TUESDAY August 27, 2013
Ligonier
Burglary
Council endorses pay raises
Colts Need Luck
Three charged in Cromwell
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Indy QB needs to stay healthy
Page A2
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Weather Cloudy with a chance of rain today. Hot, high of 90. Low tonight 73. Page A6 Kendallville, Indiana
Serving Noble & LaGrange Counties
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Moose Lake rezoning petition withdrawn GOOD MORNING Vehicle reportedly ends up on its top KENDALLVILLE — City and county police, Kendallville firefighters and Noble County EMS were dispatched at about 10:30 p.m. Monday to a report of a vehicle on its top at Rimmel and Angling roads northwest of Kendallville. No further information was available late Monday night.
BY BOB BRALEY bbraley@kpcmedia.com
ALBION — A request to rezone a property from A1 Agricultural to VM Village Mix was withdrawn Monday before it could be considered by the Noble County commissioners. Michael Yoder, the attorney representing Raccoon Ridge, Key Largo Realty and property owners Doug and Kimberly Jennings, informed the commissioners the petition was being withdrawn just before the meeting opened. The petition asked commis-
sioners to rezone property at 11330 E. C.R. 500S to allow a village with people re-enacting 1800s life and crafts, along with related shops. They would have been associated with a bed-and-breakfast and small lake on the property. Following a hearing last week with more than 90 people attending, the Noble County Plan Commission made a neutral recommendation to the commissioners for the requested zoning change. Also Monday, the commis-
sioners: • gave unanimous permission for Black Pine Animal Sanctuary to build a building with a value of more than $50,000 on the site the sanctuary leases from the county. The family of W. Paul Wolfe has pledged funds to Black Pine to build a welcome center at its entrance, Black Pine executive director Lori Gagen said. The center at the park’s public entry point will include a gift shop, meeting room for staff and volunteers, and possibly a counter area with a few conces-
Info •
PATRICK REDMOND
An emergency medical technician tends to George Vanscoyk of Sturgis, Mich., right, while a LaGrange County deputy sheriff talks with Erin Wood of LaGrange. Both drivers were injured in a Monday-morning crash on U.S. 20 just west
of LaGrange. Vanscoyk was taken to Parkview LaGrange Hospital to be treated for facial cuts, while Wood was treated at the scene for pain. Four vehicles were involved in the crash.
Five hurt in four-vehicle crash LAGRANGE — Four cars were scattered over about 50 yards of U.S. 20 on LaGrange’s western edge early Monday after a chain-reaction crash that injured five people, sending three to the hospital. The accident occurred shortly after 7 a.m. and closed the state highway in both directions for more than an hour. A report from the LaGrange
County Sheriff’s Department said George Vanscoyk, 51, Sturgis, Mich., was driving east on U.S. 20, about a quarter-mile west of South Townline Road, when he crossed the center line and collided with a westbound van driven by Royer P. Allman Jr., 61, of LaGrange. Allman then lost control of his vehicle, swerved and stuck an a
Index
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Classifieds.................................B6-B8 Life..................................................... A5 Obituaries......................................... A4 Opinion .............................................B4 Sports.........................................B1-B3 Weather............................................ A6 TV/Comics .......................................B5 Vol. 104 No. 236
third vehicle, a westbound van driven by Michelle Dininny, 32, of LaGrange. After the second collision, Allman’s van rolled onto its top and came to rest in the eastbound lane. After his initial collision, the left front wheel of Vanscoyk’s vehicle collapsed and pushed his vehicle into oncoming traffic in SEE FIVE HURT, PAGE A6
Six injured in two-vehicle crash BY BOB BRALEY bbraley@kpcmedia.com
AVILLA — Six people were injured in a two-vehicle collision Sunday evening, the Noble County Sheriff’s Department said. Jacquelyn M. Inman, 19, of Churubusco was driving on C.R. 100S in a 2005 Chevy at about 7:22 p.m. when she failed to yield the right-of-way and pulled onto S.R. 3 in the path of a northbound 1993 Ford driven by Tammy L. Ferguson, 46, of Albion, police said. The Ford struck the Chevy broadside. Inman and four passengers in her vehicle were injured, as was a
passenger in the Ford. Inman had pain in her lower arm and was transported by Noble County EMS to Parkview Regional Medical Center at Fort Wayne. One of Inman’s passengers, Robert A. Alvarado, 18, of Kendallville, had an incapacitating head injury. He was transported to a hospital by Noble County EMS. Another of Inman’s passengers, Brandon J. Knapp, 16, of Kendallville, had pain in his upper right leg. He also was transported by Noble County EMS to Parkview Regional.
