News

What was once the kitchen for the former Hordville School is undergoing a $60,000 renovation for its current use as the kitchen of the Hordville Event Center. The work is being funded mostly by grants from the Hamilton Community Foundation.

What was once the kitchen for the former Hordville School is undergoing a $60,000 renovation for its current use as the kitchen of the Hordville Event Center. The work is being funded mostly by grants from the Hamilton Community Foundation.

Hordville plans for community growth

Ron Burtz
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
The Village of Hordville in northern Hamilton County saw a big jump in the town’s operating budget for the new fiscal year when the budget was approved last month — 178 percent!
Outgoing Hamilton County Emergency Management Director Kirt Smith works at his desk at the Aurora Fire Station.

Outgoing Hamilton County Emergency Management Director Kirt Smith works at his desk at the Aurora Fire Station.

Smith reflects on 32 years with county EMS

Ron Burtz
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Hamilton County’s first full-time and now outgoing emergency management director, Kirt Smith, looks back on his more than three decades of working in local emergency services with a great deal of satisfaction and gratitude for those around him who he says have made his job easier.
Aurora 4R School Board news

Aurora 4R School Board news

4R school board focused in on strategic plan

Kurt Johnson
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
The Aurora 4R School Board could start discussing reports and possible action items, including facility needs, as early as next month stemming from a strategic planning process that began approximately two years ago.Supt.
Gene Joseph displays a day’s catch on one of his many fishing trips to Lake Erie. He has been taking friends to an island near Port Clinton, Ohio, for the past 15 years.

Gene Joseph displays a day’s catch on one of his many fishing trips to Lake Erie. He has been taking friends to an island near Port Clinton, Ohio, for the past 15 years.

Gone fishin’ on Lake Erie

Kurt Johnson
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
The lure of the great outdoors is always calling Gene Joseph’s name.The Hampton businessman finds himself often thinking of or planning the next hunting or fishing excursion and has a lifetime of stories to share.
Jeremy Burgener carries one of the geese he downed on a hunting outing last winter.

Jeremy Burgener carries one of the geese he downed on a hunting outing last winter.

Jeremy Burgener enjoys the fellowship of the hunting blind

Ron Burtz
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Since Jeremy Burgener became an avid waterfowl hunter several years ago, he suspects his wife, Tessa, sometimes regrets she urged him to take up the sport after the couple moved to Aurora.
Up to 128 bags of shoes were collected by the Aurora Chapter of Philanthropic Educational Organization (A.C. PEO) and were placed by the storage building of Hamilton Telecommunications Oct. 9 for pick-up. More than $1300 will be collected by PEO to give back to women in the community through grants, loans and scholarships.

Up to 128 bags of shoes were collected by the Aurora Chapter of Philanthropic Educational Organization (A.C. PEO) and were placed by the storage building of Hamilton Telecommunications Oct. 9 for pick-up. More than $1300 will be collected by PEO to give back to women in the community through grants, loans and scholarships.

PEO funds 3,200 pairs of shoes

Elizabeth Hunter
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Aurora chapter members of the Philanthropic Educational Organization (A.C. PEO) gathered Oct. 9 to load 128 bags containing 3,200 pairs of shoes for pick-up as a result of its second annual shoe fundraiser.
Marquette Village Board candidate profiles

Marquette Village Board candidate profiles

High interest seen in Marquette trustee race

Ron Burtz
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
To say there is a great deal of interest in the two open seats on the Marquette Village Board would be an understatement. A total of seven candidates are running in the Nov. 5 election for those four-year positions on the board of trustees, including the two people who currently hold those seats.
Jim Happold, 80, has been working at Giltner Public Schools for 40 years. He worked as the school’s custodian from 1984 to 2009 and has been working as one of the schools’ bus drivers since 1997.

Jim Happold, 80, has been working at Giltner Public Schools for 40 years. He worked as the school’s custodian from 1984 to 2009 and has been working as one of the schools’ bus drivers since 1997.

Giltner students pay tribute, help celebrate Happold’s 80th birthday

Elizabeth Hunter
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Jim Happold, 80, has seen many changes to Giltner Public Schools (GPS) since graduating 1962. Having returned to work as both a bus driver and custodian for 40 years, it was a heartwarming gesture to celebrate his 80th birthday on Sept. 26 with the students and staff at GPS.“(Supt.