About 30 Kenton Middle School students made quick work of cleaning up the school’s courtyard Saturday morning. They removed brush, trees and neglected flower beds and plan to give the area a new landscaped look next month.

Ohio Northern University student Dominique Redmon picks up trash at Kenton’s Wharton Park on Saturday morning as part of the university’s Living Our Values Everywhere (LOVE) Day.

DOLA — Riverdale was first in two events and second in five other events on the way to claiming the boys team championship with 113 points at the Hardin Northern Invitational on Saturday. The Falcons received first place finishes in the 3,200 relay as Justin Scott, Antonio Renteria, Ben Gannon and Josh Hunter clocked a 9:12.4 and in the pole vault as Taylor Bacon cleared 11-6.

It’s a long way from Dunkirk to Boston, but Hardin Northern graduate Brianne Steiner Fritz found herself bridging that gap on Monday as she crossed the finish line in the Boston Marathon.

ROUNDHEAD — When veterans are called heroes, it is usually for showing valor on a battlefield. The remaining members of Roundhead VFW Post 8832 are several decades removed from combat, yet they remain heroes to the people of their community as they continue to serve.

Ada High School students look on as fellow classmates (from left) Jackson Secor, Rieylyn Castle and Olivia Alexander act out a mock crash scene behind the school Friday afternoon as part of drunk and distracted driving awareness.

DOLA — Hardin Northern started the game strong and ended it strong on the way to an 8-2 win over Ridgemont in Northwest Central Conference softball action Friday afternoon. The Polar Bears scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning and, after surrendering two in the top of the third, added five more in the sixth to pull away for the win.

DOLA — Cade McKinley tossed a four hitter and helped his own cause with a two-run double to lead Ridgemont to a 4-0 win over Hardin Northern in a Northwest Central Conference baseball game on Friday afternoon. Hardin Northern got a pair of hits from Brady Cramer and singles from Dane Robinson and Austyn Russler.

Action steps to address the public’s top three concerns were adopted Thursday at a meeting of the Hardin County Community Health Coalition in Kenton. The coalition determined a path to reduce the mental health and drug abuse issues in the county, to offer the public ways to address problems with obesity and live healthier lives and to make health care more accessible to everyone.

ADA — Madisyn Gossard had two home runs and four RBIs to propel Ada to a 5-2 Northwest Conference softball win over Lincolnview on Thursday.