The high temperature Tues- day at Portland’s weather station was 31 degrees. The overnight low was 16. Tonight’s low will be 15, and the high temperature Thursday will be 18. There is a chance of snow beginning this evening and con- tinuing through Saturday night. Highs will be in the low 20s Fri- day and Saturday. For an extended forecast, see page 2. Jay County Public Library, 315 N. Ship St., Portland, will hold a “table top tech” session from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday for those who need assistance with laptop computers, tablets and other devices. T Th hu ur rs sd da ay y — — Redkey native takes over as commissioner of Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. S Sa at tu ur rd da ay y — — JCHS girls bas- ketball team plays Fort Wayne South Side in sectional semifi- nal. Weather In review Coming up 75 cents The Commercial Review Wednesday, February 11, 2015 By JACK RONALD The Commercial Review The way Dan Watson sees it, progress is all about working together. “As a part-time mayor, I real- ize the need for a great support- ing staff,” Dunkirk’s mayor said in his annual State of the City address to the Jay County Chamber of Commerce this morning. “We try to utilize all the tools we have,” Watson said at the chamber’s networking break- fast at West Jay Community Center, crediting Dunkirk City Council, city employees, county government and Jay County Development Corporation for providing assistance and sup- port. “There are numerous people I rely on every day,” he said. “I truly believe that when Dunkirk prospers, Jay County prospers and the State of Indiana pros- pers.” Watson cited a number of pos- itive developments over the past 12 months including upgrades to Dunkirk’s water and waste- water treatment systems, reno- vations to the police depart- ment, stabilizing the structure of the Stewart Brothers build- ing, restoration of the exterior of the Dunkirk railroad depot, a blight eradication grant and the launching today of the city’s new website (http://www.cityof- dunkirkin.com). “Am I satisfied? Heck, no. I’m never satisfied,” said Watson. “But we have the people. It’s up to us to keep moving forward.” On the horizon is a proposed senior housing project on the north side of downtown. “We’ve secured ownership of all those properties,” said Wat- son. Now it’s a matter of waiting for word on a grant application that will set the project into motion. Also on the agenda for the year ahead are plans for con- verting the former Stewart Brothers building into a new home for Dunkirk Public Library and The Glass Museum. “In the past year, we’ve spent $180,000 in EDIT (Economic Development Income Tax) funds to secure that building,” the mayor said. “Now we’re trying to come up with the funding to finish it.” Work has already begun on the blight eradication project, which will involve the demoli- tion of at least nine abandoned houses in Dunkirk. See E Em mp ph ha as si iz ze es s page 2 Watson emphasizes teamwork The Commercial Review/Jack Ronald Dunkirk Mayor Dan Watson, right, chats with councilman Jesse Bivens this morning before his state of the city address at West Jay Community Center. Door buster The north doors of John Jay Center, 101 S. Meridian St., Portland, were caved in Tuesday afternoon when a truck collided with the building after its brakes went out as a Portland man was parking the vehicle at the facility. Pictured above, John Hemmelgarn, and his nephew Henry Hemmelgarn, 14, work on securing the space later in the day after the historically accurate doors were removed. For more information on the accident, see Capsule Reports on page 2. By RAY COONEY The Commercial Review FORT RECOVERY — The schedule is set for Fort Recovery Local Schools’ first experience with PARCC. Principals presented Fort Recovery School Board on Tuesday with the testing schedule for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test, which will be administered for the first time this year as part of Common Core. Board members also discussed plans for the new system that allows high school students to earn college credits and approved the schedule for the 2015-16 school year. Testing for third through eighth graders will run from Feb. 23 through 27 and March 3 as students take PARCC “performance based assessments” in Eng- lish/language arts and math as well as Ohio tests in social studies and sci- ence. “End of Year” assessments are sched- uled for April 20 through 23 and May 6. Fort Recovery has allot- ted the first two hours of the school day for testing, and will then have regular classes on a two-hour delay schedule. For high school fresh- men, tests will be given in algebra, American histo- ry and English from Feb. 24 through 26. Those tests will be given during regu- lar freshman class times — after lunch — in order to minimize interruptions to the regular school day. “My goal with this is to make it as headache free as it could possibly be,” said FRHS principal Jeff Hobbs. “School goes on as normal. … To me, it’s no different than if your kid was taking the OGT (Ohio Graduation Test) or tak- ing the 12th grade profi- ciency test as we have in the past. Our goal is that we’ll do well.” PARCC testing and Common Core in general have been controversial in Fort Recovery, with resi- dents attending several school board meetings over the last two years to voice their opposition. See S St ta ar rt t page 2 PARCC testing to start Feb. 23 By KELLY LYNCH The Commercial Review Portland Junior League hopes to improve landscaping at its baseball diamonds with the assis- tance of Portland Park Board. Superintendent of Streets and Parks Ryan Myers told board members Tuesday evening that Junior League board member Brian Ison discussed with him the possibility of buying a new tractor to help manage the sand and grass of the Weiler-Wilson Park fields. Before bringing it to his own board, Ison wanted to see if park board would be willing to pay for half of the tractor, which is estimated to cost $12,000. Myers commented that the trac- tors currently in use are con- stantly being worked on, with the batteries dying on a regular basis, which makes it difficult to get the work done. “They prefer to do it them- selves,” said Myers of Junior League’s effort on the fields. “What do they want from us? They want sand, they want turf, but they’re more than willing to do a lot of the work.” The new Kubota, outfitted with a loader on the front, would also be shared with the Portland Rock- ets for use on their field at Port- land Memorial Park and be housed and transported by the parks department. Park board will take the matter into consideration, and members suggested the league look into grants from The Portland Foun- dation to help in paying for the new equipment. Also at the meeting, park board approved a payment for additional work from HWC Engi- neering. The firm worked on a modifi- cation of the Portland Water Park after the initial design led to outcries because of a lack of adequate depth for diving entries on both ends of the pool. After the revision in design, the pool will have these entries at both ends of the competition pool. The board approved the addi- tional $14,900 to HWC. PJL seeks help with tractor purchase The Commercial Review/Kelly Lynch
Transcript
The high temperature Tues-day at Portland’s weather stationwas 31 degrees. The overnightlow was 16.
Tonight’s low will be 15, andthe high temperature Thursdaywill be 18.
There is a chance of snowbeginning this evening and con-tinuing through Saturday night.Highs will be in the low 20s Fri-day and Saturday.
For an extended forecast, seepage 2.
Jay County Public Library,315 N. Ship St., Portland, willhold a “table top tech” sessionfrom 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturdayfor those who need assistancewith laptop computers, tabletsand other devices.
TThhuurrssddaayy —— Redkey nativetakes over as commissioner ofIndiana Bureau of MotorVehicles.
SSaattuurrddaayy —— JCHS girls bas-ketball team plays Fort WayneSouth Side in sectional semifi-nal.
Weather In review Coming up
www.thecr.com 75 centsPortland, Indiana 47371
The Commercial ReviewWednesday, February 11, 2015
By JACK RONALDThe Commercial Review
The way Dan Watson sees it,progress is all about workingtogether.
“As a part-time mayor, I real-ize the need for a great support-ing staff,” Dunkirk’s mayor saidin his annual State of the Cityaddress to the Jay CountyChamber of Commerce thismorning.
“We try to utilize all the toolswe have,” Watson said at thechamber’s networking break-fast at West Jay CommunityCenter, crediting Dunkirk CityCouncil, city employees, countygovernment and Jay CountyDevelopment Corporation forproviding assistance and sup-port.
“There are numerous people Irely on every day,” he said. “Itruly believe that when Dunkirk
prospers, Jay County prospersand the State of Indiana pros-pers.”
Watson cited a number of pos-itive developments over the past12 months including upgradesto Dunkirk’s water and waste-water treatment systems, reno-vations to the police depart-ment, stabilizing the structureof the Stewart Brothers build-ing, restoration of the exteriorof the Dunkirk railroad depot, ablight eradication grant and thelaunching today of the city’snew website (http://www.cityof-dunkirkin.com).
“Am I satisfied? Heck, no. I’mnever satisfied,” said Watson.“But we have the people. It’s upto us to keep moving forward.”
On the horizon is a proposedsenior housing project on thenorth side of downtown.
“We’ve secured ownership of
all those properties,” said Wat-son.
