THURSDAY December 5, 2013
Purdue Rolls
Guest Column
Boilers blast BC in Challenge
Journalists need to hold government accountable
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Grapplers Win East Noble tops Bulldogs in opener
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Weather Cloudy, chance of rain, high in the mid-40s. Tonight’s low 26. Page A8 Serving Noble & LaGrange Counties
Kendallville, Indiana
GOOD MORNING Sandy Hook 911 calls made public HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Recordings released Wednesday of 911 calls from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting show town dispatchers urged panicked callers to take cover, mobilized help and asked about the welfare of the children as the boom of gunfire could be heard at times in the background. One caller told police in a trembling, breathless voice that a gunman was shooting inside the building. “I caught a glimpse of somebody. They’re running down the hallway. Oh, they’re still running and still shooting. Sandy Hook school, please,” the woman said. In the minutes that followed, staff members inside the school pleaded for help as Newtown police juggled the barrage of calls. The calls were posted on the town’s website under a court order after a lengthy effort by The Associated Press to have them released for review. An unidentified teacher called from a classroom to the left of the front entrance to report what sounded like gunshots in the hall. She said she was in the room with all her students and hadn’t yet locked the door. “Keep everybody calm, keep everybody down, get everybody away from windows, OK,” the dispatcher said. Another woman, who was shot in the foot, reported that she was in a classroom with children and two other adults, but that there was no way to safely lock the door. The dispatcher told her to apply pressure to the wound. One of the first calls came from a custodian, Rick Thorne, who said that a window at the front of the school was shattered.
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Info • The News Sun P.O. Box 39, 102 N. Main St. Kendallville, IN 46755 Telephone: (260) 347-0400 Fax: (260) 347-2693 Classifieds: (toll free) (877) 791-7877 Circulation: (260) 347-0400 or (800) 717-4679
Index
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Classifieds.................................B6-B7 Life..................................................... A6 Obituaries......................................... A3 Opinion ............................................. A5 Sports.........................................B1-B3 Weather............................................ A8 TV/Comics .......................................B5 Vol. 104 No. 334
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Training, caller crucial at Eastside Police, school had control quickly BY JEFF JONES jjones@kpcmedia.com
BUTLER — It could have been a much different outcome when police encountered a Butler man wearing camouflage gear and possessing two guns in his vehicle outside Eastside Junior-Senior High School as classes were being dismissed Tuesday. Butler Police and Eastside officials credit training and quick response to the situation. There were no injuries, and no shots
were fired. Police were able to apprehend Chad J. Czaja, 34, of the 200 block of Park Lane, along East Green Street, directly across from the high school. Czaja told police he meant to scare his daughter as a prank when he arrived to pick her up from school, Police Chief Jim Nichols said Wednesday. A witness called police after seeing a rifle in the front seat of Czaja’s vehicle as Czaja put on the camouflage gear outside the school.
“I’m really glad we had the conclusion we had. No one got hurt,” Nichols said. “I was very impressed with the school and the communication we had with them throughout the entire event. “I also want to thank the individual who contacted us and gave us the information,” Nichols said. “That’s what we’re lacking sometimes, people stepping up and reporting information like that. Seconds are crucial, and we got there before anything worse was allowed to happen. The subject that called in should be commended for his actions, for
being alert and being observant.” Nichols, Assistant Chief Matt Traster, Officer Matt Tamez and reserve Officer John Isenberg responded to the call. They were assisted by officers from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and Waterloo Marshal’s Department. Before Tuesday, Czaja’s only criminal history involved an April 2007 misdemeanor charge for improper tagging of a deer or taking a deer without a license. In connection with Tuesday’s incident, Czaja has been charged SEE EASTSIDE, PAGE A8
Email Ritz’s proof Document details Pence’s plan to steer power away MATT GETTS
Former WorkOne Northeast veterans service officer Grover O’Dell, left, of Auburn talks with Jim McClure, service officer for Francis Vinyard Post 2749 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars,
during Wednesday’s job fair for veterans at the Kendallville post. O’Dell, who is semi-retired, said he came to the event to see how strong attendance was.
VFW hosts job fair for vets BY MATT GETTS mgetts@kpcmedia.com
KENDALLVILLE — Coming home after serving their country overseas, most veterans want to be able to provide for their families. Getting a job is a priority upon their return, and that’s why the Francis Vinyard Post 2749 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars agreed to WorkOne Northeast’s request to host a job fair for veterans and others at the post Wednesday. Among the companies and
institutions that planned to participate in the fair were Group Dekko, HTI Manufacturing Solutions, Kraft Foods Group, Parker Hannifin, Guardian Industries, Trine University and Ivy Tech Community College-Northeast. Knowing the importance of having a job, Post 2749 service officer Jim McClure said the job fair was welcomed with open arms by the Post. McClure said the structured life led by those in
the military lends itself to creating not only good soldiers, but good employees. “They’re always going to be there,” McClure said. “They’re going to show up. They’re going to do their job well.” Two hours into the fair, approximately nine of the 20 or so people who had signed in were veterans. “They don’t want handouts,” McClure said. “They want to work for what they get. They don’t expect anything extra.”
