February 2015

February 23 — March 31, 2015

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2 | Cass County INfo: | February 2015

Change has to be one of the scariest words in our vocabulary. We talk about it all the time, but when it comes time to actually take action, that’s another story. As I’ve written in this space before, we’ve really been listening to what the people who live in our community are saying about their goals, dreams and aspirations. We want change. We want progress. But we

claim that we don’t know how to get there. It’s a little bit like shopping for clothes to wear on Spring Break. Everything looks great on the rack, so we load our arms up with as much as we can carry to the dressing room. And we try them on, only to realize that Th anksgiving, Christmas and football Sundays have caught up with us. Th ere’s a way to fi x that, but it involves daily activity and trips to the gym and it’s a whole lot easier to camp out on the couch with our leftover Valentine candy and watch as everyone else’s vacation plans unfold in front of us on Facebook. And that’s kind of where I feel like we are as a community right now.

What we want is mired in what we know, and we know it’s a lot of work to get to where we want to be. “Autumn turns to winter, and then winter turns to spring,” the Bradys told us in the early 70s. “When it’s time to change, you’ve got to rearrange, move your heart to what you’re gonna be.” Start with the “Man in the Mirror,” Michael Jackson told us in 1988. “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change.” We made a big change to our website this month to help you get more involved in what’s happening in the community, and we have more in the works. Th e elephant in the room right now is the plan for downtown on the opposite page. A lot of people read a headline about it and immediately formed their opinions based on that alone. Don’t get me wrong —I’m not saying that we should immediately embrace every single idea that’s proposed. I’m saying we shouldn’t immediately discount every idea that’s proposed. Th ere’s a big diff erence. We should educate ourselves and engage ourselves in what’s going on. Start with reading more than just the headlines and then let’s move some of the discussion off of Facebook and into the real world. Come to meetings. Do some research. Talk to your friends, neighbors and elected offi cials and take a position on the issues. We’ll do what we can to keep you informed. It’s a change that will do us all good.

MICHELLE DIALSEDITOR/PUBLISHER

INFO is a free, monthly newspaper serving Cass County, Indiana and the surrounding areas. It is part of the Cass County Communication Network, published by Existential Media LLC.

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Share your thoughts about Downtown Logansport

Th e City of Logansport and Logan’s Landing are conducting an online survey about the public’s perception of downtown Logansport, what their favorite downtown businesses and events are, and how and when they are most likely to visit downtown. “Th e survey is anonymous and takes only about fi ve minutes to complete,” Logan’s Landing Executive Director Becki Harris explains. “A similar survey was conducted several years ago, and we want to measure the impact of changes that have occurred since that time. We encourage everyone to complete the survey so that everyone’s opinions are heard.” Th e survey can be accessed via • the Logan’s Landing website (www.loganslanding.com, click on “news”) • the City of Logansport’s website (cityofl ogansport.org, click on “breaking news”) • or directly at https://www.sur-veymonkey.com/s/6695P3P. You can also request an e-mail with a direct link to the survey by contacting Logan’s Landing at [email protected] or 574-722-9345.

Next month, the City of Logansport, in partnership with Logan’s Landing, plans to apply for two grants. If Logan-sport is selected, the grants could inject millions of dollars into the city’s down-town. A committee has been meeting since August to organize the visions outlined in the city’s comprehensive plan, com-pleted in 2009, and Logan’s Landing’s downtown revitalization plan, complet-ed in 2010, into a workplan. For the last few years, there’s been a heavy emphasis on creating an arts district in downtown Logansport. Funds raised by the “Dancing with our Stars” event helped purchase public art, including “Th e Dancers” sculpture on Market Street. Pocket parks have been

installed on both Market and Broadway, and signage for the LoLa Arts District was installed. Now, the committee is focusing heav-ily on Fourth Street, specifi cally creat-ing a civic center that could host large groups for weddings, conferences and other functions. Th ey’d like to see more parking in the area, where visitors to the Cass County Government Building often circle the block several times to fi nd a parking space. Th ey also envision a fi xed-route bus system, like Kokomo’strolleys which saw a 35% increase in ridership last year.

