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Pair wanted on Michigan drug charges are arrested at rural Angola residence
Weather Partly cloudy, breezy with a high of 26. Low tonight near 12 degrees. Page A8
Page A2 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2013
Angola, Indiana
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Santa gets help answering letters GOOD MORNING Evening with Santa set in Ashley ASHLEY — An evening with Santa will take place Saturday, Dec. 21, from 5-8 p.m. at the Ashley Fire Station, 101 S. Union St. Chili, soups, hot dogs, chips and drinks will be offered for a donation. Those attending are invited to bring cameras to take pictures with Santa. Proceeds will benefit the Ashley Fire Department.
Avilla man injured in tree stand fall WATERLOO — An Avilla man was injured when he fell from an elevated tree stand Sunday, Indiana Conservation Officers said. Victor Hernandez, 50, was hunting deer in the 2800 block of C.R. 27 early Sunday morning when he fell approximately 17 feet to the ground. Hernandez sustained a back injury and an internal injury from the fall, officers said. Hernandez was transported privately to DeKalb Health hospital at Auburn and then by ambulance to Parkview Regional Medical Center, Fort Wayne, where he is being treated for his injuries. Indiana Conservation Officers say hunters always should wear a properly fastened and secured safety harness when climbing into, hunting from and climbing down from an elevated tree stand and always use a haul rope or line to haul equipment into and down from a tree stand.
Leaders worry about tax elimination INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Many local government leaders are worried that a proposal to eliminate Indiana’s property tax on business equipment and machinery would cause another big cut in revenue for their operations. READ MORE ON PAGE A8
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BY JENNIFER DECKER jdecker@kpcmedia.com
ANGOLA — Occasionally, the U.S. Postal Service will get letters to Santa Claus, which are treated as dead letters due to the inherent difficulty of getting all letters delivered to the North Pole this time of year. There are programs in place to make sure children are not disappointed. Some individual post offices have employees who voluntarily reply to letters to Santa. And there’s much more. “Sometimes, local post offices answer. It’s such a wonderful thing,” said Mary K. Dando, corporate communications with the U.S. Postal Service, Indianapolis. “It used to be that we could get others involved. Now it’s a privacy issue.” But those who do take the time
to answer Santa letters from the post office are lauded. Dando noted it’s becoming more rare to send and receive hand-written letters. She said letter writing like that also encourages literacy, which the post office promotes. According to the post office’s website, about.usps.com, there is also a voluntary national program, Letters to Santa. The program is in its 101st year and helps to make children’s holidays wishes come true. The program became official in 1912 when Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock authorized postal employees and citizens to reply to letters. Thousands volunteer to work with post offices on responding to Santa letters. Hundreds of thousands of
children send letters to “Santa Claus, North Pole, Alaska.” Unless letters contain the complete Alaska address, they remain in the area from where they were mailed. Postal elves go through letters and separate those expressing serious need. People wishing to adopt a letter may check with their local post office in person and present a valid identification. They may then select one or more letters to take with them and sign a form. Each child’s letter has the address redacted and is assigned a number. After an individual fulfills the child’s wishes with a gift, he or she returns to the same post office and pays postage to mail the package, which is matched with the designated number.
MIKE MARTURELLO
Santa Claus, shown visiting folks in Angola on Nov. 29, gets help answering his letters through a couple programs in place at the U.S. Postal Service.
Man hears rape charge BY AMY OBERLIN aoberlin@kpcmedia.com
ANGOLA — A 27-year-old Steuben County man was arraigned on numerous felony charges after an altercation that court documents say ended in rape during the early morning hours on Sunday. Kile Stockert faces a Class B felony rape charge, which carries up to a 20-year prison sentence, as well as Stockert three Class B felony sexual deviate conduct charges. He faces Class D felony charges for strangulation and two counts of criminal confinement. A Class D felony carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. Stockert appeared by videoconferencing equipment from the Steuben County Jail, and heard the charges against him as read by Judge Randy Coffey and deputy prosecutor Travis Musser. As the charges were detailed, Stockert held his downcast head in his hands. He answered in low tones. According to court documents, Stockert and his alleged victim had been drinking at a West Otter Lake area bar. While in a vehicle, they began to argue and Stockert allegedly threw the 26-year-old woman into the road on S.R. 327, near the Pigeon Creek overpass. Court documents detail a struggle that allegedly included
A night with the Gatsbys Great Gatsby was the theme for the annual Cameron Hospital Foundation Ball held at Potawatomi Inn on Saturday. Above, the ball’s leadership and hospital administration greeted attendees. Pictured are, from left, Melissa and Jeff Rhodes, co-chairs; Libby and Joe Hysong, chairs; and Kathleen and Greg Burns. Greg Burns is president and CEO of Cameron Memorial Community Hospital. At left, the Hysongs cut a rug on the dance floor. Proceeds from this year’s ball will be announced at a later date.
SEE STOCKERT, PAGE A8
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Index • Classified.............................................. B6-B8 Life.................................................................A6 Obituaries.....................................................A4 Opinion ........................................................B4 Sports.................................................... B1-B3 Weather........................................................A8 TV/Comics ..................................................B5 Vol. 156 No. 339
Mandela inspired Obama as student WASHINGTON (AP) — The comparisons are perhaps inevitable. President Barack Obama and former South African leader Nelson Mandela each served as their nation’s first black president, living symbols of struggles to overcome deep-seated racial tensions. Each was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. But as Obama prepares to honor Mandela at a memorial service today in South Africa, people close to the U.S. president say he is well-aware that his rapid rise through America’s political ranks pales in comparison to Mandela’s 27 years in prison fighting against a repressive government that brutally enforced laws that enshrined racial discrimination. Rather than view himself as a counterpart to Mandela, Obama has said he sees himself as one of the countless millions who drew inspiration from Mandela’s life. “Like so many around the globe, I cannot SEE MANDELA, PAGE A8
AP
A painting showing former South African President Nelson Mandela, center, surrounded by Martin Luther King, left, Mohandas Gandhi, second left, John F. Kennedy, third left, Abraham Lincoln, third from right, Winston Churchill, second right, and Barack Obama, right, is fixed on top the flowers outside Mandela’s house in Johannesburg, Monday. Along a street lined with walled mansions shaded by graceful jacaranda trees, mourners black and white by the thousands rubbed shoulders Monday outside the villa where Nelson Mandela died.