PREP FOOTBALL | 31
Wabash County’s football teams took to the gridiron for one more week as sectional play opened up. Northfield looked to claim its first sectional victory in over a decade while the Squires took on Winchester.
ASK THE CANDIDATES • 3
Sheriff Debate Democratic nominee Jonathan T. Breaton and Republican candidate for Wabash County Sheriff Bob Land sit down and answer some of the pressing issues as the Nov. 2 General Election approaches.
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October 27, 2010 Hospice volunteers add personal touch while assisting patients and families by Shaun Tilghman Visiting Nurse & Hospice Home is a nonprofit agency that offers the skills and services of over 90 trained and dedicated volunteers serving the needs of patients nearing the end of life, as well as the needs of the patients’ families. Located at5910 Homestead Rd. in Fort Wayne, it is the only freestanding hospice facility in northeast Indiana. Hospice Home has operated in Fort Wayne for over 100 years and continues to provide care in the patient’s home, in assisted living facilities, or in its 14-bed inpatient facility. The staff includes dedicated hospice- and palliative-cer tified caregivers, with home care being provided for terminally ill patients who are still receiving curative
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YMCA fitness instructor shares inspirational story of defeating breast cancer by Danielle Smith On Feb. 25, Shelly Ruch, fitness instructor at the Wabash County YMCA, embarked on a journey that would affect her life in many ways, positively and negatively. She was diagnosed with breast cancer. Ruch has worked in the fitness industry for 15 years. She came to the YMCA, from a different gym, in October 2009. She lives outside of Wabash with her husband of nearly 17 years, Russell. Ruch found a lump in her left breast in March 2009. She labeled it as a cyst and dismissed it. “I thought it was no big deal,” Ruch said. “I’m an aerobics instructor, I eat healthy, I take very good care of myself and there’s not a family history of breast cancer so I didn’t really worry about it.” The lump started growing, and Ruch decided to make an appointment with her nurse practitioner. A mammogram was conducted in January and it was decided that a biopsy needed to be done. “They saw some calcifications, they never said cancer, but they said they were very suspicious,” Ruch said. After doing some Internet research, Ruch made the decision to see Dr. Schmidt of The Breast Care Center of Indiana. “He is one of the leading breast surgeons almost in the country. People come from out of state to see him,” she explained. Dr. Schmidt conducted an ultrasound and told Ruch not to worry. He explained that 90 percent of the women Ruch’s age (39) that he sees, do not have breast cancer. Ruch was the exception. She underwent a partial lumpectomy on Feb. 18 and received a phone message from Dr. Schmidt on Feb. 24. “I called back the 25th and I couldn’t get him so it was a really hairy day,” Ruch said. They were finally able to make contact when the doctor informed Ruch that she had invasive ductal carcinoma, a form of breast cancer. “It was one of the most heart-wrenching phone calls that I have ever had, and it still, to this day, makes me cry. Nobody ever wants to hear those words,” Ruch tearfully explained. Following her diagnosis, Ruch underwent a whirlwind of tests: a breast MRI, CAT Scan, MUGA Scan and estrogen test among others. She had eight rounds of chemotherapy, one every other week for 16 weeks. She received chemotherapy on Thursday and a Neulasta
SHELLY RUCH, fitness instructor at the Wabash County YMCA, was diagnosed with breast cancer on Feb. 25. Throughout the past eight months, Ruch has gained the support of many including those in her class and the YMCA. Ruch has one more radiation treatment scheduled this week before she is declared cancer free. (photo by Shaun Tilghman) shot on Friday, which is a medication that helps to raise the white blood cell count to prevent opportunistic illnesses. The treatments took a toll on Ruch. “My hair fell out two weeks to the day after I started. I had hair down to my ribcage. I cried, of course, but you get to a point where you don’t worry about your hair, you just want to live,” Ruch said. She endured intense physical pain as a result of the Neulasta shot.
Pattison murder trial begins with testimony from law enforcement
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In Memorium George Airgood, 90 Sharon Black, 72 Jim Butcher, 75 Velma Crull, 73 Carol Haney, 76 Larry Music, 53 Debbie Salyers, 48
Index Classifieds ............47-51 Community News...27,37-38,40,42 D & E....................14-15 Sports Shorts........30-31 Weekly Reports ....16-17 Vol. 33, No. 29
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“The younger you are, the more painful it is because blood cells are made in your bone marrow and if you’re young you’re still producing ample amounts of bone marrow,” Ruch explained. “It felt like a Mack truck hit you, water touching your skin in the shower hurt, to be touched hurt, there was no comfort.” Through all of this, Ruch managed to maintain a strong, positive attitude, of which she attributes to her employer, the YMCA. Ruch (continued on page 4)
SCOTT PATTISON, charged with murder in connection with the death of his wife, Lisa Pattison, makes his way to the courtroom before the trial began Monday. The trial is currently scheduled to remain on the docket for the next two to three weeks. (photo by Danielle Smith)
by Danielle Smith Several members of the press and public gathered at Wabash County Judicial Center on Oct. 25 for the commencement of the trial of Scott Pattison, who is suspected to have murdered his wife, Lisa Pattison on July 2, 2009. Prior to opening arguments, Judge Robert McCallen read instructions to the jury, which consists of four women and eight men, two of which are alternates. Prosecutor William Hartley began his opening argument by walking the jurors through their trial notebook, a large binder containing evidential documents and jury instructions. He went on to outline the facts of the case by giving a timeline of the events. He touched on several key issues including Pattison’s affair with Stacy Henderson, chief of staff for the mayor of Marion, and the discrepancies between the time that Pattison stated he arrived home from work and the time his video surveillance system recorded his arrival. “In this case you’re going to be asked to answer one question,” Hartley said. “On July 2, did Scott Pattison knowingly and intentionally kill Lisa Pattison?” Pattison is being represented by Attorneys Bruce Elliott and Stanley Campbell. The defense’s opening argument began with a powerful statement, “There is one ultimate truth here and that is that Scott Pattison did not kill his wife.” They elaborated on two important facts surrounding the weight bench that allegedly caused Lisa’s death. First, the bench was a Smith machine, which is a type of weight bench that has a bar that moves up and down on a track, as opposed to free weights unattached to the bench. Second, this type of weight bench has a feature called “safety spotters” which fit into slots on the track in order to prevent the bar from falling on the lifter. These “safety spotters” were (continued on page 7) not in use on the Pattisons’ machine.