Serving the Steuben County 101 lakes area since 1857
Steuben, LaGrange officials to discuss joint human resources person in meeting today
Weather Cloudy, rain expected, high 72. Low tonight 53. Cooler Wednesday. Page A6
Page A2 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013
Angola, Indiana
GOOD MORNING RISE to the Occasion has record attendance ANGOLA — The eighth annual RISE to the Occasion fundraiser last Thursday had a record attendance of close to 650 people. The fundraiser highlights the tastes, sights and sounds of the lakes and is for RISE Inc., which serves developmentally disabled clients in Steuben and DeKalb counties. Denise Payton, RISE executive director, said final figures show the event raised more than $45,000 that will go toward program activities. It also featured 597 bidders in the event’s silent and live auctions.
Family wants killer found FROM STAFF REPORTS
ANGOLA — The suspect in a Saturday killing was still at large Monday and Steuben County officials were still searching for him. Kenneth Fletcher, 41, is being sought by police in the death of 31-year-old Wilbur David Renshaw. Renshaw was found lying in a pool of blood in the 400 block of
North Washington Street on Saturday. He was pronounced dead by Steuben County Coroner Bill Harter at 10:07 p.m. at Cameron Memorial Community Fletcher Hospital. Family members of Renshaw said he wasn’t a
violent person, KPC Media Group news partner NewsChannel 15 reported Monday. Family members believe he was stabbed to death. “My brother wasn’t a fighter, let’s get this straight. My brother didn’t go down to fight,” Colleen Bowersox, Renshaw’s sister, said. “We’ve got to find this murderer. He murdered my brother. Find him.”
’Gator found near I-69 FISHERS — Police found an alligator late Friday along I-69 in Hamilton County after a driver reported that he saw the creature crawling along the highway. Fishers police spokesman Tom Weger told the Indianapolis Star police contacted the Department of Natural Resources, which told them there aren’t any special permits required for someone to own an alligator.
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.............................................. B6-B8 Life.................................................................A5 Obituaries.....................................................A4 Opinion ........................................................B4 Sports.................................................... B1-B3 Weather........................................................A6 TV/Comics ..................................................B5 Vol. 156 No. 284
An autopsy was conducted Sunday morning at St. Joseph Hospital in Fort Wayne. The death was ruled a homicide. Renshaw sustained “significant trauma” to his chest, and succumbed to those injuries, said Harter. The murder weapon and nature of the injuries were being withheld on Monday due to the SEE STABBING, PAGE A6
MSDteacher contract talks at impasse
Angola to conduct fire hydrant flushing ANGOLA — Angola’s Water Department will perform routine semi-annual flushing and maintenance of fire hydrants Monday through Wednesday, Nov. 1 between the hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. by the following schedule: • northeast section, north of East Maumee Street and east of North Wayne Street, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 23; • southeast section, east of South Wayne Street and south of East Maumee Street, Wednesday, Oct. 23-Friday, Oct. 25; • northwest section, north of West Maumee Street and west of North Wayne Street, Monday, Oct. 28-Wednesday, Oct. 30; • southwest section, west of South Wayne Street and south of West Maumee Street, Wednesday, Oct. 30-Friday, Nov. 1. Residents are asked to refrain from doing laundry at the above times when hydrants are flushed in their areas, as it could lead to discoloration of water from iron and manganese sediments.
75 cents
kpcnews.com
BY AMY OBERLIN aoberlin@kpcmedia.com
JUDY OXENGER JOHNSTON
Clear Lake gets a Little Library The new Little Library at Clear Lake was recently constructed by George McCracken and filled with books donated by residents of the town of Clear Lake. Brenda Eby, town of Clear Lake billing clerk,
stops to check out what is available after finishing work for the day Friday. Little Libraries similar to this one are cropping up in communities across the nation as they increase in popularity.
