Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 136, Number 16, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 19 April 2018 — Page 1

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BUBBLES & BABIES NAPPANEE Join the Nappanee Public Library for a storytime session created for babies, toddlers, and caregivers on Friday, April 20 from 10-10:30 a.m. There will be bubbles, dancing, music, and stories! The only requirement is to have fun! Register by calling 574-773-7919, or by visiting nappaneelibrary. org. MUSEUM FREE DAY ELKHART COUNTY —The Elkhart County Museum Associationh (ECMA) will be sponsoring a Free Museum Day on Saturday, April 21. This is being done to give local residents and guests an opportunity to see what cool museums, cultural organizations, and environmental centers are located right here in their own backyards. No registration is necessary to participate. COMICS PROGRAM NAPPANEE On Saturday, April 21, the Nappanee Center will be hosting a special program at 10 a.m., entitled "Nappanee Six: The Men Behind__the Comics." Guests will hear about how the men helped Nappanee to become home to Slim and Spud, Freckles and His Friends, and Smokey Stover. See original artwork and cartoons by all of the cartoonists at the Nappanee Six exhibit, which will be on display at the Nappanee Center until April 30. Registration is not required. JONAH FISH FRY WAKARUSA —The Wakarusa American Legion Post #307 will be sponsoring a Jonah Fish Fry on Saturday, April 21 from 4-7 p.m. Presale tickets will be priced at $9 for adults and /$4.50 for children ages and under. At the door, the cost is $lO and $5, respectively. For questions, or to purchase tickets in advance, contact Jim Hartzell at 574-862-2969 or Dru's Jewelry at 574-862-1660. A carry out option will also be available. GARDENING CLASS ELKHART COUNTY - The Elkhart County Master Gardener class will be offering two free programs on Saturday, April 21. A program on food gardening will take place from 10 a.m. until noon at the American Countryside Farmers Market. Beginning gardenSee Around, Page A 3

Contact Us Advance News Moiling Address 126 E. Plymouth St. Bremen, IN 46506 etrono. 574-209-0704 (news) 574-936-3101 (ads) Eoxl 574-546-5170 Email:

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Council invests to recrait good workers, businesses

By Merjue Chatman Correspondent NAPPANEE Nappanee Common Council members voted April 9 to invest SI,OOO in the Regional Economic Development Strategy. The decision followed talks with Mark Dobson President/CEO of Economic Development Corporation of Elkhart County who described efforts being made to fill the estimated 9,500 jobs currently available in Elkhart County. Dobson said research was being done on many

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Photo by Amy Lant-Wenger Woodview Elementary fourth grader Trot Thompson is surprised in class this past February when he learned that he was among those who received an award in the most recent round of Little Bigjdea grants. At leftia congratulate him are Nappanee tyayqr Phil Jenkins and Steve Gruber, administrator for the Little Big Idea grant proStudent among latest grant winners ELKHART COUNTY— Elkhart County residents unleashed their imaginations in this latest round of Little Big Idea Grants. Already, the grant program launched under the Vibrant Communities initiative has sparked projects ranging from a Latino arts festival, a Christmas market, and schoolwide positive messages through art. The projects are an example of the inspiration, joy, and community spirit that the Little Big Idea exists to support. The Little Big Idea Grants are intended to spread love, creativity, and community through programs, events, and projects that celebrate life in Elkhart County. The more people who can get involved or be affected positively by a project, the better! Grant applications for up to SI,OOO awards are still being accepted at http: / /www. LittleßigldeaGrant.com. It doesn't matter if you're eight years old or 88 years old. The Little Big Idea Grant and the Vibrant Communities initiatives believe in the power of creative people being inspired to shine their light across the community. See Winners, Page A 3

Town joins with school district for summer paving

By Amy Lant-Wenger Edttor WAKARUSA - At the northeast comer of the parking space that surrounds Wakarusa Elementary School, there is an area that is generally used for faculty parking. That lot, along with the adjacent surfaces, is slated to be paved sometime this summer. That much was agreed upon by the members of the Wakarusa Town Council during their recent meeting, held on Tuesday, April 10. However, a seemingly simple request from Wa-Nee Community Schools to share the costs of the project led to a brief discussion of exactly which entity has ownership of that lot. The entirety of the resurfacing endeavor indudes the lot and the driveway leading into the school complex from North Washington Street. So it was dedded that for any portion of that paving work which fell under the town's jurisdiction, the town would assume finandal responsibility.

Maple Syrup Fest history

One can only imagine the perplexed egression on the face of the person who answered that fateful phone call in 1968. Community leaders and members of what was then known as the Wakarusa Chamber of Progress became baffled by an inquiry that they had received from a local newspaper. TeQ us all about your upcoming festival, the reporter wanted to know.

