MAT ACTION: Eastside wrestlers defeated by Churubusco, MORE ON PAGE 3
TUESDAY DECEMBER 17, 2013
THE
Butler An edition of
The
COMMUNITY EVENTS Spencerville plans Christmas party SPENCERVILLE — The annual Spencerville Christmas party will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Spencerville Community Club on C.R. 68. Visit with Santa Claus, receive a treat bag and enjoy a snack. For more information, call Roberta Carnahan at 238-4532.
Blood drive is Wednesday BUTLER — The American Red Cross will conduct a blood drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday at American Legion Post 202, 118 N. Broadway. To schedule an appointment, call (800)-RED-CROSS.
Food pantry open Wednesday
Bulletin
BY KATHRYN BASSETT kbassett@kpcmedia.com AUBURN — Formal charges have been filed against a Butler man who was arrested after an incident that resulted in a lockdown at Eastside Junior-Senior High School earlier this month. Chad J. Czaja, 34, of the 200 block of Park Lane, is charged with criminal recklessness, a Class A misdemeanor, and failure to stop after an accident resulting in nonvehicle damage, a Class B misdemeanor. At his initial hearing Monday morning in DeKalb Superior Court
I, Czaja entered preliminary pleas of not guilty. He is represented by attorney Kevin Likes. His next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 19. Czaja is accused of driving his red 2000 Dodge Durango onto a school sidewalk, endangering several students. He also is accused of driving the vehicle into a pole and failing to stop afterward. Following his arrest, Czaja told police he meant to scare his daughter as a prank when he arrived to pick her up from school, Butler Police Chief Jim Nichols said after the incident.
SPENCERVILLE — The St. Joe-Spencerville Regional Sewer District board of directors will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Spencerville Community Club. The public is invited to attend.
Church plans live nativity scene
BUTLER — Helping Hands Ministry is an outreach ministry of Christ’s Church at Butler assisting needy families in the Butler area. Monetary contributions and donations of new or gently-used clothing and bedding items are accepted during business hours. Individuals may visit and shop for bags of items priced at $3-$5 each. Helping Hands is located at 136 W. Main St. and is open Tuesdays 4-6 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to noon. A food pantry is open the second Tuesday of each month from 4-6 p.m.
Historical photos wanted to print Do you have old photographs of the Butler, St. Joe, Spencerville, Newville, Concord, Orange, Moore or Artic areas? Please allow us to scan and print them so we can share them with readers throughout the year. Photos will appear periodically in The Butler Bulletin and online. Photos can be scanned and returned while you wait by visiting the Star office, 118 W. Ninth St., Auburn, during business hours. Photos can be old schools, street scenes, athletic teams, community bands, railroads, river or bridge scenes to name a few. Where possible, photo credit will be given. We ask that you provide some information about the time period, location and people in the photo, if available. THE
Butler Bulletin P.O. Box 39 Butler, IN 46721 PHONE: 868-5501
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According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Butler Police Detective Matthew Tamez, police were called to the school Dec. 3 on a report of a suspicious man who was armed and on school property. Police arrived and detained Czaja. A witness told police he saw Czaja driving the red 2000 Dodge Durango through the high school parking lot and wearing camouflage gear and a face mask. The complainant said he also saw a rifle inside the vehicle, according to the affidavit. The witness said at one point,
Czaja drove over a curb where students who had just been released from school were walking nearby, the affidavit said. The complainant also reported he had seen Czaja drive his Durango at a slow speed into a yellow parking pole on the east side of the high school parking lot and then trying to leave the area before police arrived, according to the affidavit. Officers found several prescription pills throughout the vehicle, and Czaja told police he did take ➤ Czaja, Page 6
Eastside tells ‘A Civil War Story’
Sewer district board meets Wednesday
Helping Hands Ministry open
On the web at: kpcnews.com
Czaja appears in court
BUTLER — The Butler Community Food Pantry will be open from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday at Butler United Methodist Church, 501 W. Green St. This disbursement is one week earlier than normal so families can have items in time for Christmas.
BUTLER — Butler United Methodist Church, 501 W. Green St., will have a live nativity scene in the church parking lot from 5-8 p.m. Sunday. There will be live animals and treats for the children. Visitors are asked to enter from Booster Street and exit on Western Avenue.
147th YEAR — ISSUE #51
Jeff Jones
Bill (Jacob Coats) tells wife Sarah (Sarah Strong) of his intentions to join the Union army during a scene from Eastside High School’s production of “A Civil War Story.” Three shows will be presented in the school’s dinner theater.
