MU upsets Hanover
Veteran’s Day services planned for Nov. 10 A Veteran’s Day program will be held on Sat., Nov. 10, 11 a.m., at the Wabash County Courthouse. The service is open to the public and is conducted by the veterans’ organizations of Wabash County and their associated auxiliaries.
Manchester University raced out to a 35-14 halftime lead over Hanover University Saturday and held on for a 35-34 Senior Day victory, the Spartan’s fifth straight win.
of wabash county inc. November 7, 2012
www.thepaperofwabash.com
Proudly Serving Wabash County Since 1977 PO Box 603, Wabash, IN 46992
Vol. 38, No. 34
(260) 563-8326
John Salb to retire as Conservation Officer after 32 years
Retirement Open House slated for Dec. 2nd, 1-3 p.m., at Winchester Senior Center
by Brent Swan On Nov. 30, after serving Wabash County for 32 years, Indiana Conservation Officer John Salb will retire. In announcing the move, Salb said his goal is to spend more time with family. “Part of my decision was that I wanted to spend some more time with my dad who is in his mid 80’s,” Salb said. “I’d like to spend some more quality time with him. I’ve got four grandkids in California I’d like to spend some more time with as well.” Salb originally came to Wabash County as a rookie officer from the southern Indiana town of Jasper, about 60 miles north and east of Evansville. When installed as a Conservation Officer, Salb said he had never been to Wabash prior to his assignment, but quickly grew fond of the area and the weather. “In those first two months before I went to the Law Enforcement Academy, we had snow and ice,” Salb said. “I had never been on a snowmobile, and I was able to get on one very early in my career. Growing up in southern Indiana, the opportunity to ice fish was maybe once per season, where up here it was about the middle of December through February or March. I’ve always liked the cold weather and I really liked it up here.” In addition to the colder weather, Salb said he quickly noticed Wabash County was home to anything a Conservation Officer could hope for. “Here within the immediate area, you have state forests, reservoirs, ponds, farms, and plenty of hunting and fishing opportunities,” Salb said. “As a Conservation Officer, it’s just a perfect situation to be in.” Although the job was something he quickly grew fond of, Salb said it didn’t come without sacrifice. “We as Conservation Officers work nearly every major holiday throughout the year, so it’s
tough, especially on the kids when they are going somewhere for a 4th of July party, and you have to work,” Salb explained. “I have had the support of my wife (Boo) and kids (Kaitlyn and Keri), which has helped make it easier. “I’ve worked alongside some great officers in Jim Kendall and Lynn Riggs, both are retired, and Jerry Hoerdt and Jon Engle. I’ve had very good supervisors that have understood that, over time, we have to change our schedules to do certain things and allow us to have some family life. It would have been tough without all of their support.” As is standard with any career, the job has continually evolved. One of the biggest changes Salb has observed over the years is the increase in deer population. “One of the first years I was on when we were checking deer in, I think we checked in 300 deer,” Salb said. “There’s been a tremendous growth in the deer population. I think it has some to do with the fact that our hunters are now more informed than they ever have been. “When I came on, we didn’t have the communications that we do now,” Salb continued. “We are dispatched out of Bloomington now, and we can talk all over the state on our radios. Everything is computerized and goes into a central database. Back then, everything was done on typewriters or by hand. I’m sure that some of our new officers have never even used a typewriter.” Despite all the changes, Salb said it is the relationships he has built over the years he will miss the most. “Early in my career, I spent a lot of time on the reservoirs in a 16-foot johnboat that felt like it was 8 feet wide and had a 25 hp motor on it. I had met a couple from Elwood and every time I was out there I’d run into them,” Salb said. “It got to the point where I’d run into them, and they’d say, ‘John, make sure you come back by here, we’re making sandwiches for you.’ “I like to give out my business card so people know how to con(continued on page 5)
JOHN SALB recently announced he will retire after 32 years as an Indiana Conservation Officer on Nov. 30. Salb will celebrate his retirement Dec. 2, from 1 to 3 p.m., at the Dallas Winchester Senior Center. The public is invited to attend. (photo by Brent Swan)
Wabash City Schools and the Metropolitan School district create a common calendar By Ashley Flynn For the second year in a row, Wabash City Schools Superintendent Jason Callahan and Metropolitan School District Superintendent Sandra Weaver have collaborated on building a common calendar. “We hope this will help support our kids, teachers and community with our kids having common breaks and starting and ending the school year at the same time,” Dr. Callahan told The Paper of Wabash County. By being on the same schedule, families split between the districts will now have the same breaks. The districts previously had similar calendars, but each made a few changes to be on the same METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DISTRICT OF schedule. “We want to share more resources and this WABASH COUNTY Superintendent Dr. Sandra and Wabash City Schools allows us to do that in a better, more effective way. Weaver Superintendent Dr . Jason Callahan have collabManchester was part of the discussion and their orated to create a common schedule for their calendar is a little different than ours, but they did come closer this year. As a county, we are try- school districts. (photo by Ashley Flynn) ing to work together,” said Dr. Weaver. “We know this helps the students in the common things they share such as Heartland and classes.” Students from nine different schools participate in Heartland Career Center classes, and students may miss out on classes because their calendar breaks are different. Wabash City School and MSD schools also share some of the same classes. “We may have students that go to Wabash City Schools for band, but they are still our students. We can have students cross like that,” said Dr. Weaver. Having a common calendar also creates new opportunities for sharing resources. “Upper level math teachers are very hard to find and there may be a time when we decide to share a teacher and have them centrally located. So Wabash, Northfield and Southwood can all have the same teacher. We are making steps towards that if we ever want to do that,” said Dr. Weaver. “It’s not consolidation; it’s using our resources the best way we can.” Dr. Callahan added, “Foreign language is another area to collaborate. Our administrators are taking a trip to China in hopes of getting a Chinese foreign language exchange teacher. It makes a lot of sense to share that resource and having a common calendar makes that possible.” Sharing resources also makes sense financially for the school districts. They currently have an alternative learning class. “One district paid for the computers and licenses and another district paid for the staff. We shared resources so both don’t have to pay for staff and computers and licensing,” said Dr. Weaver.