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From giving grief in the fall to catching it in the winter, HNHS’ Fine sees both sides

Trent Fine coaches the Huntington North High School football team and also officiates high school basketball games around the state during the winter. This is his 11th season as an official.
Photo by Steve Clark.

Previously published Jan. 24, 2013.

As the head coach of the Huntington North High School varsity football team, Trent Fine is no stranger to giving officials grief over calls.

But once football season changes to basketball season, Fine changes from being a coach to an official, and suddenly it's him getting grief from coaches over calls.

Minnesota Teacher of Year visits Indiana counterpart, Huntington

Minnesota 2012 Teacher of the Year Katy Smith (left) tours Huntington with Indiana 2012 Teacher of the Year Melanie Park on Thursday, Jan. 17.
Photo by Lauren M. Wilson.

Huntington County had a special visitor on Thursday, Jan. 17 .

Minnesota's 2012 Teacher of the Year, Katy Smith, toured the community with Indiana's 2012 Teacher of the Year, Melanie Park, before giving a presentation at Crestview Middle School titled "Parenting in the 21st Century."

Smith says her presentation was one that "any community member would find valuable."

Pathfinder still working to get word out about EHS program

Katie Schwab (center) plays with her sons Elijah (left) and Bradley at Pathfinder Kids Kampus, in Huntington. Schwab’s children are enrolled in the child care center’s Early Head Start program.
Photo by Steve Clark.

Pathfinder Kids Kampus, a child care center based in Huntington, has operated an Early Head Start (EHS) program since April 2010.

Nearly three years later, they're still getting the word out about it.

"We continue to run into people who have never heard of us," says Natalie Brautigam, family resource coordinator at Kids Kampus.

Brautigam and her colleagues are eager for families in Huntington County to learn about the EHS program for a variety of reasons, but one stands out above the rest: If a family qualifies financially, it's free.

Machining students learning with real-world motivation

Roger Jones, senior vocational student at Huntington North High School, practices edgework for the upcoming Indiana National Tooling Machining Association competition on Saturday, Jan. 19.
Photo by Lauren W. Wilson.

Originally published Jan. 14, 2013.

Mick Jarrett's machine trade vocational students aren't just busy learning the ins and outs of precision machining; they are also busy manufacturing various mechanical parts - parts that are purchased by a local industry and by Bad Dad Custom Motorcycle Finishes of Fort Wayne.

Between the two companies, 10 different parts are purchased, says Jarrett.

"Companies want to help us train students to make parts that are shipped all over the world," he says.

"It helps them understand they have to get it right."

People, dedication are the cornerstones of success as local YMCA hits century mark today

Tim Allen (left), marketing director for the Parkview Huntington Family YMCA, takes a look at old newspapers with Youth Sports Coordinator Rob Miller that contain news about the ‘Y,’ shedding light on its history.
Photo by Steve Clark.

Originally published Jan. 10, 2013.

The Parkview Huntington Family YMCA celebrates its 100th anniversary today, Thursday, Jan. 10.

When asked what the highlights of the Y's century in operation have been, Marketing Director Tim Allen and Senior Program Director Don Cozad talk less about the highlights and more about the people associated with those highlights - which, in itself, might reveal the secret to the Y's success.

Retired local educator helps retrain PE teachers in Malaysia

Huntington resident Stan Bippus spent 10 days in Malaysia as an instructor in physical education in a United States Sports Academy pilot program. Here, Bippus is pictured with three of his students.
Photo provided.

Originally published Jan. 7, 2013.

Eating fruit that smelled like old gym socks. Learning that catfish caught from the Pahang River is a delicacy. Challenging 12 hour-long workdays.

That's the shortened version of Huntington resident Stan Bippus and his 10-day trip to Malaysia this past November.

Andrews resident figures out his own way to get things done

Cody Chesterman climbs on his four-wheeler, equipped with a blade so he can plow snow for hire this winter.
Photo by Cindy Klepper.

Originally publislhed Jan. 3, 2013.

Cody Chesterman has always been the kind of kid who was going to make it no matter what.

"If he gets something set in his mind, he'll get it done," says his mom, Donna Chesterman.

If he finds the conventional route unworkable, he'll find an unconventional route. A set of legs that don't work the way they're supposed to, making mobility a challenge, don't slow him down.

"I've figured out a way to get through it," the 19-year-old Andrews resident says.

Huntington native lets her traveling feet take her around the United States and more

Margaret “Maggie” Hartman, a Huntington native, has spent more than four years traveling the world.
Photo provided.

Originally published Dec. 31, 2012.

Margaret Hartman doesn't stay in one place for long.

The Huntington native has lived or worked in 12 different places across the globe in the past four years.

"I just couldn't take the idea of the same place forever," she says.

Her journeys began when a friend mentioned knowing someone who had recently returned from a seasonal job in Alaska.

Hartman was immediately intrigued by the idea.

