Football Scoreboard
SATURDAY
Eastside Garrett
August 24, 2013
Weather Mostly sunny today. High 82. Low 58. A mix of sun and clouds Sunday. High 87. Low 64. Page A7
The
46 22
Mshwka Mrian 44 DeKalb 7
East Noble Northrop
43 14
Angola West Noble
Star
Auburn, Indiana
16 13
Lakeland 27 Prairie Heights 12
Serving DeKalb County since 1871 75 cents
kpcnews.com
Showgirl lawyers cite Supreme Court GOOD MORNING Radioactive groundwater in Japan nears ocean TOKYO (AP) — Deep beneath Fukushima’s crippled nuclear power station, a massive underground reservoir of contaminated water that began spilling from the plant’s reactors after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami has been creeping slowly toward the Pacific. Now, 2 1/2 years later, experts fear it is about to reach the ocean and greatly worsen what is fast becoming a new crisis at Fukushima: the inability to contain vast quantities of radioactive water. The looming crisis is potentially far greater than the discovery earlier this week of a leak from a tank that stores contaminated water used to cool the reactor cores. That 80,000-gallon leak is the fifth and most serious from a tank since the March 2011 disaster, when three of the plant’s reactors melted down after a huge earthquake and tsunami knocked out the plant’s power and cooling functions. But experts believe the underground seepage from the reactor and turbine building area is much bigger and possibly more radioactive, confronting the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., with an invisible, chronic problem and few viable solutions.
Compare case to voting rights ruling BY MIKE MARTURELLO mmarturello@kpcmedia.com
ANGOLA — The landmark case that struck down the Voting Rights Act of 1965 just two months ago is being cited in a federal suit pitting Fort Wayne strip club owner Alva Butler against the city of Angola. In a pleading before the U.S. Federal District Court, South Bend and Indianapolis, attorneys for Showgirl owner Butler argued that the city’s justification for enacting
sexually oriented business regulations is based on studies that were out of date. The city’s attorneys have argued that secondary ill effects justify a municipality in regulating sexually oriented businesses. Older legislation is why the U.S. Supreme Court in June struck down one key provision of the Voting Rights Act, saying the laws were out of date and inapplicable to the standards of today. Writing for Butler, attorney
Matthew Hoffer said, “like an ordinance regulating erotic speech, it was necessary for the VRA to serve a current governmental interest. … However, the Court was troubled by the fact that ‘[c]overage today is based on decades-old data and eradicated practices.’” Hoffer’s pleading is part of a document filed Wednesday in response to the city’s motion for summary judgment against Butler, which was filed last month. In its motion, Angola’s attorneys argue that the city was justified in enacting ordinances
Soldier faces death penalty for rampage STAR FILE PHOTO
Some 70 bicyclists ranging in age from 3 to 72 rode in the first Le Tour D’Kalb on Oct. 20, 2011, at Auburn’s Rieke Park. In front, from left, are riders Josiah Young, Marcus Smith, Melinda
BY OCTAVIA LEHMAN olehman@kpcnews.net
Repurposing Fair
New fair in Auburn will bring vintage pieces back to life. Read about the event on Sunday’s C1 and C2.
SEE SHOWGIRL, PAGE A7
Guilty in Fort Hood deaths Smith and Tyler Young. In back, from left, are Kelly Getts, Susan Zuber, Aidan Smith and Chris Clear. The second Tour DeKalb is planned for Sept. 7, beginning on Ninth Street in Auburn.
Tour DeKalb ready for return Coming Sunday
regulating sexually oriented businesses and changing zoning for where such businesses can be located. In March, Butler sued the city, claiming that in trying to open a sexually oriented business, his constitutional rights were violated. The case is expected to come to a head Oct. 25, when oral arguments on motions filed in the case are heard in South Bend. Butler claims when he purchased the former Slider’s Grill and Bar building at 310 W. Wendell Jacob Ave. on Aug. 9, it met Angola’s
AUBURN — After a one-year hiatus, Tour DeKalb is back again with a new focus: family friendly. In 2011, the inaugural Le Tour D’Kalb Bike Ride was held at Rieke Park with more than 70 participants. “The first year was fantastic,” said event organizer Jeremiah Otis. “We had a great turnout.” However, Otis said he hoped more families would have participated in the bike ride.
