WEDNESDAY December 11, 2013
Hoosiers Romp
Holiday Tunes
Tough Night
Gordon gets 26 in win over Oakland
EN music programs plan Christmas shows
Carroll defeats EN grapplers
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Weather High in the mid-20s, 40 percent chance of snow. Low tonight down to 7. Page A6 Kendallville, Indiana
Serving Noble & LaGrange Counties
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Stalking ordeal gains national attention GOOD MORNING Moore to receive Sagamore honor KENDALLVILLE — The late Don Moore will receive the Sagamore of the Wabash award in a ceremony at 11 a.m. today at American Legion Post 86 in Kendallville. The Sagamore of the Wabash is Moore an honorary award bestowed by the state governor on Hoosiers who have contributed to the betterment of Indiana and its citizens. State Rep. David Ober, R-Albion, is scheduled to present the award to Moore’s family. The public is invited to attend in the post’s banquet room at 322 S. Main St.
BY DAVE KURTZ dkurtz@kpcmedia.com
FORT WAYNE — A former Kendallville resident is gaining national attention for her ordeal as a stalking victim. Dawn Hillyer of Fort Wayne was featured on a national cable TV network Monday night and is scheduled to appear on Katie Couric’s talk show Dec. 17 describing her experiences. Monday, Investigation Discovery network’s season premiere of “Stalked: Someone’s Watching” told Hillyer’s story. Hillyer said Tuesday she hopes
her television appearances will make an impact on awareness of stalking. “I’m doing it No. 1 for myself, but for our kids,” she said in a telephone interview. Hillyer is campaigning for Hillyer more laws to protect stalking victims. She said she would like to see Indiana join Ohio, Michigan and other states that allow GPS tracking of convicted felons after their release from prison.
She also wants Indiana to approve lifelong protective orders for stalking victims. Hillyer favors starting a domestic violence registry — similar to the sex offender registry — that would include stalking offenders. “It’s an inherent trait that’s inside of them,” she said about stalkers. “Very rarely is it a one-time occurrence.” In her case, she said, “There was a victim before me and a victim after me, too.” Hillyer lived in Kendallville as a child until moving to Fort Wayne during her high school years.
Windmill museum’s Christmas displays end this weekend KENDALLVILLE — The Mid-America Windmill Museum’s Windmill Winter Wonderland ends this weekend, with showings Friday through Sunday from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Admission is $3 or free to children 12 and under. The Independent Full Gospel Church from Ashley will present a live nativity scene Saturday. Santa Claus will be in Baker Hall on the museum grounds each evening to greet children and provide each child under age 12 with a free gift bag. Food and refreshments will be available along with handmade crafts. The museum is at 732 S. Allen Chapel Road (C.R. 1000E).
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.................................B7-B8 Life..................................................... A5 Obituaries......................................... A4 Opinion .............................................B4 Sports.........................................B1-B3 Weather............................................ A6 TV/Comics .......................................B6 Vol. 104 No. 340
SEE STALKING, PAGE A6
Obama aims for legacy Mandela’s fight for equality not finished
EN Theatre Santa breakfast Saturday KENDALLVILLE — East Noble Theatre’s annual “Breakfast With Santa” will take place Saturday at East Noble High School with performances at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Tickets cost $8 and may be reserved by calling the box office at 347-7167 today through Friday from 4-6 p.m. This show is not included in the season ticket package. Breakfast will be served in the school cafeteria, with a Christmas show to follow in Cole Auditorium featuring East Noble Theatre performers and Santa Claus.
In February 2012, an Allen County jury found Hillyer’s stalker guilty of two counts of stalking, Class C felonies. A month later, the judge in the case sentenced Michael McClellan of Waterloo to five years in prison for each count — a total of 10 years. Evidence at the trial showed Hillyer dated McClellan for a year before ending their relationship in August 2006. In October of that year, McClellan began contacting her multiple times daily by phone, text, email and in person. On one day he
wanted to do some traveling. “Later that year, Joy called and said they ‘really’ needed some help managing federal projects and wanted to know if I would reconsider,” Fitch said. “I agreed to meet with the commissioners, and we agreed to a part-time work schedule starting in November 2010.” Fitch followed a full-time county engineer, Keith Lytton. He said when he was hired that he hoped to stay with the job until a full-time engineer was hired. Fitch got his wish in November when the commissioners hired
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — President Barack Obama’s eulogy was for Nelson Mandela, but it laid out for a global audience the work that Obama himself would like to be remembered for: an unending fight against injustice and inequality. Obama acknowledged he sometimes wonders whether he is doing enough to live up to Mandela’s historic legacy. Speaking to a crowd of thousands at a rain-soaked memorial service — and millions more on television — Obama said it was crucial that progress in the U.S. and South Africa not “cloud the fact that our work is not yet done.” He said that struggles to come “may not be as filled with drama and moral clarity as those that came before, but they are no less important.” Behind Obama’s words was the difficult political reality he and Mandela both faced. They became their nations’ first black presidents, shattering racial barriers that once seemed impossible to break. But their groundbreaking electoral success came with sky-high expectations that proved difficult to fulfill, on problems like poverty and injustice. For Obama, Tuesday’s focus on global inequality dovetailed with an agenda he is trying to revive in the U.S., as he seeks to steady his standing with middle class Americans after a trying presidential year. Obama’s renewed attention to the issue of income inequality in particular is popular with his liberal base, though he stands little chance of gaining support for items such as a minimum wage increase from congressional Republicans. “With honesty, regardless of our station or our circumstance, we must ask: ‘How well have I applied his lessons in my own life?” Obama said of Mandela. “It’s a question I ask myself, as a man and as president.” While Obama may be facing political troubles at home, his broad popularity in South Africa was on full display. The crowd at the Johannesburg soccer stadium erupted in applause each time the American president’s name was mentioned or his image flashed on the stadium screen. In small but significant ways, Obama also appeared to be trying to live Mandela’s message of overcoming animosity and bitterness.
