DNR Plans Stream Monitoring Workshop

The Department of Natural Resources plans a Workshop in Winona Lake June 15th to train volunteers how to monitor local streams and rivers. Class size is limited and reservations are required. For reservations, contact Darci Zolman with the Kosciusko County Soil and Water Conservation District at darci.zolman@in.nacdnet.net or (574) 267-7445 extension 3. To learn more about the Riverwatch program, visit www.riverwatch.in.gov.

Semi Rear-ends Another on US 30

Firefighters had to pry apart what was left of a semi tractor after a one truck rear-ended another on U-S 30 at Etna Green this morning. Hear Don McCune of the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department describe how the driver of the rear semi was trapped in the wreckage. McCune says it took about 15 minutes to get the driver out. A helicopter picked him up at the scene -- along with a passenger in his truck -- and flew them straight to a Fort Wayne hospital. The driver is a 44-year-old Tennessee man who was in critical condition at last report. His passenger is a 32-year-old woman who’s in serious condition. The crash also hurt the 49-year-old Ohio man who was driving the truck that got rear-ended. EMS took him to Kosciusko Community Hospital, which later transferred him to Fort Wayne. Police had to close eastbound U-S 30 for several hours, but they had it back open by about five o’clock.

Daniels: BMV Might Change Branch Closing Plan

Governor Daniels says input from citizens at public hearings might change the state’s plans to close some license branches around the state. Daniels says he doesn’t know exactly how the plans might change. License branches in Warren and North Manchester are among the ones the B-M-V plans to close next month. The agency will conduct a hearing at the North Manchester branch next week. By the way, if you’re planning to speak at that hearing, give The New Q101 a call at (574) 368-4950 or send us an email. We’d like to hear what you plan to say.

Bayh to Introduce Bill to Protect Homes of Military Families

U.S. Senator Evan Bayh says he plans to introduce legislation designed to protect military families who are facing foreclosure, eviction or loan default due to financial hardship because of military service. The “Service Members Home Protection Act of 2005” would levy fines against banks and debt collectors that ignore existing laws that protect military families from losing their homes.

United Way Allocates Funds

The Kosicusko County United Way says its board has decided how to distribute nearly one-point-two million dollars it raised during its 2004 campaign. It will distribute the money among 55 local programs.

Warsaw 2nd-Graders to Present at Museum

Some second grade students from Warsaw’s Washington Elementary school will do presentations tomorrow at a national museum in Saint Louis. The kids will present class projects on the Lewis and Clark expeditions at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. The museum is dedicated to teaching visitors about Lewis and Clark.

Troopers, Conservation Officers on the Lookout

As usual, State Police say they’ll be out in force during the holiday weekend. Starting today, they’ll have extra officer on patrol to look for traffic violators, especially people driving aggressively or under the influence. Conservation officers say they, too will have extra people on duty this weekend. They’ll be focusing on intoxicated boaters and especially on people who operate personal watercraft unsafely.

Warsaw Announces Holiday Trash Schedule

City officials in Warsaw remind you that there’s no trash or recycling pick-up Monday. If the city usually picks up at your house on Mondays, put out your stuff Tuesday instead. The rest of the week will be on its regular schedule.

Greyhound to Discontinue Huntington Service

The Greyhound bus line has announced that, effective June 21, it will stop providing service to 22 Indiana locations, including Huntington. In a news release, the company says the changes “will eliminate time-consuming and costly stops in areas where customer demand is low to nonexistent.” The company’s operations in Warsaw, Columbia City, Fort Wayne and Marion are not affected by the changes.

3rd Graders Draw Praise from Governor

Third graders from Warsaw’s Harrison Elementary School really impressed Governor Daniels yesterday with their economic development presentation. Daniels says he wished he could have spent all afternoon with Ethel Ringle’s class. Hear Gov. Daniels praise the students, their school and their teacher. The 18 students met Daniels in his office and showed him a presentation they created. The purpose of the class project is to entice Johnson and Johnson to locate one of its new subsidiaries in Warsaw. Daniels says the class took a perfect approach in demonstrating the quality of life in Warsaw. He plans to carry some of the kids’ materials to a future meeting with Johnson and Johnson executives. See a photo of the meeting, provided by the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette.

