Fort Wayne Observed

Governor reappoints Bill Cast to IU Board of Trustees

Governor Mitch Daniels issued an announcement today regarding his appointments to the Purdue and Indiana Universities Boards of Trustees.

Dr. Bill Cast of Fort Wayne was reappointed by the Governor for an additional term:

Dr. William Cast, of Fort Wayne, was appointed by Daniels in 2005. He earned his undergraduate degree from Indiana in 1958 and graduated from the IU School of Medicine in 1962. He is the founder of DuPont Hospital in Fort Wayne and its first chairman.  His private practice, Ear, Nose & Throat Specialists, has been in operation since 1969.

He also is the one of the founders of the Canterbury School, a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade school in Fort Wayne.

Mayor Henry and the Safe House idea

Jeff Pruitt of Fort Wayne Politics reports that Mayor Tom Henry has "nixed" the idea he proposed last August during the mayoral campaign of designating children's safe houses, also known as "block houses." or "McGruff houses." 

At the time the proposal was the subject of a campaign press conference last year, one of the Utah cities that had pioneered the idea was ending the program in its community. The idea for "block houses" was an initiative dating from the1980's.

The idea was repeated in the Mayor's State of the City address in late February:

A program that I talked about on the campaign trail and would like to see implemented this year is the return of the Safe House program. This initiative will provide our city’s children a safe harbor in neighborhoods. In collaboration with the Fort Wayne Police Department, local schools and concerned citizens, these Safe Houses will provide kids a temporary shelter when they feel they are in danger or threatened on their way to or from school or when out playing. I envision the new Safe Houses, which will be clearly marked with a distinctive logo, to be secure havens in individual homes, apartment complexes, churches, fire stations or other public buildings. The Police Department in cooperation with local schools will administer the program and ensure the participants and volunteers have met and continue to meet the standards to provide for the safety of some of the youngest residents of Fort Wayne. .

Mr. Pruitt wrote last September about researching the effectiveness of the inititative. He concluded then:

I think it's a very troubling sign that the national director didn't even bother to respond to my request for information. Without any evidence to the contrary, I have no choice but to concur with Arrington's research/opinion that the program is ineffective and thus should not be implemented here in Fort Wayne...

Coffee and Donuts

The Henry brothers have remodeled the former Hot 'n Now on West Jefferson at Time Corners into a branch of the Richard's Bakery. The original is at 1130 N. Wells Street.  You can expect I will be a customer.

Then Starbucks announces that it will be closing 600 stores nationally.  Some of its Fort Wayne locations may be on the bubble.

Now, Dunkin' Donuts will be opening - on July 9th - on Coldwater Road, the first of 20 new Dunkin' Donut locations in Fort Wayne.  Welcome, too, because, I like the chewiness of the DD bagels.

The popular Karen's Donuts of Bluffton Road in Waynedale is now Big Daddy's.

Photo credit: Photo courtesy of Stephen L. Parker of the Around Fort Wayne Blog.

FWCS' Kevin Brown files as write-in for Indiana Super of Public Instruction

The News-Sentinel's Ashley Smith reports that Fort Wayne Community Schools Board member Kevin Brown is seeking the office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction as a write-in candidate. 

Mr. Brown would likely be drawing votes that might otherwise go to Democratic nominee Richard Wood, who was selected just two weeks ago at the Indiana Democratic Convention.  The Republican nominee is Tony Bennett.  Drs. Wood and Bennett have served as superintendents of local school corporations.

Mr. Brown is the nephew of Helen P. Brown and the cousin of Payne Brown, who both preceded him in service on the school board.   

Ms. Smith reports:

Brown, a Democrat, filed Monday to run as a write-in candidate in November[.]

[ ... ]

Brown, 50, who works as a contract administrator for Dana Holding Corp., said he didn’t feel the two candidates vying to replace Suellen Reed had the experience necessary.

“Neither one of the candidates have anything to do with a huge influx of minorities,” said Brown.

He said working with a diverse district has shown him how to deal with issues smaller communities Bennett and Wood represent don’t face.

