By Josh Sigler
jsigler@thepaperofwabash.com

Mark and Christine York have made a career out of revolutionizing how farmers go about business in the pork industry.

They recently earned a prestigious award for their efforts, as they were announced as the Indiana Prairie Farmer Master Farmers for 2018 in the 50th anniversary of the award.

“It was very, very humbling to be one of four in the whole state of Indiana, changing or advocating for agriculture,” York said. “And, being in Wabash County it’s humbling. Orville Chamberlain won the award (in 1970), and he was a Wabash producer.”

The Yorks and Chamberlain are the only Wabash County farmers to win the award.

By Joseph Slacian
jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com

MARION – Nancy Barrows, known to most in Wabash County and around the area as Nancy J, received the Indiana State Quilter Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award on Thursday, July 19, at the Marion Public Library.

The award was presented in front of a roomful of quilters, about 25 from Wabash County, on the first day of the three-day convention at the Indiana Quilters Hall of Fame.

Quilters Guild member Cindy Egly noted that Nancy J has been in the business of selling fabric for 39 years.

By Joseph Slacian
jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com

The Wabash County Election Board – after deliberations among its members as well as with input from members of the public on Monday afternoon – approved a reworded referendum question related to the proposed Manchester Community Schools building and repair projects.

If the question clears all hurdles by the Aug. 1 deadline, if will appear on the November ballot for residents within the Manchester Community Schools district to vote on.

The question seeks approval from the public to proceed with a renovation and building project that seeks to improve the entrances at Manchester Intermediate and Manchester Elementary schools, as well as to construct a fieldhouse between Manchester High and Manchester Jr. High schools.

By David Fenker
david@nmpaper.com

NORTH MANCHESTER – The town council voted 4-0 to approve an amended version of its new smoking ordinance Wednesday, July 11.

The smoking ban ordinance is extensive and detailed, citing studies and research regarding the ill effects of secondhand smoke.

Smoking includes the use of cigarettes, electronic smoking devices, cigars, pipes, hookahs and marijuana.

By Joseph Slacian
jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com

The rock band Kansas has a great problem, longtime bassist Billy Greer believes.

“We have such a great problem in that we have sixteen albums of material to choose from,” Greer told The Paper of Wabash County during a recent telephone interview. “Everyone has their favorites off of each album. Every Kansas fan, at least.”

Because of that “problem,” choosing songs to perform on the current tour, “Kansas Radio Classics and Fan Favorites,” was a simple task.

“It’s a great problem to have,” said Greer, who joined the band in 1985 and first performed on its “Power” album. “There’s plenty of material to choose from, and that’s a great place to be.”

By David Fenker
david@nmpaper.com

Promoting Wabash County both within its boundaries and elsewhere takes more than just hard work and good marketing tactics – it also requires funding.

Christine Flohr, executive director of tourism at Visit Wabash County, and Whitney Millspaugh, VWC marketing manager, presented a recap of how the county's tourism and marketing agency used taxpayer funds in the past year to improve the county.

Visit Wabash County receives $75,000 annually in County Economic Development Income Tax funds from the county, which Flohr said is earmarked for marketing initiatives.

By The Paper staff

While the exterior restoration is underway, Indiana Landmarks offers a “before” tour of the old Sheriff’s House and Jail at 31 W. Main St. in Wabash.

The Landmark Look takes place from 5-8 p.m. Aug. 3 during Wabash Marketplace’s First Friday downtown market. The look is free with a reservation.

Back in the late 19th century and well into the twentieth, the county sheriff and his family sheltered under the same roof as his prisoners, sort of. The sheriff lived in the handsome red brick home built in 1880, spacious and high-ceilinged, while the incarcerated lived in a limestone cell block that adjoins the house. The structure stopped serving as a jail in 1979 and the probation department left in 2004.

By Joseph Slacian
jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com

Two special event applications were approved when the Wabash Board of Public Works and Safety met on Thursday, July 19.

A request for the Dam to Dam bicycle ride was approved for Sept. 9.

The board also approved a request from the Moonshine Cowboys for its Ride for a Cause on Aug. 4.