WEDNESDAY September 18, 2013
Realtors Report Page A2 Region’s sales strong in August
Pennant Race Page B1 Reds romp to win over Astros
Weather Cloudy today with a chance of rain. High 77. Low tonight 58. High Thursday 83. Page A6
GOOD MORNING Northeast hospitals report no errors INDIANAPOLIS — Hospitals in the four northeastern counties of Indiana reported no errors in the Indiana Medical Errors Report for 2012. The Indiana State Department of Health released the annual report this week. It shows a total of 100 medical error incidents were reported in 2012, the same number as in 2011. The average over the past seven years stands at 99.4 errors. Four local hospitals performed 15,404 surgical procedures without errors, the report says. In 2012: • DeKalb Health in Auburn reported 2,265 inpatient discharges, 19,833 outpatient visits and 4,721 procedures. • Parkview LaGrange Hospital reported 1,351 inpatient discharges, 11,427 outpatient visits and 2,266 procedures. • Parkview Noble Hospital reported 2,070 inpatient discharges, 24,644 outpatient visits and 3,769 procedures. • Cameron Memorial Community Hospital in Angola reported 1,042 inpatient discharges, 17,036 outpatient visits and 4,648 procedures. In Fort Wayne, Lutheran Hospital and Orthopaedic at Lutheran each reported one error. Luterhan reported one instance of retention of a foreign object in a patient after surgery. Orthopaedic of Lutheran reported one instance of surgery performed on the wrong body part. Statewide, the most reported incidents in 2012 were: • 30 stage three or four pressure ulcers acquired after admission to the hospital; • 19 incidents of a foreign object retained in a patient after surgery; • 15 surgeries performed on the wrong body part; and • 14 falls resulting in a death or serious disability.
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Classifieds.................................B7-B8 Life..................................................... A5 Obituaries...................................A3-A4 Opinion .............................................B4 Sports.........................................B1-B3 Weather............................................ A6 TV/Comics .......................................B6 Vol. 101 No. 257
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School board OKs teacher contract Raises now will be based on evaluations BY KATHRYN BASSETT kbassett@kpcmedia.com
WATERLOO — The DeKalb Central school board Tuesday ratified a one-year contract for DeKalb Central teachers. Because of new laws, teacher contracts no longer include annual increment raises that, for DeKalb Central teachers, amounted to about $1,500. Instead, $230,000 will be divided among teachers for pay increases.
Raises will be given only to teachers who are evaluated under a new model as being “effective” or “highly effective.” Those rated as effective will receive about $1,240, and those who receive a highly effective rating will receive about $1,355, said school district chief financial officer Lance Brauchla. “I believe this is a fair contract that maintains the integrity of operating within the parameters
of the new legislation, and I recommend your approval of the one-year contract,” Superintendent Sherry Grate told the board. “I sincerely appreciate the efforts of the DeKalb Educators negotiations team and their willingness to think about the future of our children and how we can become more progressive in our service to our students.” The district’s 2013-2014 teacher’s hiring scale shows an entry-level teacher with a bachelor’s degree and no teaching
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experience will receive a salary of $36,997. At the top of the scale, a teacher with a master’s degree and 19 years of experience will receive a salary of $57,033 to $68,244. DeKalb Educators Association President Ryan Lengacher attended Tuesday’s meeting and asked the board to ensure adequate money is budgeted to teacher salaries in future years. “We need to make sure teachers just beginning their careers with us believe they can SEE CONTRACT, PAGE A6
Killer heard voices Navy yard shooter kept security rating
imately 15 Auburn police officers have $10 taken out of their checks each pay period. For the $10, officers become eligible to sport trimmed goatees on duty. Saturday’s event brought 45 officers from around the state to Auburn. Departments represented included the Indianapolis and South Bend police departments and officers from Chesterton, the Indiana State Police and numerous sheriff’s departments from Indiana and Ohio. A special prize was given to a retired officer from South Dakota, who arranged a visit home to see relatives in LaGrange County so he could participate in the shoot. The overall winner of the competition was state police Trooper Caleb Anderson. Second place was secured by last year’s winner, Sheldon Scott of the South Bend Police Department. State police Sgt. Corey Culler was third, followed by Auburn Police Department Capt. Mark Stump. Trooper Brian Walker placed fifth. This year, organizers tweaked the event by allowing two compet-
WASHINGTON (AP) — The former Navy reservist who killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard had been hearing voices and was undergoing treatment in the weeks before the shooting rampage, but was not stripped of his security clearance, officials said Tuesday. Aaron Alexis, a 34-year-old information technology employee with a defense contractor, used a valid pass to get into the highly secured installation Monday morning and started firing inside a building, the FBI said. He was killed in a gun Alexis battle with police. The motive for the mass shooting — the deadliest on a military installation in the U.S. since the attack at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009 — was a mystery, investigators said. U.S. law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that there was no known connection to terrorism and that investigators have found no manifesto or other writings suggesting a political or religious motive. Alexis had been suffering a host of serious mental problems, including paranoia and a sleep disorder, and had been hearing voices in his head, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the criminal investigation was still going on. He had been treated since August by Veterans Affairs, the officials said. The Navy had not declared him
SEE POLICE, PAGE A6
SEE KILLER, PAGE A6
AUBURN POLICE DEPARTMENT PHOTO
Auburn Police Chief Martin McCoy, left, oversees a tactical shooter during competition Saturday at
the department’s range on the city’s south side.