[ ... ]

Brown, who was elected to the FWCS board in 2006, said his experience as an elected official gives him an edge, defining the office as a governing, not an administrative, one.

Brown, who has two years left on his term on the board, said he would resign if elected to the state post.

“Now I’ve got to get a hook so that people will remember (my name),” he said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge, and that’s what it is, a challenge.”

This can't be welcome news for Indiana Democrats who face the November election with a less than united base behind their gubernatorial nominee and questions being raised about what the response of their Attorney General nominee would be to Lake County corruption.  Mr. Brown may find that there will be some Democrats in Indianapolis who would like to provide him with a hook, just not the hook he's seeking.

More: Frost Illustrated profile.

Pause in Honor today

Two years ago this date,  Army Staff Sgt. Paul S. Pabla of Fort Wayne died of injuries sustained in combat in Mosul, Iraq.  He was 23.

He was part of the Army National Guard's 139th Field Artillery Regiment.

SSG Pabla grew up in Huntington, Indiana, and was a 2000 graduate of Huntington North High School.

Please take a moment today in honor of his service and his sacrifice.

More: Legacy guestbook

Paul Helmke on the death of Thomas Atkins

Former Fort Wayne Mayor Paul Helmke sent the following comment to FWOb regarding the death of Thomas Atkins, the first black student body president at a Big 10 university.  Mr. Atkins was elected Indiana University Student Body President in 1960 - a post to which Mr. Helmke was later elected.

While I never had the opportunity to meet Tom Atkins, I heard quite a bit about him when I served as Student Body President at Indiana University in 1969-1970, a few years after Atkins had held the same office. He had a reputation as being very smart, hard-working and politically astute. All of us involved in student politics were proud of the example he set at IU and for campuses across the country. I came across a picture of Atkins just a few months ago when I was reading Tom Brokaw's book on the 1960s, "Boom." There was a picture of Atkins with the Mayor of Boston during a time of racial turmoil in that city - it made me wonder what Atkins was doing now. Thank you for calling attention to his passing and to his contributions to our political system.                   Paul Helmke

A Mayor puts his own money down on Fort Wayne basketball

A mayor put his own money down for Fort Wayne basketball.

The city is Daytona Beach, Florida.

From the Daytona News-Journal:

Wednesday night, the under-13 P.A.L. League basketball players came before the commission, dressed in their Wildcats uniform and clanking medals around their necks. They asked for $6,000 to head to Fort Wayne, Ind. for a national tournament July 5 - 8.

Mayor Glenn Ritchey, President and CEO of Jon Hall Automotive Group, Southeast Management and Jon Hall Chevrolet, turned to City Manager Jim Chisholm and said. "You always like grants. I'll give you $3,000 if you'll match it."

The city manager said yes. No word was given about where the money will come from, but the audience and commission burst into applause.

It pays to have a rich mayor.

Rusty York: "Go West, young man"

Fort Wayne Police Chief Rusty York is hearing Horace Greeley's old adage.

Indiana's NewsCenter's Jeff Neumeyer reports that Fort Wayne's Chief interviewed in the near-Phoenix city of Buckeye, Arizona, last week for the position of chief there. The Arizona Republic reported yesterday that the selection process had winnowed the field to four finalists.

The position came open when Buckeye Chief Dan Saban stepped down in May to run against legendary Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in this fall's election. (More: Saban candidate website; Arpaio candidate website).  Dan Saban is a former Republican turned Democrat.  Sheriff Arpaio is a Republican. Buckeye Mayor Jackie Meck, who won election last fall by 28 votes, is Dan Saban's campaign chairman.

Buckeye is a town of about 40,000 population with an expectation of rapid growth over the next decade.. It's crime statistics profile is a little different than the one Chief York would leave behind in Fort Wayne. 

It hasn't had many murders. Crime statistics from 2001 to 2005 shows no murders. The illustration below is from a profile of Buckeye's crime statistics.

However, things may be changing with the swift expansion of the town's population. The latest crime statistics on the town website show a murder occured in March of 2008.  Then on June 8th, a 78 year old Buckeye woman was murdered; a $30,000 award has been offered for information leading to an arrest in that case.

