Serving the Steuben County 101 lakes area since 1857
Warrant served at jail charges main in baby neglect case
Weather Partly cloudy, high 42. Low tonight 30. Rain possible Sunday. Page A6
Page A2
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2013
Angola, Indiana
GOOD MORNING Retired teacher leaves huge gift to fight cancer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A retired Indianapolis school teacher who died February at age 94 has stunned a local cancer-research company by leaving it $1.9 million. Margaret M. Weeks’ nearly $2 million bequest to Hoosier Oncology Group is the second-largest in the Indianapolis-based company’s history and one of its most surprising gifts. “It came out of left field for us. We totally weren’t expecting it,” Chris Fausel, chairman of Hoosier Oncology’s board, said. Hoosier Oncology Group spokesman Randy Dillinger said the organization knows little about Weeks, whose gift was announced Thursday. “There isn’t much that we know about her, which makes this kind of a mysterious gift to us, but one that we’re extremely grateful for,” he said. The donation was made from a trust established by Weeks in 2001 through Fifth Third Bank in Evansville, where she was living until she died on Feb. 14 at Good Samaritan Home in Evansville. Many questions remain about Weeks, who was preceded in death by her husband, John F. Weeks. Her obituary states that she was a retired schoolteacher from the Indianapolis School Corp.
Taking the plunge for Jack BY JENNIFER DECKER jdecker@kpcmedia.com
HAMILTON — Bikini-clad men and women, Santa suits, Hawaiian wear, costumed owners with matching-dressed pets. It’s the annual Jack Gibson Polar Bear Plunge at the Hamilton Lake Beach Tuesday at 2 p.m., and just about anything goes for the fundraiser. Gibson was a longtime educator, high school sports official, military veteran and member of the Hamilton Lions Club who died from cancer in 2011. Hamilton Lions President Bob Howard said the event is fun, especially for those willing to brave the harsh winter elements and face goose bumps. “Girls wear bikinis like it’s 97 degrees in summer,” Howard said with a laugh. “Guys wear Santa suits.” Howard said much socializing
takes place, as groups come to end the year on a brave note in a fun atmosphere with friends, family and neighbors. Howard said the event has been held annually since around 1990 and was started by Don Hissong. “It’s a fundraiser, and it goes to the Jack Gibson Scholarship fund. We need people to donate. People who jump in are more apt to donate,” Howard said. The scholarship is awarded at Hamilton and Garrett high schools. Howard said one new addition to this year’s event will feature the American Legion Hamilton Post 467 Color Guard presenting the colors. Howard noted Gibson was a member of the American Legion there. “We want people to have fun, but raise money” for the scholarship fund, Howard said. Once again, the owner of Hamilton Real Estate will be generous in allowing people who
Best Movies of 2013
Clip and Save Find $73 in coupon savings in Sunday’s newspaper.
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.............................................. B7-B8 Life.................................................................A5 Obituaries.....................................................A4 Opinion .........................................................A3 Sports.................................................... B1-B3 Weather........................................................A6 TV/Comics ..................................................B6 Vol. 156 No. 356
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
A past Hamilton Polar Bear Plunge shows that swimmers willing to brave ice water can show up dressed in just about anything — from bikinis to Santa suits to Hawaiian wear. This year’s annual plunge will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. at the Hamilton Lake Beach. The event is a fundraiser for the Jack Gibson Scholarship fund.
take the plunge to change in its office, Howard said. Registration will start there at 1 p.m. that day. “They’ve been terrific
supporters and really open” the business, he said. For more details, call 488-2357.
Pokagon to hold annual first day walk
Coming Sunday KPC movie reviewer Jenny Kobiela Mondor breaks down her favorites by category on this Sunday’s C1 and C2.
75 cents
kpcnews.com
LAUREN LOFFER
Snowy trails await walkers at Pokagon State Park for the second annual First Day Walk.
