The Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club announced that applications for its annual public speaking contest are being accepted.

More toys are needed for the consignment sale, which will benefit the Combined Community Services Toy Give Away.

Thomas Hursey pleaded guilty this morning to robbery charges in connection to a 2015 double murder in Syracuse.

WABASH?– The board of directors of both North Central Co-op and Ceres Solutions announced Tuesday that the two Indiana-based agriculture cooperatives will merge operations and begin serving customers as one entity in September.

Indiana Department of Education released its school accountability grades Tuesday for 2016.

SYRACUSE – Wawasee School Board held a public 1028 hearing at its regular monthly meeting Tuesday.

BOURBON – The Bourbon Town Council members Les McFarland, Larry Wattenbarger and P.J. Hanley handled a number of items Tuesday.

NORTH MANCHESTER – The Manchester Community School Board plans to withdraw from the Manchester School District Co-op.

Tal Stewart Smith passed away Dec. 9, 2016, in his Indianapolis home. He was 63 at the time of his passing. He was born May 15, 1953, in McDonald Hospital, Warsaw, and was the son of Jerry L. and Wylan Titus Smith.  He graduated from Warsaw High School with the class of 1971 and grew in Warsaw’s Trinity United Methodist Church. He attended the University of Houston’s School of Finance for two years and was a 1975 graduate of Florida State University. He received a bachelor’s degree focusing on finance, computers and real estate. 

Betty A. Olinger, 89, Warsaw, passed away at 11:50 p.m. Dec. 12, 2016, at Kosciusko Community Hospital, Warsaw.  Arrangements are pending with McHatton-Sadler Funeral Chapel, Warsaw. ***** To sign the guestbook or send a condolence, go to www.mchattonsadlerfuneralchapels.com. 

The Kosciusko County Community Foundation’s 2017 general scholarship application is now available online at kcfoundation.org/scholarships/.

Hackers accessed Warsaw Community Public Library’s website, but only for a day.

Two final plats went before the Warsaw Plan Commission Monday night and both were quickly approved.

AKRON – The Tippecanoe Valley School Board recognized Mentone Elementary Reading Interventionist Karla Hayden as the recipient of the Tippecanoe Valley World Class Teacher Award.

MILFORD – At Milford Town Council’s monthly meeting Monday, discussions revolved around bonds in order to fund the 2017 wastewater improvement plan.

Kosciusko Community YMCA will start winter classes Jan. 9, and run through Feb. 19.

For 13 years, a group from the Beaver Dam United Methodist Church and other community members, calling themselves the Wheels on Fire Team, have worked together to help individuals who are fighting cancer.

County Jail Bookings  The following people were preliminarily charged and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail: • 12:20 p.m. Monday – Eric Charles Bennett, 25, Elkhart, arrested for failure to comply. No bond set. • 4:39 p.m. Monday – Trenton Francis Hairrell, 22, of 1104 N. Crete Drive, Warsaw, arrested for theft. Bond: $400. • 8:10 p.m. Monday – Aaron Wade Lindsey, 36, of 687 N. Timberline Circle, Warsaw, arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Bond: $700. • 10:40 p.m. Monday– Monica Lynn Mullins, 21, of 708 W. Catholic St., Pierceton, arrested for a probation violation. Bond: $5,250.

Elena Lopez, 39, Warsaw, passed away at 11:56 a.m. Dec. 11, 2016, at Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne. Arrangements are pending at McHatton-Sadler Funeral Chapel, Warsaw. ***** To sign the guestbook or send a condolence, go to www.mchattonsadlerfuneralchapels.com. 

A plea hearing for the third man accused of being involved in a 2015 double murder in Syracuse was rescheduled this morning for Wednesday in Kosciusko Circuit Court.

Something special – maybe even a little magical – began happening in April at Cardinal Services when officials decided clients could benefit from more than just a simple art class.

WINONA LAKE – Grace College students Kaylee Kercher, resident of Goshen, and Michelle Sweers, resident of Union, Mich., spent the summer of 2016 creating art at AkzoNobel Powder Coatings in Warsaw.

County Jail Bookings  The following people were preliminarily charged and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail: • 10: 42 p.m. Friday – Rhashon Kamal Wells, 27, of 739 E. Winona Ave., Warsaw, arrested for failure to comply and failure to appear. Bond: $583.50. • 12:12 p.m. Friday – Rachelle Dale Dickey, 26, of 1202 Wooster Road, #89, Winona Lake, arrested for failure to appear, theft and arrested on a civil warrant. Bond: $2,175.  • 12:29 p.m. Friday – Mark Dale McGillem, 39, of 330 EMS T26 Lane, Leesburg, arrested for domestic battery in the presence of a child. Bond: $5,250. • 2:54 p.m. Friday – Amy Christine Eskridge, 31, of 201 E. Pittsburgh St., Syracuse, arrested for failure to appear. No bond set. • 6:31 p.m. Friday – Alyssa Rebecka Ford, 18, of 7286 E. CR 650N, North Webster, arrested for failure to appear.  Bond: $600.  Property Damage Accidents • 5:49 p.m. Thursday – U.S. 6 and Ind. 13, Syracuse. Car hit deer. Driver: Beatrice Harlan, 20, Ligonier. Damage: $1,000 to $2,500. Syracuse Police?Department investigated,  • 6:31 a.m. Friday – North CR 350W and Old 30, Warsaw. Car hit old corner post. Driver: David Arnold, 65, Old 30, Warsaw. Damage: $2,500 to $5,000. Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department investigated.  • 8:57 a.m. Friday – Intersection of Old 30 and CR 600W, Atwood. Car hit deer. Driver: Leslie Teddy, 41, South Bend. Damage: $1,000 to $2,500. KCSD.

Leesburg is awaiting a visit from Santa Claus this Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

The Kosciusko Community YMCA will host its annual Frigid 5K Road Race on New Year’s Day.