YOUTH BASKETBALL, GOD’S MVP boys basketball teams up, MORE ON PAGE 6
The Garrett Clipper An edition of The
NEWS IN BRIEF Annual Democrat JJ dinner set Oct. 26
Garrett plans first Caboose Festival GARRETT — Garrett’s first Caboose Festival is planned Sunday, Oct. 6 from 1-4 p.m. at Heritage Park, located at N. Randolph and West Railroad streets, just north of the Herb Kleeman Underpass. The free family event includes crafts, activities, food and games. Visit the Historical Society Museum from 2-4 p.m. where a collection of railroad and historical memorabilia are on display, including a mail and baggage car, watchman’s shanty, a C&O caboose, gift shop and model railroad layout on the lower level. The event is free and made possible through a grant from the Wyatt Foundation, Garrett Parks & Recreation Authority and the Garrett Historical Society and Model Railroad Club. Volunteers are needed for the event. Visit garrettindiana.us for more information.
Museum photo exhibit deadline is Monday GARRETT — The Garrett Museum of Art, a not-for-profit organization, is currently accepting submissions for “Beauty,” a photography exhibit that will run from Nov. 15 through Dec. 22. This exhibit is a juried competition that will accept any subject matter and style of photography or digital art. The museum’s not-for-profit status prohibits them from promoting work that is overtly sexual. Photograph must not have been previously shown at Garrett Museum of Art. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three finalist. Cash prizes will be based upon participation. Submissions must include an artist statement with one paragraph explaining how the artwork relates to the theme of “Beauty.” Contact information and up to three jpegs no larger than 72 dpi may be sent by email to twstafford. gmoa@yahoo.com A $15 application fee will be charged for up to three photographs. Application fees can be sent by mail, by check or money order made payable to to: GMOA, P,O, Box 29 Garrett, IN 46738 The deadline for all submissions is Monday, Sept. 30, 2013. The museum is located at the corner of King and Randolph streets in downtown Garrett.
The Garrett Clipper P.O. Box 59 Garrett, IN 46738 Phone: 925-2611 ext. 45 Fax: 925-2625 attn: Garrett Clipper
Octavia Lehman
From left are the winners from Monday’s Miss DeKalb County Pageant: Akeisha Meyer of Garrett, talent winner; Kerissa Lockwood of Eastside, first runner-up; and Michaela Scherer of Garrett, second runner-up; Samantha Hunt, Miss DeKalb County 2013; Molly Wilhem of Garrett, third runner-up; and Farrah Wilson of DeKalb, fourth runner-up.
Ball State student wins Miss DeKalb Co. title By Octavia Lehman olehman@kpcmedia.com AUBURN — Being the oldest contestant in the Miss DeKalb County pageant made Samantha Hunt nervous, but her experience helped claim the title of Miss DeKalb County 2013 Monday night. Hunt, a sophomore at Ball State University, competed in the pageant two years ago as a DeKalb High School senior. She finished as second-runner up. “It was a learning experience,” Hunt said of her first pageant in 2011. “Going into this competition I felt so confident,” Hunt said. “I knew everything I wanted to work on, and I felt confident in myself.” Hunt said she wanted to convince judges that she was
“fully committed 100 percent” and that being at Ball State wouldn’t conflict with fair activities. “I’m very organized. My planner is my best friend,” Hunt said. While classes are ongoing at Ball State, she made preparations in advance with her professors. “I plan to be at the fair all week,” she said. “I worked so hard for this. It’s a childhood dream come true.” One of her favorite parts of the DeKalb County Free Fall Fair is walking down its junk food alley. “You see 10 different people you know,” Hunt said. “You feel love that the whole county is coming together.” A double major in apparel design and fashion merchandising, Hunt made her own professional
SEPTEMBER 26, 2013
VOL. 127 ISSUE #77 On the web at: kpcnews.com
75 cents Garrett, Indiana Established in 1885
Altona moves forward in unsafe home hearing
DEKALB COUNTY PAGEANT CONTEST WINNERS
AUBURN — The DeKalb County Democrats annual JJ Dinner will be held Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Garrett County Club, 401 N. Walsh St., Garrett. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz will serve as keynote speaker. Candidate for State Auditor Mike Claytor, Third Congressional district candidate Justin Kuhnle and candidate for Indiana House District 52 Charlie Odier will also be in attendance. Doors will open at 5 p.m. with a social hour and cocktails. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m. Tickets are $30 each, two for $50 or a table of eight for $200. Tickets can be purchased by calling (260) 645-0116, (260) 337-5466, (260) 750-7086, (260) 908-6051 or (260) 837-3281.
