Serving the Steuben County 101 lakes area since 1857
Steuben Bar sponsoring Talk to a Lawyer Today program on Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Weather Chance of 1-2 inches of snow today, high in 30s. Low tonight in 20s. Page A8
Page A2 THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2014
Angola, Indiana
GOOD MORNING Head Start fall registration starts FREMONT — Head Start in Steuben and LaGrange counties is accepting applications for fall enrollment for children ages 3-5. Children must be age 3 by Feb. 1, 2014, to be eligible. Centers are located in Fremont, Angola and LaGrange. The program runs four days a week, Monday through Thursday, beginning in September and running through May. For an application, call 495-4775 or 800-551-9819.
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Legislators react to State of State FROM STAFF REPORTS
INDIANAPOLIS — State legislators from northeast Indiana are reacting to Tuesday night’s State of the State address by Gov. Mike Pence. Pence asked lawmakers to support his plans to phase out the state’s business personal property tax, expand charter schools, launch a new scholarship program allowing low-income children to attend preschool and create a tax credit to promote adoption, The Associated Press reported. Issuing comments about the speech are Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn, Rep. David Ober, R-Albion, Rep. Dennis Zent,
R-Angola, and Sen. Sue Glick, R-LaGrange.
Zent “Governor Pence laid out critical agenda points that will impact policy Zent discussions during the 2014 session. With so many common goals, we should be able to work side-by-side to serve Hoosiers and better Indiana. “I am pleased that the governor shares our goal of making job creation a top priority. We share a commitment in addressing
Indiana’s skills gap by better equipping Hoosiers with the skills they need to fill jobs that are available right now and in the future. Preparing our workforce for the needs of today’s job market is a great first step towards helping folks in our community return to work.” Zent represents most of LaGrange and Steuben counties.
Smaltz “Tonight I had the opportunity to reflect on the legislative accomplishments of 2013 and hear Gov. Pence’s goals for 2014 as he gave his second State of
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles is reminding motorists who hold commercial driver’s licenses that the deadline to self-certify is Jan. 30. It says federal regulation requires license holders to certify to the BMV the type of commercial motor vehicles that they operate, or intend to operate, and to acknowledge that they’ve met medical requirements. Self-certification can be completed free of cost online at www.mybmv.com or at a BMV branch when completing a transaction. The BMV says failure to self-certify will disqualify the commercial driving privileges Feb. 1.
More use SNAP at farmers markets
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the State address. Gov. Pence’s remarks align well with my beliefs regarding the needs of Hoosiers and the goals for this legislative session. “Like our governor, I believe we must continue work that will attract employers to our state and protect Hoosier taxpayers. We took a big step last year with creating the Indiana Career Council, which is helping equip Hoosiers for our growing workforce, and this session we will focus on creating the best business climate for job growth. I am working on multiple bills to address issues in these areas, and I SEE ADDRESS, PAGE A8
Trails may lose status as public places
CDL deadline near
GOSHEN — More people are using food stamps, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, to pay for items at farmers market. The Goshen News reports Alan Shannon, director of public affairs for the USDA’s food and nutrition service in the Midwest, said $47,644 worth of food stamps was spent at Indiana farmers markets in 2013 — more than twice what was spent in 2011. Many of the vendors who sell food at the Steuben County Farmer’s Market accept SNAP. Jo Ellen Davis, manager of the Goshen Farmers Market, said that more than $2,000 in SNAP benefits was spent at the market in 2013 — the first full year that the market has accepted SNAP as payment.
75 cents
BY JENNIFER DECKER jdecker@kpcmedia.com
BRETT STEELE
A rest after dinner This bald eagle takes a break after eating a creature plucked from Clear Lake on Tuesday. A pair of eagles has been spotted frequenting and feeding in the Clear Lake
area. Many residents have spotted bald eagles across Steuben County this winter, in addition to those that have taken up residence in Pokagon State Park.