SEE DOWNTOWN, PAGE 5

City pursuing grants to revitalize downtown Logansport


CCRN Task Force Brings CSA to Cass Cass County area residents can now sign up for a membership in a CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture program, offered by Silverthorn Farm of Rossville. Membership entitles participants to a broad range of fresh picked, chemical-free produce delivered weekly. CSA’s have become increasingly popular in recent years as consumer demand for local, sustainably pro-duced foods has surged. The CSA concept benefits farmers by provid-ing cash flow early in the produc-tion period, and while members assume production risks, they are relatively assured of fresh foods and can claim the satisfaction of knowing where and how they were produced. After choosing a level of par-ticipation from $200-$800 (value-added, e.g. the $800 level is a $920 value), members place orders on-line from the farm’s availability list and then pick up their produce on Thursday afternoons from 3-5:30 at Bodyworks in Logansport. Members are not obligated to take weekly delivery, have the option of choosing only the produce items they want, and have up to two years to redeem their investment. Eat FRESH Cass County, a task force operating within the Cass County Resource Network, has been instrumental in making the local CSA a reality. Informa-tion on Silverthorn Farm, sign-up, and FAQ’s are available at the farm’s website: www.silverthorn-farm.com.

Soon, you may be joining the millions of taxpayers who will be gathering the forms they need to file their federal, state, and local tax returns. If you re-ceive Social Security benefits, one of the forms you may need is your Social Security Benefit Statement, SSA-1099/1042S. Social Security mails these forms to all beneficiaries on or before January 31. If you have not received yours—or if you cannot find the one that was mailed to you—there’s a new way to get instant access to a printable SSA-1099/1042S to help you complete your tax return: with an online my Social Security ac-count. You will need to pay federal taxes on some of your benefits if your total in-come, including Social Security and all of your other taxable income, is $25,000 or more, and you file federal taxes as an individual. Married couples filing joint returns need to pay federal taxes on income of $32,000 or more. Visit http://www.socialsecurity.gov/planners/taxes.htm for additional information about income taxes and your Social Security benefits.

If you didn’t receive the SSA-1099/1042S for tax year 2014 by Janu-ary 31, 2015, or if you misplaced yours, don’t fret. You can get an instant re-placement SSA-1099/1042S by going online to my Social Security at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount and select-ing “Replacement Documents.” You can view, print, and save the forms im-mediately! If you don’t already have a my Social Security account, opening one is quick, safe and easy. It only takes a few min-utes. In addition to getting an instant replacement SSA-1099/1042S, you can get a benefit verification letter, change your address, telephone number, start or change direct deposit information, and get your Social Security earnings record from the convenience of your home. Simply go to www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount.

Get your replacement SSA-1099 online

Logansport HS seeking Hall of Distinction nomsLogansport High School is currently taking nominations for the annual Hall of Distinction. This honor is reserved for LHS gradu-ates who have distinguished themselves through outstanding accomplishment on a local, state, or national level of promi-nence. Graduates are not eligible until more than five years has elapsed from graduation. The recipient will be asked to be the

guest speaker and address the Class of 2015 at the LHS Commencement Ceremony on Sunday, June 7, 2015 at 2:00PM. All nominations are due by Friday, March 13, 2015. For more information, go to the LHS Website: http://lhs.lcsc.k12.in.us and click on the LHS Hall of Distinction link. The nomination form may be sub-mitted online or printed off and mailed.


DEMOCRAT

Mayor of LogansportDave Kitchell Matt Meagher Rick Ricks

Clerk-TreasurerStacy Cox - Democrat

City Council, Ward 1Dave Morris - Democrat

City Council, Ward 2

City Council, Ward 3Amy R. Densborn - Democrat

City Council, Ward 4Scott G. Peattie - Democrat

City Council, Ward 5

City Council, At Large (2 Seats)Terry Doran - Democrat

REPUBLICANMayor of Logansport

Mike Berkshire Ted Franklin -incumbent Larry B. Hood

Clerk-TreasurerCarol Sue Hayworth - incumbentTyler Ness

City Council, Ward 1Bob Bishop - incumbent

City Council, Ward 2Joe Buck - incumbent

City Council, Ward 3Gary Fox - incumbent

City Council, Ward 4Mike Stajduhar

City Council, Ward 5Teresa Popejoy

City Council, At Large (2 Seats)Chris Martin

Ballot set for primary election On Tuesday, May 5, Republicans and Democrats will select their candidates for the November General Election. Offices on the ballot will include Logansport Mayor, Clerk-Treasurer and all seven seats on the city council. Voters can call the clerk’s office and ask for an absentee ballot at any time. They’ll be mailed out beginning March 20. Voter registration for the May 5 primary ends Monday, April 6. If you’ve moved or changed your name since the last election, you may need to up-date your voter registration information. Visit indianavoters.com for more information. Anyone wanting to run for an office in any of the small towns has until Monday, August 3 at noon to file to be a nominee at a town convention.

