Vol. 38, No. 23
PO Box 603, Wabash, IN 46992 (260) 563-8326
of Wabash County Inc. July 29, 2015
www.thepaperofwabash.com Proudly Serving Wabash County Since 1977
Wabash County mosquito tests positive for West Nile City’s street department begins spraying By Emma Rausch emma@thepaperofwabash.com
Crew chief Richard Marroni looks out as the Huey helicopter approaches Triple LLL Truck Repair on Saturday. Photo by Adam B. Smith
Triple LLL honors heroes By Adam B. Smith news@thepaperofwabash.com More than 50 veterans received the opportunity on Saturday, July 25, to go up in a helicopter and see not another battlefield, but the familiar sites of Wabash. Triple LLL Truck Repair hosted “Honoring Our Heroes,” its second event honoring past and present members of the U.S. armed forces. The local business teamed up with the Peru-based, non-profit organization American Huey 369 to bring two helicopters to (continued on page 20)
Bob Pulley (sitting), a former World War II pilot, received a special first flight at Saturday’s event. Photo by Adam B. Smith
A mosquito in Wabash County has tested positive for West Nile virus, according to the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH). The first positive mosquito was reported during the week of June 26 and is the earliest finding of West Nile virus in the county within the past eight years, according to data provided by Ken Severson, ISDH representative. “Yes, this is the earliest on record for (positive mosquitoes),” Severson wrote to The Paper of Wabash County in an email. “However, there is nothing that can be deduced from that . We have had positives as early as May in some parts of the state over the years. Now that we have found in (in Wabash County) this year, people need to be more careful.” Since 2007, the county’s earliest cases have been reported in late July or early August. This year, due to frequent inclement weather and flooding, breeding grounds for mosquitoes have possibly increased in the county, according to Erik Hofmeister, U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center field and lab veterinary medical officer. “So one thing that weather does is it provides more breed-
ing area for mosquitoes and that would be mosquitoes that breed in standing water,” Hofmeister said in a phone interview with The Paper. “For example, if floodwaters over ran an area where tires have been left or there were other containers, then in that standing water – once the floodwaters recede – then mosquitoes that prefer standing water will lay their eggs and they’ll have more mosquitoes.” West Nile virus cycles between birds and mosquitoes “cryptically,” or unnoticed by humans, Hofmeister said. “So in a typical year it’s happening without us noticing between the birds and the mosquitoes,” he continued. “Then, once it builds up to a certain degree or the birds leave an area - for instance early in the season in residential areas, there’s lots and lots of robins, but toward the end of a season like midAugust or so, they start to flock up and the mosquitoes search for another blood meal and then they often will go start feeding on mammals or people.” The bird cycle of West Nile virus happens early in the season, either mid-June or midJune, Hofmeister said. Floodwaters are not likely breeding ground for mosquitoes that spread the virus from birds to humans, Hofmeister said. (continued on page 16)
Grandstaff remembered for contributions to community By Joseph Slacian jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com
Throughout his life, Ken Grandstaff has always been interested in people. “I probably got to first know Ken when I was his paperboy,” his longtime business partner Steve Hentgen said. “I got my paper route in about 1965 or 1966, when I was 10 or 11 years old, and Ken was one of my stops.” Unlike other homes along the route, Hentgen said that he never could just deliver the paper to
Grandstaff ’s Roann home and then continue along the route. “With Ken you didn’t do that,” Hentgen said. “He’d ask me about my day, or anything pertaining to my life. And I, of course, was interested in what he was doing.” Grandstaff, former co-owner of Grandstaff-Hentgen Funeral Service, passed away July 18 at the Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne. He was 78. Funeral services for him were on Thursday, July 23. In addition to being interested in people, Grandstaff was also inter-
ested in technology, or “gadgets” as Hentgen called them. “I can remember if it was new, Ken had it,” Hentgen said. “Whether it was a hose nozzle or an edger. He was the first guy I knew who had an electric lawn edger to edge the grass. “He was the first person in Roann to have a snow blower.” Grandstaff ’s nephew, Chad Maple, noted that his uncle’s interested in technology continued into the computer era. The business, he said, was the first funeral home in the area to offer a webpage and
online obituaries for its customers. As a teenager growing up in Roann, Hentgen said often ran into Grandstaff around the community. “He was strong in the Roann Merchants Association,” Hentgen said of Grandstaff. “My first ‘job’ was at Mowery’s Market in Roann, and of course Delbert was on the Roann Merchants Association. I think the grocery store was sometimes the gathering point (for the Association). Ken was in there all (continued on page 17)
KEN GRANDSTAFF