December 2019

Birchaven Village and Independence House, divisions of Blanchard Valley Health System, have earned a Five Star Overall ranking from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Recognitions such as this are a measure of how well we are doing,” said Bridgett Mundy, Director of both facilities. “Throughout our organization we have forged a culture that inspires people to do the extraordinary every day.”

Nursing Home Compare allows consumers to compare information about long term care facilities. It contains quality of care information on over 15,000 Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing facilities in the country. 

Watch the Icon next week for more door photos -
Adoring doors.

One of the Ada school holiday traditions is a door decorating contest, with over 30 doors competing for prizes.

The judging criteria incluees class participation, neatness, amount of the door covered, theme and creativity, and which door speaks to your holiday heart.

A three-team judging panel of David Retterer, Ada mayor, Rhett Grant, Ada Public Library director, and Fred Steiner, Ada Icon editor, chose this year’s winners, which follow:

Grand champion K-2 –Meghan Kosier
Grand champion 3-5 – Julie Burris

The American Red Cross North Central Ohio Chapter responded to a fire on County Road 200 near Ridgeway early Friday morning. 

The Red Cross provided assistance for the immediate needs of three adults affected, such as temporary lodging, food and clothing.

“We’re deeply saddened for those who were impacted by this fire,” said Todd James, Executive Director, North Central Ohio Chapter.

“As we continue to help them, we urge everyone to take steps to minimize the risk of a fire occurring in their home.”

To assist the persons affected by the fire, contact James at [email protected].

Two ONU student athletes received all-American honors for participation in fall sports.

Chelsea Hupper - volleyball
Ohio Northern senior middle hitter Chelsea Huppert (Bremen, Ind.) was named First Team Academic All-America in volleyball for 2019 in voting conducted by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

She becomes only the second player in ONU history to be named First Team Academic All-America and the first since Liz Schnelle in 2009.

Huppert is the only Polar Bear volleyball player to be named Academic All-America two years in a row after earning Second team honors as a junior in 2018.