Serving the Steuben County 101 lakes area since 1857
New walking group being formed that’s based out of Carnegie Library
Weather Warmer today with high near 30. Snow storm could start tonight. Page A6
Page A2 SATURDAY, JANUARY 4, 2014
Angola, Indiana
GOOD MORNING Deadline to apply for Lilly Scholarship is Monday afternoon ANGOLA — The deadline for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship that’s administered through the Steuben County Community Foundation is Monday at 4:30 p.m. The full-tuition four-year scholarship is for a high school senior including up to $900 per year toward books and supplies. Qualified applicants must be an incoming freshman as a full-time student at an accredited Indiana college or university seeking a bachelor’s degree. Applicants must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0-point scale or 4.0 on a 12-point scale, along with SAT and/or ACT scores. For more details, visit the office during normal business hours, 1701 N. Wayne St., call 665-6656 or visit steubenfoundation. org.
kpcnews.com
Showgirl suit moves forward While early in process, not much left to suit BY MIKE MARTURELLO mmarturello@kpcnews.net
ANGOLA — The ruling in the federal lawsuit pitting owners of a strip club against the city of Angola is the early stages but it has been reduced to the point that a quick conclusion is possible, said attorneys trying the case in South Bend. On Tuesday U.S. Federal District Judge Robert L. Miller struck down many of the motions filed in the case between Alva and Sandra Butler and their company, BBL Inc., against Angola. Parties in the case were
informed of the ruling late Thursday afternoon by the court. Late Friday a telephonic status hearing in the case was scheduled for Jan. 30 with Miller and attorneys representing the parties. The Butlers, Fort Wayne, are owners of the Showgirl III strip club in Fort Wayne. They sued the city, claiming their efforts to open a club here were thwarted by the city in violation of their constitutional rights. Miller’s ruling to let survive one First Amendment issue and the possibility of Butler recovering lost income and attorney fees means
the case will move forward. “There’s still an important issue left so there’s still more to come,” said Matt Hoffer, one of Butler’s attorneys with Shaffer & Associates, Lansing, Mich. “The fact that this one (issue) remains is significant.” Because it is one issue and not a host of matters as when the case began, the conclusion could be near, said Scott Bergthold, the city’s attorney from Chattanooga, Tenn. “I don’t see a long future for the case because what the court decided in the city’s favor doesn’t leave much to the case,” Bergthold said. The portion of the case that remains SEE SHOWGIRL, PAGE A6
US auto sales hit 6-year pinnacle
MIKE MARTURELLO
Chris Meek, Angola, shovels out his buried car from a parking lot near his Broad Street home Friday. He moved the car to a parking lot to get
Coming Sunday
Fitness with Friends
Do you find motivation in numbers? If so read about the many options available for group fitness classes locally. On Sunday’s C1 and C2.
Clip and Save Find $162 in coupon savings in Sunday’s newspaper.
LOOK FOR VIDEO Jack D. Gibson Memorial Polar Bear Dip kpcnews.com
Contact Us •
75 cents
it off the street to enable city plow crews to do their work.
Winter weather relentless FROM STAFF REPORTS
Area snowfall totals
Don’t expect a break in the extreme winter weather conditions, the National Weather Service Northern Indiana is predicting. All of northeast Indiana was placed under a winter storm watch on Friday, as was most of Indiana, with the exception of the Chicago area. A storm packing upward of a foot of snow is expected to begin tonight, though northeast Indiana is expected to receive not any more than 7 inches of snow. “A significant winter storm will likely impact the region beginning as early as Saturday evening and persisting through at least Sunday evening,” the NWS watch said. “A cold front will move across the area Saturday night with light snow spreading from northwest to southeast. At this time light accumulations are expected with this front. Greater concern lies
City Jan. 1 Jan. 2 Jan. 3 Total Angola 2.7 5.3 2.1 10.1 Auburn 2.0 3.0 1.0 6.0 Kendallville 2.5 2.5 2.0 7.0 LaGrange 3.2 2.2 0.5 5.9 SOURCE: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
with low pressure that will develop and rapidly deepen as it tracks from Arkansas Sunday morning to Ohio Sunday night.” Today is expected to bring more snow — maybe an inch accumulation throughout northeast Indiana — and wind gusts as high as 25 mph with partly sunny skies. Highs are expected in the 30-degree range. New snow accumulation to the tune of 4-7 inches is possible for Sunday with high temperatures around 24 degrees, with more blowing around of the white stuff on Monday.
