N-B Photos: Gov. Mike Pence visits Bluffton

Gov. Mike Pence visited Bluffton Thursday, first dining with fellow Hoosiers at Richard's and then visiting with students at Lancaster Central Elementary School. Learn more about both stops in the Friday, Jan. 29, News-Banner. (Photos by Jessica Williams and Matthew LeBlanc)

N-B Photos: 2016 Chamber dinner

The Wells County Chamber of Commerce celebrated the Educator of the Year, Business of the Year, and Citizens of the Year during its annual dinner Monday evening. Learn more in the Tuesday, Jan. 26, News-Banner. (Photos by Jessica Williams)

N-B Links: Wells County a pilot county for 'e-filing'

 Wells County is on the forefront of shaping how the electronic filing system for court cases will work in Indiana – as both a pilot county and with two members on a statewide committee. Learn more in the Monday, Jan. 25, News-Banner.

The following is a screenshot from the state's judiciary website, explaining how the process will work. (Click image to enlarge)

Learn more about statewide e-filing by clicking here.

N-B Photos: Two re-elected council members take oaths of office

Three pieces of the Tracy Street reconstruction project were removed Wednesday evening by the Markle Town Council in an effort to see the project awarded the next time around by the Indiana Department of Transportation. See a map of part of Tracy Street below, and learn more in the Thursday, Jan. 21, News-Banner.

Also Wednesday, Clerk-Treasurer Carolyn Hamilton administered the oaths of office to two re-elected council members, Jeff Humbarger and Mark Hamilton. (Photos by Jessica Williams)

N-B Links: Information about Criminal Rule 4, the Indiana death penalty, and DCS

Monday, Jan. 18, marked one year since 3-year-old Owen Collins' body was found in a wooded area outside of Bluffton. We recapped the case, including information on different state laws.

Learn more about Criminal Rule 4 by clicking here.

Learn more about the state's death penalty law by clicking here.


We also spoke with the local director of the Department of Child Services office about their protocols and child abuse and neglect investigation process. That was published Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 18 and 19.

Visit the state's DCS website here, where you can learn more about Child Protective Services, DCS policies, and child safety. This link will direct you to the Child Welfare Information Gateway.

N-B Video: Holdman speaks on his civil rights bills

Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, spoke for about 10 minutes Saturday at Bluffton's Third House legislative update about the bills he authored, which – according to a handout he provided – are "good-faith attempts to balance religious liberty and the civil rights of gay and lesbian Hoosiers." Listen to him speak in full about the bills, and read the hand-out, below. Click the images to enlarge in order to read the text. Learn more about the Third House session in the Monday, Jan. 11, News-Banner. (Video by Jessica Williams)

N-B Links: United Way is 2016 Business of the Year

From "modest beginnings" 50 years ago to being recognized with one of the Chamber of Commerce's top annual honors, the United Way of Wells County has a lot to celebrate this year.
It has been named the Wells County Chamber of Commerce's 2016 Business of the Year, and it's also celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Executive Director Pamela Beckford called the announcement "quite an honor."

Learn more in the Friday, Jan. 8, News-Banner.

"United Way has been a very strong organization in our community and their initiatives are stronger than ever," said Chamber of Commerce Director Erin Prible. "It is an honor to celebrate and recognize them as Business of the Year. The community appreciates the many services provided by United Way."

To learn more about the United Way of Wells County, click here. To learn more about its "90by20" initiative, click here.

N-B Photos: Eight city officials take oaths of office for terms beginning Jan. 1

Eight city officials took their oaths of office Wednesday. Learn more in the Thursday, Dec. 31, News-Banner. Wells Circuit Court Judge Kent Kiracofe administered the oaths. (Photos by Dave Schultz)

N-B Slideshow: A year in review--2015

A panel of current and former News-Banner reporters and editors voted on the community's top 10 stories of 2015. Learn more in the Thursday, Dec. 31, News-Banner. (News-Banner staff photos; video compiled by Jessica Williams)

N-B Video: Library hosts piano players

Leading up to Christmas, the library hosts piano players at various times throughout the day. They've done this for a few years now. Ed Higgins of Bluffton played the piano Tuesday at the Wells County Public Library. Listen to a portion of his selection below. Players are scheduled today, Wednesday, Dec. 23, as well. (Photos and video by Jessica Williams)

What can be recycled and what can't at local facility

The Wells County Solid Waste District learned this week that the local recycling center will again accept certain glasses as recyclable materials. Below is a list of the materials the facility accepts, provided by the district's controller, and learn more in the Tuesday, Dec. 22, News-Banner.


Acceptable:

• Paper – newspaper, paper sacks, magazines, office/computer paper, junk mail, paper board (cereal boxes, soda boxes, shoe boxes, and old/corrugated containers and books

• Glass – beer, wine and food jars

• Metal – aluminum and bi-metal beverage cans, aluminum foil wrapping baking ware, food cans, canning lids, metal baking dishes (without non-stick coating), metal food or drink lids, coat hangers

• Plastic #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 – Soda bottles, naturals (milk, juice, distilled or drinking water jugs), dishwashing detergent bottles, vinegar bottles, mixed colored containers (laundry detergent or fabric softener containers, bleach jugs, household cleaner bottles), cottage cheese containers, margarine/topping containers

Not acceptable:

• Paper – waxed or carbon paper, waxed paperboard, milk, juice, fabric softener refill containers

• Metals – folding outdoor chairs with webbing still attached, water pumps, engine parts, etc.

