’21 Timeline Offers Reminder Of Changes & Changes To Come
December 30, 2021 at 11:00 p.m.
’21 Timeline Offers Reminder Of Changes & Changes To Come
By David [email protected]
Here is a timeline of some of the things that took place locally in 2021:
• On Jan. 7, Barbee Landing’s request for a liquor license renewal was denied by the Kosciusko County Alcohol Tobacco Commission. The case was on the board’s docket for months as Barbee Landing owner Joel Stein settled violations charged against his business.
The Barbee Landing, 3687 N. Barbee Road, Warsaw, was hit with several violations after Ty Brown, a 20-year-old visiting the area for Labor Day weekend, was served alcohol at the establishment, left on foot and was found dead alongside McKenna Road at 4:50 a.m. Sept. 2, 2019.
The Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission voted Jan. 20 to uphold Kosciusko County’s recommendation to deny Barbee Landing’s liquor license renewal.
The former Barbee Landing has a new name, new look and a new owner who is seeking to make her restaurant more family friendly than Barbee Landing was, according to an Aug. 6 story. On Aug. 5, Sherie Gallas, owner of Lakelife Bar & Grill, was approved for a new beer, wine and liquor permit with carry-out by the Kosciusko County ATC.
• On Jan. 11, a preliminary plat for the proposed redevelopment subdivision at the former Gateway Education Center, 201 N. Union St., also formerly Madison Elementary School, was approved by the Warsaw Plan Commission.
Groninger-Groninger Group LLC sought to subdivide a 12.9-acre lot into 64 lots containing a mix of detached single-family residential units and attached zero lot line residential units. The subdivision is named Gateway Grove.
Alumni of Madison Elementary started collecting mementos from the former school Jan. 12 in the form of bricks.
On Feb. 1, the Warsaw Common Council unanimously approved a zoning ordinance authorizing a residential planned unit development district for Gateway Grove.
With the first house expected to be up as soon as September, a groundbreaking ceremony for Gateway Grove was April 30.
• Four people sought the Superior Court I judgeship early in 2021 after the unexpected death of Judge David Cates Dec. 9, 2020. When a sitting judge dies, the governor is tasked with filling the bench through an application process. Of the four candidates, Gov. Eric Holcomb chose Karin McGrath, the first woman judge Kosciusko County has had, on March 29. She was sworn in June 1 by Kosciusko Circuit Court Judge Mike Reed.
• All the reasons and associated costs for creating a fire protection territory between the town of North Webster and Tippecanoe Township were laid out at a public meeting Feb. 10, but a few residents argued against it because they don’t want to see their property taxes go up. The meeting was the first of three public hearings on the possible formation of the fire territory.
Two North Webster councilmen killed the formation of a fire territory with Tippecanoe Township March 17 by not providing a second to Councilwoman Lisa Strombeck’s motion to proceed. The Town Council and the Tippecanoe Township Advisory Board both had to approve a resolution and interlocal agreement at the end of Wednesday night’s meeting for the fire territory’s creation to move forward.
The North Webster Town Council scheduled a fourth public meeting with the Township Advisory Board March 31 for the continuation of the hearing to establish a fire territory between the two entities. At the fourth meeting, on the last possible day of the calendar year Indiana law allows for the formation of a fire territory, the Town Council and Township Advisory Board approved the creation of the fire territory.
• The Indiana Department of Transportation announced in February it will begin a study to improve the U.S. 30 corridor from Valparaiso to the Ohio state line.
A public meeting was held Nov. 16 at the Warsaw Performing Arts Center for an on-route concept. The hundreds of people in attendance overwhelmingly supported the on-route concept rather than a northern or southern route. The final decision will be up to the Indiana Department of Transportation.
• The Winona Lake Town Council fielded several questions about the ice rink and pavilion project during a public meeting Feb. 23. The project will place a pavilion that houses an ice rink, along with restrooms and maintenance building, in the grass lot across from the post office. Estimated cost was $6.5 million, and the town received $1.5 million from the K21 Health Foundation. Local dignitaries turned some dirt March 19 to begin construction of the multi-purpose pavilion and ice rink.
• In September 2020, Kosciusko REMC introduced Kosciusko Connect, a subsidiary offering a fiber-to-the-home broadband internet to all KREMC members. On March 2, KREMC announced this two-year project has officially begun, and that home installation could start as early as fall 2021.
