Serving the Steuben County 101 lakes area since 1857
Anti-Obama message taken down but not because of negative reaction
Weather Cloudy, chance of rain, high in the low 60s. Tonight’s low 45. Page A6
Page A3 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013
Angola, Indiana
GOOD MORNING Man in wheelchair hit, killed by train BY DENNIS NARTKER dnartker@kpcmedia.com
KENDALLVILLE — A man in a wheelchair was killed Tuesday when he was struck by a train at the Main Street railroad crossing. At about 5:18 p.m., police and fire units and Noble County EMS ambulance were called to the Norfolk Southern crossing to investigate a report of a person struck by a train. The freight train was traveling westbound and the wheelchair-bound man was heading northbound on the sidewalk on the west side of Main Street, according to Police Chief Rob Wiley. Witnesses told police the railway crossing gates were down across traffic lanes, red lights were flashing and a warning bell was ringing, indicating an approaching train. The man began to cross and was struck and killed by the train. His body landed along the north side of the tracks, just west of the Kendallville Pawn Shop. The train stopped, blocking the Main Street and Riley Street crossings for hours. Police cordoned off the area with crime scene tape and directed traffic to the Park Avenue crossing. Wiley said the train’s engine had a video camera and the video of the mishap may help investigators determined what happened. The Noble County coroner arrived at the scene about 6:30 p.m. to conduct an investigation.
Indy police officer’s trial set to begin FORT WAYNE (AP) — The long-awaited trial of an Indianapolis police officer charged with crashing his squad car into two motorcycles, killing a man and seriously injuring two other people, is set to begin today with opening arguments. Jury selection finished Tuesday in Fort Wayne in the case of David Bisard, who faces nine charges including reckless homicide and drunken driving. The trial is beginning more than three years after Bisard’s patrol car plowed into two motorcycles stopped at a traffic light, largely because of legal wrangling over two vials of his blood expected to be introduced as evidence and showing he had a blood-alcohol level of more than twice Indiana’s legal limit of 0.08 percent.
Contact Us • The Herald Republican 45 S. Public Square Angola, IN 46703 Phone: (260) 665-3117 Fax: (260) 665-2322 Classifieds: (toll free) (877) 791-7877 Circulation: (800) 717-4679
Index • Classified.............................................. B7-B8 Life.................................................................A5 Obituaries.....................................................A4 Opinion ........................................................B4 Sports.................................................... B1-B3 Weather........................................................A6 TV/Comics ..................................................B6 Vol. 156 No. 285
kpcnews.com
75 cents
Murder suspect arraigned Man was ‘pumped up’ before stabbing, says was protecting son BY AMY OBERLIN aoberlin@kpcmedia.com
ANGOLA — The suspect in a Saturday night stabbing murder ripped off his shirt and “pumped himself up” before allegedly stabbing another man to death, said witnesses from the scene. Kenny Rogers Fletcher, 41,
Angola, was formally charged with murder Tuesday afternoon via videoconferencing equipment between the Steuben County Jail and Steuben Magistrate Court. A preliminary plea of not guilty was entered in his behalf and a pretrial conference was set for Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. in Steuben Circuit
Court. A jury trial is scheduled for March 3. He will be represented by public defender Robert Hardy. Judge Randy Coffey ordered Fletcher held Fletcher without bail. He turned himself in Monday evening at the Steuben County Jail after being sought for two days by police. He is accused of stabbing
39-year-old Wilbur D. Renshaw, Angola, multiple times with a knife, causing his death. Murder is a felony punishable by 45 to 65 years in prison. “I was trying to protect my son. How is that murder?” Fletcher said after the charge was read. He said the murder was in self defense. “He came to my house. Is that murder?” he said. Angola Detective Sgt. Tim Crooks testified at the hearing at the request of Chief Deputy SEE FLETCHER, PAGE A6
Senate to try again
AMY OBERLIN
Mike Remke of Remke Excavating of Angola, left, and an employee of Becker and Scrivens Concrete Products of Hillsdale, Mich., set a concrete septic
tank on the north side of a house on C.R. 500W, chosen for a statewide septic installers association’s field day project this week.
