Serving the Steuben County 101 lakes area since 1857
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Weather Mostly sunny today. High 75. Tonight, partly cloudy. Low 53. Page B8 Angola, Indiana
GOOD MORNING Auburn man dies from crash injuries FORT WAYNE — An Auburn man died late Friday afternoon at Parkview Regional Medical Center from injuries he sustained in a vehicle crash Wednesday on Interstate 69, north of Dupont Road. Lloyd E. Myers, 84, suffered multiple blunt-force injuries in the crash at Myers 9:40 a. m. Wednesday, the Allen County coroner’s office said. A news release said investigators do not know if he was wearing safety restraints. The incident remains under investigation by the Allen County Police Department and the coroner’s office. Police said Myers had pulled his pickup truck onto the right shoulder of I-69 southbound, north of the Hursh Road overpass. He then attempted to enter the main lane to get back into the flow of traffic, but another car hit his truck. An obituary for Mr. Myers appears on page A4 of today’s edition.
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kpcnews.com
SUNDAY, AUGUST 4, 2013
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Hog farm meeting focus BY JENNIFER DECKER jdecker@kpcmedia.com
ANGOLA —A proposed 4,800-head confined animal feeding operation for hogs has drawn concerns from miles around in the last few months. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is hoping to address those concerns at a public meeting from 5-8 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 22, at the Steuben Community Center, 317 S. Wayne St. Keith Werner, owner of K and D Contract Pork LLC, Angola, is proposing the CAFO on a 60-acre parcel. Approval is needed from
IDEM. The parcel is located at C.R. 200N and C.R. 600W.
additional information is required by the state.
What the meeting will entail
Werner’s plan
Barry Sneed, IDEM public information officer, said the meeting will be held to address concerns with the proposed CAFO. “It’s an informational meeting to see the plans for the farm, where it’s located, what IDEM does by statute. It’s more of an open house style,” Sneed said. Sneed said the state has 90 days to make a decision on the CAFO. That time frame is adjusted if
Werner did not return a call to The Herald Republican Thursday. A third-generation farmer, he said in a June he wants to be a good neighbor. Werner currently lives on a farm one mile south of the proposed CAFO. “I hope people understand I’m not out to destroy stuff and when we’re done, we will not go away,” Werner said. He emphasized he has no intention of not following IDEM
Ashley-Hudson Festival
Contact Us •
SEE HOG FARM, PAGE A6
Fremont, Angola gear up for National Night Out BY JENNIFER DECKER jdecker@kpcmedia.com
Churubusco man dies in LaOtto crash LAOTTO — One man was killed and a woman was injured in a head-on crash just outside LaOtto Saturday afternoon, DeKalb County Police reported. Thomas E. Schultis, 73, of Churubusco, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Elizabeth L. Freeman, 53, of the 11300 block of East S.R. 205, LaOtto, was flown by Samaritan to Parkview Regional Medical Center with a leg injury. The crash happened at 4:46 p.m. at S.R. 3 and S.R. 205. Police said Schultis was driving a 1998 Mercury passenger car eastbound, and Freeman was driving a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado west on S.R. 205. Both vehicles were just west of S.R. 3 when Schultis drove left of center, striking Freeman’s vehicle head-on, police said.
regulations, and does not have a disregard for the environment or his neighbors. IDEM officials said they received Werner’s permit application June 19, and the agency’s staff now has 90 days to make a decision. Though that deadline will now change, as IDEM needs additional information. Werner said he does have a manure management program and fully intends to control runoff as a livestock farmer. Werner’s petition said he plans to create an underfloor manure pit with a 380-day storage capacity. The
DAVE KURTZ
A vintage fire truck carries a champion baseball team in the Ashley-Hudson Festival parade
Saturday morning.
