PREP BASKETBALL | 22 On Dec. 10, Southwood won for the second time in a row while denying Northfield their second win of the season. Scoring in three of the four quarters was closely matched, but one lopsided stanza secured victory for the Lady Knights as they bested the Lady Norse 36-23. Check out the game summary in this week’s Sports Shorts.
Blue Ribbon Business - page 3 The Wabash County Chamber of Commerce recognized AgVenture/McKillip Seeds’ 75th anniversary by selecting them as December’s Business of the Month.
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December 15, 2010 Commissioners discuss ordinances and jail staff
by Danielle Smith Steve Downs, county attorney, presented drafts of ordinances addressing the accumulation of junk trash and debris and the regulation of weeds and vegetation to the Wabash County Commissioners at their Dec. 13 meeting. The ordinances require the commission to send notice to landowners identifying the steps they must take to correct the violation and possible penalties they may incur if the steps are not taken. Downs suggested that they incorporate a deadline into the ordinance to give the landowner a specific time to complete the cleanup. The deadline was set at 30 days, but left to the discretion of the enforcement officer, Mike Howard, or the planning commission. The planning commission will review the ordinances then they will be sent back to the commissioners for a final approval. Wabash County Sheriff ’s Department requested to reassign Cory Thomas, parttime jail officer, to fill the fulltime position that an individual resigned from last week. The motion was approved. The commissioners signed a letter to help finalize the Community Corrections grant application, to be sent to the Department of Corrections. Final approval of the grant is expected to take until February, at which time the commissioners will sign the grant.
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AACTION grants for drug and alcohol programs total more than $20,000 by Danielle Smith Trisha Hanes, chairperson of Wabash County AACTION (Against Alcohol, Controlled substances and Tobacco In Our Neighborhoods), presented a summary of the 2011 grant allocation to the Wabash County Commissioners on Dec. 13. Wabash County AACTION is the local coordinating council for the Governor’s Commission for a Drug-Free Indiana. One of the functions of the organization is to allocate to local programs funds generated from a $200 drug interdiction fee imposed on those arrested for a drug or alcohol offense. “We’ve been lucky to have a low operating budget so we were able to allocate all of the money that has come in,” Hanes said. The total money available this year was $21,002.14, approximately $3,000 less than last year. Hanes explained this lesser amount by saying that the criminal field is still being affected by the struggling economy. The funds are divided between programs in three different categories: prevention and education, treatment and intervention, and justice. Prevention and Education programs The Access requested $3,200 for Access Reality, which employs the use of a daily afterschool program, teen church, weekend activities and home visits to educate youth on the reality of substance abuse. This program was approved for $1,825. Manchester College’s new Peer Education Program requested $1,250. This program brain-
storms and promotes weekly non-alcoholic events. They provide educational programs and messages to aid in binge drinking prevention. The program was approved for $750. Manchester College also requested $3,500 to bring a speaker through Campus Speak to the college for convocation. This speaker will provide information to students as they make decisions about alcohol while attending college. The community is invited to this event. The college was awarded $1,855 for the speaker. Manchester Jr./Sr. High School and Northfield Jr./Sr. High School each requested $1,500 for their After Prom party, which provides a safe environment for students to participate in fun activities while supervised rather than drinking. Each school was awarded $750. Southwood Jr./Sr. High School’s PEP (Peers Educating Peers) program requested $500. This program enlists students that have abstained from premarital sex and the use of drugs and alcohol to give presentations to other students. This program was approved for $1,000 of funding. Treatment and Intervention programs The Bowen Center of Wabash County requested $4,000 to fund substance abuse programs for low-income individuals. In 2010, a total of 20 clients were financially assisted by the AACTION grant. This program was awarded $2,000. Hands of Hope, a division of Family Service Society, Inc. requested and received $3,000 for Victim’s Advocacy Program, which provides
Wabash family celebrates Christmas season with grand display Watkins home features 50,000 lights set to 20 different songs.
James Bone, 81 Joseph Carpenter, 67 James Gottschalk, 74 Opal Harrell, 88 Dan McNear, 58 Gene Metzger, 79 Mary Rose, 86 Doris Scott, 85 Janet Turner, 74 Joanne Yates, 90
Index Classifieds............38-39 Community News..23-26,31 D & E ..................20-21 Sports Shorts ............22 Weekly Reports ....12-13 Vol. 33, No. 36
PO Box 603, Wabash, IN 46992 (260) 563-8326
support to victims of domestic violence. Manchester College requested $1,875 to help fund an on-line drug or alcohol course and treatment intervention that is required of all students found responsible for a drug or alcohol offense. The program was awarded $775. Wabash County Drug Court requested and received $3,000 to help defray the costs from chemical testing of participants. These costs can total upward of $500 for an offender, but are necessary to validate the person’s sobriety. Justice programs The North Manchester Police Department requested $800 to allow them to send two officers to the 2011 Indiana Drug Enforcement Association conference, which provides education and networking opportunities. A third officer will be sent using departmental funds. They were awarded $831.54. North Manchester Police Department also requested and received $1,419 for the purchase of a personal video system for each officer. This system will allow them to record traffic stops, searches, statements and interviews. The Wabash County Sheriff ’s Department requested and received $3,000 to fund various enforcement activities including increased patrols, quarterly drug searches at schools and efforts to discourage the sale of tobacco to youth. These grants totaled $20,955.54, and the remaining $46.60 will carry over to next year’s fund.
THE WATKINS FAMILY HOME, 458 Vermont St., features 50,000 lights on 160 computerized channels, all set to 20 different songs giving visitors a different show every day. The lights are on Sunday – Thursday, 5:30 – 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5:30 – 11 p.m., and all night on Christmas Eve. (photo provided)
by Brent Swan What started as a simple holiday tradition of putting up a few Christmas lights each year has turned into something much more at the home of Nick and Bev Watkins, 458 Vermont St., Wabash. “We had 7500 lights last year,” Nick said. “I thought I had a pretty good display until I went online and searched for other displays and saw what some of those guys were doing.” It was then Nick realized he had to take his efforts to a whole different level. To achieve the look he wanted, Nick admitted that he started planning about for this year’s display almost a full year ago. The display, which he revealed to the public on Nov. 25, put roughly 50,000 Christmas lights into various forms of motion on 160 computerized channels. “The channels mean that 160 different elements can be controlled and either turned on or off at any point in a song,” Nick explained. “Although we don’t have 160 different windows or trees in our yard, almost every fixture has strands of different colors. So if we want to turn it all red or green, we can.” New features to this year’s display include 24 mini-trees, each containing 600 lights; four arches, each reaching five feet tall and 15 feet long and containing 800 lights; and the impressive 22 foot tall mega-tree. “The mega tree contains 9,600 lights, 25 strobe lights, and right at 200 LEDs in the star,” Nick explained. “We figured the mini trees took 48-50 man hours alone to construct.” The project was not without its own technical issues, however, as the massive amount of lights draw an equally impressive amount of power. (continued on page 5) “If every bulb is on, we’re pulling 223.65