Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 128, Number 34, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 25 August 2005 — Page 2

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Advance News • Thursday, August 25. 2005

Miller retires from Wakarusa clinic

By Anthony Godson Editor After 43 years of serving the medical needs of Wakarusa families. Dr. James Miller is no longer "on call." "1 wanted to go out feeling good and healthy, and not sick," Miller said about the reason for his retirement. Miller's last day at the Wakarusa Medical Clinic was to be Aug. 1, but after Dr. Robert M. Abel had to be out of the office a week later, Miller's retirement had to be put on hold. "On Aug. 1,1 didn't go in, but I had to fill in for Dr. Abel, so I guess my last official day was Aug. 7," Miller explained. To celebrate his retirement, a reception was held on Aug. 20 in the North Wood Middle School cafeteria. Miller's patients and friends filled the cafeteria to capacity, which was somewhat of a surprise to him. "I didn't expect that many people, especially not on a Saturday," he said. So many decided to take time out of their Saturday chores to show their gratitude to a man who has spent so much of his life caring for their needs, that the line into the cafeteria backed all the way out the front doors of the school.

"I just like the small-town feel," he said of Wakarusa. "Kids can walk to school for eight grades, and the town was a fun place to raise a family." The Wakarusa atmosphere is what kept Miller working at the medical clinic for more than 40 years, and it's what is going to keep him there now. "It's been a nice place to live," he said. Miller will continue to call Wakarusa home, but after his long tenure in the medical field, he's ready to leave that part of his life behind. "Aches and pains," he said about his feelings for wanting to get out. "The schedule of get-

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ting up early, at night, weekends and holidays. It's a matter of age." While he's been feeling his age, his partner at the clinic, Dr. Abel, is still going strong, which astonishes him. "He's involved in everything," Miller said of Abel. "I get tired after a while." It was Abel that brought Miller to Wakarusa after caring for his father. Miller's journey to the Wakarusa Medical Clinic began with his graduation from Elkhart High School in 1951. He then graduated from Goshen College in 1955, when he was encouraged by Abel to attend medical school. "He needed help, and encouraged me to go to school," Miller said. Miller graduated from medical school in 1959, and followed that up With an internship in St. Louis from 1959 to 1960. Miller then worked in public health service in Zuni, N.M. at an Indian pueblo from 1960 to 1962. "They had a 35-bed hospital, where 10 babies were bom a month," he said. From New Mexico, Miller returned to Elkhart County, where he took a job at the Wakarusa Medical Clinic.

Miller's first baby delivery occurred” while he was in medical school, but after 43 years in Wakarusa, he eclipsed the 5,000 baby mark. Even after 5,000 deliveries, the procedure was anything but routine. "You never know what to expect," he said of delivering a baby. "Ninety percent are fine, but then 10 to 12 percent may have problems. Most of the time it's fun, but sometimes it can be bad. Rarely though, thank goodness." Following delivery, Miller's job as a family physician is far from over. He may then see that same baby enter school, graduate, raise a family, have a baby of his or her own, then show up

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ADVANCE NEWS PHOTO/ANTHONY GADSON Dr. James Miller and his wife Sylvia speak with Miller’s childhood friend Norma Hoist at his retirement reception on Aug. 20.

for his retirement reception, which was the case for many on Aug. 20. To care for as many families as Miller and the rest of the doctors at any clinic do, a strong staff is needed, which is what the Wakarusa Medical Clinic has according to Miller. "To be a good doctor, you have to have good specialists," Miller said. "We have that with Elkhart, Goshen, South Bend and in some cases, we may have to take someone to Indiana University in Bloomington or to Ann Arbor, Mich. We may also send people to the Mayo Clinic or Cleveland Clinic. We always had good cooperation with our specialists." Miller also credits the Elkhart Hospital with moving the clinic into new areas. "The hospital bought the clinic seven years ago and brought us help in many of our efforts," he said. "It was good in advancing us with state-of-the-art equipment." While the hospital helped the clinic by offering newer equipment for use, Miller also credits those inside the building with keeping the clinic a success. "We have great help at the office with Sherry Martin, Karen Stichter and Kristine Chumas," he said. "They may handle the insurance—stuff I don't care about." Along with Miller, nurse Judy

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Eby will also be retiring from the clinic, ending 37 years of working alongside Miller. "She's a longtime nurse and she helped with X-rays, sewing up cuts and helping with the patients and charts," he said. As any married man can attest to, Miller couldn't have productively done his job without his wife of 47 years, Sylvia. "We didn't have an answering service in Wakarusa, so she had to take the calls for me at home," Miller said. "She also raised three girls when I wasn't able to be around." Aside from being a doctor, Miller's attention was also needed in other areas. He was Chief of Staff of Elkhart General Hospital in 1976, President of the Elkhart County Medical Association and served on the Board of Directors at Family Counseling Service and Hubbard Hills Estates. Along with being one of the team physicians for North Wood High School, Miller also showed his enjoyment for sports by sponsoring Little League and AAU teams. "The kids love it," he said about the athletic programs. "Sometimes they win and sometimes they lose, but they have a time doing it.'" Miller will now have more time to watch the Wakarusa youth play baseball during' the summer, as he continues to live the life of a Wakarusa resident. "I’m going to stay in the area," he said. "I have family here, and in Holland, Mich., so I can visit them as well."

