By Ben McLaughlin
I would like to respond to a letter written by Dean Frantz, entitled “Call for New Morality—Stop the Killing.” First of all, I would like to thank Mr. Frantz for his letter. When I read it, I recognized an equally important argument within his argument.
For full letter, see the December 2 issue of the News-Journal. Call 260-982-6383 to subscribe.
By Ben Vineyard
After reading Mr. Frantz’s letter in last week’s paper, I feel compelled to respond. Several comments that he made were not only false, but incredibly offensive.
For full letter, see the December 2 issue of the News-Journal. Call 260-982-6383 to subscribe.
By Steve Sheets
I was amused and not totally surprised by Municipal Civil Corp engineer Ken Smith’s prompt response in the News-Journal issue of Oct. 7 (page 8A) to my letter the previous week criticizing the “quick and dirty” retrofitted windows in the new town water plant.
For full letter, see the Nov. 4 issue of the News-Journal. Call 260-982-6383 to subscribe.
By James Wilson
Hunting is an American tradition whose time has come to pass. About 13-million people hunt, and of those, only about 2-percent do it because they need the food. The rest hunt simply because they like to kill something.
For full letter, see the Nov. 4 issue of the News-Journal. Call 260-982-6383 to subscribe.
By Jeffrey D. Brasie
With United States military personnel currently serving multiple war fronts across the globe, as well as in other capacities ranging from peace-keeping to disaster relief, Veterans Day is truly time to reflect on our 1.5 million active duty, 850,000 reserve personnel, and 24 million living veterans.
America’s annual tribute of Veterans Day, which has origins upon the conclusion of World War I (1914 to 1918), where on the 11th month, the 11th day, and the 11th hour – marks what was then known as the end of the Great War.
For full letter, see the Nov. 4 issue of the News-Journal. Call 260-982-6383 to subscribe.
Dear Editor,
It has been so exciting to watch The Firehouse, our community supported music and theater venue, coming back to life. Those who have spent hours of time volunteering can see that it is better than ever with a new roof, kitchen, and restroom facilities as well as the promise of the new black box theater. It is so heartwarming to see what our community can do when we set our minds to it.......
Peggy Gilbert
For full letter, see the Oct. 28 issue of the News-Journal. To subscribe, call 260-982-6383.
Dear fellow community members,
I am writing this letter as a concerned parent who just happens to have spent the last 20 years of her life teaching. As a young adult, I entered the teaching field because I loved kids and I loved reading and writing.........
Heather Schilling
For full letter, see the Oct. 28 issue of the News-Journal. To subscribe call 260-982-6383.
To the editor,
The guest editorial by Dr. Eric Reichenbach concerning the current debate on health care hit a home run! I would add a footnote, however. He acknowledged that at a future time we still needed to address the profit motive in health care.
For full story, see the October 14 issue of the News Journal. Call 260-982-6383 to subscribe.
Dear Members of Congress,
I appreciated Dr. Eric Reichenbach's letter in the North Manchester News Journal about the health care reforms that he sees necessary for our society. It is nice to hear from the medical profession and a view that seems to be the predominant one among physicians that a guarantee of health care even for the neediest ones will provide the best situation for everyone.
For full story, see the October 14 issue of the News Journal. To subscribe, call 260-982-6383.
Editor,
Mom told me I’d better have my facts straight. God bless her, she was right, and so are my facts. Arrogant? No. Confident of the things I have seen and heard? Yes. Confident the truth is disappearing from our grasp and under attack? Absolutely!
For full story, see the October 14 issue of the News Journal. To subscribe, call 260-982-6383.
As children prepare to go back to school and as we enter the flu season, Indiana Pork farmers have an editorial request to ask from your media outlet: Please stop referring to the H1N1 virus as “Swine Flu.”
For full story, see the August 5 issue of the News-Journal.
To subscribe, call 260-982-6383.
Dear Editor,
On July 1st, new tougher animal cruelty laws went into effect that focused on dog fighting and puppy mills. However, I would like to point out that egg industry chickens on Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are the most abused animals in America.
For full story, see August 5 issue of the News-Journal.
To subscribe, call 260-982-6383.
To the editor:
Mr. Waas’ letter to the News Journal editor was referring to the most excellent, well informed and well written letter on Obama’s Cairo speech, by Tim Morbitzer. He referred to Mr. Morbitzer’s comments as xenophobic. Seriously? Xenophobic? ....Read More
To the Editor and Citizens of N. Manchester,
On Sunday evening, July 5, I attended the second meeting of concerned citizens here in N. Manchester. We had a gathering of around forty citizens. There was a common theme to the concerns that they vocalized. ....Read More
To the editor:
Last year I protested Hog Wrestling at our county fair. I was told “It wasn’t that bad.” “It’s a crowd pleaser.” “A good source of revenue.” “Not that bad for the pig.”
Hog Wrestling is, in fact, “not that bad” compared to the abusive life most industry farmed Hogs, endure. Wrestled Hogs are granted the right to move, an inherent freedom denied over 95% of the Hogs we eat. ....Read More
To the editor:
For years, the residents of North Manchester have enjoyed the beauty of our parks.
Warvel Park, our largest park, has been a focal point for picnics, family gatherings and community events. Children play for hours on the updated playground equipment installed a few years ago. The staff of the Parks and Recreation Department takes pride in maintaining the parks for the enjoyment of our residents and visitors. ....Read More
To the editor:
Every American, regardless of gender, ethnicity or religious faith, can be proud of the address given by President Obama in Cairo June 3. All of us should read the speech in full rather than depending upon clips and frequent, intentional distortions. You can read the full speech at abcnews.go.com. ....Read More
When I opted to seek the office of Treasurer of State, I never intended to be a part of a national news story. Neither did I expect that I would ever see the United States government act in a way that would take money away from retired Hoosiers but it has done so. ....Read More
When Indiana girl Katy Stamm (reigning Miss America) was closing out the national anthem at the big race Sunday with 300,000 people on their feet and ALL looking north up the track and I could see those B25’s coming into view, I don’t think there was a dry eye. Everyone was so proud and myself especially because the crew had just taken my Dad and I for a flight in the silver one on Thursday. ....Read More
A wise man once said “No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women”. That was Ronald Reagan. ....Read More
To the editor,
A random act of kindness has blessed our local home-school group. The North Manchester Missionary Church, pastored by Dan Binkley, has extended its newly renovated church to be used for the baccalaureate and commencement service of the graduating home-school class of 2009, on Saturday June 6 at 1:30 p.m. ....Read More
To the Editor,
As we all feel the pressure of the troubled economy, and the rising awareness of environmental concerns, it is easy to feel powerless. I think it’s important for us to realize the hope for long-term progress depends greatly on our day-to-day consumer choices. Each dollar we spend is a vote with the opportunity to encourage the values that we want to see in our community. ....Read More
On May 12, 2009, Manchester High School hosted school-wide physicals at Walnut Street Family Health Care. These athletic physicals are available to all Manchester student-athletes going into grades 6-12 for a minimal cost of $15. ....Read More
For the past two weeks David Mayhew has been on an emotional rollercoaster. On March 28th, 2009, Dave went to Redi-Med in Huntington with a splitting headache. Given the amount and duration of headaches he had been having, Dr. Ikenberry felt he needed a CT scan. This scan would reveal the most shocking news, a brain tumor. From Huntington Hospital Dave was sent to Parkview in Ft. Wayne where the doctor was shocked at the size of the tumor. The next morning it was decided that Dave needed to travel to Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio by a medical jet. ....Read More
A new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirms what economists and industry experts know: Using corn for ethanol has little impact on the price of food. The main culprits driving the higher cost of food are energy costs, excessive unregulated speculation in the futures market and a weak dollar. ....Read More
To the Editor,
The 58th Annual Observance of the National Day of Prayer is May 7. This year’s theme is “Prayer...America’s Hope,” based on Psalm 33:22: “May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.” ....Read More
To the Editor,
I would just like to share my appreciation to the town crews who have worked so hard to clean up after the winter ice storm. I thought it would be a long time before things would get back to looking like normal.
I also would like to compliment all the residents who have taken the time to clean up yards and have trees trimmed. As I drive around town, running errands I appreciate living in a town that not only has beautiful people but looks beautiful too. I love our town!
Sincerely,
Vicki Smith
Dear Ethanol Supporter,
Ethanol is blended in the vast majority of gasoline in vehicles today at 10%. The industry is meeting this demand, but is limited from further growth by arbitrary regulation set by the EPA in the 1970’s. ....Read More
The News Journal staff would like to thank the many contributors who participate in public conversation through letters to the editor. ....Read More
To the editor:
This week in California a twenty-two year old man achieved his lifelong dream of becoming a pitcher in major league baseball. In his debut with his team, the Los Angeles Angels, he delivered six scoreless innings for his team, while his father watched in the stadium. ....Read More
Dear Editor,
What is slavery? A tragic part of our nation’s story? A long-gone relic of American and world history? Not quite. Slavery didn’t die when Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, and it didn’t cease to exist with the end of the Civil War. ....Read More
February 8, 2009
To The Editor:
As a public school educator for over 40 years, I would normally be favorable to some lessening of constraints on public schools so that individual situations can be addressed more effectively and so that more time, focus, and resources can be directed at individual classrooms by eliminating some of the rules that seem to be so very political. ....Read More
Dear Editor,
Last November, California voters approved legislation that will help improve the conditions of animals on factory farms, that will require pregnant pigs, calves raised for veal and egg-laying hens be given enough space to stand up, lie down, turn around and extend their limbs and wings. This groundbreaking, compassionate initiative bans the inherently cruel gestation crates... ....Read More
To the Editor:
The Manchester Recreation Association acknowledges making an error with plans to purchase a few of their prizes for the top sellers from the fundraiser from out of town businesses. We have not made those purchases and have since decided to make sure all prizes are purchased from in town businesses. ....Read More
Dear President Obama,
I was inspired by your inaugural address; particularly the part where you mention the need to stop the childish partisan bickering and face the many issues America is confronting as responsible adults. I am urging you today to convey publicly this same message to those who continue to wage a campaign of misinformation, half-truths and ridiculous assertions against the ethanol industry. ....Read More
To the Editor:
I am writing to urge you to support President Obama’s economic stimulus package.
Here are some facts about what the bill really does:
1. Creates or saves 3 million to 4 million jobs in the next two years. 80 thousand of the new jobs are slated for Indiana workers. ....Read More
To the editor:
Why this urgent need to streamline Indiana’s government from all levels? The recommendations all from three people handpicked by the governor.
The governor has stated we are not well served by laws developed in the horse and buggy era. This same type of thinking has changed the very foundation of our nation’s birth, the “United States Constitution”. ....Read More
To the editor:
I’ve noticed with interest some recent letters to the editor regarding Israel’s “aggression / terrorism” in Gaza. I’d like to offer a different perspective.
While everyone has the right to interpret news reports of events happening around the world in their own way, I’m a little surprised when I understand that some people do not view Israel’s incursion into Gaza as a “response” to Hamas’ aggression (the launching of thousands of rockets aimed at Israeli civilian targets over the last number of years).
I think it’s clear to most objective observers that if there had been no Hamas rockets launched from Gaza into Israel, Israel would not be fighting in Gaza today! ....Read More
The Manchester Recreation Association (MRA) board of directors is aware that there are some questions and possibly some concern with the mandatory fundraiser being required of all participants this year. I hope to answer those questions and concerns in this letter.
The MRA is a not-for-profit organization. Over the past few years it has seen a considerable decline in fundraiser participation. At the end of 2008, in which the organization showed a considerable loss, the board decided that there was no choice, if we wished to continue to provide baseball and softball at the Glenn W. Ruppel Complex, we had to have a successful fundraiser. Our hope is that participants will choose to sell, and not incur additional costs. ....Read More
To the Editor,
Once again, my holidays have been ruined by neighbors who have dogs living outside. I get so upset when I see dogs trying to keep from freezing, sometimes standing, because the ground is too cold to lie down on.
Some have no dog house and the lucky ones that do usually have no straw. It amazes me that people think that dogs don’t get cold! They get just as cold as we do. They can get frost-bitten, and some die in extreme temperatures.
Imagine yourself outside right now with no heat at all and no blanket. Imagine yourself spending your entire life on a short chain or in a pen surrounded by feces. You can’t generate any heat, because you can’t get any exercise. ....Read More
To the Editor,
On Thanksgiving morning we met an angel!
On our way across town an oncoming vehicle passed us. Quickly I noticed brake lights, the car turned around, and obviously was pursuing us. As I came to the stop sign at Huck’s, my wife’s purse fell from the top of our car. A female angel jumped from her car, picked up the purse from the street, saying laughingly as she handed it to me, “We had this same experience last year in Colorado, and we never did find my mother’s purse.”
I was so focused on the purse that I forgot to ask her name as I thanked her. Now we are looking for our Thanksgiving angel! If you’re the one, please contact artphylh2@juno.com or 982-9640.
With thankfulness overflowing,
Art (and Phyllis) Hunn
To the Editor,
It is a sad commentary on society when common criminals are elevated to celebrity status by virtue of their infamy - while heroes remain unsung. Police officers are the true heroes and heroines of our still-mean streets across this nation.
Those special persons who care enough to “serve and protect” do so at tremendous costs both physical and emotional. The National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial wall (administered by chairman Craig Floyd) in Washington, DC starkly attests to too many such fallen defenders of public safety.
May another name never need be added to Craig Floyd’s wall of honor, sympathy, and tears due to the poor, “misunderstood” criminals - or those who support them.
Sincerely,
Joe Hammell
Waynesboro, PA
To the Editor,
I just wanted to write this letter and thank some people who are always overlooked. This week I went into NewMarket like always and got my groceries. I didn’t look at the ad but when I got ready to check out my bill was $98.56. The girl said to me, “We have a Holiday coupon in this week’s ad. If you spend $100, we can take $10 off with this coupon.” ....Read More
Letter to the Editor
Once upon a time, in the early years of this decade, the Firehouse was a gift to our community, providing a vital and safe place for young people. Then, in 2006, the roof collapsed. So the community began giving gifts to the Firehouse.
Thank you! ....Read More
As Thanksgiving approaches, I would like to share my gratitude for the many wonderful locally-owned businesses around North Manchester. For a small town, we are privileged to have an abundance of choices for holiday shopping right here at home! ....Read More
To the Editor,
As the Indiana General Assembly organizes itself for the upcoming session and the crafting of a biennial budget, the subject of funding for public schools will again be discussed and debated.
A couple of the ideas getting a lot of attention are both the need to devote as many resources (translated: money) directly into each classroom as possible and the possibility of creating cost savings to taxpayers by the consolidation of some functions of government (such as one school corporation in a county instead of three or more). ....Read More
To the editor:
On the first Saturday of November, I woke up feeling a bit gloomy. For the last five months, Saturday mornings for my family have included a visit to the North Manchester Farmers’ Market, as they usually have every summer since we moved to town five years ago. My three kiddos and I hurry to the market early for fear of missing out on hot ticket items like asparagus or fresh-picked berries, and return home (moving considerably slower) with a stroller full of all the goodies our local farmers had to offer. ....Read More
To the editor:
Time to shout “humbug” or “hallelujah”? How do the years fly by so quickly, calendar pages flipping as if channeling special effects in some forties-era black and white movie? “Rudolph” Astaire, Burl “Frosty” Ives, Grinch Jim Carrey, beleaguered banker James Stewart, and Bad Santa Billy Bob Thornton re-running all across our television sets, which will be transformed technologically into “high definition” within the blink of a February eye. ....Read More
To the Editor,
“Spread the Wealth.”
It must sound great to those who honestly prefer to be coddled by the government or, maybe, to those who do not truly understand the “Spread the Wealth” concept. However, this idea is frightening to those who understand that it is their own wealth that would be spread to others. ....Read More
Dear Editor:
Too many residents this past weekend, one which was the most critical time in showing support for our chosen candidate’s success on Tuesday through the display of yard signs and the like, were victims of the radical left and low class punks whom chose to scour the neighborhoods of our community Saturday night and rid all the lawns of McCain-Palin, and Mitch Daniels yard signs, at least here in Briarwood in North Manchester. They left the Bill Ruppel signs in our yards indicating that they think the local legislator is good for North Manchester (which he is), but also suggesting the probability that these folks are themselves Manchester residents. This criminal display of theft and cowardliness are examples in part of what we can expect from our liberal citizenry if Barack Obama is our Presidential elect after Tuesday. ....Read More
As youth, many of us first saw their faces and read about their heroic deeds in American history textbooks or on motion picture screens.
Later in life, fathers, grandparents, uncles/aunts, other relatives, and friends humbly talked about World Wars One or Two, or the Korean Conflict. Their eyes expressed the true anguish and rewards of these massive conflicts. ....Read More
To the Editor:
In reference to recent letters recommending Jerome Corsi’s Obama Nation, I recommend a quick check on the author’s credibility. Before you take Corsi seriously, look at some of his other works.
