By John Slavich

Who do you know that is going above and beyond to make a difference for kids?  Who do you know that works to create an environment that ‘lifts up’ young people?  Who do
you know that is looked up to and admired by young people?  Who do you know who volunteers their time and talent to better the lives of young people?  If you know
someone who fits this description, there is a way you can honor them.  
Count Me In!, Whitley County’s 40 Developmental Assets initiative, is sponsoring an award called “Count On Me.”  This award is designed to recognize those who make a
difference in the lives of young people in Whitley County.  People who serve as quality role models for youth in our communities.  The winner or winners will be recognized at the Heart of Gold reception in late April, and will also be able to direct up to $500.00 to the youth serving agency of their choice in Whitley County.
Nomination forms are available at the Whitley County Community Foundation and Whitley County YMCA.  All you need to do is write your reasons as to why an individual should be recognized.  You can also complete the form attached to this article.
Nomination forms are to be returned to the Whitley County Community Foundation by April 9, 2010.  If there are any questions please call the Community Foundation at 244-5224.

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Several helpful services are currently available to Whitley County residents through the Whitley County Salvation Army.
Whitley County Salvation Army provides rental assistance on a once yearly basis to individuals in need. Clients will need to bring a note from their landlord stating they are delinquent to get an appointment to discuss what assistance may be available.  
Additionally, the Hygeine Pantry is available to individuals and families in need on monthly basis. Care packages filled with shampoo, toothpaste, soap, dish soap, toliet paper and paper towels are provided to the needy, free of charge. Donations of these items are always appreciated by the Whitley County Salvation Army to continue providing them to people in need.
For more information about services offered by the Whitley County Salvation Army, or to find out ways you can help serve the needy in Whitley County, contact Pat Mossburg at 248-1711.

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Lude Entertainment will be hosting karaoke at the VFW in Columbia City this Friday night.  The singing begins at 8 p.m. and will continue until at least 11 p.m.  The VFW hall is located at 415 east Chicago Street in Columbia City. All ages are welcome to participate. No membership is needed.

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Want to keep in basketball shape during the off season?  Enjoy a game of basketball after school at the Y!
The Whitley County Family YMCA will be offering a 7-game, four-on-four, intamural season for both middle school and high school aged kids.
The games will be played at the Whitley County Family YMCA on Thursdays from April 15 until May 27. Games will begin each afternoon at 4 p.m.
The cost to participate is $125 per team. Teams will consist of four to eight players each, however only four players will play at a time.
Competition will be split into two groups, 6-8th grade and 9-12th grade.
Teams that register by March 31 will receive team t-shirts.
For more information, call the Whitley County Family YMCA at 244-9622 or visit the Member Services desk.

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By Jennifer Zartman Romano

If they're talking baseball, spring can't be far off now can it?
Registration is now underway for baseball, lob ball, softball and T-ball at Morsches Park. Registration will continue through March 23.  You may register weekdays from 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m. in the Morsches Park pavilion. Registration will also be offered Saturday, March 13, from 9-11 a.m. Late fees apply to anyone registering after March 23.
Baseball & Softball
This program is offered for children ages 9-10 for the minor leagues and 11-13 for the major leagues.  The cost is $70 for minors and majors.                                                                                 
T-Ball & Lob Ball
This program is offered to children ages 4-6 for T-ball and 7-8 for Lob ball. The cost is $35 per child to participate in either activity.
For more information or registration forms, please visit the Columbia City Parks Department website at www.columbiacityparks.us or contact Melinda Wheeler at 248-5180.

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(Talk of the Town file photo by Jennifer Zartman Romano) Attorney General Greg Zoeller, below during a visit to Columbia City last year, urges Hoosiers to stop texting while driving.

