Serving the Steuben County 101 lakes area since 1857
Local teen, age 17, arrested by city police on sixth charge as an adult Page A2
Weather Cloudy skies today with a high in the upper 40s. Low 26. Page A8 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013
Angola, Indiana
GOOD MORNING Fremont Middle School concerts slated tonight FREMONT — Fremont Middle School’s bands and choirs will perform concerts tonight in the Fremont High School auditorium, 701 W. Toledo St. Band students will perform at 6 p.m. and choir at 7 p.m. Both concerts are free.
Grant effort gets public push BY JENNIFER DECKER jdecker@kpcmedia.com
ANGOLA — The city has started a letter-writing campaign to support a federal grant application toward a public restroom project and downtown improvement project. The Angola Common Council committed Monday night to seek funding for a $729,100 pedestrian improvements and public restrooms project at the site of the
old Wendy’s restaurant on North Wayne Street. The site has sat vacant for 11 years. Angola is submitting a $583,280 grant request to finance construction of the project with the Indiana Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. If the city receives the grant, the remaining portion of the project would be paid for with the city’s portion of the County Economic Development Income
Tax Fund. In addition, improvements to sidewalks will be made in keeping with the Downtown 20/20 plan that brought about renovation of the Public Square. In a letter by Bill Boyer, the city’s engineer, sent out to members of the Angola community, he asked for written support of the project. The proposed project would include the installation of new
FREMONT — Fremont’s annual Christmas Parade will kick off at 10:45 a.m. Saturday, with a line up behind Fremont Elementary School at 10:30 a.m. The town will be paid a visit 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. that day by Santa Claus. He will arrive at the Fremont American Legion to greet children and have his picture taken with them. The auxiliary will serve cookies and hot chocolate. Also, the Fremont Public Library will have a book and craft for all children attending. The Fremont High School Choir will perform traditional holiday music.
BY MIKE MARTURELLO mmarturello@kpcmedia.com
PHOTOS BY AMY OBERLIN
Holiday fun at Ryan Park Adam Handley, as the Santa, was the host of this year’s Ryan Park Elementary School functional skills students’ play, “Santa’s Magical Christmas Eve Journey,” presented Wednesday for their school mates and tonight for parents and guests. The plays are choreographed by teacher Julie Culver-Smith and helpers that included Darlene Mason, costumes; Heidi Lee, lights; Laura Taylor and staff, set; and Stephanie Georgi, sound. The production included spotlights, blacklights and lots of music, from rock ’n’ roll classics to current hits, which the elementary students sometimes sang along to while the functional skills students — children with severe disabilities learning life skills — did short skits. Above, Jordan Post as Frankie Avalon dances for the crowd while Santa, Adam Handley, dances in the background in his ruby boots, which he donned for his “Magical Christmas Eve Journey.” At left, Nolan Wiersma, the Christmas tree in “Santa’s Magical Christmas Eve Journey,” performs. The functional skills class puts on the play annually during the holidays.
READ MORE ON PAGE A7
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Classified.............................................. B6-B7 Life.................................................................A6 Obituaries.....................................................A3 Opinion .........................................................A5 Sports.................................................... B1-B3 Weather........................................................A8 TV/Comics ..................................................B5 Vol. 156 No. 334
LAKE JAMES — The Steuben County Economic Development Corp. is going to partner with the Questa Foundation for Education starting next year to possibly help more residents receive college education. The announcement came Wednesday night during the annual meeting of the SCEDC, held at Potawatomi Inn, Pokagon State Park. The SCEDC is investing $5,000 to become a partner with Questa in providing scholarship money toward associate’s degrees or other two-year programs. “We hope that’s the beginning of a partnership between Questa and Steuben County,” said Dave Koenig, SCEDC executive director. Marc Levey, executive director of Questa, was the guest speaker at the SCEDC meeting. He said he is SEE SCEDC, PAGE A8
Precincts changing in 2014 FROM STAFF REPORTS
45 S. Public Square Angola, IN 46703
Index •
SEE GRANT, PAGE A8
Economic group joining effort to educate residents
BUTLER — It could have been a much different outcome when police encountered a Butler man wearing camouflage gear and possessing two guns in his vehicle outside Eastside Junior-Senior High School as classes were being dismissed Tuesday. Butler Police and Eastside officials credit training and quick response to the situation.
