TUESDAY September 24, 2013
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Weather Sunny with a high of 70. Low tonight 50. High in low 70s for Wednesday. Page A6 Serving Noble & LaGrange Counties
Kendallville, Indiana
GOOD MORNING Streets to close for Light the Night KENDALLVILLE — City streets will be closed temporarily tonight for the annual Light the Night Walk supporting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The 1.49-mile walk is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start at East Noble High School, with the East Noble Marching Knights leading the walkers. Participants will walk west on Lisle Street to South Main Street, then north to Diamond Street, east on Diamond Street to Sherman Street, and south on Sherman Street back to the school. Police and volunteers will close streets and intersections during the event, which is expected to end about 9 p.m.
Purdue to help students with cost of studying abroad WEST LAFAYETTE, (AP) — Purdue University officials hope paying students up to $3,000 will lead to more of them to study abroad. Fewer than 20 percent of Purdue students participate in international study programs before graduating, and one of university President Mitch Daniels’ new initiatives is to increase that to one-third of some 30,000 undergrads. “Learning in another country is an educational necessity, and making study abroad a core component of a Purdue education will help students grow, learn and prepare themselves to make an impact in a global economy,” Daniels said. The money will be available starting spring semester for qualified undergraduates who complete a credit-bearing study-abroad program for a semester or school year.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Carroll vs. East Noble football kpcnews.com
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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. 263
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Suspect in abduction arrested LAGRANGE — A man wanted as a suspect in an abduction was arrested early this afternoon, the LaGrange County Sheriff’s Department said. Steven Gail Gose, 40, was taken into custody by the Rome City Police Department and the Noble County Sheriff’s Department. Officers took him to the LaGrange County Jail to be held on multiple outstanding warrants. Friday, LaGrange County Superior Court Judge George Brown issued a warrant for Gose on charges of criminal confine-
ment, a Class C Felony, and two Class D felony offenses, domestic battery and strangulation. He also was wanted for parole violation. Gose is suspected of abducting Jennifer Lee Bitzel, of Peru and formerly of Rome City, late Wednesday night. Rome City Police found her safe in Rome City early Friday morning, police said. She had bruising to her head, face and throat, police added. Police previously said the incident began Wednesday at a residence in the 3000 block of
LaGrange C.R. 600E, where Bitzel was battered severely. She then was removed forcefully from the residence by a man who allegedly Gose made death threats to Bitzel before forcing her into a silver, 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix. Bitzel’s two young children were left behind at the residence. In a posting on its Facebook page Monday, the LaGrange
County Sheriff’s Department expressed gratitude for “the tremendous amount of assistance that we have received with this case.” It said help came from concerned citizens who provided many tips and leads, its Facebook followers, “area news media for their persistent coverage of this case” and all LaGrange County law enforcement agencies, the Noble County Sheriff’s Department, Rome City Police Department, Indiana State Police and the Kendallville Police Department.
Robber to serve 11 years Battle LAGRANGE — Aljamar Gregory, 27, an Elkhart man convicted of robbery by a LaGrange County jury — even though he skipped his own trial — was sentenced to serve 11 years in an Indiana prison Monday afternoon by LaGrange County Circuit Court Judge J. Scott VanDerbeck. Gregory, who has a lengthy criminal record, maintained he is innocent of the bank robbery charge even at his sentencing hearing. He admitted to the court that while he makes a living selling drugs, “I didn’t rob no bank.” Gregory then shrugged his shoulders and with a matter-of-fact attitude told the judge to do what ever the judge needed to do. “I’ll just do the time and get out,” Gregory added. Gregory was convicted in February by a LaGrange County jury of being one of three men who robbed Howe’s branch of Peoples Federal Savings Bank of an undisclosed amount of money in December 2010. Gregory was linked to the Howe robbery after being arrested by South Bend police in possession of cash police say was taken from the bank. Gregory was charged with armed robbery and possession of stolen property. After attending all his pretrial hearings, Gregory disappeared the day of his trial and was tried in absentia. Gregory was found guilty of a lesser charge of robbery and the second charge, possession of stolen property. Gregory resurfaced in Elkhart County in July and was arrested by Elkhart police on an outstanding warrant for possession of marijuana. At Monday’s hearing, Wible asked the judge to sentence Gregory to the maximum eight years for the robbery and three years for possession of stolen property. Using pictures found on Gregory’s cellphone at the time of his 2010
at mall goes on
PATRICK REDMOND
An officer escorts Aljamar Gregory, 27, of Elkhart from the LaGrange County Courthouse Monday afternoon, following a hearing that resulted in an 11-year prison sentence for robbery.
