Letters to the Editor 01-12-2000

Valley Grapplers Pin Rival Squires

AKRON - Manchester and Tippecanoe Valley met in a Three Rivers Conference wrestling dual at Valley, with the Vikings coming out on top 36-33 Monday evening. Both teams are young, and both teams came to the event with identical records of 0-6. Only nine matches were wrestled. Manchester received a forfeit at 112 pounds and then sent junior Austin Pence (119) against Valley's Robert Bauters, a freshman.In a minute and fifteen seconds it was over, with Pence recording a fall to put the Squires on top 6-0. Manchester added a victory at 125 pounds when Travis Wood battled back from a 4-1 deficit to grab a 10-9 victory over Tony Landry and the team score stood at 15-0. Valley won the next four matches to move into the lead. Viking freshman Kyle Horn (130) stuck Rick Morgan in 25 seconds, and then A.J.Austin (135) pinned Manchester's Kyle Coffey in 1:43.Elijoe Yoder (140) added six to the Valley team score, winning by injury default over Chance Shockey.

Letters to the Editor 01-19-2000

Letters to the Editor 01-25-2000

Whitko School Board Doesn't Represent Constituents

I must be naive. I have always been taught that if you do what is right and treat people the way you want to be treated, good things will happen. You know, that whole Golden Rule thing. I have also believed that even though our system of government is not perfect, it represents the people and we all have a voice. However, attending the last two meetings of the Whitko School Board, I have discovered that neither of the above statements is true. I watched and listened for several hours (over two meetings combined) as members of the Whitko community, parents, current and former teachers as well as former administrators stepped forward to voice their opinions about school nurse Sharon Lee and protest her termination. Lee has been the corporation nurse at Whitko for 12 years.With one more year of service at the school, Lee could retire with benefits from PERF (Public Employee Retirement Fund) as well as retirement benefits from the school corporation.

Sunday Re-Enactment A Reminder Of Days Gone By

My grandfather, Theodore Miller, died at the ripe old age of 95 in 1997. When I was born, he was well into his 50s, and when I was old enough to remember him, he was well into his 60s. He was a wiry little guy, the youngest of 13 children. I was reminded of Grandpa when discussing the upcoming "Down the Sawdust Trail," a historic re-enactment of the Billy Sunday crusades, with Steve Grill. Grill, executive director of the Reneker Museum, portrays Sunday, the fiery evangelist who made Winona Lake his home. Much of Sunday's ongoing popularity came from his dynamic personality and natural athleticism, which he used to advantage from the pulpit. Sunday was one of the finest baseball players of his day, a star Chicago Red Stockings player at the turn of the century.

Has School Board Already Made Up Its Mind?

First, a disclaimer: I am writing this column as a taxpayer in the Warsaw school district, not as a reporter. Now. I attended the Warsaw school board meeting Monday, when the board received the feasibility study from Odle, McGuire and Shook Corp.I have problems with just about every aspect of this issue. I was surprised at the number of WCS patrons present at Monday's meeting.I expected the lecture room at Warsaw Community High School to be standing-room-only, bursting at the seams with interested patrons and parents.Instead, there were approximately 50 people there, which was commendable for them, but disgraceful for everyone else.

Northridge Breaks Warsaw 11-Game Jinx

MIDDLEBURY - Two small boys strolled in front of the crowd sitting in the bleachers, each waving a sign made out of notebook paper.One boy's sign said "Thanx for practice."The sign the boy carried behind him said "Warsaw." The two were Northridge fans, and like all the rowdy and noisy Northridge fans, they celebrated Friday night.They had reason to.For the first time in school history, the Northridge Raider basketball team beat Warsaw, 71-64. "It was a rough day at the office," Warsaw coach Al Rhodes said. Warsaw fell to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the Northern Lakes Conference.Northridge, which starts three sophomores, improved to 6-0 overall and 1-0 in the NLC. Since 1988, the Tigers had owned the Raiders. No more.

