Relevance Date

Webster Senior Citizens Seeking To Organize

NORTH WEBSTER - Senior citizens expressed interest in forming an organization.They met Wednesday in the old elementary school's cafeteria. About 30 people attended the informal meeting conducted by Bob Murphy of R.P.Murphy and Associates. Murphy said the goal is to use the old North Webster Elementary school to the fullest extent possible. The Wawasee School Corp.plans to begin the second semester in the new elementary school on CR 750E near CR 600N. For the last two years plans have been formulated to use the old school on Ind.13 as a community center. The North Webster-Tippecanoe Township Library, the Kosciusko Comunity YMCA, Lakeland Youth Center and the town have expressed interest in using the building. An organized senior citizens club will facilitate grant applications, Murphy said.
TERESA SMITH, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

County Seeks New Highway Engineer

Kosciusko County is looking for a new highway engineer. With Ken Traylor set to retire Jan.2, the county is seeking a replacement. But three weeks of advertising in local newspapers and a national publication has yielded no candidates. The job entails supervising customary projects such as road improvements and snow removal, but also includes taking over at least one major project involving development of a bypass west of Warsaw. Applicants with an engineering degree are being sought because of the size of the county and for one other reason: the state pays a portion of the salary if the employee holds an engineering degree. About $49,000 is budgeted in 1997 for the highway superintendent's salary.Advertisements suggest the pay could be pushed to $52,000 depending on qualifications, said Ron Robinson, county personnel director. Some officials might be wondering if Kosciusko County might have to offer more money.Two officials said that might be the case.
Dan Spalding, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Firemen Honored For Life-Saving Efforts

Warsaw firefighters Kerry Stogsdill and Terry Himes were presented with awards Monday during the city council meeting, for saving lives. According to fire chief Matt Warren, the department received a car fire call at East Gate Apartments on Nov.18. Stogsdill and Lt.Tim Hood put the fire out.When Stogsdill broke the driver's side window to release the hood latch, he found the driver inside the vehicle. Stogsdill pulled him out of the car and found the man not breathing and without a pulse. Stogsdill began CPR with the assistance of Himes. Emergency medical services crews took over the life-saving efforts when they arrived and the firefighters went back to extinguishing the fire. Former Warsaw mayor Dale Tucker attended the meeting, thanking the council for reversing its decision to hang American flags on the city's 41 ornamental light poles.
TERESA SMITH, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Syracuse Approves Curfew Ordinance

SYRACUSE - A curfew ordinance for Syracuse was approved Tuesday by the Syracuse Town Council. The town council gave the first reading of the juvenile curfew ordinance in November.The ordinance is patterned after Auburn's and meets the state supreme court's test which requires exceptions such as exercising first amendment rights. Under the Syracuse curfew ordinance, it's a violation for a child aged 15 to 17 to be in a public place between 1 and 5 a.m.on Saturday and Sunday; after 11 p.m.Sunday through Thursday; or before 5 a.m.Monday through Friday.A child 15 or younger is in violation of curfew if they are in a public place after 11 p.m.or before 5 a.m.on any day.
DAVID SLONE, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Nappanee Receives Main Street Award

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana Lt.Gov.Kathy Davis recently announced that a Nappanee renovation site has received the Indiana Main Street award for the outstanding adaptive reuse project of 2003. The award is given to a project that brings a historic downtown building back into use or adapts the building for a new use.Owen Weaver, Dave Pottinger and his wife, Faye Walters, along with Jeremy Stutsman and Maija Walters-Stutsman, undertook the rehabilitation of a former lumberyard that most thought would remain vacant until being bulldozed for redevelopment. Against the advice of a financial adviser, the Weaver, Pottinger and Stutsman families purchased the property from Big C Lumber.Renovation took several years to complete, but the area is now being used by many businesses.Former lumber bins have been converted into various leasable spaces and the compound houses a farmers' market, bakery, floral arranger, jeweler and art gallery, among other things.
Staff Report- | July 28, 2016

