Five people were injured in this two-vehicle accident late Friday afternoon on State Road 13, just north of County Road 200 N. Photo by Joseph Slacian

By Joseph Slacian

Five people were injured late Friday afternoon in a nearly head-on accident on State Road 13, just north of Wabash County Road 200 N.

According to the Wabash County Sheriff’s Department, at approximately 4:20 p.m. a 1999 Chevrolet pick-up truck driven by Samuel H. Renz, 18, North Manchester, was traveling south on SR 13 when he failed to notice he was approaching slowed or stopped traffic.

The traffic, according to a release Sunday afternoon from the Sheriff’s Department, had stopped to allow a southbound vehicle turn east into a driveway.

Renz swerved into the northbound lane to avoid a rear-end collision and struck a northbound 2012 KIA van driven by Erickson D. Conkling, 39, North Webster.

Conkling and a front-seat passenger, Megan M. Conkling, 13, North Webster, were trapped in the vehicle, the release said. They had to be extricated by rescue units from the Wabash City and Noble Township fire departments.

Miteshkumar Adesara

By Joseph Slacian

Four charges have been filed against a Wabash businessman following a March 20 raid on his business.

Miteshkumar M.  Adesara, 32, is charged with possession of a synthetic drug, counterfeiting, dealing in a synthetic drug and felony dealing in a synthetic drug.

Adesara was arrested March 20 following a raid at Plaza Mini Mart, 215 E. Harrison Ave., by Wabash Police and members of the Wabash Police Drug Task Force.

The green line on the map is the proposed Wabash River Bike Trail. Photo provided

By Joseph Slacian

Wabash County Commissioners on Monday, March 30, approved a request for a new bicycle trail designed to link Wabash County with Huntington and Miami counties along the Wabash River.

Although Wabash County approved the plan, which was broached by the Wabash River Bike Trail Inc. committee, it must also be approved by officials in Miami and Huntington counties.

“What we would like to do is have the county mark a road, what we are calling the Wabash River Trail,” committee chair Amy Ford told the commissioners. “It will a bike trail and a vehicle trail on something that’s already road. It’s not something that we are trying to build.”

Tim Watt, better known as Harry the Homeless Hippie, stands with his shopping cart, Dolly, along Market Street. He is traveling the state of Indiana over the next two years to raise awareness of the plight of the homeless and hungry. Photo by Joseph Slacian

By Joseph Slacian

Tim Watt is on a mission.

A Gary native, Watt had everything going for him. He and his wife lived in St. Paul in a home valued at more than $1 million that they had purchased from his father-in-law for a fraction of the value. They had it paid off in 10 years. They also operated a business, which they also purchased from his father-in-law.

The couple had four children and also served as foster parents. They stressed living a life following the word of God.

But then one day, shortly before Watt and his wife celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary, his world changed.

“She told me that she still loved me, but that she wasn’t in love with me any more,” Watt told a group of about 15 gathered Monday, March 30, at the Wabash Church of the Brethren for a monthly meeting of Homes for All. The group is dedicated to finding solutions to the homeless problem in Wabash County.

A baked good auction was among the fundraising events taking place at Ivy Tech’s Monopoly Night fundraiser. Photo by Joseph Slacian

By Joseph Slacian

Speeches, live and silent auctions, food and, of course, games marked the annual Monopoly night fundraiser for Ivy Tech Community College’s Wabash Campus.

Supporters gathered Friday, March 27, at the Heartland REMC Community Room to help raise funds for the Wabash Campus’ scholarship fund.

Funds raised during Friday night were going toward a $20,000 matching grant from the Pauline Barker Trust Fund, according to Kelly Karickhoff, who was part of a fundraising committee for the Wabash Campus.

The fund, which stood at about 18,000 prior to the fundraiser, easily matched the goal as bids were taken on several items throughout the evening. For example, a table of guests paid $120 to be the first in line to be served at dinner. A desert auction also raised several hundred dollars for brownies, angel food cake, cupcakes and more.

By Emma Rausch

The 13-24 Drive-In will continue “Kids Free” admission as the season begins, INGUARD CEO Parker Beauchamp announced.

Originally opened in 1950, the Beauchamp family purchased the drive-in theatre in 2011 and let the Honeywell Foundation to operate it for free.

“Since the time of doing that, I always felt like at (INGUARD) we should try to do some promotional items to boost it,” said Beauchamp. “Last year, I came up with the idea of, ‘Why don’t we just pay for all the little kids to go for free?’ It was received fantastically, in my opinion, and we wanted to keep it going.”

Doug Weisheit, Indiana State Festival Association director, discusses the 2016 Indiana Festival Guide with those attending a workshop for local festival organizers on March 24. Photo by Joseph Slacian

By Joseph Slacian

Safety is the key thing to remember when planning summer festivals or other large events.

That was the word Tuesday night, March 24, during a workshop sponsored by Visit Wabash County in partnership with the Indiana State Festival Association.

Festivals must have an Amusement and Entertainment Permit issued by the state, according to ISFA Vice President Gale Gerber.

“Shame on you if you do not,” he told the representatives from about 10 different festivals in attendance. “If you have rides, if you have music, concerts, if you have a movie – there’s a lot of things that play into this – you’re supposed to have your A&E Permit.”

By Shaun Tilghman

CLAYPOOL -- Last Wednesday, Louis Dreyfus Commodities in Claypool, located at 7344 SR 15N, offered presentations and demonstrations about safety to employees and contractors as a participant in the Louis Dreyfus Commodities Group’s 6th Annual Global Safety Day.

In addition to two speakers from the Claypool plant – Extraction Superintendent David Selig and Safety Manager Kurt Anderson – the local event schedule also included a presentation from Gene Loffler, North American Grain and Oilseed Logistics Operation Manager for Louis Dreyfus (LD).

“As we’ve already pointed out, this is Louis Dreyfus’s Sixth Annual Safety Day,” Loffler said. “There’s a safety presentation similar to this one going on at every facility that Dreyfus has throughout the world, so it’s a big deal. This is a day that we try to set aside specifically for safety; not that we don’t want everyday to be safe, but this one is used to get our message out to all of our employees, contractors, and people that we do business with.