Fulton County Ohio Media

The Swanton Bulldogs scored the first 19 points of the game and led 21-3 after the first quarter to cruise to 51-19 victory over the Delta Panthers at home in the Kevin J. McQuade Gymnasium Friday night. All five Bulldog starters scored in that opening frame and their defense forced numerous Panther turnovers that led to easy baskets during the run.

The large point spread allowed Swanton head coach Joel Visser to substitute early to keep his starters fresh and was still able to extend the lead, moving to 32-8 when the halftime buzzer sounded. Swanton slowed the tempo in the second half, outscoring Delta 11-6 and 8-3 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. Coach Visser was able to empty his bench and give several of his JV players some valuable varsity experience.

Eight different Bulldog players put points on the score sheet but none were in double figures. Josh Vance, Andrew Thornton and Cole Mitchey tallied nine points each. Hayden Callicotte scored eight points and Trent Weiglel had five. Nolan Risner scored seven points for the Panthers and Chase Stickley added six.

The win takes Swanton record to 3-2 in the league and 10-8 overall. Delta falls to 0-5 in the NWOAL and 1-15 on the season.

Evergreen senior and multi-sport star, Jordan Lumbrezer, has signed a Letter of Intent with Siena Heights University (SHU) in Adrian, Michigan to join the Saints’ track and field program this coming fall. Jordan will be competing in shot put and discus while at SHU, two events she became interested in while in middle school. “I’ve been (throwing) for about five or six years,” said Jordan. “I really didn’t want to play track at the beginning but once I started it, I really loved it and just kept going with it.” She has also played basketball and soccer at Evergreen but it is her unquestionable talent in the throwing events that are taking her to the next level. “She’s put in a lot of effort. She deserves it,” said Jordan’s proud father, RJ Lumbrezer. “We’ve had a lot of fun watching her.”

Jordan is not the first in her family to play a sport at the next level or even to attend SHU while doing so. Her brother Landon played baseball for the Saints, graduating two years ago, so Jordan is very familiar with the university and their athletic programs. She plans to major in something associated with the medical field and athletics at SHU. “I thought about physical therapy, something with athletes and recovery wise,” said Jordan, explaining what areas of study she is interested in.

Jordan gets a lot of support from her large family, twin sister Riley and brothers Caleb, Walker and Landon as well as mother Tanya and father RJ. With the university just a 20-minute drive from her home they will still be able to easily support her in person. At SHU she will be mentored by first-year coach Emily Couture, a former thrower at the university.

Ella Ford scored all of Delta’s nine points in the first quarter, all with three-pointers and her teammates took note, knocking down five more triples on their way to a 49-33 home victory over the visiting Swanton Lady Bulldogs. Despite Ford’s early contribution, the Lady Panthers found themselves behind 10-9 after one quarter but outscored Swanton 10-5 in the second for a 19-15 halftime lead.

Delta took control of the contest in the third quarter when Reagan Rouleau, who was held scoreless in the first half, exploded for 13 points as the Panthers added another 10 points to their lead and headed into the last frame with a 38-24 advantage. The fourth quarter was played relatively even as Delta slowed down their offense to run down some of the game clock. Brooklyn Green scored six of her nine points in the fourth to keep the Bulldogs at bay.

Rouleau led the Panthers with 15 points and Ford had 12 on four three-pointers. In addition to Green’s nine points, Brooklyn Wymer scored eight and Chloe Weber had five. The Lady Panthers made nine triples overall compared to five for the Lady Bulldogs. Frankie Nelson was the top Swanton scorer with 11 points and Aricka Lutz was just behind with 10. Averie Luiz added seven points.

The win puts Delta at 5-1 in the NWOAL and 12-5 overall. Swanton drops to 4-2 in the league and 13-6 on the season.

The Evergreen Vikings found themselves down 13 points, 31-18 with approximately 1:15 left in the third quarter then outscored the Edon Bombers 16-0 the rest of the way to walk off their home floor with a stunning come-from-behind 34-31 victory. Poor shooting and rebounding through much of the game saw the Vikings fall behind early, trailing twice by double digits in the first half before rallying back to 21-16 when the buzzer sounded.

The Bombers quickly doubled their five-point lead early in the third quarter and eventually extended it to 13 as the Viking’s offense continued to struggle. Finally, RJ Shunck drained a three-pointer from the corner to pull Evergreen within 10 points to start the fourth quarter. The final frame was complete Viking domination as they clawed their way back, eventually taking the lead 32-31 on a triple from Brock Hudik with 1:37 remaining in the game.

