By Jennifer Zartman Romano
If you're an American Idol fan -- and watched the sixth season of the show -- you may be familiar with the name Chris Sligh.
Sligh, a Christian recording artist, will be performing a free show in Columbia City this evening at First Church of God at 7 p.m.
Sligh will perform alongside Chris August and MikesChair.
Doors open at 6 p.m. for the show.
Columbia City United Methodist Church is hosting their third annual Wholistic Health Fair for the body, mind and spirit on October 2 from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m.
The fair will be held at the church, 605, North Forest Parkway in Columbia City. The community is invited to attend.
There will be blood profile screens (12 hour fasting required) blood pressure checks, flu shots, age-related macular degeneration screens, glaucoma screens, advance directive information and the "brain game" memory testing. Additionally, there will be information available about Alzheimer's, Eniva, pastoral counseling, skin/melanoma screens and much more. Bring an item to donate to BABE.
Refreshments will be served. It is a free fair except for the flu shot which are $25 each or free to those on Medicare persons (bring your card). There is also a charge for blood profiles.
For more information, call Columbia City United Methodist Church at 244-7671.
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
If you're looking for a great way to spend this late summer evening, plan to attend the YMCA Corporate Challenge softball games tonight at Morsches Park in Columbia City.
The double header begins with Builders Mart versus USSI on field #4 at 5:30 p.m. Shindigz will challenge Reel Craft.
John Roy, a member of the Builders Mart team, is among those looking forward to tonight's game -- and to raising funds for the YMCA.
"Local businesses getting together to do things like this is a positive thing for our community," Roy said.
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
Mary Tobin, the new community relations coordinator for Habitat for Humanity of Whitley County, wants residents in need locally to know they don't have to travel outside Whitley County to get help.
In fact, a call to Tobin is all you need to do to find real estate foreclosure prevention counseling locally. Recently, a lot of publicity has been given to Indiana Foreclosure Prevention (IFPN) counseling events offered around the state -- but none of them are being offered anywhere close to Whitley County.
Tobin said the last thing many people already struggling to keep their heads above water is to have to plan a lengthy car trip somewhere to find help.
"We are trying to let people know that they don’t have to make a special trip to surrounding counties on a particular day in order to get assistance from IFPN," Tobin said.
"The local Habitat for Humanity of Whitley County office, at 378-A North Line St. in Columbia City, offers foreclosure prevention counseling to families in our area in an effort to avoid foreclosure," Tobin said.
Those seeking assistance can call 1-877-GET-HELP or the local number is 248-4500. When calling the local number, ask to speak with Barb.
"Appointments are preferred so that we can better assist clients, but walk-ins are welcome," Tobin said.
Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman formed IFPN in November 2007 to help combat Indiana’s high foreclosure rates. The partnership between state government, lenders and community organizations seems to be working with more than 75,000 Hoosiers utilizing the service in an effort to avoid foreclosure.
Foreclosure rates in the United States have jump more than 125 percent recently. According to Skillman's office, largely due to the work of IFPN, the housing crisis has not caused as sharp of an increase in Indiana. Indiana’s rate is currently 4.5% -- which is now slightly lower than the national average 4.57%.
A special meeting of the Whitko Community School Corporation's board of trustees will be held Thursday, September 2, at 6 p.m. in the Whitko Administration Office in Pierceton.
The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the proposed tax levy referendum put forth by the Whitko Community School Corporation. Additionally, they hope to answer questions and take comments from the public.
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
Allegations that an illegal meeting was held by the Whitley County Council have been taken a step further as a South Whitley resident has allegedly filed a complaint with the Indiana Public Access Counselor's Office, one of several watch dog agencies created to ensure transparency in government.
The meeting was held July 28 regarding Whitko School Corporation's referendum and whether it would appear on the November ballot.
Per the law, a meeting was advertised and occurred as advertised at 8 a.m. that Wednesday morning. At that time, the council voted against putting the referendum regarding raising Whitko's tax rate on the November ballot.
