BIG TRAIN KNOCKS OFF LEO in OT in Friday’s ACAC battle, MORE ON PAGE 8
The Garrett Clipper
MONDAY DECEMBER 23, 2013
An edition of The
VOL. 127 ISSUE #102 On the web at: kpcnews.com
75 cents Garrett, Indiana Established in 1885
School leaders react to new grades FROM STAFF REPORTS Local schools received their annual report cards from the state Friday. Some school leaders could look at their high grades as holiday presents just before Christmas Break. But other superintendents questioned the accuracy of the grades, which are based heavily on ISTEP+ tests that were plagued by technical problems last spring. Garrett-Keyser-Butler schools showed improvement at Garrett High School, which earned an A, and J.E. Ober Elementary School, with a B. “These increases have been a result of the hard work by our students, staff, and parents,” said Tonya Weaver, Garrett’s director of administration and innovation. She also responded to Garrett Middle School’s grade, which
dropped from A to D in one year. “It is interesting to note that the formula’s design enables a few students to impact a school’s letter grade dramatically,” Weaver said. “Even with this being said, instructional strategies have been put into place to bring our middle school back to the A status. Our data from this current school year shows exciting growth at all levels.” “I consider them to have no value, no validity whatsoever,” Jeffrey Stephens, superintendent of DeKalb Eastern schools, said Friday about the new grades. “When you have such a technical screw-up that occurred last spring and you try to use that grade, there’s no validity in that entire test.” Hamilton Community Schools superintendent Jon Willman said data attached to the school grades by the state is frustrating and
NEWS IN BRIEF
largely unhelpful. Superintendents at Lakeland, Westview and East Noble districts also questioned the validity of the grades, issued Friday by the Indiana Department of Education. The state bases the annual grades on test scores in language arts and math. High school grades factor in graduation rates and scores for college and career readiness. DeKalb Central Superintendent Sherry Grate took a positive view of the A’s earned by five of the district’s six schools. Only DeKalb Middle School, with a D, did not earn a top grade. “We are extremely proud of our district!” Grate said in a written response to the grades. “We have worked diligently as a school district to strive to achieve our vision of becoming Indiana’s highest-performing school district,” Grate added. “Our
Northeast Indiana School Grades • School Grade Grade Name 2013 2012 DeKalb Eastern
School Grade Grade Name 2013 2012 Garrett-Keyser-Butler
Eastside Jr-Sr High C Butler Elem C Riverdale Elem A
Garrett High J E Ober Elem Garrett Middle
B B A
DeKalb Central Waterloo Elem DeKalb High DeKalb Middle Watson Elem McK-Harr Elem Country Mdw Elem
D B C C B A
schools have demonstrated tremendous progress over the past four years on the state’s standardized testing measures. We recognize the significance of these ratings, however, also understand that this is one way in which we can
The Garrett Clipper P.O. Box 59 Garrett, IN 46738 Phone: 925-2611 ext. 45 Fax: 925-2625 attn: Garrett Clipper
Photos by Sue Carpenter
TOP — Students at St. Joseph School present a nativity scene at the conclusion of a Christmas program earlier in the month. Left — Santa visits with resident Irene Francis at Miller’s Merry Manor Saturday. He was assisted by members of the Garrett Fire Department. RIGHT — Gavin Leverenz and Johnny Maples won the Ugliest Sweater contest at a dance Friday at Garrett Middle School sponsored by the Parent Connection.
City hears snow removal woes, fiber optic plan moves forward said he would clarify the procedure for the council. Hoeffel also noted the large amount of snow that fell was on a Saturday, and that any work done on Sunday would require overtime pay for city workers. Hoeffel responded that crews did work longer on Monday to work on the streets and alleys. In other business, outgoing fire chief Dana Treesh was recognized by city leaders. He has moved outside the city limits and can no longer serve in that post. Incoming fire department officers include fire chief Chad Werkheiser, assistant chief Ted Christensen, Jason Wells as captain, rescue captain Shane Jacobs, Doug Castator as lieutenant and Eric Treesh as secretary. Hoeffel congratulated the city recycling center on its 50th anniversary. The board approved year-end appropriation transfers, making a proposed special meeting before the end of the year unnecessary. At a meeting earlier in the evening, the Board of Works gave
Hamilton Jr-Sr High C Hamilton Elem C
C C
Private Schools Lakewood Park Saint Joseph Saint Mary Elem
A A B
A A A
determine the progress being made by our students and our schools.” DeKalb County’s two private schools, Lakewood Park Christian School in Auburn and St. Joseph Grades, Page 3
School calendar survey divided
SIGHTS OF THE SEASON
By Sue Carpenter scarpenter@kpcmedia.com GARRETT — Garrett Common Council members shared citizen complaints about the city’s effort at snow removal following a recent storm at Tuesday’s regular session. Councilwoman Amanda Charles asked if a new procedure had been put in place in the past year or two regarding who is in charge of clearing sidewalks in the downtown area. She recalled the snow being plowed into piles to clear the streets, and then carried away later. Councilman Todd Sattison echoed the same concerns, asking why the parking spaces for downtown businesses could not be cleared by the next day. Mayor Tonya Hoeffel replied clearing Randolph Street is the responsibility of the Indiana Department of Transportation as it is a state highway. She also questioned if INDOT’s clearing included the parking spaces or just the street portion of Randolph Street, and whether it would be from the Mile Corner to the south side of town. City attorney Dan Brinkerhoff