Now it’s a matter of waitingfor word on a grant applicationthat will set the project intomotion.
Also on the agenda for theyear ahead are plans for con-verting the former StewartBrothers building into a newhome for Dunkirk PublicLibrary and The Glass Museum.
“In the past year, we’ve spent$180,000 in EDIT (EconomicDevelopment Income Tax) fundsto secure that building,” themayor said. “Now we’re tryingto come up with the funding tofinish it.”
Work has already begun onthe blight eradication project,which will involve the demoli-tion of at least nine abandonedhouses in Dunkirk.
See EEmmpphhaassiizzeess page 2
Watson emphasizes teamwork
The Commercial Review/Jack Ronald
Dunkirk Mayor Dan Watson, right, chats withcouncilman Jesse Bivens this morning before his state of thecity address at West Jay Community Center.
Door busterThe north doors of John Jay Center, 101 S.
Meridian St., Portland, were caved in Tuesday afternoonwhen a truck collided with the building after its brakeswent out as a Portland man was parking the vehicle at thefacility. Pictured above, John Hemmelgarn, and hisnephew Henry Hemmelgarn, 14, work on securing thespace later in the day after the historically accurate doorswere removed. For more information on the accident, seeCapsule Reports on page 2.
By RAY COONEYThe Commercial Review
FORT RECOVERY —The schedule is set forFort Recovery LocalSchools’ first experiencewith PARCC.
Principals presentedFort Recovery SchoolBoard on Tuesday withthe testing schedule forthe Partnership forAssessment of Readinessfor College and Careers(PARCC) test, which willbe administered for thefirst time this year as partof Common Core.
Board members alsodiscussed plans for thenew system that allowshigh school students toearn college credits andapproved the schedule forthe 2015-16 school year.
Testing for thirdthrough eighth graderswill run from Feb. 23through 27 and March 3 asstudents take PARCC“performance basedassessments” in Eng-lish/language arts andmath as well as Ohio testsin social studies and sci-ence. “End of Year”assessments are sched-uled for April 20 through23 and May 6.
Fort Recovery has allot-ted the first two hours ofthe school day for testing,and will then have regularclasses on a two-hourdelay schedule.
For high school fresh-men, tests will be given inalgebra, American histo-ry and English from Feb.24 through 26. Those testswill be given during regu-lar freshman class times— after lunch — in orderto minimize interruptionsto the regular school day.
“My goal with this is tomake it as headache freeas it could possibly be,”said FRHS principal JeffHobbs. “School goes on asnormal. … To me, it’s nodifferent than if your kidwas taking the OGT (OhioGraduation Test) or tak-ing the 12th grade profi-ciency test as we have inthe past. Our goal is thatwe’ll do well.”
PARCC testing andCommon Core in generalhave been controversial inFort Recovery, with resi-dents attending severalschool board meetingsover the last two years tovoice their opposition.
See SSttaarrtt page 2
PARCCtestingto startFeb. 23
By KELLY LYNCHThe Commercial Review
Portland Junior League hopesto improve landscaping at itsbaseball diamonds with the assis-tance of Portland Park Board.
Superintendent of Streets andParks Ryan Myers told boardmembers Tuesday evening thatJunior League board memberBrian Ison discussed with himthe possibility of buying a newtractor to help manage the sandand grass of the Weiler-WilsonPark fields. Before bringing it to
his own board, Ison wanted to seeif park board would be willing topay for half of the tractor, whichis estimated to cost $12,000.
Myers commented that the trac-tors currently in use are con-stantly being worked on, with thebatteries dying on a regular basis,which makes it difficult to get thework done.
“They prefer to do it them-selves,” said Myers of JuniorLeague’s effort on the fields.“What do they want from us?They want sand, they want turf,
but they’re more than willing todo a lot of the work.”
The new Kubota, outfitted witha loader on the front, would alsobe shared with the Portland Rock-ets for use on their field at Port-land Memorial Park and behoused and transported by theparks department.
Park board will take the matterinto consideration, and memberssuggested the league look intogrants from The Portland Foun-dation to help in paying for thenew equipment.
Also at the meeting, parkboard approved a payment foradditional work from HWC Engi-neering.
The firm worked on a modifi-cation of the Portland WaterPark after the initial design ledto outcries because of a lack ofadequate depth for diving entrieson both ends of the pool. Afterthe revision in design, the poolwill have these entries at bothends of the competition pool.
The board approved the addi-tional $14,900 to HWC.
PJL seeks help with tractor purchase
The Commercial Review/Kelly Lynch
Capsule ReportsJJC crash
A Portland man causedbetween $5,000 and $10,000in damage Tuesday after-noon when his vehiclecrashed into John Jay Cen-ter in Portland.
Jerry Larson, 51, 203 W.Second St., told PortlandPolice officers he waspulling into a parking spotin front of the entry doorson the north side of thebuilding at 101 S. MeridianSt. when his truck’s brakesfailed. The 1988 FordRanger continued onto thecurb and into the doors.
The accident took placeat 3 p.m.
Backing crashA Winchester man was
involved in a collision Tues-
day evening in Portland.Jordan Yaryan, 18, 417 N.
Union St., was backing outof a parking spot at JayCounty Hospital, 500 W.Votaw St., and hit a parkedvehicle. Yaryan was drivinga 1994 General Motors, reg-istered to Randy Yaryan,same address.
The parked car was a2009 Jeep Cherokee, regis-tered to Rhonda Leonard,8212 Dovin Gate Road,Muncie.
Damage in the 6:16 p.m.accident is estimated to bebetween $5,000 and $10,000.
Alley accidentTwo Portland women
were involved in an acci-dent Tuesday morning inPortland.
Danielle Farquer, 30, 140N. Hawkins St., was drivingwest on Crane Alley in a1996 GMC Ski, registered toKalleb Huntsman, 3677 E.300 North, Portland.
The GMC collided with avehicle traveling north onan unnamed north/southalley between Hawkins andMorton streets.
Kristina Muhlenkamp,36, 715 E. Walnut St., wasdriving the other vehicle, a2014 Toyota Rav4.
Damage in the 7:57 a.m.accident was estimated tobe less than $1,000.
5:30 p.m. — PortlandCity Council, councilchambers, fire station,1616 N. Franklin St.
Lotteries
Markets
Hospitals
Citizen’s calendar
CR almanac
Weather courtesy of American Profile Hometown Content Service
Emphasizes ...Continued from page 1
“These are the worst of theworst,” Watson said. “It’s nice tobe able to do that all at one time.”
Watson added that he is espe-cially pleased about improve-ments to the water and sewageutilities in the past few years.
“If we don’t have good utilities,we can’t grow,” he said.
Though some have expressedconcern over the city’s utilityrates, Watson pointed out that noother projects are on the horizon.Dunkirk, for example, does nothave any combined sewer over-flows (CSOs), a problem that hasplagued both Portland and Red-key.
“We’re done (with utility
improvements),” he said. “Hope-fully we’ll be able to retain ourrates.”
Ahead in 2015 will be a numberof street paving projects andefforts to attract new industry toDunkirk Industrial Park.
“We have available ground,”the mayor said. “Now it’s just amatter of getting it marketed.”
Watson noted that the disap-pearance of Dunkirk residentBrianna DiBattiste, whose bodywas later found in Jay County,cast a dark cloud over theDunkirk community for much of2014. But even that sad eventcould bring positive events.
“It just brought this communi-ty together in a way I’ve never
seen before,” said Watson.Efforts by Pastor Randy Davis
to establish Brianna’s Hope, asupport group for individuals andfamilies dealing with addiction,continue to expand.
“When God calls, Randyjumps,” said Watson. With Brian-na’s Hope, “out of one tragedycomes something good.”
Start ...Continued from page 1
Since then, school board membersand superintendent Shelly Vaughnhave been meting with residents todiscuss concerns.
As a result, Vaughn and otherschool leaders have put together adocument answering some of thekey questions they’ve heard andmade it available on the school website at http://www.fortrecov-eryschools.org.
“We owe this. We know there are alot of people interested in this,” saidboard president Jose Faller. “So weput something together to get it outand make it public.
“It was the right thing to do. … Weprobably should have done thisbefore now, but I think it’s good thatwe’re putting it out there.”
