Music and Mercy Page A2 Auburn man’s album sales help homeless
FRIDAY December 20, 2013
Thrilling Finish Page B1 Lakewood Park boys win by one point
Weather Rain expected today. High 45. Low 32. Rain again Saturday, with flurries later. High 39. Low 30.
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Two school projects move forward
GOOD MORNING
Board endorses $18.9 million plan Rhodes is next DeKalb AD
BY DAVE KURTZ dkurtz@kpcmedia.com
Flood watch issued for northeast Indiana
WATERLOO — With a public hearing Thursday night, the DeKalb Central school board took a step toward building projects with an estimated cost of $18.9 million. Board members voted that they intend to enter a lease for improvements to McKenney-Harrison Elementary School in Auburn with an estimated cost of $16,583,000 and to DeKalb Middle School south of Waterloo with an estimated cost of $2,090,000. The total includes $227,000 for issuing bonds to borrow the money.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for portions of northern Indiana and northwest Ohio, including DeKalb and Noble counties. Heavy rainfall is expected from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning. Runoff from the rain and melting snow will increase the threat for flooding, said a report from the weather service. Rainfall totals of 1-3 inches are possible, with the highest amounts south of Fort Wayne. The heaviest rainfall is expected between Saturday evening and Sunday morning. Low-lying areas are at risk of flooding as well as streams and creeks. River levels could rise significantly, causing potential flooding in the coming week.
The projects would be “tax-neutral” because some school building debts would be retired as new payments for the two projects begin, a consultant said. “I think it’s definitely a very good project. McKenney-Harrision definitely needs some ‘TLC’ to bring it up to code as well as to address the safety risks,” said Jay Baumgartner, president of the school board. “We’re just very excited about finally being able to address McKenney-Harrison’s needs,” Superintendent Sherry Grate said after the meeting. She said the McKenney-Harrison project would
WATERLOO — Chris Rhodes will become the next athletic director for DeKalb High School starting July 1. The DeKalb Central school board approved Rhodes for the job during its meeting Thursday night at the district’s administration building. He will replace Ron Kock, who is retiring from the position. Rhodes brings 25 years of coaching experience to the job, including his 17 years as head baseball coach for DeKalb. Superintendent Sherry Grate said Rhodes will continue
SEE SCHOOL, PAGE A10
Roof injures dozens
BP says refinery construction finished WHITING (AP) — Oil company BP says it has completed construction work on a $4.2 billion expansion and upgrade of its northwestern Indiana refinery. The company said that completion has allowed it to start up a 102,000-barrelper-day unit that will be used as the Whiting refinery starts processing more crude oil from the Canadian tar sands region. The new coker unit converts residual crude oil into gas oils that are used in gasoline and into petroleum coke that is used in overseas energy production, The Times of Munster reported. Work began in 2008 on the project and converted the refinery along Lake Michigan so it could process the heavier crude oils coming from the Dakotas and Canada, where production has been booming.
Collapse stuns theater audience
DAVE KURTZ
Lee Pontius of Auburn shows the 1963 Avanti he bought 50 years ago this month.
Last-chance car lasts 50 years Auburn man bought Avanti as Studebaker closed BY DAVE KURTZ dkurtz@kpcmedia.com
AUBURN — Indiana’s Studebaker Corp. closed its doors in South Bend 50 years ago today, but not before Lee Pontius bought himself a Studebaker-built Avanti. The automobile company announced its closing plans Dec. 9, 1963. Four days later, Pontius, then 26, showed up at Studebaker Automotive Sales, 3625 E. Washington Blvd., Fort Wayne. Pontius aimed to buy a stylish 1963 Avanti before it was too late. “I was afraid I’d never get the chance when I got out of school. They’d all be gone,” said Pontius, who was finishing his engineering studies at Indiana Tech.
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Pontius paid $4,041 for his Avanti, setting up payments of $75 a month for three years. “I was scared to death” by the size of his commitment, Pontius recalled this week. But Pontius’ investment paid off, because he still owns that Avanti. He has driven the sporty car 120,000 miles, mostly to call on Borg-Warner customers in the mid-1970s. “It’s still fun to drive,” Pontius said. “People that aren’t even interested in cars turn their heads to look at it.” In 1964, he was visiting Cincinnati when people poured out of a barber shop — “even the guy in the chair” — to admire his car, he
“People that aren’t even interested in cars turn their heads to look at it.” Lee Pontius Avanti owner
• said. “They were just swooning over it and thought it was the new Mustang,” Pontius said, remembering his irritation at the mistaken identity. SEE 50 YEARS, PAGE A10
LONDON (AP) — The roof or ceiling of a London theatre partially collapsed Thursday night, showering a packed audience of about 700 with heaps of plaster, wood and dust, authorities and witnesses said. More than 80 people were injured, including at least seven seriously, and several trapped theater-goers had to be rescued. The collapse happened at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue at 8:15 p.m. (2015 GMT; 3:15 p.m.) during a performance of “The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime” at the height of the Christmas holiday season. “Complete chaos” erupted in the theater as the debris rained down, said Martin Bostock, who came with his family to see the show, which is based on the best-selling novel by Mark Haddon. “At first we thought it was part of the show,” he told Sky News. “Then I got hit on the head.” Witnesses said audience members were screaming “Get out! Get out!” as they fled the theater and were shaking with fear when they reached the street outside. “Within an instant, the entire roof caved in,” another man told the BBC. A passing public doubledecker bus was commandeered to transport some of the injured to a hospital. Police said they weren’t aware of any fatalities “at this early SEE ROOF, PAGE A10
Millions of Target accounts may be breached
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coaching baseball this spring. “He brings the right balance of tradition as well as innovation to this position,” high school Principal Kyle Kirby said in a memo recommending Rhodes for the position. He added that Rhodes is “very well respected by DeKalb Central staff as well as community stakeholders.” The board approved an annual salary of $81,500 for Rhodes. He will start his duties July 1, 2014, when Kock retires. Until then, Rhodes will work with Kock in a transition into his new job.
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Target is grappling with a data security nightmare that threatens to drive off holiday shoppers during the company’s busiest time of year. The nation’s second largest discounter said Thursday that data connected to about 40 million credit and debit card accounts was stolen as part of a breach that began over the Thanksgiving weekend. The data theft marks the second largest credit card breach in the U.S. after retailer TJX Cos.
announced in 2007 that at least 45.7 million credit and debit card users were exposed to credit card fraud. Target’s acknowledgement came a day after news reports surfaced that the discounter was investigating a breach. The chain said customers who made purchases by swiping their cards at terminals in its U.S. stores between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15 may have had their accounts exposed. The stolen data includes customer names, credit and debit card numbers, card expiration dates
and the three-digit security codes located on the backs of cards. The data breach did not affect online purchases, the company said. The stolen information included Target store brand cards and major card brands such as Visa and MasterCard. The Minneapolis company, which has 1,797 stores in the U.S. and 124 in Canada, said it immediately told authorities and financial institutions once it became aware of the breach on Dec. 15. The company is teaming
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with a third-party forensics firm to investigate and prevent future breaches. The breach is the latest in a series of technology crises for Target. The company faced tough criticism in late 2011 after it drummed up hype around its offerings from Italian designer Missoni only to see its website crash. The site was down most of the day the designer’s collection launched. The company angered customers further with numerous online delays for products and even order cancellations.
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