Weber Grill Days Sat., May 18th 10am to 2pm
Wabash True Value May 15, 2013
of wabash county inc.
www.thepaperofwabash.com
Proudly Serving Wabash County Since 1977
Vol. 36, No. 9
PO Box 603, Wabash, IN 46992 (260) 563-8326
Stellar Community to be announced mid-June
by Ashley Flynn features@thepaperofwabash.com The Stellar Grant Committee has done all they can do to impress the judges – now they just have to wait. Over the next few weeks, representatives from the Office of Community and Rural Affairs, Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority and the Indiana Department of Transportation will finish touring the county finalists for the Stellar Communities Pilot Program. Along with Wabash, five other counties out of 24 applicants were chosen as finalists. Other finalists are Angola, Bedford, Petersburg, Richmond and Frankfort. The winner will be announced in mid to late June. Representatives from the three agencies toured the City of Wabash last Wednesday with local leaders who had three hours to show off Wabash. “I think it went very, very well,” Bill Konyha, President and CEO of the Economic Development Group of Wabash County told The Paper of Wabash in an interview. They opened with an hour and a half community presentation. “We hit all of the topics they wanted us to hit,” said Konyha. “One of the big questions was if you don’t get this, what are you going to do. They didn’t want to hear us say we weren’t going to do the projects because that would mean it wasn’t really a plan and we just put this together because money was going to be available. And our plan is, well, we’re going to do it anyway. It might take 15 years instead of three, but this is the plan,” he said. During the tour, they went to each of the 12 locations on the project list. Each visitor was handed a booklet explaining the project vision, project readiness, proposed budget and proposed schedule. The booklet, created by primary consultant American Structure Point, Wabash Scientific, London Witte Group and Shiel Sexton, show map locations, how areas look now and how they could look when the project is complete. They started the tour on a bus, and when they reached Paradise Springs, they continued with a walk. “We stopped by the museum since that is one of the projects, and we ended in the lobby of Charley Creek Inn,” said Konyha. Most of the projects focus on downtown improvements. A proposed $2,902,000 will go towards a Façade Improvement Program to enhance the Wabash Marketplace District. The first phase of this project will focus on cosmetic and minor structural improvements on approximately 20 downtown buildings. The second phase will focus on facades, roofs and structural work for key buildings in downtown Wabash. According to the booklet, the objective of this project is to improve ”aesthetic qualities of building facades and public street facades in downtown Wabash; assisting property/business owners in rehabilitating the facades of their properties for the purpose of creating a positive visual impact; ensuring public safety; stimulating private investment; and complementing other community revi-
talization efforts.” Other downtown improvements include neighborhood owner-occupied rehabilitation (which would help rehabilitate approximately 50 residential homes over two – three phases, E. Market St. corridor), E. Canal St. corridor, Allen St. corridor, W. Market St. streetscape, and State Road 13/15 corridor improvements. Most of these improvements include making sidewalks and buildings handicap accessible, which Wabash County is required to do. “By including it in this program, we get to do it much more quickly. And for the money we were going to spend anyway, we’ll get to credit it as a match,” said Konyha about handicap accessibility. They also plan on making East Canal and East Market streets two-way, which would benefit the proposed Paradise Springs Amphitheater. “With that amphitheater, we’ve got to make it easy for people to get in and out,” said Konyha. The amphitheater would improve the current outdoor stage and create a 3,000 – 4,000 person outdoor space for performances. “This project will enhance the entertainment community and attraction value of Wabash, create a regional destination for outdoor music and entertainment, and create a flexible space for various sized events hosted by many community organization,” the booklet states. The venue will be programmed and operated by The Honeywell Foundation. A related project is the extension of
BILL KONYHA, PRESIDENT AND CEO of the Economic Development Group of Wabash County, discusses the projects presented in the Stellar Communities application. (photo by Ashley Flynn) the Riverwalk Trail. It currently begins at Paradise Springs and ends at Carroll Street, but the extension will bring it to the Senior Center on Bond Street. The trail will follow along the Wabash River; go through the park and by Charley Creek. They have a future goal to connect all city parks, the Morrett Sports Complex and local schools to downtown.
Two people injured in Wabash County crash
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On Saturday, May 11, at approximately 12:58 p.m., officers from the Indiana State Police, the Wabash County Sheriff ’s Department, and the LaFontaine Police Department responded to a two-vehicle crash on State Road 15 at Wabash County Road 1050 South, which injured two people. The preliminary crash investigation by Master Trooper Jan Maller revealed that Tyrus E. Faust, 62, LaFontaine, was driving a 1999 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck westbound on Wabash County Road 1050 South. Faust allegedly failed to stop for a stop sign at the intersection of State Road 15, and pulled into the path of a southbound 2000 Dodge Durango. The Durango, driven by Dustin Hurst, 32, LaFontaine, struck the pickup truck in the passenger’s side. The crash impact caused Faust, who was not wearing a seatbelt, to be partially ejected through the passenger’s side window. Faust was flown by Samaritan Helicopter to Fort Wayne’s Parkview Hospital with a life threatening head injury. Rachel Hurst, 37, LaFontaine, a passenger in the Durango, was transported by ambulance to Marion General Hospital. She sustained lacerations and cuts. All occupants of the Durango were wearing seatbelts. This is an ongoing investigation, but at this time neither the use of alcohol nor narcotics is suspected as having contributed to this crash. The LaFontaine Fire Department and Wabash County EMS also assisted Master Trooper Maller at the crash scene.
DURING THE STELLAR COMMUNITIES SITE VISIT, visitors received a booklet with all the project visions. It included existing pictures and pictures of what the area could look like after the project. Shown here are East Canal Street corridor improvements. The corner project is already underway, but the grant would help improve sidewalks and accessibility. (photos provided)