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FINISHING STRONG
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La Porte volleyball team opens the conference season with a win over Crown Point.
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Friday, August 30, 2013
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The La Porte County
Many memories
La Porte city attorney Don Baugher retires By MATT FRITZ
Staff Writer 1-866-362-2167 Ext. 13887 mfritz@heraldargus.com
La PORTE — While serving one day as an air traffic controller for an Air Force base on the Gulf of Thailand (formerly the Gulf of Siam) during the Vietnam War, Don Baugher was getting frustrated. The phone lines were down and he needed to call headquarters in Bangkok to clear airplanes traveling above 7,000 feet. At age 19, his job was helping run B-52 bombing operations in Vietnam. Checking the line every few moments, he finally heard someone speaking on the other end. So he lost it. “Are you the damned repairman who’s going to fix my phone?� he said. He got an unexpected answer. “This is Gen. Stilwell and I don’t fix phones.� The line went dead. Of course it had to be Gen. Richard G. Stilwell, the commander of U.S. Forces in Korea and the U.S. Army in the Pacific, and Baugher was mortified. But he did get those phones working again. It was one of the many memories that Baugher, a longtime attorney for the city of La Porte, has kept with him through a life that included the prosecution of Mayor A.J. Rumely Jr.’s assassin, successfully heading
Panel will review ‘A-F’ grading system By TOM LoBIANCO Associated Press
Photo by Matt Fritz
Don Baugher and his wife, Angie, by the mayor’s official proclamation for “Don Baugher Day� (left) and a farewell cake. up the election campaign for the first female mayor of La Porte and holding the city attorney position for about 13 years. He officially retired from his position this week. A going away party was held on Thursday, which Mayor Blair Milo proclaimed as “Don Baugher Day.� During an interview in his
City Hall office, Baugher said his original intent was to stay in the military. “The Air Force in those days was a way to get out of town and develop a profession if you didn’t have the money to go to college,� he said. “I was young and I thought I’d make a career out of it, but found out I didn’t have much military
intelligence.� The first day he showed up at Fort Campbell a helicopter went down and killed several people. The incident shook him up quite a bit. So when his four year enlistment was over, he decided to go back to school. Because of his military record, Austin Peay State University in Tennessee was forced to
accept him, despite what he admits was a “dismal� grade point average in high school. He eventually graduated and got his law degree at Indiana University Bloomington. Originally planning to live in Indianapolis, he found out his wife, Angie, was pregnant in 1971, so he decided See BAUGHER, Page A3
A culture of giving back Jack Elia is among those making a difference in La Porte County By JULIE McCLURE For The Herald-Argus
Photo by Julie McClure
G. Thor Thordarson, president/ CEO of IU Health La Porte Hospital, is introduced as a member of the United Way of La Porte County’s Board of Directors at the campaign kickoff on Thursday at Blue Chip Casino.
United Way campaign kicks off By JULIE McCLURE For The Herald-Argus
MICHIGAN CITY — United Way of La Porte County opened its new campaign Thursday morning at Blue Chip Casino, Hotel & Spa with the debut of a new campaign video, an introduction of new campaign chairmen, and a request to the La Porte County community: “Be a part of something bigger than yourself.� The new goal for the campaign is $1,002,013, an ambitious number in that the United Way raised more than $1 million in last year’s campaign, too. But the campaign staff, See KICKOFF, Page A3
MICHIGAN CITY — When you want to know who is “Making a Difference� in Michigan City, and you ask around the community, a name that is always mentioned is Jack Elia, assistant general manager of Blue Chip Casino, Hotel & Spa. You may not know him personally, but sometime, or somewhere, you will have run across his organizational and logistical skills each time you attend one of the lavish and sparkling events Blue Chip hosts throughout the year, many for social service organizations that need the glitz and glamor of the casino to encourage donations to their cause. Elia’s “people� and organizational skills were perhaps never more evident than his work with the Michigan City mayor’s office, police and fire departments and other agencies to welcome the entire community to honor the emergency responders who rescued 6-year-old Nathan Woessner from the Mount Baldy sand dune on July 12. Elia masterfully helped the city put together a program that included the technical aspects of a theatrical production, for a PowerPoint recap of the rescue, food and refreshment for hundreds, security and provided a place to stay for the Woessner family and a refuge for that family when needed. All the time, Elia was in the background, working hard to make
Photo by Julie McClure
Jack Elia, assistant general manager at Blue Chip Casino, Hotel &Spa, is introduced as a United Way board member at the kickoff breakfast for the 2013 campaign Thursday morning at Blue Chip.
