TUESDAY October 22, 2013
End of An Era Page B1 Tigers manager Leyland steps down
Hamilton Murder Page A2 Suspect in 1989 case appears in court
Weather Mostly cloudy skies today. Chance of rain after 5 p.m. High 49. Low 33.
The
Serving DeKalb County since 1871
Page A6 Auburn, Indiana
GOOD MORNING Amish factory fined for injury to girl, 15 SPENCERVILLE — The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined the Amish pallet factory Timberline Crating, located near Spencerville, more than $4,000, our news partner, NewsChannel 15, reports. The fines come several months after a 15-year-old girl’s arm was cut off by a woodworking machine and the state cited the factory for a dozen child labor violations. After two different inspections, IOSHA issued eight serious violations and one nonserious violation for Timberline Crating on Oct. 11.
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Kruse seeks upgrades for IPFW BY DAVE KURTZ dkurtz@Kpcnews.net
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne deserves a better status and funding level, says state Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn. Kruse chairs a legislative committee studying the state’s regional university campuses. It meets for the final time Wednesday, and Kruse hopes it will endorse changes for IPFW. “IPFW at this time in history is worthy of having a unique designation, whatever the name might be,” Kruse said Monday.
One possibility is declaring it a metropolitan campus, he said. A result of a new designation, IPFW might be able to offer doctoral degrees and increase its funding, Kruse said. Kruse “IPFW has never had a doctoral program,” Kruse said. As the state’s fifth-largest university campus, “I think it’s worthy,” he added.
Kruse listed five possible doctoral programs for IPFW — education, health services (possibly doctor of nursing), insurance, orthopedics industry and engineering. “If we have a unique status as a campus, maybe the funding formula could be a little bit different to enhance the funding of IPFW,” Kruse added. “It seems we should have a higher position in the funding status. IPFW’s down at the bottom almost all the time. It seems to me, we shouldn’t be.” Of the state’s 14 university campuses, IPFW traditionally
Manchester College president retiring NORTH MANCHESTER — Manchester University President Jo Young Switzer will retire June 30 and be succeeded by Dave McFadden, who helped the higher-education institution open its College of Pharmacy in Fort Wayne in 2012. The North Manchester school’s board of trustees accepted Switzer’s retirement and appointed McFadden president, effective July 1.
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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. 101 No. 291
Dennis Kruse State Senator, R-Auburn
• ranks between 12th and 14th in funding, Kruse said. With 13,459 students this fall, IPFW is larger than Indiana State SEE IPFW, PAGE A6
Obama sees no excuse
Retired Do It Best president honored INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The retired president of what is now Fort Wayne-based hardware retailer Do It Best Corp. is being honored with the Indiana governor’s highest honor for his work with many community organizations. Gov. Mike Pence announced Don Wolf as the 2013 recipient of the Sachem Award during a company shareholders meeting on Sunday. Wolf started working for Hardware Wholesalers in 1947, rising to become its top executive before retiring in 1993. Do It Best says it now has some 4,000 franchise locations across the country and in more than 50 countries. Wolf was co-founder and first president of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Fort Wayne.
“I think there’s a day coming when Fort Wayne deserves its own university.”
Frustrated by health care signup glitches DEKALB COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT PHOTO
Both drivers were injured Monday morning when this car and truck collided at the intersection of
S.R. 3 and S.R. 205 in LaOtto, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department said.
LaOtto crash injures drivers LAOTTO — Two drivers were injured Monday morning when a car collided with a truck at the intersection of S.R. 3 and S.R. 205, according to a DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department report. Police said Samantha Becker, 20, of Kendallville was heading south on S.R. 3 about 8:56 a.m. when she failed to stop for a red light at the intersection. The front right corner of Becker’s 2000 Ford Taurus hit the
front left area of a 2009 International Dura Star driven by R.L. Young, 54, of Columbia City, who was heading east on S.R. 205 and had the right of way, police said. Becker’s Taurus came to rest in the northbound turn lane of S.R. 3 facing southwest, and the Dura Star came to rest at the south side of the intersection facing southwest, police said. Becker suffered a bruise to the chest, and Young complained
of dizziness at the scene. Both were taken to Parkview Regional Medical Center at Fort Wayne for treatment. The Taurus was a total loss, while damage to the Dura Star was estimated at $5,000, police said. Police cited Becker for allegedly disregarding a stop signal. LaOtto Fire Rescue, DeKalb EMS, Indiana State Police and the Garrett Police Department assisted at the scene.