• Plastic – plastic wrap, freezer/food bags, tableware (forks/spoons), dishes or plates, flower pots, bakery containers, no food grade plates, "clam shells," egg cartons, meat/vegetbal trays, cups made from polystyrene, packing "peanuts," toys or plastic bags

Bluffton Fire Department is selling reflective address signs

The Bluffton Fire Department is selling reflective address signs. Learn more in the Monday, Dec. 14, News-Banner. Print out the form below:

Panel studying teacher shortage meets for the last time

A committee chaired by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz met for the last time Monday, making recommendations to stem the loss of teachers in Indiana.

Among the proposals from the Blue Ribbon Commission on the Recruitment and Retention of Excellent Educators:

• Establish a mentor program for beginning teachers. (NOTE: The state once had a mentor program, but it was dropped after funding dried up. Some school districts, including the Bluffton-Harrison Metropolitan School District, operate their own mentor programs for beginning teachers).

• Identify and fund professional development for educators and administrators.

• Recruit and retain a diverse teacher workforce.

"Great teaching and great learning go hand in hand," Ritz said in a statement. "I look forward to continuing the work of the commission and to the support of the Indiana General Assembly and the State Board of Education for these strategies developed by educators to address Indiana's teacher shortage."

Only Bluffton-Harrison in Wells County has a vacant teaching position, according to the school districts' websites. Bluffton-Harrison is seeking a seventh-grade English/language arts teacher.

Neither Northern Wells Community Schools nor Southern Wells Community Schools have open teaching positions, according to their websites.

N-B Slideshow: 2015 Festival of Trees

Here are some entries in this year's Festival of Trees. (Photos by Barb Barbieri)

N-B Slideshow: 2015 Ossian Hometown Christmas

The 2015 Ossian Hometown Christmas celebration was held Thursday evening in Ossian. (Photos by Glen Werling)

Proposal would remove schools info from newspaper publication

UPDATE: State Board of Education members voted this morning to accept the recommendation from a committee to make changes to the way schools publish Annual Performance Reports.

Original post:

A proposal from state officials calls for an end to publication in newspapers of some data on Indiana schools.

Publishing Annual Performance Report data in newspapers is burdensome, according to a memo State Board of Education members will review at their meeting today in Indianapolis, and data included in the reports could instead by published on the Indiana Department of Education's website and on websites run by schools.

The recommendation would require approval by state lawmakers. If the General Assembly voted to approve the proposal, the portion of the law requiring publication in newspapers could be removed as soon as next year.

Data in the APR, which schools are required to publish in mid-March each year, includes information on student enrollment, graduation rates, attendance rates, average class size, remediation, and the percentage of graduates going on to college.

The proposal from the state also calls for removing items on class size, remediation, and the percentage of graduates seeking a college education from the APRs.

N-B Video: Bluffton lighting ceremony

Windy, rainy weather didn't stop revelers from coming out for Bluffton's traditional lighting ceremony Friday evening. And Santa showed up, too! (Video by Matthew LeBlanc)

N-B Links: 'Brady's Hope' aims to promote a drug-free life

On Monday high school students at Southern Wells were introduced to fellow Hoosier Brady Noonkester, who is forever age 19 after dying from a prescription drug overdose in June 2012, just weeks after his high school graduation.

Noonkester's father, Dustin, spoke at all three of the county's high schools Monday and shared his son's story. Learn more in the Tuesday, Nov. 24, News-Banner.

Learn more about "Brady's Hope," an effort to promote a drug-free life, by clicking here.

Learn more about the Indiana Attorney General's task force that helped bring Noonkester to town, The Bitter Pill, by clicking here.

N-B Numbers: Jury trials, new criminal cases down for 2014

New court data released last month for 2014 indicates a drop in jury trials but an increase in “children in need of services” cases in Wells County. Meanwhile, the number of new criminal cases filed in local county courts dropped between 2013 (650 cases) and 2014 (539) – the first decrease, according to state data, since at least 2010. New juvenile filings increased between 2013 (202 cases) and 2014 (259 cases).
Learn more in the Monday, Nov. 23, News-Banner.



To explore the data, click here. The data fields give readers the option to select the year, county, court, and type of data to see.


Here is some more data:

Jury trials countywide:
• 2010: 1
• 2011: 8
• 2012: 6
• 2013: 12
• 2014: 3

Children in need of services:

• 2010:15
• 2011:17
• 2012: 42
• 2013: 57
• 2014: 92
• 2015: 60, as of Nov. 20

N-B Links: Need for Narcan is on the rise

In the throes of an opiate overdose, medics can administer a fast-acting drug that counteracts the effects, at times stopping death.
Naloxone, commonly called by its trademarked name of Narcan, has been around for decades – but local emergency personnel are administering it more now than perhaps ever before.
“It’s a wonderful drug if you’re trained to use it,” said Wells County EMS Director Rick Piepenbrink.

Learn more in the Saturday, Nov. 21, News-Banner.

To learn more about naloxone (Narcan), click here.

To watch an animated video of how the drug works in the nasal passage, click here.