inwhitleycounty.com
KPC News Service
WHITLEY COUNTY — There is plenty to do in Whitley County this weekend, including events at local libraries and churches. On Saturday: • The Books & Booze Club will meet at the Peabody Public Library at 7 p.m. Sponsored by Chapman’s Brewing Company, attendees will discuss the book “Seven Years in Tibet,” by Heinrich Harrer. • The South Whitley Community Public Library has a monthly board meeting at 6 p.m. • The Whitley County Amateur Radio Club’s general meeting will be held 6-8 p.m. in the community rooms of Peabody Public Library, 1160 E. S.R. 205. The group will discuss plans for viewing the solar eclipse Aug. 21. All WCARC meetings are open to the public. For more information, visit wcarc.org, or the Whitley County Amateur Radio Club Facebook page. • A garage sale, hosted by Grace Lutheran Church, will be held Thursday-Saturday at the church, located at 204 N. Main St. in Columbia City. The sale is 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 8 a.m.-noon Saturday. Money raised will benefit the church’s missions. On Sunday: • A benefit for TROY School will be hosted 6 p.m. Aug. 11 at Joseph Decuis farm, 6755 E. 900 South. The event features food from the local farm, desserts prepared by local chefs, local brew from Chapman’s Brewery and music by “The Iconics.” The cost is $125 per ticket. Tickets can be purchased at troyalternativeschool.com. See more Whitley County events on Page 19.
INFORMATION
Telephone: (800) 717-4679
Vol. 1 No. 19
2215 E. Paige Rd., Columbia City, IN 46725
BILL FRIES, OWNER 260-244-3453
For Service of System Call
August 10, 2017
WCCS considers schedule change By Nicole Minier nminier@kpcmedia�com
COLUMBIA CITY — Columbia City High School Principal Jennifer Reiff proposed a change to Whitley County Consolidated School’s academic schedule, shifting the district from 12-week trimesters to 18-week semesters. Reiff said the current schedule may not be the best for students and
teachers at the high school level, as it isn’t conducive to building relationships. “In some cases, teachers are only seeing students for 12 weeks. That’s not enough time to foster and maintain relationships,” Reiff said. “It will allow teachers to get more in-depth into the classes. We can only do so much in a short period of time.” A change from trimesters to semesters would
give students 300 more minutes with the teacher before changing schedules. “That’s an entire week of instruction,” Reiff said. The current schedule includes 60 days of 70-minute classes. The proposed change suggests 90 days of 50-minute classes. In addition to potentially helping current students, a change to
trimesters would also be beneficial for incoming students, Reiff says. “It’s easier to be on a semester schedule because that’s what most of the surrounding schools are on. All post secondary schools are on semesters,” he said. “It can be difficult to align with our partners.” Reiff told the school board Monday that teachers wouldn’t see a
difference in their workloads, and many have voiced opinions about not being able to build quality relationships with their students. “At times, the students come into the classroom for a new trimester and the teacher has no concept of the students’ skills and how to help them improve,” she said. See WCCS, Page 7
Messy Ian’s Slime debuts at First Fridays By Tyler Roebuck troebuck@kpcmedia�com
COLUMBIA CITY – Eleven-year-old entrepreneur Ian Schuman opened his booth, Messy Ian’s Slime, at Columbia City’s First Friday’s this weekend. Schuman runs the entire operation by himself. “I make [the slime] in my basement all by myself,” he said. “[My mom] buys the ingredients. This is a month-old slime. Some people say slime only lasts for three days.” Schuman, who has a self-professed interest in odd things, found that he enjoyed slime when he bought some factory-made putty. “I really liked it, so I watched YouTube and found the easiest way to make slime so I made some.” He hopes to raise enough money through selling his slime to buy a baseball bat. First Fridays in Columbia City will continue through October.
TYLER ROEBUCK
Eleven-year-old Ian Schuman makes slime based on a video he found on YouTube, and started selling them for the first time this month. See more photos on Page 3.
Court documents outline S. Whitley doctor allegations By Nicole Minier nminier@kpcmedia�com
SOUTH WHITLEY — A probable cause affidavit submitted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency outlines the investigation behind the arrest of a former South Whitley family doctor,
James Hanus, who was arrested last week. Hanus was charged with six felonies related to dealing “substantial sums” of prescription drugs without medical need, according to the affidavit. He faces four counts of dealing a
INWhitley County
Several events planned this weekend
INWhitley County 123 N. Main Street, Churubusco, IN 46723
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123 North Main Street,Churubusco, IN 46723
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schedule II controlled substance and two counts of dealing a controlled substance by a practitioner. According to a state program, INSPECT, which monitors controlled substance prescriptions in Indiana, Hanus prescribed the third greatest amount of drugs of all Indiana health care providers between Jan. 1, 2015, and Aug. 20, 2016. The data includes all physicians, nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants and hospitals. Hanus had 3,080
unique patients who were prescribed controlled substances between Nov. 22, 2013, and July 31, 2016, according to INSPECT data in court docuHanus ments. Prior to Nov. 22, 2013, Hanus was employed by Parkview Health. The DEA report states he was terminated from Parkview
for “harassment of Parkview employees and patients.” After he was terminated, Hanus told investigators he treated about 15 patients out of his home before starting his own practice in South Whitley. As his practice grew, Hanus told investigators he saw as many as 67 patients in a day, court documents show. A receptionist told investigators she booked two patients per 15-minute block, and See HANUS, Page 3