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Technology to help low income get health care

Kelley Miller, RN BSN, of Love In the Name of Christ, sits behind the desk of the ministry’s telemetry clinic examination room in Huntington, as Dr. Brad Isbister is shown on the tablet in a live stream meeting used to make medical examinations from the Matthew 25 Health & Dental Clinic in Fort Wayne.
Photo by Rebecca Sandlin.

Since the closing of the Huntington Free Health Clinic in June of 2017, low-income people in Huntington County who do not have health insurance have had to go out of the county to receive health care. Some just went without. But a partnership with local ministry Love In the Name of Christ and Matthew 25 Health & Dental Clinic in Fort Wayne will allow folks to receive the care they need via cutting-edge technology.

‘70s Show’ and Scooby-Doo vehicles highlight Rolling into Roanoke rides

A van resembling the Mystery Machine from “Scooby-Doo” will be one of the many vehicles at this year’s Rolling into Roanoke on Saturday, July 27, in downtown Roanoke and Roanoke Park. The Mystery Machine will be accompanied by several other famous cars from TV and film in the 1970s and beyond.
Photo provided.

The Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser from “That ‘70s Show” and the Mystery Machine from “Scooby-Doo” were both sites of socializing for the characters on those TV shows.

They were, simply put, vehicles that brought people together.
And Rick Fischer believes they’ll continue to do just that when they appear at the latest Rolling into Roanoke on Saturday, July 27.

County resident Brennan recalls time spent with moonwalker as 50th anniversary rolls in

Mike Brennan, of Huntington County, sits next to the trophy he received for winning the Purdue Grand Prix in 1975. He is holding a copy of a newspaper article that was written about his victory. After the race, Brennan got to meet Neil Armstrong, who served as the event’s grand marshal.
Photo by Scott Trauner.

Long before astronaut Neil Armstrong was walking on the moon, he was walking to class at Purdue University.

Upon returning to earth, Armstrong maintained ties with his alma mater in West Lafayette. For instance, in 1975, he served as grand marshal of the Purdue Grand Prix, a large go-kart race held annually at the school.

And it’s in this context that a resident of Huntington County, Mike Brennan, met Armstrong.

Huntington North track girls pass baton down the line; all see advantage to multiple sports

Lauren Johnson (left), Hannah Stoffel (middle) and Addy Wiley stand together on the King Stadium track at Huntington University. All three are successful distance runners at different points in their careers. Johnson and Stoffel are Huntington North High School graduates while Wiley is currently a student at the school.
Photo by Steve Clark.

Running is a solitary sport.

But Lauren Johnson, Hannah Stoffel and Addy Wiley have company.

Local track athletes, the three are specialists in either the 1,500 or 1,600-meter run.

Huntington North High School is a point of confluence for the trio, with Johnson and Stoffel having graduated from the school in 2005 and 2016, respectively, and Wiley set to do the same in 2022.

HFC Nazarene celebrates century mark in May

Rev. Bobby Kemp, the lead pastor of Huntington First Church of the Nazarene, stands in the church’s new Legacy Room, which tells the story of the church’s history through pictures, mementos and artifacts. The room was put together in honor of the church’s 100th anniversary, which was celebrated on May 19.
Photo by Steve Clark.

Huntington First Church of the Nazarene celebrated its 100th anniversary in May.

While it was a time to reflect on the church’s century in operation, it was also a time to look forward and envision the church’s future.

A willingness to do that isn’t unique to the church as it presently stands; it’s something its leadership and congregation have been doing since its founding. And that embrace of forward thinking is one of the biggest reasons why the church has reached such a big milestone.

HNHS frosh Wiley wins state championship at 1,600

Addy Wiley, a freshman at Huntington North High School, wears the medals she won at the Indiana Girls’ Track and Field State Meet on Saturday, June 1, at Indiana University, in Bloomington. Wiley won the 1,600-meter run and placed seventh in the 800-meter run.
Photo by Steve Clark.

Huntington North High School freshman Addy Wiley won the 1,600-meter run at the Indiana Girls’ Track and Field State Meet on Saturday, June 1, at Indiana University, in Bloomington.

Wiley, a sectional and regional champion heading into the meet, crossed the finish line in 4:46.93 to beat runner-up Abigail Lynch, of Brownsburg, by more than a second. Lynch, a sophomore, finished in 4:48.19 as she and Wiley were the only two runners to break the 4:50 mark.

Mariah Wehrle, a junior from Ritter, placed third in 4:57.56.

‘Breakfast on the Farm’ to give public peek into farmers’ world

Jay Beekman pets one of the Holstein milk cows waiting for a snack on his farm in rural Huntington County. The Beekman family will open up their farm for a free Breakfast on the Farm event on Saturday, June 8.
Photo by Rebecca Sandlin.

Farmers are not known for allowing the public to step foot on their property and take a peek at how they do things, but not only will people get a rare glimpse of how a working dairy farm operates, they will also be invited to sit down with a farm family and have a free breakfast while they learn about the inner operations and importance of agriculture.

