Erhu demonstration at Arts & Commerce Centre

Indiana University Professor Dr. James Yang visited Bluffton on Sunday for a demonstration of ancient Chinese calligraphy and to perform on his Erhu.

Check it out:

Ossian Students give to the Food Bank

OES Student Council had a food drive this past week. The students brought in a whopping 4141 items to donate to the Master's Pantry in Markle. (The food pantry had to make two trips there was so much food!)

BHS Show Choir

I caught the Bluffton High School Show Choir practicing this afternoon and thought I'd shoot some video. The students sound great! Which is good--because they'll be performing in the Bluffton Community Sing on December 6.

Students deliver at Food Bank

Norwell Middle School School Student Council (and a volunteer parent) delivered nearly 1,000 pounds of food and a check for $1,000 to the Wells County Food Bank on Thursday. The kids raised the funds with direct donations from students and faculty at the school. Those students who did not donate food donated cash instead. (Photo Jerry Battiste)

(Pictured) Skyler Millington, Chad Kramer I, and Chad Kramer II, Mirah Myers, Madison Marks, County Miller and Jenna Leidis.

Mayor Ted visits Jericho

Bluffton Mayor Ted Ellis visited students at Jericho this week.

It's all part of his plan to visit every student in the county at one point or another...well, I think that's his plan anyway.

Whether it's a plan or a happy accident, the students love it when Mayor Ted comes around. And his visits help instill a sense of ownership in the kids when it comes to the community in which they live.

Top photo:
Back Row: Deb Connett, Aimee Stoller, Caleb Geimer, Jaila Taylor
Middle Row: Skylyn Reese, Avia Stoller, Nicole Hiday, Pheobe Lantz, Mayor Ellis, Elsa Corkwell, Emily Taylor, Simon Fry, Katie Martz, Emmily Turmial, ReiAnn Krinn
Front Row: Annika Linderwell, Samuel Baumgartner, Ashton Chamness, Stockton Gerber, Max Eckert, Daniel Roberts, Peri Bussel (seated behind Daniel)

LCES Family literacy night

Lancaster central Elementary School held its Family Literacy night event on Tuesday.
I would have been there, but I was covering the Norwell Renovation Work Session.

Someone sent along these cool pics though...check 'em out:

Ossian students win Spell Bowl!

A team of Ossian Elementary 4th and 5th graders beat nearly a dozen other schools to win the Academic Spell Bowl competition on Thursday.
From my story in today's News-Banner:

Last year OES students scored a second place win. This year they beat the second place team by five points.
This was the third year the school hosted the event. Students from more than a dozen schools participated, followed by hundreds of their own cheering fans.
Statewide, more than 4,500 students at 20 sites competed in their own regional Spell Bowl competitions.

Complete statewide results will be posted online at www.iasp.org. Click on Academic Competitions, under ‘department headings’ then Competition Results at the top of the page and look for the link.

House of Hope donation

Mick Ulmer, Chairman of Social Ministries (center) presents House of Hope Northeast Indiana Founder/President Tom Felger (second from left) with a $500 donation from the Lutheran Foundation, through the social ministries at Calvary Lutheran Church. House of Hope will be opening as a residential facility for hurting and troubled teens as of Dec. 1, 2009 at its Bluffton location at 417 S. Main St. Pictured, from left, are Jeff Bower., Director of Residential Operations, Felger, Ulmer, and Richard Schoenherr and Pastor Gene Kinney from Calvary Lutheran Church, Bluffton. (Photo by Frank Shanly)

Markle gets new firetruck

Markle town employees Rick Asher (front) and Mike Grant (rear) provide the News-Banner with a sneak peak at the new fire truck recently purchased by the town and the surrounding townships. The truck uses foam rather than water to fight fires, and local fire fighters are currently being trained to use the new systems. Further training will be conducted this weekend, in the hope that the vehicle will be able to be used starting next week. A full, official "welcoming" ceremony is currently being planned to enable all involved in the purchase to look over the new vehicle. (Photo by Frank Shanly)

Norwell FFA Forestry Team Advance to State

The Norwell FFA Forestry Team #1 won 3rd place honors at the Area XI Forestry Career Development Event contest and Norwell FFA Team #2 won 7th place honors out of seventeen teams. Team #1 consisted of Kateyln Carney, Sydney Kent, Matt Baker and Ashley Bowling. Katelyn Carney place 6th place individual, Sydney Kent placed 7th place individual and Matt Baker placed 9th place individual. Team #2 consisted of Stephanie Meyer, Cassandra Heckber, Brandon Schueler and Kierstan Clark. Team #1 will advance to the state contest at Purdue University, December 12. Each member had to identify tree leaves, seeds and woods samples from tree specimens from Indiana, plus, take an exam about forestry management, production and processing. 4-H and FFA teams from nine counties competed in the event held Monday, November 16 at the Whitley County Fairgrounds.