Kosciusko Connect broke ground on its high-speed, fiber-to-the-home internet network in April. On Dec. 9, Kosciusko Connect commemorated the official connection of their first community members to the internet network.
• Thanks to the generosity of the community, Riley Radio Days reached the $1 million milestone this year for the KC Riley Kids Fund. The two-day event ended at 7 p.m. March 12 with Kris Lake, of 107.3 WRSW, announcing that in the 10th year of Riley Radio Days, “We made it! We did it!”
• Heaven was flooded with prayers for 10-year-old Payton Slaymaker, according to an April 3 story. Payton’s mother, Kim Slaymaker, said Payton would be 21 months post-diagnosis April 11. Payton was diagnosed in 2019 with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a brain tumor found in a part of the brain stem called the pons. Signs all across Kosciusko County and around the world stated, “Fear is a Liar. Pray for Payton Slaymaker.”
Sadly, Payton died April 21, but she touched and continues to touch the lives of many throughout the world.
Maddi Hamm, daughter of Ben and Stacy Hamm, was the first recipient of the annual Payton Slaymaker Love of Llamas Mental Attitude Award, according to a July 17 story.
• Chore Time Brock announced in April that it was planning a $20 million upgrade to its facilities in Milford and sought a tax abatement from the Milford Town Council. The plan includes $19.7 million in real property demolition and reconstruction and $1 million in IT equipment.
Three years of planning and three months of demolition work cleared the way for the Sept. 29 groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of a multi-phase renovation by CTB Inc. at its Milford manufacturing and office headquarters.
• On April 27, Kosciusko County Commissioners passed an ordinance declaring the county is a Second Amendment sanctuary. In the ordinance, it states the county shall not comply with, assist or use any personnel or financial resources to enforce, administer or cooperate with any law that violates the Second Amendment or Article I, Section 32 of the U.S. Constitution.
Due to a “tremendous” amount of interest in the Kosciusko County Commissioners’ special meeting with Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita on his “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” the location for it was moved to 5 p.m. July 8 at the Winona Lake Heritage Room.
The July 8 meeting – which the Commissioners and county attorney Ed Ormsby said wasn’t a Commissioners meeting but they were just listening to what the public had to say on the “Parents’ Bill of Rights” and critical race theory – had hundreds in attendance.
At the Commissioners’ July 20 meeting, the Commissioners heard criticism about the Rokita event, including that it was biased.
A letter to the Commissioners from Zimmer Biomet letting them know where the company stood on the Commissioners’ political stances on issues like critical race theory, and a letter from the Commissioners responding to Zimmer Biomet, were released July 21. The Zimmer Biomet letter was signed by Chairman, President and CEO Bryan C. Hanson and Chad Phipps, SVP, general counsel. Both letters were published in the Times-Union newspaper and website.
• An insufficient number of workers led Richards Restaurant, 3605 Commerce Drive, Warsaw, to close, according to a May 8 story. Its last day to be open for business was May 13.
• Just in time for the warm summer weather, the plaza on the north end of Buffalo Street was completed and a dedication ceremony for it was held May 21. The Castaldi Fountain was turned on so water shot up several feet in the air, and the name of the sculpture by artist Osman Akan was unveiled as “Radiance.”
• The Warsaw Salvation Army celebrated 100 years of helping people in 2021. Captain and Mrs. Fred Harvey came to Warsaw in 1921. In February 1921, Harvey presented to the Warsaw Rotary Club at the Hays Hotel downtown Warsaw that the Army was going to open in Warsaw and start an assistance program and try to reach out to the unchurched people in the community.
The Salvation Army has been at 501 E. Arthur St., Warsaw, since 1957. As part of the Warsaw Salvation Army’s 100th anniversary celebration this year, the Salvation Army held an open house Oct. 7.
• U.S. Sen. Todd Young joined state, county and city officials and the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce June 3 for the ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house of Wishbone Medical’s corporate headquarters at 100 Capitol Drive, Warsaw.
• The third annual Juneteenth celebration in Warsaw June 19 was a little different than the previous two years. It came only two days after President Joe Biden signed legislation to make Juneteenth the 12th federal holiday. Warsaw’s Juneteenth program was organized and supported by One Warsaw - Celebrating Us and the African and Black Leaders for Excellence (ABLE) resource group of Zimmer Biomet.
• Nextremity Solutions held a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony July 23 for its news facility at 1195 Polk Drive. The building is a 69,479-square-foot state-of-the-art facility home to approximately 90 employees.
