(Talk of the Town photo provided) Above, at center, Cindy Baker has been named the new executive director of the United Way of Whitley County. Standing nearby, from left, are Deb Roy and Shawn Ellis.

By Barb Bilger

A familiar face in Whitley County's non-profit sectors has been selected to serve at the helm of an important local organization.
Cindy Baker has been named the new executive director of the United Way of Whitley County  She will officially begin her duties on June 4.
A Whitley County native, Cindy graduated from Columbia City High School.  Her deep roots give her a passion for the agencies and people of Whitley County.
Baker has worked in education and comes with experience in the not-for-profit sector as well.  Baker was the first director of BABE here in Whitley County.  After stepping down as director, she continued to serve on the board.  She is a graduate of Leadership Whitley County and has served on its board as well.
Baker says she is looking forward to working with the United Way board on its new strategic plan.  Meeting with partner agencies and learning the stories of of those for whom United Way has made a difference will be one of her first priorities as director. 
Says Baker, “The United Way has deep roots within Whitley County and I know that thousands of individuals have benefited from its agencies.  It will be my pleasure to get to know those who have been helped through the United Way and to share their stories with the community.”
Local donors and agencies will have a chance to meet Baker at the upcoming Thank You Celebration Breakfast sponsored by the United Way. The event will be held on June 19.

Whitko High School recently announced that Dylan M. Cozad is the valedictorian of the class of 2012.
Dylan is the son of Daniel and Susan Cozad of South Whitley. His high school and community activities include, cross country, track and field, National Honor Society, SADD, Whitley County Youth Leadership, student council, Art Club, 4-H FCA., Spanish Club, Ski Club and the South Whitley 5K.
He plans to attend Butler University to major in actuarial science.
This year’s salutatorian is Jesse B. Warner, son of Jan and Valerie Warner, North Manchester.
His high school and community activities include Art Club, SADD, motorcycle racing and the American Diabetes Association Tour DeCure Charity event.
He also plans to attend Butler University and major in finance.

The Blooming with Blessing Ladies Luncheon is Sunday, May 20, at 2 p.m. at West Point Trinity United Methodist Church.
For additional information or to RSVP, contact Cari Wells at carirwells@yahoo.com

(Talk of the Town file photo by Jennifer Zartman Romano) The former Larwill High School gym, shown here when Whitley County businessman Jerry Reiff completed renovation of the facility in 2008, may soon become a shrimp farm.

From the Tribune-News

You’ve heard of Indiana corn and soybeans. How about Indiana shrimp? Specifically, Larwill, Indiana shrimp?
Whitley County Economic Development Corporation (WCEDC) president Alan Tio and Region III-A director Jim Atz attended the Larwill town board meeting to help bring this about.
Tio and Atz spoke on behalf of a tax abatement application filed by property owner Jerry Reiff on behalf of a prospective tenant, Neptune’s Keep, owned by Jacob Bartlett.
The property in question is the old Larwill school gym. As it has been standing vacant for at least a year and is located in an economic revitalization area, the owner may file for a 2-year tax abatement when bringing in a new business.
Tio said that Bartlett will raise Pacific white shrimp at the facility. Production is a zero waste process, so there will be no negative impact on the sewer system.
Three to five jobs are expected at start-up with the possibility of 15 jobs long-term.
Bartlett currently has a small facility at Peru, Indiana.
The abatement is capped at two years.

Bids for the joint town/township driveway improvement at the ball diamond were opened by the Larwill Town Council during their recent meeting.
Bids came in from D. L. Bailey Construction, Brad Hall Trucking and Kneller Excavating. Since each bid included many options, the council will review them with township trustee Darcy Hoopingarner and make a decision at the June meeting.
Concerning the recurring problem with clogging at the sewer lift station at the ball diamond, councilwoman Lore Wolfe reported that she had gone door-to-door and visited with residents at 9 of the 12 homes on the line. At each home, she left a guideline paper detailing what can and cannot be flushed.
Wolfe also said that she had removed two more stray cats from town and hasn’t seen any new strays. Two of the remaining six male cats were neutered and rereleased to deter other cats from settling down. The other four males are in for the same treatment.
Summer street paving is being discussed and the council welcomes suggestions from residents.
A public hearing on the new sewer rate ordinance was convened by attorney Greg Hockemeyer and immediately continued to the June 14 meeting because it had not been properly advertised.

(Talk of the Town photo by Courtney Tritch) Below, leaders from around the region convened in Columbia City for the past two days as part of Vision 2020's Design Institute at The Eagle's Nest Event Center.

