by Ashley Flynn

ashley@thepaperofwabash.com

Wine enthusiasts need not travel far to satisfy their taste buds. Just north of Peru off US 31 sits an 80-acre orchard that handcrafts a variety of flavorful, crisp – and not to mention award winning – wines and hard ciders.

McClure’s Orchard/Winery, a family operated business, sold their first batch of alcohol in 2010 after months of trial and error. Jason McClure and his wife Alison came up with the idea to add wine and hard cider to the orchard after making a few batches at home.

Open house held for employees and loyal customers

by Shaun Tilghman

Last Thursday, Shepherd’s Chevrolet, Inc., located at 1002 SR 114 W in North Manchester, hosted an open house to celebrate both the dealership’s grand re-opening and its 45th anniversary.

Just under nine months ago, the North Manchester branch of the Shepherd’s Family Auto Group, which also has locations in Kendallville and Rochester, began a two-phase remodeling project. The first phase included building a 10,000-square-foot facility for the new service department, while the second phase involved renovations to the existing retail facility.

“We started the remodel inside after we moved to the new service department, which was around the second or third week of April,” said Tim Shepherd, President of the North Manchester Shepherd’s dealership, “and we finished during the first week of September, so this phase took about five months. We converted the old service department into a drive-thru service lane, a new lounge, a new conference room, a new GM (General Motors) accessories room, a new car delivery area, and an expanded showroom with additional sales offices.

By Eric Stearley

Local hunters have discovered a way to enjoy their favorite pastime, control the population of a public nuisance and support a good cause all at the same time. Coyotes for Charity had sportsmen from Wabash, Miami, Fulton, Kosciusko, Grant and Howard counties taking aim at cancer and coyotes simultaneously in this, their 10th year. The group sends coyote pelts to auction, donating the proceeds to the American Cancer Society.

The group started in 2004 with four hunters harvesting five coyotes. This year the group, which exceeded 100 hunters, harvested 266 coyotes, more than the first five years combined.

The Board of Directors and Ambassadors of the Wabash County Chamber of Commerce invites the business community and the general public to attend the Ribbon Cutting for the new Edward Jones office run by Wayne Denger, Financial Advisor. The Ribbon Cutting will be held on Friday, Sept. 20, at 11:30 a.m. The new office is located at 760 Alber Street, Wabash. 

"I entered the financial services industry because I like helping people achieve their long-term financial goals," Mr. Denger says. "Building relationships with my clients and in my community is key." 

Edward Jones financial advisors meet face-to-face with clients to build strong relationships.

F.C. Tucker Company announces the opening of a new affiliate office, F.C. Tucker/Wabash Realty located at 503 North Cass St., Wabash.

A veteran real estate professional for more than 20 years, Christy Kisner, along with her husband Bob, has owned and successfully operated Wabash Realty, LLC. After working with agents in surrounding counties, they believe the time is right to partner with Indiana's largest independently owned comprehensive real estate firm.

Every year, Beacon Credit Union raises money for the Riley Children’s Hospital Foundation through their Credit Unions for Kids Campaign.  The Riley Children’s Hospital Foundation offers hope to thousands of families seeking help for seriously ill and injured children; help that only Riley Hospital for Children can provide.  Every gift makes an impact, as the dedicated medical team at Riley Hospital could not deliver compassionate expert care without external financial support. 

CountryMark President and CEO Charlie Smith participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony today to unveil the newly upgraded Unit Operations Laboratory for the Purdue University School of Chemical Engineering.

The school raised $550,000 for the project in order to bring the lab to the same state-of-the-art level as all the other laboratories located in Forney Hall on the West Lafayette campus. CountryMark donated $25,000 to the project, which finished renovations this summer. Students can now be educated using laboratory equipment and experiments designed for today’s industrial reality.

“We see great value in the chemical engineering program at Purdue,” said Charlie Smith, who also serves on the Purdue University Industrial Advisory Council. “One of its greatest strengths is the ability to introduce a world class education to students with a deep-seeded midwestern work ethic. The synergy of these two components creates extraordinary talent that we seek at CountryMark, and is sought by manufacturing companies worldwide.”

by Kalie Ammons

sports@thepaperofwabash.com

Don Barger and the folks at Wabash County Hospital have been working together to develop a facility to meet the demand for immediate care by patients whose conditions are not serious enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room.

“Your typical coughs, colds, flu symptoms, sprains, strains, burns if you have something in your eye, just whatever needs immediate care, but is not an emergency. If you have shortness of breath, loss of consciousness, chest pain, you know, you should still probably go to the emergency room. But if you sprained your ankle playing basketball or you just don’t feel well, then that’s what we’re there for,” Barger told The Paper.

QuickMed opened on Monday, Sept. 16 and is currently in the hospital, adjacent to the emergency room. However, Barger hinted at some plans to construct a new facility.

“We are also looking at some space offsite. We’re revising some floor plans and we would like to move offsite, probably the first of the year,” Barger explained.

The Wabash QuickMed will provide previously limited services in Wabash County. Community members will now have access to reliable, walk-in health care without having to maneuver around a family doctor’s schedule or drive out of town.

“QuickMed is going to be comprised of two different components, one being the occupational health component and one the walk-in clinic component,” Barger said. “I am hoping between the occupational health patients and the walk-in patients we see 20 patients a day. I think that would be reasonable. Twenty-five, I think, would be really good,” Barger predicted.