Friday, March 26th, 2010
Grand Lake water woes focus of student's study
By Nancy Allen
GRAND LAKE - A high school science fair project proving zebra mussels can lower toxins in Grand Lake by eating the algae that produces it has been selected for the International Science Fair in San Jose, Calif.
Presenting the project will be Andre [More]
County workers will relocate during 18-month renovation
By Janie Southard
WAPAKONETA - Auglaize County commissioners are hunting temporary digs for county courthouse offices while renovations are made to the 1894-era structure. Relocation for the more than 35 workers is expected to be at least 18 months.
"We've looked a [More]
Obituaries on March 26th, 2010
Jane Forsthoefel, 54, of Coldwater, died today, March 26, 2010, at Mercer Count [More]
Geraldine Miller, 93, of Coldwater, died March 25, 2010, at Briarwood Village i [More]
Freida G. Taylor, 75, 3601 state Route 703, lot 26, of Celina, and formerly of Anderson, Ind., died March 24, 2010, at her son's home in Marion, Ind. [More]
Scott A. Walters, 49, of Oxford, died at 3 a.m. March 25, 2010, at Hospice in Hamilton. [More]
Roger George Will, 71, of Goettemoeller Road, Celina, died at 11:10 a.m. March 25, 2010, at Mercer Health in Coldwater. [More]
Local pictures on March 26th, 2010
Subscriber stories on March 26th, 2010
Rutschilling retires early after 13 years in elected office
CELINA - Mercer County commissioners on Thursday appointed an acting treasurer to fill the unexpired term of Doris A. Rutschilling, who will retire Wednesday.
Speaker at career event stresses early diligence leads to success
NEW BREMEN - High schools need to develop rigorous and relevant programming if students are to succeed at college or in the workforce.
Mark Hartman
Cleveland Clinic will do complex, low-volume tests
COLDWATER - Mercer Health has chosen the Cleveland Clinic Laboratories as the facility to handle complex and other types of lab tests.
The Mercer H
Maria Stein
The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) has renewed a Permit to Operate (PTO) for A. J. Evers and Sons, Maria Stein.
The facility, in the Upper Gr
CELINA - Mercer County commissioners on Thursday opened two bids for a $1.5 million road project along Deep Cut Road in the northern portion of the county.
The Mercer County unemployment rate was third lowest in the state for February at 9.2 percent, according to figures just released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
CELINA - There is plenty of room for optimism surrounding the Celina baseball team this year after a 16-11 season in 2009 and several big-time contributors back at head coach Drew Braun's disposal.
CELINA - It has been a wild last two years for the Celina softball program.
Two years ago, Celina had its best season in school history by winning
After a trip to the Division III state baseball semifinals last season and posting its first 30-win season since 1992, Coldwater lost half its infield and two ace pitchers to graduation.
After a rough 8-14 season that saw the Cavaliers fall to seventh place in the Midwest Athletic Conference (1-6), the Coldwater softball team will bring back plenty of experience to the diamond this season.
New Fort Recovery baseball coach Jeff Hahn is getting a belated debut to his first season of guiding the Indians.
The success of the boys basketball team has delayed the start of baseball, as the Indians have pushed back the start of their season to April 5.
Fort Recovery softball coach Marie Osterholt is hoping that 2010 starts like how 2009 finished.
The Indians came up with a strong finish, winning a sectional game and finishing 9-13 on the season.
MARIA STEIN - Marion Local baseball coach Bryan Gray has a mixed bag to work with in his first year at the helm of the Flyers.
The Flyers return their top three starting pitchers from a year ago, and that trio of seniors will be counted on to lead an otherwise inexperienced group.
MARIA STEIN - Marion Local softball coach Russ Puthoff begins his third season at the helm of the Flyers with plenty of experience returning.
The Flyers welcome back nine letterwinners from last year's squad that finished 10-9.
MINSTER - Mike Wiss enters his 16th season as the main man in the Minster's baseball dugout and he is looking forward to another competitive season on the diamond from his squad.
MINSTER - For the Minster softball team, head coach Tom Berger's yearly goals have been modest, yet challenging, in the two seasons he has been at the helm. Both years, he has upped the performance ante while his troops have always responded favorably.
NEW BREMEN - To say that 2010 season will be a rebuilding one for the New Bremen baseball team may be a little strong, but for third-year coach Greg Cox there will definitely be some retooling.
NEW BREMEN - To get an idea of how young the 2010 New Bremen Cardinal softball team will be, one can do one of two things.
Take a look at the roster or just hang around veteran coach Greg Griesdorn and you will quickly catch on that his squad is definitely green.
While some of the players for Parkway's baseball team might be rookies to the varsity, the coach will not be.
Mike Schumm returns after a seven-yea
ROCKFORD - It's nice to have a team that is young and experienced.
Veteran Parkway softball skipper Mark Esselstein brings back a number of experie
After a 19-6 campaign in 2009, St. Henry will once again look to contend for a Midwest Athletic Conference championship in baseball.
Veteran coach John Dorner, though, has some concerns.
Graduation took away a large chunk from the St. Henry softball team, with seven seniors earning diplomas last spring.
Coach Josh Link does have some strong experience back, especially in the circle and at the plate.
ST. MARYS - With the return of seven letterwinners, there is cautious optimism this season for the St. Marys baseball team.
The Roughriders were 10-12 a year ago (5-4 in the Western Buckeye League) and head coach Denny Pfeffenberger is concentrating on seeing continued improvement from his squad.
ST. MARYS - Competing for a Western Buckeye League title has become a seemingly yearly tradition for the St. Marys softball team and this year should be no different.
CELINA - High expectations are nothing new for the Celina track program and both teams are coming off successful seasons.
The Celina girls surprise
The Coldwater track program brings back a mix of talented veterans along with what coach Pete Lisi calls raw talent.
BOYS
The Cavaliers finished in third-place in the Midwest Athletic Conference last season, and while some key components have graduated, there is plenty of help back.
Fort Recovery track coach Chris Summers has some experience coming back for his boys and girls track teams this season. Depth, though, is an issue as both teams are relatively small, especially the boys' squad.
MARIA STEIN - A total of 61 athletes have gone out for track this year at Marion Local, 37 boys and 24 girls, giving the coaches lots of options to work with on both the boys and girls sides.
Besides Topp's experience continuing to climb toward that 25-year milestone, the Wildcats traditionally threaten for the league title and are always one of the top three squads to contend with at the district and regional level.
NEW BREMEN - The 2009 season was one for the record books for the New Bremen boys track team.
Among the team's accomplishments was a 53-4 record in
Both the Parkway boys and girls track teams will look to their strengths to try and find a way to move up the ladder in the Midwest Athletic Conference and send athletes deep into the postseason.
Numbers will be an issue for the St. Henry track program this season as just 19 boys and 15 girls dot the Redskins' roster.
Talent will not be an issue, as veteran coach Mike Eyink has some solid athletes.
ST. MARYS - Kathy Sites' first year of coaching track at St. Marys was all about trying to get depth on the roster, and this year, Sites wants to see some stronger results to surface.
CELINA - With just one senior and 10 juniors dotting the roster, it may seem like Celina is setting itself up for a banner year next season.
Celina head coach Jan Morrison is hoping that the success comes a year early as the Bulldogs have high expectations for this season.
ST. MARYS - Finishing in the upper-half of the Western Buckeye League standings has been the norm for the St. Marys tennis program through the years and head coach Brice Brenneman expects more of the same this spring.