The Wabash County Historical Museum has announced that they will be taking a brief hiatus in January to update, clean and perform some minor maintenance within their facility.

“With more than 25,000 artifacts in our collection and a 20,000 square foot facility to maintain, we need to take a few weeks to focus our attention on some internal needs,” explained Mitch Figert, Executive Director of the museum.

Beginning Jan. 13 through the remainder of the month the museum’s collections and exhibits will be open by appointment only. During this period the museum’s staff members and volunteers will address a long list of projects that range from cleaning and repairing exhibits, installing new collections, performing minor repairs on the facility, and updating many of the exhibit areas.

by Eric Stearley

eric@thepaperofwabash.com

Indiana Department of Education released 2013 accountability grades for schools across the state on Friday, Dec. 20. Educators, administrators, parents, students and community members can now see if their school made the grade. The legitimacy of these grades, however, is questionable.

Emily Armentrout

emily@thepaperofwabash.com

On Jan. 1, 2013, Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which was an extension of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, commonly known as the “farm bill.” This extension allowed the government to avoid the fiscal cliff, but it expired Sept. 30, 2013. While attempting to pass the next farm bill, the House and the Senate had disagreements over components of their proposed bills. This is the source of the current dispute and the reason a new farm bill has yet to be passed.

The farm bill is a piece of omnibus legislation, which means that it contains multiple components but is passed as a single bill. Farm bills last for five years, after which they expire. Nutrition programs, like SNAP, make up approximately 70 percent of the farm bill. Crop insurance, commodities and conservation make up the other 30 percent of the bill.

The House proposed a new farm bill, known as the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, which reduced funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by approximately $40 billon, according to Frank Lucas, Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture. SNAP is commonly referred to as the food stamp program.  The Senate proposed their own version of the bill, in which they want to reduce SNAP funding by roughly $4 billion.

Wabash County Prosecuting Attorney William C. Hartley, Jr. has announced that he will be seeking re-election for the Office of Wabash County Prosecuting Attorney during next year’s election.

Mr. Hartley, a Republican, graduated from Southwood High School in 1986 and served four years on active duty in the United States Army, immediately following high school. He served in airborne infantry units at Fort Clayton, Panama, and the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky., among other places. He is a graduate of the Army’s Jungle Warfare, Air Assault, and Light Infantry Leader schools.

Following his honorable discharge from the Army, he attended Indiana University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in business, with a major in Accounting. Following his graduation, he worked for a certified public accounting firm in Plymouth, while attending law school at Valparaiso University of Law.

Herb Ringel, Wabash, was re-elected president of the Indiana Corn Growers Association (ICGA) by the board at its meeting in December.

Also elected were: vice president, Mike Nichols, Rockport; treasurer, George Morton, Lebanon; and secretary, David Gottbrath, Pekin.

The ICGA board works to develop sound policies that protect and promote the interest of Indiana corn farmers and consists of farmer-directors from across the state.

"With the challenges to the Renewable Fuel Standard and lack of movement on the farm bill, it is critical for our lawmakers to hear from Indiana corn farmers on policy that affects how we raise our crops, how we can compete in a global economy and how we build new markets for our corn crop," said Ringel who is in his second term as ICGA president.

The Farm Service Agency makes loans to rural youths to establish and operate income-producing projects in connection with 4-H clubs, FFA and other agricultural groups. Projects must be planned and operated with the help of the organization advisor, produce sufficient income to repay the loan and provide the youth with practical business and educational experience. The maximum loan amount is $5,000.

Youth Loan Eligibility Requirements:

Dr. Terrence O. Moore, author of a just released book on Common Core, will be the guest speaker at the monthly meeting of the Citizens Committed to the Constitution (C3) on Monday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. at Bachelor Creek Church in Wabash.  All teachers, administrators, students, parents, grandparents and interested citizens are encouraged to attend.

What is the Common Core? How will the Common Core English Standards affect the teaching of great stories in our schools? Will there be any great stories left in the minds of our children when the Common Core has controlled the curriculum and testing of both public and private schools for a few years? What are the real purposes behind the educational coup that has taken place with very little public debate and even less understanding?

by Shaun Tilghman

Despite the inclement weather, a large group gathered at the North Manchester Covered Bridge on Friday morning to take part in the dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting that marked the bridge’s official reopening. Although Friday was the official reopening, the bridge was actually open to traffic as early as Thursday.

Wabash County Bridge No. 645 (North Manchester Covered Bridge, S. Mill Street over the Eel River) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Smith Bridge Company, from Toledo, Ohio, built the bridge in 1872 for approximately $3,515; the entire structure is built of wood, put together with pins, iron bolts, and square cut nails.

Following the disastrous fire that nearly destroyed the Roann Covered Bridge, the North Manchester Covered Bridge remains the only one in Wabash County with most of the original structure intact. Restoration of this unique bridge was recently undertaken to repair or replace deteriorated truss members, flooring, roofing, and siding in order to extend the life of this structure for future generations to utilize and admire.

Wabash County Commissioners Brian Haupert and Barry Eppley were both pleased with the results of the project. “I feel really good about the project and it turned out really nice,” said Haupert.