Photo Front-Katelyn Carney, Cassandra Heckber, Kierstan Clark, Stephanie Meyer, Brandon Schueler. Back-Sydney Kent, Ashley Bowling and Matt Baker

Bluffton Street Fair Celebrates 100th Year

The Bluffton Free Street Fair Association and the Wells County community will be celebrating the 100th Fair September 21 through September 25, 2010. It is the longest running and largest Street Fair in the state.

The Wells County Historical Society and the Street Fair Association are collaborating to have a beautiful pictorial history book published in honor of the 100th Fair which will be available for purchase by the general public.

Because of this joint venture, we are asking for sponsors for the book, with the levels of sponsorship being gold-$500 and above; Silver $250 through $499; and bronze $100 through $249. A special recognition page for the sponsors will be a part of the book. Each gold sponsor will receive a free copy of this historical book.

The Street Fair requests that a commitment from you as a sponsor of the book be made by December 31, 2009.

Checks should be made out to
Bluffton Free Street Fair Association, Inc.
Attention: Jon M. Brown
222 W. Market St.
Bluffton, Indiana.

Any questions can be directed to Jon Brown at 260-824-0500 or jonmbrown@adamswells.com

All sponsorships for the book are tax deductible.

Jon M. Brown, President
Bluffton Free Street Fair Association, Inc.

Gas leak in downtown Bluffton

Wells County Courthouse and every building between Market and Washington from Marion to Main street were evacuated Tuesday afternoon after city workers struck a high-pressure gas line in downtown Bluffton.

Jerry Battiste shot video and posted information on Twitter. Frank Shanly shot pictures. Dave Schultz provided video. Glen Werling was first on the scene. His photos are posted at the web site.



NIPSCO crews worked furiously to tap the broken line east of Johnson Street to set-up a by pass line so crews could exact repairs.

Ryan Elijah visits BHS

Bluffton High School Principal Steve Baker invited Indiana NewsCenter anchor Ryan Elijah to be 'Principal for a Day' on Tuesday.
Elijah spent the morning visiting with students and getting an inside look at the workings of public education in Wells County.


and don't forget to visit the BHS Bloggers post.

Bluffton/Wells County Animal Shelter

Hey you! Need a couple friends?


Mortimer is a 8 year old Lynx Point Siamese, neutered male and declawed in front. House cat Only!

Wyatt is a 9 year old Lilac Point Siamese, neutered male and declawed in front. House cat Only!

*Both are very sweet. We would like to keep them together as Mortimer is a bit shy and would do best staying with his long time friend Wyatt.

NMS Veteran's Day pics

To add to our collection of Veteran's Day pictures, here are several from the Norwell Middle School:

NMS Principal, Bob Hansbarger and Natatorium Director, Jon Gates cooked pancakes for the attendees. Student council & staff members helped keep the orange juice and coffee cups full! Led by student council members, the servicemen paraded into the gym representing various branches of the military: Air Force – Paul Double (’43-46), Bill Johnson (’84-’05), Frank Ratcliffe (’63-’67), Ed Goetz (’43-’45), Jim VanWinkle (’69-71) Army – Mike Carroll (’60-’63), Joe McClure (’65-’67), David P. Butler (’62-’74), Bill Sawyer (’43-’48 and ’52-’00), Jerry Lockwood (’55-’58), Delmar Jeffries (’43-46), Bob Frantz (’68-’70), Ron Marshall (’69-’71), Steven Jones (’88-’96), Clifford Black (’58-’60) Marines – Lyle J. Cotton (’46-’47), Ralph A. Garcia (’59-69), John Hacker (’91-97), Navy – Tom Cushman (’67-71), Bob Buehl (’65-71), Art Windmiller (’43-’46), Paul Sell (’44-’46), Matt Huffman (’87-’91), Thomas Foster (’63-’69) Serving multiple branches – Monte Fisher (Marine ’68-’71 and Air Force ’92-’98) & John Horn (Army/Air Force ’71-94) Currently Serving: Bob Rzasa (Air Force since 1988), Daniel Hockenberry (Air Force since 1996), Alan Jensen (Army since 1997)
(Submitted)

Southern Wells Raiders: Final Shots

The last five videos from Friday's nights game. Southern Wells 41 Knightstown 14.

