Whitright Leads Top 10 Stories Of 2011
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
The top stories of the year were voted on by the news staff of the Times-Union based on stories that appeared throughout the year on page one.
1.
Warsaw Police Department patrolman Timothy S. Whitright resigned Nov. 22 after allegations of him engaging in inappropriate communication with a female minor came to light.
Whitright’s resignation letter was presented to WPD Chief Scott Whitaker four days after Whitaker received a report Nov. 18 of Whitright having inappropriate communication with a female minor the first week of November.
The female was identified as a 16-year-old Warsaw Community High School student who Whitright met while performing police security at the high school.
On Dec. 16, Whitright turned himself in, then bonded out on charges of child molestation and child solicitation.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed in Kosciusko County Superior Court I Dec. 16, Whitright, 28, Warsaw, allegedly solicited a girl, under 14 years old, for sexual contact.
He was booked into Kosciusko County Jail on a count of child molesting, a Class C felony, and child solicitation, a Class D felony. His bond was set at $10,000.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the girl was at the Whitright home with friends and later was given a ride home by Whitright.
During the ride home, Whitright allegedly attempted to solicit sexual favors from the girl, and the girl alleged he touched her in her private area.
Whitright’s initial hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 5.
2.
Local elections turned out to be big news in the county in 2011.
It all started Jan. 14 when Warsaw School Board member and former Kosciusko County treasurer Kent Adams announced he would seek the Winona Lake clerk-treasurer position, held by longtime incumbent Retha Hicks.
On Jan. 17, 14-year Mayor Ernie Wiggins announced he would not seek re-election. His announcement opened the door for Joe Thallemer, Tony Miller, Kyle Babcock and Michael Alspaugh to run for mayor in the May Republican primary.
Two mayoral debates were held. Silent No More held its debate March 30, and the Times-Union held its debate April 26 at the Wagon Wheel Theatre.
Adams won the clerk-treasurer position, and Thallemer won the May 3 primary for mayor.
For the November general election, Jerry Opperud announced in July he would run as an independent for mayor, for the third time.
On Nov. 1, Opperud told the county election board he was offered a bribe by city councilman George Clemens not to run for mayor. Clemens threatened litigation against Opperud for the statements Opperud made under oath if Opperud did not apologize and retract his statement.
3.
Though the car crash that killed Victoria Anderson occurred in 2010, Samuel Davis Jr.’s trial made the headlines in October 2011.
On March 2, 2010, Anderson was killed when a car driven by Davis slammed passenger-side-first into a tree. Anderson was the passenger in Davis’ sedan.
Davis, 36, Warsaw, faced charges of causing a death by driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of more than 0.15 percent, causing a death by driving with cocaine in his system, causing a death by driving with marijuana in his system and felony driving while intoxicated.
The trial was moved to Noble County after Davis petitioned for and was granted a change of venue earlier this year.
On Oct. 7, after 90 minutes of deliberation, the jury found Davis guilty of each felony count he was charged with concerning the crash along Old 30 that killed Anderson in which Davis was found to have cocaine and marijuana in his system and drunk more than three times the legal limit of alcohol.
On Oct. 26, Judge Robert Kirsch sentenced Davis to 18 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections, with 15 years executed and three years formal supervised probation, along with a fine of $1,000 and court costs of $365.50. The court also ordered Davis not to drive at all during his period of probation.
Davis said he intended to appeal the court’s decision.
4.
Road projects around the county this year, especially Warsaw, topped the news during the summer.
In June, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 went on strike, holding up street projects on Lake Street, Center Street and elsewhere. By June’s end, the union came to a tentative agreement and street projects were back on track.
The water infrastructure improvement on Detroit Street (Ind. 15) had local businesses feeling the pinch. Businesses reported business being down by as much as 30 percent during the construction.
The Old 30 Roundabout was open by Thanksgiving. The federal money for the project came in the 1990s when the county passed its Western Corridor project, however, the state would not agree to the Warsaw bypass. The county found that the intersections of Fox Farm Road and Zimmer at Old 30 were determined by federal standards to be deficient so the money was then moved over to fund the roundabouts.
5.