Police marksmen raise money Department seeks to update shooting range BY MATT GETTS mgetts@kpcmedia.com
AUBURN — Shot by shot Saturday, the Auburn Police Department moved a little closer to a new training facility structure at its shooting range south of the city. The second annual marksmanship competition raised approximately $3,000, according to event organizer Stacy Sexton, a detective with the Auburn Police Department. “I’m very pleased with the turnout,” Sexton said. “I’m very pleased with the sponsors and vendors who are here.” For more than a year, the Auburn Police Department has been raising money to replace its dilapidated training building at the range with a new structure. The estimated cost of the new facility,
which would increase the training room size by nearly three times, is $300,000, Sexton said. “This will be the hub for training in DeKalb County,” Sexton said. “It will be a whole lot easier to do training.” With a larger training room, police will be able to hold large classes, with room for such things as defensive tactic training as well as Anderson honing marksmanship skills. Departments that routinely use the facility now include the DeKalb, Noble and Steuben county sheriff’s departments, Waterloo, Ashley, Kendallville, Rome City and Wolcottville police departments. The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms also shoots in Auburn. So far, the department has raised $104,000 to build the new facility, a figure that includes no tax dollars. Along with fundraisers such as Saturday’s shoot, approx-
Auburn takes stock of accessibility features Walter calls for lower speeds on Grandstaff Drive BY AARON ORGAN aorgan@kpcmedia.com
AUBURN — The Auburn Common Council on Tuesday evening passed on first reading the city’s completed inventory of the federally required Americans with Disabilities Act transition plan. The plan lists an inventory of all city street crossings, sidewalks
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and handicap-access ramps, as well as out-of-code bathroom handles, door frames and other issues, that need attention to comply with ADA policy. The plan further prioritizes the items so they can be tended to as city funds become available. City engineer Steve Bruns said he and staff spent countless hours creating the inventory. The city spent $11,000 for a consultant to prepare the plan and report. Mayor Norm Yoder said the projects will be completed in order, based on importance and when funds are available. Bruns said many items will be handled
while other repairs or updates are made, but others would require a complete overhaul of entire buildings, for example. Yoder said if a resident comes across an issue within the city that requires attention, the city will make accommodations to tend to those issues. In other business Tuesday, Councilman Mike Walter asked council attorney Erik Weber to prepare an amendment to the city’s traffic ordinance to reduce the speed limit on the full length of Grandstaff Drive to 30 mph, a measure he hopes would reduce traffic crashes at the exit from
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Auburn Plaza onto the roadway. In June, Walter requested a study of the intersection after reporting a rash of traffic crashes caused when motorists try to turn north onto Grandstaff from the plaza. A study presented to the council in July by the Northeast Indiana Regional Coordinating Council, though, showed the exit onto South Grandstaff Drive is safer than similar intersections around the state, with a total of 11 crashes since 2008, which translates to 0.6 crashes per million vehicles. Auburn Police statistics showed the intersection SEE ACCESSIBILITY, PAGE A6
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