DOWNTOWN, From page 3The piece of the project that has gen-erated the most conversation among residents, however, is the idea of moving the Cass County Carousel downtown. Planning director Arin Shaver says the carousel’s current location, Riverside Park, is in a floodplain and that the pro-posed location downtown is no longer in a floodplain, after recent revisions at the federal level to the floodplain maps. Brent Mather, with R&B Architects, is a consultant for the project and said the current location limits the availability of federal and state grants for further im-provements to the carousel or its facility. Plus, Shaver says, the carousel is a large part of the city’s identity, and is also a piece of art itself. Members of the committee, who include Shaver, community develop-ment director Chris Armstrong, Lo-gan’s Landing executive director Becki Harris, councilman & Redevelopment Commission Executive Director Bob Bishop, arts advocate Pam Leeman, among others, plan to host another meeting for the public to learn more on March 9. Logan’s Landing and the City of Logansport invite residents to partici-pate in a survey about the downtown or to share their thoughts via e-mail at [email protected]. More information about the next public meeting will be released at a later date, and a PDF of the Feb. 9 presentation is available on Logan’s Landing’s website.


IVY TECHYou can be, too! Registration for summer and fall semesters begins March 16.

i am

IvyTech.edu/kokomo


lDr. David Morrical, an internal medicine physician with the Logansport Memorial Physician Network, has announced his plans to retire this year. He will take his leave from the hospital effective April 10, 2015 after nearly forty years of service to his patients and community. “This was not an easy decision for me to make,” commented Dr. Morrical. “I have enjoyed my time in medical practice at Logansport Memorial Hospital and I will miss taking care of my patients. But I want to take the opportunity to spend time with my wife, my adult children, and my grandchildren. Although I will no longer be practicing medicine, I still call Logansport ‘home’ and I plan to remain in the community upon my retirement.” “As Dr. Morrical prepares for this transition, we thank him for his years of service to our hospital, our patients, and our community,” comments David Ameen, CEO of Logansport Memorial Hospital. “He has also been a well-respected community member, donating many hours of community service to the Boy Scouts and to other local organizations. We wish him well in this new phase of his life.” If you are a patient of Dr. Morrical and would like to find a new provider, please call our Find-a-Doc service at (574) 725-3463. LMH staff will answer your ques-tions about your healthcare needs or concerns and help place you with a provider who can meet them for you. We will work to ensure that you do not experience a disruption in your care and are placed appropriately as soon as possible. Please talk with staff about any other questions you may have.

Long-time physician retiring in April

Logansport Memo-rial Hospital is pleased to welcome Laura Hess, FNP-C to the medical staff as part of the Logan-sport Memo-rial Physician Network. She will join the providers at Ex-pressMed Logansport, providing urgent care for patients in Logansport and Cass County. Laura received her Bachelor of Sci-ence in Nursing from Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana. She went on to receive her Master of Science in Nursing as a Family Nurse Practitio-ner from Indiana Wesleyan at the Fort Wayne, Indiana campus. She is a regis-tered nurse with the Indiana Board of Nursing, and is certified in CPR and First Aid. She is also a member of the American Association of Nurse Practi-tioners. She is looking forward to serv-ing this community in a new way, as a bilingual nurse practitioner who speaks fluently in Spanish. She will be a wel-come addition to the ExpressMed team. ExpressMed is open for patients Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., and Sunday from Noon – 6 p.m. Ex-pressMed is a walk-in clinic, so no appointments are necessary. If you have questions about being seen as a patient, please call the clinic directly at (574) 722-9633.

New nurse practitioner joins ExpressMed

Logansport Memorial Hospital Foundation was recently awarded a grant from the Indiana Breast Cancer Awareness Trust to provide free digital screening mammo-grams to 45 low-income, uninsured Cass and surrounding county residents. In addition to providing screening mammograms, educational information will be made available to the community. Early detection is the best prevention for breast cancer and by focusing our ef-forts on a comprehensive solution, uninsured community members will have access to a potentially lifesaving service. To schedule an appointment for a screening mammogram, call Logansport Memorial Hospital Registration at 574-753-1488. Annually, Logansport Memorial Hospital Foundation supports breast cancer awareness by hosting the River Bluff Run. These funds supplement the IBCAT grant that the Foundation receives, allowing the Foundation to expand the number screens provided.

