MOUNT BLANCHARD — Van Buren took control with an eight-run first inning and never looked back on the way to a 14-2 Blanchard Valley Conference softball win over Riverdale on Wednesday. Taylor Theis had an RBI single for the Falcons, while Hannah Morris added a double and a single.

MOUNT BLANCHARD — Van Buren scored four runs off two Riverdale errors in the first inning and never trailed on the way to a 7-2 win over the Falcons in a Blanchard Valley Conference baseball game on Wednesday. Evan McKee had a double and a single and Wayne Frey had a two-run double to lead the Falcons.

Dave Painter (left) and Becky Hayward (right), community liaisons of OSHIP ( Ohio Senior Health Insurance Program) presented the 2016 Volunteer of the Year award to Shirley Robson, information and referral specialist at the Hardin County Council on Aging.

Mary Bloom and Ruth Curtin decided to get up early and start their day off right with music and dancing. Mary played the piano and Ruth was dancing.

Elisa Umbaugh receives her Exalted Ruler's gavel for the Kenton Elks Lodge from Chad Spencer, a Past Exalted Ruler. In addition to Umbaugh, others installed as officers for the ensuing year were Todd Daquino - Esteemed Leading Knight, Dustin McCullough - Esteemed Loyal Knight, Derek Kaufman - Esteemed Lecturing Knight, Michael Sturgeon - Esquire, Nate Daivs - Chaplain, Gina Hoelscher - Inner Guard.

Dom Tiberi, sports anchor for WBNS 10TV in Columbus, had a simple message for the juniors and seniors at Kenton High School: “Your lives matter. People care about you.

MOUNT BLANCHARD — It was a hard sell for the engineers of Stantec Corporation to convince the more than 200 people who met at Riverdale High School on Tuesday night that their proposal for mitigating the flood threats to the city of Findlay was a good idea.

Britt Lauck (left) and Angela Tesny demonstrate their multifunctional chair for children with autism during Tuesday’s Smull College of Engineering Senior Design Showcase at Ohio Northern University.

Shawnee defeated Kenton 5-0 in a Western Buckeye League tennis match on Tuesday afternoon. The Indians swept singles action as Isaac Hanover defeated Kyle Goodin 6-2, 6-0; Jackson Schaff topped Kenji Kobayashi 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-1) and Jack O’ Conner defeated Brandon Feltner 6-2, 6-2.

BELLEFONTAINE — Darian Rockhold had three hits with a home run and Kinzie Jones added two hits with a pair of RBIs to lead Ben Logan to a 9-4 Central Buckeye Conference softball win over Indian Lake on Tuesday.