WEDNESDAY October 2, 2013
Temporary Home Ligonier library open during remodeling Page A2
Watch The Time
Key Victory
Columnist Matt Getts breaks it all down
WN tops Westview in NECC soccer
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Weather Mostly cloudy with a high of 81. Low tonight 62. Chance of rain Thursday. Page A8 Kendallville, Indiana
GOOD MORNING Pleasant Lake woman, 68, dies in I-69 accident FROM STAFF REPORTS
FORT WAYNE — A Pleasant Lake woman was identified as the victim of a fatal crash that occurred on Interstate 69 in Allen County on Monday. Judy E. Fisher, 68, was pronounced dead at the scene of the wreck that occurred at about 2 p.m. near the 321 mile marker in northern Allen County. She was the sole occupant in a vehicle she was driving that went off the highway and flipped down an embankment. Witnesses told police Fisher was driving erratically, our news partner, NewsChannel reported. Fisher went off one side of the road then overcorrected before leaving the highway. One southbound lane of I-69 was closed for several hours as emergency personnel worked at the scene of the wreck. A news release from the Allen County Coroner’s Office said Fisher was wearing a safety belt and alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the crash. The cause of death was due to blunt force trauma caused by the wreck, said Patt Kite, deputy Allen County coroner. Fisher is the 25th traffic fatality in Fort Wayne and Allen County this year.
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Index
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Classifieds.................................B7-B8 Life.....................................................B5 Obituaries......................................... A4 Opinion .............................................B4 Sports.........................................B1-B3 Weather............................................ A8 TV/Comics .......................................B6 Vol. 104 No. 271
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Shutdown brings blame game WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Institutes of Health began turning away patients for experimental treatment, and rugged Yellowstone National Park was closed to visitors as the vast machinery of government clanged into partial shutdown mode. President Barack Obama warned that more families and businesses would be hurt if it lasted much longer, while Republicans insisted the fault was not theirs but Obama’s and his fellow Democrats’. “What we are doing now puts American lives at risk,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., warning Tuesday of the effects on intelligence agencies of a government closure that some lawmakers said could last for weeks. At the White House, Obama unleashed a blistering attack on
Republicans, accusing them of causing government’s first partial closure in 17 years as part of a failed, non-stop “ideological crusade” to wipe out his signature health care law. Republicans countered that Democrats were to blame for refusing to negotiate on Obama’s health care overhaul, and they disclosed plans in the House for quick passage of measures aimed at reopening small slices of the federal establishment. The bills covered the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Park Service and a portion of the Washington, D.C., government funded with local tax revenue. Meanwhile, the major next step implementing the health care law was launched nationwide as Americans got their first chance to
Mixed impact seen locally FROM STAFF REPORTS AND THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The partial federal government shutdown is having mixed impact across northeast Indiana. Most notable is the shutdown of local field offices with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. However, there are government functions that still are running unabated by the shutdown that started at midnight Tuesday, sending hundreds of thousands of federal workers home across the country. Nine USDA inspectors work at Miller Poultry in Orland, eight on the day shift and one
on second shift. They are an essential factor in the poultry operation, said director of operations Kevin Diehl, and they will continue to report to work as usual. There are 9,633 federal meat, poultry and egg inspectors working for the U.S. government, and 8,415 of them will continue to work in the shutdown. The inspectors at Miller Poultry were hired and placed there by the USDA. Diehl said the National Chicken Council, a lobby group, distributed an email recently letting members know that SEE LOCALLY, PAGE A8
SEE SHUTDOWN, PAGE A8
Raise A Ruckus ready for festival BY DENNIS NARTKER dnartker@kpcmedia.com
Winning Powerball ticket still unclaimed JEFFERSONVILLE (AP) — Hoosier Lottery officials say a $1 million-winning ticket sold in southern Indiana is in danger of not being paid out. The lottery says the ticket for the April 10 Powerball drawing was sold at a Circle K convenience store in Jeffersonville. The ticket matched the first five numbers, but not the Powerball number. The winning numbers for that drawing were: 1-36-4052-53 and Powerball 20. The ticket needs to be presented at the Hoosier Lottery offices in Indianapolis by 5 p.m. Monday to meet the 180-day deadline for claiming the $1 million prize.
kpcnews.com
PATRICK REDMOND
This way, please Indiana State Sen. Sue Glick, R-LaGrange, directs parade traffic Tuesday night as Corn School in LaGrange officially kicks off with its first parade. Glick serves as the president of the annual street festival. Corn School continues through Saturday.
