By Joseph Slacian
jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com

Jim Straws is the new City of Wabash building commissioner, replacing John Stephens who recently retired.

Mayor Scott Long introduced Straws during the Feb. 7 Board of Public Works and Safety meeting. He was sworn in earlier in the month, and had a ceremonial swearing-in Monday night, Feb. 11, at the Wabash City Council meeting.

Before being named building commissioner, Straws spent 30 years with the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s office.
 

By Joseph Slacian
jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com

A decade old problem faced by the City of Wabash may be resolved soon, largely because of what appears to be a giant misunderstanding.

At least 10 years ago, the City of Wabash was chastised by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources because it built the Dallas L. Winchester Senior Center on land in Wabash City Park.

The building, DNR officials contended, violated a grant agreement the city received from the Land and Water Council in the 1970s to help make upgrades to the park. As part of the grant, the land had to be an open playground.

The building of the senior center, officials believed, violated the agreement and the land the center is located on is considered “contaminated” because it isn’t being used as park land.
 

By Josh Sigler
jsigler@thepaperofwabash.com

The MSD of Wabash County School board approved a fee of roughly $66,000 to proceed with getting quotes for aesthetic approvals to both Northfield and Southwood high schools at Tuesday’s board meeting.

Adam Weesner from Barton-Coe-Vilamaa Architects and Engineers was on hand to take the board through the different scenarios of what such a renovation project would look like.

The project would have a base bid project cost of roughly $630,000 per school, with an alternative bid total of approximately $724,000 per school.

The renovations call for mostly paint and flooring updates.

The goal is to stay around $1.6 million for the entire project, Assistant Superintendent of Finance Chris Kuhn said.
 

By Joseph Slacian
jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com

Wayne Catania and Kieron Lafferty will be returning to the Honeywell Center’s Ford Theater stage on Friday night, Feb. 22.

If you don’t recognize their real names, perhaps their stage names – Jake and Elwood Blues – will ring a bell. The pair will be returning to Wabash with The Blues Brothers Revue, a tribute act which has received the seal of approval from Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi’s widow, Judy Belushi. Aykroyd and Belushi developed the characters as part of a Saturday Night Live skit in the late 1970s.
 

By Eric Christiansen
echristiansen@nmpaper.com

NORTH MANCHESTER -- After 86 years of serving the North Manchester community, a local legacy will be no more.
In a letter sent out to “valued customers, friends and neighbors,” Harting Furniture Gallery announced they will soon be going out of business.

In the letter, Harting Furniture expressed its thanks to its customers.

“After serving the good people of North Manchester and the surrounding communities, we would like to say 'thank you' for your many years of loyal patronage,” the letter stated.
 

By Josh Sigler
jsigler@thepaperofwabash.com

A report by WFYI in late January reported that nearly half Indiana’s county jails are over capacity.

That’s no surprise here in Wabash County, as Sheriff Ryan Baker tells the County Commissioners every week during his jail report that the local county jail is over capacity 100 percent of the time.

Rep. Dave Wolkins (R-Winona Lake) told The Paper of Wabash County that jail overcrowding has been on his radar “for quite a few years.”

“Ever since we did the revamping of the sentences, where we decided ‘hey, we’re going to keep the non-violent offenders down in the local jails,’ that pretty much started overcrowding all of our local jails,” Wolkins said. “That was two or three years ago when we changed all the sentencing guidelines.”
 

By Joseph Slacian
jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com

Wabash High School graduate Michael Palascak will bring his standup comedy routine back to the Honeywell Center on Thursday, Feb. 14.

Palascak will perform in Legacy Hall beginning at 7:30 p.m.

“I didn’t realize how long I’ve been gone until I get ready to go back,” he told The Paper of Wabash County in a telephone interview. “Then I’m excited to go back.”

Palascak was a finalist in NBC’s “Last Comic Standing,” and performed at the Honeywell Center’s Ford Theater as part of a comedy tour featuring the show’s finalists.

“That tour was really fun,” he said. “Since then I’ve been continuing to do that. I’ve got to do Colbert and Conan, too.”
 

By Joseph Slacian
jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com

A fundraiser to help a Ball State University student raise funds to participate in a class project in Europe is planned Friday, Feb. 22, at the Wabash Elks Lodge.

Alix Latta will be traveling to England in March to study authoress Jane Austen.

“We’re going there to see her house and all the places she wrote about,” Latta told The Paper of Wabash County in a telephone interview. “We’ve got a bunch of tour guides who are going to show us around to get a really deep look at her life and the things that she did.”