Page 6 Page 3 Page 1a The News-Banner · 2 days ago · Page 6 • The News-Banner • WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2020 Bank donates to YFC First Bank of Berne recently donated $1,000 to Youth

Local/Area Obituaries. . . . . . . . . 3

Police Notebook . . .3

OpinionJessica Bricker. . . . .4

Also...Sports. . . . . . . . 1a-2aClassifieds . . . . . . .3aDiversions . . . . . . .4a

Vol. 91 No. 210

WEDNESDAYJuly 8, 2020

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Today Thursday Friday High 93 High 93 High 90 Low 72 Low 71 Low 67

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Council takes next step for new highway garageBy JESSICA BRICKER

County officials are mov-ing ahead toward a new highway garage after all.

Members of the Wells County Council on Tuesday approved seeking two appraisals for two different properties, one of which being the current highway garage land at Washington and Cherry streets on Bluffton’s west side, and the other being about 40 acres of land south of 200S/Angel Street and the intersection of Adams Street. The latter is owned by County Council President Mike Mossburg, who last Decem-ber offered to donate the land to the county in order for it to serve as the location of a new highway

garage.In April, Mossburg said the

highway garage project would be put on hold due to unknown finan-cial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, Mossburg acknowledged he had rethought that position.

“I’m going to take a step for-ward again and say let’s not let that be a limiting factor with this project,” he said. “It’s long over-due.”

He said he would like to con-tinue to see steps that would put the project into motion.

“It doesn’t mean we’re build-ing any time today, tomorrow or the next day, but before I’m gone I would like for us to at least take

the steps that will get that project finished,” Mossburg said, with council members Chuck King and Vice President Steve Huggins concurring.

Mossburg also said he would also like to “double down” regard-ing selling the county farm to help fund the facility project. That, however, is an option for the com-missioners to pursue — and Com-missioner President Blake Gerber said that conversation has begun but appraisals need to happen first.

County Attorney Roy Johnson outlined the process to the coun-cil, which requires the commis-sioners to seek a resolution from the county’s fiscal body, declaring the county is interesting in pur-

chasing specific property. Those documents identifying the prop-erties were up for approval Tues-day, and that would allow for the appraisal process to begin.

Johnson said what complicates the matter is the potential “swap-ping” of property; Mossburg may trade his land off of Adams Street for the current highway garage land.

“You know, initially I said I’d donate the land but I guess I’m not going to be here for that,” Moss-burg said with a laugh, alluding to losing his bid for reelection this year.

“We’re reevaluating now. Elec-tions have consequences, I guess,” Mossburg added, laughing again.

Johnson quickly noted Moss-burg’s property has “real advan-tages” and it’s a good site, with Mossburg adding the south cor-ridor project will travel through there as well.

Early on during the conversa-tion, Mossburg indicated he would not vote on the matter because it dealt with property he owns but after consulting with Johnson, he ended up voting in favor with the rest of the council members present — Mahnensmith, Vicki Andrews, Jim Oswalt, King and Huggins (the latter participating via phone). Council member Seth Whicker was absent.

Also Tuesday, the council:

Paddling down the riverA total of 81 people participated in Bluffton’s Wabash

River Paddle Tuesday evening, which was sponsored by the Bluffton Parks and Recreation Department. Everyone

brought their own kayaks or canoes, and they gradually launched near the White Bridge at the intersection of

River Road and Ind. 201 and made their way to Kehoe Park. (Photos by Devan Filchak)

NHS releases back up plan for graduationIf state stays in Stage 4.5, parents may not be in the same room as graduates

By DEVAN FILCHAKGov. Eric Holcomb’s decision on moving onto the next

stage of his plan July 18 will determine what Norwell’s grad-uation ceremony the next day will look like, including if par-ents will be able to see their children graduate in person.

As part of Holcomb’s “Back on Track Indiana” plan, the state was expected to move to Stage 5 before the July 4 holiday. However, the governor announced that the state will remain in what he called Stage 4.5, which prohibits gather-ings of more than 250 people, until July 18 or later.

Norwell High School has already made several modifica-tions to its graduation ceremony. The most recent of those changes is that each student will be issued four tickets each and only those with tickets will be admitted to the ceremony, including parents.

If the state is in Stage 5 at the time of the ceremony, all those who attend will be seated in the bleachers of the gym. Traditionally, parents are seated in corresponding rows on the gym floor, but parents will not have reserved seats this year.

Norwell has now released a Plan B for how graduation will look if the state is still in Stage 4.5 at the time of the ceremony. Rather than four tickets, each graduate will only receive two tickets.

No attendees will be in the main gym. Rather, they will be seated in the auditorium or cafeteria and will be able to watch the ceremony on a livestream. The ceremony proces-sional and recessional will make their ways through the audi-torium and the cafeteria.

Regardless of the stage, the ceremony will be held at 1:30 p.m. July 19, and graduates will be spaced across the gymna-sium floor. Those in attendance are encouraged to wear face coverings, and while they can sit in groups as families, they

Council looks at getting a baby boxBy DAVE SCHULTZ

A “baby box” — a place for parents to surrender a child safely and anony-mously — could soon be located in Bluffton.

Council member Janella Stronczek has done some basic legwork on the project, and plans to bring back a for-mal proposal at an upcoming meeting of the Bluffton Common Council.

The matter was on the agenda for Tuesday night’s council meeting. Council members had before them a letter from Mayor John Whicker, which said that he had been asked about the possibility of the city install-ing a baby box.

The idea of the box, Whicker wrote, is that it is “used as a last resort for a mother who does not feel she is capa-

ble of caring for a child.”The boxes are not used often, but

when they are, they are literally life savers. One was installed in New Haven earlier this year, and it has already been used twice.

Stronczek brought up the name of Monica Kelsey of the Safe Haven Baby Boxes organization and said she has “done some prelimary work on it.”

“That was a project that was on my short list, but the (COVID-19) virus interrupted my timeline,” she said.

Whicker said he had been asked about placing a baby box in Bluffton during the 2019 campaign. He also said he had an individual who has promised to write a check to fund it immediately.

A preferred location for the boxes

is at a fire station, which are generally staffed on a 24/7 basis. Fire Chief Don Craig, however, suggested the box be placed in the City Court room at the front of the Police-Fire Building.

Stronzcek said she would follow up with Kelsey to set up the program. The other council members — Josh Hunt, Roger Thornton, Rick Elwell, and Scott Mentzer — approved the effort by concensus.

In other business Tuesday:• An ordinance to amend the city’s

rate schedule for sanitary sewer service was introduced in preparation for a for-mal public hearing at the next council meeting, scheduled for July 21. The only changes to the ordinance involve the agreement the city has reached with

State’s coronavirus death toll tops 2,700

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s coronavirus-related death toll has topped 2,700 people since the first ones were recorded less than four months ago, according to new state health statistics.

The Indiana State Health Department on Tuesday added 19 COVID-19 deaths to the total, with most of those fatali-ties happening between Thursday and Monday and others dating back to June 26.

While state statistics show coronavirus-related deaths and hospitalizations are far below peak levels in late April and early May, Gov. Eric Holcomb last week delayed further easing of statewide business and gathering-size restrictions until at least July 18 because of worries about increased infection rates in some parts of Indiana and neigh-boring states.

A mask-wearing mandate takes effect Thursday in India-napolis, while St. Joseph, Elkhart and LaGrange counties in northern Indiana have similar requirements in place.

About 45% of Indiana’s COVID-19 deaths have involved nursing home residents. State health officials reported 54 new nursing home deaths in a weekly update released Monday, bringing the statewide total to 1,220 out of 2,717 deaths of people with confirmed or presumed coronavirus infections.

City to provide parking for some vendorsBy DAVE SCHULTZA request to provide

additional parking spots for handicapped and older vendors at the Parlor City Market in downtown Bluff-ton on Saturday mornings received favorable reception from the Bluffton Board of Public Works and Safety Tuesday afternoon.

Audrey Estill, who is the summer intern at the Wells County Chamber of Com-merce and Economic Devel-opment, came to the board Tuesday on behalf of the

Bluffton NOW! downtown revitalization group. Bluff-ton NOW! has been spon-soring the Saturday morn-ing events at the Parlor City Plaza this summer.

When the market moved from the Dutch Mill Plaza, some vendors did not like it because they would be sepa-rated from their vehicles at the downtown location. They’ve been setting up at the Family Farm and Home store at 990 N. Main St.

Estill said the request for particular parking spaces in

front of the Wells County Courthouse will enable those vendors to be closer to their vehicles should they want to join those at the Par-lor City Plaza.

After consulting with Street Commissioner Tim Simpson, who agreed that the request was a workable one, the Board of Works — Mayor John Whicker, Scott Mentzer, and Roger Thorn-ton — agreed to the request.

In other business Tues-day:

• Police Chief Kyle Ran-

dall asked for the board’s permission to hire Keesha Ivins as the city’s newest 911 dispatcher. Randall said the hiring process started in January but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ivins was the choice when the search process resumed. Her starting pay will be $15.13 an hour.

• Randall also requested that two other employees, Megan Bowling and Tif-fany Bost, be granted merit pay increases. Bowling, an

(Continued on Page 2)




L O C A L / N AT I O NPage 2 • The News-Banner • WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2020

WeatherWednesday, July 8, 2020

(24-hour observations at 8:58 p.m. Tuesday)High: 90; Low: 71; Precipitation: None. Wabash River Level (at the Main Street bridge): 1.53

feet at 8:45 p.m. Tuesday

Wells County forecastToday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly

after 4pm. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 93. Heat index values as high as 96. Calm wind. Chance of precipita-tion is 30 percent.

Tonight: Scattered showers and thunderstorms before 8 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 30 per-cent.

Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunder-storms after 2 p.m. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 93. Heat index values as high as 97. Calm wind.

Thursday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. Calm wind.

Friday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 8 a.m. Partly sunny and hot, with a high near 90. Chance of precip-itation is 60 percent. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thun-derstorms before 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67.

Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunder-storms after 2 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88.

Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 66.

Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunder-storms after 2 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 84.

Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 63.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 86.Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 65.

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Property Location: Land is Located on the NWCorner of 500 E and 900 N

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TRACT TWO: 27.67 +/- ACRES OF TILLABLE FARMLAND

BgmA: Blount silt loam, ground moraine,0 to 2 percent slopesBgmB: Blount silt loam, ground moraine,2 to 4 percent slopesBleA: Blount silt loam, end moraine, 0 to2 percent slopesPm: Pewamo silty clay, 0 to 2 percentslopes

Owners Name on File

Decatur, Indiana • Union Township, Section 17








Offered in 3 Tracts


Tract Descriptions:





Owners Name on File

BgmA: Blount silt loam, ground moraine, 0 to 2 percent slopesBgmB: Blount silt loam, ground moraine, 2 to 4 percent slopesBleA: Blount silt loam, end moraine, 0 to 2 percent slopesPm: Pewamo silty clay, 0 to 2 percent slopes








Offered in 3 Tracts


Tract Descriptions:





Owners Name on File

Terms and Conditions: $17,500 nonrefundable down payment due at close of auction on EACH TRACT with balance due within 45 days of auction. Successful bidder will be required to sign purchase agreement at the conclusion of the auction. This property is NOT sold subject to � nancing; any fees pertaining to � nancing will be at the buyers expense. Title search, title policy & closing fee split 50/50 between buyer and seller. Property Taxes are prorated to date of closing. Final closing to take place within 45 days of auction. Possession of land will be given upon harvest of the 2020 crops. Seller to retain 2020 crop proceeds No survey will be provided. Property is Sold AS-IS/WHERE-IS Buyer is responsible for individual inspections prior to auction day. Not responsible for accidents. Auctioneers Note: any statements made day of sale takes precedence over all written or oral matter.








Offered in 3 Tracts


Tract Descriptions:





Owners Name on File








Offered in 3 Tracts


Tract Descriptions:





Owners Name on File

Council takes next step• Received the annual

contribution request for 2021 from Bi-County Ser-vices in the amount of $39,312, following a pre-sentation by President Tim Ramsey that was similar to the one he gave to the county commissioners on Monday. More information about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the organization will be pub-lished in Friday’s News-Banner.

• Approved the following additional appropriations: Surveyor — $3,850 for a copier; Extension Office — $1,000 for part-time to off-set the wages of two interns; Emergency Management —

$5,500 for office supplies for necessary personal pro-tection equipment due to the pandemic, and up to 75 per-cent can possibly be reim-bursed; Rainy Day Fund — $500,000 loan to Regional Sewer District, which was decided at the council’s June meeting; Supplemental Adult Probation Services — $14,946 for a part-time pro-bation officer, and $1,144 to Social Security, due to cov-erage for someone retiring and someone being hired on in that position.

• Approved the third of three right of way purchas-es for the bridge project on Hoosier Highway north of 400S. The cost was $2,100, and King said he was happy

with how smoothly it has been going.

• Approved the follow-ing transfers within depart-ments: County Council — $25 from travel, lodging and conference fees to dues and subscriptions; County Commissioners — $10,000 from group health insur-ance with $9,808.80 going to consulting fees for the Regional Sewer District and the remaining $191.20 to the animal shelter.

• Formally declared itself the fiscal body for the Wells County Public Library, which was apparently a nec-essary action due to a new law.