arrest, Wible painted a picture of Gregory as a career criminal. Wible showed pictures of Gregory holding a gun similar to the one used in the Howe robbery, large amounts of cash and small children holding money and a handgun. “He’s a gangster,” Wible said of Gregory. Citing more than 10 prior convictions, including two stints in prison, Wible said he didn’t believe Gregory was the type of person who would respond well to a short prison sentence. “Every day he is in jail is a day of the week he’s not here to rob someone else,” Wible said.
Gregory’s court-appointed defense attorney, Eric Blackman of Kendallville, said Wible’s portrayal of Gregory might not be accurate. “We’re being asked to connect a lot of dots here,” Blackman said. “Maybe they do make a picture, maybe they don’t.” The judge sided with the prosecutor, sentencing Gregory to the maximum prison time and not offering to suspend any of the sentence. Gregory will be returned to the Elkhart County jail. He is expected to face additional charges from authorities in Elkhart and St. Joseph counties.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenyan security forces battled al-Qaida-linked terrorists in an upscale mall for a third day Monday in what they said was a final push to rescue the last few hostages in a siege that has left at least 62 people dead. While the government announced Sunday that “most” hostages had been released, a security expert with contacts inside the mall said at least 10 were still being held by a band of attackers described as “a multinational collection from all over the world.” The expert, who insisted on anonymity to talk freely about the situation, said many hostages had been freed or escaped in the previous 24-36 hours, including some who were in hiding. However, there were at least 30 hostages when the assault by al-Shabab militants began Saturday, he said, and “it’s clear” that Kenyan security officials “haven’t cleared the building fully.” Flames and dark plumes of smoke rose Monday above the Westgate shopping complex for more than an hour after four large explosions rocked the surrounding neighborhood. The smoke was pouring through a large skylight inside the mall’s main department and grocery store, where mattresses and other flammable goods appeared to have been set on fire, a person with knowledge of the rescue operation told The Associated Press. The explosions were followed by volleys of gunfire as police helicopters and a military jet circled overhead, giving the SEE BATTLE, PAGE A6
Mid-skill jobs account for much of state’s gap BY SUE CARPENTER scarpenter@kpcmedia.com
GARRETT — The largest and fastest-growing segment of Indiana’s skills gap comes from middle-skill jobs, those that require at least a high school diploma but less than a four-year college degree, said a report released Monday by the Indiana Skills2Compete Coalition. The findings were offered at a news conference by coalition co-chairs Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, and Jessica Fraser from the Indiana Institute of Working Families at Group Dekko’s Garrett plant, one of several northeast Indiana manufacturers with firsthand knowledge of the skills gap. The report concludes the skills gap is an adult problem that will require adult solutions. Fraser noted Indiana’s
unemployment rate is stuck above 8 percent and more than 44 percent of Hoosiers between the ages of 18 and 65 have no post-secondary education at all, meaning that more than 1.8 million Hoosier adults currently lack the skills attainment to be competitive in the workforce. Middle-skill jobs account for more than 550,000 job openings in Indiana — half of all openings through 2020. That number has increased by almost 63,000 jobs over the number of mid-skill jobs projected from 2006-2016, according to the report. While 54 percent of all jobs in Indiana are classified as middle-skill, only 47 percent of the state’s workers have the skills and credentials for the jobs. Although Indiana policymakers have emphasized the skills gap in recent workforce development
SUE CARPENTER
Production-line workers at Group Dekko near Garrett assemble lighting fixtures.
and education efforts, the report shows the skills gap won’t be filled without adult solutions.
The coalition selected four policy priorities for 2014 that focus on SEE GAP, PAGE A6
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