• Jim Zachary, who won election to the Winona Lake Town Council two years ago to represent Ward 1, died Aug. 17 at Kosciusko Community Hospital. A Republican caucus was scheduled for Sept. 17 to replace Zachary on the Council. The caucus elected Austin Reynolds to the Council.
On Dec. 19, Winona Lake Clerk-Treasurer Kent Adams died at age 85. In his lifetime, Adams served as an Indiana State Police trooper, county treasurer, FBI agent, teacher, coach, Warsaw School Board member, a state senator and a state representative. A caucus is scheduled to replace Adams as the Winona clerk-treasurer at 6 p.m. Jan. 17.
• County attorney Ed Ormsby’s fees came under scrutiny by the County Council Aug. 26 during the hearing for the County Commissioners’ cumulative capital development budget. For 2020 expended, legal services were listed as $57,788. The 2021 adopted budget listed legal services as $58,000, while the 2022 requested budget listed $131,000 for legal services.
On Sept. 9, Kosciusko County Commissioner Brad Jackson let the County Council know he was “really disappointed” in them after the Council voted to increase the Commissioners’ legal services budget for Ormsby only by 4% to $60,320.
Before adopting the 2022 budget Oct. 14, the Kosciusko County Council wrapped up discussion on the legal services. Commissioner Cary Groninger told the Council that the commissioners and Ormsby did away with the previous county attorney contract and “everything that he’ll have moving forward is all by the hour. His hourly rate is the $200 an hour that we agreed to this year. But there’s no contract outside of that, so it’ll all just billed by the hour.”
The budget was approved at $60,320.
• After a four-month-long investigation by the Syracuse Police Department, 14-year-old Aaliyah Ramirez was found Aug. 27 in the area of Lake Worth Beach, Fla., by U.S. Marshals as they saw her entering a vehicle. A short time later, Ramirez’s grandmother, Elizabeth Sands, 47, Palm Beach County, Fla., and aunt, Alissa Sands, 25, Marion County, Ind., were taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals and deputies on arrest warrants out of Kosciusko County for interference with custody and false informing.
• With one Board member voting against it, the Warsaw School Board voted 5-1 Sept. 7 to support Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert’s recommendation to mandate masks at all Warsaw schools. On the first day of school Sept. 10 for the 2021-22 school year, there was a protest before school and a walkout organized for 10 a.m. It was the second day of the protest, but only a few students walked out.
Several WCS parents and residents spoke to the school Board about the mask mandate at the Sept. 20 meeting. On Nov. 15, Warsaw School Board approved Hoffert’s recommendation to go mask optional when students return to school in January.
During the Nov. 9 County Commissioners meeting, dozens of county residents attended to request Public Health Officer Dr. William Remington not be reappointed to the position. They cited the mask mandate at WCS, a “hot mic” incident at Warsaw City Hall and Remington’s 26-year tenure as health officer as some of the reasons he should not be reappointed.
At the Dec. 7 Commissioners meeting, the Commissioners voted 2-1 to reappoint Remington as the public health officer. Commissioner Brad Jackson voted against.
• The Warsaw Medtronic site will be closing in 2024, according to an Oct. 8 story. According to a Medtronic spokesperson on Oct. 7, “Medtronic operates within a highly competitive global healthcare environment. Throughout the company’s global locations, we consistently evaluate our operations to advance growth, improve operational efficiency and strengthen our position for the future.
“As a result, Medtronic is transitioning manufacturing from the facility in Warsaw, Ind., to other Medtronic manufacturing facilities in its operations network over the next few years. The Warsaw site will continue to manufacture Medtronic products until all transfers are completed. The site is expected to close in 2024.”
• Warsaw Police Department mourned the passing of Capt. Clay A. Layne in 2021. Layne suffered a medical emergency at his residence on Oct. 11, and succumbed to the medical emergency Oct. 19.
• By the summer of 2023, Parkview Warsaw will become Parkview Kosciusko Hospital, according to an Oct. 29 story. Construction started on an 80,000-square-foot addition, which will double the facility’s size and transform it into a full-service hospital.
• A Nappanee couple were arrested in relation to several barn fires in Elkhart County. According to two separate news releases from the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office, after a lengthy and detailed investigation by investigators, Joseph D. Hershberger, 41, and Sherry Thomas, 32, both of Nappanee, were each taken into custody on preliminary charges of arson and attempted contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to a Dec. 2 story.