In Black Gold Stranglehold: the Myth of Scarcity(2005),Corsi argues that oil isn’t really a fossil fuel that is being depleted. Instead, he believes that oil is constantly being made at the center of the earth and centrifugally forced up by the earth’s rotation to depths that we reach by drilling Don’t worry about using it up. ....Read More
To the Editor,
To the undecided and unsure voters, I encourage you to consider these things about Barack Obama:
1. We need cool heads in Washington. In the midst of a volatile situation (the financial one) Barack Obama kept his cool. In the midst of many lies and misinformation spread about him, he has kept his cool. ....Read More
To the Editor,
John McCain keeps talking about “winning” in Iraq, and saying that we must stay there until we have achieved “victory.” The noted historian, Dr. Howard Zinn, wrote recently, “Have our political leaders gone mad? Have they learned nothing from history? Have they not learned that no one ‘wins’ in a war, but that hundreds of thousands of human beings die, most of them civilians, and many of them are children?” ....Read More
To the Editor
How much can Christians ignore? I’m proud of my Christian faith, but it bothers me that I have been repeatedly contacted by McCain supporters suggesting good Christians only have one choice. ....Read More
To the Editor:
The Laketon Lions Club would like to take this opportunity to say a BIG THANK YOU to the following for making our annual Fish Fry on September 18th a huge success: Lances NewMarket, North Manchester Greenhouse, North Manchester Park & Recreation, Bagley Roasting, Manchester Jr/Sr High School Band and Parents, Mr & Mrs Terry McKee, the North Manchester traffic assistance personnel, Shirley & Eva Glass, and all those that came to eat. ....Read More
To the Editor,
Have you ever thought about the life of a dog on a chain or in a pen?
Actually, they don’t have a life!
The only thing they can do all day is sit in dirt surrounded by their feces.
They usually get absolutely no exercise, no medical attention, no baths or nail trims, no shade in the summer, no straw in their dog house in the winter (sometimes no dog house), and most importantly, no love! ....Read More
Submitted by LuAnn Layman, Wabash County Treasurer
Taxes have decreased significantly on properties that have the homestead exemption on them. This includes the house and one garage-either attached or not, and land up to one acre. Extra acreage and other outside buildings are not at a reduced rate.
We have heard from several individuals that their taxes went up. In the case of farmland, the value of an acre of land went from 1050 in 2007 to 1140 in 2008. This causes taxes to go up for farmland. Therefore, when a house is located on a farm, the decrease in the homestead property doesn’t show up as much since the farmland increased. ....Read More
Letter to the Editor
I would like to thank everyone that helped to make my Eagle Scout Project, Operation Backpack, a success.
We were able to provide 17 sets of school supplies for each grade, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th at Manchester Elementary, as well as additional supplies that could not be made into completed supply sets. ....Read More
Dear Editor:
Recently, there has been a great deal of discussion about the Kernan-Shepard report and how it could affect local government. I have repeatedly heard rumors that the General Assembly will discuss the report in the upcoming session, ultimately eliminating all local government. ....Read More
To the Editor:
I would like to express my response to Bill Ruppel’s “letter to the editor” in which he announces his support for the Kernan-Shepherd bill.
If put into law, parts of this study will, beyond any doubt, take us to state control of local government. The study will eliminate not certain government actions or jurisdictions, but whole government structures, so when the new is worse than the old, there will not be any way to go back. It will be a one way trip. ....Read More
To the Editor,
They got me again. Thieves. This time we caught them red-handed (thanks to a good neighbor). Yes, we have pictures too.
The guy went to jail, where he was just two weeks prior. Seems like a pattern forming if you ask me. I have learned a lot. First, tick off your thief, make them mad enough so they attack you, then shoot them. One less worthless thief to wander the earth.
Ok, now we have another problem. It seems that if you sell scrap metals, and it’s less than $100 of aluminum, stainless steel or copper (for the most part) you don’t have to show an I.D. ....Read More
To The Editor,
I would like to take this time to thank ALL coaches, parents, and especially the kids who have been so much a VERY important part of my life since I have been umpiring. It has been so much of a joy for me to be able to have made such wonderful friendships with all of you.
I have made the decision to give up umpiring to those who believe that they always have the better “view” of calling balls and strikes. For over 25 years I have enjoyed umpiring for our community, as well as others. I feel that the game has gotten so “out of hand” that it is NOT a game any longer. ....Read More
To the Editor
Mrs. Boomershine begins her diatribe against me, published in last week’s News-Journal, with a number of rhetorical questions, to wit: “When is enough enough? How long is Steve Sheets going to be allowed to degrade the North Manchester Parks and Recreation Department?’ Has he not said all he has to say at least 5 times? How many chances does he get to rehash it over and over and over again?”
Rhetorical questions almost by definition are not really seeking answers. But I will attempt a response without being unduly repetitious (or using any potentially bewildering Latin phrases!). ....Read More
Dear Editor,
It has recently come to my attention the large number of teenage pregnancys there are today in Wabash County. I wasn’t aware of this until I found out my own daughter was pregnant right after she turned 18 last month. As I was a teenage mother myself, I would like to pass on some very valuable information and advice to these girls.
First I would like to say, Congratulations! You are starting the most wonderful experience of your life...And the most difficult! Having a child, especially at such a young age, is very difficult. ....Read More
To the Editor,
When is enough - enough? How long is Steve Sheets going to be allowed to degrade the North Manchester Parks and Recreation Department? Has he not said all he has to say at least 5 times? How many chances does he get to rehash it over and over and over again, and then let his friend (Mr. Wehner) do a summary of what was said. This is really getting old.
I don’t know how many of your readers remember why Steve started to write to the newspapers, but it had to do with his being banned from using the pool facility due to his rude comments and gestures to pool patrons, his disrespect of the pool staff, equipment and rules, his constant negative connotations, and lying (Yes folks, he was caught telling a lie). It seems to me that Steve has kind of “swept that dirt under the rug”, so to speak, and goes on and on about what is wrong with the pool, in hopes that people will forget what he did. ....Read More
Dear Editors,
A now deceased local attorney used to have this motto on his letterhead:
“North Manchester – The Crown Jewel of Hoosierdom, a great place to live, work, learn and grow wise.” This is still true. A local minister during premarital counseling shared this sage advice: “There are 95 things about your fiance that you love, and only 5 that you don’t. The key to a happy marriage is to always focus on the 95%.” This is still true.
While walking my dog, “Jasper” last Wednesday night, the aroma of a wonderful, though unidentifiable scent greeted me as we passed the Post Office. Later, on our return trip, a friend who was approaching came along side and said to me: “Enjoy the smell of that “Linden” tree.” We were standing near the South West corner of our Post Office, and he shared with me, that this small “Linden” tree replaced a bigger one that used to grace the corner. As I left that encounter I felt compelled to write a few notes of praise for our town, our beloved “Crown Jewel.” I want to praise the 95% of things that are true and right in our town and to focus on our blessings. ....Read More
Dear Editor:
One cannot help but be moved by the sudden but predictable outpouring of community concern about the fate of the community pool, as described in The News-Journal’s article “TC Hears Affects [sic] of Pool Closure on Residents” (Wed., May 7,2008, 1A). And Stephanie Jones’ poignant letter in the same issue (8A) accurately reflects the importance of the pool and its various programs in the lives of many of all ages in the community over the years.
The tragic element in all of this concern is that most in the community were perfectly happy to continue visiting the pool, perhaps complaining mildly on occasion about this or that minor inconvenience but by and large oblivious to the real problems until faced with the inevitable great reality check of the pool finally having no choice but to close its doors in the interest of public safety. Steve Sheets, the chief prophet of inevitable consequences, was castigated as a troublemaker, banned and censored when he tried to exercise the 1st Amendment right of free speech to speak up at a public Town Council meeting, and generally considered a dog in the manger by those who only wanted to continue feeding from it undisturbed, unconcerned that the feed supply might someday run out. ....Read More
To the editor:
A member of the MRA board told me recently, “Steve, nobody is ever is going to listen to anything you have to say, so you might as well save your breath.” This observation is, unfortunately, probably correct as it applies to council or park board members in charge of determining how your tax dollars are to be spent. The comments of numerous people who speak to me privately, however, reinforce my impression that my observations are indeed having an influence-not to mention being appreciated more and more as facts emerge independent of me-on members of the public willing to think about and form their own opinions about certain issues.
The recent recommendation of MSKTD which apparently finally led to the decision to close the pool indefinitely of course does confirm what I have for years been telling those in charge about the consequences of negligent maintenance, and, for the past year or so, of the imminent danger or roof collapse. Suffice it to say that the deteriorated roof and corroded beams didn’t just suddenly happen as a consequence of its being forty years old, as the Park Board’s statement would like to imply. I am glad that my suspicions were confirmed by an entity the Park Board would and did finally listen to in time to avert a possible tragedy. I am as sorry as anyone and take no joy in the fact that the pool’s present condition necessitates such an inconvenience to all those who will have to do without or look elsewhere for employment, lessons, recreation and physical fitness maintenance. ....Read More
Nine years ago, when I started at the News-Journal, I couldn’t cut paper, literally.
We have a cutting board that doesn’t get used anymore but still sits in our production room. When it was used, I struggled at first to get a straight cut. I also had trouble gluing pages together, but that’s another story for another time.
If someone told me nine years ago, as I threw crumbled, half-cut paper on the ground like a frustrated writer in a bad movie, that one day I would be the managing editor at the News-Journal, I would have figured something went terribly wrong.
Nine years later, things at the News-Journal are not terribly wrong—they have been going as well as they have in years, and for that, I’m excited. ....Read More
by Tim McLaughlin
It was 15 years ago when I began working at the News-Journal. At the time, I was 20 years old and had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my life.
A sports writer's position became available at the News-Journal, my hometown newspaper. At the time, my mom was working at the paper as a graphic designer.
Through her, I knew the owner, Worth Weller, fairly well, and decided that even though writing was clearly not a career I envisioned for any great length of time, my love of sports made the job acceptable in the short-term.
Fifteen years later, I’ve worked at this newspaper as a sports writer, an Editor, an owner, and a Managing Editor. I’ve been here through four different owners and probably twice that many news writers and sales people.
I’ve seen drastic changes in technology. When I began working at the News-Journal, I used a 35mm camera and developed my own film and printed my own pictures. We pasted up our pages, and when completed, drove them down to the printer.
Now all photos are digital and the newspaper is laid-out entirely on the computer and e-mailed to our printer. Because of the change in technology, our staff is half the size that it once was. ....Read More
My family and I will miss the Community Pool very much. I‘ve watched my grandkids go through swim lessons, and Ashley in MAC swim practice and swim meets. It‘s been a very impressive and unforgetable experience. As for myself I am one of the adults Stephanie mentioned that does lap swimming and uses the whirlpool to ease and heal arthritic joints. Kathy Staton and all the staff have all treated me very professional and polite.They‘ve made a special effort to make sure I enjoy my visits.
A big plus for swimmers on a swim team is that everyone gets to participate everytime. The Community Pool has been a great asset to hundreds of children in the area. I really hope we can build a new one.
Thank you, John Price
To the editor:
On Thursday, April 17th the Manchester Community Pool closed its doors because of structural problems that made it unsafe to remain open.
During the forty years that the pool has been in operation, countless children and adults have availed themselves of all the opportunities that the pool offers.
Hundreds of children in North Manchester and surrounding communities have learned to swim during the Red Cross lessons offered in the spring and summer months. Many of these same children have become active members of the swim teams, continuing through high school.
Many adults do lap swimming on a regular basis for exercise and cardio-vascular fitness. These same people sometimes use the whirlpool or sauna for sore muscles or arthritic joints.
One of the largest segments of pool participants is the hydro-aerobic class, offered Monday – Friday in the morning and Tuesday and Thursday in the evening. About forty women and men are enrolled in these sessions for various reasons. Some enroll on the recommendation of their doctor to help heal knees, hips, backs and other health problems. In fact, many of the hydro-aerobic participants find relief and healing through this activity.
The Community Pool is used regularly by students from grade school through college for relaxation and enjoyment. Many summer afternoons are spent swimming at the pool. Pool parties are held throughout the year.
North Manchester is a wonderful community in which to be a child, grow up, raise children and retire. Having a pool in our community enhances every stage of life. If a pool is not part of our community’s resources, it will be a great loss to all of us.
It is my hope that the town board along with other agencies involved will make the decision to continue the forty year tradition of having a community pool in North Manchester. We all know that funding will be difficult, but without this resource the quality of life will be diminished for the entire community.
Stephanie Jones
To the Editor:
Regarding David Waas’ letter, I found it highly ironic that he urges us to remember Matthew 7:1 ‘do not judge so that you will not be judged’ - while at the same time he passes judgment on James Spencer as “self-serving” and a “hatemonger.”
By the way, one may “feel blessedly relieved of the need to assess another person’s Christianity” but Jesus Himself told us that we should “beware of false prophets who come in sheeps clothing” and that we would “know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:13-15). Sounds like an assessment is being made to me. The Bible clearly instructs believers to “test all things; hold fast to what is good” (I Thessalonians 5:21) and that “many false prophets have gone out into the world” (I John 4:1-2). We are repeatedly called upon in Scripture to examine doctrine and teachings to see if they line up with Biblical truth. In the words of the Apostle John, “Let no man deceive you.”
Tim Morbitzer
TruthSeekers
To the Editor:
After I read the April 2nd editorial by former Mormon and author, James R. Spencer, who said that “Mormonism does not qualify as a Christian religion,” I turned to look at the picture of Jesus Christ that we have hanging in our living room. Then, I thought about all that I have learned about Christ in church, in my own personal study of the scriptures, and the many lessons that we have taught our children about Jesus over the years.
I am a Mormon, although as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I prefer to be referred to as “LDS.” However, the acronym is a small matter. Just please, don’t tell me that I am not a Christian or that I am not someone who at least tries to live a Christ-like life and follow the teachings of the Savior.
I believe that Mr. Spencer’s comments are from a person with an axe to grind and a book to sell. Twice, Mr. Spencer mentions “escaping” the Mormon church. His most dramatic statement being: “Should we ask a True Believer, or should we ask someone who has escaped and lived to tell about it?”
Here are two easy steps to “escaping” the Mormon church: Step one: A no-brainer...stop going to church meetings. Step two: Write a letter and ask that your name be removed from the records of the church. I am confident that you will “live to tell about it” because nobody is creeping in the shadows to drag you away. Good grief!
In the early days of the church, many people believed that Mormons had horns. Yes, people thought that under the hats and bonnets of Mormon men and women, there were literally, horns. I comb my hair to cover mine, but this recent Indiana weather makes it hard to hide on some windy days.
Thankfully, I live in America where I have the right to worship as I see fit and also respect the freedom of others to believe and worship as they choose. Also, I would defend Mr. Spencer’s freedom of speech to anyone, no matter how much I disagree.
But please, respect mine. Don’t tell me that I am not a Christian when Jesus Christ is such an important part of my life and in the lives of my family.
Sincerely,
Randy Ragan
To the Editor:
We are troubled by the showing of a film, The God Makers, in North Manchester. It professes to portray the beliefs and “hidden secrets” of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often called the Mormons). This film is described by a multi-denominational group, the National Conference of Christians and Jews, as “making extensive use of ‘half-truth’, faulty generalizations, erroneous interpretations, and sensationalism. It is not reflective of the genuine spirit of the Mormon faith.” Rhonda M Abrams, the Regional Director for The AntiDefamation League of B’nai B’rith also made a statement condemning The God Makers film. Part of her statement challenges people of all faiths to “similarly repudiate The God Makers as defamatory and untrue, and recognize it for what it truly represents - a challenge to the religious liberty of all. “
Of course, groups opposed to the Church have a right to distribute their material. The issue is not one of rights. Rather, it is that one religious group chooses to target another with a film full of distortions of its doctrine and history, and misrepresentations so stark that they call into question the integrity of the producers. ....Read More
To the Editor,
There is an expression in German: “sich mit fremden Federn schmuecken,” which means literally “to bedeck oneself with the plumage of others,” in other words, to take credit for the ideas of others. If the North Manchester Town Board and Parks and Recreation Board are finally progressing in their collective thinking vis-a-vis the pool facility, it seems to me that this is due in some measure to Steve Sheets dogged efforts, although the only recognition he has received has been the back of their hand across the face.
Sometimes an irritant is necessary before progress is made, as an oyster produces a pearl due to the irritation of a grain of sand. For years Sheets warned of the exponentially increasing consequences of neglect and poor decisions such as the removal of capstones that hindered the spalling (eroding) of brick walls which are now in serious disrepair. It seems likely that his complaints had something to do with the commissioning of the $13,000 professional study which largely confirmed his own observations but which were perhaps finally taken seriously only because of that study. Free unsolicited advice is often resented and disregarded, while what is paid for is valued accordingly. At least the main problems seem now to be generally recognized as well as the fact that they can no longer be ignored. Finally, it seems, the scales have fallen from the eyes of some of the people in charge; at the most recent Town Council meeting, Park Board President Anne Myers noted (as quoted in the March 12 issue of The News-Journal), for instance: “Inside the building we can see cracks, and outside the bricks [referring to one corner in particular] are popping out and bulging . . . it may not be structurally sound.” ....Read More
Dear Editor,
Did you know? – There are more slaves in the world today than there were during the entire transatlantic slave trade.
Did you know? – There are 27 million people enslaved around the world today.
Did you know? – There are 17,500 foreign nationals trafficked into the U.S. every year.
Did you know? - There are well over 100,000 people living at this very moment enslaved in the United States.
Did you know? – There will be 30,000 slaves transported through the United States on their way to other international destinations each year.
