The rain held off for the Festival Queen crowning at the 40th annual Ada Harvest and Herb Festival on September 19. Ten high school seniors were selected to be part of the 2026 royalty court, with past festival queens also attending in recognition of the event anniversary.
Kenley Poling was crowned as the new festival queen by 2025 queen Harvest and Herb Queen Emma Lambdin.
Charmaine M. Spradlin, age 74, of Ada, passed away on Saturday, September 19, 2026 surrounded by family.
She was born to the late Eugene and Rita (Cote) Shannon on July 15, 1952, in Fort Belvoir, VA. On May 18, 1975, Charmaine married Richard Spradlin, who preceded her in death on April 24, 2008. Also preceding her in death is her daughter, Rebecca Spradlin.
OLD FORT__The visiting Ada High School boys soccer team got back on track by defeating Old Fort 3-1 in a non-league match on Saturday morning, Sept. 19.
The Bulldogs improved to 5-5 and snapped a four-match losing skid with the convincing road win. Old Fort dropped to 0-8 with the loss.
“Saturday’s game was a step in the right direction for us,” said Ada head coach Aaron Acheson. “We were more physical, competed harder, and did a much better job of winning 50/50 balls. We played with a lot more fighting spirit than we have in some of our other games, and that was encouraging to see.“
RESIDENT INQUIRY ON FEE WAIVER
Ada resident Paul Knisley requested numbers for the recent waiving of school fees. Treasurer Tessa McVey answered that the estimated total of school fees waived is $57,000, based on enrollment, classes and expenses for those classes. Knisley asked for actual costs in years past. McVey said the previous year was closer to $65,000, with fiscal year 2025 being $54,000.
Knisley also asked if student parking concerns addressed in a May meeting were ever resolved. Superintendent Julie Simmons stated the issue was resolved internally, though Knisley noted no record of the resolution appeared in the meeting minutes. Board member Troy Erickson agreed, emphasizing that once an issue is settled, there should be some sort of designated agenda item to provide feedback and keep the community informed. (See Students paying for spots do not always have a place to park.)
MEDIA RELEASE__Deanna Rodeheffer, an Ohio Northern University student pursuing both a degree in civil engineering and a Land Surveying Certificate, has been selected as the recipient of Choice One Engineering's 2026 Tom Coverstone Memorial Scholarship. She will receive a $5,000 scholarship and join Choice One as a co-op student in summer 2027, gaining valuable industry experience.
OTTAWA__The Ada High School boys golf team finished a solid third at the third and final Blanchard Valley Conference tournament on Friday at a nice but waterlogged course at Moose Landing Country Club in Ottawa.
Van Buren won the league event decisively with 310 strokes, followed by Elmwood in second at 358, and Ada nine shots behind the Royals with 367. Riverdale came in fourth, a mere one stroke behind the Bulldogs (368). Leipsic (381) nosed out Arlington (382) for fifth place.
Arcadia took sixth at 390, followed by McComb (416) and Pandora-Gilboa (424).
CRIDERSVILLE__Initially trailing by 6, the visiting Ada High School football team responded with 42 unanswered points to shellack Perry 42-6 in a non-league game on Friday, Sept. 18.
The Bulldogs rallied with two scores in the second stanza to grab a 14-6 halftime lead over the Commodores.
Ada then scored 14 points in each of the third and fourth periods to win decisively. The balanced Bulldog offense hit paydirt on its last six possessions in a row.
Ada improved to 4-1 with the road win, while Perry fell to 2-3 after the home defeat.
FROM FACEBOOK__On September 18, 2026, the Hardin County Sheriff's Office Crime Task Force served a narcotics search warrant at a residence located at 515 N. Main Street in Ada, Ohio.
As a result of the ongoing investigation and the execution of this warrant, Jesse Nichole Johnson was taken into custody and charged with Aggravated Possession of Drugs.
During the search of the property, investigators located and seized:
