Letters to the Editor 10-28-2003
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
- FOP Says Thanks - Greenway - Bake Sale, Luncheon - Thanks To WFD - Elected Officials - School Board - Thanks To
FOP Says Thanks
Editor, Times-Union:The Kosciusko County Fraternal Order of Police wishes to thank all of the citizens that worked hard to see that the sheriff's office grant was accepted and used. This is a valuable step forward for the security and service provided by the sheriff's office.
There have been several comments made that the costs I talked about were not accurate and thus misleading to the community. The letters I had written discussed only the costs of the officers in regard to the grant. There are additional investments that must be made to supply these officers with the equipment that they need to get the job done. These costs are investments; they serve to add assets to Kosciusko County.
Money must not be as tight as we originally thought. The county council has seen fit to give 3 percent raise to the dispatchers, while the remaining county employees get a $300 stipend to cover the cost of insurance increases. We are happy that the dispatchers are getting a 3 percent raise; we wish we could say the same for the Sheriff's Office.
In the July 31, 2001, edition of the Times-Union, councilman Tom Anglin stated, "I want equal salary for the dispatchers - they do the same work." This referred to the disparity of pay between the city dispatcher and the county dispatchers. The officers at the sheriff's office wonder why this philosophy has not applied to them as well; they do the same job as the officers at the city. However, our pay is nowhere near the same. In fact, we handle more calls per officer than any other police agency in the county. Where is our backing for equal wages from the county council?
In matters of expenses for the county, there are a number of sheriff's office employees that do not participate in the county's insurance program. Yet they are not given a penny's compensation for the thousands of dollars which the county is saving by not contributing to insurance for these employees. This reduces greatly the total salary packages of the individual employees. There are officers who donate a great deal of uncompensated time to get their jobs done. This reduces their hourly wage because so many of these officers do not even turn in requests for comp time. We hope to have more representation in the future in matters concerning our wages and benefits. Once again, we thank all those who have supported us and continue to do so on a daily basis.
Travis Marsh
President
Kosciusko County Fraternal Order of Police
Lodge No. 149
Greenway
Editor, Times-Union:To all of the people who have been instrumental in creating the Greenway on Pike Lake, I say, "Thank-you, thank-you!" To those who came up with the idea and plans, to members of the Beyer family who once owned the property, to others who have worked on the building of the walkway, whether it was in putting in pilings, building the bridges or black-topping, I say, "Thank-you, thank-you!" Also to the many who have given generously that this walk might become a reality, and finally to those who finished it off by creating the informative and instructional signs along the path, I say, "Thank-you, thank-you!" We have thoroughly enjoyed the walk throughout the summer, many times seeing deer and other wildlife in their natural habitat; with the changing of the colors this fall, the walk continues to be a delight. Over the past several months we have shared the walk with many visitors to our home, one a friend in a wheelchair. Each one enjoyed the beauty of this unique walkway. It is certainly another reason, another plus, for living in or near Warsaw. I sincerely hope the project will continue to grow.
Ellen Tjernagel
Warsaw
Bake Sale, Luncheon
Editor, Times-Union:On Oct. 19, Redeemer Lutheran School was the site of a fun-filled auction, bake sale and luncheon. The success of this event was due in part to the generousity of many Warsaw/Kosciusko County businesses, auctioneers, advertisers, families and individuals. We would like to extend a hearty "Thank You!" and "God's Blessings!" to all of those who contributed items for this. All proceeds are being used to complete our gymnasium floor.
Linda Tinkey
For The Redeemer Lutheran Church
and School families
Thanks To WFD
Editor, Times-Union:I am writing in regards to the WFD's willingness to come to the aid of MTEMS. Your firemen have responded with us on several runs this past year. I am very proud and excited to see the willingness and quality of help that responds when called. I cannot express what it means to me personally to go out on a call, find out it is serious and know that within minutes I can see the firemen's smiling faces, asking me what I need. They are always very professional. They have been involved in some very serious runs. No matter what, they never shy away from helping. They jump in and get busy. When I am coming in on third out or fourth out and a call comes in, I may be 7-8 min. out. I know in my heart I can call for the WFD to go and begin quality care. They have compassion and a caring attitude, which makes my patient calm and reassured. I feel very strongly about patient care. Being a firefighter, I never understood the one-on-one relationship between the caregiver and the patient. Until I became a paramedic, I never experienced the good feeling that wells up in my heart when I see the look on my patient's face when I arrive to help. I see the look of satisfaction on the WFD faces when they leave, knowing they have made a difference in someone's life on a personal level. My deepest thanks go to all the WFD members for being there and helping me in times of great adversity. Thanks, guys, from the heart.
