Carnival time

The Wells Community Boys and Girls Club and Elks Lodge held a carnival Friday, where children could playe hole-in-one golf, ring toss and other games while feasting on cotton candy and hot dogs. (Photos by Chet Baumgartner)

County Council reviews budget requests

The Wells County Council has begun reviewing 2014 budget requests, summarized below, but the county's surveyor, assessor, auditor, treasurer, clerk and recorder believe the county should pay them more, and the council doesn't know if the county can afford it. Learn more about both side's thoughts in the Friday, Aug. 9, News-Banner.

Proposed 2014 budgets for the Wells County Council:
• Highway Department – $989,150; Motor Vehicle Highway Administration – $211,250; Maintenance and Repair – $1,596,600; Local Road and Street – $250,000
• Health and Local Health Maintenance – $300,191 for the Health Department; $33,139 for Local Health Maintenance
• Assessor – $102,863 for the Assessor’s office; $177,604 for Reassessment; $5,049 for Sales Disclosure Fee
• Clerk and Election Board – $317,078 for the Clerk’s office; $54,655 for the Election Board; $6,575 for Clerk’s Records Perpetuation
• Probation – $355,872 for Probation; $25,677 for Juvenile Probation; $58,972 for Adult Probation; $8,000 for Urinalysis fees; $2,900 for Substance/Indigent Fund
• Coroner – $34,831
• Area Plan and GIS – $115,759 for Area Plan Commission; $20,850 for GIS
• Custodian – $197,964
• Treasurer – $121,849
• Solid Waste – $74,305
• Council – $59,355
• Sheriff and Jail – $1,378,405; $1,640,530
• Veterans – $34,249
• EMA – $29,888  for EMA; $5,200 for Emergency Plan/Right to Know
• Prosecutor and Pre-Trial Deferral – $439,701 for the Prosecutor’s office; $1,125 for Pre-Trial Diversion; $31,177 for Pre-Trial Deferral.
• Recorder – $71,192
• Community Corrections – $292,091 for Adult Corrections; $19,291 for Misdeameant
• Surveyor and Drainage Board – $121,285 for the Surveyor’s office; $18,190 for Drainage Board; $20,000 for Surveyor’s Corner Perpetuation
• Auditor – $213,145 for the Auditor’s office; $11,000 for Auditor’s Ineligible Deductions; $8,000 for Plat Book
• Soil and Water – $33,843
• Superior Court – $91,498
• Circuit Court – $219,166
• Extension Office – $210,054
• I.T. – $129,300
• Commissioners – $990,990 for Commissioners; $735,000 for CEDIT County Share
• Statewide 911 – $396,825
• LOIT Public Safety – $170,739
• Elected Official Training – $5,000
• County Certified Shares – $1,684,000

N-B Video: Parade takes Bluffton back in time

The Wheels of Yesteryear's annual antique tractor parade rumbles through the north end of the 4-H Fairground at 6 p.m Thursday. The parade kicks off the organization's Antique Power Show and Festival weekend, which features tractor pulls, a quilt show, worship services and other activities. Activities start tonight and continue through Sunday. (Video by Chet Baumgartner)

Bluffton principal studies abroad

For 10 days this summer, veteran Bluffton educator Steve Baker studied abroad, in a world once divided by a wall, where one side could barely even afford bananas.

While there, the former teacher and current Bluffton High School principal also dissected the philosophies and politics that educate that world — sometimes uniting it, sometimes dividing it again.

And he also chronicled his journey through photos. Learn more in the Thursday, Aug. 8, News-Banner.

These "Jewish Stumbling Blocks," created by Gunter Demnig, commemorate a victim of the Holocaust. They are small, cobblestone-sized memorials for an individual victim of Nazism. They commemorate individuals – both those who died and survivors – who were consigned by the Nazis to prisons, euthanasia facilities, sterilization clinics, concentration camps and extermination camps, as well as those who responded to persecution by emigrating or committing suicide.

This is the memorial commemorating the book burning of 1933.  The empty bookshelves represent exactly the number of books that were burned that night in Berlin. This is at the square where the largest book burning took place

A remnant of the Berlin Wall

This monument symbolizes the relationship between East and West Berlin.
The segments deliberately do not meet.

The Bradenburg Gate, home of many Nazi rallies.

This was inside the Dachau concentration camp, in operation from 1933 through 1945 about 10 miles outside of Munich.

N-B Video: Students convert math into music at Southern Wells

The Wells County Chamber of Commerce organized a five-day guitar lab this week and last to encourage students to pursue advanced manufacturing classes. On the second-to-last day, the students finished their guitars and stretched the strings from the body to the next. Learn more in the Thursday, Aug. 8, News-Banner. (Video by Chet Baumgartner)

Get ready for back-to-school time

From Rep. Matt Lehman —

Move over summer – it’s time for school to begin! A new school year brings endless amounts of potential and new opportunities. Below are several resources to help you and your family prepare to go back to school:

• School Immunization Requirements

New immunization requirements are in effect this school year for grades K-12. Make sure your child is up-to-date by visiting the Indiana Department of Health website.

• MyVaxIndiana

The MyVaxIndiana immunization portal enables you to access immunization records for yourself and your children from any computer through the use of a personal identification number (available from your local health department or healthcare provider). Through MyVaxIndiana, you have the ability to download, fax or print official proof of immunization, which can be used for school, travel or other purposes. Each record also features the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s immunization schedule so you can plan for future immunizations.

• School Bus Safety

The Indiana State Police is committed to keeping children safe in schools and on the road. All school buses are inspected annually, in accordance with Indiana State law. Buses more than 12 model years old are inspected twice a year.

The school bus inspection records are now available online. To view the records, click on the county where your child attends school, then pick the school, then your child's bus number. (Learn more about the limitations of this website in the July 10 News-Banner.)

For more information about school bus safety, check out the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Traffic Safety Toolkit.

N-B Video: Dream Team celebrates season of smiles

Thirty-seven players were recognized for their participation this season in Bluffton's Dream Team program, many of whom were present to each receive a medal from the mayor and other prizes, including trophies. Learn more in the Friday, Aug. 2, News-Banner. (Video by Jessica Williams)