WARSAW — Warsaw Friends of the Library has seen a significant surge in support over the past six weeks after Warsaw City Council rejected a $17 million bond.

The vote means the library won't be able to seek another bond for at least two years, and officials say they have no way to cover the cost of big-ticket repairs, which they say are inevitable. 

Soon after the council vote, Friends of the Library announced plans to raise the $17 million — a gargantuan goal that seems beyond their means.

[caption id="attachment_132948" align="alignright" width="300"] The books and cookie sale attracted a large turnout Saturday morning at the Warsaw Community Public Library parking lot. News Now Warsaw photo by Dan Spalding.[/caption]

The group typically raises about $10,000 a year, but in the past six weeks, since the vote, they've collected roughly $5,000. 

Bree Robinson, who heads up the Friends of the Library bookstore and is on the FOTL board, said she realizes the goal might be out of reach, but that something had to be done. 

She said the vote has motivated FOTL and the library's supporters.

FOTL has a little more than a dozen volunteers.

"It definitely kind of gave us a new perspective on how important our fundraising actually is. We work hard all year to raise as much money as we can, but now it feels more critical," Robinson said.

"It feels more important to do everything we can above and beyond what we already were," she added.

She said the reaction to the vote began within hours. 

“The day after the vote, we started getting donations. Like, my PayPal just started blowing up, and I was just like, okay," she said.

“The people in this community do care, and they realized that there's a need, and they were willing to chip in what they could immediately, and it's continued. We continue to get donations almost daily,” she said.

Robinson made the comments while overseeing a "books and cookies" sale held in the parking lot Saturday morning. 

Almost all of the books sold on Saturday were sold in exchange for donations rather than at specific prices for each book.

She said such events typically generate about $1,500.

Many of the opponents of the bond vote who spoke at the May 18 vote said they appreciate the library and its role in the community, but repeatedly urged the library to rely more on fundraising rather than raise property taxes.

FOTL provides money for small projects, such as when the water fountain recently needed repairs, she said.

“But, you know, we don't have $900,000 for the chiller system,” she said.

“The reality is it's very difficult, if not impossible, to raise that amount of money … it's very wishful thinking that this could just be a pass-the-hat around the community thing. I wish that it were, but the reality is it just isn't really feasible,” she said.

The library board has also established a fund through the Kosciusko County Community Foundation.

You can learn more about both at warsawlibrary.org. 

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WARSAW — The Magical Meadows celebrated a major milestone on Wednesday with a groundbreaking for two new year-round riding arenas at the therapeutic horseback riding center north of Warsaw

[caption id="attachment_119992" align="alignright" width="300"] Kosciuko County Sheriff Jim Smith is a big supporter of Magical Meadows and spoke at Wednesday's groundbreaking ceremony. News Now Warsaw photo by Dan Spalding.[/caption]

In just four months, organizers have raised more than half of the $2 million fundraising campaign, which means construction can begin soon.

The improvements will increase capacity and improve accessibility. One of the arenas will be dedicated to serving veterans and first-responders.

Executive Director Michael Kuhn credited God with what’s happening at Magical Meadows.

“We knew building two new indoor arenas, expanding our facilities, and creating more room to serve people with disabilities, at-risk youth, veterans, and first-responders would take resources far beyond our own strength and resources we have never seen in our organization’s history,” Kuhn said.

“But we also knew when God calls you, he equips you,” Kuhn said.

Kuhn thanked the many anonymous donors ane K21 Health Foundation, which provided $400,000 to assist with the construction of both arenas.

Passion, faith and generosity in the community are fueling the improvement, he said.

Kosciusko County Sheriff Jim Smith, himself a veteran, has become a key supporter of expanded services at Magical Meadows.

"It’s hard to make things like this happen without the support of the community, and we have such a darn good community to buy into these missions and these visions,” Smith said. “This is going to be incredible.”

A riding arena set aside for veterans and first responders iss a unique opportunity.

“I worry a lot about the mental health of my employees. This is another tool and opportunity for them when they're having those rough days," Smith said. "They don’t have to explain it to anyone. They’re going to have a chance to be able to come out here and just have their time and work through those with these beautiful creatures at Magical Meadows.”

