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June 12, 2015
Teacher of Year finds joy when music enriches lives By Garth Snow gsnow@kpcmedia.com
For more than 30 years as a music teacher, Laura McCoy watched some of her students move on to find careers in music. “But that’s not why you teach music,” said the Fort Wayne Community Schools’ 2015 Teacher of the Year. “You teach music because you want everyone to have music in their life.” McCoy was honored for her work June 4, when FWCS Superintendent Wendy Robinson visited St. Joseph Central Elementary School. “To me, success is if they have music in their life,” McCoy said in an interview. “If when they
grow up music is part of their relaxation or entertainment, that’s having music in their life. “It’s an honor to be involved in their music lives at such a young age. It’s a privilege, because they light up when they learn music. It’s so wonderful.” McCoy has been teaching for 35 years, including six years at St. Joseph Central. She taught at Fairfield Elementary when Sherry Britt was principal there. Britt, who now serves at Whitney Young Early Childhood Center, recalled that Fairfield had a high percentage of children from families with limited income. “So it’s a bit difficult,” Britt said. See LIVES, Page A4
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St. Joseph Elementary music teacher Laura McCoy, left, is congratulated by FWCS Superintendent Wendy Robinson, who announced McCoy’s selection as FWCS Teacher of the Year.
Express delivery Mom hits gym, births child, makes cookout As Nicky Schwanz arrived at a Memorial Day cookout, her friends were shocked to see her walking and carrying her son who she had welcomed into the world a few hours earlier. “They were more than surprised,” she said. “They had seen me earlier in the day, working out with a pregnant belly.” The elapsed time was about six hours. Schwanz, a labor and delivery nurse at Parkview Regional North, wasn’t expecting to give birth at her Georgetown area home. “It happened so quick,” she said. “Everything just happened. And everything’s OK.” She began feeling her first contractions while working out in the morning. Schwanz and her husband, Corey, participated in the “Murph” workout at CrossFit Praus
that day. The five-part workout is named for Navy Lt. Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue on Long Island in New York, who was killed June 28, 2005, in Afghanistan. The workout was one of Murphy’s favorites. Fitness enthusiasts around the country complete the workout each Memorial Day in honor of those who have served in the military. “Obviously it’s nowhere near sacrifice enough, but it’s a pretty brutal workout for athletes to honor the sacrifice that he (Murph) made,” said Amanda Burge, who owns the gym with her husband, Shane. At the gym on Merchant Road in Fort Wayne, Corey and other Praus members began the “Murph” with a mile run, followed by 100 pullups, 200 pushups, 300 squats and another mile run. “It takes most people 45 minutes or an hour or maybe more,” Burge said
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Nicky Schwanz works out on Memorial Day at CrossFit Praus, where she continued a modified fitness program during her pregnancy. Schwanz gave birth that day, and brought her baby to a gym cookout that afternoon.
“It’s not a heavy workout, but what we call a body weight workout. But it does cause some fatigue and require some endurance.” See MOM, Page A13
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By Garth Snow
Snider combo to play jazz concert in park By Garth Snow gsnow@kpcmedia.com
The Snider High School jazz ensemble will perform at the very first Jazz in the Park. St. Joseph Township Trustee Sarah Gnagy created the program, and said she hopes to offer even more music under the stars next year. Snider band director Kevin Klee will direct the six-member jazz combo in the program from 7-9 p.m. June 17, at St. Joseph Township Community Park, 6033 Maplecrest Road. “I think it will be a lot of fun,” said the veteran of 34 years as Snider’s band director. “They have a beautiful gazebo out there, and it kind of harkens back to the old-time concert in the park.” The ensemble performs at several jazz festivals during the
winter and spring. “I think they sound awfully good for high school students,” Klee said. The combo will play a variety of music, on brass, bass, piano and drums. “They really like the music of Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter,” Klee said. “The township trustee gave us a call and I was really kind of excited.” “I wanted to do something different,” Gnagy said. “The park is beautiful, and I just wanted to utilize the park for the community because it’s a community park.” “It’s a huge venue to be able to pull in big bands, and give the local high school an opportunity to shine, because they’ve got a great music department.” Firetrucks will be on hand to call attention to the fundraiser for the fire See JAZZ, Page A4