Home Decorations Come Up Missing

The Grinch made five stops in the Warsaw area this weekend, stealing Christmas lights and decorations from recently decorated homes. Bruce and Regina Lackey, Pike Street, Warsaw, suffered a visit from vandals who were after their Christmas cheer.The Lackeys made it out a week ago to decorate their home. "I just don't understand how someone could come right up to our front window while we were in the house and steal our lights," said Regina Lackey. Bruce Lackey reported the theft of three strands of lights from his front porch to Warsaw police at 6:40 p.m.Sunday.Police told the Lackeys the theft was probably vandalism: The suspect cut the wires rather than unplugging them. He may have made off with the lights, but the thief did not steal their Christmas cheer. "We put the lights right back up for our little girls," Mrs.Lackey said.Lackey said she had many more strands of lights that she would have given away rather than feel unsafe in her home.
GREG BROWN, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Waste District Board Hears Update From State Rep. Wolkins

State Rep.Dave Wolkins spoke briefly about upcoming legislative topics at the Kosciusko County Solid Waste District joint city advisory committee and board meeting Wednesday. In the last year, the Indiana Legislature passed a bill that basically let a mobile home owner not pay property taxes on the mobile home up to $12,500.It cost the state $200 million, Wolkins said. Wolkins said property reassessment will have to be addressed because a tax court judge said it is time for the Legislature "to do something about it."He said he expects changes in the reassessment to cause taxes on private property to go up but taxes for businesses to go down. "We will be spending a lot of time on that issue," Wolkins said. All-day kindergarten will be back before the Legislature, he said.He said they are thinking of making educational money available, probably in the form of a grant, for those communities who want all-day kindergarten.
DAVID SLONE, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Syracuse Residents Withdraw Zoning Petitions

SYRACUSE -ÊIf a petitioner withdraws a petition before the Syracuse Board of Zoning Appeals votes on it, the petitioner can bring it back before the board at a later time. Two petitioners decided to do just that Thursday. Reasa Rinker petitioned the BZA for an exception for the placement of a residence in a commercially zoned district and to allow two uses on one tract of ground in a commercial district.The property is on the west side of Harkless Drive and 400 feet north of Ind.13. The contractor contacted the zoning board and asked the petition be withdrawn.The board agreed. Another petitioner, Scott Richey, withdrew his petition for a variance to permit a tract of ground to be split, creating an undersized lot of 8,000 square feet.Ordinances require 10,000 square feet.The property is on the south side of Pearl Street and 66 feet east of Huntington Street.
DAVID SLONE, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Musical Entertainment Celebrates Christmas

Two distinct sources of entertainment offered their specialties Thursday night in separate Christmas programs.Wilma Dee, a well-known country music entertainer who recently signed a national recording contract, was the featured guest during a special concert at Wagon Wheel theatre benefiting Toys For Tots. Meanwhile the newly created Heavenly Echoes hand chimers performed at Grace Village Retirement Home in Winona Lake.The group honored Mary Horn, seated, who donated funds to start the group in the name of her late husband, Wilson.
Staff Report- | July 28, 2016

Latest GIS Offers Public A Sharper, Detailed View

Clicking back and forth between the aerial photographs taken in 1996 and the images delivered in the last couple of weeks, Warsaw Geographic Information Systems coordinator Mary Haberman presents a series of startling contrasts. Six years ago the "latest" technology was little more than recognizable shapes in various shades of gray. Now buildings, sidewalks, street lights and landscaping are in sharp focus. The images, taken over the county in April, are presented on a 1-inch-equals-50-feet scale.The old image scale is 1-inch to 200 feet. The black and white photographs are available in the Warsaw Planning and Building Department as well as in the Kosciusko County Courthouse through Public Access System computers. Uses for the technology are endless, Haberman said.The GIS analyzes large amounts of data and produces maps with "layers" of information. "The more people see, the more they want," she said in her quiet manner.
TERESA SMITH, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Inmates Face Charges After Escape Attempt

