MONDAY September 16, 2013
Favorite Bird? Page A2 Columnist talks about fowl
Colts defeated Page B1 Dolphins pin loss on Indy
Weather Mostly sunny with a high of 71 and an overnight low of 47.
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Mud engulfs towns Many parts of
GOOD MORNING
Colorado still endangered AP
Miss New York Nina Davuluri, left, reacts after being named Miss America 2014 as Miss America 2013, Mallory Hagan, celebrates with her, Sunday in Atlantic City, N.J.
Miss Indiana not among finalists for Miss America ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Terrin Thomas’ quest to become Miss America ended Sunday night, when she was not selected as one the 15 finalists for the crown. Thomas, 21, of Auburn participated in the weeklong competition as Miss Thomas Indiana. Miss New York, Nina Davuluri, was named Miss America in the scholarship pageant held in Atlantic City, N.J. Thomas enjoyed a moment in the spotlight of Sunday’s national television broadcast of the pageant finals on ABC. As the telecast came out of a commerical break, co-host Lara Spencer stood beside Thomas and asked if she thought she would be one of the last two finalists to be announced. “I sure hope so!” Thomas replied. But her wish did not come true. Thomas will continue to reign as Miss Indiana for the next nine months while she resumes her studies as a junior at Indiana University. She mentioned IU during her introduction on Sunday’s telecast. She said Indiana had the No. 2 and No. 4 choices in this year’s professional basketball draft, adding that she hoped to be No. 1 in the pageant. Miss New York, the newly crowned Miss America will visit the scene of New Jersey’s devastating boardwalk fire.
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Index
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Classifieds.................................B6-B8 Life..................................................... A6 Obituaries......................................... A4 Opinion .............................................B4 Sports.........................................B1-B3 Weather............................................ A8 TV/Comics .......................................B5 Vol. 101 No. 255
OCTAVIA LEHMAN
Larry Smith of Waterloo stands in the 12-acre corn maze designed with a likeness of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. Smith and
his family run Amazing Fall Fun, an outdoor fall festival area, for six weeks between September and October.
Corn maze is Colts strong Waterloo attraction bears QB Andrew Luck’s image BY OCTAVIA LEHMAN olehman@kpcmedia.com
WATERLOO — Residents in northeast Indiana don’t have to go far to see Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. He’s been in Waterloo since July and won’t leave until October. Larry Smith, a fourth-generation farmer, turned his corn maze into a 12-acre likeness of the quarterback. Three years ago, Smith and his family transformed a portion of their 450-acre farm into a fall festival area. For six weeks between September and October, the Smith family of Waterloo goes “all hands on deck” to run Amazing Fall Fun. The fall recreation area opens for the season Saturday. The idea came for the maze came from his sister after she visited a maze near Chicago. “She said, ‘This might be something you could do,’ ” Smith
NEIGHBORS DEKALB
COUNTY
said. Smith is excited to provide something that draws so many people into DeKalb County. He estimates that nearly 10,00012,000 will visit this year’s maze. “I get to meet people from all over,” Smith said. He recalls a British couple who were driving on U.S. 6, noticed a sign and stopped in because they were curious. “We want families to have good wholesome fun,” Smith said. “You can spend 2-3 hours in (the maze).” Smith said weather is a big factor in his business, mostly with rain. Last year’s corn was only shoulder-high. This year’s yield is
Video at kpcnews.com Larry Smith talks more about the process of setting up the corn maze and other activities at Amazing Fall Fun in video at kpcnews.com. Scan the QR code to watch it on your tablet or smartphone.
