Members of the Belle Center High School class of 1953 attending their 65-year reunion on Friday, July 27 at the home of Don and Linda Houchin were (from left, front) Glenn Ricketts, R.L. Murphy, Lou Downey; (back) Max Brentlinger, James Stout, Ronald Roebuck, Jack Ricketts, Pat (Ammons) Ricketts, Don Houchin, Phyllis (Guthrie) Sanders, Bob Quay and Joan (Stout) Ricketts.

More than 150 people assembled in the 90-degree heat Sunday afternoon at Grove Cemetery in Kenton to dedicate a monument marking the 75th anniversary of the deaths of nine Hardin County soldiers during the battle for the Munda airstrip in the South Pacific during World War II.

Since first working with it as a Cub Scout, Mike Augenstein has had a fascination with electricity. Sticking with his passion, Mike has turned that interest into a career, first working in telecommunications and now serving as Mid-Ohio Energy Cooperative’s director of member services and community relations in Kenton.

RUSHSYLVANIA — Bryson Tipton and Danielle Widmark took the top spots in the men’s and women’s divisions of the 14th annual Rushsylvania Rockets 5K on Saturday. Tipton was the top male runner and had the top time overall at 17:50, while Widmark completed the course in 22:03 to take the top spot among females.

A crew from Thomas and Marker Construction Co. continues construction of the Hazel Daniel Moore Environmental Classroom on the Ridgemont School campus this week. The land lab is being built on the north end of the student parking lot behind the school. The cost of the project is $354,200. The money came from the Hazel Moore estate. Times photo/Dan Robinson

WAYNESFIELD — Block Insurance Agency and Hastings Mutual Insurance Company have made a donation to Children’s Medical Missions West to help pay to bring children from around the world to the U.S. for medical treatment.

Jim Warner and Christina Hess are announcing their engagement and upcoming marriage. Christina is the daughter of Carl and Gina Hess of Dayton.

Yukako Yokota, from Japan, chaperone for the Hardin County 4-H Labo program, spoke to the membership of the Ada Kiwanis Club on Tuesday, July 31. She is a guest of Joe and Linda Ferguson.

DUNKIRK — David Roy, the pastor of Dunkirk Grace United Methodist Church since February, represents the direction in which the church is wanting to move. Roy is filling the shoes of former church pastor Rev. Linda Stafford, who served the church for 22 years.

Ashley Chapman, a kindergarten teacher at Kenton Elementary School, is busy getting her classroom organized for the new school year. Start of classes in the Kenton district is less than two weeks away, with the first day for students being Aug. 15.