PHOTOS by Mark Andreasen and Brandi Grant-Rigsby / CLICK to enlarge
By Brandi Grant-Rigsby
The sights and sounds of celebration filled the air on a beautiful summer evening with the return of Ada’s beloved Patriotic Pops. The event, with organizing spearheaded by local resident Bryan Marshall, brought together hundreds of residents and visitors to celebrate not only America’s 250th anniversary, but also the preservation of a cherished Ada tradition.
MEDIA RELEASE_More than 500 swimmers and their families will descend on Kenton July 10 and 11, 2026 for the 44th Western Ohio Aquatics League (WOAL) Championship. The WOAL meet is for swimmers aged 5 to 18 who are members of a league team.
The Kenton Municipal Swimming Pool is the host site for the 2026 Swim Champs and will host teams from Ada, Bluffton, Findlay, Kenton, Shawnee Country Club, Wapakoneta, Westside and Van Wert. These eight teams will compete for the 2026 league title.
VAN WERT__The visiting Ada Gators summer swim team defeated Van Wert in the West Ohio Aquatic League regular season finale on a hot Monday, June 29 in a four-lane indoor pool.
Ada won the combined boys/girls meet by a score of 348-252.
The Gator boys dunked the Marlin males 208-67 in their dual matchup. The Ada boys improved to 5-3 this summer with the decisive win.
The VW girls defeated the Ada females in a close meet, 184-150.
JUNE 30, 2026 MEDIA RELEASE__Re 6-29-2026 Shooting in Elida Rd. Meijer store.
On June 29, 2026, at approximately 4:10 p.m., Allen County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to Meijer (3298 Elida Rd, Lima, Ohio) in reference to shots fired in the store. Deputies and units from the Lima Police Department arrived on scene, secured and searched the store. No suspects or victims were located in the store.
FROM ADA WAR MEMORIAL PARK FACEBOOK__June 29: Good morning. We hope everyone had a great weekend. We would like to thank Ann Donnelly, Pyrotecnico and all the sponsors for a fabulous fireworks show. We would also like to thank all of the food trucks that came out to serve us delicious food.
Starting in September, we'll start our planning for next year's event. We would love to add more activities in the park during the evening hours before fireworks start. If there are any groups that have games they would like to share, we would love to add you to our festivities.
