MANSFIELD, Ohio – The task of choosing our favorite stories for the year 2015 proved to be very difficult for the Richland Source staff.
However, narrowing down our top picks from thousands of good content options throughout the year is a challenge we’re happy to take on.
Richland Source listed our top 10 most-read stories over the past year, according to page views measured by Google analytics. With these 14 additional stories picked by our staff, we aim to free ourselves a bit from the analytics to find the very best, most interesting, and most important and impacting stories of 2015.
Here are the top stories picked by the Richland Source staff for 2015, organized by section:
News
Unprecedented controversy shrouds Issue 3 – Oct. 29, 2015
The controversy surrounding Issue 3 on the ballot in the November election went far beyond legalizing marijuana. If passed, Issue 3 would have allowed the commercial production and sale of marijuana in 10 specified locations, and also would have permitted individuals to grow limited amounts of the plant for personal use – an unprecedented measure in state annals. Many local public officials took formal stances against the passage of Issue 3 before it ultimately failed in the general election.
3 candidates face off at Mansfield mayoral debate – Oct. 21, 2015
Mansfield mayoral candidates Ron Abrams, Gloria Curtis and incumbent Mayor Tim Theaker fielded questions before an audience of approximately 700 local people at the Renaissance Theatre. The debate was an unprecedented collaborative effort between Richland Source, WMAN radio, the Renaissance Theatre, Richland Young Professionals, the Richland Area Chamber of Commerce, and DRM Productions. Attracting business to Mansfield, blight, downtown living and their goals for office were among the topics discussed between the three candidates.
Sports
MCS, Lexington to stage benefit game for local official – Oct. 14, 2015
Mansfield Christian School and Lexington High School staged a preseason Foundation Game on Nov. 23 to benefit the family of John Gurney, who has been officiating basketball games across Richland County for more than 40 years. Gurney, who was inducted into the Ohio High School Athletic Association Officials’ Hall of Fame in June, was diagnosed in January with metastatic malignant melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer.
Football fever sweeping Lucas – Sept. 30, 2015
This fall, the Lucas Cubs won six of their final eight games and qualified for the postseason for the first time since 2006. In a state where high school football is king, the village of Lucas was no different as the community rallied behind their team and Lucas football apparel went flying off the shelves. As the No. 6 seed in the Division VII, Region 23 playoffs, the Cubs upset Plymouth on the road in the regional quarterfinals before falling to Western Reserve in the semifinals.
Business
Avita Ontario announces 2nd phase of hospital development (Nov. 17, 2015) & OhioHealth Mansfield showcases expansion project (Sept. 3, 2015)
Local hospitals made huge strides in development in 2015. Avita Ontario announced the next phase of hospital development in November, propelled by a historic $91.4 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. OhioHealth Mansfield opened a new 157,000 square-foot building complete with new medical offices and the county’s first surgical robot.
Innovation keeps Jones’ Potato Chips crisply in the food market – Nov. 4, 2015
In October, Jones’ Potato Chip Co. announced that per FDA requirements, the company would transition away from the partially hydrogenated soybean oil used in their traditional wavy potato chips since 1945. However, the company had already begun using corn oil in some of its products and made the change seamlessly.
Education
Flames lift Lucas athlete with puppy for gift – Dec. 16, 2015
Lucas student-athlete Elizabeth Yirga has been diagnosed with a rare bone disease and underwent her 25th surgery on Dec. 21. To lift her spirits, the Mansfield Christian girls’ basketball team gifted Yirga with a 9-week-old chocolate Lab puppy. Yirga named the puppy “Flame.”
Supt. Todd Martin and daughter sing school closings for Colonel Crawford – Feb. 12, 2015
Colonel Crawford Local Schools Superintendent Todd Martin felt his morning calls to announce yet another snow day were getting a bit repetitive. He decided to spice things up by rewriting some well-known songs to incorporate the message that school would be closed for the day, and enlisted the help of his daughter Abby to sing the songs to the school’s message system.
Life & Culture
Ignacio Gayton’s quiet revolution: blighted homes – Nov. 24, 2015
After a rough start in the Mansfield area, Mexico native Ignacio Gayton opened his own business, I.G. Construction, and purchased a home in Madison. When he found out how inexpensive it was to buy homes in the Mansfield area, Gayton bought more and fixed them up in his spare time. Gayton hopes his work to make homes more aesthetically pleasing will encourage others to do the same – his own small way of combating Mansfield’s blight.
Kidney transplant will change life for 4-year-old Brielle – March 18, 2015
When 4-year-old Brielle Trice was in need of a kidney after both of her kidneys were removed due to childhood cancer, her fellow churchgoer Tim Hilterman stepped up to donate his own kidney to Brielle. Brielle’s mother Alysia said she was most looking forward to Brielle having as much energy as other kids her age and the day Brielle is able to eat solid food. The transplant surgery was successfully completed in July.
History
The Curse of Mary Jane’s Grave – Jan. 24, 2015
In Tim McKee’s weekly “Native Son” column, he explored the history of Mary Jane’s Grave after the huge spruce that marked her resting place crashed down in the fall of 2014. McKee explained there is not a great deal known about Mary Jane, who died of cancer in 1898. In fact, the only reason a tremendously dark aura was associated with her name was because in the summer of 1960, a camp counselor at Hidden Hollow Camp randomly chose her gravestone as a landmark for a witch story to give campers the creeps.
Townsend house: exploring the home, its life – Oct. 2, 2015
Like many local people, we at Richland Source were curious about the history of the house on Park Avenue West across from Kingwood Center Gardens. After further investigation, we learned the home was built by Edwin Oliver Townsend in the 1930s. The Townsend house and property has belonged to Kingwood Center Gardens for more than 20 years; it was donated by a donor who wished to remain anonymous, with an agreement to keep unsightly development from encroaching on the home’s history.
GalionLive
Supporters fill Heise Park for 6th grader fighting cancer – Oct. 28, 2015
Both sides of Heise Park Lane in Galion were filled as students, teachers, friends and family members waited in anticipation to welcome home Melanie Wheeler – a sixth grade student at Galion Middle School who is battling cancer. According to her father, Melanie was diagnosed with stage one intradural extramedullary filum terminale myxopapillary ependymoma, a rare chronic cancer.
Crawford County cracks down on drug cases – June 15, 2015
In only four months’ time, Crawford County Common Pleas Judge Sean Leuthold handed down more than 100 prison sentences as a result of drug activity within the county. As a result, Leuthold said Crawford County began to see the amount of drugs in the community decrease.