Before Whitright, another former Warsaw Police Department patrolman, Alvin Dials, made front-page headlines.
Dials faces nine felony charges after authorities say he made threats to kill Warsaw Police Chief Scott Whitaker and other officers while armed with a rifle and a bayonet knife.
Dials resigned from the WPD in February 2010 “due to medical reasons.”
He was arrested July 19 and booked into Kosciusko County Jail on a $250,000 bond.
Dials’ pre-trial hearing was Thursday and it was decided his case would go to trial.
6.
Tattoos were the subject of a controversy thanks to city rules in Warsaw.
Tattoo parlors were allowed in the city limits as special exceptions in Commercial-2, C-3 and C-5 districts and Industrial-2 and I-3 districts.
On May 23, two Warsaw tattoo parlors were granted special exceptions for their business locations by the Warsaw Board of Zoning Appeals.
But the special exceptions were approved with sign restrictions that Hank’s Tattoo, 3704 Lake City Highway, owned by Hank Hernandez, and Take Action, 938 N. Detroit St., owned by Jonathan Brown, can no longer visibly have signage that says “tattoo”, “body piercing” or “body art” that is visible from the roof, wall, windows or from the road.
Hernandez, feeling the ruling indicated Warsaw was prejudice against tattoo studios, planned litigation against the ruling and the city. The ruling also led to hundreds of comments through the Times-Union website and social media Facebook, with the vast majority of them critical of the decision.
The city decided to take a closer look at its ordinances and the decision.
On July 11, Warsaw Plan Commission voted in favor of a proposal that continues to allow tattoo parlors as special exceptions in Commercial-2 zoning districts. The proposal also is for new language in the ordinance that would allow tattoo establishments as permitted uses in C-3, C-5, Industrial-2 and I-3 zoning districts.
On Aug. 1, the city council approved the ordinance, and the tattoo businesses have signs up indicating they provide tattoos.
7.
It isn’t uncommon for celebrities to visit Kosciusko County, but often on the down low. In 2011, the well-known people visited with a lot of fanfare.
In June, Grace College announced former first lady Laura Bush would speak in Winona in October. Bush visited Ivy Tech for its building dedication and Grace College to speak on literacy.
In September, MSNBC talk show host Ed Schultz addressed the crowd at the Kosciusko County Democrats’ Jefferson-Jackson dinner. A few days later, Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski visited DePuy.
IndyCar race team owner Sarah Fisher gave the keynote speech at the Nontraditional Employment for Women Opportunities Workshop Oct. 26.[[In-content Ad]]8.
The former executive director of the Kosciusko County Board of Realtors was arrested Aug. 19, accused of using board money for personal use for several years.
Elizabeth Irene Kennedy, 52, of 8601 S. CR 600W, Claypool, was booked into Kosciusko County Jail just after 2 p.m. Aug. 19 on two counts of felony theft, the fallout of a three-month investigation by Warsaw police into some $28,000 reportedly swindled from the board of realtors accounts.
According to police, Kennedy made purchases for herself, an acquaintance and her family “consistently” for four to six years during her time as executive director of the board. She then manipulated the board’s account funds to hide the scheme, according to police.
In December, Warsaw Police Department detectives completed another investigation that involves the Kosciusko County Board of Realtors.
The office administrator of the Multiple Listing Service has been charged with two counts of theft, associated with her duties at that office. Deeana Lynn Tyler, 50, of Winona Lake, who was previously the association executive from 2002 to August 2011, was found to have used MLS money for her own personal use during some or most of that time. She was terminated from her employment in August 2011 by KBOR Multiple Listing Board.
The three-month investigation determined that more than $25,000 had been misappropriated through most of her employment and involved personal purchases from the MLS financial accounts that she supervised and maintained. Criminal charges were recommended as a result of Warsaw detectives’ investigation, and the investigation’s findings were forwarded to the Kosciusko County Prosecutors office for review. After review, two criminal charges of theft, Class D felonies, were approved and filed.
Although the MLS is associated with the Kosciusko Board of Realtors, it maintains a separate office from the KBOR office, has separate financial accounts and has separate board oversight. The investigation did not find that Kennedy and Tyler were involved in a scheme together, but they appeared to run and maintain their offices in similar manners and the embezzlement of monies over a long period of time were consistent.
