TUESDAY October 15, 2013
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Weather Cloudy, rain expected, high 72. Tonight’s low 53. Cooler Wednesday. Page A8 Kendallville, Indiana
Serving Noble & LaGrange Counties
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Judge permits prisoner to visit dying son GOOD MORNING Town Hall meeting to address meth KENDALLVILLE — Methamphetamine and its impact on the community will be the topic of tonight’s Town Hall meeting in City Hall. At 6 p.m., Kendallville police will present a public program on meth and drug prevention in the City Council chambers before the 7 p.m. council meeting. The informal gathering offers an opportunity for the public to ask questions and discuss drug abuse with local police officers and Mayor Suzanne Handshoe.
BY BOB BRALEY bbraley@kpcmedia.com
ALBION — A judge has ordered the Noble County Sheriff’s Department to transport a jailed Kendallville man to visit with his dying son. Late Thursday, Noble Circuit Judge G. David Laur ordered the department to take James Michael Miller, 39, of Kendallville to Parkview Noble Hospital to see his dying son, after Laur learned Miller
was unable to make bail to be released from jail. The order was officially entered Friday, allowing the transport to take place, according to court staff. Miller Miller was booked into the Noble County Jail Oct. 4. He had
failed to appear for a scheduled court hearing on a felony charge of operating a vehicle after a lifetime suspension, according to court records. His bond was revoked. Miller had been free on bond at the time he failed to appear, and he was apprehended by a bail-bondsman. He initially was held without bond. Thursday, Laur set Miller’s bond at $5,000, which could
End in sight? Party leaders show signs of hope after Monday’s meetings
Jury selection starts in trial of Indy police officer FORT WAYNE (AP) — Jury selection started Monday in the trial of an Indianapolis police officer charged with crashing his squad car into two motorcycles, killing a man and seriously injuring two other people. The case against David Bisard on reckless homicide and drunken driving charges sparked a long legal fight over the way police handled the crash scene and evidence, which stirred public distrust and contributed to the resignations of the city’s public safety director and police chief. The trial in Fort Wayne could last two weeks or more as the prosecution and defense spar over whether Bisard was drunk and driving recklessly or merely rushing to catch a criminal when his patrol car plowed into the motorcycles stopped at a traffic light in August 2010. Marion County prosecutors say Bisard was sending messages on an in-car computer just before the crash and that he was going at 73 mph. Bisard’s defense attorney will likely argue that Bisard was merely multitasking, as all police officers have to do, John Tompkins, an Indianapolis lawyer who specializes in drunkendriving cases, told The Indianapolis Star.
JAMES TEW
This picture of President Barack Obama with a Hitler-style mustache is part of a paid ad running on the Cornerstone Plaza sign on U.S. 6 in Kendallville Monday. Immediately following
the image are the words “impeach Obama.” A video of the entire sequence may be viewed at kpcnews.com.
Sign portrays Obama as Hitler BY BOB BRALEY bbraley@kpcmedia.com
KENDALLVILLE — A large video sign on U.S. 6 in Kendallville Monday portrayed Barack Obama with a Hitlerstyle mustache and called for impeaching the U.S. president. The sign’s owner said it is a paid advertisement not affiliated with the businesses in Cornerstone Plaza where the sign is located. That the sign’s rotation also includes a “Welcome to Kendallville” message prompted Kendallville Mayor Suzanne Handshoe to say it was inappropriate, regardless of what anyone may think of the president, and doesn’t reflect a message the city would want to send. The sign shows a rising image of Obama, revealing a mustache similar to the one worn by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler on his upper lip. The image is followed by
the words, on the screen in separate frames, “IMPEACH” and “OBAMA.” Cornerstone Plaza owner Roger Diehm said advertising on the sign was purchased over the weekend by LaRouchePAC, the political action committee of Lyndon LaRouche, who is seeking Obama’s impeachment. “They were in town Sunday handing out literature,” Diehm said. “We rent space on the sign. … Any political party can put any message there.” Some people Monday referred to the advertisement as being a pharmacy’s sign, because the animated LED display including the Obama image and message is directly above a large sign advertising the pharmacy as a plaza occupant. Other business logos and names also appear in that part of the sign. But the businesses in the plaza
have no say in the animated display’s content, Diehm said. It’s his and Cornerstone Plaza’s, he said. The sign also includes as part of its rotation a farm harvest scene and the words “Welcome to Kendallville,” with the city’s logo. “That’s distasteful,” Handshoe said upon learning of Obama image and message. “That’s not the message that we would want to send as a city.” It’s especially inappropriate for a sign to give people the impression that the community is disrespectful toward the office of president, Handshoe said. Whether someone agrees or disagrees with Obama, he is the president, and people should respect the position he holds, she added. The sign also includes other messages linked to LaRouchePac, including one seeking to restore SEE SIGN, PAGE A8
Stabbing suspect still sought HOMECOMING VIDEO East Noble crowns king and queen; Football team beats New Haven. kpcnews.com
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Index
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Classifieds.................................B6-B8 Life..................................................... A6 Obituaries......................................... A4 Opinion .............................................B4 Sports.........................................B1-B3 Weather............................................ A8 TV/Comics .......................................B5 Vol. 104 No. 284
be paid only through a bail-bondsman, a surety bond or cash payment in full. Laur said Thursday he allowed the bond so Miller could see his teenage son, who is hospitalized with only a short time to live. On learning that Miller was unable to post bail, Laur said he directed the sheriff’s department to take Miller to the hospital, in custody, to see his son.