Guidance counselor Amy Kaiserupdated the board on the new Col-lege Credit Plus program that willtake effect for the 2015-16 schoolyear. It is designed to make theopportunity to earn college creditsaccessible to more high school stu-dents.
The new program will continue tooffer students the ability to take col-lege courses at an area college oruniversity, and also offers the optionfor high school teachers to earnaccreditation and teach college-levelcourses in high schools for dualcredit. That would require teachersto have at least 18 graduate levelcredit hours in their subject area.
Kaiser noted that teaching suchclasses on the high school campuswould be the most cost-effectiveoption for Fort Recovery, but that itwould be costly for teachers to earntheir certification. She suggestedoffering an incentive to teacherswho are interested.
“I see a huge benefit for our kids,”said Kaiser. “If they could be inthose classes here in Fort RecoveryHigh School and not have to leavethe building and get college credit,how great that would be for them atno cost.”
Board members Dave Hull, GinnyFortkamp, Aaron Guggenbiller,Amy Bihn and Faller OK’d the cal-endar for the 2015-16 school year,
which includes staff orientation onAug. 24 with the first day of schoolon Aug. 26. Winter break will runfrom Dec. 23 through Jan. 3. The lastday for students will be May 26, andgraduation is scheduled for May 22.
In other business, the board:•Heard a financial update from
treasurer Lori Koch noting thatfunding from the state is expected todecrease over the next few yearsbecause of a drop in enrollment andan increase in projected local prop-erty tax intake. It is projected toreceive $5.1 million from the state infiscal year 2015, which is a 1.8-per-cent decrease from this year, $5.04million in 2016 and $4.9 million in2017.
•Accepted a Jennings Grant of$2,942 for the purchase of Kindlesfor improving literacy. Also accept-ed donations totaling more than$6,000, including $2,000 from FortRecovery Community Foundationfor FRHS Adopt-A-Family.
•Heard an update from elemen-tary school principal Tracy Hein-Evers that FRES has surpassed itsgoal of $2,000 and raised $2,616 forPennies for Patients, a program thatraises money for The Leukemia &Lymphoma Society. Since 2002, theschool has raised more than $27,000.
Also, kindergarten screening isscheduled for March 2 and 3, and aLaffalot Summer Camp is beingplanned at Fort Recovery Elemen-tary/Middle School for July 20
through 24.•Agreed to control the volume of
music in The Jerome and MauriceGrieshop Athletic Training Facilityafter hearing a request from a localresident. Peggy Huff, who livessouth of the school, told the boardshe hears the music coming fromthe facility at all hours of the day.
•Approved the high school march-ing band’s trip to Florida for March31 through April 4, 2016.
•Recognized Mercer CountySpelling Bee participants DylanLangenkamp, Clayton Pearson, Eli-jah Stammen, Ally Kaiser and Cait-lyn Weigel. Langenkamp finished asthe runner-up, and Pearson finishedthird.
Also recognized Rachel Pugh,Melissa Knapke and Alexis Hobbsfor their participation in the PurdueSummer Leadership Institute atJohn Jay Center for Learning inPortland.
•Authorized participation in theSouthwestern Ohio EducationalPurchasing Council Natural GasSupply Program for a two-year peri-od.
•Appointed Jerry Stammen to aseven-year term on Fort RecoveryPublic Library Board.
•Hired Katherine Guggenbiller asa substitute teacher on an as-neededbasis, Adam Steinbrunner as assis-tant high school track coach andMark Hubbard as fifth and sixthgrade girls basketball coach.
‘It was the right thing to do. ...We probably should have
done this before now, but I think it’s good that we’re
putting it out there.’—Jose Faller,
board president
Notices will appear in theCommunity Calendar asspace is available. To sub-mit an item, call family edi-tor Virginia Cline at (260)726-8141.
TodayCOMMUNITY RELA-
TIONS TEAM — Will playeuchre at 6 p.m. the secondand fourth Wednesday ofeach month at the tele-phone warehouse, 301 E.Sixth St. in Portland. Thepublic is invited.
PARENT SUPPORTGROUP — For specialneeds children of any age,the group will meet at 6 p.m.the second Wednesday ofeach month at GeneralShanks Elementary. Formore information, callSusan Williams at (260) 726-2004 or Holly Tonak at (260)726-8868.
ALCOHOLICS ANONY-MOUS — Will meet from6:30 to 7:30 p.m. eachWednesday upstairs atTrue Value Hardware,North Meridian Street,Portland. For more infor-mation, call (260) 729-2532.
AL-ANON FAMILYGROUP — New Begin-nings, a support group forfriends and families of alco-holics, the group will meetat 6:30 p.m. each Wednesdayin the Zion LutheranChurch, 218 E. High St.,Portland. For more infor-mation, call (260) 726-8229.
ThursdayCELEBRATE RECOV-
ERY — A 12-step Christianrecovery program, thegroup will meet at 10 a.m.and 6:30 p.m. each Thurs-day at A Second Chance AtLife Ministries, 109 S. Com-merce St. in Portland. Formore information, callJudy Smith at (260) 726-9187or Dave Keen at (260) 335-2152.
PIKE FRIENDS ANDNEIGHBORS HOME ECCLUB — Will meet at 6:30p.m. Thursday at the homeof Barbara Bruner. Carpoolif you can. There are sever-al important issues to dis-cuss.
JAY COUNTY TRAILSCLUB — Will meet at 6:30p.m. at The Portland Foun-dation offices to discuss thegrant that was submitted tothe State Health Depart-ment. Master gardenerCyndy Evers will have apresentation at 7 p.m. onimprovement ideas forWater Street.
SaturdayWIDOW TO WIDOW —
Will meet at noon in theeast room at Ponderosa. Allwidows are invited toattend.
MondayPORTLAND BREAK-
FAST OPTIMISTS — Willmeet at 6:45 a.m. for break-fast at Richards Restaurant.
BRYANT AREA COM-MUNITY CENTER — Walk-ing from 9 to 10 a.m. everyMonday, Wednesday andFriday.
The Commercial ReviewWednesday, February 11, 2015 Family Page 3
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Wed., FEB. 13th
By THOMAS ST. MYERNot a word was spoken as I
drove home with my 6-year-olddaughter, Lexi, in the backseatof the vehicle Saturday after-noon.
My hands were literallyshaking as I gripped the steer-ing wheel.
Just a few minutes earlier, Iwas scouring Escapades Fami-ly Fun Center in search ofLexi. Dozens of children racedaround the Muncie indoorplayground, but Lexi wasnowhere to be found.
The last time I had seen her,she darted off in search of awater fountain. I was sitting ata table next to her friendKarly’s parents and made themistake of taking my eyes offof her. After about a minutepassed, I walked around thefacility to find her. Lexi knew
we were about to leave, and Ifigured she decided to take onelast trip through the obstaclecourse.
A pulse-escalating fearkicked in shortly thereafter.Karly’s parents and I spentnearly five minutes looking forher, but it seemed like an hour.I felt more and more nauseatedwith every passing second.
I twice checked outside, andmy heart sank when I heard agirl screaming in a van in theparking lot. My thoughts
immediately flashed back to allof the ABC Afterschool Spe-cials I watched in which kidswere kidnapped by someonedriving a van. I took a steptoward the van, but as I lis-tened more carefully it didn’tsound like Lexi.
I walked back into Escapades,and after yet another search, Ireturned to the concessionstand and asked the cashieragain to call Lexi’s name on theintercom. She called her namea minute or two earlier, but sheonly said, “Lexi report to theconcession stand.”
This time I asked her to sayher last name, too. She accom-modated, and I stood therepraying my daughter wouldwalk over to us.
There was no sign of her,though, and at that point I wasin near panic mode. With
Karly’s parents and twoEscapades’ staff members intow, I sprinted back to the play-ground. My head was on a swiv-el as I scanned the area. One ofthe staff members recalled see-ing Lexi near the ball pit, butshe was no longer there. It feltas if oxygen was seeping out ofthe room as I gasped for air.
Then my prayer wasanswered.
Karly’s dad spotted Lexi onthe upper level of the play-ground inside a tunnel tube.Lexi was crying, saying she hither knee. Fortunately, shecalmed down enough to makeher way down, and as sheapproached me, I picked her upand hugged her as tightly aspossible.
I held Lexi for a few secondsbefore asking her, “Why wereyou up there?”