By Courtney Tritch

Today, Northeast Indiana took a "big" step forward in achieving The Big Goal, one of the top seven priorities identified through Vision 2020, the regional visioning process spearheaded by the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership. 
A group of over 100 regional leaders dedicated two full days (May 15-16) to attending the Design Institute at The Eagle's Nest in Columbia City.
Leaders in business, early childhood education, school systems, colleges and universities, adult workforce and economic development, foundations, nonprofit organizations, and government spent their time creating the framework for the creation of a strategic action plan for Northeast Indiana to reach The Big Goal. The aim of The Big Goal, adopted by the region from the Lumina Foundation for Education, is to promote strategies at all learning levels, from cradle to career, to increase the number of working age adults with high-quality degrees and credentials to 60% by 2025.  Currently, fewer than 35% of Northeast Indiana residents hold a degree or credential.
"We must commit to changing Northeast Indiana's story by transforming the region's economy and creating a talent-rich, globally competitive magnet for 21st century, high-paying jobs, so that all our residents have the opportunity to improve their standard of living and quality of life," said Vision 2020 director Katy Silliman.
The question remains:  How do we create change and achieve The Big Goal?  A core team of interested leaders led by the Talent Initiative came together and examined a number of models of community and regional action and determined that the model of "collective impact," as exemplified by the Strive Partnership of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, provided an excellent model of social change.  Collective impact is an approach to solving large-scale social problems that is based on the premise that  achieving outcomes like The Big Goal can only come from effective cross-sector coordination and cannot be achieved by the isolated intervention of individual organizations. 
As a result, Strive, a national initiative working to build the cradle to career civic infrastructure in communities across the country, was engaged to lead the Design Institute and to help build the framework needed to achieve The Big Goal. Strive has assisted regions throughout the country develop and implement action plans to align efforts and build partnerships in order to effectively create transformative action in the education and talent development arena.
Attendees of the Design Institute were invited to join The Big Goal Collaborative , networks of organizations that represent workforce training and all education levels, which will be responsible for moving The Big Goal forward after the Design Institute. Throughout this long-term process, the Talent Initiative will act as the backbone organization to convene and facilitate the networks.  The aim of The Big Goal Collaborative is to embrace a shared regional vision of educational and training achievement, and then use evidence-based decision-making to implement what works for children, youth, and adults across the cradle to career learning journey. 
"If we truly want to achieve the large-scale social change to meet this need, leaders from across all sectors must commit to aligning their efforts to create maximum impact in the region," said Talent Initiative director Leonard Helfrich. "We need to create pathways to prosperity to inspire Northeast Indiana residents to strive for excellence and help them achieve their learning and earning potential."
The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership was formed in 2006 to help build a globally competitive economy in Northeast Indiana. It is a public-private partnership focused on generating business leads and building regional capacity through product development and effective regional collaboration. In 2010, the Partnership launched Vision 2020 to bring the region together around five key areas for economic growth: 21st Century Talent, Competitive Business Climate, Entrepreneurship, Infrastructure and Quality of Life. Through its combined efforts in business development and capacity building, the Partnership supports its 10 member counties: Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells and Whitley counties.

A Columbia City childcare provider became the first in the state to participate in a new program through Early Childhood Alliance.
According to Pam Leffers, Early Childhood Alliance's program director, Tina Smith of Aunt Tina’s Day Care in Columbia City, was the first child care provider in northeast Indiana to participate in Child Care Online. Smith is a Paths to QUALITY Level 4 provider
Child Care Online is a digital tool to help northeast Indiana families assess child care facilities for quality, safety and other benchmarks, and to take a “virtual tour” of select facilities. Child Care Online is a free, Internet search tool to easily and conveniently compare child care programs, and to help parents or guardians identify a range of high quality care choices. It is available at http://www.childcareindiana.org or on Early Childhood Alliance’s website:  www.ECAlliance.org.
“This important search tool provides photos of classrooms, play areas, and equipment, as well as descriptions of a program’s philosophy, meals and snacks, rest times, staff profiles and fees.  With this detailed information, parents can research programs which meet their specific needs,” Leffers said.
Child Care Online is available for all families in Indiana through the Indiana Bureau of Child Care in partnership with the Indiana Association for Child Care Resource and Referral and the Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children. 
Child Care Online is a feature of Paths to QUALITY™, Indiana’s voluntary quality rating and improvement system for child care programs. Indiana is among the states with the highest percentage of child care programs that are nationally accredited and meet the highest standards. More than 1,145 Indiana child care programs have achieved, or are working toward the state’s highest level of care - national accreditation. Child Care Online will highlight programs that are providing rich learning environments for children. To learn more about child care resources visit http://www.childcareindiana.org.
Early Childhood Alliance is a non-profit, United Way partner committed to building better futures for young children by promoting and providing quality early childhood education and services for families, early childhood professionals and the community. Celebrating more than 55 years of caring about children, Early Childhood Alliance serves the counties of northeast Indiana through Parents as Teachers, early childhood education, Child Care Resource and Referral, professional training and development, mentoring, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, corporate consultation and advocacy.

With several explosive holidays on the horizon, it may be high time you make your fireworks plans.
Columbia City's Franciscan Fireworks, owned by residents Jacob and Michelle Alles, are planning their second annual community fireworks demonstration this Friday, May 18, 2012, at 8 p.m. The demonstration will take place in the Fort Wayne Metals parking lot, just off Cardinal Drive on the east side of Columbia City.
There is no charge to attend and the event is open to the public. Watch more than 60 new firework products and get ideas for putting on your own fireworks display.