Carl Wireman
Firefighter paramedic
Training Officer MTEMS
via e-mail
Elected Officials
Editor, Times-Union:I am reading that the majority of the community is against the recent proposals/rulings of the school board and superintendent. My question that maybe someone can respond to is - what rights does a community have to override the decisions of the elected school board officials? Do we as a community need to gather signatures to make a majority? I read something about a lawsuit, would it take more people getting involved with that? Do we need to figure the process to start a recall on the school board? What gets me is that a lot of people have written in to the Times-Union, even if it represents hundreds of other voices, and still no one on the school board has realized or acknowledged that the solution they came up with is not going to work and that they need to go back to the drawing board. I still maintain that there are a lot of good minds in this community and that a workable solution can be found.
When elected officials cannot hear the voices of those they represent, they should step down and quickly. Power, prestige, ranking - it all crumbles when the foundations fall beneath you. The community is the foundation. My question to the community is, do you want to do something about this mess or are you just going to keep venting in each day's paper hoping this is a bad dream and will suddenly go away. Someone needs to step up to the plate as the community spokesperson (you know who you are) and get the ball rolling. I imagine the people on the school board are good people, but they are not serving the interests of the people - just remember in the long run of things that not all people are right for all jobs.
Jennifer Hyden
Winona Lake
via e-mail
School Board
Editor, Times-Union:I could not agree more with Mr. and Mrs. Sadler's letter in Monday's paper. If California can recall their governor, why can't we have a vote and see if the majority of the people in the Warsaw school district feel the board members are representing the people as a whole?
The people that don't want to get involved because they do not have children in the school system had better get involved, because they are paying for all this, regardless of if they have children in school or not. Instead of spending money on the administration building, if they needed more room, why couldn't they have moved into some of the portable units they are going to put the kids in?
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kolbe
Warsaw
Thanks To
PiercetonTown Board
Editor, Times-Union:
Thanks to the town board of Pierceton. You deserve a great deal of credit for finally solving our police department crisis. Also, you did a fine job in selecting a new town marshal and his deputy officers, who are all a first class act.
Too bad it wasn't done 15 years ago, but that's not your fault. Pierceton now has top-notch police protection, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which it never had before.
Now, all the young women in Pierceton can grow up without fear of being a target of harassment on a regular basis.
Thanks again for a job well done.
Gene H. Stoffel
Pierceton
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- FOP Says Thanks - Greenway - Bake Sale, Luncheon - Thanks To WFD - Elected Officials - School Board - Thanks To
FOP Says Thanks
Editor, Times-Union:The Kosciusko County Fraternal Order of Police wishes to thank all of the citizens that worked hard to see that the sheriff's office grant was accepted and used. This is a valuable step forward for the security and service provided by the sheriff's office.
There have been several comments made that the costs I talked about were not accurate and thus misleading to the community. The letters I had written discussed only the costs of the officers in regard to the grant. There are additional investments that must be made to supply these officers with the equipment that they need to get the job done. These costs are investments; they serve to add assets to Kosciusko County.
Money must not be as tight as we originally thought. The county council has seen fit to give 3 percent raise to the dispatchers, while the remaining county employees get a $300 stipend to cover the cost of insurance increases. We are happy that the dispatchers are getting a 3 percent raise; we wish we could say the same for the Sheriff's Office.
In the July 31, 2001, edition of the Times-Union, councilman Tom Anglin stated, "I want equal salary for the dispatchers - they do the same work." This referred to the disparity of pay between the city dispatcher and the county dispatchers. The officers at the sheriff's office wonder why this philosophy has not applied to them as well; they do the same job as the officers at the city. However, our pay is nowhere near the same. In fact, we handle more calls per officer than any other police agency in the county. Where is our backing for equal wages from the county council?
In matters of expenses for the county, there are a number of sheriff's office employees that do not participate in the county's insurance program. Yet they are not given a penny's compensation for the thousands of dollars which the county is saving by not contributing to insurance for these employees. This reduces greatly the total salary packages of the individual employees. There are officers who donate a great deal of uncompensated time to get their jobs done. This reduces their hourly wage because so many of these officers do not even turn in requests for comp time. We hope to have more representation in the future in matters concerning our wages and benefits. Once again, we thank all those who have supported us and continue to do so on a daily basis.