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Elkhart County 4-H Fair, where Mullins won nrst place the last two years, and Rivera took second place this year as a soloist. While the two have been successful on stage, Mullins doubts that he will be transforming his hobby into a career. "It used to be something I wanted to do, but I've become a lot more involved with the school yearbook and photography," he said. "Photography has become my main career goal." Before either of the two youths begin thinking about their career goals, participating in their passion while still in school has benefited in a first place recognition at the state level. Coming into the competition, the two didn't have any expectations of taking home the top honor, instead they were just looking to have fun. "We've never gone to competitions expecting to win," Mullins said. "We know what we can do. So much of it for us is that we have fun together, no matter what we do. We just try to have as much fun as we can." Once at the fairgrounds, the two first had to sit around for a couple of hours, with Mullins commenting that the two had to wait for the soloists to finish first. "We just tried to keep things calm and drink a lot of liquids," he said.

SCHOOL

about a teacher who may teach at Nappanee Elementary, meeting a principal that works in Wakarusa. Superintendent Joe Sabo also gave the board enrollment numbers from the first day of school on Aug. 17. Among the five schools, Sabo pointed out the numbers at Wakarusa and Woodview Elementary schools. In the third grade class at Wakarusa Elementary, the three sections have enrollments of 28, 27 and 28 for a total of 83 students. By contrast, Nappanee Elementary has 65 students in its three sections at the third grade level and Woodview Elementary has 89 students in four sections. "At this point, we won't be adding a position," Sabo said of the Wakarusa third grade class. "We will have a full-time assistant though." With numbers growing at Wakarusa Elementary, Sabo commented that the school may be moving to a four-section school, joining Woodview Elementary in having four sections for each of its grade levels, kindergarten through fifth grade. The largest class in the school district belongs to the fourth grade class at Woodview Elementary. The class has a total of 102 students, comprised of 26,26,26 and 24 students in each of its four sections. In total, Nappanee Elementary has 495 students, 541 attend Wakarusa and Woodview Elementary has the

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Once it was their turn, Rivera felt like they had nailed their routine. "I thought we did really well," she said. According to everyone else's reaction at the event, Mullins also thought they had done well, until he heard they went over the three-minute time limit. "When we walked off the stage, people outside were congratulating us, and telling us we did a good’ job," he said. "Then one judge told us we went four seconds over, which deducted 10 points from our score." Even with the deduction, the performance was still enough to win. "Our score ended up being so high that the 10 points didn't matter much," Mullins said. The 10 points didn't end up costing the two, which may be in thanks to a song selection which showcased their talents. "It's a real powerful song, with a lot of high parts," Mullins said of "The Prayer." "I think our harmonizing and stage presence really sold it." With one first place finish at the state fair, Rivera intends to pursue a soloist first place' finish next year, which will be her last year of eligibility at the fair. "I don't think Lance is going to do it again, but I'm going to do solo with it being my last year," she said.

most students with 565. At the middle school, 767 students were in their seats on the first day of school and 891 students are enrolled at the high school. Following his presentation on enrollment, the board ratified the teachers' contract for the 2005 to 2007 school years. In the contract, certified employees will receive a 2.5 percent pay increase. The board also approved requests by the North Wood cheerleaders and the North Wood FFA to take trips to Illinois. ■— The cheerleaders will be traveling to Gumee, 111. to compete at Six Flags Great America in the National Cheerleaders Association competition for the 11th time. The trip will be from Sept. 10 to 11, which will cost each girl $54.42 for her hotel and ticket into the amusement park. There will be 10 adults and three cheer coaches going along on the trip, which is open to all high school cheerleaders. The FFA will be traveling to Decatur, 111. for the Farm Progress Show from Aug. 30 to Sept. 1, where FFA students will display the Case tractor they restored last year at the Tractor Restoration Competition in Louisville, Ky. Chevron has invited the North Wood FFA to the show, where not only national, but international farming magazines will be on hand. Chevron will pay SBOO to help cover some travel and accommodation costs for the students attending.

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