INSIDE Today’s “Making a Difference� section, with profiles of community members who are making an impact, is in sections C and D.
sure all had a great experience, taking care of glitches, helping the family and keeping everything on schedule. Lief Erickson, vice president and general manager of Blue Chip, said Elia’s leadership is key to the creation of events that help community organizations in a variety of ways.
“He’s their go-to guy,� Erickson said, smiling. Elia gave the credit to Bill Boyd, co-founder of Boyd Gaming, which owns Blue Chip. “The culture here is being active in the community and giving back to the community,� he said. He explained that the casino isn’t just involved in the big events that many people hear about and attend. They also cook the turkeys for The Salvation Army’s Thanksgiving dinner and work closely with United Way to coordinate donations of clothing, furniture and other items for the less fortunate in the community. Before being interviewed, Elia was listening to new Michigan City Salvation Army director Lt. William Brutto talk about the needs of his agency and how Blue Chip has partnered to help through services, donations and financial support through the United Way. See ELIA, Page A3
INDIANAPOLIS — A panel of teachers, principals and superintendents will be tasked with rewriting Indiana’s school grading system in the wake of a grade-changing scandal that benefited a Republican donor’s school, state leaders announced Thursday. Lawmakers had already tasked the state education department with rewriting the grading formula before an Associated Press report that showed former state education chief Tony Bennett secretly altered the formula last September to benefit the donor’s Indianapolis charter school. Bennett resigned earlier this month from his new job leading Florida schools after the AP published emails he sent in Indiana. Gov. Mike Pence, School Superintendent Glenda Ritz, House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate President Pro Tem David Long signed a joint agreement Wednesday on the makeup of the 17-member panel. Bosma, Long, Pence and Ritz will each get to pick one teacher, one principal, one superintendent and one adviser. Ritz will cochair the panel with one of the other panel members picked by Long, who chairs the General Assembly’s leadership committee. “The Accountability System Review Panel will make recommendations regarding revisions to the school accountability system, and I look forward to working together to create a fair system that families, community stakeholders, teachers and schools can embrace with confidence,� Pence said in a statement Thursday. Bennett resigned from his Florida job a few days after the AP report was published but has maintained he did nothing wrong. The report launched a pair of reviews of the grading system inside the Statehouse, one by the Department of Education and a second requested by Long and Bosma. Local school boards, meanwhile, have begun protesting the grading system. Local superintendents have called for the grades Bennett issued last year to be invalidated, while South Bend and Fort Wayne school leaders have said they will not recognize the grades. Indiana has classified schools based on graduation See GRADES, Page A3
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to look elsewhere. “Indianapolis was not near as attractive if you were trying to raise a family,� he said. “There was a lot of crime and not much growth back then.� So when he found out there was an attorney position open in La Porte, he applied and moved up to Maple City. He never left. He worked under county attorney Frank Lanigan, handling much of the municipal work, such as putting together a $5 million bond issue for the county’s first complex. Then he was offered a position as deputy attorney for the city court, but turned it down under advice from Lanigan that it would teach him “bad law practice.� He ended up accepting an attorney position for felony court. The first jury trial he ever saw was as a prosecutor. It involved the death of a state trooper. Unfortunately for Baugher, the defense attorney was the president of a statewide trial defense association. “I got my butt kicked,� he said. “I probably shouldn’t have presented that case if I had any sense. I felt pretty bad when I lost the case, but I improved.� When La Porte Mayor A.J. Rumely Jr. was assassinated, Baugher became co-council on the case under then La Porte County Prosecuting Attorney Walter Chapala. The mayor had been shot in his bedroom three times by city worker Harold W. Lang, back on Memorial Day, 1982. Rumely died six months later on Thanksgiving Day. His wife died the morning of the shooting. “(The case) was difficult because of the nature and because we were also asking for the death penalty,� Baugher said. “It’s hard to explain a case that has several phases. The prosecution
