MONDAY January 13, 2014
Bears Students donate gifts to kids Page A3
Fundraiser
NFL Playoffs
Local auto dealership helps West Noble
Broncos, 49ers advance
Page A2
Page B1
Weather Partly cloudy skies with a 30 percent chance of rain. High of 42. Low of 24. Page A6
Kendallville, Indiana
Serving Noble & LaGrange Counties
kpcnews.com
2 charged with making meth GOOD MORNING High tech jobs come to Indy, not rest of state INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s efforts to add high-tech jobs have paid off in Indianapolis and surrounding counties — at the expense of the rest of the state, a newspaper analysis has found. The Indianapolis Business Journal analyzed U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and found Indianapolis had 39 percent more jobs in the STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and math — in 2012 than in 2001. That’s more than double the national growth rate of 17 percent. But the rest of the state saw an increase of just 10 percent, and at least four areas — Muncie, Terre Haute, Fort Wayne and South Bend-Mishawaka — had fewer STEM jobs in 2012 than in 2001. “Indianapolis is somewhat of a sponge city for the whole region,” said Mark Schill, vice president of research at Praxis Strategy Group, an economic development consultant in North Dakota. Schill said it’s common for high-tech workers to flock to urban areas from smaller communities or move to college towns, such as Bloomington and Lafayette. In Indiana, Columbus is also a hub because of enginemaker Cummins Inc. But other areas aren’t faring as well. Indiana is still recovering from hits that major manufacturers suffered that put thousands of engineers out of work. The state as a whole also has seen the number of computer-related jobs stagnate in recent years, while it has grown rapidly in Indianapolis. Even with the shortage outside the Indianapolis area, STEM jobs helped offset losses during the recession. STEM employment increased 4 percent from mid-2009 through 2012, while all other careers were still down 0.1 percent, the IBJ reported. Derek Redelman, vice president for education and workforce policy at the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, said it’s hard to develop government policies that promote STEM fields because researchers disagree on what jobs qualify.
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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........................................B7 Life..................................................... A5 Obituaries......................................... A4 Opinion .............................................B4 Sports.........................................B1-B3 Weather............................................ A6 TV/Comics .......................................B6 Vol. 105 No. 12
BY BOB BRALEY bbraley@kpcmedia.com
KENDALLVILLE — Two men were booked into the Noble County Jail after a meth lab allegedly was found in a vehicle in a parking lot late Friday, the Kendallville Police Department said. Marion D. Miller, 31, of New Paris, and Robert L. Patrick, 45, of Ligonier, were booked into the Noble County Jail on multiple charges after the incident. The incident began when Kendallville Police Officer Matthew Haber stopped a 2005 GMC Canyon for a traffic
violation. The vehicle pulled into a parking lot in the 300 block of West North Street for the stop. During the investigation, officers located items associated with manufacturing meth in the vehicle. The Indiana State Police Clandestine Lab Team was Patrick called to the scene and dismantled an alleged meth lab found in the vehicle. Miller and Patrick each were charged with manufacturing
meth and possession of precursors. Miller also was charged with being a habitual traffic law violator. Patrick also was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of meth. Also assisting at the scene was the Kendallville Fire Miller Department. The case remains under investigation by the Kendallville Police Department and Noble County Prosecutor’s office.
MIKE MARTURELLO
Stephanie Kersten of RISE Inc. talks with an off-camera client in the workshop at the Angola
facility. While Kersten works mainly in job placement, she wears many hats at RISE.
Kersten on the job(s) RISE director says deep down, we’re all the same Video at kpcnews.com NEIGHBORS BY MIKE MARTURELLO mmarturello@kpcmedia.com
ANGOLA — If Stephanie Kersten has learned one thing in more than 30 years working in job placement with people with disabilities and others in need, it’s that deep down, we’re all pretty similar. As director of employment services, Kersten works in mainly in vocational rehabilitation job placement at RISE Inc., Angola, where she has been 30 years. Though RISE serves clients in Steuben and DeKalb counties, it also works with a state agency on job placement for people from the four-county area who are in need of vocational rehabilitation.
