Sam Hann, Northfield High School graduate and Wabash resident was sworn in as a Wabash County Council member for the Third District on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021 by Judge Robert McCallen III.

Barbara Pearson, Wabash County Republican Party Chair told The Paper that Hann was appointed by a caucus.

“We held a county caucus and there were three people that ran and so Sam was elected after the second ballot,” she said.

Hann told The Paper that he decided to serve as a council member as a way to give back to the community.

The Metropolitan School District of Wabash County School Board met to conduct business on Tuesday, Jan. 12. Three meetings took place over the evening, including the Board of Finance Meeting, Reorganization Meeting, and the standard Board of Trustees meeting. New board members Christian Rosen and Scott Haupert were sworn in, along with re-elected member Kevin Bowman.

Donations were approved for a total of $4,610.

The expansion of the Little Knights and Little Norse Preschools to offer 3-year-old preschool classes was also approved. 

Beginning with the 2021-22 school year, children age 3 by Aug. 1, 2021, will be eligible to enroll in these preschool programs. Registration information will become available in February and will be available through the website and social media pages.

Wabash City Schools Superintendent Jason Callahan has resigned.

The Wabash school board approved his resignation at its Jan. 4 meeting, pending his appointment to the position of Assistant Secretary of Pathways and Opportunities with the Indiana Department of Education.

Callahan has been with the Wabash City Schools for 16 years, first as Wabash High School assistant principal, then as principal and eventually as superintendent.

“There’s no way I can sit here and thank every person who I’ve been able to connect with over the last 16 years,” he said. 

“There’s a lot, a lot people that have meant a lot to me during this time, so I want to avoid that.

“People have said really nice things about me, and at the end of the day, I think I’ve always kept kids’ focus first.”

Students from the Heartland Career Center’s Criminal Justice classes spent part of Friday, Jan. 8, bagging personal hygiene kits as part of a community service project.

The kits will be presented to individuals needing assistance getting re-established in their community following incarceration or while involved in the criminal justice system.

The bags were made possible through a $1,300 grant from the Community Foundation of Wabash County to Growing Grounds, a not-for-profit agency within the Wabash Church of the Brethren. Growing Grounds received the grant at the end of 2020.

An interesting legislative session is in store for Indiana, largely because the state is in “uncharted waters and a lot different time,” one local lawmaker believes.

State Sen. Andy Zay made the remarks during a recent ZOOM meeting sponsored by Grow Wabash County to look at the upcoming 122nd General Assembly.

Zay and newly elected State Rep. Craig Snow discusses their take on the upcoming session, which begins Jan. 4, as well as their views on various topics broached by those watching online.

ZOOM meetings have been helpful and beneficial, Zay believes, “but I do look forward to getting back with my colleagues” to take part in the business of the State of Indiana.

For Snow, who is replacing longtime legislator Dave Wolkins, this session will have a totally new experience, more so because of COVID-19 and not just because he is a freshman legislator.

Two individuals and a non-profit organization where honored by the Wabash Historical Preservation Commission during the Dec. 14 Wabash City Council meeting.

Lisa Gilman and Parker Beauchamp, along with Honeywell Foundation Executive Director Tod Minnich, each received Historic Preservation Awards from Commission President Susan Stewart.

Gilman received the Commercial Award for her work on buildings located at 76, 78 and 80 W. Canal St.

The restoration project, Stewart said, “was quite an endeavor. She had a lot of surprises when she got into the bones of it.

“Thank you so much for investing in Wabash.”

Gilman said she believes that investing in one’s community is one way to help it move forward and prosper.

A National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) study showed that 64% of people with mental illness admitted that holidays make their conditions worse and that this year some individuals may be experiencing emotional health challenges for the first time due to the effects COVID-19 has had on their social, physical and/or financial health.

The Paper of Wabash County talked with Jason Cussen, Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Director for Wabash County Bowen Center about mental health during the holidays.

“The holiday season often is when we learn how to hold the positive and negative realities of life,” he told The Paper. “It is a time of celebration and for some a time of remembering a loss or managing difficult relationships, or both. Now, we are adding a new challenge of social distancing, forcing us to think differently about how we connect with family and in social gatherings.

“The truth is we often compare ourselves to the movies, but our families are not perfect. We all experience seasonal demands in different ways. We experience stress, fatigue, unrealistic expectations, financial stress, and now the inability to be with family and friends. In response to the demand, we often change our behaviors, which can increase stress, sadness, and anxiety.”

A group of four women who all have small businesses have started a pop-up shop to sell their items due to lack of opportunity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The POP UP Boutique is located at 180 West Harrison Avenue in Wabash and offers products from Paparazzi, nickel and lead-free jewelry; Thirty-One, bag, totes, purses and other storage items; Scentsy, scented wax cubes, wax warmers, and cleaning supplies; and Pink Zebra, scented wax sprinkles and other scented home and body products.

The shop was started by Kristie Bone, Angie Grier, Tiffany Smith and Laura Knable. The women met at pop-up shop for small businesses in Lagro, where they all reside.

“With COVID happening, we all had events that were booked and we all had a bunch of products on hand because we had intended on going to a bunch of events and they got canceled,” said Bone. “So, we thought ‘How can we get our product to our customers and still be in compliance since everything keeps getting canceled?’”