She says she had just graduated from Ivy Tech with an Associate in Applied Science in medical assisting.

Charities, food pantries know needs extend beyond holiday

Joyce Denton (front) and Charlene Davis prepare a food order for a Love INC client on Friday, Dec. 21. While community members were generous in their donations to Love INC and other charities at Christmas, the need continues throughout the year.
Photo by Cindy Klepper.

The Christmas season is traditionally a season of giving - and for most people, that giving extends to local charities.

Thanks to what local Salvation Army Capt. Barbara McCauley calls an "overwhelming" outpouring of support, her organization was able to provide Christmas toys and food to about 130 Huntington families.

Love INC made Christmas brighter for some 340 more families, thanks to the efforts of local churches and community members, says Kyle Miller, Love's ministry coordinator.

"We've been incredibly blessed," Miller says.

Many benefit from Nutter’s late-life plunge into volunteerism

Warren resident Lilly Nutter passed her 100th birthday on Dec. 12 without slowing down in her quest to make sure all service members serving in harm’s way are remembered by those at home.
Photo by Cindy Klepper.

Originally published Dec. 24, 2012.

Born in Chicago and making her way through five states before settling in the small Huntington County community of Warren some 40 years ago, Lilly Nutter has fallen in love with her adopted hometown, and the people in it.

"It's a beautiful place," Nutter says from her small - and tightly packed - apartment in the retirement community of Heritage Pointe.

Flint Springs parent builds her involvement with LEGO Club

Flint Springs LEGO Club Leader Keely Oswald (center) talks with club members Evan Camomile (left) and his brother Parker about their project on Thursday, Dec. 13. The club is open to Flint Springs second and third-graders and meets twice each month.
Photo by Andre B. Laird.

Originally published Dec. 20, 2012.

If you build it, they will come. And they did.

Huntington resident and Flint Springs parent Keely Oswald combined her sons' love for LEGOS and her desired to be more involved in school activities and started a LEGO Club at the school.

"There aren't many clubs for younger kids so I decided to start the club for second and third-graders," Oswald states. "I talked it over with the principal, Cindy Kiefer, and she gave me the go-ahead."

Oswald says the club started meeting in October and meets twice each month.

HCCSC teacher serves on state board for IDOE because she’d rather drive than ride

Cari Whicker.
Photo provided.

Originally published Dec. 17, 2012.

Huntington County Community School teacher Cari Whicker says if she is going to take the bus, she'd rather drive than ride - a philosophy that has landed her a position serving on the state board for the Indiana Department of Education.

Whicker has been teaching in Huntington County for 16 years. Fifteen of those years have been spent working in Huntington, with the past 14 years spent at Riverview Middle School, where she has been teaching language arts to sixth-graders.

Whicker says she loves teaching sixth grade.

Roanoke resident’s approach to modeling has changed big time

Dan Drake, of Roanoke, stands beside a cabinet at his home where his model tank dioramas are on display. Drake made models in his youth and decided to pick it back up as a serious hobby a few years ago.
Photo by Steve Clark.

Originally published Dec. 13, 2012.

Dan Drake's approach to model making has changed considerably since his youth.

"When you were a kid, you would glue the parts together as fast as you could and sit it on the shelf and then, eventually, it would die by firecracker," he says.

Today, it's not uncommon for Drake, a Roanoke resident, to spend four to six months working on a model, striving to make sure it looks as authentic as possible and communicates a message.

Library’s Alphabet Zoo program helping youngsters prepare for lifetime of learning

Dana Meyer helps her 4-year-old daughter, Kayla Meyer, spell the word “box” during a session of Alphabet Zoo on Thursday, Dec. 6, at the Huntington City-Township Public Library.
Photo by Cindy Klepper.

Originally published Dec. 10, 2012.

The children sit in the middle of a rug in a darkened room, wiggling and squirming for a better view as each letter on the rug's border gets its time in the spotlight.

"Does anyone know what letter this is?" asks Jan Perkins, a one-woman tech crew wielding a flashlight.
Some of the children do; some don't. They slide over to the spotlight and study the letter intently, sometimes using their fingers to trace the letter's outline.

Huntington couple doesn’t wait for Santa Claus to come to them

Jim and Rita Dinius, of Huntington, stand in front of their Christmas tree, which showcases 200 Santa Claus ornaments. The Diniuses have a collection of approximately 400 pieces of Santa Claus memorabilia, which they’ve been collecting since the 1990s.
Photo by Steve Clark.

Originally published Dec. 6, 2012.

Jim and Rita Dinius don't wait for Santa Claus to come to them.

They go to him.

The Huntington couple has been collecting Santa Claus memorabilia since the 1990s. Since then, they say, they've accumulated some 400 different pieces.

"Rita started collecting Precious Moments dolls, so I had to collect something," says Jim Dinius. "So, we started collecting Santa Clauses, wherever we went."
The places where the couple has found Santa Clauses are as varied as the types of Santa Clauses in its collection.