AARON “SNEEZY” SMITH RECAPS annual alumni golf outing, MORE ON PAGE 5
The Garrett Clipper An edition of The
THURSDAY JULY 25, 2013
VOL. 127 ISSUE #59 On the web at: kpcnews.com
75 cents Garrett, Indiana Established in 1885
15 seek Miss Garrett title 52nd annual pageant is Aug. 3
Bridgit Chisholm
Alexis Obenauer
Kiersten Jarnagin
Michaela Scherer
Jacquelyne Zahner
MacKenzie Davis
Katelynn Butler
Jennifer Cleveland
Danielle Conley
Molly Wilhelm
Olivia Ruble
Hayley Hall
Katie Hunkler
Alyssa Patterson
Taya Firestone
NEWS IN BRIEF Jail inmate’s death ruled a suicide FORT WAYNE — A DeKalb County Jail inmate who died Sunday at Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne took his own life, the Allen County Coroner’s Office has ruled. An autopsy on Jessie J. Roby, 26, of Waterloo was performed Tuesday at the Indiana Forensic Center. The autopsy found Roby died from anoxic brain injury due to asphyxia due to hanging, said a news release from the coroner’s office. The manner of death was ruled to be suicide. DeKalb County Sheriff Don Lauer said Roby was found unconscious in a segregation cell at the jail at 11:28 p.m. Saturday. Confinement officers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until EMS personnel and Auburn Fire Department first responders arrived. Roby was transferred to Parkview Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. Roby had been in the jail since June 4, when he was booked on a charge of failing to appear at a court hearing regarding his arson case. On July 3, Roby pleaded guilty to the arson charge and was sentenced to two years in the county jail. With Indiana good-behavior credit, Roby could have been released as early as April 2014. Roby admitted to setting fire to a car in Waterloo in October 2012. In addition to his jail time, he was fined $1 and ordered to pay court costs. Lauer said a confinement officer watching a video monitoring system discovered the suicide. Roby had been moved to a segregation cell within the 24 hours prior to the suicide because of disciplinary issues, Lauer said.
The Garrett Clipper P.O. Box 59 Garrett, IN 46738 Phone: 925-2611 ext. 45 Fax: 925-2625 attn: Garrett Clipper
GARRETT — The 52nd annual Miss Garrett Pageant will be Saturday, Aug. 3 at 8 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center. Fifteen Garrett High School seniors have entered this year’s pageant. They are: • Bridget Chisholm, daughter of John Max and Katie Boardman and Ed Chisholm, She is sponsored by Garrett State Bank and will recite a poem for her talent. • Alexis Obenauer, daughter of Wayne and Randi Wells. Her sponsor is the Garrett Eagles. She will be dancing for her talent. • Kiersten Jarnagin, daughter of Michael and Jamie Jarnagin. Hixson Sand and Gravel is her sponsor. She will sing for her talent. • Michaela Scherer, daughter of Doug and Beth Scherer. Her sponsor is Lila’s Nail Spa. She will be performing a jazz dance for her talent. • Jacquelyne Zahner, daughter of Craig and Mona Zahner. She is sponsored by the Garrett Lions Club and will play the flute for her talent. • MacKenzie Davis, daughter of Tom and Heather Davis. Garrett American Legion Auxiliary
is her sponsor. She will sing for her talent. • Katelynn Butler, daughter of Lissa Butler. Her sponsor is Dr. Mann Family Dentistry. She will paint for her talent. • Jennifer Cleveland, daughter of Steve and Lana Cleveland. Her sponsor is MJS Apparel. She will be dancing for her talent. • Danielle Conley, daughter of Greg and Kay Nickels. Bill Yoder Ford is her sponsor. She will perform a dance for her talent. • Molly Wilhelm, daughter of Tom and Teresa Wilhelm. She will be sponsored by The Hair Shed. Her talent is a jazz dance. • Olivia Ruble, daughter of Scott and Carmen Ruble. Sponsored by Psi Iota Xi Sorority, she will sing for her talent. • Hayley Hall, daughter of Mark and Lee Hall. Her sponsor is the Garrett American Legion. She will sing for her talent. • Katie Hunkler, daughter of Mark and Rhonda Hunkler. Tri Kappa Sorority is her sponsor. She will dance and play the drums for her talent. Pageant, Page 3
Online student registration now open GARRETT — The GarrettKeyser-Butler School District online student registration for the 2013-2014 school year is open. If the enrollment process was not completed in the spring, parents are asked to complete this process now. The system is a secure and green process, which allows the district to verify all student demographic, emergency and medical information for your
child prior to the start of the new school year. The system will also allow you to electronically sign the annual permission forms for school district policies. This online process replaces all the hard copy student registration and permission forms. Letters were sent home to parents in May with instructions on how to access the system for their student.
