During the continuing coronavirus pandemic, there may be no one warming the pews in churches.

However, people in Huntington County are finding local churches stepping up to continue their ministries, not only online but by mobilizing volunteers to help those in need.

Huntington First Church of the Nazarene is one of those churches making use of the Internet to minister in several platforms. Lead Pastor Bobby Kemp says even though the building may be closed, “HNaz” is still open online with Sunday services through its Facebook page.

At 856 Dimond St., there is a wooden box posted in Andrea Storms’ front yard, serving as a waystation of blessings.

It’s dubbed the “Blessing Box,” and inside can be found both food and non-food items, such as toilet paper, canned goods, tooth brushes, feminine items, sanitary wipes and even fresh eggs.

Signs nailed to the box’s post say “Take what you need” and “Leave what you can.”

As many businesses across the nation scramble to weather the threat of the coronavirus, those organizations who serve others, such as Love In the Name of Christ, have had to think out of the box and on their feet to make sure the community’s hungry neighbors receive the food they need.

Love INC Executive Director Erin Didion says how the ministry is handling the precautions needed to stay safe during the COVID-19 outbreak is constantly changing, but several changes are in place to allow them to help the community.

From collecting leaves to running the town’s wastewater plant, the Andrews Utility Department performs the same wide range of responsibilities that any utility department does.

The Andrews department, however, has also taken on a unique responsibility.

Seven years ago, the department started building trails on a wooded piece of land owned by the town. Located at the end of Terrell Street, the department liked the idea of transforming the area, which was underutilized, into something of a recreational spot for residents.

The Huntington County Department of Health asks that residents of the county educate themselves about coronavirus disease 2019 – or COVID-19, for short.

To that end, the health department has provided information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about COVID-19.

As of Thursday, March 12, the health department recommends that events and gatherings be limited to no more than 50 attendees, in the interests of limiting the potential for COVID-19 to spread.

Huntington County Community School Corp. schools will be closed from March 16 through April 10,  due to the COVID-19 virus, administrators said in a press release issued earlier today, Friday, March 13.

School administrators will be re-evaluating the situation during spring break regarding the return of students on Monday, April 13, 2020.

At this time, HCCSC administration feels that closing school is in the best interest of its students, staff members and families.

Tenderloins from Huntington will once again be served aboard a vessel in the United States Navy that has Indiana ties.

At the end of February, 140 tenderloins from Nick’s Kitchen will be shipped to the USS Indianapolis (LCS-17), a Freedom class littoral combat ship based in Mayport, FL.

Wayne Fox agreed to stay on and help for a year after he sold Huntington Nursery to Jim and Kevin Yarger in 2008.

Twelve years later and counting, he’s still there.

“I’m one of the managers here,” he says, when asked for his current title. “I do the design work, and I do the estimating for all the outside contracting, and I’m kind of the horticulture guru, so to speak … I’ve been here so long, I do what I have to do. I’ve been doing it so long that whatever has to be done, I do.”

While Indiana’s weather may prove daunting to young and old at times – even closing school on occasion – one hardy group of Hoosier moms and their children look forward to a weekly stroll in the elements, come what may.

John Nelson enjoys reading all the different text on the sidewalk bricks in downtown Roanoke.

Several bricks feature the names of businesses and churches. Others bear the names of families and graduating classes from Roanoke High School.

One brick even proclaims which beer Roanoke residents like best, to Nelson’s amusement.

“One is located just outside of the Village Inn and it says, ‘Roanoke Loves Miller Lite,’” states Nelson with a grin.

Three local churches, including one in Markle, are hoping their 2019 “Christmas Offering” causes a ripple effect of redemption through the area and inspires other congregations to follow their lead to eliminate thousands of dollars of medical debt for those who can’t afford to pay the bills.

Alan and Vicky Rickard’s house in Huntington is distinguished by a flower bed that states the year the house was built.

The numbers “1892” are rendered in the flower bed with artificial flowers, which are visible to anyone who passes the house on North Jefferson Street.

While the house has been a familiar sight in Huntington for 128 years, there was a time when demolition loomed for the historic structure.

And if it wasn’t for the Rickards, along with the owner who preceded them, it wouldn’t still be standing.

It finished up a bit later than anticipated and cost a bit more than was bid, but the renovations at the Huntington City-Township Public Library’s Huntington branch are now in use and have been welcomed by – primarily – the library’s youngest patrons.

Executive Director Beka Lemons says it’s been about 19 months since the library’s Children’s Department underwent its first space planning back in April of 2018. Bidding took place in September 2018 and construction started a month later. It was completed, for all practical purposes, by the end of November 2019.

In 2010, Brooks Fetters was busy running funeral homes in Huntington and Markle.

While he was a public officeholder, serving on the Huntington Common Council, he had no aspirations of seeking the city’s highest office and becoming mayor.

However, a municipal election was approaching in 2011. And as it drew nearer, Fetters found himself searching for an answer to one question, posed to him again and again.

Ashley Burson got an extra, early Christmas present when she returned home from Nigeria for a visit with her family.

She got engaged.

Burson, a Huntington native who graduated from Huntington North High School in 2009 and Huntington University in 2013, has spent the past six months in the Nigerian town of Jos, located in the Plateau state in the central part of the African country. While there, she lived her dream of teaching kindergarten.