Here is a timeline of some of the things that took place locally in 2021:
• On Jan. 7, Barbee Landing’s request for a liquor license renewal was denied by the Kosciusko County Alcohol Tobacco Commission. The case was on the board’s docket for months as Barbee Landing owner Joel Stein settled violations charged against his business.
The Barbee Landing, 3687 N. Barbee Road, Warsaw, was hit with several violations after Ty Brown, a 20-year-old visiting the area for Labor Day weekend, was served alcohol at the establishment, left on foot and was found dead alongside McKenna Road at 4:50 a.m. Sept. 2, 2019.
The Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission voted Jan. 20 to uphold Kosciusko County’s recommendation to deny Barbee Landing’s liquor license renewal.
The former Barbee Landing has a new name, new look and a new owner who is seeking to make her restaurant more family friendly than Barbee Landing was, according to an Aug. 6 story. On Aug. 5, Sherie Gallas, owner of Lakelife Bar & Grill, was approved for a new beer, wine and liquor permit with carry-out by the Kosciusko County ATC.
• On Jan. 11, a preliminary plat for the proposed redevelopment subdivision at the former Gateway Education Center, 201 N. Union St., also formerly Madison Elementary School, was approved by the Warsaw Plan Commission.
Groninger-Groninger Group LLC sought to subdivide a 12.9-acre lot into 64 lots containing a mix of detached single-family residential units and attached zero lot line residential units. The subdivision is named Gateway Grove.
Alumni of Madison Elementary started collecting mementos from the former school Jan. 12 in the form of bricks.
On Feb. 1, the Warsaw Common Council unanimously approved a zoning ordinance authorizing a residential planned unit development district for Gateway Grove.
With the first house expected to be up as soon as September, a groundbreaking ceremony for Gateway Grove was April 30.
• Four people sought the Superior Court I judgeship early in 2021 after the unexpected death of Judge David Cates Dec. 9, 2020. When a sitting judge dies, the governor is tasked with filling the bench through an application process. Of the four candidates, Gov. Eric Holcomb chose Karin McGrath, the first woman judge Kosciusko County has had, on March 29. She was sworn in June 1 by Kosciusko Circuit Court Judge Mike Reed.
• All the reasons and associated costs for creating a fire protection territory between the town of North Webster and Tippecanoe Township were laid out at a public meeting Feb. 10, but a few residents argued against it because they don’t want to see their property taxes go up. The meeting was the first of three public hearings on the possible formation of the fire territory.
Two North Webster councilmen killed the formation of a fire territory with Tippecanoe Township March 17 by not providing a second to Councilwoman Lisa Strombeck’s motion to proceed. The Town Council and the Tippecanoe Township Advisory Board both had to approve a resolution and interlocal agreement at the end of Wednesday night’s meeting for the fire territory’s creation to move forward.
The North Webster Town Council scheduled a fourth public meeting with the Township Advisory Board March 31 for the continuation of the hearing to establish a fire territory between the two entities. At the fourth meeting, on the last possible day of the calendar year Indiana law allows for the formation of a fire territory, the Town Council and Township Advisory Board approved the creation of the fire territory.
• The Indiana Department of Transportation announced in February it will begin a study to improve the U.S. 30 corridor from Valparaiso to the Ohio state line.
A public meeting was held Nov. 16 at the Warsaw Performing Arts Center for an on-route concept. The hundreds of people in attendance overwhelmingly supported the on-route concept rather than a northern or southern route. The final decision will be up to the Indiana Department of Transportation.
• The Winona Lake Town Council fielded several questions about the ice rink and pavilion project during a public meeting Feb. 23. The project will place a pavilion that houses an ice rink, along with restrooms and maintenance building, in the grass lot across from the post office. Estimated cost was $6.5 million, and the town received $1.5 million from the K21 Health Foundation. Local dignitaries turned some dirt March 19 to begin construction of the multi-purpose pavilion and ice rink.
• In September 2020, Kosciusko REMC introduced Kosciusko Connect, a subsidiary offering a fiber-to-the-home broadband internet to all KREMC members. On March 2, KREMC announced this two-year project has officially begun, and that home installation could start as early as fall 2021.
Kosciusko Connect broke ground on its high-speed, fiber-to-the-home internet network in April. On Dec. 9, Kosciusko Connect commemorated the official connection of their first community members to the internet network.
