When professional runner Lauren Johnson comes to Huntington, it’s usually to visit with friends and family in her hometown.

Her most recent trip to the Lime City, though, was motivated by something else. This time around, she was here to train for a national title.

Back in 2011, when Hollyn Anderson and Emily Johnson were in sixth grade at Crestview Middle School, they had no idea that they would make such a huge impact on the world around them – specifically, on hundreds of hungry children in Huntington County.

Their desire to feed kids has turned into a major charity in Huntington County, growing each year of its operation and bringing in thousands of dollars to make it happen.

Lancaster Elementary School may now be closed, but if the school’s last classes of first-graders have their way, it will live on in a new form on the other side of the world.

Their families have been the salt of the earth for generations in Huntington County, producing food by tilling the land and raising a variety of animals. This year, the two families are being recognized for having their farms in the same family for at least 100 years.

Members of the Hosler family post for a keepsake photo after receiving the Hoosier Homestead Farm centennial award. Celebrating the occasion are (front row from left) Isaac Hosler, 6, and Sam Hosler, 10; (second row from left) Leah Hosler, 12, Stacey Hosler, Bonnie Hosler and Tom Hosler; (third row from left) Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Bruce Kettler, Rep. Dan Leonard, Lulu Hosler, Deanna Hosler, Vicki Baker and Indiana Lt. Gov.

Originally published April 26, 2018.

Steve Ware competed for the Huntington YMCA during the heyday of its swimming program in the 1960s.

Under the tutelage of coach Glen Hummer, Ware and his peers won national championships, both as a team and individually.

In May, over 50 years later, Ware will be swimming for the Huntington YMCA once more. But what prompted him, at 70, to do so?

Originally published April 12, 2018.

Some Huntington North High School nutrition and wellness class students won’t get to taste the fruits of their labors, but after the donation of two grafted apple trees from an orchard in Peru, they’ll leave a legacy that up-and-coming students will enjoy and continue to care for.

The students, members of Jan Hildebrand and Dayna Stump’s classes, as well as visiting ag class students, received a donation of two apple trees from Jason McClure, of McClure’s Orchard and Winery, during a guest class lecture and demonstration.

She was known as “The Doughnut Girl” – the Salvation Army soldier who came up with an idea to make doughnuts for troops fighting on the front lines in France during World War I. On Saturday, April 14, Helen Gaye Purviance, a Huntington native, will be recognized and honored for her service and ingenuity in bringing homesick soldiers a taste of home.

Originally published March 22, 2018.

Years ago, when Riverview Middle School’s daily, student-produced news show first began airing, it was based in a supply closet.

Today, the show, which is known as RTV, has expanded from those cramped quarters into a proper, two-room studio. The first room contains several computers used to produce the show, while the other houses the program’s blue and yellow set, instantly familiar to anyone who watches the show.

Originally published Feb. 26, 2018.

It helps to have a sense of humor when you’re doing something as mundane as making noodles.

It’s what has melded a group of noodle-makers from New Hope United Brethren Church into a tight-knit and rather efficient group, and has helped fund some big projects in their church and the community.

And, they’ll tell you, that’s some big noodle-doin’s.

Originally published Feb. 19, 2018.

Members of the Huntington University softball and women’s soccer teams recently traveled to Mexico for mission trips.

During their stays there, the team members helped construct a community center in an impoverished town.

The most important thing they built, though, didn’t require a single brick.

“People in the past week have said, ‘So, what’d you do down there? What’d you build?’,” says Amanda Burge, head coach of the women’s soccer team. “And my answer is, ‘We built relationships.’”

Originally published Feb. 15, 2018.

When it comes to what Huntington City-Township Public Library patrons enjoy reading most, a select group of authors proves they have the staying power when it comes to the most checked-out reading materials of 2017. But look out, books – graphic novels are finding a lot of popularity among readers.

Originally publlished Feb. 8, 2018.

This is a story, not about the team from Riverview Middle School that won the Future City regional competition, but about the team that did not.
In fact, they wound up not placing at all, but the members of Team Acropolis are pretty darned proud of that fact. Here’s why.

Originally published Feb. 5, 2018.

The leadership at Huntington House noticed a concerning trend among the individuals who were approaching the shelter for help.

“Most of the people coming through the door needing assistance have had an addiction of one type or another, whether it’s alcohol or the drugs,” explains the facility’s director, Rosella Stouder. “We saw that over and over.”

Something needed to be done, Stouder thought.

With Huntington County Community School Corporation’s spring break just a scant two months away, those looking to make a getaway outside the country are scrambling to obtain passports, and post office officials say wannabe travelers need to hurry and get their applications in as soon as possible.