Letters to the Editor 10-27-2005
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
- Preserve The Past - Barbee Sewer - War And Highways - Only Bad News - Band Fairness
Preserve The Past
Editor, Times-Union:I am a member of the newly formed Kosciusko Archaeological Society. We had a meeting with a fascinating guest lecturer at the library Monday night. The talk was interesting and very informative, and I enjoyed it very much. However, a matter of concern came up during the discussion afterwards, and it is one many people either don't understand or brush off as unimportant.
I am speaking of the collecting of projectile points and other artifacts and, in the process, removing them from their historical context. I realized some of this can't be helped. The plow will turn things up and a busy farmer has neither the time nor the resources to immediately document his discovery. I am more concerned about the hunting that goes on, in which artifacts are taken from relatively undisturbed contexts and subsequently offered for sale at auctions, flea markets or shows. Unfortunately, what such hunters don't realize is that they are ripping these artifacts from contexts valuable to the archaeologists, who are as much interested in the place in which an article is found as in the article itself.
Fortunately, in Indiana, it is illegal to dig for artifacts, so anything below the plow line is still undisturbed. Please, when you find something, please take a picture of it in the place you find it. Note the exact location, if you can. Note anything else you find in the same area, such as animal bones, other broken points, or bits of stone or fire-cracked rock. Then when you offer your artifact for sale, it will be even more valuable to the expert. And watch out for fakes at the shows. Some of our modern day nappers can turn out some mighty convincing pieces.
Please help preserve the historical context so that we can learn more about the brave and adventurous men who first lived in this area thousands of years ago.
Mary Alice B. Kelly
Vice Chairman, Kosciusko Archaeological Society
Warsaw
Barbee Sewer
Editor, Times-Union:I would like to commend Dave Doctor for his on-target observations regarding the motives of the Barbee Lakes Conservancy Board.
The agenda of this board was painfully transparent from day one. To my friend John "J.B." Routh, you left out two important factors from your letter. First, you are a landlord of multiple properties within the district and you are fighting the per-property charge. There has never been a fair opportunity to vote. Every time we have had the opportunity to vote, the board has sent the ballots to the address designated for the property tax statements. That means if you have a mortgage and an escrow account (like most property owners) the ballot was mailed to your bank or mortgage company and you never were aware there was an election or an opportunity to vote for action/non-action. These special meetings and votes are again scheduled right after the summer residents have gone home and do not see a local paper. Fair proceedings would have given the district a fighting chance. As for the laptop computers, Scott Fox and Barry Hecker, pork-barrel ethics are not welcome in this district.
We do not have a mortgage and we will receive a ballot. If you would like a chance to vote, please call me and I will send a ballot to you. In the meantime, please write to the Attorney General of the State of Indiana about the laptops being purchased by these ingenuous officers who are preparing for their well-planned retirement. I know we will. Please let your out-of-town neighbors know about these disgusting procedures.
Terry & Diane Manley
Leesburg, via e-mail
War And Highways
Editor, Times-Union:After talking to my sister, I was thinking how to put this so people wouldn't think that I'm a war-loving, heartless, without-feeling person so it will be very hard for me to write this.
I've been on both sides of the fence. Remember that! As I put my fingers to these keys, 2,000 military personnel have given their all in Iraq. Everyone of them, and hundreds of thousands more, have and will raise their right arms to the square and took an oath to protect our nation from enemies foreign and domestic.
I did this when I turned 18. I looked up the AP's list and looked at the names and ages of those killed in action in several states, including Indiana. I also looked up data about Vietnam and found something I never knew. The youngest person killed in action in Vietnam was in the U.S. Marine Corps by the name of Dan Bullock, age 15. In 16 years, 58,169 personnel were killed in action in Vietnam, the youngest being Dan Bullock at age 15, the oldest casualty was age 62.
