Gibsonburg race car driver William R. “Gentleman Bill” Hahn, 64, died January 30 at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center. Sources say he died from burn injuries sustained in a work-related incident.

Hahn was a 1987 six-cylinder champ at Fremont Speedway and helped his son win a late model championship at Attica Speedway a few years ago. Bill also won track championships at Oakshade Raceway and tracks in Findlay and Eldorado, Indiana, and was still driving a late model occasionally through last year. Bill was a multi-year competitor at Eldora Speedway, competing for Big E Late Model points, as well as Sunoco American Late Model Series points.

“Bill Hahn was a dedicated racer who was still very competitive at an age when most of his peers were watching from the grandstands,” wrote Lamberville, Michigan driver Ron Miller on his Facebook page.

Bill Hahn (Photo by Charlie Orns/FreezeFramePhotos.net)

“He had faced injuries in the past decade that would have put most racers on the trailer. Bill always persevered. He always had a smile that won him legions of fans through the years.

“Bill was a hard worker who won races, not with his wallet, but with his ability to convince the car to do what he wanted from it. Not only was he good at working on the car he could really wheel it. All of those attributes make a winning combination.

“It’s been said that, ‘There is no telling how many miles you will have to run while chasing a dream.’ Bill left us while chasing his dream — he was planning another racing season. He was a winner who finally faced a challenge too big. Rest up Bill, I'll see you on the other side. You had better have your ‘race face’ on.

You will be missed my friend,” Miller continued.

Cherokees reach finals
Three local players are on a youth hockey team that has made the finals of the International Silver Stick tournament.

The Squirt AA Toledo Cherokee hockey team represents Northwest Ohio and this region of the United States in the tournament, held in Sarnia, Ontario, Jan. 20-22. On the team is goaltender Devon Bobak (Northwood), Andrew St. Julian (Oregon) and Lewis Rowan (Pemberville).

The team defeated the Hershey Jr. Bears, London Jr. Knights, Bluewater Sharks, and Missassauga Jets before meeting Nickel City Rebels from Sudbury, Ontario in the finals. After being tied 1-1 through three periods, the Cherokee fell in overtime, 2-1.

Two players from the Toledo team were named to the International All Star Tournament Team — Jase Sofo, a defenseman from Sylvania and St. Julian, a forward.

The Cherokees won their regional tournament held in Dayton in December, defeating teams from Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Ohio. The Toledo Cherokee Squirt AA team is coached by Steve Dickinson, Joe Sofo, and Toby Hafner.

This travel ice hockey team consists of 9- and 10-year-olds that have their home ice at the Ice House on Alexis Road in North Toledo.

No Change in NBC
On December 1, 2011, it was announced that Carey, Mohawk, and Seneca East would be leaving the Midland Athletic League to help form the new Northern 10 Athletic Conference in 2014 with Bucyrus, Buckeye Central, Colonel Crawford, Crestline, Riverdale, Wynford and Ridgedale. That is not set in stone yet.

According to TheSeniorReports.com, administered by league consultant Dave Schmidt, Bucyrus was supposed to join the Northern 10, but tabled the move at a recent Board of Education. The board will make a decision at the February meeting of what direction they will go. The board did opt out of the NCC ending with 2013-14 school year.

On Jan. 30, the MAL announced it has invited four schools to replace those schools, but declined to say what schools are invited. If any of those schools are Northern Buckeye Conference schools, it could result in league changes.

In light of the possibility of movement of schools in other leagues, the superintendents, principals and athletic directors of the NBC met the morning of Jan. 27 to discuss the stability of the conference, said a statement released by Commissioner Larry Jones.

“After much discussion the feeling was that the Northern Buckeye Conference is a solid conference and it will be moving forward with the eight schools who are presently members. All eight schools are committed to the success of the conference. In the future the Northern Buckeye Conference will always be committed to do what is best for its members,” the statement said.

Archery instruction
Archery instruction will return to Oregon Schools through funding made available through the State of Ohio’s Department of Natural Resources.

The Division of Wildlife has provided two indoor shooting ranges with 14 compound bows each for us in Oregon’s physical education programs. NASP grants totaling $6,000 have been used to purchase equipment that arrived in early January. Another $500 has been awarded to the archery program through an Ohio Superfund Grant to be used for arrow holders and range management supplies.

All physical education teachers in the district have been certified as NASP Basic Archery instructors to conduct NASP training curriculum for their students as a part of their physical education curriculum.

Sports Announcements
Clay High School is accepting applications for assistant high school football coaches.  If interested, contact Mike Donnelly at 419-693-0665, ext 2004 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Deadline is Feb. 10.

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Eastwood’s Annual CAP reverse raffle is Mar. 10th at the Pemberville Legion Hall. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and the meal will be served starting at 6:30. Cost is $100 per ticket and meal tickets are $20. There will be an Early Bird drawing of $500 for anyone who purchases a ticket by Mar. 7.

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WRSCsports.com will be broadcasting the Northwood-Danbury boys basketball game Tuesday on WRSC 3, with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. This Friday, WRSC will broadcast the Clay-Whitmer game (WRSC 5) and the Northwood-Gibsonburg game (WRSC 3), both starting at 7:30 p.m.

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Trainer Jeff Duke will be conduct 3D Dimensional Coaches Training at the Holiday Inn, French Quarter in Perrysburg Feb. 8-10 for area coaches, Fellowship of Christian Athletes staff, chaplains, and volunteers. Contact Dena Rozzi at 419-724-4420 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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