Pay structure could save money BY BOB BRALEY bbraley@kpcmedia.com
ALBION — A contract to design job classifications and an evaluation and pay structure for all county employees is intended to save the county money, the Noble County Council president said Wednesday. The council voted 5-1 Monday to approve an agreement for Waggoner, Irwin & Scheele and Associates of Muncie to create a system of job classifications and evaluations for county employees at a cost not to exceed $50,000.
The intent is to get work done within a few months to more effectively use the county’s money in the long run, said Noble County Council President Wayne Clouse. The council began working in 2011 to create a job classification system for the county with the intent of classifying employees by job duties and skills, then rewarding them for what their jobs actually entail and how well they do them, Clouse said. Waggoner, Irwin & Scheele was consulted at the time, but the county wanted to see if it could
do the work, or a major part of it, using its own staff, Clouse said. A committee of department heads and elected officials was formed and put together the beginnings of a job classification matrix, Clouse said. “They did quite a bit of work. They put quite a bit of time in,” Clouse said, adding that the committee did good work. But the council realized that finishing the project might be as much as four years away, and that the salary ordinance process was
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Democratic Schools Superintendent Glenda Ritz released an internal document Wednesday that she says is evidence a new agency created by Republican Gov. Mike Pence is trying to undermine her. The document, a nine-point policy proposal from the Pence-created Center for Education and Career Innovation, includes a recommendation on how to strip Ritz’s powers as chair of the State Board of Education while avoiding “substantial political fallout.” Ritz’s control of the State Board of Education has become a flashpoint in the ongoing education battles. “Revising the statute doesn’t accomplish anything ‘legally,’ as the Chair’s powers are actually not defined in a statute (but in the shared governance procedures) and may have substantial political fallout. An alternative solution may be to revise the shared governance procedure to make it clear that the Chair cannot reject agenda items or motions made by board members,” according to the CECI memo, titled “2013 Education Policy Document.” The document, which was included in an Oct. 3 email sent between two Pence education staffers, seems to confirm Ritz’s fears that she was being targeted by the governor’s new education agency. But a spokeswoman for Pence said the governor immediately dismissed the idea when it was first brought up in October and reiterated that it would not be a problem in a private meeting with Ritz last week. “The governor squashed this. They had a meeting last week, SEE RITZ, PAGE A8
SEE STRUCTURE, PAGE A8
Study to evaluate former Group Dekko site BY BOB BRALEY bbraley@kpcmedia.com
ALBION — The Noble County Redevelopment Commission voted 3-0 Wednesday to enter into an engineering contract to study infrastructure needs at an industrial complex. The commission approved hiring Engineering Resources Inc. of Fort Wayne for a commercial and industrial development study of the former Group Dekko complex on U.S. 6 west of Kendallville.
Bethlehem the Day after
Christ
was born
The study will include an assessment of existing conditions, land-use goals and an analysis of ways to meet those goals. The cost of the study is projected at $11,700. The commission has been seeking upgrades at the property to make it more appealing to prospective businesses. Crumbling pavement and a lack of water and sewer utilities on the property have been concerns. Commission president Scott
Pounds said a sanitary sewer extension from Kendallville is one option at the site. Water probably can be provided from new wells at the property, he said, adding, “This is a feasibility study to see if it’s possible.” There is more interest in properties at the site since the county has been working to bring infrastructure improvements, Pounds said. Also Wednesday, the commission discussed problems with the
DECEMBER 7 & 8, 2013 • 1:00 - 5:00 P.M. A Walk-Through Drama • Our 24th Year Cast of over 200 • All Indoors • Thousands have walked these streets. NO ADMISSION CHARGE What Others Have Said About Bethlehem Marketplace: ❖ I have been to Jerusalem and this is the closest experience to the old city of Jerusalem I have ever seen. ❖ 4 Stars and 2 thumbs up. ❖ A living history lesson. ❖ You enter into another time and world when you walk those streets.
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I have never experienced anything like this before. Rated PG; some of it is too realistic for kids. This must have been what it was like in Biblical times. One of the Tri-State area’s most dramatic presentations of the Christmas story. ❖ I am bringing my whole church next year. They have to experience this.
county’s new Unified Development Ordinance in terms of attracting businesses. Some provisions in the UDO, a new zoning ordinance, need to be clarified or replaced, commission members said. Specific provisions were not discussed. The commission took no formal action on the issue, but members plan to meet with others in the Noble County business community to see if they perceive any concerns with the ordinance.
Fairview Missionary Church Phone: 260-665-8402 www.fairview-missionary.org
525 E 200 N, Angola, IN (1 mile east of Meijer and Menards)