Fulton County Ohio Media

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The Swanton Lady Bulldogs traveled to Delta and swept the Lady Panthers 3-0 in a non-league varsity volleyball match, winning games 25-14, 25-11 and 25-8. The victory was Swanton’s third in as many games to start the season. Delta drops to 1-4. The Lady Bulldogs also won the junior varsity and freshmen matches 2-0 in the best-of-three format.

The Lady Panthers travel to Montpelier tomorrow to take on the Lady Locomotives. Swanton will next be on the road at Tinora against the Lady Rams on Monday.

Click on the link above to access photos from the varsity match. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Photo: Swanton’s Anja Caklovic and Zara Wylie block a spike attempt by Delta’s Addison Wyse

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Tyson Bower scored four goals and assisted on two others as the Delta Panthers beat the Swanton Bulldogs 8-3 in an NWOAL match at Panther Stadium.  Early in the contest, Delta goal keeper, senior Brodey Roth, notched his 500^th career save.  The game was briefly stopped as his Panther teammates and Bulldog opponents celebrated the incredible milestone.

The game was also held as a benefit to honor the late Mark Bolinger, a former PDY School District student and his mother, Jen Bollinger, a current PDY faculty member.  Players and coaches from both teams wore special game jerseys to show their support and commemorate the event.

Also scoring goals for Delta was Alex York with two while Sam Mohring and Nick Circle had one score each.  York, Mohring and Circle had an assist as well.  Scoring for Swanton was freshman Eli Bolyard with his first varsity goal, Brendan Upham and Isaiah Bolyard.  Evan Reinhard had an assist.

Click on the link above to access photos from the match. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Photo: Delta Goalie Brodey Roth

Why Donald Trump?  It seems like a simple question, but when asked, it sprouts so many more, as millions of American voters, from all parties, and millions of people around the world struggle to understand why anyone, much less Evangelical Christians, would fervently support a candidate like Donald Trump.  I realize not all Evangelicals support him. Many do not.  But as a Christian, a follower of Jesus, how do you rationalize and justify empowering an individual who is devoid of Christian values and Christian morals and exhibits no empathy or compassion for his fellow man? 

A common response from Trump’s Evangelical supporters is that he, as a member of the Republican Party, is pro-life.  I get that.  From that perspective it makes sense.  The abortion issue, whether pro-life or pro-choice, is the most intensely passionate and hot-blooded dispute we have in America.  For many voters, on both sides, it becomes the only issue they consider when they enter the ballot box.  However, it brings us back to the original question.  Why have Evangelicals backed Trump when there has been an abundance of Republicans, all strongly pro-life in their beliefs, all fighting for their cause and the traditional Republican platform, running in the primary against him?  You had Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Nikki Haley, John Kasich among others to choose from and yet you supported an individual who is morally bankrupt and completely areligious.  Furthermore, does anybody truly believe he cares about the abortion issue beyond how it benefits him politically?  Donald is neither pro-life nor pro-choice.  He is only, and always will be, pro-Donald.

What else attracts white Evangelicals to the Donald?  We know he has not led anything resembling a pious life.  He is a documented serial adulterer, a convicted sexual abuser, a pathological liar, a vindictive man filled with hate and vengeance and attempts to destroy anyone who would deny him whatever he wants or whomever does not agree with him.  Donald has been called a narcissist, megalomaniac, fearmonger, racist, misogynist, fascist, with actions to justify each label.  He admires and praises murderous dictators and would emulate their behavior if he thought he could get away with it.

His life, from the day he was born, in no way relates to his followers.  The most disturbing element in his popularity among Evangelicals is they have begun to deify him.  They believe his is the second coming, ordained by God to lead us.  And Trump’s followers include an alarming number of Evangelical clerics who pontificate his message with such reverence from the pulpit or the alter it makes you wonder if they have forgotten the First Commandment. 

Many followers play the “forgiveness” card, suggesting they are bound by their Christian faith to forgive Trump’s transgressions to justify their blind support.  But Donald never asks for forgiveness, never apologizes or take responsibility for his actions and has never committed a sincere act of contrition.  His anger, his wrath, his blatant lies, his vitriol and hate, continues to spew out every waking hour of every day.

On January 6, 2021, Trump’s true colors were on full display when he incited a deadly attack on our nation’s Capital Building.  Sometime after the breech of the building, he tweeted to his followers that Vice President Mike Pence had failed to do the “right thing” by certifying the 2020 election.  From there came chants of “Hang Mike Pence” from the angry mob.  When informed how the situation had escalated, Donald J. Trump, America’s sitting president, gave a response worthy of Pontius Pilate.  Does that sound like Christian behavior?

