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August 4, 2013
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Kendallville, Indiana
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No rush to expunge criminal records GOOD MORNING 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. DeKalb County Police were assisted by Indiana State Police, Garrett Fire Department, LaOtto Fire Department, a Samaritan helicopter and DeKalb Central Communications.
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
ALBION — A fire Friday afternoon damaged a maintenance building and its contents at Camp Lutherhaven, southwest of Albion, the camp said on its Facebook page. No one was harmed by the fire that broke out in a maintenance building near the camp office, the Facebook page said. The page said the damaged items are replaceable, and the camp will be able to remain open for its final week of summer camp sessions, beginning today.
DR. GAFF ON FACEBOOK Read more from Dr. Terry Gaff facebook.com/DrTerryGaff
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
Inside • Classified.............................................. D5-D6 Life................................................................ C1 Obituaries.....................................................A4 Opinion .........................................................A6 Business ......................................................B8 Sports.................................................... B1-B5 Weather.......................................................B8 Vol. 104 No. 213
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
SEE RECORD, PAGE A6
Jobs lack quality WASHINGTON (AP) — The 162,000 jobs the economy added in July were a disappointment. The quality of the jobs was even worse. A disproportionate number of the added jobs were part-time or low-paying — or both. Part-time work accounted for more than 65 percent of the positions employers added in July. Low-paying retailers, restaurants and bars supplied more than half July’s job gain. “You’re getting jobs added, but they might not be the best-quality job,” says John Canally, an economist with LPL Financial in Boston. So far this year, low-paying industries have provided 61 percent of the nation’s job growth, even though these industries represent just 39 percent of overall
PHOTOS BY TANYA KRIDER
Camp Lutherhaven fire causes damage
Employment spurs law change
Kid City draws a crowd Above, Jasmine, age 1 1/2, daughter of Janika Stringfellow of Albion, admires the animals at the Noble County Humane Society booth at Kid City, Saturday at the Noble County Fairgrounds in Kendallville. At right, Delilah, 5, daughter of Mandey and Robert Rouse of Ligonier tries an activity at the Noble County Public Library booth during Kid City. An estimated 6,000 people attended the annual event Saturday at the Noble County Fairgrounds in Kendallville. “It went really smoothly,” said Becky Calhoun, director of KidCity. “The weather was perfect. We had fewer booths, but they were very engaging booths, and the kids were very involved.”
SEE JOBS, PAGE A6
Burned dog gets second chance BY PATRICK REDMOND predmond@kpcmedia.com
LAGRANGE — For a young, injured dog, roaming through a rural LaGrange County neighborhood, the day she was cornered and captured by residents worried about her health might be the second luckiest day of her life. Her best day has to be a couple of months later, when she was adopted by her new “forever” family in Ohio. The three-month-old lab/poodle mix was found running free this spring in a small community just north of Howe. According to Ark sanctuary director Brian Cochran, neighbors realized the dog was badly injured, suffering with mysterious patches of missing fur. Fearing for the dog’s life, they managed to corner the young puppy and coax her into a travel cage. Thinking the LaGrange animal sanctuary would charge them a fee to rescue the dog, the neighbors then collected $40 from friends and family to pay that supposed fee, said Cochran. “There’s no fee. They told us they often saw the pup running around their neighborhood, and
that one day it was fine, but the next, it looked like it had been to hell and back,” Cochran explained. “She had chemical burns on her stomach, on all four feet, on her ears, her mouth and around her eyes,” he added. The dog also was covered in mud, Cochran said, which the pup may have done to herself, trying to reduce her pain. She was missing large patches of fur where the chemicals had burned through to her skin, including two large patches around her eyes. “She’s just lucky she wasn’t blinded,” Cochran said. The dog was rushed to the LaGrange Veterinarian Clinic for treatment. She was quickly cleaned up, her wounds cleaned, and she was given medication to help control her pain and antibiotics to prevent infections. The staff at the shelter was given topical ointments to gently rub on her burned skin to help her heal. She also was given a name: French Fry. But this story, like so many stories at the Ark Animal Sanctuary, does have a happy SEE DOG, PAGE A6
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
The Conway family of Whitehouse, Ohio, gathers around the newest member of their family, a labradoodle they found at the Ark Animal Sanctuary in LaGrange. The dog was badly burned when it arrived at the shelter and was nursed back to the health by the Ark staff.