King and I Honeywell Center Ford Theater Dates: Sept. 23, 24, 7:30 p.m. / Sept. 25, 2:00 p.m. Tickets: $15 for adults / $10 for Students K-12. Tickets are on sale at the Honeywell Box Office or at www.honeywellcenter.org Vol. 39, No. 27
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of Wabash County Inc. September 14, 2016
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600-plus travel county in Dam to Dam ride By Joseph Slacian jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com
Firefighter Rick Evinston walks the equivilent of 110 flights of stairs in honor of those who lost their lives on Sept. 11. Photo by Emma Rausch
Locals remember those lost on Sept. 11 By Emma Rausch emma@thepaperofwabash.com Wabash County residents climbed 110 flights beside their local firefighters Friday, Sept. 9, at the fourth annual local Sept. 11 tribute in commemoration of those who lost their lives 15 years ago. On Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaeda, an Islamic extremist terrorist group, coordinated four attacks using two planes to destroy the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and a third to damage the Pentagon. In attempts to rescue survivors inside the World Trade Center, 343 firefighters and 72 law enforcement officers lost their lives, becoming the deadliest incident for emergency personnel in the history of the United States. The attacks killed nearly 3,000 and injured more than 6,000. Sunday, Sept. 11, marked the attacks’ 15th anniversary. Four years ago, Wabash firefighters Jeff Krom and Dennis Vigar decided to remember their fallen New York City comrades by sharing their experience. The local pair donned their 60-pound bunker gear and (continued on page 28)
More than 600 bicycle enthusiasts from around the country converged on Wabash County over the weekend for the seventh annual Dam to Dam ride. Among the riders was James “The Iron Cowboy” Lawrence, a two-time world record holder who last year completed 50 Ironman competitions in 50 consecutive days in all 50 states. Riders chose to ride between 25 and 104 miles around the county on Sunday, Sept. 11. Lawrence was among those who rode the entire route. “It was a great ride today with great people,” Lawrence said after the race, resting at the Wabash Elks Lodge tents located just across from the finish line. “There was 104 miles of great views, a lot of corn and a lot of beans, but it’s really good terrain it was pretty all around.” A Utah resident, Lawrence did say he laughed when fellow riders would tell him they were riding up a hill. “I live in the Rockies, so that was understandable,” he said with a laugh. Christine Flohr, Tourism Director for Visit Wabash County, was pleased with the event. “Today went exceptionally well,” she told The Paper of Wabash County. “It was really streamlined. When you have an entire county come together, toward one common goal, which is to be great ambassadors for our guest riders and our local riders, it was executed beautifully. “I couldn’t be more pleased.” She thinks Lawrence’s participation in the event helped in (continued on page 28)
James Lawerence (yellow and black jersey) leads the pack leaving on the Dam to Dam ride. Photo by Joseph Slacian
Community Foundation hosts annual meeting By Joseph Slacian jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com The Heartland Career Center once again played host to the Community Foundation of Wabash County’s annual meeting. The event, on Thursday, Sept. 8, featured tours of the vocational school as well as a sampling of food prepared by the school’s culinary students. It was topped off by a panel discussion on the importance of early childhood education. Before the discussion, CF Board President Steve Hentgen presented outgoing board member Cathy Gatchel a plaque for service to the board. CF Program Director Julie Garber, in emceeing the discussion,
noted that investing in the education of very young children – those 5 years and younger – will have a very wide range of benefits for the community. Panel member Steve Hammer supported early childhood learning spending. “Educational assets that are employed in the early years, ages 3 to 5, especially, bare remarkable benefits,” he said. “An investment in a quality program for preschool children yields better workers, better citizens, stronger families and more capable leaders.” The impact is especially noticeable with at risk children. Unfortunately, Indiana isn’t leading the Midwest in early childhood (continued on page 29)
County looks to cut $1.8M from ‘17 budget By Emma Rausch emma@thepaperofwabash.com The Wabash County Council began making more than $1.8 million in cuts from its 2017-2018 budget on Thursday, Sept. 8. The Council learned that it would have to make additional cuts than it originally expected from its budget after receiving a report from Deputy Auditor B.J. Grube. Grube received a letter from the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance specifying the exact amount the (continued on page 29)