Snow is expected to taper off Monday and Tuesday, but severe cold temperatures will be ushered in. Highs and lows are forecast in the below zero range, with a low of 19 below zero Monday, while the high on Tuesday is expected to be 5 below zero. Wednesday could have a slight warm up to a high near 13 degrees, but snow could fall at night and into Thursday. The NWS lists Angola record snowfall at 14.3 inches of snow on Jan. 3, 1999. Data for DeKalb, LaGrange and Noble counties was unavailable. Snow on the ground from this week’s snow ranges from about 6 inches at LaGrange and Auburn to 10 inches in Angola, through Friday morning. Kendallville received 7 inches. The snow started Tuesday and continued through Thursday. The bulk of the snow came Wednesday night.
DETROIT (AP) — Automakers are going to have to work a little harder for your business in 2014. After four years of strong sales increases — and few discounts — as the economy improved, U.S. demand for new cars and trucks is expected to slow this year. That could mean better deals for buyers as car companies fight to increase their share of the market. The industry got a taste of what’s to come in December, when General Motors, Toyota and Volkswagen all saw their sales fall from a year ago. One reason: Competitors like Ford and Honda increased their incentive spending on hot sellers like pickup trucks and midsize cars, according to TrueCar.com, which tracks car prices. Cold weather and strong sales over Black Friday in November also pinched December sales, automakers said. This year’s slowdown is inevitable, analysts say. Many people who held on to their cars through the recession have now bought new ones. Those who haven’t may not be in any rush, because cars are lasting longer than ever before. And unless there’s a strong uptick in the economy, families aren’t likely to buy a third car. Alec Gutierrez, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book, expects U.S. sales to increase by around 700,000 to 16.3 million in 2014. That compares to increases of more than 1 million each year since 2009, when U.S. sales bottomed out at 10.4 million. “Sales are approaching an equilibrium level of demand based on the needs of population and the number of licensed drivers in the country,” he said. So 2013 could be remembered as the last of the boom years. As SEE AUTO SALES, PAGE A6
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.................................................................A5 Obituaries.....................................................A4 Opinion ........................................................B4 Sports.................................................... B1-B3 Weather........................................................A6 TV/Comics ..................................................B7 Vol. 157 No. 3
Mentoring worth the effort, volunteer says BY KATHRYN BASSETT kbassett@kpcmedia.com
WATERLOO — The face of 8-year-old Briana Barrington lit up with a smile as her mentor, Mary Ellen Rayle, declared her the winner in a game of “Guess Who” that the pair had been playing. “I really love Briana. I look forward to seeing her every week. I’m thankful for the opportunity to come and do this,” Rayle said. Rayle has been partnered as Barrington’s mentor for three years through the HOPE mentor program. They meet for one hour, once a week, on Thursday mornings at Waterloo Elementary School,
where Briana is a first-grader. “The goal is for mentoring and encouraging her (Briana),” Rayle said. “Sometimes we work on academic things, but it’s not our main goal.” January is National Mentoring Month, which aims to promote youth mentoring in the United States. Mentors bring great value to children who might not have other adult relationships in their lives, said Barb Bryan, director of the Links mentoring program at Cahoots Coffee Cafe in Angola. The coffee house is an outreach of the United Methodist Church SEE MENTOR, PAGE A6
KATHRYN BASSETT
HOPE mentor Mary Ellen Rayle plays a game of “Guess Who” with Waterloo Elementary School first-grader Briana Barrington. January is National Mentoring Month, which aims to promote youth mentoring in the United States.