LAKE JAMES — Pokagon State Park is once again joining other national state parks in holding its annual first day walk Wednesday at 1 p.m. Walkers will start by meeting at 1 p.m. in the historical Potawatomi Inn Londidaw Lounge at Pokagon, 450 Lane 100. From there, hikers will walk down to Lake Lonidaw and check out one of Pokagon’s many natural areas. The destination will be the second bridge flowing under Limberlost Creek from Lake Lonidaw to Lake James. The group will walk back to the inn and then to the tobaggan run fire pit for marshmallows and s’mores around the campfire. From 2-3 p.m., state park employees and volunteers will be on hand with treats. Participants can visit and learn the workings of the popular toboggan run. At 3 p.m., there will be a drawings for free toboggan gift certificates. “At Pokagon, with our toboggan run, ski rental, winter lodge, lakes for skating and ice fishing, year-round interpretive services, we do winter,” said Pokagon interpreter Fred Wooley. “We again have a couple of special things in store for New Years Day.” First day hikes and events are led by park interpreters, managers and outdoor enthusiasts in an effort to get people out and moving in our parks on the first
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
S’mores will be served by the fire pit at the toboggan run at Pokagon State Park on New Year’s Day.
day of the year. Pokagon’s toboggan run will be open. Sleds rent for $12.84 an hour, limit four people to a toboggan. Hours and additional toboggan information is available at tobogganrun.com. Pokagon’s normal park entrance fee is $5 for in-state vehicles and $7 for out-of-state vehicles, or annual entrance passes are available. Both are available at the park front gate. For further information about the New Year’s Day walk or Pokagon State Park, call the park office at 833-2012. Other Pokagon and Indiana Department of Natural Resources information is available at IN.gov/ dnr.
New Year’s Eve booze bonanza a liquor legend Sales lag behind July 4, Halloween, but remain brisk for winter holidays BY AARON ORGAN aorgan@kpcmedia.com
The celebration of New Year’s Eve isn’t accompanied by as much alcohol as you might assume, local liquor store managers report. Brad “Cricket” Gay, owner of Gay’s Hops-n-Schnapps, said the much-commercialized evening of partying and partaking in spirits falls well behind other holidays when it comes to actual sales for his stores. Gay’s, with locations in Angola, Auburn, Fremont and LaGrange, reports New Year’s Eve sales rank “by far” behind, for instance, Independence Day. The store manager at Kendallville Party Store, 120 N. Main St., echoed that, saying the holiday certainly ranks in his top 10 busiest of the year, but well behind Independence Day and even Halloween. That manager, who asked not to be identified, said sales around New Year’s Eve fell off after 2000 and have rebounded only slightly in the years since. Why? Gay said the location of his stores around the lakes make them hot spots for sales over the summer holidays. The Kendallville
Party store listed reasons such as a crackdown on drunken driving and “alcohol doesn’t hold the allure it used to.” That’s not to say it’s a dry holiday. Gay’s and the Kendallville Party Store both experience major spikes in sales on New Year’s Eve over regular business days. In preparation, each starts ordering and stocking at the beginning of December. The Kendallville Party store concentrates its orders on beers and sparkling wines, its manager reported, saying “There are some things you don’t want to run out of, of course, so you have to plan right the whole month ahead.” Gay said he’s sure to order trendy items such as craft beers and craft spirits. “It’s the new craze,” said Gay. “Craft beer, craft spirits have become huge. It’s just insane. So you need to know something about it and you need help choosing it. You want to know what that is before you reach out and purchase it.” That’s where training comes in.
The Kendallville Party Store trains its employees year-round on its stock. Gay said he has a dedicated person on staff at Gay’s who educates staff at each store on the new items. He’ll teach employees about the hoppiness of craft beer and what a milk stout is versus a regular stout, for instance. Then, those employees can educate buyers — a real benefit of buying at a package store such as Gay’s or Kendallville Party Store. Gay said New Year’s Eve is a blessing to package stores like his, because they offer personal service that large box stores do not. “A lot of people need help at that time of year, because they don’t throw parties all the time, and there’s a lot of new stuff out there,” he said. “They need recipes, they need to know how to make it and what ingredients go in it — all those things. The package stores offer that type of help that can assist them in their choices.” The manager at Kendallville Party Store added: “I don’t think we’re any more popular than the big box stores, but what a liquor store has that a big box store doesn’t is the fact that we have a dedicated staff that is going to listen to our customers, find out what they want, and if we can get that for them, we will.”
“The holidays are the best time to work in the stores, because everybody’s in a good mood ... You see a lot of faces that you only see this time of year.” Cricket Gay Gay’s Hops-n-Schnapps
• The stores also stock snacks and sodas, and Gay’s has an assortment of nonalcoholic beers, wines and champagne, so no guest is left without a glass when the ball drops. Gay said a benefit to the holidays and New Year’s Eve specifically is the patrons who shop at his stores, some of whom only come over the holidays. It’s a festive time, he said. “The holidays are the best time to work in the stores, because everybody’s in a good mood — generally,” Gay said. “You see a lot of faces that you only see this time of year, because a lot of people don’t serve alcohol that often but will over the holidays. You see a lot of those folks, and it’s nice.”