I put Vietnam stats in because that was where I turned 19. Thinking about my brother David, I looked at the stats on highway deaths. In 2003, 42,643 lives were lost. I was in Vietnam, which put me on one side of the fence, and my brother lost his life because of injuries involving a pickup and a pole, which puts me on the other side of the fence.
I have a question that can never be answered. Those 2,000 lives - would they be alive today if they were never in Iraq? We can't say "yes" or "no." After seeing all the stats, it seems that it's safer to be in a combat zone than on the highways.
I am so sorry for your loss. Please remember something about the 2,000 individuals. They never ran away. They never protested. They died proud for the country they loved.
Robert L. Reed
Warsaw, via e-mail
Only Bad News
Editor, Times-Union:Did I miss the article in the paper? I thought I looked well. Or perhaps it was way too small.
An event happened in our community this past weekend that seemed to go unnoticed. I am referring to the opening of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and Shrine. A community and cultural event that seemed important enough that South Bend's WNDU-TV station sent camera crews. This story, including the procession, which was extremely impressive, appeared on their newscast as well as their Web site.
I would like to give my congratulations to this church. They have waited six-plus years for this to happen.
The first part of the month I think I perhaps missed another mention about the Life Chain in Warsaw. Or did that not appear either?
Are we doomed only to receive the bad news in town?
Marilyn J Staton
Leesburg, via e-mail
Band Fairness
Editor, Times-Union:My grandson attends Wawasee High School and on Saturday, Oct. 15, attended the Class B band competition at Carmel.
Unfortunately, Wawasee didn't score high enough to advance to state and I've never seen such a group of heart-broken kids in my life.
I have a question I'm hoping maybe someone can answer. From what I saw, most all schools used only two or three buses to transport their band members, which I assume means they have between 60 to 90 members. Elkhart/Concord, on the other hand, used eight buses, which must be around 240 kids.
Can someone tell me how Concord can still be a Class B school?
Not trying to start a problem, just didn't think it looked right.
Harold L. Kitson
Warsaw
[[In-content Ad]]
- Preserve The Past - Barbee Sewer - War And Highways - Only Bad News - Band Fairness
Preserve The Past
Editor, Times-Union:I am a member of the newly formed Kosciusko Archaeological Society. We had a meeting with a fascinating guest lecturer at the library Monday night. The talk was interesting and very informative, and I enjoyed it very much. However, a matter of concern came up during the discussion afterwards, and it is one many people either don't understand or brush off as unimportant.
I am speaking of the collecting of projectile points and other artifacts and, in the process, removing them from their historical context. I realized some of this can't be helped. The plow will turn things up and a busy farmer has neither the time nor the resources to immediately document his discovery. I am more concerned about the hunting that goes on, in which artifacts are taken from relatively undisturbed contexts and subsequently offered for sale at auctions, flea markets or shows. Unfortunately, what such hunters don't realize is that they are ripping these artifacts from contexts valuable to the archaeologists, who are as much interested in the place in which an article is found as in the article itself.
Fortunately, in Indiana, it is illegal to dig for artifacts, so anything below the plow line is still undisturbed. Please, when you find something, please take a picture of it in the place you find it. Note the exact location, if you can. Note anything else you find in the same area, such as animal bones, other broken points, or bits of stone or fire-cracked rock. Then when you offer your artifact for sale, it will be even more valuable to the expert. And watch out for fakes at the shows. Some of our modern day nappers can turn out some mighty convincing pieces.
Please help preserve the historical context so that we can learn more about the brave and adventurous men who first lived in this area thousands of years ago.
Mary Alice B. Kelly
Vice Chairman, Kosciusko Archaeological Society
Warsaw
Barbee Sewer
Editor, Times-Union:I would like to commend Dave Doctor for his on-target observations regarding the motives of the Barbee Lakes Conservancy Board.