Parents can also access this information by logging onto the schools website at www.gkb.k12. in.us and clicking on the Registration Tab. Parents of new students should contact the school prior to completing the online registration process. The online registration process must be completed for your student to start school on Aug. 12. For those who do not have
internet access or have questions, the Garrett Learning Center will be open for you complete this process on July 30 from 6-8 p.m. and on July 31 from 10 a.m. to noon and 2-4 p.m. Parents with questions about completing the registration can contact J. E. Ober School at 357-3112, Garrett Middle School Registration, Page 3
GHS students can use sports, activities for credit By Sue Carpenter scarpenter@kpcmedia.com GARRETT — The GarrettKeyser-Butler school board gave its approval Monday to allow activities outside the classroom to count toward physical education courses for high school students. The flex-credit policy would allow students who participate on sports teams, dance and band to earn class credit. Garrett High School Principal Matt Smith said the program was released by the Indiana Department of Education a few years ago, and he only recently found the need to implement it at Garrett. Smith said he researched policies for other schools
throughout the state and asked himself the question, “How does it fit Garrett High School?” Smith presented a compilation of all the pieces to fit toward the class requirements. “This policy puts ownership back on students,” Smith said. “It requires quite a bit of maturity and self-discipline. The flex credit shifts seat time to standards-based performance.” Components require a student to be involved in a physical activity, team sport and skill development or competition. Each participating students will create a Google calendar to share with the class mentor and provide a 3- to 5-page research project
“This program puts ownership back on students — it requires quite a lot of maturity and discipline.” PRINCIPAL MATT SMITH
involving subjects such as sportsmanship, social behavior and rules. A written reflection on the course is also required. A student must describe a significant experience or life lesson learned from
the activity. Students who cannot fulfill the class requirements will be reassigned to standard classrooms, Smith said. Any student who breaks team rules or violates the standards of a sport or activity also must return to standard classrooms. “This program really came to the forefront by a band student,” said Superintendent Dennis Stockdale. “She did research and homework and pointed to band and the rigors of marching.” Stockdale said it started him thinking that if an opportunity came up, he would like to see it Student credits, Page 5
County demands cleanup of abandoned mobile home park By Aaron Organ aorgan@kpcmedia.com AUBURN — The DeKalb County Commissioners on Monday ordered notification to the owners of a badly deteriorated mobile home park demanding action toward cleaning the site. The commissioners, at the urging of building and planning consulting inspector Don Myers, told the department to send a letter to the owner of the Hidden Valley Mobile Home Park — a Virginia-based holding company, ATCF REO Holdings LLC, according to the county assessor’s office. The letter will allow 30 days to act on cleaning the 10.94 acres just east of the county line on S.R. 8. Among the handful of mobile homes still at the site, each is missing exterior and interior walls and stripped
to its frame. Many still have abandoned recliners and mattresses inside. The ground around them is littered in layers of discarded furniture and household items, trash, debris and other materials. Earlier this year, county zoning administrator Clint Knauer told this newspaper that Hidden Valley violates county codes, and said his office had deemed the park a “public environmental nuisance,” due to excessive trash and debris. That tag gave the county grounds to take additional steps to see the property is cleaned should the landowner not fulfill an order. The county now is ready to pursue additional steps. Should the holding company not act on the cleanup order within a month, the commissioners said Monday, the county Park cleanup, Page 3
File photo
Shells of abandoned mobile homes populate the Hidden Valley Mobile Home Park on S.R. 8 west of Garrett.