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Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Union Township school superintendent retiring after 20 years
If Union Township School Corp. Superintendent John Hunter's office seems spartan for someone who has been superintendent for 20 years, it's because he's been cleaning his office in preparation for his retirement just days from now. June 8, graduation day for Wheeler High School seniors, is also Hunter's graduation to retirement. 'It's amazing how much stuff you accumulate in 20 years,' he said. 'I took more boxes home than my wife would have liked.' That 20 years began at a time when the district was growing. Hunter took over from E. Ric Frataccia, who had been superintendent for 10 years. 'It was pretty academically sound,' Hunter said. The district had just added a pool, auditorium, fieldhouse and 10 classrooms to the middle school and high school. The facilities have changed even more since then. 'None of the classrooms at that point in time had telephones in them,' Hunter said, an obvious concern when school safety was becoming an issue following the start of the nation's epidemic of school shootings. Teachers at Union Center Elementary School had buttons in their classrooms to call the office over the intercom, but many weren't working. The district put in a robust information technology infrastructure, including voice over internet protocol phones. Hunter remembers those days. He had to dial 7 to get an outside line, and there were just four phone lines available. 'I had to dial 10 digits to get anyone from Simatovich (Elementary School),' he said. 'Through the years, we did a lot for school safety,' Hunter said. Entrances now require key fobs to open doors. 'Back in that day, every door in the building was open.' That's not all the facility changes that have happened over the last 20 years. As might be expected, there have been upgrades to HVAC systems, roofs and the like. At Union Center, 'we basically replaced that entire school,' Hunter said. A new transportation building was built so buses don't have to be stored at the schools. The football stadium was upgraded, including a turf field, tennis courts and tracks. Turf baseball, softball and multipurpose fields were installed. The athletics complex has a new driveway and parking lots. A grassy area can be used for either soccer or football, depending on how the stripes are laid down. Along the way, the school district has seen a string of successes, including state championships for boys basketball in 2010 and girls softball in 2011. The girls soccer team has been state runner-up twice. There have been academic successes, too, including for the high school science team and English team. Individual competitors have advanced to state competitions, too. Among the biggest challenges Hunter faced at Union Township was the period from 2008 to 2010, when the economy soured. In December 2008, Gov. Mitch Daniels forced the district to cut $400,000 from its budget. 'We couldn't just not pay people,' Hunter said, so administrators took pay cuts, staff took furlough days, some noncertified employees were laid off, retirement buyouts were offered and fees were increased. The COVID-19 pandemic was hard on schools. 'That was a big challenge for everybody,' Hunter said. The county's school superintendents met with the health department March 13, 2020. Hunter remembers it well. They met in the school library not far from his office. Together, they devised a time to close schools thinking it would be over in two weeks. Instead, they were closed the rest of the school year. 'It was a very stressful time for a lot of them,' Hunter said, as students and educators adjusted to virtual classes after a lifetime of in-person instruction. Deaths over the years, including students, hit hard, too. 'It's tough on schools, tough on our community. They're our family,' he said. Hunter's education career was shaped by a new teacher he had as a sixth grader. She put their desks in small groups instead of rows. She had student helpers, 'which changed my perspective on learning.' Through middle and high school, he had more teachers like that. At Indiana State University, during his first semester, education students were put in a classroom to get a taste of teaching. 'I thought it was ingenious at the time,' he said, to help college students decide early on whether a career as an educator seemed right. When Hunter began teaching, Gov. Robert Orr's Primetime initiative had just begun to lower class sizes in kindergarten and first grade. But Hunter taught third grade in Elkhart. 'I had 33 third-graders my first year,' he said. When Indiana decided to stop issuing lifetime teaching licenses for educators with master's degrees, Hunter hurried to qualify under the old rules and got an administrator license as well. After 14 years as principal, first in Goshen and then at Brummit Elementary in Chesterton, Hunter got his superintendent license, persuaded to do so by one of his ISU professors. His 20 years at Union Township make him one of the state's longest-serving school superintendents. Tom Hunter, at Greensburg, has been there 25 years. When Greensburg had an opening for an assistant superintendent, John Hunter joked about applying just to confuse people. The two Hunters are unrelated. John Hunter said he doesn't have specific plans for his retirement. He would be open to serving as an interim superintendent somewhere, and he would consider a business development position. 'I'm definitely going to hit that little white ball a little more often than I do now,' he said.
