WEST NOBLE MIDDLE SCHOOL RELEASES TRIMESTER HONOR ROLL: SEE PAGE 5
The
DECEMBER 19, 2013
Advance
Leader
An edition of THE NEWS SUN
Nothing stops Pfenning kids from enjoying life BY JAMES TEW jtew@kpcmedia.com
LIGONIER — By all appearances, Zachariah and Zebidiah Pfenning are normal, active boys. Zach, 8, and Zeb, 7, get wiggly when they have to sit still. They laugh and goof around with older sister Zoe, 9. And they run. But unlike other boys their age, running is a recent development for Zach and Zeb, made possible by running blades similar to the blades made famous by Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius. “They play soccer. They ran their first 5K,” said their mother, Lisa. “They can run and play in the neighborhood like all the other kids.” The family’s journey began when Lisa and her husband, Mark, decided to adopt a child after trying for nine years to have one biologically. “We prayed about it and after we prayed, we turned on the TV, and they were interviewing a family adopting from China,” Lisa said. They contacted Hand in Hand, an international adoption agency with an office in Albion, and, in 2005, picked up Zoe. The couple soon realized Zoe needed a sibling and began the process of adopting another child. They let Zoe pick from the children available for adoption, and she picked Zebidiah, who joined the family in 2007. Through a support group she was part of, Lisa learned that Zach had been on an adoption list for a long time and was in danger of being removed from the list. She and Zoe asked Mark if they could adopt Zach, and he was added to the family in 2008. Each boy had limb issues that have required surgeries since their adoption. Zeb was missing part of one foot and had to have part of the leg removed to fit
THURSDAY 75 cents Ligonier, Indiana, USA On the web at: kpcnews.com Vol. 129, No. 51
Savings realized
Sewer project paying off for city
Chad Kline
The Pfenning family of Ligonier: front, from left, Zebidiah, 7, and Zachariah, 8; back, Lisa, Zoe, 9, and Mark. Zebidiah and Zachariah, who each were born with leg issues that required amputation, recently received running blades similar to those used by athletes. prosthetics. Zach had lipomyelomeningocele, a form of spina bifida, and also had both legs joined to one foot. Eventually one of Zach’s legs was amputated through the knee joint. The pediatric prosthetics available limited the boys’ activities, Lisa said. “The knees don’t quite work the way you want them to, so just the simple act of walking like everyone else can be a challenge,” she said. “They wanted to run and play soccer, and the prosthetics that they had — we were breaking knees on the soccer field, and they couldn’t keep up with the other kids.” “The legs were really heavy,
and the boys just couldn’t run,” Mark said. At a leg fitting, a person shadowing the boys’ prosthetist told the Pfennings about a nonprofit organization called Amputee Blade Runners. ABR, founded by prosthetist Aaron Fitzsimmons and paralympic gold medalist Ryan Fann, provides running blades to those who use prosthetics — about 15 to 20 a year, Fann said. “We found the website and got the application,” said Lisa. “I wrote the essay with the intent that they were going to do something for Zach, because he couldn’t run at all, and we’d ➤ Pfenning, Page 2
LIGONIER — For the past two years, and longer in some areas, many of the streets and sidewalks in Ligonier have been torn up or in a state of disrepair. But it was all for a good cause and now the city is starting to see the financial benefits of the major infrastructure project. The city should see a savings of almost $100,000 in the coming year, city officials said recently. Ligonier, like many other cities and towns across the United States, was under an order from the state and federal governments to separate their stormwater lines from their sewer lines. This was a costly mandate that for the most part was unfunded by the higher levels of government. Ligonier committed a large amount of resources, manpower and money to meeting this
mandate by digging up the existing sewer lines and converting them to stormwater lines, and a new sanitary sewer was installed. This means that rainwater will not go through the city’s sewer-treatment plant, resulting in a savings to the city. “We have seen a reduction of flow to the plant by an average of 106,000 gallons per day,” said Mark Schultz, superintendent of the wastewater treatment plant. “This is because groundwater that used to flow into the sewer line is now flowing directly to the (Elkhart) river.” The financial savings have been huge, Schultz said. Cost savings to the plant, based on the 106,000 gallons per day not being processed, is an annual saving of $92,469, Schultz said.
Enchanted Hills teen pleads to murder conspiracy WARSAW — An Indiana teenager has formally pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder under a plea agreement announced recently by authorities. Fifteen-year-old Paul Gingerich pleaded guilty Monday in Kosciusko Circuit Court to the same charge he pleaded guilty to three years ago, but then successfully appealed. Gingerich was one of three juveniles charged with killing 49-year-old Phillip Danner in April 2010 in a plot to run away to Arizona. The plea deal calls for a 30-year sentence with five years suspended, meaning Gingerich would remain under state supervision for 25 years. He could serve that time in a maximum-security facility if he gets in trouble, or in a group home, community corrections, on probation or parole if he’s well-behaved. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 3. The murder took place in Danner’s home in Enchanted Hills, a subdivision that straddles the Noble and Kosciusko county lines, between Syracuse and Cromwell. Residents there have a Cromwell address for mail delivery.
Volunteers honored for their giving BY BOB BUTTGEN bbuttgen@kpcmedia.com
LIGONIER — People who make a world of difference in their own small part of the world were recognized for their volunteer efforts Thursday at the Noble County Community Foundation offices in Ligonier. Ten local citizens were presented with awards at the 18th annual Giver of Gifts recognition ceremony. Recipients ranged from a mother of nine to a cancer survivor and a pastor. About 40 people attended. “A volunteer is someone who freely offers to do something for others,” said Linda Yerick, executive director of the community foundation. “The people we are recognizing here today represent many nonprofit groups in Noble County. The success of your organizations
The Advance Leader P.O. Box 30 Ligonier, IN 46767 Phone: 894-3102 • Fax: 894-3102
is due to the dedication of these volunteers.” Those being honored each received a lapel pin and a fruit basket, as their accomplishments were summarized by representatives of the groups that nominated them. The 2013 Givers of Gifts awards were presented to these volunteers: • Barb Leamon of Cromwell, nominated by Avalon Village nursing home, Ligonier. Mrs. Leamon has logged more than 2,340 hours of volunteer service to Avalon Village in the last six years. “She genuinely loves and cares for the residents,” said Shannon Alexander in presenting the award. “They have come to depend on her being here and trust that she always has their interests at heart.” ➤ Volunteers, Page 2
West Noble boys basketball game at ’Busco has been postponed to Jan. 28.
Merry Christmas!
Bob Buttgen
Recipients who were on hand to receive their 2013 Givers of Gift awards from the Noble County Community Foundation on Dec. 5 included, in the front, Angie Roth and Brent Wedding; second row, Patty Benjamin, left, and LuReign Brown; third row, Judy Hass, left and Barb Leamon; top, Jeff Killian. Receiving the honor but unable to attend were Terry Dunbar, Kierre Childers and Margaret Menges.
414 S. Cavin St. Ligonier 894-7161
ligoniertelephone.com