FRIDAY January 3, 2014
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Sack Man
EN grapplers set for big tournament
Police give tips on winter driving
Colts’ Mathis gets defensive honor
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Weather Partly sunny, high in the mid-teens. Low tonight 9. Warmer Saturday. Page A8 Kendallville, Indiana
Serving Noble & LaGrange Counties
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Many motions denied in Showgirl case GOOD MORNING Housing authority commissioners to hold meeting today KENDALLVILLE — The Kendallville Housing Authority Board of Commissioners will meet in emergency session at 11 a.m. today to consider replacing two water heaters at the Lamplighter housing complex. Two 300-gallon heaters recently broke down. The board will consider purchasing replacements. A backup system is currently in use for residents, according to commissioner John Cazier. The new heaters cost an estimated $3,500 each. The board will meet in public session at the Lamplighter, 240 Angling Road.
By Mike Marturello mmarturello@kpcmedia.com ANGOLA — Many of the motions made in the case pitting owners of a Fort Wayne strip club and the city of Angola have been denied in a ruling handed down in U.S. Federal District Court in South Bend Thursday. Alva and Sandra Butler, Fort Wayne, and their company, BBL Inc., have sued Angola in federal court, alleging their First and 14th
Amendment rights have been violated by the city when they tried to open a strip club at the former location of Slider’s Grill and Bar, 310 W. Wendell Jacob Ave. Judge Robert L. Miller’s ruling was handed down shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday. “The city’s initial review is the court ruled favorably on the majority of the city’s issues and we are no doubt pleased,”
said Scott Bergthold, one of the attorneys representing the city, Thursday night. A key decision was Miller denying a request for preliminary injunction that could have paved the way toward Butler opening a strip club sooner than later, if ever. Miller ruled that BBL had not yet established a business that could have later been regulated out of existence by administrative rulings by the city, changes
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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..................................................... A5 Obituaries......................................... A4 Opinion .............................................B4 Sports.........................................B1-B3 Weather............................................ A8 TV/Comics .......................................B5 Vol. 105 No. 2
SEE SHOWGIRL, PAGE A8
Law takes effect
Flu cases on rise throughout state RICHMOND (AP) — Some of Indiana’s hospitals are reporting sharp increases in flu cases as the state heads into what’s typically the peak months for the illness. The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control say Indiana is among 23 states reporting regional influenza outbreaks, the Evansville Courier & Press reported. Doctors have seen a big increase in patients with flulike symptoms at St. Mary’s Convenient Care in Evansville, where physician John Honningford said there’s been “a marked increase” in flu cases over the past two weeks. He estimated there have been between 30 and 40 diagnosed cases of flu at the clinic within the last month. January and February typically are the peak flu months in the U.S., although small numbers of flu cases circulate for much of the year.
in zoning and the creation of a sexually oriented business law as alleged by Butler. Miller also ruled that Butler lost certain property rights because he did work on the premises without a building permit, a matter that was greatly disputed in an Oct. 25, 2013, hearing. What remains is the Butlers’ First Amendment claim that when the city created a new ordinance
Affordable Care Act faces toughest test
with their sleds. “I returned from Punta Gorda (Florida) yesterday. It was in the 70s there,” said Ryan.
Associated Press Eds: Adds comment from Illinois doctor whose office is receiving calls about the changes and from governor’s office in Pennsylvania, which is warning about gaps in Medicaid coverage. Changes headlines. With AP Photos. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — After a troubled rollout, President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul now faces its most personal test: How will it work as people seek care under its new mandates? Most major pieces of the Affordable Care Act take full effect with the new year. That means people who had been denied coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition can book appointments and get prescriptions. Caps on yearly out-of-pocket medical expenses will mean people shouldn’t have to worry about bankruptcy after treatment for a catastrophic illness or injury. And all new insurance policies must offer a minimum level of essential benefits, ranging from emergency room treatment to maternity care. The benefits apply to individual policies as well as those offered through employers. The burden for implementing the law now shifts to insurance companies and health care providers. Dr. John Venetos, a Chicago gastroenterologist, said there is “tremendous uncertainty and anxiety” among patients who have been calling his office, some of whom believe they have signed up for coverage but have not yet received insurance cards. “They’re not sure if they have coverage. It puts the heavy work
SEE STORM, PAGE A8
SEE LAW, PAGE A8
PATRICK REDMOND
Kim Sowles of LaGrange digs out her car Thursday afternoon before driving it out of the
parking lot of her apartment building. A heavy snowfall made driving difficult in the area.
Area belted by winter storm By Dennis Nartker dnartker@kpcmedia.com and Bob Braley bbraley@kpcmedia.com KENDALLVILLE — Area residents and business owners used snowplows, snowblowers, shovels and even leaf blowers to dig out Thursday after a winter storm dumped 5 to 8 inches of snow on northeast Indiana overnight. LaGrange and Steuben counties and the northern portions of Noble and DeKalb counties received the heaviest amounts. Winds gusting to 25 mph caused drifting and blowing snow. Adding to misery and inconvenience were the unseasonably low temperatures. Thursday’s high in Kendallville was 14 degrees, with wind chills making it feel like 2-below-zero. A slight warm up is expected over the weekend with the high for Saturday of 31. Sunday will see a high of 24. Below-zero temperatures are forecast for Monday and Tuesday.
CHAD KLINE
Anthony Harman watches as snow fills the air from his snow blower Thursday afternoon in Kendallville. As snow fell throughout the day, many stayed busy clearing drives and sidewalks of several inches of the white stuff.
The cold and snow didn’t deter Ryan Burtch of Kendallville and his son, Gavin, from taking to the Kendallville Golf Club hills
Ex-Isreali head Sharon in critical condition JERUSALEM (AP) — Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has been in a coma for eight years, was in critical condition on Thursday, clinging to life after a decline in the functioning of various bodily organs, his doctors said. Dr. Zeev Rotstein, director of Tel Hashomer hospital, said Sharon’s condition had deteriorated over the past two days and that a number of vital organs, including his kidneys, were suffering from “critical malfunction.” His family was at his bedside, he added. “He is in critical condition and
his life is definitely in danger,” Rotstein told reporters at the hospital, just outside Tel Aviv. “The feeling of the doctors treating him and also that of the family with him is that there is a turn for the worse.” Israeli TV stations were broadcasting live from the hospital Sharon where they reported all the comings and goings while special retrospectives on his life were aired along with interviews with old friends and political allies. Old interviews
with his were shown, highlighting the charming, grandfatherly image he cultivated later in life. Sharon’s medical condition also dominated the front pages of newspapers and radio shows all day. Visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry also addressed his condition ahead of a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “My thoughts are with the Sharon family as they sit in vigil with the former prime minister of Israel, Arik Sharon,” Kerry said, referring to Sharon by his nickname. “We remember his contributions, sacrifices he made to ensure the survival and the
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well-being of Israel, and I have many personal thoughts about my meetings with him on many different occasions — always robust and strong and clear about his positions.” The 85-year-old Sharon, one of Israel’s most iconic and controversial figures, has been in a coma since suffering a devastating stroke in January 2006. At the time, he was prime minister and at the height of his political power. His condition has largely been out of the spotlight since, as his two sons have cared for him while restricting most access to outsiders.
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