Did you know? – Attorneys from the U.S. Department of Justice have prosecuted slave-trade activity in ninety-one cities across the United States and in nearly every state of the nation. (excerpted from Not for Sale by David Batstone)
Did you know? – “Each year, 800,000 to 900,000 human beings are bought, sold or forced across the world’s borders,” spoken by President Bush before the United Nations General Assembly in September 2003. ....Read More
Note from the Editor: An incorrect version of this letter was mistakenly printed in last week's issue. The News-Journal apologizes for this error.
To the editor:
I was apparently in error in suggesting in my last letter that North Manchester’s police chief must have been present expressly for my benefit at the recent joint Town Council-Park Board meeting. I was relying on the impression of two town residents who sometimes attend Council meetings that the police are not usually in attendance. Perhaps my informants would have noticed only uniformed police. I am sure that, whatever the reason might have been, the uniformed officer did not appear in the room until sometime after I had begun speaking. ....Read More
To the editor:
As a concerned mother, I’m writing this in hopes it will make a difference in some child’s life.
We as parents teach our children that drugs are bad and can cause harm to them or someone else. Even though being a bully or just a mean child or adult is only saying mean things to someone else, maybe it’s a group of bullies picking on one child, it’s still harmful and cruel. What are we teaching our children and students by accepting this behavior as normal?
We have let it go for years now, and passed it off as just growing up. Well, let’s stop and think for a moment about the school shooting and how we teach our kids about drugs and sex, and how not to do them.
I’m very aggravated with this situation. Teasing and being cruel to another classmate because they aren’t cool like you doesn’t give you the right to ruin their self esteem, confidence, make it so they suffer at school, and not want to go to school.
This behavior is not so different than doing drugs. I’m convinced that making a change with this can make a difference.
I’m sure this letter won’t change the world. All I care about is getting parents to be aware of the damage it can cause, and it seems to be only getting worse over the year. Now kids are taking guns to school. What’s next? ....Read More
To the Editor:
Approximately nine months ago our town woke up one early July morning to some really bad news. A heavy rainfall had caused the roof of the Firehouse to collapse, and with that collapse went eight years of hard earned dreams. Everyone who had invested their hearts in the first teen hangout in our town had to come to terms with the overwhelming soggy mess strewn from one end to the other. First you cry? Yes, probably there were those who did. Then what? Then you roll up your sleeves and do what ever it takes to bring it back. After all, it’s our first teen hang out ever. It’s worth it.
When reality set in, the overwhelming soggy mess was overridden by dollar signs. Costs to tear down the remaining roof, build it back up, and bring the whole building up to code were just plain daunting. But that is where our dauntless community comes to the rescue. It has taken many meetings and the expertise of many leaders to figure out how to save this great place for our kids, and it has taken one loving grandmother, to pull our town together for one of the most successful fundraisers this town has witnessed in a very long time. After all, her grandson loves the place. It’s worth it. ....Read More
Over the years, I’ve listened to a lot of people speak negatively about the town of North Manchester. Whether that talk has been focused on a lack of growth, both commercially and in population, geared towards a particular individual or group, or just complaining to complain, most people have a small problem with something this town does or doesn’t offer.
And I’m sure that if I thought enough, I could come up with something about this community that’s rubbed me the wrong way at some point in my life as well.
I think it’s a pretty safe assumption that no matter where you live, if you’ve lived there long enough, you could think of something about that place that you’d like to change.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m as guilty as anyone for finding the negative in something. But the thing about North Manchester, and the same may be true for other communities as well, is that you don’t have to look very hard to find something really amazing going on.
Over the past few weeks, major efforts have been made by large groups of people to raise money for two very worthwhile causes. ....Read More
To the editor:
You can call them urine tests, drug screens or pee tests. What ever you call them, they p*** me off.
Not the fact I have to pass them. Contrary to belief, I have and I will, pass them. I have been employed since 7th grade, gladly paying taxes and making an income to purchase things I need and want. For those who know me, my wants exceed my needs most of the time.
Now, how come, I as a worker that doesn’t miss work, likes his job and tries to do good for my employer has to pass a urine test? I understand it’s the “users” that taint the systems, forcing our insurance companies to force employers to spend money to test employees. How come those on unemployment are not forced to pass a drug test to get their check? Unless they have a job lined up and they must pass to get hired, they get their check, untested. I still have to pass a test to get mine. I work. How about all the people on welfare, food stamps, the so called “disabled” that fool the system to get free food and money...why are they not tested. (disclaimer here, real
To the editor:
First, I think we need to thank the people that do the community a service. I’m talking about the ones that donate time to pick up garbage along the roads. Here is my THANK YOU. I appreciate your work.
I just spent two hours walking the side ditch along my properties, filled up four large trash bags with a fine collection of beer bottles, cans, fast food wrappers, assorted biggy soda cups, and empty cigarette packs, among other items. (Anyone need a car remote? I found one.)
Even though I do this “job” a few times a year, I don’t really enjoy picking up others’ trash. So, I feel that we should thank those who donate the time to clean our highway ditches of the crap others throw out.
Now, I noticed it seems the major players in all this trash are the fast food joints and fountain drink providers. I know that they have no control to where their “stuff” gets deposited, but if I could take a trash bag full of spent wrappers, empty French fry cups or soggy biggy cups back to the source and get a free drink or something-it would be nice. Kind of like turning in old pop bottles for deposit money when I was a kid. A little incentive to keep America beautiful.
Could you imagine, kids putting down the PS3 controller, and picking up trash to get a free Happy Meal? Yeah, I can’t either, but it was worth a thought.
And, for what it’s worth, I don’t understand drinkers that throw out their cans and bottles. They seem to leave a small amount in them. Just enough to splatter all over my clothes when I pick it up. I would think that if I was to pay for that stuff, I would get every last drop out of the container.
Updates Soon.
Robin Brubaker
Dear editor,
I am 44 years old, born and raised in Wabash County. I graduated from Southwood High School in 1982, as did my wife, Renee (Brown).
We’ve been married 24 years and have three sons, Jonathan, 21 years old, and Blake, 20 years old, who both live in Fort Wayne and graduated from Northfield High School, and Nicholas, 11 years old, and is a fifth grade student at Sharp Creek Elementary.
We are members of Bachelor Creek Church of Christ and serve in different areas in our church.
I was elected to the Wabash County Council and finished my first year in 2007. I was elected vice chair on the council this year - 2008.
I was previously on the Wabash Metro Baseball League as treasurer for approximately 10 years, where I also helped coach.
I have worked for G. A. Moore Construction (the log home on U.S. 24 in Lagro) for 14 years as the office manager. Prior to this, I worked in the building materials industry, both retail and wholesale, for 24+ years. ....Read More
To the Editor:
Though it took a long time to come to this position, the Bush administration finally has it right. The Israeli occupation of Palestine must end. While in Israel President Bush said that the occupation of land which Israel seized in 1967 is an essential step to peace. He also affirmed that a future Palestinian State must have contiguous territory. Ever since the 1967 war the official position of the U.S. and of the international community has been that the occupation and the resulting settlements Israel has aggressively built, are illegal. U.S. policy statements and U.N. resolution 424 make that clear. Last week President Bush publicly affirmed that position.
I have witnessed the creeping expansion of illegal settlements which strangle Palestinian villages and the numerous roadblocks that strangle Palestinian commerce. To support those settlements Israel has built a network of “settler only” highways throughout the West Bank which Palestinians cannot use or even cross. These highways make normal travel and trade impossible for Palestinians.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia presented a plan for peace years ago. It assured normalization of relations between Israel and Arab states if Israel would return to its legal 1967 borders. But Israel’s continued expansion of settlements blocked such a peace agreement and, unfortunately, may again. At the same time Israel is constructing a separation wall that seizes still more land as well as blocking Palestinian access to their farms and orchards and markets.
As President Bush said last week, it will take some difficult decisions on the part of Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Let us pray that they will have the courage to make those decisions and that President Bush’s initiative will succeed.
David Waas
To the editor:
I am a taxpayer — property tax, sales tax and income tax. Do I feel taxed to death? Sometimes, but I have always felt I had a voice in what was happening in our state. This is no longer true.
Mitch Daniels ran for governor telling the small towns that he was going to preserve them. He was going to support our rural way of life. Then he was elected. With that election came the time issue. (We still have split time in Indiana.) We have also witnessed the leasing of the toll road. (Have you seen an accounting of where that money has gone? Have you seen an improvement in our roads? Have you seen any common sense and reason being applied to the idiotic plan to build a highway from Evansville to Indianapolis instead of upgrading the highways already in place? Yes, let us destroy a few more family farms and small towns by building through the farms and around the small towns. Not to be forgotten is the plan to build additional highways around Indianapolis.) Of course, small towns around the state have lost their license branches. (Oh, yes this governor is for the rural community.) Do you see a theme here? So much for campaign promises. Now we are hearing another idea on how to save the people of Indiana. Our governor plans to take away our local control and place it in the hands of one elected county chief executive and the state. ....Read More
Quite a few people have spoken to members of my family and me and expressed regret that they were not able to attend my mother's memorial service on December 22 due to holiday travels and family Christmas celebrations in progress during that time. For those people, and for others who knew her and remember her fondly, I've decided to print the following piece that I shared with those in attendance on that day.
One thing that I’ve discovered about my mom over the past week in particular is the legacy she is leaving behind.
I’ve always known what a terrific, loving, and caring mom she was. There has never been any doubt in my mind the love she had for me or my brother. We felt her love through her words, her actions, and her unselfishness.
I have grown to appreciate her even more in different roles as I’ve gotten older. I’ve seen firsthand the joy she had in being a grandmother for the first time and how she cherished that new part of her life. All five of her grandkids felt her love and knew unquestionably how important they were to her. ....Read More
To the Editor:
During my holiday visit to my parents' home, I was dismayed to open the News Journal to an article regarding the local college’s “Fast-Forward” program. While I have no disillusions that my editorial will change the college’s decision, perhaps my words will bring a different perspective to the wider community.
The fast-track three year program basically advocates saving money to move onto a career or graduate school, assumedly so that a graduate will ultimately have more start-up money to make the next transition. What I believe the program fails to address is post-graduate life. McFadden mentions that the student will be able to pursue all opportunities afforded to a four-year-track student, such as study abroad, extracurricular activities and student life.
Many post-bac graduates will acknowledge that masters or doctorate work is nothing like undergraduate work. The rigorous training requires a kind of discipline unbeknownst to most undergrads, regardless of the finite time it takes to complete a degree.
My doctorate work will take me at least eight years to complete and knocking a year off of my undergraduate bill would have aided me with some of my graduate bills, however, I would not have given up a fourth year of college for the cost-differential. While the college acknowledges that this program “is not for everyone,” what clearly becomes most disturbing is that general education courses are online courses. Removing classroom interaction from a liberal arts education is fundamentally antithetical to the purpose of a liberal arts degree. ....Read More
There is a divide in our country between those on the one hand who see us threatened by “Islamo-fascists” who want to convert or kill us and those on the other hand who see the threat as our own government’s “preemptive” military attacks that increase hatred of our country abroad and help in recruiting new supporters for violent armed groups.
The first group feels it imperative that we stay in Iraq until we have caught or killed the terrorists, and the latter see us creating terrorists in a country where there weren’t any, and faster than we can disable them.
Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of TIKKUN magazine, recently spoke at Manchester College and shed some light on this divide. He talked about two fundamentally different ways of understanding ourselves and our social reality. One view says human beings are thrown into this world by themselves, facing a reality of deep competition for scarce resources. Each person is looking out for himself. In such a world the only way to maximize our own self-interest is to learn how to dominate and control others before they control us.
The alternate world view is that we come into life as the child of a mother and can only survive at least the first few years by being nurtured by a mothering other who for the sake of our survival makes sacrifices in order for us to grow. So the fundamental experience of this world view is one of connection and love. We find protection and safety in this world not through domination, but through love, cooperation and mutual support. This is a world view taught by most of the religious and spiritual traditions.
These world views have been in competition for at least the past several thousand years. The first theory seem to be the dominant one today at least partly because the religious institutions have diluted their message by engaging in struggles for power and dominance themselves.
The truth for most of us is that we have elements of both belief systems in our make-up. The basic emotion of the first view is one of fear; of the other is one of hope. Which view dominates our own thinking is probably largely determined by our experiences and our own assessment of where everybody else is on the continuum of fear/hope.
It is important for us to ask ourselves, what kind of a world do we want to live in and how do our actions affect that?
If we are resigned to the idea that the only way to safety is through dominance, then it is important that we have the strongest military and that we use it to “punish” any group that threatens us, and that we have troops located around the world (as is the case today). Of course we are making it more likely that others will view the world in the same way. If they don’t have the means to mount a serious military threat, they may see as their only recourse to be suicide bombers or the like.
If we want to live in a world that operates on hope and cooperation, then we need to look seriously at our national priorities. Our national budget, for example, allocates 95% of all federal dollars for foreign engagement to the military. The entire State Department budget, money for foreign aid, and support for the United Nations must come out of the remaining 5 percent. We would need a new policy of international engagement based on diplomacy, development and support for international institutions to move toward this world view.
Each of these world views are to some extent self perpetuating. Each one interprets events through its own filter. Those who follow the dominance view, for example, think the only reason we didn’t prevail in Vietnam was we didn’t turn the military loose. Those of the cooperation view would say it was doomed from the start and that the fact, for example, that we dropped over one and one half times more tonnage of bombs on South Vietnam alone in two years (1968-69) than all the allies dropped on Germany throughout WW II would indicate we weren’t holding back1. They would also point to the little country of Costa Rica in Central America that abolished its army 58 years ago. It sits only a few hundred miles from Cuba and next door to countries that have been taken over during that time by military dictators. Today it is the wealthiest and most democratic of the Central American countries and has never been invaded or attacked by terrorists during that time.
One thing everyone can agree on is that we want to live in a world where we have security in our person and in our country. Are the things we are doing as a country moving us toward a world in which people settle their differences without resorting to violence or is our example saying the only way to be truly safe is to amass as many weapons as possible? Wouldn’t it be better to build a world wide coalition that works toward eliminating the causes of terrorism as well as bringing to justice those individuals who are using violence to push their agenda?
1.Raphael Littauer and Norman Uphoff, eds. The Air War in Indochina (Boston: Beacon Press, 1972) pp. 10 &203.
The views expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the News-Journal or its staff.
by William Eberly
Several times in this column it has been mentioned that one of the units of the North Manchester public school system (the North Ward School) was actually held in one of the college buildings for about twenty years. Since that building was scheduled for demolition, we invited anybody who was a student in the old North Ward School to come back and see the old school rooms once more. Six former students came to this reunion, along with other visitors.
Willodean Studebaker Lambert attended all six grades here. Marjorie Metzger Cauffman, Mary Kathryn Fish Uhrig, and Glen Mulligan were classmates in the first and second grades. Ruth Weaver Tully came for the fifth grade but was advanced to the sixth grade because she had mastered all the fifth grade material. Mildred Morris Gilbert was in a pre-school class, sort of a kindergarten. Other students not able to attend sent their greetings.
After finishing the sixth grade at North Ward, students went to the Central School for seventh grade through high school. Central School, located on the north side of Fourth Street between Walnut and Market streets, has an interesting history. As early as 1838, several private “subscription” schools were operating in Chester Township. By 1850, state funds were available to “free schools”, managed by the Township Trustee. These one room schools were located about every two miles along the country roads, serving children within a four square mile area. There were twenty schools in Chester Township and another sixteen in Pleasant Township. ....Read More
by Tim McLaughlin
After last week’s letter to the editor from James Wehner, and numerous other letters from individuals concerning issues at the North Manchester Community Pool, and more specifically the job being done by current Parks and Rec Director, Kathy Staton, I decided that it was time to respond to this ongoing soap opera.
Let me start off by saying that I like to receive letters to the editor. Letters make for interesting reading. The News-Journal values the opinions of the community, and as long the originators have no problem signing their names to their opinions, then they are generally approved for publication.
That being said, enough is enough. The News-Journal will happily continue to run any letters about the community pool that shares new insight, brings new subject matter to the table, and offers a different angle or perspective.
Letters crossing my desk that continually re-hash the “same old, same old,” review the same thoughts that have already appeared in print many times, and are obviously designed to tear down the pool, the parks board, or an individual will simply not run. ....Read More
Since last week’s feature story on the “Mystery of the Hong Goose,” not only did four community members share their recent experiences, but the Goose contacted the News-Journal as well. Below are their e-mails.
News Journal,
I had an exciting week. I spent the night on Wayne Street at Derek Jones’ house. And then I went to visit Ms. Stone. Boy, she sure does have neighbors looking after her.... I felt like I was being watched the whole time I was there. If you would like to see me now, I am on Highway 13 at the Lightle’s house. Thanks for the article! It really made my day, but you said you are trying to figure out who I am. I already told you, I am Hong Goose silly. I must get some shut-eye, but it will be difficult with all of these cars passing by. Hope to keep your week interesting.
Ta Ta,
Hong Goose
From Peggy Gilbert: Just a quick note to clarify the detached head story. When Hong was discovered padlocked to the Gilbert’s front porch, it was clear that she was in serious distress. Her neck was duct taped with layer after layer of the sticky grey tape. It was decided that major surgery was in order, so the gilberts tried to do some emergency surgery with a glue gun and fresh duct tape. It didn’t work. It makes perfect sense. Of course a goose would reject “duck” tape. She was retrieved in two pieces from our house, and without a trace of evidence. She looked great in the picture. We’re glad the poor dear has been mended.
