Archive - Dec 2011 - News Article
December 20th
COLUMBIA CITY – The Whitley County Community Foundation awarded one of its largest grants ever Monday afternoon.
Passages, Inc. was awarded $100,000 to convert the former Lehmberg Medical Building on North Oak Street into a state-of-the-art Creative Learning Center designed to provide optimal services to Passages’ clients.
December 19th
COLUMBIA CITY — A former Richland Township fire captain will serve 25 years of a 30-year sentence for child molesting.
Ronald. A Rostochak, a former Richland Township fire captain, appeared in Whitley County Circuit Court Monday after a 12-member jury found him guilty of child molesting, a class A felony, on Nov. 17.
His fate was in the hands of Circuit Court Judge James Heuer, who sentenced him to 30 years in prison, with 25 years to serve.
Rostochak was originally charged with sexual misconduct with a minor and child molesting.
An American bald eagle flies above the treeline Monday around noon near a wooded area at the vicinity of CR 150 N. between Johson Road and CR 550 East.
Former Whitko basketball Coach Bill Patrick, right, was inducted to the school's Wall of Fame Friday night. The Hall of Fame coach was presented a memento of the induction by current Whitko Coach Rob Irwin.
COLUMBIA CITY — A bald eagle was spotted between CR 550 E and Johnson Road on CR 150 N Monday at mid-day. It wasn't a partridge in a pear tree, but it was a visual Christmas present for those who observed it.
COLUMBIA CITY — Gene and Sandy Hoover have been lighting up their property on Airport and Etna roads for the holidays since 1997. The display that covers nearly one acre gets bigger and better each year.
Gene begins the annual ritual during the last week of October.
It takes a lot of extension cords and when in storage it takes two 40-gallon totes to store them.
The Hoovers store the hundreds of displays and lights in the walk-in attic over their two-car garage. But Gene ran out of room in the attic and had to buy a 10’ x 10’ storage shed.
COLUMBIA CITY — Two area men were arrested Saturday after a drug deal in northwest Whitley County.
At approximately 2 p.m., Noah Beck, 24, of Warsaw and Robbie Ramsey, 29, of Yoder, were arrested by Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputies after a citizen complaint of possible drug activity.
According to a press release from the Whitley County Prosecutor’s Office, the informant alleged that a large cash transaction had occurred and that such transactions had occurred on prior occasions.
Former Whitko Head Basketball Coach Bill Patrick, right, was inducted in Whitko’s Wall of Fame Friday night. He is presented a memento of the induction by Whitko Head Coach Rob Irwin. Patrick, current head coach at Tippecanoe Valley, brought his team of Vikings to South Whitley to pick up a win against his former team, in the gym he spent 24 years coaching in.
As a Whitko coach, Patrick was 19-3 against Tippy Valley.
In 2008, Patrick was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
December 18th
Doing their daily American and Hoosier duty are Andrew Hall and Rylee Gardner. Each day these fourth-grade students at South Whitley Elementary School raise the United States and Indiana flags and every day they lower them. Hall and Gardner have learned the proper way to fold the flags. They both feel honored to do this task, they said.
COLUMBIA CITY – Indiana Congressman Mike Pence, a Republican candidate for governor and national political figure, has been secured as the keynote speaker for the Whitley County Republicans’ Lincoln Day Dinner, 7 p.m. Feb. 23 at a date to be determined, according to Matt Boyd, Whitley County GOP chairman.
Further details will be announced later.
“This is an honor to be hosting one of the few principled congressmen we have,” said Boyd.
