TUESDAY November 19, 2013
Orientation Held
Our View
Habitat families attend area meeting
Governor should appoint education superintendent
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Bulls On Streak Deng keys fifth straight victory
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Weather Sunny, high 43. Low tonight in the upper 20s. High 47 Wednesday. Page A6 Serving Noble & LaGrange Counties
Kendallville, Indiana
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Sanitarian placed on administrative leave GOOD MORNING
BY BOB BRALEY bbraley@kpcmedia.com
ALBION — Noble County’s septic sanitarian has been placed on administrative leave and apparently was banned Monday from entering any county building except the Noble County Courthouse. “Jack Chronister is on administrative leave with pay,” Noble County health officer Dr. Terry Gaff said in a telephone interview Monday, without confirming
that Chronister is the banned employee. However, Gaff said Noble County’s only other sanitarian, food sanitarian Judy Fox, remains in good standing with the department and continues in her role. Earlier Monday, the Noble County Board of Commissioners voted 2-0 to ban an unidentified health sanitarian from access to all county buildings except the courthouse. The Noble County Health Department’s offices
are in the Noble County Office Complex-South. The commissioners and their attorney, Dennis Graft, said the ban is by position and declined to identify the employee to which it applies. Gaff said Chronister was placed on leave Nov. 12 for a violation of his probationary status. Gaff did not offer details of the alleged violation. Gaff had placed Chronister on probationary status in April,
Northeast Indiana becomes a magical, festive place during the holiday season, and we at KPC Media Group hope to help readers enjoy everything our area has to offer by providing this special guide.
Basket Brigade has families to adopt
Final meeting slated for ENMS discussion AVILLA — The third and final public meeting about the future of the East Noble Middle School building will take place tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Avilla Elementary School. East Noble officials will explain problems with the existing building, on Diamond Street in Kendallville, and listen to public input.
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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-B8 Life..................................................... A5 Obituaries......................................... A4 Opinion .............................................B4 Sports.........................................B1-B3 Weather............................................ A6 TV/Comics .......................................B5 Vol. 104 No. 319
SEE LEAVE, PAGE A6
Alerts saved lives
Inside Today
KENDALLVILLE — Families, organizations and individuals are needed to adopt Basket Brigade families in need, the charity’s organizers said. Basket Brigade still has approximately 200 families in the Kendallville area in need of food for Thanksgiving. Delivery is scheduled for Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Destiny Family of Faith Church, 856 Lima Road, in Cornerstone Plaza. Anyone wishing to adopt a needy family amy call Orizon Real Estate at 347-4206 or email orizonkville.com. Cash donations are accepted at the office at 125 E. North St. during normal business hours.
after Chronister was charged with three counts of battery, a Class B misdemeanor, for alleged inappropriate touching of women. Chronister denied all three charges in an April interview with this newspaper. The rest of the health department will handle administrative aspects of Chronister’s role while he is on leave, along with help from part-time consultants for the time being, Gaff said. The septic
WASHINGTON, Ill. (AP) — When a cluster of violent thunderstorms began marching across the Midwest, forecasters were able to draw a bright line across a map showing where the worst of the weather would go. Their uncannily accurate predicPATRICK REDMOND tions, combined with television High winds Sunday blew a portion of the roof off side as severe thunderstorms moved through the and radio warnings, text-message alerts and storm sirens, almost the Dollar General Store on LaGrange’s south area. certainly saved lives when rare late-season tornadoes dropped out of a dark autumn sky. Although the storms howled across 12 states and flattened entire neighborhoods within a matter of minutes, the a barn on C.R. 1100N, a mile Crews from LaGrange REMC death toll stood at just eight. FROM STAFF REPORTS Northeast Indiana escaped northeast of the damaged house, and Northeastern REMC of By Monday, another more with relatively little damage from Newton said. Columbia City helped repair prosaic reason for the relatively Sunday’s storms that devastated Immediately to the east, winds the poles, and by late morning low death toll came to light: In the many areas of the state, officials snapped off 26 power transmission Monday, only 