Is there any more that can be said about the Trump-incited mob that attacked the U.S. Capital Building yesterday that has not already been voiced by someone? I’m sure there will be, but will it change what happened? Of course not. Will it make any difference? We can only hope and pray. The tragic event that took place on Capital Hill on January 6, 2021 will now take it’s rightful place in the “Where Were You When” category of American history under the “Shameful, Needless and Preventable” sub-group.
So, who do we blame? Better yet, who do we not blame? We all saw it coming and we all let it happen. Donald Trump began constructing this bomb since the beginning of the 2016 Presidential campaign. When, to the surprise of many, including Donald himself, he won the election, he moved his bomb making lab into the White House. From there he began to perfect his weapons of mass distraction and test fired one every time he found himself in political hot waters. Yesterday he launched his most destructive and lethal one to date. And, hopefully, his last.
Finally, after yesterday’s insurrection which failed to achieve Trump’s objective, Donald is agreeing to a “smooth and peaceful” transition of power. If true, it comes two months too late. But nobody will be holding their breath waiting for it to happen. Regardless, Donald and the Trump family will be out of office in less than two weeks. The next question is how do we recover and where do we go from here?
Undoubtedly, it will take many years, a lot of work and a lot more understanding, compromise and forgiveness to heal our nation. We have never been more divided in a four year stretch since the years of 1861 to 1865. Obviously, our differences and disagreements over past four years pale in comparison to what took place 160 years ago so it gives us much hope that we come back from this and return to the great nation and role model to the rest of the world we used to be.
For now, the causes behind the self-inflicted black eye American suffered on Capital Hill yesterday will be analyzed and debated in search of a vaccine that will protect us from repeating a similar attack of our democracy. Many will still argue in support of the violence but their voices will fade and reason will take hold. I still have faith in America.
My name is Bill O’Connell and I live in Swanton, Ohio, a village of approximately 3700 residents located about 15 miles west of Toledo. I retired in 2012 and began helping my family restore and re-open a shuttered bowling center and banquet hall which took just over one year. Several months after it was up and running I began working as a sub-contracted sports journalist/photographer for the Swanton Enterprise and Fulton County Expositor. Just short of two years with those two weekly papers I took a similar position with the Village Reporter, a weekly publication that covered Fulton and Williams County and held that for almost four years. While with the Reporter I covered virtually every type of event from sports to festivals to council and school board meetings to business ribbon cuttings.
Now I am trying something very similar in substance but very different from a technology aspect, a blog and website. My plan is to continue covering local sports, including all seven Fulton County school districts with photography and short articles along with human interest stories from around Fulton County. I will also write editorials on various subjects and will continue a daily cartoon called “About Face” that I now post on my Facebook page. To start, there will be very few postings on my site but my goal is to develop it over the next few months. Also, any photos I publish can be copied for no charge. I will be looking for an easier way to make my photos available. Please let any of your friends and relatives know about my site if you think they may be interested. Thank you.
Lane Lane Lopez and Keegan Clapp both fired a score of 37 to tie for Medalist Honors and lead the Delta Panthers over the Swanton Bulldogs 165-168 in the final NWOAL regular season golf match on Monday afternoon at Valleywood Golf Club in Swanton. Christian Butler led the Bulldogs with a round of 41.
Delta Panthers: Lane Lopez (37), Keegan Clapp (37), Luke Spiess (46), Brady Kile (45), Dylan Funk (52), Randy Wyse (52) Total = 165
Swanton Bulldogs: Christian Butler (41), Carson Bond (42), Dylan Smigelski (42), Carter Malak (43), Camden Kozakiewicz (44), Owen Hurst (45) Total = 168
Both teams will compete tomorrow in the NWOAL Tournament at Suburban Golf Course in Bryan to decide the overall standings for the league. Scheduled Tee-Time is 9:00 AM.
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 and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Click on the link above to access the non-football photos from Friday night’s Archbold vs Delta Football game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
The Archbold Blue Streaks used a balanced offense, a strong front-line defense and took advantage of numerous Delta first-half penalties to beat the Panthers 38-7 on Friday night at Archbold High School. Both teams came in with perfect 3-0 records, all in non-league play, to open the NWOAL season and with a chance rack up slew of computer points in pursuit of reaching the state playoffs.
Blue Streak quarterback, Maddox Pinter threw for 259 yards and four touchdowns on 20 of 29 passes. His top receiver, Morgan Harris, pulled in six of those passes for 117 yards, including one for a 55-yard touchdown in the second quarter that gave Archbold a 14-0 lead. Pinter also completed seven passes to Anderson Bently for 91 yards and a score.
Marcus Nagel ran for 99 yards on 21 carries for the Panthers. Quarterback Emric Friess had 129 yards passing, completing 8 of 12 attempts and threw a 60-yard touchdown to Mason Nagel.
The win improves the Blue Streak’s record at 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the NWOAL. They will travel to Evergreen next Friday to play against the Vikings (0-4/0-1). Delta drops to 3-1 on the season and 0-1 in the league. The Panthers return home on Friday to face the Swanton Bulldogs (1-3/0-1).
