Visit and Vacation in Highland County

Highland County offers many upcoming events for family and friends to share. An entire list can be found at the Highland County Visitor's Bureau. Among others is the upcoming Festival of the Bells to be held in downtown Hillsboro July 2-4th. This is always a special community event providing a chance to visit with neighbors and enjoy the music, activities, and fun. A full schedule for this event can be found at www.FestivalOfTheBells.com. We hope to see you there!

Swackhamer Named SCOL Baseball Coach of the Year

Congratulations goes out to Rusty Swackhamer and the Hillsboro Indians baseball team!

Hillsboro head baseball coach Rusty Swackhamer was recently named the 2009 South Central Ohio League Coach of the Year. Swackhamer and the Indians went undefeated in the league with a 12-0 record. HHS finished the season 16-1 overall. Swackhamer has coached the Indians for four seasons.

It's great to see such hard work and dedication. What a fantastic honor!

These Kids Are Amazing

This was at a Texas Tech Basketball game in February of 2008.
The National Anthem is sung by five young ladies (ages 6-8).
You have never heard it performed better than this! An entire arena remains completely silent throughout the song. You could hear a pin drop. Take a moment to listen to this. The two young ladies on the right are six years old. The two in the middle are seven and the one on the left is eight.
This young group continues to impress!

Check them out on YouTube!
Visit their website at The Cactus Cuties!

Black Bear Spotted in Highland County

For the first time in recent years, a black bear has been sighted in Highland County. The bear, believed to be a male around 200 pounds, is being tracked by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. According to ODNR, the bear was first spotted in Adams County adn has covered dozens of miles since. He has been seen in Brown, Highland and Fayette counties. This roaming behavior is typical of a young male bear around 2 years of age.

Ohio's bear population is rising steadily as bears migrate from nearby states. In the past, the population had declined due to deforestation during the mid 1800's. The new surge in the number of bear inhabiting our area does require residents to use common sense when coming in contact with a black bear.

This black bear may makes its home near us or it may move on, either way those that had a rare glimpse of this bear have had a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Celebrating Flag Day June 14th!

You're a grand old flag,

You're a high flying flag

And forever in peace may you wave.

You're the emblem of

The land I love.

The home of the free and the brave.

Ev'ry heart beats true

'neath the Red, White and Blue,

Where there's never a boast or brag.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

Keep your eye on the grand old flag.

To read more about the history of Flag Day, click here.

Congratulations Jill!

Jill Minter, our Client Service Manager, graduated from Whiteoak High School on May 22nd.

Congratulations!

Jill accepts The Dickey Group Scholarship from Mr. Roush, Principal.