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SATURDAY
DeKalb 66 Prairie Heights 50
December 29, 2012
Weather Cloudy today, with snow possible. High 27. Low 14. Sunshine on Sunday. High 28. Low 18. Page A5
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Last ditch effort
GOOD MORNING Plane makes emergency landing in Fort Wayne FORT WAYNE (AP) — The director of operations at the Fort Wayne airport says an inspection of an Allegiant Air plane that made an emergency landing there after a fire warning light went on shows no sign of a fire. Craig Williams says a search of the cargo bay Friday night showed no sign of smoke or fire and officials don’t know what caused a cargo fire indicator light to turn on, leading to the emergency landing. Allegiant Air spokeswoman Jessica Wheeler says the flight from South Bend to Punta Gorda, Fla., landed in Fort Wayne shortly before 1:30 p.m. and all 149 passengers and five crew members were safely evacuated.
Chicago logs 500 homicides in 2012 CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy says the city has logged its 500th homicide of the year. McCarthy issued a statement Friday calling the milestone a “tragic number that is reflective of the gang violence and proliferation of illegal guns that have plagued some of our neighborhoods.” The police department went back and forth Friday, first verifying the 500th killing, then backing off and saying an earlier death was still being investigated. By late Friday, police confirmed 40-year-old Nathaniel Jackson had become the 500th homicide victim.
Coming Sunday Top 10 Movies of the Year Movie reviewer Jenny Kobiela-Mondor ranks her favorite movies from the year, and her least favorites. Read her thoughts on Sunday’s C1 and C2.
Info • The Star 118 W. Ninth St. Auburn, IN 46706 Auburn: (260) 925-2611
Index •
Classified........................................B8 Life...................................................A3 Obituaries.......................................A4 Opinion............................................A4 Sports.......................................B1-B3 Weather..........................................A5 TV/Comics.....................................B7 Vol. 100 No. 358
Hntngtn Nrth 51 East Noble 31
Obama ‘optimistic’ about ‘fiscal cliff’ deal after meeting
DAVE KURTZ
Newly elected DeKalb County Commissioner Jackie Rowan of Auburn, left, takes her oath of office from DeKalb Circuit Judge Kirk Carpenter on Friday morning in DeKalb Circuit Court. Rowan’s granddaughter, Rowan Kurtz of Auburn, holds a family Bible for the ceremony. Also
watching are Rowan’s husband, Bob, and grandchildren Jackson Barth and Madison Barth of Auburn. Two other grandchildren, Taylor Barth and Avery Kurtz, both of Auburn, are hidden from view. In the foreground is a 1611 King James Version Bible provided by The Remnant Trust.
County officials take oaths Ceremony features historic 1611 Bible BY DAVE KURTZ dkurtz@kpcnews.net
AUBURN — DeKalb County elected officials touched an icon of history when they were sworn into office Friday morning. Nine office-holders were took their oaths during a ceremony in DeKalb Circuit Court. Some did so while placing their hands on a 401-year-old original version of the King James Bible. Auburn attorney Robert Hardy was able to provide the Bible because he is a board member of The Remnant Trust, which owns it and numerous other historic books. He said the trust makes early and first-edition works of great books available to the public. “We actually let you handle the books, read the books, look at the books,” Hardy said. Newly elected County Commissioner Jackie Rowan, Recorder Katie Firestone and County Councilman Rick Ring took their oaths of office in the 9 a.m. ceremony. Re-elected officials taking their oaths were Superior Court II Judge Monte Brown, Treasurer Holly Albright, County Commissioner Don Grogg and County Council at-large members Larry Moughler, Janet Ordway and Robert Wilder. Two more re-elected officials, Clerk Martha Grimm and Surveyor Mike Kline, took their oaths of office Thursday. Circuit Judge Kirk Carpenter administered the oaths separately for each elected official as friends and family members watched from the gallery. “Please support them after today, also,” Carpenter told the audience. “Some days are extremely difficult, and they have to make extremely difficult decisions from time to time.” After the ceremony, Hardy invited the elected officials and guests to take a closer look at the
