TUESDAY August 20, 2013
‘I Love a Piano’ Page A2 Local cast rehearsing for musical
Baseball Page B1 Reds take down Diamondbacks
Weather Partly cloudy today. High 86. Low 66. Some clouds Wednesday. High 87. Low 67. Page A6
GOOD MORNING Seifert rates high in state fair pageant INDIANAPOLIS — DeKalb County Fair Queen 2012 Madison Seifert finished as second runner-up in the Indiana State Fair Queen Pageant Sunday. “I’m very honored and Seifert blessed to received the award, and to represent my county,” Seifert said. Seifert will begin her freshman year at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne next week. She is attending IPFW through the Chapman Scholars Program, a full-ride, merit based scholarship. She plans to study business. Seifert has competed in the Miss America organization for the past four years and is a former Miss Northeast’s Outstanding Teen titleholder. She is the daughter of Jay and Sarah Seifert of Auburn. The Indiana State Fair Queen Pageant is a three-day competition during the final week of the state fair. A total of 87 contestants competed in this year’s pageant. The title went to Alyssa Garnett of Pulaski County. Emily Robertson of Cass County was named first runner-up.
Youth for Christ seeks auction items AUBURN — Youth for Christ is collecting items for its upcoming benefit auction scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 7, at 10 a.m. at the Youth for Christ Center, 1600 S. Grandstaff Drive, Auburn. Donations of new and/ or slightly used items with a value $25 or more are being accepted at the Grandstaff location. All donations will be sold Sept. 7, with the funds to be used toward fall Campus Life programs for junior high and high school students in the four-county area. Anyone who has questions about a possible donation or wishes to see a current list may call 925-1058 or visit the website yfcweb.com.
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Unemployment rates getting better FROM STAFF REPORTS
INDIANAPOLIS — Unemployment rates improved slightly throughout the four-county area in July, said data released Monday by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. LaGrange County saw the largest change, falling to 7.2 percent in July from the revised June figure of 7.6 percent. Noble County’s unemployment rate dropped 0.3 percentage points to 8.4 percent in July. DeKalb and Steuben counties
each saw 0.2 percentage-point drops, with DeKalb County’s unemployment rate falling to 8.4 percent and Steuben County’s falling to 8.5 percent. Steuben County’s unemployment rate tied for 34th highest in the monthly ranking of the state’s 92 counties. The labor force increased in July for all of the four counties except LaGrange. In Allen County, the labor force dropped by nearly 1,000 in July, as that county’s unemployment
rate rose from 8.3 to 8.6 percent. The statewide unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.4 percent despite the fourth month in a row of job growth in the private sector, the DWD said. Ellen Cutter, director with the Community Research Institute at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, said while there was some improvement, unemployment for the region actually increased. “Despite some positive SEE UNEMPLOYMENT, PAGE A6
Meet Miss Indiana
Unemployment rates In percentages COUNTY JULY 2013 DeKalb 8.4 LaGrange 7.2 Noble 8.4 Steuben 8.5 Allen 8.6 Elkhart 8.5 Indiana* 8.4 U.S.* 7.4
JUNE 2013 8.6 7.6 8.7 8.7 8.3 8.6 8.4 7.6
JULY 2012 9.0 8.0 9.1 8.8 8.3 9.5 8.4 8.2
*seasonally adjusted SOURCE: INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Exleader could walk Court ruling raises possibility of release for Hosni Mubarak
Thomas said. “When you feel confident and secure with who you are and strong mentally, then you’re prepared in all other areas.” But she is not ignoring the physical side of the competition. “I’ve been working out. I’ve been running a lot and continuing to eat right,” she said. However, she has indulged in a little of her favorite ice cream and one of the cookies at Monday’s reception. “I would not be a happy person if I could not take a bite of that cookie tonight,” she said.
CAIRO (AP) — A court ruling Monday raised the possibility of jailed ex-president Hosni Mubarak walking free soon, a move that would fuel the unrest roiling the country after the autocratic leader’s successor was removed in a military coup. Underscoring the growing anger over Mohammed Morsi’s ouster, suspected Islamic militants ambushed two minibuses carrying off-duty policemen in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, forcing the men to lie on the sand and shooting 25 of them dead. “They were marked in advance by the attackers,” said Ashraf Abdullah, who heads the police branch the victims belonged to. He said the assailants checked the IDs of the men, who were not in uniform, to ensure they were policemen before opening fire. The brazen daylight attack raised fears that the strategic desert region bordering Israel and the Gaza Strip could be plunged into a full-fledged insurgency. The 25 slain police officers were given a funeral with full military honors presided over by Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim, who is in charge of the police, and the army’s chief of staff, Gen. Sedki Sobhi. In a show of solidarity, the men’s coffins, draped in red, white and black Egyptian flags, were jointly carried by army soldiers and policemen, and interim President Adly Mansour declared a nationwide state of mourning to mark their deaths.
