Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 135, Number 51, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 22 December 2016 — Page 1

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HOUDAY HOURS FOR LIBRARY WAKARUSA - Tis the season for holiday hours at the Wakarusa Public Library. The library will be dosed on Saturday, Dec. 24 and on Monday, Dec. 26 in observance of Christmas. On Saturday, Dec. 31, the library will be closing at noon and will remain dosed on Monday, Jan. 2 in observance of New Year's. The library will reopen on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 9 a.m. BOARD TO MEET NAPPANEE The Board of Trustees of the Nappanee Public Library will meet in regular session on Thursday, Dec. 29 at 7 a.m. at the Nappanee Public Library, 157 N. Main St. The public is invited to attend. STORY OF TRADmON WAKARUSA "Hanukkah" is currently running on the Wakarusa Public Library Dial-a-Story line at 574-862-4441. SPECIAL SESSION FOR PARK BOARD NAPPANEE The Nappanee Board of Parks and Recreation will meet in spedal session Friday, Dec. 30 at 12 p.m. at the Nappanee Municipal Center, 300 W. Lincoln St. RING IN 2017 AT POST #307 WAKARUSA - The American Legion Post #307 in Wakarusa will be hosting its annual New Year's Eve party on Dec. 31, beginning with a cash bar at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 7. There will be a buffet style menu, a 50/50 draw and raffles, and the music of Dr. Ron and the Clinic from 8:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. Advance ticket sales are necessary for the festivities, with a non-refundable donation of $35 per person. Tickets can be purchased at Dru's Jewelry, 574-862-1660. For those who would like to see the entertainment only, guests can arrive at 8:15 p.m. and enter for a $5 cover charge. ZENTZ PATRIARCH TURNING 90 NAPPANEE - The family of Willard (Bill) Zentz would like to invite friends to come help celebrate his 90th birthday on Jan. 1 at Dal-Mar Catering Hall, 159 E. Lincoln St., Nappanee, from 1-4 p.m. See Around, Page A 3

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Safety procedures evolving in Wa-Nee

By Amy Lant-Wenger Assistant Editor REGlONAL issue of security is consistently at the forefront of every school district across the nation. Thankfully, the Wa-Nee academic district is situated in a rather placid environment, devoid of the level of

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Christmas Around the Tree Photo provided/Deb Shively, Wakarusa Chamber Joel Gentz, left, senior pastor at Bethel Missionary Church, leads in the Biblical reading of the passage describing the reason we celebrate the Christmas season, during the annual "Christmas Around the Tree" in downtown Wakarusa Dec. 12. See more photos, Page A 5

Schools see enroHment jump

By Amy Lant-Wenger Assistant Editor When Jim Bennett, director of Curriculum and Instruction for Wa-Nee Comm uni tv Schools, distributed the latest batch of enrollment figures to members of the school board recently, there were a few moments of silence as the board pored over the numbers. That was soon followed by murmurs of surprise and encouragement. The revelations that were presented prompted Bennett to note, "I don't think that in all my years of working in Wa-Nee that I've seen the enrollment increase at all five schools."

Lilly, Gundlach Scholars named

j r ELKHART COUNTY The Lilly Endowment, Inc. and the Community Foundation of Elkhart County are proud to honor nine outstanding students in Elkhart County. Three students from Elkhart County will receive Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships (LECS) entitling them to full tuition, fees and S9OO a year for required books and equipment to any accredited Indiana college or university of their choice. The selected students are: Ana Martinez, North Wood, Lizbeth Celis, Concord; and Tessa dark, Bethany Christian. The Foundation is also proud to award the Guy David Gundlach Memorial Scholarship to the following six students: Matthew Decloedt, Jimtown; Meghan Knoff, Elkhart Central; Melanie Miller, Fairfield; Diego Reynoso, Elkhart Memorial; Sara Taft, Doshen; and Megan Wallace, Morfhridge. Each of these students will receive $5,000 per year for four years to any sea edited Indiana college or university. This memo-

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tragedies that have befallen other American schools. Even so, it does not mean that any one person leading the educational charge toward the students doesn't take the responsibility of safety and protection very seriously. This point was made abundantly clear in a compelling presentation

