By Emma Rausch
The Kevin Cordes family was named 2014’s Farm Family of the Year by the Wabash Chamber of Commerce for their involvement in and contributions to the community. The Cordes’s family farm has been in operation since 1958 when Cliff Cordes, Kevin’s father, originally purchased the land. Since then, Kevin has lived at his 1000-acre farm in Roann for 57 years, taking over the operation in the late 1970’s after college. Recently, he welcomed his son Jared’s family into the operation, converting ten acres into a blackberry field.
Kevin’s wife Peggy said she was honestly surprised they were chosen for the award.
“We’re kind of a small farm compared to today’s standards,” she said. “I give my husband a lot of credit, because of his farming methods and work.”
A North Manchester man was arrested Wednesday night on three counts of child molestation.
By Joseph Slacian
Ever since he was a foreign exchange student at Northfield High School in 1969-70, Ernie Cortabarria made sure to contact his host mother, Mary Schenkel, on her birthday.
This year, to celebrate Mrs. Schenkel’s 86th birthday, Cortabarria gave her a very special present. He and his family – wife, Mariatiela, son, Santiago, and daughter, Matilde – spent four days in Wabash as part of a trip to the United States from their native Uruguay.
On Friday morning, Cortabarria and his family toured Northfield High School. They were joined by Ron Schenkel, who was a Northfield student during Cortabarria’s visit 45 years ago, Tim Grossman, who lived down the road to the Schenkels and befriended Cortabarria, and NHS principal Mike Keaffaber, who is Schenkel’s brother-in-law.
by Eric Stearley
A class action lawsuit has been filed against Harvey Industries following the layoff of 143 workers on Dec. 31. The case was filed with the United States District Court’s Northern Indiana district on Jan. 16.
On Jan. 2, Harvey Industries announced the layoff of two-thirds of its employees due to “unforeseeable business circumstances,” namely the loss of two large contracts with General Motors and Modine, two of the company’s largest clients.
The lawsuit cites Harvey Industries’ failure to comply with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which requires companies to give workers 60 days notice of an impending mass layoff or plant closing. The plaintiffs, represented by Philip J. Gibbons Jr. of Gibbons Legal Group, P.C., based in Indianapolis, are seeking damages in the amount of 60 days’ pay and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) benefits, totaling more than $1 million.