The Irish Sun
15-05-2025
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Best no deposit free spins bonuses in Ireland (2025)
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Finally, always keep potential time limits and other payout rules in mind so you don't forfeit your chance at withdrawing your winnings. About the author James Anderson James Anderson is a Betting & Gaming Writer at The Sun. He is an expert in sports betting and online casinos, and joined the company in November 2020 to work closely with leading bookmakers and online gaming companies to curate content in all areas of sports betting. He previously worked as a Digital Sports Reporter and Head of Live Blogs/Events at the Daily Express and Daily Star, covering football, cricket, snooker, F1 and horse racing. Responsible gambling A responsible gambler is someone who: Establishes time and monetary limits before playing Only gambles with money they can afford to lose Never chase their losses Doesn't gamble if they're upset, angry, or depressed Problem gambling – Gamble Aware – Help with gambling addiction If you have a problem with gambling, or you know someone who does, help is out there. Extern Problem Gambling is the leading provider of information, treatment, advice, and support for anyone affected by gambling harms across Ireland. Most read in Betting
Chicago Tribune
05-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Porter County residents protest Union Township data center proposal of nearly 800 acres
A standing-room-only crowd spilled out of the council chamber into the rotunda Tuesday morning to let the Porter County Board of Commissioners know its opposition to proposed data centers that would cover nearly 800 acres in Wheeler if approved. Planned unit development (PUD) applications were submitted to the county on Feb. 28 and were not part of Tuesday's board agenda; the Post-Tribune acquired the applications through an Access to Public Records Act request. Those voicing opposition did so predominantly on environmental grounds, particularly concerns over noise and water pollution, the safety of school children separated from the southerly proposed site by a railroad track, and the desire to make a decision sooner rather than later. Nearly two dozen people spoke against the application, starting with John Hunter, superintendent of Union Township School Corporation. He cited not only environmental concerns, such as pollution and noise, but said tax increment financing districts, or TIFs, would have negative impacts on the school district if approved. He said property values would also be affected. 'Residentially, we're going to lose about 10 square miles,' Hunter said. 'Why would we put an industrial area immediately adjacent to a school?' Residents in Chesterton, Burns Harbor, and most recently, Valparaiso, have opposed data center proposals on similar grounds. The areas in question are currently zoned rural residential, and the board of commissioners would need to pass ordinances to amend the county's unified development ordinance approving a PUD. The applications were submitted by AXPK, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, on behalf of the property owners who would transfer ownership upon adoption of the ordinances. The proposed projects are being called Jeremiah A and Jeremiah B. Jeremiah A is proposed for a 351.85-acre parcel at the northeast corner of County Road W 450 North and County Road N 750 West owned by John Loxas of Hammond. It is the more northerly of the two non-contiguous parcels and south of the landfill, and proposes an 80% impervious surface area. Jeremiah B is proposed for 434.46 acres owned by Johnson Sunnybrook Farm, LLC, and Ceres Cedar Creek Farm, LLC, of Hobart, at the southeast corner of W 450 North and N 650 West, due north of Union Township Middle and High schools. Architectural elevation plans show the buildings would be constructed of pre-cast concrete and pre-finished metal and aluminum composite panels, among other materials, and stand up to 120 feet tall, not including an additional maximum parapet height of 20 feet. Porter County Director of Development and Stormwater Management Mike Jabo said, 'The UDO's criteria is limiting to something less than that,' and said a building that tall would have to receive a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals. He couldn't speak to whether a 120-foot-tall building could cast a shadow onto adjacent property with an 80-foot setback. Proposed setbacks for the developments abutting residential areas would be 80 feet to the side and rear, and 100 feet in the front. Proposed setbacks from the nearby cemetery would be 100 feet on all sides. Setbacks from the property line to primary buildings proposed for all other settings are 50 feet on the side and rear and 80 feet in the front. Jabo said the height limitation is an example of the considerable scrutiny and back-and-forth the applicant will receive for its proposals. 'What they have proposed is nowhere near what we're going to see when they get to the plan commission,' he said. The Summary of Intent submitted by AXPK for Jeremiah B reads, 'The property is appropriate in large part based on its location which will have minimal impact on the community as a whole, and also due to its location in close proximity to existing utility services.' Every person who spoke against it disagreed that the impacts would be minimal. 