• Will discuss next month an upcoming appoint-

ment to the WCPL board after Mossburg suggested someone from the council should serve on the board instead of appointing a rep-resentative to do it. A cur-rent appointment by the council is coming up for renewal, and Mossburg said it seems to him that some-one from the county’s fiscal body could better serve the library board by actually being on the board. County Attorney Roy Johnson was tasked with looking into that possibility.

• Did not receive an updated jail report from Sheriff Scott Holliday, who was not present.

[email protected]

(Continued from Page 1)

NHS releases will be asked to socially dis-tance from other attendees.

Tickets are transferable, so if a student doesn’t want to use their full allotment of tickets, they can give them to another student. Doors will open at 12:45 p.m.

No indoor gatherings will be permitted on school grounds following the cer-emony.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some Fort Wayne area schools have canceled their graduation ceremonies altogether. Bluffton High School announced last week that its ceremony will be held at 9 p.m. July 17 instead

of 7:30 p.m. and will be held at the football stadium to abide by the governor’s parameters.

Norwell posted the release about the two plans to Facebook on Thursday, and it quickly offered some more clarification to the decision-making process in a comment on the post.

The comment said that a lot of other options were considered, including host-ing the ceremony on the football field, having a drive-by ceremony or holding staggered ceremonies were students would be divided for separate ceremonies. One issue with moving the cer-emony to the football field is

that the time of the ceremony would need to be moved “to avoid the mid-summer heat.”

“We wanted to honor our starting time of 1:30 p.m. as it has been the one constant through all of the changes so far. The decision to stick with our gymnasium cer-emony was made with much thought and in consultation with central office adminis-tration, school board mem-ber input, as well as input from a number of graduates and senior parents,” the post stated.

The football stadium isn’t a viable location because it does not have WiFi, which would prevent livestream-ing, and the sound system is

currently being revamped as part of summer projects.

The comment said there were also many other fac-tors considered, including inclement weather, disrup-tion to attendee schedules (as well as graduation party schedules), and the inabil-ity to communicate with stu-dents and families via Instant Connect in the days leading up to the ceremony due to previously scheduled tech-nology maintenance.

When an announcement is made about if the state will be moving to Stage 5 next week, an official decision about the graduation cer-emony will be made.

[email protected]


Council looks atthe Wells County Regional Sewer District; the new ordi-nance would include service to those customers.

• The council approved a tax abatement compli-ance form for Metaldyne, now known as American

Axle and Manufacturing, at 131 Harvest Drive. The company received an abate-ment on 2011 on $1.658,756 in equipment. Mentzer and Whicker toured the facil-ity recently as part of the council’s attempt to keep in contact with city-based

manufacturers, and he was impressed with the level of investment that has been made there. “This plant out-weighs all the others that I’ve been to, in my opinion,” he said. The abatement com-pliance form was approved on a 5-0 vote.

• Whicker said that the required fiscal plan for the annexation of property where an apartment com-plex has been proposed has been completed. City Attor-ney Tony Crowell will look over the plan before any fur-ther action is taken.

[email protected]


officer at the Bluffton/Wells County Animal Shelter, will receive a pay increase from $13.73 to $14.73 per hour and Bost, a 911 dispatcher, will receive a pay increase from $19.87 to $20.26 per hour. Bost’s pay rate will be at the top end of what dis-patchers can be paid.

• Pastor Dennis Wood of Park Community Church, 617 S. Bennett St., received permission to block off Ben-nett Street between Ohio Street and Wiley Avenue between the hours of 3:30 and 8:30 p.m. on July 11 for

a block party and from 5 to 8:30 p.m. on the evenings of July 20, 21, 22, and 23 for a Vacation Bible School-type community event. The church already blocks off the street for its Sunday morning drive-in church ser-vices.

• Operations Manager Jon Oman said a design meeting was held last week as the plans for the electri-cal system upgrade reached 90 percent completion. The plans look to be done in the next week or so after the review.

[email protected]


City to provide

U.S. quits World Health OrganizationBy MATTHEW LEEAP Diplomatic WriterWASHINGTON (AP)

— The Trump adminis-tration has formally noti-fied the United Nations of its withdrawal from the World Health Organization, although the pullout won’t take effect until next year, meaning it could be rescind-ed under a new adminis-tration or if circumstances change. Former Vice Presi-dent Joe Biden, the presump-tive Democratic presiden-tial nominee, said he would reverse the decision on his first day in office if elected.

The withdrawal notifica-tion makes good on Presi-dent Donald Trump’s vow in late May to terminate U.S. participation in the WHO, which he has harshly criti-cized for its response to the coronavirus pandemic and accused of bowing to Chi-nese influence.

The move was immedi-ately assailed by health offi-cials and critics of the admin-istration, including numerous Democrats who said it would cost the U.S. influence in the global arena.

Biden has said in the past he supports the WHO and pledged Tuesday to rejoin the WHO if he defeats Trump in November. “Amer-icans are safer when America is engaged in strengthen-ing global health. On my first day as president, I will rejoin the WHO and restore our leadership on the world stage,” he said.

Trump is trailing Biden in multiple polls and has sought to deflect criticism of his administration’s han-dling of the virus by aggres-sively attacking China and the WHO.

The withdrawal notice was sent to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday and will take effect in a year, on July 6, 2021, the State Department and the United Nations said on Tues-day.

The State Department said the U.S. would continue to seek reform of the WHO, but referred to Trump’s June 15 response when asked if the administration might change its mind. “I’m not reconsidering, unless they get their act together, and I’m not sure they can at this point,“ Trump said.

Guterres, in his capac-ity as depositary of the 1946 WHO constitution, “is in the process of verifying with the World Health Organization whether all the conditions for such withdrawal are met,” his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said.

Under the terms of the withdrawal, the U.S. must meet its financial obligations to the WHO before it can be finalized. The U.S., which is the agency’s largest donor and provides it with more than $450 million per year, currently owes the WHO

some $200 million in current and past dues.

On May 29, less than two weeks after warning the WHO that it had 30 days to reform or lose U.S. sup-port, Trump announced his administration was leaving the organization due to what he said was its inadequate response to the initial out-break of the coronavirus in China’s Wuhan province late last year.

Trump said in a White House announcement that Chinese officials “ignored” their reporting obligations to the WHO and pressured the organization to mislead the public about an outbreak that has now killed more than 130,000 Americans.

“We have detailed the reforms that it must make and engaged with them directly, but they have refused to act,” Trump said at the time. “Because they have failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms, we will be today terminating the relationship.”

The withdrawal notifica-tion was widely denounced as misguided, certain to undermine an important

institution that is leading vaccine development efforts and drug trials to address the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Republican chairman of Senate health committee, Lamar Alexander of Tennes-see, said he disagreed with the decision.

“Certainly there needs to be a good, hard look at mis-takes the World Health Orga-nization might have made in connection with coronavirus, but the time to do that is after the crisis has been dealt with, not in the middle of it,” he said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned the move.

“The President’s official withdrawal of the U.S. from the World Health Organiza-tion is an act of true sense-lessness,” she said in a tweet. “With millions of lives at risk, the president is crip-pling the international effort to defeat the virus.”

And the top the top Dem-ocrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, New Jersey Sen. Bob Menen-dez, said calling Trump’s “response to COVID chaotic and incoherent doesn’t do it justice.”

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L O C A L / A R E A WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2020 • The News-Banner • Page 3

Police Notebook

Sharon S. Moriarity, 72Sharon S. Moriarity, 72, of Bluff-

ton, passed away at 12:12 a.m. Sun-day, July 5, 2020, at Lutheran Hos-pital in Fort Wayne. She was born on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 1948, in Hart-ford City, to Howard Leon and Nel-lie Marcine Egly Adney. Sharon was a 1966 graduate of Hartford City High School. She married Howard A. Moriarity on Thursday, Oct. 16, 1966 in Hartford City; he survives. She spent her early years growing up in Hartford City. After marriage Sharon and Howard moved to Warren for a short period of time. They moved out to the country, living in Chester Township, Wells County, before finally residing in Bluffton. Sharon formerly worked at the Warren United Methodist Memorial Home (Heritage Pointe), Corning Glass, K-Mart, Kroger, Wells County Public Library, Southern Wells School Corporation as a school bus driver and teachers aid, and for Dutch Maid Clothing. Sharon attended the Bluffton Church of the Nazarene and formerly attended the Domestic Church of Christ, where she was in the ladies aid group. In her free time, she enjoyed scrap book-ing and reading. Sharon always supported her grandkids, and most of all enjoyed spending time with them.

Loving survivors include her husband, Howard A. Mori-arity of Bluffton; sons, Mike A. (Amy) Moriarity of Bluffton, and Jeff L. (Stephanie) Moriarity of Jasper; sister, Caro-lyn (Bill) Rains of Hartford City; five grandchildren, Jacob (fiancé Jena) Moriarity of Jasper, Tabatha (Mike) McMillien of Winslow, Joshua (fiancé Ari) Moriarity, Bluffton, Hayley (fiancé Reece) Moriarity of Bluffton, and Autumn Moriar-ity of Bluffton; and a sister-in-law, Ellen Adney of Hartford City.

She was preceded in death by her father, Howard Leon Adney; mother, Nellie Marcine Egly Adney; and a brother, Dale Adney.

Family and friends may gather to share and remember at Walker & Glancy Funeral Home, 109 W. Windsor St., Montpelier, on Wednesday, July 8, from 4 to 9 p.m. A ser-vice to Sharon’s life will be at Walker & Glancy Funeral Home at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 9, with Pastor Tim Miller officiating. Viewing will take place one hour prior to the service and burial will follow the service in the Jones Cem-etery in rural Warren, Wells County.

In lieu of flowers, please honor Sharon by donating to the Bluffton Fire Department, 204 E. Market St., Bluff-ton, IN 46714 or the Wells County Public Library, 200 W. Washington St., Bluffton, IN 46714.

Arrangements are being handled by Walker & Glancy Funeral Home in Montpelier. Please visit www.glancyfu-neralhomes.com to sign our online guestbook and leave a condolence for the family.

Cathy Jo Leas, 66Cathy Jo Leas, 66, of Jackson Township, Wells County,

died Friday, July 3, 2020, at IU Health Blackford Hospital in Hartford City. She was born on Tuesday, June 22, 1954 to James C. “Jim” and Donna J. (Booher) Leas.

Survivors include her mother and her sister, Connie (Rex) Jennings of Warren. She was preceded in death by her father.

Calling hours are from 12-2 p.m. Friday at Glancy-H. Brown & Son Funeral Home, 203 N. Matilda St., Warren. Interment will take place at a later date in the Asbury Cemetery in rural Wells County.

Larry D. Stewart, 57Larry D Stewart, 57, of rural Poneto, died Sunday, July

5, 2020, due to injuries received in a motorcycle accident on South Meridian Road in Wells County.

He was born Aug. 25, 1962, in Bluffton.Survivors include his parents, Donald “Gean” Stewart of

Poneto and Judy A. Murray Stewart of Poneto; brother, Ronald (Lisa) Stewart of Bluffton; and sisters, Carol Nes-tleroad of Craigville and Rhonda R. Stewart of Berne.

Calling hours are from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 9, at Walker & Glancy Funeral Home, Montpelier. A service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, July 10, at the funeral home. Interment will follow in the Mossburg Cemetery in Wells County.

Online condolences at: www.glancyfuneralhomes.com

Gail L. Warden, 61Gail L. Warden, 61, of Montpelier, died Thursday, July 2,

2020, at her home in Montpelier. She was born on Sun-day, Nov. 9, 1958, in Wayne, Mich.

Loving survivors include her parents, James Marion Estes and Barbara Ann (Tatro) Estes of Willis, Mich., hus-band, Don E. Warden of Montpelier; daughter, Jessie (Grant) Lee Mayer of Fort Wayne; sisters, Debra (Ray) Kull of Belleville, Mich., and Lori Estes of Plymouth, Mich., and 10 grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her daughter, Jeanah Lynn Turner.

A small memorial visitation will take place at Walker & Glancy Funeral Home, 109 W. Windsor St., Montpelier, on Monday, July 13, 2020 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Online condolences may be made at www.glancyfuner-alhomes.com

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By CARSON GERBER Kokomo Tribune

Gavin Whitacre, a 6-year-old student at Eastern Ele-mentary School, had an idea to start a lemonade stand to make a little money to put into his savings account.

But then he heard about Taylor Godfrey, the 18-year-old Western High School graduate who was seriously injured in a car crash in May and has been fighting for her life ever since.

After that, Gavin still wanted to start a lemonade stand. But instead of keeping the money for himself, he decided he wanted to give it all to Taylor.

And on Friday, that’s just what he did.

Wearing sunglasses with a towel slung over his shoul-der, Gavin manned his stand near the entrance to Indian Heights on Center Road and spent two hours pouring ice-cold lemonade for the crowd of customers who showed up.

Gavin’s parents, Abbi and Brett Whitacre, helped out by refilling the lemon-ade dispenser and keeping an eye on things, but it was Gavin’s show as he stood behind the counter and took orders.

And it was all Gavin’s idea to donate the money to Taylor, Abbi said.

She said ever since they heard about Taylor’s acci-dent, she and her son have prayed for her every night.

