THURSDAY October 10, 2013
Invest in Excellence Page A2 Trine launches fundraising campaign
Repeat Champions Page B1 DeKalb boys take soccer sectional
Weather Mostly sunny, high 73. Tonight’s low in the upper 40s. Cloudy, high in the mid-70s Friday. Page A8
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Man admits guilt in fatal crash BY KATHRYN BASSETT kbassett@kpcmedia.com
AUBURN —A St. Joe man could face up to 10 years of incarceration for drunken driving in a crash that killed a Butler man last year. Ryan M. Farrell, 26, of the 5200 block of C.R. 59, pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death with a prior offense of operating while intoxicated, a Class B felony, as part of a plea agreement filed Wednesday in
Hoosier county looks at storm alert system KOKOMO (AP) — A central Indiana county without sirens for tornado warnings might soon have a system to send out emergency notifications by phone calls and emails. The new system could be in place by next spring for residents of Kokomo and Howard County after county commissioners approved funding for it. Howard County Sheriff Steve Rogers told the Kokomo Tribune that such a system has been considered for several years but there were earlier concerns about limits on the number of messages that could be sent.
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Classifieds.................................B5-B7 Life..................................................... A6 Obituaries......................................... A4 Opinion ............................................. A5 Sports.........................................B1-B3 Weather............................................ A8 TV/Comics .......................................B4 Vol. 101 No. 279
DeKalb Superior Court II. In exchange for his plea, the prosecutor’s office will recommend a sentence of 12 years, with a cap of 10 years on any executed time. The remainder of the sentence would be served on probation. Farrell also would receive the maximum license suspension allowed by the law and pay restitution to the family of the victim, Clemente Fuentes. Judge Monte Brown took the plea agreement under advise-
ment and scheduled a sentencing hearing for Jan. 6, 2014. Fuentes, 40, of Butler, suffered internal injuries and multiple leg fractures in the crash early Aug. 29, 2012. After the crash, a Samaritan helicopter flew Fuentes to Parkview Regional Medical Center, Fort Wayne, where he died later from his injuries, police said. Farrell suffered minor cuts from broken glass in the crash. Police said Farrell was driving a 2000 Ford Explorer southbound on
The Power of Words
High court to hear shoe camera case INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Supreme Court is taking up the case of a man who allegedly used a camera hidden in one of his shoes to shoot video under the skirts of teenage girls at an Indianapolis shopping mall. The state’s high court will hear oral arguments Thursday in the case of David Delagrange, a 44-year-old Fort Wayne man convicted of attempted child exploitation and sentenced in March 2012 to six months in prison. Delagrange was arrested in February 2010 at an Indianapolis mall and found to have video images obtained from beneath the skirts of a 15-year-old girl and three 17-year-olds. But the state appeals court threw out Delagrange’s conviction in January, finding that to support that conviction, state law requires the girls to have exposed their genitals.
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These DeKalb New Tech students will display their art work Friday evening at the Auburn Hotel. In front are Samantha Monnin and Drake
Powell. In back, from left, are Tiffany Garlow, Reba Clifford and Dante Ramos.
Students showing art at hotel AUBURN — DeKalb High School is inviting the public to an exhibit of students’ artworks Friday evening at the Auburn Hotel on the southwest corner of the courthouse square. The exhibit, titled The Power of Words, was created by the ninth-grade New Tech Visual and Verbal Communications class. Students created their artworks after studying famous speeches, many of which influenced the course of history. Dante Ramos crafted his art around William Pitt’s “In Defense
of the Colonies.” Ramos said, “The birth of a revolution that shaped American history is very powerful. Americans wanted to break away from Britain at that time.” Antonio Polling studied Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech from 1963. “The speech took place on the site of Abraham Lincoln’s memorial,” Polling said, “and the best quote from the speech is, ‘America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds.’”
C.R. 61, south of C.R. 42. Fuentes was heading north on C.R. 61 in a 1997 Ford Aerostar van. Farrell’s vehicle went left of center in a curve and struck Fuentes’ van head-on, pinning Fuentes in the vehicle, police said. Thursday, Farrell admitted he had consumed beer at a friend’s house prior to driving and, as a result, was intoxicated. Farrell admitted he had a previous drunken-driving conviction within five years of the offense.
