The Delta Panthers bowlers opened the 2022-2023 NWOAL season with both the boys and girls teams losing to the Liberty Center Tigers.
In the girls’ match, the Lady Tigers got balanced scoring from their lineup including two-game series scores of 361 (149/212) from AJ Seedorf and 330 (164/186) from Madison Amstutz to defeat the Lady Panthers 1988-1822. Delta countered with a 461 (161/300 Perfect Game) from Lexi Brown and a 296 (128/168) from Ciarra Fleckinger to keep the score close heading into the Baker games.
In the boys’ match, the Tigers prevailed 2471 to 2197 with Wesley Wilhelm leading the way with a two-game total of 428 (174/254) and Jacob Sexton rolling a 379 (195/184). Delta’s Dylan Stricker bowled a 356 (192/164) and Paul McQueen had a 332 (146/186) as did Brody Waugh (158/174).
Photo: AJ Seedore and Madison Amstutz
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The Evergreen Lady Vikings paid a visit to Swanton’s McQuade Gymnasium and came away with a 37-29 victory over the Lady Bulldogs in a non-league game that was closely contested throughout. Holding just a three-point lead, 13-10, at halftime, the Vikes stretched their advantage to five points after the third quarter and finally eight for the game as the Bulldogs kept coming back from larger deficits.
With the win, Evergreen improves to 4-1 on the season. Swanton drops to 3-1.
Evergreen 8-5-13-11 = 37
Kennedy Emmitt–12, Ella Burgermeister-9, Addison Ricker-9, Lucy Serna-6, Brookelyn Gleckler-1
Swanton 4-6-11-8 = 29
Peighton Manning-10, Katie Floyd-7, Sammi Nelson-5, Emma Crow-3, Alaina Pelland-2, Miranda Yeager-2
Photo Below: Kennedy Emmitt fires from just inside three-point range
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Delta senior Lexi Brown, a four-year member of the Lady Panthers bowling team, fired 12 consecutive strikes in her second game of the season’s opening match for a perfect score of 300 at Delta’s home bowling alley, the Swanton Sports Center on Friday afternoon. Lexi bowled a respectable 161 in the first game against fellow NWOAL foe Liberty Center, then was able to zero in on her marks for the next 10 frames for the first 300 game of her career and the first in the history of the Panther bowling program, boys or girls. “Honestly, it was touch and go,” commented Lexi on how her game progressed after the first five strikes. “When I got a strike in the sixth frame I thought, ‘Maybe there’s a chance’ so I kept going and going. I was scared. I was nervous, but I had the whole crowd behind me so it was good.”
Lexi drew inspiration for the achievement from her coach and mentor, Jerry Donaldson who, ironically, was the last bowler to reach the 300 mark at the Swanton Sports Center, just earlier this year. “She did an awesome job,” said Coach Donaldson. “She struggled in game one, couldn’t hit her mark, the ball wasn’t coming up. I told her, ‘Relax and bowl. Go back to basics. Hit your mark and follow through.’ She then threw a few good balls, came back in that second game and couldn’t miss.”
What was clear to Lexi, her coaches and her fellow bowlers, was that this perfect game did not come out of nowhere. It was a result of years of hard work and allowing herself to be coachable. “I remember when she was a freshman, she could barely roll a 100,” said Delta Head Coach Dave Kina. But she put the work in and now she throws a really good ball.”
Lexi now joins the short list of bowlers who have rolled a score that will never be topped. She will have the high game for the season in the NWOAL and her school record will stand forever.
In front of family, friends, fellow students and former teammates, Ethan Hensley signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his education and soccer career at the University of Findlay (UF).
Ethan played soccer for the Bulldogs in his Freshman and Sophomore years then joined the football team for his final two years of high school, starting at several positions including defensive back, quarterback and kicker. In the off-season, he competed with the highly-regarded Sylvania Pacesetter Soccer Club, playing alongside some of the top soccer talent in Northwest Ohio.
With Ethan’s decision to move on to the next level, the Hensley family will have two sons playing collegiately. His older brother, Riley, played soccer at Lake Erie College before transferring to Defiance College to be closer to home. “It’s pretty awesome,” commented the boys’ father, Joe. “They both worked very hard and we’re very blessed to have both of them playing at the college level.
One of the reasons Ethan chose UF was also to be closer to home. As of now, he is undecided on his major but is leaning towards something in the area of the sciences.
