People

By Monty Siekerman
For the 50th time, Sandy Neely has begun teaching Red Cross swimming lessons at the Ada Pool. Over the past have century, Sandy has taught three generations of Ada people about how to swim and about water safety. She has announced her retirement; this year will be her last as the local swimming instructor.

On Monday, 75 people from children ages through adult years began two-week lessons in four levels of instruction. That’s the maximum number that can be taught in Ada. Year-after-year, Sandy’s classes are filled to the max.

Photos and story by Monty Siekerman
What do you get when you mix 16,000 gallons of water with dirt? Lots of mud and that mixture became the mud volleyball playing field for a Down Syndrome fundraiser at Ada War Memorial Park on Saturday.

Twenty-one teams from Ohio and neighboring states came to Ada to get down and get dirty to benefit the greater Toledo chapter. On Saturday, the event raised several thousand dollars to provide assistance, education, support groups, and to raise awareness of Down Syndrome.