FRIDAY October 18, 2013
Tradition of Service Page A8 Butler Rotary Club celebrates 75 years
Soccer Shutout Page B1 DeKalb blanks North in regional
Weather Clearing skies today. High 62. Low 42. Clouds and rain Saturday. High 52. Low 37. Page A9
GOOD MORNING I-69 workers hurt when semi hits lift BY MIKE MARTURELLO mmarturello@kpcmedia.com
ANGOLA — Two workers with a private contractor replacing a bridge over Interstate 69 were injured when a semi collided with the hydraulic lift that was carrying them on the job Thursday afternoon. The two were working on the reconstruction of the Steuben C.R. 325W overpass of I-69, just north of the rest stop on the southbound lanes. Mary Foster with the Indiana Department of Transportation said orange barrels had been placed in the road to divert traffic away from the work site, which was in the travel lane of the highway. The injured men, Ted Cook of Marion and Brandon Morris of Columbia City, are employees with Pioneer Associates, Albion. The company received the bid to replace the bridge at a cost of $717,000. The work is to be complete early in November. Foster said the men were conscious when they were taken from the scene by Steuben County Emergency Medical Service crews. They were taken to Parkview Regional Medical Center at Fort Wayne in serious to critical condition, Nott said. Adam Sparks of Indianapolis, the southbound semi driver, told police he slowed and was passing under the bridge when he heard a collision with his truck, said Steuben County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Phil Nott. Sparks said he had not seen the bucket of the lift before striking it. He continued south, then turned around and returned to the scene. Nott said a brace was being removed from the south side of the bridge over the passing lane. As Sparks drove under the bridge, he struck the bucket of the lift with the passenger side of his cab. Morris fell from the bucket into the passing lane of the highway, and Cook remained in the bucket but also was injured, Nott said. Southbound traffic was closed for a short period while investigators from the Steuben County Sheriff’s Department investigated and the scene was cleared.
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Classifieds.................................B5-B7 Life..................................................... A8 Obituaries......................................... A4 Opinion .............................................B5 Sports.........................................B1-B3 Weather............................................ A9 TV/Comics .......................................B4 Vol. 101 No. 287
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Butler train victim remains critical BY JEFF JONES jjones@kpcmedia.com
BUTLER — Butler resident Terry Gordon is described as a fun-loving, caring person, according to a family member. Gordon, 36, remains hospitalized in critical condition at a Fort Wayne hospital after she was hit by a freight train early Saturday morning west of the downtown Norfolk Southern railroad crossing in Butler. “She opened her eyes for a few seconds at a time (Wednesday),” said brother-in-law Brent Lopez.
Although she is on a breathing machine for assistance, Gordon is able to breathe on her own, he said. Since she was struck, Gordon has undergone multiple surgeries, including having a steel plate inserted into her foot and plastic surgery to repair facial fractures, he said. Gordon has lived in Butler for about five years, attends church locally, and works for Maintenance on Wheels. “She’s just fun-loving,” Lopez said in describing Gordon. “She
loves everybody, and she loves life. She prays for everybody else before she prays for herself. She’s all about family and God. She’s a great person.” An MRI is scheduled to determine the extent of Gordon’s Gordon brain injuries, he said. She has several fractures from head to toe, and there is no date yet for her to be removed
from intensive care. Only family members are allowed to visit Gordon at this time. Butler Police are conducting an investigation into the circumstances of the incident and to determine if any foul play was involved, Police Chief Jim Nichols said. The train was traveling at about 50 mph when the engineer and conductor spotted Gordon on the foggy morning, Lopez said. The train was moving at about 20 mph when it struck Gordon, Nichols reported.