Elia is also a board member for the United Way of La Porte County. He said it was special for him to help out with the emergency responder tribute on Wednesday, because Woessner’s rescue and survival was miraculous. He focused on the Woessner family while they were here as they were “a little overwhelmed,� he said. Elia made sure there was a room with comfortable accommodations for the family to relax and escape the media, and “we wanted to make sure the kids were taken care of,� which included a special menu of chicken fingers and fries and a run to the deli for ice cream when they needed a break. “When you get a call from the mayor’s office, we are here,� he said. “We believe in what the mayor (Mayor Ron Meer) has done, and is doing in Michigan City.� Elia is on the board of
From Page A1
KICKOFF From Page A1
United Way staff and volunteers and the loaned executives are ready to go. Those attending gave a standing ovation to this year’s campaign video created by Wade Breitzke of 27 Entertainment. Breitzke received state honors for last year’s video and followed last year’s theme of watching an individual explain United Way using the technology of a touch screen and visuals. United Way’s manager of community engagement Dave Sisk said Breitzke’s task was to bring home the United Way message in two minutes, and he accomplished that. The video emphasizes individuals coming together to put the needs of others in front of their own, and doing that by contributing to the United Way. Kris Pate, executive director of United Way of La Porte County, explained that the organization’s work is always centered around “mission.� “Our mission is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community,� she said. She mentioned that the “caring power� she spoke of was evident in the Wednesday ceremonies that honored the emergency responders who saved the life of 6-year-old Nathan Woessner on July 12. “One hundred thirty-eight people came together to save a little boy’s life,� she said. “There is great caring here. Our work is to help mobilize it.� The campaign chairmen for this year’s fundraising effort are Charlie Roberts, assistant vice president at Horizon Bank, and Neil Mangus, director of marketing at Indiana University Health La Porte Hospital. Roberts commented that he loved the new campaign video because it’s about “each day and every day is an opportunity to be more. It encourages me to want to do more, to be more.� Roberts pointed out that
From Page A1
Photo by Matt Fritz
Don Baugher in his office at City Hall in La Porte. puts on its case, the defense claims insanity. It looked like we would have a bad third phase of the trial.� According to Baugher, the suspect pled guilty after the state made all its evidence public and the Rumely family said it would be fine if the prosecution removed the death penalty from the table, which the prosecution did. “That was a case when I learned to deal with less than friendly press called Chicago,� he said. “They were arrogant folks.� His first stint as city attorney came in the ’80s when a formal rival of his, Dennis Smith, became mayor and offered him the job. It was a part-time position and offered insurance to his family, so he took it. “But it always had to have first priority because, if you made a mistake, you were on the front page of the newspaper.� He said there were more state and federal funds for cities back then. But the job was still complicated because he had to have some knowledge of the issues facing the city’s water, wastewater, fire, police and transportation departments. And in those days he had to do most of the work on his own. He later served as attor-
ney for both terms of Mayor Kathy Chroback, was assistant attorney under Mayor Leigh Morri, and has been Mayor Blair Milo’s attorney since she took office in 2012. Chroback said Baugher helped get her elected as the city’s first female mayor when he ran her campaign in the late ’90s. But she said he was also instrumental as attorney in helping the city get the Greater La Porte Economical Development Corporation off the ground to promote area businesses, secure funding to clean up the contamination in the proposed NewPorte Landing development and finally get possession of the train depot property now used for the Greater La Porte Chamber of Commerce. But he also taught her how to act as mayor. “You have a tendency to want to defend yourself (when people confront you at public meetings),� she said. “He taught me you need to listen to what those people are saying. They came to tell you their feelings and their viewpoint and remonstrate. They came there to see you and you need to let them speak.� Milo said working with Baugher has been great, and
