Serving the Steuben County 101 lakes area since 1857
Two sex offenders receive widely differing sentences in court Page A2
Weather High in the mid-30s, rain-snow mix beginning around mid-day. Page A6 TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2014
Angola, Indiana
GOOD MORNING Trine to hold 23rd Martin Luther King program on Jan. 31 ANGOLA — Trine University students will speak about diversity and students will perform music during the 23rd annual Martin Luther King Jr. program scheduled for Jan. 31. The Rev. Angela Shannon, transitional pastor at Calvary Lutheran Church, Angola, will deliver the keynote address. Shannon, who also serves as outreach coordinator for Light of the Cross Outreach Ministries in Fort Wayne, said she is “deeply interested in ecumenical and interfaith conversations.” The value of diversity will also be addressed by a few Trine students during the program. The young adult choir from Pilgrim Baptist Church in Fort Wayne, under the direction of Kim Johnson, will perform along with a number of Trine students, including pianist Elyse Buehrer, an Angola sophomore. The free program designed to honor the legacy of the late civil rights leader is scheduled from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, in Fabiani Theatre in the Rick L. and Vicki L. James University Center. After the program, refreshments will be served. Everyone is invited to attend.
Jamestown board to meet Saturday FREMONT — The Jamestown Township Advisory Board will meet on Saturday. The meeting will be held in township trustee Linda Miller’s office, 4705 N. C.R. 300W, Fremont, at 10 a.m.
Heat turns up on NJ Gov. Christie TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Democrats in New Jersey sharpened their aim at Republican Gov. Chris Christie on Monday, forming special legislative committees to explore the role politics played in traffic jams last fall and announcing that the investigation has grown into READ MORE ON PAGE A6
PHOTO GALLERIES Highlights from area high school basketball games kpcnews.com
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Steuben to raze rest home BY MIKE MARTURELLO mmarturello@kpcnews.net
ANGOLA — Steuben County Commissioners are studying the details of razing the old Steuben County Rest Home property on C.R. 200W near Interstate 69 that most recently was used as the county’s work release facility. “There’s so much to be done out there before we accept any of these bids,” said Gary Fair, county maintenance supervisor. The property sits on a 27-acre tract it shares with the Steuben County Humane Society and the Steuben County Highway
Department. The former rest home has sat vacant for a number of years after work release was closed about five years ago. The rest home was closed in 1999 then was converted to work release around 2000. Steuben County received an award from the Indiana Association of Counties for the conversion in 2001. Commissioner Jim Crowl said the county has offered the building for use to a number of agencies in the area but none have taken commissioners up on the offer. The cost of moving the building
or selling it to a private individual wanting to rehabilitate it would be prohibitive, Crowl said. The building needs a new roof, which would be close to equal the cost of razing the structure, Crowl said. Quotes on the work ranged from about $80,000 to $189,000. Because of the cost, the work would have to follow state-sanctioned bidding procedures. The county would potentially remove from the structure many items. Those would include items ranging from plaques hanging on walls to a boiler system that was put in when the facility was used
for work release. Other items would also have to take place, such as capping the well and removing the building from a septic system that’s shared with the Humane Society animal shelter. Commissioner Ron Smith said the county needs to look to the future for possible use of the land. That could include commercial development. Smith said the county likely will work with the Steuben County Economic Development Corp. on determining a use for the property, which is in a prime location at the exit 150 off I-69.
New, old tech used in storm BY MIKE MARTURELLO mmarturello@kpcmedia.com
ANGOLA — New technology helped Steuben County officials keep in close communication during last week’s snow emergency. And the tried and true method of snow removal — plow trucks and scrapers — meant Steuben County Highway crews worked long and hard hours, sometimes getting stuck. “We stuck our vehicles a bit. It was 3 or 4 hours before we could get some of them out,” said Ken Penick, Steuben County Highway Department superintendent. During the emergency, which restricted travel on Jan. 6 and part of Jan. 7, commissioners, law enforcement, highway, emergency management and others kept in close contact. “We called each agency every 3 or 4 hours,” said Commissioner Jim Crowl. The county employed new conference calling capabilities available in the county’s new telephone system, which was installed last fall. Conference calling made for more efficient communications among multiple agencies and people. The travel emergency was dropped to the lowest status on Wednesday. “On Wednesday the phone just rang off the hook. People were wondering when we were going to lift (the travel warning). You could tell people were getting antsy,” Penick said.