She claimed she saw one ofher friends on the top level andwent up to ask her if she knewwhere the water fountain was. Ipoked about a hundred holes inher story, but she stuck with it,and I dropped the subject as wepulled out of the Escapadesparking lot.
We drove home in silence,and I glanced in the rearviewmirror every few seconds tocheck on her. As I pulled intothe garage, I finally exhaledand my hands stopped shaking.
Perhaps someday I’ll get ridof this lump in my throat, too.
••••••••••St. Myer has been a reporter
and columnist in East CentralIndiana since 2007. “Adventuresin Parenting” runs weekly onWednesdays in The Commer-cial Review. Follow St. Myer onTwitter @tstmyer.
Escapade left lump in the throatAdventuresin Parenting
The objective is to fill anine-by nine grid so thateach column, each row, andeach of the nine three-by-three boxes (also calledblocks or regions) containsthe digits from 1 to 9 onlyone time each.
Sudoku
Community Calendar
DEAR ABBY: When myboyfriend takes me out todinner, he always expectssex afterward. I am OKwith it because he’s a niceguy. But he never says“thank you” when we’redone.
Other than his man-ners, he’s great and I’mhappy we’re together. AmI being petty and overlysensitive?
My first husband neverthanked me either orappreciated me, so I guessit’s a sore spot. Howshould I approach thiswithout jeopardizingeverything else? — HESI-TANT TO SPEAK UP
Abigail Van Buren, alsoknown as Jeanne Phillips,and was founded by hermother, Pauline Phillips.Contact Dear Abby atwww.DearAbby.com orP.O. Box 69440, Los Ange-les, CA 90069.
DearAbby
Womanexpectsthanks
Photo provided
Giving backJay-Randolph Developmental Services, Inc., conducted a food drive in January as part of its new program, “JRDS
Gives Back.” Clients, staff and board members collected 137 items, which they delivered to the Community & FamilyServices thrift store.
“Were it left for me to decide whether we shouldhave government without newspapers or newspaperswithout government I should not hesitate to prefer thelatter.” – Thomas Jefferson
VOLUME 142–NUMBER 240WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 11, 2015
Subscription rates: City carrier rates $10 per month.City delivery and Internet-only pay at the office rates: 13weeks – $30; six months – $58; one year – $106. Motorroute pay at the office rates: 13 weeks – $37; six months– $66; one year – $122; Mail: 13 weeks – $43; sixmonths – $73; one year – $127.
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The Commercial Review is published daily exceptSundays and six holidays (New Years, Memorial Day,Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, andChristmas) by The Graphic Printing Co. Inc., 309 W.Main St., Portland, Indiana 47371. Periodical postagepaid at Portland, Indiana. Postmaster: Send addresschanges to The Commercial Review, 309 W. Main St., P.O.Box 1049, Portland, Indiana 47371 or call (260) 726-8141.
We welcome letters to the editor. Letters should be700 words or fewer, signed and include a phone numberfor verification purposes. We reserve the right to editletters for content and clarity. Email letters [email protected]. www.thecr.com
The Commercial ReviewHUGH N. RONALD (1911-1983), Publisher EmeritusUS PS 125820
JACK RONALDPresident and Publisher
RAY COONEYEditor
Page 4 Opinion The Commercial ReviewWednesday, February 11, 2015
JEANNE LUTZAdvertising Manager
By JACK RONALDThe Commercial Review
Unlike Brian Williams, I ampretty sure I would rememberwhether or not I was in a heli-copter that was shot down.
But ever since the NBC Newsanchor ran afoul of his embroi-dered stories, I’ve found myselfwondering if I’ve ever acciden-tally done anything similar.
After all, who among us hasn’ttold a story or anecdote so manytimes that it becomes more dra-matic or our place in the storymore heroic?
How tall were those snowdrifts? Did you actually walk toschool in sub-zero tempera-tures? Uphill? Both ways?
(Just for the record, I did walkto school in sub-zero tempera-tures as a kid. But the ther-mometer had risen above zero inthe afternoon. And in Jay Coun-ty, “uphill” is more of a theoreti-cal concept than a reality mostof the time.)
Perhaps what led Brian
Williams astray was the over-seas nature of his experiences.After all, if you are riding in ahelicopter convoy in Iraq at atime of war, there is alreadysomething dramatically excitingabout the experience, somethingoutside the routine for mostAmericans.
It ought to have been enoughto have said he was riding alongwith U.S. troops in a helicopterconvoy, but something in hisnature wanted to add some extrasauce and extra cheese and extraadventure to the experience.
If his goal had been to be themost interesting person at thedinner table, he simply could
have told the truth. But he want-ed to be more than that.
Have I ever done that? I won-dered. I don’t think so, but Isensed that it was a humanenough failing that I am unlikelyto be immune.
One recent morning not longafter the Williams fiasco beganplaying out in the news, I foundmyself dozing intermittently asI woke up.
A road trip in the Republic ofGeorgia kept coming to mind. Itwas 2000 or 2001, and I was work-ing on a project for the Interna-tional Center for Journalists. Atone point, I was dispatched fromTblisi to a small town calledChokhatauri in the westernGuria region to do a seminar.
I wasn’t on my own, but I wasthe only American. I was accom-panied by the local ICFJ staffer,Marina, along with an inter-preter and our driver, Mischa. Itwas, I must admit, pretty headystuff. An exotic experience for akid raised on Pleasant Street.
At some point, as Mischadrove through the gorges andravines, we took a break forlunch. We stopped at a little innthat resembled something fromthe Brothers Grimm.
Inside, there was a dangerous-looking wood stove that lookedas if it had been built in a sev-enth grade sheet metal shop.And outside, there was a bear.
It wasn’t a big bear. It was acub. And it was in a cage.
From a humane society stand-point, it was awful. And it wasn’tsomething I would ever approveof.
But it wasn’t my country, andit wasn’t my culture.
Just the same, I found myselfwondering in a state of halfsleep: What’s to prevent me frommaking this a more interestingstory?
What’s to prevent me fromsaying that I released the bearcub in the spirit of animalrights?
What’s to prevent me from
saying the bear wasn’t a cub atall but a full-grown beast thatbroke out of its cage?
What’s to prevent me fromsaying that I grabbed a shashlikskewer and killed the animal onthe spot?
Well, there’s nothing to pre-vent me from saying that.
Except that none of it is true.And yet — and this is where
Brian Williams seems to havestumbled — it was all so faraway.
I was the only American there.Who is going to surface to chal-lenge my account of slaying agiant bear with a shashlik skew-er?
It was all a long time ago, andmaybe Marina and Mischa andthe interpreter can’t rememberthe details of my heroism. Butmaybe they can’t deny it either.
Truth is a delicate commodity.Time damages it. Distance dam-ages it. Ego damages it. But, asBrian Williams has beenreminded, it survives.
Truth is delicate, but it survivesBack in theSaddle
By LESLEY WEIDENBENERTheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS — One in fivelawmakers at the Indiana GeneralAssembly are women, even thoughjust more than half of Hoosiersare female.
It’s a number that ranks thestate only 35th in the nation in theproportion of women in the legis-lature.
But does that matter?Yes, says Rep. Christina Hale, D-
Indianapolis.She came to the Indiana House
after the 2012 election and foundherself among a relatively smallbut strong group of women whomshe said shared common concernsand goals for the state of Indiana.
“There’s a natural affinity andease between us,” Hale said. “Andthere’s a collegiality.”
After the 2014 election, 30women serve in the GeneralAssembly. That’s 20 percent of thetotal members.
Women gained two seats in theSenate, increasing the number to10 women, according to a reportfrom the Indiana Commission forWomen, which has made femaleleadership a priority. That’s downfrom a high of 14 who servedbetween 1995 and 1998.
Women in the Indiana Househad a net loss of three seats afterthe 2014 election. In fact, fourincumbent women lost their seats— two Republicans who lost in theprimary and two Democrats wholost in the general election.
Hale said it was devastating tosee such hard working women go,even though some of them were onthe other side of the political aisle.She said women are especially
good at bridging the gap on toughor controversial issues.
Women “just approach thingsdifferently,” Hale said. “We’remore collaborative.”
And if you believe that’s only awoman’s point of view, thinkagain. Senate President Pro TemDavid Long, R-Fort Wayne, sayshaving a diverse legislative body isimportant. And he said women dothink differently — and that’svaluable.