Hearing on Warren License Branch Tonight

People who live near the Huntington County town of Warren have a chance tonight to voice their opinions on the planned closing of the town’s license branch. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles holds a public hearing at the branch at seven p.m.

Warsaw Elementary Students to Meet Governor

Governor Daniels has invited 18 Warsaw third graders to meet with him in his office this afternoon. The kids will show Daniels the 35-minute presentation they created to attract a medical device company to Warsaw. Harrison Elementary teacher Ethel Ringle says the class has its sites set on Guidant, an Indianapolis company that Johnson and Johnson recently bought. Hear Mrs. Ringle talk about the class' ultimate goal; to present to Johnson & Johnson. As a class project, Ringle’s students each wrote a book on the benefits of locating in Warsaw and together they created a 13-minute video. Ringle says that so far, Johnson and Johnson, as well as its local subsidiary Depuy, have ignored requests by the class to schedule a meeting.

Daniels Denies Clemency

Governor Daniels has rejected the clemency request of a death row inmate who says he wants to donate part of his liver to his sister. Gregory Johnson is scheduled to receive the death penalty before sunrise tomorrow. The governor says that after his own independent study and review, he finds no grounds to second-guess years of court rulings or to reject the recommendation of the parole board.

Lagro Farm Equipment Dealership Burns

Fire heavily damaged a building at a farm equipment business near the Wabash County town of Lagro this morning. Dispatchers got the call from Pefley Farm Equipment on State Road 524 at 12:43 a.m. Lagro Fire Chief Scott Siders says when his department arrived, one end of the maintenance shop was engulfed in flames. It took firefighters from Lagro and Urbana about half an hour to control the fire but they were on the scene for about four hours. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries. Siders says most of the building’s roof collapsed, but they were able to save the tractors and other equipment that was inside. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Warsaw 3rd Graders to Make Presentation to Governor

Some third grade students from Warsaw’s Harrison Elementary School will make a presentation to Governor Daniels in the governor’s office Wednesday. The class will show the Governor a campaign they developed to persuade Johnson and Johnson to move one of its operations to Warsaw. The kids designed the campaign after Johnson and Johnson purchased Guidant, which is an Indianapolis company that makes medical devices for heart patients. When the Harrison students heard that Johnson and Johnson might move Guidant’s headquarters out of state, they began a campaign in support of located Guidant’s headquarters in Warsaw instead. The class conducted a letter writing campaign and created both a book and a video to support their case.

KCH Named Energy Star

Kosciusko Community Hospital announced today that it is one of only 40 hospitals in the country to be named an Energy Star® by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Energy Star® is a dual-agency award recognizing the most energy-efficient buildings in the nation.

Police Begin Seat Belt Campaign

Today is an especially good day to buckle up if you drive somewhere. That’s because police departments throughout the state began their annual “click it or ticket” campaign yesterday. From now until June fourth, police will be pulling over people they see going down the road without a seat belt on. And in most communities, police will set up enforcement zones, in which they’ll look in every car for seat belt violations. Police promise that during the “click it or ticket” campaign, they won’t be issuing any warnings… every violation will result in a ticket.

Gov. Daniels Requests Time Zone Hearings

Governor Daniels sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today, asking the DOT to conduct hearings regarding whether Indiana should be in the Eastern or Central time zone. The same state law that requires Hoosier to begin observing daylight savings time next year also required Daniels to request the hearings. It’s up to the DOT to decide where time zone lines run.

Warsaw Woman Ordered to Make eBay Restitution

The Kosciusko Circuit Court has ordered a Warsaw woman to pay more than $239,000 to 121 people for failing to deliver laptops and high end cameras the people purchased via eBay. According to a news release from the Indiana Attorney General's office, the court also prohibited Nikki Brindle from selling goods over the Internet until she has paid the sum in full. The court ordered Brindle to make monthly payments of $500 to the Indiana Attorney General’s office. The office will distribute the money to the eBay buyers. The state sued Brindle after eBay buyers complained to the Attorney General that Brindle had taken their money for items she never shipped and would not provide refunds.

