Vol. 38, No. 49
PO Box 603, Wabash, IN 46992 (260) 563-8326
of Wabash County Inc. January 27, 2016
www.thepaperofwabash.com Proudly Serving Wabash County Since 1977
Suspect: Stabbing was accidental By Emma Rausch emma@thepaperofwabash.com The lead suspect in the Marion homicide investigation claims the stabbing was “accidental,” according to the oral probable causing hearing conducted on Friday, Jan. 15, at the Grant County Circuit Court. Waylon Sadler, 30, Wabash, was formally charged with murder that after-
noon following an investigation into the death of James L. Zook, 55, Marion. Zook was pronounced dead at 7:05 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 12, as a result of a punctured jugular vein and fractured trachea, according to the Grant County Coroner’s report. At the time, Sadler and Zook resided together at a residence on West 9th Street with Zook’s daughter and Sadler’s girlfriend, Shannon Collins.
According to a Marion Police Department (MPD) press release on Wednesday Jan. 13, Collins had called 911 at 6:38 a.m. on Tuesday to request the MPD to respond to AutoZone Automotive located
Hap Dragoo: A man of many talents
at 901 S. Baldwin Ave. in reference to Sadler causing damage to a vehicle. When officers arrived at AutoZone, they discovered damage to Collin’s mother’s vehicle that was consistent with being struck multiple times with a baseball bat, according to Sgt. Robin Young’s testimony during the oral probable cause hearing. SADLER
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Hobbs, Tandy join school board By Joseph Slacian
jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com
Liz Hobbs and Jordan Tandy are the two newest members to the Wabash City School Board. The two were recommended by Superintendent Jason Callahan and approved by the remaining three board members during a meeting on Thursday, Jan. 21. The pair will replace Matt Bruss and Bill Konhya, respectively, after the board approved both of their resignations moments before. Bruss and Konhya were forced to resign after it was learned their appointments by the Wabash City Council were prohibited under the Dual Office Holders Guide as prepared by the Indiana Attorney General. Under the guidelines, a person is not permitted to hold
By Joseph Slacian jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com Most know Dr. John “Hap” Dragoo as a family physician at the Wabash Clinic and the Urbana Medical Center. What likely isn’t known is that Hap is a man of many talents. For throughout his life, he’s had a variety of jobs and interests ranging from bus driver, teacher, swimming pool manager, magazine salesman, iron lung salesman, gymnast, tutor and even an “embalmer boy.” Hap was born in Franklin on Feb. 11, 1926, and is weeks away from celebrating his 90th birthday. He will be honored during an open house from 2 – 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, at the Charley Creek Inn ballroom. A graduate of Nineveh High School, Hap was one of about 150 residents in the town. He played baseball and basketball for the high school. “The catcher couldn’t see the left fielder,” Hap said, making a dipping motion with his hand, to show how unlevel the baseball diamond was. “That’s the way
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Wabash pair face drug-related charges By The Paper staff Jane and Dr. John “Hap” Dragoo, look at family pictures. An open house s planned Feb. 6 for Hap’s 90th birthday. Photo by Joseph Slacian Nineveh was.” After graduating from high school, Hap enrolled at Indiana University in Bloomington, where he hoped to continue his
basketball career. “I thought I was good enough that when I went to IU, I’d go out (continued on page 8)
Two Wabash residents were arrested by Wabash Police late Saturday night, Jan. 23, on drug-related charges. According to WPD’s Public Information Officer Sgt. Matt Benson, uniform officers went to a home in the 400 block of West Maple Street to serve a Clinton County warrant on Kristina N. Fields, 26, Wabash. On Jan. 23, at approximately 11:56 p.m. uniform officers from third shift went to a residence in the 400 block of West Maple Street to serve a warrant. Officers located Fields in the residence. (continued on page 17)
Region launches Road to One Million By Emma Rausch emma@thepaperofwabash.com FORT WAYNE – Wabash County community leaders joined officials from 10 other Northeast Indiana counties at the Road to One Million kick-off celebration at the Grand Wayne Convention Center on Thursday, Jan. 21. The event commemorated Gov. Mike Pence named Northeast Indiana as one of three recipients of the Regional Cities Initiative program in December. The three regions, which also include Southwest and North Central Indiana, received $126 million or $42 million each to support regional development plans. Northeast Indiana was told that it
would never win, according to John Sampson, president and CEO of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership “In all honesty, it’s very humbling,” Sampson told The Paper of Wabash County. “A lot of people told us we would never win. To see what it took for the region to come together and produce this, I was blessed to be in a position of leadership. “It takes hundreds of people to pull off something like this and they’ve got to trust one another and it’s difficult, but we’re celebrating tonight because of their willingness to work together.” Northeast Indiana’s application included plans that would develop quality of life areas in each of the 11 counties that had
agreed to join the Northeast Indiana Regional Development Authority prior to the application, all for the purpose of bringing new talent to the region and increasing the area’s population to one million by 2031, according to Sampson. The Northeast Indiana RDA is currently the largest in the state and include counties such as Adams, Allen, Dekalb, Huntington, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells and Whitley. When asked how each county’s agreement to join the RDA was pertinent in winning the award, Sampson said, “The deal is we’re never going to be A celebratory cake is lit during the Road to Indianapolis so we’ve got to think about One Million kick-off on Thursday, Jan. 21, at the Grand Wayne Convention Center. Photo (continued on page 6) by Emma Rausch