Vol. 39, No. 5
PO Box 603, Wabash, IN 46992 (260) 563-8326
of Wabash County Inc. April 13, 2016
www.thepaperofwabash.com Proudly Serving Wabash County Since 1977
Early voting up from ‘12 Primary By Joseph Slacian jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com
Pastor Rafael Cruz prays with a group of individuals who listened to his talk on April 6 at Victory Christian Fellowship in North Manchester. Photo by Emma Rausch
Presidential candidate’s father: Christians need to cast ballots By Emma Rausch emma@thepaperofwabash.com NORTH MANCHESTER — Pastor Rafael Cruz, father of Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, called Christians to the voting polls during his speech at Victory Christian Fellowship on Wednesday, April 6. Texas Sen. Cruz is one of three remaining candidates – along with businessman Donald Trump and Ohio Gov. John Kasich – running for the Republican nomination. On Tuesday, April 5, the night before Pastor Cruz’s talk, Sen. Cruz the Wisconsin primary, earning 42 delegates and narrowing the gap between his 517 delegates and frontrunner Trump’s 743. Kasich currently has 143 delegates. To earn the Republican Party’s nomination, a candidate needs 1,237 delegates. Only 882 are still available. In a speech to his supporters on Tuesday, Sen. Cruz declared the win “a turning point” in the GOP election.
His father agreed. “I think the turning point occurred last night with a great victory my son had in Wisconsin,” Pastor Cruz told The Paper of Wabash County following his speech. “I think that is a tremendous victory. I think the momentum is all with Ted Cruz. “We’re expecting great things within the coming weeks.” He “absolutely” credited his son’s victory to Christians getting out to the voting polls. “We had 117 pastors and Christian leaders that endorsed Ted in the state of Wisconsin and about 100 of those were pastors and maybe about 17 of those were Christian leaders or leaders of Christian organization,” Pastor Cruz said, answering a question The Paper posed during the question and answer section of the night. He continued stating that many pastors believe that “they cannot say anything about politics from this pulpit” or publically endorse a political candidate. “That is a lie that they don’t have any civil rights,” he explained. “Let me tell you something, the First (continued on page 21)
After one week of early voting, 69 people have cast ballots in the Wabash County Clerk’s office for the May 3 Primary Election. For the same time period in the 2012 election, 25 people had cast early ballots. Wabash County Clerk Elaine Martin said she doesn’t know why the increase this year. “I really have no idea, but my guess would be that’s it two things: first, the popularity of early voting has caught on in our county and we are told constantly by the voters that they love the convenience of early voting; and secondly, I think this particular presidential election is certainly unique and interesting,” she told (continued on page 22)
Mayor reflects on first 100 days By Joseph Slacian jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com Wabash Mayor Scott Long marked the first 100 days of his administration on Saturday, April 9. The Paper of Wabash County and Wabash WebTV sat down with Long on Thursday, April 7, and talked about a variety of issues related to the city. The complete interview, about 30 minutes in length, is available on Wabash WebTV. “Things are busy, extremely busy,” Long said of the first 100
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TV www.thepaperofwabash.com
To view Mayor Scott Long’s full interview with The Paper of Wabash County and Wabash WebTV, go to wabashwebtv.com. The interview is in the archives
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Local police jump to help a friend By Joseph Slacian jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com For the last five years, 13-yearold Brenton Yarger has raised funds to help the local Shop With a Cop program. Over that time, Brenton, a seventh-grade student at Northfield Jr.-Sr. High School, has raised nearly $19,000 — $18,568 to be exact — to help local police officers take underprivileged children from around Wabash County shopping at Christmas. On April 2, Brenton found himself in need. High winds and snow that blew through the area
throughout the day lifted his much-loved trampoline off the ground, smashing it into nearby trees. “My grandpa and I forgot to tie it down,” Brenton said, sitting on an ottoman in the living room of his grandparents’ home in rural Urbana. “It just blew away on the hill.” Brenton’s grandmother, Brenda Jackson, added, “I looked out the window and it was rolling up the hill.” The trampoline is one of Brenton’s favorite things. “Brenton was pretty upset,” she (continued on page 23)
Brenton Yarger shows off some of the collectables in his bed room. His trampoline was recently destroyed in high winds and his friends in law enforcement took a collection to purchase him a new one. Photo by Joseph Slacian