THURSDAY
wear attire for the pageant — a two-piece suit. She is a member of the fashion design society at Ball State and in the spring participates in a 12-hour dance marathon benefiting Riley Hospital for Children. For Monday’s talent competition, Hunt performed a traditional Bollywood dance to “Jai Ho,” an Indian song meaning “You are my destiny.” The talent competition was a separate category and did not count for the title of Miss DeKalb County. Hunt also received the Miss Congeniality award Monday night. Hunt will represent DeKalb County in the 2014 Miss Indiana State Fair Pageant in Indianapolis. Twelve women competed in Pageant, Page 5
By Sue Carpenter scarpenter@kpcnews.net ALTONA — More than a dozen residents attended Monday’s public hearing at Altona Town Hall to offer comment on an unsafe structure at 1405 W. Quincy St. Property owner Jerome Grams of Garrett was notified of the meeting but did not attend the session where neighbors complained of racoons and rats living in the home and creeping onto their on properties, and expressed concern about dangerous mold and other health hazards from the home’s disrepair. Grams did not respond to four attempts to notify him of the meeting Monday, but he removed abandoned vehicles on the property a few months ago when notified by officials earlier this year. Monday’s discussion centered around the cost for demolition of the structure, any unpaid city taxes and if the town would be responsible for back taxes should it become an issue. Town board member Chris Seely said consideration has been given to donating the property to Habitat for Humanity once the site has been cleared. “That’s one idea,” Seely said, noting a new house on the lot would help property values in the neighborhood. Town manager Terry Whan said the two story house that has Altona, Page 5
Marching band contests have new class structure INDIANAPOLIS — The 41st annual ISSMA Marching Band season begins Oct. 5 with a new classification structure. A total of 176 Indiana high school marching bands will be participating this season in three classes — Festival, Scholastic and Open. Festival Class is a noncompetitive classification that places a greater emphasis on musical aspects of the performance. Scholastic Class has been created to take into consideration band size as well as school enrollment. Open Class is for bands competing to perform at the state finals in Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, by qualifying through regional and semi-state events. Scholastic and Open class bands will receive educational assessments in the performance and effectiveness of the music and visual aspects of their
shows. All bands, regardless of classification, will receive a gold, silver, bronze or participation ratings based on their levels of achievement. Festival Class events will be held at Columbus East High School and Jackson Field in South Bend on Oct. 5. No bands from the local area are participating in Festival Class. Scholastic Class Prelims, followed by the new Open Class Invitationals, will be held Oct. 12 at Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Plainfield and Jasper high schools. Scholastic Class bands receiving gold ratings at the Scholastic Prelims will perform at the Scholastic Finals, Oct. 26 at Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis. No local bands are participating in Scholastic Class. Four local bands are performing in the Open Class Invitational at Homestead Oct. 12: Eastside in Class
D at 5:30 p.m., Angola in Class C at 6:35 p.m., Garrett in Class C at 6:48 p.m. and DeKalb in Class B at 7:27 p.m. The Oct. 12 invitational does not affect advancement to the regional round one week later Open Class regionals will be held Oct. 19 at Chesterton, Lafayette Jefferson, Center Grove and Evansville Central high schools. In the Open D regional at Lafayette Jefferson High School, Eastside will perform at 11:13 a.m. In the Open C regional at Chesterton, Garrett will perform at 12:31 p.m., and Angola will march at 2:28 p.m. In the Open B regional, also at Lafayette Jefferson, East Noble will compete at 6:35 p.m., and DeKalb will perform at 7:01 p.m. The top 10 Open Class bands at each regional site will participate in the Open Class Semi-states on Oct.
26 at Franklin Community High School (Open D), Decatur Central in Indianapolis (Open C), Pike in Indianapolis (Open B), and Ben Davis in Indianapolis (Open A). Admission at each event is $7 for adults and $5 for students and preschoolers. The 40th anniversary State Marching Band Finals will be Nov. 2 at Lucas Oil Stadium, where four state champion bands will be crowned. Admission for the state finals is $20 for adults and $18 for students and preschoolers. Indiana Dairy Farmers, corporate sponsors of Indiana State School Music Association Inc. events, will present a $1,000 scholarship to a student from each of the four state champion bands. Complete schedules for each Festival, Scholastic Prelims, Open Invitational and Open Regional site are available on the website issma.net.
M & M Pet Grooming moves to larger facility Open house planned Saturday By Sue Carpenter scarpenter@kpcmedia.com ALTONA — M & M Pet Grooming Salon is hosting an open house Saturday at its new location. Mother and daughter team Michelle Weldon and Melia Seely always wanted to own a business of their own, and now that dream has come true. Weldon said she was inspired by a movie she and her husband were watching on a date night — Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez in “Shall We Dance?” “In the movie Gere’s character was really unhappy with his job and wanted to do something different with his life,” Weldon said. ” (Gere’s) wife asked him, ‘What do you want to do with the rest of your life?’ and that just caught (Gere) — and me — off guard.” Weldon had been working as
a nurse for several years, but the strain of lifting patients was causing increased back pain. She recognized lifting as an integral part of the nursing job and began searching for other options. Her daughter was a senior in high school at the time. Weldon asked her what she wanted to do after graduation. “We got to talking and talking about what we liked to do” and as the conversation progressed, animal grooming became the answer, Weldon said. In 2005, Weldon and Seely moved to Carmel for three months to attend the Animal Arts Academy for certification as pet groomers They attended classes four days a week, then returned to Garrett for the weekends. Classmates dubbed the pair “M&M” and the name of the business was born. After completing classes, Pet grooming, Page 5
Sue Carpenter
M & M Pet Grooming Salon in Altona is hosting an open house Saturday at its new, larger location. From left are Melia Seely, Michelle Weldon and Cassidy Weichart.