After two missed Edon foul shots, Evan Lumbrezer drove to the basket and was fouled in the act of shooting with 26.1 seconds left. Lumbrezer hit both free throws to give Evergreen a three-point margin and the Vikes’ defense survived several final shots for the thrilling 34-31 comeback win.

Ethan Loeffler and Evan Lumbrezer led Evergreen with 11 points each and Shunck added five. Drew Gallehue scored 11 points for the Bombers. Cassius Hulbert had seven points and Dawson Kiess tacked on six. With the non-league win, the Vikings improve to 13-3 on the season.

Photo: Ethan Lumbrezer (3) is fouled by Cassius Hulbert in the final seconds of the Evergreen win.

Congenital Heart Defects (CHDs) consists of problems with the heart’s structure or the way it works and are the most common type of birth defects in America.  Approximately 40,000 babies are diagnosed with this very serious, often chronic and sadly, sometimes fatal condition in the United States every year.  To put it into perspective, that figure is just below the entire population of Fulton County.

Unless you have had this experience, it is impossible to imagine or even put into words what a family goes through when, after being blessed with the miracle of birth, needs another miracle or more to keep their child alive.  Two Swanton families, each with a child living with CHD, can attest to the monumental emotional and physical struggles that follow this nightmarish diagnosis.

At a recent Swanton Village Council meeting, these two children and their mothers were in attendance to accept a proclamation from Mayor Neil Toeppe recognizing February 7-14, 2021 as Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week.   The children are Shelby Frost, a seven-year-old first grade girl currently learning through the Swanton Virtual Academy of Swanton Elementary and Caden Laney, an 11-year-old fifth grade boy at St. Richard’s Catholic School.  Below, written in the words of their mothers, Mary Frost and Cookie Laney, is a brief synopsis of their journey from birth to today.

Shelby’s Story: “My daughter was, what I thought, a normal pregnancy.  I was 36 years old, which in medical terms is not normal, it is deemed advanced maternal age and therefore more risks.  We knew there were some risks at that, but I was sure God would make everything okay.  He had brought me through a four-week premature baby with no problems, so I was sure God would take care of getting through this pregnancy.  There was no mention of CHD by the doctor, and only a small blurb on it in one out of three of the pregnancy books I read.

The pregnancy went okay and her due date came and went.  The next day I had a doctor’s appointment and they said I was having contractions but sent me home to rest until I felt consistent.  Later that night we went into the hospital to have our baby girl.  Little did I know what would come next.  After giving birth, my baby girl was having trouble keeping her temperature up, and afterwards, when they thought she was fine, I was allowed to try nursing her.  As I tried, I noticed her hands and feet were purple.  I asked the nurses and they said it was okay.  We finally were heading to the post-partum room and stopped to give her to the nurse for a bath.  After that, I was unable to hold my baby for a week.

I remember getting some sleep but waking up feeling like I needed to nurse my baby and could not get a hold of anyone to find out where my baby was.  They said to get some sleep and the next thing I remember was a cardiologist in my room telling me my baby’s heart was not right and she is in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) but will need to be sent to the University of Michigan for open heart surgery.  She was diagnosed with Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return (PAPVR) but after arriving at U of M, was diagnosed with Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return (TAPVR-Oxygenated blood returning from the lungs was being drained into the wrong area of the heart).

At 27 hours old, after giving consent over the phone, my daughters heart was surgically altered.  The surgery lasted five or six hours.  We were finally allowed to see her and walked into the room with my daughter’s chest wide open with a film covering it.  You could see her heart beating through it.

She stayed in the hospital two weeks and was released to go home.  We had echocardiogram scans of her heart again at two months then at six months.  After that we had scans done every 6 months and the doctor noticed the pressure in her heart rising ever so slightly at each appointment.  At her appointment just after three years old we were unsure of the doctor’s concern that he consulted U of M and came to the conclusion that the hole in her heart was not growing with her.  At that point another surgery was scheduled.   Two months after turning three she had her second open heart surgery at Michigan.  After only four days recovery she came home.  We again had scans every six months to keep an eye on her pressure and after turning five years old she was cleared for yearly scans because her pressure was not increasing.  Thank the Lord!”

