Fulton County Ohio Media

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The Delta Panthers outscored the Pettisville Blackbirds 20-4 in the fourth quarter including 14-1 from the free throw line to break open a close game in route to a 48-26 home victory start the 2021-2022 boys basketball season.  Overall, the Panthers sank 22 foul shots on 32 attempts while the Blackbirds made just two of seven.

Delta’s Bryce Gillen led all scorers with 14 points.  James Ruple tossed in 13 points, Nolan Risner had nine and Josh Tresnan-Reighard added seven.

For Pettisville, Jaret Beck scored nine points.  Zakkai Kaufmann added six points, Cayden Jacoby had five and Joey Ripke had four.

Click on the Google Photos link above to access all photos.  Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for free courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Citing the Swanton Lions Club’s many contributions to the Swanton community and its residents, the Lassus Handy Dandy fuel station and convenience store, located on Airport Highway in Swanton, donated $500 to the Club to help fund its charitable works.

“We wanted to give funds to a local organization that we knew would spend the money for the good of Swanton,” said Manager Alexis Fraley, explaining why the Lions were chosen.  “The Lions have their hands in everything.  They do so much.”

Currently, the Lions are conducting their Giving Tree Program, providing Christmas gifts to families in need with elementary students within the Swanton Local School District.  Lassus Handy Dandy is also running a promotion through December 12^th to raise more funds for the Lions and their worthy causes.  Stop in and see what it’s all about.

Pictured (LtoR):  Amber Bunting, Alexis Fraley, Lion Lloyd Cass, Emily Rabb, Geri-Ann Zalecki.  Not Pictured: Liz Bowers, Hunter Keister

Written and Contributed By: Jennifer Scott from Spiritfinder.org

Sometimes, moving to a new city is the best cure for overcoming a low point in life. It allows you to recalibrate, refocus, and reemerge better, stronger, and more mentally and emotionally healthy. The first step is identifying a place that will feel like home, and then putting a plan of action in place to bring the move to reality.

Starting Over

While there is an old saying that you can’t run away from your problems, sometimes getting physical distance can give you a fresh start in a way that is healthy, productive, and rewarding. Give careful consideration to where you’ll move. There will be practical things to consider, such as employment opportunities, affordable housing, and getting into an environment that feels right for your personal needs. Perhaps climate and cost-of-living are important to you, or maybe there’s an area you’ve always wanted to be. Narrow the search by taking an online relocation quiz and then visit your top picks in person before making a commitment to move.

Finding Housing

The first step in getting settled into a new community is to find a home to buy or rent. Depending on whether you’re relocating with yourself or moving with family, friends, or pets, you might choose between an apartment, condo, townhouse, or single-family property. If you’re not quite sure what area of a city you might find most appealing, according to Apartments.com, you might want to start out with a short-term rental or vacation property as a way to get yourself settled and situated. That leaves you time to explore different areas of your new city to determine what feels like the best place for a more permanent residence. A qualified local real estate agent can help you with this process.

Making The Move

While some people pack every single belonging when they move to a new home, others make a clean break or decide that it costs more to transport furniture and personal items than to replace them in the new city. Whichever approach you take, keep important personal papers with you, as well as things like medication and basic necessities. Once you get settled, you’ll want to hook up utilities, identify services like healthcare providers, favorite retailers, and even opportunities for socializing as a way to help you get firmly established and situated in your new home. This allows you to start building a sense of community and a feeling of belonging.

Identify Service Providers

You probably had a list of service providers you counted on in your previous location, and it’s time to build a new list in your new home. While you can certainly ask for recommendations and read community forums for ideas, it’s important that any service providers you hire are licensed and insured professionals. For example, if you decide to make a list of home fix-it professionals, like a reliable plumber in the event you have a clogged pipe, blocked toilet, or flooding situation, you can search online for “local plumbers near me.” The typical cost for plumbing services is $45 to $150 an hour. Other pros might include HVAC service providers, landscapers, and a mechanic.

Getting fully integrated into your new community may take a bit of time, but you can speed the process by joining local community and civic organizations, a faith community, social clubs, and organizations, or even business associations connected with your professional life. The local Chamber of Commerce is an excellent source community information.  Keep in mind, getting reacclimated after a tough stretch of life requires a great deal of self-care and patience. According to House Beautiful, give yourself time to adjust to a new environment so you can thrive and flourish.

