Drag racing has come a long way since its start in the 1930s. With the passing of each decade, drag racers have become more and more adventurous, topping more intense speeds and using more advanced technology to improve their performance.

Nowadays, racers like Huntington native Josh Hart can go from zero to 330 miles per hour in under four seconds.

Huntington College athlete and coach Steve Platt proved that he had the talent to reach Indiana basketball stardom. In his time as a Forester, Platt earned the name of Indiana’s all-time leading collegiate scorer.

On Saturday, Feb. 13, Platt lost his battle to liver cancer at the age of 73.

Katy Strass, director of the Huntington Arts & Entrepreneurial Center and executive director of the LaFontaine Arts Council, addressed the City of Huntington’s Common Council on Tuesday, Feb. 9, hand in hand with America Carrillo, local artist, to introduce Carrillo’s work on the “Yes You Can” project.

Strass explained the project will provide a mural on 3,000 square feet of wall, to be painted between March and May, on a building located at 500 N. Jefferson St.

Local artist America Carrillo has designed three options for a mural that will be painted on this building in downtown Huntington, located at 500 N. Jefferson St. The mural, which will be painted this spring, can be voted on  at Carrillo’s GoFundMe page.

Local artist America Carrillo has designed three options for a mural that will be painted on this building in downtown Huntington, located at 500 N. Jefferson St. The mural, which will be painted this spring, can be voted on  at Carrillo’s GoFundMe page.

Several businesses in the downtown Roanoke area have brightened up the town with their creative window displays this month as part of a decoration contest that is taking place.  

The contest began on Monday, Feb. 1, and businesses will have until Monday, Feb. 15, to complete their window decorations.

The hope for this contest, according to event coordinator Deanna Schwieterman, of Waterfield Enterprises, is to hold it annually as a way to celebrate the New Year and better showcase Roanoke during this time of the year.

Ron Grooms, an Indiana lawmaker out of Jeffersonville, has authored a bill that would designate Indiana grown popcorn to be the official state snack.

Senate Bill 97, the bill authored by Grooms that would designate Indiana-grown popcorn as the official state snack, states that Indiana produces nearly 500 million pounds of popcorn on Hoosier soil each year and that Indiana is the second-leading popcorn producer in the country, topped only by Nebraska.

On Jan. 15, the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) released the 2020 state graduation rate, which increased from 87.29 percent overall in 2019 to 87.69 percent overall in 2020, a .44 percent increase.

Indiana Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner says “this modest improvement in (the) graduation rate is encouraging, especially as Hoosier students and educators have tackled unprecedented challenges throughout this pandemic.”

One of the two senators representing Huntington County (District 17) at the Indiana Statehouse, Sen. Andy Zay (R), is busy at work this legislative session.

The deadline to file new bills has passed, and after a week-long break last week, Zay returned to the statehouse Monday ready to keep at it.

He has introduced a slew of bills during the 2021 session, on topics ranging from broadband expansion to small business initiatives.

Zay says Senate Bill 377 has taken up the bulk of his time this year.

January is often thought of as a time of resolutions and new beginnings. Traditionally, people will flock to gyms at the start of a new year in an effort to get a “new body” or keep a fitness goal they’ve set for themselves.

So, how does one go about doing that during a pandemic?

On Saturday, Jan. 16, 12-year-old Crestview Middle School student Sadie Lentz, along with her family, were able to experience a drive-by parade celebration that was put on by the Make-A-Wish foundation.

November 2020 marked the one-year anniversary of Sadie undergoing major surgery on her brain to correct a seizure disorder. Because of her surgery, Sadie was eligible to “Make-A-Wish” and opted to ask for a camper for her family.

On June 17, 2020, the Huntington County Jail expansion project officially started with a ceremonial groundbreaking. Now, seven months later, major progress has been made on the expansion.

The current jail is built to hold 98 inmates. As of Wednesday, Jan. 13, the inmate count was at 123 - and is regularly around that number or higher.

Fifty-six of these inmates are considered Level 6 felons. In previous years, these inmates would be dealt with by the Department of Corrections. Now, they are housed at the county level - which caused an influx of inmates to occur.

The Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (JROTC) program at Huntington North High School (HNHS) was one of 12 schools selected in the Midwest to compete in the Raider National competition in Georgia this February.

According to Sergeant First Class (SFC, Retired) Dana Lescoe, this is “extremely rare,” as the JROTC program is in its first year at HNHS.

Raider competitions are athletic competitions held for JROTC programs. Not all of the HNHS JROTC cadets compete in Raider competitions.

Gaining office at the start of 2020, Huntington Mayor Richard Strick hoped to quickly “learn the ropes” of the office and then spend his first year in office strengthening relationships between business owners, city officials and the residents of Huntington.

“Obviously, a global pandemic was not on the Bingo card for any of us,” Strick said. “Nor the economic questions and all of the grief and pain that has come with that.”

Strick recalls that the weight of the COVID-19 pandemic became “real for all of us” with the cancellation of the 2020 Big 10 Tournament games.

The Mt. Etna Masonic Lodge held its annual installation of new officers on Thursday, Dec. 3, following a monthly meeting.

New officers for 2021 include the following:

• Worshipful Master, Ryan Kline.
• Senior Warden, Steve Williams.
• Junior Warden, David Fenker.
• Secretary, Guilford Wehr, Jr.
• Treasurer, Brent Campbell.
• Senior Deacon, Rick Sereno.
• Junior Deacon, Jathan Jones.
• Senior Steward, Joe Gooding.
• Junior Steward, Ed Purvis.
• Tyler, Jerry Piqune.
• Chaplain, Jay Allen.