SEE FITCH, PAGE A6
SEE OBAMA, PAGE A6
BOB BRALEY
Albion resident Dave Davis, seated, presented pins and certificates to people who helped save his life after a Nov. 9 fall at Tuesday’s Albion Town Council meeting. Among those honored were, front row, from left, Joyce Baumberger,
Robert Combs, Jonathan Stevens, Jorden Gorsuch, Lucy Ford and Shawn Garner. Also honored were, back row, Jay Squadrito and Johnny Richie. Honorees not shown include Rich Aldrich and Kristie Bucher.
Albion man thanks life savers BY BOB BRALEY bbraley@kpcmedia.com
ALBION — Dave Davis of Albion did something at the Albion Town Council meeting Tuesday that his family feared he wouldn’t be able to do — thank the people who saved his life. “Because you guys were there, I’m here,” Davis told the first responders and dispatchers who saved his life Nov. 9. Davis had fallen and hit his head on concrete in his backyard at about 6:20 p.m., Albion Town Marshal Tom Lock said. Davis’ wife called 911 for help. The first dispatcher on the line was Kristie Bucher of Noble County E-911, said Councilman Mitch Fiandt. He also serves as Noble County E-911 executive director. The call was transferred to Joyce Baumberger, a dispatcher for EMS through Parkview Health, said Noble County EMS executive director Tom Shoemaker.
The first responder to the scene was Albion Police Officer Shawn Garner, Lock said. Garner found Davis unconscious and without a pulse. The officer immediately began administering CPR, Lock said. Within seconds of Garner’s arrival, Noble County EMS, Noble County Sheriff’s Deputy Johnny Richie and the Albion Fire Department also arrived and took turns administering CPR and providing other care to Davis, transporting him to Parkview Noble Hospital. Others honored Tuesday included Lucy Ford, Jonathan Stevens and Robert Combs, all of Noble County EMS, Rich Aldrich and Jorden Gorsuch of the Albion Fire Department and Jay Squadrito of the LaOtto Fire Department. Davis shook hands with each and presented them with a pin and certificate. Immediate CPR was the key, Lock said, adding, “This is what saved him.”
Also Tuesday, the council: • approved a new salary ordinance for 2014 giving most town full-time employees a $1,000 per year raise and 25 cents per hour more to part-time employees. Police officers will receive $15-$17 per hour. A one-time specialty payment for employees receiving job-related licenses and certifications will require council approval before it is received. • approved continuing the contracts of Lock as town marshal and Albion town manager Beth Shellman. • approved 5-0 allowing the Noble County Miracle Tree to use a town storage building to store equipment once it is done with its 2013 campaign. • approved 4-0 with one abstention allowing the Albion American Legion post to store a trailer in the same building if space permits. Councilman James Stull, who is an officer of the Legion post, abstained.
Engineer Fitch retiring again BY BOB BRALEY bbraley@kpcmedia.com
ALBION — Noble County highway engineer Michael Fitch will retire at the end of the year — for his fourth retirement. In addition to owning his engineering firm, Michael Fitch Engineering LLC, Fitch previously worked as the chief Fitch design engineer with the city of Fort Wayne, executive director of the Allen County Highway Depart-
ment and manager of local public agency projects with the Indiana Department of Transportation. “When I retired from INDOT in June 2010, Joy LeCount approached me about helping Noble County with their federally funded highway-bridge projects,” Fitch said. “She knew that I had moved to Noble County — Crooked Lake — from Allen County a few years earlier. The county did not have a county engineer, so she thought I might make a good fit. “I told her I really wanted to retire for a while, as this was my third retirement, and my wife and I
Police ask for help with Royer Lake burglaries FROM STAFF REPORTS
PLATO — A recent string of burglaries at homes along Royer Lake in LaGrange County has prompted police to reach out the public, hoping someone will come forward with information to help them solve the crimes. LaGrange County Sheriff’s
Detective Stephanie Mickem said someone pried open doors on at least seven neighboring cottages on Royer Lake either Saturday or Sunday and burglarized the homes. A neighbor noticed an open door and alerted police. “She was monitoring her neighbor’s home, and when she
walked over there to check on things, she found the open door and called us,” the detective said. Mickem said she believes most of the homes were targeted because they are seasonal homes and were unoccupied at this time of year. That’s made figuring out exactly what was taken from each
home more difficult. “We’re still in the midst of our investigation,” Mickem explained. She’s asking anyone with information on the crimes to contact the LaGrange County Sheriff’s Department at 463-7491 or call her directly at 463-0238.