Travis Marsh
President
Kosciusko County Fraternal Order of Police
Lodge No. 149
Greenway
Editor, Times-Union:To all of the people who have been instrumental in creating the Greenway on Pike Lake, I say, "Thank-you, thank-you!" To those who came up with the idea and plans, to members of the Beyer family who once owned the property, to others who have worked on the building of the walkway, whether it was in putting in pilings, building the bridges or black-topping, I say, "Thank-you, thank-you!" Also to the many who have given generously that this walk might become a reality, and finally to those who finished it off by creating the informative and instructional signs along the path, I say, "Thank-you, thank-you!" We have thoroughly enjoyed the walk throughout the summer, many times seeing deer and other wildlife in their natural habitat; with the changing of the colors this fall, the walk continues to be a delight. Over the past several months we have shared the walk with many visitors to our home, one a friend in a wheelchair. Each one enjoyed the beauty of this unique walkway. It is certainly another reason, another plus, for living in or near Warsaw. I sincerely hope the project will continue to grow.
Ellen Tjernagel
Warsaw
Bake Sale, Luncheon
Editor, Times-Union:On Oct. 19, Redeemer Lutheran School was the site of a fun-filled auction, bake sale and luncheon. The success of this event was due in part to the generousity of many Warsaw/Kosciusko County businesses, auctioneers, advertisers, families and individuals. We would like to extend a hearty "Thank You!" and "God's Blessings!" to all of those who contributed items for this. All proceeds are being used to complete our gymnasium floor.
Linda Tinkey
For The Redeemer Lutheran Church
and School families
Thanks To WFD
Editor, Times-Union:I am writing in regards to the WFD's willingness to come to the aid of MTEMS. Your firemen have responded with us on several runs this past year. I am very proud and excited to see the willingness and quality of help that responds when called. I cannot express what it means to me personally to go out on a call, find out it is serious and know that within minutes I can see the firemen's smiling faces, asking me what I need. They are always very professional. They have been involved in some very serious runs. No matter what, they never shy away from helping. They jump in and get busy. When I am coming in on third out or fourth out and a call comes in, I may be 7-8 min. out. I know in my heart I can call for the WFD to go and begin quality care. They have compassion and a caring attitude, which makes my patient calm and reassured. I feel very strongly about patient care. Being a firefighter, I never understood the one-on-one relationship between the caregiver and the patient. Until I became a paramedic, I never experienced the good feeling that wells up in my heart when I see the look on my patient's face when I arrive to help. I see the look of satisfaction on the WFD faces when they leave, knowing they have made a difference in someone's life on a personal level. My deepest thanks go to all the WFD members for being there and helping me in times of great adversity. Thanks, guys, from the heart.
Carl Wireman
Firefighter paramedic
Training Officer MTEMS
via e-mail
Elected Officials
Editor, Times-Union:I am reading that the majority of the community is against the recent proposals/rulings of the school board and superintendent. My question that maybe someone can respond to is - what rights does a community have to override the decisions of the elected school board officials? Do we as a community need to gather signatures to make a majority? I read something about a lawsuit, would it take more people getting involved with that? Do we need to figure the process to start a recall on the school board? What gets me is that a lot of people have written in to the Times-Union, even if it represents hundreds of other voices, and still no one on the school board has realized or acknowledged that the solution they came up with is not going to work and that they need to go back to the drawing board. I still maintain that there are a lot of good minds in this community and that a workable solution can be found.
When elected officials cannot hear the voices of those they represent, they should step down and quickly. Power, prestige, ranking - it all crumbles when the foundations fall beneath you. The community is the foundation. My question to the community is, do you want to do something about this mess or are you just going to keep venting in each day's paper hoping this is a bad dream and will suddenly go away. Someone needs to step up to the plate as the community spokesperson (you know who you are) and get the ball rolling. I imagine the people on the school board are good people, but they are not serving the interests of the people - just remember in the long run of things that not all people are right for all jobs.
Jennifer Hyden
Winona Lake
via e-mail
School Board
Editor, Times-Union:I could not agree more with Mr. and Mrs. Sadler's letter in Monday's paper. If California can recall their governor, why can't we have a vote and see if the majority of the people in the Warsaw school district feel the board members are representing the people as a whole?
The people that don't want to get involved because they do not have children in the school system had better get involved, because they are paying for all this, regardless of if they have children in school or not. Instead of spending money on the administration building, if they needed more room, why couldn't they have moved into some of the portable units they are going to put the kids in?
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kolbe
Warsaw
Thanks To
PiercetonTown Board
Editor, Times-Union:
Thanks to the town board of Pierceton. You deserve a great deal of credit for finally solving our police department crisis. Also, you did a fine job in selecting a new town marshal and his deputy officers, who are all a first class act.
Too bad it wasn't done 15 years ago, but that's not your fault. Pierceton now has top-notch police protection, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which it never had before.
Now, all the young women in Pierceton can grow up without fear of being a target of harassment on a regular basis.
Thanks again for a job well done.
Gene H. Stoffel
Pierceton
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