Fremont falls into autumn with fest BY JENNIFER DECKER jdecker@kpcmedia.com
FREMONT — Organizers of the upcoming Fremont Autumn Days want to show people the town has a lot to offer. Fremont Autumn Days will be held Oct. 25 and 26 with various activities planned. Co-organizers of the event are Jule Gannon and Bob Szelepski, a downtown business owner. The event will be held at the same time as the Fremont Public Library’s annual Pumpkin Walk that Friday night. “We don’t want to bring away from the Pumpkin Walk. We’re trying to get SLAM and woodcarving to bring in families,” Gannon said. SLAM Dunk is an after-school program at Fremont Middle School administered through the Steuben County Literacy Coalition. Fremont musician and business
owner Jim Weber and guest will provide music. Bicycles will be a major focus of the event with a free memorial ride at 9 a.m. that Saturday in memory of the late Bob Gary. Gary refurbished bicycles for needy children. To show support, all Fremont businesses have one of Gary’s bicycles in their store windows. Proceeds from the memorial ride will go toward buying Christmas bicycles for children. “We’ll have a bicycle show at 10 a.m. behind the bank and people can bring their bikes they made,” Gannon said. The show will be followed by a bicycle parade at 1 p.m. After that, bicycle safety tips will be given during a rodeo at 2 p.m. The event will also feature a farmer’s market; craft vendors with local artisans and booths are free; broomstick hockey; pumpkin painting by SLAM students;
different raffles; corn hole games and middle school disc golf competition. At 10 a.m. Oct. 26, there will be a 15K run. Entry fee is $20. Also, 20 or so wood carvings by Steve Lepley are featured around town and free hayrides are being offered to view them. Three local groups will work for charity, and the Boy Scouts will sell kettle corn. The Red Hat Ladies will conduct Shoe La-la, with barrels placed downtown to collect shoes for the needy. Maurice’s will collect clothing and non-perishable food. Last month, the first Autumn Days event was held, which coincided with Fremont High School’s homecoming. The event contended with heavy rain, Gannon said. For more details or to participate call 316-8114 or 495-9070 or visit fremontautumndays. wordpress.com.
‘Inappropriate’ Obama sign greets area city
SEE MSD, PAGE A6
Deal may be near
BY BOB BRALEY bbraley@kpcmedia.com
KENDALLVILLE — A large video sign on U.S. 6 in Kendallville Monday portrayed Barack Obama with a Hitler-style mustache and called for impeaching the U.S. president. The sign’s owner said it is a paid advertisement not affiliated with the businesses in Cornerstone Plaza where the sign is located. That the sign’s rotation also includes a “Welcome to Kendallville” message prompted Kendallville Mayor Suzanne Handshoe to say it was inappropriate, regardless of what anyone may think of the president, and doesn’t reflect a message the city would want to send. The sign shows a rising image of Obama, revealing a mustache similar to the one worn by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler on his upper lip. The image is followed by the words, on the screen in separate
ANGOLA — Metropolitan School District of Steuben County teachers and administrators will soon be in mediation over contracts. “We were not able to reach agreement on a collective bargaining agreement with the teachers’ association before the Oct. 10 deadline so we are currently at impasse,” said MSD Superintendent Brent Wilson on Monday. Because Angola Classroom Teachers Association and district administrators were unable to come to an agreement, the Indiana Education Employee Relations Board will appoint a mediator. At least one mediation session must be held and up to three are allowed by state law. Teachers have been encouraged to attend tonight’s school board meeting at Pleasant Lake Elementary School at 7:30 p.m. in support of a fair contract. “We feel that the administration has offered a very fair contract that protects all current student programs, keeps everyone employed, adds two extra-curricular positions, an increase in the hourly wage for tutoring, and a generous stipend to be paid out before Christmas break,” said Wilson. “All of this while we are projecting a decrease in funding from last year which puts us in the position of deficit financing. We would be going into our operating balance to cover the increased costs of the new agreement.” Brad Jones, an Angola Middle School teacher and head of the ACTA, said he hopes to see an
JAMES TEW
This picture of President Barack Obama with a Hitler-style mustache is part of a paid ad running on the Cornerstone Plaza sign on U.S. 6 in Kendallville Monday. Immediately following the image are the words “impeach Obama.” A video of the entire sequence may be viewed at kpcnews.com.
frames, “IMPEACH” and “OBAMA.” Cornerstone Plaza owner Roger Diehm said advertising on the sign was purchased over the SEE SIGN, PAGE A6
WASHINGTON (AP) — Racing the clock, the Senate’s Democratic and Republican leaders closed in on a deal Monday night to avoid an economy-menacing Treasury default and end the two-week partial government shutdown. “We’ve made tremendous progress,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declared after an intense day of negotiations with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and other lawmakers. “Perhaps tomorrow will be a bright day,” he said, suggesting agreement could be announced soon after weeks of stubborn gridlock. McConnell also voiced optimism — although not as much as Reid, D-Nev., had — and the details under discussion generated SEE DEAL, PAGE A6