Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 127, Number 5, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 29 January 2004 — Page 1

Advance News

Vol. 127 Issue 5,

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ijlUrfiee SPECIAL TOWN COUNCIL MEETING The Wakanisa Town Council will hold a fecial meeting to consider a bid award of the Downtown Revitalization Project The meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 10 at die Wakanisa Town Hall located at 100 W. Waterford St, Wakarusa. ********** V Open Door Notices BOARD OF WORKS The Nappanee Board of Public Works and Safety meeting scheduled for Jan. 26 has been changed to Jan. 29 at 3:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at the Nappanee Municipal Center, 300 W. Lincoln Street Nappanee. POLKZ PENSION BOARD The City of Nappanee Police Pension Board will hold their annual meeting on Monday Feb. 9, at 9 a.m. The Board will meet in the Council Chambers at the Nappanee Municipal Center, 300 West Lincoln Street Nappanee, IN 46550 ********** BIRTHDAY UPDATES Did you have a child, lose a loved one, get married, Or move to the area this year? 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 Nappanee. To make arrangements to pick up your trees, please call Tiffany in the Clerk-Treasurer’s office at 574-773-2112, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Trees are available until Nov. 26. ADVERTISING AND SUBSCRIPTIONS For questions regarding Advance News classified advertising or subscriptions, please call 1-800-933-0356 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Due to reduced hours at the Nappanee news office, advertisers and subscribers will find more efficient and helpful service by calling the toll-free number and speaking directly to a Owned classified or subscription representative to place an ad, start a new subscription, change an address. Continued on Page B 1

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Nappanee challenges sister city to golf championship

► Tournament site TO ROTATE EACH YEAR By Stephanie Middaugh Advance News Correspondent NAPPANEE —Mayor Larry Thompson officially challenged Nappanee’s sister city in Ontario, Canada, to an annual golf championship at the Common Council Meeting, Jan. 19. The golf championship, swiftly approved

What she lacks in mobility, she makes up for in spirit

► Brittney Martin is a CLOGGING INSPIRATION By Kylie Carter NAPPANEE After an ultrasound at five and a half months into her pregnancy, Dori Martin was encouraged to abort her unborn daughter due to birth defects. They predicted that the girl would not only have spina bifida, but also have fluid on the brain, mental illness, and would basically be a vegetable. Martin refused, and continued on with her pregnancy. “I think every church in Nappanee was praying for her,” said Becky Hochstetler, Martin’s mother. Three weeks after the ultrasound, Martin went into labor three months early. Martin was in labor for about three hours before Brittney was bom, still in the sack. They had arrived at Elkhart Hospital at 8:25 and Brittney Martin was bom at 8/43 two pounds, 14 ounces, and 15 inches long. “When I was bom 1 had an opening in my spine,” said Brittney, “and the day after I was bom I had a surgery to close my spine.” This surgery was the first of many for Brittney, who also had extremely brittle bones. Nine year old Brittney has had 10 broken legs, and 16 surgeries. In one month alone she had five shunt surgeries. These surgeries were all paid for by the Shriners, who also featured Brittney on the cover of their magazine in 1996. Additionally, the Shriners have provided Brittney with a short leg brace and a shoe lift, because her right leg is shorter than her left. Growing up, it was never expected that Brittney would be able to walk. She started using a parapodium when she was two years old, a device which allowed her to move about by swiveling. She used this for a while, and received a wheelchair by means of an immense community fundraiser that happened in November of 1998. The First Brethren Church in Nappanee sponsored the fundraiser, and people from all over sent in money. Donations exceeded the cost of the

Nappanee artist inspired by the mundane

► Strand shows ART IN NYC By Kylie Carter NAPPANEE Many of us have daily tasks that seem to take up so much of our time. We dream of all the things that we wish we were doing as we sweep the floor, take out the trash, and clean the sink. It was this struggle between obligation to daily chores and desire to engage in personally enriching activities that inspired Nappanee artist Dawn Strand to create a drawing that would eventually end up in a New York City gallery. “I was really stressing on not knowing what to draw,” said Strand, an art teacher at Lakeview Middle School in Warsaw and a master’s student in drawing and design at St. Francis University in Fort Wayne. “I was feeling the stress of a deadline, and I thought about how I have so much talent with my hands, and here I am unloading the dishwasher for the second time that day.” So Strand decided to put these

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with Resolution 520-04, will rotate each year between each city with a traveling trophy. The mayor recently learned that Nappanee Ontario’s mayor is an avid golfer, so the game is on. The two communities participate in the Sister City Program, established in 1956 to encourage greater friendship and understanding between the United States and other nations through direct personal contact. In a gesture of friendship and goodwill, the sister cities agree to collaborate for the mutual benefit of their communities by exploring educational, economic and cultural opportunities.