That was immediately followed by Superintendent Joe Sabo exclaiming, "I don't think that in my almost 20 years here in Wa-Nee that I've ever seen the enrollment increase at all five schools." So it was a fairly safe assumption that every administrator and board member present for the Dec. 12 meeting was tremendously pleased with the statistics showing steady growth and rising attendance at every level of the academic spectrum. According to Bennett's report, all five of the schools that represent the Wa-Nee Community Schools district showed a climb in enrollment between the beginning of the 2016-17 school

rial scholarship is only one of the many positive initiatives established due to Mr. Gundlach's gift in 2011. Since the inception of the scholarship, 24 Elkhart County students have received this $20,000 award. Over the next decade, it is anticipated that over sixty students in our community will be present-

ed the Guy David Gundlach Memorial Scholarship. Commenting on the awards, Community Foundation Scholarship Chair, Gordon Moore, noted that the Community Foundation administers over 80 funds. "In fiscal year 2016, the awards totaled more than $1.7 million ben-

WISHING YOU JOY! To oil our two-legged friends and their best friends, go our warmest wishes at Christmas. We really appreciate your trust in us. Nappanee Veterinary Hospital 151 W Lincoln St Nanuanec • 888 773 4121 or 574 773 4121

led by Transportation Director Amy Rosa during the Dec. 12 session of the Wa-Nee Community School Board. Rosa brought forth a reinforcement of several measures, both new and revised, to reassure parents, staff members, and scholars that looking out for the welfare of the students remains of the utmost

year to the conclusion of the first grading period, which ended on Nov. 4. Tne biggest increase occurred at Wakarusa Elementary, with a gain of 10 students, followed by North Wood High School, which added nine. Woodview Elementary and North Wood Middle School each brought seven new students aboard, while Nappanee Elementary picked up two. This brings the total of the student body for each school to 401 at Nappanee Elementary, 516 at Wakarusa Elementary, and 476 for Woodview Elementary. North Wood Middle now stands at 690, with North Wood High See Schools, Page A 2

Ana Martinez

efiting hundreds of students from Elkhart County who are currently pursuing higher education. These scholarships are an investment by the community in our next generation and make a considerable impact, not only in the lives of these- students, See Scholars, Page AlO

SPORTS Lady Panthers basketball tops PHS Page A 7

priority. Rosa spent some time elaborating on the usage of specific symbols that will be utilized during a crisis situation, and the related terminology, such as: • Lockout - occurs when there is a threat or hazard outside of a school See Safety, Page A 3

Wa-Nee school board sets 2017-18 calendar By Amy Lant-Wenger Assistant Editor NAPPANEE After considering an academic calendar which would have included "e-leaming" days, the Wa-Nee Community School Board of Trustees opted to design a more traditional schedule for the 201718 school year. The decision was made during the Dec. 12 board session, the last for 2016. During previous meetings that took place this past fall, the board discussed implementing the concept of e-leaming. This would have enabled the district to count missed snow days as productive classroom time, during which students would maintain their lessons from home. This practice would be made possible by the incorporation of the digital learning environment that Wa-Nee will be introducing next year. Students will be given devices on loan from their respective schools and will in turn be studying from both textbooks and computerized curricula. (Watch for a January feature story on what this means for Wa-Nee Community Schools.) With the more conventional format of school scheduling next year, this retains the system of adding built-in snow days throughout the latter part of the year, which will be used as time off for the students, unless a snow day occurs. In that case, the snow days will revert back to time when classes would be in session. The first day of school for the 2017-18 school year will be Wednesday, Aug. 16, while the final student day will be Wednesday, May 30. Graduation will take place on Saturday, June 8. Superintendent Joe Sabo, in his report, introduced the members to the new program known as the "Blue Lunch." Orchestrated with the assistance of Amy Rosa, transportation director and Kris Hershberger, school resource officer, the idea is to show appreciation for the local law enforcement by inviting them to share lunch with me students of any Wa-Nee school. Rosa, who was present for the meeting, also noted that the "Blue See Calendar, Page A 3