JUDY OXENGER JOHNSTON
Once the roads became passable the Amish who live in the Fremont area were able to get out and about late last week. Many people were
getting stir crazy being couped up at home due to the weather that resulted in snow emergency declarations.
INDOT’s pothole patrol begins FORT WAYNE — Drivers are asked to be on alert for potholes on interstates, U.S. highways and state routes now that snow has melted away and freezethaw action is starting to cause problems. The rise and fall in temperatures following last week’s severe winter weather was a recipe for potholes to form quickly, said Mary Foster, Indiana Department of Transportation spokeswoman. As temperatures continue to rise and fall through the winter season, more potholes are likely to form. “When INDOT is not clearing snow, ice or storm debris, crews are focused on maintaining and preserving the state’s roads and bridges, which often consists of pothole patching in the winter months,” Foster said. “Crews
are filling potholes as quickly as possible, but with nearly 4,800 lane miles to maintain in the Northeast Indiana District, it is a big job.” Potholes begin when water seeps into the cracks in a road and freezes, expanding the layers of pavement, stone and soil beneath the surface. As the ice melts and contracts, heavy highway traffic further loosens the pavement, forming potholes. During the winter INDOT uses cold mix — a mixture of small stone and liquid asphalt — as a temporary patch. Even after being filled with cold patch, the same pothole requires ongoing maintenance and can reopen several times throughout the winter. When the asphalt plants reopen in the spring, INDOT maintenance crews clean out and then repair
potholes with hot mix, providing a smoother, more permanent fix. For the past several years, INDOT has been expanding its Pavement Preservation Program to improve pavement friction and seal tiny cracks before potholes form. For every dollar invested, research estimates that pavement preservation saves taxpayers $6 to $14 in future maintenance and construction costs. Pavement preservation also uses fewer natural resources than reconstruction and significantly reduces motorist inconvenience. To report a pothole on a state route, interstate or U.S. highway in northeast Indiana, call 866-2273555 or email neinformation@ indot.in.gov. INDOT urges drivers to slow down and stay alert when encountering pavement maintenance crews.
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Index • Classified.............................................. B6-B8 Life.................................................................A5 Obituaries.....................................................A4 Opinion ........................................................B4 Sports.................................................... B1-B3 Weather........................................................A6 TV/Comics ..................................................B5 Vol. 157 No. 13
Panel delays vote on gay marriage ban INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An effort to write a gay marriage ban into the Indiana Constitution hit a road bump Monday as a House chairman delayed a key vote on an issue that sailed through the General Assembly three years earlier. Members of the House Judiciary Committee were scheduled to vote on the proposed ban and a companion measure, but Chairman Greg Steuerwald, R-Avon, delayed the vote after nearly four hours of testimony on the issue. “We ran out of time for one, and the speaker wanted to start session on time. Plus, I had heard from a number of committee members they wanted time to reflect on the testimony,” Steuerwald said. The panel met in the House chambers from 10 a.m. until 1:30,
just before House lawmakers were preparing for their daily session in the same space. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the move hinted at possible trouble for a measure that won broad bipartisan support but little attention in 2011 amid a five-week walkout by House Democrats and skirmishes over labor and education measures. The high-profile battle has caused some lawmakers to say they will change their votes and oppose the ban and has spurred some House committee members to reconsider their positions. Members of the panel have become the targets of high-pressure lobbying from both sides of the issue. House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said it was Steuerwald’s choice to delay the vote. SEE LEGISLATURE, PAGE A6
AP
Dylan Hutson, of Indianapolis, holds a sign voicing his opposition to a measure amending the state’s constitution to ban gay marriage, as he listens to debate during a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Monday