Caden’s Story: “Caden was diagnosed at birth with bicuspid aortic stenosis (Aortic Valve Stenosis. A normal aortic valve has three leaflets that form a gateway from the heart to the rest of the body. Caden’s bicuspid aortic valve was stenotic or tight and restricted blood flow exiting his heart.) He had his first surgery at exactly four weeks old which was a heart catherization to try to open up his aortic valve. Caden had regular check-ups every month to three months for the first five and one-half years of his life. When he was five, his numbers were getting a little more up there than his doctor liked so they did another catherization.  After that, they decided he needed emergency open-heart surgery. Caden had open heart surgery called the Ross-Konno procedure where they removed his bad aortic valve and replaced it with his own pulmonary valve and they then used a cadaver valve as a replacement for the pulmonary valve they used for the aortic valve. 

Caden has taken all of it in stride and continues to amaze me with his outlook. Last year he started a toy drive for other kids spending the holidays in the hospital called Caden’s Wish Toys for Tiny Hero’s where he collects toys in lieu of his own Christmas presents to donate to the three children’s hospitals in the area Mercy, Mott’s and Promedica. I believe this, along with being active with Conquering CHD is a tremendous part in helping him cope and live with his condition and continuing to thrive.”

In addition to both families remaining vigilant to the children’s condition they are both active in increasing the awareness of CHD.  Ms. Frost shares #chd awareness on her photography Facebook page at www.facebook.com/frostdesigns as well as other social media.  Ms. Laney is active with the ConqueringCHD organization at conqueringchd.org/ohio.

Pictured:  Shelby Frost and Caden Laney

After briefly discussing at previous Council meetings and at the request of Mayor Toeppe, the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association (OFCA) submitted a proposal for an organizational evaluation study regarding the Swanton Fire & Rescue Department (SFRD). As the proposal outlines: All facets will be reviewed to determine operational and administrative efficiencies, internal division and community communication effectiveness, personnel development, compliance with local, state and federal law, and industry best practices. The study will determine the current level of service and future response needs of the community. All areas of review will include a focus on employee safety, safety of the public and risk management for the fire and rescue division and village.

Councilwoman Kathy Kreuz asked Mayor Toeppe to address the issue. “In looking at the fire service, the quality of the fire service employees, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics is excellent,” commented the Mayor. “The issue is, how do we look at ourselves going forward? Do we have the right amount of equipment, the right amount of training, the right policies in place, do we have the proper configuration of equipment, all those sorts of things? So, we asked the Fire Chiefs Association to take a look at the fire department’s policy operation and put together a plan or understanding of where we are and where we need to be going forward.” Mayor Toeppe said the study was similar to the one conducted several years ago by the Ohio Police Chiefs Association on the Swanton Police Department to make sure it was structured properly to prepare for the future.

Councilman Mike Rochelle then questioned what the study would look at with the possibility of the formation of a fire district that would include the fire departments of other municipalities. He said he was hesitant to spend $50,000 on a study with too many unknowns about the future status of local fire protection. “I’m a little hesitant. I think it’s a great idea to know understand where we are at today but I think there are a lot of things going on that I don’t know if that money is well spent,” said Mr. Rochelle. When it was explained to Mr. Rochelle that the cost of the study was $15,000 and not $50,000 he responded that his opinion did not change based on the dollars. “I don’t care if it’s $15 or $150 or $150,000,” he countered. “Do we know what our fire department is going to look like in five or ten years? If we do, then it’s money well spent.”

Mr. Rochelle asked Swanton Fire Chief Anthony Schaffer for his goals and objective for doing the study. “I’m not opposed to the study at all,” responded Chief Schaffer. “There was some conversation about doing a strategic plan that would be beneficial possibly versus this. This study may present itself as being the priority but if this study goes first the goals and objectives would be a different road map of what we’re missing or what the future would bring.” The discussion on the study continued without resolution and the Council agreed to table the issue until the next meeting.

In other news, the Council approved Emergency Ordinance 2021-01, authorizing the Village Administrator to enter into an agreement with Rupp Rosebrock to rebuild the Beard Pavilion at Memorial Park for $63,900. The Pavilion was destroyed by a falling oak tree in April of 2019. The selected bid was the lowest of eight bids submitted with the second lowest coming in at $81,500 and the highest at $135,000. Insurance is expected to cover this cost. The project is slated to begin this summer with an estimated completion date of late August.

