Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 129, Number 12, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 23 March 2006 — Page 1

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Embrace the Pace

CORRECTION In last week's edition of the Advance News, the story about the North Main Street Nursery School's 25th anniversary contained an error. It was written that Jane Lelle worked with the school, when in fact she was working for the WaNee School Corporation. DRUG DISPOSAL A safe way to dispose of unused, or expired, prescription drugs will be offered on March 24 by the Elkhart County Triad. The drug disposal day will take place at four different locations between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., with Nappanee's site being the Nappanee Police Department, 301 W. Lincoln St. UCCB SUPPER The Union Center Church of the Brethren is hosting a homemade chick--yp apd noodles suppyj £>n_ Saturday, March 25 ■ from 4:30 to 7 p.m. This all-you-can-eat dinner is $7 for adults, $3 for ages 5 to 12 and preschoolers eat free. The church is located at the corner of CR 50 and 11, northeast of Nappanee. PHONE-A-THON North Wood High School students will once again be conducting their annual Dollars for Scholars phone-a-thon on March 27 and March 28, between the hours of 6 and 9 p.m. Funds raised during this event will be used to provide scholarships for graduating seniors who are planning to attend college or vocational schools. These scholarships will be awarded in May at the North Wood High School Awards Ceremony. NURSERY SCHOOL The North Main Nursery School will offer registration between 3 and 5 p.m. on March 28 at the school. BEAUTIFICATION Nominations are now being accepted for the Nappanee Area Chamber of Commerce first quarter Beautification Award. The first quarter qualifications include interior. A letter or phone call to nominate a business will be accepted until March 31. Please reply by sending a letter to the Nappanee Chamber of Commerce, 451 N. Main St. Suite 100, Nappanee, IN 46550, or telephone the Chamber of Commerce at 773-7812. DRIVING CLASS An AARP-sponsored Driver Safety Class will be held at the Heritage House See AROUND, Poge 6

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Benefit held for Boys & Girls Club

By Anthony Godson Editor They were all dressed in green, and they were trying to raise a little green for a local youth organization. On March 17, the Dal-Mar Banquet Hall was filled with donors looking to bid on such prizes as Notre Dame football tickets, Chicago Bulls tickets, golf outings and teeth whitenings just to name a few. All of the earnings from the auction then went to the Boys & Girls Club of Nappanee. This was the second year that the club has held a fundraiser, with the auction taking the place of a dance, which was held last year. "Our attendance is up from last year," President of the Boys & Girls Club of Nappanee Board Jeff Krusenklaus said. "We had the dance last year, but with us opting for the auction this year, we've been able to add between six and eight

North Wood academic teams gear up for Area

By Anthony Godson Editor One competition down, two more to go. After sending three teams to the Indiana Academic Super Bowl State Championship last year, the North Wood High School academic teams have picked up right where they left off last year. "There is a lot of pressure," North Wood Fine Arts' coach Melinda Sharp said about the high school's expectations going into competitions. "This past conference win, was our 13th in 15 years." The North Wood team did leave Goshen High School on March 13 with their 13th conference championship, with five of North Wood's six academic teams winning first place. Among those first place finishes were: The social studies team (Kayla Smith, Kelsey Sitek, Amanda Korsmo, Jordan Evans and Kris Yoder) answering 17 of 25 questions correctly; the mathematics (Paul Schmucker, Kris Yoder, Sammy Hahn, Brad Paulus and Joe Luna) correctly answering 23 of 25 questions; the science team (Samantha Hahn, Jesse Beer, Joe Love, Brad Paulus and Heidi Stutzman) correctly answering 20 of 25 questions; the fine arts team (Krystal Zimmerman, Sarah

Armington receives a surprise visit

By Anthony Godson Editor North Wood senior Brock Armington's parents just couldn't wait until after school to see their son. So they just walked into Brock's last class with 10 minutes remaining in the school day. Dick and Deb Armington were also accompanied by members of the media and school administration, as well as Roger C. Senkiel, who was on hand to present Brock with a $2,000 scholarship. The scholarship came through the Hoosier Heroes program, a program which works in conjunction with Indiana Dollars for Scholars. Hoosier Heroes provides Indiana junior and senior students a scholarship by identifying "Indiana citizens who have made significant contributions to society and who serve as role models and inspirational figures for youth." As part of his application for the scholarship, Brock wrote an essay about his childhood friend, T.J. Ceravolo. Ceravolo moved into Brock's neighborhood when the scholarship winner was in fifth grade, and it was then that the friendship began. At that age, Ceravolo had been diagnosed with a kidney disorder. Regardless of his ailment, Ceravolo continued with life. It was Ceravolo's experience that Brock wrote about in his essay, and it proved to be written well enough to receive one of the 10 Hoosier Heroes scholarships. "I was moved," Senkiel said. "The relationship between these two is incredible." While Senkiel read excerpts from die

Serving Nappanee & Wakarusa

tables." After eating a meal, Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis Hill said a few words. "The boys and girls club is a place for kids to go," Hill said. In his line of work, Hill sees many youths get involved with the wrong crowd, noting the death of a 14-year old in the past month. "A 14-year old was out at 2 a.m.," he said. "What is a 14year old child doing out at 2 a.m., and who's responsible?" Hill said that the club's focus to give children a positive place to go is an important thing. "The club's number one goal is to improve the lives of kids," he said. The prosecutor's attendance at the benefit was even threatened, as he may have had to be in court, had an 18-year old not entered a guilty plea on a charge of murder. Instead, Hill was at the benefit, talking about how the club can help children grow up.