Investigators: Candle Started Apartment Fire

Investigators blame a candle in a bedroom for starting this morning’s fire in a Warsaw apartment complex. According to a news release from the Warsaw Fire Department, EMS took one woman and her three children to Kosciusko Community Hospital, where they received treatment for smoke inhalation. None of the victims were admitted to the hospital. The release says water and smoke damage displaced 11 families. The release says Building Commissioner Todd Slabaugh does not yet know whether the building’s owners will repair it or tear it down. Warsaw firefighters were on the scene for about 11 hours this morning.

Warsaw Apartment Complex Fire Injures 4

Warsaw firefighters knew an apartment building fire was bad as soon as they arrived early this morning. Hear Warsaw Fire Department Captain Tim Hood talk about what the first arriving firefighters saw. Hood says EMS took four people to Kosciusko Community Hospital. A hospital spokesperson says the KCH ER released all four. The fire started at about one o’clock this morning at Lakeland Villa Apartments on Warsaw’s southwest side. Hood says the fire damaged 12 apartments enough to displace their residents. And he says the flames completely gutted two apartments. The Winona Lake Fire Department helped Warsaw firefighters put out the fire. Investigators are still trying to figure out how the fire started.

Man Lies on U.S. 30, Dies

Police are investigating the death of a man who was reportedly lying on U-S 30 in Marshall County. Police say the man died after a semi truck ran over him. They don’t know yet who he is or why he was lying in the roadway.

Pope's Car on Display

A 1975 Ford Escort that Pope John Paul once owned goes on display in Auburn today. It’ll be at the Kruse Automotive and Carriage Museum until May 30th. Kruse will auction the car for its current owner. John Paul used the car when he was a cardinal in Poland

Former Huntington College President Takes Taylor U. Post.

A man who was once president of Huntington College will soon take the same job at Taylor University, which has campuses in Upland and Fort Wayne. Eugene Habecker led Huntington College from 1981 to 1991.

224 to Receive Manchester Degrees

Manchester College conducts its commencement exercises Sunday. 224 students will receive diplomas. The College will also grant an honorary doctorate to retiring president Parker Marden.

WCHS Names Top Grads

Abbott		Weaver

Warsaw Community High School has announced the names of the top two members of its 2005 graduating class. Valedictorian is Cameron Abbott, son of Joe and Elaine Abbott of Warsaw. He plans to attend DePauw University and major in political science. Salutatorian is Derek Weaver, son of Jay B. Weaver, Cindy Weaver, Toni C. Reiff and Tim Reiff. He plans to attend Indiana University at Bloomington and major in chemistry or biochemistry. WCHS commencement is at 7 p.m. June third in the Tiger Den.

Daniels Releases School Construction Restrictions

School systems who want to build new facilities for uses other than instruction might not get state approval for the financing. That’s part of the effect of new guidelines for school construction that Governor Daniels released yesterday. The guidelines require state officials to stop rubber-stamping school construction plans. Instead, they’re supposed to look closely at several factors including how the school system is doing on academic measures. Daniels says that last year, Hoosier school systems surpassed the national average for construction spending by 234-million dollars.

Crash Critically Injures Nappanee Man

A Nappanee man suffered severe head injuries in a one-car crash in northwestern Kosciusko County last night. A helicopter flew the 22-year-old driver from the scene to a Fort Wayne hospital, where he’s in critical condition this morning. It happened on Kosciusko County Road 850-North, near county road 700-West at about 9:30 last night. Kosciusko County Police say the man’s Chevy Blazer left the road, crashed through a fence and slammed into a tree… but they don’t know why.

Grissom, Fort Wayne ANG Spared

Neither Grissom Air Reserve Base in Peru nor the Fort Wayne Air National Guard base will close, according to a list of military base closings the Pentagon released today. In fact, the plan adds jobs in Fort Wayne which the Pentagon would transfer from the Air National Guard base in Terre Haute.

Lightning Causes Small Fire at Wawasee H.S.