Parks, offices reopen Workers return as shutdown ends BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
proved budgets that Obama rejected because they defunded Obamacare. Stutzman said national news media organizations are trying to blame the crisis on Republicans and portray the Republican Party as damaged by the episode. “I don’t believe Republicans should apologize at all for fighting for Americans in the circumstances we’re in,” he said. As for any split in his party, he said, “There was a difference in tactics and strategy. At the end of the day, Republicans are unified in that we want health care that works for Americans and that doesn’t drive us into debt and cause more disruptions to the economy.” Moving forward with Obamacare intact, “I think it’s just going to have to play out,” he said. “As more Americans are affected by the health care law and
From the Liberty Bell to Alcatraz, federal landmarks and offices reopened Thursday. Furloughed employees were relieved to get back to work — even if faced with email backlogs — but many worried about another such disruption in a matter of months. “We’d hate to have to live through this all over again,” Richard Marcus, a 29-year employee of the National Archives in Washington, said after the government shutdown finally ended. Nationwide, from big-city office buildings to wilderness outposts, innumerable federal services and operations shifted back into gear after 16 days. The U.S. Forest Service started lifting a logging ban on national forests. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services restarted the computerized system used to verify the legal status of workers. Boat trips resumed to Alcatraz, the former federal prison in San Francisco Bay, with 1,600 tickets snapped up by tourists in the first hour of business. In Alaska, federal officials rushed to get the red king crab fishing season underway. The opening had been delayed because furloughed workers were not around to issue crab-quota permits. National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis said all 401 national park units — from the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in California to Acadia National Park in Maine — were reopening Thursday. More than 20,000 National Park
SEE STUTZMAN, PAGE A9
SEE REOPEN, PAGE A9
BOB BRALEY
Car’s driver hurt in collision with school bus The car in the foreground hit an East Noble school bus, in the background, head-on Thursday afternoon, sending the bus into a sign and utility pole. Only the car’s driver was injured. He complained of hip injuries and was airlifted by
Samaritan helicopter to Parkview Regional Medical Center, Fort Wayne. Police said the car was southbound on Angling Road, northeast of Rome City, shortly before 4 p.m. when it went left of center while coming around a curve.
Stutzman isn’t apologizing Does not regret federal budget fight BY DAVE KURTZ dkurtz@kpcnews.net
HOWE — Back in Indiana Thursday, U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-3rd, said he does not regret the bitter budget battle that ended Wednesday night in Washington. “Any time we’re fighting for the American people, it’s worth it,” Stutzman said about the divisive episode that caused a 16-day shutdown of the federal government On the brink of a government default Wednesday, Congress passed a bill that funded the government temporarily without meeting some Republicans’ goal of defunding the national health care law known as Obamacare. “It’s very disappointing that the president did not want to make any changes to Obamacare,” Stutzman
said. “We’re going to have to live with Obamacare until he changes his mind.” Stutzman said he could not bring himself to vote for the bill that ended the showdown, because it raised the federal debt ceiling and lacked tax reforms. “It’s going to treat members of Congress differently under Obamacare,” giving Stutzman them a 75 percent subsidy, he complained about the bill. “I do not believe the Republicans shut the government down,” Stutzman said. “It is unfortunate that the president chose to not negotiate and shut the government down.” He pointed to House-ap-
Longtime Garrett business phasing out Ort’s tradition spans a century BY SUE CARPENTER scarpenter@kpcmedia.com
GARRETT — A longtime Garrett business that spanned over three generations will close its doors in the coming weeks. Ort’s Furniture, Jewelry and Gifts will begin a “retirement sale” today to liquidate the store’s inventory of furniture, bedding, jewelry and gifts at 1308 S. Randolph St. “After serving DeKalb County and surrounding counties for over eight decades, we have decided to retire from the family-owned business,” family members said in a statement. Charles Ort moved to Garrett from Hartford City in 1911 to work for Henry L. Wehrly Jewelry
store in a building that now houses Timmy’s Pizza and BBQ in the 100 block of North Randolph Street. Wehrly agreed to move into the new Masonic building at the corner of Keyser and Randolph streets in 1924, but did not live to see the finished product. A corporation was formed by three businessmen with Ort and a manager. Ort went to Chicago and borrowed money on a handshake from Webb C. Ball, owner of the Ball Watch Co., to purchase the business. The Garrett store carried Ball watches, which include railroad-grade watches. In 1937, the firm added a second section offering furniture and appliances. SEE GARRETT, PAGE A9
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
The interior of the former Charles Ort & Co. store at the corner of Randolph and Keyser streets in downtown Garrett featured jewelry, watches and silver tea and coffee service. The building now houses the Cup of Blessing coffee house.