News

Jaime Macklin was sitting in class where she taught choir to seventh graders at Bellmont Middle School when the monumentous email popped up on her computer. The head of the Braves theater department had been awarded a grant through the Lilly Endowment for $12,000.

The bike tour that travels through the entirety of Adams County is gearing up for its 33rd occurrence. The Flat 50 Plus Bicycle Tour, hosted by the Adams County Bicycle Club, will be taking place at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 24th. This year the route will start and end at the Riverside Cen…

One of the city’s favorite and most consistently attended activities has arrived for its 2023 summer installation. Beginning today, there will be a concert every Thursday night throughout the summer months until August 31st. The Downtown Summer Concert Series will be bringing out twelve diff…

As the school year has ended and the time to celebrate the class of 2023 is here, each of the local school’s took a moment to recognize their top three students in their graduating class. Each school submitted a short bio, listing all of the students' involvements and awards that they have a…

Family is not always blood. This could not be any truer for Decatur native Bonnie Crosby, 74, and her 11-year-old Little Sister Savanah. The young girl isn’t Crosby’s biological sister, she’s a Decatur girl who signed up for Big Brothers Big Sisters, a mentorship program that connects local …

Pre-registration kicks off June 1st for the upcoming Golf Cart Parade, which will raise money for the Kekionga Project. The parade will start at the Riverside Center and will follow the St. Marys River towards the hospital. It will then swing around, back towards downtown, connecting on Winc…

The five students who were awarded the Rita Girard Scholarship were recently announced. These students are Mia Fullenkamp, Paul Morgan, Riley Thieme, Savannah Zimmerman, and Sawyer Zimmerman.

THURSDAY, JUNE 8

Prizes, snacks, and snow cones were all available for Bellmont Elementary School last Thursday as the school celebrated it's "Day of Awesomeness." North Adams Communications Director explained that the event was part of a fundraiser put on by the PTO, and it featured $5,000 worth of inflatab…

The American Legion Adams Post #43 organized a group of about 25 volunteers on Saturday morning who gathered first at the Saint Joesph Catholic Church before moving on to the Decatur Cemetery. They placed flags besides the tombstones of hundreds of local veterans in an act of remembrance lea…

Decatur Mayor Dan Rickord recently provided an outline for the future of parks within the city. Included in these projects are the efforts to turn the Riverside Center volleyball pits into pickleball courts, add a pickleball court at the REV Sports Complex, and the overall rejuvenation of th…

Adams Health Network was recently awarded a grant for the new aviary from the Adams County Community Foundation. The aviary provides an enjoyable and safe opportunity to experience nature while receiving skilled nursing care with Adams Health Network. It accommodates live birds for residents…

Two ten-year tax abatement is on the table for Riggs Florence and I-O Properties as they eye the fall for the start date of the Country Butcher. The request was brought forward at the Tuesday night Decatur City Council meeting. To receive the abatements, the company property needed to be dec…

8th grade students from Wyneken Lutheran School honored local fallen Officer Jerry Wyss while on with recent Washington DC Trip. The students pictured laying a wreath at the National Law Enforcement Memorial, from left to right, are Lanie French, Maya Schlemmer, Ashlyn Baumann, and Veronica …

Despite a little rain, the first Mama Llama on the Plaza event brought out numerous mothers with their children this past weekend. The event took place in the Riverside Center due to the inclement weather, after originally being planned for Madison Plaza. Those present were able to have both…

The annual Run for the Fallen made its way through Adams County on Friday morning as participants made their progress on the three day journey towards Indianapolis. The runners began at Allen County Memorial Coliseum at 7:30 a.m. They entered Decatur at about 11:32 a.m. marking the completio…

Friends, family, local businesses and members of Bellmont High School staff gathered together this past Sunday to celebrate a successful year for the Future Farmers of America. During their 28th annual awards banquet, numerous individuals were recognized for their various achievements in the…

A ribbon cutting was recently held at That Game Place, which is a video and board game play center open to the community. Admission is only $5 per person, with those ages three and under allowed in for free. Children 13 and under must have an adult stay with them. The gaming center is locate…

Decatur's downtown ice cream shop has opened its doors for the summer of 2023. Crowds trickled through at their opening day on Friday as children stuffed with ice cream excitedly ran around playing with the available games and drawing with chalk.

The final of the three local school’s awards night occurred this past Monday as Adams Central seniors were rewarded for their years of hard work and achievement.