Click on the link above to access photos from the event.
The Swanton Lady Bulldogs outscored the Fayette Lady Eagles 10-0 in the first quarter and were on the verge of running away with the game when their lead ballooned to 15 points in the second frame. However, the Lady Eagles rallied back to cut the halftime deficit to 26-15 and pulled within four points with a buzzer-beating bucket at the end of the third to make the score 33-29.
Swanton’s senior leadership then took over in the fourth quarter when Alaina Pelland, Katie Floyd and Megan Haselman combined to sink all eight attempts on four one-and-one free throw opportunities to pull away for the 50-39 non-league victory.
Pelland led all players with 14 points including eight in the final quarter. Emma Crow scored nine points, Haselman had seven, Floy and Peighton Manning added six each, Olivia Gowing and Jessica Finfera had two and Sammi Nelson had one for the Lady Bulldogs.
Demi Storrs led the Lady Eagles with 12 points, all coming in the second and third quarters, to help fuel the comeback. Hannah Kover scored 11 points, also in the two comeback quarters. Nevaeh Powers and Addison Schang each had five points, Emersyn Sinks added three, Kelsie Storrs had two and Kayla Sliwinski had one. Fayette made 16 of 19 foul shots for 84.2% to keep the score close.
Swanton returns home for a Thursday non-league contest against the Evergreen Lady Vikings while Fayette will entertain the Montpelier Lady Locomotives on Friday.
Photo: Swanton’s Alaina Pelland attacks the Fayette basket
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The Swanton Bulldogs opened the 2022-2023 boys basketball season on their home court by scoring the game’s first 12 points and went on to down the Lake Flyers 57-26 in a non-league contest. Halftime saw the Bulldog lead swell to 20 points and later, in the fourth quarter, reaching 35 points and setting off the running clock until the final whistle.
Topping the score sheet for Swanton was Luc Borojevich with 15 points followed by Cole Mitchey with 12 and Charlie Wood with 10. Rounding out the scoring was Ryan O’Shea, Drew Smigelski and Kenyon Johnson with five points each, Hayden Callicotte had four points and Kayden Davis scored three.
The Bulldogs will next travel to the Big House at Evergreen High School to take on the Vikings on Friday, December 2nd at 7:30 PM.
Pictured Below: Cole Mitchey slams the ball through the hoop, making a statement about his return from a serious elbow injury suffered during the football season.
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The Delta Village Council voted unanimously to approve Emergency Resolution 22-20, authorizing the Mayor to execute an employment agreement for Interim Village Administrator Services for the Village of Delta.
Language taken from the body of this Resolution reads, in part:
The Village of Delta has been seeking candidates for the position of Village Administrator to replace the current administrator who announced retirement. Village Council has been unsuccessful in efforts to fill the position. Brad Peebles, who currently serves in this capacity, has agreed to serve in an interim capacity for up to two years. The Mayor shall be authorized to execute an employment agreement with Brad Peebles to serve as interim Village Administrator for the Village of Delta.
This Resolution shall take effect as an emergency measure to ensure the continuity of administrative responsibilities are fulfilled January 1, 2023.
In other New Business, Emergency Resolution 22-19, authorizing the Village Administrator to execute an amendment to the agreement for Indigent Defense Services in Fulton County Court proceedings.
Language taken from the body of this Resolution reads, in part:
The laws of the State of Ohio and the United States of America require legal counsel be provided to indigent persons charged with certain offenses where there is potential loss of liberty; and the Fulton County Commissioners are authorized to enter into contractual agreements with municipalities for the costs and reimbursements of court appointed counsel fees.
The Village Council passed Ordinance #11-32 on October 3, 2011 which authorized the Village Administrator to enter into an agreement for Indigent Defense Services in County Court. The Fulton County Commissioners will again propose an amendment for 2023 to the original 2011 agreement for services to be provided to the Village of Delta.
In Old Business, the Third and Final Reading of Ordinance 22-16, establishing salaries and wages for employees of the Village of Delta, Ohio was approved 6-0.
The Third and Final Reading of Resolution 22-16, authorizing the Village Administrator to advertise for bids and enter into contracts for the Capital Improvement Projects in 2023 was also approved 6-0.
The next Council meeting will take place December 5, 2022 at 5:30 PM in Memorial Hall.
