by Eric Stearley

eric@thepaperofwabash.com

Wabash County health and emergency response officials held a press conference at the Wabash Fire Department on Thursday, Oct. 23 to inform the public of new procedures at Wabash County Central Dispatch. The changes were made in response to recommendations by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Indiana State Department of Health after the recent Ebola outbreak in western Africa resulted in multiple cases within the United States.

“The reason for having this meeting is not to cause panic, but just to make people aware that there’s more questions that are going to be asked should there be an concern of a possible exposure,” said Wabash Fire Chief Bob Mullett. “It’s really to try to keep people from panicking and let them know that these questions are going to be asked to anybody who has these signs and symptoms.”

The meeting was led by Wabash County Health Officer Dr. David Roe. He urged that the “likelihood of anyone in Wabash contracting Ebola is extremely low and highly unlikely, unless a person has direct, unprotected contact with the bodily fluids of a person who’s sick with Ebola.”  While the new standards were implemented in response to the recent outbreak, they will extend beyond the current crisis. In addition to providing first responders with more information to make treatment decisions, the new questions will protect these individuals from contracting a virus like Ebola when responding to individuals in an emergency.

by Emily Armentrout

emily@thepaperofwabash.com

Every year, 6th grade students from Wabash Middle School take a class trip to Chicago at the end of the school year, and every year, some students are missing out due to the financial burden this trip can cause on families. This year, community members are given the opportunity to step up and sponsor the event and sponsor a child to enjoy the trip with their classmates.

Heading up this fundraising effort is Jennifer Scott, mother of a middle school student. “My personal goal is to send the whole class, but also send the chaperones for free and make t-shirts for the students too,” Scott told The Paper. Experiencing field trips as a chaperone, Scott feels the shirts would help the chaperones a lot because the kids would be more identifiable as Wabash Middle School students.

While on the field trip, the students will visit the Field Museum of Natural History, which is an estimated cost, for all students, teachers and chaperones, of $1,500. They will also visit the Museum of Science and Industry, with an estimated cost of $1,400. The students will enjoy a boat tour with Wendella to see the beautiful architectural history of Chicago, at an estimated cost of $1,200. There will also be the estimated cost of $5,200 of charter buses for travel.

The first fundraiser for this trip is an Origami Owl open house, hosted by Lynn Ellis. “All sales and parties booked between now and December 31, 2014, will help send the Class of 2021 to Chicago in May 2015. Charmed by Lynn will donate 20 percent of all profits to the Wabash Middle School Trip Fund,” Scott told The Paper.
 

The Woman’s Clubhouse will host the 4th Annual Sip-n-Shop at the Honeywell Center on Saturday, Nov. 1 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The following home based businesses will provide all types of products: Charley Creek, Partylite Gifts, Pampered Chef, Soapology Body Shoppe, Arm Candy, Spray Tans-Suzi, Dyanna Delights, Raih’zn’Moon Unique Creations, Scentsy, Jocky Person to Person, It Works Body Wraps, Matilda Jane, Kerig, Elliott Esstentials, Tupperware, Beauty Control, Paparazzi, Initials Purses, Mary Kay, Bella Bloom Photos, Psychic, Fox n Hound, Museum, Woman’s Clubhouse, Ellen Stouffer Studio, Younique, and Willow Spa.

Two weeks ago, I promised to submit a few of my favorite crock-pot recipes for you to try. By now, I hope you had a chance to make the pepper steak over white rice. If you did, I'm sure you will agree that it is simply delicious. This next recipe for crock-pot steak and rice is a family favorite.

  When my Daughter Andrea was in college, I often tried to make sure this crock-pot steak was on the menu when I knew she was coming home for the weekend. It was one of her favorite suppers. Just reading over this recipe, it may seem like such an odd combination of ingredients but, the end result is fantastic. The taco seasoning along with tomato sauce and instant rice makes for Spanish rice over cubed steak. I often serve buttery mashed potatoes on the side. I know, it's very starchy but, everything in moderation. Right?

by Eric Stearley

eric@thepaperofwabash.com

It’s an exciting time for the City of Wabash. In so many areas, the city is being updated, transformed, and repurposed in an effort to create a vibrant, modern small town. In all the excitement, a local group saw one area of the city that was not being addressed through these efforts: the city’s small, neighborhood parks.

The Hanna Park Project Committee was created as a collaborative effort between local service organizations with a single goal in mind: take responsibility for one of Wabash’s neighborhood parks and completely transform it, from a largely unused and ignored space into a destination for local families and children. With the help of other local service clubs, businesses, and individuals, the committee is working to ensure that its vision becomes a reality.

On Oct. 1, the Kiwanis Club’s Board of Directors voted to donate $15,000 to the project, more than half of the club’s service budget for the year.

“I am thrilled with the club’s decision to commit to the Neighborhood Parks Project,” said Wabash Kiwanis Club President Jordan Tandy. “We’ve always had an active and service-oriented membership, but I don’t know that we’ve ever tackled something of this magnitude before. The board’s decision to make this significant contribution is a great demonstration of the club’s commitment to our mission, which is to serve children.”

The idea for the project originally came from a Kiwanis member.

“Judy Ward, she’s the president-elect, she had the idea of focusing on one of the neighborhood parks,” said Tandy.

Wabash has three small neighborhood parks: Hanna Park on East Hill Street, South Side Park on Vernon Street, and Broadmoor Park on Broadmoor Drive.

“I talked to Todd Titus, the parks superintendent, and I kind of asked, ‘which park could we get the most bang for our buck,’” Tandy continued.

The answer, it turned out, was Hanna Park. The park is most familiar to people who live in Wabash’s historic district and those who travel in and out of town on Old 24. It is also just a short walk uphill and around the corner from Paradise Spring Historical Park. While the park has a pavilion and basketball court, both are showing their age. In addition, the park lacks playground equipment of any kind.

“I don’t know how many people go by Hanna Park. It’s on the way to Lagro, but it’s basically on the corner of town right now,” said Tandy. “We really want it to be something cool enough that it’s going to be a destination for people.”

The current vision includes a large playground system, as well as rejuvenation of the existing facilities. The park will continue to be maintained by the city, and the committee has been in close contact with the parks department throughout the planning process. During this process, the committee soon found out that quality playground equipment is pricey.

“Going in, I thought, ‘Well, if we can put together 10,000 bucks for a playground, we can get something pretty impressive,” said Tandy. “That barely gets us a swing set.”

by Eric Stearley

eric@thepaperofwabash.com

On Friday, Oct. 17, City Councilmember Margaret “Boo” Salb was joined by friends, family, and supporters at the Northeast Business Park for a very important announcement.

“I’m here to officially announce that I’m going to be running as a democratic mayoral candidate in the 2015 election,” Salb said as those present applauded.

Salb was joined by her husband, John, a former conservation officer, as well as her two daughters and other family members from across the country. She is the third candidate to make such an announcement, behind fellow councilmember and republican Scott Long and Wabash Fire Chief Bob Mullett, who she will run against in the May 2015 primary for the Democratic Party nomination.

“I’ve always called Wabash my home, and it always will be my home,” said Salb. “This community has instilled my values and beliefs, and I believe that we have passed those on to our daughters, Keri and Kaitlyn, as well as our four grandchildren.”

In addition to eleven years on city council, Salb has worked as an educator for 27 years, spending the last 22 years as a student advocate at Northfield Jr./Sr. High School. She plans to draw on this experience should she be elected.

“I have managed a classroom for 27 years,” said Salb. “I believe that managing a classroom with teenagers is hard enough, and I believe that I will bring a lot of management skills to the office.”

The location of the announcement was of special significance.

“As we stand at this Northeast Business Park, I envision seeing it filled to capacity, and I plan on working closely with Economic Development and other county officials to see this come to fruition,” said Salb. “That’s probably my main goal.”

Salb would also like to see improvements to residential areas that she believes have worn down and been forgotten. Anyone considering running for Mayor of Wabash is watching the Stellar projects closely, and Salb is no exception.

by Eric Stearley

eric@thepaperofwabash.com

Ernie Bradley of rural Liberty Mills is heading to the Indiana Statehouse to deliver a speech during the National Freeze Don’t Shoot March on Oct. 25.

Bradley’s life was turned upside-down on March 10 when North Manchester Police pursued multiple drug offenders on foot from a residence in Liberty Mills. When the pursuit crossed through Bradley’s property, his dogs, Kramer and Mc, ran toward the officers and were shot. Kramer was killed instantly, while Mc survived, eventually losing his left eye. Since then, Bradley has become passionate about the issue and discovered that people across the country have been put in similar situations.

“After what happened, I was putting things on Facebook. I had some people put up the website for me called “Justice for Kramer and Mc,” and after I got involved in this, everyone else that this has been happening to all over the nation started posting similar sties.”

The online community of distraught pet owners has collaborated for a nationwide event, organized by Donna Earley. On Oct. 25, at every state capital in the nation, victims and supporters will gather to demonstrate against police shooting pets. Bradley will be the guest speaker at the march in Indianapolis. He will deliver his speech at noon.

“My message is going to be, we want proper training for our police officers,” said Bradley. “I researched after this happened to me, and I found out, it’s somewhat protocol for police officers, as soon as they come into contact with a canine animal, to kill it, so that it doesn’t become involved in whatever they’re doing. Colorado has special training for police officers, and what were asking for is mandatory training of police officers for when they come into contact with a canine.”

The Community Foundation of Wabash County distributed $47,069 in its 2014 fall grant cycle, supporting initiatives of local nonprofits to meet urgent needs of county citizens or provide enrichment opportunities to underserved people. Eighteen organizations were awarded grants for projects in education, the arts, food insecurity, domestic violence awareness, leadership training, and support for youth.

Honeywell Foundation received funding for the Vocal Impact Youth Choir, which invites students, ages 7 through 20, to participate in bi-weekly rehearsals and five concerts throughout the year.

Boy Scouts of America will use a CFWC grant to support the 75th Anniversary of the Lincoln Pilgrimage, to be held at the Honeywell Center, Feb. 14-15, 2015.

Second Harvest Food Bank received a grant towards the Tailgate Program, which provides food twelve times each year for individuals in need.

Wabash Area Community Theater was awarded grant money to support its productions in the 2014/2015 theater season. 

FAME (Foundation for Art & Music in Education) was awarded a grant for the 2015 FAME Festival, which will take place on April 18 and will serve hundreds of school children.

Wabash Kiwanis Club received a grant for renovation of Hanna Park in Wabash that serves an eastside neighborhood.

Arc of Wabash County was awarded a grant to purchase training materials for Arc staff in order to maintain high quality service to 100 individuals and families in the county.