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Hudson man facing more charges of child molesting
Weather Mostly sunny skies today. High 43. Low tonight in the upper 20s. Page A6
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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013
Angola, Indiana
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kpcnews.com
Man gets 45 years in killing
GOOD MORNING
Sentencing charged full of emotion BY AMY OBERLIN aoberlin@kpcmedia.com
Inside today If you’re looking for something to do this holiday season across northeast Indiana, look to our guide to holiday happenings in our Holiday Gift guide.
Trash service will be delayed by holiday ANGOLA — Trash and recycling services for the Thanksgiving holiday will be delayed next week for customers of Republic Services/National Serv-All. The company will be closed Thursday, Nov. 28. Because of that, there will be no collections for trash and recyclables that day due to the holiday. Thursday collections will be done Friday and Friday collections will be done Saturday.
Police adding extra patrols for holiday ANGOLA — With Thanksgiving being one of the busiest travel periods of the year, extra police patrols are being added to crack down on impaired driving and seat belt use, a news release said. Members of the Tri-County Safety Partnership will join efforts for the crackdown including those from the following police departments, Angola, Ashley, Hudson and Steuben County. Also, for a list of locations to speak with experts about the proper installation of child safety seats, visit childset.in.gov.
PHOTO GALLERIES See photo highlights from area girls basketball games kpcnews.com Multimedia > Photo Galleries
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Index • Classified.............................................. B6-B8 Life.................................................................A5 Obituaries.....................................................A4 Opinion ........................................................B4 Sports.................................................... B1-B3 Weather........................................................A6 TV/Comics ..................................................B5 Vol. 156 No. 319
AP
Allen Rawlins picks through the debris of his parents’ home, which was destroyed by a tornado, in Kokomo Monday. Dozens of tornadoes and intense thunderstorms swept
across the U.S. Midwest on Sunday, unleashing powerful winds that flattened entire neighborhoods, flipped over cars and uprooted trees.
Surveying aftermath Gov. Pence tours hardest hit areas KOKOMO (AP) — Shaken Indiana residents surveyed homes torn apart by howling winds as authorities assessed the scope of destruction Monday, a day after severe thunderstorms spawned at least three tornadoes as they swept across the state, injuring dozens of people. Gov. Mike Pence, who visited several storm-tossed Indiana communities Monday, began his tour in hard-hit Kokomo, where he consoled homeowners outside their ravaged homes. The storms that hit Indiana on Sunday were part of a wave of severe weather that cut across the Midwest, killing six people in Illinois and two in Michigan. The National Weather Service said its preliminary findings indicate that at least three tornadoes — all of them rated EF2, meaning they packed wind speeds of 111 to 135 mph —
struck the state Sunday. Indiana reported no deaths, but Sunday’s storms injured 32 people in the Kokomo area. Kokomo police Major Brian Seldon said only three of the injured people required hospitalization. He said officials still were assessing damage in the city about 60 miles north of Indianapolis after a possible tornado struck the city’s southeast side along U.S. 31. About 60,000 homes and business, mostly in northern and central Indiana, remained without power Monday morning after winds of up to 86 mph toppled utility poles and damaged transmission towers in a dozen counties. Sunday’s storms left damage in the Lafayette and Lebanon areas, as well as the southern Indiana communities of Washington and Vincennes and parts of western
N.E. Ind. ‘dodges bullet’ FROM STAFF REPORTS
Northeast Indiana escaped with relatively little damage from Sunday’s storms that devastated many areas of the state, officials said. Power outages caused by high winds affected thousands of customers in the region, however. In Steuben County, there were reports of downed trees crossing some county SEE AREA, PAGE A6
SEE SURVEY, PAGE A6
ANGOLA — A Jimmerson Lake man apologized to his family and the family of the man he murdered, and asked Steuben Circuit Court Judge Allen Wheat to sentence him to 45 years in prison Monday. Mark Zachery Hines, 28, admitted to murdering Ruben Sanchez, 29, on July 7. Hines contacted police after the killing, Hines said his court-appointed attorney Anthony Kraus, resulting in his arrest and that of Tyler Lee Biggs, 18, of Jimmerson Lake, who allegedly supplied the .40-caliber pistol. The murder occurred after a weekend of partying and a physical altercation. “Ruben was my friend,” Hines said in a statement to the court. The crime was the result of “drunk foolishness and our egos,” Hines said. “Ruben, if you’re listening, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” He apologized to Sanchez’s mother, sister, family and children; to his own “wonderful mother … my kids. I’m sorry for failing you as a son and a father. I never wanted to bring shame to you … I love you and I thank you for your support.” Wheat accepted the fixed-term plea agreement offered by Steuben County Prosecutor Michael Hess and Hines. He was given credit for 134 days served in Steuben County Jail. With Indiana good time credit, he will be released from prison in about 22 years. “I’ll never live long enough to see you again, but I don’t hate SEE HINES, PAGE A6
Deer hunt successful on Day 1 FROM STAFF REPORTS
LAKE JAMES — Hunters in the deer reduction hunt at Pokagon State Park took 25 deer on Monday, which equals the 4-day total from the last hunt, which was 2011. The hunts, designed to create a balance in the flora and fauna in state parks, have done what planners intended when they started in the mid-1990s. “There were 15 bucks and 10 does taken. Fifteen of the 25 weighed over 100 pounds, a far great percentage than the first hunt in 1995 when less than ten of 124 deer weighed over 100 pounds. Two deer checked in at 165 pounds. So, we have heavier deer, healthier deer, and a much healthier park,” said Fred Wooley, Pokagon’s interpretive naturalist. This is the 15th hunt in the last 19 years. In the first hunt the deer shot of any normal size the hunt were presumed to be those that wandered in on the day of the hunt because many of the deer taken were extremely small, including some very mature deer, age wise, that were the size of yearlings. This year’s hunt will continue today and on Dec. 2 and 3. There were 46 hunters who took part in Monday’s hunt. Those wanting to participate in the hunts must first register for the opportunity to do so.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
Habitat orientation Northeast Indiana Habitat for Humanity conducted orientation for four new partner families from DeKalb, Noble and Steuben counties on Nov. 10.
The families now will begin working on their sweat equity hours and complete financial information classes.
Angola council OKs street pact BY JENNIFER DECKER jdecker@kpcmedia.com
ANGOLA — The Angola Common Council approved a consulting contract with DLZ Indiana LLC for the second phase of the city’s streetscape project for an amount up to $124,200. Construction is expected to start this spring on the project that will extend from City Hall along West Maumee Street to the Indiana Northeastern Railroad tracks.
The revitalization will include installation of planters, Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant sidewalks, ADA curb ramps and new storm sewers. The project is estimated to cost some $1 million. The streetscape’s first phase included the redesign of Public Square with landscaped medians, brick-paved sidewalks and landscaping. Bill Boyer, the city’s engineer, said construction on the second
phase should start around April with estimated time of completion December 2014. Boyer said the city is familiar with DLZ’s work. “They did the construction engineering on Harcourt Road. They’ve worked with the city on several occasions,” Boyer said. In 2011, the city was awarded $1 million in Federal Highway Administration funds administered SEE ANGOLA, PAGE A6