Go Raiders!

More Raiders Video

Southern Wells Raiders, the little team with BIG HEARTS, sent Knightstown reeling with a 41-14 win Friday night. Raiders advance to semi-state...

Check out some more video:

Southern Wells beat Knightstown

News-Banner Sports Editor Paul Beitler and Managing Editor Glen Werling were in Knightstown, Friday, to watch the Raiders win 41-14 and advance to semi-state where they will face-off against Lafayette Central Catholic School.

Check out some choice video...

YOUNG PILOT IS LIBRARY ESSAY WINNER

Nick Huffman’s essay describing his efforts to complete his pilot’s license training made him the winner of the One Book, One County Essay Contest at the Wells County Public Library. A student at Bluffton High School, Huffman received $400 from the Friends of the Library and community donations to work toward his goal of getting his solo pilot license. The contest required students to explain their science or math-related goals and how they related to the One Book, One County reading program selection, Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam. In Huffman’s essay, he wrote the excitement of his first flight and the hours he has spent in flight training at Miller Airport. He currently has 13 hours on his IFR sheet and the essay winnings should bring him very close to achieving his license. Presenting Huffman with his award is Teresa Dustman, head of circulation at the Wells County Public Library. (photo provided)

Southern Wells Middle School Veteran's Day

On Veteran’s Day, students at Southern Wells Elementary honored veterans by having a special program. The morning program began with a few words from Mr. Brett Garrett. Jackson Bartlett led students and facility in the Pledge of Allegiance. That was followed by some patriotic readings by 6th grade students, Alexis Collins, Sydnee Jones and Jackson Bartlett. In-Harmony, 5th and 6th grade choir, took the stage to sing the Star-Spangled Banner and America, of Thee I Sing. At the conclusion of the program, a veteran’s video was shown to the assembly. SWES would like to thank all veterans in the area for their service and for those men and women currently serving all over the world.

Chili Cook-off today

The 6th annual Franklin Electric Chili Cook-Off was today. Kirk Nevins, Scott Trumble and Bluffton Fire Chief Bob Plummer judged more than two dozen entries. Homemade chili and homemade soup were in abundance...as were the bottles of water.

Veteran's Day around Wells County

We were fortunate to receive a plethora of pictures from Veteran's day events at area schools on Wednesday. Submitted for your approval:

LCES Veteran's Day programs

Lancaster Central Elementary School students performed a variety of songs for local veteran's; family and friends on Wednesday.
My favorite? "We all sing with the same voice"

(Yes, that is my daughter in the crowd...)

OES Veteran's Day program

Ossian Elementary School students performed for a near capacity crowd during their Veteran's Day program on Wednesday.
Check out the video:

Bluffton-Harrison schools honor Veterans

All three Bluffton schools participated in Veteran's Day ceremonies Wednesday. The high school and middle school held events in the morning and the elementary school will conduct theirs this afternoon.

Southern Wells Veterans Day program

Southern Wells Veteran's Day program began promptly at 8:30 a.m. with a salute from the Bluffton American Legion Honor Guard.

Principal Chad Yencer spoke to the students of the "solemn duty of those who serve."





Don't forget to visit the new Southern Wells blog, linked at www.news-banner.com for more

NORWELL PRESENTS “THE WHOLE DARN SHOOTING MATCH”

The community is invited to the space race of the early 1960s comedy, The Whole Darn Shooting Match. The play will be presented at Norwell High School on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. $5 tickets will be sold at the door beginning one hour prior to each performance.
Pictured from left are cast members Robert Connett, Rachel Towle, Harley Link, Tyler Miller, and Chloe VanRyn

B-H Secretary Jean Anderson Honored

Unfortunately, it's not every day someone gets honored for years of hard work and dedicated service.
Fortunately, Bluffton High School Secretary Jean Anderson was honored by the Indiana Association of State Principals.

