Archive - News Article
February 23rd, 2011
COLUMBIA CITY — A Columbia City man has been charged with sexual misconduct with a minor in connection to an incident involving an under-aged girl.
According to police and the Whitley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Ryan S. Shearer, 22, engaged in sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl on Sunday at his residence on County Road 150 East.
Police were contacted Sunday by an unidentified female who said her sister was missing.
The female gave information to police that led them to the Shearer residence where the girl was located and removed and taken to be examined.
COLUMBIA CITY — A domestic disturbance early Tuesday morning escalated into a confrontation with police and culminated in a Columbia City woman landing in jail.
Kelly Jo Schrader, 32, was arrested Tuesday and charged with battery, disorderly conduct, resisting law enforcement, strangulation and two counts of battery against an officer causing bodily harm.
She was booked in the Whitley County Jail on $35,000 bond.
According to Columbia City police, a call was made in the early morning hours Tuesday reporting a physical fight at a residence on River Bluff Drive.
COLUMBIA CITY — Whitley County’s top planner gave Columbia City as well as county officials an overview this week on his department’s progress and accomplishments during 2010.
David Sewell, executive director of the Whitley County Building and Planning Department, presented his office’s annual report to the county’s Board of Commissioners Tuesday afternoon and appeared later in the day at the Columbia City Common Council meeting Tuesday night.
February 21st
COLUMBIA CITY — The Columbia City Board of Works and Safety hired Columbus, Ohio-based Burgess & Niple, Inc. to monitor ground water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site located in the city.
The federal government intervened decades ago when it learned that millions of gallons of oil-related waste were dumped on the 35-acre site of Wayne Waste Oil, a division of Wayne Reclamation and Recycling, Inc.
“We’re responsible for the monitoring of the cleanup,” said Columbia City Mayor Jim Fleck.
COLUMBIA CITY — Two members of Columbia City High School’s debate team won first place at the Northeast Indiana District Debate Tournament at Concord High School in Elkhart recently.
Austin Andreas and Dakota Wappes, both seniors, will attend the national debate tournament in Dallas, Texas, June 13-18.
The alternate team from CCHS for the national tournament consists of seniors May Cheng and Linda Hershman.
A week after qualifying for the national tournament, Andreas won the Bob Brittain Mental Attitude Award for Debate at the Indiana State Debate Tournament.
COLUMBIA CITY — The College Success Coalition met for the first time Friday at the Peabody Public Library.
Representatives of many types of businesses and schools were present, including the YMCA, University of St. Francis, Whitley County Foundation, Lake City Bank, Indian Springs Middle School, Star Financial Bank, Smith-Green Schools, Indiana-Purdue University, Fort Wayne; Ivy Tech, and the Peabody Public Library.
COLUMBIA CITY — With the arrival of warmer weather, work has accelerated on a pair of lift stations in Columbia City which are replacing structures more than a half-century old.
“These old lift stations were installed in 1959,” said Mike Cook, Superintendent of Columbia City’s Water Pollution Control Facility.
According to Cook, the old lift stations were located more than 30 feet underground, but new technology will enable the new structures to be barely 11 feet under the surface.
COLUMBIA CITY — The narrow corridor of Columbia City’s CC Deli was standing room only Saturday morning as anxious teachers and educators inundated local state lawmakers with hard questions about the direction education funding is heading in Indianapolis.
“It hurts my heart when our governor says we’re in it for the money,” said an impassioned Cheryl Stalter, Northern Heights kindergarten teacher.
“I know that God gave me the talent to teach and I want you guys to know that we do it because we love these children or we wouldn’t walk into that school every day.”
February 18th
COLUMBIA CITY — The Whitley County Consolidated School Corporation’s Board of School Trustees is inching closer to making tough decisions in order to tighten its belt.
At its regular meeting Feb. 7, Superintendent Dr. Patricia O’Connor supplied the board with a large number of potential “budget-saving” measures in order to combat a steady decline in the school system’s general fund.
“We’re just trying to keep as many programs as we can and live within our means,” O’Connor said Thursday.
