March 2020

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The Ohio Northern men's tennis team fell to Cedarville 4-3 Wednesday in a match played at the USTA National Campus. The loss dropped the Polar Bears to 4-4 on the season. 

Sophomore Noah Elliott (Hilliard/Davidson) and junior Hoang Do (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) teamed up to win at No. 2 doubles. They toppled Cole Moss and Philip Brumbaugh 7-6 (7-4). 

Sophomores Zach Beaschler (Ada) and Andrew Cochran (Wooster) claimed a victory at No. 3 doubles. They downed Dawson Poling and Ryan Cvammen 6-4. 

Women's team returns from Florida 12-3 overall

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Ada High School graduate Mackenzie Wills experienced a record-setting spring break as a member of the ONU women’s tennis team.

With two singles victories on March 4, Wills moved within one of tying the ONU career record with 82 singles wins. She is 82-18 in her career, just trailing the 83 wins by Meghan Letizia from 2012-16.

The Ohio Northern women's tennis team ran its winning streak to seven matches with an 8-1 victory over Alvernia (Pa.) and a 9-0 win over St. Vincent (Pa.) March 4 at the USTA National Campus.

ONU (12-3 overall) finished its spring break trip with a 7-1 record, winning its final seven matches on the trip.

BFR fundraiser at The Centre, Bluffton

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FROM BLUFFTON ICON - Tickets are now on sale for a Bluffton Family Recreation repeat performance of Dueling for Dumbbells, which takes place Friday, April 3, at The Centre, 601 N. Main St., Bluffton.

The evening is a casual night of live entertainment involving dueling pianos, featuring an open bar, with proceeds going to the BFR, starting at 6 p.m., according to Daniel Tinch, BFR executive director.

Dinner starts at 6:30 p.m. Dueling pianos starts at 7 p.m.  

New this year is a complete menu, which includes apple bourbon chicken, yankee pot roast, sweet potato casserole, stuffed shells and home-style green beans. 

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The Ohio Northern women's basketball team had John Carroll stumped ahead of Thursday's Ohio Athletic Conference semifinal matchup. The No. 3-seeded Polar Bears had toppled the No. 2-seeded, and nationally-ranked, Blue Streaks in both regular-season meetings of the 2019-20 season. 

Northern, however, couldn't muster up the magic for a third time. ONU fell to John Carroll 64-49 inside the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center. 

The loss gives the Polar Bears a 20-7 overall record, which includes a 13-6 mark in OAC play. If ONU's season comes to a close, it'll be the eighth time in the last nine seasons that Northern reached the 20-win mark. 

From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church

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Liberty Belles and Boys 4-H Club will host an information night and registration from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 17, at First Presbyterian Church, 201 S. Main St., Ada.

Eligibility for participation in 4-H projects and competitive events begins when a child is age 8 and in the 3rd grade. 

Any youth 9 older is eligible for project membership, regardless of grade level. Membership requires enrollment in an authorized Ohio 4-H club or group under the direction of an OSU Extension professional or an approved adult volunteer.

Kindergarten screening takes place May 7-8

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Ada Kindergarten registration for the 2020-21 school year takes place the week of March 30 to April 3, at the elementary school, according to Ben Thaxton, principal.

Times are from 8:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, with special evening hours on Tuesday, March 31, from 5 to 7 p.m.

All children must be 5 years old on or before Aug. 1, 2020. Children will not need to attend the registration. 

After completion of the school's online forms, a time will be set up for your child's kindergarten screening to be held on May 7 or May 8.

Ada Varsity Singers final home performance in the school auditorium

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The award-winning Ada High School Varsity Singers provide their final home performance of the school year at 7 p.m., Monday, March 9, in the Ada school auditorium, according to Scott Henning, director.

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By Liz Gordon-Hancock
How much “screen time” should parents allow?
When do you give your child their own cell phone?
Do you allow cell phones at the dinner table?

We all rely on technology: we’re more likely to leave the house without our wallet than our cell phone. We take it for granted that we can, at a glance, know the exact time, the weather, traffic, or who’s texted, emailed, phoned or posted on Facebook, and so on, simply by glancing at our smart phone.

In my household of seven, there are no less then three laptops, three tablets, and four smart phones.

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Ada schools cancelled three out of four Thursdays in February. That makes a current total of six calamity days thus far for the school year. According to the superintendent, Meri Skilliter, the make-up day for Ada schools will be Wednesday, April 15.

February skies dumped a total of 11.2 inches of snow throughout the month, with 4.2 inches falling in one day, on Wednesday, Feb. 26, according to Guy Verhoff, Pandora weather observer.

The temperature ranged from a cold 6 degrees (on Feb. 13 & 14) to a practically balmy 61 degrees (on Feb. 3) over the course of the month.

Jeff Andrews, Polar Bear wrestler, talks about his career

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 Jeff Andrews entered the state tournament his senior year of high school thinking that was it for his athletic career. All signs pointed to Andrews' fifth-place match as the final bout of his long and arduous wrestling career.

"It was super emotional," Andrews said. "I thought that would be the last time I would wrestle."

Andrews quickly found out not only how much wrestling meant to him, but how much he needed the sport, as well. Wrestling has given Andrews an unparalleled work ethic, taught him the toughest of lessons, kept him accountable and shaped him into the man he is today.

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