Article provided

Sending text messages while driving is dangerous for all -- and illegal for young drivers -- yet many motorists regardless of age ignore the law and common sense, jeopardizing themselves and others, research has found.
Today, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller hosted AT&T Indiana President George S. Fleetwood and State Sen. Thomas Wyss and joined in urging drivers - especially young drivers - to resist the temptation to send or check text messages while driving.
"Young drivers may already have a false sense of invulnerability. Couple that with the fact that today's young drivers are from a generation that has possessed cell phones longer than they have had driver's licenses, and you have a recipe for a multi-tasking disaster," Zoeller said.
Zoeller today spoke in conjunction with AT&T's national campaign to raise awareness about the risks of texting while driving and to remind all wireless consumers, especially youth, that text messages can and should wait until after they reach their destinations.
"Attorney General Zoeller, Senator Wyss and Senator Travis Holdman are true champions for Hoosiers and we applaud them for taking a leadership role in this important consumer protection issue," Fleetwood said. "Through our network and our devices, we connect a lot of people around our great state. We are proud of that fact and we are also committed to educating people not to text when it might be unsafe for them or other drivers."
Zoeller and Fleetwood today were joined by Wyss, R-Fort Wayne, who for years has been one of the leading advocates for traffic safety in the Indiana General Assembly. Wyss authored Indiana's .08 percent legal limit law and seat belt law, and he chairs the Senate Homeland Security, Transportation and Veterans Affairs Committee that screens traffic-safety legislation.
"My first public safety legislation in the Senate was accomplished working with teenagers around the state through their SADD group chapters. I am only hopeful that these chapters will help us now to make texting and driving something that teenagers - and all drivers - won't do," Wyss said.
In 2009, the Indiana General Assembly passed a Graduated Drivers License law that State Sen. Holdman authored that prohibits Hoosier drivers ages 18 and younger from texting while driving.
"Last year, lawmakers passed the Graduated Drivers License law not to punish teens, but to help minimize distractions and increase experience behind the wheel," Holdman, R-Markle, said. "As texting-type tasks continue to grow in popularity, we have to use what resources are available to help reduce the amount of crashes and fatalities on our roads."
Any motorist can be distracted no matter their driving experience; and while Indiana's law is specific to younger drivers, adults can be just as distracted by texting.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there are three forms of distracted driving: Taking one's eyes off the road (visual), taking one's hands off the steering wheel (manual) or taking one's attention off driving (cognitive), all of which create a greater risk of injury or death while driving. Texting while driving involves all three.
Research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that nearly 6,000 people died in crashes involving distracted or inattentive drivers and more than half a million were injured. The most frequent offenders are the youngest and least-experienced drivers, men and women under age 20, the research found.
According to the Indiana State Police, the number of Indiana highway traffic fatalities dropped by approximately 16 percent last year from the previous year (814 in 2008 compared to 680 for the same period in 2009) due to stepped-up enforcement and greater seat-belt use, and Zoeller does not want to see the figures rebound.
Moreover, the Attorney General noted that Indiana's personal-injury laws dealing with contributory negligence assign percentages of fault for causing traffic accidents. "Texting while driving will put you immediately at fault, and so you should consider whether your auto insurance company will cover your own negligence," Zoeller said.
AT&T's campaign consists of true stories and the final text messages sent or received before one or more lives were altered, or even ended, because of texting and driving. By featuring the real stories, the campaign will demonstrate how insignificant a text message is compared to the potentially dire consequences of reading or responding while driving.
Utilizing print, radio, TV, online advertising and in-store signage, AT&T's campaign will be rolled out in the coming weeks. Parents, high school educators and youth can visit AT&T's online resource center at www.att.com/txtngcanwait to download information about texting while driving, such pledges for parents and teens and for teens and their friends, a poster, a brochure and safety tips.
AT&T also launched a Facebook application at www.facebook.com/att that friends can share to encourage each other to pledge not to text and drive. AT&T will also be promoting the pledge via Twitter through @ShareATT.
For more about the dangers of texting while driving and other forms of distracted driving, visit the U.S. Department of Transportation web site, http://www.distraction.gov/.

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(Talk of the Town photo provided) Above, Colonel Augustin de la Balme DAR Chapter regent Charlotte Blair stands with Whitley County's three good citizens award recipients, Danielle Hartmann, Stephanie Weigold and Abigail Chambers.

Article provided

The Colonel Augustin de la Balme DAR Chapter held their annual “Good Citizens Recognition Tea” on February 14, 2010, to recognize three young women.  
Held at the Peabody Public Library in Columbia City, the event honored Whitley County's 2010 DAR Good Citizens, including Danielle Hartmann of Churubusco High School, Abigail Chambers of Columbia City High School and Stephanie Weigold of Whitko High School. Weigold was selected as the Whitley County DAR Good Citizen of the Year.
Guests included Danielle Hartmann and her parents, Michael and Shawn Hartmann; Abigail Chambers and her parents, Nick and Jill Chambers; and Stephanie Weigold and her parents, Mike and Tania Weigold.
Chapter Regent Charlotte Blair shared the history of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the chapter located here in Whitley County.   She then presented each young woman with an envelope containing a certificate acknowledging this award, a copy of the US Constitution, the flag code, a copy of the 2010 Whitley County Calendar compiled by the Chapter and a monetary award.   
During the ceremony, each young woman also received a DAR Good Citizen’s pin which was pinned on by their mother.
Refreshments were served highlighted with a cake decorated with the DAR emblem and “85” marking the 85th anniversary of the Colonel Augustin de la Balme DAR Chapter.