“I think women in the legisla-ture bring a great voice and per-spective,” Long said. “I know theydo in our caucus.”
Long said the Senate has lost anumber of strong women in recentyears to higher positions or retire-ment. Former Sen. Becky Skill-man, R-Bedford, ran for lieutenantgovernor and won on a ticket withformer Gov. Mitch Daniels.
Former Sen. Teresa Lubbers, R-Indianapolis, became the highereducation commissioner while for-mer Sen. Connie Lawson, R-Brownsburg, was appointed andthen later elected secretary ofstate. And former Sens. SueLandske, R-Cedar Lake, and Bever-ly Gard, R-Greensburg, retiredafter long stints as committeechairs.
When those women go, there’sno guarantee other women will fol-
low — even if the party aggres-sively recruits female candidates.
“The process of electing a mem-ber is up to the voters,” Long said.
But Hale said women should notwait to be asked or pushed to run.
“It’s time for women to stand upand claim our own destiny,” Halesaid. “It’s said that men think ofthemselves as candidates andwomen wait for someone to tapthem on the shoulders. We can’twait to be recruited.
“We have to stand up and beginclaiming our spots, putting our-selves forward and being confidentin stepping forward to be leadersfor our communities.”
••••••••••Weidenbener is executive editor
of TheStatehouseFile.com, a newswebsite powered by Franklin Col-lege journalism students.
Indiana assembly needs women
To the editor:Wake up Hoosiers.Your rights are slowly
being eroded by our gover-nor and state legislators.
As I recall, we votedGlenda Ritz to be the statesuperintendent of schools.Now the state officialswant to change your vote.
They are still in shockbecause Tony Bennett, thewhite knight of education,was defeated by a Democ-rat who happens to be awoman.
If the state can nullifyyour vote, look out. In thefuture they may beappointing our schoolboard.
Can’t happen here, yousay — get out your historybook. If I recall correctly,most dictatorships startedwith the school systems.Hitler and Stalin took outeveryone who did notagree with policy.
All of us want the bestfor our children.
However, they are beingtested to the limit. Teach-ers now teach to the test toplease state and federal
laws. Also, teachers are sobusy with unnecessaryforms they no longer havetime to teach or to reallyinteract and get to knowthe students.
Have you noticed thenumber of dedicatedteachers resigning? Evencollege statistics show thatenrolling students areshunning the teaching pro-fession. I wonder if it couldrelate to government inter-ference?
Are you going to let thestate take away your vote?Only fools fail to stand upfor their rights. Are we thefools?
Thank you Shon Byrumfor your letter printed inThe Commercial Reviewon Jan. 31.
A.N. WhitesellDunkirk
Government istaking away vote
Letters tothe Editor
Anniston (Alabama) StarA full month into 2015,
the U.S. Centers for Dis-ease Control and Preven-tion reported 102 cases ofmeasles, a pace surpassingthe typical year.
Disneyland in Californiais believed to be GroundZero for this outbreak,which may have exposed1,000 people to measles.
These new infections area shock to most medicalprofessionals, who couldrightly point to a steadydecline in cases that culmi-nated with a record low of86 reported U.S. cases 15years ago.
The villain blamed fortoday’s alarming rise inmeasles cases is a smallgroup of parents who areforegoing having theirchildren immunized.Trustworthy health organ-izations — the CDC, theAmerican Medical Associ-ation and the AmericanAcademy of Pediatrics, forexample — promote themeasles-mumps-rubellavaccine, which is 97 per-cent effective in preventingmeasles.
Yet the dissenting par-ents cite unproven medicalquackery in justifying
their decision to reject vac-cinations for children, apractice that endangersboth their children as wellas many others.
For some Americans,healthy skepticism hasturned into widespreadparanoia.
The president’s ideologi-cal opponents tell us he is asecret Muslim and a non-U.S. citizen. A basic outlineof public school course-work promoted by thestates — Common Core —is believed by some to be aconspiracy to indoctrinatechildren. And dangerousvaccines are foisted on anunsuspecting public,according to some parentswho withdraw their chil-dren from immunizationshots.
The dangers of theseillogical beliefs are clear.Until this mistrust isbridged, the nation willsuffer the consequences.
Illogical beliefshave consequences
LesleyWeidenbener
... there’s noguarantee other
women willfollow — even
if the partyaggressively
recruits femalecandidates.
GuestEditorial
By PETER LEONARDAssociated Press
DONETSK, Ukraine —Fighting raged in easternUkraine today, killing fivepeople at a bus station inthe rebel stronghold ofDonetsk, as Western lead-ers confirmed that theywould take part in peacetalks later in the day.
Steffen Seibert, aspokesman for GermanChancellor Angela Merkel,said she and French Presi-dent Francois Hollandewould travel to the Belaru-sian capital, Minsk, toattend the four-way summitwith Russian PresidentVladimir Putin andUkrainian President PetroPoroshenko.
European leaders havewarned that there is noguarantee a deal will bereached with Moscow,which the West says is fuel-ing a separatist rising ineastern Ukraine withtroops and arms. Germanyand France have rushed tomediate after a recentuptick in violence in theregion, where fighting haskilled at least 5,300 peoplesince April.
In Donetsk, rebel officialssaid that five people werekilled and nine wounded ina shelling attack earlytoday on a bus station,where an Associated Pressreporter saw one body.Donetsk city officials saidin a statement that threepeople had been killed inshelling overnight.
Officials in Kiev saidtoday that 19 troops hadbeen killed and 78 woundedin a day of fighting in
Debaltseve, a hotly contest-ed transport hub in theregion.
Poroshenko posted astatement on his websitesaying that he had made animpromptu visit to theregion early today. Hestopped in the city ofKramatorsk, some 30 milesfrom the nearest front line,where Kiev says 16 peoplewere killed and 48 wounded
in a rocket strike Tuesday.“We demand an uncondi-
tional peace,” Poroshenkosaid. “We demand a cease-fire, a withdrawal of all for-eign troops, and closing ofthe border.... We will find acompromise within thecountry.”
Later, in comments car-ried by Interfax-Ukrainenews agency, Poroshenkosaid he was “ready to
impose martial law acrossthe country if we are notable to reach an agreementtoday in Minsk.”
At a news conference inMoscow, Russian ForeignMinister Sergey Lavrovsaid that there was“notable progress” in thepeace process, but gave nodetails.
Lavrov said the mostimportant goal of the talks
would be to implement acease-fire, and that it wouldbe impossible for Ukraineto re-establish its controlover the border with Rus-sia.
“In these conditions, togive away the Russian partof the border also would beto cut them (the rebels) offeven from humanitarianhelp and allow them to besurrounded,” Lavrov said.
The Commercial ReviewWednesday, February 11, 2015 Indiana/World Page 5
SendingWASHINGTON —
The Republican-con-trolled Congress is setto send a bill approv-ing the Keystone XLoil pipeline to Presi-dent Barack Obama,who has vowed to vetoit.
The House is expect-ed to pass the bill easi-ly this afternoon, cap-ping weeks of debateover one of Republi-cans’ top priorities — abill authorizing theconstruction of themuch-delayed pipeline.Yet support in both theSenate and House hasnot been enough tooverride a veto.
To visitBEIJING — China’s
leader Xi Jinping willmake his first statevisit as president to theUnited States in Sep-tember, Chinese offi-cial media reportedtoday, underlining pos-itive momentum in theoften-troubled relation-ship between theworld’s largesteconomies.
The state-run Xin-hua News Agency saidXi had accepted Presi-dent Barack Obama’sinvitation to visit in atelephone call betweenthe two overnight. Theannouncement cameas U.S. Deputy Secre-tary of State TonyBlinken was in Beijingto meet Chinese offi-cials.
LeavingLOS ANGELES —
Jon Stewart, whoturned his combina-tion of biting and free-wheeling humor intoan unlikely source ofnews and analysis forviewers of “The DailyShow,” said he’s leav-ing as host this year.
His departure wasannounced by ComedyCentral PresidentMichele Ganeless afterStewart, host of theshow since 1999, brokethe news to the studioaudience at Tuesday’staping in New York.
—Associated Press
In review
Associated Press/Petr David Josek
Members of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) investigate the scenetoday after a bus station was hit during a recent shelling between Russian-backed separatists and theUkrainian government forces in Donetsk, Ukraine.
