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The Elkhart Truth W e d n e sd ay , Apri l 1 1 , 2 0 1 2 • 5 0 ¢
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WE BUILD COMMUNITY • 122ND YEAR, NO. 102
No roadside pickup for Elkhart’s ‘meth trash’
Haworth will take reins at Elkhart schools
Mayor’s office orders cleanup while city waits for ISP to dispose of remains of meth lab. Stephanie Gattman
sgattman@etruth.com
ELKHART — Elkhart’s next superintendent has a history of working in schools in economically challenged and diverse communities and is looking forward to leading Elkhart Community Schools. The Elkhart School Board appointed Robert Haworth the school corporation’s next superintendent at its meeting Tuesday night. Haworth will begin in the position July 2 with current Superintendent Mark Mow’s retirement. Haworth Haworth said in an interview Tuesday that he’s excited to be a part of a school corporation facing challenges but where positive things are also happening. “I really would like to be a part of helping make that a very successful story,” he said. Haworth, 46, has been the assistant superintendent of student and employee services at Valparaiso Community Schools for the past two years. Before that, he was the vice president of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes. He has also served as the superintendent of Warsaw Community Schools and Springs Valley Community Schools and taught government and economics and was a basketball coach at Northeast Dubois High School. Haworth graduated from Greenville College in 1988, later earning his master’s degree in 1996 and an administrative certificate in 2000 from Indiana University Southeast. He received his doctorate from Indiana State University in 2004. While superintendent of Springs Valley Community Schools in French Lick and West Baden, Haworth encountered an economic landscape not unlike Elkhart’s. Those communities were suffering from high unemployment rates after the area’s furniture factories closed. Despite the area’s economic hardship, Haworth helped close the achievement gap between students receiving free and reduced lunch and those paying for lunch. While budgets do directly affect schools, Haworth said that it’s the by-products of financial hardship that school leaders need to examine. “How does that affect learning? How does
ELKHART — Trash bags on the edge of the road may not be dirty diapers and food scraps. As city officials and a volunteer at the Elkhart Environmental Center found out recently, it could be the remnants of a meth lab. And local police and firefighters don’t have the training to clean them up. City Councilman Ron Troyer, D-4th, was driving around his district March 27 with the new community affairs officer at the Elkhart Police Department, Sgt. Wayne Bias. Among things they looked at was trash dumped along the side of Perkins Street on city property at the Elkhart Environmental Center. A number of trash bags and tires sat just below and within 15 feet of a sign that warns of a $2,500 fine for dumping trash, Troyer said. The Elkhart Street Department was asked to pick up the trash, but Commissioner Marty Morgan told Troyer it was determined the trash was actually meth trash and it was tagged with yellow ribbons to be picked up by the Indiana State Police, which has a special unit to dispose of meth labs. “I just figured job done,” Troyer said. Troyer brought up the concern at the city council meeting on April 2 to inform other council members. “There’s four to five bags. It’s public ... (on) city property on the side of the road. It’s not back in the woods or anything,” Troyer said Tuesday. The Elkhart Police Department’s report on the meth trash is dated 9:30 a.m. April 3, when a volunteer from the Elkhart Environmental Center reported it. “When she looked at it, it was immediately apparent it was meth trash,” said Assistant Chief Tim Balyeat. The remains included tubing, tin foil, psuedophedrine, bottles with liquid in them and cakes of white powder residue, Balyeat said. “The police department is not trained, is not equipped and does not have the storage facilities” to deal with meth labs, he said. The report states that the supervisor contacted ISP at the scene and was told to “‘leave the materials where they are’” and that it would be cleaned up by Tuesday, Balyeat said. The scene was marked with orange tape to identify the materials. While it wasn’t an active lab, there’s still a concern for the public’s health and safety, Balyeat said. Councilman David Henke, R-3rd, was
Please see SCHOOLS, A2
Please see METH, A2
School board appoints new superintendent with experience in communities similar to Elkhart. Marlys Weaver-Stoesz
mweaver@etruth.com
Truth Photo Supplied
Meth lab trash was found along Perkins Street on March 27, but clean-up stalled because local police don’t have the training or facilities to deal with hazardous materials like those used in making meth.
Don’t pick up suspicious trash traffic stop.
Truth Staff
Lt. Laura Koch and Assistant Police Chief Tim Balyeat of the Elkhart Police Department recommend not handling suspicious trash if you find it on the side of the road or during your spring cleanup activities. “Contact us so we can deal with it appropriately,” Koch said. While local police don’t want to handle the meth trash, “We don’t want them to handle it either,” Koch said of the public. Cpl. James Ballard and Cpl. Scott Garvey were hospitalized a little more than a year ago after they were exposed to a mobile meth lab during a
At a public training session a month later, Ballard explained people should be on the lookout for plastic bottles with black and silver specks of lithium floating in liquid with residue on the bottom. When lithium comes in contact with water, it ignites and explodes. Broken batteries, blister packaging, starter fluid, coffee filters with white residue, 20-ounce bottles with tape and tubing and a distinct ammonia smell are tell-tale signs as well. Call the Elkhart Police Department at 295-7070 if you find suspicious trash.
Willie Nelson tickets still on sale Protest follows LaGrange Tickets are still available for Friday’s Willie Nelson show at the Lerner Theatre. General Manager David Smith said there are about 200 tickets left, but they’re going fast. Smith said the theater sold 30 tickets on Monday, and he expects the show to sell out completely. The remaining tickets cost $59.85 and $69.85. “It was very strong on the front end, and as it gets closer to the date and as families budget
midwife’s felony arrest Demand for midwives grows, but Indiana law about licenses is too strict, protesters say. Associated Press
Truth File Photo By Jennifer Shephard
Friday’s Willie Nelson show at the Lerner still has open seats.
differently, individuals Tickets went on sale realize it’s an opportunity Feb. 24. For information to take advantage of,” call 293-4469 or go to Smith said. www.thelerner.com.
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LaGRANGE — The arrest of a northern Indiana woman on midwifery charges sparked a protest that highlights a long-running push in the state to legalize the practice of certified professional midwives. Nearly 100 women, men and children protested Monday outside the LaGrange County Courthouse in support of Ireena Keeslar, a Howe resident who was arrested March 31 on a felony charge of practicing midwifery without a license. Many of the protesting women held babies that had been delivered by unlicensed midwives, and some wore blue T-shirts reading “License my midwife”
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and “Liberty for midwifes.” Keeslar, who was arrested March 31, has since been released on a $10,000 bail. The Goshen News and The NewsSun of Kendallville report that she’s the second midwife in LaGrange County arrested recently on the charge. Jeannie Stanley of Albion was arrested March 9 on a probation violation and has also been charged with the same felony count of practicing midwifery without a license. Prosecutors said they became aware of Keeslar during an investigation into the 47-year-old Stanley’s alleged probation violation. Authorities allege that Keeslar assisted at a home birth in which medical procedures were performed without proper qualifications. Keeslar, 49, was scheduled to have her initial hearing Monday morning,
Please see MIDWIFE, A6
Coming tomorrow BEST BETS: Get ready for the weekend with our list of local entertainment. Life, D1