The News Sun – July 29, 2013

Page 1

MONDAY July 29, 2013

Dedication

Summer Splash

Newman wins

Albion to welcome fountain

Fun event set for Wednesday

Indiana driver claims Brickyard 400

Page A3

Page A2

Page B1

Weather Mostly sunny today. High of 75. Low of 56. Page A6 Kendallville, Indiana

Serving Noble & LaGrange Counties

kpcnews.com

75 cents

Church dealing with crash aftermath GOOD MORNING Differences are small between student loan bills WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is set to go along with a bipartisan Senate compromise that would link college students’ interest rates to the financial markets and offer borrowers lower rates this fall. The Senate bill hews closely to one the House already has passed, and leaders from both parties and in both chambers expect those differences won’t stand in the way of quick resolution, perhaps as early as Wednesday. House approval would send the measure to President Barack Obama, who has said he would sign it into law “right away.” But critics note that if the economy improves as expected, rates could climb higher. If the Republican-led House consents to the Senate’s tinkering with the House’s earlier proposal, and Obama signs the legislation before students start returning to campus, families would see better deals on some federal loans this year than they did in 2012. Undergraduates could borrow at rates as low as 3.4 percent for subsidized Stafford loans and 6.8 percent on unsubsidized Stafford loans last year, while graduate students and parents borrowed at 7.9 percent last year. Those 3.4 percent rates doubled on July 1 because Congress did not act.

Ex-Congresswoman Boggs dies at 97 WASHINGTON (AP) — Lindy Boggs, a Democratic Party leader from Louisiana, died July 27 at her home in Chevy Chase. She was 97. Boggs’ charm and political acumen helped her husband, Hale Boggs, rise to U.S. House majority leader, and who launched her own congressional and diplomatic career after his disappearance in an airplane crash, The death was confirmed by a daughter, broadcast journalist Cokie Roberts, who said the cause of death was not immediately known.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indianapolis church mourned their youth pastor, his pregnant wife and a congregation member Sunday after the three died when their bus returning from a northern Michigan camp overturned a mile from home. Saturday’s accident devastated members of Colonial Hills Baptist Church, who had been anticipating a joyful homecoming with the 37 people aboard the bus. The crash killed youth pastor Chad Phelps;

his pregnant piano-teacher wife, Courtney Phelps; and chaperone Tonya Weindorf, deacon Jeff Leffew said. The crash, which happened Saturday afternoon near Interstate 465, injured dozens. Seven teens remained hospitalized Sunday, including one in critical condition. Bus driver Dennis Maurer, a 68-year-old member of the congregation, told authorities that the brakes failed before the churchowned vehicle struck a raised

concrete median and flipped on its side, Indianapolis metro police said. Chad Phelps, the son of the church’s senior pastor, and his wife were both in their mid-20s, Leffew said, and were expecting their second child next month. Chad Phelps had become youth pastor at Colonial Hills late last year, he said. ” … We’re going to have a long road, but God is good,” Leffew said Sunday during a news

conference. The Phelpses’ first child, Chase, nearly 2 years old, was among the injured. He was treated and released from a hospital Saturday, IU Health spokeswoman Sally Winter said. Authorities are still investigating the crash. The bus was nearly finished with a 365-mile journey, overturning just a mile from the church, where parents were waiting to pick up their SEE INDY, PAGE A6

Peace talks to resume

CHAD KLINE

Steve Kramer stands in the basement of his Kendallville home with sports memorabilia related to his father, Norm. Norm Kramer played

minor-league baseball for six seasons and was a scout for 33 years for the Philadelphia Phillies.

In his father’s base path Kendallville’s Kramer followed dad’s baseball success BY JAMES TEW jtew@kpcmedia.com

KENDALLVILLE — Walk down into Steve Kramer’s basement, and you’ll see a sign that says “Man Cave.” There is the requisite big-screen TV and couch, and sports memorabilia on the walls. But Kramer’s sports collection is more than a show of support for his favorite teams — it’s a tribute to his father, Norm. Born in Tell City in southern Indiana in 1924, Norm Kramer excelled in basketball and baseball at that city’s high school before he headed off to serve in World War II. “His brothers were already in the war, and he wanted to join them,” Steve said. When the war ended, Norm signed a contract with baseball’s St. Louis Browns. He pitched for several minor-league teams, including the Durham (N.C.) Bulls