Six inmates from the Kosciusko County Jail face charges after an alleged escape attempt last week. According to a Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department report made available today, the incident occurred Thursday evening and resulted in one man becoming stuck.A crew from the Warsaw Fire Department was called to the jail, where a portion of a wall was cut away to free the inmate who was wedged between the wall and the ceiling. Keith See, 21, of 1823 E.Market St., Warsaw, told KCSD officials that he and several others were involved since at least September in entering the ceiling and working on breaking through the wall. See told police he made it through the wall but couldn't find his way out of the jail and was returning through the opening in the wall when he got stuck between the cement block wall and the ceiling.
Ruth Anne Lipka, Times-Union Lifestyles Editor- | July 28, 2016

City Woman Robbed In Front Of Store

Two Warsaw men who allegedly robbed a store clerk were caught after police traced their escape route in last night's freshly fallen snow. The night clerk's purse and $3,675.24 were taken from the parking lot of the Dollar General Store, 540 E.Market St., at 10:03 p.m.Thursday Marshall Boomer Slone, 16, of 405 S.Wood St., and Ryan Lee Bussard, 20, of 1620 E.Sheridan St., were taken into custody last night in connection with the robbery. Police investigators at the scene followed footprints through the north parking lot to a nearby apartment. Slone and Bussard approached the night clerk and her husband from the south side of the store as they walked to their car. The suspects allegedly ripped the deposit bag and her purse from under the left arm of the clerk and fled.The two ran through the north-south alley just east of 533 E.Market St. The victim described the two as wearing ski masks and dark clothing when they took the purse and deposit bag.
GREG BROWN, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Violence Includes Different Tales

Editor's Note: This is the fifth in a six-part series. For a look at domestic violence in Kosciusko County, the following examples were taken from incident reports on file at the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department: A 32-year-old man was charged with battery and criminal recklessness after hitting his wife with his fist and then trying to stab her with a knife.The woman said the violence began when she told him she was leaving because he was bragging about seeing another woman. The husband also hit his wife with a broom after she hit him once with it.When he tried to stab her with a knife, relatives separated the couple and the husband left the camper, which was parked at Sellers Lake.
Laurie Hahn, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Architects To Meet With WCS Officials To Discuss Elementary School Plans

Architectural consultants for Warsaw Community Schools will meet Tuesday with school administrators to discuss the upcoming study of Silver Lake, Atwood and Claypool elementary schools. According to R.Duane Odle, president of Odle, McGuire and Shook Corp., Indianapolis, the Tuesday meeting will determine the objectives of the study, which was announced by Warsaw Superintendent Dr.Lee Harman at the November school board meeting at Silver Lake Elementary. "They'll tell us how they want us to approach it, the depth of investigation they want, and we'll help arrange community forums," Odle said today.He said they would explore both options - renovating existing buildings or building a new school - according to the school corporation's educational goals.
Laurie Hahn, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Council approves vacation over objections of neighbor

Despite an objection from one of the three adjacent property owners, the Warsaw City Council Monday approved the vacation of a portion of Taft Street. The portion of road is between Jefferson and Hendricks streets and is an unimproved street right of way. According to Jeff Noffsinger, Warsaw city planning department director, J&D Enterprises originally petitioned to vacate the portion of road and later George and Don Clemens, adjacent property owners, joined in on the petition.J&D initiated the petition to expand a building adjacent to Taft Street, Noffsinger said.They also want to put up a fence around the property.There are no utilities, public or private, in the right of way.
Stories by David Slone, Times-Union- | July 28, 2016