From the story in today's News-Banner, by B-H Senior Amy Baker:

Because of this extreme commitment, Anderson found herself on the IASP Annual Secretary’s Conference stage in Carmel, last week, accepting the Above and Beyond Award.
With more than 2,200 secretaries in the running and 200 present at the meeting, Jean’s initial reaction was a fusion of surprise, embarrassment, delight and honor. As she stepped on stage, her eyes caught her husband, daughter and two grandchildren who secretly attended, in addition to Superintendent Wayne Barker and Principal Steve Baker who had traveled and attended with her.

LCES Fall Festival

Dozens of volunteers; PTO, teachers, administrators and parents helped organize the Lancaster Central Elementary School Fall Festival on Saturday, to the delight of hundreds of students.

Remember, the money raised by these fund raising events helps support programs at the school...

OES Holds 'Special Elections'

Miss a few days of work and I miss a lot.

Like this REALLY neat event last week at Ossian Elementary School:

On November 4 at 2:45, Ossian Elementary will be holding a swearing in ceremony for our student councils representatives and for our student council officers. Our guest speakers will be Mayor Ted Ellis and Senator Travis Holdman. This year, we changed how we did student council. We allowed any third, fourth and fifth grade student to be in student council. They had to get the signatures of ten people who thought they would be a good student council representative as well as get the signatures of their parents and classroom teachers. We have 70 student representatives! (which allows us two to three student reps for each classroom in the school) This week we are holding elections for the officers. Fifth grade students were allowed to run for office. We had twelve candidates (three for each office) We wanted to make the whole process a learning process about the importance of voting. On Monday, during lunch we showed a video about voting. Then every student had to register if they wanted to vote. They had to stop at a table on their way out to recess, check their name off with a parent and then print and sign their name certifying they were a member of the Ossian Community and that they were in the third, fourth or fifth grade. The idea of doing it after lunch before recess was to show them that you have to take time to register and to vote. We had about 75% register to vote (which isn't too bad). Today our candidates made their speeches and tomorrow all third, fourth and fifth graders who registered will vote. Again they will have to stop on their way out to recess (and some are quite in a hurry) and make the time to vote. At our swearing in ceremony (our first ever), we have asked Mayor Ellis and Senator Travis Holdman to speak about the importance of serving your community and getting involved. Dr. Mills will be administering the Oath of Office to the representatives and the officers. It has been a fun experience for all of us to watch the students get involved in an electoral process. Our student council is divided into sub committees and we have service projects and student activities in the planning process. Our biggest project is to help raise money along with Ossian Elementary's teachers to contribute the Ossian revitalization project. Our goal is to purchase a lamp post. We will also be holding a food drive and doing a project for the Leukemia Society (Pennies for Patients) in honor of one of our kindergartners who is undergoing treatment for Leukemia. In February we will participate in Jump Rope for Heart in cooperation with the American Heart Association. We are also planning school spirit days to promote our school community. These activities are all being planned by the student committees, with a little guidance from us (the school spirit committee wanted to have a day of no school to promote school spirit...we had to tell them that was not possible!)

Patty Atkins Janice Kenline Student Council Sponsors
(Submitted, w/ photo)

Somehow, with everything I had going on, I missed this, and I am sorry for that. Student sponsors, faculty and the students themselves, worked very hard to make this program a success. Good job all of you!

LCES students send Goodwill overseas

More than 250 students stuffed shoe boxes with important goods for homeless children around the world. On Friday they loaded their packages into the back of an SUV and waved goodbye, with hopes and best wishes for the kids "who live far away and don't have any mommies or daddies"....

Fall Fitness Frenzy at Southern Wells

To celebrate a great first nine week period of school, students in grades K-5 at Southern Wells Elementary came to the gymnasium and participated in the Fall Fitness Frenzy. During the student’s specials time on October 22nd, children participated in practicing sport and fitness skills that they have been learning during the first nine weeks. Stations such as Ghostly Aerobics, Jack O Lantern Juggling, the Goblin Jump, the Skeleton Cave and other stations with a Halloween theme were used to allow the students practice time. The students had a lot of fun with the new surroundings. Mr. Carter would like to thank several volunteers who help with the different stations: Mrs. Haler, Mrs. Zent, Mrs. Fiechter, Mrs. Coffel, Mrs. Gilbert, Mrs. Duncan, Mrs. Penrod, Mrs. Bone and Mrs. Burgan, and Mr. Haigh.