Photo via Pixabay

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The proceedings of the November 2021 Swanton Board of Education (BOE) were held in front of a standing-room only crowd that included many Swanton Local School District parents who wanted to address the Board with grievances mainly directed at head football coach Denton Saunders but also the football program and the administration.  The entire football coaching staff was also present.

Per BOE policy, members of the public were each given three minutes to address the presiding officer, BOE President Kristina Oberheim. Following Ms. Oberheim’s explanation of the policy, ten speakers, one by one, stood at the podium and voiced their concerns.  The first was Jeremy Smigelski.

Mr. Smigelski began by saying he was disappointed that the parents had to take the time to address an issue that should have been resolved by the school’s “leadership”.  He said the kids want a change and that a walkout of practice earlier in the season was, “A cry for help.”  He also described an incident where a player who complained of a “serious head injury” was put back into the game.  According to Mr. Smigelski, the administration conducted an investigation but, ultimately chose to “look the other way.”  He added that the parents were concerned about the safety of the players and asked the BOE not to renew Coach Saunder’s contract because “he doesn’t care about the kids.”

Sean Mitchey spoke next and cited Swanton’s football record of 3-26 over the past three seasons, including 0-10 in 2021, as a reason for a change in the program.  “As a parent, I want the best for our children,” said Mr. Mitchey.  “I want to put them in a position to succeed and to shine.  I’m not sure that’s what they’re getting in this program.”

Devon Crouse, a former player from the Swanton Class of 2021, gave his perspective from having played under Coach Saunders for two years and stated he only came out for football as a senior because it was his last year.  Mr. Crouse stated he was told by some of this year’s seniors that Coach Saunders said to them that he had given up on last year’s team halfway through the season and questioned why anyone would want to play for a coach that would say that.

Erin Pawlowicz spoke and described the practice environment as “toxic” and said, as other parents had said, that the joy of playing football had been taken away from the players and many had wanted to quit or would not be coming out again to play the sport they loved.

Another parent, Dale Pawlowicz, requested that when the Board members voted on Coach Saunder’s contract renewal, BOE member and assistant football coach Steve Brehmer not be allowed to vote to avoid a conflict of interest.

When the final speaker was finished, Ms. Oberheim thanked everyone for their comments and informed all in attendance that the Board would not be voting on contract renewal that evening. 

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The Swanton Lady Bulldogs outscored the Delta Lady Panthers 18-3 in the third quarter to erase an 11-point halftime deficit and went on to defeat the home team 45-36 in the basketball season opener for both teams. Swanton’s Frankie Nelson led all scorers with 23 points. Delta’s S. Burres had 11 points in the loss.

Click on the Google Photos link above to access all photos. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for FREE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

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The Delta Lady Panthers took a 22-11 lead into the fourth quarter and had to fight off a furious rally by the Swanton Lady Bulldogs for a 25-24 victory to open the basketball season. K. Sprow led the Panthers with 10 points. Swanton’s Allison Fagerman led all scorers with 14 points.

Click on the link above to access all photos from the game. All photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for no charge courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

It is no big secret that the administration of Swanton Local Schools has been actively looking to leave the Northwest Ohio Athletic League (NWOAL) for the past couple of years, all in the interest of placing its athletes and athletic teams in a league where they will be more competitive on the field of play.  If you look at the numbers in terms of NWOAL Championships won over the past 20 years among all the schools, the Swanton Administration presents a strong argument.  Who doesn’t like to win?

Bulldog teams, collectively, have not been able to stitch many new numbers onto the league championship banners that hang in the McQuade Gymnasium in the current millennium. The NWOAL has been dominated by Archbold, Bryan and Wauseon during those years.  That makes sense for the latter two given the significantly larger student population they enjoy over the other six members.  So, how do we explain the consistent success of the Blue Streaks?

Delta and Evergreen have not fared much better than Swanton and were recently approached with the idea of forming a new league with Swanton along with Northwood, Ottawa Hills and former NWOAL member Montpelier.  Initially, the concept gained a lot of traction but interest quickly faded as opposition from the general public, which included a lot of alumni from the three Fulton County schools, grew.