KENDALLVILLE — Raise A Ruckus, the East Noble Theatre and vocal music department’s rousing, foot-stomping musical cabaret, is celebrating its 25th anniversary at this weekend’s Apple Festival of Kendallville on the Noble County Fairgrounds. More than 200 East Noble theatre and vocal music students have performed in the Show Arena as part of the musical revue. Raise A Ruckus has been performed more than 300 times during its quarter-century history. This year’s performances are scheduled for 10:45 a.m., noon, 1:15 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free. The show was created by East Noble Theatre director Craig Munk and the vocal music department’s Nancy Walburn in 1988. Munk and East Noble director of choirs Chris Mettert, with the show’s assistant director Karen Munk, now direct the show. Over the past 24 years, Raise A Ruckus has featured 20 Miss Indianas, two Miss Indiana Outstanding Teens and a Miss America. Miss Indiana 2013 Terrin Thomas of Auburn will perform Saturday with the show cast, and Miss America 2009 Katie Stam will be featured in Sunday’s performances. The special guests will greet visitors, sign autographs
and pose for photos. To celebrate the 25th anniversary, the Raise A Ruckus directors are welcoming all the show’s alumni for a special Saturday night show and reunion at 7 p.m. in the show arena. Tickets for the reunion show cost $5 and may be purchased during the festival at the Show Arena or at the door. The alumni show will feature a special Thomas appearance by Miss Indiana 1992 Shelli Yoder, the first Miss Indiana to perform in Raise A Ruckus, according to Craig Munk. All Raise A Ruckus alumni planning to join the special show cast Stam are asked to attend a rehearsal Friday at 7 p.m. in the fairgrounds Show Arena. “No cast member, young and old, ever forgets the words to Raise A Ruckus,” said Craig Munk. The Apple Festival of Kendallville takes place Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. There is a $3 fee for fairgrounds parking. All festival activities will be held at the fairgrounds this year.
Pay hikes get OK on second reading Health care law off to slow start
BY DENNIS NARTKER dnartker@kpcmedia.com
KENDALLVILLE — The City Council Tuesday night approved on second reading the proposed 2014 salary ordinance granting city employees a 2.5 percent pay raise next year. The police chief and fire chief will receive an additional $5,000. The ordinance spells out the minimum and maximum pay for job positions in each department. Water and wastewater department employees are supported by user fees, not tax-supported budgets. The ordinance is eligible for third and final reading at the Oct. 15 council meeting. Salaries for elected officials are considered in a separate ordinance. The council also welcomed new 3rd District Councilman Frank Walkup, who was chosen in a Republican caucus last week to replace April Waters, who moved out of the district. Here are the proposed minimum and maximum pay levels for each department: • Cemetery — superintendent, $43,127 to $48,862; and seasonal mowing and maintenance, $7.50 to $9.41 an hour. • Clerk-Treasurer’s Department — deputy clerk, $27,567 to $35,076; utility clerk, accounts payable clerk, human resources clerk and accounts receivable/
secretary, $27,567 to $33,628. • Engineering Department — city engineer, $47,482 to $57,570; administrative technician, $47,983 to $61,375; building inspector, $33,307 to $49,458; clerk (lab technician-computer technician), $31,022-$37,172; technician, $33,307 to $49,458; planning director, $14,945 to $48,600; citizen member of plan commission and citizen member of board of zoning appeals, $35 per Walkup meeting. • Fire Department — fire chief, $46,127 to $55,737; deputy fire prevention and deputy fire chief training, $33,251 to $43,126; fire inspector and station captain, $31,426 to $40,288; firefighter/operator/ Haz-Mat and firefighter/operator, $31,137 to $39,979; firefighter clerk, $27,567 to $33,628; volunteer deputy fire chief/ safety officer, $4,097; volunteer fire captain, $3,948; volunteer firefighter, $3,273; volunteer firefighter driver, $9.46 to $9.89 an hour; uniform allowance full-time, $500; uniform allowance volunteer, $175; uniform allowance drivers, $275. • Police Department — police chief, $46,127 to $55,737; shift
sergeant, $33,229 to $43,126; corporal, $31,483 to $41,521; detective, $33,233 to $43,126; detective/undercover agent and patrol officer, $31,137 to $39,979; dispatcher I, $29,329 to $37,654; dispatcher II, $27,236 to $35,258; clerk and code enforcement officer, $27,567 to $33,628; part-time patrol officer, $18.79 to $19.64 an hour; part-time dispatcher, $16.32 to $17.06 an hour; uniform allowance patrol officer full-time, $500; uniform allowance dispatcher full-time, $300. • Street Department — superintendent, $43,127 to $48,862; heavy equipment operator, $30,277 to $37,763; labor/truck driver, $24,024 to $30,682; part-time labor, $11.35 an hour to $14.60 an hour. • Park Department — park and recreation director, $44,802 to $52,408; park and facilities manager, $34,000 to $44,793; recreation director, $39,975 to $43,000; part-time recreation manager, $5,000 to $7,000; sports complex manager/maintenance supervisor, $40,000 to $45,818; maintenance personnel, $29,654 to $35,387; office manager, $26,397 to $33,628; seasonal mowing/ maintenance, $7.50 to $9.41 an hour; skate night part-time, $7.25 to $10.84 an hour; preschool
CHICAGO (AP) — Americans got their first chance Tuesday to shop for health insurance using the online marketplaces that are at the heart of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, but government websites designed to sell the policies struggled to handle the traffic, with many frustrated users reporting trouble setting up accounts. State and federal agencies were working to fix the sites, which represent the biggest expansion in coverage in nearly 50 years. There should be time to make improvements. The open-enrollment period lasts for six months. Administration officials said they were pleased with the strong consumer interest. At least 2.8 million people had visited the healthcare.gov website as of Tuesday afternoon, said Medicare administrator Marilyn Tavenner, whose office is overseeing the rollout of the Affordable Care Act. The website had seven times the number of simultaneous users ever recorded on the medicare.gov site.
SEE HIKES, PAGE A6
SEE HEALTH, PAGE A8