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
SEE PETITION, PAGE A6
Battle to find proof
LaOtto to get Village Post Office today LAOTTO — LaOtto will be the location of the 51st Village Post Office in the Greater Indiana District starting today. The Village Post Office will open at the LaOtto Marathon, 6467 Merchants Drive, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. An open house will follow from 11 a.m. to noon. While most of LaOtto’s residences are in Noble County, the Village Post Office will be in the town’s commercial park in DeKalb County. LaOtto Marathon owner Adam Dager feels he’s ideally placed for a Village Post Office, he said in a news release. “We’re the only gas station and convenience store in town, and our customers will now be able to pick up a book of stamps and postal products when they stop in for milk and bread. They will also be able to drop off their mail here,” Dager said. “I’m also hoping it will bring an increase in traffic to the store.” The store is open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. The new postal center will be opened by New Haven Postmaster Lisa Curlin. Several U.S. Postal Service and local officials will be present at the event. In 2011, the Postal Service introduced the Village Post Office model as an alternate retail location for postal products and services, especially in rural communities. Village Post Offices are operated by local businesses contracting with the Postal Service and offer a range of postal products and services.
sions, Gagen said. It would be a one-story, conventionally built structure. Black Pine has had about 11,500 visitors so far this season, Gagen said. Visitors have come from 19 states and five countries. Visitorship is up about 20 percent over last year, she said. Black Pine is on land in the Noble County 4-H Park. The exotic animal sanctuary leases the land from 4-H, which leases the park from the county. • permitted Noble County
Inman’s two remaining passengers suffered injuries that didn’t require immediate medical attention, police said. Austin P. Morace, 14, of Kendallville suffered minor bleeding from the face. Ricky D. Morace, 16, of Kendallville complained of pain in the area of his right hip. Tina A. Shultz, 48, of Albion, a passenger in the Ford, complained of shoulder pain. Her injury didn’t require immediate medical attention, police said. No other injuries were reported. Damage was estimated at $10,001-$25,000.
U.N. experts collect samples, testimony of chemical attack DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — U.N. experts collected samples and testimony from Syrian doctors and victims of an alleged chemical weapons attack Monday following a treacherous journey through government and rebel-held territory, where their convoy was hit by snipers. As U.S. officials said there was very little doubt that Syria used chemical weapons and Western powers stepped up calls for swift military action, President Bashar Assad’s government vowed to defend itself against any international attack, warning that such an intervention would ignite turmoil across the region. It also would bring the U.S. closer to a conflict that has killed more than 100,000 people since Assad cracked down on Arab Spring-inspired protesters in March 2011. Syria’s civil war has been increasingly defined by sectarian killings between the Sunni-led rebellion and Assad’s regime, dominated by Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. It would essentially pit the U.S. and regional allies Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar in a proxy war against Iran, which is providing weapons to the Syrian government’s counterinsurgency, along with Hezbollah, the militant Lebanese group that also has aided Assad’s forces militarily. SEE SYRIA, PAGE A6
LaGrange County John Deere dealership building new location LAGRANGE — The new home of Fillmore Equipment is quickly taking shape as steel girders start to frame in a building for the Howe-based John Deere dealer. The new building and a surrounding lot are expected to be completed by the middle of January, said a company spokesman. Fillmore Equipment will be moving its LaGrange County location three miles down S.R. 9 from its current Howe facility, relocating on the east side of the highway at the intersection
of C.R. 300N. Ken Timmerman, co-owner of the business, said the Howe facility has served his company well, but farm machinery simply has outgrown the operation, making the new and bigger building and lot necessary. “Back when we started, 4and 6-row planters were pretty common. Nowadays, we sell 16and 24-row planters. They take up a lot of space,” Timmerman said. Even brand-new equipment SEE DEALERSHIP, PAGE A6
PATRICK REDMOND
Steel girders started going up this month on Fillmore Equipment’s new facility just north of LaGrange on S.R. 9. The Howe John Deere dealer will be moving to its new LaGrange County home early next year when the building is completed.