Whitley County Consolidated Schools honors familiar faces, wishes them well in retirement
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
Inside the walls of a school, there are new faces that arrive each year, eager to learn and grow. Others have learned all they can, become older and move on. But there are some faces that never change – those of long-time faculty and staff who see generation after generation move through our community’s school buildings.
On Tuesday evening, many of those long-time employees were honored by the Whitley County Consolidated School board and cheered as they now move on toward new horizons in their own lives: retirement.
Tom McElroy, a long-time maintenance and custodial employee at Thorncreek Center School and, more recently, Northern Heights Elementary School is retiring after 25 years of service.
Betty Grimes retires after 10 years in the custodial department at Coesse Elementary School.
Bobbie Louden retires after 20 years as a kindergarten teacher, most recently at Little Turtle Elementary School.
Jerry Auer is retiring after 20 years as a custodian, most recently at Little Turtle Elementary School.
First grade teacher Beth Bloom is retiring after 31 years, more recently at Little Turtle Elementary School, and previously at Mary Raber.
Jan McCoy is retiring after 26.5 years. McCoy began as a bookkeeper in the superintendent’s office and, at the urging of longtime administrator Ralph Bailey, went to college and got her degree. She retires as a reading recovery teacher at Little Turtle Elementary.
Originally a custodian at Thorncreek Center School, Steve Tackwell is retiring after 11 years as a custodian at CCHS.
Celebrating the most years of service upon her retirement was Anna Johnson. Johnson has spent 34 years in the food service department at Columbia City High School where she started working in 1975.
“Thank you for all your service,” said WCCS board president Don Armstrong.
Each retiring employee was presented with a plaque and recognized at the school board meeting on Tuesday evening at the Marshall Memorial Building in Columbia City.