Vol. 38, No. 41
PO Box 603, Wabash, IN 46992 (260) 563-8326
of Wabash County Inc. December 2, 2015
www.thepaperofwabash.com Proudly Serving Wabash County Since 1977
New recycling program to begin Jan. 1 By The Paper staff As of Jan. 1, the Wabash County Solid Waste Management District will begin a new drop-site recycling program to better assist county residents. The new program was made possible with the partnership of Whitley Environmental from Columbia City, an envi-
ronmental consulting company that won the local district’s 2016-2018 recycling program bid. With this change in vendors also comes a change to the program, in that residents will no longer need to separate their recyclables. The new program will be a single stream recycling program. Residents will be able to
place all of their recyclables including aluminum, steel, tin, paper, plastics no.1 and no.2, food grade glass bottles and jars and corrugated cardboard in bins together. Boxes must still be broken down. Each new bin will come with stickers that outline which items are acceptable and which items are not. It is very important to prac-
tice responsible recycling and only put accepted items in the bins. Each inappropriate item thrown in the bins constitutes contamination, which decreases the value of recyclables. The Wabash County Solid Waste Management District strives to provide local residents with an affordable convenient recycling program. Therefore, the value of the
recyclables is very important. The district also wishes to remind residents that dumping trash is illegal at the drop site and those found guilty of doing so face a fine of up to $10,000. For more information about the drop site recycling program and other programs offered by the WCSWMD, call 260-563-7649 or visit slashthetrash.com.
Fog blamed in two serious accidents Weekend crash claims NM man By The Paper staff
Construction work begins: Work began on replacing the bridge at the intersection of Wabash Street and Harrison Avenue on Monday morning, Nov. 30. Work at the site is expected to continue through late May of 2016. During that time, the intersection will be closed to traffic. A worker (top photo) begins work at the site, which is blocked in all directions by Road Closed signs (bottom photo). Photos by Emma Rausch
Chippewa Place development moving forward By Emma Rausch emma@thepaperofwabash.com
Wabash County residents will see new, modern duplex villas within the next year, according to Kim Davis, Ideal Suburban Homes director of sales. In late October, the Decaturbased homebuilding company Ideal Suburban Homes Inc. purchased Wabash’s Chippewa Place. The purchase is a great investment not only for the company but for Wabash as well, Davis said. “Wabash has not had new homes for quite a few years,” she explained, “and, in speaking with our agent that will be handling that area for us—her name is Brenda Williams—she saw great potential for the need for some new homes in the area. So we decided to, with the experience that we’ve had and again it’s been over 50 years and espe-
cially villa community, we just decided that it’d be a great partnership.” The local condominium development area was abandoned in 2010, according to Bob Lundquist of Lundquist Appraisals and Real Estate. “It was 8.3 acres of land which was originally purchased for a condominium development,” Lundquist told The Paper of Wabash County. “(The original owners) built two buildings, which held four condos, in there. The company ended up going bankrupt when the housing economy turned bad in about 2008 or so.” The property “sat there dormant” for several years until First Farmers Bank and Trust foreclosed on the property and reposed it in 2012, he continued. After assigning three prior realtors to sell the land, First Farmers then tasked Lundquist with the job in early 2015.
“I searched all over this part of the state,” Lundquist said. “I called every developer, every builder that I could come across trying to encourage them to buy that property and develop single-family homes or condos there. “I had seen Ideal Suburban Homes in some other small towns,” he continued. “They had developments in Ossian, Bluffton and Huntington, and I knew that they worked with a lot of small communities and so I reached out initially to them.” After reaching out to the company on several attempts, Lundquist said he finally had the opportunity to show the property to the company’s president and general manager Kevan Biggs, which then decided to purchase the estate. “I think (Ideal Suburban Homes) will be a good fit for Wabash,” Lundquist said. (continued on page 12)
Heavy fog on Tuesday morning, Nov. 24, is blamed for two traffic accidents that left one person dead and five others injured. One person was killed and three others were injured Tuesday morning in a car-semitractor and trailer accident on U.S. 24 and Alber Street about 9:20 a.m. According to a news release from the Wabash County Sheriff Bob Land, Cheryl K. Koehler, 71, Wabash, was killed after the car she was driving struck the rear end of the tractor-trailer driven by Jackie C. Hazeltine, 64, Columbus, Ohio. Wabash County Coroner Carol Whitesel pronounced her dead at the scene. Three people in the Koehler vehicle were injured. Jessica M. Gaston, 34, Wabash, the front seat passenger, was transported to Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne, in critical condition with severe
head injuries. She was in surgery as of Tuesday afternoon. Meanwhile, Kedron Gaston, 12, Wabash, a rear seat passenger, was taken to Lutheran Hospital with a fractured skull and lacerations. She was in serious condition. Khloe Gaston, 9, Wabash, another rear seat passenger, was transported to Lutheran with non-life threatening head injuries. According to the release, Hazeltine’s semi was eastbound on U.S. 24 and was stopping for the traffic light on Alber Street. Koehler failed to slow or stop and struck the rear of the tractor-trailer. Heavy fog was present in the area at the time of the crash, Land noted in the release. An accident reconstructionist from the Wabash Police Department was on the scene. The investigation is continuing. Assisting at the scene were the Wabash Police Department, Indiana State Police, Wabash Fire Department, Noble Township Fire Department, and Wabash County EMA. Meanwhile, a mother and (continued on page 26)
Heavy fog was reported in the area of U.S. 24 and County Road 200 W just prior to an accidenton Tuesday morning, Nov. 21.Photo by Emma Rausch