From Kylee Clapp: About a month ago, I was at golf practice. I was golfing in a group that included Katherine Tate (a sophomore). After we began walking from teeing off she asked “Hey, is that a goose?” I immediatly started cracking up. I then said “No, thats the 150 yard marker.” The next morning, I woke up bright and early for golf. I went outside and I freaked out. I remember yelling “Mom, what is on our porch!” I soon found out it was a very heavy fake goose. My mom and I couldn’t stop laughing, but we couldn’t figure out why it was there. I later began thinking about what had happened at golf the previous day and knew Katherine had to be the one to put it there. I told my friends about it and and we all began to accuse Katherine. We told her that we would get revenge. She said she had no idea what I was talking about. A week or two later, I came to find out this goose is all around town at different houses. I felt a little bad for accusing Katherine and knew it wasn’t her.
Ever since then I have been wondering who is behind all this, and would really like to know. ....Read More
To the editor:
Two weeks ago, Mr. Steve Sheets wrote a letter to the editor titled “Aging Infrastrucure”. His letter contained allegations concerning The Firehouse, its structural integrity and the lack of governmental oversight. He further alleged that the building was deteriorated and a public danger. I will briefly present the facts, as I know them.
Immediately after the collapse of the roof on The Firehouse, a certified structural engineer evaluated the condition of the building. The following are his findings:
*The roof collapsed as the result of excessive water weight on the roof.
*The roof received approximately 2 1/2 inches of rain in 20 minutes, not allowing the roof drain to properly get rid of the excess water.
*When the building was originally constructed, water was funneled to the center of the building and then piped to the storm sewer by means of a four inch drain.
*If the building were constructed today, the current roof drainage system would not be permitted because it forms a bathtub effect on the roof.
*The engineer found no rotten or deteriorated structural members.
*The front half of the building roof was found to be in excellent condition.
*The engineer recommended a new roof line, when the building is remodeled, to funnel the water from the center of the rear of the building.
Approximately two years ago, the roof on The Firehouse was remodeled, and the roof structure and decking were inspected. For Mr. Sheets to assert that town officials are somehow negligent, compels a person to ask why a person would make such allegations.
Sincerely,
Dan Hannaford
Town Manager
by Leesa Metzger
Professional Landscape Designer and former agriculture, botany and horticulture teacher answers local reader’s questions about gardening, plant care and maintenance and flowering choices.
Q. We have a very shady lawn and thin grass in some places and none in others. How can we get grass to grow? -Tom L.
A. Lawn under a shade tree reminds me of a baby bird — mostly bald and not too beautiful. But seriously, trying to grow a lush lawn in full shade is like trying to get oil and water to mix; your success will be limited. Getting some sunlight on the area, seeding the correct type of grass, proper lawn seeding techniques, and correct fertilizing and mowing practices can help increase your success of establishing a lawn in a shady area.
First evaluate the amount of shade present. Does the area get any sun? Is it a dappled shade under a honey locust? Or is it the deep, dark and dry shade under a maple? Even shade-tolerant grasses need about 4 hours of sunlight. Work with an experienced tree trimmer to determine if the trees may be limbed higher or selective branches may be removed to allow more light to penetrate.
Evaluate the soil. Is it compacted, too wet or too dry? If it is compacted, core aeration can be done now. A thin layer of compost may be added to improve the soil, but do not add more than an inch and do not add lime unless a soil test reveals a need. ....Read More
by William R. Eberly
There are two Eel Rivers in Indiana. Besides “our” Eel River, there is another Eel River flowing through Greene, Owen, Clay, Putnam and Park counties that flows into the White River and ultimately, the Wabash River. There is an Eel River in California and another one in Massachusetts. There is still another one in New Brusnwick, Canada. Since they speak French there, they call this river Riviere a l’ Anguille. Early French explorers in Northern Indiana of course called it that too. Sometimes they just said l’Anguille, the Eel. We do that today, dropping the word river and simply saying The Eel. Remember the song, “On the Banks of the Wabash”?
The Indians, who were the original inhabitants of this area, had their own name. They called it the Kenapocomoco, or river of the snake fish. It was a river where the snake fish (eel) was very abundant. The Indians prized the eel as a food source. The “white man” also delighted in the meat of the eel.
Allan White, in his extensive research in the old newspapers of North Manchester, discovered the following in the North Manchester Journal for May 13, 1880: “Willy Shaffer caught an eel Tuesday morning with a hook which measured 2 feet 4 inches in length. The slippery fish was served at Grimes House for dinner that day.” The Grimes House was an early hotel located at 202 East Main Street. I don’t know who Willy Shaffer was. A two foot eel was just of moderate size; some reach five feet or more. The 2 foot eel likely weighed about 3 pounds or so. ....Read More
by Leesa Metzger
Professional Landscape Designer and former agriculture, botany and horticulture teacher answers local readers’ questions about gardening, plant care and maintenance and flowering choices.
Q. I took a start of a peony from a plant at my mother’s, but mine never blooms. I heard peonies have to have ants on the buds because they chew on the buds to help them open their blooms. Is there any truth to that? I only had 3 buds last year; they didn’t bloom and I only saw one ant.–Angie H.
A. Ants don’t help peonies (Paeonia) bloom and they don’t hurt the plant either. Ants feed on the sap of the unopened blooms. Check to see if your peony is planted too deeply. If the eyes are more than two inches underground, lift and replant. When bringing a bouquet of peonies inside to enjoy a burst of spring color and fragrance be sure to give them a few good shakes upside down to help lose those pesky ants. ....Read More
by William Eberly
The North Manchester Center for History was created about seven years ago when the North Manchester Historical Society acquired the old Oppenheim’s building on Main Street. Since its beginning about 1970, the Historical Society began to collect historical artifacts, especially those items related to the history of North Manchester. As the collection grew, space for storage and display became a problem. When the Oppenheim building became available, the Society saw an opportunity to get a historical building in which we would have almost unlimited space to start a new museum.
After we moved into the new location, much work needed to be done before we could get ready to open the exhibits. In the meantime, more new artifacts came pouring in. We had about 2,000 items in 2000; now our collection exceeds 12,000 cataloged artifacts of all kinds-tools, photographs, fire hose cart, replica of DeWitt automobile (made in North Manchester), doctor’s equipment and supplies, books, and many more. There is even a pristine, never-got-wet Howe bass fishing lure, made in North Manchester. We have the original North Manchester telephone exchange switchboard. There is a real Warner Brooder and many items from the Peabody furniture factory, as well as the actual podium and actual microphone used by Martin Luther King, Jr. in his last public speech at North Manchester in 1968. There is a curtain from the old Opera House on Main Street and a real tusk and other bones of an ice-age Mastodon found near here. ....Read More
by Tim McLaughlin
Enough is enough.
We’ve all seen the embarrassing truck being driven around town asking that coach Goshert be replaced as boys’ basketball coach at Manchester High School. For those of you who have seen the created website (myself included), it’s fairly classless as well.
The focus of this editorial is not to stand up for or defend coach Goshert. That’s not my job.
I can’t determine if he is the right person for the position at MHS. I’m not qualified to determine if he is a great coach, a good coach, an average coach, or a bad coach. Again, that’s not my job.
And to the driver of the truck and the creator of the website, it’s not your job either.
Let me start off by saying that I do believe parents have the right to be heard. I am a parent of three children myself. My oldest is in seventh grade and is just beginning competitive school sports.
I do think that if parents have a concern, they have every right to talk to the coach. If they don’t feel that their concerns have been properly addressed or handled, then they should feel comfortable going to the school athletic director or possibly even the principal.
Let me also add that I don’t think it’s fair to go talk to the coach, AD, or principal because your kid’s team is not winning. ....Read More
Those from the South thought it was cold. But those of us from the North, like my daughter Becky and I, found it to be perfect racing weather for the March NASCAR event at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. For those who watch NASCAR on television, it is a race. For those attending the race, it is an experience.
Most have an image of a typical NASCAR race fan. I would suspect that neither my Manchester College educated, CPA daughter nor I would fit your stereotype. But the March, 2007 race was the 9th year that we made the journey to Hampton, Georgia. Here is why.
A NASCAR event begins with the action outside the track. A multitude of NASCAR sponsors host exhibits that promote their products. At the Lowes Home Improvement display, for example, race fans try their skill in a power drill contest. The best and the quickest wins one at the end of the day. Visit another exhibit and see how fast you can take lug nuts off and on. The “Tums Diner” golf cart made the rounds, handing out samples. There are photo ops – have your picture taken with a race car. The Speed Channel pre-race show is beamed live from the parking lot, drawing a huge crowd.
On the trip to Atlanta, we passed by many shopping malls without stopping because shopping opportunities abound at the track. Each driver has at least one merchandise trailer. These brightly painted mobile “stores” sell everything fans need to show support for their favorite driver. Clothing items, diecast cars, decals, towels, jewelry, the list is long. Vendors have found race fans will purchase almost anything. Used racing tires, fresh off the car of your favorite drive are available for $40. Coffee table anyone? The “Croc” shoes tent was filled with their product. We each purchased a pair with Jeff Gordon’s number stamped on the top. I am sure I have the only pair in North Manchester.
On race weekend, some NASCAR drivers visit their merchandise trailers to sign autographs for their fans. If the line is too long to obtain a signature, a close up photo of the driver is within reach. Becky and I have an album full of driver photos we have taken during race events. This year, Jeff Hammond, former crew chief for Darryl Waltrip and race analyst for Fox Sports, signed my ticket and posed for a photo. And we met country star Darrell Woorley, who sang the National Anthem. ....Read More
by Tim McLaughlin
Thankfully, or if in you’re into public humiliation, regretfully, it’s NCAA tournament time once again.
As you fill in your News-Journal brackets this week, my final four teams might be a good place for you to start as you fill out yours—that is unless you’re actually competing to win the contest.
Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let’s get down to business.
My final four teams are Texas, Ohio State, Florida, and UCLA.
Two one seeds, a two seed, and a four seed.
I have Ohio State and UCLA in the final, with the Buckeyes winning it all, 79-73.
I was going to get cute and have Florida beating Ohio State in the final, but since Troy Smith doesn’t play for the Buckeyes basketball team and doesn’t have the ability to choke in a game he’s not playing in, I went with my initial instincts and took the Oden-led Buckeyes.
I took UCLA because I think their guard play will outweigh Florida’s post-play in the final four. I took Ohio State over Texas because I just don’t think Kevin Durant, amazing as he is, has enough help against a very deep Ohio State team.
That said, Texas has played some amazing basketball recently, warranting the final four selection. ....Read More
by Tim McLaughlin
It seems only right to extend a couple of “congratulations” for a job well done this week.
The first and most obvious is to the Squire girls' basketball team. Although the season didn’t end as they had hoped, they made quite a run, defeating the #6 team in Class 2A Garrett and pushing the #3 squad, Oak Hill, as far as they could go before falling on Saturday.
For those who were at the game Saturday night, everyone in that gym, including Oak Hill fans, knows that Manchester was every bit as good as any team in that powerful Regional. Unfortunately, only one team can advance and on that night, it wasn’t the Squires.
Still, the team showed grace in defeat, as they always do, and treated Manchester fans to a great day of basketball.
The graduating senior class definitely made its mark on Manchester lady basketball, and all of the players involved will be missed.
The second group that should be recognized this week for their accomplishments is the road crews from the town, county, and state.
Does it even seem possible that just last week we had a blizzard?
Granted, it turned out to be nothing like the storm of 1978, but 10-12 inches of snow with extreme wind could have left the town and surrounding area crippled for quite some time.
But it didn’t.
I was amazed that even as I was driving around town the day of the storm and the day following (in a car, not a 4x4), that it wasn’t all that difficult to travel on the roads.
What seemed even more amazing was that school was only cancelled for two days. With all of the blowing and drifting snow, many people assumed going to school was out of the question for the remainder of the week. Road crews got a great deal accomplished on Wednesday, and students returned to school on Thursday morning.
Everyone involved should be proud of the work they did. That whole group of people goes largely unrecognized, but if it weren’t for their dedication and sacrifice, the rest of us would be in a world of hurt some days just trying to make it out of our driveway.
Good work. Just another reason our town is great.
by Tim McLaughlin
Remember the sarcastic “My Man Mitch” cries heard around the area a couple of summers ago (the whole license branch debacle)? Well, for now, those chants of non-affection might be replaced by sarcastic comments of “Not My Man Dan.”
That’s right, Dan Burton, our Representative in Congress, is making a not-so-great name for himself, and a lot of people are talking about it.
Burton’s actions may fly “under the radar” a bit more than Daniels’ on a local level at least, but statewide, Burton is gaining some negative notoriety.
It seems that our man Dan isn’t very reliable when it comes to what he’s been hired to do: show up for work. Burton had the worst record for participation in roll call votes last year among the congressional delegation, bothering to show up only 89% of the time.
In school, 89% will earn you a B+, almost an A-, a pretty darn good grade. The problem is, when it comes to your job, 89% just doesn’t cut it.
How many of us would love to skip work every other Friday year around and still get paid very well to do so? My guess would be almost all of us.
Burton may defend himself. He did, after all, have one great excuse. He was on a business trip in California—participating in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic pro/am golf tournament.
His status on voting so far this year? He’s missed 20 of the 73 House votes, well head of last year’s pace.
Granted, we all need vacations, I’m not denying that. But I think it’s probably safe to assume that Burton has some built in vacation days to go along with his $165,000+ salary.
I know the majority of voters in our district elected Burton. But in all honesty, how many people within this district don’t really care who they are voting for on the Republican ticket? All a lot of people do is show up, vote Republican across the board, and head home, knowing that a Democrat stands no chance of election in this area.
That’s all fine and dandy as long as Republicans understand that Representatives like Burton know very well just how great they have it. He doesn’t have to show up for work. He can clear $165,000 yearly, play golf, accept gifts from lobbyists, and remain in office because he knows the voting public will turn the other cheek.
And the votes he’s missed? Nothing important. Just one on the cost of college tuition and countless other hearings on the war in Iraq.
But hey, what real incentive does Burton have to up his attendance? He’s still got a great job in Indiana and the weather in Palm Springs is pretty nice this time of year. Talk about the best of both worlds.
The last two issues, of the News Journal have had interesting letters in them. I am proud to say I know Jon Albright and appreciate the letter he wrote. Jon, as a Marine and US citizen has the right to express his opinion. We all have that right.
Or at least that is what the letters in the January 31 issue said. Mr. Lutz defended the ACLU. He feels they are defending our freedom of speech. And freedom of religion. I disagree. I feel like my freedoms of speech and religion are quickly being taken away. I find it offensive that the 10 Commandments are being taken down. I find it offensive that the ACLU thinks I should not say Merry Christmas because I might offend someone. I find it offensive that I am considered a racist if I say people, living in the USA, should come in legally, should speak English or be just “Americans” without another designation in front of American. I find it offensive that the ACLU is trying to take Christian radio stations off the air. I do not want God removed from our money or our Pledge of Allegiance. The ACLU is for the freedom of religion and freedom of speech, IF you agree with their philosophy.
It would seem that the same is true with Mr. Chinworth. Why does the college have the right to invite and hear a speaker, but Mr. Albright not have the right to express a differing opinion? And we should be tolerant and understanding!
Mr. Chinworth, I am a Methodist. The Methodist' are quite a diverse group and they are not always in agreement. There are liberal Methodist, conservative Methodist and many in between. BUT I do not believe you will find a group, within the Methodist Church that wants to put to death anyone who disagrees with them. I can also guarantee you that, if such a group sprang up, I would do everything I could to renounce that group and work to get them out of the Methodist family. I would not give speeches asking others to be tolerant and understanding.
A January 28, 2007 article in the Parade, written by Lyric Wallwork Winik, was an interview with Karen Hughes, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Her job “is to promote America and its good works in a hostile world.” She went on to say, “What we’re up against essentially is a death cult that says, ‘Our way or no way, and death to all who disagree with us.’ “
Tolerant and understanding of a death cult. No. I will be tolerant and understanding when the Islamic community stands up to this cult, within their religion, and says enough. Until then, the Islamic community is allowing this cult to grow. By allowing this group to continue, they are giving it strength.
You get wisdom from all over and the other day I read in the Western Livestock Reporter, “Whether you like it or not, if you’re going to survive, it will necessitate that you become part of the political movement at the local, state and national levels on items that concern your industry. If you don’t, who is going to do it?” This was at the end of an article, written by Pat Goggins, about the fate of the cattle industry. But this idea also applies to the survival of the USA. If we do not get involved and speak out, will the USA, that we are proud of, survive?
Mary Earle
by Leesa Metzger
Metzger Landscaping & Design, LLC
Professional landscape designer and former agriculture, botany, and horticulture teacher answers local reader’s questions about gardening, plant care and maintenance, and flowering choices.
Oscars, Golden Globes, Grammy’s...award shows are everywhere and the plant world is no exception. The Perennial Plant Association has chosen Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’ as their 2007 perennial plant of the year. This winner is not just another pretty face. Award winners are chosen by the members of the Perennial Plant Association for the plant’s beauty, durability, easy to grow nature, and availability to garden connoisseurs everywhere. This catmint certainly deserves a stroll down the catwalk.
Introduced commercially to the gardening community in 1988 in Europe, Walker’s Low catmint has become increasingly popular with each passing year due to its lovely delicate blue-violet flowers and its long bloom time, attractive silver-green foliage, ease of propagation, lack of pest or disease problems, and low maintenance requirements.
