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May 10, 2018
City finalizes panhandling ordinance Mission 25 provides options for homeless BY NICOLE MINIER
nminier@kpcmedia.com
COLUMBIA CITY — Columbia City’s Common Council approved the final reading of an ordinance banning panhandling and solicitation from the business and shopping districts last month. The ordinance was put in place to improve safety, as panhandlers are often located
near busy intersections, and because many local residents are being taken advantage of by panhandlers, most of whom are not from Whitley County, according to council members. Some residents have seen panhandlers tossing food into ditches as they leave their panhandling “shift.” Others have seen those individuals frequenting tanning salons. “If residents truly want to help the homeless, there are safer, more transparent ways to help those in need,” said Councilwoman Jennifer Zartman Romano. Mission 25, formerly known as The Lighthouse, has served Whitley County for 18 years. The organization transitions displaced people from
homelessness into self-sufficiency. The program began in 2000 and has served 780 people. Rather than a more temporary “homeless shelter,” Mission 25 looks to more permanently impact the people it serves. “We are not an emergency shelter,” said Director Shawn Ellis. “We have a lot of work cut out for them. We assess all their needs — counseling, substance abuse, Alcoholics Anonymous, their job history. We determine what we need to do to make sure they’re employable.” Mission 25 aims to dig deeper and find out what made each individual homeless, so homelessness doesn’t happen again when
BY NICOLE MINIER
nminier@kpcmedia.com
nminier@kpcmedia.com
Telephone: (260) 693-3949
Vol. 2 No. 19
County Jail, Department of SEE MISSION 25, PAGE 3
COLUMBIA CITY — Columbia City K-9 handler Gary Archbold and his K-9 partner Cas make quite a team. In the same month as her one-year anniversary with the department, Cas helped the Columbia City Police Department seize three kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of $300,000. Archbold stopped a vehicle for a traffic offense on U.S. 30, and during the stop, Cas conducted a “free air sniff” near the vehicle. She gave a positive indication for possible narcotics in the vehicle and, after further investi-
gation, officers found three, one-kilogram packages of suspected cocaine. Two people were arrested. The CCPD was assisted by federal agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Cas has been a valuable asset for the CCPD since she officially went on duty April 21, 2017. From April through December 2017, Cas had 160 deployments, mostly narcotics searches. Not all searches lead to arrests, but Cas has been credited with several assists in the past year. In October, she assisted in locating about one pound of
marijuana and “edibles” in a traffic stop. Last summer, she found marijuana and about 40 grams of cocaine. In the same week, Cas was used to help locate a missing boy at Camp Whitley — a success story of another kind. Cas is certified for several different tasks, including narcotics detection, tracking, area searches, article searches, aggression control and handler protection. With those certifications comes much training, a minimum of 16 hours a week, but Archbold said the pair do some form of training nearly every SEE K-9, PAGE 3
Whitley County fastest growing in NE Indiana CONTRIBUTED COLUMBIA CITY — Data recently released from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that Whitley County saw a population increase of 272 new residents from July 1, 2016, to July 1, 2017. This is up from a net increase of 44 new residents for the same period between
July 1, 2015, to July 1, 2016. “For the county, region and state, our ability to increase population is the single most important factor in our ability to compete in the global economy. More people means more vibrant and successful communities, schools and businesses,” said Jon Myers, president of the
INWhitley County
INWhitley County 123 N. Main Street, Churubusco, IN 46723
NICOLE MINIER
Columbia City Police Officer Gary Archbold and his K-9 partner Cas have been working together for about one year.
123 North Main Street,Churubusco, IN 46723
Information •
with several area agencies, such as probation, the Whitley
Cas, Archbold, make good pair for CCPD
BY NICOLE MINIER
SEE BOYD, PAGE 8
NICOLE MINIER
Panhandling is no longer allowed in Columbia City after an ordinance was passed last month. Solicitors often chose this busy intersection, at the corner of State Road 9 and Countryside Drive, as a place to collect donations.
K-9 sniffs out $300K of cocaine
Boyd stepping down as Republican Chair COLUMBIA CITY — Republican Chair Matt Boyd will be stepping down from his position soon, he announced at the annual Whitley County Lincoln Day dinner in Columbia City late last month. Boyd has served as the chair of the Whitley County Republican Party for the past seven years, the longest-serving county chair since the 1970s. “It’s been a good seven years,” Boyd said. He is stepping down from the role to spend more time with family. He became a Scout
they leave the program. “Our goal is to help them be self-sufficient,” Ellis said. Mission 25 has approached local panhandlers and attempted to bring them into the program, but they show no interest. Mission 25 took regular calls from concerned citizens who wished to help the panhandlers. “Those individuals need help, but do not want the help we provide,” Ellis said. “We have had board members and staff members talk to them — they have zero interest in coming into our program. “People should understand, the homeless in this county do not stand on a corner, hold up a sign and say they want money.” Mission 25 works closely
Whitley County Economic Development Corp. “We need to grow faster if we are going to meet our regional goal of 1 million residents by 2030, but at least we are headed in the right direction.” The data from the Census Bureau reflects the estimated growth in the county from July 2016 to July 2017. It shows that Whitley County had the highest percentage increase of population of the 11 counties in northeast Indiana, with a year-on-year increase of 0.81 percent, which was slightly above the national average of 0.71 percent for the same time period. With Whitley County’s
unemployment rate sitting at 2.7 percent as of March, there continues to be a high demand for skilled workers. Whitley County employers from all industries need people to fill open jobs. “I was pleased to see that our hard work is paying off. As residents, we know that Whitley County is a great place to live, start and grow a business and raise a family. What we can do to help, is talk to our friends and family that may live in other parts of the country, and explain to them why they should join us in creating a bright future together in Whitley County,” said Whitley County Commissioner George Schrumpf.
According to a survey and article published by Area Development Magazine, quality-of-life factors such as: a low crime rate, healthcare facilities, housing costs and availability, schools and recreational opportunities are key for individuals and companies in making location decisions. However, the number one response reported from companies when determining a location for their business was human capital. Although the list of desired qualityof-life factors varies from person to person, the need for human capital–skilled talent–is crucial across the SEE POPULATION, PAGE 3