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PHOTO PROVIDED Members of the North Wood academic teams are: Front Row (left to right, Amanda Korsmo, Ann Lucas, Jordan Evans and Brittany Hommerding. Second Row (left to right,) Samantha Hahn, Heidi Stutzman, Sarah Lucas, Jesse Beer, Brad Paulus, Paul Schmucker, Kris Yoder, Katherine Ufkin, and Maggie Ward. Third Row (left to right) Krystal Zimmerman, Shawn Kronk, Elysia Smith, Kayla Smith, Tabitha Bellman, Jen Kurtz and Krista Bontreger. Back Row (left to right) coach Sue Freymiller, coach Melinda Sharp, Kierstin Schalliol, coach Scott Whetstone and coach Chon Shrock.

Lucas, Ann Lucas and Maggie Ward) answering 18 of 25 questions correctly; and the interdisciplinary team (Brad Paulus, Kayla Smith, Katherine Ufkin and Krystal Zimmerman) answer 16 of 25 questions correctly. While five out of six first place finishes would be great for most schools, some of the North Wood competitors were

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ADVANCE NEWS PHOTO AW GADSON Roger C. Senkiel presents North Wood senior Brock Armington with his $2,000 scholarship from Hoosier Heroes, as Armington’s friend, T.J. Ceravok), looks on.

essay, Ceravolo pointed out that Brock had also had an affect on him too. "Brock has been very helpful through it all," he said. "He deserves the credit." As Senkiel read the excerpts, it was also the first time that Ceravolo had heard die words written by his friend. "I didn't know anything about it," Ceravolo said about Brock's essay. Just as Ceravolo was unaware of Brock's essay. Brock was just as unaware when a crowd filed into his last period class in school. "I didn't know what was going on, until I

"Sometimes we make (life) too easy, and (our kids) don't really know how hard it is to make it," he said about presenting children with the finer things in life, rather than making them work for the items, such as cell phones. Hill said that by making rules, and setting limits, responsibility is learned by children. "If you really love your children, you have to say stop and put up barriers," he said. Hill also said that he feels children really strive for the barriers. "Even when they don't (say they do), they do," he said. "It's indicative of the love they need." Whether it was the auction items, Hill's presence or just the desire to help, those who donated to the club on Friday night, raised quite a bit. "It well exceeded our expectaSee BENEFIT, Page 2

still wishing they could have done better. "The kids were not really satisfied with their scores," Sharp said. "They are all over-achievers," she added. "When they have a bad score, they don't like it." For North Wood students, perhaps only a perfect 25-out-of-25 score will suffice. "It's about more than just

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ADVANCE NEWS PHOTO/A.W. GADSON Criss Walter looks to persuade Rich Nash into buying a chance to win $999 at the Pot of Gold Raffle at the Boys & Girls Club of Nappanee Benefit on March 1.7.

beating the other teams," North Wood science coach, and co-coach of the social studies team, Sue Freymiller said. "The kids want to beat the questioner." At the academic competitions, three players from a team participate to answer 25 questions, with 20 seconds allotted for each question. Following the first 10 questions, a substitute

saw T.J.," Brock said. "I was a little embarrassed." The Armington family first leaned of Brock's scholarship on March 3, but a surprise presentation was unknown to the senior. While he was unaware that press would be on hand taking of photo of him at the end of his school day, his mom tried to warn him. *1 had asked him to wear jeans today," the proud mom said about her son, who was adorned in a college basketball jersey and gray sweat pants.

may be used, and according to Freymiller, the competitions get a little intense. "It's fun to watch," she said. So far this season, Freymiller has seen two academic team competitions. The team first won the Warsaw Invitational on Feb. 27, taking first place out of 17 Northern Indiana schools. "The area and state competitions are based on (school enrollment) size, so at Warsaw, we were coming in against some pretty big schools," Sharp said. For the area and state competitions, academic teams are split up by classes. North Wood is 2A, with the larger schools being IA, while the smaller would be 4A. "At Penn and Mishawaka (high schools), they have a lot of kids to choose from," Sharp pointed out. While they may have had more students to choose from, North Wood still defeated all of them, with Penn taking second place at the Warsaw competition, 18 points behind North Wood. "It's not how big the school is, but how hard the kids work," Sharp said. "That's what sets them apart."

See ACADEMIC, Page 2

Aida this week

The North Wood High School Performing Arts is proud to present the musical "Aida" on March 24,25 and 26. Elton John and Tim Rice's "Aida" is a contemporary musical take on the grand classic tale of tiie love between a soldier and an enslaved princess a love that condemns them to death, but ultimately transcends the vast cultural differences between the two warring nations, heralding an unprecedented time of peace and prosperity. Tickets are currently on sale to the general public through the Performing Arts Office at North Wood High School. All tickets are $5 ami are reserved seating so get your tickets now. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Performances are Friday March 24 at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 25 at 2:30 and 7 p.m., and Sunday March 26 at 2:30 p.m. Please contact Barry L Houser or Jeanne Focht for more details at 773-4127.