Buckeye Eight Athletic League enters year 17 of battling

By D.J. Watson

News-Herald

Harrison

Sports Writer Conference realignment has dominated recent headlines in the college athletics world. Any informed sports fan has certainly heard the news of the seismic West Coast shift in the Big Ten, and ultimately the crashing fall of the PAC 12. Coincidentally, the Buckeye Eight Athletic League at the high school level has, and will, continue to experience significant change in their geographic footprint as well.

In 2020, founding member Buckeye Local opted out of the local sub-conference and into the more sprawling Mid-Ohio Valley League. The 10-team MOVL fields teams from Paden City, WV, to Sarahsville (Shenandoah). Another charter member bid farewell to the Buckeye Eight last year, the Edison Wildcats. While the Cambridge Bobcats replaced the Panthers, compet-

Bulletin Board

Editor’s Note: Bulletin Board is provided as a free service of The Harrison News-Herald and is limited to benefits, charitable organizations, athletic events, education and school events, special church and faith-based events and more. For-profit events and/ or any notices of any kind will not be published. Bulletin Board notices will be published as space permits in date of event priority order. Send your special event listing to rvanmeter@alonovus. com. The Harrison NewsHerald reserves the right to edit all listings.

Ongoing Events

• HARRISON COUNTY Board of Elections holds monthly meetings on the second Monday of each month at 1 p.m. at the meeting room by the office.

• AL-NON MEETINGS

Thursdays, 7 p.m. First Church of Christ, 139 N. Main St., Cadiz.

• UNIONPORT MUSEUM is open the first and third Sundays monthly from 1-4 p.m. in the old Unionport School, Wayne Township Community Center. The public is cordially invited to stop in and look around.

• SCIO FOOD Pantry in the Scio United Methodist Church serves people with a Scio, Jewett, or Bowerston zip code. Food and personal-care items will be given out the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. It is an Equal Opportunity Provider.

• PINE VALLEY Sportsman’s Club Shoot every Sunday, 9 a.m. at the club. Sign-up is 8:30 a.m. Public welcome.

• HARRISON COUNTY ing for the first time as a league member in the 2021-22 school year, a replacement has yet to be named for the Wildcats.

The carousel is not done spinning, either. A third founding member will exit the conference at the conclusion of this school year, as the Martins Ferry Purple Riders will drop from league competition at the conclusion of the Spring sports season. East Liverpool (originally joined in 2013) has also been a district that has been “in and out” the past couple of school years. Currently, the Potters are said not to be competing in the league this coming school year.

So where does that leave the remaining schools? The league will function with eight schools for this upcoming season, then drop to seven schools in 2024. This means without new members, it is highly possible divisional play will cease to exist past 2023-24. This coming

Health Department will hold its monthly meetings on the third Thursday of each month, 1 p.m. in the Coal Room located at the Harrison County Government Center.

• CADIZ AMERICAN LEGION S.A.L. Burger Night, every Friday from 5-8 p.m. Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, Legion burgers and fries, fish tail/chicken tender meal, 21-piece shrimp meal, fish-tail sandwich, chicken tenders and coleslaw. Dine-in or takeout. 740-942-3764. Thank you for your support.

• AMERICAN LEGION Cadiz Post 34 holds its monthly regular meetings on the third Monday of every month at 5:30 p.m. at the post home. All Cadiz Post 34 Legionnaires are urged to attend.

• GAMBLER’S ANONYMOUS meetings at the Cadiz Presbyterian Church every Tuesday at 8 p.m.

• CADIZ FOOD Pantry is open every Tuesday and Friday from 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. For families in need, please call 740-942-4300.

• HOPEDALE LEGION Wing Wednesdays starting at 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Eat-in or carry-out. Open to the public. 740-937-9995.

• HOPEDALE LEGION

RIDERS has a steak fry from 5 to 8 p.m. on the second Saturday of the month. Dinner includes steak, potato, vegetable and bread. Dine-in or carry-out. 740-937-9995.

