Serving the Steuben County 101 lakes area since 1857
Man gets maximum in case of strangulation of local woman
Weather There’s a 60 % chance of snow today. High near 30. Low 16. Page A6
Page A2 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2013
Angola, Indiana
GOOD MORNING Angola snow ordinance in place ANGOLA — The city of Angola is currently enacting its snow removal order. Residents are asked to move their vehicles to where the street FORD department DEALER’S has already roof plowed. collapses Angola Police Chief under Stu Hamblen weight of snow. SEE said the PAGE A2. city started red tagging vehicles Monday. Owners of those cars that are red tagged have 24 hours to remove them. If vehicles are not moved, Hamblen said they will be impounded at the owner’s expense. The ordinance is enacted after 4 inches or more of snow. For more details, call 665-2121.
Angola pursuing food tax BY JENNIFER DECKER jdecker@kpcmedia.com
ANGOLA — Angola will ask the Indiana Legislature for a local option 1 percent food and beverage tax that could be enacted in the future, if the city determines it’s needed. The Angola Common Council approved a resolution at Monday’s regular meeting that would give the city the opportunity to impose the tax as a local funding source. “The law is on the books now, but it’s not imposed by Steuben County,” said Angola Mayor Dick Hickman.
The tax being proposed by Angola would be on businesses within “city limits. It would allow us to control our own destiny. There is talk about the legislature taking away the business/personal property tax. That’s 20 percent of our revenue.” Currently, the 1 percent tax option is available in the city and Steuben County but it has not been enacted by the Steuben County Council. Revenue from the tax would be shared by Angola and Steuben County. Hickman said at least 12 cities across the state enact a similar
tax, such as Elkhart and Goshen. Many of the cities surrounding and including Indianapolis have the tax. It is what is paying for Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. “We would be setting it up if the city wants it,” he said. “This came up fairly quickly in the last week, and I’m sure restaurants wouldn’t be in favor of it.” In 2008, when the city-county food and beverage tax was passed by the Legislature, there was opposition by Steuben County towns because they were not included in the revenue. Hickman said if the tax is put
Man charged in 1988 Mishawaka murder SOUTH BEND. (AP) — A northern Indiana man has been arraigned on a charge he fatally shot a 16-year-old high school sophomore 25 years ago. The South Bend Tribune reports 43-year-old Phillip Geans of Mishawaka was arraigned on a murder charge Monday by video from the St. Joseph County Jail in South Bend, where he is being held without bond in the 1988 death of Theresa Burns. Charges were filed Friday. Geans was 18 when Burns was shot in her home after leaving Mishawaka High School. Police say Geans and Burns knew each other through friends.
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Index • Classified.............................................. B6-B8 Life.................................................................A5 Obituaries.....................................................A4 Opinion ........................................................B4 Sports.................................................... B1-B3 Weather........................................................A6 TV/Comics ..................................................B5 Vol. 156 No. 346
in place, the revenue would go toward funding more projects the Angola Downtown 20/20 Revitalization spelled out. Hickman said some of those projects would depend on current grant funding the city is seeking. Some of those projects could include addressing sidewalks, lighting in the Public Square spokes, infrastructure and Americans With Disabilities Act ramps. “It would go to capital projects we aren’t able to move forward on. We’re still applying for grants,” he said. SEE TAX, PAGE A6
Orland names new TIF members
Fremont announces decorating winners FREMONT — The Fremont Chamber of Commerce announced the winners of its Christmas decorating contest. First place in the retail/ business division was Patchwork and Sparkle Ceramic Shop, 100 W. Toledo St. The Fisher residence, 409 Prairie Lane, claimed first-place for best-decorated home. Taking second-place home honors was the Grace family, 207 N. Mill St.
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BY AMY OBERLIN aoberlin@kpcmedia.com PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
Members of the Angola High School National Honor Society wrap gifts for the Angola Moose Lodge’s annual Kids In Need program on
Saturday at the Moose Family Center in Angola. The effort provided Christmas gifts for eight families, including 31 children.