Logansport Memorial Hospital Foundation receives grant to provide free mammograms


Cass County Community Foundation President Deanna Crispen is pleased to announce Cass County’s 2015 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program finalists:

• Joseph Bean, of Pioneer High School• Kayla Brandt, of Logansport High School• Brittany Gehlhausen, of Lewis Cass High School• Jonathan Phillips, of Pioneer High School• Emily Overway, The Indiana Academy• Noel Widup, Lewis Cass High School

Applications were received from stu-dents attending the high schools serving Cass County. Students who are Cass County permanent residents but at-tending high school outside the county

are also eligible. All identifying information, such as student’s name, school name, gender, etc, was removed from the applications for the finalist selec-tion process. CCCF Presi-dent Deanna Crispen stated, “Each year, we receive an out-standing pool of applications for the highly com-petitive award. These six remark-able young men and women are truly some of the best and brightest students residing in Cass County. The finalists were selected based solely on the criteria, which include academic ability, achieve-ments, activities and citizenship; howev-er, financial need is not a consideration in Cass County,” said Crispen. From the six finalists, one Cass County resident will be awarded the Lilly Endowment Community Schol-arship which will pay their full four-year tuition at any Indiana college or university, plus required fees. The Lilly

Endowment Community Scholarship recipients will also receive $900 per year for books and required equipment. Crispen shared, “Lilly Endowment Inc. continues to be a generous benefactor to our outstanding local students and their educational goals. We are grate-ful for this incredible program that has motivated and provided funding for thirty-three previous Lilly Endowment Community Scholars in Cass County since 1998.”

TOP ROW: Joseph Bean (Pioneer); Kayla Brandt (Logansport); Brittany Gehlhausen (Lewis Cass)BOTTOM ROW: Emily Overway -(The Indiana Academy); Jonathan Phillips (Pioneer); Noel Widup (Lewis Cass)

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2015 Lilly Scholarship Finalists announced

February 2015 | Cass County INfo: | 8 9 | Cass County INfo: | February 2015

Saturday, FEBRUARY 28BOWL FOR KIDS’ SAKE Bowl For Kids’ Sake is Big Brothers Big Sisters biggest fundraiser. By register-ing before February 6, all bowlers will receive a FREE Bowl For Kids’ Sake t-shirt. Cost is $150 per team, a mere $30 per person. For more info call 574-722-2222 or visit bbbscass.org.

Saturday, FEBRUARY 28BRANDT CARMICHAEL & CLARRISSA LUSEBrandt Carmichael Entertainment presents Brandt Carmichaelwith special guest Clarrissa Luseat The State Theatre in LogansportDoors open at 6:00 p.m. show starts at 7:00 p.m. Seats $5.00

Friday, March 6Women’s world day of prayerJoin women in our community in a time of prayer at The Salvation Army (615 Heath Street Logansport)! Start-ing at 12:30PM there will be a free lunch served. Then at 1PM until about 2PM, we will join together in a time of prayer and worship. This will be a time to prayer for our world, our community and our loved ones through prayer stations, songs, and corporate prayer. Please tell your churches, small groups, family and friends and join join us!

March 6, 7 & 8“THE LOTTIE & BERNICE SHOW” Civic Players of Logansport presents “The Lottie & Bernice Show,” directed by Ben Colsten. This comedy tells the story of a two grumpy old Polish ladies who become trapped in a television studio by a blizzard and end up taking over Western New York’s favorite morning show, “Buffalo Yak.” Performances are at 7:00 p.m. on Friday March 6 and Saturday March 7, with a matinee at 4:00 on Sunday March 8. All shows are at the Historic State Theatre in downtown Logan-sport. All tickets are $10. For more information, call Ralph Anderson at 574-722-3000.

MARCH 7PILGRIM PLACEThe Salvation Army in Logansport will be having a young adult night called “Pilgrim Place” on the first Saturday of the month starting March 7th. This is a free event including snacks, coffee, tea, and live music. The band “Building Nations” will be the guests on March 7th. Event begins at 7pm and ends at 9pm. The Salvation Army is located at 615 Heath Street Logansport. For more information, visit The Salvation Army Logansport on Facebook or call 574-722-1979 and speak with Lt. Amanda.

