Community

Proposals for combining Huntington and Huntington County emergency dispatch centers have been floating around for 20 years, but politics has always gotten in the way of actually carrying out those proposals.

"The falling apart was where to put it," says Paul Adams, the Huntington Police Department's chief of dispatch, of those past discussions.

And now that the "where to put it" has been hammered out - in a newly constructed building, a unified study committee recommends - the economy may prove to be the stumbling block.

The Huntington County Board of Health will meet Monday, Jan. 12, at 7 p.m. in the G.A.R. Room on the second floor of the Huntington County Courthouse.

Board members will hear reports from the Department of Health staff for the fourth quarter of 2008 and a report from the public health nurse on her goals for the first quarter of 2009.

Nature's Fuel, a Fort Wayne-based company that has proposed building a waste-handling facility at the Huntington landfill, will hold two meetings on Thursday, Jan. 8, to explain its plans.

Identical sessions will be held at noon and at 6 p.m. in the Huntington City Council Chambers in the Huntington City Building.

Emily Reid (second from left) holds newborn daughter Addison Ann Reid, the first baby of 2009 born at Parkview Huntington Hospital. With them are Emily's husband Jerry Reid (back right) and older children Dyson (left) and Aaron.

Tom Wall (left) is sworn in by Huntington Circuit Court Judge Tom Hakes (right) as a Huntington County, Indiana, commissioner. Wall's wife, Rose Wall, holds the Bible for the ceremony, which took place Wednesday, Dec. 31, in the Huntington County Courthouse rotunda.

Kathy Branham (left) is sworn in as a Huntington County, Indiana, commissioner during a ceremony Wednesday, Dec. 31, in the Huntington County Courthouse rotunda. Huntington Circuit Court Judge Tom Hakes (right) officiates, and Branham's husband John Branham holds the Bible.

John E. Hacker (left) is sworn in as a Huntington County (IN) Council member during a ceremony Wednesday, Dec. 31, in the Huntington County Courthouse rotunda. Huntington Circuit Court Judge Tom Hakes (right) officiates, and Hacker's father, Dale Hacker, holds the Bible.

Shane Bickel (left) is sworn in Wednesday, Dec. 31, as a member of Huntington County (IN) Council by Huntington Circuit Court Judge Tom Hakes (center). Pam Updike holds the Bible for the ceremony, which took place Wednesday, Dec. 31, in the Huntington County Courthouse rotunda.

Leon Hurlburt (left) is sworn in by Huntington Circuit Court Judge Tom Hakes (right) for a second term as Huntington County (IN) coroner. Brenda Hamilton holds the Bible for the ceremony, which took place Wednesday, Dec. 31, in the Huntington County Courthouse rotunda.

Brenda Hamilton (left) is sworn in as Huntington County (IN) treasurer during a ceremony Wednesday, Dec. 31, in the Huntington County Courthouse rotunda. Huntington Circuit Judge Tom Hakes (right) officiates, and Hamilton's husband Sam Hamilton holds the Bible.

Kenneth Lee Duckworth III (fourth from left), the son of Kenneth Lee Jr. and Samantha Elliot Duckworth, of Huntington, was honored by the Huntington County Right to Life as this year's Christmas baby. Kenneth Lee III was born Christmas Day, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008, at 7:26 a.m., at Parkview Huntington Hospital, weighing 6 pounds, 15.6 ounces, and measuring 19 inches. With the newborn are (from left) mother Samantha, sister Destiny Lynn, father Kenneth Lee Jr. and Right to Life representative Norma Etherington.

Marine Rob Holzinger Jr., of Huntington, is lending his artistic talents to the United States military.

Holzinger, who is recuperating from a second serious battle injury, created the design of the "Wounded Warrior" coin.
The coin is given by an officer to a Marine who has done something deserving of special recognition, explains Holzinger's mother, Gloria Holzinger, of Huntington.

Pastor James Bachman may have stepped down from the pulpit of the church he pastored for 32 years, but he's not stepping away from spreading the word.

In fact, he wants to help spread it even farther than before - with a worldwide ministry that prepares the laity to use their gifts to, in his words, "get the gospel out."

In his new role as pastor emeritus of the Roanoke Baptist Church, Bachman is organizing the Layman's Web College, a mammoth undertaking that will eventually include 585 classes available in a variety of formats for use by pastors around the world.