INSIDE THIS ISSUE Classifieds..............................................................................A6 Community Calendar .........................................................A15 Dining & Entertainment ................................................... A14 Discover N. Anthony Blvd. ..................................................A7 Harvest Times .................................................................... A13 Healthy Times ...............................................................A10, 11
Serving Northeast Fort Wayne & Allen County
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October 11, 2013
Taylor Chapel looks to the future By Garth Snow gsnow@kpcmedia.com
Amid a sea of symbols, one symbol brought applause. As the wrecking ball waited near the fire-torn sanctuary of Taylor Chapel United Methodist Church, blackened hymnals rested behind scored pews. A dozen church members waited beside the brick foundation, peering through the openings that once were guarded by doors and windows. And then the applause. The cross that had held the most prominent place in the building was released intact from the wall. Volunteers carried the wooden emblem through a window opening and loaded it onto a pickup. The cross will have a new location when the congregation has a new building. Fire hit the church in the early hours of Dec. 31, 2012. After months of evaluation and planning, the church board directed demolition to begin on Oct. 2. Leaders hope to break ground in the spring, on approximately the 50th anniversary of groundbreaking on the north side of Maysville Road. As the cross was loosened from the wall, Trustees Chairwoman Nancy Harsch and church member Margaret Prichard reacted from outside that same window. “The last service we had was just so beautiful and it was
By Garth Snow gsnow@kpcmedia.com
PHOTO BY GARTH SNOW
A demolition crew and church members wait outside the sanctuary of Taylor Chapel United Methodist Church. A fire hit the church on Dec. 31. Demolition began Oct. 2.
hard to believe that just a few days after that it was all burnt up,” Prichard said. Church administrative assistant Susie Powley said she joined the applause. “Absolutely,” she said. Powley said she wasn’t sure when the cross had been set in place to witness weddings and baptisms. It has been an important part of the church for a long time, she said, adding that its service has only been interrupted, not ended. “We have some really neat plans for it,” she said, declining to elaborate. “That is the symbol of why we’re here.” Church members toting cameras outnumbered the demolition workers
and media. The crowd grew as workers lifted tires and wooden pallets into place to protect the hallways separating the fragile sanctuary from the family life center, which has housed services since the first Sunday in January. Inside the darkened hulk, senior pastor the Rev. Steven Conner took a last look at the cross. A few objects might be salvaged and reconditioned, he said. The organ and piano could not be saved. The pews might have been saved and refinished if they had been built from solid wood instead of covered in veneer, he said.
4-H seeks adults to lead 25 clubs in farm and city By Garth Snow gsnow@kpcmedia.com
PHOTO BY JANE SNOW
Allen County 4-H members show livestock at the county fair, but also take part in about 60 projects ranging from aerospace to woodworking.
serves as secretary to the program. “It offers something for everybody,” Johnson said. “Especially here with Allen County being as big as it is, people think 4-H is for kids who live on farms or who have access to farms or
animals. That’s not the case at all. We’re actually getting some traditional clubs around Fort Wayne, and we’re very excited about that. If someone likes to take pictures, we have a photography project. We have health See 4-H, Page A5
3306 Independence Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46808
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Allen County 4-H is adding clubs in neighborhoods inside the city, and is looking for more adult volunteers. The annual 4-H information night for youths and adults will be held from 7-8:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21, at the Allen County Extension Office, 4001 Crescent Ave., Fort Wayne. The program serves about 1,000 youths in 25 traditional clubs and afterschool programs. About 350 adult volunteers lead clubs or serve on committees or in other ways. “4-H offers about 60 projects, ranging from aerospace and rocketry to woodworking, with lots in between,” said Samm Johnson, of the Allen County extension staff. Johnson and Barb Thouma serve as extension educators. Jean Kendall
Georgetown expects about 1,800 children for treats and prizes
See TAYLOR, Page A6
Georgetown Square is bracing for about 1,800 children to tour the plaza for Trick-or-Treat at Georgetown, from 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31. Adults who accompany the children also will receive coupons and treats. There is no charge to participate in the Halloween celebration at 6400 E. State Blvd. A costume contest for ages infant through adult will be held throughout the evening, with prizes awarded near the Georgetown Branch Library at 7 p.m. The New Haven Alumni Band will perform from 5:45-6:45 p.m. in front of Jeff’s Coney and Ziffle’s Rib Bar. Children’s games also will be available. Plaza coordinator Maureen Partee said her
father, the late Tom Jehl, started the tradition four decades ago. “This has been going on since 1972,” Partee said, “and so the neighborhoods are used to it. Many of the children have never trick-or-treated anywhere else.” It has become a neighborhood tradition, said Partee, who recalled participating in 1975. The event is open to everyone, regardless of residence. Jehl launched the event as a safe trick-or-treat alternative, Partee said. The lighted parking lot still serves that most important concern, she said. Partee said Georgetown’s is the longest-running of any shopping center trick-ortreat. Last year, Georgetown merchants handed out candy to 1,800 children. “That’s a lot of candy. See TREATS, Page A2