Serving the Steuben County 101 lakes area since 1857
Man facing Class B felony for alleged theft of garage door opener Page A2
Weather Mostly sunny skies today with a high of 38. Low tonight 27. Page A6 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2013
Angola, Indiana
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GOOD MORNING Carnegie offers young adult book club each month ANGOLA — A Young Adult Book Club for high school and middle school students who enjoy reading is offered at Carnegie Public Library of Steuben County, 322 S. Wayne St. on Thursday. The group meets at 4 p.m. monthly when a book is chosen and discussed. For more details, call 665-3382.
Sliver of heavy snow hits northern Indiana LAPORTE (AP) — It sure looks like winter now in a sliver of northern Indiana that’s been hit by heavy lake-effect snow. Wind blowing off Lake Michigan dumped several inches of snow in the LaPorte area early Tuesday. The National Weather Service has issued a lake-effect snow warning for the LaPorte and Michigan City areas, forecasting up to 7 inches of snow by Tuesday afternoon. Some schools delayed openings in LaPorte County. WSBT-TV reports about 3 inches of snow fell by dawn along the Indiana Toll Road near LaPorte. Police reported some slide-off accidents, but no serious travel problems. The heavy snowfall ban is narrow, with nearby South Bend seeing a half-inch or less. Other parts of northern and central Indiana also saw light snowfall.
South Bend bans using plastic bags for yard waste SOUTH BEND — The South Bend Common Council voted Monday to ban the use of plastic bags for yard waste, according to news reports. The South Bend Tribune reports that in September, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management cited the city’s composting center for accepting non-compostable waste and gave the city 30 days to come up with a plan to correct the problem. There is about 100,000 cubic yards of such waste at the center. The amended ordinance says yard waste for pick-up must be placed in a biodegradable paper bag or other container approved by the city and separated from other trash or garbage.
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.................................................................A5 Obituaries.....................................................A4 Opinion ........................................................B4 Sports.................................................... B1-B3 Weather........................................................A6 TV/Comics ..................................................B6 Vol. 156 No. 313
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
Signs have been erected in fields at Moody and Crew farms in Steuben County to let
people know about the cover crop conservation practices the business is using.
Conservation success, excess Prairies vanish in push for green energy
Incentive aids local cover crop plantings BY AMY OBERLIN aoberlin@kpcmedia.com
ANGOLA — Four percent of the cropland in Steuben County is being protected by cover crops, which increases nutrients in the soil and decreases runoff. Funding for environmental quality conservation projects can be requested through Feb. 21 through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Environmental Quality Incentive Program. EQIP provides land owners with financial and technical assistance to install conservation practices to address specific resource concerns. Moody and Crew, a Steuben County crop and dairy operation, started using cover crops voluntarily 10 years ago, said
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
Tyson Franks of Moody and Crew was one of the recipients of the 2013 Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts’ River Friendly Farmer Award. The award recognizes people who manage their farms in an economically and environmentally sound way to protect and improve Indiana’s soil and water resources.
Tyson Franks, who holds a crop and soil science degree from Michigan State University. He has been working at Moody Farms since 2006 and is preparing to SEE COVER CROPS, PAGE A6
ROSCOE, S.D. (AP) — Robert Malsam nearly went broke in the 1980s when corn was cheap. So now that prices are high and he can finally make a profit, he’s not about to apologize for ripping up prairieland to plant corn. Across the Dakotas and Nebraska, more than 1 million acres of the Great Plains are giving way to corn fields as farmers transform the wild expanse that once served as the backdrop for American pioneers. This expansion of the Corn Belt is fueled in part by America’s green energy policy, which requires oil companies to blend billions of gallons of corn ethanol into their gasoline. Ethanol has become the No. 1 use for corn in America, helping keep prices high. “It’s not hard to do the math there as to what’s profitable to have,” Malsam said. “I think an ethanol plant is a farmer’s friend.” What the green-energy program has made profitable, however, is far from green. A policy intended to reduce global warming is encouraging a farming practice that actually could worsen it.
Aid finds way to typhoon victims TACLOBAN, Philippines (AP) — Desperately needed food, water and medical aid are only trickling into this city that took the worst blow from Typhoon Haiyan, while thousands of victims jammed the damaged airport Tuesday, seeking to be evacuated. “We need help. Nothing is happening. We haven’t eaten since yesterday afternoon,” pleaded a weeping Aristone Balute, an 81-year-old woman who failed to get a flight out of Tacloban for Manila, the capital. Her clothes were soaked from a pouring rain and tears streamed down her face. Five days after what could be the Philippines’ deadliest disaster, aid is coming — pallets of supplies and teams of doctors are waiting to get into Tacloban — but the challenges of delivering the assistance means few in the stricken city have received help. “There is a huge amount that
Conservation Reserve acres COUNTY DeKalb LaGrange Noble Steuben
2005 *19,975 1,651 9.456 *13,809
2012 *16,065 1,338 6,629 *8,595
* DeKalb County highest in state for 2005 and 2012; Steuben secondhighest in state for 2005, fourth in 2012.
Acres planted in corn COUNTY DeKalb LaGrange Noble Steuben
2005 47,200 55,200 65,000 37,800
2012 51,000 53,200 68,000 44,000
SOURCE: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
That’s because plowing into untouched grassland releases carbon dioxide that has been naturally locked in the soil. It also increases erosion and requires farmers to use fertilizers and other industrial chemicals. In turn, that destroys native plants and wipes out wildlife habitats. It appeared so damaging that scientists warned that America’s corn-for-ethanol policy would fail SEE PRAIRIES, PAGE A6
MSD inks contract, ending impasse BY AMY OBERLIN aoberlin@kpcmedia.com
are going to do as much as we can to bring in more,” she said. Her office said she planned to visit the city. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said relief goods were getting into the city, and the supply should increase now that the airport and a bridge to the island were open. “We are not going to leave one person behind — one living person
ANGOLA — The Metropolitan School District of Steuben County Board of Education signed a two-year contract for teachers at a special meeting Tuesday night in the McCutcheon Administrative Center. The MSD administration and Angola Classroom Teachers Association went into state-mandated mediation after they failed to reach an agreement earlier this fall. Tuesday’s signing occurred one day before the state deadline for a contract agreement. Superintendent Brent Wilson called it a good contract. “A lot of hard work went into it,” he said. “It’s been a big change this year with the legislation and all the requirements we’ve had to put into the contract.” Assistant Superintendent Niles
SEE TYPHOON, PAGE A6
SEE MSD, PAGE A6
AP
Typhoon survivors jostle to get a chance to board a C-130 military transport plane Tuesday in Tacloban, central Philippines. Thousands of typhoon survivors swarmed the airport on Tuesday seeking a flight out, but only a few hundred made it, leaving behind a shattered, rain-lashed city short of food and water and littered with countless bodies.
we need to do. We have not been able to get into the remote communities,” U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said in Manila, launching an appeal for $301 million to help the more than 11 million people estimated to be affected by the storm. “Even in Tacloban, because of the debris and the difficulties with logistics and so on, we have not been able to get in the level of supply that we would want to. We