• HARRISON COUNTY Wellness Coalition, a group of diverse people collaborating to help reduce the abuse of legal and illegal drugs in Harrison County. Third Wednesdays, 2-3 p.m., via Zoom. Info: 740942-8823.

• PUSKARICH PUBLIC year, Harrison Central will be joined in the North Division by former South Division running mate St. Clairsville. Beaver Local and Indian Creek will round out the North. Bellaire, Union Local, Cambridge and Martins Ferry will form the South Division in 2023. In terms of football, St. Clairsville will once again begin the year as the league’s flag-bearer. The trio of Harrison Central, Bellaire and Beaver Local should also serve on the primary “watchlist” as the leaves begin to turn later this fall. With the expanded playoff format (16 teams per region), it is not completely out of the question to expect five, if not six playoff teams to come out of the Buckeye Eight. The four schools mentioned above are all strong postseason hopefuls, barring drastic injuries. Bellaire has a grueling 10-week run in front of them, but the Big Reds can find a way to week 11. While in the middle of

Library Board of Trustees meets the second Thursday of each month at 10 a.m. at the main library, 200 E. Market St., Cadiz.

• BOWERSTON SCHOOL District Public Library will hold its regular monthly meetings on the third Monday of each month at 6 p.m. in the Penn Room at the Library.

• THE HUMANE Society of Harrison County meets on the fourth Thursday of each month at 5 p.m. at the shelter, located at 84033 Mizer Road, Cadiz. New members are always welcome.

• ECOFA is an organization of persons interested in improving their woodlands and in forestry-related topics. The public is invited to attend the free meetings which are held monthly on the first Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Dover Public Library, 525 N. Walnut St, Dover.

• CADIZ EAGLES has steak fries every third Saturday of the month, 5-8 p.m. Eat-in or take-out. 740-942-3026. Cost is $17.

• JEWETT FOOD Pantry third Monday of the month. 10 a.m. – noon, 6-7 p.m. Jewett U.M. Church, 202 W. Main St., 740-946-5591.

• THE LORD’S Sharing Pantry at Perrysville Church parking lot, 88 Amsterdam Road SE (state Route 164), Scio. Open 24 hours, free to all. A wide variety of items are available, such as toilet paper, boxed cereal, peanut butter, protein bars, shampoo, body wash and much more.

• CADIZ AMERICAN Legion Fish Fry, first Saturday every month. 4-8 p.m. Cod chunks, fries, slaw, bread $12. Dine-in or carry-out. A la cart items available. Open to a program rebuild, Martins Ferry has reworked their schedule to be more “playoff” favorable, and Cambridge is coming off of a 7-3 season that saw them advance out of the first round and nearly out of the second as an 11-seed.

The league’s football scheduling is in flux for this season due to the advanced planning often required for the sport, but there is still a handful of “league” games to circle on the calendar. Cambridge and Bellaire will square up on September 16. Harrison and St. Clairsville will play on Spetember 22. Although no longer in the same division, St. Clairsville will see Bellaire on September 30, and border rival Union Local on October 6. Beaver Local’s stiffest league opponent might actually be an inter-divisional matchup with Cambridge on October 13. The Beavers won’t see the Red Devils or the Huskies, and Bellaire is not in their division, therefore never the public. 336 E. Spring St., Cadiz. 740-942-3764.

• CADIZ AMERICAN Legion. Taco Tuesday, first Tuesday of every month. 5-8 p.m.

• PUSKARICH LIBRARY: Crochet Club - Saturdays at 12 p.m. Scio Branch: Crochet with Deb - Thursdays at 1 p.m. Pickleball at Barr Memorial Center - Mondays 5-7 p.m., Wednesdays 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Quilt with Sue - Mondays at 10 a.m. Clark Memorial: Crochet Club - Thursdays at 4 p.m. Fitness Fun Class - Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays at 5:30 p.m.