The event, called “Breakfast on the Farm,” happens Saturday, June 8, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Beekman Farm, located at 11902 N. Meridian Rd., in rural Huntington.

New church jail crowd happy for chance to sit in audience

Sometimes those who sit in church feel like they are a captive audience. At the Huntington County Jail, the audience is, indeed, captive – but they are more than glad to be in church.

“I’ve made some bad choices and so this time around I’m going to prison,” says Gwendera Nevil, who has been incarcerated at the jail “on and off” – in her words – the past 1-1/2 years. “Now that I’m back in here and I’m back at square zero, I’m learning some more tools to try and better my life, and this is definitely inspiring. It’s definitely making me want to give myself back to God.”

Thrilled to just be nominated for big honor, HNHS choir director flabbergasted to be winner

Aaron Childress, director of choirs at Huntington North High School, holds the Vocal Vanguard Award, which he won at the Aspire Awards on May 4, at Genesee Theatre, in Waukegan, IL. The Aspire Awards recognize the show choir industry’s best and brightest members. The Vocal Vanguard Award is given to the nation’s top director.
Photo by Steve Clark.

Aaron Childress, director of choirs at Huntington North High School, was in the running for the Vocal Vanguard Award at the 2019 Aspire Awards.

The Aspire Awards recognize the show choir industry’s best and brightest members. The award Childress was up for is given to the nation’s top director.

“All the winners in the past are these people that I’ve looked up to forever,” says Childress. “I’ve been doing this for 14 years; some of them have been doing it for 30 years and they kind of were the pioneers of the profession.

Annual FFA Farm Tour more than just fun time for K students

Huntington North High School FFA member Ty Miller (right) holds a newborn lamb so kindergarteners (from left) Cadence Smith, Colten Latta and Alexis Wine can pet it during the annual kindergarten farm tour on Friday, May 3, at the Carriage Lane Farm. The kids learned lessons from the FFA members about where their food and other products come from, such as wool for clothing.
Photo by Rebecca Sandlin.

The county’s kindergartners now have a better idea of where the food they eat comes from, after they attended the annual FFA Farm Tour, held May 3 at Carriage Lane Farms.

Hosted by Tom and Rosie Wall, they opened their doors to an exhibit of plants and animals that delighted kindergarten students, as members of the Huntington North High School FFA chapter served as educators and guides.

After a career of working under deadlines, Hammel eases into writing book about career

Bob Hammel types a story on his typewriter in the summer of 1962 during his time as a reporter for The Herald-Press in Huntington. Hammel eventually departed his hometown and ended up in Bloomington, where he went on to have a long and distinguished career in sports journalism. Hammel wrote about his career in a new memoir, “Last Press Bus Out of Middletown.” He will be discussing the book during two appearances in Huntington on Tuesday, May 14. The second of those appearances will be at the Huntington Branch of the Huntington City-Township Public Library at 6 p.m.
Photo provided.

As a career journalist, Bob Hammel was accustomed to working under the pressure of tight deadlines.

So, ironically, when he sat down to write a book that recounted those years of his life, he did so without a deadline in sight.

“It must’ve taken 10 years,” estimates Hammel of the writing process.

“I was never great on deadlines anyway,” he adds with a laugh.

17 Huntington North students spend spring break trip on ‘science experiments’ in Belize

Seventeen Huntington North High School students participated in the science experiments of a lifetime when they spent their recent spring break in the tiny Central American country of Belize.

Led by HNHS science teachers Melanie Leas and Reed Sturm, the group spent nine days on the ecology-based study trip in order to research manatees and water quality. They also spent some time on some unusual tours, Leas says.

Third time is charm for Buzzard in GOP primary victory over Fetters in Huntington mayor race

Larry Buzzard (left) beams as he accepts congratulations from David Funk on winning the Republican nomination for mayor of Huntington in the municipal primary election on Tuesday, May 7. Funk also had reason to celebrate, as he won the GOP nomination for the 4th District seat on the Huntington Common Council.
Photo by Steve Clark.

The third time proved to be a charm for Larry Buzzard, who defeated Brooks Fetters on his third attempt for the Huntington mayoral nomination in the Republican primary on Tuesday, May 7.

After finishing second to Fetters in races for the GOP mayoral nod in 2011 and 2015, Buzzard flipped the script this time around, garnering 1,373 votes to Fetters’ 1,150.

Buzzard, who currently serves as president of the Huntington County Commissioners, thanked his supporters for their votes of confidence and said he’s looking forward to the race in November.

Bowers to rep Hgtn. in Mrs. Indiana Pageant

Lovely Bowers, of Huntington, holds the title of Mrs. Huntington County and will represent the county at the Mrs. Indiana America Pageant, set for Saturday, May 4, at the Century Center, in South Bend.
Photo provided.

Lovely Bowers, of Huntington, will be representing Huntington County at the Mrs. Indiana America Pageant on Saturday, May 4, in South Bend.

Bowers received the title of Mrs. Huntington County last September. As no pageant was held in the county to determine a winner, Bowers contacted the Mrs. Indiana America organization and expressed interest in the title. After reviewing her credentials, the organization awarded her the title.