Grand marshal, 93, enjoys ride BY DAVE KURTZ dkurtz@kpcmedia.com
ASHLEY — At 93 years of age, Clyde McEntarfer of Ashley still rides a lawn mower on a regular basis. Saturday, he got a faster set of wheels. A sleek, new Corvette convertible carried McEntarfer down the main streets of Ashley and Hudson as grand marshal of the towns’ annual festival parade. The Corvette’s chauffeur gave him a taste of its horsepower, throwing him back in his seat, he said. As for the rest of the ride as grand marshal, “That was quite an honor,” he said. “I never thought I’d ever be that.” McEntarfer’s main mode of
transportation in summer is a 60-inch, zero-turning-radius lawn mower. He has “three good-paying jobs” mowing lawns, he said, and he does his McEntarfer neighbors’ lawns for gasoline money. In his full-time working days, McEntarfer rode heavy construction equipment. He served with an engineers unit in the Army, building bridges and airports. He served in the Battle of the Bulge in Europe during World War II and was called up again during the Korean Conflict, but went to Europe for a second tour.
Born in Ashley, he moved back to a home just north of town in the 1950s and settled in town in 1970 at a home he still occupies. He raised two daughters, Patricia Brown of Waterloo and Pam Myers of Spencerville. Now, grandson Aaron Myers lives with McEntarfer. Together, they attend tractor pulls, and McEntarfer won a trophy driving in a competition last year. Relaxing in a beer tent in downtown Ashley after the parade, McEntarfer credited his longevity to “a beer a day,” or occasionally something stronger. He said he leaves the ladies alone, but “I get a lot of kisses and hugs” — including a big one from his whole community on Saturday.
National Night Out is Tuesday, and plans are in the works in Fremont and Angola to raise awareness with community gatherings. National Night Out has been held annually since 1984 and is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch in the United States. It serves as a chance for citizens, law enforcement, businesses and neighborhood organizations to gather and usually have a barbecue. The event is meant to increase awareness about police programs in communities, such as drug prevention, town watches, neighborhood watches and other anti-crime efforts. The Fremont Neighborhood Crime Watch Organization will gather Tuesday at the Fremont Community Center, 601 N. Coldwater St., from 5-9 p.m. with a cookout and neighborhood walk, rain or shine. “We really need businesses involved with this project. This helps to keep crime down,” said Carol Mercer, FNCWO spokesperson. Mercer said the town is getting youth involved from the new Firehouse Youth Center by having a poster-making contest for the event. The posters will be SEE NIGHT OUT, PAGE A6
The Herald Republican 45 S. Public Square Angola, IN 46703 Phone: (260) 665-3117 Fax: (260) 665-2322 Classifieds: (toll free) (877) 791-7877 Circulation: (800) 717-4679
Index • Classified.............................................. D5-D6 Life................................................................ C1 Obituaries.....................................................A4 Opinion ........................................................B6 Business ......................................................B8 Sports.................................................... B1-B5 Weather.......................................................B8 Vol. 156 No. 213
No rush to expunge criminal records BY MATT GETTS mgetts@kpcmedia.com
When a state new law allowing people to clear their criminal records took effect July 1, Steuben County Circuit Court Judge Allen Wheat said he expected a mad dash to the courthouse by people seeking to do just that. The rush hasn’t happened. At least not yet. Wheat said he has not had even a single case come before him regarding the new law. “I’m somewhat surprised at that,” Wheat said. “That just hasn’t happened — at least in the circuit court.” The new law allows people who have been convicted of certain misdemeanor and felony
crimes to have their records cleared, as long as specified waiting periods have elapsed. A person who has had a record expunged could claim on a job application that he or she has not been convicted of a felony, a key benefit to the law, officials have said (see related story). Under most circumstances, the law doesn’t allow for the forgiveness of sex crimes, crimes involving serious bodily injury and those committed by elected officials. One attorney estimated the cost of an expungement to range from $750 to $1,000 for attorney fees, with the higher amount required SEE RECORD, PAGE A6
Employment spurs law change BY MATT GETTS mgetts@kpcmedia.com
The lone pending expungement request in LaGrange County is a good example of how the new legislation should be used, according to that county’s prosecuting attorney. A man who was convicted in the mid 1970s of a theft is the process of preparing a petition to have that conviction expunged, or cleared, from his criminal record. Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Wible said it’s the
type of case he thinks the new law was created to handle. The Indiana General Assembly’s House Enrolled Act 1482 became law on July 1. It allows for misdemeanor and felony convictions to be expunged, as long as certain criteria are met. Area court officers said the intent of the legislation is to allow people looking for jobs to be able to say they do not have felony convictions on their SEE EMPLOYMENT, PAGE A6