• BRAIN INJURY Support Group, B.I.G. Support, Puskarich Library Cadiz, second Wednesday of the month 6-8 p.m. For more information, contact Becky at btbcopperclad@yahoo.com or Tish at 740-695-5161.

• A NEW Beginning is a support group for widows and widowers. They meet every Saturday morning at 9 a.m. at Fa-Ray’s Restaurant: 1115 Wooster Road North, Barberton. For more information, call 330-745-6239 or 330-3317066.

• MOVERS AND SHAKERS is the name of the next exhibit at the McCook House Museum which starts Aug. 11. One of those who left their mark on this community is a young man who left Carrollton to seek fame and fortune with only 38 cents in his pocket and a desire to pan for gold in Alaska in his heart: Shel Wettach. Discover local history about Shel and the 10 or so other featured individuals through journals, drawings, photos, newsprint, and artifacts. Spend time learning about the Fighting McCooks regularly on their slate. The Battle for Sparky between Martins Ferry and Bellaire will cap off the regular season for both teams on October 21. and the MOVERS AND SHAKERS every Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. until it closes for the season after the second weekend in October. The entrance fee is $3 for adults and $2 for children 6 –12.

The marquee out-of-conference games to look for will deliver a heavy dose of the Big Reds and Red Devils. Bellaire will open up the season with Garaway, Barnesville, and then Fort Frye in week three. Absolutely no room for slouching in those contests. St. Clairsville will test their own mettle also, with Wheeling Central Catholic (September 8), Indian Valley (September 15), and Wheeling Park (October 13) all on the docket. The most interesting non-league tilts for Harrison Central may be a trip to Malvern in week three, and a trip to Waterford in week eight. Both meetings will be first all-time matchups for the respective schools, and both teams were playoff squads last season.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• SCIO SUMMER Fest

Aug. 9-12. Wednesday - 5-K Run and Kids Fun Run; Thursday - cheerleading exhibition, axe throwing, and corn hole; Friday, parade; and Saturday, car show, arm wrestling, pet show, karaoke contest, and corn hole. For information, call JT Thompson at 740-9450260.

• WEST TWP. Ruritan Club is holding its annual Homecoming on Aug. 10-12. There will be the U.S. Route 30 Garage Sale all three days. Friday will have Antique Farm Stock Tractor Pull at 6 p.m. On Saturday, there will be kid’s games at 1 p.m., car show 2-5

Gibson

p.m. and Mod Rod Pullers at 6 p.m. The kitchen is open Thursday 11 a. m. to 5 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

• DEERSVILLE COMMUNITY Volunteer Fire Department is holding a chicken barbecue on Saturday, Aug. 12, from 11 a.m. until sold out. Includes half chicken, parsley potatoes, green beans, roll, dessert, and drink for $13.

• THE BOWERSTON School District Public Library will hold its next regular meeting on Monday, Sept. 18, at 6 p.m. No meeting held in August.

• SCIO AMERICAN Legion will hold the September meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. due to the holiday.

• THE DICKERSON Church Society is holding a reunion this year. The meeting will start at 2 p.m. on August 13 at the church. Service will follow with speaker Holly Brindley.

As they settle down in Harrison County, the Gibson family is reveling in the joys of stability and family connections. After two decades of serving their country, they can finally call a place “home” without the anticipation of being uprooted again. Spending time with grandparents and reconnecting with extended family has been a cherished aspect of their newfound civilian life.

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The transition from the rigorous military lifestyle to civilian life has been both refreshing and challenging for Gibson. While he appreciates the calm and relaxation that comes with retirement, he also misses the camaraderie and shared sense of purpose that military life offered. However, he remains optimistic about the opportunities that await him upon moving home.

Marc Gibson’s service is a testament to his dedication, leadership, and expertise. As the Gibson family embarks on a new chapter, they can look back with pride on a life well-lived in service to their country and eagerly embrace the adventures that await them in their new home in Harrison County.