BY JEFF JONES jjones@kpcmedia.com BUTLER — Eastside High School will present “A Civil War Story” Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the school’s dinner theater. Written and directed by Eastside drama teacher Tim Albert, the show was created using the framework of letters about Union and Confederate soldiers and their families. Set in a community along the Pennsylvania-Maryland border — the Mason-Dixon line — became a cultural boundary between North and South and states supporting and opposing slavery. In the town portrayed in “A Civil War Story,” friends and even family members took up arms on opposite sides of the cause. A general store sold merchandise to both sides. “Bill,” a Union soldier portrayed by Jacob Coats, and “Dan,” a Confederate soldier portrayed by Joe Wilson are from
the same town, but find themselves on opposing sides of the fight. “They get lost and meet in the middle of the night in the woods on Christmas Eve,” Albert explains. Neither wants to shoot or surrender to the other; they agree to lay down their arms and sit by a campfire until they can find their way back to their respective camps. As the story evolves, both soldiers are wounded in battle. Bill writes a letter to his wife that he kept the honor of his family name by fighting. Both soldiers are thought to have died, but manage to find their way home when the war ends. “Nobody was immune to the divisions of the Civil War,” Albert explained. “Mary Todd Lincoln had six close relatives who fought for the South, and three of them died in battle.” Letters from prisoners and families are woven into the story. ➤ Play, Page 6
Proposed tax cut would impact schools BY AARON ORGAN aorgan@kpcmedia.com BUTLER — DeKalb Eastern Schools superintendent Dr. Jeff Stephens on Monday challenged the school board to contact members of the General Assembly to voice opposition to Gov. Mike Pence’s proposed elimination of Indiana’s business personal property tax. Pence has said the $1 billion cut will create jobs. Stephens, however, told the board Monday that it will kill his and other school districts. Stephens presented a slide show at the board’s regular meeting that showed the district would lose an estimated half of its assessed value, while taxpayers would feel a 40-cent increase per $100 of assessed value. Stephens said the district would be hit with a revenue loss of some $2 million. That means, according to Stephens, the district could not fund the district transportation
Winter storm blankets region FROM STAFF REPORTS Mother nature dumped 5-8 inches of snow on northeast Indiana late Friday night and Saturday. Snow began falling steadily after 10 p.m. Friday and continued through the day Saturday in most areas until about 6 p.m. Fortunately the snow was not accompanied by high winds that cause drifting and closing of roads. Noble, LaGrange, DeKalb and Steuben counties were under a winter weather advisory overnight, and the National Weather Service ➤ Winter, Page 6
“You’re elected officials. You’re going to have to get ahold of your fellow elected officials ...” JEFF STEPHENS DeKalb Eastern Superintendent system, bus replacement or capital improvement projects. An alternative, Stephens said, would be to cut staff and pay for necessities with the savings, or pitch a revenue-generating referendum to the taxpayers. Stephens said he spoke with Sen. Dennis Kruse and Rep. Ben Smaltz on Monday about the matter, who both confirmed bills are pending that would move this tax cut forward. Stephens said Kruse told him he would not vote for such a bill unless there was a
“dollar-for-dollar replacement,” such as cutting the homestead exemption or an increase of county sales tax. Smaltz told Stephens he would explore letting counties decide whether to cut the tax rather than it be statewide, Stephens said. Stephens also challenged the board members, as elected officials themselves, to contact higher-ups in the General Assembly and voice their concerns. “This is being pushed by the leadership of the Indiana House and the Indiana Senate and the Governor,” Stephens told the board. “I have not asked you to do this in the past, but folks, you’re elected officials. You’re going to have to get ahold of your fellow elected officials if you think this is a nonstarter, because I’m not going to get very far on this.” Stephens said he would disseminate contact information for Statehouse leadership for the board.
In the meantime, Stephens said he spoke with DeKalb Central and Garrett-Keyser-Butler schools about collectively writing a mailer to county residents detailing the proposed cut and its impact. He said he spoke with Hamilton Community Schools superintendent Jon Willman, as well, who said such a measure would “be the death of Hamilton,” according to Stephens. The board took no action on the information. In other business Monday, the board is expected to vote on the district’s 2014-2015 calendar next month. Stephens said he met with the DeKalb Central and GarrettKeyser-Butler school districts to develop a countywide uniform calendar. Garrett will mirror DeKalb Eastern’s calendar, while DeKalb Central is still weighing two options, Stephens said. As it stands now, the school ➤ Schools, Page 6
AUTOLINE DONATES TO ‘SHOP WITH A COP’
Jeff Jones
First-shift employees at Autoline Industries of Butler present a $1,456 check to the Butler Police Department for its “Shop with a Cop” program. Teresa Beard presents the check to Police Chief Jim Nichols and Officer John Bonifer. Autoline employees held a number of “Fun Friday” activities, including bake and craft sales, selling hot dogs and candy bars and a furniture auction, to raise funds. Autoline employees are also planning a corporate challenge to Butler industries to see who can raise the most funds next year.