a trail of destruction as it passed over a 5.7 mile path that was 200 yards wide at its maximum, damaging at least 10 homes and 30 agricultural outbuildings such as barns, shops and sheds, said Mike Robbins, director of Mercer County Emergency Agency.
A crop duster is lifted from Beaver Creek south of Grand Lake Thursday after it crashed not long after taking off from Lakefield Airport near Montezuma.
2. A Defiance man was critically injured when the crop duster he was piloting crashed just before 8 a.m. on May 27 near Guadalupe and Cassella-Montezuma Roads south of Grand Lake.
The pilot, Mark J. Gaerte, then 43, was was transported by Lutheran Care Flight to Miami Valley Hospital. He has since recovered, according to officials.
