TUESDAY November 12, 2013
Miss Tri County Page A5 Five win crowns in weekend pageant
Can They Be Beaten? Page B1 Pacers gash Grizzlies to go 8-0
Weather Chance of snow flurries today. High 36. Low 21. Sunny Wednesday. High 38. Low 25. Page A6
The Auburn, Indiana
Serving DeKalb County since 1871 75 cents
kpcnews.com
GOOD MORNING County’s oldest resident dies at 107 AUBURN — DeKalb County’s oldest resident, Ethel L. Chapman, 107, of Auburn, died Saturday at Wesley Healthcare in Auburn. During her long life, she saw the pyramids in Egypt and rode a camel in Israel. Last month, Chapman was honored as the oldest women at “Old Settlers Chapman Day” during the DeKalb County Free Fall Fair. She rode in a 1936 Auburn automobile in the traditional parade on the final day of the fair. Chapman first came to Auburn in the 1970s and moved to the city permanently in 1990. Her obituary appears on page A4 of today’s edition.
Hamilton planning Christmas parade HAMILTON — The 13th annual Old Time Christmas Parade in Hamilton will take place Saturday, Nov. 30, at dusk. The horsedrawn lighted parade units will travel through downtown Hamilton to the parade’s end at Gnagy Park. The event, sponsored by the Hamilton Area Chamber of Commerce, is the largest horsedrawn lighted parade in northeast Indiana. Forty teams of horses and wagons from the DeKalb County Horsemen’s Association, Steuben County, southwest Michigan and northwest Ohio will participate. For more information, contact Paul Headley at 668-5029.
Man shot dead by police after chase ELKHART (AP) — An Elkhart man was fatally shot by northern Indiana police after he led them on a chase Sunday night. Indiana State Police said 31-year-old Christopher James Ryckeart was shot dead while allegedly backing his truck into the path of officers trying to arrest him. Sgt. Trent Smith said three Elkhart City Police officers discharged their guns at Ryckeart, who died at the scene.
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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. 312
OCTAVIA LEHMAN
Dari West, a 1990 graduate of DeKalb High School, addresses the student body in the DeKalb High School gymnasium during a Veterans Day assembly Monday. West told students how military
service helped him accomplish goals and spoke out against bullying.
DeKalb marks day for heroes Students hear Veterans Day speakers BY OCTAVIA LEHMAN olehman@kpcmedia.com
AUBURN — The men in attendance at DeKalb High School Monday served in Operation Enduring Iraqi Freedom, Vietnam, World War II and at Guantanamo Bay. Those veterans and others were honored Monday during a Veterans Day assembly at DeKalb High School. Members of Auburn’s post of the American Legion opened the ceremony with the posting of colors, followed by the DeKalb High School choir singing the national anthem. Among the many veterans were speakers Paul Yoder, a 1966 Auburn High School graduate, and U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Dari West, a 1990 DeKalb High School graduate. Yoder served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War from 1972-1975. He was stationed at a base in Thailand supporting Navy B-3 squadrons. Yoder said while he was in college, the Vietnam War was raging and it was not a matter of serving, but “when and how.” After graduating, he attended officer training school in Rhode Island. Yoder said in 1972 a peace agreement was signed, and in the following year prisoners of war were sent home. Even as tensions ceased, “We still didn’t know who to trust,” Yoder said. What he enjoyed most about serving were the people and
the ability to take pride in his work. “My heroes are the ones who never came home,” Yoder said. “Would I do it over again?” Yoder added. “Absolutely.” West, a 22-year army veteran, is a familiar face at DeKalb High School, where he has addressed several student assemblies. In March 2013, West completed a two-year tour of duty in Afghanistan. His words Monday encouraged students to consider the military to reach their goals, because of the discipline it taught him. “If you’re thinking about the Army or the military in general, do it,” West said. “There’s no other way out there that will help discipline you and make values in your life.” West also spoke out against bullying, telling the audience he was bullied as a student. He joined the Army as a senior in high school and credits his experiences with teaching him to stand up for himself and to have pride in himself. “Stand up to bullies,” he said. “It’s not right.” “These are my heroes, right here,” West said, pointing to the veterans who were seated at the ceremony. “They went before me.” West said he continues serving in the Army because he cares about “each and every one” in the audience. “I don’t know you, but I love you,” West said, “and that’s why I do what I do and will continue to do what I do.”
Ron Imbody, left, and Tom Emerick of the Auburn post of the American Legion and U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Dari West, right, post the colors at the beginning of a Veterans Day assembly Monday at DeKalb High School.
Bill aims for vets as teachers FORT WAYNE — On Veterans Day, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz announced two new programs aimed to help military veterans and current soldiers. Ritz is joining with state Sen. Sue Glick, R-LaGrange, to propose a new program designed to attract veterans to earn teaching degrees. Ritz also announced a new literacy partnership with the Indiana National Guard. During stops in Fort Wayne and South Bend Monday, Ritz said she and Glick are drafting legislation for a new scholar-
ship program known as Second Service. It would offer twoand four-year scholarships and convert military training and experience into college credits to help Indiana veterans earn degrees in K-12 education from universities in Glick Indiana. A participant would be required to teach in an Indiana school for one year. “It looks like a win-win if SEE TEACHERS, PAGE A6
Prairies vanishing in push for corn ethanol ROSCOE, S.D. (AP) — Robert Malsam nearly went broke in the 1980s when corn was cheap. So now that prices are high and he can finally make a profit, he’s not about to apologize for ripping up prairieland to plant corn. Across the Dakotas and Nebraska, more than 1 million acres of the Great Plains are giving way to corn fields as farmers transform the wild expanse that once served as the backdrop for American pioneers. This expansion of the Corn Belt is fueled in part by America’s green energy policy, which requires oil companies to blend billions of gallons of corn ethanol into their gasoline. Ethanol has
become the No. 1 use for corn in America, helping keep prices high. “It’s not hard to do the math there as to what’s profitable to have,” Malsam said. “I think an ethanol plant is a farmer’s friend.” What the green-energy program has made profitable, however, is far from green. A policy intended to reduce global warming is encouraging a farming practice that actually could worsen it. That’s because plowing into untouched grassland releases carbon dioxide that has been naturally locked in the soil. It also increases erosion and requires farmers to use fertilizers and other industrial chemicals. In turn, that destroys native plants and wipes
out wildlife habitats. It appeared so damaging that scientists warned that America’s corn-for-ethanol policy would fail as an anti-global warming strategy if too many farmers plowed over virgin land. The Obama administration argued that would not happen. But the administration didn’t set up a way to monitor whether it actually happened. It did. More than 1.2 million acres of grassland have been lost since the federal government required that gasoline be blended with increasing amounts of ethanol, an Associated Press analysis of satellite data found. Plots that
Conservation Reserve acres COUNTY DeKalb LaGrange Noble Steuben
2005 *19,975 1,651 9.456 *13,809
2012 *16,065 1,338 6,629 *8,595
* DeKalb County highest in state for 2005 and 2012; Steuben second-highest in state for 2005, fourth in 2012. SOURCE: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Acres planted in corn COUNTY DeKalb LaGrange Noble Steuben
2005 47,200 55,200 65,000 37,800
2012 51,000 53,200 68,000 44,000
were wild grass or pastureland seven years ago are now corn and SEE ETHANOL, PAGE A6