more than 10 feet tall. To cut the maze, Smith works with a company in Utah that designs corn mazes for nearly 350 farms in the United States. The first maze was in the shape of a Duesenberg, a nod to DeKalb County’s automotive heritage. Smith and a crew of four from the company completed this year’s maze in July, when the corn was SEE MAZE, PAGE A8
LYONS, Colo. (AP) — The cars that normally clog Main Street in Lyons on the way to Rocky Mountain National Park have been replaced by military supply trucks. Shop owners in Estes Park hurriedly cleared their wares in fear that the Big Thompson River will rise again. A plywood sign encouraged residents mucking out their homes to “Hang in there.” Days of rain and floods have transformed the outdoorsy mountain communities in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain foothills affectionately known “The Gore-Tex Vortex” from a paradise into a disaster area with little in the way of supplies or services — and more rain falling Sunday. The string of communities from Boulder to Estes Park, the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, is a base for backpackers and nature lovers where blue-collar and yuppie sensibilities exist side by side. Now, roadways have crumbled, scenic bridges are destroyed, the site of the bluegrass festival is washed out and most shops are closed. Chris Rodes, one of Lyons’ newest residents, said the change is so drastic that he is considering moving away just two weeks after settling there. “It’s not the same,” Rodes said. “All these beautiful places, it’s just brown mud.” Estes Park town administrator Frank Lancaster said visitors SEE MUD, PAGE A8
School bus driver recognized for Syria 40 years of transporting students claims political victory
BY KATHRYN BASSETT kbassett@kpcmedia.com
WATERLOO — Each day, as she prepares for work, Jean Gerhart reminds herself of one thing. “One little mistake could ruin everything,” Gerhart said. “You have to be perfect every day.” That’s because Gerhart’s job involves transporting precious cargo — children. She has been a school bus driver for the DeKalb Central school district for 40 years and recently received a congratulatory certificate from the Indiana Senate in recognition of her longevity. “My best friend came over and asked me to start driving buses a week before school started,” Gerhart recalled. “They needed bus drivers. I said, ‘I don’t think I want to do that.’ She said it would be fun.” At that time, there were no special requirements to become a school bus driver, Gerhart said. “You just had to want to drive,” she said. “I just went to the office. They said, ‘Here’s your keys. You start next Monday.’” In her early days of driving a school bus, Gerhart was responsible for planning her own pick-ups and maintaining her vehicle. “They were just big, metal boxes with no extras,” Gerhart said. “You had to scrape the mirrors in the winter. There was no bus garage. When we had trouble, it was up to us to get it taken care of.” Later, the school district established a bus garage and hired a mechanic. Over the years, one thing has not changed much, Gerhart said. “There’s still a lot of wonderful, great kids. There are only a couple that test you. I can’t say that I’ve really had a problem with any,” she said. Gerhart’s routes have picked up and dropped off students in Jackson and Union townships. Her route serves children at McKenney-Harrison Elementary School and at DeKalb Middle School and DeKalb High School. She also transports students to a cooperative program in Angola. Her current route covers a total of 90 miles a day. Gerhart has transported three generations of families and finds it especially rewarding when young students point her out to their parents who also happened to ride her bus. Gerhart also has enjoyed taking students on field trips and transporting groups and fans to special
KATHRYN BASSETT
The state has presented an award to 40-year school bus driver Jean Gerhart of the DeKalb Central school district.
sporting and musical events. She drove a busload of fans to a state baseball championship game that was won by DeKalb High School. “We had so much fun,” she said. “It was a ball.” She also has taken the DeKalb High School show choir to state championship contests. DeKalb Central transportation director Renee Dawson commended Gerhart and other drivers in the district for their commitment to their work. “These guys are really connected with the kids and the families” Dawson said. “Driving a bus is a terrific job with a lot of responsibility. I just think it’s awesome that the state is recognizing what a responsibility it is.”
BEIRUT (AP) — A high-ranking Syrian official called the U.S.-Russian agreement on securing Syria’s chemical weapons a “victory” for President Bashar Assad’s regime, but the U.S. warned Sunday “the threat of force is real” if Damascus fails to carry out the plan. The comments by Syrian Minister of National Reconciliation Ali Haidar to a Russian state news agency were the first by a senior Syrian government official on the deal struck a day earlier in Geneva. Under the agreement, Syria will provide an inventory of its chemical arsenal within one week and hand over all of the components of its program by mid-2014. “We welcome these agreements,” Haidar was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti agency. “On the one hand, they will help Syrians get out of the crisis, and on the other hand, they averted a war against Syria by removing the pretext for those who wanted to unleash one.” He added: “These agreements are a credit to Russian diplomacy and the Russian leadership. This is a victory for Syria, achieved thanks to our Russian friends.” There has been no official SEE SYRIA, PAGE A8