Now the Toledo Area Athletic Conference (TAAC) has come calling with an invitation to become a member and, on its face value, the offer looks very attractive.  The Swanton Bulldogs would be very competitive in the TAAC.  As the biggest school in the conference, they would be formidable in all the sports.  What could be the downside?

With all due respect to the TAAC, let’s take a look.  The TAAC is comprised of six schools, two public (Northwood and Ottawa Hills) and four private (Cardinal Stritch Catholic, Emmanuel Christian, Maumee Valley Country Day School and Toledo Christian).  The have three football-only schools (Edon, Hilltop and Montpelier) which make up for the three TAAC schools that do not offer that sport.  Only three of the six can match Swanton sport for sport.

It creates a challenge in having to find out-of-conference schools to fill a schedule.  As an example, Maumee Valley does not have football, wrestling, girls soccer, volleyball, softball or bowling.

Other factors that should be considered before a decision is made are the increased travel to away games, the lack of intense league rivalry competition and the drop off in visitor crowd sizes.  Private school fans, generally speaking, do not travel well.  The students, families and alumni come from a wide geographical area and do not develop the same sense of community and support as small town school systems.  This would result in less revenue for Swanton Schools and the Swanton business community.  A thorough examination of the TAAC and its history would seem to be in order here.  What exactly would we be getting ourselves in to?

The real question we need to ask is, “Do we have more to gain than we do to lose by leaving the NWOAL?”  We need to look closely at what we are willing to sacrifice just to add hardware to the trophy case.  It makes me wonder if we are choosing the easier path to “respectability” for our sports programs.  Instead of finding a way and working to build ourselves up to a more competitive level, are we settling to be less than what we can become and what we have been before?

Small communities and their respective school systems need to work together to become and remain successful.  The Village of Swanton and the Swanton Local School District need to work together more closely to raise each other up.  Strong Schools/Strong Community is more than bumper sticker.  It is what works. 

Four new Village Council members will be sworn in this January and I am encouraged by the attitude and commitment to improving the community through economic development that was reflected in their campaign speeches.  Gone will be two Councilmen that labeled working with the schools as “bad business” and saw no need for improving the local economy.

I am also encouraged by the efforts of those involved with the campaign to raise funds for a new baseball/softball complex.  It shows we have residents who care enough about our school to work to give our athletes the tools to be successful.  Granted, we have had a rough few years in football but the Bulldogs have been consistently strong in volleyball, golf, girls soccer, girls basketball and have done well in state tournaments.

Swanton Schools do not have the smallest student population in the NWOAL.  They have more than Delta, Evergreen, Liberty Center and Patrick Henry and are very close to Archbold.  I recommend we remain in the NWOAL, the oldest school sports league in Ohio, and have the Village and the School District funnel resources (time and money) into our youth and school sports programs.

It will not happen overnight.  We will need to be patient but we can make it a reality.  I know the Swanton Board of Education and the Administration will make whatever decision they believe will be in the best interest of school.  I hope it will be the decision to improve and not settle.

My name is Da Netra Smith and I am proudly opening LEVEL FITNESS located at 106 North Main Street in Swanton.  The small group classes offered are Circuit, Step, Silver Sneakers, Yoga and TRX.  I also do Personal Training and Nutritional Guidance.  In the future I will be adding more small group classes and doing various health seminars.

I started this career path in 2014, a few years after I had my youngest child.  At the time I was on my own health journey and loved going to a small fitness studio in Maumee.  The owner encouraged me to get certified and I started teaching classes.  Over the years I have grown my knowledge in the field and added on certifications.

I have several family members who have started their own businesses and I wanted to be able to continue that for my family.  I chose Swanton for my location because we do not have a fitness studio here.  When I started years ago it was in a studio out of town and then I wanted something local so I am able to give back to the community.

Swanton is where I have spent most of my life.  I graduated high school here and now my kids go to Swanton Local Schools.  Main Street is a perfect location and the support of the other business owners has been warm and caring.  I am excited for this adventure and to be here in Swanton.