Molester gets 18-year sentence BY KATHRYN BASSETT kbassett@kpcmedia.com
AUBURN — From the witness stand in DeKalb Superior Court II Monday, a girl told the man who molested her, “You held me down, but I got up,” and that she would “live strong,” getting help from professionals. Judge Monte Brown then sentenced the molester— Aaron Graham, 52, of the 400 block of South Oak Street, Waterloo — to 18 years in prison for his crimes. In two separate cases, Graham had pleaded guilty to child molesting, a Class B felony, and obstruction of justice, a Class D felony, as part of a plea agreement that called for the fixed sentences that were imposed by Brown. Brown accepted the agreement and sentenced Graham to 15 years in prison for child molesting and
three years in prison for obstruction of justice. The sentences will be served consecutively. Brown also ruled that Graham is a credit-restricted felon, delaying his potential release date. In the molesting case, Graham committed the offense on multiple occasions over a five- to six-year period when the girl was ages 7-12, Brown noted. “You took my childhood and ripped it apart,” the girl told Graham. “You scarred me.” Brown noted Graham has two prior child-molesting convictions in Georgia from the 1980s and attended sex offender counseling as a result. “Obviously it did not have a substantial effect,” Brown added. An assessment in a pre-sentence report prepared by the DeKalb County Probation Department
found Graham is at high risk to re-offend. As part of the plea agreement, the court dismissed a charge of child molesting, a Class A felony, two enhancements for being a repeat sexual offender and a charge of invasion of privacy, a Class A misdemeanor. Graham received credit against the sentence for 349 days spent in jail while his case was pending. Also in Superior Court II Monday: • Benjamin Hayes, 26, of the 900 block of North Main Street, Auburn, was sentenced to three years of incarceration, all suspended except 180 days, for dealing in marijuana, a Class C felony. The sentence may be served on community corrections if he qualifies. He was placed on probation for two years.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Monday said there was “no excuse” for the cascade of computer problems that have marred the rollout of a key element in his health care law, but declared he was confident the administration would be able to fix the issues. “There’s no sugarcoating it,” Obama said. “Nobody is more frustrated than I am.” The president said his administration was doing “everything we can possibly do” to get the federally run websites where people are supposed to apply for insurance up and running. That includes bringing in additional technology experts from inside and outside the government to work on the issues. People have until March 31 to sign up for coverage. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office had projected that about 7 million people would gain coverage through the exchanges during the first year. The president on Monday guaranteed that everyone who wants to get insurance through the new health care exchanges will be able to, even if they have to enroll over the phone or fill out a paper application. The White House also appeared to open the door to the possibility that people trying to purchase insurance who were confounded by website problems might be exempted from the law’s penalty for remaining uninsured after March 31. Obama’s event in the White House Rose Garden had the feeling of a health care pep rally, with guests in the Rose Garden applauding as Obama ticked through what the White House sees as benefits of the law. The president was introduced by a woman who had successfully managed to sign up for health insurance through the marketplaces in her home state of Delaware. The rollout failures have been SEE OBAMA, PAGE A6
Restaurateur, philanthopist Dick Freeland dies FORT WAYNE — Fort Wayne businessman Dick Freeland died Sunday at his home at the age of 76. Freeland, chairman of the board of Pizza Hut of Fort Wayne Inc., opened his first Pizza Hut restaurant on East State Boulevard in 1972. The business grew to include 48 Pizza Huts in Indiana and Ohio and four KFC restaurants. His company’s Pizza Hut locations include Angola, Auburn, Garrett, Kendallville and Ligonier,
according to the company’s website. In 1995, after Freeland traveled to Poland to advise the Pizza Hut team on improving operations, he became a partner in the Pizza Hut and KFC business in Poland and the Czech Republic. Freeland was heavily involved in local, state and national politics. In February, he was awarded the Sagamore of the Wabash by Gov. Mike Pence, and Ducks Unlimited named him Conservationist of the Year. He served on numerous
boards of directors and was instrumental in the founding of The Chapel. A native of Nevada, Mo., he married Deanna Walters, who survives. They had three children. Daughter Kim Cook and son Todd Freeland Freeland survive. Daughter Terri Derheimer preceded him in death. “Today, Indiana lost an extraor-
dinary Hoosier in the passing of Dick Freeland of Fort Wayne,” Gov. Mike Pence said in a statement. “Dick Freeland lived the American dream. A loving family man, successful entrepreneur and businessman, Dick Freeland used his success to lift up his community, his state and his nation through generous philanthropy to countless worthy causes. “His leadership and example will be deeply missed. His contributions to the city of Fort Wayne SEE FREELAND, PAGE A6