SEE MISS INDIANA, PAGE A6
SEE LEADER, PAGE A8
DAVE KURTZ
Miss Indiana Terrin Thomas of Auburn signs an autograph for Judy Werkheiser, right, of Garrett
Monday evening while Thomas’ grandmother, Jeri Hixson, watches.
Miss Indiana’s back home Miss America contestant gets local sendoff BY DAVE KURTZ dkurtz@kpcmedia.com
WATERLOO — Her hometown and high school gave Miss Indiana Terrin Thomas of Auburn a sendoff Monday night, as she heads toward the Miss America pageant. Friends, relatives, former teachers and classmates greeted Thomas at a reception in the lobby of DeKalb High School, where she graduated in 2011. The school’s show choir came to sing “Back Home Again in Indiana” to Thomas, who was a member of the choir only two years ago. Thomas will compete for the title of Miss America during the week of Sept. 10-15 in Atlantic City, N.J. Twenty family members will travel to Atlantic
City to support Thomas from the audience. Thomas has learned her schedule for the week. She will begin with an interview by judges Tuesday morning, Sept. 10, and compete in swimwear and evening gown that night. “My gown is top-secret,” she said. Wednesday night, Sept. 11, she will compete in the talent category, singing the same song she chose for the Miss Indiana pageant, “I’m Afraid This Must Be Love.” “That big-band jazz song — it’s really classy” and fits well with Atlantic City, Thomas said. In the final preliminary round, Thomas will answer a question on stage Thursday night, Sept. 12. The finals of the pageant will be broadcast live on the ABC television network Sunday, Sept. 15, at 9 p.m. Thomas, 21, has been working toward the competition since she won the title of Miss Indiana on June 22 in Zionsville. “I really believe in the mental aspect of preparing yourself,”
“When you feel confident and secure with who you are and strong mentally, then you’re prepared in all other areas.” Terrin Thomas Miss Indiana
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Index
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Classifieds.................................B6-B8 Life..................................................... A5 Obituaries......................................... A4 Opinion .............................................B4 Sports.........................................B1-B3 Weather............................................ A6 TV/Comics .......................................B5 Vol. 101 No. 229
Commissioners plan discussion of C.R. 75 bridge BY AARON ORGAN aorgan@kpcmedia.com
AUBURN — DeKalb County leaders want to discuss the proposed removal of a badly aged, historic iron truss bridge over the CSX railroad tracks on C.R. 75 with the residents it will impact most. The county commissioners on Monday scheduled a public meeting for 11 a.m. Aug. 26 during their regular meeting to hear concerns from residents on the removal of the bridge. They will also make clear that, regardless, the bridge is going to be removed due to its poor condition and potential for disaster. Last week, commissioners learned that CSX Railroad has offered to pay for removing the bridge, which consultants have
said is badly corroded and in danger of collapsing onto the tracks below. The bridge officially has a 5-ton weight limit, but can withstand no more than a pickup truck, a consultant reported. The CSX proposal lays out plans for the railroad to handle dismantling the bridge and to reimburse the county for creating cul-de-sacs in the road on either side of the span. The project would cost upward of $300,000, according to the consultants. The bridge would be stored on county property and potentially placed on a trail system just south of St. Joe when federal funding comes through, the plan says. But the project has drawn the ire of several residents on the county’s eastern edge, who must travel some six miles to find a
suitable bridge to cross the tracks. Residents want a bridge built in the current span’s place, the commissioners have heard. In the proposed agreement with the railroad, which the county still is considering, the railroad requires the crossing to be permanently closed. The county will present a new contract to the railroad for consideration with language that would allow the county to construct a new bridge at a later time. Commissioner Don Grogg said the county’s plan calls for building a new bridge when local funds are available. It is not expected that federal funds ever will be available to fund a new bridge, county highway director Eric Patton told the commissioners.
In the meantime, the commissioners will go through the process of advertising for funding a $72,000 design plan for the bridge removal, ahead of presenting another request to the County Council for funding it. The council previously voted down a request from the commissioners to pay for the plan, before the railroad offered to pay for the project. The railroad’s proposed agreement calls for a contract to be adopted before the end of the year. Also Monday, the commissioners granted a request from Prosecutor ClaraMary Winebrenner to hire a temporary, part-time worker in her department’s child support division to assist in implementation of a new software platform.