Come to the... Roann Covered Bridge Festival Sept 8-11
Big Buck Season 4 set to kick off with upcoming youth season
by Brent Swan The Paper of Wabash County will again host its annual Big Buck Contest with this season marking the fourth year since its inception. This year, the rules remain largely the same – any bucks harvested within Wabash County, regardless of the address of the hunter, are eligible for the contest, and must be scored by Brent Swan at The Paper. Also, the method of scoring will remain the same as in years past. A detailed rules packet will be available at The Paper’s front desk on Sept. 20. The Big Buck contest will span from the beginning of youth season through the end of muzzleloader season; late archery will not be included. This year’s prize package will consist of $150 gift cards from Wabash True Value/Just Ask Rental, Wabash Big R, Bass and Bucks, and Just Hunt. The Big Buck Contest Season 4 winner will receive his or her choice of one of those gift cards. In addition to the $150 gift card he or she selects, the winner will also receive $150 off of a deer (continued on page 6)
In Memoriam Dorthy Bridegroom, 83 James Cook, 82 Matthew Deeter, 55 Roger Fawley, 58 Kevin Gilbert, 58 Martha Johnson, 80 William Knezevich, 82 Madaline Kreider, 96 Rebecca Miller, 61 Shirley Smith, 79
Index Classifieds ........32-35 D & E ................22-23 Weekly Reports..13-15 Vol. 34, No. 25
PO Box 603, Wabash, IN 46992 (260) 563-8326
THE PAPER September 7, 2011
Proudly Serving Wabash County Since 1977
Roads get facelift without the traffic hassle by Craig Brosman CBrosman @thepaperofwabash.com
Construction on SR 13 and SR 13 is expected to extend into midOctober. The project that the Indiana Department of Transportation announced on Aug. 23 will encompass SR 13 and SR 15 south of Berry Street through the downtown to south of U.S. 24 on SR 13 and north of Stitt Street on SR 15. The scope of the work includes, on SR 13 from Berry Street to U.S. 24 the road will be milled, repaved and new curb ramps installed; SR 15 will be milled and paved from the limits of the previous SR 15 bridge project north of Stitt Street, south to the intersection of SR 15 (Cass Street) and Canal Street; eastbound on SR 15 (Canal Street) and westbound SR 15 (Market Street) will be paved between Manchester Avenue and Cass Street; the Cass Street
portion of SR 15 will have all curb ramps not in compliance with Federal American Disability Act standards removed and replaced; the curb ramps at the intersection of Canal and Cass Streets will be replaced as well; on Market Street, the brick curb ramps at Miami Street will be removed by hand and replaced with ADA compliant curb ramps. The project was bid at $1.1 million by the State and Phend and Brown were the low bidders for the state project. Mayor Robert Vanlandingham is excited about the upgrades to roads in Wabash that were in need of work. “The roads they have chose to fix were ones that really did need to be fixed they were getting bad,” Vanlandingham said. “It is nice because this is a state project
A CONSTRUCTION WORKER from Phend and Brown uses a backhoe to tear apart the sidewalk ramp off of Cass and Sinclair streets on Sept. 1. Phend and Brown was awarded the $1.1 million project for repaving SR 13 and SR 15 as well as the curbs and ramps along both routes. (photo by Craig Brosman) not a city project so the roads within the city limits will not take funds from the city.” Va n l a n d i n g h a m added that there
would be no stoppage of traffic throughout the town and the inconvenience on the citizens would be minimized. It was hard for
Vanlandingham to find something bad about the construction. “Thirteen and 15 all through town will be fixed and with every-
thing else that is going on downtown it’s a big plus to have this project,” he said. “It will be easier to drive on and more attractive for the city.”
Small town finds big funding for city projects by Craig Brosman CBrosman @thepaperofwabash.com
A year ago the town of Lagro applied for three grants that they didn’t think they were going to get. Earlier in 2011, they found out that they had been awarded all three grants totaling more than $1.6 million dollars. The three grants nearly paid for the expenses of three major projects in Lagro. Maxine Baker, the Lagro clerk-treasurer, explained what each of the grants were and what they have or will be used for. “We received a disaster recovery grant to upgrade the waste water and sewer lines from Lagro to Wabash in the amount of $770,500,” Baker said. “We also received a disaster recovery grant for storm water improvement projects in the amount of $316,300. We also received a community focus fund grant for
$600,000 to update the water infrastructure throughout the town and put up a water tower on the north side of the town. “ Both the storm water and the water improvement projects are close to being finished. Baker stated that projects were executed in such a manner that the town was not significantly disrupted. “They worked one block at a time so that they would not cause any problems for the town,” Baker said. “We went through the town festival without problems.” Last week, Ironclad Excavating, Roanoke, installed a fire hydrant next to the water tower on CR 400 E next to U.S. 24. The $600,000 that Lagro received for the water project was not enough to pay for the full project. “We had to go to the USDA and OCRA for additional funds,
because we didn’t expect the water tower to cost as much as it did,” Baker said. “The total project was $845,000 and we received the other $245,000 from those two organizations. The remaining funds we received were a loan from the organization that will need to be paid back through bond sales by the year 2024. Of the $245,000 there is a possibility that not all of it will be used for the project,” The sewer project that will replace piping from Lagro to Wabash has not started yet, but will start sometime in September. Scott Siders, the utility superintendent for Lagro, explained how the project would affect the citizens of Lagro. “We will be creating a pump station between Lagro and Wabash to eliminate the Hydrogen Sulfide
that is in the lines,” Siders said. “Hydrogen Sulfide is a very toxic and dangerous gas that can be deadly if inhaled. Currently the pipes that we have do not work as well as they could. Sewage gets caught in the pipes for extended periods of time. “ Siders commented that the pipes will be downsized from six inches to four inches to increase pressure and decrease the toxic gases in the line. “With the new pipes I think that the people at the edge of Wabash will see a major difference in their service,” said Siders. “Our goal was to eliminate the hydrogen sulfide and we couldn’t do that without the grant money.” Baker was absolutely tickled when she found out that they had received the grants and would be able to upgrade the town’s infrastructure.
CONSTRUCTION ON A NEW WATER TOWER has finished on the north side of Lagro. The water tower was built off of Tipton Street and is one of the three projects that Lagro received grant money to finish. (photo by Craig Brosman) “We did not realize we would or could get them all,” Baker said. “We definitely could-
n’t do all of the projects without the grants.”