Letters to the Editor 02-01-2000

- Thanks For The Honor - Cornea Donation - Knight/Alford - Conflict Resolution - Thanks To Marsh Thanks For The Honor Editor, Times-Union: I want to thank the Warsaw-Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce, Biomet Inc., the Government Issues Committee, Jean Northenor and this community for selecting me to receive the Chamber's "Excellence in Government" award.Many people other than myself would be more deserving of this distinction and, for this, I feel very humble and most honored.I have lived in the Warsaw-Kosciusko County area all of my life and have found it so easy to serve when you live in a community surrounded by caring and cooperative people.It has been my privilege to serve this community.Thanks again.

Letters to the Editor 02-15-2000

- Abolish Governmental Slavery - Unnatural Acts - Unfair Teams Abolish Governmental Slavery Editor, Times-Union: Slavery was abolished you say? We are all slaves.We have been enslaved by a federal government that we allowed to ignore our Constitution and to grow to enormous proportion and totally out of our control. We are slaves to a socialistic government.We are slaves to the IRS, to increased rules and regulations put into place by our over-empowered corrupt government officials.Soon we will be slaves to the world as the same corrupt government delivers us to the one-world government through our involvement with the United Nations, NATO and other one-world government organizations.

Letters to the Editor 02-07-2000

- Fire Thanks - Valley Coach - Moody Surgery - Thanks To Dekko Fire Thanks Editor, Times-Union: On Thursday Jan.27 we had the unfortunate event of a nasty chimney fire.When my son came running into the office to tell me of it I thought this shouldn't be a big deal.When I got to the house it looked like Dalton Foundry smoke stack.When the attic began to fill up with smoke I knew it was time to call for help! As the trucks & men of the Pierceton Fire Department began to roll in along with our local EMS it was a very comforting sight.

Valley Gets 'A Win' Over Rochester

ROCHESTER -Ê"Well, it's a win," said Tippecanoe Valley coach Bill Patrick."On the record at the end of the season it looks the same as a game we won by 30." He was speaking of his team's 31-28 win over Rochester in the first round of The Winning Edge Holiday Tourney Friday night in Rochester. After Valley took a 9-5 lead after the first quarter, Rochester's Brandon Tugmon and Alan Riddle put the Zebras back in the game. Tugmon hit the first basket of the second quarter to make the score 9-7 in Valley's favor.Then at the 6:31 mark, Riddle scored three straight baskets to give Rochester its first lead since early in the first quarter, 14-13. The Zebras went up 16-13 after Tugmon hit another basket, but Valley ended the frame with four unanswered points to take a 17-16 advantage into the lockers at the half.

Wawasee Gets Back On Track With Win Over NorthWood

SYRACUSE -ÊTuesday's night NLC tourney match-up with NorthWood was more than just an opportunity for Phil Mishler and his Wawasee Warriors to take their record above .500, it was more about taking another step toward rebuilding a struggling program.Mishler's young Warriors have played well at times this year and have shown flashes of the consistency needed to compete in the always tough NLC. Considering that Mishler began the season with only one player back from last year's team who had seen significant playing time, and he has since left the team, expectations weren't too high.The Warrior record stood at 3-3 after taking it on the chin Friday night against Warsaw. Tuesday night was an opportunity for the Warriors to get back on track at the expense of the NorthWood Panthers, and they did just that pulling out a last-second win, 55-53.

Manchester Wins Double OT Thriller

COLUMBIA CITY - Manchester coach Gary Goshert stood outside the Manchester locker room door with his hands on his knees in the same form that tired players often do on the court. His team had just finished defeating a Columbia City squad in a mentally and physically exhausting basketball game.The Squires fought from behind most of the game before finally shaking the Eagles in the second overtime for a 54-50 win. Goshert, it appeared, was just as tired, if not more so, than his players.After all, they went jumping and running off the court after Rex Reimer's steal and lay-up in the final 15 seconds of the second extra frame sealed the deal.