Then, Abbi joined a Facebook group called Prayers4Taylor, where peo-ple could share thoughts and encouragement to the family. It’s also where Tay-lor’s mom, Natalie, shares updates on her daughter’s condition. The page has more than 8,600 followers.

Through it all, Gavin worried for Taylor and always asked how she was

doing. Abbi said for some reason, her son felt connect-ed to Taylor and her family.

“Gavin is worried about everything and everyone,” she said. “He always wants to know what’s going on, so we talked about Taylor and what happened to her.”

And what happened was horrific. On May 11, Tay-lor collided with a semi at the intersection of Indiana 26 and 400 West in western Howard County. The impact caused her vehicle to reduce to one-fourth of its original size, and left her with mul-tiple external and internal injuries.

Taylor spent weeks in critical condition, but is now in therapy and recover-ing. Her mom posted on the Facebook group on Wednes-day that Taylor has gradu-ated to a regular wheelchair and her walking is starting to improve.

Abbi said Gavin has fol-lowed every update on Tay-lor’s condition. Then, on Sunday, they went to get ice cream at Scoops on Center Road and saw a donation bucket for Taylor, so Abbi put some money in.

That’s when Gavin spoke up with an idea: why not donate all the money from his lemonade stand to Taylor and her family?

“I was surprised. I really was,” Abbi said. “I know he’s sweet, but when he said it, I just cried. I told my hus-band that I was just so proud of him. I really love that he thought of it.”

Later in the week, Abbi posted on the Prayers4Tay-lor Facebook page about the lemonade stand. The sup-port and encouragement for Gavin’s idea started pouring in immediately.

And that support was on full display on Friday as a steady stream of custom-ers showed up to get a glass

of lemonade and donate to Taylor and her family.

David Halton, a volunteer firefighter with the Taylor Township Fire Department, ended up making a surprise visit with a fire truck, which he parked by the stand with the lights on to get the atten-tion of passing cars.

“Gavin’s an incredible young man,” Halton said. “It’s nice to see. This gives you hope for the future. With all the stuff going on right now, we need all the hope we can get.”

Lauren LaFever agreed. She showed up at the lem-onade stand to support Gavin and his outreach to help Taylor, who is one of her best friends.

“It’s sweet and really heartwarming,” LaFever said. “It’s so nice to know people are following Tay-lor’s story and trying to help from all around the coun-try.”

As for Gavin, he seemed to be in his element pouring lemonade and chatting with customers, who included teachers and other friends from school who he hadn’t seen in months.

“I want to help her, but I only have two monies,” he

said, holding up two fingers.But by the time his stand

closed down at 2 p.m., Gavin had way more than that. Abbi said customers ended up donating $820 to Taylor, which they plan on giving to her mom next week.

“We’re really blessed to be able to do this for them, because my heart just aches for Taylor and her family,” she said.

And it may not be the end of the Gavin’s lemonade-stand outreach. Abbi said other organizations have asked if Gavin can set up shop at their events to con-tinue to raise money for Tay-lor.

She said if she knows her son at all, he’ll be more than willing to continue donat-ing his profits to help an 18-year-old Western gradu-ate he’s never met, but cares for deeply.

“He’s very kind and warmhearted,” Abbi said. “If we are available, we’ll be there. We’re excited.”

———This story was provided

to the News-Banner by the Hoosier State Press Asso-ciation’s Information Net-work.

Lemonade for Taylor6-year-old donates money from lemonade stand to injured Western High graduate

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Gavin Whitacre, 6, hands over a lemonade to 2-year-old Bren-ley Shafer as Whitacre operates his lemonade stand near the entrance of Indian Heights on July 3. (Photo by Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune)

INCIDENTSCounty:Tuesday, 10:15 a.m., a

residence on 400W north of 100N. Identity theft reported as the caller’s information was allegedly used by anoth-er person to open a Sprint account.

ACCIDENTSCity:Monday, 9;44 p.m., 1100

block of Clark Avenue. Dean A. Engle, 73, Bluffton, was driving a Chevy Impala in a gravel parking lot eastbound when he struck a parked Chevy Impala registered to Andrew Garber of Bluffton. Engle said his attention was elsewhere at the time. Dam-age exceeded $5,000.

Tuesday, 12:30 a.m., Washington and Liberty streets. Craig S. Leonard, 70, Fort Wayne, was driving a Honda Insight northbound on Liberty Street and told police he was not paying attention. He drove through the T-intersection, jumped

the curb and drove into the grass at Pickett’s Run Park. He drove on a walking path before exiting the park. He sought medical attention from the nearby Bluffton Regional Medical Center for an abrasion on his arm. Damage exceeded $2,500.

County:TICKETS

John Gatto, 20, Fort Wayne. No valid driver’s license, River Road and 400E.

David L. Vance, 59, Mun-cie; 59 mph in a 35-zone, Marzane Road and Walker Street.

Amber Smeltzer, Bluff-ton; animals running at large.

O P I N I O NPage 4 • The News-Banner • WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2020

By The Associated PressToday is Wednesday,

July 8, the 190th day of 2020. There are 176 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On July 8, 2000, Venus Williams beat Lind-say Davenport 6-3, 7-6 (3) for her first Grand Slam title, becoming the first Black female champion at Wimbledon since Althea Gibson in 1957-58.

On this date: In 1776, Col. John Nixon

gave the first public reading of the Declaration of Inde-pendence, outside the State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia.

In 1889, The Wall Street Journal was first published.

In 1947, a New Mexico

newspaper, the Roswell Daily Record, quoted offi-cials at Roswell Army Air Field as saying they had recovered a “flying sau-cer” that crashed onto a ranch; officials then said it was actually a weather bal-loon. (To this day, there are those who believe what fell to Earth was an alien space-ship carrying extra-terrestri-al beings.)

In 1972, the Nixon administration announced a deal to sell $750 mil-lion in grain to the Soviet Union. (However, the Soviets were also engaged in secretly buying sub-sidized American grain, resulting in what critics dubbed “The Great Grain Robbery.”)

Today in History

Opinions expressed on this page do not necessarily represent the views of this newspaper.

The News-Banner(USPS 059-200)

Evening News est. 1892 • Evening Banner est. 1899 • Consolidated 1929

News-Banner Publications, Inc.George B. Witwer, Chairman of the Board

Doug Brown, President, PublisherMark Miller, Vice-President, Opinion Page Editor

Dianne Witwer, Secretary/Treasurer

Periodicals Postage Paid at Bluffton, IN 46714. Published every day except Sundays and principal holidays at 125 N. Johnson St., Bluffton IN 46714, Post Offi ce Box 436

Jessica Bricker, Editor

‘Who We Are’ 2020 serves as lasting memory to the yearIt’s hard to believe The News-

Banner staff has published two of its annual special publications during a pandemic, but yet here we are — two months beyond the 2020 “Victorious” magazine and about a week beyond this year’s “Who We Are” magazine.

I always refer to the time we put together “Who We Are” as one of the busiest times of the year for us. In a matter of a few weeks, each reporter takes a list of about a half-dozen story ideas and turns them into features about people, businesses and organizations around the community, and those in turn are laid out in the magazine and sent off to the press. A lot of work is con-densed into a short amount of time.

I say it’s hard to believe we’ve accomplished these feats because obviously there has been a lot going on this year. I received a couple compliments this week for the 2020 “Who We Are,” which is certainly always a team effort. I am proud of the work we did again this spring to put this magazine together, given everything else going on and how busy we have all been in the office. The magazine has a history of winning awards, and I believe this year’s product is again high quality.

The bulk of this year’s “Who We Are” is about how people across the community — from the courthouse to restaurants, from teens at home to seniors in long-term care facilities — have dealt with and responded to COVID-19. For the publication, I revisited a few stories that News-Banner readers will recognize from pages of the newspaper: How nursing home staffs are using social media to connect their residents to loved ones and how volunteers and mask-makers united to help the community in a time of need.

But this year I also featured two men I work with on a regular basis: County Engineer Nate Rumschlag, who in his short tenure with the county so far has raked in millions of dollars in grant funding for infrastructure projects; and Aaron McClary, an active member of the Markle community and current Markle Town Council president. Both have fascinating perspectives of how they view their responsibilities to the communities they serve, and I enjoyed speaking with both of them this year for separate but equally important stories.

This year was also the first time I helped write the introduction as editor of The News-Bannner. I wrote from the heart, and I hope it resonates with readers:

“The year 2020 will be a memorable one, of that I am sure. We will remember the good, the bad and every unpredictable, heartbreaking, and joyful moment in between. We will remember what was lost but also what we gained.

Each year, our Who We Are magazine serves as a time capsule of sorts to document and honor the people, businesses and organizations that have shaped our com-munity’s past, present and future. This edition is cer-tainly no exception.

Inside these pages you will hear from community leaders about what they will remember from a most unusual spring. You will hear about how our community adapted to overcome trials while remembering to cel-ebrate the victories. You will learn how the community overcame adversity together in a variety of ways.

I have heard time and time again that banding together is something Wells County always does in times of hardship, and I believe that has already been on full display so far this year. I will always remember that about 2020.

You will hear from people who have goals and a vision for the future, regardless of what the current situation may be. You will read about innovations, mile-stones, retirements and people making a difference in the community each and every day —even in ordinary times and often without fanfare.

These are individuals whose actions, big and small, are making a wide impact across the county. I hope these stories inspire you and comfort you. I hope you connect with the people we have written about this year, and that you can learn something from them.

These are the stories that will help define 2020 for our community. These are the stories of who we are.”

[email protected]

Jessica Bricker

Last week, the Supreme Court struck down a Montana constitutional provision barring religious schools from benefiting from the state’s tax dollars. There are similar now-unconstitutional laws on the books across the nation — many of them borne of anti-Catholic bigotry — that subvert religious liberty and further empower government, rather than parents, to make educational choices for their kids. In most cases, those laws are now dead.

Some of us happen to believe that this develop-ment is more consequential than another tax cut or better trade policy. For us, school choice and the meaningful protection of religious liberty are non-negotiable. Would you know this from listening to the press?

Voters who took a completely rational view of the transactional nature of American politics, and who pulled the lever for Donald Trump as a result, are ridiculed with the derisive phrase, “But Gorsuch.” Some liberals, such as Bill Scher, make the argument explicit, contending that “the GOP traded its princi-ples for conservative judges. It was a bad deal.” They misunderstand conservative priorities.

You’ll notice, first off, that Democrats never betray “principles”; rather, they engage in pragma-tism when supporting flawed candidates. I hate to break the news to them, but backing a corrupt and philosophically vacant charlatan like Hillary Clinton, who had no problem “wooing” Vladimir Putin and a slew of other authoritarians, was also an unprincipled choice. It’s just one they’re comfortable with. Still, whatever the choice, “But Gorsuch” is literally cor-rect. Trump’s judicial picks will transcend his tweets and his anarchic time in office. Moreover, consider-ing the speed with which the mainstream Left has abandoned elementary republican governance, the courts may well be the only way to preserve our tra-ditional constitutional order — at least, in the short term.

One reason the courts exist is to temper the excess-es and vagaries of crude majoritarianism. There is no reason whatsoever to shy away from demanding that courts uphold the law as written — which is not the same as judicial activism, though liberals gleefully conflate the two. Scher argues that, historically speak-ing, Trump’s record on judges been neither unique nor impressive, and that his loss might well pave the way for more liberal judges. That’s certainly one way to look at it. Another way to look at it is that Trump’s improbable win interrupted a potential 16-year string of anti-constitutional appointments, and, to some degree, balanced the ideological disposition of the courts moving forward. The idea that Democrats

wouldn’t have waged the same war on the judiciary if Clinton had won — after they had blown up the judicial filibuster — is, of course, baloney. They just thought they were going to win again.

“But Gorsuch” also had immediate implications. Without Gorsuch, there is no Janus v. AFSCME, and unions would still be forcing workers to pay dues to organiza-tions that participate in political causes they do not support. Without Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh — who, say what you will about Trump, was unlikely to have sustained the support of any other Republi-can president through such a malicious confirmation battle — states such as Colorado would still openly be destroying the lives of Americans over thought crimes.

A Supreme Court with two Hillary Clinton appoin-tees would be whittling away the free speech protec-tions of Citizens United. It would be hammering the Second Amendment protections that were reaffirmed by Heller and McDonald. Roberts may view himself as a Solomonic strategist and stickler for precedent, but his liberal colleagues have little problem dispens-ing with it whenever convenient.

It’s true that Republican presidents often flub their picks. Gorsuch disappointed social conserva-tives when helping invent new protections for LGBT workers. Roberts, a George W. Bush appointee, will be a perpetual disappointment, I’m sure. Yet, both are worlds better than the alternative. You don’t need to look any farther than the Montana school-choice decision to understand why.

The lesson gleaned from recent history isn’t that Republicans have gotten a “bad deal,” but rather that Republicans should fight harder to seat more jurists like Clarence Thomas and fewer like John Roberts. There is no “winning” in politics, after all, there is just constant struggle. Conservatives, as their name indicates, rack up unappreciated victories by hinder-ing the progress of bad ideas and preventing them from coagulating into law.