The large clumping mound of purple flowers and silver foliage of ‘Walker’s Low’ can easily fill a garden space. This catmint blooms from late spring all the way up to our first hard frost. I have grown ‘Walker’s Low’ in my garden for at least 8 years now and have found it looks best when cut back (I prune it all the way down to the crown of the plant) one to two times per year; but this is not necessary. ....Read More
by Tim McLaughlin
Whatever happened to working hard to acquire those extras such as a computer, a four-wheeler, a nice car, or just some spendable cash?
If the recent pattern in North Manchester is an indication of what some people define as hard work, then I hope the vandals that have been hitting both businesses and homes over the past few weeks soon find out that their “hard work” will soon equate to “hard time.”
Seriously, is the recent crime spree that has been dominating the headlines in the News-Journal just another high for the culprits?
In all honesty, it takes real guts (and not many brains) to hit a string of businesses located on Main and Walnut Street, regardless of the time of day. Those locations get driven past frequently by police officers.
The person, or people, committing these crimes obviously are either really desperate, or really bored.
The sad thing is that when situations like these become regular, people that enjoy the safety of a small town like ours feel threatened.
The good news is that it won’t last long. The crime committers will soon be caught, they will soon be in jail where they belong, and hopefully it will send a message to anyone that thinks breaking and entering or burglary is a game.
—Quick congratulations go out to the boys’ basketball team at MHS. After taking their lumps last season, the Squires have won two of their first three games, all on the road, against good competition.
Their style of play is exciting, and with the majority of the team being juniors, there should be plenty of good things to look forward to over the next two years. ....Read More
By Leesa Metzger
Metzger Landscaping & Design, LLC
Professional landscape designer and former agriculture, botany, and horticulture teacher answers local reader’s questions about gardening, plant care and maintenance, and flowering choices.
Q. I always like to buy a poinsettia plant for the holiday season and every year I kill it. I faithfully water it, fertilize it, and keep it in the window for light. Can you give me some tips on proper care for the plant; and is it poisonous or not?
A. Poinsettias are not poisonous. For more than eight decades, this rumor has continued to circulate because of one unfounded story in 1919: that an Army officer’s two year old child allegedly died after eating a poinsettia leaf. While never proved by medical or scientific fact and later determined to be hearsay altogether, the story has taken on a life of its own. But, the defenders of the poinsettia have pulled out all the scientific stops to put public fears to rest.
The Society of American Florists (SAF) worked with the Academic Faculty of Entomology at Ohio State University (OSU) to exhaustively test all parts of the poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima). In my professional opinion, OSU is the Midwest’s authoritive resource for botany and horticultural research and information. OSU researchers established that rats exhibited no adverse effects – no mortality, no symptoms of toxicity, and no changes in dietary intake or general behavior patterns – when given even unusually large amounts of different poinsettia parts. The OSU research was conducted 23 years ago and other sources have continued to reinforce the poinsettia’s safety. ....Read More
by Jim Ransomer
This year marks an anniversary that no one wants to celebrate - the discovery of Alzheimer’s disease. And at a time when America’s largest generation, the Baby Boomers, are beginning to reach their sixties, this debilitating disease is quickly becoming an epidemic.
Indeed, in early November, President Bush released a statement on Alzheimer’s Awareness Month that said “a cure becomes increasingly urgent as more Americans grow older.” He’s right, of course.
Unfortunately, our federal government has failed to match its rhetoric with action. Despite promising research developments in the prevention, treatment and diagnosis of the disease, the President’s 2007 budget request called to cut critical funding for Alzheimer’s research by $7 million.
Everyone realizes that millions of lives will be devastated by Alzheimer’s disease over the next few decades, but let’s set aside the human factor for a moment. Greater funding for Alzheimer’s research also makes perfect sense from a strict cost-benefit calculation.
Currently, Medicare spends three times more on a beneficiary who suffers from dementia than one who is not cognitively impaired. Further, Medicaid spends $21 billion each year just on nursing-home care for persons with dementia who have run out of money.
Finding an answer to Alzheimer’s disease is among the most essential steps we can take to protect the Medicare and Medicaid programs - and with them, the retirement security of generations to come. ....Read More
To the editor:
According to Tim McLaughlin’s editorial (the News-Journal, November 1, 2006), people have asked him to do “investigative reporting” and apparently, there has been a lot of misinformation perpetuated by parents telling other parents what they think they know, so I have decided to help those concerned community members by offering some clarifications regarding the school forum on medical issues.
No parents or school administrators or newspaper editors were in the room the day of that forum. There were only two adults in the room for that discussion, biology teacher Jabin Burnworth and myself. Here are the facts:
I have volunteered my time at Manchester High School for the past six years. The year before I started, there were at least 10 pregnant teenagers at the high school. These question/answer sessions are run purely based on anonymous student questions written on a card the day of the program. I respond only to serious questions, and I use this opportunity to give the medical facts on health issues, drug and alcohol addictions, sexually transmitted diseases, and pregnancy prevention. There are a lot of myths that I dispel, including, for example, the student question of saran wrap as a form of birth control. ....Read More
by Tim McLaughlin
I know there has been a lot of talk around town the past few weeks about the open discussion sex convocation for juniors held at Manchester High School recently.
I’ve had a lot of people approach me and ask me to do some “investigative reporting” and give the community the low-down as to what really was talked about at MHS that day.
Although I decided not to do a news story at the time, I have decided to share my opinion after the Metzger’s letter to the editor ran in the News-Journal last week.
Personally, I do think the idea of bringing in a doctor, in this case Dr. Lori Zimmerman, to the high school for a closed doors discussion with the students is a good idea. Most kids that age probably don’t have open discussions about sex with their parents, and if they do, most probably feel a bit uncomfortable in doing so.
This closed forum, with Dr. Zimmerman and one teacher present, allowed the students to ask questions that they may otherwise feel embarassed to. ....Read More
To the editor:
We are compelled to write this letter to inform our community and the parents of students who will be in the junior class next year. We do not know how many of you are aware of the open forum discussion that took place with the junior class during the week of ISTEP and GQE testing, but as parents, we would like for you to be aware that this is a time where questions could arise that you may not want your child discussing at school. It is also our understanding that this discussion has been taking place for several years, and many parents are not even aware that it takes place. We are appalled that our daughter had to sit through this discussion last year without the school informing us and giving us the opportunity to decide what would be in the best interest of our child.
As we teach our children to have compassion and understanding for their community and world, we also want them to understand that they have a purpose in this world and that they do not have to participate in activities or discussions of this world that conflict with their values and beliefs. This would include open forum discussions at school where questions come up about masturbation, same gender sex, anal sex, and a demonstration of how to put on a condom.
We are thankful to those who informed us of this situation so we can decide what is in the best interest of our son next year. We strongly encourage the school administration to rethink this activity. If the administration feels that an open forum discussion is necessary, then please inform the parents and let them make the decision for their families instead of making students in the junior class feel they have to sit through this discussion just because they are attending school that day.
Sincerely,
Roger and Chris Metzger
by Tim McLaughlin
Last Friday, I witnessed first hand an automobile accident on State Road 114 near Pizza Hut.
I was actually following one of the two cars that was involved, and immediately picked up my cellphone and dialed 911. After parking my car at Lances and walking across the street to see if there was anything I could do until emergency response units arrived, I noticed at least three other people on their cell phones, probably calling 911 as well.
It got me thinking. There has been a lot of talk about disallowing the use of cell phones while driving because the phones themselves cause of a lot of accidents.
While I agree that phones can be a bit distracting, I think that talking on a phone is no more distracting than talking to a passenger in a vehicle or dealing with screaming or fighting children in the back seat. As a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say a phone is less distracting. When you’re on the phone, you should still be looking at the road. When you’re dealing with other people in the vehicle, it’s very easy to take your focus off of the road to make eye contact with someone.
Representatives of the sheriff’s department told me that approximately 60-70% of 911 calls stemming from accidents are called in by cell phones and that response time to those scenes has absolutely been improved because of them. Sheriff Leroy Striker said that he sees cell phones as an advantage and would hate to see a law passed banning them from use in vehicles. ....Read More
To the editor:
October is Pastor Appreciation Month, and I would like to take this opportunity to let my pastor and his wife know how much they mean to me.
I am a member of the Congregational Christian Church in North Manchester. Our pastor is J.P. Freeman, and his wife is Michelle Freeman.
In June of 2003, my husband, (James Gall) and I were baptized and became members of the church. Only 10 months later, my husband was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer. On the day that we learned about the cancer, my first phone call was to Pastor Freeman, and as he always does in cases like this, he dropped everything to come to the hospital and be with us.
My husband’s battle with cancer lasted for 21 months, and on November 3, 2005, he went home to be with the Lord. During that 21 month ordeal, we saw Pastor Freeman at least once a week. He would bring us a video tape of the most recent church service and would make sure that we had communion. James and I always looked forward to the pastor’s visits and we were so grateful that he took the time out of his very busy schedule to come.
On the night that my husband passed from this life, Pastor Freeman was at his bedside praying with us. My husband’s last day was a difficult one, and my daughter placed several calls to find Pastor Freeman. My daughter later commented to me that when the pastor walked into the room, peace came in with him. In the days that followed, Pastor Freeman talked with me several times as I struggled to understand why God took my husband at such a young age. He seemed to know just what to say to comfort me in my grief.
As wonderful a pastor as J.P. is, I know that he would not be able to do all that he does for the members of our congregation without the love and support of his wife, Michelle. She cares for him and tries to keep him healthy so that he is able to tend to his ever-growing flock. Many wives would not do what she does. I know it must be difficult for her at times to spend so little time with him. I attend the third service on Sunday morning and during that time, I believe Michelle teaches Sunday School, so I rarely see her. I would like for her to know that I admire her and I appreciate her.
The congregation of the Congregational Christian Church is truly blessed to have J.P. and Michelle. They serve as the embodiment of true servants of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I think that the world would be a better place if we would all strive to be like them. It is my prayer that Pastor and Mrs. Freeman will be with our church for many years to come.
Sincerely,
Diane Gall ....Read More
by Tim McLaughlin
It’s not fun to lose. Players hate it, coaches hate it, and fans definitely hate it.
It has become very apparent to me over the past few years that our society in general is becoming less and less tolerant of losing. It may finish at the high school level locally, but it starts as early as the overly intense 7-8 year old baseball games played at the complex each summer.
I’ve been around it a lot as a coach in youth sports, and may have even been guilty of being too competitive a time or two. The recent pattern at the high school level is particularly bothersome, however.
The problem I have is not with coaches or players; I think they are handling themselves well. The problem I have right now is with the fans, mainly at football games.
I am well aware that the team is 1-4 and hasn’t been as competitive as the community would like. I’m also well aware that most fans want nothing more than the best for the players and aren’t there to belittle the coaches or make a scene.
Wanting so badly to win becomes a problem when the comments made, obviously directed towards the coaching staff, can be heard by everyone down on the field. The fact is, players don’t need to hear the sarcastic and negative comments.
The players are working their tails off. They are trying as hard as they can. They hate to lose more than anyone.
I roam the sidelines during games with camera in hand, and it’s really disturbing to hear some of the comments made by Squire players. “The only way to shut them up is to play better,” and “Don’t worry about them, just play the game,” are things I’ve heard Manchester players say. The sad thing is, they aren’t making those comments in reference to opposing fans, they are making those statements in reference to our fans. The same fans that are supposedly at the game to support the Squires. ....Read More
by Tim McLaughlin
It’s always difficult as the editor of a newspaper to know what to include or what not to include in each issue.
Many times, we simply have more news material than we can fit into our paper, and things do get left out-which upsets the affected people or groups.
Other times, we put things in the paper that some people think don’t belong.
That was the case last week with our coverage of the automobile accident involving Donald “Ryan” Irelan and Ralph Dotson Jr. (see letter to the editor from Heather Hobbs).
I need to start off by saying that I pray that both men will recover from the accident. I don’t enjoy covering accidents, or fires, or other things where people’s lives are affected. Unfortunately, when you work in the newspaper business, it is part of the job.
In a perfect world, the only news we would have to report would be good news. As we all know, that’s not reality. Bad things happen far more frequently than we all wish.
And as bad as that accident was, it was news.
The wreck occured Friday afternoon. By the time I got back to the office from covering it, I had two messages on my desk from people wanting to know what had happened and who was involved. Later that evening at the high school football game, I was approached by many people asking the same questions. ....Read More
by Tim McLaughlin
Congratulations goes out to the entire Chamber of Commerce team and everyone else in town that made this year’s FunFest possible.
I’m not sure that in the many years I’ve either covered FunFest or attended the event that I’ve seen so many people downtown over the course of the weekend. I’m not sure if the cruise-in was quite as packed as some years, but I’ve never seen so many people at the parade. It was incredible to see all the people lining the streets showing their support for the various entries.
We also owe a debt of gratitude to "the powers that be" for the perfect weather. It helps when it’s not raining, it’s not 95 degrees, and it’s not Louisiana-swamp-like-humid.
All in all, every event I attended, and there were many, was very well organized and had many participants.
2006 has to go down as one of the best FunFests on record.
—A couple of side notes on FunFest events: How many of you have been fortunate enough to see the “Mutton Busting” event?
If you haven’t seen it yet, make it a must next year. ....Read More
by Tim McLaughlin
Did you know that Indiana Beach is only a 70-minute drive from North Manchester? I didn’t.
I’m sure that many of you have made the trip to Monticello over the years for a day of fun in the sun at Indiana Beach. Last Saturday, my wife Tawn and I, along with our three kids, headed out West to take in the park for the first time.
Having not been there previously, we didn’t really know what to expect. I assumed there would be plenty of things to keep my oldest son, Connor, busy. I didn’t know if Mathias (6) and Taylor (4) would have as much fun.
I quickly figured out that Indiana Beach had been made with the family in mind.
The setup of the park is refreshing. There are no 20 minute walks to attractions. You can get from one end of the park to the other in 10 minutes or less. If you go to the middle of the park where the largest roller coasters are located, there are 7-8 “kiddie” rides built directly underneath the Hoosier Hurricane and the Corn Ball Express.
That way, while Connor and I hit the big rides, my wife could stay in the same area of the park and Mathias and Taylor could ride rides more age appropriate.
Speaking of age appropriate, Connor had never ridden a roller coaster before, so he was a little hesitant at first. He soon decided that he wanted to ride the Hoosier Hurricane, a pretty good sized wooden coaster. As we were walking in the entrance, I noticed that kids 44" or taller could ride with a responsible adult.
Mathias, just barely 44" tall with shoes on, had already ridden some smaller coasters. We asked him if he wanted to go, he said “Sure”, and I thought “Why not?”
Did I mention that the Hurricane is the park’s largest roller coaster?
Anyway, I really don’t think Mathias had any idea what he was getting himself into. He is so small that the seatbelt wouldn’t tighten to his waist completely, leaving about a six inch gap in between his lap and the belt.
On the slow climb up the first hill, I knew I had better hold onto him.
As we were racing down the big hill, with my right arm wrapped tightly around him, I looked at his face, and saw a very unmistakable look of pain. I thought to myself, “What kind of a terrible parent am I? He obviously is hating this. He’s way too little to be on this ride. What was I thinking?”
I told him the worst part was over now. The ride would be over soon. ....Read More
by Tim McLaughlin
Is it a good thing, or a bad thing?
Most would say good, because “everyone has to have pride.” Without some degree of pride, how can we as a people be successful.
Over the past week, the players and families of the 12 and under Town and Country state champions have no doubt felt pride. The players have felt proud because of their accomplishment, and the parents of the players have experienced pride as community members have graciously congratulated the kids for their hard work and success.
I, of course, have been on a prideful high since the kids won State. And soon, I’ll experience another type of pride as my middle-child, Mathias, starts Kindergarten.
So how can pride be a negative, you may be wondering?
The News-Journal has a Webster’s Third New International dictionary, and buried somewhere in the 2662 pages is the definition for the word pride.
It’s starts off simply enough: “The quality or state of being proud,” it reads. That’s about what would be expected.
But if you read further, the word pride offers many less than chipper definitions for the word. “Inordinate self-esteem, or an unreasonable conceit of superiority” is offered. Also, “A sense of power, or a showy or pretentious group” is described.
I know that there are those who believe that one of the only reasons that our country is still involved in the war in the Middle-East is because of pride, or more namingly the pride of our country's leaders and its Commander in Chief.
On a more personal level, how many times have we in our adult lives been afraid to admit to failure or to being wrong because of our own pride?
I know that on more than one occasion, I have heard a pastor in a church preach on the evils of pride.
Although most of us probably relate pride to a positive, it seems to me that pride a lot of times may actually inhibit us from doing what is right.
Recently, I was out of line saying something less than loving to my wife. What should have been an easy fix ("I'm sorry honey, I'm a complete idiot"), turned into something more long-lasting and hurtful because of my own pride and struggle to admit a wrong-doing.
I hope I'm not the only one who struggles with these types of things, but if I am, then hey, at least I'm not afraid to admit it to the entire community.
Back to being proud of my kids. I think that a more accurate thing to say when speaking of their successes or accomplishments might be to say that “I am pleased with them,” not “I am proud of them.”
Being proud can have it’s place, but I think we need to be careful how we use it. When our own pride gets in the way, other people get hurt.
That’s my random thought for the week.
So, is pride a good or bad thing? You be the judge—just don’t let your own pride get in the way when drawing a conclusion.