'The proximity to three schools without land use studies is unacceptable,' said Angel Forystek, a Wheeler resident and mother of school-age children. Sandy Hill, who lives on County Road 650, said she has a friend in South Dakota who lives near a data center. 'He says it's 24/7 noise,' she said of the noise it puts off. 'He said you can turn the TV up as loud as you want and you can still hear it.' Under the category of noise standards, the application for Jeremiah A reads, 'Normal operation shall be mitigated through screening or muffling devices, such that the decibel level perceived at adjacent noise-sensitive land use is at or below 75 dB.' That's considered loud and equivalent to the noise level of a busy restaurant or loud radio. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says eight hours of exposure to 85 dB can damage hearing. The proposed ordinance for Jeremiah B exempts the noise maximum for 'construction, general maintenance/future construction and/or equipment or machinery used in emergency scenarios.' The tone eventually got heated between some in the audience and Board of Commissioners President Jim Biggs, R-North. 'We did not ask for a data center to come knocking at our door,' he said. He told the crowd that while the board was there to serve them, it would not do to circumvent the application and due diligence process. Multiple speakers thanked Commissioner Barb Regnitz, R-Center, for making it known that she planned to vote against any proposed data centers, which she confirmed after the meeting. Jabo is in the process of setting up an informational meeting at the Porter County Expo Center to be run by the plan commission. AXPK would get to introduce its proposals and the public would get to ask questions. He expects the meeting to be in late April or early May.
Chicago Tribune
26-03-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Residents opposed to data centers give Porter County officials an earful
Residents gave Porter County officials an earful on data centers during two consecutive meetings Tuesday. Union Township School Corp. Superintendent John Hunter doesn't want a large data center built just north of Wheeler High School and the adjacent Union Township Middle School. 'We know there is a place for a data center. We just don't believe it's in Union Township,' he said. 'We are really going to create a dead zone from a residential standpoint' if the data center is built, he said. 'That's roughly one-third of our township,' which could have a major impact on the school system, he said. The Plan Commission has an application for a proposed data center, but it's not considered a complete application until the county's staff approve it for consideration, County Attorney Scott McClure said. Once they've vetted the application, including the rezoning request, the Plan Commission is obligated to hear the request, McClure said. 'We all as American citizens have due process,' he said, and the same principle applies to Plan Commission requests. The Plan Commission's decision, if the application isn't withdrawn, wouldn't be final. That board gives either a favorable or unfavorable recommendation to the project, with the three-member Board of Commissioners making the final decision. 'All of us people are terrified that it's up to these three people,' resident Severin Fisher said. Mike Jabo, Porter County's director of planning and stormwater management, has said the petitioner requested placement on Wednesday's Plan Commission agenda, but the staff didn't place it there. The petitioner hasn't requested any financial incentives like a tax abatement, Jabo said at Tuesday's Redevelopment Commission meeting before a County Council meeting. When it's time for an official public hearing on the project, a venue larger than the commissioners chambers at the Porter County Administration Building will be chosen, he said. Proposed data centers have been rejected by Chesterton, Burns Harbor and Valparaiso officials. County Council President Andy Vasquez, R-4th, who also sits on the county Redevelopment Commission, saw how Valparaiso officials handled the data center issue, he said, and assured residents at Tuesday night's council meeting they would all be given a chance to be heard. Normally, the County Council invites public comment only on agenda items, but he made an exception Tuesday. 'What you have to say is important to us,' Vasquez said. However, the real decision is up to the Board of Commissioners, he said. 'If this data center thing is a 1- to 20-step process, we are step 20.' Fisher said he got 200 people to sign up for yard signs in just one week to defeat the Valparaiso proposal for a data center to be built on land the city had acquired for a potential sports complex. Neither the data center nor the sports complex will be built there now. 'I feel that these companies are only threading the needle through the loopholes,' Fisher said. 'Why don't they build 50 miles south,' he suggested. Wheeler resident Liz Bennett and other residents suggested building the data center in Gary, which is starved for tax revenue and has all the amenities a data center would need – easy access to water for cooling, plenty of electricity for power-hungry servers, a super-fast internet connection and room to build in an industrial area. Bennett questioned the Redevelopment Commission's vote to hire Barnes & Thornburg on an as-needed basis to help with tax-increment financing issues. Barnes & Thornburg has represented data centers in the Indianapolis area, she said. Vasquez abstained from that vote, saying he hadn't had time to think about it before Tuesday's meeting. He was too busy fielding calls from residents, he said. 