Editor, Times-Union: It is amazing how one little act of kindness can renew your hope for America. The following incident has given me the proof I needed, when there is so much turmoil in the world, that there are indeed many people out there who will go above and beyond the call of duty to be kind and neighborly.
I had been having car trouble all day on Tuesday, but it reached its boiling point, literally, at about 8 p.m. that evening in the Owens parking lot. I was panicking at that point, I had my two kids with me, and personally do not know anything about cars. I wasn't out of my car more than 5 seconds when Richie from Claypool stopped to help me. He popped the hood and took a look. It could not have been more than just a few minutes later when another gentleman, Tom, who wouldn't give me a full name or an address, only that he was visiting Warsaw from out of state with plans to move here, stopped to help also. By about 8:30 they had concluded that the thermostat on my car needed changed. Tom graciously went to an auto parts store for the thermostat and Richie asked to borrow a flashlight from Owens.
The first thermostat didn't fit, and by this time the first auto parts store was closed, so Tom again got in his car and this time drove to another auto parts store for a thermostat, and it was pushing 9 p.m., closing time. At 9:30, we realized that we didn't have the correct part for the car, so they fixed me up temporarily and sent me just a few blocks home. The point of me retelling this story is that these men spent an hour and a half outside in below freezing temperatures to help me while I was in trouble. I just want to thank Tom, from somewhere out of state, and Richie from Claypool (and his family who waited patiently) for their kind-heartedness. I also need to thank Owens for lending me, or the guys really, the flashlight to work on my car, and also the auto parts stores, for answering the pounding on the doors after closing in order for me to get the parts I needed.
These small acts of kindness by several different people combine to be one great act of kindness and it has given me more hope than I have had since the tragedy of Sept. 11. I now have hope that everything will be all right for all of us here in America. I have been encouraged to continue these small acts of kindness and I hope I can urge all of you to do the same. Sometimes it doesn't seem like one small deed can change anything, but in combination, these small acts can be the start of something good.
Thank you again to all of my "rescuers" for going above and beyond the call of duty to help me.
Jennifer Cobb Warsaw, via e-mail
Community College
Editor, Times-Union: What would it take to get a community college in Warsaw? There seems to be a need to have a local college that can benefit this great community of ours. Many people in Warsaw would welcome a community college. Some of the benefits are obvious as to why we need "Warsaw Community College."
The benefits of having a local community college is to increase the educational opportunities of those who would otherwise not be able to due to the distance necessary to travel to attend the courses for some reason or another. Along with that, the community college would increase the marketability of the residents of Warsaw.
The community college would also increase the local revenue which in turn would reduce the taxes that the average person has placed upon them as "their fair share."
Although there are some local tech schools in Warsaw, they do not have a central location of the necessary courses to get a degree. Ivy Tech, a good tech school, is limiting in the fact that one has to manage a rigorous schedule of traveling from one town to another to get the needed classes. IPFW of Fort Wayne, also a great educational institute, is a 45-minute driving one way.
The last point would be that some local philanthropists could contribute to the community in aiding in the construction of the college, which in turn will benefit the local populace.
In conclusion, if Warsaw is to compete with other cities there needs to be growth and a community college would aid in making Warsaw a better competitive force in Indiana.