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Thursday, April 19.2018

It was Town Attorney Loren Sloat who pointed out that the parking spots in question may, in fad, belong to the school, and not the town, as was initially believed. The counril members were able to access a mapping of the site through Geographic Information Systems, commonly referred to as GIS. In that graphic, it appeared that the area is owned by 9ie school corporation. The countil moved ahead to accept the agreement to partner with the school distriri to pay the costs, contingent upon the verification of ownership to the lot in question. The cost of the total projed is $54,000. Members of the council also approved a measure which would allow them to begin perusing proposals regarding design and planning services for the future police station. Two such proposals were presented, one from Kil Architecture Planning, and another from Arkos Design, Inc. This will move the projed forward into its preliminary phases, See Paving, Page A 3

But there was a slight problem. There WAS no festival in the offing. And no one seemed to have any recollection of how that idea ever reached the ears of die press. Even so, it did spawn a sense of intrigue for town officials. Why not go ahead and start a hometown festival? And that's how die Maple Syrup Festival began. During die earliest planning sessions, the Festival

levels to help guide the imderemployed—those with training and skills who have not yet located employment in their field of expertise to discover and achieve career goals in keeping with training incurred. The plan also helps eliminate unemployed numbers by matching those individuals with available jobs. The Council's decision was an investment for a one-year period. Progress of the Regional Economic Development Strategy will be monitored and reviewed by Council members during

was designed to be not much more than a simple street affair, a modest celebration to coincide with the season's sap run for the production of maple syrup. Chiefly organized by the Chamber, it was decided that there would be demonstrations, a few exhibits, maybe some antique sales, and of course, maple flavored treats. Where the Town Hall now stands, there was simply See History, Page A 8

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Photo provided The cast of the season-launching "Rat Pack." Round Bam season begins with ‘Rat Pack’ NAPPANEE "The Rat Pack Lounge" kicks off The Round Bam Theatre at Amish Acres 2018 season of seven upbeat Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals, comedies, and dramas. The season headlines the theatre's perpetual "Plain and Fancy," the second longest running uninterrupted run of any show in America, except for Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera." "The Rat Pack Lounge," the fastest selling opening show in the theatre's history, warms up the stage for one of the Midwest's first regional theatre productions of the international sensation "Mamma Mia." It is followed by Barry Manilow's "Copacabana," "Happy Days" with the Fonz, "Lend Me a Tenor," and "Annie," everyone's favorite redhead returns for the first time since the theatre's first year of repertory theatre. With over 300 performances over a nine month season, The Round Bam Theatre is northern Indiana's only professional resident repertory performing arts company. "The Rat Pack Lounge," the fastest selling opening show of any season, features the Rat Pack's return from Heaven to tend to some unfinished business without a single song you don't know. It opened on April 11 and continues its six week run through May 20. Long before the Internet, social media, and memes, there was this souvenir postcard with a man known as the "Chairman of the Board," looking over his shoulder at you. The caption reads, "This is Frank's world. We just live in it." Frank Sinatra and his buddies, guys like Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr., were collectively known as the Rat Pack. We knew them and their songs through the radio, TV, and the movies. They didn't create trends. They were above trends. Frank's world comes to life again in "The Rat Pack Lounge," created and conceived by Mitch Sebastian. The show depicts Frank, Dean, and Sammy, who have gone on to their much deserved reward, but evidently, they've got some unfinished business back on Earth - an unfulfilled promise to care of before they can truly rest in peace. Typically, the Round Bam season begins with what's known as a Juke Box musical, a show featuring popular hits, often golden oldies. But this show is more about an era, and the music has assumed a near mythic quality. "There are a lot of differences," Amber Burgess, Artistic Director, said. "It's so jazzy. We're going to have a jazz combo, piano, bass, and percussionist. This is the Great American Songbook. These standards drive our whole culture." The script, Burgess said, has grown on her and the cast. "I thought that this'll be a nice show. But the second and third time I read it I began to realize just how funny this show is. If s not just layering of plot on top of popular. The script tells a story beyond the Rat Pack. There are so many jokes based on Rat Pack banter, self-deprecating, so funny." Putting music and words together has been the key. "What we're discovering in the rehearsal process is just incredible. There are many moments that are very touching. I wasn't expecting this when I read this funny script. I thought it would be fun, but we found so many special moments. During the first read-through, some of us got misty-eyed." That's because the Rat Pack worked together all the time. See Round Barn, Page A 3

INSIDE Festival tab

that period. RAILROAD CLOSED All WEEK Roadwork on South Oakland Avenue (CR7) began this week and has led to the railroad crossing in that first mile being closed an estimated two weeks. Motorists are encouraged to use both SRI9 and CR9 for east/west access to CR7/ Oakland Avenue—then travel north in order to access homes and businesses located south of that railroad crossing.

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