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March is Disability Awareness Month and through a cooperative effort with Columbia City High School, Passages is sponsoring an expression contest in which students are asked to do a creative piece focusing on how to sensitize people about the negative impact of using the “R” (retard) word.
Last year, Special Olympics started the “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign. Legislation has also been introduced into Congress that will remove the words mental retardation from use by the Federal Government.  Locally, Passages hopes to bring attention much closer to home with this creative campaign involving our community youth.
According to Tom O’Neill, president of Passages, the purpose of the contest is to educate young people about the negative impact of the “R” word.  While the use of this word may mean little to the person using it, it can have a very negative and painful impact on others.
“The ‘R’ word is very hurtful to people with intellectual disabilities, as well as to their family and friends. The underlying theme of the expression contest is language and the impact of the words we use when speaking about others. We want people to become more aware of how certain words can frame how we think about people,” said O’Neill.  To participate in this expression contest, students can write a poem or an essay, create a piece of art, write a song or anything else that creatively expresses their thoughts.
Details about this contest are available at Columbia City High School or by contacting Passages at 244-7688, ext. 131.  Deadline to enter is March 11, 2010. 
Alice Anderson of Passages and O’Neill, along with staff from Columbia City High School, will serve as judges. The expression contest will award three $75 prizes to Columbia City High School students at an event in March.
 

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Get a vital status report on the status of the community on Friday, March 19, for the Chamber of Commerce's State of the City and State of the County luncheon.
The luncheon begins at 11:45 a.m. at the Eagles Nest Event Center. The cost is $10 for members of any Whitley County chamber or $12 for non-members.
To RSVP by March 17, call the Chamber of Commerce at 248-8131.

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(Talk of the Town image provided) The print by artist P. Buckley Moss, at right, has been framed and is ready to be raffled off to benefit the Columbia City High School Band.

By Jennifer Zartman Romano

The Columbia City High School band will benefit from the sale of raffle tickets and one lucky ticket holder will benefit from a new piece of framed artwork for their home.
Pat's Happy Hoosiers and Columbia House Interiors have donated a framed P. Buckley Moss print entitled "Back Home in Indiana" to the CCHS Band Boosters. The print is valued at $300.
In exchange for a $5 donation to the band, the Boosters and CCHS band students are now offering raffle tickets to give away the piece of artwork.
Tickets are $5 each or five tickets for $20.                

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The City of Columbia City's limb pick-up program will begin soon. This program has been initiated as a means to dispose of limbs and branches from storm-related events and small pruning projects. Dates for this year are as follows:
Week of April 5
Week of May 3
Week of June 7
Week of July 5
Week of August 2
Week of September 6
Week of October 4
Properties bordered by an alley will have their limbs picked up along that alley -- limbs will not be picked up along the street for these properties, but in the alleys only.
Properties bordered by streets only will have theirs picked up along the curb as in the past.
During the week of limb pickup, residents are asked to place the limbs along the curb in front of their property. Limbs should not be left in the roadway. Only one stop will be made at residents' property to pick up limbs during the scheduled week. Limbs should be out and ready for pick up by 7 a.m. the first day of scheduled pickup that month so that they will be sure to be removed.
The limb pick up program is limited to residents living within the Columbia City limits only. The City reserves the right to refuse pick-up for those properties it considers not fitting within the guidelines of the program.
Limbs and branches acceptible for pick up include those that are 4 inches or less in diameter and bushes without roots.
Unacceptible items include piles that exceed the size of a pickup truck load, brush from fence row clearing, trees and logs, branches left from contractor-provided tree removal and bushes with roots attached.
For more information, contact Kelly Cearbaugh, Columbia City street superintendent, at 248-5131 or 248-5115 ext. 2721.

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The CC Deli will offer three types of freshly baked loaves of bread for sale this Friday, March 12. The three available varieties will include Italian, raisin and cinnamon swirl. If you would prefer a different variety or if you would like to reserve a loaf, call the deli at 248-4700. Each loaf is $2.49.
What follows are the soups of the week:        
Mon.     Tomato Tortellini and Cheesy Potato
Tue.    Broccoli & Cheese and Chicken Dumpling
Wed.     Talk of the Town's White Chili and Cheeseburger
Thurs.     Pepperjack Bacon and Chicken Noodle
Fri.     Veggie Beef and Clam Chowder

