Fulton County Ohio Media

To begin, let me say that I believe in the Second Amendment, or at least what I believe is the spirit of the Second Amendment.  “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”  People in our country should have a right to defend themselves, their family and their property from harm and do so with “arms”.

Unfortunately, the Second Amendment is one of the most vaguely worded and ambiguous legislative pieces of the United States Constitution and is so wide open to interpretation, anybody, especially politicians, can mold it to perfectly align it with their own value system, moral code and political agenda.  Along with the advancement of weapon technology since it was adopted in 1791, it goes a long way in explaining why we are where we are today, a nation divided between our Constitutional right to own a weapon, how powerful and lethal that weapon can be and what, if any, restrictions should apply. 

I am so tired of hearing the self-rationalized excuse for not regulating guns, “Guns don’t kill people.  People kill people.”  Of course, they do.  Every person “murdered” in the history of mankind was killed by another person.  Whether it be with bare hands, poison, knives, guns, hammers, cars or nuclear weapons, it does not matter.  Human beings are always responsible for murdering other human beings.  The question is “Why do we make it so damn easy?”

No matter how it is worded or defined or applied, the Second Amendment is not absolute.  Common sense limitations must be included for our own protection.  Even the First Amendment’s right of free speech, one of our most sacred rights, has its boundaries.  The law does not allow anyone to yell “fire” in a crowded venue or falsely and maliciously slander or libel a person’s character with impunity.

We first need to specifically define what “arms” are with respect to the Second Amendment.  To leave it so vague, it could be argued that it can include bazookas, grenade launchers, flame throwers, etc. as well as assault rifles.   You can see where I am going with this.  Where is the cut-off?

At the same time, we need to implement background checks across the board and a minimum waiting period for any gun purchase.  I do not understand the opposition to this.  Are background checks that much of an inconvenience to law abiding citizens that they would not want them to help protect their own families from those bent on killing for whatever reason?  Try getting a good job today without a background check.

Many opponents to this type of legislation argue we should focus on mental health issues instead.  I argue that we should do both.   We need to help people with psychological deficiencies, especially at an early age, but we also need to be aware of their possible mental health status when they want to buy a lethal weapon.

Should we allow individuals that have been radicalized through the internet or through an affiliation with an anti-American organization to stockpile an armory without any sort of investigation?

A lot of our political leaders in Congress, Republicans mostly, claim they cannot stop the mass shootings with legislation and it would be a waste of taxpayer money to try.  It is a feeble and irresponsible excuse perpetuated by the National Rifle Association (NRA) in order to validate and sustain their own existence.  They never offer a solution, only thoughts and prayers. These same people also claim that “gun control” means the government takes away all your guns. It is a scare tactic. One, that unfortunately, is very effective, but not at all true.

Sadly, this latest mass shooting, at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas will not be the last.  Two teachers and 19 young children were gunned down despite the thoughts and prayers that were disingenuously sent from Congress to grieving families and communities after Buffalo, El Paso, Pittsburgh, Aurora and Columbine in Colorado and Newtown, Connecticut and on and on and on.  Some of the bodies of the dead children in Uvalde were so mangled because of the “legally” purchased type of weapon and ammunition used that DNA testing had to be used for identification.

The NRA’s response to the Uvalde massacre was to go on with their annual meeting, ironically also in Texas, and have Republican King, Donald Trump, read off the list of the deceased, mispronouncing their names along the way while a gong sounded after each victim.  Trump finished his speech with a little dance, a little jig to show how much he cared.  He may as well have been dancing on the 21 graves that had yet to dug.

The majority of Americans believe and will support common sense gun legislation.  Most have grown sick and tired of what has become a uniquely American phenomena, an American epidemic of gun violence, too often punctuated by mass murders of our children, all facilitated by lax gun laws and apathetic self-serving law makers. 

Turning schools into fortresses and teachers into armed security guards will not work.  Think about the teachers you had in school.  How many of them would be capable of holding off an active shooter?  And it is not just schools we have to worry about.  It is shopping malls and grocery stores and movie theaters and festivals and any large public gathering.

More guns are not the answer.  Our elected officials need to find another way and if they cannot we need to find some that can.

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Swanton American Legion Murbach-Siefert Post #479 conducted the Memorial Day Tribute to all fallen service men and women who gave their lives in defense of the United States of America. The event began with a parade that started at the Church/Main Street intersection and proceeded down Main Street, turning into Memorial Park in front of the WWI Doughboy Statue. Legion commander Rick Maynhart gave the opening remarks and John Schmidt gave the opening and closing prayers. Air Force Master Sergeant Helen Wheeler was the keynote speaker. The Swanton High School Marching Bulldogs was on hand to play the National Anthem, the anthem for all branches of the military and concluded the ceremony by playing Taps.