Student drawings are collages on portions of printed speeches, said teacher Amy Buchs. Other themes express the importance of equal rights, perseverance, peace and individuality. Many of the students will be at the show to explain their art works. The display opens at 5:30 p.m. and continues until 7:30 p.m. Jeremiah’s Brewed Awakenings will be open for visitors to purchase coffee or tea. Buchs said owner Jeremiah Otis is part of the inspiration for the project and is supporting students in the exhibition of their work.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republican leaders are considering a short-term increase in the U.S. debt limit as a possible way to break out of the gridlock that threatens the nation with an unprecedented default in as little as a week, officials said Wednesday night. There now is far less urgency on Capitol Hill about ending the government shutdown, which heads into its 10th day on Thursday. It has caused inconvenience and financial concern for many individual Americans but appears not to threaten the widespread economic damage a default might bring. The officials declined to say what conditions, if any, might be attached to legislation to raise the $16.7 trillion debt limit for an undetermined period, perhaps a few weeks or months. The GOP rank and file are expected to meet and discuss the issue on Thursday, before a delegation led by Speaker John Boehner goes to the White House to meet with President Barack Obama. Obama has said he won’t agree to sign a debt limit increase if conditions are attached. Republicans are demanding as yet-unspecified concessions to reduce deficits or make changes in the nation’s three-year-old health care law. At the same time, the House has voted to create a 20-member SEE LIMIT, PAGE A8
Annexation would allow metal recycler to expand BY AARON ORGAN aorgan@kpcmedia.com
WATERLOO — The Waterloo Town Council is considering annexing a patch of land that would allow metal recycler Metal X to expand its operations. The council on Tuesday evening read an ordinance to annex 75 acres stretching from Interstate 69 east to South Commerce Drive and south to C.R. 28 on the town’s western edge. Town manager DeWayne Nodine told the council the annexation would allow Metal X to grow its 225 S. Commerce Drive facility. Nodine explained that Metal X had indicated it plans to purchase property south of its facility to C.R. 28. Last month, the company submitted a request for voluntary annexation, and it was agreed upon by Industrial Property Investments LLC, the lone owner of the three parcels of land being eyed. Nodine said Metal X has no official plans for development of the land “other than it’s probably going to be developed in an industrial manner.” Metal X vice president Steve King was the only speaker during a required public hearing Tuesday night. He told the council there
are no set plans for the land, other than for expansion of metal recycling operations. “We think this is beneficial for both Metal X and IPI and the town of Waterloo,” said King. “We’re very proud to be a part of the community, and we want to continue to help the community out. We have a lot of thoughts about what we could potentially do with the property, and what I can safely say is: We’re not done growing, and we want to do the vast majority of our growing in this community. This annexation will make it easier for us to expand.” The council still must vote on the annexation. In other business Tuesday, the council chose not to consider an ordinance to create penalties for people who do not clean animal waste from town roadways. In August, the council agreed to pursue such an ordinance after Councilman Bill Hubartt said piles of horse droppings were found recently in front of a local church and an elementary school. Since then, other residents and Hubartt have reported no issues with droppings. Hubartt and Town Marshal Jay Oberholtzer said they SEE ANNEXATION, PAGE A8
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The Silver Screen Cinema will reopen this weekend.
Garrett theater reopening FROM STAFF REPORTS
GARRETT — The Silver Screen Cinema in downtown Garrett will reopen this weekend after being dark for nearly a year. Owner Bruce Babbitt said he plans to keep the theater open until film versions of movies no longer are available. He anticipated distributors will stop offering 35 mm prints after the first of the year. If business is not not good enough to remain open until then, he plans to close it again, and “it’s back to the drawing board,” he added. “The theater will be open on
weekends only unless we are contractually obligated to run full-time,” he said. He is working on new ticket prices, but said they should be close to what was charged when the theater closed last year. Babbitt is in the process of cleaning, stocking and testing the theater’s equipment this week. “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2,” rated PG, will be shown Friday through Sunday at 7:15 p.m. with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday and Sunday. Babbitt also operates the Strand theater in Kendallville and the Auburn-Garrett Drive-in.