➤ DEKALB GIRLS EDGE PAST Lady Railroaders in Friday game, MORE ON PAGE 6 ➤
The Garrett Clipper An edition of The
MONDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2012
VOL. 126 ISSUE #93 On the web at: kpcnews.com
75 cents Garrett, Indiana Established in 1885
School can’t confirm suicide pact Parent meeting is tonight in PAC GARRETT — School officials cannot substantiate rumors of a suicide pact at Garrett Middle School, the superintendent of Garrett-Keyser-Butler schools said Thursday. NewsChannel 15, our news partner, said several parents expressed concern about a suicide
NEWS IN BRIEF
pact in messages to the station. Their children told the parents that in the rumored pact, a different child each week would pledge to attempt suicide, continuing until Christmas break. Stockdale confirmed that two students recently attempted suicide, but they survived and are
receiving appropriate help, NewsChannel 15 reported. Stockdale released a formal statement about the situation Thursday: “Recently, we received reports about a possible suicide pact among a few students at Garrett Middle School. We are conducting an ongoing investigation and have interviewed over 30 students and
parents. To this date, we are unable to substantiate the rumor of a suicide pact. However, we take these rumors seriously and will continue to investigate any information we receive about possible harm to students. We are working with local law enforcement and counselors from the Northeastern Center regarding this issue. I encourage anyone with
Program assists GED students
SPELL TEAM FOURTH AT STATE
City meetings planned this week GARRETT — The Garrett Redevelopment Commission will meet today at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall. The Garrett Board of Public Works and Safety will meet Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. Agenda items include the swearing-in of new police officer Bret Gage. The Garrett Common Council will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. Agenda items include: • A report from Timothy Wall of Herceg and Assoc. regarding City Hall improvements; • the second and third reading of an ordinance providing residential access by city officials for the water utility department; • the first reading of an ordinance prohibiting parking during certain hours on certain streets; and • the second and third reading of an ordinance amending fixed wages and salaries for police and fire department for year 2012.
Holiday Boutique returns to Garrett Museum of Art GARRETT — The Garrett Museum of Art with Mary Thiel will present the second annual Holiday Boutique from Friday, Nov. 23 to Sunday, Dec. 23. A variety of work from local artists and craftsmen will be available for purchase. Featured products are pottery, paintings, woodcarvings, stained glass and jewelry. Shopping hours will be Fridays from 5-8 p.m., Saturdays from 4-7 p.m. and Sundays from 1-4 p.m. Special shopping hours for groups can be arranged with Teresa Stafford at 442-7605.
Christmas Parade of Lights planned GARRETT — Garrett’s sixth Christmas Parade of Lights will be Friday, Nov. 23, in downtown Garrett. Sponsored by the Garrett Chamber of Commerce and the DeKalb County Horsemen’s Association, draft horse teams will pull decorated wagons from Warfield Street to downtown Garrett. Their expected arrival downtown will be at about 6 p.m. Downtown businesses including restaurants will be open during the event. The community is invited to celebrate the holiday season with the parade of gentle giants and beautiful floats and lights. The parade route follows East Warfield to Randolph Street through downtown.
Sue Carpenter
Garret t High Sc hool’s spell bow l t eam f inished 4 t h out of 1 0 t eams in c lass 3 in the Nov. 10 Indiana Academic Spell Bowl State Finals at Purdue University in West Lafayette. East Noble’s spell team finished 5th in class 1 and 11th overall. Garrett and East Noble were the only two northeast Indiana schools in the state finals. Competition was divided into three classes based on student enrollment with class 1 the largest and class 3 the smallest schools. Each class had 10 schools in the competition. Ten spellers from each team spell nine words. Garrett spellers, in front from left, include Cassie Smith, Jacquelyne Zahner, Ben Jacobsen, Victoria Stone, Alyssa Patterson and Stephanie Moore, In back are Courtney Castator, Alexis Doster, coach Jonelle Furnish, Julie Thorne, Ty Debes and Alexa Davis.