Was Gorsuch worth it? Counter-histories are most often a waste of time. Perhaps Trump’s election dam-aged the long-term prospects of conservative causes. Perhaps Democrats wouldn’t have radicalized as quickly had Clinton been president. It doesn’t really matter now. There are plenty of reasons a person may have not to vote for Donald Trump, yes. But the underlying arguments for “But Gorsuch” are stronger than ever.

© 2020 CREATORS.COM

‘But Gorsuch’ is still Trump’s best argument

DavidHarsanyi

So much for his love of the militaryChristopher Slutman, 43,

had always wanted to be a firefighter. He was that kind of kid, the kind who wants to save people. He was also a Marine Reserves Staff Sergeant who had served in Iraq. Last year, he was assigned to duty in Afghani-stan.

On April 8, 2019, just two weeks before he was scheduled to return home, he and two other Marines were killed when a roadside bomb exploded near Bagram Air Base. This may be one of the attacks Russia was sponsoring.

Also murdered that day were Cpl. Robert A. Hendriks, 25, of Locust Valley, New York, and Sgt. Benjamin Hines, 31, of York, Pennsylvania.

The question that cannot be avoided is this: Did President Donald Trump — through laziness, derelic-tion or some still-inexplicable pros-tration to Vladimir Putin — make these Marines’ deaths, or those of other Americans, more likely?

The New York Times, Associated Press, The Washington Post, Fox News and The Wall Street Journal are all reporting that U.S. intelligence agencies had become aware that Rus-sia was offering cash bounties to the Taliban to kill Americans and other coalition forces as early as March 2019. The intelligence was included in the president’s daily brief in the spring of this year. It was also the subject of a National Security Coun-cil meeting. “Given that there was an NSC meeting, I suspect that (Trump) did know” about the intelligence, for-mer CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden told The Washington Post.

The president’s spokespeople are playing the word games. Pressed on whether the information was included in the PDB, press secretary Kayleigh

McEnany sidestepped. The president “has not person-ally been briefed on the mat-ter and that’s all I have for you today.” Well, that could mean merely that the infor-mation was not spoon-fed verbally. Besides, she added, the reports of Russian cash for American corpses were “unconfirmed” and there was “no consensus” in the intel community. But that is always the case with intel-ligence.

CIA Director Gina Haspel, by con-trast, did not deny the intelligence. She acknowledged that when infor-mation is obtained that may affect the welfare of U.S. combat forces, it is “shared throughout the national security community — and with U.S. allies.

In fact, The Washington Post has reported that the intelligence was shared with the British. So the British were informed, but the president was kept in the dark? And if he was kept in the dark, what does that say about his leadership?

Trump, who maintains the highest vigilance about any harsh word from Joe Scarborough or Don Lemon, says he was unaware. “Nobody briefed or told me, @VP Pence, or Chief of Staff @MarkMeadows about the so-called attacks on our troops in Afghanistan by Russians, as reported through an ‘anonymous source’ by the Fake News @nytimes,” he tweet-ed. He wasn’t finished. “Everybody is denying it & there have not been many attacks on us.”

Pause on that for a moment. “There have not been many attacks on us.” That must be a great comfort to the Hendriks, Hines and Slutman families.

Trump is not slow to anger, as we know. Yet when it comes to Vladimir

Putin putting bounties on the heads of America’s warriors, he is strangely unperturbed. Knowing that Putin was reveling in American deaths, he invited him to attend the G-7 meeting in September.

It is hardly news that Trump lacks empathy, but he has made concern for “our great military” one of his calling cards. Where is even a hint of rage at Putin for putting targets on their backs? All of his ire is directed at The New York Times, with none to spare for the Kremlin ghoul. Far from imposing a price, Trump rewarded him.

Trump’s vaunted “love” of the military is not for the real military, the one represented by Hendricks, Hines and Slutman. It’s to a twisted, gang-ster image of militarism. He ran for office promising that as commander in chief he would order the U.S. mili-tary to commit war crimes. While president, he pardoned war criminals. His “love” of the military is worse than phony. He has no appreciation of what sacrifice means. He has no understanding that serving means putting someone else’s welfare before your own. He thinks the military are a bunch of thugs. The thing that drew him to General Jim Mattis was the nickname “mad dog” — which Trump falsely later claimed to have bestowed on Mattis.

Robert Hendriks, Benjamin Hines and Christopher Slutman were patri-ots. Slutman, an Eagle Scout, was always contributing to his communi-ty. Robby Hendriks’s mother always knew he would serve his country. Ben Hines had a gift for lifting morale in his unit.

It is not credible to imagine that Trump was ignorant of Russia’s role in this. But in any case, it is now known to the world. Where, oh where, is Trump’s concern for them?


MonaCharen

L I F E S T Y L E S WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2020 • The News-Banner • Page 5

By MARLYN KOONSSome mornings we awake and

feel that the world is too much with us. We may be filled with uncertainty and doubt. We worry about our loved ones, we may be facing job losses, and we may doubt the future. Maybe we just want to hide under the blankets and wish the fears away.

However, we know that wish-ing doesn’t work. Nevertheless, we get out of bed. We drink our cups of coffee, we prioritize our day, and we prepare our faces to meet the other faces that we will meet. We prepare our souls to meet the world. In other words, we persevere.

Persevere is an interesting word. It is a verb. It denotes action. In Latin it means “to abide by strict-ly.” Modern definitions include “to continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty.” We may call it by other names such as persistence or determination. I like the sound of perseverance. It has a solid sound. It has heft.

When I reflect on my own life and remember people I knew who persevered, some images come to mind.

When I was a child, my family would sometimes go on Sunday drives. My dad seemed to know

every back road in Wells County. One hot, humid af ternoon, we spotted a white-haired lady stand-ing in a roadside, weed-filled ditch. We stopped to say hello. My child eyes saw a lean, lanky, elderly woman in overalls. She was wielding a scythe. She was intent on chopping down those weeds. Never mind the heat, never mind that those weeds were going to grow back. She was going to clear that ditch! That was perseverance.

A second image appears: My grandmother bent over her old-fashioned Singer sewing machine. Hour after hour, she altered clothes and created new ones. She eked out a living sewing for neigh-bors. That was her only source of income. Widowed in her 20s, she was left alone with three children to raise. At that time there was no Social Security, no life insurance, no pensions, and it was the Great Depression. And so, she sewed. Sometimes she was paid in food and sometimes in actual money.

Surrounded by stacks of mate-rial and Simplicity and McCall’s dress patterns, there she was—sit-

ting at her sewing machine, breathing in the lint-filled air, and sewing. She could have given up. She could have walked away. But she didn’t. She managed to raise three tough and resil-ient children who all

became productive adults. She persevered!

A third image appears: I met a former student in a store last week. She is now a young wife and mother of two children. As we talked, I saw worry and fear in her eyes. She told me her husband had just lost his job and they might have to move in with family. It made me wonder.

When confronted with sud-den loss of paychecks, and there are still mortgage or rent to pay, a family to feed, and medicines to buy, what do we do? Like my grandmother and the ditch lady, the most determined and bravest of us forge ahead. We take part-time jobs if we can find them. American author and artist Mary Ann Radmacher believes that “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’”

Perhaps we look at job loss as an opportunity to create new roles for ourselves. Maybe we follow a new path — a path that leads us to something we’ve always wanted to do.

History is filled with remark-able people who faced failure, looked it in the eye, delivered a knock-out punch, and went on to achieve tremendous success.

Walt Disney was fired from a job at the Kansas City Star because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” Years later the Walt Disney Co. bought out the Kansas City Star.

Thomas Edison, considered unteachable as a youth, invented the lightbulb. However, before the actual invention, he had discov-ered 1,000 ways that he could not build a successful lightbulb.

Elvis Presley was fired by the manager of Nashville’s Grand Ol’ Opry after one show. He told Pres-ley, “You ain’t goin’ nowhere, son. You ought to go back to drivin’ a truck.”

Now here’s the thing. When things fall apart and failure is imminent, quitting is easy. Don’t give in. Keep on going. Persevere!

Here is an excerpt of a poem that says it better than I can. It is called “Mother to Son,” written by

Langston Hughes.Well son, I’ll tell youLife for me ain’t been no crystal

stair.It had tacks…And splinters…And boards torn up.But all the timeI’se been a-climbin’ on,And reachin’ landin’sAnd turnin’corners.And sometimes goin’ in the darkWhere there ain’t been no light.So son, don’t you turn back.Don’t you set down on the

steps…For I’m still goin’, honey.I’m still climbin’…Life for me ain’t been no crystal

stair.If you’re struggling, look to the

ones who came before you, those who struggled and found suc-cess…those who persevered.

———Editor’s Note: This is one of a

series of articles written by a group of retired and current teachers: Amy Leeson, Billy Kreigh, Anna Spald-ing, Marlyn Koons and Jean Harp-er. Their intent is to spur discussions at the dinner table and elsewhere. You may also voice your thoughts and reactions via The News-Ban-ner’s letters to editor.

Here’sthe

Thing

Keep going. Stay with it. You know — persevere.

By SPENCER TIERNEYof NerdWallet

Probably the last thing you want to think about dur-ing a crisis is working on healthy financial habits like saving money. But if you’re able to save, you can make your eventual recovery eas-ier.

“Every time you put some (money) away, you’re looking out for your future self,” says Saundra Davis, founder and executive direc-tor at Sage Financial Solu-tions, a San Francisco Bay Area-based nonprofit that offers financial coach train-ing and services to people across the wealth spectrum.

Whether or not your financial situation has changed since the start of 2020, you may benefit from these saving strategies now or down the road.

DO: REDUCE COSTS, INCLUDING BILLS IF NEEDED

Common advice to save money is to cut unnecessary costs. During an ongoing crisis such as a pandemic, you might need to redefine what is “unnecessary.”

Start with the cost of bare essentials to operate your household — rent or mortgage, utilities, food — and when you factor bills in, don’t treat them all the same. For example, paying your credit card bill in full every month is normally the best tactic, but in hard times, it’s OK not to follow this rule and just pay the mini-mum. For loan payments, see if your creditor can offer relief.

“Don’t have your lend-er deciding what you can pay,” Davis says. “Sketch out your own budget.” This might mean working with your lender to reduce pay-ments or suspend them tem-porarily.

DO: ADJUST YOUR SAVINGS GOALS

Having a dollar amount to save up to is generally helpful. An emergency fund, for example, is a standard goal that involves build-ing up three to six months’ worth of living expenses. But during an emergency, consider resetting expecta-tions.

“If your income changes, you aren’t beholden to sav-ing a fixed amount,” says LaKhaun McKinley, certi-fied financial planner and owner of the firm MNM Vested in Katy, Texas.

The way you save might need to be tweaked, too. If you use automatic transfers from checking to savings accounts, see if that amount is still doable for you. If not, reduce the amount. Or, as a last resort, cancel the trans-fers for the time being and make one-off transfers when possible.

When saving money, “the habit is more impor-tant than the amount,” Davis says.

DO: FIND A HIGH SAVINGS RATE

Opening a high-yield savings account at an online bank is a good strategy, regardless of the economic

environment. The national average rate is 0.06 percent, but some online savings accounts are currently offer-ing over 1 percent annu-al percentage yield. The account-opening process can take a few minutes.

Opening a high-yield account “can be such a simple way to earn more,” says Kelley Long. She’s a Chicago-based certified public accountant, financial planner and member of the American Institute of CPAs’ Consumer Financial Educa-tion Advocates.

D O : G E T H E L P FROM YOUR COMMU-NITY TO SAVE COSTS

If you’re experienc-ing financial hardship, call 2-1-1 or visit the website 211.org. This is a free way to learn about resources in your community, including food banks, meal services for seniors and students, shelters, mental health ser-vices and more. If you’ve never asked for help like this before, it may feel uncomfortable. But accept-ing meals or other support can be an important lifeline as well as help you save money.

“We want to stay aware of what’s available in our community and give our-selves the emotional room to do things we’ve never done before,” Davis says.

Some relief is nation-wide, including postponed federal student loan pay-ments and coronavirus-specific unemployment pro-grams, but your local com-munity might have addition-al resources.

DON’T: DIP INTO SAVINGS WITHOUT A PLAN

If you have an emer-gency fund and you need it now, use it. But estimate the amount you need before withdrawing, and keep tabs on how you spend it.

You’ll eventually need to save up again, and you want to make that process manageable. It might help to settle on a minimum amount you need to keep in a sav-ings account to feel OK.

“Everyone has a differ-ent feeling (for) what would give them that security,” Long says. For some peo-ple, for example, “seeing a comma in your account can have a formative effect on your feeling of financial security.”

DON’T: WITHDRAW FROM SAVINGS TOO OFTEN

Keep an eye on the fre-quency with which you turn to your savings account. Banks can charge an exces-sive savings withdrawal fee if you go over six per month. During COVID-19, the Federal Reserve has paused this rule, but it’s up to each bank to choose whether to charge the fee. Watch out for other fees, too, such as for overdrawing

if you dip past your check-ing account balance.

If you’re running into trouble with fees, examine why you needed more sav-ings than expected.

“We might be overag-

gressive in savings goals. That’s usually due to fail-ing to account for certain expenses in our spending plan,” Long says.