Who might replace Chief York if he were offered the Arizona post and accepted it?  One City-County Building source said that new FWPD Communications head Tina Taviano would be a leading contender. Ms. Taviano was the Democratic nominee for Allen County Sheriff in 2006.  Chief York was the Democratic candidate for state representative against incumbent Bob Alderman in 1996.

High gas prices dampen incoming as well as outgoing tourist traffic

High gas prices don't just mean that Fort Wayne folks may put off travel plans to elsewhere.

It also means that folks intending to visit Fort Wayne might cancel travel plans to visit here.

One Arkansas television station reports:

Alan Hiatt and his family were looking forward to a long weekend Tuesday night.

"I'm off Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday," Hiatt said.

They thought about hitting the road and getting out of town to Fort Wayne, Ind., but a trip would have cost about $400. "Instead of being on the road this holiday, we thought we'd just stay at home," Hiatt said.

They'll hang out on a local lake and enjoy some Independence Day favorites, such as "swimming and fireworks."

Thomas Atkins, first black IU student body president, dies

Thomas Atkins was a man of firsts.  He was the first black city councilor in Boston, Massachusetts.  He was the first black class president and was elected the first black student body president at Indiana University in 1960. He had the additional distinction of being the first black student body president at a Big 10 university.

Mr. Atkins has died at the age of 69 in Brooklyn, New York.

He was born and raised in Elkhart, Indiana. He was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Indiana University and a graduate of Harvard University's Law School.

More: South Bend Tribune story. Boston Globe editorial.

US 30 Valparaiso crash Tuesday results in fatality and critical injury of Fort Wayne couple

A Fort Wayne couple traveling Tuesday afternoon were stopped at at redlight on US 30 in Valparaiso when a semi tractor-trailer struck their vehicle from behind.  The crash was devastating, killing a well-regarded Northwood Middle School teacher and critically injuring her husband.

The Valparaiso Police Department report that Lahna Gibson, age 41,  of Fort Wayne, was fatally injured in the crash. Mack Gibson, 49, of Fort Wayne, is in critical condition at a Valparaiso hospital.

The accident occurred near the Valparaiso University campus. Valparaiso Police and the Indiana State Police are investigating.

From the Valparaiso Police Department:

Police have learned through their investigation that a tractor-trailer traveling in the WB lanes rear ended a vehicle stopping at the automatic signal to the entrance of the Pilot Travel Center.

[ ... ] The truck driver who was not injured, was identified as Douglas Stockdale, 58 yrs old, of Machesney Park Illinois.

UPDATE Thursday: Erin Guerra of the Gary Post-Tribune reported:

The semi-trailer driver assumed the car in front of him was going to continue through the yellow light.

When it didn't, he couldn't stop in time, he told Indiana State police after the 12:31 p.m. Tuesday crash on U.S. 30.

The truck rear-ended the blue 2005 Toyota Celica and pushed it through the intersection in front of the Pilot Travel Center at 4105 Morthland Drive.

[ ... ]

Truck driver Douglas Stockdale, 58, of Machesney Park, Ill., was not injured. He was driving a blue 2005 Freightliner and box trailer owned by Shadow Trucking Inc. of Rockford, Ill.

The crash remains under investigation.

So far, speed did not appear to be a factor and Stockdale has passed alcohol tests and drug tests are pending.

State police listed the crash contributors as Stockdale following too closely and having an insecure load, but he has not yet been ticketed.

Map credit: Google maps.

City's Ted Nitza taking leave

Thomas T. "Ted" Nitza, the City of Fort Wayne's lead person in making the Aqua Indiana north acquisition, will be taking a year or longer leave from Fort Wayne, as his wife pursues an educational opportunity in Botswana.  Ted Nitza is the Program Manager for Fort Wayne City Utilities.

He is a Professional Engineer and holds an engineering degree from Purdue University.

