Saturday was a day of joy and a day of sadness at the Field of Dreams.

The joy came from the fact that, if all goes well, for the first time in two years, the Wabash Little League will be able to have a full season. The 2020 season was abbreviated because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The sadness came when the league, en masse, remembered two players who lost their lives in the past year. They dedicated a batting cage and memorial marker to the two players, Nakota Kelly and Kayden Sendelbach.

League President Bryan Dillon opened ceremonies by welcoming everyone back to the complex.

“Are you ready to play baseball this year,” he asked and was greeted with a rousing “Yes” from players gathered on two different fields to help practice social distancing. “We waited a long time to come back this season, and believe me, we missed all of you.

Eleven-year-old Tayla (Zartman) Beal, of Andrews and the reigning Indiana Miss Amazing Preteen 2020 will be competing in the National Summit in Nashville, Tenn., on July 30 through Aug. 1 at Vanderbilt University’s Martha Ingram Center for the Performing Arts.

Tayla is the daughter of Amy Beal and the great granddaughter of former Wabash Mayor Robert Vanlandingham.

Miss Amazing programs teach self-advocacy skills to girls and women with disabilities ages 5 and up in a fun environment with real stakes.

Drawing inspiration from pageantry, Miss Amazing events guide participants through interviewing and public speaking exercises. All along the way, participants connect with new friends and role models and define their interests and ambitions on their own terms.

Tayla decided to compete after hearing about the pageant from a friend in school who was the 2019 Preteen queen.

Due to many medical issues, Tayla is non-mobile and must be on a ventilator 24-7.

Members of the Wabash City School board met on Monday, April 19, to conduct business. During this meeting the board:

Approved the publication of Notice of Hearing for May 17, 2021, to start the bond process for this summer.

Approved recommendation to declare the 2011 white Chevy Traverse surplus.

Approved recommendation to create a STEM/Gym teacher position at L.H. Carpenter beginning the 2021-22 school year.

Approved Yuraima Rodriguez as the Aventura Summer Camp Coordinator at O.J. Neighbours. She will receive $4,000 to plan and implement the camp.

Accepted resignation of Dan Stith as WMS second shift custodian effective April 16, 2021.

Approved Michelle Rice to fill the maternity leave for sixth grade reading beginning May 3 through May 28.

Many may notice blue pinwheels this month in front of office building such as the Department of Child Services here is Wabash. They are in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month which is every April.

“Currently the Wabash County Department of Child Services has open involvement with 98 children in the county,” according to Julie Hobbs, Local Office Director of Wabash County Department of Child Services. “We also currently have 46 open assessments/investigations on families in Wabash County,” she said. “There are three levels of involvement with the department – an Informal Adjustment, an in-home CHINS (Child in Need of Services) and an out of home CHINS. 

“If a child can be safely maintained in the home and the parents are receptive to services, we can offer an Informal Adjustment.  If the child/children are not safe and need to be removed from the home this would be considered an out of home CHINS. The Department of Child Services wants to keep families together when it can be done safely.  In June of 2020 the Department rolled out the Family Preservation Model which is holistic approach to supporting families in crisis where the children are at imminent risk of being removed from their parents care and placed outside their homes.”

Hobbs told The Paper that the department of Child Services investigates many forms of abuse and neglect including but not limited to sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect. Forms of neglect include lack of supervision, lack of food, shelter or clothing, environment life/health endangerment, drug exposed infants and medical neglect.

A pair of local women have designed a T-shirt to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and to help a charity that assists military personnel and first responders.

The women, Toni Metzger and Karin Dubois, are offering the shirts online with all the proceeds going to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Metzger is owner of 95.9 KISS-FM – WKUZ Radio and Dubois is on the station’s staff.

“Karin and I were talking in the office one day and realized that the 20th anniversary of Sept. 11 was in 2021,” Metzger told The Paper of Wabash County.

After much discussion, we decided to design a shirt to sell and have all the proceeds go to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

“We contacted Tunnel to Towers and explained what we were trying to do and received their permission to go with it. They loved the designs.”

The shirt has two different designs from which to choose, and are available in T-shirts or tank tops.

One design, which features the skyline of New York City, the Statue of Liberty, the American flag, a bald eagle and more, is available only on grey shirts. There are two colors on the design.

In America, the average person produces around 1,642 pound of waste a year. While some of the waste produced will eventually biodegrade, and some waste is recycled, much of the waste produced fills oceans and landfills.

According to earthday.org, “In 2017, for instance, the Environmental Protection Agency calculated that the total generation of municipal solid waste in the United States just that year was 267.8 million tons. Compared with 2015 levels, it was a 5.7 million increase. Altogether, the amount of waste generated affects the environment in multiple ways: its contribution to the worsening climate crisis, its negative impact on wildlife and the natural environment, and its detriment to our very own public health.”

As Earth Day approaches, many American’s celebrate the Earth, what it has given to us and the beauty it provides. It also encourages thinking on ways we can better care for our earth. One of the best ways this can be done is to make efforts to produce less waste. One way to do so is upcycling.

It was during a trip to Branson, Mo., that Bill and Nancy Plummer first heard of the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge.

Located in Eureka Springs, Ark., the 460-acre ranch provides refuge for abused lions, tigers, leopards, cougars and more.

Plummer became involved with the facility and is a retired Chairman of the Board of Directors for the facility. On Tuesday, April 13, he spoke to members of the Woman’s Clubhouse about the facility.

Turpentine Creek is a federally accredited sanctuary licenses by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. As such, Plummer said, the facility is regulated and must maintain records on such things as drugs administered to the animals, food fed the animals and necropsy (or autopsy) results on animals that have passed.

The facility has 100 animals from across the United States, mostly lions and tigers. It also has about 10 or 15 bears, Plummer said, and it recently received its first hyena.

Animals come from a variety of places. Some come from sanctuaries that are forced to close. Last year, he noted, the facility received some of the animals seized when the government forced the Wildlife in Need sanctuary in the Southern Indiana town of Charlestown to close.

Deborah Wagner, owner of Deb’s Cleaning Service, is retiring after 27 years of service to the people of Wabash County.

Two of her employees, Michele Hollingshead and Ebbie Turner are taking over the business, beginning in November. The new business will be named M&E Cleaning.

Wagner said she has enjoyed her time “helping people that are not able to clean or don’t have time to clean because of work or health issues.”

“I would like to thank everyone for letting Deb’s Cleaning Service help the community of Wabash and around Wabash County,” she continued. “I have made a lot of friends. Thank you.”

Hollingshead has been with the company for 17 years, and Turner has been with it for 12 years.