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Covering Milford, Syracuse & North Webster, Indiana
4-H Brings Hands-on STEM Program
Wednesday, December 21, 2022
Page 7
One Nation Under God themail-journal.com
Accusations of student sexual harassment leads to investigation %\ /$85(1 =(8*1(5 6WDII :ULWHU
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NWCC celebrates opening of Culver Family Wellness Center 7H[W DQG 3KRWRV %\ 3+2(%( 087+$57 6WDII :ULWHU “Candy Canes and Cocktails” was the theme of The Culver Family Wellness Center’s grand opening Friday night, Dec. 16. The new wing is located in the North Webster Community Center. The “Candy Canes and Cocktails” reception was the official ribbon-cutting for the whole north wing that once housed the public library. Those in attendance got a sneak peak at the Goshen Physicians Family Medicine North Webster Clinic adjacent to the center in the north wing. The clinic will open for business Tuesday, Dec. 27. Dr. Chelsea Wolf will practice medicine at the new medical clinic. Emily Worrell, executive director of the NWCC, addressed the audience. “It is 11,000 square feet of opportunity,” she said. “This space is truly the first step in our mission and driving this forward.” She said there are a lot of future opportunities to offer low-cost well-
Maple Leaf Farms crowned with Coolest Thing Made In Indiana At the first Best IN Manufacturing luncheon held Wednesday, Dec. 14, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce celebrated that thriving industry by honoring the makers who &$1'< &$1(6 $1' &2&.7$,/6 ³ 'DYH DQG .DW\ 5LW]HQWKDOHU FKDW ZLWK &KULV )UDQFLV ULJKW DW WKH have risen to the top in the Coolest ´&DQG\ &DQHV DQG &RFNWDLOVµ HYHQW 6DWXUGD\ 'HF DW 1RUWK :HEVWHU &RPPXQLW\ &HQWHU Thing Made in Indiana competition ness programs with the potential The community center’s celebra- ships, like “the one we’ve developed and Indiana’s Best Places to Work to change lives. “This is a gift for tion included comments from those with the Culver family, to provide in Manufacturing program. our community.” She thanked the close to the project. as many opportunities as possible.” “The importance of Hoosier manNWCC board of directors, Gos“This future space is exactly Wagoner, who was raised in ufacturers cannot be overstated,” hen Health and several others for what we needed,” said Dennis North Webster, helped start the said Indiana Chamber President making the new wing a possibility. Wagoner, president of the NWCC community center 20 years ago. and CEO Kevin Brinegar. “They “Let’s celebrate our new room. It’s a board of directors. He said he looks He applauded the Culver family as create the goods that sustain indinew beginning,” she said. forward to creating many partner- Continued on page 3 viduals and businesses all across the state. And the products make their way throughout the nation and around the world.” The second Coolest Thing Made in Indiana contest wound up being a battle of Kosciusko County. In the end, online voters crowned Maple +2125,1* ),567 5(6321' Leaf Farms of Leesburg – and its (56 ³ &KULV )DQFLO DQG -HVVLFD roast half duck – the champion, and &DPHUHQD VKRZ RII D SRVWHU WKDW Polywood of Syracuse – the maker ZLOO DOVR EH D ELOOERDUG LQ .RVFLXV of a 12-piece pit sectional – runnerNR &RXQW\ KRQRULQJ ÀUVW UHVSRQG up. HUV $OO ÀUVW UHVSRQGHUV ZLOO DOVR Founded in 1958, Maple Leaf EH UHFHLYLQJ D GLVFRXQW FDUG %XVL Farms has grown to 900 employQHVVHV SDUWLFLSDWLQJ LQ WKH FDP ees and produces about 40% of the SDLJQ E\ RIIHULQJ GLVFRXQWV RU JLIWV nation’s duck supply. The winning FDQ EH IRXQG DW OLYHZHOONRVFLXVNR entry, the roast half duck, is a fully RUJ NFRXQW\ ÀUVW 7KH FDPSDLJQ LV cooked dish that saves chefs time D .RVFLXVNR /HDGHUVKLS $FDGHP\ and allows consumers to create a SURMHFW 3KRWR E\ /DXUHQ =HXJQHU
Syracuse Town Council —
Council learns about K-County First program, wraps up 2022 Chris Fancil and Jessica Camarena made a brief presentation about the K-County First program to the Syracuse Town Council during its regular meeting Tuesday night, Dec. 20. The K-County First Program is a Kosciusko Leadership Academy project to support and honor Kosciusko County’s first responders. Area first responders will receive a card that can be used at participating organizations in the community for discounts and gifts. Continued on page 3
North Webster officially welcomes new clerk-treasurer %\ .(,7+ .1(33 6WDII :ULWHU For the first time in nearly two decades, the town of North Webster has a new clerk-treasurer. Leigh Anne Jessop was officially sworn in by town attorney Jack Birch. Jessop replaced Betsy Luce, who served in the role for 19 years. In department reports, Mike Noe reported the utilities/street department has completed its leaf pickup for the season. He also noted they are ready for this weekend’s forecasted se-
