FRIDAY October 25, 2013
Cow’s Choices
Have Fun, Be Safe
Hannah forecasts weekend winners
Tips for having a safe Halloween
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All Even Cardinals defeat Boston in Game 2
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Weather Cloudy, chance of rain, high 47. Low tonight in lower 30s. Warmer Saturday. Page A8 Kendallville, Indiana
Serving Noble & LaGrange Counties
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Tip leads police to meth labs, arrests GOOD MORNING Trick or Treat on Main Street set for Saturday KENDALLVILLE — The Main Street Business Association’s annual Trick or Treat on Main Street will take place Saturday at 10 a.m. starting at Hayden’s ATA, 111 W. Rush St. Children in Halloween costumes should be accompanied by adults for a parade along Main Street to receive treats from downtown business owners. The costume contest begins at about 10:45 a.m. at Hayden’s with prizes for the scariest, cutest and most original costumes in eight age categories. At 4 p.m. the fifth annual Zombie Walk will shuffle through the downtown business district. People in zombie costumes should assemble on Rush Street near City Hall. Each participant is asked to bring a nonperishable food item for the Friendship Food Pantry or dog or cat food for the Noble County Humane Shelter.
BY MATT GETTS mgetts@kpcmedia.com
KENDALLVILLE — A tip that appeared to have gone nowhere ended with three men facing potential drug charges following their arrests early Thursday morning in Wolcottville and Kendallville. Larry W. Polly Jr., 42, of the 9000 block of West C.R. 768S, Hudson, was booked into the Noble County Jail on a warrant charging him with visiting or maintaining a common nuisance. Brian K. Herrman, 45, of the 8000 block of Grey Hawk Drive, Fort Wayne, was booked into the Noble County Jail on a warrant issued by LaGrange County authorities charging him with non-support. Both men face the potential of drug charges, pending a review of the case by the Noble County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, said Kendallville Police Sgt. Chris Shearer. A total of nine one-pot methamphetamine labs were discovered where the men were staying in the 300 block of Ashton Drive, Kendallville. Basil Wicker, 33, of Wolcot-
tville, was booked into the LaGrange County Jail on charges of possession of meth, a Class D felony; resisting law enforcement, a Class A misdemeanor and failure to identify himself, a Class A misdemeanor. Late Wednesday evening, members of the Indiana State Police Anti-Crime Enforcement team received a tip that Polly might be at an address in the 200 block of North Main Street, Wolcottville. When police arrived, discovered Polly was not in the home, said Trooper Brian Kreger. After receiving permission of the homeowner to search the residence to verify Polly was not there, Kreger saw a man, later identified as Wicker, attempting to hide in a bedroom. When Kreger drew his gun and ordered Wicker to show his hands to prove he did not have a weapon. Wicker disregarded Kreger’s command. “He was digging in his right (jeans) pocket,” Kreger said. “He pulled out a folded, unopened knife. I told him to throw it away, and he threw it away. He started digging in his pocket again.”
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
This photo provided by the Kendallville Police Department shows items related to the manufacture and consumption of methamphetamine that were discovered early Thursday morning at an apartment in the 300 block of Ashton Drive, Kendallville.
Kreger said struggle ensued when he attempted to place Wicker in handcuffs and search him. Trooper Mike Carroll assisted in bringing Wicker under control. Police allegedly found 1 1/2 grams
Production Road to be closed today KENDALLVILLE — Production Road is closed today from 500 feet east of Allen Chapel Road to the east entrance of Richard’s Construction, a distance of 125 feet, the city engineering department announced Thursday. The Riley Street railroad crossing is expected to open to traffic Saturday morning after repairs this week.
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.................................B5-B6 Life..................................................... A3 Obituaries......................................... A6 Opinion ............................................. A7 Sports.........................................B1-B3 Weather............................................ A8 TV/Comics .......................................B4 Vol. 104 No. 294
SEE POLICE, PAGE A8
Tests didn’t happen
EN Theatre to hold children’s choir auditions for ‘Joseph’ KENDALLVILLE — Auditions for the children’s choir in East Noble Theatre’s production of the musical “Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” will be Wednesday at 3:15 p.m. in Cole Auditorium. Students in grades 3-6 in East Noble school, St. John Lutheran School in Kendallville, St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic School in Avilla and Oak Farm Montessori School in Avilla are eligible to audition. Each student auditioning should have a short song prepared to sing. “Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” will be presented Dec. 5-8. Any questions should directed to Robert Smith, East Noble Theatre music director and Avilla Elementary music teacher.
of a substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine in Wicker’s right front jeans pocket. Wicker allegedly gave police a false name when first contacted.
