UNBEATEN GIRLS rout Bluffton in Friday night action, MORE ON PAGE 6
The Garrett Clipper An edition of The
MONDAY JANUARY 13, 2014
VOL. 128 ISSUE #4 On the web at: kpcnews.com
75 cents Garrett, Indiana Established in 1885
Candidates register for primary election AUBURN — Candidates began signing up for the 2014 primary elections this week in the DeKalb County Clerk’s Office. The deadline to file a declaration of candidacy is at noon, Friday, Feb. 7. Primary elections for Republicans and Democrats will take place Tuesday, May 6. Local offices up for election in 2014 are: U.S. Representative District 3, currently held by Republican Marlin Stutzman of Howe. Indiana State Senator District 14, currently held by Republican Dennis Kruse of Auburn.
Indiana State Representative District 52, currently held by Republican Ben Smaltz of Auburn. Smaltz has filed for re-election. DeKalb Superior Court I Judge, currently held by Democrat Kevin Wallace. DeKalb County Prosecuting Attorney, currently held by Republican ClaraMary Winebrenner. DeKalb County Auditor, currently held by John Fetters, who is not eligible for re-election due to term limits. Republican Jan Bauman of the 2000 block of C.R. 40, Auburn, has filed as a
NEWS IN BRIEF
candidate for the office. DeKalb County Sheriff, currently held by Republican Don Lauer. Lauer has filed for re-election. DeKalb County Coroner, currently held by Republican Jeff Warner. Warner is not eligible for re-election due to term limits. Republican Michael Philip Gerber of the 6300 block of C.R. 35, Auburn, has filed as a candidate. DeKalb County Assessor, currently held by Republican Sheila Stonebraker. Stonebraker has filed as a candidate. DeKalb County Commissioner
West District, currently held by Republican Randy Deetz. Deetz has filed as a candidate. DeKalb County Council District 1, currently held by Republican Eldonna “Donna” King. King has filed for re-election. DeKalb County Council District 2, currently held by Republican William VanWye. DeKalb County Council District 3, currently held by Republican Alan Middleton. DeKalb County Council District 4, currently held by Republican Richard “Rick” Ring. Ring has for re-election.
DECKING THE HALLS
Women’s financial program planned AUBURN — The United Way of DeKalb County Women’s Leadership Council will host its first event of 2014, “Financial Intelligence for Women” Thursday, at 5:30 p.m. Stacy Hefty, president of Hefty Wealth Partners Inc, will present the “The Power of a Plan.” This presentation is an opportunity to help women identify financial challenges, create a plan to overcome them and put the plan into action. All DeKalb County women are invited to the free seminar at the DeKalb Health Medical Office Building, 1314 E. 7th St., Auburn. The event will meet in the third floor conference room A-B-C. The meeting will last approximately 90 minutes. Light refreshments will Sue Carpenter be served. Lori Harting, hangs student assignments in the hallway during Friday’s school Women planning to attend are closure. She is an instructional coach for grades 3-5 at J.E. Ober Elementary. asked to RSVP to the United Way office at 927-0995 or michele@ unitedwaydekalb.org.
Red Cross blood drives this week The American Red Cross is encouraging people to help patients in need through regular blood donations. The Red Cross will provide blood donation opportunities in DeKalb County this week: • Tuesday, Jan. 14, from 1-5:30 p.m. at the American Legion post, 515 W. Fifth Ave., Garrett, where donors may enjoy Girl Scout cookies in the refreshment area; and • Wednesday, Jan. 15, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lakewood Park Christian School gymnasium, 5555 CR 29, Auburn. People who are at least 17 years old (16 with parental consent in Indiana), 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 must meet certain height and weight requirements. A blood donor card, driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients.
Saddle club to serve beef and noodles AUBURN — The Bar None Saddle Club on the DeKalb County Fairgrounds will host a beef-andnoodle supper Wednesday from 4:30-7 p.m. A meal of beef and noodles, vegetable, applesauce and dessert will be served for a freewill donation.
