WEDNESDAY December 18, 2013
Cougars Roll
Decision To Make
Boilers Breeze
CN girls deal defeat to Marines
EN board to discuss middle school options
Purdue enjoys big win at home
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Weather Mix of sun and clouds, high 30. Low tonight 25. Warmer with rain Thursday. Page A6 Serving Noble & LaGrange Counties
Kendallville, Indiana
kpcnews.com
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Decision on garage sales postponed GOOD MORNING Save the Strand trolley rides offer chance to see lights KENDALLVILLE — A heated trolley parked in front of the Strand Theatre on Main Street will offer free rides tonight to see neighborhood Christmas lighting displays. The trolley will depart every half hour from 6-9 p.m. Tickets may be obtained in advance from Campbell & Fetter Bank branches in Kendallville and Albion, and the Kendallville Area Chamber of Commerce, 122 S. Main St. Tickets also will be available at the theater. Free hot chocolate and popcorn will be available inside the theater. The Save the Strand Theatre campaign committee is organizing tonight’s event and is asking residents to turn on their holiday lights tonight.
BY DENNIS NARTKER dnartker@kpcmedia.com
KENDALLVILLE — The City Council Tuesday night postponed action on a revised ordinance regulating garage sales. “It will not be forgotten. It will be improved,” said Councilman Jim Dazey, chairman of the law and ordinance committee, after making a motion for the postponement. The proposed ordinance goes back to his committee for review and possibly more changes. Prior to the council’s action, three citizens commented about the proposed ordinance. Diane Peachey expressed support for the ordinance and
asked the council to consider prohibiting the posting of garage sale signs on utility poles, light poles and public property. Lynette Leamon, executive director of the Kendallville Area Chamber of Commerce, also expressed support for the ordinance and suggested the council consider allowing one or two community-wide garage sales to bring visitors to the city. Gene Lash said posting sale signs on poles always has been done, and he opposed prohibiting it. No garage sale permit is required under the revised
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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
BY DENNIS NARTKER dnartker@kpcmedia.com
KENDALLVILLE — The City Council Tuesday night granted Harbor Investments III two years of tax abatement on a vacant building at 230 S. Progress Drive, formerly occupied by Arden Benhar Corp. The abatement covers the building’s assessed value of $869,500. The council also approved five years of sliding abatement on $80,500 in
building improvements. Harbor Investments owns the building and is leasing it to Graphic Packaging, 301 Progress Drive. The company plans to use the building for a warehouse operation. No new jobs will be created. Council members thanked Harbor Investments and Graphic Packaging for investing in the city. “I thank you for retaining SEE ABATEMENTS, PAGE A6
SEE POSTPONED, PAGE A6
CN renovation set in motion BY BOB BRALEY bbraley@kpcmedia.com
ISU faculty, staff students oppose gay marriage ban TERRE HAUTE (AP) — Indiana State University’s faculty, staff and student groups have joined Indiana’s growing collegiate opposition to the state’s proposed constitutional ban on gay marriage. ISU’s Faculty Senate, Staff Council and Student Government Association have all taken votes affirming their opposition to the proposal. School President Daniel J. Bradley said Monday in a statement that the groups’ actions are in keeping with ISU policies barring discrimination and harassment based on several factors, including sexual orientation. Faculty Senate chairman Steve Lamb said the group’s vote opposing the constitutional amendment was broadly supported, but some faculty “think we ought to keep our nose out of state politics.” Faculty at Indiana University, Purdue, Ball State, Butler and other Indiana schools have all gone on record opposing the proposed constitutional amendment.
Tax abatements approved
PATRICK REDMOND
New view at courthouse A lift raises new windows to the second floor of the LaGrange County Courthouse to be installed in the 136-year-old building. Workmen are replacing more than 60 windows to improve energy efficiency and better match the building’s exterior. Despite cold weather and snow, they are expected to finish the project today.