By TOM DAVIESAssociated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — Indianalawmakers would face greaterfinancial disclosure require-ments and elected officials wouldbe expressly prohibited fromusing state resources for politicalpurposes under a proposal aHouse committee approved Tues-day.
A leader of the governmentwatchdog group Common CauseIndiana called the bill a goodattempt at closing loopholes instate law.
The House government com-mittee voted 12-0 to advance the
proposed overhaul of ethics lawsto the full House after hearingfrom Republican House SpeakerBrian Bosma, who is co-sponsor-ing the bill with House Democrat-ic Leader Scott Pelath.
The bill follows an investiga-tion into former state schoolsSuperintendent Tony Bennett’suse of state staff and resourcesduring his 2012 re-election cam-paign and a review of a seniorlawmaker’s private lobbying lastyear to kill legislation that couldhave cost his family’s nursinghome business millions of dol-lars.
Bosma told the committee that
the proposal aims to improvetransparency and bolster publictrust. He said he believed legisla-tors are people of integrity.
“It is a culture, perhaps in thepast, of inattention to the poten-tial appearance of conflict,”Bosma said. “That’s what the goalof the bill is: to bring to each ofour attention our responsibilitiesas citizen legislators.”
A state inspector general’s pub-lic report found minimal viola-tions by Bennett and his staff andsaid those could easily have beenavoided by rewriting departmentpolicy to allow for campaigning.But The Associated Press report-
ed in December that a separatereport detailed extensive use ofstaff and Bennett’s state-issuedSUV for political work. Theinspector general’s investigatorsuggested Bennett could face fed-eral wire fraud charges and stateghost-employment charges.
Bennett, a Republican, has notbeen charged with any criminalviolations and has denied anywrongdoing.
The measure, which the fullHouse could vote on next week,would bar any elected official oremployee from using state money,facilities or personnel for politi-cal purposes.
Indiana House backs ethics proposal
Ukraine fighting continues
Page 6 Entertainment The Commercial ReviewWednesday, February 11, 2015
To have an event consid-ered for this calendar, emaildetails to [email protected].
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — NewMexico’s largest city is back to beingfeatured in another television showmore than a year after the end of AMC-TV series “Breaking Bad.”
“Better Call Saul” premiered Sunday,and city officials hope the prequel to thehit series sparks more interest in Albu-querque after “Breaking Bad” spawnedtours, sales of novelty items and even apolitical ad during the last election.
More than 100 fans showed up for apremiere “Better Call Saul” viewingparty at an Albuquerque brewery, andmore such gatherings are scheduled forthe remainder of the season. Onelawyer, Ron Bell, who some speculatethe show’s main character is loosely
based on, has a billboard advertising“Better Call Bell.”
Already the city’s visitors’ bureau hascreated a website to help tourists findAlbuquerque sites from the show.
New Mexico’s new Attorney GeneralHector Balderas even thumbed out a tweetduring the show to let its main star, BobOdenkirk, know that the state’s top copwas watching him. “Hey @BetterCallSaul@mrbobodenkirk, know that the AttorneyGeneral of New Mexico will be keeping aneye on you this evening,” Balderas wrote.
“Better Call Saul” follows a strugglingcriminal lawyer born Jimmy McGill, wholater changes his name to Saul Goodman,as he defends drug lords, criminals andthose allegedly injured in traffic accidents.
Show sparks excitement
Upcomingevents
The Commercial ReviewWednesday, February 11, 2015 Sports Page 9
Rebounds: Jay County 28(Wendel 6, Kunkler 5, team 5,McIntire 4, Homan 3, Dunn 2,Ault 2, EMuhlenkamp). Hunting-ton North 13 (Fryman 3, Canady3, Stoffel 2, team 2, Grabner,RAnderson, Lawson).
Assists: Jay County 8 (Dunn 3,Wendel 2, Homan, Kunkler, McIn-tire). Huntington North 5 (Canady4, Lawson 1).
Blocks: Jay County 0. Hunting-ton North 0.
Personal fouls: Jay County 9(Homan 2, Wendel 2, Dunn 2,Kunkler 2, McIntire). HuntingtonNorth 13 (Canady 4, Koch 4,Lawson 4, RAnderson).
Turnovers: Jay County 11.Huntington North 13.
Box score
HeritagePatriotsMonroeville, 8-8 (5-1 ACAC)Coach: Brad Kiess, fourth yearConference: Allen County AthleticTuesday at Eastbrook: Heritage, which had won
back-to-back games, lost 49-45 to the EastbrookPanthers in hopes of winning its third straightgame for the second time this season.Season leaders (per game): Points — Bradley
Scott 12.1, Branson Dossen 10.1, Jacque Jacquay7.9. Rebounds — Scott 8.0, Jacquay 5.6. Assists— Adam Beard 2.2.
Jay CountyPatriotsPortland, 14-4 (5-1 ACAC)Coach: Craig Teagle, 17th yearConference: Allen County AthleticSaturday vs. Yorktown: Jay County had a diffi-
cult time shutting down Yorktown’s outside shoot-ing in a 42-29 loss to the visiting Tigers. The Patri-ots scored just two points in the final period. JayHouck had 12 points to lead the Patriots, andAdam Dirksen chipped in with eight.Season leaders (per game): Points — Adam
Game notes: This is the first meeting betweenthe two schools ... Jay County leads the state indefensive average, surrendering just 32.5 pointsper game. Offensively, Heritage is averaging morethan 51 points per game, but allows an average ofnearly 50 points to its opponents ... Heritage hasnot had a winning season since the 2008-09 cam-paign in which it finished the season 14-9. Thebest record since then was an even .500 seasonin 2010-11. Jay County secured its 14th consecu-tive winning season with its victory Jan. 24 againstSouthern Wells ... JCHS has lost back-to-backgames once this season, when it fell to RichmondDec. 13 and Leo Dec. 19.
Thursday – 7:30 p.m.
Local scheduleTTooddaayy
South Adams — Boys basketball atUnion City – 6 p.m.
TThhuurrssddaayy,, FFeebbrruuaarryy 1122Jay County — Boys basketball triple-
header at Heritage – 6 p.m.; Middleschool boys swimming at Norwell Invita-tional – 5 p.m.; WJMS wrestling vs.Adams Central – 5:30 p.m.
Fort Recovery — Girls basketball atNew Knoxville – 6 p.m.; South Adams —Boys swimming vs. South Side/Marion– 5:30 p.m.; Boys basketball vs. Black-ford – 6 p.m.; SAMS boys swimming atNorwell Invitational – 5 p.m.
FFrriiddaayy,, FFeebbrruuaarryy 1133Jay County — Girls basketball sec-
tional semifinal vs. Fort Wayne SouthSide at Homestead – 7:30 p.m.; Girlsswimming state final preliminaries atIUPUI – 6 p.m.;
Fort Recovery — Boys basketball vs.New Knoxville – 6:30 p.m.
South Adams — Girls basketballsectional semifinal vs. Churubusco atWoodlan – 6 p.m.; Girls swimming statefinal preliminaries at IUPUI – 6 p.m.;
SSaattuurrddaayy,, FFeebbrruuaarryy 1144Jay County — Wrestling semi-state
at Fort Wayne War Memorial Coliseum –8:30 a.m.; Girls swimming state finals
at IUPUI – 9 a.m.; Boys basketball vs.Wayne – noon; Girls basketball section-al championship vs. Homestead/Wayneat Homestead – 7 p.m.; EJMS hostswrestling invitational – 9 a.m.
South Adams — Wrestling semi-state at Fort Wayne War Memorial Coli-seum – 8:30 a.m.; Girls swimming statefinals at IUPUI – 9 a.m.; Girls basketballsectional championship vs. TBA atWoodlan – 7:30 p.m.; Boys basketballvs. Churubusco – 1 p.m.: SAMSwrestling at East Jay Invitational – 9a.m.