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The Churubusco Rotarians are sponsoring their 17th annual Community and Scholarship Auction to raise money for scholarships for seniors at Smith-Green Community School and to support projects in the Churubusco community. The auction is slated for Tuesday, March 16, 2010.  
The fun and festivities start at 6 p.m. at the Churubusco High School cafeteria with a free will donation for the buffet supper.  The auction immediately follows dinner.  
Previous auctions have been very successful and Rotarians are looking forward to another rewarding year.
Some old favorites are available once again this year -- such as the plane ride over Indiana with Jack Green, massages from Biddle Chiropractic, a Purdue football outing, subscriptions to the Churubusco News and handmade rag rugs.  
New items this year include a hot air balloon ride, a handcrafted quilt by Mary Myers,  the famous JA broom rack from the 1970s, a rocking chair crafted by Roger Barnhart and a Matt Painter autographed basketball.   To view some of the items in advance of the auction, visit Churubusco's Star Insurance window.
Anyone with items still to donate may contact Richard Zollinger at 248-2851 or 693-2177. You may also take your items to Star Insurance, 111 N. Main Street, Churubusco.
Click the link below to review some of the items available for sale this year.

Continue reading "'Busco Rotarians collecting items for 17th annual auction slated for March 16" »

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The Whitley County Extension Homemakers will host their annual Spring Garage Sale on Saturday, April 17, 2010, at the Whitley County 4-H Center from 8 a.m.-3.p.m.  Booths are available for $20 by contacting Janet Hindbaugh at the Extension Office on South Line Street.  Set up will be Friday, April 16 from 3-7 p.m.  
Food will be available the day of the sale.
For more information, contact Janet Hindbaugh at jhindbau@purdue.edu or by calling 244-7615

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(Talk of the Town file photo) Michelle Ball, below, a local teacher, will be traveling abroad to study the Holocaust.

By Jennifer Zartman Romano

Pierceton Elementary School teacher, Michelle Ball, was recently named as a recipient of the Indiana Lilly Endowment.  Ball is a Columbia City resident, the daughter of Ned and Alma Freeman and the wife of Pat Ball.
Funded under the Lilly 2010 Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program, Ball will be traveling to Germany and Poland to study the Holocaust this summer.
Ball will be retracing the footsteps of Anne Frank, traveling to her birthplace in Frankfurt, Germany, and to Prinsengracht 263, the secret annex where the Frank family went into hiding in 1942 to escape the Nazis.
Ball will also visit Hannover, Germany, where Frank died at the Bergen-Belsen camp. She will later travel to Poland, studying Auschwitz II-Brikenau, and the location where Otto Frank was liberated by the Russians in January of 1945.
Ball's journey is supported in an effort to keep the memory and lessons of Holocaust history alive and to teach students concepts that will forever change their world view. Ball will take what she has learned in Germany and Poland and enrich the learning experience of her students.

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By Mary Popovich

The Indiana Small Business Development Center (ISBDC) network recently recognized business advisor Scot Goskowicz from the Northeast Indiana SBDC (NEISBDC) for his accomplishments in 2009.  Goskowicz serves clients through NEISBDC outreach sites in Whitley, Huntington, Wells and Adams Counties, in addition to Allen County.
Scot Goskowicz, a business advisor with the NEISBDC since November 2007, was named to the ISBDC’s Two Million Dollar Club in recognition of the assistance he provided to his clients in obtaining more than $2 million in capital during 2009.
“Northeast Indiana is fortunate to have Scot who in my opinion is among the best business counselors in Indiana,” says Ken McCrory, regional director of the NEISBDC.  
Based in Fort Wayne and hosted by Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), the Northeast Indiana Small Business Development Center is one of 10 regional ISBDC network sites in the state of Indiana.  The NEISBDC serves entrepreneurs and small business owners in 10 counties in northeastern Indiana, offering confidential one-on-one counseling, workshops and courses in partnership with IPFW, and assistance with business planning, marketing, loan packaging, business and financial analysis, and market research. Goskowicz offers one-on-one business counseling in Whitley County.
The NEISBDC also assists businesses with international trade and government procurement in partnership with the City of Fort Wayne and Partners In Contracting Corporation, respectively.  To learn more about the Northeast Indiana SBDC, visit www.isbdc.org, or call (260) 481-0500.

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It was an exciting night of boys' sectional basketball action in Whitley County tonight, but, despite well-played games that were down to the wire, no local teams will move forward to the next level.
Wawasee won over Columbia City with a score of 73 to 70.
Central Noble won over Churubusco with a score of 64 to 59.