'I have been fighting tooth and nail against the Willowcreek (Road) extension,' Bennett said. County officials have promised that there would be a one-mile buffer on either side of the road to prevent it from being heavily commercialized. 'That project's not even done, and now we have an industrial park in our backyard,' she said. 'To me, this is killing an entire community,' Bennett said. The proposal hits home for Bennett. 'Our house is literally one of those consumed by all of this,' she said. Melissa Reid said building a data center would probably be the biggest development in Porter County since the steel mills were built. It would be 'three Walmarts tall' with a 50-foot setback, she said. One resident spoke of the hyperscale data center under construction in New Carlisle. 'It's impressive and terrifying at the same time,' he said. His concerns include the heavy power consumption data centers require and whether NIPSCO's residential customers would be burdened more than industrial customers by the cost of additional electrical generation capacity. NIPSCO's proposed settlement in its current electric case said any future data centers, not existing customers, would foot the bill for the extra generating capacity they require. However, some residents referred to the Indiana General Assembly's ability to change that. Reid also said that Blackstone, a company whose portfolio includes data centers, owns nearly 20% of NiSource, which is NIPSCO's parent company. Amy Heuring is a business owner. 'I consider Wheeler to be the most amazing place to raise children,' she said, but she fears the environmental effects that might come from a nearby data center. 'We're not going to let these people come in and treat us like guinea pigs,' she said. Cory Griffith fears building a data center in Union Township 'would really ruin the Valpo experience.' Porter County could generate a lot of property taxes from a new data center, but she would prefer raising the income tax to allowing a data center. 'There are other ways to make up that money,' she said. Marissa Barnes promised to be 'at every single meeting until this is handled.' She's concerned about the possible environmental effects of data centers. Barnes, who lives in Shorewood Forest, wondered who would pay to clean up Lake Louise if the data center contributes to problems there. She also wondered how the playground at Union Center Elementary School and the soccer fields at Wheeler High School and Union Township Middle School might be affected by emissions connected to a data center, along with potential groundwater contamination. 'I sort of think it would wreck the schools there,' said Meredith White, who built a home in Union Township two years ago. 'I'm willing to overthrow the commissioners,' Barnes said, to prevent a data center from locating in the township. Vasquez distributed a statement from the council on data centers, spelling out the county's process for considering requests from developers and committing to a transparent process, including a special meeting of the Plan Commission to take place before the formal public hearing process and at a venue large enough to accommodate attendees. For the Willowcreek Road extension, the commissioners held a similar meeting at the Porter County Expo Center, which has larger meeting rooms. The room was packed that night. Unlike the council, the Board of Commissioners hasn't released a statement on data centers, said Commissioners President Jim Biggs, R-North, who is president of the Redevelopment Commission. Biggs doesn't like them, but he's just one of three members of the Board of Commissioners, he noted. 'We're going to hear from you. Our emails and our phone numbers are published,' he said. 'Let's see what we can learn about it,' Biggs said. 'I know basically what you know about it.' The commissioners killed a proposal to build a solar farm near Malden in Morgan Township after a loud public outcry, but the county doesn't have a moratorium on solar farms, he said. Like a solar farm, a data center would have to be built in the right location, Biggs said. Although the outcry at Tuesday's Redevelopment Commission and County Council meetings was clear and heard, that doesn't mean everyone opposes data centers. 'There's people sitting in their homes right now, in their recliners, reading the news about this, and they want it,' Biggs said. A data center would be a big boost to the property tax base, and the county is facing tough decisions on how to pay for improved road maintenance and address other issues. Maintaining the quality of life in Porter County means either cutting services – and the vast majority of the county's spending is for public safety – or raising money. As the county considers allowing a data center, Biggs promised to be thorough in vetting the proposal. 'If we end up saying no, there's going to be a clear reason for it,' he said. For Councilman Andy Bozak, R-At-large, whose wife sits on the Burns Harbor Town Council, the outcry was clear Tuesday night as well as at previous hearings for proposals elsewhere in the county. 'Nobody came in support of it,' he said. 'I think our community has spoken.'
