Thanks to the sponsorship of The Andrews Summer Festival, Culpepper & Merriweather Circus, America’s Favorite Big Top Circus is coming to Andrews, on Friday, June 20 at the Town Lot-End of Terrel Street, with two scheduled performances at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Now in its 30th edition, C&M Circus has become internationally known for quality family entertainment. This authentic One-Ring, Big Top Circus has been featured on National Geographic’s Explorer TV series, Entertainment Tonight, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, Arizona Highways Magazine. It has also been featured on the A&E Special: Under the Big Top and most recently, On the Road with Circus Kids, a Nickelodeon special featured on the Nick News Program.

Bring your friends and family out circus morning to watch as a familiar place in your town is transformed into a bustling Circus City. Activity swirls around the grounds as animals are unloaded, the Big Top is erected, and rigging is prepared for performances later in the day. Enjoy the magic and tradition of the American Circus with your family and create memories that will last a lifetime. 

Between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. come watch the raising of the Big Top, then stay for the free tour. This presentation offers a unique face-to-face opportunity for families, schools, and interested community members to meet and learn all about the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus family and includes a walking tour of the circus grounds. Learn interesting facts about our performers, the history of our show and the different species of animals in our Circus Family.

By Adam Smith

“On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind.”

This quote from Illinois Congressman Dan Lipinski is an accurate summary of the mission behind the meeting that took place on the morning of Monday, June 9, between Indiana State Senator Jim Banks and the tentative board members of a newly-forming, local non-profit organization. Mr. Greg Metz, one of the tentative board members who attended the meeting, said that the mission of the organization, Wabashiki Development, Inc., is to “develop housing for underserved citizens.”

Wabashiki’s first intended project is to create a residential area for veterans and this project was the subject of the organization’s meeting with Senator Banks.

“The main reason we approached him was to get his support and see what help he would be able to offer,” shared Mr. Metz.

Senator Banks directed the organization’s attention to available grants that could be used to get the project off the ground and was “very receptive to the idea.”

The North Manchester Farmers' Market Wednesday market began Wednesday, June 18, and will be open each Wednesday from 4:30-6:30 p.m. 

Vendors and customers will gather at the Riverbridge Electric parking lot at the intersection of Main and Wayne Streets.

In addition to already having WIC-approved vendors the market is also preparing to accept SNAP vouchers. Come check out this primarily locally-grown and crafted, community building effort.

Vendors interested in becoming part of this good spirit venture may call Brittany Denny at 260-352-2602 or Cliff Kindy at 260-982-2971.

On June 12 at approximately 4:32 p.m., officers from the Wabash County Sheriff’s Department responded to a personal injury crash at 800 South and State Road 15. Preliminary investigation shows that a semi/tanker, driven by Gary Guenther, 50, Fairfield, Ohio, was eastbound on 800 South and was stopped at the intersection, waiting to proceed southbound on State Road 15.

Mr. Guenther stated he saw another southbound vehicle approximately half a mile away. Guenther proceeded into the intersection and turned southbound on State Road 15. Mr. Guenther stated he was traveling approximately 30 miles per hour. A southbound vehicle driven by Joshua Walker, 31, Marion, failed to observe the semi/tanker and struck the rear end.

Mr. Walker was airlifted by Lutheran Air and transported to Lutheran Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition, as of print date. The investigation is continuing.

Assisting at the scene was Liberty Township Fire Department and the Wabash City Fire/Rescue.

Students in Honeywell Foundation’s Visual and Performing Arts Summer Theatre program are preparing for their productions this weekend at Honeywell Center. This year’s programming includes shows presented by three separate casts as the program was expanded to include 2nd grade students this year.

The new component, 2nd and 3rd grade students, will present Rock and Roll Forever- how it all Began as matinee performances on Saturday, June 21 and Sunday, June 22 at 2 p.m. The 4th through 6th grade cast will present Katastrophe Kate at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 20 and Saturday, June 22, followed by performances of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s popular classic, Oklahoma by grades 7 through 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Rock and Roll Forever features songs from the 1950s, with dancing and some spoken dialog to tie the songs together in the presentation. The show is being directed by Jessica Keaffaber and Lisa Fadil, with assistance from Samantha Kramer.

Katastrophe Kate was written by Stephen Murray and is being produced by special arrangement with Eldridge Publishing Company. This musical tall tale begins when Katherine, a mild-mannered, Eastern born and bred protégée of world-famous chef, Madame Julia Enfant, must transform herself in Katastrophe Kate in order to conquer the Wild West with her chili recipe. The train they ride to Texas might even travel through Wabash, where the town’s own Chili Cook off is held. This show is directed by Judy Ward and Charyl Dye, assisted by Beth Miller and Vicki Smith.

