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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013
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Farm Credit moving to new building LAGRANGE — Work crews are putting the finishing touches on a new Farm Credit Mid-America office building at the intersection of U.S. 20 and C.R. 250 W, just west of LaGrange. The Farm Credit staff is expected to start moving into the new building by the second week in December. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is being planned for January. The rural lending institution has been a part of the local farm landscape for nearly 100 years and has made its home in downtown LaGrange since the 1950s. With steady growth in its business, particularly over the past five years, Farm Credit outgrew its current office, said Melanie Strait-Bok, associate vice president. “We’re busting at the seams. We’re out of room,” she said. “People had to work in conference rooms, we really have outgrown that facility.” In addition to providing the office space and conference rooms needed by the staff, Strait-Bok said the new building is modern and will be more energ-efficient
PATRICK REDMOND
Workers are finishing the final details on the new Farm Credit building at the intersection of U.S. 20 and C.R. 250 W, just west of LaGrange. The cooperative
than the current site. Farm Credit is a member-owned cooperative with a mission to serve farmers, agricultural businesses and rural communities. With more than 100,000 customer members nationwide, Farm Credit has more than $20 billion in assets. The organization provides loans for real estate, operating expenses,
lending institution broke ground for the new building last spring and started construction in June.
equipment purchases, housing as well as providing other farm-related services such as crop insurance and vehicle, equipment and building leases. Recently, the Agribusiness Industry Network named Farm Credit Mid-America the 2013 Agribusiness of the Year. Farm Credit maintains offices serving farmers, rural residents and agribusinesses
throughout Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. “The farming industry operates differently than most other commercial business. The cash flow is cyclical, and it takes a specialized lender to understand it,” Strait-Bok said. “Most of our staff has a farming background. Our people know what farming is — we go home to it every night.”
Teacher keeps dream of 1-room schoolhouse alive BY KIM KILBRIDE South Bend Tribune
DAVID SNODGRASS
Bloomington’s B-Line Trail was one of the factors that earned the city a bronze rating from Walk Friendly Communities. The B-Line is popular with walkers and bikers.
B-town tagged as walk friendly LINDSEY ERDODY Bloomington Herald-Times
BLOOMINGTON — The city has been recognized as a bike-friendly community for years, but for the first time, it recently received walk-friendly recognition. Walk Friendly Communities, which is an origination sponsored by FedEx and the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, ranks cities on their commitment to pedestrian safety and walkability as platinum, gold, silver or bronze. It recently awarded the bronze status to Bloomington — the only Indiana city currently ranked. Bloomington bicycle and pedestrian coordinator Vince Caristo said the city applied to see how it compared to other communities and to receive feedback. “It’s always great to get recognition for the things our community has done for a long time,” Caristo said. “It’s really valuable to get outside perspective on the things we do.” The report praised the city for the B-Line Trail, the unified development ordinance that outlines requirements for sidewalks and well-maintained, accessible pedestrian signals at intersections. However, it also pointed out pitfalls and provided suggestions for improvements, including increasing the miles of sidewalk, safety and education campaigns, reducing the crash rate and developing a pedestrian count program. The rating expires in 2018, and Caristo said the city will apply again. The report listed the city’s status of walking as “on the right track,” but the injury rate was a concern. Caristo said the
number of pedestrian and vehicle collisions have been increasing, from 53 reported in 2007 to 76 in 2011, but it’s most likely due to the increasing number of people walking. “If anything, in the past five years, we’ve been taking a lot of steps to improve our pedestrian safety,” Caristo said. Another suggestion in the report is to establish a pedestrian count system, which could be a way to collect more specific data on the city’s injury rate. “It’s something we haven’t done so far, but it’s a really good idea,” Caristo said. While there’s no plans to start a pedestrian count, the city is already working toward adding more sidewalks. Caristo said it’s something done every year, but it’s an expensive process. In 2012, the city built about 2.5 miles of new sidewalk, which accounted for about 1 percent of the overall sidewalk network, and it cost about $250,000. “It’s a good amount of money that we put toward it every year, but it just doesn’t get us very far,” Caristo said. “We have to be very careful and deliberate about where we install new sidewalk.” One recommendation the city has a start on is the educating and enforcement initiatives. The city launched the Civil Streets campaign last month to promote safer interactions among pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. In the spring, the city plans to work with the Bloomington Police Department and the Indiana University Police Department to distribute information and issue warnings and tickets, if necessary. “We just wanted to start doing something in that area and get the ball rolling,”
SOUTH BEND (AP) — “Welcome to Walnut Grove,” Tom Schultz says to two visitors on a rainy fall day, unlocking the door of the more than century-old, one-room schoolhouse that’s become both his passion and responsibility, as he sees it. It was 23 years ago that he oversaw the painstaking move of the building from Cassopolis to the grounds behind the old Eggleston Elementary School, where he formerly taught fourth grade. He reflects proudly on the coming together of the school community to raise the $26,000 necessary to move the building nearly 30 miles. Now, Schultz is an instructional coach and intervention specialist at Nuner Primary Center. But he still drives across town — even during summers and on weekends — to oversee and maintain the schoolhouse and the property it sits on, which also includes a small cabin, the South Bend Tribune reported. He smiles as he describes the heydays here: kids square-dancing on the porch of the cabin, sitting on benches in the surrounding woods looking for wildlife, and sledding down a nearby embankment in the winter. But perhaps because standardized test scores now trump field trips, he said, the property hasn’t been used for at least six years. Even more depressing, Walnut Grove’s fate seems to have been cinched — at least for the time being — in 2010 when kids playing with matches and dry grass set the schoolhouse on fire. Quick responders, Schultz said, saved it, though one wall sustained heavy damage. None of that deters Schultz, who has worked
