WAYNEDALE SET TO EXCEED EXPECTATIONS IN 2019
As we enter 2019, it’s incredible to look around and see what our community has become! In just the past year, Waynedale has continued to grow and improve in ways that many did not think was possible, just a few years ago. For our recently added features, we can thank a hand-full of residents and businesses for leading the initiatives and envisioning a better community. They then paired their resources with residents, business owners and local government to create a better quality of life for all residents, employees and businesses in Waynedale.
Our community now offers more accessibility than ever with the recently installed trails and sidewalks along Bluffton road, with plans in the works to add even more sidewalks and trails in the future. Now, residents can enjoy a healthy stroll or bike ride down to their favorite business without the need for a car. The improved accessibility and safety should draw more customers to support our plentiful, multi-generational, family-owned shops and stores. Many people have commented that our variety of businesses offer “everything one might need in a community” and with neighborhoods in close proximity, they are easy for residents to get to. In the future, the sidewalks and trails will also offer more opportunity for even more of a hometown feel as the recently City Council-approved Bluffton/Lower Huntington Corridor Improvement portion of the Fort Wayne Comprehensive Plan is implemented.
Each year, our community’s residents and businesses have teamed together to support many large-scale self-funded events, including the Waynedale Community Picnic and the Waynedale Memorial Day Parade, but last year the community debuted EMBARK, a celebration of Waynedale trails and sidewalks. This noteworthy additional event hopes to make an appearance again in 2019. It’s strides to help residents explore more Waynedale businesses as well as to encourage active use of the trails and sidewalks are welcomed by both residents and businesses.
A struggle the Waynedale and the Elmhurst communities suffered last year, was the demolition of Elmhurst High School. Now reduced to a vacant lot, in November of 2017 almost 3,000 alumni and former staff members had the opportunity to tour the school one last time with their families, since the school officially closed in 2010. While many say that the demolition was expected, the historic high school coming down was certainly tough for Elmhurst alums and the community to watch. However, if there is any silver lining to the event, many people saw it as an opportunity to connect with fellow alumni and staff members on social media through alumni managed Elmhurst groups. This has led to discussions of alumni reunions and more projects on the horizon. It is also anticipated that there will be a monument constructed near the corner of Ardmore Ave. and Sandpoint Rd. in memory of the former high school.
On the north side of Waynedale, the historic Clyde Theatre has been renovated and began offering concerts in May. This undertaking seems to be packing Quimby Village’s once vacant and decrepit, now re-paved, parking lot multiple times a week. The Clyde Theatre has quickly become a centerpiece for a re-envisioned Quimby Village, positioning itself for a new set of businesses in the area from Brooklyn Ave to Broadway, along Bluffton Rd. It’s expected that soon there will be more businesses moving into the currently vacant suites that surround the theatre.
As a unique newspaper that covers family-friendly news to promote the many great things going on in our community, we hope that our non-traditional approach to the way we believe news should be reported continues to be inspirational to all residents to feel good about where they live and/or work. Less than 10 years ago, we constantly heard many ugly things coming from Waynedale residents about the area they lived in. But now, we are listening to residents talk about how awesome it is that their community has all of these new projects and organizations working to better the area; many of which, Waynedale News staff members founded, assisted with or helped with in some manner. Further than the hundreds of volunteer hours we dedicate to causes that better the community, the most gratifying part for us is simply to hear from residents about how excited they are for new things happening in Waynedale.
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention that if you would like to support the work we do with the newspaper or as volunteers in the community, we do accept donations and now offer mailed subscriptions, if you are outside of our delivery area. As a unique, free newspaper, we love what we do, but with advertising being the sole source funding our large operating, printing and delivery expenses, we often find it difficult to continue as a printed paper in the growing digital world. As such, we welcome any support you would like to provide. More simple ways you can help is to support our advertisers and follow, like and share on our facebook and twitter accounts.
We would like to thank each of our readers, supporters, writers and advertisers for helping to continue our now 86 years of publication. And we plan to bring you the very best news from around our community in the future.
We are proud to be in Waynedale. Cheers to what great things our community brings in 2019!
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