The founder of Magical Meadows, Tammy Stackhouse, more commonly known by many as Miss Tammy, talked about how her vision has grown to something she never fully expected to ever see.

She and her family, including her grandparents, grew up in property very close to the facility on CR 525N.

At times, she was nearly overwhelmed with emotion as she reflected on the amount of support their expansion efforts have received.

“God is good. And I am blessed,” she said.

Groundbreaking featured many of the people who benefit from services at Magical Meadows.

[caption id="attachment_119995" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Many of those participating in the groundbreaking ceremony are recipients of services at Magical Meadows. News Now Warsaw photo by Dan Spalding.[/caption]

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WINONA LAKE — A plan first envisioned at the end of the COVID pandemic five years ago has led to the opening this past week of a spacious coffee shop and indoor playground in Winona Lake.

What makes it unique is that it’s owned and operated by Winona Lake Grace Church and intended to serve the community with public hours six days a week.

Combined, it's a massive outreach to the community and big improvement to the church.

[caption id="attachment_119335" align="alignright" width="440"] A view of the new cafe on its opening day. News Now Warsaw photo by Dan Spalding.[/caption]

The WL Cafe and the Play Space at WL are in a revamped western part of the church building facing the parking lot.

While much of the $5 million for the project came from parishioners, it also got a key boost from Grace College and its Catalyst Corridor grant money, as well as grant funding from K21 Health Foundation.

[caption id="attachment_119342" align="alignright" width="440"] The children's playspace has several areas to serve various ages, plus a specialized sensory area. News Now Warsaw photo Dan Spalding.[/caption]

The children’s Playspace at WL is an indoor area that features age-appropriate play areas, a climbing wall, and a dedicated sensory room for kids who benefit from a more specialized play environment.

The cafe has a large gathering area as well as numerous nooks and smaller meet-up areas for more personal meet-ups.

Executive Pastor Tim Wright said the plan began to surface at the tail end of the pandemic when people started to realize the separation and loneliness began to have an impact that has, for some, lingered.

He agrees that such a robust outreach effort by a church with financial support from outside the church is a bit different.

“It might be unique, but I think there are a lot of churches that are starting things like this, trying to think like this and thinking about their community,” Wright said. 

The church's location on Kings Highway is in the middle of a densely populated area with Jefferson Elementary, the Grace College campus a block away, and hundreds of homes and the Village at Winona within a few blocks.

Wright thinks the new options provide a lot of potential for interactions, and that was the case during the first week when the cafe and playspace opened on Monday.

Traffic was surprisingly good on Monday at the Playspace and Wright said it continued to improve each day.

"We saw some of the same families before school and after school, so we were very excited about that," Wright said.

He said he believes people are desperate to connect with others and that this opens the door for such opportunities.

“We love being in this community, in this neighborhood ... and we love opening these up when there’s so many good things going on in our community,” Wright said.

Jennifer Owens, who oversees the church's nursery as well as the new playspace, is especially excited about seeing the church expand its reach.

She said she thinks there is significant appeal for parents whose children have sensory issues.

“We hope to achieve a lot, really. We hope to achieve a relationship with our community and build relationships with people who specifically need those spaces.”

WL Café will be open Monday–Friday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon. The café will serve Madcap coffee along with blended drinks and a selection of food items.

The Playspace will be open Monday–Thursday from 8 a.m. to noon, Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 4–7 p.m., and Saturday mornings from 8 a.m. to noon.

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WARSAW — The Elks Loge 802 hosted the annual Thanksgiving Day community dinner on Thursday in Warsaw —  a tradition that’s continued for decades.

Organizers saw hundreds take advantage of the free meal program that has been limited to drive-thru and deliveries since after the pandemic in 2020.

The community dinner had normally been held at the Center Lake Pavilion but was scaled back as a result of COVID and has continued to operate out of the American Legion Post 49 even after pavilion renovations were completed two years ago.

The Elks have always relied on the American Legion because of its larger kitchen facilities.

Tina Minnix Phipps, with the Eks, spoke briefly while preparing meals Thursday morning about the desire by some to restore the community dinner under one large roof.

"I always told everybody we treat them like they're coming to our house for Thanksgiving, so we miss out on that personal touch that we haven't been able to offer since COVID," said Tina Minnix Phipps, a longtime volunteer with the Elks.

While the tradition has continued for decades, she also lamented the one sad reality that came to light in recent years.

"One thing we found out when people were doing their drive-thru, we were finding out how many people were homeless and living in their vehicles with their pets," Minnix Phipps said. "In previous years, we tried to save enough money to buy the blankets, and scarves and hats and that just didn't happen this year," she said.

Anyone wishing to get involved in the future can call (574)267-7802.

The Elks Lodge is at 310 E Center St. Warsaw. The website is here.

A final meal count for Thursday was not immediately available, but was expected to be similar to last year when they provided a record-setting 720 meals.

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WARSAW — Ben Higgins will be the first to tell you downtown Warsaw doesn’t need another coffee shop – but it could always use generous amounts of love and goodness.

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By Roger Grossman
News Now Warsaw

WINONA LAKE -- The basketball season is over for Grace College.

But my goodness, what a season it was.

Where do we start?

I was raised right, so I roll with “ladies first.”

The Grace women’s basketball team had thoughts at the beginning of the season that they could have a good year. But expectations for the women’s basketball team at Grace College have been high before and not worked out for various reasons.

So the preseason prospectus for this year’s team was very positive, but the optimism outside the locker room was … what’s the word … tempered—that’s it, tempered.

Then the season started, and it started with nine wins out of 10 including four straight conference wins.

And it felt different than in previous seasons, but history dictated caution.

As they waded through the rest of the conference season, they got swept by Marian and Indiana Wesleyan. But it was clear that those two squads were not only the best in the conference but had the potential to make long runs in the NAIA women’s tournament—and both did.

The wins piled up—10, 11, 14, 16, 18, 19.

Could they possibly get to 20?

Twenty wins were rarely traversed territory for Grace women’s teams. They only won 20 three other times in a history that dates back to 1976-77.

This felt different.

They finished the regular season with 19 wins, 13 of them in the conference. They’d never won that many league games before.

Now it not only felt different -- it was different.

Win number 20 came and there were still more games to play. They hosted a conference tournament game and won it.

They would ultimately lose in the semifinals of the CL tournament, and then they had to wait for the NAIA selection show to see if their season was good enough to smash through another glass ceiling.

They watched, and waited, and there is was … ”Grace College” big and bold on their screen. They were seeded-12th and they were headed to Rio Grande in southeast Ohio to play Pikeville from Kentucky in the first round the following week.

That could have been enough, but they went to the NAIA tournament with plans to win, and they beat Pikeville.

A second-round loss meant that the Lady Lancers could still participate in the National Christian College Athletic Association tournament that they’d be hosting.

They lost in the semifinals and took third, which was their seed.

The new school record is 24 wins.

For the men, the feeling was very different from the start in October.

They were good, they were deep, they were talented, and Lancer Nation expected them to be good.

They did not disappoint.

31 wins in 35 games, they were the Crossroads League regular season champs, and they won the conference tournament in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Manahan OCC that made a roar when Frankie Davidson dunked home the clinching score that building had never heard, or felt, before.

They were highly thought of nationally, but the reaction was remarkable to see their name on the 1-seed line in their NAIA region, and they were the number-2 overall seed.

They won their first two games of that tournament at home, also in front of huge crowds despite it being spring break.

They went to Kansas City and advanced again, but their season ended just shy of the Final Four.

I have figured out a few things at age 55, but one that I haven’t yet is this question: which is harder…overcoming long-held doubts or meeting extraordinarily high expectations?

Forging new territory, or taking everyone’s best shot every time out and winning 31 of 35?

Neither is easy. Nothing worth having ever is.

When they happen at the same college in the same basketball season, you know it’s been a special winter.

Call it a “Season of Grace.”

* * *

Roger Grossman has been covering local sports in Kosciusko County for more than 30 years and is employed with News Now Warsaw. You can reach him at  rgrossman@kensington.media

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