WPD Employees Say They'll Boycott Christmas Luncheon

Tension between the Warsaw Police Department and the city administration escalated Tuesday after the city council refused to approve a fund transfer for WPD. In an internal memo, nearly all of WPD's 45 employees said they would not attend the Christmas lunch for city employees Monday.The memo, written by Sgt.Doug Brumfield, says: "We request the money to be used for our lunch to be placed in a special fund to use for gas for squad cars or any other emergency that arises between now and the end of the year...." Brumfield's statement was in reference to the fact that Warsaw Police Chief Craig Allebach asked the council to approve an internal $5,000 transfer to pay for gasoline and cover possible emergency expenses until Dec.31.
Laurie Hahn, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

WCS Board Hears From SOS Architect

Debate on whether or not to close Silver Lake Elementary took another turn Monday when an architect hired by Save Our School and the Historic Landmarks Foundation made a preliminary report to the Warsaw School Board. Gregory A.Kil, of Kil Architecture and Planning, South Bend, said he expects to have his final report ready for the board at the Jan.10 public work session. He said he has inspected Silver Lake Elementary once and expects to go back again.According to his inspection and his review of the original report done by Odle McGuire & Shook Corp., he said the new construction costs quoted by Odle McGuire & Shook "seem to be in line" at approximately $110 per square foot.However, he said, "The remodeling costs seem to be very much at the upper end of what we would see for remodeling." Based on similar projects, Kil said, remodeling costs usually run in the range of $40-$60.Estimates by Odle McGuire & Shook for Silver Lake School are in the $90 range, he said.
Laurie Hahn, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Dana Closing Syracuse Plant

TOLEDO, Ohio -ÊDana Corp.Tuesday announced four of eight facilities it plans to close during the next two years, including the Syracuse plant. The actions will consolidate production and are designed to balance capacity and take advantage of lower-cost manufacturing locations.Dana announced preliminary plans to close eight facilities last month. The Syracuse plant employs approximately 65 people and manufactures axle components.The facility is expected to close by Sept.30. In addition to Syracuse, plants in Cape Girardeau, Mo., and Guelph and Thorold, Ontario, Canada, will close. Production from the Syracuse and Cape Girardeau facilities will be moved to Dana operations in Mexico.Closure of the Guelph plant coincides with the end of a customer program that comprised all production volume at the facility.The majority of the production at the Thorold operation will be moved to Dana's Elizabethtown, Ky., structures plant.
Staff Report- | July 28, 2016

Wawasee Discusses ISTEP, Sets Wages

SYRACUSE - Preliminary ISTEP scores discussed at last night's Wawasee School Board meeting held in the administrative building showed that at the third-grade level, 68 percent of the students scored above the standard on both the math and language arts portions of the test - the highest in six years. It also showed that 64 percent of the eighth-graders and 65 percent of 10th-graders scored above the average on both sections; while only 49 percent of sixth-graders throughout the corporation did so.At the same time 15 seniors, 53 juniors and 93 sophomores failed to pass the graduation-qualifying exam.All will have additional opportunities to take the test.
VIRGINIA NIZAMOFF SURSO, Times-Union Correspondent- | July 28, 2016

Pepper Spray Used On Pierceton Suspect

Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department deputies had to resort to pepper spray to subdue a Pierceton man who was destroying the inside of a squad car Thursday night. Steven M.Wolfe, 23, 209 S.Maple St., was stopped by a deputy last night for driving left of center.Wolfe was arrested and placed in the squad car. Once in the car, Wolfe began kicking the window frame of the passenger side of the car and bent it.He then turned and began to kick the interior of the rear driver's side door, breaking off the lock. KCSD officers verbally requested he stop and warned Wolfe prior to using the spray. Officers removed Wolfe from the car and transported him back to Kosciusko County Jail in a vehicle with an interior cage. Wolfe is charged with driving while intoxicated, refusal to submit to chemical testing, leaving the scene of an accident, criminal mischief, and driving while suspended following the incident.
Staff Report- | July 28, 2016
Previous Next