utilizing his knowledge of bond issues and redevelopment has been essential. “He’s a consummate professional and great legal man and tremendous resource to the city,� she said, “and I’m very appreciative of the services he provided to the city both in my time and the previous administration.� In contrast to his earlier years under Dennis Smith, Baugher said economic development has become more and more a government issue, requiring much more municipal action than it used to. About why he’s retiring, he said he’s 68, survived a heart attack and just wants to do other things in life, like travel to Alaska, which he’s doing this September. He also wants more time to spend with his two children and six grandchildren, fish and fix up an old car. He will also have more time for woodworking. Baugher said his replacement, Rebecca Meyer, is well qualified. “She’s easy to work with, very bright and dedicated and from La Porte,� he said. “I feel like I’m leaving the city in good hands.�
although last year the campaign raised more than $1 million, it wasn’t enough. “We have a new day, another chance to do more, to raise more money,� he said. “Here we have a vision of a community coming together to make change. And we can’t carry out this vision without you.� He encouraged everyone who attended the kickoff event to tell a friend about United Way and encourage them to become a donor or a volunteer. “Bring in a friend to help a friend,� he said, adding that last year, 2,700 individuals donated money to United Way, in addition to the businesses who also contribute. “I challenge you to make that difference and bring in one more friend ... what a difference we could make,�
he said. Mangus talked about the variety of activities available for those who want to help, from volunteering at United Way’s Day of Caring food distribution to attending United Way’s Gala, “New York, New York� at Blue Chip Casino. Sullair is sponsoring a raffle with a chance to win $10,000. There’s the dodgeball tournament every spring, and this past year’s United Way golf tournament raised $60,000 for the cause. Mangus also mentioned that through a grant from the Indiana Association of United Way, the Lilly Foundation will match dollar for dollar any new donations. Donations made by Dec. 31 will be doubled through a Lilly Endowment Grant to the Indiana Association of United
Ways that gives a dollar-fordollar match for gifts up to $110,000. The Northwest Indiana Young Leaders were honored at the United Way event, and donated $7,000 from their recent Brewer’s Brawl event to be used for the Minds in Motion program. Minds in Motion is a school program that involves activities that focus on balance and visual exercises that have resulted in calmer behavior from students and better math skills. Funds from the Brewer’s Brawl donation will be used to fund that program in area schools.
Follow Matt Fritz on Twitter @matt_fritzHA.
GRADES From Page A1
rates and testing performance since “Public Law 221� was approved in 1999. But Bennett pushed for a new school formula The grades have grown in importance recently, in part with laws shifting money to schools which receive “A�s and setting teacher salary based in
directors for Housing Opportunities, the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce and is working on a special project with the La Porte YMCA. He is also working with Charlie Roberts and the Northwest Indiana Young Professionals on projects, including the recent Brewer’s Brawl which raised money for United Way. And Elia is always working to promote events that help community organizations in Michigan City. He’s looking forward to this year’s United Way gala, “New York, New York� which he says will have some fun surprises, and he wants everyone to support the mayor’s Sept. 20 golf tournament that benefits Essence Rare, a foundation that provides scholarships for Michigan City students. As Elia will say, Blue Chip has a culture of giving back and that’s something Elia tries to do every day, as a part of a team that also embodies that same culture of being actively involved in helping the community. part on how schools are assessed. The grades have also become an important tool for realtors and homebuyers in determining the quality of an area. The state school board, which is appointed by the governor, will have the final say on the new “A-F� rules. But the school superintendent, as Bennett showed, has considerable leeway in how the rule is applied.
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