The editor's views do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the entire News-Journal staff.
by Leesa Metzger
Professional landscape designer and former agriculture, botany, and horticulture teacher answers local reader’s questions about gardening, plant care and maintenance, and flowering choices.
Q. My kids keep getting poison ivy. What can we do? Tom S.
R. Both children and adults need to remember the old saying, “Leaves of three, let it be.” Preventing a poison ivy outbreak is the most effective measure when dealing with poison ivy. Visit the library, local extension office or do an internet search to find several pictures of poison ivy (botanical name: “Toxicodendron”) so that it is easily identifed. Share the pictures with your children so that they too can learn to identify the plant. Next go on an expedition and see if you can find poison ivy in your yard or other places children may play.
Poison ivy takes on many different forms, so many that even I sometimes get into this plant by accident. Two weeks ago, in fact, I had to make a trip to the doctor for a steroid shot. I had a case of poison ivy so severe that my right eye was swollen shut for two days. I know exactly where and when I made contact with the plant itself, because it was growing under a shrub I was trimming on a landscape job and I didn’t see it until it was too late. I washed my hands and arms with cold water soon after. Because I am extremely susceptible to the rash I knew my fate was already marked for an itchy two weeks to follow; however, the new “Cyclops look” was a bit of a surprise in this latest round in my fight with poison.
I have seen poison ivy in many forms including a vine, in a small shrub like form, with glossy leaves, without glossy leaves, green in color, reddish in color, and chartreuse in color. I have seen it with small green berries, small white berries, but most commonly with no berries at all. Do look for three leaflets (‘leaves of three, let it be’), the middle leaflet has a longer stalk (petiole) than the other two; and leaflets are wider at the base. This is truly a deceptive and untrustworthy plant; one must beware because it takes on many forms. ....Read More
by Tim McLaughlin
Sports are stupid.
Ask anyone who knows me, and those are three words that no one (including myself) thought I would ever possibly utter.
As much I have loved sports my entire life, I am beginning to question their validity.
Obviously, sports do and can play a vital role in the development of kids. Sports help with coordination and mental and physical development, they teach teamwork, respect, and the value of learning how to both win and lose appropriately. Sports also teach dedication and hardwork, both of which are learned values that will hopefully carry over to adulthood and the workforce later in life.
So many positives. How can sports be stupid, you ask?
To answer my own question I asked of readers in last week’s issue of the News-Journal, yes, I think athletic expectations placed on today’s athletes are too high.
That’s where the stupid part comes in.
I guess it’s not that sports themselves are wrong, it’s the seriousness with which they’re taken.
Some of you are probably reading this saying, “Wait a minute Tim, I’ve seen you both play sports and coach sports. They obviously are taken seriously by you.” To that I say you’re right. I will not argue that point. They always have been. ....Read More
by Leesa Metzger
Professional landscape designer and former agriculture, botany, and horticulture teacher answers local reader’s questions about gardening, plant care and maintenance, and flowering choices.
Q. I have bought rose after rose for my garden. Many of them die after exposure to our Indiana winters. The ones that survive need many canes cut out due to the harsh winters, leaving me with a rose bush no bigger than when it was first planted. Can you recommend any roses for our area? -Brenda S.
One must be very careful in choosing a rose as most roses sold commercially at chain stores in this area are not recommended for zone 5. Some cultivars even have misleading names. For instance, the cultivar ‘Chicago Peace’ would not normally survive a Chicago winter!
Popular “florist type” roses, also known as Hybrid Tea roses, are grafted onto root stock. These roses often produce suckers that need to be cut just below ground level. It becomes difficult to discern root stock suckers from new rose growth. Add in the spraying often needed to control fungal diseases, and considering roses’ susceptibility to insects such as thrips and mites, a gardener must wonder if there is an easier alternative for beautiful roses. ....Read More
by Tim McLaghlin
I knew coming into this week that I needed to write an editorial for this week’s paper.
That generally is not a daunting task. Seriously, how difficult can it be to pick a topic, give it some thought, and write an opinion piece?
In all honesty, for the past three days I’ve been trying to come up with a good subject, something that readers would really find interesting and worth reading. So what have I come up with, you may ask? Absolutely nothing.
So, the challenge facing me is to borrow from my favorite TV show of all time, Seinfeld, and write at least a 500-word column about absolutely nothing (115 words so far).
Granted, Seinfeld was an award winning comedy for years and was famous for it’s 30-minute episodes centering around everyday life.
The way Seinfeld’s creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David could take an everyday event such as trying to find a car in a parking garage or something as simple as buying soup from a deli and turn it into a 1/2 hour of laughs was genius.
I won’t pretend to be on their level of creativity, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night (209 words at this point).
Has anyone watched the Stanley Cup Finals (that would be professional hockey) on TV this week? Me either. I would be willing to bet that late night reruns of the Dukes of Hazzard have higher ratings.
While we’re on sports, how about the World Cup? Why is it that people like me who don’t watch soccer one time in years (or ever) somehow get sucked into the drama that “The Cup” brings? I guess it must be the same reason as to why I watch the Indianapolis 500 every year and actually get into it.
For true sports fans, it’s hard to stay away from the drama that the world’s largest events bring. I won’t pretend to know a thing about racing or soccer, but when they are on center stage, and are hyped in the media the way the 500 and the World Cup are, you feel the need to watch (363 words). ....Read More
I am writing in response to the letter from Sonia Howard defending her dog by saying he did not attack! I would like to begin by saying that if the latter is true, I myself must have broken the law by false informing in my statement to the police department because I was there and know what I saw! It was horrifying and I’m not going to explain it again because it has already been explained in recent articles. There should be laws against ignorant people. My mother calmed me on the phone today by saying everyone has a right to freedom of speech, and to let go, LET GOD! Well, I took her advice...kind of! I’ve been doing some research on the net because I have not been able to understand why nothing has been done about the dog, or the owner. Unable to find anything on local laws, I looked for Indiana State Laws and interestingly enough, I found some info the good people of North Manchester might want to know.
The following are State Chapter Laws: A person who knowingly or intentionally harbors a dog that is over the age of six months and not immunized against rabies commits harboring a non-immunized dog, a Class C infraction. However, the offense is a Class B Misdemeanor if the dog causes bodily injury by biting a person.
Fact: Pat’s grandson is showing signs of being permanently scarred from the bite physically and mentally. Unsure if the dog is immunized, but no one seems to know for sure when asked, so I’m assuming not.
Any law enforcement officer or any other person having authority to impound animals who has probable cause to believe there has been a violation of this chapter may take custody of the animal involved.
WOW! This means that after seeing the puncture wounds on the little 5 year old’s back, our local police officer (you know who you are) felt it was not necessary to remove the dog from the home, from our neighborhood. After seeing what I saw that day, I think this is nuts!!
If a dog, without provocation, bites any person who is peaceably conducting himself in any place...the owner of such dog may be held liable for any damages suffered by the person bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of such dog or the owner’s knowledge of such viciousness. An owner of a dog commits a Class C misdemeanor if the owner recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally fails to take reasonable steps to restrain the dog and the dog enters property other than the property of the dog’s owner; and as a result of the failure to restrain the dog, the dog bites or attacks another person resulting in unprovoked bodily injury of the other person.
Fact: This dog darted across the street from his home, without being provoked, attacked a 5 year old child!!!
As a result of this, I’m taking better precautions with my own German Shepherd (yes, I own one also bred by my mother, Constance Ratcliff). It’s a small world, isn’t it? If it had been my dog that had done this to a child, they would not have to do away with her, because I would take her and have her put down myself!! You just never know and it is not something I am going to risk.
Although I do feel this is a sign of an abused animal. This is a woman who’s boyfriend recently got out of jail for hitting her teenage daughter ...FACT, so why should I not believe friends of her family when they tell me he hits Sabbath with his fist and steel toe boots.
I think my point is clear here. After the recent incidents of dog attacks, dog bites, and dogs at large...etc...you’d think that something would be done. I guess I forgot that their hands are tied around here.
I would like to end my letter by saying please take caution to this area, corner of 2nd and Market, because it is unsafe. Just this afternoon, I saw people having to cross to the other side because of Sabbath barking and trying to break free from his chain. I myself, feel that crossing the street will do no good because Mrs. Hammons and her grandkids were on the other side of the street when he attacked the child.
I enjoy my freedom of speech, but I know my son would love his freedom to play in the yard even more, and I know Mrs. Hammons would love to have the freedom of walking with her grandchildren, love to have the freedom of walking with her grandkids without fear of being attacked.
Sincerely,
Missy Gartner
by Tim McLaughlin
Graduation. Websters describes the achievement as the “act of completing a phase of one’s formal education.”
While most people would probably link graduation and the completion of a phase of one’s formal education to that of last weekend’s Manchester College ceremony or next weekend’s Manchester High School class of 2006 graduation, that milestone of completion and recognition begins on a much smaller scale for other graduates within our community.
While I don’t know too many of the college graduating seniors, I do know who most of the high school grads are. As my family and I attend some of the graduation parties and wish those soon to be college students or workforce joining laborers the best of luck, I wonder how quickly my mind will race to the future.
This year, my family has experienced two graduations of its own.
Mathias was a 2006 graduate of Sycamore Pre-School, majoring in art stations, snack time, and received top honors for his shoe-tying ability. He will attend Manchester Elementary School next fall as a kindergartner (on a full ride scholarship, of course).
Connor, my oldest, graduated from Laketon Elementary School last Thursday. From what I have learned from his teachers and others within the school, Connor majored in lunch time activities (eating). Connor may actually be the first person to come through the school having cost his parents two times the amount of the yearly lunch costs for the average student.
Kidding aside, graduation is a special time, no matter the age.
I am extremely proud of Mathias and can’t wait for next year. He is ready to start Kindergarten right now, and would if he could.
And for Connor, as parents of soon to be 7th graders can attest, it’s really hard to believe that elementary school is over. It seems like so recently that he, along with neighborhood buddies Payton Sorg and Derek Self, were getting dropped off at Manchester Elementary for the first time.
That was seven years ago. They only have six years of school left (excluding college). Great job guys.
Friends of mine who have kids that have already gone through school have repeatedly told me to “enjoy every moment. It will be over before you know it.” They were and are right.
It is truly amazing at how quickly each school year passes by. Sure, we all experience our struggles throughout the year with homework, getting the kids to bed on time, and getting them up in the morning more than three minutes before the bus is to arrive (maybe that’s just in my household with a particular 12-year old). How many times each year do we all say, “I’m just ready for it to be over so things will slow down?”
Most of us know the answer to that question-things don’t slow down, we just find new things to keep us busy.
I guess I better enjoy my kids while I can.
Great job MC class of 2006, MHS class of 2006, LES class of 2006, Sycamore PreSchool class of 2006, and every class in between.
To the Editor:
An important safety issue has been raised in our community in a timely fashion. National Dog Bite Prevention Week begins May 19th.
I certainly agree with Mrs. Hammons that the return of the German Shepherd that attacked her grandson to the irresponsible owners, does nothing to ensure the safety of the many people who walk our neighborhood. I live less than a block away from where the attack occurred and walk my dog three times a day. After having been chased by these aggressive dogs from that property, (there is a second large dog from that property that is just as aggressive as the Shepherd) I haven’t walked south on my block for 8 or 9 months. I go out of my way to avoid the area which is annoying and inconvenient but I would rather do that than risk being attacked by these dogs. I did not call the police when the dogs came after me and I should have. However my past experience regarding loose, aggressive dogs on my block is that multiple calls to the police result only in the dogs being returned to their owner until they are loose again. The owners may have been given warnings or citations, I don’t know, but I do know the problem was never resolved until the family and their dogs finally moved away. ....Read More
To the Editor:
I own German Shepherds, and absolutely love this breed of dogs. We had them when I was a little girl growing up. The intelligence of these dogs is hard to explain to someone who has never interacted with one on a day to day level. So, when I bought a male and female and decided to breed them so my family could have one, then I sold the rest. Unfortunately, we can not foresee the future to know how well the people that buy these pups will treat them. I try to instill in the buyers, to never ever hit or abuse these dogs. It will make them vicious and dangerous to themselves and others. You use your voice to command these dogs. Once these dogs have been abused, there isn’t much you can do with them.
Last week a 4 year old little boy was attacked by a German Shepherd that is an offspring of my dogs. Luckily, my daughter was there and got the grandmother and boys in her apartment. The dog kept coming after this little boy, three times it attacked him. The dog would not listen to any command my daughter gave it. The owner’s daughter came over to get it and it wouldn’t listen to her either. It was totally out of control. If my daughter hadn’t of been there I believe the injuries would have been a lot worse, and might of even killed the boy. My daughter said it was horrific, and she is very shaken still by what happened. I am sure that little boy will be traumatized and scared of dogs now. I know my daughter will never forget the sight of that dog attacking a little boy.
As for breeding more of these dogs, I quit. I am so torn up over this incident that I have decided not to breed again. I can’t control how these beautiful pups will be treated once I sell them, and this is a prime example of my worst fears. Obviously the dog has been abused, and has had no training, and is out of control. This is an accident waiting to happen. And it has, and a little boy suffered because of it. If this had been one of my dogs that attacked a child or anyone-I would have it put down, no questions about it-dogs should not be vicious.
What if my daughter hadn’t of been there to get them into her apartment? I shiver to think what could have happened. What if it happens again?
My deepest apologies goes to Mrs. Hammons and her grandchildren, for this atrocity happening. This is the main street children and people take to go to the park, and the library. I hope that the Town Marshall, Mr. Young will take steps to protect the community from this ever happening again.
Conni (Nelson) Ratcliff
‘Tis once again the merry month of May
When some Manchester College students go astray.
Out of their ivory towers and halls of learning, when weather’s warm,
They come running through our neighborhood like bees in a swarm.
They’ve studied so hard for their finals, it seems,
That now it’s time for them to let off some steam.
They crank up their music so everyone in town can hear,
They scream and yell and cuss and drink beer.
They knock down street signs to steal the street name,
Yard arrangements are stolen or smashed when they came.
They’re more disrespectful and brazen each year,
That many a neighbor is mad or in fear.
The college officials and town fathers appear not to care,
While beleaguered police have no riot squad who could dare.
“There’s no right or wrong these days” is a reason we give
Not to hold people accountable “just live and let live.”
Most town folk don’t oppose students having some fun,
But do taxpayers pay for the mischief that’s done?
Maybe it’s time for a call to arms, who knows?
Homeowners-Turn on your porch lights and man the garden hose!
(Thank you to our local police for taking action!)
Respectfully,
Donna McKee
To the editor:
Over the past few weeks, there has been a barrage of finger pointing between County Commissioners and County Council members. Most of the finger pointing seems to be directed towards the Sheriff and Jail Commander. After reading recent news articles, it appears that everyone except the Jail Commander has had an opportunity to defend themselves.
Of greatest concern to me are the irresponsible remarks made by Council members Ted Little, Paul Bergman, and County Commissioner Brian Haupert. Although I have the utmost respect for these gentlemen, I take strong exception to their use of the term “investigation”. The appointment of this so called committee was in question from the onset when two of the three “appointees” openly display campaign literature against Leroy Striker. The committee’s motives are again called into question when the Sheriff was originally a member, but then suddenly voted out. The committee members then met on three occasions, but invited the Sheriff to only one of those meetings. ....Read More
by Tim McLaughlin
As the May 2 primary election gets closer, I hope that all registered voters will make a real effort to get to the appropriate polling stations to make their voice heard.
There are so many things in life that we can’t control, that we don’t have a say in. Voting in political elections is one of the few areas where we do have a say.
I know many people feel that their one vote isn’t going to matter, so they don’t bother voting. Can you imagine if 1,000 people in Wabash County feel that same way and don’t vote? 1,000 people not voting could make a real difference in who gets elected as County Commissioners, in who wins the Republican nomination in the Sheriff's race, and on a more local level, in who ends up serving as school board members.
Some people feel that they don’t know enough about certain election races to make a fair determination on who they want to win. They feel that they would be doing an injustice if they were to vote. The only injustice you can make is if you don’t vote. It’s very easy to familiarize yourself with candidates within Wabash County. All area newspapers, even the Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette, has run candidate profiles or more in depth news stories on the candidates who will be listed on ballots come May 2.
Those stories are written so that the general public can decide for themselves who they would like to see in office or on boards.
Granted, not every race will come down to 500 or 1,000 votes, but some may come down to fewer than that. To assume that everyone else is voting and that your one vote won’t be missed is wrong.
It’s so easy to sit back after the fact and complain about something political that you are unhappy with. But if you didn’t do your part by voting, I don’t think your complaints warrant much attention.
There is no guarantee that the person you vote for will win. The one thing you can guarantee by voting is that the person you do vote for is one number closer to being elected.
I’m going to do my part this May 2, and I encourage you to do yours as well.
The candidates deserve our votes.
by Leesa Metzger
Professional landscape designer and former agriculture, botany, and horticulture teacher answers local reader’s questions about gardening, plant care and maintenance, and flowering choices.
Q. How old should shrubs and trees be before a gardener starts pruning? -Vicki S.
A.Pruning ornamentals keeps your garden on the cutting edge. Every year, landscape gardeners should step back, look at their plantings and formulate a pruning plan that will keep ornamentals looking their best.
Pruning should start as soon as you have the plants in the ground. You can shorten long stems and encourage branching to increase the density and volume of new plants.