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vere weather. Town Marshal Greg Church informed the council the new police vehicle that had previously been approved for purchase was no longer available. He has found another vehicle for $150 more, which the council approved for purchase. Additionally, the council approved 250 hours of overtime in 2023 for the police department. In new business, Chris Fancil of Live Well Kosciusko made a short presentation announcing a discount program for first responders in North WEbster. He
Inside
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An incident Friday, Dec. 9, at Wawasee High School, resulted in school administrators launching an investigation and frustrated parents demanding answers at the monthly school board meeting Dec. 13. The incident reported on social media noted 10-12 students confronted a male student who was allegedly sexually harassing a female student. While it was reported on social media the students involved in the confrontation were expelled or suspended, Dr. Stephen Troyer, superintendent of Wawasee Community School Corporation, due to federal privacy laws protecting students, could not comment on how many students were involved, whether the students involved in the confrontation included girls or what punishments were doled out. Troyer explained the school’s administrative team and school resource officers are investigating the matter. “Typically an incident will spark an investigation,” Troyer said in a phone interview Thursday, Dec. 15. “In this situation we’ve talked to a ton of kids.” Surveillance footage from the school’s security cameras is also being reviewed to view the alleged action. Such investigations typically take several days as administrators speak with the students involved and those who may have witnessed the incident or any interactions.
Administrators and the SROs also attempt to verify the information they have received. Troyer said school officials worked all day Monday, Dec. 12, to determine what sparked the incident, leaving parents attending the school board meeting frustrated by the lack of answers. As of late Thursday afternoon, administrators were still meeting with parents and students. In a later email, Troyer said he expected the investigation to be complete before Christmas break, which begins Friday, Dec. 23. “Once the investigation is complete, we will notify the appropriate people of anything they need to be made aware of,” Troyer wrote. “I want to reiterate we cannot discuss any details of specific consequences or action plans involving any students.” After the school board meeting a parent reached out to The MailJournal confirming her daughter had been harassed by a male student since the start of the school year. “This student came up to my daughter while she was alone and asked if she was a virgin and told her to her face he was going to grab her ass,” the mother stated in an email. The mother also explained her daughter did not report the situation to her or school administrators until Friday. She received a Snapchat message from her daughter Friday morning stating “a boy is threatening to rape me,” just before Continued on page 2
distributed cards to Church and Fire Chief Jeremy Likens that would identify their roles in the community and provide them with prearranged discounts at local businesses in the community. Rick Pharis of Triad Associates presented the council with an engineering services agreement for the 2022 Community Crossings Project. The town has been awarded $545,109.60 in matching grant money to fund roadwork in the community. Triad will provide the necessary services to complete the project, which is esContinued on page 2
Successful Year for Operation Christmas Child See Page 9 See Public Notice On Page 8
restaurant-quality meal at home for their families, according to the company. Maple Leaf Farms owner and retired CEO Terry Tucker accepted the award on behalf of the company. He developed the product concept in the late 1970s and oversaw the construction of a new food processing facility to make the fully cooked roast half duck for restaurants. Today, the product is also sold online and in retail stores. “Our roast half duck is a Hoosier product through and through. From the feed to the farms to the finished product, each step of our process originates in and benefits Indiana. In fact, Indiana leads the U.S. in duck production and is known throughout the world for high-quality duck products like our roast half duck,” said Co-President Scott Tucker. “It is fitting our roast half duck won the Coolest Thing in Indiana Contest this year,” said Co-President John Tucker. “While it has been a flagship product for our company for more than four decades, its popularity grew through the pandemic as consumers sought out simple-to-prepare, restaurant-qualContinued on page 2
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