“In a crisis,” she adds, “we need to remember that

there are times that we can’t be long-term in our think-ing.”

This article originally appeared on the personal finance website NerdWal-let. Spencer Tierney is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: spencer.tierney(at)nerdwal-let.com. Twitter: (at)Spen-cerNerd.

RELATED LINKSNerdWallet: Emergency

Fund: What It Is and Why It Matters https://b it.ly/nerd-wallet-fund

NerdWallet: Best High-Yield Online Savings Accounts https://bit.ly/nerd-wallet-online-savings

NerdWallet: How to File for Coronavirus Unem-ployment if You’re Self-Employed https://bit.ly/nerdwallet-covid-employ-ment

6 Do’s and Don’ts when saving money during a crisis

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Bank donates to YFCFirst Bank of Berne recently donated $1,000 to Youth for Christ in Wells County. Kody Kumfer, at right, is shown presenting the check to Garrett Bucher, Norwell Youth for Christ director. The donation will be used for direct ministry support and for the agen-cy’s annual golf outing. Contact Bucher for more information about the outing at [email protected] (Photo submitted)

Protective gear for medical workers begins to run lowBy GEOFF MULVIHILL and CAMILLE FASSETT

Associated PressThe personal protective

gear that was in dangerously short supply during the early weeks of the coronavirus cri-sis in the U.S. is running low again as the virus resumes its rapid spread and the num-ber of hospitalized patients climbs.

A national nursing union is concerned that gear has to be reused. A doctors associa-tion warns that physicians’ offices are closed because they cannot get masks and other supplies. And Demo-cratic members of Con-gress are pushing the Trump administration to devise a national strategy to acquire and distribute gear in antici-pation of the crisis worsen-ing into the fall.

“We’re five months into this and there are still short-ages of gowns, hair covers, shoe covers, masks, N95 masks,” said Deborah Burg-er, president of National Nurses United, who cited results from a survey of the union’s members. “They’re being doled out, and we’re still being told to reuse them.”

When the crisis first exploded in March and April in hot spots such as New York City, the situation was so desperate that nurses turned plastic garbage bags into protective gowns. The lack of equipment forced states and hospitals to com-pete against each other, the federal government and other countries in desperate, expensive bidding wars.

In general, supplies of protective gear are more robust now, and many states and major hospital chains say they are in better shape. But medical professionals and some lawmakers have cast doubt on those improve-ments as shortages begin to reappear.

In other virus-related developments Tuesday:

— Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, said he has tested positive for COVID-19 after months of downplaying the virus’ severity. The 65-year-old populist confirmed the test results while speaking to reporters in the capital of Brasilia. Bolsonaro has often appeared in public to shake hands with supporters and mingle with crowds, at times without a mask.

— The Trump admin-istration formally notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from the World Health Organization. The move makes good on Presi-dent Donald Trump’s vow to terminate U.S. participation in the WHO, which he has criticized for its response to the pandemic and accused of bowing to Chinese influ-ence. The pullout will not take effect until next year, meaning it could be rescind-ed under a new adminis-tration or if circumstances change.

— Education Secre-tary Betsy DeVos said the nation’s schools must reopen this fall and be “fully

operational” even as cases of COVID-19 continue to surge around the country. She said anything short of a full reopening would fail stu-dents and taxpayers. DeVos made the comments during a call with governors. Audio of the call was obtained by The Associated Press.

Speaking about protec-tive equipment on the call, U.S. Health and Human Ser-vices Secretary Alex Azar said Tuesday that it’s impor-tant for gear to be reused and repurposed as a way to stretch the stocks and avoid shortages.

Dr. Aisha Terry said that she has good access to PPE as an associate professor of emergency medicine at George Washington Univer-sity in Washington, but some non-academic and rural health facilities have much less.

“I think overall, produc-tion, distribution and access has improved,” Terry said. “But the fear is that we will become complacent“ and allow supplies to dwindle in some places.

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FBI investigates reported assault on Black man as hate crime

By CASEY SMITHAssociated Press/Report for AmericaINDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The FBI is

investigating as a hate crime the assault of a Black man by a group of white men at a southern Indiana lake, the victim’s attorney said Tuesday.

Vauhxx Booker, a local civil rights activ-ist and member of the Monroe County Human Rights Commission, said the men pinned him against a tree, shouted racial slurs and one of them threatened to “get a noose” at Monroe Lake near Bloomington over the Fourth of July weekend.

Much of the assault was captured on cell-phone video by Booker’s acquaintances.

Katherine Liell, Booker’s attorney, said at a news conference that the FBI is ques-tioning witnesses and that charging deci-sions could be made soon.

“We want this investigated as a hate crime. It was clearly racially motivated,” Liell said. “We will continue our quest every day until some justice is served.”

Chris Bavender, an FBI public affairs officer in Indianapolis, declined to immedi-ately comment on the investigation.

Booker spoke briefly at the news confer-ence to say he was pleased the FBI has got involved.

“I’m sad that this happened, honestly,” Booker said. “I just wanted to have a good time with some friends.”

Liell also complained that law enforce-ment officers with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources “did not move rapidly enough“ in response to reports of the attack. She said their failure to make arrests at the

scene warrants further investigation from other law enforcement agencies.

Bloomington mayor John Hamilton said at the news conference that police continue to search for two people accused of knock-ing a woman unconscious and dragging a man with their car at a protest over the assault on Booker.

Police Cpt. Ryan Pedigo told The Asso-ciated Press that the confrontation happened near the Monroe County Courthouse in downtown Bloomington on Monday eve-ning.

A male passenger got out of a red Toyota car and went to move an electric scooter that had been left in the road near the pro-test site, Pedigo said. A 29-year-old woman approached the car and placed her hands on the hood, he said.

The driver accelerated into the woman, launching her onto the hood. A 35-year-old man then grabbed the driver’s side of the car and held on as the vehicle continued to accelerate. Both were eventually flung to the ground and the car fled the scene, Pedi-go said.

The woman was knocked unconscious and suffered a cut to her head, while the man scraped his arm. She was transported by ambulance to a hospital but her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, Pedi-go said. Authorities have not released the identities of the injured nor said if they were participating in the protest.

The red Toyota has not been located and investigators are still trying to determine the identities of the male passenger and female driver, police said in a news release.

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GV Senior League results announcedThe team of Rick Murphy, Lou Schroeder, Ken Lewis,

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Schroeder won the closest to the pin competition and Jim Zimmer had the longest putt.

Junior LeagueJuly 1 — Pizza Hut 12, AAM 10. For Pizza Hut, Justice

Randall had two singles, a double, and scored three runs; Griffin Morgan had a single, a double, and a triple, driving in a run and scoring three times; Axton Beste had a grand slam, a single, and walk and scored twice. Silas Phister was the winning pitcher. For AAM, Cooper Craig had a double, two RBIs, and scored two runs and Eli Bertsch had a single and two RBIs.

June 29 — Pizza Hut 9, Bluffton Dental 4. For Pizza Hut, Justice Randall had two singles, a walk, and scored twice; Griffin Morgan had a two-run homer and scored three times; Axton Best had a single, a double, and a triple, drove in a run, and scored three times. For Bluffton Dental, Jacob Kephart had a double and two RBIs; Chanley Shaw had a double, an RBI, and scored a run and Athan King had two doubles, an RBI, and scored a run. Griffin Morgan was the winning pitcher and King took the loss.

By CHARLES ODUMAP Sports Writer

As baseball nears the two-week countdown to the start of its delayed season, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to keep more players, including Boston Red Sox projected opening day starter Edu-ardo Rodriguez, off the field.

On Tuesday, one day after Major League Baseball released its 60-game schedule, there was continued evidence of the difficul-ties caused by the pandemic.

The San Francisco Giants sus-pended workouts at Oracle Park as they awaited the results of weekend tests for the coronavirus. The Chicago Cubs’ workout was delayed.

Oakland left-hander Jake Diek-man, who has ulcerative colitis,

an autoimmune condition, said teams having to call off workouts because of delays in test results “just can’t happen.”

“I know they’re trying their hardest, but I don’t know if that’s good enough for right now,” Diek-man said Tuesday. “It’s a little worrisome. Say we go on a 10-day road trip and we only get results one time. That’s not very good with 45 or 50 people in a club-house at one time.”

Giants manager Gabe Kapler said one missed day wouldn’t put his club behind. He said he expects the testing process to improve.

“I feel as confident today as I did yesterday,” Kapler said. “I understand that there are going to be hiccups along the way. ... I think more than anything I just

maintain a level of empathy for everybody that’s working really hard to get our camp up and run-ning but also across the league and for all the clubs that are working really hard to put their players in a position to have success. Nobody expected this to be easy and every-body is doing the best that they can.”

The Giants already have had prospect Hunter Bishop and pitch-er Luis Madero test positive.

Rodriguez, who broke out in 2019 as a star, and Red Sox pros-pect Bobby Dalbec tested positive for the virus.

Rodriguez had not reported to camp after informing the team that he had been around relatives who had been ill. Dalbec, a third base-man, also is home and is asymp-

tomatic. Manager Ron Roenicke said it

is “just unfortunate” the positive test could jeopardize Rodriguez’s chances to start on opening day. Rodriguez had career-best num-bers with 19 wins and a 3.81 ERA in 2019.

Also, the Kansas City Roy-als announced right-hander Brad Keller and first baseman Ryan O’Hearn had positive tests and gave the team permission to announce the results.

The threat of an infection was enough for the Cleveland Indians to keep outfielder Franmil Reyes away from camp. Reyes was told to stay home after he was seen on social media attending a weekend holiday party without wearing a

mask. It was an example that off-field

activities can affect a player’s sta-tus.

Manager Terry Francona said Reyes would be re-tested “when it’s appropriate.”

The Cubs’ workout was delayed a few hours as the team awaited test results. On Monday, Cubs slugger Kris Bryant criti-cized the lack of frequency of the tests and delays in getting results.

Manager David Ross said Tues-day’s delay “isn’t a huge deal” and seemed bigger ”with what’s been going on with some teams the last day or so.“

“We can’t just crush MLB because this is new to them, too, and the testing facility,” Ross said.

Chicago Blackhawks say they’ll not change team name

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks say they will continue to use their team name because it honors a Native Ameri-can leader who has been an inspiration to generations.

“The Chicago Black-hawks name and logo symbolizes an important and historic person, Black Hawk of Illinois’ Sac & Fox Nation, whose leadership and life has inspired genera-tions of Native Americans, veterans and the public,” the NHL team said in a state-ment Tuesday.

“We celebrate Black Hawk’s legacy by offering ongoing reverent examples of Native American culture, traditions and contribu-tions, providing a platform for genuine dialogue with local and national Native

American groups. As the team’s popularity grew over the past decade, so did that platform and our work with these important organiza-tions.

“We recognize there is a fine line between respect and disrespect, and we com-mend other teams for their willingness to engage in that conversation. Moving for-ward, we are committed to raising the bar even higher to expand awareness of Black Hawk and the impor-tant contributions of all Native American people. “

The Athletic first report-ed on the team’s statement.

Under renewed pressure to change their name, the NFL’s Washington Red-skins announced a “thor-ough review” of the issue. In baseball, the Cleveland Indians are also looking into it while the Atlanta Braves declined.

For baseball, more failed tests bring more uncertainty

By ROB MAADDIAP Pro Football WriterThe NFL and the NFLPA

haven’t come to an agree-ment on all protocols for training camp and the pre-season as the report date for teams draws closer.

The two sides finalized the protocols regarding team travel, media, and treatment response, and have also updated the facilities proto-col to specifically address training camp based on rec-ommendations from a joint committee of doctors, train-ers and strength coaches formed by the league and players’ union.

The league sent a 42-page memo to teams last Friday outlining those pro-posals. But the NFL Players Association and its presi-dent, Cleveland Browns center JC Tretter, say testing and the number of preseason games remain unresolved.

“Our normal return date for training camp is quickly approaching and we are still far from back to ‘normal,”’ Tretter wrote in a letter on the union’s website.

“Our main concern is player safety, both in regard to preventing the virus’ transmission as well as pre-venting injuries after an extended and historically unique layoff.”

Tretter reiterated that players don’t want to play any preseason games and want a 48-day training camp schedule to give them more time to prepare for the sea-son and avoid injuries. He cited an increase in injuries following the 2011 lockout.

The league last week decided to cut the pre-season schedule from four games to two and pushed back the start of exhibition play an extra week to give teams more time to prepare because the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancel-lation of on-field workouts.

The league previously requested that players report to camp earlier than July 28 to give them more acclima-tion time for strength and conditioning because they held no formal workouts or team minicamps. But the union declined.

“When we asked for a medical reason to play games that don’t count in the standings during an ongoing pandemic, the NFL failed to provide one,” Tret-ter wrote.

A league official told The Associated Press that Tret-ter’s comments were “dis-heartening” to read because “we’ve been working in good faith.”

The person spoke on con-dition of anonymity because the league doesn’t want to

engage in a public dispute similar to the contentious discussions between Major League Baseball and its players’ union.

“It’s not constructive. We’d rather do this face to face,” the person said. “The committee understood the utility of playing one or two preseason games to get players ready for game-day conditions, which you can’t simulate playing against yourselves, and also to prac-tice the protocols. We will continue working together.”

