Dean Smethurst, 75, of Montpelier, passed away Friday, July 30, 2021 at Defiance Area Inpatient Hospice after a courageous two-year fight with pancreatic cancer. He was born May 4, 1946 in Wauseon to Theodore and Nettie Ellen (Wiyrick) Smethurst. Dean graduated from Montpelier High School in 1964. On September 9, …

Michele R. Andrews, age 55, of Bryan, Ohio, passed away at 5:00 A.M. on Friday, July 30, 2021, at SKLD Health Care, Bryan, where she was a resident. Michele formerly attended Pioneer Church of the Nazarene and in her spare time enjoyed coloring, learning to crochet, and making friends online. …

Theresa Annette Edwards, age 58, of Delta, passed away peacefully at St. Luke’s Medical Center on Thursday, July 29, 2021, following a brief illness. Theresa was born May 16, 1963, in Springfield, Ohio to Gerald and Leona (Williams) Edwards. Theresa spent most of her life in Delta, where she made …

Patti L. Oyer, 67, of Montpelier, passed away on July 29, 2021 at her home. She was born on April 25, 1954 in Montpelier to John J. and Francis L. (Smith) Kreischer. Patti graduated from Montpelier High School in 1972. On November 25, 1972 she married Michael R. Oyer in …

Loyal Scott Decker, 84, of Montpelier, passed away on July 28, 2021 at Evergreen Healthcare Center in Montpelier. On July 9, 1937 he was born in Hillsdale, MI to Clifford Eugene and Vera Jeanette (Wheeler) Decker. Scott graduated from Montpelier High School. On December 24, 1956 he married Kathleen Cook …

Lelah E. Mandly, age 87, of Delta, passed away July 28, 2021, at the Swanton Valley Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center. She worked as a factory worker for many years. Lelah was born on January 5, 1934, in Wauseon to the late Elmer and Ethel (Baker) Raker. She graduated from Wauseon …

A new effort to acquire properties in the river flood plain is underway in Defiance City Hall. City council approves a related ordinance…kicking off another potential round of property purchases…one of four legislative items that received approval. The ordinance concerns 116 and 118 Seneca St., where a residential duplex near …

Former death row inmates in Ohio are being denied the opportunity for parole, despite legal precedent…requiring they receive meaningful consideration for release. That’s what two organizations allege in a new lawsuit. At issue in the suit?…are requests for parole by ex-death row prisoners sentenced before 1978, when the state’s then-death …

Indiana’s new cases and hospitalizations for COVID-19 have rebounded to levels last seen in May…as an especially contagious coronavirus variant continues spreading. After falling below 200 in late June, Indiana’s seven-day weekly average of new coronavirus cases reached 708 on Sunday. That’s the highest weekly average since a few months …

Daniel D. Hug, age 54, of Lima, Ohio, passed away on Tuesday, July 27, 2021, at his home. Danny was a welder, fabricator and talented mechanic. He was active with Alcoholics Anonymous in Bryan and Defiance and with Wings of Change. He enjoyed riding motorcycles, his pets and mostly his …