INSIDE THIS ISSUE Business & Professional....................................................A16 Back To School..............................................................A10-11 Classifieds............................................................................A16 Community Calendar ...................................................A18-19 Dining & Entertainment......................................................A7 Healthy Times.....................................................................A12 Youth.......................................................................................A4
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August 10, 2012
With each and every breath
All Stars win state title
Advocate fights to spread lung cancer awareness By Valerie Gough vgough@kpcnews.net
Courtesy photo
The St. Joe Central Little League Junior All-Stars played for the Indiana state championship title in Wabash last month. Facing an undefeated Silver Creek team, St. Joe took an early lead and pulled out a 7-3 win in a hard-fought game. St. Joe got an early jump, putting up four runs in the first inning. A tight defense, led by pitcher Bart Tippmann, held Silver Creek scoreless until the bottom of the third. Bryson Tretter, Sam Taylor, Riley Miller and Ben Keating put up a combined nine hits, adding three runs for St. Joe. Pitcher Bart Tippmann allowed only six hits. Six catches by outfielder Zach Piatt and two by left fielder Robbie Bakle helped shut down Silver Creek’s offense. This win marks only the third time a District 10 Junior team has won the state title. St. Joe All-Stars are managed by Kevin Hunter and coached by Matt Mertes and Greg Piatt. Players, from left to right, are manager Kevin Hunter, Brock Sterling, Robbie Bakle, Bryson Tretter, Riley Miller, David Keating, Hunter Holy, Bart Tippmann, Zach Piatt, Sam Taylor, Keondre Wilson, Jeff Mertes, coach Matt Mertes, Ben Keating, Tommy Steele, Greg Piatt and Trevor Hunter.
It was 17 years ago when Anita DeSelm had to pack her mother’s life away in boxes. After 40 years smoking cigarettes, her mother, Susie Bassett, succumbed to lung cancer in 1995 at the age of 62. “As difficult as it was, at that time I thought, well she’s lived a full life,” DeSelm said. But when her daughter, Jennifer Robbins, later was diagnosed with stage 3b lung cancer at the age of 20, she was just angry. “My kids saw how my mom got sick. I remember asking Jen once if I smelled smoke (on her) and she said, ‘Do you think I’m stupid?’ A year later she was told she had lung cancer. I was pissed. I was like, ‘Why her?’ Jen said ‘Well, I guess I’m supposed to be the messenger.’” Robbins found out about her diagnosis during her first year at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, just after final exams were through. The Homestead High School graduate planned on transferring to Purdue in the fall. Jen would survive for one year and four days. “The hardest thing anyone could ever do is pack their child’s life up in a box,” DeSelm said, surrounded by photographs of Jen. The girl with the bright smile and long, thick hair beamed from a photo standing next to her mother. The frame said “Mom & Me” beneath two hearts. Jen had given it to DeSelm as a gift. See BREATH, page A9
Weather wreaks havoc on vendors, market By Nichole Hacha-Thomas nthomas@kpcnews.net
WIC might be able to help. The Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program provides free checks for nutritious foods, breastfeeding support and nutrition education for all kinds of qualifying families - single parents, married, working, not working and foster.
Call to see if you qualify. Nichole Hacha-Thomas
Amy Slentz of Cedar Creek Produce in Cedarville looks over the sweet corn picked over by shoppers at the Georgetown Farmers Market. Harvests have suffered due to the drought and extreme heat this summer.
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Amy Slentz surveyed the sweet corn picked over from an afternoon of customers at the Georgetown Farmers Market. Slentz, of Cedarville, drives her Cedar Creek Produce wagon to five or six farmers markets each week. This year’s streak of high temperatures and extreme drought, she said, have made it a challenge to keep her stock up. “This year has been torturous,” Slentz said. “We are constantly working to get things watered — especially the sweet corn. You almost can’t water enough.” In addition to the lack of rain, the intense heat, stretching for days at a time, has decimated some crops. Green beans, she
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