TV scheduleTTooddaayy
7 p.m. — Men’s College Basketball:Penn State at Ohio State (BTN); Syra-cuse at Boston College (ESPN2)
8 p.m. — NBA Basketball: MiamiHeat at Cleveland Cavaliers (ESPN)
9 p.m. — Men’s College Basketball:Indiana at Maryland (BTN); Oregon atUSC (ESPN2)
10:30 p.m. — NBA Basketball:Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Clip-pers (ESPN)
TThhuurrssddaayy,, FFeebb.. 11227 p.m. — Men’s College Basketball:
Purdue at Rutgers (ESPNU); Minnesota
at Iowa (BTN)8 p.m. — NBA Basketball: Cleveland
Cavaliers at Chicago Bulls (TNT)
FFrriiddaayy,, FFeebb.. 11336:30 p.m. — Men’s College Hockey:
Wisconsin at Ohio State (BTN)7 p.m. — NBA Basketball: Sprint All-
Star Celebrity Game (ESPN)9 p.m. — Men’s College Hockey:
Michigan at Minnesota (BTN)9 p.m. — Men’s College Basketball:
Arizona at Washington (ESPN)9 p.m. — NBA Basketball: 2015
BBVA Rising Stars Challenge (TNT)
Local notesCheer clinic begins today
The Jay County High School cheer-leaders will host a cheer clinic begin-ning tonight.
Registration will be from 5 to 5:30p.m. today, and cost is $20 per student.
The clinic will run from 5:30 to 7:30p.m. today in the JCHS main gymnasi-um, and there will be a showcase Feb.20 during halftime of the JCHS boysbasketball game.
All registrations must be completedtoday to allow time for shirts to beordered.
For more information, contact JCHScheer coach Abby Champ [email protected] or bycalling (765) 768-7648 ext. 240.
RReeggiisstteerr ffoorr RReeddkkeeyy JJuunniioorr LLeeaagguueeThe Redkey Junior League will hold a
registration session for its baseball andsoftball leagues.
Registration will be from 8 a.m. to 1p.m. Sunday and Feb. 21 at the RedkeyPark Cabin.
Cost is $35 per child, $30 for a sec-ond child and $20 for any additionalchild.
JJCCCC ttoo hhoolldd ttoouurrnnaammeennttssThe Jay Community Center Cabin
Fever Triple Crown tournaments will con-tinue with a dodgeball tournament March31.
Both tournaments will begin at 1 p.m.and cost is $60 per team.
For more information, contact the JayCommunity Center at (260) 726-6477.
CCoommmmuunniittyy sswwiimm There will be no community swim at
Jay County High School Sunday.
GGeett yyoouurr qquueessttiioonnss aannsswweerreeddDo you have a question about local
college or pro sports?Email your question to
[email protected] with “Ask Ray” inthe subject line for a chance to have itanswered in an upcoming column.
the court, Wendel againfound Dunn cutting to thehoop for a bucket and a 40-37 Patriot advantage with5:02 left to play.
Jay County had twomore chances to cushionthe lead but Dunn missedthree straight free throwsgiving Huntington Northan opportunity to cut intothe deficit.
Madi Canady split a pairof Patriot defenders in thelane for a layup with 1:15remaining to make it 40-39.
With time running outand the Vikings unable tohold onto the ball late inthe fourth, they wereforced to send the Patriotsto the free-throw line.
On paper, it wasn’t a badstrategy. The Patriots werejust 4-of-8 for the game atthat point. But they madesix of their eight attemptsfrom the line in the final 72seconds to put the game outof reach.
“The fourth quarter weonly scored two points,”said HNHS coach HeidiLawson, whose team was 1-of-7 shooting with seventurnovers in the final eightminutes. “They did anexcellent job of getting thelead and holding the ball,passing it, making theircuts and looking for a goodshot.
“Jay County is a verygood team, well coachedand fundamentally sound.The better team tonightwon.”
For the first eight min-utes, Jay County did notlook like the better team.
The Patriots came out
flat, missing multiple shotsin the paint. They took fourshots on the game’s open-ing possession, all of whichmissed the mark.
It was a start Krieg antic-ipated.
“I’ll be honest, I wasexpecting that just becausenerves and the way we
practiced the night before,”he said. “We had probablyone of our worst practices(Monday).”
The struggles in theopening quarter helpedHuntington North to a 9-0run to start the contest.Madi Canady opened thescoring on a 3-pointer from
the left wing, and added apair of free throws to tallyfive of her nine points inthe game.
Jay County didn’t hit thescoreboard until more thansix minutes had passed,and it trailed 12-5 headinginto the second.
Huntington North builtan 11-point lead, 20-9, on a 3-pointer from Karmen Kochand five consecutive pointsfrom Hannah Stoffel. TheVikings were able to pickapart Jay County’s zonedefense, driving to the hoopand then kicking it outsideto the open shooters. TheVikings were 5-of-9 fromlong distance in the firsthalf.
The Patriots snapped outthe slump midway throughthe second quarter, scoredon five of their final sixpossessions to close out thehalf on a 12-3 run and wentinto halftime trailing 23-21.
“Basketball is a game ofruns and we talk about itall the time,” said Krieg.“It’s a game of momentum.They had it pretty muchthe whole first quarter,then we had it in the sec-ond.”
After the break, Hunting-ton North had momentumin its favor as it pushed itslead to five, but Jay Countyclawed back on four pointsby Ava Kunkler and twoeach by Taylor Homan andWendel. Momentum swungback in favor of Hunting-ton North until the Patriotsswitched to man-to-mandefense and took over thegame in the final period.
“That fourth quarter wasall us,” Krieg said.
Continued from page 10“We’re coming off two road
losses and we wanted to get ourswagger back on the road,” hesaid. “Clemson is a tough envi-ronment. We needed this one.”
Grant also led Notre Damewith five assists and threesteals, plus he went 7-of-7 fromthe foul line.
Blossomgame led Clemsonwith 17 points and tied hiscareer high with 14 rebounds.It was his seventh game thisseason with double figurepoints and rebounds.
Clemson had two solid
opportunities to tie or goahead in the final 30 seconds.But Blossomgame missed adriving layup and DamarcusHarrison’s 3-pointer as timeran out hit off the rim.
“We’ve just got to make win-ning plays,” Harrison said. “I
think we made enough, but wecame up a little short.”
Notre Dame is second in theACC, scoring 80 points a game,yet looked like it would fall vic-tim to Clemson’s style of toughdefense and grinding out eachpossession before scoring.
The dynamic Grant pulledthe Irish out of that funk in thefinal four minutes for the winto match the program’s best 26-game start last accomplishedin 1980-81.
Pat Connaughton had 14points, including three of
Notre Dame’s six 3-pointers.Jackson finished with 11points.
Harrison scored 15 points forClemson.
Both teams entered hopingto bounce back from disap-pointing losses.
Notre Dame’s 30-point loss toDuke was its most lopsidedloss since 1999. Clemsonmissed its chance to jump intothe upper part of the ACCstandings last Sunday, fadingdown the stretch in a 56-45 lossat Miami that ended theTigers’ four-game win streak.
Continued from page 10There were countless
heartwarming storiesabout the team, includingan effort by major leagueplayers to contributemoney so the parents in theblue collar communitycould attend the WorldSeries in Williamsport,Pennsylvania, and anotherabout Cubs players hud-dled around a televisionwatching the team during arain delay at Wrigley Field.The team was treated to atrip to the major leagueWorld Series and to theWhite House to meet Presi-dent Barack Obama andthe first lady, MichelleObama.
In October, the organiza-tion launched an investiga-tion when a coach from anearby suburb alleged thatJackie Robinson West hadviolated rules by poachingtop suburban players. The
story, which was firstreported by DNAinfo.com,appeared to end in Decem-ber when the nationalorganization said it haduncovered no violations.But the organization said itwould reopen the investiga-tion if new informationsurfaced. About that sametime, the organizationlearned of questions aboutboundary maps involvingmultiple leagues, and theinvestigation resumed.
“Little League Interna-
tional ... learned that Jack-ie Robinson West LittleLeague knowingly expand-ed its boundaries toinclude territory thatbelonged to other leaguesin the district without theapproval from the otherleagues or the LittleLeague International Char-ter Committee” and usedthe “falsified boundarymap for their 2014 tourna-ment,” the organizationsaid.
League officials did not
immediately return callsfor comment. Throughoutthe investigation, the teamhas maintained that nocheating occurred.
This is the third time inthe 68-year history of theLittle League World Seriesthat Little League Interna-tional had vacated winsafter an investigation hadrevealed wrongdoing. In1992, a team from thePhilippines was disquali-fied and in 2001 a team fromthe Bronx was disqualified.
