by Eric Stearley

eric@thepaperofwabash.com

On Friday, Sept. 26, Scott Long gathered friends, family, and members of the press at Paradise Spring Historical Park for an important announcement. As a police officer and sitting member of city council, Long could have announced a number of things, but on that day, he announced his intentions to run for mayor.

“I love this community and want to give back for all that it has given me, and most importantly, I want to continue serving the community in the future,” Long announced. “That being said, I would like to announce that I am running for the office of mayor in next year's election on the republican ballot.”

The announcement came just a week after Mayor Robert Vanlandingham announced that he will not run for re-election to a fourth term in 2015. This made Long’s decision to run easier, as he will avoid challenging an incumbent in the primary, but he was planning to run either way.

“Quite frankly, I’ve had a lot of members of the community approach me and ask me to run, and they said, ‘regardless of whether Mayor Vanlandingham was going to run, you should go ahead and run.’ I was hesitant,” said Long. “The mayor and I started out on the council…we were on the council together. I probably would have ran, but I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it. There was a sense of relief when Bob made his announcement that he wasn't going to run again.”

Long made the announcement surrounded by friends, family, and supporters. For some, the announcement was a surprise, while others knew it was coming. In a classic case of mothers always finding out what their children are up to, Scott’s mother, Annabelle, learned of his plans to run for mayor from the ladies at her beauty shop.

The 2nd annual “Touch of Arc” Art show and reception, featuring works created by the South Miami Street Artists, will take place Friday, Oct. 3 from 5-8 p.m. at the Artistica Art Gallery, located at 70 West Market Street in historic downtown Wabash.

The paintings to be displayed were created by people with disabilities at Arc of Wabash County as a result of classes taught by Arc staff members Kathy Bakehorn and Nanette DuBois, who are both revered local artists. Arc’s art program began in April of 2013 when the organization was awarded a grant from REMC’s Operation Roundup to purchase start-up art supplies. This year, the cost of art materials was covered by the proceeds from last year’s art sale and with donations from Arc staff and others in the community. Jo Wood, of Woods Framing and Art, also gave Arc a generous discount on the cost of art supplies and framing. Because of these contributions, art classes were made available at no cost to individuals attending Arc, who exhibited an interest in learning to express themselves through painting.

South Miami Street Artists is comprised of individuals with disabilities and Arc staff members. Most of the pieces are a result of collaborations between Arc staff and persons served by Arc. This year, the art show will also feature paintings that were created independently.

By Shaun Tilghman

On Saturday, Oct. 11th, several works of art will be auctioned during the Harvest Festival in North Manchester, with all proceeds benefitting the Wabash County Cancer Society.

According to North Manchester Congregational Christian Church Pastor Sebrena Cline, the local Chairs of Hope project got its start last year during preparation for the Relay For Life North Manchester event.

One of the Relay teams was trying to find projects that could be done to raise funds and Cline had read about Chairs of Hope online. “This is not an original idea by any means, but it just seemed like it would work in our community so I guess we’ll see how it turns out,” said Cline.

“It is a program that is done nationally, and I believe Wabash even has one,” she continued. “We thought it would be something fun to do, plus I wanted to engage the junior high students in the project because I thought that would help rally the community.

“We ended up raising enough money to meet our goals for Relay For Life, so at that point we kind of shifted over to Wabash County Cancer Society because they provide funds for transportation, medicine, etc. for individuals living in our county. We wanted to support the American Cancer Society, but this was another group working on the cancer front and we wanted to support them as well.

“From my perspective, the Wabash County Cancer Society is kind of a quiet group, and I just want people to know they’re there and I want people that are facing these types of things to be aware of the services they provide. So, we decided we would use the Chairs of Hope project for that.”

by Eric Stearley

eric@thepaperofwabash.com

On Saturday, Sept. 20, Northern Indiana Aviation hosted a Fly-In and Cruise-In at the Wabash Municipal Airport to benefit local Special Olympics.

The day got off to an early start with car show participants arriving at 8 a.m. They were met with a breakfast of biscuits and gravy as music filled the hangar. Dozens of classic cars were displayed on the lawn. Entry into the show was free, but donations were accepted to support Special Olympics. Among the many cars was Bruce Fleck’s red 1981 Chevrolet Corvette.

He and his wife, Deb, traveled from Harlan, located northeast of Fort Wayne, for the car show. They attend car shows regularly, but rarely do they come with the opportunity to take a flight around the area. For $10, attendees could take a short flight in one of two small planes. Bruce and Deb jumped on the opportunity early in the day.

“We went up this morning,” said Bruce. “They take you up and around Wabash.”

“That's my first time up in a little plane,” said Deb. “It’s a nice view.”

Having enjoyed their flight and recognizing the great deal, they called their son-in-law, Greg Munster, who hurried out to the airport with his son, Preston.

Having recently returned from a skydiving trip near Cincinnati, a flight in a small plane may have seemed pretty tame for Greg, but for Preston, who had never been in an airplane, the idea of flying was as exciting – and scary – as it gets.

by Emily Armentrout

emily@thepaperofwabash.com

The Life Center held their annual banquet on Tuesday, Sept. 16 with guest speaker Rebecca Kiessling sharing her story, “Conceived in Rape: From Worthless to Priceless.”

Many community members were on hand to support the Life Center and learn how the year has gone and what to expect in the coming year.

With Wabash County Chamber of Commerce President, Kim Pinkerton, as emcee, the banquet began with dinner and opening remarks from Pastor Tim Morbitzer.

“The days in which we live are filled with many uncertainties,” said Morbitzer. “The continued war on terror has been renewed in our nation’s conscience.  Before our eyes is the high price of war, and a heightened desire for peace.  Yet, despite these valid concerns, we have an unnoticed war right before our very eyes, within our own borders, and often within our own hometowns.  This war has claimed over 56 million American lives in the last 41 years. This war strikes at the very core of humanity and at the very heart of God.”

“Abortion is never simply a ‘choice.’ God has uniquely crafted his creation, a creation which comes into existence at conception.  One of the first instincts of human nature is the preservation of life.  By terminating a pregnancy, the beating heart of a growing human being stops, her life no longer existing.  This is a direct contradiction to preserving human life,” he continued.

Morbitzer went on to question how the ‘right to life’ is terminated legally when so many of the arguments today are about people’s rights.

by Emily Armentrout

emily@thepaperofwabash.com

Sept. 25 marked the grand opening of two new businesses, Bash Boutique and Lost Treasures in Tyme, along with a commercial space that is available for lease and apartment lofts that are also available for rent.

Building owner, Lisa Gilman, Redemption Development, LLC, set a goal for herself to renovate these Market Street buildings, bringing back the “old world flavor” they had in the 1870s. With the commercial space still available, she is looking for someone to make the space their own. “It’s up to whoever wants to lease this space to turn it into whatever they want to see here,” Gilman told The Paper at the Sept. 25 grand opening celebration.

Gilman purchased the buildings in June 2012. “My goal was to take a couple very distressed buildings on Market Street and turn them into a showcase. We started construction in March 2013 and we finished just recently. These spaces are wonderful,” added Gilman.

The current commercial space available for lease is located at 45 West Market Street, and interested patrons can contact Gilman at 574-298-4312.

Located at 47 West Market Street, you will find Lost Treasures in Tyme, owned by Lori Thornton. Thornton decided to open this new shop after deciding on a new career path last summer.

“I had some time off, and I started exploring the neighboring towns. I liked what Wabash was doing with their downtown. I needed to be a part of it,” Thornton told The Paper.

With 28 years of corporate retail experience under her belt, Thornton has knowledge of how the retail business works, but brings a new vibe to downtown Wabash with her mix of inventory ranging from chocolates to curtains and purses to primitive décor.

“I’m trying to carry a lot of everything and switch it up so I’m not always carrying the same merchandise.”

Thornton fell in love with the space, just like Gilman had.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband, Dave, and I participated in the Dam to Dam cycling ride. It was a 64-mile bicycle ride around Wabash County touring the Salamonie and Mississinewa reservoirs with several sag stops at different points of interest. It was a nice change of pace to just relax and enjoy the beauty of Wabash County. I can't think of anyone who I'd rather peddle around the county with than him.

   I have tweaked this recipe for Italian Bean Soup just a tad bit, making it a thick, hearty soup. The perfect soup to kick off the fall season.

Would you like to win a grand prize of $10,000? Enter in the Wabash County Foundation’s cash raffle. To qualify for the $2,000 early bird prize, you must purchase your ticket by Thursday, Oct. 2.

Tickets are on sale at the hospital or you may call the hospital’s foundation department.

Drawings will occur at the Hospital Gala on Nov. 8. You need not be present to win.

Proceeds of the raffle will help the foundation’s hospice charity fund and also help purchase a surgical mini-c-arm.

Don’t wait! Call the hospital today at 260-563-3131 to buy a ticket for your chance to win $10,000!