My concern is not about whether a Republican or Democrat gets into the oval office.  It is not about supporting Joe Biden of Kamala Harris.  The issue completely transcends politics.  It is strictly about not wanting to live through another four years of a Trump administration with an agenda to move from our democracy to an authoritarian regime with Trump and his acolytes controlling our lives for future generations.  As a follower of Jesus Christ, I do not understand the appeal of a Donald Trump by the religious faithful.

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At Valleywood Golf Club, the Swanton Lady Bulldogs dropped a nine-hole non-conference match to the North Baltimore Lady Tigers 221-241. Swanton’s Anna Rukieh fired a round of 55 to lead the Lady Bulldogs, just one shot off the medalist score of 54.

Click on the link above to access photos from the match. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

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A dominate second half by the Swanton Bulldogs carried the visitors to a 5-3 victory over the Toledo Christian Eagles in the opening game of the boys’ soccer season on Saturday afternoon.  Tied at 2-2 at halftime, the Bulldog offense pressured the Eagle defense for most of the second half, outscoring the home team 3-1.  Sophomore Evan Reinhard scored four goals in the contest, including one with 2:46 left in the game to give Swanton a little breathing room after Toledo Christian had tightened the game at 4-3 with a goal around the 11-minute mark.  Senior Vincent Fanelli scored the other Bulldog goal.

This year’s Swanton soccer team includes a number of Lady Bulldogs playing on the boys’ team, a situation necessitated when the girls’ team fell short of the number of players required to field a team.  The Bulldogs will next travel to Delta for a double-header benefit match to be held at the Panther’s football stadium.  The Junior Varsity game will start at 6:00 PM and the Varsity game will be played at 8:00 PM under the lights.

Click on the link above to access photos from the match. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Photo: Evan Reinhard drives a shot toward the Eagle’s goal

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For the first in many years, the Swanton Corn Festival featured a 5K Fun Run that kick started the activities for the day on Saturday morning. In all, 29 runners took of from the Fisher Gym on Cherry Street and finished the 3.1 mile trek at the North end of Memorial Park. Corn Fest Committee member Rita Cote chaired the event and Dave’s Running Shop handled the setup and time keeping for the runners. Cameron Madden, a 15-year old boy from Swanton, finished in first place with a time of 19 minutes and 30 seconds.

Photo quality taken at the finish line was very challenging due to the mix of sun and shadows in the park. Click on the link above to access photos from the 5K run and he volleyball competition. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

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Hats off once again to the Swanton Corn Festival Committee for the incredibly amazing event that took place at Memorial Park this past Saturday.  From a 9:00 AM 5K run that finished at the North exit of the park to the band, Amelia Airharts, rocking the night away in the Beard Pavilion until close, there was non-stop action, non-stop food, non-stop entertainment and non-stop fun for one of the best attended Corn Fests in recent memory.  And let’s not forget the great parade that went down Main Street that morning as well.

“We had an amazing turn out.  Our car show was the largest corn festival car show in Corn Festival History. The pickleball tournament took off amazingly and we had a turnout of 43 teams who pickle balled all morning and into the afternoon,” exclaimed Corn Festival Committee Chair Alyssa Walberg.  “Walking throughout the festival it was absolutely amazing to see all of the people and families walking through our park and enjoying the festival. That is why the committee works so hard to throw the festival. I can honestly say we had shed many happy tears throughout the day seeing how many people were there and having fun.  We love putting this event on for Swanton and hope to see everyone next year.”

The festival is billed as a one-day affair, but in truth, it is a three-day event when you throw in the All Class Reunion and the Alumni Softball Game on Friday night and the clean-up of the park on Sunday morning.  For the Committee, however, it is far more than that as they begin to organize many months in advance of the big weekend.

“I am so incredibly proud of our committee members.  These people have been meeting with me since February, answering texts, emails, questions. Set up started technically Tuesday before and if you drove through the park on Thursday and Friday you saw the dedicated members of the committee and some of our Swanton High School students helping to turn our park into a festival.  Then, on Sunday morning, after all of the fun, they were there tearing down and putting everything away.  This team is absolutely amazing and we could not have had the amazing festival that we did without all of their hard work and dedication,” said Alyssa.

Click on the link to access photos from the festival. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Photo: Corn Festival Committee – Alan Robasser, Brittany Ventimiglia, Betty Jo Sadowski, Marcus Schmidt, Patricia Pilliod, Monique Gombash, Stephanie Fessenden, Garrick Grey, Sara Swartz, Brandon Walberg, Hannah Gombash, Kevin Tufts Front – Renee Tufts, Alyssa Walberg.