NEIGHBORS NOBLE

COUNTY

of “Bull Durham” fame, before arm injuries ended his career in 1951. With only 16 major-league teams at the time, many of the minor-league teams were comparable to today’s major-league teams, Steve said. “My dad always said that he was born 50 years too soon. The competition was a lot harder, and fewer players made the big leagues,” Steve said. In the off-seasons Norm had attended Butler University, playing basketball for the Bulldogs. Eventually he began a career in teaching and coaching both baseball and basketball. Norm was coaching baseball

Video: The Man Cave Steve Kramer shows some of the sports memorabilia related to his father Norm in video at kpcnews.com. Scan the QR code to watch the video on your tablet or smartphone.

at Southwestern High School in Shelbyville when legendary scout Tony Lucadello of the Philadelphia Phillies asked him if he would be interested in working as a scout. “Tony knew he had played professional baseball and thought that would be an advantage with scouting,” Steve said. Norm began scouting for the Phillies in 1961 while continuing to teach and coach. Steve said SEE KRAMER, PAGE A6

JERUSALEM (AP) — The U.S. on Sunday announced the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks following years of stalemate, after Israel’s Cabinet agreed to release 104 Palestinian prisoners convicted of deadly attacks. The return to direct contacts between the sides gave U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry his first concrete achievement after months of shuttle diplomacy. The U.S. said preliminary talks would begin today, but it remains unclear whether they will lead to a formal resumption of peace talks that broke down in 2008. Despite a return to the table, neither side appeared upbeat. Each has blamed the other for the lack of success in 20 years of negotiations interrupted by bouts of violence. Earlier Sunday, the Israeli Cabinet voted 13-7, with two abstentions, to approve in principle the release of 104 Palestinian prisoners. The release is a key part of the Kerry-brokered deal to restart peace talks. The State Department said Kerry called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after the Cabinet vote and invited them to send teams to Washington. State Department spokeswoman Jan Psaki said the teams would meet today and Tuesday to “develop a procedural plan for how the parties can proceed with the negotiations in the coming months.” Talks on a final peace deal are to last six to nine months. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and Abbas aide Mohammed Shtayyeh will represent the Palestinians, and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and adviser Yitzhak Molcho will attend for Israel.

ONLINE VIDEOS Check out the latest KPC Media Group videos kpcnews.com Multimedia > Video

Info • The News Sun P.O. Box 39, 102 N. Main St. Kendallville, IN 46755 Telephone: (260) 347-0400 Fax: (260) 347-2693 Classifieds: (toll free) (877) 791-7877 Circulation: (260) 347-0400 or (800) 717-4679

Index

Classifieds.................................B7-B8 Life..................................................... A5 Obituaries......................................... A4 Opinion .............................................B4 Sports.........................................B1-B3 Weather............................................ A6 TV/Comics .......................................B6 Vol. 104 No. 207

Many ankle bracelet alarms go unchecked FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Three decades after they were introduced as a crime-fighting tool, electronic ankle bracelets used to track an offender’s whereabouts have proliferated so much that officials are struggling to handle an avalanche of monitoring alerts that are often nothing more sinister than a dead battery, lost satellite contact or someone arriving home late from work. Amid all that white noise, alarms are going unchecked, sometimes on defendants now accused of new crimes. Some agencies don’t have clear protocols on how to handle the multitude of alerts, or don’t always follow them. At times, officials took days to act, if they noticed at all, when criminals tampered with their bracelets or broke a curfew. “I think the perception … is that these people are being watched 24 hours a day by someone in a command center. That’s just not happening,” said Rob Bains, director of court services for Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit Court, which

A look at electronic monitoring in Indiana

AP

Deputy Edward Schinkal attaches an electronic monitoring unit to a woman who was sentenced to home incarceration, in Cincinnati. At least 100,000 sex offenders, parolees and people free on bail or probation now wear ankle bracelets that can sound an alarm if they leave home without permission, fail to show up for work or linger near a playground or school.

this spring halted its monitoring programs after two people on the devices were accused in separate shootings.

At least 100,000 sex offenders, parolees and people free on bail or probation wear ankle SEE ALARMS, PAGE A6

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — THE OFFENDERS: Electronic monitoring in Indiana is used primarily to track sex offenders who are on parole, according to the Department of Correction. In addition to the state agency, other entities across the state also provide electronic monitoring of offenders, including county probation departments. This sampling included the state agency alone. THE NUMBERS: The state had 299 paroled sex offenders on GPS monitoring across the state in April. Those offenders triggered 618 alerts for actions such as tampering with the device, entering excluded SEE INDIANA, PAGE A6


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.