STEUBEN
COUNTY
“You find working here that people are much more alike than different,” Kersten said. Kersten’s main work is through a part of the agency called The RISE Connection. She places people in jobs in the four-county area, particularly those who are injured, have special needs or need to update their skills. Most of her work is placement with private industry in the four-county area in connection with Indiana
Stepanie Kersten talks more about her work in video at kpcnews. com. Scan the QR code with your tablet or smartphone to see the interview and clips from RISE.
Vocational Rehabilitation Services. “The blind and the visually impaired are some of the most exciting (people) to work with because of the technology out SEE KERSTEN, PAGE A6
Water tests encouraging after West Virginia chemical spill DRY BRANCH, W.Va. (AP) — For Bonnie Wireman, the white plastic bag covering her kitchen faucet is a reminder that she can’t drink the water. The 81-year-old woman placed it there after forgetting several times the tap water was tainted after a coal processing chemical leaked into the area’s water supply. Every time she turned on the water, she quickly stopped and cleaned her hands with peroxide — just to make sure she was safe. The widow of a coal miner, Wireman was angered about the chemical spill that’s deprived 300,000 West Virginians of clean tap water for four days, but doesn’t blame the coal or chemical industries. “I hope this doesn’t hurt coal,” said Wireman, who lives in an area known as Chemical Valley because of all the plants nearby. “Too many West Virginians depend on coal and chemicals. We need those jobs.” And that’s the dilemma for many West Virginians: The
AP
South Charleston Public Works employees assist local residents in South Charleston, W.Va. in obtaining bottled water at the GeStamp Stamping Plant-South Charleston (W.Va.) distribution location Sunday morning.
industries provide thousands of good paying jobs but also pose risks for the communities surrounding them, such as the chemical spill or coal mine disasters. The current emergency began Thursday after a foaming
agent used in coal processing escaped from a Freedom Industries plant in Charleston and seeped into the Elk River. Since then, residents have been ordered not to use tap water for anything but flushing toilets.
75 cents
Iran nuke deal OK’d TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has agreed to limit uranium enrichment and to open its nuclear program to daily inspection by international experts starting Jan. 20, setting the clock running on a six-month deadline for a final nuclear agreement, officials said Sunday. In exchange, the Islamic Republic will get a relaxation of the financial sanctions that have been crippling its economy. The announcement that Iran and six world powers had agreed on the plan for implementing an interim agreement came first from Iranian officials and was later confirmed elsewhere. Some U.S. lawmakers have been leery of the agreement, calling for tougher sanctions against Iran, rather than any loosening of controls. Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as saying the deal, which sets the terms of a landmark agreement reached in November, would take effect from Jan. 20. The agency said Iran will grant the United Nations’ watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency access to its nuclear facilities and its centrifuge production lines to confirm it is complying with terms of the deal. Araghchi later told state television some $4.2 billion in seized oil revenue would be released under the deal. Senior officials in U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration put the total relief figure at $7 billion. In a statement, President Barack Obama welcomed the deal, saying it “will advance our goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.”
SEE IRAN, PAGE A6
State wants in on drone industry CINCINNATI (AP) — Ohio and Indiana will operate their own test ranges for unmanned aircraft and seek ways of promoting more research and development to attract drone-related businesses after losing in their joint bid for a coveted Federal Aviation Administration test site. The states sought one of six FAA drone test sites being set up as the agency develops a plan for safely integrating commercial drones into U.S. airspace. An industry-commissioned study predicted unmanned aircraft could produce thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic impact after that integration, and Ohio and Indiana were among two dozen states hoping that a site could boost their prospects for sharing in any economic boom. But the FAA last month selected Alaska, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Texas and Virginia. “We were obviously hoping for an FAA designation, but with or without it, that doesn’t change our vision or strategy,” said Chris Ford, vice president of aerospace SEE DRONE, PAGE A6