Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 127, Number 2, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 8 January 2004 — Page 1

Advance News Serving Nappanee & Wakarusa

VoL 127 Issue 2

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CLASS OF 1944 BREAKFAST The NHS Class of 1944 will hold its class breakfast at 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 8 at the Country Table. Please note the change of date due to the Jan. 1 holiday. ********** Open Door Notices ELECTRIC LICENSING BOARD The City of Nappanee Electric Licensing Board will meet on Jan. 8, 2004 in the meeting room at the Nappanee Municipal, 300 West Lincoln Street, Nappanee, Indiana at 7 p.m. The Board will elect officers and approve the applications for the 2004 Electric Licenses. NAPPANEE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION The Nappanee Historic Preservation Commission’s regular meeting scheduled for Jan. 1 at 10:30 a.m. has been rescheduled to Jan. 8 at 10:30 a.m. in the Council Chambers of the Nappanee Municipal Building, 300 E. Lincoln St. Nappanee, IN 46550 ********** SOUDER MOBILE OFFICE U.S. Representative Mark Souder’s Staff Mobile Office will hold office hours on Jan. 14 at the following locations: 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Wakarusa, Town Hall Chamber Office 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Nappanee, City Hall Constituents are welcome to meet with a member of Congressman Souder’s staff to discuss current issues or seek assistance regarding problems they may be experiencing with federal agencies. The Staff Mobile Office will visit these locations at the same times on the second Wednesday of every month. BIRTHDAY UPDATES Did you have a child, lose a loved one, get married, or move to the area this yeas? Then the Advance News birthday book needs your update. Please take the time to email us at [email protected] or send us a note in the mail (PO Box 230, Nappanee, 46550). We will be happy to make any necessary changes. FREE SAPLINGS The City of Nappanee, along with DLZ, Inc., is offering free saplings to the citizens of Continued on A 3 II

PHOTO BY KYUE CARTER Mayor Larry Thompson can't resist Girl Scout cookies, especially the Peanut Butter ones. These Girl Scouts and their troop leader (left to right Jamie Wiggins, Lisa Stewart, and Heather O'Connor, all of Nappanee Troop 377) easily persuade the mayor to try some. Girl Scout cookie sales start this Friday, so support your local troops!

Girl Scout Cookie Sales start Friday

Staff Report GOSHEN Are you starved for Thin Mints? Or are Caramel deLites or Animal Treasures your passion? After a year of not being able to get those most delicious of all cookies, it looks like cookie time again. Indiana Lakeland Girl Scouts will begin taking orders Jan. 9. Expect a Girl Scout to appear on your doorstep or to ask for your order at church, school, or in front of the grocery store. For just $3 per box, you can enjoy your fill of Thin Mints, Caramel deLites, Peanut Butter Patties, Peanut Butter Sandwich, Shortbread, and Animal Treasures. If you prefer a reduced fat variety, ask for Reduced Fat Lemon Pastry Cremes. Prepare yourselves for a really good, new cookie option. Pam Kumpf, product sales director for Indiana Lakeland Girl Scout Council, predicts customers will be pleased with the new offering that joins seven other traditional favorites. “The new cookie is called a pinata,” Kumpf says, “and like its namesake implies, this cookie is a fun package filled with so many surprises it’s like a party for your mouth. It has a crunchy oatmeal base, is with fruit and finished with swizzles of sugar glaze and cinnamon crumb topping. As you eat the cookie, the different taste sensations emerge on your palate. I’m willing to bet you can’t eat just one.” In addition, the cookie has been developed for persons who are sensitive to certain foods and do not contain eggs, milk, or peanuts. They have, however, been made on equipment that also processes products con-

Building a playground and going to the dome

► 2003 was A YEAR OF TEAMWORK By Kylie Carter Advance News Editor WA-NEE Many great things happened in the Wa-Nee area this year due to great efforts being put forth by many people. 2003 saw both the band and the football team head to state, and the construction of an entire playground in five days. These are shining examples of great things that can be accomplished when we all work together as a team. Let’s take a moment and reflect on all that made 2003 a year to remember: JANUARY •Many North Wood fans became Purdue fans and purchased tickets to see their hometown hero turned Boilermaker Carol Duncan play against Notre Dame. •The Nappanee Area Chamber of Commerce was given a $4,165 grant from the Elkhart County Convention and Visitors Bureau as part of the bureau’s 2003 Tourism Promotion Fund. The Nappanee chamber intended to use the money for various programs and events in the community. •Nappanee Common Council member Phil Jenkins decided to run for a third term, while member Bill Fales decided to not. •Fire Chief Brian Huff announced that Jody Lengacher