73 customers hardest-hit town, most families said. poles in Fairfield Township of remained without electricity, were in church. Power outages caused by northwestern DeKalb County, said Dreibelbis said. “I don’t think we had one high winds affected thousands of Kevin Dreibelbis, spokesman for “They did a tremendous job church damaged,” said Gary customers in the region, however. Noble REMC. last night,” Newton said about the Manier, mayor of Washington, Ill., Only one home in Noble Damage to the poles caused utility repair crews. a town of 16,000 about 140 miles County sustained serious damage, power outages for nearly 2,000 About a dozen Topeka area southwest of Chicago. when high winds took the roof off customers on both sides of the homes served by Northern The tornado cut a path about a house on C.R. 1000N northeast Noble-DeKalb county line. Most Indiana Public Service Co. were an eighth of a mile wide from one of Kendallville, said Mick of the broken poles were near still without electricity Monday side of Washington to the other Newton, Noble County emergency DeKalb C.R. 4 and the DeKalbafternoon ascrews worked to repair and damaged or destroyed as many management director. Steuben county line, Dreibelbis damage to utility lines. as 500 homes. Wind also blew the roof off said. Daniel Bennett was officiating SEE STORMS, PAGE A6 Sunday service before 600 to 700 people when he heard a warning. Then another. And another. “I’d say probably two dozen phones started going off in the service, and everybody started — East Noble Superintendent Ann 6:30 at Avilla Elementary School. looking down,” he said. BY DENNIS NARTKER dnartker@kpcmedia.com What they saw was a text Linson explained problems with “Everyone agrees we need message that a twister was in the ROME CITY — A $22 the existing three-story middle to do something,” Linson said area. million to $24 million East Noble school building at the corner of during her PowerPoint presentaBennett stopped the service and Middle School project, whether Diamond and Riley streets and tion. What should be done is up ushered everyone to a safe place it’s renovating or adding to the asked for input from the audience to the community, she said, and existing building or constructing a on the possible options. Linson has encouraged East Noble until the threat passed. A day later, many in the new school building on a different The meeting at Rome City parents, taxpayers and patrons to community believed that the site, will not increase property Elementary School was the attend the meetings, contact her messages helped minimize the taxes and may not have to go to a second of three scheduled public and school board members with number of dead and injured. referendum, school officials say. gatherings on the middle school comments and questions. “That’s got to be connected,” Tuesday night before about 25 building’s future. The third Part of the middle school SEE PROJECT, PAGE A6 people — mostly school officials meeting is scheduled for tonight at SEE ALERTS, PAGE A6
Area misses worst of storms
ENMS project won’t raise taxes
Local site named ‘shovel-ready’ for industries BY DENNIS NARTKER dnartker@kpcmedia.com
KENDALLVILLE — Officials from Indiana Michigan Power, the city and Noble County announced Monday that 36 acres in Kendallville’s East Industrial Park have been designated as a “shovelready” food processing and beverage industry site. The announcement follows an 11-month effort to get the site at the east end of the park certified through the Austin Shovel-Ready for Food Processing Designation Program, said Rob Cleveland, manager of economic and business development at Indiana Michigan Power. “Not every community is able to do this,” Cleveland said. “This was a test of the ability of Kendallville and Noble County to get it done.” In January, Indiana Michigan Power will begin a nationwide marketing campaign to interest a food processing and beverage industry in the site. SEE SITE, PAGE A6
Work program changes name FORT WAYNE — The Northeast Indiana Regional Workforce Investment Board has changed its name to Northeast Indiana Works, the agency said Monday. The name change is part of a rebranding effort to better promote the numerous workforce development programs and services that the nonprofit organization offers, as well as strengthen its outreach strategies, a news release said. The new name also serves as a statement of the organization’s and region’s commitment to providing skilled workers to meet the needs of employers, the release said. Northeast Indiana Works SEE NAME, PAGE A6
Indiana Michigan Power officials joined Kendallville Mayor Suzanne Handshoe and Noble County Economic Development Corp. executive director Rick Sherck on Monday to announce 36 acres in Kendallville’s East Industrial Park has been certified as a “shovel-ready” food processing and beverage industry site. From left, with a map of the site, are Rob Cleveland, manager of economic and business development for Indiana Michigan Power; Handshoe and Sherck.