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(Talk of the Town photos by Jennifer Zartman Romano) Above, basket of soft toys and books was assembled by third and fourth graders eager to raise funds for their Pennies for the Poor project to help earthquake victims in Haiti. Below, baskets, baked goods and more were available for sale by Faith Christian Academy students last weekend at their annual dinner in Columbia City. In all, students collected 37,827 pennies.

By Jennifer Zartman Romano

Faith Christian Academy students felt a special bond with friends in Haiti and were driven to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake with their student-led fundraiser, Pennies for the Poor.  
Faith Christian Academy teacher, Jean Graham, and her husband, Jeff, recently returned to Indiana after serving with the CSI orphanage there.  A medical clinic, also run by CSI, is very close to the orphanage.  
Knowing about the Graham's experiences in Haiti, and because the students have had Haiti as their chapel mission project this year, the students wanted to do something to help. Karen Van Voorst, a Faith Christian Academy teacher, helped the students organize a craft/bake sale held during the annual FCA fish fry & tenderloin dinner held last weekend.  
The whole school got involved in the fundraiser! The preschoolers made pinecone bird feeders.  The kindergarten class made original cookbooks (and some of the recipes are priceless).  The first & second grade, and middle school made items for a bake sale.  Van Voorst’s 3rd & 4th grade class made baskets filled with books, stuffed animals and knitted items.  
"Almost all of the items sold – and best of all, the incredible amount of 37,827 pennies was raised," said school administrator Rev. Larry Schmoekel. "That’s $ 378.27.  What a joy to see this amount go directly to provide aid to those who have real needs."

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On Tuesday, the Whitley County Patriots met at the Columbia City America Legion where they welcomed Cindy Gamrat of the Huntington County TEA Party.
Gamrat spoke about the TEA Party/Patriot movement -- with 130 local residents in attendance.
“About one year ago I was frustrated with the direction the country was heading and wanted to go to a TEA Party,” says Gamrat. “I saw there was not one scheduled on tax day, April 15, 2009, in Huntington and felt the citizens of Huntington would be missing out on a chance to have their voices heard. So, I prayed about it and decided to hold one in Huntington.”
Gamrat talked with friends, learned they felt the same way, and they worked to stage a well-attended TEA Party on the courthouse square in Huntington.
The Huntington movement snowballed from that point, as the group organized a July 4th patriotic event and now has monthly meetings attended by as many as 300 people. It has conducted a Constitutional studies seminar through the National Center for Constitutional Studies, has handed out more than 1,000 pocket Constitutions and helped stage a northern Indiana TEA Party rally last fall in Warsaw.
A University of Michigan graduate, Gamrat is a registered nurse but has devoted the past 10 years to homeschooling her children.
Also addressing The Whitley County Patriots was Emery W. McClendon, who lives in his hometown of Fort Wayne, is an Air Force veteran and served two years active duty with the Indiana Air National Guard’s Fort Wayne unit.  He is a life member of the Disabled American Veterans.  
McClendon’s involvement with patriotic volunteer work began shortly after he helped with two-way amateur radio communications at Glenn Beck’s Fort Wayne "Rally For The Troops," and with the national Glen Beck rally in Huntington, West Virginia.
In February 2004, he founded Amateur Radio Military Appreciation Day (www.armad.net) as a way for people in communities nationwide to honor and show appreciation for the nation’s troops, veterans and military retirees live over two-way radio.  ARMAD led him to other military support groups and he became active with Families United for Our Troops and their mission, Vets For Freedom, The United States Army Freedom Team Salute and Americans For Prosperity.
McClendon became involved in the TEA Party movement through blog talk radio during the first Tea Party by helping broadcast the event, and by having live updates from various locations around the country streamed over blog talk radio.  He then organized the Fort Wayne Tea Party, with Dr. Alan Keyes as the keynote speaker. 
He has been invited to speak at several patriotic events across the country and has participated in many TEA Parties, rallies and other patriotic causes and town hall events throughout the area. 
“I continue to get involved in leadership roles at other TEA Party events, such as serving on panels; and in blogging,” says McClendon.  “I believe speaking at the events is a way to help show citizens how important it is to save our Constitution and Republic.”
Tuesday's meeting also included a presentation on steps individuals and the group can take to have an impact on local, state and national issues.
“We are not aligned with a political party or with any state or national organization,” says Patriots Chairman Roger Metzger.
“We are just a group of citizens from across the county concerned about irresponsible government spending, unresponsive elected officials and a surge of government control that was never the intent of our Founding Fathers and the Constitution. We believe those original Patriots had it right then and that their values of faith and principle still apply today.”

The next meeting will be April 6 in Columbia City.

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