Coun­ties here in north­west Ohio are doing a lot bet­ter than those in other areas of the state when it comes to health. Defi­ance County res­i­dents in par­tic­u­lar, show lower rates of pre­ma­ture death and exces­sive drink­ing, and are report­ing fewer sexually-transmitted dis­eases than the statewide aver­age. But the good …

Richard T. Shankster, 84, of Hillsdale, Michigan passed away on Saturday at his home with his family surrounding him.  He was born on December 21, 1930 in Primrose, Ohio to Owen S. and E. Mildred (Moyer) Shankster.  Dick graduated from Alvordton High School in 1948.  He married Naomi Ruth Bashor and she preceded …

Lucille M. (Grime) Connin, age 101 (just 10 days short of her 102nd birthday), of Bryan, Ohio, passed away on Friday, March 27, 2015, at 4:55 P.M. Genesis Healthcare – Bryan Center. Lucille was a teacher beginning her teaching career in Ai, Ohio and later at Lincoln Elementary School in …

Giles H. Williams, 58, of Bryan passed away Friday afternoon at Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  He was born on December 7, 1956 in Kenton, Ohio to Herman H. and Evelyn M. (Essinger) Williams.  Giles was an assembler at Quadco Rehabilitation Center in Stryker. Giles is survived by two …

Michael “Mickey” E. Freese, 76, of Montpelier passed away Friday morning at his home.  He was born on December 10, 1938 in Montpelier to Harley H. and Helen C. (Kelly) Freese. Mickey graduated from Montpelier High School in 1956.  On June 7, 1958 he married Betty Lou Duncan in rural Pioneer and …

A busy week­end for Bryan Police… 24 year old Alex Behrman of Napoleon, was arrested for OVI early Sat­ur­day morn­ing. He was released. Also on Sat­ur­day, just after 2am, Bryan Police arrested Shane Smith-Myers of Bryan, for Pos­ses­sion of Mar­i­juana Para­pher­na­lia. He too was released. Then on Sun­day, Bryan Police …

The Williams County Port Author­ity is being restarted, with Bill Pep­ple des­ig­nated, by the county com­mis­sion­ers, as the new Port Author­ity Chair­man. The Williams County Port Author­ity was formed back in 2007, but has not been oper­at­ing for the past sev­eral years. A Port Author­ity is a gov­ern­men­tal entity that …

Lots of road work is planned for this year on Defi­ance County. In fact, the total of the projects that are planned not rings up to about $3.5 mil­lion worth, with the largest being the widen­ing of Har­ris Road, between Ohio 18 and Blan­chard Road. Other plans include paving Blosser …

Lucy Louise Gerken, age 59, of Archbold, passed away unexpectedly in her home on Thursday, March 26, 2015. Arrangements are pending at the Grisier Funeral Home in Archbold.

Margaret E. Sanders, age 87, of Edgerton, Ohio, died at 7:00 P.M. on Wednesday, March 25, 2015, at Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where she was a patient after an extended illness. Mrs. Sanders was a 1946 graduate of Edgerton High School and an active member of …