CalendarHunting for Easter events?We’re ready for Spring events to start popping up on CassCountyCalendar.com! If you’re planning an event, add the details to our website. Just head to casscountycalendar.com and click submit.

Why does the date of Easter change every year? Because it falls on the first Sunday after the Paschal Full moon, which, according to the Farmer’s Almanac, is the first full moon after the spring equinox. Paschal means “Passover” in Greek. The explanations beyond that are a little more com-plicated, but thanks to Google, finding the answer to “When is Easter this year” is always just a few clicks away.

Here are the 2015 dates you need to know:March 29 Palm Sunday

April 2 Maundy (Holy) ThursdayApril 3 Good Friday

April 5 Easter SundayAs always, we invite area churches and organizations to post their Easter events on CassCountyCalendar.com. We love it when Easter Egg Hunts, breakfasts with the Bunny, cantatas and worship service times spring up on our website. Just go to www.casscountycalendar.com and click submit to enter the details.

MARCH 28THIRD HOUSE SESSIONThe Logansport/Cass Co. Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the 3rd House Session at Westside Diner. Sen-ator Head along with Representatives Lehe and Friend will be in attendance to talk about the issues that are before them at the State House. Reservations are not required.


It certainly won’t be news to any Indiana residents if I make the statement that it has been cold lately. And yes white-out conditions existed on Valentine’s Day. That just happened to be our regularly scheduled R-Day at Pioneer Elementary in Royal Center. Despite the weather that morning, turnout was good, with just under a ton collected for recycling.

Like I mentioned last month, the total volume of recyclables collected during our R-Days in Logansport and Royal Cen-ter, which are held every other month, is down. However, this is a valuable and viable service that we provide. They used to be held every month, but a few years back, when the money we receive went down, the board decided to go to an every other month plan.

Our next R-days, where we collect commingled recycling, in-cluding paper, plastics, cardboard, glass bottles and cans, along with metal and tin cans is set for April 4th at Spencer Park in Logansport and April 11th at Pioneer Elementary.

I mentioned funding and that is a question I receive a great deal from Cass County residents, and with the recent budget approval by the state, it may be a good time to go over where funds for the Cass County Solid Waste Management District come from.

We receive absolutely no tax money whatsoever. The Solid Waste District is a taxing entity and has the authority to tax or impose a user fee. However, the board is unanimous in the sentiment that it never has, and never intends to use either of those options. Some other counties, for a variety of reasons, have enacted one or both of those options.

We receive a host or tipping fee from the Oak Ridge Landfill, which accounts for the vast majority of our funding. In 2014, that amounted to just over $188,000. We also receive a small amount from Logansport’s trash that’s taken to the landfill in Wabash County. In addition, we have an account at the Cass County Community Foundation that brought us just over $7,200 last year, interest on a CD which amounted to about $300, and we also take donations during our major events, and have a fee schedule for tires.

So once you figure in the costs of the programs we facilitate, including over $70,000 annually for the roll offs, we are close to the break-even point. And that’s where one board member

pointed out to me, that we need to be. We are a non-profit, and as such don’t need to bring in much more money than we are spending on programs for the citizens of Cass County.

In looking forward, we would certainly like to be able to ex-pand our programming. In fact, one area that is presented in our five year plan is to consider hosting a second Household Hazardous Waste Event annually; and hold it in either the Northern or Southern portion of Cass County. However, to do that, we have to have the resources.

Last year we were able to significantly reduce the cost of that program, and should that trend continue, it would be my hope in a couple of years, that we could offer a second collec-tion event annually. There is also the possibility of some state funds becoming available that could assist districts through-out Indiana in offering this type of expanded service to the citizens they serve. Should they be made available, we will certainly be looking into applying for them.

Just as a reminder, we are accepting electronics five days a week by appointment, by contacting the district office at (574) 732-9253. The office has moved to the warehouse, where the e-waste is taken, so the chances are, that if you call the office, you will be able to bring your old computers and televisions in, quickly.

For up to date information on collections and events, feel free to like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.

And finally, if you are wondering about our annual tire col-lection program, please stay tuned. It is not that far off. I’ll be sending out information on that effort within the next few weeks.

Solid Waste District announces dates of 2015 recycling events


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