WEST NOBLE’S KELSIE PETERSON PASSES THE 1,000-POINT MARK. MORE ON PAGE 6.
The
Advance An edition of THE NEWS SUN
Most local news was good news LIGONIER — In Ligonier, 2013 will be remembered for growth in the city’s industrial park. Two of the largest employers in the West Noble area expanded their factories and created more than 200 new jobs. Tenneco, which builts exhaust systems for several major vehicle manufacturers, added about 50,000 square feet to its plant on Gerber Street in the city’s industrial park. The expansion allowed the company to create 100 new jobs. On U.S. 6, the Guardian Automotive plant also increased the size of its factory and spread the word that it also had about 100 new jobs to fill. The city of Ligonier assisted both companies with their expansion plans through infrastructure funding. City officials were glad to get a major project completed. The combined-sewer overflow project on the city’s northeast side involved major disruptions of streets and sidewalks but was finished in the fall of 2013. The project, part of a federal and state mandate to seperate stormwater lines from sanitary sewer lines, was completed on time and under budget. City officials said the project
will result in annual savings of nearly $100,000, as millions of gallons of rainwater no longer need to be treated at the city’s sewer plant. The year 2013 saw a major expansion and construction project for the Ligonier Public Library. The library, housed in a historic building funded by the Carneige Foundation 1907, will be nearly doubled in size when the project is completed in late 2014 or early 2015. The library moved to a temporary location because of the construction. Ground was broken in December on the existing library building on Main Street. In Cromwell, town officials were busy in 2013 grappling with the fate of a gymnasium that was part of the former Cromwelll High School. The aging building has been used as a community center of sorts for special events for many years after the school closed because of consolidation in the late 1960s. Experts determined it was not financially feasible to save the structure, and plans are being made for possible demolition in 2014.
THURSDAY JANUARY 2, 2014
Leader
75 cents Ligonier, Indiana, USA On the web at: kpcnews.com Vol. 129, No. 1
ERIC MOSER IS STVFD FIREFIGHTER OF THE YEAR
Photo Contributed
The Sparta Township Volunteer Fire Department recently honored Eric Moser as its “Fireman of the Year” for 2013. This award is the highest award that the membership chooses. Moser currently serves as the Captain/Secretary of the department, based out of Cromwell. He has a total of 26 years in the fire service, and 12 of those years are with Sparta Township. The honor came during the department’s annual holiday dinner and awards banquet.
Blood drive here Friday LIGONIER — With the beginning of a new year comes a fresh start. New Year’s resolutions are often made to form good habits and reach new goals. This New Year’s, the American Red Cross encourages people to resolve to help patients in need through regular blood donations. As the winter season continues, blood donations are especially needed. Donations typically decline this time of year, as many regular donors are impacted by inclement weather and seasonal illnesses. There is no better resolution to make this New Year’s than to help save lives with the Red Cross. Give the gift of life and help give patients another year with their loved ones. Make an appointment to donate blood at redcrossblood. org or 800-RED CROSS. The Red Cross has scheduled the followingblood donation opportunities: • Friday, Jan. 3, from noon until
6 p.m. at the Ligonier Recreation Center in the gymnasium, located at 320 W. Union St. in Ligonier. Donate and get a 2-ounce brick of Dunkin Donuts coffee and a coupon for a free pound of Dunkin Donuts coffee. • Friday, Jan. 3, from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. at Faith United Methodist Church in the Fellowship Hall, located at 411 Harding St. in Kendallville. Come to donate and get a 2-ounce brick of Dunkin Donuts coffee and a coupon for a free pound of Dunkin Donuts coffee. • Friday, Jan. 3, from noon until 5 p.m. at Asbury United Methodist Church in the Fellowship Hall, located at 605 E. Main St. in Albion. Come to donate and get a 2-ounce brick of Dunkin Donuts coffee and a coupon for a free pound of Dunkin Donuts coffee. • Monday, Jan. 6, from 2-5 p.m. at Lutheran Life Villages, located at 351 N. Allen Chapel Road in Kendallville.
• Monday, Jan. 6, from 9:30 a.m. until noon at Community State Bank, located at 802 E. Albion St. in Avilla. • Monday, Jan. 13, from 2-6 p.m. at St. Gaspar Catholic Church, located at 10871 N. S.R. 9 in Rome City. Simply call 1-800-RED CROSS or visit redcrossblood.org to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental consent in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.
THIRD PLACE WINNER IN CHRISTMAS DECORATING CONTEST
Bob Buttgen
Construction has started on a $1 million addition and renovation project at the Ligonier Public Library on Main Street. The project has been in the planning stages for more than a year and ground was broken earlier this month. The addition will almost double the size of the building, while keeping the structure’s architectural history undisturbed. Construction will continue for most of 2014. The library has moved to a temporary location on Lincolnway South in a retail shopping center.
Drug deals net prison sentence ALBION — An Illinois man admitted Tuesday in Noble Superior Court I that he dealt methamphetamine in Ligonier during two drug deals in 2011. Roy B. Simpson, 34, of Atlanta, Ill., pleaded guilty to two counts of dealing meth, a Class B felony. Simpson admitted he had traded meth for pills in the 700 block of Lincolnway West, Ligonier, on May 9, 2011, and had dealt meth again in the same location May 10, 2011. Sentencing in the case was left up to the judge in a plea agreement filed Tuesday in the case. Since Simpson has a prior unrelated felony conviction, he must be sentenced to a minimum of six years of incarceration for a Class B felony. The maximum sentence he could face is 20 years. Sentencing was set for Feb. 14.
The Advance Leader P.O. Box 30 Ligonier, IN 46767 Phone: 894-3102 • Fax: 894-3102
Lauren Bishop
The home of the SanMiguel family on Lincolnway South in Ligonier claimed the third-place ribbon in the house-lighting contest sponsored by the Ligonier Chamber of Commerce.
Court ruling impacts state property taxes No time limit on property tax errors MUNSTER (AP) — An Indiana Tax Court judge has ruled that a 1989 state regulation imposing a three-year limit to correct errors on property taxes was repealed in 2000 and
not replaced, clearing the way for state residents to ask county auditors to correct errors for the past 13 years. Judge Martha Blood Wentworth said in her ruling Friday that any petition to correct a post-2000 error in property tax payments, credits or deductions must be considered timely filed.
The judge also acknowledged the ruling “has the potential to open the floodgates” of error appeals, but said she could reach no other conclusion. She was ruling on the case of a Hamilton County tax appeal, where the county failed to apply a properly requested homestead credit from 2004-7.
Funeral services set for Mr. Ralph Kistler: See page 2
Looking Forward to Serving You in 2014!
414 S. Cavin St., Ligonier 894-7161 ligoniertelephone.com