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turned in his resignation from the fire department. •For the first time in North Wood High School history, the 2002 Logue was named a Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) Crown Finalist — the highest honor bestowed on student publications by CSPA. •Nappanee, Wakarusa, and Woodview Elementary schools held their spelling bees, with Kerry Hoffer winning Nappanee Elementary’s with “vegetarian,” Patrick Thompson winning Wakarusa’s with “orchestra,” and Sarah Freymiller winning Woodview’s with “thorough.” •The Jan. 20 meeting of the School Board brought the decision to raise driver’s education fees from $250 to $275 per student. The $25 increase was based on the number of students enrolled. •The old North Wood Middle School building was demolished Jan. 24. •Kaylene Miller, Brad Russell, Eric Gongwer, and Heather Casteel were Gold Key Winners in the North Wood High School Scholastic Art Competition. FEBRUARY •Josh Miller came up with the name for the community playground to be built in Nappanee in June “Little Paws Playground.” The name was voted on by over 700 Nappanee preschool and elementary children. Josh received a brick paver inscribed with his name that

Thursday, January 8,2004

taining nuts. Good taste is just the beginning of what your money buys. Girl Scout Cookie activities help girls from age 6-17 learn all kinds of important life skills like goal setting, communication, teamwork, and economic independence. “The cookie sale is definitely more than a transaction over a box of cookies,” says Kumpf. Less than one-third of your $3 goes to pay for the cookies. The remainder of the purchase price stays in our local community. One of the unique aspects of the sale is that a portion of the revenue goes to troops so that girls can make decisions about how it is spent. When it comes to goal setting, girls and their adult leaders make decisions about troop activities they’d like to use the cookie dollars for. Then they set a goal for the number of boxes they want to sell as well as their goals for learning various skills. The volunteer Board of Directors for Indiana Lakeland Council budgets the remaining proceeds for expenses related to providing Girl Scout services to 2,745 girls and 680 volunteers in Noble, Whitley, Elkhart, and Kosciusko counties. Help our girls grow strong; buy Girl Scout Cookies. Girls will be taking orders until Jan. 26. Indiana Lakeland Girl Scouts deliver cookies after Feb. 23. Persons who do not know a Girl Scout, but wish to buy cookies, can call (574) 533-8881 or email the council at [email protected]. The council will give the order to a Girl Scout who will deliver the cookies to the buyer.

PHOTO BY KYUE CARTER The building of Little Paws Playground was one of the landmark events in Nappanee for 2003. This project is just one of many ways in which Wa-Nee citizens pulled together for great achievements last year.

was later laid in the entrance of the playground and a Little Paws Playground t-shirt. •In the event of natural disaster, Wakarusa will be covered, thanks to

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Nappanee receives I grant for downtown: improvement •• ; ' NAPPANEE closer to reality stated Larry Andrews, Community and Economic Development Director of Nappanee. Governor Joe Keman announced last week that Nappanee will receive a $500,000 grant to begin Phase I of redeveloping Downtown Nappanee. Kernan and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Davis announced 39 Transportation Enhancement (TE) awards totaling S2O million for community projects across the state. TE awards are »or community projects that are transportation-related but cannot be used for actual highway projects, such as resurfacing and construction. The grant awards were given in three categories: Historic Commerce, Commerce, and Bicycle Pedestrian Pathways. The Nappanee grant was received in the Commence category, but will-be used on several components which include pedestrian walkways, improving street lighting, alleyway improvements, redesigning public parking lots, and tourism information kiosks. The project will be done in phases with improvement of street lights, pedestrian walkways, and alleyway improvement taking priority. The total estimated cost of the Downtown Project is 1.6 million including engineering construction and inspection activities. The City of Nappanee will request the grant funding for Phase II in the fall 0f2005. Hopefully the project will be completed in 2007. Andrews stated the project relates very well with the Nappanee Transportation system. The improvement of the community downtown will provide a valuable connection between two previous Transportation Enhancement projects: the walk-bicycle transportation on the north side of the downtown and the renovation of the CSX depot used as an Amtrak passenger station on the smith side of the downtown.

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PHOTO BY STEPHANIE MIDDAUGH Newest council member Donald A. Miller became the newest councilmember, attending his first Nappanee Common Council meeting on Monday, Jan. 5. It's not the first time that Miller has served the City though, as he served as a Nappanee police officer for 32 years. He now works with MishlerEastlund Funeral Homes in Bremen, Milford and Syracuse.

' its approval of a mutual aid agreement offered by the Elkhart County Emergency Management agency. •Six Northwood High School wrestlers Brandon Gamer, Chad

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Davis, David Mishler, Dillon Whitacre, Derek Burnett, and Austin Mattem all advanced to Continued on A 6