DENNIS NARTKER
Kendallville businessman John Wicker was honored by East Noble director of bands Bryan Munoz and East Noble band boosters Wednesday night for his support of the East Noble band program. For the past five years, Wicker has provided the East Noble Marching Knights with a semi rig free of charge to
transport equipment to band competitions. He received a plaque with a photo of the band, and band boosters made him an honorary pit boss. From left in front are William Britten, pit boss; Wicker; Munoz; and Pete Moga, pit boss. Behind them is Eddy Gibson, a band boosters member.
EN band seeks trip to state BY DENNIS NARTKER dnartker@kpcmedia.com
KENDALLVILLE — The East Noble Marching Knights will compete Saturday in the semi-state marching band contest at Indianapolis Pike High School looking to qualify for the state finals. In the Class B competition, East Noble is scheduled to perform at 4:28 p.m., the same time the band performed at semi-state last year. East Noble did not qualify for the state finals last year, but the student musicians are working hard this week to polish their program, said Bryan Munoz, East Noble director of bands. “Based on our regional performance, this week’s focus in
rehearsals has been the visual aspects of our show,” said Munoz, East Noble’s most recent teacher of the year. “We worked on intervals between students while on the move, what we look like getting from picture to picture.” East Noble’s show is called “Well-Suited” from suits in a deck of playing cards. Its four musical movements are diamonds, clubs, hearts and spades. The show features demanding choreography, with the 85-member band changing formation with each new musical movement. East Noble qualified for Saturday’s semi-state by receiving a gold rating at the Chesteron regional last weekend. Other Class B schools
in the Indiana State School Music Association semi-state are: DeKalb, Bloomington North, New Castle, Plainfield, Greenwood, Zionsville, New Palestine, Whiteland, Floyd Central, Plymouth, Northview, Jasper, Fort Wayne North Side, Concord, Evansville North, Evansville F.J. Reitz, Northridge, Elkhart Central and Munster. The 10 highest-scoring bands will advance to the state finals Nov. 2 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Support from parents, the East Noble community and the school corporation administration have helped make the marching band program a success this year, said Munoz.
Contractors testify more healthcare trials were needed WASHINGTON (AP) — The leading contractors on the Obama administration’s troubled health insurance website told Congress Thursday that the government failed to thoroughly test the complicated system before it went live. Executives of CGI Federal, which built the federal HealthCare. gov website serving 36 states, and QSSI, which designed the part that helps verify applicants’ income and other personal details, testified under oath before the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee. The contractors said they each tested their own components independently but that the Health and Human Services department was responsible for testing the whole system from end to end. That kind of testing didn’t happen until the last couple of weeks before the system’s Oct. 1 launch. It quickly crashed once consumers tried to use it. Representing QSSI, Andrew Slavitt told the committee that ideally, end-to-end testing should have occurred well before the launch, with enough time to correct flaws. SEE HEALTHCARE, PAGE A8
Reed moving up to superintendent at PH BY JENNIFER DECKER jdecker@kpcmedia.com
BRUSHY PRAIRIE — Jeff Reed has been easing into the top job at Prairie Heights Community Schools this year and will assume the reins once Superintendent Alan Middleton retires. Reed, currently assistant superintendent and principal of Prairie Heights Middle School, was named to the superintendent’s position Monday by the Prairie Heights Board of Education. He will become superintendent July 1, 2014, when Middleton retires. Middleton has served as superintendent the last five years. Reed said he’s looking forward to being the corporation’s top administrator. ‘We’ve had a lot of changes
with staff and curriculum,” he said. “We had good ISTEP scores. We’ll continue with what we’ve been doing and continue to tweak.” For the last seven years, Reed has been at Prairie Heights, first as assistant principal for three years at the middle school, Reed followed by four years as principal. A native of Columbia City, where he and his family make their home, Reed graduated from Columbia City High School. From there, he obtained his degree in elementary education from Huntington University and his master’s degree and administrative
certification from Indiana Wesleyan University. Before coming to Prairie Heights, Reed taught one year in Columbia City and eight years in the Wawasee Community School Corp. He said he feels his strength is being a good listener and collaborating. “Prairie Heights has been a truly great place to work. We have great kids,” Reed said. As for becoming superintendent, Reed said, “It’s not something I had my eye on. I’m glad to accept that challenge.” Middleton said he’s confident Reed will serve the corporation well. “I think he’ll do fine. It was a good transition,” Middleton said. “He had the opportunity to work
in leadership.” Middleton said Reed brings a vast amount of knowledge to the job. “He’s a real excellent listener and has a calm demeanor,” Middleton said. Reed said he has a lot of family members in the area. He and his wife, Monica, have four children. Once Reed becomes superintendent, he said the corporation is not expected to name a replacement for him as assistant superintendent. Also in its Monday meeting, the board approved the corporation’s $9 million budget for 2014, which Reed said is slightly less than this year. It includes replacement of 4 1/2 buses, including the corporation’s one-half share in paying for a special education cooperative bus.