On Wednesday, Oct. 1, Bechtol Grocery will be hosting the 12th Annual Cancer Day sale. BGC will run a special one-day sale and will donate four percent of all revenue to the Wabash County Chapter of the American Cancer Society.

As in the past, celebrity baggers from various parts of the Wabash community will be on hand to keep the sale flowing. Bechtol Grocery will have a wide array of Our Family private label food items on sale at once a year, bulk pricing. They will also have a huge meat sale to coincide with the grocery sale.

"This is our single biggest sale of the year and has great community support for all of our fights against cancer," said Mike Bechtol, president of Bechtol Grocery. "Cancer affects almost everyone one way or the other and this is our chance to give back to our local community in a way where everyone wins," continued Bechtol.

The Cancer Day ad is being released a week early so everyone can plan their attack. Doors open Wednesday, Oct. 1 at 8 a.m. and the sale will last all day. Bechtol Grocery is located at 120 Hale Dr., Wabash.

by Eric Stearley

eric@thepaperofwabash.com

On Thursday, Sept. 18, three-term mayor Robert Vanlandingham announced that he will not seek a fourth term in the November 2015 election. The former city school principal was first elected mayor in November 2003.

“I always told my people, you think things through, you gather all your information, and you use it to make your decision, and I have really done that,” said Mayor Vanlandingham. “It keeps going back to what’s in my heart. I’ve enjoyed the last three terms, but for some reason, in my heart, something’s telling me it’s time to stop.”

Many things have changed in Wabash over the last 11 years. Since Vanlandingham took office, there has been a resurgence of energy as community leaders work to bring the city back to life. Last month’s Stellar Communities designation is evidence of the work that has been put into building a stronger city, and Vanlandingham played a key role in that.

“I think one of the things I’m most proud of is the fact that when I got into office the first time, we had good people and good organizations doing good things, but we were never doing anything together,” the mayor recalled. “It’s taken a while to get everybody working together, and Stellar is a result of that attitude.”

Politics is a second career for Vanlandingham, and when he talks about his time in the school system, there are obvious parallels to his work today. His resume would suggest that he has a talent for bringing people together. As a teacher, he fostered teamwork in his students. As a principal, he brought schools together.

Market Street recently saw the addition of new luxury apartments along with two commercial businesses, with grand openings to be held on Thursday, Sept. 25.

Bash Boutique, 49 W. Market Street, which can be accessed through the newly remodeled pedestrian alley, is owned by Amber Noone. Bash Boutique will offer high-quality, trendy, and modestly-priced apparel for all seasons and occasions, from business to casual. In  addition, the store offers a wide assortment of affordable gifts and fine jewelry, including fragrances, soaps, lotions, original bash boutique branded tee-shirts, specialty teas, sweet and savory treats, and healing and aromatic oils.

Be sure to check out Bash Boutique from 4-9 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25. For more information, contact 260-274-1300 or wabashboutique@gmail.com.

The second grand opening on Market Street will be Lost Treasures in Tyme, owned by Lori Thornton. Lost Treasures in Tyme will offer candles, primitive décor, pictures, pet supplies, Amish foods, chocolates, jewelry, purses and wallets, along with candy, furniture and kitchen supplies.

Lost Treasures in Tyme is located at 47 W. Market Street. The grand opening hours at 4-9 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25. Be sure to find their add in The Paper for a store coupon to save $5 off a $25 purchase.

The third grand opening is the Luxury Lofts of Market Street, owned by Lisa Gilman of Redemption Development LLC. The luxury apartments will be located on the upper level of building 45 and building 47. Charley Creek Inn will be catering in 45 W. Market Street with a cash bar, and there will be drawings for prizes.

Join the grand openings from 5-8 p.m. to check out the stores and get a tour of the luxury apartments.

by Aaron Johnson

On Saturday, Sept. 20, people gathered at Morrett Sports Complex in Wabash to participate in the Kick It with Karsyn kickball tournament. Bill and Linette Burchett developed the tournament to help raise money for pediatric cancer research in hopes that their daughter, Karsyn Bratch, will one day be cancer free.

Kick It is a national fundraising program that raises money for children’s cancer research by hosting kickball tournaments. As a national program, Kick It has raised $2,607,000 and Kick it with Karsyn is a part of this national program. The Kick It with Karsyn tournament raised $4,775, all of which will be met by a matching donation from four-time NASCAR winner Jeff Gordon. Kick It is sponsored by the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation and all the proceeds raised in this event will go to the Children’s Oncology Group and the Jeff Gordon Pediatric Cancer Research Fund at Riley Children’s Hospital.

by Sandy Johnson

Downtown at the Honeywell Center, the parking lot and plaza were filled with families during the annual Kid-O-Rama on Saturday, Sept. 20. This year’s theme, “Chalk One Up for the Arts,” starred temporary street artist, David Zinn, from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who took the stage at 11:30 am. He demonstrated his talents by drawing on a section of the plaza stage using sidewalk chalk and charcoal. Within two hours, Zinn created a most impressive piece of art featuring his mascot, Sluggo, and a flying pig.