Click on the link above to access photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded and shared for NO CGARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: Maddux Pinter looks downfield for an open receiver
This past Thursday morning, at David Hansbarger Football Field, Swanton Middle School (SMS) kicked off the 9th year of the Swanton Seven Initiative (SSI) with the House Reveal event of the Program. The Reveal places all new SMS students and new staff and faculty, into one of four “Houses” in which they will team with fellow housemates in competition with the other houses throughout the school year.
The Houses are DIGNITAS, GRATUS, OBDURO, and SAPIENTIA and they bear the colors Black, Gray, White and Purple, respectively. Each House has a relatively equal amount of 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students and once a student is assigned to a House they will remain there throughout their time at SMS.
The House Reveal is part of SSI’s Amazing Shake Program, is a competition that focuses on building soft skills in students, placing strong emphasis on manners, discipline, respect, and professional behavior. The event was inspired by the National Amazing Shake Competition that is held every year at the acclaimed Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia.
This year’s celebration had a very special reveal once all the students had been assigned their house. Principal Nicolette Stark introduced a “mystery” guest by the name of Chris Sneider. Mr. Sneider emerged from under the football stands, proceeded directly over to Assistant Principal Dakota Ullrich, bent down on one knee and proposed marriage to the very surprised and unsuspecting Ms. Ullrich as the entire SMS student body went absolutely crazy in response. No date for the upcoming nuptials has been set as of this writing. Good luck topping this final reveal next year.
Click on the link above to access over 700 photos from the Reveal. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
The Evergreen Vikings and the Delta Panthers boys golf team were tied at 167 after their 9-hole match on Wednesday afternoon at White Pines Gold Course. The tie score required the teams to use the score of their fifth place golfers to determine to the winner, giving the critical victory to the Vikings. The Liberty Center Tigers shot a score of 180 in the NWOAL tri-match.
Not only were two teams tied for first place, four golfers, Lane Lopez of Delta, Jake Farley of Evergreen, Chris Shrader of Evergreen, and Brody Wyckhouse of Liberty Center, tied for Medalist Honors with a round of 38.
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 and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Submitted By Kate Huiskens (Former Swanton resident)
At 17 years old, Kate Huiskens never could have imagined that one day she would be training to run a marathon. At that age, she was simply trying to figure out why eating caused so much pain, why she couldn’t gain weight, and why her body seemed to be failing her. What started as years of stomach aches eventually became something much more serious.
At 17, Kate was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. At the same time, doctors discovered a tumor on her right ovary. She was facing major surgery and an uncertain future. Her life suddenly became a cycle of doctors, tests, fear and uncertainty. Kate’s story is chronicled in her memoir, Unshakable, where she writes about her battle with Crohn’s disease, multiple surgeries, faith, fear, resilience and ultimately learning how to thrive rather than simply survive.
Her first surgery marked the beginning of a long journey toward healing. Slowly, Kate began rebuilding her life. Her body grew stronger, and so did her mindset. She turned to fitness. At first, running meant barely a mile and a half. But those short runs gave her something she hadn’t felt in a long time: freedom. “Still, just moving my body gave me a sense of control, and that feeling was priceless,” she writes in Unshakable.
Fitness eventually led Kate into bodybuilding, where she competed as a bikini competitor. The experience taught her discipline, determination and the power of setting a goal and working toward it. But Crohn’s would continue to remind her that life isn’t always a straight line. It is about balance.
A Journey That Came Full Circle. More than a decade after her original diagnosis, Kate once again found herself facing complications from Crohn’s disease that ultimately required another surgery. This time, however, she faced the news differently. She wasn’t the frightened 17-year-old anymore. She had been through it before. She knew fear. She knew recovery. She knew what it meant to start over. And she knew she could do hard things.
That journey became an important part of Unshakable, which Kate wrote not only to tell her story, but to encourage others who may be facing their own difficult seasons. One of the central messages of her book is that we may not be able to control everything that happens to us, but we can control how we respond. “I couldn’t control my diagnosis, but I could control how I faced it,” Kate writes. That philosophy is now carrying her toward her next challenge.
Running for a Reason. On September 20, 2026, Kate will take on the Toledo Garmin Marathon. But she isn’t running simply to cross a finish line. She’s running to raise awareness for Crohn’s disease and raise money to support the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.
For Kate, every mile represents something much bigger than running. It represents the 17-year-old girl who once struggled to eat. It represents the surgeries. The hospital rooms. The uncertainty. The days when pain and fatigue made ordinary life difficult. It represents learning to listen to her body rather than fight against it. And it represents the incredible realization that after everything her body has endured, she is still capable of asking it to do something extraordinary.
Living with Crohn’s has taught Kate that there is no straight line to wellness. There are good days and bad days. There are setbacks, appointments, medications and moments when the body demands rest. In Unshakable, Kate describes Crohn’s as a constant balancing act—learning to recognize triggers, respect her body’s boundaries and find a new rhythm rather than expecting life to return to the way it was before diagnosis.