Most landscape plants should be lightly pruned every few years. If you prune hard every year to keep a plant to a certain size in your landscape, it’s better to replace that plant with one that has growth characteristics better suited to the site.
All gardeners should understand the difference between pruning and shearing.
Pruning. Pruning means individually selecting and cutting specific branches or twigs. Larger pieces are removed at specific locations on the plant. ....Read More
by Tim McLaughlin
Vacation—it’s something we don’t get enough of, but something we all desperately need.
Over the past couple of years, I’ve only been taking one week of time off a year. Fortunately for my family and me, we’ve spent that week in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
I know that a lot of North Manchester residents have made Gulf Shores their yearly vacation spot as well, so many of you are already familiar with what I believe is one of the best family vacation destinations anywhere.
From the beautiful beaches, to the perfect climate, to the top notch golf facilities, to the exquisite dining, to the fun-filled amusement parks, Gulf Shores has something for everyone.
We were fortunate this year to spend the week with two local families, the Watsons and the Brunns, in a duplex home built directly on the beach. ....Read More
By Tim McLaughlin
Let’s give the guy a chance.
Ok, so maybe we all wanted Mark Few, John Calipari, or Steve Alford. Maybe even IU-alum Randy Wittman made more sense to some people.
Over the past dew days, I’ve heard a lot of people say “Who in the heck is Kelvin Simpson, anyway?” when referring to Indiana University’s hiring of Kelvin Sampson as men’s basketball coach.
Exactly who is this Kelvin Sampson, and why should IU fans all over the place believe that he may be the answer to bringing Hoosier basketball back to prominence, alongside Duke, North Carolina, and Connecticut (where we all feel they belong)?
Sampson has been Oklahoma University’s head basketball coach for the past 12 seasons and has enjoyed many strong years. He left the Sooners with a 279-109 overall record, which included a 2002 trip to the Final Four.
Oklahoma has spent more weeks in the top 25 AP poll than IU over the past four seasons, and Sampson is responsible for the development of the Sooner program. He’s known throughout the country for being a top-notch recruiter, as well as a respected coach.
So why the red-flag on this hiring, you ask?
For you knowledgeable readers out there who have followed this story since Mike Davis’ resigning, there’s also the little fact that Oklahoma is currently under investigation by the NCAA for 550 impermissable phone calls made by Sampson and his coaching staff to recruits.
Sooners officials are currently scheduled to appear before the NCAA infractions committee and any sanctions against Sampson could follow him to Indiana.
For the most part since his introduction at IU, Sampson has said all the right things. He’s talked about bringing Indiana basketball back to its glory days. He’s talked about winning conference and national championships—all the things that IU fans, students, and alumni want to hear.
But one thing that he said in particular impressed me. When referring to the possible NCAA violations committed under his watch at Oklahoma, his response was simple and honest. “We’re human and we made a mistake. It’s been corrected and it won’t happen again.”
I do think he is telling the truth. I do think that he is a very capable recruiter and a much better coach overall than Mike Davis was. Does that mean that IU basketball will be a top 10 team again soon? Not necessarily.
Charlie Weiss was able to come into Notre Dame and right the ship in one season. He appears to have the Irish back as a legitimate championship caliber team on a yearly basis.
Sampson will not only have to improve the players that IU has been able to land recently, he will have to deal with the possibility of starting from scratch next season. If D.J. White and Robert Vaden transfer as they have indicated is a possibility, the Hoosiers will endure a brutal season a year from now.
As we have all seen before, Hoosier fans, particularly administration and alumni, have very little patience when it comes to rebuilding. If Sampson loses those two key players, he may never get a fair shot from some of the people who are capable of making his job very stressful.
For his sake, I hope White and Vaden stay. I’m die-hard crimson and cream, but how many more “down years” can Hoosier fans take? Oh well, at least we aren’t Purdue fans.
by Tim McLaughlin
Although it hasn’t necessarily been a hot topic of conversation, some people have asked me recently exactly what goes into determining if a letter to the editor has gone too far.
As most of you know, over the past month there have been a number of letters focusing on frustrations aimed at the boys basketball program, the Manchester Clinic, and most recently a pre-school.
While some people have felt that those letters perhaps crossed a line of what should or should not be printed in the newspaper, it was ultimately my choice to run all three.
When a letter to the editor geared towards, and in some cases, attacks a group or individual, the decision of whether or not to run the piece is never an easy one. I typically am not the only person at the News-Journal to read the letter prior to its running. More than one person on staff generally gives his or her input, but the final decision is made by me. ....Read More
by Tim McLaughlin
It’s been well documented over the years in the News-Journal that I can’t correctly predict anything.
I’ve yet to pick a Super Bowl winner. I actually said in a column back years ago that the Colts should take Ryan Leaf over Peyton Manning as their quarterback of the future. I’m pretty sure that somewhere along the way I’ve defended Barry Bonds because I was just sure that he wasn’t using drugs. I have even written multiple columns over the years declaring that “this is the year” for the Chicago Cubs.
So, as the 2006 NCAA tournament is about to get underway, I’m going to do all of you a huge favor. I’m going to make my predictions so that you clearly know who not to choose in your brackets.
My final four teams are Duke, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, and Boston College.
As for my upsets in the first round? I’m going with Bucknell, Alabama, Wisconsin, and UW-Milwaukee.
There you have it. Pick teams other than those and you’re well on your way to a top finish in the News-Journal NCAA brackets contest (see page 10).
—For those of you who went to Ft. Wayne this past weekend for the Winter Jam, I’m sure you had a great experience. Hawk Nelson, Zoe Girl, New Song, Toby Mac, and Newsboys put on a four and a half hour concert at the Coliseum that was completely sold out. It’s hard to beat five great artists under one roof for $10. That’s right, $10. Led by New Song, these artists travel around together all winter as an outreach concert and more or less donate their musical gifts in an effort to make it affordable for all and more importantly, get 11,000 people together at one time for an amazing worship experience.
From alternative, to rap, to contemporary, to country—there was something for everyone on Saturday night.
It was really neat to see people of all ages get together for the same reason.
I really appreciated some older people sitting in front of my family and friends who obviously were not in attendance to listen to Toby Mac. For those of you who aren’t familiar with that group, they are extreme alternative—bordering on heavy metal with some rap mixed in. Despite the hard to understand lyrics and deafening sounds exploding from the six-foot speakers, the couple didn’t get up and leave or take a well-timed bathroom break. Instead, they stayed in their seats and seemed very content to take in the music the younger crowd was obviously loving. They didn’t plug their ears, they didn’t shake their heads in disgust. They tolerated it.
They understand that worship music has no style. A hymn to one person is Toby Mac to the next.
by Tim McLaughlin
As the April 2 switch to Daylight Saving Time approaches, the News-Journal would love to hear your thoughts about the upcoming change in the form of letters to the editor.
I’m sure most people are in the “so we move our clocks forward in the spring and back in the fall, what’s the big deal?” boat.
There are many good reasons to adopt the common practice. Afterall, Daylight Saving Time has been proven to conserve energy costs. Even though we might not see a large decrease in our energy bills at home, I can think of a local not-for-profit organization that might benefit from the change—the Manchester Recreation Association.
The electric bill alone is nearly $5,000 a year at the complex. Having an extra hour of daylight each night is one less hour that the fields will need to be lit by artificial light. And using the lights less hours will add life in length to each bulb—which are also very expensive.
There have been other positives brought to the forefront. Certain studies done over the years have indicated that crime may be reduced and traffic injuries and deaths may be cut down by changing to Daylight Saving Time. The thought is that traveling at night is always more hazardous and that an extra hour of daylight will allow more people to travel home from school and work before the sun sets.
For selfish reasons, I like the thought of having an extra hour of daylight in the summer. Longer summer days mean longer lake days, more opportunities to play golf in the evening, and more time to spend outside with the kids at night.
Speaking of the kids, how will this affect them—especially the younger ones? I have a four and a five year old at home who already are pretty tough to convince that it really is bedtime at 8:00 in the summer when it’s still light outside. With the sun not setting until 9:00 p.m. at times now in the summer, that challenge could prove even more difficult.
Also, I assume that drive in movie theaters will at some point become a thing of the past. With movies unable to start until 10:15, double-features will probably be unheard of this summer. And with a good part of the drive-in business catering to families with children, I can see drive-ins as a whole disappearing in the near future. How many families will be taking their five year old children to see Toy Story 2 when they know it won’t end until midnight? My guess would be not too many.
There are all kinds of people and businesses that will be affected by Daylight Saving Time. Certainly schools, outdoor athletic events, students who ride the bus and bus drivers, town offices, television networks, farmers and more will feel some sort of effect, positive or negative.
So what in your life might change? Are you happy, mad, or indifferent about the changes that Daylight Saving Time will bring?
We would love to hear from you.
by Tim McLaughlin
Old school. In Webster’s, the term old school is defined as “conservative policies and practices of the past.”
Depending on the person, or more accurately the age of the person, old school can take on entirely different meanings.
I’m 33 years old, and although I consider myself old school, its meaning is completely different to me than it is to someone my father's age.
Old school to me is Julius Erving, Reggie Jackson, Tony Dorsett, Guns N’ Roses, and the original Star Wars.
Old school to me is playing pick-up games of baseball and basketball every day in the summer (instead of playing X-Box or PS 2,3, or 10—whatever it’s up to now) and playing a sport for the love of the game, regardless of who the coach is or was.
Bob Knight was old school. Maybe too old school. His refusal to change his thinking and practices of the past, right or wrong, led to his dismissal as Indiana University head basketball coach.
So why all this “old school” talk? Last Friday evening, my oldest son’s AAU basketball team, their dads, and the coach went to see the movie “Glory Road” at Kent Theatre in South Whitley.
For those of you who haven’t seen the movie, see it. If you love sports movies, you won’t be disappointed.
The movie itself is old school. The Texas Western vs. Kentucky in the national championship game in 1966 is about basketball, but the real story in the movie is the battle Texas Western’s players and their coach Don Haskins face against discrimination.
It’s a wonderful, emotional story about relationships, trust, hardwork, and overcoming adversity that most of us today can’t even imagine.
What made the night even better was seeing the movie at the Kent Theatre (see ad on page 8A).
The Kent Theatre always has an old school feeling, for more reasons than one.
Growing up, my parents took my brother and me to South Whitley to see movies. I still remember seeing E.T. there and walking out of the theatre at night, looking down at the sidewalk, and seeing the thousands of sparkles in the cement (can anyone tell me exactly what that stuff is?) and being awestruck.
Granted, Kent may not have stadium seating, but paying $4 for admission and $3 for a value pack (candy, all you can eat popcorn, all you can drink pop) makes you quickly forget convenience seating. $7 for admission and all-you-eat and drink popcorn and pop? Now that’s old school!
Besides, who really needs stadium seating? The theater was clean, the picture was sharp, and the sound was good. And proximity wise, it’s only a 10-15 minute drive from home.
And when we walked out of the theatre and went outside and looked down at the sidewalk, thousands of those little “sparkly things” were working their magic.
Friday night was old school.
by Eric Christiansen
Since my Saturday night suddenly opened up, I thought I would tune in to the NBA All-Star Saturday night, just to see what it is like now.
I haven’t watched one of these in years, and man, it has changed. Changed so much that I felt the need to keep a running diary.
8:30 p.m. Players are introduced for the Dunk Contest, Skills Competition and the 3-point shootout. I heard rumors of Magic Johnson in the Shooting Stars competition. That’s all I needed to hear.
8:32 p.m. One of the reasons for the downslide of the NBA has been the focus turning away from fundamentals, and turning to show. Well, you can’t get more show than a bunch of back up dancers 1, 2 Stepping to Ciara.
NBA All-Star weekend used to be a holiday for me, and, I’m sure for many others. Now, it has become kind of like Groundhog Day. Let’s see if we can get it back to Government Holiday territory.
8:48 p.m. RadioShack Shooting Stars Competition. Steve Kerr, Tony Parker and Kendra Wecker from the San Antonio WNBA team. Never heard of her. Tony Parker had Eva Longoria rooting him on. Shoot.
8:50 p.m. Lakers. Bring on Magic. I see Lisa Leslie. I’ve heard of her. Also, some guy named Kobe. My pick to win. Leslie can’t shoot a lick. Magic needs to tuck his shirt in. C’mon Buck! Kobe hits the money shot from half court. Magic is reminding me of Aretha Franklin.
For the record, I would much rather be in Berne, Indiana rooting on the Lady Squires. Great season girls. ....Read More
To the editor:
As I recall President Bush’s “State of the Union” address, a directive was given in regard to the development of alternative sources for energy, i.e., other than oil. One such source is nuclear energy, a source of which the President has interest.
Legislation may soon be introduced to the US Congress: 1) to expand nuclear power research and development; 2) to build new nuclear plants; 3) to modify license requirements and procedures; and 4) to extend the Price-Anderson Act, the nuclear accident liability and compensation system. Funding of hundreds of millions of dollars can be expected to be included in these legislative proposals.
Substantial attention is being focused on the processes and operation of an advanced “pebble bed” high-temperature gas-cooled reactor in South Africa. The reactor’s fuel would be encased within tennis ball-sized spheres that are designed to withstand maximum accident temperatures without damage. Each reactor uses over 360,000 fuel pebbles. These Pebble-Bed Modular Reactors (PBMRs) use helium instead of water to cool the reactor core. The helium is also used to turn the turbine. The PBMR uses graphite instead of water to slow down the neutrons. (Two of the very few reactors using graphite have experienced fires—Windscale in 1957 and Chernobyl in 1986.) If the outer metal casing on the pebbles is damaged, radioactive gas will be released to the environment. The spent fuel from the PBMR is 10 times more radioactive by volume than the spent fuel from the current Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) and the Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs).
Results from the initiation of renewables in the 70s and 80s along with studies in energy technologies have taught that alternatives to nuclear energy exist, and at a cost of much less per kWh. It is my hope that Legislators will personally and officially represent citizens-speaking in behalf of their home towns, their children’s future, and the environment to be maintained in a substantial form for generations, and not representatives of industry and federal government interests. Let us bring democracy back into our daily lives. We owe this much to each other.
Sincerely,
Rev. Dr. Velma M. Shearer
North Manches
To the editor:
We appreciate the recent feedback provided by Ms. Niccum about her experience at our clinic on January 7, 2006. While we regret it was not favorable, and that she did not contact us directly with her concerns before airing it in the newspaper, we rely on such feedback to improve our services to the community; this is critical as we continue to improve our level of care. This also provides an excellent opportunity to clarify our clinic policy so that such misunderstandings might be avoided in the future.
Our advertisements are correct: we are accepting new patients to our clinic. We also provide urgent care when appropriate, including on Saturdays, for our patients. We are not, however, a convenience clinic, such as Med-Stat, and we feel it is important for our patients to contact their own physicians with their medical problems. Ms. Niccum made it clear to our staff that her child receives her care from a physician not in our office. More importantly, Ms. Niccum’s child required a higher level of acute care than we could have provided that morning. For example, we do not have x-ray services available on Saturdays. We would have directed any child with those symptoms to a more appropriate facility, such as an emergency room. We are glad to hear that Ms. Niccum’s child received care in such a setting, and that she has recovered from her illness.
We hope this information is helpful and apologize for any prior miscommunication.
Sincerely,
Regan M. Andrade, MD
Pamela S. Higgins, MD
Eric Reichenbach, MD
To the editor:
We all know that in sports there are several overriding factors that drive anyone involved in them...being competitive or winning in conjunction with good sportsmanship, ethics, leadership, attitude and a strong sense of team. The one common piece that holds these things all together is the coach! Anyone who follows sports knows that everyday in every sport, when this hierarchy of factors breaks down at any level, the coach is removed. Nobody says that the removed coach is a bad person but just that he isn’t effective in his role with the team anyone.
It seems that for all of us, even in a small town, we live under a constant pressure to produce at a high level of quality. We expect it of ourselves and we expect it out of people and coaches who represent our families and community. We have all watched the marriage of our high school sports (mainly the boy’s basketball team) and our community hit the rocks in the last few years. Why is this? Our school system has become inconsistent with its handling of the athletic programs. Questionable coaching hiring, firings, combined with complacency has allowed “some” coaching mediocrity to prevail.
We all know that our Manchester Community Schools are in financial trouble while our athletic department spends irresponsibly. ....Read More
by Tim McLaughlin
Although it’s not normal protocol at the News-Journal for staff to respond to letters to editor in the form of an editorial, an exception will be made in reference to the letter submitted by Aaron Hippensteel which ran in last week’s edition of the News-Journal.
As I was reading through Mr. Hippensteel’s letter when it came across my desk last week, there were many factual inaccuracies which stood out, so that’s where I will begin.
Probably the most obvious inaccuracies revolve around Hippensteel’s claim that our “athletic department spends irresponsibly while there is no money for supplies or money for academics and teacher payroll.”
He referred to the recently refurbished football field and lights, adding soccer fields, and the building of tennis and baseball facilities as “spending irresponsibly.”
As some of us are certainly aware, the funds used for athletics and the funds used for payroll, supplies, academics, etc...come from completely different places. Funds for those things come from the General Fund, which has absolutely no impact on the Capital Project Fund, which is where the money for the tennis courts, baseball field, gym renovation, and football field came from.
You can’t use money from one to feed the other. They are completely separate. ....Read More
To the editor:
In response to Mr. Hippensteel’s understanding of basketball complacency, first of all, in 1988, with your loaded team, why didn’t your basketball team go beyond the sectional? Was that complacency? Plus, was your coach fired?
