Serving the Steuben County 101 lakes area since 1857
Good gourd Hogback Lake woman creates art from gourds
Weather Plenty of sun today. High 72. Low 44. Clouds move in Monday. Page B7 Angola, Indiana
GOOD MORNING Man gets hit by train, walks away TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a Kansas man who was walking along railroad tracks wearing headphones was hit by a train that he didn’t hear approaching behind him — but that he got back up and kept walking. Shawnee County Sheriff Herman Jones says the BNSF conductor slowed down the train and blew the horn when he saw 25-year-old Kristopher Wenberg on the tracks in Topeka on Thursday. Wenberg told deputies he couldn’t hear the train, which eventually hit him. Jones says Wenberg promptly got back up and called someone on his cellphone as he walked away. He went to a hospital with cuts on his legs and shoulder. It is against the law to walk on train tracks and Wenberg would be cited for criminal trespass.
Giffords to attend New York gun show ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt in 2011, is set to tour a New York gun show, the first such visit since she was shot. Giffords and husband Mark Kelly, a former combat pilot and astronaut, are scheduled to be with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman at the Saratoga Springs Arms Fair on Sunday to highlight a voluntary agreement to monitor gun show sales and stricter state gun control law. It will be latest event by Giffords and Kelly in their national campaign for expanded background checks for gun sales. A state law enacted earlier this year with a push by Gov. Andrew Cuomo expanded a ban on military-style weapons, requires mental health professionals to report threats, limits magazines to seven bullets, taxes bullets and creates a registry to keep guns out of the wrong hands. It was approved a month after the Newtown, Conn., school massacre.
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Looking back on 107 years DeKalb woman reaches milestone age BY OCTAVIA LEHMAN olehman@kpcmedia.com
AUBURN — Ethel Chapman is a world-class traveler. She saw the pyramids in Egypt, rode a camel in Israel and got “pinched” in Rome. Yet, for Ethel, her biggest milestone came Thursday when she reached her 107th birthday. Family and friends will celebrate Ethel’s birthday today at Wesley Healthcare in Auburn.
Last month, Ethel was honored as the oldest woman at “Old Settler’s Day” during the DeKalb County Free Fall Fair. When Ethel rode in the parade on the final day of the fair, she thought the event was for her, said her sister, Jo. Burt Dickman, a member at her church, the Auburn Church of Christ, drove Ethel through SEE 107 YEARS, PAGE A6
OCTAVIA LEHMAN
Ethel Chapman, right, will celebrate her 107th birthday today with friends and family at Wesley Healthcare in Auburn. Ethel turned 107 Thursday. Her sister, Jo, at left, is a constant companion.
Default looms
Secretary of the Year
Congress continues political maneuvering WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans and Democrats in Congress lumbered through a day of political maneuvering Saturday while a threatened default by the Treasury crept uncomfortably closer and a partial government shutdown neared the end of its second week. “We haven’t done anything yet” by way of compromise, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said after Senate leaders took control of efforts to end the impasse, although he and other Democrats said repeatedly there was reason JENNIFER DECKER for optimism. Called the heart and soul of Prairie Heights High principal Jeremy Swander, right. Huss recently Across the Capitol, tea School, secretary Susie Huss makes a point to was named Secretary of the Year by the Indiana party caucus student service worker Makayla Lepley, left, and Association of School Principals. Republican Rep. SENATOR John Fleming COATS of Louisiana, votes against said there was raising the “definitely a debt ceiling, chance that SEE PAGE A6. Dual Weimer, a Prairie Heights we’re going graduate. Weimer presented Huss to go past the with a dozen red roses when deadline” that BY JENNIFER DECKER Huss has been a secretary she received her award at the Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has jdecker@kpcmedia.com in Prairie Heights Community ceremony. set for Congress to raise the $16.7 BRUSHY PRAIRIE — Susie Schools for 17 years. The last “I nominated her because she’s trillion debt limit. Huss was called the “heart and seven years, she’s been the princithe best of the best,” Swander said. Lawmakers in both parties said soul” of Prairie Heights High pal’s secretary. “She’s efficient, always puts us at they were watching for the reaction School by her principal, Jeremy For her award, Huss said she ease. Whenever I have a question, to the political uncertainty by the Swander. received an honorary plaque, a she always answers. She’s a great financial markets when they reopen Because the longtime secretary bracelet and a two-night stay at the person.” after the weekend. means so much to the high school JW Marriott in Indianapolis with Last year, Huss worked with President Barack Obama met community, Huss recently was dinner. She was accompanied by Weimer, and the pair have a with Senate Democratic leaders at the White House after accusing honored as Secretary of the Year her husband, Gene Huss. special relationship. by the Indiana Association of Susie Huss was nominated Huss was touched deeply by the Republicans of practicing the SEE SECRETARY, PAGE A6 School Principals. for the award by Swander and SEE DEFAULT, PAGE A6
Secretary named state’s best Heights’ Susie Huss earns honor
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.............................................. D5-D6 Life................................................................ C1 Obituaries.....................................................A4 Opinion ........................................................B5 Business ......................................................B7 Sports.................................................... B1-B4 Weather.......................................................B7 Vol. 156 No. 282
Most housefires can be prevented BY DENNIS NARTKER dnartker@kpcmedia.com
KENDALLVILLE — Firefighters rushed to an apartment in Kendallville to extinguish a kitchen fire. “The occupant left food cooking on the stove unattended, and when he returned, the food had caught fire and flames spread to the kitchen cabinets and wall,” said Fire Chief Mike Riehm. Auburn Fire Chief Mike VanZile recalled the time his department was called to a house fire and found a smoldering mattress in a bedroom. “The resident said he was smoking in bed,” he said. In another emergency situation, a family of four escaped from their house when their carbon monoxide detector sounded.
“Carbon monoxide is odorless and can kill,” said VanZile. A crack in the gas furnace caused the alarm to go off. Firefighters discovered a very high concentration of carbon monoxide gas and ventilated the home. “I’m pretty sure if they had gone to bed that night they would have never woke up,” VanZile said VanZile. A house near West Otter Lake in Steuben County on Oct. 3 sustained an estimated $45,000 in damage from a fire that started in the kitchen when food caught fire on a stove. Flames spread from the kitchen to the attic and the home’s exterior. Riehm recalled another house fire in Kendallville that was caused by a bed frame pushed up against an electric baseboard heater. The
“The occupant left food cooking on the stove unattended...” Mike Riehm Kendallville Fire Chief on how a recent fire started
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fire started inside the bedroom wall and spread throughout the bedroom. All of these fires could have been prevented if the homeowners SEE FIRE, PAGE A6
Kindergarten students at Wayne Center Elementary School learn about fire safety from a book titled “Firefighter A to Z” by Chris Demarest and an interactive app on their iPods, Sparky’s Birthday Surprise. October is National Fire Prevention Month.