INSIDE THIS ISSUE Business & Professional ...........................................A7 Camp Times................................................................A6 Classifieds .................................................................A13 Community Calendar.........................................A14-15 Easter Worship...........................................................A2 Healthy Times...........................................................A10 Serving New Haven & East Allen County
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FWDailyNews.com
March 15, 2013
East Allen seeks new schools chief By Garth Snow gsnow@kpcnews.net
Mayor says New Haven prospers by teamwork By Garth Snow gsnow@kpcnews.net
East Allen County Schools will operate without an interim superintendent, at least through the school year. School Board Vice President Christopher T. Baker read a prepared statement to that effect at the March 5 board meeting. The decision follows the exit of Karyle Green, whose last day on the job was March 1. Green, who had joined East Allen in 2009, notified the board on Jan. 8 that she planned to leave the post no later than the expiration of her contract, which was good through June 2014. At a special meeting Feb. 25, the board announced that Green would leave March 1. The board and Green agreed to a severance payment of $196,125.87, plus other amounts such as unused vacation days, teachers retirement fund, and vehicle allowance. Pay will be issued according to East Allen’s regular payroll schedule, in 35 installments from March 15, 2013, to June 30, 2014. If Green takes other work before July 1, 2014, her benefits from East Allen would be reduced or eliminated. Green also signed a supplemental release agreement, waiving other legal action. Board President Neil Reynolds and Board Secretary Stephen Terry signed both agreements on behalf of the board. In the statement read March 5, the board pledged to conduct “a search that is as open and transparent as possible,” and to include input from
Photo by Garth Snow
Kirby Stahly, left, the East Allen County Schools assistant superintendent of instruction, talks with school board members William Hartman and Terry Jo Lightfoot after the March 5 board meeting. The board has begun the search for a replacement for Superintendent Karyle Green, whose last day in the office was March 1. the staff, parents, students and community. “The board plans to take its time with this process in order to find the best candidate to lead the school district,” the board said in the statement. “Rather than adhering to a strict time line, we have set some time frames during which we would like to see things happen. Our goal is to have a superintendent in place for the 2013-2014 school year.” The board decided against appointing an interim superintendent. “East Allen County Schools has an exceptional and dedicated staff in place, and we are confident in their abilities to get us through the remainder of the school year,” the board said in a statement. “Then, at the end of the school year, we will
re-evaluate the need of an interim superintendent, based on where we are with our superintendent search.” The board will meet with the service staff and central administration staff at 5:30 p.m. March 19, before the 6:30 p.m. regular board meeting. Board members will hold meetings with the community and parents in each attendance area, at 6 p.m. March 21. The board also pledged to develop a web survey to gather input from teachers, support staff, administrators, parents and students. The schedule calls for the board to begin screening applicants and conducting background checks in May, begin interviewing candidates in June, and hire a new superintendent in midsummer.
New Haven Mayor Terry E. McDonald both applauded and challenged his city on Monday. McDonald delivered the 2013 State of the City address before the New Haven Chamber of Commerce, meeting at The Orchid Reception Hall. He credited teamwork for the city’s advances in recent years. That cooperation is important at both the community and the regional levels, he said. He told city council members, other elected officials, and chamber members and guests that summarizing the city’s progress is a simple task. “It’s because of all the great people that we work with on a daily basis, all of you, and the wonderful citizens of our community,” McDonald said. “New Haven has come a very, very long way, and the only way that we have come so far is by teamwork. Citizens, business owners, city employees, administration, elected officials, all working for one common cause, a better, brighter and more successful New Haven.”
“If you want to see New Haven prosper, if you want to see the city continue to be a family- and Courtesy photo businessMcDonald friendly community, a city that holds the past in deep regard, but is not stuck there, if you want to be part of that, it is available to you,” he said. McDonald listed the city’s investments in infrastructure. He commended private jobs expansion, and said more jobs will be created in the year ahead. “This is New Haven’s time,” he said. “We are working hard every day with Team New Haven, with our partners in local government, with the partners of our region and the mayors and commissioners of our region, with our economic development team. As a community, there is a new energy in New Haven. We are part of a great movement in northeastern Indiana. We are at the table. Our voice is being heard. We are making a difference. And we are on the map.”
New Haven Farmers Market Agriculture teacher prepares moves to Wednesday nights students for changing industry By Garth Snow By Garth Snow
gsnow@kpcnews.net
gsnow@kpcnews.net
Times Community Publications
See MARKET, Page A12
Courtesy photo
Graber Farms was a vendor at the 2012 New Haven Farmers Market. This year’s markets will be Wednesday evenings at Schnelker Park.
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The New Haven Farmers Market will move to Wednesday evenings this summer. The market will remain at Schnelker Park, 956 Park Ave. Market hours will be 4-7 p.m. each Wednesday, from June 19 through Oct. 16. Jodi Leamon, the director of nature education for New Haven Parks, said the market will continue to foster the family atmosphere that surrounded the market on Thursday nights during its first season, in 2012. Also new this season, New Haven is partnering with the Fort Wayne Farmers Market to create more outlets for participating vendors and more opportunities for shoppers. “We have a beautiful gazebo in
“Agriculture is something that is constantly changing,” according to Heritage High School agriculture teacher Mike Shirey. “It’s not like we can do the same things we did 24 years ago. We can build upon those things, but it is definitely a changing world.” Shirey said today’s Heritage agriculture program, too, is more complex than the program he joined 24 years ago. Students are preparing not just for the small percentage of farming jobs, but also for the wider variety of food industry jobs, he said. “Farming is about 2 percent of our society,” he said, “and more like 20 to 25 percent of our society is going to be involved in some sort of agriculture, whether it’s food processing or working as an engineer to John Deere,
Photo by Garth Snow
Mike Shirey, a Heritage High School agriculture teacher, says up to 25 percent of tomorrow’s jobs will be related to agriculture. developing precision planting using GPS, things of that nature. So it’s a lot more than just cows, plows and sows.” “We have some challenges coming up,” Shirey said. “We have to double output by 2050. And so we are trying to do our part to help prepare the kids to produce the food and fiber that we need.” That evolution will require more emphasis on biotechnology, engineering crop varieties that will
produce during drought or during wet years. Better water management and irrigation will be crucial, Shirey said. “I think that’s a big part of the discussion, especially after last summer’s drought.” “So we have a variety and diversity of classes,” he said. Courses include landscaping, agriculture woodworking, animal science, horticulture, farm business management, See SHIREY, Page A5