Serving the Steuben County 101 lakes area since 1857
Sectional football action kicks off for Steuben County high school teams
Weather Mostly cloudy today with a high of 51. Low tonight 33. Page A6
Page B1 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2013
Angola, Indiana
GOOD MORNING Judge considers tossing police captain’s testimony FORT WAYNE (AP) — An Indiana judge says he will consider a request from a suspended Indianapolis police officer facing reckless homicide and other charges that the testimony of a police captain be thrown out because the captain read email summaries of the case before testifying. But The Indianapolis Star reports Allen Superior Judge John Surbeck said Friday it was unlikely he would do so, even though Wednesday he reprimanded the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department after learning a police major had been emailing daily summaries of Officer David Bisard’s trial to five department leaders. He did reiterate, however, that the actions by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department regarding the emails were “extraordinarily unprofessional, wrong and should not have happened.” Surbeck was concerned officers’ testimony could be influenced by what other witnesses have said.
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Showgirl hearing continued Friday hearing doesn’t get through witnesses, will resume on Nov. 13 BY MIKE MARTURELLO mmarturello@kpcmedia.com
SOUTH BEND — A hearing to negate Angola’s laws and actions against a strip club owner was not concluded in U.S. District Court for Northern Indiana in South Bend on Friday. The hearing, part of a suit between Alva and Sandra Butler against the city of Angola concluded shortly before 5 p.m. when Judge Robert Miller
decided to continue it to Nov. 13 at 1:30 p.m. In March the Butlers sued the city, claiming their First Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution have been violated by Angola’s efforts to stop them from opening a Showgirl strip club at 310 W. Wendell Jacob Ave. The key issues before the court Friday centered on how Angola building commissioner
Dean Twitchell and plan director Vivian Likes applied and interpreted laws as they related to Butler and his company, BBL Inc., and his efforts to take the former Slider’s Grill and Bar and convert it to a strip club. Butler is founder of the Showgirl clubs in Fort Wayne and currently owns Showgirl III. Twitchell and Likes are named as defendants in the case, too. When Butler bought Sliders in August 2012, strip clubs were allowed in C-2 zoning, which covered his property. After a new ordinance was enacted in November 2012, such clubs are allowed in industrial zoning
Homemade Halloween Want to make your kids’ halloween costumes but need a little guidance? See Sunday’s Life section for several do-it-yourself ideas. Sunday’s C1 and C2.
Clip and Save Find $125 in coupon savings in Sunday’s newspaper.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL Check out the latest on your favorite team kpcnews.com Sports > College Football
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.................................................................A3 Obituaries.....................................................A4 Opinion .........................................................A5 Sports.................................................... B1-B3 Weather........................................................A6 TV/Comics ..................................................B6 Vol. 156 No. 295
A kickoff fundraiser for creation of a community park at Clear Lake Lutheran Church was recently held. Park committee members, from left, Mike Craig, Bob Burris, Beth McCracken, Julie Zachrich and Carola Thomas are pictured with
the artist’s drawing of the proposed playground. The playground and park will be located across from the church on Outer Drive by a wooded area containing a trail to Koeneman Lake.
New park, playground coming to Clear Lake community BY JENNIFER DECKER jdecker@kpcmedia.com
CLEAR LAKE — A playground and park Clear Lake residents feel are much needed are in the planning stages thanks to a church and community effort. A $40,000 children’s playground and park is planned for a site located in the grassy area on Outer Drive across from Clear Lake Lutheran Church, west of where the Lions Club holds
chicken barbecues. “There’s no playground in Clear Lake,” said Beth McCracken, a park committee member and church board member. “I think Clear Lake Lutheran considers this an outreach. We have a small congregation, but we look for ways to help the community.” Flags mark the perimeter and drawings of the playground are displayed in the church’s outdoor
districts. Butler’s attorneys maintain the city has tried to prevent him from opening a strip club by their interpretation and changing of city laws. The city’s attorneys argue that Angola was well within its power as a municipality to enact and enforce laws. The hearing ended with Likes being cross examined. This is to continue on Nov. 13, plus Butler’s attorneys plan to recall one witness. After that, the attorneys will provide closing statements. Friday’s hearing started at 9:30 a.m. and concluded at 5 p.m. There was a break for SEE HEARING, PAGE A6
Health site needs many fixes
A New Place To Play
JUDY OXENGER JOHNSTON
Coming Sunday
75 cents
sign. Current plans call for commercial-grade play structures containing two slides, one spiral; monkey bars; a 6-foot rock climber; bumper ladder; twister climber; crunch station; climbing pole; multiple play decks; a two-bay arch swing set and two park benches. The church is providing the land and $15,000 in seed money SEE PLAYGROUND, PAGE A6
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly a month into a dysfunctional health care rollout, Obama administration officials said Friday they’ve found dozens of website problems that need fixing and tapped a private company to take the lead. They said most of the problems will be fixed by the end of November. Jeffrey Zients, a management consultant brought in by the White House to assess the extent of problems with the HealthCare. gov site, told reporters his review found issues across the entire system, which is made up of layers of components interacting in real time with consumers, government agencies and insurance company computers. It will take a lot of work, but “HealthCare.gov is fixable,” said Zients. The vast majority of the issues will be resolved by the end of November, he asserted, and there will be many fewer errors. He stopped short of saying the problems will go away completely. The administration also said it is promoting one of the website contractors, Quality Software Systems, Inc., to take on the role of “general contractor” shepherding the fixes. QSSI was responsible SEE FIXES, PAGE A6
Courthouse compilation completed by teacher BY KATHRYN BASSETT kbassett@kpcmedia.com
MUNCIE — From the hitching posts in LaGrange to the heavy foot traffic in downtown Columbus, Ball State University’s Chris Flook, a telecommunications instructor, is a witness to the variety of Indiana courthouse squares. He spent last summer driving across the state to photograph all 92 county courthouses and adjoining squares as part of Indiana Courthouse Squares (indianacourthousesquare.org). The site also provides historical information as part of an effort to document the buildings as well as prepare materials for the state’s bicentennial in 2016. “In LaGrange, you can have a BMW and recreational vehicle parked next to a horse and buggy — letting outsiders know that a great many Amish residents live there,” Flook said. “While in Columbus, you have a vibrant downtown with younger people
working and walking around because of the corporate influence of Cummins. “On the other end of the spectrum, one county in southern Indiana has maintained its courthouse, but the surrounding business district is in pretty sad shape. Many small communities suffered from recessions as well as population loss. In some places, the courthouse was located in a scary downtown filled with boarded up buildings and scarecrows looking down from above.” Flook not only marvels at the variety of small rural downtowns but also the intricate design of the courthouses — taking a visitor back to a bygone era when constructing a multistory building in the rural Midwest was a monumental task. “Most of our courthouses date back to the 1800s when the courthouse square, church, school and main street business district
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
The Steuben County Courthouse is on the National Historic SEE COURTHOUSES, PAGE A6 Register.