NORTH MANCHESTER - Though to many it means sunny skies and sandy beaches, a group of Manchester College students will build their spring break memories with hammers and nails.

Under the guidance of 25-year professor Brad Yoder, nearly 20 Manchester College students, including Tippecanoe Valley High School graduate Sara Kerkhoff, will leave Saturday and spend a week in Mississippi working for Habitat For Humanity.

While in Meridian, a town of 40,000 located an hour east of state capital Jackson, the group will do everything in building the house except pour the foundation and work with the electrical and plumbing.

"The first morning we'll put up the exterior walls and work on the roof structure," Yoder said. "After the first day, basically, the structure of the house will be there."

According to Yoder, Habitat For Humanity houses are generally 1,000-square-foot houses with two or three bedrooms.

As well as working with a construction supervisor from Meridian, Yoder and the college students will work hand in hand with the soon-to-be occupants of the home, commonly referred to as the partner family.

"I see it as a great opportunity to help people," said 19-year-old sophomore Christa Owens, a resident of Lowell and secretary of the Manchester College branch of Habitat for Humanity. "I could go to Florida anytime I wanted to, I have family there. This is a great opportunity for us to help someone. I'm majoring in social work, this will be a good experience for that."

Yoder started the Manchester College branch of Habitat For Humanity after listening to international co-founder Millard Fuller speak at the campus in November 1986.

Since then, Yoder has taken a group of students every spring break to give of themselves.

"It's very inspiring for me to work with them and for them to have the opportunity to see what a difference they've made," said Yoder, who has been a part in building nearly 50 houses.

"I wanna work with Habitat as a career," said 22-year-old Tes Carpenter, an Elwood native and president of the Manchester College chapter of Habitat For Humanity. "This is a great opportunity to work with others and make new friends."

Since Yoder started it in the mid 1980s, the Manchester chapter has worked in Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Mississippi.

In 1989, Yoder had the privilege of working alongside former president Jimmy Carter. The group spent five days in Milwaukee and built six houses.

"The Manchester College motto is 'Faith, Learning and Service,'" Yoder said. "Of all the things I do with Manchester College, this is the one I look forward to the most, the Habitat For Humanity spring break trip."

Warsaw Man Faces DUI Causing Death Charge

BY RUTH ANNE LIPKA, Times-Union Staff Writer

Nearly a year since a traffic accident claimed the life of a Claypool teen, charges were filed against the driver of the car.

Paul R. Finnegan, 20, of 3259 Wilson Ave., Silver Lake, is charged with driving while intoxicated/causing death and leaving the scene of a fatal traffic accident. Both charges are Class C felonies and each is punishable by two to eight years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.

Kosciusko County Prosecutor Steven Hearn filed the case Wednesday afternoon in Kosciusko Superior Court 3. An initial hearing is set for 1 p.m. March 27.

Finnegan was driving at 12:30 a.m. May 18 when he lost control of the vehicle and hit a tree on Wildwood Trail, west of Nina Lane, at Goose Lake.

Andrew J. Cook, 19, of West CR 900S, Claypool, was a front-seat passenger in the car registered to his mother and stepfather. Cook suffered a broken neck and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Finnegan was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail several hours after the accident, but official charges were never filed against him. He posted a $5,000 bond for his release from custody.

Former prosecutor Charles Waggoner claimed a conflict of interest and a special prosecutor was assigned to review the case. The Fulton County Prosecutor's Office never acted on the case.

Hearn said he wasn't aware that the case hadn't been disposed of and, when he realized that Finnegan was arrested and bonded out of jail on the charges, decided to act without consulting the special prosecutor.

"At this point, when I saw what had happened and they hadn't done anything in this long, I guessed they weren't going to do anything," Hearn said regarding the special prosecutor. He said he decided to take the matter into his own hands because all of the trial rules remain in place, including the defendant's right to a speedy trial.

Finnegan reportedly told police he walked away from the scene to get help. However, no contact was made between Finnegan and law enforcement from the time of the accident until he was brought to Kosciusko Community Hospital, Warsaw, by an adult friend at 3:40 a.m. May 18. According to the probable cause affidavit, Finnegan said he consumed seven beers prior to the accident.

Finnegan had a blood-alcohol level of .10 percent according to a blood test performed at KCH, court documents noted.

Finnegan suffered minor injuries in the accident, and three other passenger in the car also were injured.

Several minors at a nearby residence and other passengers in the vehicle were charged with illegal consumption of alcohol.

All of the teens involved in the accident reportedly were leaving a party when the crash occurred. A special prosecutor from Whitley County opted not to file charges against the owner of the residence where the party took place. [[In-content Ad]]