Zinn has been creating chalk art for over five years now.

“I started doing it in my driveway,” said Zinn. “Then someone suggested I take it a step further and draw in public, downtown.”

After several downtown gigs, art festivals, other events in the Ann Arbor area, and showing his art online, a new venture evolved. In addition to local events in his hometown, Zinn has traveled to different cities drawing on sidewalks and talking to children about art. During his week in Wabash, Zinn also visited some local schools where he spoke with the students about drawing and creating chalk art on the school playground.

Besides Zinn, there were many activities going on at the Kid-O-Rama. Children and adults created their own chalk art on the plaza. Many local businesses had booths with activities and trinkets for the kids. Free train rides were offered as well as an inflatable bounce house, a rock climbing wall, mini carnival rides, and pedal cart races. Brian from Brian’s Balloons also made an appearance with his giant bag of balloons. He spent the afternoon twisting balloons of various colors to create the perfect balloon object or animal for the kids.

by Emily Armentrout

emily@thepaperofwabash.com

Tommy and Trystin Music, a father-son karate duo of Wabash County and members of the United States Karate team, medaled at the Association for International Sports for All, which is sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee, after being in karate for only six years.

“Trystin started when he was in kindergarten. Trystin started before me. My wife took care of everything and one evening, she needed me to pick up Trystin from karate. I came down and met Sensei Castro and it sparked from there,” Tommy Music told The Paper.

Every year, the father-son duo traveled to Fort Wayne for a 3-day karate seminar. One year, the assistant head coach of the United States Martial Arts Karate team was as the seminar and 8-year-old Trystin caught her eye. “This is not a team were you just show up and say you want to be on the team. You get a formal invitation,” explained Tommy.
 

On Saturday, Sept. 20, Tractor Supply Co. partnered with Petfinder.com to host pet adoptions as part of Pet Appreciation Week.  The Wabash County Animal Shelter brought two adoptable dogs to the event: Shilo, a terrier mix with a sweet disposition, and Sasha, an energetic and lovable brindle pit bull mix.

In addition to pet adoptions, the Indiana Canine Assistant Network was on site for the first time in the Wabash TSC parking lot. A non-profit organization from Indianapolis known for training dogs to assist children and adults with physical and/or developmental conditions such as diabetes, autism or mobility-related disabilities, ICAN came to the area to promote their mission. 

Staff members brought three dogs: Senna, a golden-lab mix; Tuck, a 12-week-old golden retriever pup; and, Mack, a black lab. Throughout their visit, the dogs demonstrated their service abilities by turning a light switch on and off, nudging a person to alert them, opening a cabinet door and more. The dogs showed tremendous discipline and focus as they went through their commands.

To better understand what ICAN does, Director of Development and Outreach Denise Sierp explained the process of training the dogs for placement.

“Right now, all training is done in the prisons by inmates,” Sierp said. “First, the pups work in a male facility where they go through some training. Then they are shipped to a women’s facility to train for a particular family or person. It is a two-year training process for the dogs and takes plenty of time, money and resources,” she added.

Word was received by Teresa Galley, manager of the Honeywell Foundation Educational Outreach Program, that the Wabash Middle School film project, completed earlier this year, has been accepted into the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, set to take place between Oct. 24 and Nov. 2.

“More than 1,000 student-made films were submitted for the competition, and only 15 films were selected in the “Child Produced/Ages 6 – 14” category.  We are especially excited because this is the first time EOP brought a film project to the schools,” said Galley.

Under the guidance of sixth grade teachers Amy Degitz and Natalie Unger, twenty-seven Wabash Middle School students had the opportunity to work with Glasseye Productions, a film production company based in Manchester, England.  Working with filmmaker Danny Lomax, the students spent seven days immersed in the film production process from story-boarding to writing the final script, from auditioning for roles to learning the roles behind the camera.  The end result is an “anti-bullying themed” short film that runs just under 9 minutes.  The world premiere of “#OurSelfie” was held in the Honeywell Center’s Ford Theatre at the end of the project, including a screening of the movie and a film festival-style Q&A session with the 6th and 7th grade team.