NORTH MANCHESTER -- Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Stewart Copeland, founder and drummer of The Police, brought a different style of musical art with the collegiate debut of his opera “The Invention of Morel” last weekend, Feb. 28-29.

The Manchester University Music Department and the Manchester Symphony Orchestra presented the show at the Honeywell Center in Wabash.

“Few things are more exciting for musicians than working directly with composers and world-class directors,” said Debra Lynn, musical director of the production and MU director of choral organizations and vocal studies. “We are so proud that Manchester students and young alumni have the opportunity to learn from two of the greats.”

Kathleen Smith Belcher from the New York Metropolitan Opera helped with stage rehearsals since the middle of February.
Copeland also spoke at MU Friday, Feb. 28 about not only “Morel” but his musical beginnings and his current work in the opera world.

The newly renovated Eagles Theatre will open this weekend with two performances by former Wabash resident Crystal Gayle.

The theatre has been closed since 2017 to update and modernize the building, originally opened in 1906. The changes have been amazing to include an updated sound system in the theatre, the creation of a smaller, second theatre in the basement, the creation of suites for private parties during movies and concerts, the creation of meeting rooms and classrooms, the creation of a recording studio and the full restoration of the ball room on the theatre’s fourth floor.

Honeywell Foundation officials hosted a media preview of the facility on Friday, Feb. 21. While most of the work has been completed, workers are still on site taking care of last minute details before this weekend’s opening.

Theatergoers will enter the building to an expanded Ford Meter Box Lobby featuring an accessibility ramp, expanded concession area and offerings, a donor wall and more.

The theater will seat 560 people, including the aforementioned suites – the Forrester Landing and the Forrester Roost. Each suite can accommodate up to 14 guests and provides additional food and beverage options.

Students from the Information Technology Program at Heartland Career Center (HCC) are currently doing their community service project which takes two forms.

The students have initiated Penny Wars at the center, where each program competes for an ice cream party by bringing in money that will then be donated to the Special Olympics. Students are encouraged to bring in pennies to put towards their classes total, and larger coins and bills to put towards other classes. In this competition, pennies are worth one point, and all other coins and bills are worth negative points, with the points increasing as the amount of the currency does.

“Last year our goal was $500,” said Vickie Houlihan, instructor of the IT program. “We ended up raising $1,400 to give to our Special Olympics.”

Road construction season was scheduled to officially kick off in the City of Wabash on Monday.

That was the word Thursday night during Mayor Scott Long’s first Evening With the Mayor program of 2020. About 30 people gathered at the Honeywell Center to hear updates from Long on various projects around the city, as well as to meet the newly elected Wabash City Council.

Work was to begin Monday on South Cass Street for the city’s next phase of the long term storm water, sanitary sewer separation project.

“You may have seen them going through intersections and cutting little squares,” he said. “They’re pot holing to locate existing utilities under the street to make sure they don’t hit those with the excavator.”

Work is to begin on Burnette Street, just south of Schlemmer Brothers. In one month, contractors expect to be at the intersection of Cass and Market streets.

Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit Wednesday, Feb. 19, on behalf of three inmates at the Wabash County Jail.

The suit, filed in the United States District Court Northern District of Indiana, South Bend, is on behalf of “Jerry Copeland, John Whitt and James Dutton, on behalf of themselves and a class of those similarly situated.” The suit claims the county jail is overcrowded and understaffed, resulting in dangerous, unconstitutional conditions in the jail.

This is one of more than a dozen lawsuits filed in various counties around Indiana. Six, including the Wabash lawsuit, are ongoing. Other suites are in Allen, Gibson, Henry, Marshall and Vigo counties. A seventh case is being monitored in Monroe County.

“Overcrowding inherently leads to conditions that the Supreme Court has found unconstitutional,” according to Stevie Pactor, ACLU of Indiana attorney. “County sheriffs must ensure the safety and well-being of individuals who are incarcerated.”

A local resident is in preparation for her book launch coming up on March 21 at the KenapocoMocha coffee shop in North Manchester.

Drēma Drudge, originally from West Virginia, now of North Manchester has spent the last six years writing and distributing her novel, “Victorine,” to be published.

The story features Victorine Meurent, a forgotten, accomplished painter who posed nude for Edouard Manet’s most famous, controversial paintings such as Olympia and The Picnic in Paris. History has forgotten her paintings, despite the fact that she showed her work at the prestigious Paris Salon multiple times, even one year when her mentor, Manet’s, work was refused.

 Officials from Heartland Career Center have announced that after two years of planning, local students are getting ready to participate in a spring training focused on earning a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).

“This has been a partnership between Heartland Career Center, Wabash Learning Center (Ivy Tech), Grow Wabash County, Driving Dynamics Center for Transportation Safety CTS Driving Academy and countless others to make this happen,” says Mark Hobbs, Heartland Career Center’s Director. “We have taken our time, worked with many local businesses and our partners to create a pathway for students of all ages to earn a CDL A License. Our interest has focused on high school students; however, the program has developed into an opportunity for students of all ages.”

The high school students will start the CDL A internship at Heartland on March 2. The program includes a 10-week course of both written classroom work and actual driving time, ending with students taking their CDL A test. 

Elected officials from around Wabash County had the opportunity to highlight the progress of their respective communities made in 2019, as well as to point toward plans for the future during the third annual State of the Communities breakfast on Wednesday, Feb. 12.

Representatives from the five municipalities and Wabash County spoke at the event, sponsored by Grow Wabash County, in the Honeywell Center’s Legacy Hall.

Wabash County

The county replaced two bridges and chip and sealed 75 miles of roads, County Commissioners President Brian Haupert told those present. It also partnered with the town of North Manchester, through the use of Community Crossing Matching Grants, repaired County Road 1100N.