The Garrett Clipper P.O. Box 59 Garrett, IN 46738 Phone: 925-2611 ext. 45 Fax: 925-2625 attn: Garrett Clipper
Staff not sitting idle during school closures
By Sue Carpenter scarpenter@kpcmedia.com GARRETT — Subzero temperatures and heavy snowfall kept school kids at home for an extra week following the Christmas break. Fog and icy sidewalks closed county schools last Friday after posting a two-hour delay. But that didn’t mean the school was empty all week. Teachers and staff have kept busy in preparation for classes to resume. The four-member maintenance department began the week shoveling and plowing snow from the school grounds Monday, with piles still surrounding some areas of the campus. They cleaned snow from the roof that had drifted to shoulder height to clear the air intake vents. Keeping the school district’s 15 diesel buses ready to run was also a big job, according to Ted Custer. “It felt more like there were 100,” he said. They tried to start them, but some had frozen fuel lines and dead batteries.. By Wednesday, all were “fired up and ready to go,” he said. Once they were started, the buses had to be moved to clear all the snow in that parking lot, as well. On Friday, the crew busied
themselves unpacking five railroad station replica lights for the entrance to the school gym. The lights were installed in time for that night’s girls basketball game in the Bateman Gym. No worries about a cold building, the building remained at a constant heat all through the break, they said. Food service director Michelle King sent out a revised lunch menu for this week. Being prepared to feed some 1,500 a day is tricky enough, and not knowing if lunch will be served or school will be closed that day might cause some to panic. They also serve about 600 breakfasts. In the event of a two-hour delay, kitchen staff comes in about 8:15 for preparation instead of 7:30 a.m., according to King. By then, they know if the delay has turned to a closure, she said. “It used to be different,” she said, “But it’s silly to start and stop midway through (preparing lunch) and then wait to see if we close.” Most meals take about the same time to prepare, so that doesn’t become an issue. “We were prepared,” said King of having enough food in stock. “We didn’t have
any trucks coming in, so I just decided to look at the inventory” to arrange menus. She used the remainder of fresh produce prior to the school break, and a new supply arrived Friday. Teachers and staff at the school also carried on through the closures. By Friday, a handful of J.E. Ober teachers busied themselves preparing bulletin boards and displays along the hallway — things that they don’t often have time to do, according to Kathi Kidder. Down the hall, Lori Harting displayed a recent assignment from her students’ three-week project. Deb Smith was busy updating plans after a week’s break in her empty classroom. NWEA testing is scheduled to begin today. But instead of a few days to wind down from vacation, students will be immersed in the three-day online tests, she said. Kidder, Harting and Smith are grade 3-5 instructional coaches. Milder weather over the weekend pretty much guarantees students will return to class today following the extended winter break. With clean sidewalks and playground, warm buses and a hot lunch, all should be back to normal once again.
Voters also will elect township trustees and township board members, Democrat precinct committeemen and Democrat and Republican state convention delegates. Democrat Michael Walter of the 300 block of West 17th Street, Auburn, filed as a candidate for Union 6 precinct committeeman. Republican Sen. Dennis Kruse of rural Auburn filed for re-election to the Indiana State Senate District 14 seat Wednesday with the Indiana Secretary of State. Kruse has also filed as a candidate for state convention delegate.
Sports, senior awards highlight spring news Looking back at 2013 MAY Liberty Chaney, a fifth grade student at Garrett Middle School, was one of four Hoosier students to be honored for her essay on the topic, “What Did the Tree See” in a nationwide contest open to fifth and sixth graders sponsored by the Alliance for Community Trees. Young writers were asked to write about a tree in his or her community, its science and history from the tree’s point of view. On a sunny day in May, classmates joined Chaney and her family during a tree-planting outside the middle school where she shared her story of a tree that began as a seedling, then later became a pine tree and was still growing when a U.S. President visited Garrett. Garrett was among school districts across Indiana forced to suspend online ISTEP+ testing as students encountered a second straight day of inability to access the test. The glitch reportedly came about when students statewide tried to log onto the ISTEP website at the same time. Charlie Waterhouse, a senior at Garrett High School, was awarded Scouting’s highest rank of Eagle during a ceremony at the Hoosier War Museum near the DeKalb County Airport. Waterhouse completed all requirements including planning and completing a community project. The annual city clean-up day was held at the city barn on Quincy Street where dozens of residents brought items for disposal in large refuse containers. Hundreds gathered a the National Military History Museum south of Auburn for the 62nd annual National Day of Prayer. Members of Boy Scout Troop 178 of Garrett presented the flag and led the audience in the pledge of allegiance. The Northeast Corner Conference voted to approve Garrett rejoining the conference after the Railroaders competed in the Allen County Athletic Conference for the past eight years. Travel distance was the main reason for Garrett’s decision to switch back to the conference it left after the 2004-05 school year. The school board approved the move at a meeting later in the month. Looking back, Page 4
Equivalency Diploma replaces GED By Dennis Nartker dnartker@kpcmedia.com KENDALLVILLE — Out with the old and in with the new. The General Education Development exam (GED), introduced in 1942, has been replaced by the Indiana High School Equivalency Diploma. The changeover began at the start of this month, and GED instruction providers and testing centers including IMPACT Institute, formerly Four County Vocational Cooperative, have been preparing for the new assessment.
Stephanie Ross, Impact Institute’s adult education coordinator, said the institute has been proactive since institute officials learned the GED would end. Instructors have attended professional development sessions about preparing students for the new test. IMPACT Institute, a vocational cooperative based in Kendallville, offers adult education programs in northeast Indiana as well as vocational programs to students from 11 school districts in Noble, DeKalb, LaGrange and Steuben counties.
Students enrolled in GED programs who failed to complete the test by the end of 2013 must start over with the new equivalency diploma. IMPACT marketed its GED program and offered free GED classes encouraging those thinking about the GED to enroll and get tested by Dec. 31. Enrollment is now open at IMPACT Institute for its free equivalency diploma classes. The classes have not changed, just the preparation, said Ross. IMPACT operates testing centers in the four-county area,
and the first test is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 21 and 22 at Topeka. People may call IMPACT adult education at 343-2163 to learn about enrollment information. Approximately 15,000 Hoosiers took the GED annually. An estimated 500,000 Hoosier adults lack high school diplomas. A panel of representatives from the Indiana Department of Correction, the Indiana Department of Education and the GED, Page 3