Tretter is concerned play-ers could return only to have the season shut down before

it starts. “It has been clear for

months that we need to find a way to fit football inside the world of coronavirus,” Tretter wrote. “Making decisions outside that lens is both dangerous and irre-sponsible.”

One idea suggested by the union’s medical direc-tor, Dr. Thom Mayer, to help control the spread of the virus was to have play-ers wear face masks. The league’s engineers and sports equipment company tested prototypes for the masks but players shot it down.

NFL, NFLPA have yet to reach agreement

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Olivier Vernon’s status with the Browns has more cer-tainty. So does his paycheck.

The defensive end, whose future in Cleveland seemed in doubt for months, has renegotiated his con-tract for next season, a per-son familiar with the talks told the Associated Press on Tuesday.

Vernon’s days with the Browns seemed numbered as he was going to make $15.25 million — a non-guaranteed deal that was the largest current one-year con-tract on Cleveland’s roster — as long as he was around after training camp.

But the club reworked his deal and Vernon will earn $11 million, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team is not publicly disclosing the agreement.

ESPN was first to report Vernon will get a $7 million signing bonus, $3.75 million base salary, $250,000 work-out bonus and $2 million in incentives.

The 29-year-old Ver-non joined the Browns last season after coming over from the New York Giants in the blockbuster trade that brought wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to Cleveland.

AP source: Browns have reworked Vernon’s deal

Page 2a • The News-Banner • WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2020

House & HomeYour Weekly Guide to Buying, Selling, Maintaining & Improving Your Home!

Home

Question: With the loss of so many jobs as a result of Covid-19 have credit reports and credit scores changed to make things easier for mortgage borrowers?

Answer: There’s no question that the credit process has become more transparent due to the pandemic.

For years, there has been debate regarding how to open the credit pro-cess to make it more accessible. Under federal rules, consumers are now enti-tled to one free credit report every 12 months from each of the three major credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Such free credit reports are accessible at Annual-CreditReport.com.

In recent months, however, the credit marketplace has become complicated. Millions of borrowers have sought mortgage forbearance – the right to reduce or even skip monthly payments. Foreclosures and evictions have been suspended in most cases. Shelter-in-place and social distancing rules have radically changed business operations, school schedules, and shopping. More than 40 million people have joined the unemployment rolls, partly because the virus has decimated entire industries.

Equifax, Experian and TransUnion in response have announced that free credit reports will be available at Annu-alCreditReport.com every week for a one-year period that started on April 20, 2020. Consumers can check reports for identity theft, fraud, out-of-date items, and factual errors for free and with far greater frequency than in the past. Better credit reports can mean more accurate credit scores, scores not reduced by mistakes and fraud. Higher scores, in turn, can lead to lower interest rates for mortgage loans, auto financing, and other forms of borrowing.

There’s also change underway in the way inquiries are reported.

“Hard” credit inquiries – inquiries generally made by lenders and other credit providers – can lower credit scores. Not by much, and not for long, but still a reduction. For borrowers who need every point, even a small ding can be enough in some cases to wind up in a lower credit band. “Soft” credit inquiries – generally inquiries you make – do not impact credit scores at all.

It used to be that when you signed up for such things as cell phones and pay-TV, the providers would contact credit reporting agencies and that would be a hard inquiry. Your credit score would dip a few points for a short period. Equifax has now changed how many common inquiries are defined.

“All wired and wireless phone, internet and pay-TV account openings can now be categorized by service pro-viders as a ‘soft credit inquiry,’” said Equifax executive Ken Ray in April. “We will automatically classify these new accounts as soft inquiries by June 30, 2020, and will continue to categorize them as such moving forward.”

No doubt there will be other credit report adjustments as the credit industry begins to understand the new mar-ketplace better. The new standards will result in a stronger credit profile for many consumers, something to be wel-comed in the COVID-19 economy.

Email your real estate questions for Mr. Miller to [email protected].

Credit wonders

Peter G. Miller

11The percentage

of Realtors aged 49 and younger who

were most likely to have a real estate

blog.Source: National

Association of Realtors, 2018

By Erik J. MartinCTW Features

With millions of Ameri-cans out of work and suffer-ing from the impact of coro-navirus, it’s natural to be fretful about your financial health—whether you still have a job and have dodged COVID-19 or not. Home-owners with a mortgage are particularly concerned.

Fortunately, the govern-ment has put the CARES Act into effect, which pro-vides relief options for struggling mortgage bor-rowers, including forbear-ance, which allows your mortgage servicer or lender to pause or decrease your mortgage payments for a limited period while you regain your financial foot-ing (details at tinyurl.com/covidcares).

Even if you don’t need to request forbearance, you may be wondering: Is my lender or servicer safe, con-sidering that well over 4 million Americans are cur-rently in forbearance plans, per the Mortgage Bankers Association? And if not, will they drag my mortgage down with them?

Before these questions can be addressed, it’s impor-tant to understand the differ-ence between your mortgage lender and your servicer. Your lender is the finan-cial institution that loaned you the money, while your mortgage servicer is the company that sends you your mortgage statements, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Your servicer also handles the day-to-day tasks for managing your loan. Your loan servicer typically pro-cesses your loan payments, responds to your inquiries, keeps track of principal and interest paid, and manages your escrow account (if you have one). And your ser-vicer may or may not be the same company that initially gave you your loan.

Diane Bettino, a partner with Reed Smith in Princ-eton, New Jersey, notes that when a borrower requests a forbearance, payments are not made on that loan. Yet, servicers and/or lenders will still be required to make payments to investors on that loan as well as cover tax and insurance escrow pay-ments.

“Without the government providing liquidity relief or suspension of required pay-ments to these investors, it

places pressure on lenders and servicers,” she says.

Chris McDermott, a real estate broker and investor in Jacksonville, Florida, says large lenders will be able to weather the financial storm due to the strength in num-bers of paying vs. non-pay-ing borrowers.

“But smaller lenders may not be as lucky. Contingent upon how soon economies reopen may influence the duration of forbearance for so many, which could put more servicers at risk of defaulting on payments to lenders,” he says.

Atlanta-based property attorney and Realtor Bruce Ailion concurs.

“Currently, we have many lenders that are too big to fail—comprising maybe 75% of the mortgage market,” says Ailion. “How-ever, smaller lenders and lenders with a large owned portfolio of loans may be at risk, as payment of interest funds their operations.”

Nevertheless, you have little need to worry, the experts agree.

“The lenders and hous-ing agencies can handle this crisis,” says Brian Koss, executive vice president of Mortgage Network in Dan-vers, Massachusetts. “Your loan will not be at risk.”

If your servicer runs into financial trouble, the chances are that they’ll sell the servicing of your loan to another entity.

“Your loan would trans-fer and you would continue to make your payments as usual, only to a different ser-vicer,” explains Matt Hack-ett, operations manager at Equity Now, a direct mort-gage lender in New York City.

But if you’re preparing to finance a new purchase or refinance your existing loan, you may want to shop

for lenders a little more care-fully.

“If, for some reason, you are taking out a loan that will not be sold or insured by a federally controlled entity like FHA, VA, USDA, Fan-nie Mae, or Freddie Mac—the big names that back the vast majority of loans—then investigating if that lender is solvent or not is important,” Ailion suggests.

Still, your due diligence here may not matter anyway.

“Originating lenders often sell the loans they issue very soon after clos-ing, so the lender that origi-

nated your loan will prob-ably not be your lender in a few months,” says Rajeh Saadeh, a real estate attor-ney in Somerville, New Jer-sey.

Ultimately, the fate of your lender or servicer and where your loan will likely be sold is out of your hands.

“Once your loan has been funded and a mortgage recorded against the prop-erty, it’s just paper in terms of the loan aspect,” McDer-mott adds. “If your loan is government-backed, you’ll be protected by the CARES Act.”

Worried that other people’s forbearances may put your mortgage or lender at risk?

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By KAT STAFFORDAssociated Press

DETROIT (AP) — Proposed federal legislation that would radically transform the nation’s criminal justice system through such changes as eliminating agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration and the use of surveillance technology was unveiled Tuesday by the Movement for Black Lives.

Dubbed the BREATHE Act, the legis-lation is the culmination of a project led by the policy table of the Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of more than 150 organiza-tions. It comes at an unprecedented moment of national reckoning around police brutality and systemic racism that has spurred global protests and cries for change after several high-profile killings of Black Americans, including George Floyd.

“We stand on the shoulders of giants and there has been 400 years of work that Black people have done to try to get us closer to freedom,” Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors said.

“This moment is a watershed moment. I think this moment calls for structural change and transformative change in ways that we haven’t seen in a very long time. We see this opportunity to push for the BREATHE Act as a part of what we’re calling the modern-day civil rights act.“

The proposed changes, first shared with The Associated Press, are sweeping and like-ly to receive robust pushback from lawmak-ers who perceive the legislation as too radi-cal.

University of Michigan professor and criminal justice expert Heather Ann Thomp-son acknowledged the uphill battle, but noted

that the legislation is being introduced at a highly opportune time.

“I think those programs that they’re sug-gesting eliminating only look radical if we really ignore the fact that there has been tre-mendous pressure to meaningfully reform this criminal justice system,” said Thompson, author of “Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy.” “Every radical piece of legislation that we’ve ever passed in this country, it has passed on the heels of the kinds of grassroots protests that we saw on the streets. The will of the people indicates that if they just keep putting a Band-Aid on it, these protests are not going to go away.“

No members of Congress have yet said they plan to introduce the bill, but it has won early support among some of the more pro-gressive lawmakers, including Ayanna Press-ley and Rashida Tlaib, who participated in Tuesday’s news conference.

The bill is broken into four sections, the first of which specifically would divest feder-al resources from incarceration and policing. It is largely aimed at federal reforms because Congress can more easily regulate federal institutions and policy, as opposed to state institutions or private prisons.

The other sections lay out a detailed plan to achieve an equitable future, calling for sweeping changes that would eliminate fed-eral programs and agencies “used to finance and expand” the U.S. criminal-legal system.

The elimination would target agen-cies such as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has come under fire in recent years for its aggressive deportation efforts, and lesser-known programs such as

Department of Defense 1033, which allows local law enforcement agencies to obtain excess military equipment.

The act, which also seeks to reduce the Department of Defense budget, would insti-tute changes to the policing, pretrial deten-tion, sentencing and prosecution practices that Cullors said have long disproportionate-ly criminalized Black and brown communi-ties, LGBTQIA people, Indigenous people, and individuals with disabilities.

It would establish the Neighborhood Demilitarization Program, which would col-lect and destroy all equipment like military-grade armored vehicles and weapons in the hands of local, state, and federal law enforce-ment agencies by 2022.

Federal law enforcement also would be unable to use facial-recognition technology, which many communities across the nation already have banned, along with drones and forms of electronic surveillance such as ankle-monitoring.

The bill would end life sentences, abolish all mandatory minimum sentencing laws and create a “time bound plan” to close all federal prisons and immigration detention centers.

Recent polling from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows a dramatic shift has occurred in the nation’s opinions on policing and race, with more Americans today than five years ago believing police brutality is a very serious problem that too often goes undisciplined and unequally targets Black Americans. The polling found that the majority of Americans say the criminal justice system needs major changes, including many saying it needs a complete overhaul.

Cullors said she is hopeful the bill will gain support and build upon the change the movement has produced since it first began seven years ago.

“We are calling for the federal government to be creative in identifying new approaches to dealing with harm and violence in our communities as well as developing invest-ments into building healthy, sustainable and equitable communities,“ she said.

The bill would direct Congress to estab-lish a Community Public Safety Office that would conduct research on non-punitive, public safety-focused interventions that would be funded through new grants, and programs like a “Free Them All” Matching Grant Program offering a 50% federal match for projected savings when states and com-munities close detention facilities, local jails, and state or youth prisons.

According to the document, it also would bring about numerous changes for parents and children, such as removing police, school resource officers and other armed security and metal detectors from schools.

The coalition first began releasing policy recommendations in 2016 and is in the midst of relaunching its Vision for Black Lives 2020, which will be rolled out and expand-ed over the coming months leading up to a planned National Black Convention.

“We are a generation that wants to make sure that the needs of all Black people are met,” Cullors said. “We believe the BREATHE Act is that legislation. It’s an act that is pushing us to look at the future of this country, an act that is is mandating and demanding a new future and policies that are courageous and visionary.”