Continued from page 10Sophomore Brook
Schultz of HamiltonHeights won the regionalwith 566.2 points for 11dives.
Girls place thirdOSSIAN — The Jay
County middle schoolgirls swim team placedthird Tuesday at the Nor-well Invitational.
The squad, which con-sists of swimmers fromboth East Jay and WestJay middle schools, scored257 points.
Indian Springs won theinvite with 328 points, andhost Norwell was secondwith 271 points.
Eliza Bader was the lonedouble-winner for the Jaytankers. She earned victo-ries in both the 50-yardbutterfly and 100 breast-stroke.
She teamed up with LiliClemmons, Ashlyn Dowand Kaitlyn Dow to finishsecond in the 400 freestylerelay and third in the 200medley relay.
Also placing in the topsix were Rieley Brewster(fourth – 200 freestyle, fifth– 50 butterfly) and Clem-mons (third – 50 freestyle,fourth – 100 backstroke).
South Adams finishedfourth with 186 points.Individual results werenot available for theStarfires.
Sports on tap
Rally ...
The Commercial Review/Chris Schanz
Bre McIntire, a Jay County High Schoolsenior, puts up a shot in front of Huntington Northdefender Aly Grabner in the first half of the Class4A Sectional 6 tournament Tuesday at Homestead.The Patriots won, 46-39.
Local ...
Leads ...
Stripped ...
‘We’ve just got to make winning plays. I think we madeenough, but we came up a little short.’
—Damarcus Harrison,Clemson guard
‘... Jackie Robinson West Little League knowinglyexpanded its boundaries to include territory
that belonged to other leagues ...’—Little League International
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WOODBURN — SouthAdams High Schools’ girlsbasketball team gave up abig second quarter andfound itself trailing athalftime.
The Starfires came outfiring after the break todefeat thehost Wood-lan War-riors 60-47in the open-ing round of the Class 2ASectional 36 tournament.
South Adams (14-9) willmeet Churubusco (13-9) inthe semifinal at 6 p.m. Fri-day. The Starfires routedthe Eagles in their regu-lar-season meeting Jan.29, 56-35.
After trailing 26-22 atintermission, the Starfiresscored 17 and 21 points inthe third and fourth quar-ters respectively. The War-riors (7-16) scored just 21points in the final twoquarters. It was the thirdtime this season SouthAdams defeated Woodlan.
Cindy In’tGroen had ateam-high 20 points forSouth Adams, and SydneyWillis and Sharon Bal-siger each added 13.Mackenzie Jennings andLexi Dellinger added fivepoints apiece.
Woodlan’s Rain Hintonled all players with 23points, and Kendra Graberadded 11.
Stinson finishes 19thFISHERS — Jay County
High School juniorHeather Stinson finished19th on Tuesday in theIHSAA diving regional atFishers.
Stinson, who placedthird at Saturday’s sec-tional meet, scored 181.6points in five dives to missthe first cut. She finishedahead of fellow sectionaldiver Muncie Central’sMadison Cline (175.55),and behind Allyson Norbyof Bellmont. Norby scored207.65.
See LLooccaall page 9
Starsreachsemis
By CHRIS SCHANZThe Commercial Review
FORT WAYNE — The Patri-ots started slowly on Tuesday.
Really slowly.They missed their first eight
shots of the game and were just2-of-12 in the opening quarter
But Jay County High School’sgirls basketball team broke outof its slump, shot 50 percent inthe final three quarters andforced the Huntington NorthVikings to turn the ball over onseven of its final nine posses-sions in a 46-39 come-from-behind victory in the Class 4ASectional 6 opener at Home-stead.
The Patriots advance to thesectional semifinal against FortWayne South Side at 7:30 p.m.Friday. Jay County defeated theArchers 42-36 Nov. 25.
“We’ve done that all season,”JCHS senior Catherine Dunnsaid of the Patriots not givingup Tuesday despite findingthemselves in an early hole.“We’ve had some tough gamesand some tough times. Wealways just keep going, and Ithink it definitely showedtonight.
“We came out and we had alittle bit of nerves. Once we gotpast that we kept pushing andkept fighting.”
And that was most prevalent
in the final quarter. Jay County(19-5) trailed 37-32 before goingon an 8-0 run to open the fourthquarter.
Dunn, who scored 10 of hergame-high 18 points in the finalperiod, sparked the run with a
3-pointer from the left wing onan assist by Abby Wendel 39seconds into the frame. BreMcIntire split a pair of freethrows a minute later to makeit 37-36, and then the Patriotdefense clamped down on Hunt-
ington North (9-13).A steal by Dunn at the top of
the key led to two fast-breakpoints at the other end to giveJay County its second lead ofthe game.
See RRaallllyy page 9
Patriots rally past Vikings
The Commercial Review/Chris Schanz
Jay County High School senior Catherine Dunn drives around Huntington Northdefender Sarah Fryman in the first half of the Class 2A Sectional 6 tournament atHomestead on Tuesday. Dunn scored 10 of her game-high 18 points in the fourth quarterhelping the Patriots rally to a 46-39 victory against the Vikings.
Jay overcomesslow start to
reach sectionalsemifinal
By PETE IACOBELLIAP Sports Writer
CLEMSON, S.C. — Jer-ian Grant added anotherchapter to his family’s his-tory at Clemson. Not exact-ly the kind the Tigers wereaccustomed to, either.
Grant, whose brother,father and uncle all playedin front of cheering Clem-
son crowds at LittlejohnColiseum, scored 22 pointsto lead No. 10 Notre Dameto a 60-58 win over theTigers on Tuesday night.
Grant rememberedattending games at thearena to watch older broth-er Jerai play for Clemsonfrom 2007-11. His father,Harvey, spent a season at
the school in the 1980sbefore transferring toOklahoma and uncleHorace is a member of theschool’s Hall of Fame afterhis four-year career.
“I think it meant more,”the youngest Grant said ofthe game. “Obviously withmy family, I wanted to per-form pretty well.”
Grant certainly did that,taking over when the Irish(22-4, 10-3 Atlantic CoastConference) trailed 56-52 inthe final four minutes afterRod Hall’s three-point play.
Grant followed with twofoul shots, then stole theball to lead to DemetriusJackson’s tying layup.After Jackson’s basket put
Notre Dame up for good 58-56, Grant hit a fadeawayjumper for Notre Dame’sfinal points.
More importantly than agood showing for the fami-ly, Grant wanted to getNotre Dame back on trackafter its 90-60 loss to No. 4Duke on Saturday.
See LLeeaaddss page 9
Grant leads Notre Dame past Clemson
By DON BABWINAssociated Press
CHICAGO — Little League Inter-national has stripped Jackie Robin-son West of the national title thatthe Chicago team won last summerafter an investigation revealed ithad falsified boundaries to fieldineligible players.
In a stunning announcementtoday that came months after theall-black team, whose ages rangedfrom 11 to 13 years, captured theattention of the country and thehearts of its hometown, the baseballorganization said it also found thatafter the league had changed theboundaries, some team officialswent to surrounding leagues to con-vince them to go along with whatthey’d done.
“This is a heartbreaking deci-sion,” Stephen D. Keener, the LittleLeague International president andCEO, said in a statement.
“As painful as it is, we feel it is anecessary decision to maintain theintegrity of the Little League pro-gram. No team can be allowed toattempt to strengthen its team byputting players on their roster thatlive outside their boundaries.”
The team has been suspended
from Little League tournamentprivileges until new leadership isfound. The team’s manager, DaroldButler, is also suspended, and anadministrator from the district thatincludes Jackie Robinson West hasbeen removed from his position,according to the statement.
The march of the team riveted the
city, all the way to its loss in theworld championship game to SouthKorea, and when it was over, thou-sands of people lined Chicago’sstreets to catch a glimpse of theboys as they were paraded by busfrom their South Side baseball fieldto a downtown park.
See SSttrriippppeedd page 9
Chicago team stripped of title
Localroundup
The Commercial Review/Pablo Martinez Monsivias
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama posewith members of the Jackie Robinson West Little League team in theOval Office of the White House Nov. 6 in Washington. Little LeagueInternational has stripped Chicago's Jackie Robinson West team of itsnational title after finding the team falsified its boundary map.