ALBION — The Central Noble school board unanimously approved two resolutions Tuesday to begin setting up an $8 million construction project. The project is designed to both combine the Central Noble Middle and High school buildings, and update the facilities to match current student and educational needs, said Central Noble superintendent Chris Daughtry during a public hearing on the proposal Tuesday. “It’s not only a renovation, but also some addition to bring us into a … middle-school-high-school concept,” Daughtry said. Since both schools share a principal, it makes sense for them to have a consolidated, unified office space, Daughtry said. For security reasons, that will be an office anyone entering the building will need to flow through to get to other classrooms. There also will be needed renovations and equipment upgrades for the current high school cafeteria, Daughtry said. It will serve both schools. Geoff Brose, principal of both schools, said the middle school cafeteria will become usable as a space for large-group instruction. The school’s science labs also
“It’s not only a renovation, but also some addition to bring us into a... middleschool-high-school concept.” Chris Daughtry Central Noble superintendent
• will be updated, Daughtry said. That hasn’t happened since 1993, he said, adding, “Things have changed.” The former office space will be converted into needed classrooms, Brose said. Work also will include the construction of an auxiliary gym, intended to provide for a variety of functions that currently use whatever space they can find in the buildings — sometimes even hallways, Brose said. The project will include $6.44 million in construction costs, with the balance of the $8 million covering items such as furnishings, architect fees, bond issuing costs and interest paid on bonds during the construction period, said Curt SEE RENOVATION, PAGE A6
Budget bill clears last hurdle for passage WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan budget bill that would ease some but not all of painful budget cuts that would otherwise slam the Pentagon and domestic agencies passed a pivotal test in the Senate on Tuesday. The Senate advanced the measure over a filibuster threshold on a 67-33 vote that ensures the measure will pass the Democratic-led chamber no later than today and head to the White House to be signed into law. Top Senate Republicans opposed the bill but didn’t try to engineer its defeat. It won sweeping GOP support in the House in a vote last week. The measure would ease some of the harshest cuts to agency budgets required under automatic spending curbs commonly known as sequestration. It would replace $45
billion in scheduled cuts for the 2014 budget year already underway, lifting agency budgets to a little more than $1 trillion, and it also would essentially freeze spending at those levels for 2015. It substitutes other spending cuts and new fees to replace the automatic cuts and devotes a modest $23 billion to reducing the deficit over the coming decade. It would also stabilize a broken budget process after a partial government shutdown in October that inflicted political harm upon Republicans. The GOP has since rebounded because of the much-criticized roll-out of Obama’s health care law and the party wishes to keep the focus on that topic rather than Washington political brinksmanship. “This bipartisan bill
takes the first steps toward rebuilding our broken budget process. And hopefully, toward rebuilding our broken Congress,” said Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray, D-Wash., who negotiated the measure with House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., his party’s vice presidential nominee last year. “We’ve spent far too long here scrambling to fix artificial crises instead of working together to solve the big problems we all know we need to address.” Twelve Republicans voted with Democrats to advance the measure over a 60-vote filibuster threshold demanded by GOP leaders. Announcements Monday by Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah and Georgia Sens. Johnny Isakson and SEE BUDGET, PAGE A6
AP
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada takes a break from the Senate floor Tuesday. A bipartisan budget compromise cleared a procedural hurdle, advancing past a filibuster threshold on a 67-33 vote that ensures the measure will pass the Democratic-led chamber no later than today.
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. 347
Most feel Fed will keep current stimulus level WASHINGTON (AP) — Is this week when the Federal Reserve finally slows its aggressive stimulus for the economy? Or does it want to await more evidence of a consistently improving economy? It’s a close call. Yet most economists think the Fed will maintain the pace of its monthly bond purchases to keep long-term loan rates low to spur spending and growth.
The decision carries high stakes for individuals, businesses and global financial markets. A pullback in the Fed’s bond buying would likely send long-term rates up and stock and bond prices down. Many analysts think the Fed will signal that it expects to slow the pace of its bond purchases from $85 billion a month, perhaps early next year, if the economy strengthens further.
The Fed will announce its decision after its latest policy meeting ends Wednesday, just before Chairman Ben Bernanke holds his final quarterly news conference. Bernanke will step down Jan. 31 after eight years as chairman. That the Fed is even considering slowing its stimulus is testament to the economy’s improvement. Hiring has been robust for four straight months.
Unemployment is at a five-year low of 7 percent. Factory output is up. Consumers are spending more at retailers. Auto sales haven’t been better since the recession ended 4½ years ago. What’s more, the stock market is near all-time highs. Inflation remains below the Fed’s target rate. And the House has passed a budget plan that seems likely to avert another government shutdown next year.