Wabash County Chamber of Commerce WACCY Golf Chair Brian Campbell is pleased to announce the results of the recently completed 18th Annual WACCY Golf Outing at the Honeywell Golf Course in Wabash.  One hundred forty-three golfers participated in this year’s two flight, best ball scramble, networking event. 

Congratulations go to Crossroads Bank’s team of Jarrod McKee, Roger Cromer, Scott Bumgardner, and Matt Stone, who won the morning flight with a score of 56.  The J.M. Reynolds Co. team of Chris Reynolds, Mike Cornwell, Ron Reynolds, and Dan Chenowith were winners of the afternoon flight with a score of 55.  This also qualified them as the day’s overall winning team who will receive the traveling trophy, a free entry in the Logansport/Cass County Chamber Golf Outing and bragging rights for the year.  In addition, each member of both the winning teams received a $40 Gift Card for the Honeywell Pro Shop from the Chamber, plus golf balls donated by Edward Jones – Steve Weir.  Morning flight also won a hat donated by Agro-Chem, Inc. and afternoon won an umbrella donated by Wabash County REMC.

Second place finishers were the Wabash County REMC team in the morning flight, with a score of 59 and the Bulldog Battery Corporation team in the afternoon with a score of 58. Those winners each received a $25 Pro Shop Gift Certificate from the Chamber and golf balls donated by Crossroads Bank. Taking third place were the Staffing Resources team in the morning flight and Perry Pro-Tech team in the afternoon flight both with a score of 60.  Each player was awarded a $15 Honeywell Pro Shop Gift Certificate and golf balls donated by Newton Manufacturing or Stanley Steemer Carpet Cleaner.   Winning a free team golf lesson from Honeywell Pro Mel Thomas for demonstrating great team spirit and the need for some skills enhancement were the Ford Meter Box Company team in the morning and Aleris Recycling, Inc. team in the afternoon.

by Emily Armentrout

Recently, Wabash City Schools and the Metropolitan School District of Wabash County announced their hire of Melissa Brisco, who will be the Chief Academic Officer for both districts. Brisco fills the position of Lavonne Sparling at MSD of Wabash County and of Jan Roland at Wabash City Schools, both of which retired at the end of the 2013-14 school year.

Brisco comes to Wabash County from Noblesville High School, where she taught for 10 years before moving to MSD of Wayne Township to be assistant principal and eventually principal. She later moved back to Noblesville High School to be the Director of Learning, working with Title I and Title III. Title I is a federally funded grant for schools that have a large population of free and reduced lunch to help close the equity gap. Title III is a program to support English as a second language.

Brisco went to Marion College, Indianapolis, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education. She completed her Master’s at Butler University in their Administration program and is currently pursuing her doctorate at Indiana University, where she hopes to graduate in December. She comes from a family where education runs in their blood. Her parents were both educators, along with her brother and sister-in-law. She is the youngest of four kids and a twin.

With three school districts in Wabash County, consolidation is always on the mind of the community whenever schools make changes that bring them together. The joint hire by MSD of Wabash County and Wabash City Schools is only an opportunity to collaborate when it comes to their resources. “This cooperation between Wabash City School and MSD allows us an opportunity to gain expertise in the curriculum field and will also help us to build relationships with our surrounding neighbors,” Jason Callahan, Wabash City Schools' superintendent,  told The Paper.

by Eric Stearley

eric@thepaperofwabash.com

Wabash County Habitat for Humanity celebrated the opening of its new office space with an open house May 30. Previously, the organization worked out of an open office at Friends Church, and before that, there was no office in Wabash County. This represents the second major step in the local affiliate’s transition from a volunteer-only model to a full-time, staffed model, the first step of which was the hiring of Executive Director Steve Miller last year.

“It’s been a really smooth transition,” Miller said during the open house.”

Other than a few leaky pipes, the house was in good condition and structurally sound. After receiving some donations in the form of furniture, they did some decorating and made it their own.

“We actually moved in three weeks ago. That’s why its good to have volunteers, because otherwise it would not look like this. We’ve been really blessed in a lot of ways.”

The organization’s new office is a repurposed house located at 375 N Manchester Ave., on the corner of State Street. Two volunteers who helped with the project are interior designers, who Miller said made a huge difference. Terry Echard of Lafayette donated the house to the organization.

“We finalized the donation in November, and we talked about, could we rehab it and turn it into an affordable house for a homeowner, and that didn’t quite work,” said Miller. “And then we talked about, well, we could sell it, and we didn’t like that idea, so could we put our office there, and we talked about it and the key thing was making sure we could utilize the property properly.”