9.
Meijer will finally be coming to Warsaw.
In January, the Warsaw Traffic Commission reviewed a 1-1/2-year-old traffic study by Meijer.
The study is of land at Anchorage Road and U.S. 30, and was provided by Meijer and approved by the Indiana Department of Transportation.
On March 14, the Warsaw Plan Commission voted unanimously to send a favorable recommendation to the Warsaw City Council to rezone the property to allow for the proposed Meijer store.
The city council approved the rezoning. Construction of Meijer is scheduled to begin in spring 2012, with its opening in spring 2013.
Meijer attempted to build a store in Warsaw in 2000 on Husky Trail near Patterson Road in Warsaw. The city council denied Meijer’s rezoning request, but a Menard’s and Martin’s Supermarket are now located where Meijer had sought to build a store.
10.
As the largest school corporation in Kosciusko County with more than 7,000 students and nearly a $70 million annual budget, Warsaw Community Schools keeps itself in the news.
After building and completing four new elementary schools over the past three years, Warsaw Community Schools announced in January it wanted to sell the former Leesburg Elementary School, 101 Church St.
On Feb. 28 at a school board meeting, the board announced that by selling the old Leesburg school to Maple Leaf Farms, Warsaw Community Schools will be able to purchase 31-1/2 acres of bare land adjacent to Warsaw Community High School.
The board approved selling the school to Maple Leaf Farms for $178,000.
Since WCS did not need to demolish the old school, it saved $125,000. With that savings and the money from the sale of the school, the board purchased the 31-1/2 acres from ShadyCrest Development Corp. for an amount not to exceed $310,000. The acreage is on the west side of Logan Street from CR 100S into a wooded area.
On Oct. 27, Maple Leaf Farms unveiled its new world headquarters at the former Leesburg Elementary School.
Maple Leaf Farms unveiled its new $4 million world headquarters during a ribbon-cutting ceremony and dedication that featured a cooking demonstration by celebrity chef Martin Yan.
The top stories of the year were voted on by the news staff of the Times-Union based on stories that appeared throughout the year on page one.
1.
Warsaw Police Department patrolman Timothy S. Whitright resigned Nov. 22 after allegations of him engaging in inappropriate communication with a female minor came to light.
Whitright’s resignation letter was presented to WPD Chief Scott Whitaker four days after Whitaker received a report Nov. 18 of Whitright having inappropriate communication with a female minor the first week of November.
The female was identified as a 16-year-old Warsaw Community High School student who Whitright met while performing police security at the high school.
On Dec. 16, Whitright turned himself in, then bonded out on charges of child molestation and child solicitation.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed in Kosciusko County Superior Court I Dec. 16, Whitright, 28, Warsaw, allegedly solicited a girl, under 14 years old, for sexual contact.
He was booked into Kosciusko County Jail on a count of child molesting, a Class C felony, and child solicitation, a Class D felony. His bond was set at $10,000.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the girl was at the Whitright home with friends and later was given a ride home by Whitright.
During the ride home, Whitright allegedly attempted to solicit sexual favors from the girl, and the girl alleged he touched her in her private area.
Whitright’s initial hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 5.
2.
Local elections turned out to be big news in the county in 2011.
It all started Jan. 14 when Warsaw School Board member and former Kosciusko County treasurer Kent Adams announced he would seek the Winona Lake clerk-treasurer position, held by longtime incumbent Retha Hicks.
On Jan. 17, 14-year Mayor Ernie Wiggins announced he would not seek re-election. His announcement opened the door for Joe Thallemer, Tony Miller, Kyle Babcock and Michael Alspaugh to run for mayor in the May Republican primary.
Two mayoral debates were held. Silent No More held its debate March 30, and the Times-Union held its debate April 26 at the Wagon Wheel Theatre.
Adams won the clerk-treasurer position, and Thallemer won the May 3 primary for mayor.
For the November general election, Jerry Opperud announced in July he would run as an independent for mayor, for the third time.
