Skip to main content

the Paper - August 5, 2026

Page 1

Wednesday, August 5, 2026

www.thepapersonline.com

Serving Kosciusko County and parts of Elkhart, Marshall & Noble Counties Know Your Neighbor . . . . . 2➤ Good Neighbors . . . . . . . . . . 4 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . 6

Vol. 56, No. 6

Milford (574) 658-4111 • Warsaw (574) 269-2932 • Syracuse (574) 457-3666

114 W. Market, Warsaw, Indiana 46580

W h e e l s o n F i r e prepares for 10th Smash Out Cancer fundraiser By LEAH SANDER Staff Writer Ten years ago, Beaver Dam Community Church’s Wheels on Fire Cancer Crusaders held its first-ever Smash Out Cancer fundraiser in Akron . As it marks a milestone with the event this year, the nonprofit wishes to keep the focus on the people it helps, those impacted by cancer in the Kosciusko County and Fulton County area, said Wheels on Fire Chairwoman Christina Morehouse . Smash Out Cancer occurs this year 4-9 p .m . Saturday, Aug . 15, at the Akron Community Center, 815 Rural St . Entertainment starts at 4:30 p .m ., with a live auction at 6:30 p .m ., the pie auction after that and the candle lighting ceremony ending the event . The latter is to honor those who are battling cancer or who’ve passed away from it . Food will also be available for purchase . Morehouse said Mark Vice will perform again this year . Years before Wheels on Fire held its first Smash Out Cancer in 2016, the group participated in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life fundraiser . However after deciding they would prefer to direct funds to local cancer patients, the members started raising money on their own . Aside from Smash Out Cancer, which was only missed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wheels has obtained money over the years through the Fulton County Gun Club’s Clays for Cancer event, individual donations from the public and serving food at multiple events . Places it’s provided food this year include the Mentone Egg Festival, Freedom Fest at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds and the Echoes of the Past antique farm machinery club’s SummerFest in Claypool . Wheels on Fire should also serve food at the Autumn in Akron Charity Car, Truck and Bike Show in September and Echoes of the Past’s Fall Festival in Claypool in October as well as host its own pancake breakfast at the Mentone Fire Station in September . If people are unable to make it to Smash Out Cancer or the other events, they may donate to Wheels on Fire through secure .myvanco .com/L-ZMVJ/ campaign/C-1508Z . Morehouse said volunteers for Wheels on Fire are also welcomed, with there being 22 currently part of the group . People should call the church at (574) 893-7052 or email Morehouse at morehouse6966@gmail .com to learn how to volunteer . Wheels on Fire presents checks from its fundraising at the end of the year to both the Kosciusko and Fulton County cancer care funds and Joe’s Hope Foundation, which help cancer patients with bills during their treatments . It also gives to Cancer Services

WHEELS ON FIRE — Beaver Dam Community Church’s Wheels on Fire-Cancer Crusaders members are shown at Freedom Fest at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds earlier this summer where they sold food to raise money for cancer patients. In the front from left are Ruby

IN HONOR — At a previous year’s Wheels on Fire’s Smash Out Cancer event, candles were lit in honor of those battling cancer or who’ve passed away from the disease. of Northeast Indiana, which provides resources and more to those with the disease . Morehouse said the group is considering also giving to Faith in the Fight for Fulton County, which organizes benefits for those with cancer . Over the years, Wheels on Fire has raised around $500,000 for cancer patients, with more than $100,000 of that coming from Smash Out Cancer alone . Morehouse said those monies help those battling cancer “know they are not in this fight alone .”

Bowers, Linda Heighway, Linda McConnell and Diana Powell. In the back are Lisa Tucker, Tonia Morris-Hanna, Karen Francis, Christina Morehouse, Dave Morehouse and Mike Clouser. Photos provided by Wheels on Fire.

PERFORMING — Debra Collier’s School of Dance of Warsaw performs at Wheels on Fire’s Smash Out Cancer event in a previous year. “It is amazing to think that the community has been supporting Smash Out for 10 years,” she said . “We appreciate the continued generosity of the people in the community .” Overall, she added that “the spotlight needs to stay on those who we are there to help .”

SERVING FOOD — Chuck Drudge cooks hamburgers for Wheels on Fire at the 2024 Mentone Egg Festival. Photo by Phoebe Muthart.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
the Paper - August 5, 2026 by The Papers Inc. - Issuu