By Joseph Slacian

Bids received for the expansion of the Wabash Carnegie Public Library were rejected by the library board of directors.

Bids, received Feb. 9, ranged from $3.8 million to $4.5 million.

“While we are disappointed that the bids came in as high as they did, we intend to move forward with our plans,” Library Director Ware W. Wimberly III told The Paper of Wabash County in an email. “In the coming weeks, we will review the project, revising our timeline and our approach to funding.

By Joseph Slacian

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management, in conjunction with state and local health officials, hoped to launch free drinking water well tests this week at 65 homes located within 300 feet of Treaty Creek.

The tests are needed, according to Ryan Clem, IDEM director of communications, because of elevated levels of Perflorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanic acid (PFOA) in Treaty Creek.

By Phil Smith

The Wabash County Board of Commissioners on Monday, Feb. 21, agreed to renew a partnership with Northeast Indiana Works.

Edmond O’Neal, III, president and chief executive officer for the organization, told the commissioners that the previous contract had been for three years.

“I am here to formally request signature on the regional chief elected officials agreement,” he said, adding that the new pact would extend until March 31, 2027. He said it was decided that the agreement would be extended to five years from three for expediency.

By Phil Smith

In helping high school students learn to use advancements in technology to improve farming efficiency in the 21st Century, the vocational school is teaching these proteges how to approach many of these issues from above.

“This is a brand new program we started here at Heartland Career Center,” said Precision Agriculture Instructor Lori Dubois of her drone certification program. “So, it’s very relevant to what’s going on in agriculture, industry and business.”

By Phil Smith

In the past 100 years, the tractor was the technology advance that proved a massive game changer in farming. However, technology innovations in the past 20 to 30 years have proven no less significant. To this end, farmers are lauding agriculture technology and academia is trying to keep up to ensure the next generation of farmer knows how to use these advancements to keep livestock and crop productions continually optimized.

For farmers, timely inventions in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), as well as global positioning systems (GPS), have made planting crops and raising livestock more cost effective.

The Manley Scholarship was established in 1998 by the estate of Olive Manley, a local Wabash resident, to encourage and promote music among Wabash High School graduates pursuing a career in music. 

By Joseph Slacian

The Wabash City Council unanimously passed a resolution condemning the Indiana Legislature’s attempt to quash the state’s business personal property tax.

The main concern, according to Mayor Scott Long, is that House Bill 1002 doesn’t provide for something to replace the loss of revenue stemming from the business personal property tax.

The Wabash County Farm Bureau, Incorporated, is making available up to six $750 scholarships to Wabash County high school graduates.