Movement for Black Lives seeks sweeping legislative changesProposed federal legislation would radically transform the nation’s criminal justice system with such changes as eliminating agencies

like the Drug Enforcement Administration and the use of surveillance technology

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STATE OF INDIANA ) ) SS:COUNTY OF WELLS )

IN THE WELLS CIRCUIT COURT CAUSE NO:

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nb 7/8, 7/15hspaxlp

JULY 10, 10 a.m. to JULY 17, 4 p.m. - Online. Three Emma Schrock paintings, early American furniture, primitive tools, glassware, house-hold items, lawn & garden, Whirl-pool washing machine, gun sleeves, glass display case, lots more! In per-son preview: July 16-17, 12-5 p.m. Bidders must register on HiBid. Pay-ment by Credit Card only. 10% Buy-ers Premium, 7% Indiana Sales Tax. Pick up items at Texaco Ranch, 5556 E St. Rd. 124, Bluffton, July 18, 9-5. No Shipping. Call 1-260-824-2426 with questions. Ellenberger Broth-ers, Inc. Auctioneers, 800-373-6363, www.EllenbergerBros.com.JULY 18 - 9:30 a.m. - Merlin Nash Estate, Anna Nash, seller. 3465 E 400 N, Bluffton. Tractors, gar-den tractors, hit & miss engines, antiques, collectibles, household, patio, yard tools, shop equipment, parts, tools, fuel tanks, more. ONLINE AUCTION BIDDING ENDS JULY 22, 6 p.m. Large life-time collection of toy “train sets” & “toy tractors” 1/16 scale, “rare” 1975 Porsche 914 1.8L convert-ible. Inspection dates for live and online items July 12, 1-2 p.m., July 13, 5-6 p.m. Ness Bros. Realtors & Auctioneers, 260-356-3911, www.NessBros.com.JULY 18 - 10 a.m. - The Estate of Kent Steffen, seller. 118 1/2 E. Walnut St., Monroe. 1947 E3 Co-Op tractor (completely restored), 1974 GMC Jimmy, gas club car golf cart, 520-H Wheel Horse garden tractor, Craftsman hand and power tools, mig welder, car parts, antiques, household, advertising signs, much more. The Steffen Group Inc., 824-3006, www.steffengrp.com, Isaac Stoller, sale manager.JULY 22, 8 a.m. - JULY 23, 5 p.m.

- Salamonie Mills, Inc., owner. 5 properties, online, Wells & Hunting-ton County. Tract 1: Simpson Grain Elevator/Feed Mill, scales, 1694 N 200 E, Huntington. Tract 2: SMI-Hemp Mill Grain Storage, scales, dryer, 10 acres on SR 218, 10694 S. Hartford City Rd., Warren. Tract 3: SMI – RR Grain Storage, scales, office, 525 N. Wayne St., Warren. Tract 4: SMI – Markle, grain storage, scales, office, 40’x120’ quonset, at SR 3 & US 224 – 156 Hale St., Mar-kle. Tract 5: SMI – 7.05 acres 1000 S ½ mile south of Warren. Halderman Real Estate & Farm Mgmt., 800-424-2324, halderman.com, Rick Johnloz 260-827-8181, [email protected] 22, 8 a.m. - JULY 23, 5 p.m. - Kevin Drayer. 3723 S 600 W, Lib-erty Center. Online, Wells County. 29,000 bird 42’x 545’, Pullet Barn Facility on 8.29 acres, 24’x36’ pole barn, pond. Halderman Real Estate & Farm Mgmt., 800-424-2324, hal-derman.com, Rick Johnloz, [email protected], 260-827-8181.JULY 24 - 9 a.m. - Secured credi-tors & various consignors. 815 Adams St., Decatur. 400 unit auc-tion with over 100 units from various municipalities, cars, pick up trucks, daycab & sleeper tractors, bucket trucks, box trucks, utility trucks, misc. trucks & equipment, shop equipment & much more! Online bidding avail-able via Proxibid & EquipmentFacts! Now accepting consignments! Call Darrell, 260-433-0494, or Trevor, 260-223-7503, to consign equip-ment! Krueckeberg Auction & Realty LLC, 260-724-7402, www.kjauction.com.JULY 25 - 9 a.m. - Kay Loshe, owner. 617 W 400 N, Decatur. Household, yard & garden, antiques & collectibles, shop items, farm machinery, trucks, camper & luggage carriers. Tract 1: Home and buildings on 5.5 acres. Tract 2: 34.720 acres by the surveyed acre. Real estate sells at noon. Town & Country Auc-tioneers/Realtors, 260-724-8899, www.town-countryauctions.com.AUGUST 4 - 10 a.m. - Grace Schools, owner. Portland Lions Civic Center. Property: From Port-land: east 4 miles to N 400E, south 1/2 mile to E 100S, east 0.4 miles. 82+/-A, 2 tracts, Blount/Pewamo soils, mostly tillable, road frontage on E 100S, Jay County. Tract 1: 41+/-A, 625+/- feet road frontage. Tract 2: 41+/-A, 450+/- feet road frontage. Inspection: July 11, 10 a.m.-noon, July 21, 4-6 p.m., meet agent on property. Schrader Real Estate and Auction Company, Inc., 800-451-2709, www.schraderauction.com, Al Pfister, 800-794-4320.ONLINE THROUGH AUGUST 4 - 6 p.m. - Nancy Edelen, owner. 104 Prospect Ave., Monroeville. 2,800+/- SF home featuring 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, oversized heated 2 car attached garage, and large back-yard situated on a 85’x134’ lot! Open house Monday, July 20, 5-6 p.m. Krueckeberg Auction & Realty LLC, 260-724-7402, www.kjauction.com.AUGUST 6 - 6:30 p.m. Union Town-ship Hall, 4655 E 800 N, Decatur. Land is located on the northwest cor-ner of 500 E and 900 N. 55+/- tillable acres. Tract 1: 27.67+/- acres. Tract 2: 27.67+/- acres. Tract 3: Combina-tion of Tract 1 & 2. Land will be sold absolute. Krueckeberg Auction & Realty LLC, 260-724-7402, www.kjauction.com.

Public NoticesNOTICE

The Wells County Board of Commissioners and the Wells County Council are accepting applications for Board Appoint-ments to the Wells County Public Library. This is a 4-year term, effec-tive 8/15/2020 – 8/15/2024. If you are interested in serving on this board, please contact the Wells County Auditor’s Office at 260-824-6470 for an application. Applica-tions can also be downloaded by going to the Commissioners page on the County Website at www.wellscounty.org. Send completed applications to Wells County Audi-tor, 102 W Market St., Suite 205, Bluffton, IN 46714 or email to [email protected]. Applications will be accepted through July 24, 2020.

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90C01-2006-EU-000030STATE OF INDIANA )WELLS COUNTY )

IN THE WELLSCIRCUIT COURT

IN THE MATTER OF THE )ESTATE OF )DOROTHY M. LYDY, )

Deceased )NOTICE OF UNSUPERVISED

ADMINISTRATIONNotice is hereby given that

MYRA M. MYRTLE was, on the 27th day of June, 2020, appointed personal representative of the estate of DOROTHY M. LYDY, deceased, who died on May 26, 2020, and was authorized to administer said estate without court supervision.

All persons who have claims against this estate, whether or not now due, must file the claim in the office of the clerk of this court with-in three (3) months from the date of the first publication of this notice, or within nine (9) months after the decedent’s death, whichever is earlier, or the claims will be forever barred.

Dated at Bluffton, Indiana, this 27th day of June, 2020.

Beth DavisClerk, Wells Circuit Court

Kristin Steckbeck BilinskiAttorney No. 27029-02DALE, HUFFMAN & BABCOCK1127 North Main StreetBluffton, Indiana 46714(260) 824-5566Attorney for Estate

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HELOISE HINT: Check your car often. Monitor the fluid lev-els and the tread on your tires. If you think something is wrong, take it to an auto technician for a look-see. Email [email protected].

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606 W. DUSTMAN, Thur. 4-7,Fri. 9-6, Sat. 9-3, girls clothessize 7-8, many craft items,Wilton cake pans.

1132 SUNNYGLENN CT.

NICE CLEAN GARAGESALE Girls clothes some 3Tand lots of 4T and 4/5, girlsshoes sizes 7-10, lots ofwomens clothes size XL-2Xalot of them still have tags onthem, Big and Tall mensclothes. Brand new Chapsgray/navy blue queen bed-ding set, new misc. items,nice home decor, toys, packand play, crib with mattress,leap pad with tons of booksand cartridges, 7 ft christmastree and so much more. Jul..09 4:00 PM-7:00 PM, Jul.. 108:00 AM-5:00 PM, Jul.. 118:00 AM- Rain or Shine

HELOISE HINT: Have a diffi-cult co-worker who isn’t up to the job? Try to accommodate this person. Your supervisor will figure it out. Fax Heloise @ 210-HELOISE (435-6473).

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PetsHELOISE HINT: We just got a new kitty. How will I know if it has worms? Check your cat closely. If you see a bloated stomach, loose stools or a dull coat, take your cat to the vet right away. Fax Heloise @ 210-HELOISE (435-6473).

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CRANKSHAFT

THERE IS SUFFERING IN THE WORLD

BECAUSE THERE’S SIN IN THE WORLDQ: How can a loving

God look upon His cre-ation without doing some-thing about our suffering? — S.D.

A: The Bible makes it plain that there is suffer-ing in the world because there’s sin in the world. The heart of the problem lies in man’s alienation from God which began with Adam and Eve. If the separation which sin cre-ates had not entered into the life of mankind, human suffering would not exist

in the world.By willful disobe-

dience to God’s Word and commandment, man brought suffering upon himself and has been reaping what has been sown all through the centuries. But God

has a way of bring-ing good out of evil. Not only does human suffering break the heart of God, it moved Him so much that He put a plan in place to bring comfort, healing, and salvation in the midst of such sorrow.

No one in history ever suffered more than Jesus. The culmination of His suffering came on the cross of Calvary, the supreme symbol of both physical and spiritual suffering. This is clearly presented in the pages of the Bible that points us all to the cross of Christ. It’s there that we find forgiveness of sins and the solution to the

dilemmas and problems that face us both corporate-ly and individually.

Humanity wants com-fort in its sorrow, light in its darkness, peace in its mind, rest in its weariness, and healing in its sickness and disease. The Gospel of Christ gives all of this to us. “May the God of all grace... after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you” (1 Peter 5:10). When tragedy happens to us, it gives us a greater sense of oneness with oth-ers who experience trage-dy. When we have received God’s comfort, we in turn are able to comfort others. This is the hope we have in Christ.

(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Gra-ham.)

©2020 BILLY GRA-HAM LITERARY TRUST

MyAnswer

By Dr. BillyGraham

CROSSWORD By Eugene Sheffer

D I V E R S I O N SPage 4a • The News-Banner • WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2020

BUY ITSELL ITRENT ITFIND ITFILL ITGET IT DO IT IN THE CLASSIFIEDS!

!Place Your Ad 24/7/365!www.news-banner.comTV Media Weekly|July 4 - 10, 2020 Wednesday prime time|13

07/08 M A D1 D2 5 PM 5:30 6 PM 6:30 7 PM 7:30 8 PM 8:30 9 PM 9:30 10 PM 10:30 11 PM 11:30 12 AM 12:30

WINM (12) 11 26 63 Down Home

Julie and Friends

Life Outreach

< To Be Announced TCT Today News Love Worth Find

Life Today J.Robison

Marilyn and Sarah

B. George Bloomer

Wommack Gospel

Prayer on Purpose

CBS WANE

(15) 2 2 15 15 WANE 15 News (N)

Inside Edition (N)

WANE 15 News (N)

Evening News (N)

Wheel of Fortune

Jeopardy! Tough as Nails (P) (N) Game On! "Tiki Barber and Ken Jeong" (N)

SEAL Team WANE 15 News (N)

(:35) The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

(:35) James Corden

Antenna WANE-2

(15.2) 106 20 Law & Order "Ghosts" Law & Order "Age of

Innocence" Law & Order "Lifeline" Law & Order

"Birthright" Law & Order "House of Cards"

Law & Order "New York Minute"

Law & Order "Criminal Law"

Law & Order "Acid"

ABC WPTA

(21) 4 3 21 21 ABC21 News at 5:00 p.m. (N)

News (N) ABC World News (N)

Access H.(N)

Ent. Tonight

The Goldbergs

Black-ish The Conners

American Housewife

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (N)

News (N) (:35) Jimmy Kimmel

(:05) Nightl.(N)

(:35) Jimmy Kimmel

NBC WPTA-2

(21.2) 7 8 14 FortWay-neNBC (N)

25 Words or Less

FortWay-neNBC (N)

NBC News(N)

Family Feud

Family Feud

Chicago Med "Who Should Be the Judge"

Chicago Fire "Where We End Up"

Chicago P.D. "Center Mass"

FortWay-neNBC (N)

(:35) The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

(:35) Seth Meyers

MNT WPTA-3

(21.3) 10 9 56 34 2 Broke Girls

2 Broke Girls

Mom Modern Family

Last Man Standing

Mom Dateline "Consumed" Dateline "Tangled" The Wendy Williams Show

Last Man Standing

Chicago P.D. Ent. Tonight

CW WISE

(33) 8 4 33 33 Black-ish Black-ish Bob's

Burgers Bob's Burgers

Family Guy Family Guy The 100 "The Anaconda" (N)

Bulletproof "Episode 5"(N)

Seinfeld Seinf. "The Calzone"

The Goldbergs

Goldberg"Baré"

Milliona-ire?

Milliona-ire?