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Many came early, even before 9:00 AM for the 10:30 AM start time.  And they kept coming and coming and coming until they filled up on both sides of Main Street from the Swanton Sports Center parking lot all the way to West Garfield and beyond in anticipation for the “Corn in the USA” themed parade.  Once again, local parade lovers were treated to a fantastic 2024 Swanton Corn Festival Parade lead by the Color Guard of Swanton American Legion Post #479 and included numerous creatively decorated floats (Foertmeyer & Sons took top honors followed by Little Explorers Learning Center and Tri-County Block), six very talented high school bands (Anthony Wayne, Eastwood, Liberty Center, Springfield, St. John’s, Swanton and Wauseon) and many other candy-throwing organizations.  Bill Rittenberry, former United States Marine, long-time Swanton resident and beloved Swanton High School substitute teacher, served as the Grand Marshal.

Parade Co-Chairs Hannah Gombash and Taylor Truckor returned for a second year to put the show together and did not disappoint.  Rumor has it that Mother Nature was an uncredited sponsor for the parade and the entire Festival as the whole event took place in near perfect weather conditions.  The Swanton Police Department also did an excellent job keeping everyone safe and traffic clear of the parade route.

Click on the link above to access over 700 photos from the parade. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Photo: Parade Grand Marshal Bill Rittenberry

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A few dozen of former Swanton High School athletes got together the night before the Corn Festival on the high school baseball diamond at Memorial Park to battle for bragging rights for another year. Three teams were formed from a mix of those who still have it, those who hoped they still had it and those who never really had it to begin with. Everyone had a good time, there was no call to EMS and the oxygen tank in the dugout was not completely empty when games were finished.

Click on the link above to access photos from the games. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

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For the first time since anyone can remember, the Swanton Bulldog boys golf team won their own Bulldog Invitational at Valleywood Golf Club yesterday morning, defeating nine other teams in the process.  They did so in convincing fashion, outdistancing their nearest competitor, the Anthony Wayne Generals, by 14 strokes, 311-325.  The Bulldogs were led by seniors Mazin Rukieh who fired a two under par 69 to grab medalist honors and Adam Lemon who finished second in the field with a 74.

“In my four years so far, I want to say year one, I think we got pretty close.  Coming from the team back, graduating a long long time ago I don’t remember ever touching it.  Maybe a team in the early 90’s did,” said Bulldog Coach and Swanton alum Andrew Emerine.  “It was good to bring the trophy back home.  Hopefully the next generation can feed off of this and win it every year.”

Rukieh started off hot, shooting a three under 34 on the first nine holes then finished the final nine with a 35 and was the only golfer to score under par on the day.  His teammate, Lemon, was also very steady with a 37 score on both the front and back nine.  “He (Lemon) played really consistent, lost a couple on the front and the back.  But for a couple of my seniors playing most the round under par, I was really proud,” exclaimed Coach Emerine.

Team Scoring (Only the scores from the top four golfers compile the team total)

First Team All-Tournament = *

Swanton Bulldogs (311):  *Mazin Rukieh (69), *Adam Lemon (74), Dylan Smigelski (81), Brady O’Shea (87), Grady Tipton (98), Owen Hurst (103)

Antony Wayne Generals (325):  *Tyler Shaw (78), Will Zorn (80), Ben Carver (82), James Geary (85), Grant Gibbons (90), Billy Dean (93)

Archbold Blue Streaks (339):  *Grady Short (76), Griffin Valentine (83), Zach Short (85), Michah Nofziger (95), Sonny Phillips 9102), Trevor Osterland (118)

Delta Panthers (341):  *Lanse Copez (75), *Slade Young (77), Adam Mattin (91), Logan Ringle 998), Keegan Clapp (103), Luke Spiess (114)

Evergreen Vikings (352):  Haden Timbrock (80), John Herdman (88), Michael Laver (92), Brady Seabolt (92), Caden Beier (93), Jake Farley (98)

Liberty Center Tigers (353):  Brady Wyckhouse (80), Tony Capretta (84), Stone Roth (93), Brandon Like (96), Nolan Covdes (116), Owen Gebers (136)

Otsego Knights (354):  Wes Kellermeier (87), Thomas Makowski (89), Easton Jeremy (89), Philip Baranski (89), Brodie Irmen (103), Brandon Hillyard (105)

Maumee Valley Hawks (356):  *Cranston Bannister (79), Yesh Rathore (87), Harlan Poupard (96), Cam Lloyd (103), Anushka Rathore (104), Jet Canover (108)

Springfield Blue Devils (421):  Bubba Burditt (93), Brady Ruckman (93), Landon Korb (113), Chayce walker (122), Xander Seija (128), Brayden Addis (129)

Northwood Rangers (505):  Brandon Clair (104), Scott Russell (129), Brandon Didion (134), Bryceson Laurel (135), Mason Hurley (137)

Click on the link above to access photos from the Invitational. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Feature Photo courtesy of Becky O’Shea: (L to R) – Coach Andrew Emerine, Dylan Smigelski, Brady O’Shea, Mazin Rukieh, Adam Lemon, Grady Tipton, Owen Hurst