Group provides man new septic Statewide association comes to disabled vet’s aid BY AMY OBERLIN aoberlin@kpcmedia.com
PLEASANT LAKE — A disabled United States veteran and longtime Steuben County resident will have a better place to live by this weekend. J.R. Andrews, 4430 S. C.R. 500W, received a new septic system, including tanks and sand mound filtration system, for free thanks to donated materials, labor and expertise. The project was organized through the Indiana Onsite Wastewater Professionals Association. IOWPA provides one system replacement in the state every year. This is the first time a Steuben County property has been chosen, said IOWPA member and Steuben County Department of Health inspector Walter Buchs, who coordinated the project. A complaint was filed with the health department Jan. 29 about raw sewage leaking from Andrews’ failing septic. It was recommended for the IOWPA field day project by Steuben County Health Department’s chief environmentalist Kris Thomas. In the meantime, Dilts Sewer Service of Hamilton provided regular pumping of the system. “We looked at J.R.’s situation,” said Alice Quinn, field staff for the Indiana Department of Health. “He’s a disabled veteran and financially not in a position where he could fund this himself.” A kennel in southern Indiana and several other locations were also considered for the field day project. After the kennel job became unfeasible, Andrews’ residence was the choice, said Quinn. IOWPA is a nonprofit organization of septic inspectors, installers and related professionals dedicated to public health and the environment. Created in 2001, SEE SEPTIC, PAGE A6
SEE SENATE, PAGE A6
Combined HR efforts discussed AMY OBERLIN
Mike Remke loosens a corroded pipe from a failed septic system at a home on in the 4400 block of South C.R. 500W, where a new septic was being installed courtesy of local donors and volunteers through the Indiana Onsite Wastewater Professionals Association.
School board approves 2014 budget BY AMY OBERLIN aoberlin@kpcmedia.com
PLEASANT LAKE — The Metropolitan School District of Steuben County Board of Education approved its $9.3 million 2014 budget Tuesday night at Pleasant Lake Elementary School. The board also adopted a three-year capital projects plan, which calls for up to $3.5 million in infrastructure improvements in 2014, and a 10-year bus replacement fund. They are forwarded to
WASHINGTON (AP) — Time growing desperately short, Senate leaders took command of efforts to avert a Treasury default and end the partial government shutdown Tuesday night after a last big attempt by House Republicans abruptly collapsed. Aides to both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, expressed revived optimism about chances for a swift agreement — by Wednesday at the latest — that could pass both houses. Their efforts toward a bipartisan resolution had seemed likely to bear fruit a day earlier before House conservatives were given a last-minute chance for their version. As hours ticked down toward Thursday’s Treasury deadline, the likeliest compromise included renewed authority for the Treasury to borrow through early February and the government to reopen at least until mid-January. While a day of secret meetings and frenzied maneuvering unfolded in all corners of the Capitol, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., stood on the Senate floor at midafternoon and declared, “We are 33 hours away from becoming a deadbeat nation, not paying its bills to its own people and other creditors.” In New York, the stock market
the Department of Local Government Finance which will review and possibly pare the budget. The board also allowed corporation business manager Monte Van Gessel to borrow $497,000 from the Indiana Bond Bank to help with occasional shortfalls in cash flow. Last year, the district borrowed more than $600,000. While the budget passed included salary payments in the general fund, the corporation’s teachers are working without
contracts. The Angola Classroom Teachers Association and district administrators are going into a state-required mediation phase. Angola High School teacher Dan Hochstedler said the stalemate was caused by the district’s refusal to give teachers the right to negotiate salaries. The Pleasant Lake Elementary School library was literally filled with teachers during the school board meeting, as they had been encouraged to attend to support the ACTA.
LAGRANGE — Saying their two counties need new ways to share resources and save money, 10 county officials — five from LaGrange County and five from Steuben County — met in the LaGrange County Courthouse Annex late Tuesday afternoon to discuss the possibility of hiring a human resources manager to serve both counties. Jac Price, president of the LaGrange County Board of Commissioners, acted as the impromptu moderator of the meeting. He told his Steuben County counterparts he believes the time has come for counties such as LaGrange to investigate hiring a human resources professional. Loretta Smart, a Steuben County commissioner, said Steuben County has reached the same HR threshold as LaGrange. She called the idea of creating a shared HR department a “terrific idea.” Council members Linda Hansen, Dan Caruso and Mayo Sanders also represented Steuben County. The move, Price said, would divorce each county from the cost of contacting out its HR needs as well as legal expenses for understanding HR law.