Serving the Steuben County 101 lakes area since 1857
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Weather Partly sunny, high 37. Low tonight 26. Warmer Saturday. Page A8 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2013
Angola, Indiana
GOOD MORNING Alumni basketball games Saturday ANGOLA — The Angola High School Alumni Men’s and Women’s Basketball Game will be held again this year on Saturday at Angola’s Central Gym on Martha Street. In addition to former basketball players, this game will also feature alumni cheerleaders and choir members. Former AHS choir members are invited to a reunion before the game from 5-6:30 at the Central Gym foyer. Doors open at 6 p.m., the women’s game will start at 7 p.m. with the men’s game following. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students. Proceeds will benefit Angola Choir Boosters, who are working in a major fundraising project to purchase formal wear for the new AHS show choir to compete against other scholastic groups.
Governor wants to create tax credit for adoptive parents EVANSVILLE (AP) — Gov. Mike Pence is asking Indiana lawmakers to create a tax credit that would help parents offset the expenses of adopting a child. Under Pence’s proposal, taxpayers benefiting from the federal adoption credit would be able to claim an additional credit on their state tax return. The state tax credit would be tied to up to 10 percent of the amount the taxpayer claims for the federal credit. For 2012 tax returns, the federal government offered a maximum, nonrefundable credit of $12,650, with that amount increasing to $12,970 for 2013. The governor also wants an interim study committee to explore faith-based and community adoption programs and how to better link the state’s adoption services. Pence has said he wants Indiana to become the nation’s “most pro-adoption state.” Adoption is a personal topic for Pence and his wife, Karen. They went through the adoption process before their first child, a son, was born. The Pences later had two daughters. “We have always cherished and admired families that have gone through adoption,” Pence said earlier this month.
Contact Us • The Herald Republican 45 S. Public Square Angola, IN 46703 Phone: (260) 665-3117 Fax: (260) 665-2322 Classifieds: (toll free) (877) 791-7877 Circulation: (800) 717-4679
Index • Classified.............................................. B5-B6 Life.................................................................A6 Obituaries.....................................................A4 Opinion .........................................................A5 Sports.................................................... B1-B3 Weather........................................................A8 TV/Comics ..................................................B4 Vol. 156 No. 355
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Obama signs budget deal HONOLULU (AP) — President Barack Obama signed a bipartisan budget deal Thursday easing spending cuts and a defense bill cracking down on sexual assault in the military, marking a modest end to a challenging year for the White House and Congress. Obama put his signature on both hard-fought bills while vacationing in Hawaii, where the president has been laying low since Saturday as he regroups for the midterm election year ahead. The bill signing marks one of Obama’s last official acts in a year beset by a partial government
shutdown, a near-default by the Treasury, a calamitous health care rollout and near-perpetual congressional gridlock. Although the budget deal falls short of the grand bargain that Obama and congressional Republicans once aspired to, it ends the cycle of fiscal brinkmanship — for now — by preventing another shutdown for nearly two more years. But the rare moment of comity may be short-lived. Hanging over the start of the year is a renewed fight over raising the nation’s borrowing limit, which the Treasury says must be resolved by late
February or early March to avert an unprecedented U.S. default. Both sides are positioning behind customary hard-line positions, with Republicans insisting they want concessions before raising the debt limit and Obama insisting he won’t negotiate. The last vestiges of 2013’s legislative wrangling behind him, Obama’s attention turns now to major challenges and potential bright spots in the year ahead. In late January, Obama will give his fifth State of the Union address, setting his agenda for the final stretch before the 2014 midterm elections render him less able to
focus Washington’s attention on his own priorities. Obama signed the two bills and several others in private, without reporters present, after an early-morning trip to the gym at the Marine Corps base near his vacation rental in Oahu. The product of intensive talks before lawmakers left Washington for Christmas, the budget deal alleviates the harshest effects of automatic budget cuts on the Pentagon and domestic agencies. It reduces those cuts, known as the sequester, by about one-third, restoring approximately $63 billion over two years.
Finding fun activities during Federal Christmas vacation not hard suit filed against bank BY JENNIFER DECKER jdecker@kpcmedia.com
CLEAR LAKE — Dick Powers and his family of four simply do not know the meaning of being bored during the two-week Christmas vacation from school. “I hear people say ‘I’m bored,’” he said, then ticked off a list of activities he plans on doing with his wife, Jill, and their two daughters, Paige, 10 and McKenna, 8. “We’re trying to maintain our sleep schedules,” he said, adding Steuben County has beauty others don’t realize and the key is to take advantage of it. He and his family are also looking forward to Clear Lake’s ice getting thicker. “We’re looking at more sledding, hiking through the land conservancies,” he said. Another special project, he said, involves his daughters and their books. “They read a lot,” he said. “They will go through their books they read at earlier ages … and donate them.” There are other ideas to curb cries of, “Mom, I’m bored!” Free or low-cost activities abound in the area: • Pokagon State Park, 450 Lane 100, Lake James, 833-2012, offers hiking and snowshoeing in its 1,260 acres. The park’s nature center has limited hours and all types of educational activities. For details, visit in.gov/dnr/ parklake. • Pokagon’s second-annual first-day hike and campfire will be New Year’s Day at 1 p.m. Participants will meet in the Potawatomi Inn’s Lonidaw Lounge, and the walk will end at the toboggan run. • Pokagon’s toboggan run has extended hours through Jan. 3 with rental fees. Hours will include 10
JENNIFER DECKER
Pokagon State Park’s Toboggan Run had a steady flow of winter thrill seekers Thursday, as shown with this family. The toboggan run will continue to operate with extended hours during the holiday school break. Toboggan rental fees are in addition to park admission.