• Thanks to the generosity of the community, Riley Radio Days reached the $1 million milestone this year for the KC Riley Kids Fund. The two-day event ended at 7 p.m. March 12 with Kris Lake, of 107.3 WRSW, announcing that in the 10th year of Riley Radio Days, “We made it! We did it!”
• Heaven was flooded with prayers for 10-year-old Payton Slaymaker, according to an April 3 story. Payton’s mother, Kim Slaymaker, said Payton would be 21 months post-diagnosis April 11. Payton was diagnosed in 2019 with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a brain tumor found in a part of the brain stem called the pons. Signs all across Kosciusko County and around the world stated, “Fear is a Liar. Pray for Payton Slaymaker.”
Sadly, Payton died April 21, but she touched and continues to touch the lives of many throughout the world.
Maddi Hamm, daughter of Ben and Stacy Hamm, was the first recipient of the annual Payton Slaymaker Love of Llamas Mental Attitude Award, according to a July 17 story.
• Chore Time Brock announced in April that it was planning a $20 million upgrade to its facilities in Milford and sought a tax abatement from the Milford Town Council. The plan includes $19.7 million in real property demolition and reconstruction and $1 million in IT equipment.
Three years of planning and three months of demolition work cleared the way for the Sept. 29 groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of a multi-phase renovation by CTB Inc. at its Milford manufacturing and office headquarters.
• On April 27, Kosciusko County Commissioners passed an ordinance declaring the county is a Second Amendment sanctuary. In the ordinance, it states the county shall not comply with, assist or use any personnel or financial resources to enforce, administer or cooperate with any law that violates the Second Amendment or Article I, Section 32 of the U.S. Constitution.
Due to a “tremendous” amount of interest in the Kosciusko County Commissioners’ special meeting with Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita on his “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” the location for it was moved to 5 p.m. July 8 at the Winona Lake Heritage Room.
The July 8 meeting – which the Commissioners and county attorney Ed Ormsby said wasn’t a Commissioners meeting but they were just listening to what the public had to say on the “Parents’ Bill of Rights” and critical race theory – had hundreds in attendance.
At the Commissioners’ July 20 meeting, the Commissioners heard criticism about the Rokita event, including that it was biased.
A letter to the Commissioners from Zimmer Biomet letting them know where the company stood on the Commissioners’ political stances on issues like critical race theory, and a letter from the Commissioners responding to Zimmer Biomet, were released July 21. The Zimmer Biomet letter was signed by Chairman, President and CEO Bryan C. Hanson and Chad Phipps, SVP, general counsel. Both letters were published in the Times-Union newspaper and website.
• An insufficient number of workers led Richards Restaurant, 3605 Commerce Drive, Warsaw, to close, according to a May 8 story. Its last day to be open for business was May 13.
• Just in time for the warm summer weather, the plaza on the north end of Buffalo Street was completed and a dedication ceremony for it was held May 21. The Castaldi Fountain was turned on so water shot up several feet in the air, and the name of the sculpture by artist Osman Akan was unveiled as “Radiance.”
• The Warsaw Salvation Army celebrated 100 years of helping people in 2021. Captain and Mrs. Fred Harvey came to Warsaw in 1921. In February 1921, Harvey presented to the Warsaw Rotary Club at the Hays Hotel downtown Warsaw that the Army was going to open in Warsaw and start an assistance program and try to reach out to the unchurched people in the community.
The Salvation Army has been at 501 E. Arthur St., Warsaw, since 1957. As part of the Warsaw Salvation Army’s 100th anniversary celebration this year, the Salvation Army held an open house Oct. 7.
• U.S. Sen. Todd Young joined state, county and city officials and the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce June 3 for the ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house of Wishbone Medical’s corporate headquarters at 100 Capitol Drive, Warsaw.
• The third annual Juneteenth celebration in Warsaw June 19 was a little different than the previous two years. It came only two days after President Joe Biden signed legislation to make Juneteenth the 12th federal holiday. Warsaw’s Juneteenth program was organized and supported by One Warsaw - Celebrating Us and the African and Black Leaders for Excellence (ABLE) resource group of Zimmer Biomet.
• Nextremity Solutions held a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony July 23 for its news facility at 1195 Polk Drive. The building is a 69,479-square-foot state-of-the-art facility home to approximately 90 employees.