Caption for picture: Fourth grade student, Taylor Couch goes through the spooky skeleton cave while Erin White gets ready for her turn.

(Submitted)

Movie Night at Southern Wells

Southern Wells Elementary Student Health Council held their 4th annual movie night. Over 100 individuals participated in watching “Bolt”, a family animated movie. The student health council sold popcorn and soda along with cookies. This year, the student health council will plan events to help with the purchase and replacement cost of hand sanitizers for each classroom. The next student health council event will include “Family Skate Night” to be held at the school on Wednesday November 18th, 2009. Special thanks as always, goes out to the Bluffton Rent-A-Center for making this movie night possible with their big screen TV. (Submitted)

Wells County YMCA (more pics)

The 'Business After Hours' event at the new Wells County YMCA on Thursday was a great time to get a sneak peek at the new facility
Bluffton Mayor Ted Ellis was there, as were Bluffton Police Chief Tammy Schaffer and Bluffton Parks Director Pam Vanderkolk. So were Northern Wells Supt. Dr. Scott Mills; Wells County Economic Director Mike Row; and Wells County United Way Executive Director Pamela Beckford...just to name a few.
Oh, and the News-Banner was there, too, of course....

Wells County YMCA

Tony Garton seemed to enjoy the cycling class during the Wells County Chamber of Commerce 'Business After Hours' at the new YMCA.

That being said, he was the ONLY rider not sweating when I stopped by the visit. What does that mean, exactly? Judge for yourself...

Expo parting shot

Since I promised them I'd post their pic--here's the last couple students to visit the News-Banner booth during the annual Wells County Career Expo on Thursday.

Thanks again to everyone who participated!

Hey kids! Get a job!

Had a great time at the Wells County Career Expo. News-Banner Publisher Mark Miller (and yours truly) talked with dozens of students about their future careers. Some were interested in communications, media, public relations and even a few potential new reporters.
Dozens of other Wells County businesses participated. Thanks to everyone who showed up and spent their day helping Wells County students get a grip on their future...

Wells County Career Expo

News-Banner Publisher Mark Miller was at the Wells County Career Fair on Thursday, visiting with students and local merchants. He captured a couple interesting characters on video...

Bond Street RR Crossing closed

You'll need to find an alternate route down Bond Street for the next week. Norfolk Southern Railroad crews are working on the tracks in the area and that crossing will be remain closed until Nov. 10.
If you like trains, it is kinda neat to watch them work, but please use caution in the area and avoid the area if possible.

Check it out:

Southern Wells Referendum passes

Southern Wells voters approved the SWCS referendum tonight by a slim 50 votes. With a 50% turnout rate, better than any previous primary.

Read the complete story in tomorrow's News-Banner.

Southern Wells referendum in progress

Voters in four Southern Wells County districts are going to the polls today to decide the fate of a proposal to increase taxes to boost the Southern Wells Community Schools general fund.
News-Banner will be reporting on this throughout the day and will post the results at their web site tonight. www.news-banner.com
Look for a story from Jerry Battiste in tomorrow's News-Banner.

Wells Community Choir

The Wells Community Choir will be presenting a variety of hymns and anthems under the title, “A Celebration of Faith and Joy” on both Saturday and Sunday at the church, under the direction of Arlene Stoller. The celebration will be the eighth annual sacred concert performed by the choir....

Read the rest of Frank Shanly's story in today's News-Banner.

Full house!

Staff and supporters turned out in force for the official ribbon cutting at the new Main Street premises of Coldwell banker Holloway and the Holloway Auction Company Thursday morning at 1103 S. Main St. Katie Holloway, daughter of owners Jody and Jodi Holloway, had the honor of cutting the ribbon. (Photo by Frank Shanly)

Wells County Animal Shelter adoption

Kitten Trio are 6 weeks old. Sweet and playful!

Shyloh is a 2 year old Lhasa Apso female. She is very quiet and shy. Looking for a home with no children under the age of 16. Preferably no children. NO EXCEPTIONS! Shyloh will do best in a quiet home.