for South Bend schools for nearly 40 years. “I could never walk away from this project,” he said. “There’s no way. “We’ve done so many things here,” he said. “When there was a (working) furnace, we could bring the kids out and it would be snowing and we’d do creative writing. … I’d tell teachers, ‘Whatever you do in your fourth-grade class at Marquette or Kennedy, do here.’” As for getting some help with the property, Schultz said several groups, companies and individuals have assisted over the years. He could use more, both in resources and time. A spokeswoman for South Bend schools says Schultz’s dedication to the old schoolhouse and grounds is much appreciated, but even so, the district doesn’t plan to put any financial resources toward it. (The old Eggleston building now houses Rise Up Academy.) “But we see the value in it,” Sue Coney said recently. Gene Hollenberg, principal of Nuner, said Schultz doesn’t only donate his time to keep the old schoolhouse grounds maintained at Eggleston. He also donates a significant portion of the fee for a multimedia writing program done every year at Nuner. “He will do anything,” Hollenberg said, “that benefits kids.” As for Walnut Grove, Schultz believes it’ll be a vibrant place again in the future. “Absolutely, absolutely,” he says. “I can see the day. That’s what I’m working for, to get kids back out here.” “It’s been a life’s work for me that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed,” he said. “I mean, how many teachers have been able to open a one-room schoolhouse?”
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Police Blotter • School lockers are targets of thefts KENDALLVILLE — East Noble High School officials reported to police the theft of items from two student lockers Tuesday. At 10:11 a.m., school officials and East Noble High School resource officer Sgt. John Dixon investigated the a report of a cash and iPod stolen from a student locker, a news release said. Police did not disclose the amount of cash. At about 2:30 p.m., school officials and Dixon received a report of an undisclosed amount of cash stolen from a student locker.
Student charged with truancy KENDALLVILLE — A 15-year-old East Noble High School student was charged with truancy Tuesday. At 9:39 a.m., school officials investigated a report of a student leaving school without permission. As a result of the investigation, a boy from Wolcottville was charged, and his case was forwarded to Noble County Probation.
House shot KENDALLVILLE — Someone shot through a house in the 300 block of West Greenwood Drive in rural Kendallville, the Noble County Sheriff’s Department said. A projectile appeared to come from the southwest of the house. No injuries were reported. The incident of criminal recklessness was reported Monday at 2:41 p.m.
Four booked into Noble County Jail ALBION — Four people were booked into the Noble County Jail Monday, the county sheriff’s department said. • Stevie Tyler Gillespie, 22, of Kendallville was booked on a warrant charging him with dealing in methamphetamine, possession of paraphernalia and misdemeanor driving while suspended. • Maria Claudia Hernandez, 22, of Cromwell was charged with misdemeanor driving while suspended. • Cody Allen Morrison, 22, of Kendallville was booked on a warrant for alleged possession of a synthetic drug and
disorderly conduct. • Skyler Allen Woods, 19, of Kendallville was booked on a warrant charging him with three counts of theft, two counts of burglary and one count each of trespass, possession of a knife on school property, possession of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia, being a minor consuming alcohol and possession of alcohol by a minor.
Two teens cited for disorderly conduct KENDALLVILLE — Two teens were cited for disorderly conduct after an alleged incident on an East Noble school bus Monday, the Kendallville Police Department said. Police were called at about 7:50 a.m. to East Noble High School to join school officials in investigating an alleged physical altercation that took place on a bus in the 600 block of Drake Road that morning. As a result of the investigation, two female students from Kendallville, ages 15 and 14, were cited for disorderly conduct. The case remains under investigation.
Three vehicles strike deer KENDALLVILLE — Three vehicles collided with deer in noninjury accidents Friday and Monday, area police agencies said. • The car of Bradley R. Kemerly, 38, of Albion hit a deer on C.R. 100N near C.R. 50W Friday at 4:25 a.m., the Noble County Sheriff’s Department said. • The van of Lillia L. Snyder, 34, of Spencerville struck a deer on S.R. 3 near C.R. 900N Friday at 7:34 p.m., the Noble County Sheriff’s Department said. • The pickup of Craig L. Nelson, 70, of Fort Wayne hit a deer on S.R. 3 near its west intersection with U.S. 6 Monday at 5:38 p.m., the Kendallville Police Department said.
One booked into LaGrange jail LAGRANGE — Local police arrested one man Monday, according to LaGrange County Jail records. Martin Johnson, 45, of the 600 block of South Townline Road, LaGrange, was arrested by LaGrange town police on a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon.
Backers see hope for Sunday alcohol sales INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Supporters of ending Indiana’s longtime ban on Sunday retail alcohol sales are hoping a change in leadership of a key legislative committee has improved their chances of success. That change is the appointment of Republican Rep. Tom Dermody of LaPorte as chairman of the House Public Policy Committee following the
resignation of previous chairman Rep. Bill Davis of Portland. Davis resigned from the Legislature last month to accept Gov. Mike Pence’s appointment as director of the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. That House committee held a hearing during this year’s legislative session on lifting the Sunday ban, but Davis refused to bring it up for a vote.
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