That lesson will be especially important on marathon day. Kate knows there may be difficult miles. She knows she may have to adjust. And she knows that finishing may look different than she once imagined. But she also knows something else: Every step forward is a victory. After her second surgery, Kate learned to celebrate the smallest milestones. Getting stronger. Taking another step. Moving a little closer to home. Those small victories became reminders that progress doesn’t always happen in giant leaps. The marathon will be another collection of those small victories—one mile, one step and one breath at a time.
More Than a Finish Line. Kate hopes her marathon journey will do more than raise money. She wants people to understand that Crohn’s disease is more than a stomachache. It can affect someone’s ability to eat, work, exercise, travel and simply get through an ordinary day. Much of what people with Crohn’s experience is invisible. She also wants those living with chronic illness to know that a diagnosis doesn’t mean their dreams have to end. Kate’s own life is proof.
She went from being a teenager facing a tumor and Crohn’s diagnosis to becoming an athlete, an author and now a marathon runner. She has learned that thriving doesn’t mean pretending adversity doesn’t exist. It means choosing to live fully despite it. “Thriving isn’t about eliminating adversity—it’s about learning to live fully in spite of it,” she writes in Unshakable. That is the message she hopes to carry with her through every mile of the Toledo Garmin Marathon.
How You Can Help. Kate is inviting the community to become part of her journey. There are several ways to support her effort to raise awareness and funds for Crohn’s disease: Purchase a copy of Unshakable. Readers can support Kate’s mission by purchasing her memoir, Unshakable, through her website: www.katehuiskens.com The book shares Kate’s complete journey through Crohn’s disease, surgeries, faith, fear, resilience and finding purpose through adversity.
Purchase race-day apparel. Support Kate and help spread Crohn’s awareness by purchasing race-day apparel from her fundraising campaign: Kate’s Race-Day Apparel Campaign Wearing the apparel on race day—or around the community—helps start conversations about a disease that is often invisible. Make an anonymous donation. Those who would prefer to make a direct or anonymous donation can give through the official Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation website: Donate to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. The Foundation uses donations to support critical inflammatory bowel disease research as well as education and programs for people living with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. No matter how someone chooses to support the cause, Kate says every contribution matters.
One More Mile. Kate’s journey has taught her that a second chance at life isn’t something to take for granted. After everything she has experienced, she wants to use her story for something bigger than herself. She wants to create awareness. She wants to encourage people with Crohn’s and other chronic illnesses. And she wants to help support the search for better treatments and, ultimately, cures for inflammatory bowel disease.
Her book, Unshakable, carries that same message. In the conclusion, Kate writes: “You are not defined by your struggles—you are defined by how you rise from them.” On September 20, she will put those words into motion. She will run for the girl she used to be. She will run for the people who are currently fighting battles no one else can see. She will run for awareness, for research and for hope. And she will run as a reminder that sometimes the greatest victories aren’t about how fast you go. They’re about refusing to stop moving forward.
This isn’t just a marathon. It’s a celebration of how far Kate has come. And after everything she’s been through, she’s ready to keep moving forward—unshakable.
Editor’s Note: Starting time is 7:00 AM. The race will begin and end at the intersection of Summit Street and Jefferson Avenue
Family, friends, customers and Swanton Village officials gathered at El Rincon Cuatro Swanton on Friday evening to celebrate the “official” opening of the Mexican restaurant with a Ribbon Cutting hosted by the Swanton Area Chamber of Commerce.
The ribbon cutting celebrated Silvano and Alicia’s ownership of the Swanton location and their continued investment in the local community. El Rincon Cuatro specializes in favorites including street tacos, margaritas and micheladas, along with a variety of traditional Mexican dishes. Beginning in this month, guests will also see updated pricing and new menu offerings.
The inside of the restaurant offers a wonderful traditional Mexican ambiance and the newly remodeled patio is great place to enjoy your favorite Mexican dishes in a relaxing and comfortable atmosphere. You really need to experience the patio while the weather allows.
El Rincon Cuatro Swanton is located at 13625 Airport Highway, Swanton, Ohio across from Valleywood Golf Club. For more information, contact the Swanton Area Chamber of Commerce.
Click on the link to access photos from the ribbon cutting. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Click on the link above to access band, cheer, color guard and pre-gam photos from last Friday night’s Vikings game against the Lake Flyers. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website
The Evergreen Vikings had a difficult time stopping the offense of the visiting Lake Flyers in the first half, allowing 20 unanswered points and went on to lose 26-8 Friday night in a non-conference game. The loss put the record on the season at 0-3.
Next Friday, the Vikings travel to Wauseon to face the Indians. It will be the NWOAL opener for both teams as they each look for the first win of the season.
Click on the link above to access photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
The Wauseon Lady Indians picked up a road victory on Tuesday afternoon, beating the Swanton Lady Bulldogs 9-1 at Krupitzer Field. Wauseon moves to 1-1 in the NWOAL and 1-5 overall. Swanton drops to 0-1 in the league and 1-5 on the season.
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 and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Fulton County Ohio Media 