Also, Mr. Hippensteel, being a regular fan at Manchester ball games, I don’t ever recall meeting you; maybe you don’t attend too often. Just buy the seats, don’t show up, and complain to the local newspaper.
See, Mr. Hippensteel, I am not the type who is complacent to sit back and let our athletic director and basketball coach and staff be unfairly attacked without responding to you.
I have gotten to know the athletic director and basketball coach. They are both men of integrity. I know the hours upon hours that they dedicate to their jobs. While our kids have struggled this year, I know that they have given 110 percent.
See, Mr. Hippensteel, it is not all about winning; it is about giving it your all, and that is just what these kids have done. Have you ever heard of a rebuilding year, Mr. Hippensteel? How many sophomores played on your team, Mr. Hippensteel?
Our basketball coach is committed to winning; just check his record. But, winning isn’t just creating a basketball product, as you put it. It’s helping these kids be the best they can be on and off the court, and I believe our coach and athletic director have the right stuff.
So, sit back, listen to Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days”, and enjoy your piece of the net from your ‘88 sectional. It’s our kids out there playing, not you.
Bill Medley
Parent of MHS Basketball player #54
To the editor:
After reading last week’s editorial from Mr. Hippensteel, it has been brought to my attention that the “town’s sentiment” has neglected to recognize the hard work and dedication that still permeates throughout Squire Basketball.
I’d first like to address the adjective “complacency” as grotesquely oversimplified as well as extremely false. As a former athlete, I would like to convey to the community that “complacency” simply does not exist among our coaching staff at Manchester High School. These individuals have devoted countless hours and exhausting efforts to this tradition of Manchester basketball. While their records have not produced the higher echelons of success that the community had once grown accustomed to, the athletes and their coaches’ determination still help them to strive for the same attributes that were aimed for in 1988; respect, desire, sportsmanship, and attitude. These are all characteristics the coach wants his players to carry on and off the court.
Next, I’d like to tackle this proverbial complaint from the community that we “spend irresponsibly” on our athletic department instead of our academics. I’d like to briefly explain that there are two different budgets from which our administrators allot our state funds. The “General Fund” supplies our school system with its supplies and our teachers’ salaries, while the “Capital Projects” provides funding for our facilities and improvements to grounds which includes athletic resources. These two sectors are not interchangeable and leave a large gap of visibility between the two.
Finally, I recognize that I can only speak from personal experience and share a majority consensus with my former teammates, and from this perspective, our coaches have made us better, more mature individuals. Even though our past records do not rectify what we had worked so hard to achieve, I still believe that our current coach deserves the credit and respect that he has so graciously given to our players and our students.
Sincerely,
Evan Speicher
by Amy Kraner
Here we go again.
It seems that we human beings have a compulsion to find in every exceptional person among us some grave sin.
There is always someone who will dig up whatever bit of dirt there is in another’s past, given there is something to gain by it.
Add a wicked sense of timing and you’ve got a scandal.
Historian Taylor Branch released the third installment of a series documenting Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and the civil rights movement a week before the national holiday devoted to him.
He writes that King confessed to his wife, Coretta Scott King, a year before his murder of an affair he had been involved in for a considerable time.
Unfortunately, Coretta is currently unable to comment due to a recent stroke that left her partially paralyzed.
Branch also writes that King quarreled with fellow civil rights activists.
So—if these are true, they are just facts, bits of personal information that should be in a biography, right?
They certainly don’t deface King or detract from the sacrifices he made.
Apparently not according to Associated Press writer Erin Haines—whose story is entitled, “Family Feud, New Book Threaten King Legacy.”
The biography is called “a story that threatened to overshadow King’s humanitarian contributions on the 20th anniversary of the King National Holiday.”
I seriously doubt King is going to lose his place in our history as a man who made the ultimate sacrifice so that others could live life more fully.
I don’t think that the majority of the public wants to see him defamed—which is good, because if there were anything to gain from doing so he would most certainly be crucified.
While King may appear a bit more human for his infidelity, just about anyone else would be branded an immoral, sexually addicted sleaze-bag by his or her political opponents.
In the case of Jesse Jackson back in 2001, you can add hypocrite to the top of the list.
He had been council to President Clinton during the whole Monica scandal and was considering a run for president himself when news surfaced that he had fathered an illegitimate child.
I remember how there had been a quote of his painted in a public place in my hometown just weeks before.
It read, “Never look down at someone unless you are helping them up.”
The story broke, and the next day the quote was gone—painted over by local officials.
While I never personally thought strongly one way or another about Jesse Jackson, the wiping out of something good he contributed because he made a rotten decision in his personal life was maddening.
If that were practiced in every case, there would be so very little left to inspire us.
The more judgmental we are, the more pessimistic we become.
The views expressed in this column are the opinion of the writer and not necessarily the News-Journal itself.
by Leesa Metzger
Professional landscape designer and former agriculture, botany, and horticulture teacher answers local reader’s questions about gardening, plant care and maintenance, and flowering choices.
The outdoor living trend continues to be the big gardening craze this year. Transforming humble backyards into personal retreats for entertaining family and friends is not only on the “To-Do” list this year for serious gardeners. Folks who traditionally dislike gardening are longing to enjoy their outdoor surroundings as well. This particular group of our population is spending more money on landscaping and less on travel. They are hiring professionals to create personal outdoor sanctuaries for them to enjoy everyday at home.
Sensible landscapes are in; high maintenance, fussy plants are out. There are fewer rose gardens and annuals being planted and a higher demand for easy care plants such as hydrangeas, conifers and perennials.
Water features are in. A must-have in any outdoor garden room is the relaxing sound of water. If designed and installed correctly, waterfalls and ponds can provide much enjoyment to a gardener with a reasonably low amount of maintenance required. Add a few Japanese Koi fish and you’ll have your own Garden of Eden. Fountains can provide sound, motion and water to the garden, but in a simple and minimal-maintenance way.
Old fashioned plants are in. Newer varieties of the old garden stand-bys such as Hydrangeas, Lilacs, and Clematis that boast longer blooming, highly fragrant, or increased disease resistance are great for every landscape. ....Read More
by Tim McLaughlin
In looking back at 2005, it’s not easy to choose a “theme” for the year for North Manchester.
We certainly shared some ups and downs, suffered through losses, and celebrated through victories, but a common theme is not easily detectable.
It was a year of firsts. North Manchester experienced its first homicide in more than a decade in July, and then mourned the loss of a soldier killed in Iraq in November. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles was closed, and Manchester High School/Junior High School opened the year as one.
We had our fair share of resignations, Thom Frantz and Brad Parrott from the school board, Dean Nardecchia as Parks Director, Stuart Jones from the Chamber, and MHS Vocal Director Paige Davidson.
2005 was without a doubt a year of closings. Staples in the community such as Grandstaff Rendering, Invensys, W&W Concrete, the BMV, and the Hospitality House either closed down, announced their closing, or were sold.
But as business left North Manchester, new business joined the community. Bippus State Bank, Movie Gallery, El Tapatio, North Manchester Family Dentistry, and Speedway Gravel were among businesses to open their doors this year. ....Read More
To the editor:
How much is too much?
A little over a year ago, my father was paralyzed in a work related accident. In the emergency room, my mother, brother, grandparents and I were promised that my father would always have a job with the company, even if one had to be made for him. To this day, my father has yet to see that job.
Before the accident, my father was dedicated to his job. He has worked for the company for twenty-eight years. My father even accepted a job managing a branch of the company in Ohio for several years. My father also farmed quite a bit before the accident. Very seldom did I ever get a chance to spend any quality time with him because he was so dedicated to his job.
The reason I am writing this article is not because my father worked too much, that's just how I know my father, but because so much is being taken away from him. I do not want people to feel sorry for him, and neither does he. But, I want people to realize what is going on in our world today. Everyone needs to protect themselves.
The day my father was paralyzed, he not only lost the use of three fourths of his body, but he also lost a variety of other things. He no longer feels like he is the head of the household, the sole provider for the family, nor does he feel like he is useful for very many things. My father will never again walk, be able to tell when he is hungry or full, or even feel his puppy climb into his lap. He will also never be able to fulfill his dream of riding a donkey through the Grand Canyon.
The accident not only affected my father, but the rest of the family as well. My mother has been stripped of the passion a husband and wife share. My brother lost the man he used to wrestle around with on Sunday afternoons. I will never have the chance to walk down the aisle with my father when I get married, nor will we share a father-daughter dance. We will never again be able to run around the front yard and play tag as a family together.
As you can see, my family has undergone a lot of hardships with my father’s accident. Except for all the doctors appointments and therapy, we all thought the worst of it was over. However, we were wrong. The company has now decided to administratively terminate my father so that they no longer have to pay our family’s health insurance. How much more can the company deprive our family of? My mother was electrocuted twelve years ago, so she is not employed. Both my brother and I are full time college students so we do not have health insurance of our own. Just how much more can my family lose?
I want everyone who reads this to realize this is not a situation that is happening across the world. Accidents like the one my family has undergone are happening in our nation, our state, our community. The sad thing is my family has discovered from the whole accident that we are not the only family being taken advantage of after suffering such a great loss. I want you to think about it. What if tomorrow, you become paralyzed and you were the sole provider for the family and then you were basically fired so a company does not have to pay insurance? Is it too much to handle on top of everything else?
Sincerely,
Jennifer Wiley
To the Editor:
As a business owner in North Manchester, I have been very fortunate to receive the support and confidence of local consumers. I give thanks daily for these people and their patronage and the many wonderful coworkers I have had the privilege to work with. To all these wonderful customers and friends I say a very heartfelt thank you and may God bless you for your kindness and encouragement of the business and my family. In many ways some of you have been like an extended family and your daily, weekly, or monthly visits will be sorely missed. It is with a great deal of sadness that I announce the closing of the Hospitality House restaurant as of December 30, of this year. The Bed and Breakfast will remain open. The experience has been invaluable and while I can still say it has been a positive one it is time to move on. ....Read More
by Tim McLaughlin
Pardon me for stealing from the News-Journal sports editor’s desk, but I have a few thoughts to add to his list from a week ago (as well as a few answers to his questions).
Merry Christmas. There, I said it. Somebody sue me.
No, the Colts won’t go undefeated. They will, however, recover from this weekend’s loss and go, unfazed, on to win the Super Bowl. I’m actually glad they lost. I was so sick of every sports writer from every newspaper devoting so much attention to their streak. The Colts are good, we get it. Move on, find a new topic.
Fair weather fans—it’s disappointing. The Squire boys basketball team may not be having a good season from a won-loss perspective, but they’re making real improvement. They work as hard as any team I’ve seen in years. They’re a young group for the most part, with a number of sophomores playing significant minutes. This past Saturday, they led the majority of the game against Bluffton, only to lose in the fourth quarter. They played fairly well, too bad no one was there to watch them.
The Cowboys are in the NFC East for the same reason the Colts are in the AFC South. The people in charge of assigning divisions must be the same group that thinks bowl games are great and constitutes what traveling is in the NBA. Somebody please call BASF.
Does anyone seriously remember that we had a very mild October and November? The average temperature for this time of year is supposed to be 35 degrees. Maybe that means it will be 60 in January (or -30).
Eric claimed last week that no one can hit the 15 footer anymore in basketball. He may be right, but this weekend, I saw someone shoot prolificly from just beyond 19 feet. He’s 12 years old and in the sixth grade. I was at the junior high gym with my son Connor for a basketball practice. His friend Derek Self went around the horn shooting three pointers and didn’t miss. In fact, he hit eight in a row from corner to corner. En fuego.
Have you ever heard of the Nike sportsline And 1? I think the “And 1” thing should apply to any holiday that falls on a Saturday or Sunday. Take Christmas and New Year’s this year, for instance. They both fall on Sundays, so we don’t get any extra days off of work. If the “And 1” rule were applied, we would all get the closest weekday to the holiday off, which would be Monday in this case.
Can we really be within a week of 2006? It seems so recently that we were excited about the turn of the century. Now we’re more than half way through another decade.
I would like to thank the community for making the News-Journal your newspaper of choice again this year. We look forward to serving the North Manchester area in the years to come.
Have a Merry Christmas, and remember the real reason for the season.
by Eric Christiansen
Will the Colts go undefeated?
Will their final game against Arizona mean a thing?
Will people show up if they are 14-1?
Why are the Dallas Cowboys still in the NFC East?
Has the NBA season started yet?
Did Indiana Univeristy’s loss to Indiana State cost Mike Davis his job?
Did Indiana University’s win over Kentucky save Mike Davis his job?
Have you seen the Manchester College women’s basketball team play this year? (They are 6-1 and like to shoot the ball.)
Why does the 3-second rule exist in basketball?
Why is Michael Irvin still on my T.V.?
What is Terrell Owens doing for Christmas?
Who is Marita Awe, and why is she winning so many races for the MHS girls’ swim team?
Why can’t basketball players shoot the 15 footer anymore?
Does anyone really like listening to John Madden?
Have you watched “Friday Night Lights” and not gotten choked up at the end of the championship game?
Who can't wait for "24" to start in January?
Who will win the Wabash County Tourney?
Wouldn't a false alarm not make any noise?
Were you Big In ‘05?
To the editor:
This time of year we receive many compliments from friends and acquaintances about our outdoor Christmas lights and decorations. I must admit that my wife Susan is the motivation behind the garland, bows and lights. Every November, I grumble and growl about all the time and effort that will be involved. Being the cheapskate that I am, all Susan has to do is threaten to pay someone to put the decorations out and I go to work.
On a more serious note, a number of major retailers, in their quest for our wallets by the way of political correctness, have struck the word “Christmas” from their vocabularies. The trees you see at our house are “Christmas Trees”, not “holiday trees”, as I understand Lowe’s and others prefer to call them. Christmas trees celebrate God’s gift to us in Jesus Christ. The greenery symbolizes the new life one receives through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ whose birth we celebrate. The red bows cause us to remember the blood He shed on the Cross for our sins and His defeat of death. The lights, at least to me, symbolize Jesus as the Savior for a dark, fallen and hurting world.
When I look at the evidence for the Biblical account of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, especially the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies made hundreds of years before His birth, I realize that it would require more faith than I have to not believe in Him as God’s promised savior. I would encourage everyone to set aside Santa, “holiday” political correctness, busyness and credit card busting materialism to truly pause and consider the real and eternal reasons for the Christmas season, which is God’s gift to us, Jesus Christ.
Yours truly,
Garen Bushong
by Leesa Metzger
By Leesa Metzger, Metzger Landscaping & Design, LLC
Professional landscape designer and former agriculture, botany, and horticulture teacher answers local reader’s questions about gardening, plant care and maintenance, and flowering choices.
Q. I am always battling deer in my landscape, but especially so in the winter, is there anything that I can do?—D. Stone
A. Landscapes face two major problems where deer are concerned: tree rubs and browse damage. Rubs occur mainly between early September and late winter. This is when bucks battle tree and shrubs less than three inches in caliper, as they are preparing for breeding season. This often results in death of the tree. The only solution to this problem is physical barriers. Creating a barrier around the tree with T-posts surrounded by tall fence will work. Although this is not an attractive alternative, it is also not a permanent one. This method can be utilized during the early years of a tree’s development, and removed when the tree becomes greater than three inches in caliper. To protect an entire garden, tall fencing may be considered. Deer fence used to keep deer out of a garden is typically between 8-9 feet in height and costly. It is not at all uncommon to find deer fences throughout the mid-west at arboretums; specialty display gardens, as well as located around the perimeters of plant nurseries. Of course, these types of businesses have much at stake when it comes to tree rubs and browse damage. ....Read More
To the editor:
I was saddened and angered to learn the Manchester Church of the Brethren had allowed a same sex covenant service to be performed at their church. We pastors in the District were informed in a letter from the District Board, which had in turn been informed by our District Minister, the event had happened some time before October 22.
In a District letter we learned neither of the pastors of the Manchester COB had performed the service. No names were given as to who participated. I understand the reluctance of persons to admit being participants to such an action. Public opinion polls show most people are against same sex covenants.
I am angered that a Church of the Brethren congregation would interpret scripture and go against the Annual Conference directives on homosexuality and blatantly ignore both. I am angry that a Church of the Brethren congregation would allow and even invite such an action that would cause such pain in so many other churches without even saying anything before hand. When this issue came up several years ago when the Manchester congregation first talked about the possibility of same sex covenants, many hours were spent in meetings with congregational representatives from around the district trying to find common ground on this issue. I am upset that this action will make it so much harder for the name, Church of the Brethren, to be a guiding light for non-Christians to receive salvation through Jesus Christ.
I am saddened that as a former member of the Manchester congregation, I was unable to be in a conversation about this possible event until it was already accomplished. The Manchester church has been pursuing this possibility for years. At every turn, the District and denomination have said homosexual unions are not in the scriptures as we understand them and it is not part of a Christian life-style.
For the Manchester church to pursue this avenue is a gross misunderstanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. I am not homophobic. I have had homosexual friends since college 25 years ago. I had homosexual friends at seminary. They are still my friends. I do not reject homosexuals. I do, however, reject their lifestyle.
I continue to pray for the Manchester church. The Manchester church has many good people in it who continue to do great ministry. This is only one small part of that ministry. However, the congregation has sadly focused the spotlight on this issue to the detriment of its other ministries.
Sincerely,
Pastor Dan Riccius