Amy Nitza, an assistant professor at IPFW, received a Fulbright scholarship:

Amy Nitza, an assistant professor in IPFW's School of Education and assistant director of the counselor education program, will be spending the year at the University of Botswana on the development of a new Center for the Study of HIV and AIDS. She will help build research and outreach capacity in her area of expertise, which is group counseling interventions. "I am most excited about the opportunity to help build this center from the ground up, and to apply my skills and expertise in this new way. I am also confident that I will learn far more than I will contribute, and will be able to bring a whole new set of skills back to my work at IPFW. On a personal level, I am excited for my kids to be able to be immersed in a new culture, which I think will be a very significant experience for them," said Nitza.

Outsourcing newspapers

We don't think that Bob Caylor, Amanda Iacone or Ben Lanka need to be watching over their shoulders just yet. There is no evidence that what McClatchy and some other newspapers are doing in outsourcing newspaper functions to the Indian subcontinent is happening at 600 W. Main Street in Fort Wayne. 

National Public Radio featured a story today about newspaper outsourcing. NPR interviewed Robert Berkely, the chief executive of Express KCS, a company which handles newspapers backoffice functions at a facility outside New Delhi, India.  You can listen to the story here.

This is not just advertising design, advertising copyrighting and page layout; they are also doing some editorial functions ... and for some very substantial American publications.  One newspaper in Pasadena, California outsourced coverage of local government such as city council meetings to reporters in India.

Streaming audio and video of local government meetings in Allen County would make such coverage theoretically possible here. The KCS Express CEO doesn't apologize for such outsourcing.  He points out that with drastic staff cutbacks at newspapers, such techniques may allow newspapers to avoid cutting even more deeply in coverage.

More: Express KCS website. 

Air Chamber

On the one hand, the Fort Wayne Chamber's Daily Dose weblog states in a June 26th post titled Air Service Development Report:

We will continue to focus our efforts to improve air service here in Fort Wayne, and look forward to the benefits those successes will have.

That Chamber weblog post was about challenges facing airline passenger service in smaller markets such as Fort Wayne. The Chamber has an Air Service Development Committee devoted to promoting air travel from Fort Wayne International Airport.

The post began: Our Vice President of Air Service Development, Dave Young, recently shared some information with our Transportation Committee members that we would like to share here…

Today, the Chamber's weblog promotes the new van shuttle service to take Fort Wayne air travelers to the Indianapolis Airport:

Fort Wayne Welcomes The Indiana Flyer

The Indiana Flyer will celebrate their grand opening on July 8 at noon with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. They are located at 4023 Transportation Drive.

The Indiana Flyer will provide scheduled van shuttle service to and from the Indianapolis Airport giving Fort Wayne travelers using the Indianapolis Airport the option of leaving their car at home.

By the way, the Indianapolis City-County Council has voted in favor of reincorporating the name "Weir Cook" into the name of the Indianapolis International Airport. The Indianapolis Airport Authority will make a decision on the Council recommendation later this month. The airport was historically known as "Weir Cook" from 1944 until 1976. Mr. Cook was a WW II pilot and killed in combat in 1943. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. The name change, if approved, will take place when the new midfield terminal is opened next year.

Should Fort Wayne contemplate a similar name restoration by changing the name of Fort Wayne International to Fort Wayne Paul Baer International Airport? Paul Baer was a WW I flying ace awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Croix de Guerre. The airport bore the name of Baer Field until 1991.  The original name was designated by the Army Air Corps in WW II when the federal government built the field to field test aircraft and process US pilots. One of those pilots was former Democratic presidential nominee and US Senator George McGovern..

The story of how a foward looking Fort Wayne civic community made the airport possible is found online in an extensive article on the history of the airport and its role in WW II. It's recommended reading.:

Early in the war years, defense related construction was going on at a feverish pace all over the United States and especially in Indiana. Baer Field escaped some of this because the airdrome was about completed prior to the start of the war. The field was unique in that its establishment at Fort Wayne was at the request of the city. The location for many airbases was often a decision by the War Department with little input by the people affected. The citizens of Fort Wayne wanted the base, and the city took options to buy 700 acres for that purpose should the War Department decide to build a field there. The decision to build at Fort Wayne came quicker than expected. Early in January 1941 the War Department told the town it would locate a base there if possession of the land could be had by February 1. That was less than 30 days away. It was simply not possible to handle the real estate and financial matters that quickly. However the situation was saved by 30 businessmen, who signed notes totaling the $125,000 needed. Then four of the local banks advanced the city that amount to buy the land. Land owners were told to be ready to vacate in 15 days. The government signed a $1 annual lease, and now the construction could begin.