Emma Crow scored seven of her game-high 16 points in the first quarter as the Swanton Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a 13-4 lead after one and went on to easily defeat the Emmanuel Christian Lady Warriors 57-13 to open the 2022-2023 basketball season at home. Swanton basically put the game away in the second quarter, outscoring Emmanuel 24-4, getting eight points each from Alaina Pelland and Jessica Finfera, and leading the visitors 37-8 at the half.
Head coach Eric Oakes made liberal substitutions throughout the game, occasionally switching out five players at a time, as the Lady Bulldogs were never threatened. All 12 Swanton players logged time on the court with eight of them contributing to the scoring column.
In addition to Crow’s 16 points, Finfera scored 12 and Pelland had 10. Rounding out the scoring were Allison Fagerman with seven points, Katie Floyd with six, and Sammi Nelson, Peighton Manning and Megan Haselman had two apiece.
Swanton next welcomes the Lake Lady Flyers on Tuesday, November 22nd, at 7:30 PM.
Pictured Below: Emma Crow puts up two of her game-leading 16 points.
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On Monday, November 14th, the Swanton Village Council voted unanimously to approve the Third and Final Reading of an ordinance that will create a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) in the vicinity of N. Main Street and Zeiter Way in downtown Swanton. In the State of Ohio, a DORA allows visitors aged 21 and older to consume alcoholic beverages outdoors and in participating businesses within the area’s boundaries, during designated hours, and according to DORA rules.
This legislation will officially become law 30 days from the final approval. Village officials have begun to work on DORA documentation required by the State of Ohio and will be posting signage identifying the DORA boundaries and a list of state-regulated DORA rules. Two drinking establishments currently located within the Swanton DORA, Benfield Wines and Hub’s Bar and Grill, have been given the go-ahead to order DORA-labeled drinking cups. It is estimated that the DORA will not become active until sometime after the first of the year.
The new legislation is the culmination of a many-months effort by several downtown Swanton business owners to establish a DORA with the hopes of generating more foot traffic in the Main Street area and increasing economic activity downtown and the Swanton community in general.
“The main reason we asked for the DORA was because our liquor license only goes to the edge of our building. Because we don’t own the sidewalk, we weren’t able to put tables and chairs outside. We wanted to be able to offer our customers seating outside, which they asked for,” said Julia Benfield, co-owner of Benfield Wines with her husband Rob.
Ms. Benfield spoke of occasionally hosting social events in the DORA to bring more people downtown in addition to the Downtown Market in the summer and the Art Walk. “We would like to be able to do events with Hubb’s, behind us, such as closing Zeiter and doing block parties with music and things like that,” she said. “There are a lot of events we could utilize the DORA for to bring more people here to Swanton to then shop in the shops and patronize the businesses.”
When DORA laws were first enacted in Ohio, many smaller communities such as Swanton did not qualify to participate in the economic-incentivized legislation, until March of this year. “I think we are lucky that the State of Ohio changed the rules to allow villages our size to be able to even think about having a DORA. I think we are lucky we have this opportunity and hope we take advantage of it,” stated Ms. Benfield.
One of the concerns that was voiced by some residents during the many discussions at Council meetings was how often the DORA would be utilized. “In my conversation with mayors throughout the State of Ohio, one of the things that they say it (DORA) is really beneficial when you have any kind of outdoor events like an art or music event. It just makes it a much more congenial and fun activity. They also say that the DORAs are seldom used or activated, even though they are in place, people don’t go walking around with their drink unless there is some kind of activity going on,” explained Swanton Mayor Neil Toeppe. “They all say it is very beneficial when there is some kind of an event going on, that it draws more people in. So, there will be more activity once the DORA gets put in.”
As the boundaries of the DORA are currently set, the overall area is less than half what was originally proposed in the initial legislation. After the public hearing was held, a compromise was reached between the Village and some of its concerned residents, leading to a down-sized area.
“The size of the DORA we have established is very small right now. We’re really looking at one corner of Zeiter Way and Main Street,” said Mayor Toeppe. “Hopefully, we’ll see this small foot print we have for the DORA will generate no problems and then it can be looked into for expanding.”
The Ohio Revised Code (ORC) stipulates that all aspects of a municipality’s DORA must be reviewed every five years. However, the ORC also gives each community the authority to review and modify its DORA at any time. It was also pointed out that many local communities have not reported any DORA-related concerns and have or are looking to expand their boundaries.
Fulton County Ohio Media 