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New DCD head hire not done traditional way

County Commissioners (from left) Leon Hulburt, Tom Wall and (far right) Kathy Branham welcome the new director of Community Development, Mark Mussman, during the commissioners’ meeting on Monday, March 26.
Photo by Lauren Wilson.

Previously published March 29, 2012.

Mark Mussman has been named new executive director of the Department of Community Development.

Mussman, whose first day was March 19, is an Indianapolis native but has been living in Alaska for the last two years.

"My wife and I moved to Fairbanks, Alaska, in late 2009," he states. "I accepted a position as land use planner with the Fairbanks Northstar borough."

Fairchild’s photos become hot property in publishing world

Dr. Mark Fairchild, professor of Bible and religion at Huntington University, holds an archaeological map of Turkey that has one of his photographs published on the cover.
Photo by Sarah Johnson.

Originally published March 26, 2012.

Let's just say it puts your mother's over-enthusiastic scrapbook to shame.

Dr. Mark Fairchild has personally created 200,000 digital photographs - one fifth of a million - of Turkey, Greece, Italy, Israel, Jordan and Egypt, including some locations that haven't been visited in 1,400 years.

He guesses that he has documented nearly the entire country of Turkey, and he isn't ready yet to put down the camera.

Farlow spreading his message one scrap of wood at a time

Jim Farlow displays a box of wooden crosses he has crafted for participants in the “By the Book” religious education program sponsored by the Associated Churches of Huntington County.
Photo by Cindy Klepper.

Originally published March 15, 2012.

Jim Farlow is spreading his message one scrap of wood at a time.

Bent over a scroll saw in a sawdust and blocks of wood, the 82-year-old retired electrical engineer turns out dozens of small wooden crosses at a time. He files off the rough spots and drills a small hole in the top. When threaded with a cord, the cross can be worn as a necklace.

As they are by hundreds of Huntington County children who have participated in a religious education program sponsored by the Associated Churches of Huntington County.

Ex-local really lives life in fast lane

Former Andrews resident Lauren Davenport Johnson, shown here competing in the Oregon Relays, placed fourth in the 1,500-meter run at the USA Track and Field Indoor Championships, in Albuquerque, NM, on the weekend of Feb. 26.
Photo provided.

Originally published March 12, 2012.

How do you go from joining the track team in middle school to running on one of the biggest stages of the sport?

If you ask Lauren Davenport Johnson, her answer would be, "Practice."

The Andrews native and now Portland, OR, resident placed fourth in the 1,500-meter run at the USA Track and Field Indoor Championships on the weekend of Feb. 26, in Albuquerque, NM.

Johnson says she started running because her friends were involved in the sport.

Sheriff’s dept. looking to start ‘Community Corrections’

Sheriff Terry Stoffel (left) and Jail Capt. Steve McIntyre look over documents detailing the Community Corrections program that is on its way to Huntington. The program is intended to provide effective alternatives to imprisonment at the state level.
Photo by Lauren Wilson.

Originally published March 8, 2012.

The Huntington County Sheriff's Department is working to implement a Community Corrections program at the local jail.

This program will eventually make it possible for non-violent offenders in the county jail to move into another facility monitored by the sheriff's department and participate in work release or other programs offered through Community Corrections.

Local legislators share thoughts about 2012 legislative session

State Sen. Jim Banks, (left) and State Rep. Dan Leonard.
Photos by Lauren M. Wilson.

The 2012 Indiana legislative session came to an end on March 9.

With all that the House and Senate accomplished, it would be easy to think the session lasted much longer than two months.

Many controversial issues were on the table this year, including the "right to work" legislation, the smoking ban and human trafficking.

Local representatives in the House and Senate weigh in with their feelings about what the assembly accomplished as a whole, their authored or co-authored legislation, and plans for next year.

County EMA shoots to minimize effects of disaster if needed

Brian Topp, interim director of the Huntington County Emergency Management Agency, is seeking federal approval of an in-depth plan that seeks to find ways to lessen the loss of life and reduce property damage from disasters in Huntington County.
Photo by Cindy Klepper.

Originally published March 5, 2012.

Brian Topp knows he can't stop the tornado.

But while it's beyond his power to diminish the power of the storm, he can diminish its effects.

"We're reducing the likelihood that people are going to die," says Topp, interim director and currently the sole employee of the Huntington County Emergency Management Agency.

Building activity value rising in Hgtn. County

Shad Paul (left), building commissioner for the Huntington Countywide Department of Community Development, and Jim Straws, fire and building code inspector for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, look over a building sketch recently.
Photo by Lauren Wilson.

Originally published March 1, 2012.