Throughout the country the National Day of Prayer brought together numerous religious leaders, and Decatur was no exception. Along with a crowd of participants, various individuals representing their churches were present at the Peace Monument, which is located behind the Adams County Courth…

After half a century of contributions to the community in the Parks and Recreation Department, Nan Everett was recognized in front of a full crowd of supporters at Tuesday night’s city council meeting. She locked up the doors at the Riverside Center for the final time on April 28th as the Le…

Republicans in Decatur decided the outcome of three contested races for City Council Tuesday night with two of the three incumbents being ousted in favor of their challengers.

Decatur’s downtown ice cream shop has some new faces at the helm, however you may already recognize them. Eric and Keyara Schevenius, who purchased and re-opened Andy and Friend’s Coney Bar about a year ago, will be stepping in as the new managers of the Old 27 Ice Cream Shop.

There has been a shake up with one of Decatur’s downtown businesses as D-Town Energy has begun operating under the new ownership of Brett and Sarah Sheets. The duo has been operating The Well Nutrition in Van Wert for the past few years, which has been met with much success from that community.

Seniors at South Adams High School were rewarded for their years of hard work Wednesday night as students and parents attended the 2023 South Adams Scholarship Event. The scholarship application process included an eight-page application, with two required letters of recommendation and six-s…

A jury of eight women and four men in Adams Circuit Court deliberated for approximately three and a half hours Thursday afternoon before finding guilty of nine sex-related charges lodged against him in March of 2022.

Thanks to some generous donations from ACE Hardware in Decatur, US Aggregates, and Arnold Lumber, local resident Vicky Andrews, along with some help from her husband Ross, has created an ABC Walk for the Rivergreenway Trail. She hopes that this will provide an additional activity for grandpa…

Hundreds of women and a handful of men gathered at Knights of Columbus Hall in Decatur for the annual Purse Bingo fundraiser that supports Junior Achievement of Northern Indiana. Groups and organizations were able to purchase tables that included bingo cards, with the winning cards receiving…

This year's Stephen Decatur Award winner, Terry Baker (left), was surprised with a homemade hat similar to the ceremonial one from the family of his brother, and last year's award winner, Tim Baker (right).

The Decatur City Council unanimously agreed that ABCinema was in substantial compliance within their CF-1 agreement. Owner Barb Affolder explained to the council that attendance has continued to increase throughout the past year, with families coming from various communities to take advantag…

The transformation of the Council on Aging’s vehicular service to a County-wide public transportation service has taken its next step towards becoming a reality. Executive Director of the Council on Aging Michelle Lengerich, County Commissioner President Stan Stoppenhagen, and local attorney…

After months of deliberation, decision-making, and planning, the public auction for the 132 acres of farmland that surrounds the Golden Meadows retirement home has concluded. The official sale took place through Krueckeberg Auction and Realty at the Adams County 4 H Park Dining Hall.

The 98th Safe Haven Baby Box in the State of Indiana has been installed at the Emergency Management building within the city. The box allows women in crisis with a safe, anonymous, and legal way to surrender their child. So far this year, six babies have been left and safely recovered in the…

The Bellmont Theatre Department has begun working on Seussical, the Musical, which will be performed this April. The show will tell the story of Horton the elephant, who stumbles upon a speck of dust that contains the village of Whos within it. He then takes it upon himself to protect the Wh…

The dinner held at the Mirage Hall on Winchester Street in Decatur drew another large group of Republican faithful including all three GOP candidates for Governor, Secretary of State Diego Morales, three candidates for the Third District Congressional race—Wendy Davis, Andy Zay, and Jon Kenw…

President of the Adams County Board of Commissioners, Stan Stoppenhagen, took the podium at this month's Decatur Chamber Luncheon to give the yearly, “State of the County” address. There was a crowd of local government officials, including the heads of the county departments whom the Commiss…

Bellmont High School student Vanessa Hebble was recently named a state finalist in the VFW’s “Voice of Democracy” essay contest. The prompt for the essay was, “Why is the Veteran important?” She both wrote and then submitted an audio recording of the Decatur VFW Post 6236 winner. Her work wa…

Starting next Monday, April 10th throughout the remainder of the week, crews from the city of Decatur will be picking up heavy trash items. Items that will not be picked up include home improvement materials, carpeting, appliances with freon, and electronics. Trash will be picked up on the t…

The intersection of Adams Street, Mercer Avenue, Winchester Street, and South Second Street, also known as five-point, has been one of the highest producers of car accidents throughout Adams County for many years. Plans to remodel the intersection to create a safer roadway for drivers have b…

The five point project was not the only major step forward that Decatur has taken in recent days. The highly anticipated dog park, which will neighbor the Decatur Church of God on Mercer Avenue, has had fencing and a pavilion installed.

Due to the recent tornados, we were unable to print the papers last night. The Decatur Daily Democrat will be available online today for all subscribers by selecting the e-edition tab.