PBS WFWA

(39) 13 5 39 39 Odd Squad (N)

Arthur PBS NewsHour (N) News (N) LIFE Ahead(N)

Nature "Spy in the Wild: Bad Behavior"

Nova China: Power and Prosperity (N)

Amanpour and Company (N)


PBS WIPB

(49) 3 Odd Squad BBC News

America The Travel Detective

Reconnec-ting Roots

PBS NewsHour (N) Nature "Spy in the Wild: Bad Behavior"

Nova China: Power and Prosperity (N)

Amanpour and Company (N)


FOX WFFT

(55) 6 6 55 55 Two and a Half Men

Two and a Half Men

Mike & Molly

Mike & Molly

Big Bang Theory

Big Bang Theory

MasterChef "Joe Takes a Risk"

Tag "Higher, Better, Faster, Stronger" (N)

Fox 55 News 1st at 10:00 p.m. (N)

Met Your Mother

Met Your Mother

TMZ Live! (N)

CA B L E CH A N N E L S

LIFE 23 113 108 252 Wife Swap "Thompson/ Askam-Schwartz"

Married "Honeymoon Countdown"

Married at First Sight"All About Family"

Married "Matchmaking Special" (N)

Married at First Sight "Kickoff Special" (:05) Married1stSight"Matchmaking Special"

Married at First Sight "Matchmaking Special"

FX 24 132 136 148 <++ X-Men: Apocalypse (‘16, Act) Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence. <++ Kingsman: The Golden Circle (‘17, Act) Taron Egerton. <+++ The Revenant Leonardo DiCaprio.

TVLAND 25 106 304 A. Griffith Show

A. Griffith Show

A. Griffith Show

A. Griffith Show

A. Griffith Show

A. Griffith Show

Everybody Loves Ray

Everybody Loves Ray

Everybody Loves Ray

Everybody Loves Ray

Everybody Loves Ray

Everybody Loves Ray

The King of Queens

The King of Queens

The King of Queens

The King of Queens

E! 26 142 114 236 Botched "Foreign Bodies"

<+++ Hitch (2005, Comedy) Eva Mendes, Kevin James, Will Smith.

<+++ Hitch (2005, Comedy) Eva Mendes, Kevin James, Will Smith.

The Soup(N)

Nightly Pop (N)

Celebrity Game Face

PARMT 30 241 241 Two and a Half Men

Two and a Half Men

Two and a Half Men

Two and a Half Men

Two and a Half Men

Two and a Half Men

< To Be Announced < To Be Announced

ESPN 31 50 140 206 SportsCenter (N) SportsCenter (N) To Be Announced Baseball Tonight (L) SportsCenter (N) SportsCenter (N)

ESPN2 32 54 143 209 (3:30) Soccer Best Of Daily Wager (L) NFL Live UFC Reloaded NFL Live UFC Archival

FSMW 33 418 671 (4:00) Champions Tennis 2019 Champions Cup

Golf Life Breaking Par/ Stars

Cardinals Insider

Warriors Among Us

NHL Hockey Classics Colorado Avalanche vs. St. Louis Blues December 16, 2019

Strongman 2018 Champions League

Strongman 2018 Champions League

WPT Poker

USA 34 133 105 242 NCIS NCIS NCIS WWE NXT A unique acrobatic and theatrically

aggressive presentation of wrestling. (L) Chrisley Knows

Chrisley Knows

Chrisley Knows

Chrisley Knows

Modern Family

Modern Family

DISC 35 72 182 278 Expedition Unknown Expedition Unknown ExpeditionUnknown

"Code To Gold" (N) Unknown "Finding Fenn's Fortune" (N)

Expedition Unknown(N)

Mysteries of the Deep(N)

Expedition Unknown ExpeditionUnknown "Finding Fenn's Fortune"

TLC 36 73 183 280 (4:00) My 600-lb Life My 600-lb Life "Karina's Story" My 600-lb Life "Tamy Lyn's Story" My 600-lb Life "Tamy and Karina" My 600-lb Life

HIST 38 77 120 269 Frgd Fr: BeatJudges "Smith's Choice"

Frgd Fr: BeatJudges"Duel Swords"

Frgd Fr: BeatJudges"Short Sword Damascus"

Frgd Fr: BeatJudges"The No Can Can"

FiF: Beat Judges "Rock Star Smiths" (SF) (N)

(:05) Counting Cars (N) (:05) FiF: Beat Judges"Smith's Choice"

(:05) FiF: Beat Judges "Rock Star Smiths"

A&E 39 134 118 265 The First 48 The First 48 The First 48 The First 48 The First 48 The First 48: Squad (N) First 48 "Officer Down" The First 48

HALL 40 117 185 312 (4:00) <+ Valentine in the Vineyard

< A Summer Romance (2019, Romance) Ryan Paevey, Erin Krakow.

<+ Royal Matchmaker (2018, Romance) Will Kemp, Brittany Bristow, Bethany Joy Lenz.

Golden Girls

Golden Girls

Golden Girls

Golden Girls

Golden Girls

Golden Girls

SYFY 41 135 122 244 (4:35) <++ Resident Evil: Retribution (‘12, Act) Milla Jovovich.

(:35) < Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016, Action) Ali Larter, Shawn Roberts, Milla Jovovich.

<+++ Mad Max: Fury Road (2015, Action) Charlize Theron,Zoe Kravitz, Tom Hardy.

<++ G.I. Joe: Retaliation (‘13, Act) Dwayne Johnson, Channing Tatum.

TBS 43 130 139 247 Amer. Dad Amer. Dad Family Guy Family Guy BigBang BigBang BigBang BigBang BigBang BigBang BigBang Frontal Conan Frontal Seinfeld Conan

TNT 44 131 138 245 (3:00) <++ The Magnificent Seven

<+ Red Dawn (2012, Action) Isabel Lucas, Josh Hutcherson, Chris Hemsworth.

All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite (N) <++ London Has Fallen (2016, Action) Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart, Gerard Butler.

<++ Disturbia (‘07, Susp) Shia LaBeouf.

AMC 45 131 254 (4:00) <+++ The Green Mile (1999, Drama) David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Tom Hanks.

<++ Rambo (2008, Action) Julie Benz, Matthew Marsden, Sylvester Stallone.

<+++ First Blood (1982, Action) Brian Dennehy,Richard Crenna, Sylvester Stallone.

<++ The Hunted (‘03, Thril) Tommy Lee Jones.

COM 47 107 249 (:25) South Park South Park South Park Daily Show (:45) SouthPk (:10) SouthPk (:35) SouthPk South Park South Park South Park Yankers South Park (:45) Yankers (:15) Yankers (:45) Yankers

FS1 48 64 150 219 (4:00) Skip and Shannon: Undisputed

NASCAR Race Hub (N) NHRA Drag Racing 2019 Southern Nationals Site: Atlanta Dragway --Atlanta, Ga.

NHRA Drag Racing 2019 Dodge Nationals Site: Las Vegas Motor Speedway -- Las Vegas, Nev.

WGN 53 307 In Heat of Night In Heat of Night Married Married Married Married Married Married Married Married Married Married Married Married WE 57 128 260 Law & Order Law & Order Law&O. "School Daze" Law&O. "Judge Dread" LawOrder "Deep Vote" Law & Order Law&O. "Armed Forces" Law & Order

FOOD 59 153 110 231 Guy's Grocery Games Game "Home Cooks!" Guy's Grocery Games Guy's Grocery Games Guy's Game (N) Guy's Game (N) Guy's Grocery Games Guy's Grocery Games BRAVO 60 140 129 237 Beverly Hills Beverly Hills Beverly "Santa Denise" Beverly Hills (N) Beverly Hills (N) Beverly Hills Watch (N) CashCb (N) CashCb (N) Cash Cab NICK 68 170 299 Loud H. Loud H. Loud H. Loud H. Smarter Smarter < To Be Announced Friends Friends (:35) Friends (:10) Friends (:45) Mom DISN 69 30 172 290 (:05) BigCity (:35) BigCity (:05) BigCity (:35) Raven (:05) Raven (:35) Bunk'd Bunk'd Bunk'd (:15) Raven (:40) Roll (:05) G.Duran CoopCami Sydney (:45) Bunk'd (:10) Jessie (:35) Jessie

FREEFORM 70 32 180 311 The Simpsons

<+++ The Blind Side (2009, Sport) Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock.

<++ Miss Congeniality (2000, Comedy) Michael Caine,Benjamin Bratt, Sandra Bullock.

The 700 Club <++ Step Brothers (‘08, Com) Will Ferrell.

HBO 301 300 501 (3:45) <+++ Cast Away (‘00, Dra) Tom Hanks.

(:10) <++ In Time (2011, Action) Amanda Seyfried,Cillian Murphy, Justin Timberlake.

<++ Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw(‘19, Act) Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson.

(:20) I'll Be Gone in the Dark "Reign of Terror"

(:20) Perry Mason "Chapter Three" (:25) < Flags of...

MAX 325 310 515 (4:05) <+++ A Handful of Dust James Wilby.

(:05) <++ Shanghai Knights (2003, Adventure)Owen Wilson, Donnie Yen, Jackie Chan.

<+ Asylum (‘08, Hor) Pete Burris, Benjamin Daniele, Aaron Bloomberg.

(:35) <++ Dark Water (‘05, Thril)John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly.

(:20) <+++ The Rundown (‘03, Adventure) Seann William Scott, Rosario Dawson, Dwayne Johnson.

SHOW 351 851 318 545 (4:00) <+++ Cape Fear Robert De Niro.

(:10) <++ Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (‘19, Hor) Michael Garza, Zoe Margaret Colletti.

<+++ The Ring (2002, Thriller) Martin Henderson, David Dorfman, Naomi Watts.

Outcry <++++ The Shining (1980, Horror) Danny Lloyd, Shelley Duvall, Jack Nicholson.

TMC 375 859 327 553 (4:30) <++ Dick (‘99, Com) Kirsten Dunst.

(:05) <+++ Letters to Juliet (‘10, Com/Dra)Vanessa Redgrave, Amanda Seyfried.

<++ City Slickers (1991, Comedy) Daniel Stern,Jack Palance, Billy Crystal.

<++ City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold (‘94, Com) Daniel Stern, Billy Crystal.

<++ The Happytime Murders

M – Mediacom A – Adamswells D1 – Dish D2 - DirecTV

Have an open heartDear Annie: For 25 years, a very close

couple would get together with us for a nice meal. We did lots of things including trips and outings. Eighteen months ago, my friend suddenly died. Her husband is now dating a very lovely woman (I hear), and we are glad he is happy.

We expect them to travel to our area this summer, and possibly, we will go out for dinner. This feels very weird. Any suggestions on how to embrace this new person? — Adjusting to the Change

Dear Adjusting: I am very sorry for your loss. Adjusting to the change, and the feelings of missing your friend, cre-ates a special challenge. If she were alive today, she would want her husband to be happy and not alone. Try and see your friend’s new companion with an open heart and think about his happiness.

Dear Annie: Here are the rules I rec-ommend for getting rid of mice:

• NEVER poison an animal. Their stomachs will swell and burst, or they will hemorrhage all over their body. Think about that being done to you.

• NEVER trap their feet in a sticky box to starve and thirst them to death.

• NEVER drown an animal.All this would not be necessary with a

small amount of prevention. In my house, I keep dog food in one cooler and bird-seed, grass and flower seeds in another cooler. I keep my kitchen clean. No mice.

If they are coming into your garage in the fall, keep the garage door closed unless you are woodworking or in the garage. My door was old, and the seal at the bottom left gaps. I put on a new seal strip, and no more mice.

Two more things:1. Possums are marsupials, like koalas

and kangaroos, not rats or rodents. They have prehensile tails and used to hang upside down in trees. They will play pos-sum if you happen on them, unless they have young, are trapped or you come at them. They just hiss then. Mostly they play possum. They eat insects and fruits and berries.

2. Before you become a National Wildlife Habitat, check with Dad. No more use of pesticides, herbicides or nitrate fertilizers on the lawn. You could still become one, but you would be tell-ing a lie, and what is that lesson to your

children? — Rules for Being a Kind Human

D e a r R u l e s for Being a Kind Human: I love the message of kind-ness to all living things in your let-ter. Thank you.

Dear Annie: Thank you for your expert advice and knowledge for caring for an elderly parent. I didn’t expect my letter to be published. I had hit rock bottom when I wrote that letter. Before my letter was published today, I stopped feeling sorry for myself and got help! Your headline “Draining My Bat-tery to Support Others” was spot on. I was tapped out!

I did exactly what you mentioned in your reply as for getting home help or a nursing facility. A couple times a week, I have visiting nurses and an exercise ther-apist for my mother.

I am still confined, but I have some relief knowing that skilled people are doing a better job than I have done. It’s working out well. Of course, my duties are still numerous doctor appointments a month, emergency room trips, grocer-ies and all the things necessary to make sure she is comfortable. At 91, I know my time is limited with her. I would like to make the most of it by spending qual-ity time with her and not being so over-whelmed with all these extra duties.

Thank you again for your support. — Tired and Worn Out

Dear Tired and Worn Out: Thank you for your letter. It filled me with joy to know that you took responsibility for your life and made positive changes to recharge your battery!

“Ask Me Anything: A Year of Advice From Dear Annie” is out now! Annie Lane’s debut book — featuring favorite columns on love, friendship, family and etiquette — is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creator-spublishing.com for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to [email protected].


DearAnnieby Annie Lane

The LOCKHORNS

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Page 6 Page 3 Page 1a The News-Banner · 2 days ago · Page 6 • The News-Banner • WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2020 Bank donates to YFC First Bank of Berne recently donated $1,000 to Youth