This time around, Otis said he’s targeting families specifically. New to the event is a separate ride for families — a 6.5-mile ride through the streets of Auburn. Otis said the ride is designed for families and groups. “Grandma and grandpa can take the grandchildren,” he said. The registration fee of $15 includes two adults and the children accompanying them. “We want to keep the cost low for families,” Otis said. Tour DeKalb is planned for
Sept. 7, starting on Ninth Street between Jackson and Main streets. The event is sponsored by the Broken Spokes Bicycle Club of Waterloo and DeKalb County Trails. The family bike ride begins at 10 a.m. on Ninth Street and will follow routes through town including the Rieke Park Trail and the interurban trail between Auburn and Waterloo. Otis said maps of the routes SEE TOUR, PAGE A7
FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — A military jury on Friday convicted Maj. Nidal Hasan in the deadly 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, making the Army psychiatrist eligible for the death penalty in the shocking assault against American troops by one of their own on home soil. There was never any doubt that Hasan was the gunman. He acknowledged to the jury that he was the one who pulled the trigger on fellow soldiers as they prepared to deploy overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan. And he barely defended himself during a three-week trial. The unanimous decision on all 13 counts of premeditated murder made Hasan eligible for execution in the sentencing phase that begins Monday. Hasan, who said he acted to protect Muslim insurgents abroad from American aggression, did not SEE GUILTY, PAGE A7
Clip and Save Find $132 in coupon savings in Sunday’s newspaper.
Info • The Star 118 W. Ninth St. Auburn, IN 46706 Auburn: (260) 925-2611 Fax: (260) 925-2625 Classifieds: (toll free) (877) 791-7877 Circulation: (toll free) (800) 717-4679
Index
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Classifieds.................................B7-B8 Life..................................................... A3 Obituaries......................................... A4 Opinion ............................................. A5 Sports.........................................B1-B3 Weather............................................ A7 TV/Comics .......................................B6 Vol. 101 No. 233
Princely baby gift earns royal thanks BY AARON ORGAN aorgan@kpcmedia.com
AUBURN — Mary Petre just started crocheting. Then the Betz Nursing Home resident crocheted some more, making granny squares from odd balls of yarn she had around. As she got more yarn of more colors, she crocheted even more granny squares, eventually crocheting them each together. Petre crocheted for no real reason other than she enjoys crocheting, even in spite of her lingering arthritis. Weeks later, Petre’s project had been fashioned into a baby blanket — one that, even with the edges of the blanket finished with a common color, took her aback with its every-color-in-the-rainbow design. “I thought, boy, that’s wild,” she said. “Nobody would want
that, I don’t know why I even made it.” Around the time Petre eventually finished her “coat of many colors,” as it became known due to its wide array of hues, an ocean away, England’s Prince William and his wife Catherine were welcoming a new son — Prince George. And every baby needs a blanket. Petre was chatting a friend in England when the idea entered her mind to gift the blanket to the young prince, so she set out to learn how — or even if (“I’m a farm gal, I don’t believe in nothin’,” she explained.) — it could be done. To ship the blanket to Buckingham Palace in London, England, Petre was quoted upwards of $200, endangering the SEE ROYAL, PAGE A7
AARON ORGAN
Mary Petre of Auburn crocheted a baby blanket, and following an instinct, sent it the British royal family upon the birth of new Prince George last month. Two weeks later, Petre received a letter from Buckingham Palace thanking her for the gift, accompanied by a portrait of Prince William and Catherine, holding their infant Prince George.