There is good news in the numbers.

While bad news about the economy abounds, Huntington County is seeing a glimmer of hope as hammers start swinging again throughout the community.

The value of building activity in Huntington County more than doubled from 2010 to 2011, according to a five-year building activity summary prepared by Bryn Keplinger, assistant director of the Huntington Countywide Department of Community Development.

Synthetic drugs becoming major problem in county: Stoffel

Det. Capt Chad Hacker (left) of the Huntington Police Department and Sheriff Terry Stoffel display bags of synthetic drugs that law enforcement officers say are becoming a major problem in Huntington County.
Photo by Cindy Klepper.

Originally published Feb. 27, 2012.

Spice, bath salts, cleaner, incense.

All legal means of getting high, and all readily available at stores throughout Huntington County.

And because it's legal, because it's so readily available, it's not immediately recognized for the poison it is, says Huntington County Sheriff Terry Stoffel.

"These kids think, ‘If I can buy this at a convenience store, it can't be that bad for you,'" Stoffel says.
They're wrong, he says.

Comic books relevant to Crestview teacher and his club

Matt Groves is an eighth grade math teacher at Crestview Middle School and a comic book fan who also oversees the comic book club at the school.
Photo by Alex DeNicolo.

Originally published Feb. 23, 2012.

For some, comic books may be a thing of the past.

For Crestview Middle School teacher Matt Groves and his comic book club, they couldn't be more relevant.

Groves, an eighth grade math teacher at Crestview since 2004, is a faithful collector and fan of comic books. A summertime employee of Discount Comic Books Services in Fort Wayne, Groves' love for the genre began while watching Adam West's "Batman" TV show.

Huntington University costume shop manager up for the job’s challenges

Mary Zellers, Huntington University’s costume shop supervisor, shows off some recent and favorite creations from shows including “Once Upon a Mattress” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat.”
Photo by Sarah Johnson.

Originally published Feb. 20, 2012.

Mary Zellers' latest project is outfitting ancient Greek characters in New York-ready modern ward-robes.

She's up for the challenge.

The costume shop supervisor at Huntington University is preparing for the theater company's production of Euripides' "Medea," showing Feb. 23, 24 and 25.

Classes are just the beginning for aspiring local clowns

Buddy Brennan (left), Linda Carroll (middle) and Janis Michaelson work on their clown faces during a Joy Pleasers class on Saturday, Feb. 11. New clown members learned how to apply makeup for the “hobo” clown face.
Photo by Sarah Johnson.

Originally published Feb. 16, 2012.

It's all in the giggles.

The Joy Pleasers Clown Ministry has welcomed nine new members to the local entertainment group.

The new clowns - also called "joeys" - will have completed eight weeks of classes before their clown graduation on March 25. Until then they are feverishly brushing up on their balloon animals, make-up and joke-telling skills.

Current members teach the classes and are present to give tips and advice as the joeys pick up the tricks of the trade.

Local ‘leapling’ to have week-long celebration of her 11th birthday

Tami Hahn, owner of Lehman Floor Covering in Huntington, will celebrate her 11th birthday on Leap Day, Feb. 29. Photo by Cindy Klepper.
Photo by Cindy Klepper.

Tami Hahn doesn't need more than the fingers on her two hands to show you how many birthdays she's had so far.
Her mom, Cheryl Thomas, is busily planning a week-long celebration of Hahn's 11th birthday.

And while most 11th birthday parties aren't held at the business the party girl owns, this one will be.

County residents truly make their marriage last a lifetime

Marjorie (left) and Arthur Gard have kept their marriage strong for 77 years.
Photo provided.

Originally published Feb. 13, 2012.

Want to make a marriage last longer than the average lifespan?

Marjorie Gard, who celebrated her 77th wedding anniversary with husband Arthur Gard on Nov. 4, 2011, has this advice:

"Don't go to bed mad. Talk about it, kiss and make up. Everyone has disagreements, but you can talk about it. It will all look brighter in the morning."

Fresh face running the show for largely undiscovered treasure

Sarah Schmidt, new director of the Huntington County Historical Museum, stands next to one of the rotating exhibits in the museum.
Photo by Lauren Wilson.

Originally published Feb. 9, 2012.

A local, largely undiscovered treasure, the Huntington County Historical Museum, finds itself with a fresh face running the show.

The face belongs to Sarah Schmidt, who started working as director of the museum the day before Thanksgiving in 2011.

What Schmidt lacks in experience, as a recent college graduate, she makes up for with enthusiasm.

Schmidt graduated from Anderson University in May 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in history, and will return to graduate school in fall 2012 to pursue a graduate degree.