a.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday. The fees are in addition to Pokagon park admission fees. • Geo-caching in northeast Indiana is open in Shipshewana year-round for families. Geo-caching is a family-oriented activity using a Global Positioning Systems. For details, call 800-2548090. • Chain ‘O Lakes State Park, 2355 C.R. E 75S, Albion, also has a first-day hike around a 3/4-mile loop at 6 p.m. Tuesday. • Public libraries have limited holiday hours, and most events are free events, unless otherwise noted. • Build a snow fort. • Stay inside and finger-paint or do crafts. • Read a good book. • Hometown movie theaters offer entertainment and popcorn for affordable prices. • Wild Winds Buffalo Preserve,
6975 N. Ray Road, Fremont, is open year-round. Call 495-0137. • Some museums are open during the holidays in the area. Check for hours. • YMCAs in Steuben, DeKalb and Noble counties offers exercise programs and activities for all ages. Check facilities and fee structures for more details. • Make a snowman or, to be politically correct, snow person. • Take a dip in the annual Jack Gibson Polar Bear Plunge Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Hamilton Lake Beach. The plunge benefits the Jack Gibson Scholarship Fund. • The next day, trek on over to Bixler Lake, Kendallville, for the annual Polar Bear Plunge. It starts with registration at 3 p.m., and 4 p.m. is the actual plunge time. • Cruise around at night and take in the Christmas lights and decorations. • Use your imagination and come up with your own fun.
Shipshewana Ice Festival to begin SHIPSHEWANA — Ice Festival 2013 takes place today and Saturday in Shipshewana. Today from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., professional ice carvers will be drilling and shaving blocks of ice all over town, creating sculptures suggested by sponsors or of the carver’s choice. Saturday at 10 a.m., ice carvers will compete for cash prizes in the Davis Mercantile parking lot, creating their own designs and sculptures. The fifth annual Chili Cook-Off will take place Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., also in the parking lot of Davis Mercantile. The contest is open to anyone, with no entry fee. Trophies, cash awards and gifts will go to the top cooks. Entrants may call Jay Chupp 463-6175, to register. A 2013 Shipshewana Ice Festival Pin will provide admission to the Chili Cook-off. Pins will be available at many stores in Shipshewana or may be purchased at the chili tent during the event.
KPC FILE PHOTO BY PATRICK REDMOND
Alfredo Arroyo of LaPorte creates a dragon during an ice sculpting contest at last year’s Shipshewana Ice Festival. This year’s festival opens today and continues through Saturday.
WARSAW — The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit over what it says is a bank’s improper handling of employee funds for a northeast Indiana health care chain. The lawsuit announced Thursday was filed in U.S. District Court to recover losses to the Miller’s Health Systems Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Miller’s Health is a Warsawbased company that manages long-term care and assisted-living facilities, including Miller’s Merry Manor facilities in LaGrange and Garrett. The suit alleges that PBI Bank Inc., trustee of the plan, authorized the purchase of company stock for $40 million, an amount far in excess of the fair market value of the stock. The suit also alleges that PBI Bank approved financing for the transaction at an excessive interest rate. “Fiduciaries must act with undivided loyalty to plan participants. When it comes to (employee stock ownership plan) purchases, they must ensure that the plan receives full value for its money,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employee Benefits Security Phyllis C. Borzi. The suit alleges that PBI violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by imprudently and disloyally approving the purchase of stock by the plan. The suit seeks to require PBI to restore all losses suffered by the plan, plus interest. The Chicago Regional Office of the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration investigated a September 2007 stock purchase. The department concluded that, as a result of the design of the transaction and the fiduciary breaches of PBI, the stock purchase was not for the primary benefit of participants and did not promote employee ownership in Miller’s Health. It alleges PBI was responsible and liable for violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The lawsuit also seeks to remove PBI as a fiduciary and service provider of the plan and to permanently bar it from serving as a fiduciary or service provider to ERISA-covered plans in the future. At the time of the stock purchase, Miller’s Health managed 31 long-term care facilities under the name of Miller’s Merry Manor and 10 assisted living facilities under the name Miller’s Senior Living. Miller’s Health also operated Theracare Inc., an Indiana corporation, which primarily provided physical and occupational therapy and speech-language pathology to residents in Miller’s Health facilities. As of Sept. 30, 2012, the stock ownership plan had 2,939 participants and assets of $12.8 million.