MOUNT VICTORY — When Meadow Cromer began her pole vaulting career in the seventh grade, there were not many competitors jumping against her. “I just tried it for the heck of it and liked it in junior high,” the Ridgemont senior recalled.

The streets of southern Kenton were a beehive of activity early Saturday morning as firefighters from 10 departments battled four separate arson fires in the area. Two of the homes were occupied, one was vacant and the fourth home was empty as the renters were in the process of moving.

For 48 years the home of Gladys Adkins was a gathering place for the family and community. Her grandkids would go there to catch a nap after school.

DOLA — The Riverdale girls track team took second and the Upper Scioto Valley and Ada boys took third and fourth at the Hardin Northern Invitational on Saturday. The Leipsic girls earned the win at the invitational, with Grace Rigel setting a new meet record in shot put with a distance of 42 feet. Calvert placed first among the boys teams.

ADA — In the past five years, Hardin County has taken strides in dealing with the opiate epidemic through treatment, yet there is still much to be done, a panel of local leaders told Ohio Northern University students on Friday. State Rep. Robert Cole Sprague, Hardin County Prosecutor Brad Bailey and Sheriff Keith Everhart presented their views on the local effort to curb the crisis in a program at the Pettit School of Law in the college’s moot courtroom.

Ruby Risner’s plunger was left behind as she tried to maneuver backwards in the plunger race at Upper Scioto Valley School’s Relay For Life kickoff assembly. The May 4 event is the tenth year for the fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.

MOUNT VICTORY — The Mount Victory CIC and Friends of the Park are closing in on the completion of the Mount Victory Village Park project which was started in 2004. The design for the park was approved by the village and it included a golf green, lawn game area near the shelters and a splash pad which will be reviewed in the near future.

Chance Jacques had come through with hits in key situations for the Kenton baseball team at various times throughout the 2018 season. And on Friday, Jacques did it again as the senior ripped a pinch-hit single to right field that scored Seth Creamer in the bottom of the seventh to lift the Wildcats to a 2-1 win over St. Marys on Friday afternoon.

Ellie Miller has been a leader on the basketball floor and in the classroom during her four years at Kenton High School. The Wildcat senior will be taking her talents to Ohio Northern University in Ada after she graduates in the spring.

The Kenton Tree Commission conducted an Arbor Day observance on Thursday with the distribution of 110 trees to city residents. The red oak and river birch trees were purchased through the annual tree sale at the Hardin Soil and Water Conservation District.