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PHOTO BY KYLE GARTER Brittney Martin defies ail social convention and brims with spirit and exuberance. despite having been bom with spina bifida and brittle bones. She acts, draws, and even dogsi wy ’ .

wheelchair, and helped to pay for the physical therapy and medication that Brittney also needed. Thanks to this physical therapy, which Brittney has had at least once a week in Elkhart since she was two, and an energy wellness machine, Brittney has been able to start walking using a walker this year. But Brittney wanted more. She wanted to join the Heartland Country doggers, a group started by Christina Knowles and her grandmother, Becky Hochstetler in 1994. Being unable to clog with her walker as she wanted to, Brittney developed a new brand of clogging. “She (her grandmother) gave me shoes and I

feelings into her next piece, and drew her reflection in a pot sitting among the other dishes in the dishwasher. She refers to the drawing as a self portrait because that’s the way she saw herself that particular week. “I’ve had a very positive response from people,” said Strand. “Even though it’s very personal, a lot of people have told me how much they relate to it. That validates it for me, so it ends up not being as selfish as what I had first thought. I think we all have common experiences.” Strand went on to further explain these common experiences she shared with the viewers of her work. “They could relate to some of the mundane things we feel obligated to do,” she said. “ Sometimes we put these things ahead of what we want to do. We put parts of ourselves on the shelf, and that’s really sad.” Strand has been made acutely aware of this need to make room in her life for rewarding activities in the past couple years thanks to a “creative cluster” she has been a part of. Continued on A 5

Thutsday, January 29,2004

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DRAWING BY DAWN STRAND Nappanee artist Dawn Strand juggles her domestic life with her need to create art.

The communities will support exchanges in fields of business, arts and culture, tourism, education, sports, service clubs, non-profit organizations and social and public services. The Canadians visited Nappanee in 2003 and Mayor Thompson plans to reciprocate the visit this year. OTHER BUSINESS • Resolution No. 521-04 established 37.5 cents as the 2004 mileage reimbursement rate for the City. • The Nappanee Police Department recorded 9,541 calls for service, 843 traffic arrests and

started doing it with my hands,” said Brittney. “I really wanted to dog, and my grandmother started teaching me. Then I learned two songs by myself by watching.” Brittney has been clogging since May of 2001, and practices on Thursday nights with the rest of the group. ‘T love clogging,” she said. “I like the sound of the music and I really like the way the taps sound. I love being on stage.” Being bom with a birth defect has not instilled the least amount of self-consciousness in Brittney. On the contrary, she loves the spotlight. Continued on A 5

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1,195 cases worked in 2003. Total mileage for 16 squad cars was 188,500 for the year. Chief Michael Anglin commended the Police Reserves for recording 2,363 hours of service in 2003. • The Nappanee Water Utility reported 40 water applications in 2003, with $46,210.78 collected for connections and $4,100 collected for inspections. • Claim Nos. 130-241. totaling $259,275.92, were approved. The next council meeting w ill be held Monday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. in the Nappanee Municipal Center.

574-773-3127

Ben Anglin Anglin is J&N Stone Student of the Week WA-NEE Ben Anglin is the J&N Stone Student of the Week. Ben is a senior at North Wood. He is the son on Tom and Kathy Anglin of Nappanee. Ben Anglin is a young man of great character. Although Ben is the quiet type that never seeks to be the center of attention, his peers, teachers, friends, and family know that Ben is very responsible and can always be counted on. Ben Anglin is very involved at North Wood. He is a member of the Black Crunch football team and is a manager for the boys’ basketball team. He is on the North Wood Student Council and a member of the National Honor Society. He has been a member of the Math Team and the Science Team for academic competitions. Anglin's commitment to academics has resulted in him being named as the North Wood representative for the prestigious Lilly Scholarship. Ben plans to attend Purdue after graduation to study chemical or material engineering. J&N Stone is proud of Ben Anglin and they are honored to name him the J&N Stone Student of the Week.