ANGOLA — The city of Angola is in the process of making its sexually oriented business ordinance more specific. The Angola Plan Commission agreed on Monday to amend the ordinance, which is part of the city’s unified development ordinance. The sexually oriented business ordinance states guidelines on such businesses, which are allowed in the city’s industrial zoning districts. Alva and Sandra Butler, Fort Wayne, and their company, BBL Inc., have sued Angola in federal court. The Butlers allege their First and 14th Amendment rights have been violated by the city upon trying to open a strip club at the former location of Slider’s Grill and Bar, 310 W. Wendell Jacob Ave. When Butler bought Slider’s in August 2012, strip clubs were allowed in C-2 zoning, which covered his property. After a new ordinance was enacted by the city in November 2012, such clubs are now allowed in industrial zoning districts. In amending the ordinance, Angola Plan Director Vivian Likes said she was requested to better define public gathering places by Angola Councilman Dave Martin. “We were given direction to be more specific,” Likes said. SEE PUBLIC, PAGE A8
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Steuben has 2 A-rated school districts
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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.................................................................A6 Obituaries.....................................................A3 Opinion ........................................................B5 Sports.................................................... B1-B3 Weather........................................................A8 TV/Comics ..................................................B6 Vol. 157 No. 15
INDIANAPOLIS — Two local Steuben County school districts earned A’s, and two showed improvement in quality grades released Wednesday by the Indiana Department of Education. The grades apply to entire school districts. They arrived four weeks after the state released grades for individual schools in December. Fremont Community Schools repeated its A grade from 2012. The Prairie Heights school district improved to an A for 2013 after earning a B in 2012. The Metropolitan School District of Steuben County improved to a B grade after earning C in 2012, joining Prairie Heights in showing improvement. The Hamilton Community Schools district earned a C for the second consecutive year. Local school officials said point totals the state provides with the letter grades are taken from a comparison of peer groups across the state for each school district’s enrollment. The Prairie Heights Schools Corp. advanced from 3.09 points last year to 3.63 points this year. “We did well. I’m not really surprised. We had a good year and focused,” said Jeff Reed, Prairie Heights Schools assistant superintendent.
Reed said points are compiled as part of a complex formula including achievement growth, graduation rates, ISTEP scores and attendance on a 4.0-scale. Reed said Prairie Heights once again will dissect the data and react accordingly. At MSD schools, “The increased letter grades can be attributed to continued programming refinement and collaborative data analysis for students. As we continue to focus on K-12 language arts and math, we hope to improve each year,” said Cyndi Nusbaum, curriculum director for MSD schools. MSD builds in a weekly collaboration time for teachers and administrators, dismissing a half-hour early every Wednesday. On a school-by-school basis as well as districtwide, test scores and other data are used to provide programming that can help students where it appears they need it. Last school year, MSD began using Five Easy Steps to Balanced Math, which focuses on problem solving in computations. Reading has been emphasized with literacy groups, established six years ago at the elementary level and several years ago at the middle school level. Hamilton Community Schools SuperintenSEE GRADES, PAGE A8
School accountability grades The following grades for local school corporations were released by the Indiana Department of Education on Wednesday after individual school grades were released last month. The grades are based on a 4-point scoring system, with 4 being the highest possible grade, much like a grade point average. School corp.
2013 2013 2012 2012 grade points grade points DeKalb Eastern C 2.92 C 2.90 G-K-B* C 2.85 B 3.39 DeKalb Central B 3.44 C 2.88 Prairie Heights A 3.63 B 3.09 Westview B 3.31 B 3.29 Lakeland C 2.40 B 3.04 Central Noble C 2.28 C 2.29 East Noble B 3.16 B 3.19 West Noble C 2.49 C 2.68 Fremont A 3.65 A 3.78 Hamilton C 2.50 C 2.70 MSD of Steuben B 3.12 C 2.86 Smith-Green C 2.72 C 2.88 * Garrett-Keyser-Butler SOURCE: INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION