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Serving the Steuben County 101 lakes area since 1857
University receives grant for new doctoral program Page A2
Weather Cloudy skies today, with several inches of snow expected. High 29. Page A8 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2012
Angola, Indiana
Winter storm possible today
GOOD MORNING Fremont sets special meeting Friday FREMONT — The Fremont Town Council will hold a special meeting Friday at 9 a.m. to conduct end of the year business. Items on the agenda include discussion on the purchase of a building, the comprehensive plan contract with Zionsville consultant Ground Rules and the possible purchase of a skid steer. The meeting will be held at the town hall, 205 N. Tolford St.
BY MIKE MARTURELLO mikem@kpcnews.net
Carnegie to hold story time events ANGOLA — The Carnegie Public Library of Steuben County will have the following upcoming events for children: • After school creative art is at 3:45 p.m. Jan. 8 for children kindergarten age on up. The class is free and no registration is needed. • Family story time will be held Jan. 10 at 6:30 p.m. with a story, songs, craft and snack. Free and no registration is needed. • Winter story time will take place Jan. 7-Feb. 21 with times for 2- and 3-yearolds Monday and Wednesday at 10 a.m. Toddler story time for ages 12-24 months will be held Tuesday at 10 a.m. Preschool story time will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday and 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Thursday. The library is at 332 S. Wayne St. Registration is by phone, in person or through the library’s online calendar. For more details, call 665-3362, ext. 25.
TV-lovers say ‘goodbye’ to Klugman, Durning What a couple of mugs, sporting less-than-perfect physiques in the bargain. But was there anything lovelier than Jack Klugman or Charles Durning doing what they did for an audience? Klugman and Durning both of died Monday.
READ MORE ON PAGE A5
GAS PRICES Find the lowest area gas prices online kpcnews.com More > Gas Prices
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Classified ............................................B5-B8 Life ..............................................................A6 Obituaries ..................................................A4 Opinion........................................................A3 Sports ..................................................B1-B3 Weather......................................................A8 TV/Comics ................................................B4 Vol. 155 No. 355
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JENNIFER DECKER
Debra Giffin, her family and friends prepare to give their Christmas cookie baskets to the needy in the Fremont community on Christmas Eve.
Taking part are, back, from left, Cassie Kinney, Joey Giffin, Rick Giffin and Debra Giffin; front, Lindsay Jackson and Savannah Kinney.
A sweet holiday treat Family distributes cookie baskets on Christmas Eve BY JENNIFER DECKER jdecker@kpcnews.net
FREMONT — As part of a good deed with preparation beginning in October, a Fremont family braved Christmas Eve’s frigid temperatures to distribute brightly decorated cookie baskets to the less fortunate. Debra Giffin and her family gave out their sweet baskets as part of a family tradition of the last 18 years in different areas. In prior years, Giffin has distributed the cookie baskets in Angola, Garrett and Fort Wayne. This was the first time she distributed them in Fremont, her hometown. Some of the recipients were moved to tears by the Giffins’ generosity. Others hugged all the family members in gratitude. “I stand with you in (food pantry) lines,” Giffin told recipients. Giffin said she knows what it’s like to receive food from pantries. She has been there when she had a kidney transplant and needed help. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done,” Giffin said. “I’ve been in the place of needing.” The baskets contain cookies and fudge. Recipients are also given a coupon for milk at Fremont Village Foods. Giffin said it’s only natural since milk goes with
JENNIFER DECKER
A cookie basket recipient shows how much she appreciates her Christmas gift from Debra Giffin and her family on Christmas Eve.
cookies. It’s also a staple Giffin said people never receive at food pantries. “We take a lot of time and care,” she said. “Baking starts in October and we fill three freezers with cookies. If you package the cookies in the freezer, it works well.” Giffin has kept a count of all the cookies and fudge she’s given away. “During baking this year, I hit my 40,000th cookie and 8,000th piece of fudge,” she said. “One of the things we sacrifice is our warmth. We package the cookies and put them in the freezer. We package them in the cold so the y
don’t thaw out.” Giffin has help with the cookie assembly line, decorating and distribution from her husband, Rick Giffin; Cassandra Kinney, a family friend; granddaughters Savannah and Hannah; and her sister-in-law, Mandy Sanderson. Debra said Rick usually sacrifices supper while the project is under way. “He paints baskets and financially, he’s the backer,” she said. “I started this as a bonding experience with Maggie (her daughter),” Debra said. “As time went on, we incorporated it into
The elections have produced a true system of checks and balances in the federal government, but those checks and balances have Stutzman created an atmosphere of contention, he said. “There is really a huge difference in philosophy,” Stutzman said. Stutzman did point to a pair of accomplishments that have come through, including this week’s House vote on a defense spending bill that would leave the A-10 Warthog Air Guard squadron operating out of its base in F ort Wayne. “The A-10 is a great machine for ground support,” Stutzman said. “I’m very optimistic the A10s are going to stay.” Stutzman said keeping Air Guard units viable not only provides jobs to the area, but is also a cost-effective option for
funding the country’s defense. Stutzman also has been heavily involved in the Veterans Administration Hospital in Fort Wayne. The hospital has had its share of problems, including some units being closed, but Stutzman has been spending a lot of time resolving issues to keep the hospital serving as many veterans as possible. He has taken his concerns to the VA, an agency that hasn’t always been as transparent as he would like, he said. “We’re pushing them to get better answers,” Stutzman said. Stutzman also said he is proud of his work with outgoing U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana, on the farm bill that is still awaiting passage. According to the congressman, his office has helped constituents in 1,600 cases during the last tw o years, greasing the government wheels on such issues as Social Security and disability benefits. “We have a great staff that works hard on constituent services,” Stutzman said.
The National Weather Service is predicting a winter storm for Indiana, with the northeast Indiana area just catching the northernmost back edge of the event. Snow was forecast to begin late Christmas night and continue throughout the day Wednesday, the NWS is predicting. DeKalb County is under a winter storm warning, while LaGrange, Noble and Steuben counties are under a less-threatening winter storm watch. A winter storm warning means significant amounts of snow, sleet and ice are expected or occurring. A winter storm watch means there is a potential for significant snow, sleet or ice accumulations that may impact travel. Snow accumulations of 5-7 inches are expected in the DeKalb County area, while LaGrange, Noble and Steuben counties in the watch area could see 2-5 inches of snow by late Wednesday, the NWS said. “A half of a foot or more of snow will alone clog roads and severely disrupt travel and daily routines, but gusty winds will worsen the situation by blowing and drifting the snow around,” said Kristina Pydynowski, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather, which provides weather information for KPC Media Group’s website, kpcnews.com. Because northeast Indiana is on the back edge of the storm, the severity of its impact is not completely known. “Some uncertainty still remains regarding the exact track of this storm, which will influence storm total accumulations,” the NWS said. Indianapolis is in a band that could receive up to a foot of sno w, Pydynowski said. DeKalb County is on the extreme western edge of this band. Northeast to north winds will
SEE STORM, PAGE A8
Trine to host part of The Stutzman reflects on year of gridlock Remnant collection BY MATT GETTS mattg@kpcnews.net
It was a year of contention in Washington, D.C. Republicans controlled the House of Representatives. Democrats controlled both the U.S. Senate and the White House. As the end result, other than a lot of saber-rattling, not much was accomplished, according to U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Howe. Stutzman spoke about the year that was in an interview this week, six weeks after he handily defeated Democratic challenger Kevin Boyd in the November general election. “Washington has not done a lot,” Stutzman said. “There are simply two different philosophies in Washington. There’s gridlock.” Stutzman pointed to the first election of Democrat Barack Obama as president in 2008. In 2010, voters gave control of the House of Representatives to Republicans. In the last November’s election, voters kept Obama as president, but also retained a conservative House of Representatives.
SEE COOKIES, PAGE A2
ANGOLA — More than 50 manuscripts, first-edition books and early works on the topics of human dignity and individual liberty from The Remnant Trust will be on loan to Trine University in fall 2013. The rare finds — including “Fables of Aesop” by Aesop published in 1692, a Gutenberg Bible leaf from 1455, a Koran from 1734, essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson from 1841 and “The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection” by Charles Darwin published in 1883 — will be available for students and visitors to view and to read, courtesy of The Remnant Trust based in Winona Lake. The growing collection of more than 1,200 works was started nearly than 15 years ago by Brian Bex, an Indiana University graduate and longtime political commentator.
SEE TRUST, PAGE A7