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50 Years Later Page C1 A look back on JFK tragedy
November 17, 2013
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Changes Coming to National Military History Center
Timely help for children
GOOD MORNING Garrett spellers place 5th in state WEST LAFAYETTE — Garrett High School’s Spell Bowl team spelled 49 words correctly out of 90 possible to take fifth place in Class 3 at the Indiana Academic Spell Bowl Senior State Finals on Saturday at Purdue University. “I think we did really well,” said Garrett coach Mark Claxton. “I think it’s pretty outstanding that of all the schools in Class 3, we were able to place fifth.” Cascade High School in Clayton was the state champion in Class 3 with 81 words correct. Eight teams competed in Class 3 at the state meet. In Class 1, East Noble High School placed second. This was the fourth straight year Garrett has qualified for the finals. “I know that I would like to keep coming back. I know the kids would,” Claxton said. “Garrett’s had a really excellent tradition of bringing kids down to this competition. We’re looking to be here again. “We’ve got 20 team members right now. We’ve got six seniors, so hopefully I can get all 14 kids to come back and then some for next year. Junior Julia Thorne and senior Cassie Smith each had near-perfect rounds with eight words correct out of nine for Garrett. Claxton said he was proud of all the students who competed. “They’re extremely dedicated. They’re all busy kids, but they always find time,” Claxton said. “They represent Garrett extremely well.”
Fire reported at mushroom farm BRIGHTON — Firefighters were battling a large blaze at a mushroom farm in the area of C.R. 800E and C.R. 600N in northeastern LaGrange County late Saturday night, a LaGrange County Police Department dispatcher reported. At least 10 fire departments were involved in fighting the fire, according to the dispatcher. No other information was available at press time.
New report seeks to help courts meet ChINS needs BY BOB BRALEY bbraley@kpcmedia.com
CHAD KLINE
Bobbie Gabel, Stephanie Kern and new director of operations Christin Loomis stand in one section of the National Military History Center
NEW VISION OF
HISTORY
The Star 118 W. Ninth St. Auburn, IN 46706 Auburn: (260) 925-2611 Fax: (260) 925-2625 Classifieds: (toll free) (877) 791-7877 Circulation: (toll free) (800) 717-4679
Index •
Classified.............................................. D5-D6 Life................................................................ C1 Obituaries.....................................................A4 Opinion .........................................................A6 Business ......................................................B6 Sports.................................................... B1-B5 Weather.......................................................B6 Vol. 101 No. 317
Free of debt, museum stakes future on young staff
BY MATT GETTS mgetts@kpcnews.net
AUBURN — Debt may have loomed over the National Military History Center, but a rut of business-as-usual may have been killing the facility slowly, anyway. Prospects for the National Military History Center and Kruse Automotive Heritage Museum took a big step forward with last weekend’s news that the Dean V. Kruse Foundation’s $3 million debt had been paid off. “It is a huge relief,” said Christin Loomis, the newly promoted director of operations at the facility off DeKalb C.R. 11-A. “It was a cloud over the museum. Now the cloud is gone and the future looks bright for the Dean V. Kruse Foundation and the museum.” The debt to Farmers State Bank involved a building that was constructed to be the Andy Granatelli Racing Museum and Hall of Fame, before Granatelli backed out of the museum deal. The foundation was stuck
CHAD KLINE
Engraved bricks purchased by various donors fill a wall inside the National Military History Center and Kruse Automotive Heritage Museum near Auburn.
SEE HISTORY, PAGE A8
Info •
and Kruse Automotive Heritage Museum near Auburn.
“You have to strengthen your core before you try to build muscle. To me, community should come first.” Christin Loomis, newly appointed Director of National Military History Center
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AUBURN —An effort to keep the emphasis on the child’s needs in Child In Need of Services (ChINS) cases has prompted courts throughout Indiana to use a new tool. The Court Improvement Project Timeliness Measure Report is an annual calculation to see how quickly child-placement cases are moving through the courts. “A child’s sense of time in these cases really can be different than an adult’s,” said Elana Salzman, staff attorney for the Court Improvement Project. It’s Carpenter important to take the child’s needs and feelings into consideration in the process, she said. The timeliness report has just been completed for 2013, although a few Indiana counties still haven’t sent it in, Salzman said. DeKalb Circuit Judge Kirk D. Carpenter said the report is a valuable tool that shows him his court is doing well overall with ChINS cases, but he also sees signs of where things can improve. “We try to think outside the box, because every kid and every kid’s needs are different,” Carpenter said. DeKalb’s numbers show cases moving in a manner that matches the guidelines, according to Carpenter and Salzman. Results for other courts in the area are less clear.
The Toolkit The timeliness report stems from a “toolkit” for courts put out by the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Salzman said. “This is really only one tool out of the toolbox that’s been implemented so far,” Carpenter said. It measures only cases completed within the federal fiscal year ending Sept. 30. SEE TIMELINESS, PAGE A8
Medal goes to Auburn artist BY KATHRYN BASSETT kbassett@kpcmedia.com
AUBURN — For Nina Bennett, art is a refuge. “No matter how old you are, art is an escape from the things that take us down daily. You can escape to this creative world, and your mind is at peace when you’re doing that,” Bennett said. The Auburn Arts Commission has honored Bennett, of Auburn, for her work as an artist. A luncheon in Bennett’s honor took place Saturday at Bridgewater Golf Club. The Medal of Arts is given annually in a rotating list of categories: artist, author, drama and theater, music and patron of the arts. It recognizes people who have contributed to the cultural life of the area in one of the categories. “I’ve always had the tendency to be creative, and loved drawing and paper and anything I could use my hands on to
make something,” said Bennett. Growing up, Bennett and her sister were the children of divorced parents and spent a significant amount of time at their grandmother’s farm in the country. “The world was at our feet,” Bennett recalled of the freedom and creativity they enjoyed on the farm. At school, Bennett received inspiration from a fifth-grade teacher who also enjoyed art. At the end of the school year, Bennett was helping the teacher clean the classroom. As a reward, the teacher gave Bennett a box of oil pastels. “It was the first time I realized that I had something a little bit special,” Bennett said of her artistic talents. Bennett graduated from East Noble High School, where she received an art award. “I didn’t want to go to college,” Bennett said. However, after working SEE BENNETT, PAGE A8
KATHRYN BASSETT
Artist Nina Bennett of Auburn has received the Auburn Arts Commission’s Medal of Arts Award. Bennett operates Expressions Gallery in Auburn, where she exhibits not only her own work, but also the work of numerous local artists.