Click on the link above to access the photos from today’s ceremony. Photos can be downloaded to your computer for no charge.

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Tinora catcher Nolan Schafer led off the fourth inning with a home run off Archbold ace DJ Newsom for the first run of the DIII District semi-final game at Defiance High School.  It was only the second hit of the game for the Rams.  They would not get another.  As it turned out, they would not need another as the lone run held up for a 1-0 Tinora victory.

Despite Newman’s brilliant performance on the mound, one run on two hits and 12 strikeouts in six complete game innings, the Blue Streaks were unable to push anyone across home plate against the Ram defense and pitcher Casey Wolfrum.  In throwing a complete game shutout, Wolfrum gave up three singles and a bloop two-out double in the seventh inning while striking out five and walking none.  Neither team committed an error.

The loss ends the season for the Streaks, last year’s DIII State Runners-up.  It was also the final high school athletic competition for Newman who is headed to Bowling Green State University to play baseball and for fellow seniors Zane Behnfeldt and Jaybe Burkle.

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 for no charge courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

John Heckert has decided to continue his education and his baseball career and will remain a Bulldog in those pursuits.  Yesterday, in front of family, friends and coaches, the soon to be former Swanton Bulldog signed a National Letter of Intent with Adrian College and the school’s Bulldog baseball program.

“I felt very comfortable there and not just because of baseball but I am looking forward to playing baseball there,” said John explaining his decision.  The close proximity, 30–40-minute drive, to Swanton also factored in the choice.  “It’s as far away from home as you make it,” he added.  “If something happens to where I need to come home or for a long weekend, but it’s far enough away where I can live my own life.”

While John has performed well on the diamond, his achievements in the classroom have been beyond impressive.  He has already earned college credits through the school’s relationship with Penta County’s satellite accounting program coordinated and administered by Ron Kauffman.  John recently returned from Dallas where he finished 17^th in the nation in an accounting competition sponsored by the Business Professionals of America.

Playing baseball for Swanton has also added to John’s education.  “With our baseball program the past few years there have been a lot of ups and downs and one of the things I’ve definitely noticed is how awesome it is to be part of a team and battle through some of those lows.  When things get tough you just got to stick it out and keep going,” he said.  “It’s definitely one of those things I’m going to take away from high school sports and hopefully it will carry over into the next chapter of my life.”

In the Adrian College classrooms, John will be majoring in both Accounting and Criminal Justice with Forensic Accounting being one of the potential professions on his career list.

The Village of Swanton ordered all new playground equipment, including a new and safer surface for it to be placed on in January of this year.  Originally, the plan for this $200,000 project was to have if completed before the annual Swanton Corn Festival, scheduled for August 13, 2022.

However, as Village Administrator Rosanna Hoelzle explained during Monday night’s Council meeting, supply chain issues, which are occurring globally, keep pushing the arrival date back.   There will also be some other work that will need done in the playground area which, in order to minimize the playground’s down time, is planned to do at the same time.  As of now, it appears the installation will take place in late August or early September.

Recently, the Village had the current playground equipment inspected for compliance to the guidelines established in the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Handbook for Public Playground Safety.  Below are their findings”

Spiral Slide – The slide is non-compliant with current CPSC recommendations and should be removed and destroyed. Specific hazards exist.  Several large gaps exist between the slide bed and the vertical support post that have the potential to create an entanglement.  A small opening in the handrail at the transition platform creates a head entrapment.  Clearance distance between the slide bed and the vertical support creates a contact hazard.

Truck Climber – The climber can be updated to meet CPSC recommendations. Specific updates are:

The pole ends are of a diameter less than three inches. This small diameter creates an impalement hazard that is specifically dangerous to the eyes.  Three-inch disks should be affixed to the pole ends of the climber or the addition of a piece of material to cover the exposed ends.  The coating on the poles is showing signs of deterioration. The surface should be prepared and coated.

Seated Spring Rocker – The rocker can be updated to meet CPSC recommendations. The handholds and footholds are of a diameter that creates an impalement hazard that is specifically dangerous to the eyes. Three-inch disks should be affixed to the ends of the footholds to remove the hazard

Large Composite Play Structure – The structure is a commercially designed and constructed 5-12 composite play structure. It has various areas where the surface coating is deteriorating, but the overall condition is good for its age. My understanding is that the structure must be removed to make room for newer equipment. Carefully disassembled and removed, the structure could be made available to another municipality or school to be reinstalled as a playground. I would recommend that the future owner of the structure contact the manufacturer for proper installation and any updates that potentially could be included.

Large A-Frame Swing – The swing system is in good condition for its age. The safe zone of surfacing material is compliant with CPSC recommendations. The large zone is based on the fall height of the swing pivot location. I only mention this observation as many communities struggle to continually maintain large safety surface zones as the cost of surfacing material increases. Consideration should be made to replace the swing with a newer design that accommodates users of all ability levels and where the fall height is closer to the surface to limit the size of the recommended use zone.

