Alicia Gulloti, O.J. Neighbours art instructor, (right) welcomes a student back with a hug while helping another student figure out which door to enter on the first day of school Wednesday, Aug. 9. Photo by Emma Rausch

By Emma Rausch

Road construction didn’t halt Wabash County youths’ first day of school on Wednesday, Aug. 9, though it did prove to be an obstacle.

In Wabash County, south State Road 15 is limited to one-lane travel between Wabash and Marion whereas the roadway is blocked off for several miles on north State Road 15. Construction on North Wabash Street also limited travel to a northbound lane.

Denise Faust adds trim to one of the quilts that will be presented at the Quilts of Honor presentation ceremony and luncheon on Nov. 10. Faust is a member of the Quilt of Honor Quilters, who use their talent to thank local veterans for their service. Photo by Emma Rausch

By Emma Rausch

The Quilt of Honor Quilters are searching for more veterans to commemorate and thank on Friday, Nov. 10, the day before Veterans Day.

Since 2012, the group, which consists of 12 Wabash County women, crafts personalized quilts to honor local veterans for their service each year in time for Veterans Day.

This year, more than 120 veterans have signed up to receive a quilt at the Quilts of Honor presentation ceremony on Nov. 10, but the group is still asking for more, Chairman Lois VanMeter told The Paper of Wabash County.

Youths play in a corn pit provided by POET Biorefining, a North Manchester area business. The local business set up the play area for the 46th Annual FunFest by the River in North Manchester. Photo by David Fenker

By David Fenker

After months of planning, organizing and preparing, the 46th annual FunFest by the River is over.

The five-day festival provided hours of entertainment for attendees starting Wednesday, Aug. 9, through Sunday, Aug. 13.

“It was pretty amazing, in a lot of different ways,” Debra Pyrah, North Manchester Chamber of Commerce executive director, said. “The help, the people that supported each other, encouraged each other, worked alongside each other. … Everybody was just there for everybody, as far as setting up and taking down, and that was very impressive.”

Frank Nordman shows off a fish he caught at McColley Lake in 2012. The trees there no longer look like they do in this photo. Rather, they are all dead, save for a few willows and sycamores. Photo provided

By Joseph Slacian

Frank Nordman first fished in McColley Lake when he was about 14-years-old.

Nordman, who will turn 80 in a few weeks, still fishes the lake. But, he said, the sites beauty has drastically changed in the last five years.

Once vibrant maple trees that surrounded the lake now stand barren, resembling trees one might see in a haunted forest.