A power outage and a small fire caused some problems at Wawasee High School in Syracuse yesterday. Superintendent Mark Stock writes on his web site that it all started with a lightning strike behind the school just before noon, which knocked out part of the school’s electrical system. Then a motor in the boiler room overheated and caused a small electrical fire. By the time the fire department arrived, the school’s head custodian had put out the fire. No one was hurt and everything was back to normal by one o’clock

Whitley Man Allegedly Steals State Trooper's Car

A Whitley County man allegedly stole a State Police cruiser yesterday, while the trooper the car belonged to was chasing the suspect on foot. Once the suspect was in the squad car, he allegedly drove it from southeast of Columbia City to Fort Wayne, where city police spotted it near Jefferson Pointe Shopping Center. They chased the suspect in the trooper’s car to I-69. They arrested him there when construction traffic slowed him down. This morning, the 22-year-old Whitley County man is in the Whitley County Jail on a variety of charges. Police say the reason the trooper started chasing him in the first place is that the suspect was wanted on arrest warrants from DeKalb and Steuben Counties. Police say the whole chase lasted about half an hour and no police cars were damaged.

Columbia City Council to Consider Animal Ordinance

The Columbia City Council plans to discuss a new animal control ordinance during its meeting tonight. Among other restrictions, the ordinance would limit the number of pets people in residential areas could own. The limit would be five dogs or cats per household.

House Fire Near Pierceton Kills Woman

A house fire near Pierceton has left a woman dead. The call came in yesterday from one of the channel roads near Sellers Lake, which is southwest of Pierceton. When firefighters got there, a 76-year-old man who lives in the house was standing outside. He told firefighters his daughter was still inside, but the fire kept him from getting to her. Investigators found the body of 39-year-old Alice Marie Stark after firefighters had the flames knocked down. No word yet this morning on what caused the fire.

Toddler Drowns in Miami County Pool

A two year old girl drowned in a residential pool in Miami County yesterday. State police say Alexis Kepner of Kokomo was with her mother in front of a house on State Road 18 visiting with friends. After the child’s mother noticed she was missing, the mother found the girl in an above-ground pool behind the house.

One-Car Crash Kills Huntington Man, Injures Three Others

Mason

A 20-year-old Huntington man died Saturday when the speeding car in which he was riding crashed into a tree. Chris Mason died a few hours later in a hospital. The crash also injured four other men of about the same age who were riding in the Pontiac GTO. The driver was not seriously injured, but he’s facing a charge this morning of causing serious bodily injury while driving drunk.

Minivan Hits Bicyclists on U.S. 30

Kosciusko County police say the driver of a minivan disregarded a stop sign and hit two guys on bicycles Saturday. It happened at the intersection of U-S 30 and County Road 800 West. One of the bicyclists is in fair condition this morning at a Fort Wayne hospital. The other did not have to go to a hospital.

BMV Sets Hearings on Branch Closings

The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles has scheduled public hearings regarding the planned closings of license branches in North Manchester and Warren. Each hearing will take place at the respective license branch. The BMV has scheduled the hearing at the North Manchester branch for 7 p.m. June 1, three days before it plans to close the branch. The BMV has scheduled the hearing at the Warren branch for 7 p.m. May 26. According to an email Q101 received from the BMV, the hearings "will allow for public comment regarding why the Bureau should or should not close the license branch in question."

License Branch Closing Opposed

The Bureau of Motor Vehicles announced yesterday that it has decided to close North Manchester’s license branch. State Representative Bill Ruppel of North Manchester says he went to BMV headquarters yesterday to discuss the decision. Hear Ruppel talk about what he told the BMV. Ruppel says he hopes that information might lead the BMV to change its mind. Ruppel also says he hopes residents turn out at a public hearing on the closing to express their concerns. Q101 will provide information on the date and time of the hearing when it becomes available. In addition, Ruppel recommends that his constituents write letters to Governor Daniels and BMV Commissioner Joel Silverman. Their addresses appear below. License branches in North Manchester and Warren are among 12 around the state that the BMV plans to close in a month to save money. Governor Mitch Daniels Office of the Governor Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2797 317-232-4567 Web response form Joel Silverman, Commissioner Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles 100 N. Senate Ave. Indianapolis, IN 46204 317-232-2799 jsilverman@bmv.in.gov

BMV to Close North Manchester, Warren Branches

The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles announced today that its license branches in North Manchester and Warren will close in June. The branches are among 12 around the state that the BMV will close to save money. "The BMV must close some of its smallest branches to enhance service in every branch," said BMV Commissioner Joel Silverman. Saturday, June 4, will be the last day the branches will be open.