Mercer County Special Olympics host first powerlifting event
By Tom Haines
CELINA - Mercer Developmental Disabilities hosted the first annual Power in the Park event in Bryson Park for Special Olympic Powerlifters from five Ohio counties on Saturday.
Contestants from Mercer County were joined by lifters from Miami County, Madison County, Champaign County and Morrow County for bench presses and deadlifts at the Bryson Park amphitheater, with a large crowd in attendance. [More]
ST. HENRY - A right-leaning reporter addressed the Mercer County Republican Party's 2021 Reagan Day Dinner, telling attendees gathered at the St. Henry American Legion they must be willing to take great risks to counter trends imperiling the greatest nation on Earth.
MINSTER - Fort Recovery came into Saturday's softball game at Minster needing a win to deny the Wildcats an outright Midwest Athletic Conference title and create a three-way tie with Coldwater - which had players in attendance at the game -snagging a share as well.
ROSSBURG - For the second consecutive week, it was a second-generation driver going to victory lane highlighting the racing action from Eldora Speedway as the speedway hosted the Late Model Lidlifter on Saturday evening.
St. Marys' Joey Vanderhorst advances in the postseason after finishing third at the Division II boys tennis sectional that concluded Saturday at the University of Northwestern Ohio.
COLUMBUS (AP) - Ohio is removing a mask requirement immediately for people who are fully vaccinated, in keeping with new guidance from the federal government, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine announced Friday.
DeWine said in a statement that unvaccinated people should continue to wear masks and socially distance, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends. [More]
FORT RECOVERY - Minster swept the Midwest Athletic Conference track and field championships at Barrenbrugge Athletic Park in Fort Recovery on Friday.
The Minster girls came in tied for the lead and pulled away for the win, clearing runner-up Versailles by 27.5 points. The Minster boys beat second-place Marion Local by 37.5 points after entering in fourth place, with wins in the 110-meter hurdles, the 200 hurdles and the 4x400 relay on Friday to vault them into the lead. [More]
CELINA - In a dramatic turnaround, the Bryson Pool now has more than enough lifeguards to open for the summer, mayor Jeff Hazel told city council members.
CELINA - Celina City Council members want to take possession of and raze a blighted home and possibly install a gateway sign advertising the adjacent Eastview Park.
SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP - Celina softball coach Jason Tribolet thought his team was picking up momentum when the Bulldogs tied Shawnee at 2-2 in the top of the third inning.
St. Marys scored three times in the top of the fifth to break a 3-all tie and then held on as Elida rallied in the bottom of the seventh to pick up a 6-5 win in the Division II softball sectional final on Friday at Dorothy Edwards Field in Elida.
CHICKASAW - A possible village income tax was among the many issues discussed by Chickasaw village council members during their meeting Wednesday night.
Mayor Ben Kramer initiated the income tax discussion, noting the village is considering a $510,000 interest-free loan as part of a $2.1 million street renovation and infrastructure project. He said the loan would require a $17,000 annual payment for 30 years and there has been no discussion of how the money would be secured. [More]
ROCKFORD - The first time New Bremen and Parkway met in softball, it was a 7-5 game in favor of Parkway.
The rematch was even closer.
The Panthers scored twice in the bottom of the second and then held off a seventh-inning Cardinal rally to get a 2-1 win in the Division IV sectional final at the Panther diamond on Thursday. [More]
CHICKASAW - Hotel guest tourism spending in the two-county Grand Lake area dropped by more than 40% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Donna Grube, director of the Greater Grand Lake Visitors Region during the center's annual awards reception Friday.
CELINA - Mercer County's rate of new COVID-19 cases per capita during the past two weeks improved significantly to 53 new cases per 100,000 people, according to a Thursday Mercer County Health District news release.
COLDWATER - For much of the game on Thursday, it looked like the Coldwater baseball team would only need one run to win the Midwest Athletic Conference title outright.
MINSTER - After a slow start, the Minster offense roared to life in the fifth inning to lift the Wildcats to a 6-3 victory over 12th-seeded Spencerville Thursday in the Division IV sectional finals at Four Seasons Park.
Fort Recovery led 2-0 in the top of the third before Lincolnview stormed back, scoring five runs in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead on the way to a 9-2 win in the Division IV softball sectional final in Middle Point on Thursday.
COLUMBUS (AP) - Ohio's mask mandate and most other coronavirus-related state orders will end on June 2, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Wednesday, in a declaration allowing three weeks for more people to get vaccinated before then.
CELINA - City officials will press ahead with a proposal to install a series of signs pointing the way to parking lots and businesses as part of an effort to promote interest in a downtown undergoing revitalization.
Warm sunny conditions made for solid showings at the first day of the Western Buckeye League Track and Field Meet at Shawnee High School on Wednesday.
Ottawa-Glandorf jumped out to 26 points to hold the first-day lead in the girls division with Celina second with 16 points. St. Marys ranks seventh in the girls with six points through three events. [More]
ST. MARYS - Superintendent Bill Ruane stated his opposition Wednesday to a bill recently introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives that would provide vouchers for students to attend non-public schools.
COLDWATER - A walk-in COVID-19 vaccine clinic will be held from 2-5 p.m. Friday at Community Hospital in Coldwater, according to a news release from Mercer Health.
The Daily Standard newspaper and five of its staff members received 10 awards in nine categories in the Ohio Associated Press Media Editor's 2020 newspaper contest held virtually Tuesday.
Karsyn McGlothen scattered three hits in leading St. Marys past Van Wert 9-1 in a rescheduled Western Buckeye League softball matchup at K.C. Geiger Park.
