A shootout in Cromwell that left one dead and two injured is the top story of 2014, according to a vote by Times-Union staff. Other top stories of the year include a business acquisition and severe weather in January and July. 1 On Aug. 25 around 7 p.m., three bond recovery agents attempted to serve an active felony warrant on Gary W. Helman, 56, of 9174 E. Doswell Blvd., Cromwell. The three agents were identified as Daniel Foster, 43, LaPorte; Michael C. Thomas, 36, Osceola; and Tad Martin, no age provided, Osceola. The agents reportedly made visual identification of Helman as he stood on the back deck of his residence. They engaged Helman and a subsequent gun battle ensued inside and outside of the residence, according to information provided by the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Dept. Struck by gunshots were Martin and Helman’s twin brother, Larry D. Helman. Officers found Gary Helman inside the home suffering from a critical gunshot wound, but he was later pronounced dead from his gunshot injuries by County Coroner Michael Wilson. New information released by KCSD on Sept. 4 detailed how a local reporter, Stacey Staley, who founded and wrote for staceypageonline.com, was involved in the attempted arrest of Gary Helman. The agents told KCSD detective J.D. Ayres that Staley provided them information about Helman prior to the attempted arrest. Staley was not at the scene at the time of the shooting. Staley has since resigned from the online website, and it has changed its name. 2 On April 24, it was announced that Zimmer would acquire Biomet for $13.35 billion in a deal. The two companies made the joint announcement. The board of directors of both orthopedic manufacturers approved the buy, which will see Zimmer pay $10.35 billion in cash and issue to Biomet equity holders $3 billion in shares. The combined company will remain in Warsaw under a consolidated name with Zimmer CEO David Dvorak as president, according to the announcement. The deal was expected to close early in 2015. In November, Zimmer Holdings Inc. agreed with the European Commission to extend the deadline for the commission’s review of Zimmer’s proposed acquisition of Biomet by a “limited number of days” in order to provide additional information. On Dec. 23, The New York Times reported an inquiry into foreign bribes at Biomet may affect its merger with Zimmer. According to the article, “Suspected acts of bribery thousands of miles away may have complicated that deal — and raised larger questions about the way prosecutors mete out justice for big corporations, according to confidential documents reviewed by The New York Times and interviews with lawyers briefed on the matter.” Biomet is suspected of helping to bribe government officials in Mexico and Brazil, according to the confidential documents, which have not been previously reported, the NYT reports. An email from an anonymous whistle-blower laid bare the problems in Brazil, reporting that distributors Biomet had hired to sell its orthopedic devices were “paying kickbacks” to government doctors. 3 The first severe weather of 2014 in Kosciusko County led the Kosciusko County Commissioners to sign a Level III Local Disaster Emergency Declaration Jan. 6. It was just one more indication of how bad the weather turned over the past two days. The county had a blizzard warning in effect until 7 a.m. Jan. 6, with a wind chill warning remaining in effect throughout the day. On Jan. 7, Kosciusko, Fulton, Wabash and Whitley counties were four of the 29 counties for which Ind. Gov. Pence declared a “state of disaster emergency.” According to Amos Dodson, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, since Jan. 4 the NWS office totaled the snowfall for the event at 14.6 inches. At about 9:40 a.m. Jan. 7, Dodson said the temperature was -9 degrees in Warsaw. It had dropped to -13 degrees overnight. The wind chill was around -30 to -35 degrees. On Feb. 5, Kosciusko County was under a local disaster emergency again, prohibiting most travel on county roads. 4 A fatal fire Dec. 19 turned into a homicide investigation by Christmas Eve. Warsaw-Wayne Township Fire Dept. was called to the scene of a duplex fully engulfed in fire at 1031 E. Smith St., north of Lakeview Middle School. The Kosciusko County coroner was called to the scene, and the victim of the fire was identified as Sarah J. Gibbs, 34. On Dec. 23, the Warsaw Police Dept. announced Gibbs’ death was being investigated as a homicide. A forensic autopsy was performed at the Northeast Indiana Forensic Center, and the results of the autopsy indicated that the injuries sustained by Gibbs were not associated with the progression of the fire. Coroner Michael Wilson said, “These injuries are consistent with injuries associated with an assault by someone other than oneself.” 5 A series of tornados early July 1 swept Kosciusko County and claimed the life of a Winona Lake teen. Police and fire departments were dispatched to 1202 Wooster Road, lot 76, in Fairlane Mobile Home Park, where a tree had fallen on a trailer due to high winds. First responders saw a large tree that had broken off and fallen on the front portion of the trailer. After police searched through debris in the bedroom, they found Danny Holbrook, 14, fatally injured by the fallen tree. After investigating the storm, the National Weather Service determined at least three tornados swept through parts of Kosciusko County – one was an EF-0 in Milford, and two others were EF-1 that ransacked the southern portion of the county. Other tornados were confirmed in several other counties throughout the state.6 An accident Dec. 27 claimed the life of 27-year-old Kami L. Ellis, Nappanee. The crash occurred on CR 1350N, near CR 300W, Milford, at 12:09 a.m. Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Dept. arrested a woman – Vicki Lynn Simmons, 61, Milford – who helped the driver flee the scene of the accident, with charges pending against the alleged driver, Scott L. Wilkins, 36, Milford. Officers and emergency personnel responded to the single-vehicle crash at approximately 12:09 a.m. Saturday. Deputies and emergency personnel arrived on scene to find a disintegrated 2007 Nissan, 350 Z, engulfed in flames, in a field. The Milford Fire Department subsequently located a charred body inside the passenger seat of the vehicle. Parkview Samaritan helicopter was summoned to the scene to search the area for the potential driver, to no avail. Ellis, a passenger in the vehicle, was positively identified at the Northeast Indiana Forensic Center, Fort Wayne, on Sunday during an autopsy, according to Kosciusko County Coroner Michael Wilson. Ellis was determined to have died from blunt force trauma as a result of the vehicular crash. During the progress of the investigation, it was determined that the driver had fled the area and had been retrieved in Milford by another individual. At approximately 5:48 a.m. Saturday, Warsaw police located Wilkins and Simmons at the Warsaw Holiday Inn Express hotel. Wilkins requested medical attention from the original fatal crash, and was transported to Kosciusko Community Hospital. He was later transferred to Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne, as a result of his multiple injuries. KCSD Public Information Officer Sgt. Chad Hill said at this time that the connection between Wilkins and Simmons is unknown. Kosciusko County Fatal Alcohol Crash Team investigators and the Kosciusko County Prosecutor’s Office stated that charges against Wilkins are currently pending. Simmons was subsequently arrested at the hotel Saturday morning and transported to the Kosciusko County Jail. She was preliminarily charged with felony aiding/causing/inducing. Simmons’ bond was set at $2,000. Investigators preliminarily determined that the fatality vehicle had been eastbound on CR 1350N at high rate of speed. Wilkins advised officers that a deer had entered onto the roadway, and he had attempted to swerve to avoid colliding with it. The Nissan began to slide sideway, crossing the roadway, striking a tree and sign, before traveling into the field and catching on fire. 7 On Jan. 9 YMCA officials, community leaders, volunteers, donors, members and invited guests gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony of the new Parkview Warsaw YMCA. The new 72,000-square-foot facility is at 1305 Mariners Drive, Warsaw. Since 1964, the YMCA was at 1401 E. Smith St. and was 40,000 square feet. In June 2013, the Y had raised $12 million toward the $13.1 million capital campaign goal and announced the public phase of the campaign to build the new facility. Parkview Warsaw YMCA celebrated the grand opening of the new facility Dec. 8. The YMCA took possession of the new facility Nov. 1. Baker Youth Club purchased the Smith Street facility and moved in Dec. 6. 8 Warsaw Street Superintendent Lacy Francis resigned Jan. 27 following the results of a preliminary investigation into billing problems at the city stormwater utility. A request for information from the newly created Warsaw Stormwater Utility uncovered billing irregularities for previous storm-water projects. At issue was incomplete verification of work completed, according to a press release issued Jan. 28 from Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer. The utility, in the process of inventorying more than 52 miles of aging stormwater lines, was working to determine the quantity of pipe that had been previously repaired and/or maintained. Their request yielded information indicating that previous projects may have been overbilled by about $150,000. The city was made aware of the problem on Dec. 23, 2013. On Dec. 24, 2013, an “intense” investigation was launched by the Warsaw Police Department at the direction of Thallemer. That investigation uncovered enough evidence of billing irregularities to corroborate the initial allegation, according to the release. Preliminary information collected suggests billing documents were submitted by a contractor for underground storm water pipe projects that did not reflect work actually done. Also involved in the alleged activity were two senior employees of ProForm Pipe Lining, who were arrested on charges related to allegedly overbilling the city over $250,000. The employees of ProForm Pipe Lining Inc. were Mark V. Campbell and Kevin R. Brown. ProForm, a longtime contractor for the City of Warsaw, is in Mishawaka. Lacy Francis’s wife, Mildred L. Francis, 56, of 1305 Country Club Drive, Warsaw, was arrested in May in connection to the overbilling. Much of the money Francis received in the scheme to overbill the city for contract work was laundered through a Ponzi operation using friends, relatives and former city employees, investigating officers said. 9. No election race was hotter in 2014 in Kosciusko County then the race for District 22 state representative. Businessman Curt Nisly, a Republican, announced he would seek the District 22 seat in the May 6 primary. The seat was held by Republican Rebecca Kubacki. Then on Jan. 23, David C. Kolbe announced his bid for the seat as a Democrat. In the May primary, Nisly unseated Kubacki, pitting him against Kolbe in the November election. However, in June, former Marine and current Army Ranger Michael Stinfer announced he would run as an Independent for the seat. Kolbe and Stinfer called for debates, but Nisly never agreed to a debate, settling for candidate forums. Then on Aug. 19, Kolbe alleged improprieties by the Nisly campaign, followed by Stinfer facing a felony DUI charge in September. On Nov. 3, Indiana Governor Mike Pence stopped in Warsaw to endorse Republicans, including Nisly, and two days later the GOP swept local and state offices. Nisly overwhelmingly won the District 22 seat. 10 The last top story of 2014 will affect Kosciusko County residents in 2015 and beyond. Amid concerns from residents that taxes might be slapped on other parts of a car and suggestions such as laying off more county employees instead of seeking more income, Kosciusko County Council passed a wheel tax and surtax during a special meeting June 19. Council voted 5-1 in favor of the $25 yearly surtax on vehicles below 11,000 pounds and wheel tax of $40 on larger vehicles. Councilman Jon Fussle voted against the taxes, as he did during the regular June 12 session, requiring the special meet. The county will start collecting the money in January and receiving it in 2016. The term of the taxes is 20 years – which is how long it will take the county to get to where it needs to be on its roads, council President Bob Sanders observed – and council will review them every May. The taxes are expected to generate about $2 million a year, of which $600,000 will go to towns in Kosciusko. They were proposed as a dedicated source of funding for the county highway department, which has been supplemented from other funds for several years.