Moose helps make Christmas merry FROM STAFF REPORTS
ANGOLA — The Angola Moose Lodge helped make Christmas merry for eight local families, including 31 children. It was all part of the Moose’s annual Kids In Need program. “Special thanks to everyone involved with making this a much merrier Christmas for our local kids in need,” Angola Moose Gov. Eric Henion said. With the help from Moose
members and approximately 15 National Honor Society members from Angola High School, shopping and wrapping of the gifts was done on Saturday at the Angola Moose Family Center. Delivery to the families was done by Angola Moose members on Sunday. Kids In Need co-chairs were Angola Moose members Jerry and Ann McDermid and Steve and
Gay Parnin. Gift donations were collected from Moose members during the past month and also from money raised during the Kids In Need 8-Pin No Tap Bowling tournament, chaired by Michael Hagewood, held annually in March at Angola Bowl. AHS National Honor Society students were able to count this event towards their community service requirement.
GOP marriage on shaky grounds WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican leaders and several hard-right groups are displaying the classic signs of a political divorce, including bitter name-calling and reprisals against one another. The recent eagerness of House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to lash out at groups that have given them fits has unshackled others in the Republican ranks to publicly question the motivation of organizations like the Senate Conservatives Fund, Heritage Action, Madison Project and Club for Growth. Such organizations disparage Republicans they accuse of following the path of least resistance in Washington and vow to replace them in primaries with conservative purists. “I think there’s a growing recognition around here that many of the outside groups do what they do solely to raise money, and there are some participants inside Congress who do the same,” said Sen. Bob Corker. He said that some of the newer senators have caught on to “the disinformation, getting people to call offices, send
ORLAND — Brett Kellett was chosen as president of the Orland Redevelopment Commission at its first meeting on Monday. The three members of the town council were in attendance at the special meeting at 6 p.m. that preceded the Orland Town Council meeting. Town attorney Kevin Bruns walked those assembled through the first steps of creating a redevelopment commission. Dan Ernsberger will serve as vice president and Marlene Walter is secretary. Orland Clerk-Treasurer Rhonda Engle was appointed treasurer. Also on the commission are Ron Grable and Kevin Kellett, town council president. Prairie Heights Community Schools Board member Janet Grabill will serve as a non-voting member. The school district and other public entities that receive property tax money will be notified of the town’s plans to capture development funding in the industrial area. A public hearing will be scheduled following the commission’s next meeting, set for Jan. 13 at 5:30 p.m. in the Orland Community Building. At that meeting, the commission will review and possibly adopt a declaratory SEE ORLAND, PAGE A6
Fremont honors Knoblauch BY JENNIFER DECKER jdecker@kpcmedia.com
suspect that Boehner has a hidden motive. They suggest he’s anxious to put economic fights in the rear-view mirror so he can tackle contentious immigration legislation early next year, before the first round of March primaries in Texas and Illinois. The groups’ suspicions were heightened by the recent high-profile budget success of Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who favors a way
FREMONT — The Fremont Schools Board of Education honored longtime trustee Tim Knoblauch Monday. The former board president, Knoblauch has served 13 1/2 years and is resigning from his seat. Fremont School Superintendent Lori Knoblauch Vaughn praised Knoblauch and said she knew he would remain a fan and in touch with the corporation. “It’s a wonderful school and continues to be the best place in the county,” Knoblauch said. His resignation causes a Jamestown Township vacancy on the board. That vacancy will be filled by the board appointment of Marty McNeal. McNeal was chosen from
SEE GOP, PAGE A6
SEE FREMONT, PAGE A6
AP FILE PHOTO
This photo taken Nov. 19 shows Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. speaking on Capitol Hill in Washington. Republican leaders and several hard-right groups are in the throes of a bitter political divorce marked by name-calling and deep suspicions. The eagerness of House Speaker John Boehner and McConnell to lash out at groups that have given them fits for the past few years has unshackled others in the Republican ranks, who bluntly question the motivation of organizations such as the Senate Conservatives Fund, Heritage Action, Madison Project and Club for Growth.
in small donations to a website.” “I think people are getting tired of that. I tired of it before I got here,” said the Tennessee Republican. Increasingly in public, Boehner and McConnell are challenging the outside groups’ credibility — and complaining that they are the ones tarnishing conservatism. But it goes both ways. In the recent dust-up over the budget deal, the outside groups