Small Composite Play Structure – The structure is a commercially designed and constructed 5-12 composite play structure. It has various areas where the surface coating is deteriorating, but the overall condition is good for its age.  It is my understanding that a potential change of the play activities incorporated with the structure are under consideration. If the changes include a change in the intended user age range from a 5-12 to a 2-5, the fall height of the activities will need to be lowered. The vertical support posts are in excellent condition and should be able to be fitted with more age-appropriate activities. Contacting the manufacturer to inquire about changing the activities would be my recommendation.

The Swanton Lions Club awarded the second of two Joe D. Kahl Memorial Scholarships in the amount of $1,000 to Swanton senior Carolina Vargas. Carolina was chosen on the basis of her community service during her high school career and her high academic standing achieved in the past four years. She plans on attending Kent State University in Kent, Ohio and majoring in Zoology

The late Mr. Kahl was a long-time teacher and coach in the Swanton Local School District and a charter member of the Swanton Lions Club, founded in 2009. Carolyn Kahl, wife of Mr. Kahl, presented Carolina with the scholarship along with Lions Club President Jeff Patch.

In front of family, friends, fellow firefighters, and the Swanton Village Council, Ed Dziegielewski was sworn in by Mayor Neil Toeppe as Swanton’s new Chief of the Fire and Rescue Department.

The Swanton Garden Club was out in force today, planting flowers around the Doughboy Statue in Memorial Park.  Swanton will be having its Memorial Day Parade which will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, May 30, and finish at Memorial Park with a presentation to be given at the Doughboy Statue.

And speaking of the Swanton Garden Club, they will be celebrating their 90^th year anniversary this summer and will commemorate the milestone that began in 1932 with a float in the Corn Festival Parade.   That first year, in the depth of the Great Depression, the Dow Jones Industrials hit 41.22, a record low. 

On the positive side of things, Script Ohio was spelled out for the first time in Columbus at halftime of the Ohio State-Michigan football game by the University of Michigan Marching Band.  The Buckeyes reciprocated the gift by allowing the Wolverines to win the game 14-10.

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In April of this year, the Evergreen baseball team traveled to Archbold to kick off the NWOAL season with both teams having high expectations.  The pitching match-up that afternoon featured two of the best arms in the league with the Vikings throwing University of Toledo commit RJ Schunk and the Blue Streaks countering with Bowling Green State University commit DJ Newman.

The game more than lived up to its hype with Schunk outdueling Newman for a dramatic 1-0 Evergreen victory.  Because the NWOAL teams only play one official league game against each other, there was no assurance the two aces would square off again in their high school careers.   

However, as expected, both teams won their respective sectional semi-final games, with neither needing to use their top starter, and set up a Schunk versus Newman rematch.  Evergreen entered the tournament as a higher seed than Archbold which allowed the game to be played on their home field.

For the first three innings, it was “second verse, same as the first” as both pitchers were dialed in and almost unhittable.  In the fourth inning, the Blue Streaks finally broke their scoreless streak against the Vikings when a sacrifice bunt attempt was misplayed, resulting in a poor throw to third base, allowing the runner to score for a 1-0 lead.

The Archbold hitters were able to get to Schunk, who began to tire, for three more runs in the top of the fifth inning and was eventually relieved by Landon Vance.  “He’s a great pitcher,” said Newman, speaking of his pitching opponent.  “He even struck me out once, almost twice.”

Meanwhile, Newman kept the Evergreen batters off balance and off the scoreboard through the sixth, when he also showed signs of fatigue after throwing 120 pitches.  “I was getting tired at the end but my teammates kept telling to just throw strikes, that they had me and I trusted them,” he explained.

The Streaks were able to score one run against Vance for the 5-0 final and this day belonged to Newman and his Archbold teammates.  “It was a gutty performance by DJ Newman.  He was running out of gas and pitching on fumes,” said Archbold coach Tim Selgo.  “But he’s a competitor and he’s going to give you everything he’s got.  He got us through his last inning then (Zane) Behnfeldt came in and pitched well in the last inning.”

Archbold now moves on to face the second-seeded Tinora Rams on Thursday, May 26^th, at 2:00 p.m. at Defiance High School in the DIII District Semi-finals.

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 for no charge courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

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The Evergreen Vikings spotted the Swanton Bulldogs a 1-0 lead then scored a combined 16 runs in the third and fourth innings in route to a 16-2 victory. The win put the Vikings into the sectional title game against the Archbold Blue Streaks who defeated the Northwood Rangers 13-3 in the other sectional semi-final.

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 for no charge courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.