A Look At Some Defining Moments

During our lives, each of us lives through "historical" events.They are the events that "change a nation" or "change the way that we..." Some might say that the Clinton crisis is one such event.I can see the possibilities, but I also think that since the beginning of the 20th century, many American events have been more important in shaping the United States as a nation. A brief history of important American events: nOct.1, 1908, the Ford Motor Company introduces the first Model T.It becomes the most popular car ever produced.It also introduces the assembly line, cheap labor and even more environmental problems. n1914, World War I begins.Approximately 120,144 American soldiers will die, more than half from disease. nApril 6, 1917, America declares war against Germany.America learns it can't stay out of international affairs. nAug.26, 1920, The 19th Amendment is ratified, granting women's suffrage.It's the beginning of a new era for women.

Letters to the Editor 02-17-2000

- Cavalier Treatment Cavalier Treatment Editor, Times-Union: I am a teacher for Warsaw Community Schools.I teach fifth grade at Eisenhower Elementary, and Chris Gensinger is my principal.I took great offense at your cavalier treatment of him, and other education professionals, in your Potpourri column this past Saturday. Without even a phone call to check, you assumed that because Mr.Gensinger was not at the finals of the County Spelling Bee, he obviously did not care about academic events in our school system.Did you know that he was responsible for the semi-final round of the elementary basketball tourney in another location at the exact same time? Other Eisenhower staff members joined him to sell tickets, run the clock and score boards, keep the stat's book, supervise the students and staff the snack bar.

Teachers Have A Great Deal Of Influence On Us

Who had the biggest impact on you? Obvious answers would include parents, friends, siblings and other relatives.You might throw in your religious leader or a celebrity.Perhaps a neighbor. But don't forget your teachers. From the time you enter kindergarten until the time you step off the platform with your high school degree, they will mold you and enrich your life like few others.They will teach you how to spell, write, add, subtract, inform you about the world around you past and present and help you learn to solve problems.They will be the ones you rely on to give you the materials you need in life to accomplish your goals and achieve your dreams.They will challenge the way you think, the way you write and the way you relate to others. And that's not even counting the professors you'll have in college should you choose to go that route.

Letters to the Editor 02-21-2000

- Apology - Unnatural Acts - Loss Of Benefits - Zach Randolph - Gas Prices Apology Editor, Times-Union: Thursday 10, of this month, a very positive freshman orientation took place at the high school.I comment that it was very positive because for the first time, the student body had the opportunity to provide representatives to speak with the eighth-graders.I was one of those representatives. During that orientation, words left my mouth that were not appropriate for any situation, and especially detrimental to the aforementioned occasion.A very small comfort is that they were not directed toward the students.

It's Harder To Read If You Live In Plain Township

In a previous "Between the Lines," I said it was important to read.I stressed the fact that we, as a society and as individuals, don't take enough time to read. Now I find out that if you live in Plain Township, you are almost hindered from reading at no cost.How so? Plain Township does not have a public library and to use the Warsaw library, you have to pay a fee of $16 for four months or $45 for a year. I currently live on the edge of Plain Township. I can afford to pay the money, if I have to.That's not the problem.But what about those who can't afford to pay $45? Those who can't pay that much are those who usually need to be reading more. As previously stated, the National Adult Literacy Survey found that more than 40 million Americans age 16 and over have significant literacy needs.Approximately 43 percent of people with the lowest literacy skills live in poverty and 70 percent have no job or part-time jobs.

All-Area Football Team Announced

Only in a year where the area had the state's leading rusher could two 1,000-yard rushers end up on the second team offense of the 2004 Times-Union All-Area team. Warsaw's Thomas Balestri and Triton's Bryon Overmyer would be first team selections any other year but this area was loaded with talented running backs. Leading the way was co-offensive player of the year Jordan Swain of Wawasee.Swain rushed for more than 2,600 yards to lead the state in rushing.Swain has garnered attention from some MAC schools including Buffalo and Central Florida and is also an Indiana Mr.Football candidate. Overmyer rushed for 1,215 yards to break Triton's school rushing record.He was also nominated first team all-state in 1A.Balestri was an all-NLC selection and rushed for 1,001 yards.