• Jim Zachary, who won election to the Winona Lake Town Council two years ago to represent Ward 1, died Aug. 17 at Kosciusko Community Hospital. A Republican caucus was scheduled for Sept. 17 to replace Zachary on the Council. The caucus elected Austin Reynolds to the Council.
On Dec. 19, Winona Lake Clerk-Treasurer Kent Adams died at age 85. In his lifetime, Adams served as an Indiana State Police trooper, county treasurer, FBI agent, teacher, coach, Warsaw School Board member, a state senator and a state representative. A caucus is scheduled to replace Adams as the Winona clerk-treasurer at 6 p.m. Jan. 17.
• County attorney Ed Ormsby’s fees came under scrutiny by the County Council Aug. 26 during the hearing for the County Commissioners’ cumulative capital development budget. For 2020 expended, legal services were listed as $57,788. The 2021 adopted budget listed legal services as $58,000, while the 2022 requested budget listed $131,000 for legal services.
On Sept. 9, Kosciusko County Commissioner Brad Jackson let the County Council know he was “really disappointed” in them after the Council voted to increase the Commissioners’ legal services budget for Ormsby only by 4% to $60,320.
Before adopting the 2022 budget Oct. 14, the Kosciusko County Council wrapped up discussion on the legal services. Commissioner Cary Groninger told the Council that the commissioners and Ormsby did away with the previous county attorney contract and “everything that he’ll have moving forward is all by the hour. His hourly rate is the $200 an hour that we agreed to this year. But there’s no contract outside of that, so it’ll all just billed by the hour.”
The budget was approved at $60,320.
• After a four-month-long investigation by the Syracuse Police Department, 14-year-old Aaliyah Ramirez was found Aug. 27 in the area of Lake Worth Beach, Fla., by U.S. Marshals as they saw her entering a vehicle. A short time later, Ramirez’s grandmother, Elizabeth Sands, 47, Palm Beach County, Fla., and aunt, Alissa Sands, 25, Marion County, Ind., were taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals and deputies on arrest warrants out of Kosciusko County for interference with custody and false informing.
• With one Board member voting against it, the Warsaw School Board voted 5-1 Sept. 7 to support Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert’s recommendation to mandate masks at all Warsaw schools. On the first day of school Sept. 10 for the 2021-22 school year, there was a protest before school and a walkout organized for 10 a.m. It was the second day of the protest, but only a few students walked out.
Several WCS parents and residents spoke to the school Board about the mask mandate at the Sept. 20 meeting. On Nov. 15, Warsaw School Board approved Hoffert’s recommendation to go mask optional when students return to school in January.
During the Nov. 9 County Commissioners meeting, dozens of county residents attended to request Public Health Officer Dr. William Remington not be reappointed to the position. They cited the mask mandate at WCS, a “hot mic” incident at Warsaw City Hall and Remington’s 26-year tenure as health officer as some of the reasons he should not be reappointed.
At the Dec. 7 Commissioners meeting, the Commissioners voted 2-1 to reappoint Remington as the public health officer. Commissioner Brad Jackson voted against.
• The Warsaw Medtronic site will be closing in 2024, according to an Oct. 8 story. According to a Medtronic spokesperson on Oct. 7, “Medtronic operates within a highly competitive global healthcare environment. Throughout the company’s global locations, we consistently evaluate our operations to advance growth, improve operational efficiency and strengthen our position for the future.
“As a result, Medtronic is transitioning manufacturing from the facility in Warsaw, Ind., to other Medtronic manufacturing facilities in its operations network over the next few years. The Warsaw site will continue to manufacture Medtronic products until all transfers are completed. The site is expected to close in 2024.”
• Warsaw Police Department mourned the passing of Capt. Clay A. Layne in 2021. Layne suffered a medical emergency at his residence on Oct. 11, and succumbed to the medical emergency Oct. 19.
• By the summer of 2023, Parkview Warsaw will become Parkview Kosciusko Hospital, according to an Oct. 29 story. Construction started on an 80,000-square-foot addition, which will double the facility’s size and transform it into a full-service hospital.
• A Nappanee couple were arrested in relation to several barn fires in Elkhart County. According to two separate news releases from the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office, after a lengthy and detailed investigation by investigators, Joseph D. Hershberger, 41, and Sherry Thomas, 32, both of Nappanee, were each taken into custody on preliminary charges of arson and attempted contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to a Dec. 2 story.
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