Starbucks closing 600 stores across US

Starbucks announced Tuesday that it has greatly expanded the number of store locations it plans to shutter between now and July of 2009. 

The coffee chain will turn out the lights at 600 locations.  No word yet on whether any Fort Wayne stores are on the list. 

The stores identified for closure are spread across all major U.S. markets with approximately 70 percent of them opened since the beginning of fiscal 2006.  The executive and field leadership teams used several criteria to identify stores for closure that included locations that were not profitable at the store level and not projected to provide acceptable returns in the foreseeable future. In addition to site and market-specific criteria, consideration was given to the impact of current and anticipated economic trends.

The downtown Fort Wayne Starbucks at Fairfield and Jefferson Boulevard opened in the fall of 2006.

More: Starbucks locations in Fort Wayne with photos.

More: Map of Fort Wayne Starbucks stores.

Successful poker player: owes it to owning a Fort Wayne company

The Fort Myers News Press reports on the poker success of former Fort Wayne resident Frank Gary:

Frank Gary has a lot of confidence in his ability to win money playing poker. That led to the Fort Myers resident deciding to drive his RV to Las Vegas for a tournament, spending more than $1,500 in gas on the trip west.

Gary needed just three days to cause a big stir in this poker capital, going from being an unknown to winning the World Series of Poker $1,500 buy-in Mixed Hold'em championship at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino on June 24.

The 42-year-old retiree turned his investment into $219,562, a gold bracelet and no worries about the price of gas.

Gary credits owning a small high-tech company in Fort Wayne, Ind., for allowing him to develop a keen sense for poker.

Crop rotation

FWOb received a comment this morning from fellow Fort Wayne blogger Alec Johnson regarding yesterday's photographic post of the hobby horses in the middle of the Illinois cornfield:

Wow, I drove by that same field last year and, like you, had to stop and take a photo. I did a little digital manipulation and it has been the header picture for my blog at http://linearbean.blogspot.com/ since it's inception. That image obviously birthed the name of my blog as well.

FWOb wasn't previously aware of Mr. Johnson's blog; Linear Beanfield Carousel gets added to the FWOb blogroll.

Crop rotation spared FWOb from unintentionally duplicating Mr. Johnson's work.  As it is - we were both taken by the work of the farmer/artist. 

Cornfield horses

Seen in north central Illinois along US 24.

Photo credit: Fort Wayne Observed | Mitch Harper

Travel in Iowa

Travel at the end of last week took me to Iowa.

Yes, I filled up.

Photo credit: Fort Wayne Observed | Mitch Harper

Timed out

There are morning newspapers, there are fewer and fewer afternoon newspapers, and then there is the new category of "throughout the day" newspapers.

At 6:28 A.M. here is the recording Journal Gazette subscribers heard when they called the Fort Wayne Newspapers phone number:

We apologize.

The Journal Gazette routes are running very late this morning and are being delivered throughout the day.  Thank you.

When the print edition of the Journal Gazette is not delivered timely, it also means a delay in Fort Wayne for Wall Street Journal home delivery.

More: Craig Klugman note.

Rohrbacher's obituary show opens Saturday

Kat Rohrbacher in front of her latest exhibition, “Memento Mori,” which features her drawings of Fort Wayne residents who died during the month of April 2007 and had pictures run with their obituary.

From yesterday's News-Sentinel article on Rohrbacher's show:

What: Opening reception for “Memento Mori”
When: 7-10 p.m. Saturday
Where: SOMA Gallery 1430 W. Main St. in Fort Wayne
Cost: $1 for reception
Note: The exhibit will continue through July 10 by appointment only; call 409-3123 to schedule a time.

More photos from the exhibition follow on the continuation page.