B C A
Hamilton A A D A A A
State labor force numbers rise in November From Staff Reports INDIANAPOLIS — The four counties of northeast Indiana saw their labor force numbers rise in November as the unemployment rate rose, said a report released Friday by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. The statewide unemployment declined in November, the DWD said, dropping 0.2 percentage points to 7.3 percent, lower than all neighboring states. “Today’s job numbers are welcome news to every Hoosier and are a testament to the hard-working people of our state and the businesses that power Indiana’s economy every day,” said Gov. Mike Pence. “The continued downward trend in unemployment and the significant growth in private sector jobs demonstrate that Indiana’s economy is strong and growing stronger every day.” DeKalb, Noble and Steuben counties saw the number of people employed in those counties rise for the month, but those numbers were offset by the labor force increases. DeKalb County’s unemployment rate rose from an October figure of 6.7 percent to 6.9 percent. Noble County’s unemployment rose 0.4 percentage points from October to 7.2 percent. Steuben County saw a similar rise, with a November unemployment rate of 7.3 percent. Steuben County was tied for 36th in the state’s monthly unemployment ranking of its 92 counties. LaGrange County’s unemployment rate rose from 5.9 percent in October to 6.4 percent in November. Allen County’s unemployment rate saw a 0.2 percentage point rise in November to 6.9 percent. Indiana gained 25,300 private sector jobs in November, the largest one-month increase on record, the DWD said. Fewer Hoosiers are now unemployed (232,400), than in November 2008 (240,600). “November was a historic month of job growth in Indiana,” said Scott B. Sanders, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. “It is encouraging that fewer Hoosiers are unemployed than in November of 2008, and the unemployment rate has dropped by more than a percentage point over the past few months. However, we need to keep the ball moving by strengthening Indiana’s pro-growth climate.”
A B D
its approval for Police Chief Keith Hefner to spend up to $1,500 on a 2000 Chevy Camaro for his department in an upcoming state police sale. The vehicle is already equipped with a police package. Hefner said the car needs a new transmission and other repairs that would total about $5,000 investment for a car valued at $10,000. Hefner was given a letter of authorization to bid on the vehicle that would come out of his 2014 budget, Hefner said repairs at the police station are nearly complete, with new carpeting and paint, and reorganization of a patrol room and rerouting of cables to make it neater. He was also granted permission to offer four wall lockers no longer needed at the station to other city departments. The board also approved writing off about $1,800 in unpaid utility customer payments. The mayor was granted approval to sign papers inviting quotes for a proposed fiber optic cable in the city estimated for completion by the end of April.
By Sue Carpenter scarpenter@kpcmedia.com GARRETT — The GarrettKeyser-Butler school board heard results from a recent community survey regarding proposed changes in the school calendar. Tonya Weaver, the school’s director of administration and innovation, shared that 127 completed the online survey with divided results. She said the calendar committee would construct a couple calendar samples for the January meeting. Patron Skip Claxton asked if a balanced calendar with a shorter summer break would impact those with jobs and the hours for the city pool. Superintendent Dennis Stockdale said the breaks would still be eight weeks, compared to the eight-to-10 weeks now on the traditional calendar. Stockdale, like other area superintendents, challenged the school board and the community 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 stimulate job growth but in doing so, it would be catastrophic to education. Stockdale said elimination of the tax would raise property taxes by 50 percent, and reduce the district’s capital projects, repairs and replacements. “We want to be business friendly, but this would be catastrophic to education,” Stockdale said. Weaver said the school has had about 20 visitors from other districts in the past week that wanted to see how J.E. Ober Elementary is implementing its individualized learning initiative. “It’s just great teachers so willing to share what they are doing,” Weaver said. The board approved: • amending the Section 125 Flexible Plan Benefit; • bonding of Pamela Good, business manager; • attending the Glazier Football Clinic in Chicago from Feb. 27-March 3, 2014; • amending Garrett Public Library Trustee Ethel Yoder to serve until Dec. 31, 2017, extended from Dec. 31, 2016; • the 2013-2014 NE Indiana School Insurance Consortium Wellness grant award in the amount of $15,300; • funding changes to the Railway Café; and • Grant Surfus and Mark Shea attending the Florida Educational Technology Conference in Orlando, Fla. from Jan. 28-31. The board also approved the hiring of Jericho Schoof as high school Spanish instructor and Kim Armstrong as sixth-grade girls basketball coach.