According to councilman Jim Bayman, who attended and participated in the meeting, those present included council members Tom Western, John Barrett, Glen Larue and council president Kim Wheeler. Additionally, Whitko school superintendent Steve Clason was there along with Gene Heckman, Thorncreek Township trustee.
As we reported that week, Wheeler abstained from the vote, Western voted in favor of the referendum and Barrett, Larue and Bayman voted against the referendum. The meeting adjourned and those present departed.
A short while later, a call was made requesting the councilmen back to the chambers for another vote on the matter a second time. Bayman said he had turned his phone off, so he didn't receive that call. Wheeler, Western, Barrett and Larue returned to the chambers and cast their votes again. This time, Wheeler, Western and Barrett voted in favor of the referendum and Larue maintained his vote against the referendum.
"I don't see how that second meeting could be legal -- it wasn't advertised," Bayman said. "It's not a good way of conducting business."
Bayman was concerned that failing to follow the law when it comes to public meetings deceives the public and lessens trust in government.
"The public doesn't have a real good image of elected officials and then something like this happens," Bayman said.
Bayman said council members in Whitley County have been traditionally careful about being anywhere in groups numbering four or more because that could be construed as a meeting, even if no business is actually discussed. Knowingly creating a meeting of four members of council for the purpose of having a meeting, but not giving the required public notice, however, creates a lot of concern for Bayman and for others interested in keeping government honest and open. It also maybe a violation of the Indiana Sunshine Law.
According to the Indiana Sunshine Law, a meeting "is defined as a gathering of a majority of the governing body of a public agency for the purpose of taking official action upon public business. All meetings of the governing bodies of public agencies must be open at all times to permit members of the public to observe and record them."
Additionally, the Indiana Open Door Law says "Before a public meeting takes place, Indiana Open Door Laws, require a public notice of the date, time, and place of any meetings, executive sessions, or of any rescheduled or reconvened meeting, shall be given at least forty-eight (48) hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) before the meeting. This requirement does not apply to reconvened meetings (not including executive sessions) where announcement of the date, time, and place of the reconvened meeting is made at the original meeting and recorded in the memorandum and minutes thereof, and there is no change in the agenda. Public agencies are also required to notify all news agencies who have requested notification of meetings."
The second meeting would not have been considered a "reconvening" because announcement of the reconvening was not made at the original meeting and public entities, including the media, were not notified of the second meeting.
Following the meeting, Bayman and others, including the South Whitley resident who filed the complaint, contacted a number of watchdog agencies about the apparent violation. It is now up to the Indiana Public Access Counselor's Office to determine how the issue will be handled and what priority will be assigned to situation.
Steve and Sharon Hostetler at the CC Deli have been working to improve their soups and have come to the realization that some of them are impossible to improve!
Beginning this week, they are going back to the original recipes they began using three years ago on the following soups: Tomato Tortellini, Cheesy Potato, Potato with Bacon, Clam Chowder, French Onion, Veggie Beef, White Chili, and Beef & Noodle.
Some of the soups were in need of a change. The recently changed or developed soups include the Pepperjack Bacon, Broccoli Cheese, Cheeseburger, Cream of Crab and Chicken Corn Chowder.
Two new soups will be added this fall, including BLT and Ham & Bean.
What follows are the soups offered this week at the CC Deli:
Monday: French Onion and Cheeseburger
Tuesday: Cheesy Potato and Tomato Bisque
Wednesday: White Chili and Pepperjack Bacon
Thursday: Tomato Tortellini and Cheeseburger
Friday: Veggie Beef and Clam Chowder
The Whitley County BABE program will be in Churubusco today to meet with families with children ages 5 and under. BABE will be at Farmers & Merchants Bank from noon to 2 p.m. Visitors can redeem their BABE vouchers for infant and toddler care supplies or simply learn more about the program which rewards positive parenting with needed child resources.
The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) Fort Wayne District announced Friday that SR 14 between South Line Street and South Water St. is scheduled to be closed August 30, weather permitting, in South Whitley.
Crews will be working on the storm sewer, with the project expected to be complete by the middle of September.
The detour uses S. Line Street, West Mulberry Street, and South State Street. All work is weather permitting.