WASHINGTON (AP) — The end game at hand, the White House and Senate leaders made a final stab at compromise Friday night to prevent middle-class tax increases from taking effect at the turn of the new year and possibly block sweeping spending cuts as well. “I’m optimistic we may still be able to reach an agreement that can pass both houses in time,” President Barack Obama said at the White House after meeting for more than an hour with top lawmakers from both “Whatever we houses. come up with is Surprisingly, after going to be weeks of postelection gridlock, imperfect.” Senate leaders sounded Harry Reid even more Senate Majority bullish. Leader The Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said he was “hopeful and optimistic” of a deal that could be presented to rank-and-file lawmakers as early as Sunday, a little more than 24 hours before the year-end deadline. Said Majority Leader Harry Reid: “I’m going to do everything I can” to prevent the tax increases and spending cuts that threaten to send the economy into recession. He cautioned, “Whatever we come up with is going to be imperfect.” House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican who has struggled recently with anti-tax rebels inside his own party, said through an aide he would await the results of the talks between the Senate and White House. Under a timetable sketched by congressional aides, any agreement would first go to the Senate for a vote. The House would then be asked to assent, possibly as late as Jan. 2, the f inal full day before a new Congress takes office. Officials said there was a general understanding that any agreement would block scheduled income tax increases for middle class earners while letting rates rise at upper income levels. Democrats said Obama was sticking to his campaign call for increases above $250,000 in annual income, even though in recent negotiations he said he could accept $400,000. The two sides also confronted a divide over estate taxes. Obama favors a higher tax than
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DAVE KURTZ
Auburn attorney Robert Hardy, right, shows a 1611 King James Version Bible to Linda and Robert Wilder F riday morning in DeKalb Circuit Court. A few minutes earlier, Robert Wilder placed his hand on the 401-year-old Bible while taking his oath of office for another four-year term on the DeKalb County Council. Hardy is a board member of The Remnant Trust of Winona Lake, which owns the 401-year-old Bible.
1611 Bible. As a large pulpit edition, its 1,464 pages measure approximately 16 inches tall and 11 inches wide. A public educational foundation based in Winona Lake, the trust owns historic books that focus on the proper function of government, responsibility of citizenship and how to live together in society. Its collection includes The Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence and works by Aristotle, Home, Sir Isaac Newton and Galileo. Hardy said he joined the board of Remnant Trust in 2002 at the invitation of a good friend who also serves on the board.
“They were looking for board members who were younger and have a wide range of experience,” said Hardy, now 42. He is one of only two board members under the age of 50. The board includes several Indiana University graduates. “They were happy to have another IU alum on the board,” Hardy said. The 1611 Bible will be on display at Indiana UniversityPurdue University Fort Wayne for the winter semester. Earlier this week, The Remnant Trust announced a coming display of its books at Trine University in Angola.
SEE EFFORT, PAGE A5
Death penalty weighed in Indianapolis blast INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A decision is expected within six weeks on whether to seek the death penalty against the three people charged with causing the deadly gas explosion that devastated an Indianapolis neighborhood and killed a couple, a prosecutor said. A death penalty review team made up of Marion County prosecutor’s office staffers will review the case and make a recommendation, Prosecutor Terry Curry told The Indianapolis Star for a story Friday. Curry said he
hoped to make that decision before a Feb. 12 court hearing. Last week, homeowner Monserrate Shirley; her boyfriend, Mark B. Leonard Leonard; and his brother, Bob Leonard, were charged with murder, arson and conspiracy counts in the Nov. 10 blast that killed a couple living next to Shirley’s house.
M. Leonard
Curry said he would talk with relatives of the explosion victims — 34-year-old John Dion Longworth and his wife, 36-year-old Jennifer Longworth — before making a
decision. “It is important that we share this with the families,” he said. “They need to know this can be a 12- to 20-year ordeal before they
get closure.” Prosecutors say Shirley and the Leonard brothers deliberately blew up Shirley’s home so they could collect the insurance payout. Shirley The fiery blast destroyed five homes and damaged dozens of others in the Richmond Hill subdivision on the city’s far south side.
SEE BLAST, PAGE A5