On Nov. 1, Opperud told the county election board he was offered a bribe by city councilman George Clemens not to run for mayor. Clemens threatened litigation against Opperud for the statements Opperud made under oath if Opperud did not apologize and retract his statement.
3.
Though the car crash that killed Victoria Anderson occurred in 2010, Samuel Davis Jr.’s trial made the headlines in October 2011.
On March 2, 2010, Anderson was killed when a car driven by Davis slammed passenger-side-first into a tree. Anderson was the passenger in Davis’ sedan.
Davis, 36, Warsaw, faced charges of causing a death by driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of more than 0.15 percent, causing a death by driving with cocaine in his system, causing a death by driving with marijuana in his system and felony driving while intoxicated.
The trial was moved to Noble County after Davis petitioned for and was granted a change of venue earlier this year.
On Oct. 7, after 90 minutes of deliberation, the jury found Davis guilty of each felony count he was charged with concerning the crash along Old 30 that killed Anderson in which Davis was found to have cocaine and marijuana in his system and drunk more than three times the legal limit of alcohol.
On Oct. 26, Judge Robert Kirsch sentenced Davis to 18 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections, with 15 years executed and three years formal supervised probation, along with a fine of $1,000 and court costs of $365.50. The court also ordered Davis not to drive at all during his period of probation.
Davis said he intended to appeal the court’s decision.
4.
Road projects around the county this year, especially Warsaw, topped the news during the summer.
In June, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 went on strike, holding up street projects on Lake Street, Center Street and elsewhere. By June’s end, the union came to a tentative agreement and street projects were back on track.
The water infrastructure improvement on Detroit Street (Ind. 15) had local businesses feeling the pinch. Businesses reported business being down by as much as 30 percent during the construction.
The Old 30 Roundabout was open by Thanksgiving. The federal money for the project came in the 1990s when the county passed its Western Corridor project, however, the state would not agree to the Warsaw bypass. The county found that the intersections of Fox Farm Road and Zimmer at Old 30 were determined by federal standards to be deficient so the money was then moved over to fund the roundabouts.
5.
Before Whitright, another former Warsaw Police Department patrolman, Alvin Dials, made front-page headlines.
Dials faces nine felony charges after authorities say he made threats to kill Warsaw Police Chief Scott Whitaker and other officers while armed with a rifle and a bayonet knife.
Dials resigned from the WPD in February 2010 “due to medical reasons.”
He was arrested July 19 and booked into Kosciusko County Jail on a $250,000 bond.
Dials’ pre-trial hearing was Thursday and it was decided his case would go to trial.
6.
Tattoos were the subject of a controversy thanks to city rules in Warsaw.
Tattoo parlors were allowed in the city limits as special exceptions in Commercial-2, C-3 and C-5 districts and Industrial-2 and I-3 districts.
On May 23, two Warsaw tattoo parlors were granted special exceptions for their business locations by the Warsaw Board of Zoning Appeals.
But the special exceptions were approved with sign restrictions that Hank’s Tattoo, 3704 Lake City Highway, owned by Hank Hernandez, and Take Action, 938 N. Detroit St., owned by Jonathan Brown, can no longer visibly have signage that says “tattoo”, “body piercing” or “body art” that is visible from the roof, wall, windows or from the road.
Hernandez, feeling the ruling indicated Warsaw was prejudice against tattoo studios, planned litigation against the ruling and the city. The ruling also led to hundreds of comments through the Times-Union website and social media Facebook, with the vast majority of them critical of the decision.
The city decided to take a closer look at its ordinances and the decision.
On July 11, Warsaw Plan Commission voted in favor of a proposal that continues to allow tattoo parlors as special exceptions in Commercial-2 zoning districts. The proposal also is for new language in the ordinance that would allow tattoo establishments as permitted uses in C-3, C-5, Industrial-2 and I-3 zoning districts.
On Aug. 1, the city council approved the ordinance, and the tattoo businesses have signs up indicating they provide tattoos.
7.
It isn’t uncommon for celebrities to visit Kosciusko County, but often on the down low. In 2011, the well-known people visited with a lot of fanfare.
