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griffith’s wawasee marina Family Owned Since 1946
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themail-journal.com
Commissioners approve over $1M for work to benefit area businesses
GRADUATION
%\ /($+ 6$1'(5 6WDII :ULWHU Kosciusko County Commissioners have approved spending more than one million of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act monies on a road project, which should benefit Polywood and a few other companies nearby. At its meeting on Tuesday, June 6, commissioners OK’d several requests for using some of the county’s ARPA money from the federal government. Those were previously approved by the county’s ARPA committee at its last meeting on May 23. Among the projects approved was one from Kosciusko County Highway Department Superintendent Steve Moriarty. He asked for $1,888,000 to improve CR 1300N and extend from the new overpass being constructed at Milford to Syracuse and do shoulder work along the road. “It’s the 1300 North extension. So, currently, we’re having an overpass being put up in the town of Milford, and this would connect that town of Milford overpass, to where we put that in, all the way to the city Continued on page 2
Blank Slate approved for alcoholic beverage permit Two local businesses were approved for alcoholic beverage permits during a Kosciusko County Alcohol and Tobacco Commission meeting on Thursday, June 1. Andrew Mock, an owner of Blank Slate LLC, 105 W. Main St., Syracuse, attended the meeting to request a new permit. Jack Birch was also present as legal counsel for the business. Mock said Blank Slate will be in the former Cafe Liefde location, with Blank Slate offering tapas and café-style foods and beverages to patrons. Travis McConnell, an owner of Courthouse Coffee on the Square, 108 N. Buffalo St., Warsaw, also attended the meeting to request a new alcohol permit for the coffee shop. McConnell said the business is looking to add coffee cocktails to its menu, citing Penny Drip in Fort Wayne as an example of what they plan to offer. Alcoholic Continued on page 2
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Wawasee High School bids farewell to the class of 2023 %\ '$9,' +$=/(',1( 6WDII :ULWHU On Sunday, June 4, 184 students of the Wawasee High School class of 2023 received their diplomas at the school’s 55th annual commencement ceremony, which took place in front of a packed gymnasium filled with fellow students, family and faculty. The yearly rite of passage held special significance for Wawasee High School Principal Geoff Walmer, who during his farewell address noted the class of 2023 were freshmen when he and Assistant Principal Steve Snyder also began their first year in their current posts. “Your freshman year continued as normal until it came to a
screeching halt on March 13, 2020. You were excited for your first powwow as it was scheduled for just a few hours later; spring break was just around the corner, and you were soon to be sophomores. “But instead, you found yourself at home accessing your classes virtually, missing the interaction with friends and classmates that you were so accustomed to. The unknown of what was to come was a great fear for many,” recalled Walmer, describing the COVID-19 lockdown. “However, as a freshman you might not have comprehended the fear of the unknown that you do now as young adults, not knowing what college will be like, what the workforce will be like or what serv-
ing in the military will be like in the coming months. “In these moments I challenge you to do what you did your freshman year. Forget about the worry of tomorrow and do everything it takes to dominate today. … You not only survived the ‘unprecedented,’ but you defeated the ‘unprecedented’ by not allowing it to keep you from your dream of having a normal high school experience. … Graduates, you are prepared … you know how to achieve great success through those difficult challenges.” The ceremony began with the class processional, followed by the Wawasee Choir’s rendition of the national anthem, an invocation by graduating senior Cameron Zimmerman and an introduction by
Wawasee Community School Corporation Superintendent Dr. Steve Troyer. Student body President Clay Coblentz also spoke. Troyer noted the 184 graduates included those earning two certificates of completion, two alternate diplomas, 15 general diplomas, 86 Indiana Core 40 diplomas, 11 technical honors diplomas, 60 academic honors diplomas and seven academic and technical honors diplomas. Following Troyer was class salutatorian Kiah Farrington, who observed, “Now we get a chance to branch out and explore all else that life has to offer. These past 15 years together have been very memorable, and I wish us all the best for wherever this life takes us.”
During her valedictorian address, Nadia Whalen thanked the teachers, custodians, office workers, counselors, lunch cafeteria workers, bus drivers, tech workers and others who all played a part in her and her classmate’s graduation. This included librarian Miss Fowble who, said Whalen, “worked endlessly to educate us in the power of reading,” and also recatalogued every book following the “infamous cyber attack of 2023.” Whalen also noted how her grandparents “emigrated to the U.S. from Greece without any form of education and without knowing how to speak English, and now I’m beyond honored to be graduating alongside each of you.”
Syracuse Library celebrates outdoor community space Staff, board members and Friends of the Syracuse Public Library gathered for a ribbon cutting of the library’s outdoor space, named “Community Roots,” Friday morning, June 2. The event was just part of the festivities, as the library was kicking off its summer reading program the same day. The Community Roots project started in summer 2021 when the library purchased and tore down an old house located on the south side of the building. The library
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then received a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museums and Library Services, which is administered by the Indiana State Library. Funds from the grant were used to design and build a pavilion and purchase a large storage shed and adult and child sized picnic tables and benches. After a vote from the public, the space was named Community Roots. “You need outdoor library space, ” Kim Blaha, library director, said. “We don’t have a lot of
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space inside (the library).” Sarah Wright, communications specialist for the Syracuse Public Library, explained there are plans already in place to use the space for summer programming through June and July and the library hopes to use it for a variety of programming throughout the summer and fall months, with hope the library can use the space for its Halloween programming. When the space isn’t being used by the library, the public is Continued on page 2
Scenes From WHS Graduation See Page 9 See Public Notices On Page 11
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