Administrator Rosanna Hoelzle informed Council that the Village was unsuccessful in receiving Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) and Small Government funds for the Crestwood/Woodside Streets project. The hope was to receive funds to perform engineering in 2021 and construction in 2022. Ms. Hoelzle presented several “Plan B” options to the Public Service Committee, one of which was to split the project in two, Woodside and Crestwood. After some discussion, the Committee decided to split the project and selected the Woodside road repairs first. In 2019 the Woodside repairs were estimated at approximately $100,000. A new estimate will be requested. The Crestwood project was estimated at $706,000 in 2019. Another grant application to the OPWC will be submitted.

Council voted to vacate an alley between to Clark Street and Pennsylvania Avenue which is still a dedicated public way. Property owners at 105,.107,109,113 Pennsylvania and 210 Clark which abut the alley will be asked to file written consent if they do not dispute this action.

Fulton County Commissioners are looking to place a 4 Mil Fulton County EMS replacement levy on the May 2021 ballot. The intent would be for the subdivisions to still provide services and a lump sum is allocated for each subdivision.

The annual Swanton Fireworks Fest was tentatively scheduled for Saturday, July 3, 2021.

At the Swanton Sports Center, the Wauseon Lady Indians outscored the Delta Lady Panthers 2235-1802 in the final match of the season before the league tournament this weekend in Bryan.  Danielle Carr bowled games of 184 and 190 for a 374 series to lead Wauseon. Jayde Ramos had a 369 series and Rachel Carr added a 349 and Quinlynn Rohda had a 343. Ciarra Flickinger 168+174=342 series topped the Delta team and Maddie Johnston had a 279 series and Lexi Brown rolled a 260 series.

In the last NWOAL regular season bowling match of 2020-2021 at the Swanton Sports Center, the Delta Panther boys defeated the Wauseon Indians 2155-2046. Freshman Brody Waugh led the Panthers with a 210+208=418 series and was backed by Dylan Stricker and Gabe Syverson who both rolled a series of 336. The Indians were paced by Kage Little with a 338 series and Parker Black with a 332.  The league tournament will be held this weekend in Bryan.

Senior guard Noah Gomez led a balanced scoring attack with 11 points as the Archbold Blue Streaks traveled to Delta and defeated the Panthers 47-27. Backing up Gomez on the score sheet was Trey Theobald with nine points, Austin Roth with eight, Alex Roth with seven and Kenny Williams with six.

The young Delta squad managed to hang with the taller and more experienced Archbold team through most of the first quarter before the Blue Streaks began to pull away. The opening quarter ended with Archbold holding a five-point lead and they extended the advantage at the end of each subsequent period to 13, 18 and finally 20 to finish with the victory.

Sophomore Bryar Knapp led the Panthers with 10 points. Chase Stickney added six points and Nolan Risner had five. The win keeps the Streaks tied with the Wauseon Indians for the top spot in the NWOAL standings at 4-0 and gives them a 13-4 record overall. Delta drops to 0-4 in the league and 0-12 on the season.

Brooklyn Wymer (pictured) sank four crucial free throws in waning moments of the game, including two with 4.4 seconds remaining, to lift the Delta Lady Panthers to a 50-45 NWOAL win over the Lady Blue Streaks on Archbold’s home floor. The senior guard scored 9 of her 10 points in the fourth quarter to hold off the Streaks in a game both teams needed to stay in contention for the league title.

Archbold streaked out to a 12-5 lead halfway through the first quarter before Delta struck back with a 9-0 run to end first on top 14-12. The Panthers opened the second quarter with a 9-2 spurt and held a 23-16 advantage as both teams headed to the locker room.

The Streaks went on a run of their own to open the second half and took 27-26 lead with two minutes left in the third quarter. Brooklyn Green gave the lead back to Delta with consecutive three-pointers as they rebuilt their seven-point margin to end the third up 34-27.

The Delta lead grew to eight early on in the fourth before Addison Ziegler hit one from beyond the arc to cut the Archbold deficit to five. Late in the quarter the Lady Streaks were able to pull within three points at 43-40 but Wymer made five foul shots in five attempts to seal the victory for the Lady Panthers.

Brooklyn Green led Delta with 16 points and Reagan Rouleau scored 12. In addition to Brooklyn Wymer’s ten points, Braelyn Wymer had eight. Addison Ziegler tied Green for game-high scoring honors with 16 points for Archbold. Karsyn Hostetler had 12 while Kylie Sauder finished with eight.

With the win Delta improves to 3-1 in the league and 10-5 overall. Archbold drops to 1-2 in the league and 9-7 overall.