FROM STAFF REPORTS
ANGOLA — The suspect in a Saturday killing was still at large Monday and Steuben County officials were still searching for him. Kenneth Fletcher, 41, is being sought by police in the death of 31-year-old Wilbur David Renshaw. Renshaw was found lying in Fletcher a pool of blood in the 400 block of North Washington Street on Saturday. He was pronounced dead by Steuben County Coroner Bill Harter at 10:07 p.m. at Cameron Memorial Community Hospital.
Family members of Renshaw said he wasn’t a violent person, KPC Media Group news partner NewsChannel 15 reported Monday. Family members believe he was stabbed to death. “My brother wasn’t a fighter, let’s get this straight. My brother didn’t go down to fight,” Colleen Bowersox, Renshaw’s sister, said. “We’ve got to find this murderer. He murdered my brother. Find him.” An autopsy was conducted Sunday morning at St. Joseph Hospital in Fort Wayne. The death was ruled a homicide. Renshaw sustained “significant trauma” to his chest, and succumbed to those injuries, said Harter. The murder weapon and nature of the injuries were being
withheld on Monday due to the ongoing investigation by Angola Police Department. Harter said a pathologist at St. Joseph was still doing some work following the autopsy and that those findings should be released “within the next couple of days.” NewsChannel 15 also spoke to the girlfriend of Fletcher. She didn’t make a comment on camera, but did say Renshaw initiated the fight with Fletcher. Police did not confirm this. Renshaw lived in the 1100 block of West Mill Street, around the block from where he was killed near an apartment complex on Washington Street. Police were called to a fight there around 9:30 p.m. Anyone with information is asked to call APD at 665-2121.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Racing the clock, the Senate’s Democratic and Republican leaders closed in on a deal Monday night to avoid an economy-menacing Treasury default and end the two-week partial government shutdown. “We’ve made tremendous progress,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declared after an intense day of negotiations with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and other lawmakers. “Perhaps tomorrow will be a bright day,” he said, suggesting agreement could be announced soon after weeks of stubborn gridlock. McConnell also voiced optimism — although not as much as Reid, D-Nev., had — and the details under discussion generated little if any satisfaction among rebellious House conservatives. Officials said that in the discussion to date, the $16.7 trillion federal debt limit would be raised enough to permit the Treasury to borrow normally until mid-February, if not a few weeks longer. The government would reopen with enough money to operate until mid-January at levels set previously, and agencies would be given flexibility in adjusting to reduced funding levels imposed by across-the-board spending cuts. Officials cautioned that those details could change, and there was even more uncertainty about other elements of a possible deal. Under discussion was a one-year delay in a $63 fee imposed on companies by the health care law known as Obamacare for everyone covered by an employer-sponsored plan. By day’s end, though, Republican opposition to the provision placed it in jeopardy — just as Democrats had earlier pushed back against the proposed repeal of a medical device tax contained in the health care law. The two sides were also discussing a requirement that individuals seeking subsidies under the health care law to pay for coverage would be subject to stronger income verification measures. The government has been partly closed since Oct. 1, and the Obama administration says the Treasury will run out of borrowing authority to fully pay the nation’s bills on Thursday. The result has been a partisan showdown that polls show is alienating all sectors of the electorate except tea party SEE END, PAGE A8
LaGrange, Steuben may share HR services LAGRANGE — Officials from LaGrange and Steuben counties will hold a meeting in LaGrange this afternoon to explore the possibility of creating a joint human resources department. Jac Price, president of the LaGrange County Commissioners, said officials from Steuben County reached out to LaGrange County officials wanting to start an HR
conversation. He said the meeting is simply exploratory. It will be held in the LaGrange County Courthouse Annex starting at 4:30 p.m. “We want to find out what they’ve got in mind, what they think their needs are, what we think our needs are — find out what they’ve got in mind, and whether or not the joint venture is the way to go,” Price explained.
Price said he doesn’t expect any decision today. LaGrange County presently handles most of its human resources decisions using a committee. The county also relies heavily on its county attorney when questions are raised about HR law. Price will represent the LaGrange County commissioners at the meeting. He said he believes
the day is coming when LaGrange County will have to hire a HR professional. “With an employee pool of nearly 200 people, (HR) can become a pretty daunting task,” Price said. “Some time between now and 2016, that decision is going to have to be made, but I’m not sure there is enough work for one person in each county.”