In June, Grace College announced former first lady Laura Bush would speak in Winona in October. Bush visited Ivy Tech for its building dedication and Grace College to speak on literacy.
In September, MSNBC talk show host Ed Schultz addressed the crowd at the Kosciusko County Democrats’ Jefferson-Jackson dinner. A few days later, Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski visited DePuy.
IndyCar race team owner Sarah Fisher gave the keynote speech at the Nontraditional Employment for Women Opportunities Workshop Oct. 26.[[In-content Ad]]8.
The former executive director of the Kosciusko County Board of Realtors was arrested Aug. 19, accused of using board money for personal use for several years.
Elizabeth Irene Kennedy, 52, of 8601 S. CR 600W, Claypool, was booked into Kosciusko County Jail just after 2 p.m. Aug. 19 on two counts of felony theft, the fallout of a three-month investigation by Warsaw police into some $28,000 reportedly swindled from the board of realtors accounts.
According to police, Kennedy made purchases for herself, an acquaintance and her family “consistently” for four to six years during her time as executive director of the board. She then manipulated the board’s account funds to hide the scheme, according to police.
In December, Warsaw Police Department detectives completed another investigation that involves the Kosciusko County Board of Realtors.
The office administrator of the Multiple Listing Service has been charged with two counts of theft, associated with her duties at that office. Deeana Lynn Tyler, 50, of Winona Lake, who was previously the association executive from 2002 to August 2011, was found to have used MLS money for her own personal use during some or most of that time. She was terminated from her employment in August 2011 by KBOR Multiple Listing Board.
The three-month investigation determined that more than $25,000 had been misappropriated through most of her employment and involved personal purchases from the MLS financial accounts that she supervised and maintained. Criminal charges were recommended as a result of Warsaw detectives’ investigation, and the investigation’s findings were forwarded to the Kosciusko County Prosecutors office for review. After review, two criminal charges of theft, Class D felonies, were approved and filed.
Although the MLS is associated with the Kosciusko Board of Realtors, it maintains a separate office from the KBOR office, has separate financial accounts and has separate board oversight. The investigation did not find that Kennedy and Tyler were involved in a scheme together, but they appeared to run and maintain their offices in similar manners and the embezzlement of monies over a long period of time were consistent.
9.
Meijer will finally be coming to Warsaw.
In January, the Warsaw Traffic Commission reviewed a 1-1/2-year-old traffic study by Meijer.
The study is of land at Anchorage Road and U.S. 30, and was provided by Meijer and approved by the Indiana Department of Transportation.
On March 14, the Warsaw Plan Commission voted unanimously to send a favorable recommendation to the Warsaw City Council to rezone the property to allow for the proposed Meijer store.
The city council approved the rezoning. Construction of Meijer is scheduled to begin in spring 2012, with its opening in spring 2013.
Meijer attempted to build a store in Warsaw in 2000 on Husky Trail near Patterson Road in Warsaw. The city council denied Meijer’s rezoning request, but a Menard’s and Martin’s Supermarket are now located where Meijer had sought to build a store.
10.
As the largest school corporation in Kosciusko County with more than 7,000 students and nearly a $70 million annual budget, Warsaw Community Schools keeps itself in the news.
After building and completing four new elementary schools over the past three years, Warsaw Community Schools announced in January it wanted to sell the former Leesburg Elementary School, 101 Church St.
On Feb. 28 at a school board meeting, the board announced that by selling the old Leesburg school to Maple Leaf Farms, Warsaw Community Schools will be able to purchase 31-1/2 acres of bare land adjacent to Warsaw Community High School.
The board approved selling the school to Maple Leaf Farms for $178,000.
Since WCS did not need to demolish the old school, it saved $125,000. With that savings and the money from the sale of the school, the board purchased the 31-1/2 acres from ShadyCrest Development Corp. for an amount not to exceed $310,000. The acreage is on the west side of Logan Street from CR 100S into a wooded area.
On Oct. 27, Maple Leaf Farms unveiled its new world headquarters at the former Leesburg Elementary School.
Maple Leaf Farms unveiled its new $4 million world headquarters during a ribbon-cutting ceremony and dedication that featured a cooking demonstration by celebrity chef Martin Yan.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092