SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP | 19
On Feb. 12, Manchester and Wabash met in the final round of the girls’ basketball Sectional 39 at Northfield. The Lady Squires were able to hold the heavily favored Lady Apaches in check early but eventually succumbed to the latter’s high-powered offense as Wabash recorded their third-straight sectional title. For a recap of the game see this week’s Sports Shorts.
Jim Cosby - 29
DEMOCRATIC CITY COUNCIL AT-LARGE SEAT Cosby will seek Democratic nomination for one of the City Council’s at-large seats. He served on the Council from 19721996, under four different mayors, and he feels his experience and willingness to listen will help him acquire the position.
THE PAPER
of Wabash County Inc.
www.thepaperofwabash.com
February 16, 2011
Special needs students give back to the community
by Danielle Smith Twenty-five special needs students learned a practical and important lesson through a recent service project. Mrs. Rogers’s severe disabilities classroom and Mrs. Wright’s transition classroom spent the month of December collecting new and gently used blankets to deliver to the Youth Service Bureau for distribution to needy families. “We had heard through the grapevine that Youth Service Bureau always needs socks, blankets and underwear,” said Joyce Lee, WabashMiami Area Program director. “So, we looked at the project to find out if the kids could participate.” One student attends a computer class at Heartland Career Center so he and his instructor designed and printed a flyer to advertise a blanket drive. The students, many of whom are in wheelchairs, collected and decorated drop boxes
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Wabash resident survives harrowing ordeal off South Padre Island by Shaun Tilghman Barry Hannah, 64, Wabash, was one of four fishermen rescued on Feb. 9, at approximately 8 a.m. (Central Time), after spending over 18 hours on their capsized boat off South Padre Island, Texas. On Feb. 8, Barry and his three companions – George Hensley, 70, Hayden, Idaho; Dave Pajette, 68, Boone, Iowa; and Tim Pajette, 47, Tecumseh, Mo. – left a mobile home park in Harlingen, Texas, around 7 a.m. for an average day of fishing. Their experience became anything but average however, when around 1 p.m. they were caught in high winds that caused their 19-foot fishing boat to capsize. “We heard it was going to get windier in the evening but it hit a little bit sooner than we thought,” Barry said. “Down here, when they tell you it’s going to get windy you better listen. We never thought it was going to get that windy but it came up so fast.” The four men were fishing in a lagoon called Laguna Vista, which is near the Queen Isabella Memorial Causeway, the two and a half mile bridge that connects South Padre Island to the southernmost tip of Texas. “We were facing the bridge and we were about a mile and a quarter from it when we decided to head back in,” Barry explained. “The waves were coming small – there were maybe eight small waves and then there would be three bigger waves – and I was running about two-thirds speed when I hit one of the big ones and it came right over the front of the boat. I cut the power back because there was more coming, but when I did that the backlash flooded over the back and over both of the sides. “Within 30-40 seconds the boat was topside
“We were just hoping to stay afloat long enough to get rescued,” Barry added. “Of course we wanted to be rescued by the Coast Guard but when the helicopter kept missing us we knew we were going to be out there all night. The biggest thing was keeping each other awake and making sure one of us diabetics didn’t go one way or the other.” Barry’s wife, Judy, was (continued on page 4)
As voted by Wabash County coaches, select media representatives
In Memorium Mary Bland, 61 Robert Block, 88 Anna Davis, 85 Boyd Triplett, 79 Ida Watson, 89 Richard Weaver, 82
Index Classifieds ..........30--31 Community News......20-21,24 D & E........................22 Sports Shorts ............19 Weekly Reports ....12-13 PO Box 603, Wabash, IN 46992 (260) 563-8326
down and we had to crawl back up on the bottom side. [George] helped [Tim] up and then Tim helped all of us up. We lined up on top of the boat, kept balance, and we screamed and hollered but we didn’t have any paddles or even a stick to measure the depth of the water, which could have been as deep as 40 feet.” One of the main concerns the group had was that both Barry and Dave are diabetic.
The Paper recognizes inaugural “All-County” girls’ basketball winners
(continued on page 5)
Vol. 33, No. 45
BARRY HANNAH (second from left), a Wabash resident, was one of four men rescued on the morning of Feb. 9 after their fishing boat capsized off South Padre Island, Texas, the previous day. Pictured with Hannah are (from left): George Hensley, Hayden Idaho; Dave Pajette, Boone, Iowa; and Tim Pajette, Tecumseh, Mo. (photo provided)
KALEIGH HENSLEY was selected as 2010-11 Wabash County Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year by the four Wabash County girls’ basketball coaches and select media representatives. (photo by Eric Christiansen)
by Brent Swan The Paper staff (Shaun Tilghman and Brent Swan), along with Andy McCord and Bob Stambazzi of 105.9 The Bash; Eric Christiansen and Aaron Turner of the North Manchester News-Journal; Gary Andrews of wabashcountysports.com; and the four Wabash County girls’ basketball coaches recently collaborated in selecting the first “The Paper AllCounty Team”. The All-County rosters five First Team players, five Second Team players, two Honorable Mention selections, Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and Sixth Man of the Year. There were no regulations as to how many players could represent each school, as voters were simply urged to select the players they viewed as the most outstanding athletes throughout the 2010-11 regular season. Wabash High School senior Kaleigh Hensley was the unanimous selection for Player of the Year. Lady Apache head coach Scott Bumgardner earned the other top honor after being voted Coach of the Year. Bumgardner entered the 2010-11 season fresh off a 23-2 campaign that saw his squad fall in overtime of the regional finals, 69-67, to eventual State runner-up Fort Wayne Bishop Luers. The loss marked the departure of four key seniors, including Purdue University-Calumet recruit Brooklyn Short. Bumgardner responded by leading this year’s team to a 22-1 record and a brief stint as the state’s topranked 2A team, which recently captured the Northfield Sectional title with a 67-37 win over Manchester. Bumgardner’s 2010-11 Lady Apaches average 63.3 points per game, while holding opposing teams to a paltry 31 points. In his eight years at the helm, Wabash has comprised a 123-57 record, with a
winning percentage of .683. Hensley, a 5’8” guard, has not only led the county in scoring, but recently added the Indiana state scoring title (28.5 ppg) to her growing list of achievements. Her 656 points on the season are nearly 100 more than the next closest player, while competing in two fewer games. Hensley also managed to finish the regular season having connected on over 47 percent of her shots, including three-pointers. In addition to the scoring title, Hensley led the state with 168 steals on the season (7.3 spg) – 43 better than second place – and finished the regular season averaging 5.7 rebounds per game – second on the Lady Apache squad behind senior Gabi Nearing. Hensley’s defensive exploits also earned her the honor of being selected as the Wabash County Defensive Player of the Year. Joining Hensley on the First Team is 5’10” junior guard Kelsey Cromer. Cromer, the second half of the vaunted Lady Apache scoring duo, capped off the regular season connecting on over 49 percent of her two-point field goals and over 39 percent of her three-point attempts. Cromer’s sharp shooting abilities have put opposing teams in a bind all year, as they are forced to consider their defensive assignments carefully. Manchester sophomore Kayla Flack, a 5’8” forward, joins the Wabash duo on the First Team after leading her Lady Squires to a 14-6 regular season record and catapulting them to a sectional championship showdown with the Lady Apaches. Flack’s 12.5 points per game was sixth in the Three Rivers Conference (TRC), while she shot 47.4 percent from the field, good for fourth overall in the conference. Flack also dominated the low post, leading the TRC in defensive rebounds (100), while finishing second (continued on page 4) overall with 7.5 per game.