Franciscan Fireworks is located just south of Dairy Queen, off Main Street at 109 Mulberry Street in Columbia City. For more information about Franciscan Fireworks, call 229-2696 or send an email to franciscanfireworks@yahoo.com

South Whitley-Cleveland Township Fire Department and the Whitley County Drug Task Force are planning an informative lecture for local residents about drug use.
The lecture is slated for Wednesday, May 23, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. at the South Whitley Fire Station.
Topics of discussion will include K2/Spice, bath salts, meth and prescription drug abuse. The abuse of these chemicals is on the rise and it is becoming more and more prevalent in Whitley County.
By working together to educate the community, they hope to make the area safer.

Local residents interested in forming a committee to advocate for Burnworth Memorial Pool are invited to an informational meeting tonight, Monday, May 14, 2012, at 7 p.m. at Brew Ha coffee shop in Columbia City.
This group is in the early, formative stages and hoping to find like-minded residents with an interest in preserving the 60+ year-old public pool.
Additionally, a Facebook page has been created for the group called Project S.W.I.M.

(Talk of the Town photo provided)

Shadow is a 1 to 2 year-old Miniature Pinscher/Dachshund mix (or so we guess...his ears also suggest Fruit Bat!) He is a little shy at first meeting, but warms up quickly. This adorable little guy will be a fun pet to own!
For more information on the animals available for adoption at the Whitley County Humane Shelter, visit www.hswc.org
Animals may also be viewed with the free iPhone App, also available on Android smartphones.

The eleven South Whitley municipal employees will soon be enrolled in a new health insurance plan. 
After hearing the result of a meeting council president Tony Starkey held with employees, the council voted to switch health insurance companies, moving from current insurer Anthem to Physicians Health Plan (PHP).  The switch provides the best of both worlds: PHP offers the same coverage employees now have with a monthly savings of $2,700 to the town. To qualify for PHP, the town must belong to the Whitley County Chamber of Commerce. The town has not been a member of the Whitley County Chamber of Commerce in the past.     
Resident Angie Little attended the council meeting to question her water bill.  Little was socked with a $200 water bill for 15,000 gallons of water used. After questioning the bill with Gould, Little learned that her meter had not been read for 3 months. Instead, a reading was estimated by the clerk’s office. Little also said that she was told that her meter was recently replaced because it was no longer working.     
Utilities manager Dennis Eberhart explained that the water meter at Little’s residence is set in a pit with a lid that has to be removed to read the meter. Sometimes, Eberhart said, the lid to a pit meter may be frozen in place during the winter. Even though the last months have not been cold, Eberhart said he was willing to give the meter reader “the benefit of the doubt” for not taking an actual reading. When a meter is not read, the clerk’s office sends a bill based on an estimate. In this case, Eberhart said the estimate was too low so Little eventually ended up with the $200 bill.    
 All council members indicated a willingness to work with Little on the bill, giving her the option of paying the bill over a period of time. Councilman Bill Boggs wondered whether other pit meters had been read during the same time period, saying, "no matter who's at fault, it's the citizen who has the problem."
Starkey suggested that the council review her bill and take up the matter at the next meeting.     
Boggs is looking into getting the clerk-treasure’s office set up to take utility payments with credit cards. He plans to present the terms of two companies soon.     
Starkey reported that both Alan Tio and Lori Shipman from the Whitley County Economic Development Corporation are willing to work with community members on a downtown redevelopment committee. Tio and Shipman plan to attend the next planning committee meeting.     
Eberhart said that he has been unable to locate a copy of the electric department policy document for review. Several policies and speical charges need to be reviewed. Gould promised to keep looking for the policy document.     
Dave Harvey gave a progress report on the wastewater treatment plant project. A slight problem with honeycombing in recently poured concrete caused discussion. Harvey assured the council that the concrete will be thoroughly tested for leakage. A necessary change in grade of a pipe also brought about a discussion of whether the contractor should have foreseen the necessity for the change, thereby saving money by not having to move anything. Harvey stated that not everything can be foreseen and that this problem was a "hard call."     
Attorney Greg Hockemeyer reported that the sludge hauling contract with Waste Management had already automatically renewed for this year. The council had been interested in a cheaper bid from Veolia.      
Eberhart noted that smoke-testing of the sewer/wastewater lines will occur on May 14. Residents will receive notification on the May utility bills and should not be surprised to see a little smoke here and there.

The Columbia City High School Honors Convocation is Monday, May 21, at 6 p.m. in the Newell Rice Auditorium. 
Any group or individuals planning to present an award to CCHS students, please call 244-6136, Ext 3207 (Barb Knuth) or email knuthba@wccs.k12.in.us.  When calling, please include the name of the award, presenter of the award and the student recipient's name.
All information must be submitted by Monday, May 13, 2012.