The agenda of this board was painfully transparent from day one. To my friend John "J.B." Routh, you left out two important factors from your letter. First, you are a landlord of multiple properties within the district and you are fighting the per-property charge. There has never been a fair opportunity to vote. Every time we have had the opportunity to vote, the board has sent the ballots to the address designated for the property tax statements. That means if you have a mortgage and an escrow account (like most property owners) the ballot was mailed to your bank or mortgage company and you never were aware there was an election or an opportunity to vote for action/non-action. These special meetings and votes are again scheduled right after the summer residents have gone home and do not see a local paper. Fair proceedings would have given the district a fighting chance. As for the laptop computers, Scott Fox and Barry Hecker, pork-barrel ethics are not welcome in this district.
We do not have a mortgage and we will receive a ballot. If you would like a chance to vote, please call me and I will send a ballot to you. In the meantime, please write to the Attorney General of the State of Indiana about the laptops being purchased by these ingenuous officers who are preparing for their well-planned retirement. I know we will. Please let your out-of-town neighbors know about these disgusting procedures.
Terry & Diane Manley
Leesburg, via e-mail
War And Highways
Editor, Times-Union:After talking to my sister, I was thinking how to put this so people wouldn't think that I'm a war-loving, heartless, without-feeling person so it will be very hard for me to write this.
I've been on both sides of the fence. Remember that! As I put my fingers to these keys, 2,000 military personnel have given their all in Iraq. Everyone of them, and hundreds of thousands more, have and will raise their right arms to the square and took an oath to protect our nation from enemies foreign and domestic.
I did this when I turned 18. I looked up the AP's list and looked at the names and ages of those killed in action in several states, including Indiana. I also looked up data about Vietnam and found something I never knew. The youngest person killed in action in Vietnam was in the U.S. Marine Corps by the name of Dan Bullock, age 15. In 16 years, 58,169 personnel were killed in action in Vietnam, the youngest being Dan Bullock at age 15, the oldest casualty was age 62.
I put Vietnam stats in because that was where I turned 19. Thinking about my brother David, I looked at the stats on highway deaths. In 2003, 42,643 lives were lost. I was in Vietnam, which put me on one side of the fence, and my brother lost his life because of injuries involving a pickup and a pole, which puts me on the other side of the fence.
I have a question that can never be answered. Those 2,000 lives - would they be alive today if they were never in Iraq? We can't say "yes" or "no." After seeing all the stats, it seems that it's safer to be in a combat zone than on the highways.
I am so sorry for your loss. Please remember something about the 2,000 individuals. They never ran away. They never protested. They died proud for the country they loved.
Robert L. Reed
Warsaw, via e-mail
Only Bad News
Editor, Times-Union:Did I miss the article in the paper? I thought I looked well. Or perhaps it was way too small.
An event happened in our community this past weekend that seemed to go unnoticed. I am referring to the opening of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and Shrine. A community and cultural event that seemed important enough that South Bend's WNDU-TV station sent camera crews. This story, including the procession, which was extremely impressive, appeared on their newscast as well as their Web site.
I would like to give my congratulations to this church. They have waited six-plus years for this to happen.
The first part of the month I think I perhaps missed another mention about the Life Chain in Warsaw. Or did that not appear either?
Are we doomed only to receive the bad news in town?
Marilyn J Staton
Leesburg, via e-mail
Band Fairness
Editor, Times-Union:My grandson attends Wawasee High School and on Saturday, Oct. 15, attended the Class B band competition at Carmel.
Unfortunately, Wawasee didn't score high enough to advance to state and I've never seen such a group of heart-broken kids in my life.
I have a question I'm hoping maybe someone can answer. From what I saw, most all schools used only two or three buses to transport their band members, which I assume means they have between 60 to 90 members. Elkhart/Concord, on the other hand, used eight buses, which must be around 240 kids.
Can someone tell me how Concord can still be a Class B school?
Not trying to start a problem, just didn't think it looked right.
Harold L. Kitson
Warsaw
[[In-content Ad]]
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092