County vote centers could be coming soon BY KATHRYN BASSETT kathrynb@kpcnews.net Seated in her office, surrounded by voting machines, precinct election reports and other documents from this month’s general election, DeKalb County Clerk Marty Grimm is passionate about one thing. “It’s our civic duty and right to vote,” she said. “If we can make it Grimm easier, I think it will be better.” That’s why Grimm plans to revisit the idea of vote centers early in 2013. Vote centers give voters more flexibility on Election Day, because they permit a registered
person to vote anywhere in the county instead of at traditional precinct voting places. Vote centers are connected through secure Internet connections, and as ballots are cast, an electronic poll book is instantaneously updated. Grimm and others who support vote centers say they make it more convenient for people to get to polling places on Election Day and also will save money. Opponents believe anyone who has further to travel to the polling place will be less likely to vote. Noble County Clerk-elect Shelley Mawhorter said she will make vote centers a focus when she takes office in January. She hopes that if all things come together, vote centers could be in use in 2014. Because there are no elections in 2013, that would be a good year
information to please contact the school or local law enforcement.” A parent who spoke to NewsChannel 15 criticized school officials for being to slow to inform parents about the situation. A meeting is planned tonight at 6 p.m.in the Performing Arts center to brief parents about the “unfounded rumor,” Stockdale said.
for training and purchasing any necessary equipment, Mawhorter added. Although the Noble County Election Board has not yet voted on whether to go to vote centers, the county council has included $40,000 in next year’s election budget to buy software for vote centers, Mawhorter said. Vote centers require unanimous approval of the county’s election board. LaGrange County Clerk Bonnie Brown said she is “very eager” to begin looking into vote centers and plans to seek approval of the county council and commissioners to form a study committee early next year. LaGrange County’s 14 precincts were staffed by 70 poll workers ➤Vote centers, Page 5
By Sue Carpenter suec@kpcnews.net GARRETT — A new program through SCAN, Inc. and WorkOne Northeast will help those wishing to complete their high school education plus gain tuition assistance. Be Someone Now is a free program geared for ages 16-21 years who dropped out of high school and are seeking a GED and college or job training. In addition to working toward a GED, students attend a three-hour session once a week at the Garrett Learning Center for students in Noble and DeKalb counties. Sessions are also offered in other counties on a weekly basis. Participants will earn $2,500 in tuition assistance, a laptop/notebook computer, tutoring, job placement, help with short-term goals in education and employment, door prizes, gift cards, mentors and a jobshadowing experience. To learn more about the program, go to www.scaninc.org and click the “Be Someone Now” link and complete the form, phone the Garrett Learning Center at 357-6216, or email scuster@gkb.k12.in.us or gmyers@gkb.k12.in.us.
AfterProm fundraiser raffle in progress GARRETT — The Garrett High School After Prom Committee is holding a Christmas fundraiser through Dec. 14. This year, three prizes will be given away — first prize is an Apple iPad mini; second prize is a $100 Visa gift card; and third prize is a $50 gas card. Tickets are available at the three school offices and in the superintendent’s for a cost of 3 for $5. The winning tickets will be drawn at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14 in the superintendent’s office. All proceeds will benefit the 2013 After Prom Event.
VETERANS DAY COLOR GUARD
Food drive, Thanksgiving service set Tuesday
Santa to visit Friday GARRETT — Santa Claus will arrive by fire truck in downtown Garrett Friday at 11 a.m. He will greet children at the Silver Screen Cinema. Children are asked to bring non-perishable food items for the food pantry.
The Garrett Clipper P.O. Box 59 Garrett, IN 46738 Phone: 925-2611 ext. 45 Fax: 925-2625 attn: Garrett Clipper
Sue Carpenter
This color guard from Boy Scout Troop 178 carried in the flags during a Veterans Day program at Garrett Middle School last week. From left are Avery Morrison, Alex King, JW Custer, Logan Brewer and Josh Blessinger.
GARRETT — A community wide “Fill the Trailer” food drive and Thanksgiving service are planned Tuesday, Nov. 20 at Miller’s Merry Manor in Garrett. From noon to 8 p.m., muchneeded nonperishable food and toiletry donations can be dropped off in a trailer in Miller’s parking lot for the Community Care Food Pantry. A community Thanksgiving service will be in Miller’s dining room facility at 6:30 p.m. A “chalk-talk” message will be presented by a local artist. All are invited to attend.