Phone: (260) 665-3117 Fax: (260) 665-2322 Classifieds: (toll free) (877) 791-7877 Circulation: (800) 717-4679
sidewalks, lighting and streetscape enhancements along North Wayne Street from the Public Square to Gilmore Street. The project would also include the rehabilitation of the Wendy’s site with a parking lot, lighting, curbs, sidewalks and public restrooms. The project would serve the downtown area and also the Angola-Steuben County Trail System via a future connection along East Maumee
SCEDC backing scholars
Fremont Christmas activities Saturday
Result in Butler gun incident could have been much different
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Newtown 911 dispatcher urged callers to take cover in shooting HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Recordings released Wednesday of 911 calls from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting show town dispatchers urged panicked callers to take cover, mobilized help and asked about the welfare of the children as the boom of gunfire could be heard at times in the background. One caller told police in a trembling, breathless voice that a gunman was shooting inside the building. “I caught a glimpse of somebody. They’re running down the hallway. Oh, they’re still running and still shooting. Sandy Hook school,
Bethlehem the Day after
Christ
was born
please,” the woman said. In the minutes that followed, staff members inside the school pleaded for help as Newtown police juggled the barrage of calls. The calls were posted on the town’s website under a court order after a lengthy effort by The Associated Press to have them released for review. An unidentified teacher called from a classroom to the left of the front entrance to report what sounded like gunshots in the hall. She said she was in the room with all her students and hadn’t yet locked the door. “Keep everybody calm, keep
everybody down, get everybody away from windows, OK,” the dispatcher said. Another woman, who was shot in the foot, reported that she was in a classroom with children and two other adults, but that there was no way to safely lock the door. The dispatcher told her to apply pressure to the wound. One of the first calls came from a custodian, Rick Thorne, who said that a window at the front of the school was shattered and that he kept hearing shooting. While on the line with Thorne, the dispatcher told somebody off the call: “Get
DECEMBER 7 & 8, 2013 • 1:00 - 5:00 P.M. A Walk-Through Drama • Our 24th Year Cast of over 200 • All Indoors • Thousands have walked these streets. NO ADMISSION CHARGE What Others Have Said About Bethlehem Marketplace: ❖ I have been to Jerusalem and this is the closest experience to the old city of Jerusalem I have ever seen. ❖ 4 Stars and 2 thumbs up. ❖ A living history lesson. ❖ You enter into another time and world when you walk those streets.
❖ ❖ ❖ ❖
I have never experienced anything like this before. Rated PG; some of it is too realistic for kids. This must have been what it was like in Biblical times. One of the Tri-State area’s most dramatic presentations of the Christmas story. ❖ I am bringing my whole church next year. They have to experience this.
SEE NEWTOWN, PAGE A8
ANGOLA — Some polling places and precincts are changing for next year’s election, Steuben County Clerk Shelley Herbert announced. Due to action by the Steuben County Election Board, precincts have been added to Fremont, Steuben and Otsego townships. Fremont now has three precincts, including two in town and one out in the township, and two each in Steuben and Otsego townships. Precincts were added because of growth in voters. There can only be a maximum of 1,200 voters per precinct. In the above precincts, sites remain the same, Fremont at Fremont Town Hall; Steuben at the Mennonite Church; and Otsego at the Hamilton United Methodist Church. Richland and York township voters will not cast their ballots at the Metz Fire Department. Scott Township voters will poll at Pleasant View Church of Christ in Angola.
Fairview Missionary Church Phone: 260-665-8402 www.fairview-missionary.org
525 E 200 N, Angola, IN (1 mile east of Meijer and Menards)