For more information check out the Level Fitness Facebook page or call 419-482-8237.

Pictured:  Owner Da Netra Smith cuts the ribbon to celebrate the opening of Level Fitness along with her children (LtoR) Clarissa, Zach and Lucy.  Holding the ribbon is Swanton Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Neil Toeppe and Chamber member Charlene O’Connell

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Liberty Center place kicker Carly Roth booted a 27-yard field goal as time expired, lifting the Tigers to a 38-35 upset victory over the previously unbeaten and #1-State Ranked Archbold Blue Streaks in a Regional Semi-Final Division VI football game at Defiance High School Saturday night.  Roth’s clutch kick, which split the uprights, was the perfect ending to her perfect kicking performance on the night, adding on to her five successful point-after-attempts on five tries.

The Liberty Center win, not only advances the Tigers into the Regional Final game but also avenges an early-season 41-7 drubbing at the hands of their fellow NWOAL foe.  Talk among local pundits and others leading up to the contest generally agreed that this Tiger squad was playing at a much higher level than the one that lost to the Streaks in September.  They had not lost a game since, running up seven straight wins, including two in the playoffs.

The first quarter of the game proved all the talk was not just rhetoric as Liberty Center took an early 14-0 lead on touchdown runs by Matthew Orr and Zane Zeiter.  Archbold was finally able to get on the board before the quarter ended on a DJ Newman 47-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Bailey, cutting the deficit in half.

From that point the two teams began trading touchdowns.  Every time the Tigers regained their 14-point lead, the Blue Streaks would find the end zone again to pull within seven.  Evan Conrad pulled in a seven-yard pass from Zeiter to put LC up 21-7 and Archbold responded with a six-yard TD run by Carson Dominique, making the score 21-14 at halftime.  Zeiter scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak and Karter Behnfeldt answered with a 44-yard catch and run score to restore the seven-point gap at 28-21 with almost 10 minutes to go in the game.

Archbold attempted an onside kick but Liberty Center recovered and later scored from 32 yards out on a run by Teejay Moore.  Down 35-21 with approximately six minutes remaining, the Streaks quickly drove down the field where Newman hit Bailey with a 14-yard strike to get the deficit back to seven points.

Again, Archbold attempted an onside kick but this time they recovered when Behnfeldt grabbed the ball at the top of a high bounce.  It took just one play, another Newman to Bailey connection, this one a 52-yard bomb, to tie the game at 35-35 after Krayton Kern’s extra point.

It appeared the momentum had swung in favor of the Blue Streaks but there was still over four minutes left on the clock.  The Tigers took the kickoff and drove to the Archbold 20-yard line, called a timeout with just 3.6 seconds left and brought on the field goal unit.  The Archbold coaches called a timeout attempting to freeze the Liberty Center kicker to no avail. 

The kick was long and true and propelled the Tigers to the fourth round of the playoffs and the name Carly Roth into legendary status of Liberty Center High School Tiger football lore.

The Blue Streaks finished the season with a 12-1 record while Liberty Center improves to 11-2 and will face the Carey High School Blue Devils next Saturday, November 20, 2021 at 7:00 PM at Bowling Green High School.

Click on the Google Photos link above to access all photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded to your computer for no charge courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

The Swanton Lions Club is beginning its annual Giving Tree Program this weekend to help financially struggling families with young children enjoy the Christmas holidays.  The focus will be on students enrolled in Swanton Elementary School and all of their siblings from infants to eighth grade. 

The Lions will be hanging “Stockings” at various locations in the Village of Swanton including the American Legion Post 479, Benefield’s Wines, CK Sweets, Club Salon, First Federal Delta and You-nique Bou-tique.

To help these families, stop in at any of these locations and pull out a list of items from a stocking that identifies what one of the children needs or has asked for.  Items may include everything from clothes and footwear to books and toys.  Some or all of the items may be purchased and returned to the same location no later than December 8, 2021.

In lieu of shopping for a gift, checks or cash donations will be accepted.  After all gifts and donations have been collected, Lions Club members will shop for whatever items are still needed, place them together by family and distribute them soon after.

The Swanton Lions Club thanks you in advance for your generosity.