Sunday
Better Teams
Holiday Travel
Colts, Chiefs meet in showdown
Live Nativity Liv
Weather woes hit from Texas to Nova Scotia
Page B1
Page A9
Ch Churches depict manger scene m Page C1 Pag
December 22, 2013
Weather 50 percent chance of showers today. High 44. Low 22. Page B6 kpcnews.com
Kendallville, Indiana
GOOD MORNING Florida trucker dies on Indiana Toll Road LAGRANGE — Juian J. Oses, 59, New Port Richey, Fla., was found dead at the wheel of his semi-tractor trailer on the Indian Toll Road Saturday morning. A news release said Indiana State Police Trooper Nicholas Meade responded to a call that a semi-tractor trailer was stuck in the median at the 110-mile marker in LaGrange County. Meade found that the truck was still running and in gear. As he shut the truck off, he observed that Oses was unresponsive. Cardio pulmonary resuscitation was administered, but Oses died at the scene. It is believed that Oses had a medical emergency before driving into the median. An autopsy has been scheduled to determine the cause of Oses’ death.
A proposal in the park Kendallville man takes question to Christmas Greetings display at Bixler BY DENNIS NARTKER dnartker@kpcmedia.com
KENDALLVILLE — Ryan Davis of rural Kendallville thought of many ways to propose to his fiancee, Kaleigh Cornwell of Albion. “I thought about getting down on one knee and proposing, but then I thought about the Christmas Greetings in the Park,” he said this week. Davis’ mother works for a day care that made one of the greeting cards for the popular, free, drive-through display in the Bixler Lake Park campgrounds.
“I got the idea for a sign from my mother,” he said. Davis and his fiancee had been dating for about 2 1/2 years since they first met at Central Noble High School in Albion. He wanted the proposal to be not only a secret, but also special. So why not in the Christmas Greetings display? Davis told Kendallville Park Department recreation director Dawn McGahen about his idea for a proposal. “She was real excited,” he said. He had a sign made about the same size as
DENNIS NARTKER
Ryan Davis and Kaleigh Cornwell stand beside the sign Davis had made and placed in the Bixler Lake
the greeting card boards with the words “Kaleigh Cornwell — I love you. Will you marry me?” surrounded by colorful hearts and a diamond ring. McGahen placed a string of lights on the sign and arranged for its electrical hookup to the illuminated holiday greeting boards. It was erected along the road at the end of the display. Davis’ and Cornwell’s families knew about the arrangement but didn’t tell Kaleigh. “I had no idea what he was doing,”
Flash flood warning in effect The National Weather Service in Northern Indiana issued a flash flood advisory for DeKalb, Noble and Steuben counties until 7 a.m. today. Sunday’s forecast calls for a 50 percent chance of showers. A storm system that’s created headaches for holiday travelers has dropped up to four inches of rain on parts of southern Indiana, causing flooding in some low-lying areas. Meanwhile, NWS meteorologist Mike Ryan says 3 to 4 inches of rain fell between Friday night and Saturday evening on the southwestern Indiana cities of Vincennes and Washington and further east in the Bedford and Bloomington areas. Ryan says 2.3 inches of rain had fallen in Indianapolis, including 1.53 inches on Saturday that set a new daily rainfall record for the city. Fort Wayne received 1 inch of rain Saturday. Ryan says flooding along creeks and streams will spill into Indiana’s rivers Sunday, causing flooding that’s expected to linger for days.
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
Inside • Classified.............................................. D5-D6 Life................................................................ C1 Obituaries.....................................................A4 Opinion .........................................................A6 Business ......................................................B6 Sports.................................................... B1-B5 Weather.......................................................B6 Vol. 104 No. 351
$1.25
Addiction during the Holidays “This is where the danger lies, out here on the thinnest of branches, away from the security of the nest at the base of the trunk. Mother bird lovingly pushes her young out here, anyway, knowing if they don’t dare to try the thin branches, they will never develop the power to safely leave the nest on their own. When night falls, she will welcome them back to the nest, stronger than when they left.”
Trust in the thin branches Transitional program letting women go home for Christmas How to get help Holidays can be hard on recovering addicts. Specialists encourage those suffering to seek help. Read more on page A8.
BY MATT GETTS mgetts@kpcmedia.com
ANGOLA — Yes, there is risk involved. But with risk comes growth. The 11 women currently living at the Women in Transition home in Angola soon will be spending their second holiday away from the structured confines of the facility on the city’s east side. Most of the residents will be leaving early Christmas Eve and won’t return until either the next day or the 26th. All are leaving the nest after talking over their plans for keeping clean and sober with Executive Director Shelly Sonner. “We review to make sure it’s a safe place” they will be staying at, Sonner said. Approximately 80 percent of the residents have been Sonner sentenced by courts to stay at the home, and Sonner worked with court officials to get approval for the residents to have time off at Thanksgiving — a first for the program that attempts to teach women addicted to alcohol or drugs how to lead a sober life. “It went really well,” Sonner said. “They need to learn how to live life on life’s terms. SEE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS, PAGE A8
SEE PROPOSAL, PAGE A8
campground drive-through Christmas greetings display to surprise his fiance with a marriage proposal.
“I thought about getting down on one knee and proposing, but then I thought about the Christmas Greetings in the Park.” Ryan Davis Kendallville
•
Aircraft hit in Sudan American citizens evacuated amid growing violence NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Gunfire hit three U.S. military aircraft trying to evacuate American citizens in a remote region of South Sudan that on Saturday became a battle ground between the country’s military and renegade troops, officials said. Four U.S. service members were wounded in the attack in the same region where gunfire downed a U.N. helicopter the day before. The U.S. military aircraft were about to land in Bor, the capital of the state of Jonglei and scene of some of the nation’s worst violence over the last week, when they were hit. The military said the four wounded troops were in stable condition. The U.S. military said three CV-22 Ospreys — the kind of aircraft that can fly like a helicopter and plane — were “participating in a mission to evacuate American citizens in Bor.” A South Sudan official said violence against civilians there has resulted in bodies “sprinkled all over town.” “After receiving fire from the ground while approaching the site, the aircraft diverted to an airfield outside the country and aborted the mission,” the statement said. “The injured troops are being treated for their wounds.” It was not known how many U.S. civilians are in Bor. After the aircraft took incoming fire, they turned around and flew to Entebbe, Uganda. From there the service members were flown to Nairobi, Kenya aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 for medical treatment, the statement said. An official in the region who insisted on anonymity to share SEE SUDAN, PAGE A8