Friday, April 13th, 2007

Former local stars shine on college field

By Gary R. Rasberry
The weather might not be hospitable to softball, but local players have been getting some playing time in.
One player who has started her college career off right is former Celina product Melanie Heyne, now that she's made the move to Lake Land College in Illinois.
Heyne is 9-2 for the Lakers on the season and is currently on a 402/3 inning streak of not allowing an earned run.
In her last outing, Heyne and teammate Hanna Warner combined to no-hit Onley 11-1 last Thursday in Great Rivers Athletic Conference action.
Locals helping out Cougars
St. Francis University has struggled in just being able to play games this season. The Cougars are 5-9 and have not played since splitting a doubleheader with Concordia on April 3.
A number of local players have contributed to the Cougars' cause this season.
Senior Sarah Schmitz (Fort Recovery) has been hitting well for SFU, batting .343 with two doubles and four RBI.
Junior Cassie Steinbrunner (Parkway) has struggled at the plate with a .077 average, but has contributed on the circle, going 1-2 with a 6.09 ERA in leading the Cougars in innings pitched.
Younger sister Tiffany Steinbrunner also has hit and pitched for the Cougars.
Tiffany is 0-2 with an ERA of 15.91, but is batting a healthy .368 with two RBI.
Fellow freshman Kinsey Schumann (Celina) has seen limited time on the hill, throwing seven innings with an ERA of 8.00 and batting .333 in three at-bats.
Siefring keeping Ravens in HCAC lead
Anderson may hold a 12-8 mark currently, but in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, the Ravens are a perfect 6-0 and winners of 10 straight overall.
Sophomore infielder Julia Siefring (Celina) has been picking up the hot bat for the Ravens this season as her batting average rests at .305 after going 3-for-4 in a doubleheader sweep of Rose-Hulman.
Siefring has two triples and seven RBI for the Ravens.
Hartings solid for Cavaliers
Former Marion Local pitching ace Dana Hartings continues to put up solid numbers for Walsh in Northeast Ohio.
Hartings currently is 6-8 with a 3.10 ERA for the 14-16 Cavaliers. As she did when she starred at Marion Local High School, Hartings has been dominant with the strikeout, getting 96 strikeouts in her 16 appearances.
Williams still slugging for Eagles
Ashland has jumped out to a 20-9 start on the season thanks to some help from 2006 first-team All-GLIAC selection Kelli Williams.
The Celina grad has played in 21 games, starting in 16 of those, and she's batting .255 with four doubles, a home run and eight RBI for the Eagles.
Goubeaux solid for Polar Bears
Ohio Northern has started out strong, opening with a 17-5 record and a 5-1 mark in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
Sophomore infielder Danielle Goubeaux (Coldwater) has been a big contributor for the Polar Bears batting .316 with two doubles and four RBI.
Goubeaux also finds herself ranked third on the Polar Bears with six stolen bases.
Ohio Northern will look to play today at Otterbein before coming back home Saturday to face Muskingum.
Adams having cold spell
Dayton sophomore Shay Adams (Celina) has had some struggles at the plate for the Flyers, who are just 5-18 on the season.  
A catcher-outfielder, Adams is batting .179 in 12 games with a double, triple and four RBI.
Additional online stories on this date
SIDNEY - Christopher Lee Harris showed no emotion as he entered Shelby County Common Pleas Court on Thursday afternoon and pleaded guilty to the April 5 kidnapping, rape and murder of an elderly Fort Loramie woman. [More]
Don't plant seeds until after the apple trees bloom. Peas should be planted as near to 12 noon as possible. Gardens do better if seeds are planted on the even-numbered days of the month. Wood cut on light nights will burn hotter. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
Funds would be used for street project extras
Celina will apply for up to $500,000 in Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) grant money to add enhancements to the planned reconstruction of several blocks of West Market Street.
More money needed to make conservation financially attractive
Local agriculture and watershed officials want additional funds to increase farmer participation in a USDA program to improve water quality in the Grand Lake and Wabash River watersheds.
The search for new watershed coordinator to begin
Theresa May was hired Thursday as a technician for the Mercer County Soil and Water Conservation District following an almost 90-minute executive session conducted by SWCD board members.
NEW BREMEN - Mayor Jeff Pape had reason to smile as he recounted achievements of the past year during the annual New Bremen Community Improvement Corp. luncheon Thursday afternoon.
Mercer County commissioners accepted the lowest of three bids Thursday for removal of logjams in a 10-mile stretch of the St. Marys River from Frysinger Road to the Mercer-Van Wert County line.
Organization's goal is to have 1 billion planted this year
A local tree grower informed me about a tree planting program that will result in a billion new trees on the face of the Earth by the end this year.
County churches to help feed needy
A new area ministry is expected to help feed a wide variety of local people in need of a helping hand.
Angel Food Ministries, a national non-profit program that began 11 years ago in Georgia, was started several months ago in Celina as a test program and was deemed successful.
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
With other sporting events called off by wind, cold and rain that eventually turned into snow and sleet, Celina's track team braved the elements to hold their regularly scheduled meet on Thursday.