Archive - 2012 - News Article
December 20th
COLUMBIA CITY — The six-year-old girl who was struck by a vehicle Monday night has been identified. Evelyn Richcreek was hit by a car on West Ellsworth Street as she was walking home from her neighbor’s house.
Richcreek suffered multiple injuries, including a bruised liver, punctured lung and head lacerations.
According to police, Richcreek was walking from the south side of Ellsworth Street to her home on the north side at 614 W. Ellsworth St.
She was just a few feet away from her driveway when she was struck by a car that was traveling westbound.
COLUMBIA CITY — The state of Whitley County’s economy at the close of 2012 proves the area is continuing in its strengths and hoping to stay adaptive with the challenges and changes that the future might bring.
The occupations that are most in-demand in Whitley County are health care, specifically nursing, and skilled manufacturing, such as Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC)-certified individuals.
Looking towards the future though, there is still a need for skilled workers in the region.
COLUMBIA CITY — “It’s the end of the world as we know it,“ so sang the 1980s rock band R.E.M. Ask one out of 10 Americans and they would agree — the world is going to end when the Mayan calendar reads Friday, 12/21/12.
There is a fear of the world’s end tomorrow. Some believe that polar shifts will happen causing tsunamis and earthquakes. Some think a rogue planet will collide with Earth.
In a report filed with the Center for the Study of Life in the Universe many of the claimed fates waiting the world are debunked with practical evidence.
COLUMBIA CITY — While the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting has made some Americans fear guns — it’s been nearly the opposite effect for local residents.
As guns appear to be flying off the shelves, many citizens are exercising their right to bear arms, as President Obama created a gun task force Wednesday — with the potential for more gun control.
The Whitley County Sheriff’s Department has seen a dramatic increase in gun permit applications. WCSD Chief Deputy Marcus Gatton said before the Sandy Hook tragedy, the department typically saw two to three permit applications per week.
December 19th
The National Weather Service has put Whitley County under a Winter Weather Advisory from 4 p.m. Thursday to 7 p.m. Friday.
The advisory warns of strong winds and heavy blowing snow. Wind gusts could reach 50 mph and snowfall could reach accumulations of 1 to 2 inches.
Strong winds will cause blowing and drifting of snow and reduce visibility.
Stay tuned to The Post & Mail's website for weather updates.
PIERCETON — An after-school choir, comprised of elementary students from South Whitley and Pierceton Elementary Schools performed at the Whitko Community School Corporation Board of School Trustees meeting Monday night. Whitko After-School Choir consists of fourth and fifth graders under the direction of Patricia Schoemaker. Forty students practice once a week at the school they attend for an hour. The performance Monday was a holiday theme made up of three Christmas songs.
Pierceton Elementary
COLUMBIA CITY — Whitley County’s Commissioners heard a proposal for a fiber optic cable plan that would aid industry in the area.
Alan Tio, president of the Whitley County Economic Development Corporation, spoke at Monday’s meeting with Bill Overdeer of the Whitley County Redevelopment Com-mission.
The pair petitioned the commissioners for $40,000 to put toward the project. The remainder of the funds would come from grants and other sources.
A trio of Indian Springs Middle School seventh-grade students, called the Hyrdropolis Team, presented their project at the Whitley County Consolidated School Board meeting Monday night.
The students had to solve a problem of rain water runoff for a futuristic city.
Pictured, from left, are Eric Burkholder, Caleb Binkley and Jake Rensner.
COLUMBIA CITY — Whitley County Consolidated School District’s board of school trustees approved a measure at Monday’s meeting to look into a solution to the flooding difficulties at Columbia City High School.
The board approved, by unanimous vote, to build a conventional, closed-pipe storm sewer system. Business Manager Tony Zickgraf said he had looked into an open-ditch option, but the it would cost between $353,000 and $413,000, while the closed-pipe method was estimated at $337,000.
December 18th
SOUTH WHITLEY — “We offered our kids a lot of T.L.C.,” said South Whitley Elementary School Principal Bruce Hansen at Tuesday’s school board meeting.
Hansen shared with Whitko Community School Corporation’s Board of School Trustees that after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, faculty at SWES was briefed and a safety drill, which was already planned, was held.
“We worked hard to reassure the kids that they are safe,” said Hansen. “We gave out a lot of hugs.”
