Local Vet Takes Honor Flight To D.C. Memorial
MENTONE - Raymond Lewis, Mentone, recently made a 600-mile trip to see the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
County Makes Changes In Format Of Property Tax Bills
Property owners will see a few differences in the format of their property tax bills this year, Kosciusko County Treasurer Stephanie Esenwein told the County Commissioners Tuesday. The tax bill will be in three parts instead of four.In the past, the bill consisted of two A parts and two B parts to pay property taxes in the spring and fall.The new bill will be in three parts.Part A is for the spring payment, B for the fall payment and C is the receipt.Part C includes a breakdown of where the tax money is going. County Auditor Sue Ann Mitchell said the new format will reduce the number of mailings by 20,000 because the billing for ditches also will be included.In the past, she said, Kosciusko County has never put the ditch bill with the property tax bill. Mitchell said anyone who has more than three ditches will get those as separate bills because only three ditches fit on the statement.
Renovation Was No 'Small' Job
Jeff and Susie Small don't do anything halfway. When they decided to renovate the little house on South Cleveland Street, they didn't settle for mere cosmetic changes, like new paint or wallpaper or carpet. The Smalls stripped the house down to its foundation - and they even put that up on jacks and repaired it. It took about two years of full- and part-time work on the house, but they were so successful at replacing a condemned eyesore with a showplace that they were honored Tuesday by the city of Warsaw. During an open house the Smalls hosted Tuesday afternoon, Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins presented them with an engraved plate as a token of the city's appreciation of their efforts. "You're planting the seed for the rest of the community," Wiggins told them. Trish Brown, director of the Warsaw Community Development Corp., gave the couple a framed certificate.
Milford Wastewater Bids Above Expectations
MILFORD - Bids for Milford's wastewater treatment plant came in higher than the engineering firm of Jones & Henry expected. Monday, Brian Houghton, of Jones & Henry, said there were five contractors who bid.The lowest bidder was Thieneman Construction at $2,012,000.The engineer's estimate for the project was $1.75 million. During the past three weeks since the bid opening, Houghton said, he's been talking to the contractors, subcontractors and suppliers to find out why all the bids were more than the engineer's estimate. The reasons, he said, were because there were four projects for the contractors to bid on at the same time and Milford's was the last and smallest.A couple of possible bidders didn't bid.At the last minute, there was some confusion about the project.And most of the equipment for the project was not competitively bidded on.The project contractors were able to get one price from one supplier.
Schools fall short in English special ed
Warsaw Schools is in its third year of not attaining Adequate Yearly Progress in English and language arts for special education, Director of Elementary Curriculum Deb Blatz told the school board Monday. AYP is a part of President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act and is calculated by the percent of students passing ISTEP in language arts and math.Different subgroups are measured, including the general population of students, free or reduced lunch students, English as a Second Language students, Hispanic students and special education students.By 2014, all students in all subcategories are to be at the same level of achievement.
School Officials, Citizens Discuss School Closing, Redistricting Plan
It was an irresistible force meeting an immovable object, with both sides trying to explain their positions, and neither side giving an inch. Approximately 40 people from the newly formed Concerned Citizens for Quality Education met Wednesday at the Kosciusko County Community Foundation in Warsaw with Warsaw Community Schools' superintendent, business manager and a school board member. Larry Chamberlain, the board member who was invited to the meeting by CCQE vice chairman Bruce Ferguson, began the meeting by explaining his position and emphasizing the need for financial solvency of the school corporation.
Commissioners Consider Fee For False Alarms
False intruder alarms can take up to an hour of an police officer's time. Tuesday, Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine asked the Kosciusko County Commissioners to consider approving an ordinance that would charge a fee for businesses or residences that do not respond to the false alarms themselves. Rovenstine said the ordinance has been overdue for a while.He's not trying to get alarms out of businesses or residences, he said, but last year alone, KCSD responded to approximately 1,000 false alarms. The ordinance could include some exemptions, in such cases as where the elderly are concerned or during storms.In the first year of the ordinance, Rovenstine said, the first three false alarms wouldn't be charged, but after that, the county could level a charge of about $25. As KCSD gets busier and busier, false alarms are becoming more and more a waste of the department's time, he said.
Plank Leaves Behind A Significant Legacy
Look around virtually anywhere in the city of Warsaw, and you'll find the impact of Jeff Plank. In his 13 years as mayor, Plank and his administration have overseen more progress for the city than any other single administration. The list of accomplishments include major capital improvement projects such as the City-County Athletic Complex, Central Park and the Senior Opportunity Center.But for every visible project there's an equal number of programs and policies that have had just as much effect. An aggressive list of projects began to take shape soon after Plank took office in 1983, with the most striking and visible results often associated with roads and recreation. A sense of accomplishment no doubt swept over the mayor on Sept.13, 1995, when Plank gathered in the new Central Park with other city officials and contractors to commemorate the new four-lane highway on North Detroit Street.
DNR Plans To Treat Area South Of Lake Wawasee For Gypsy Moths
SYRACUSE - Arlene Berkey has been there.She moved from New York 25 years ago, from an area riddled with gypsy moths, and described the experience as "beyond awful." When the insects are in the caterpillar stage from May to June, they can grow up to 2 inches long and consume 11 square feet of foliage during that time. What goes in must come out, and the Berkey family grabbed umbrellas for outdoor protection from the pests. Berkey and other Syracuse residents attended a public meeting with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources personnel Thursday in the Syracuse Public Library. The south side of Lake Wawasee, 1,307 acres, will receive pheromone flake treatment this year, according to Kallie Bontrager, an IDNR nursery inspector for the Division of Entomology and Plant Pathology.
KDI Member Wants To Step Up Economic Development
With a local funding request of $400,000 for the next four years on the line, Max Courtney took the Kosciusko Development Inc.executive board of directors to task Wednesday, advising them to get serious about economic development. Courtney, KDI chairman Roger Moynahan and KDI president Joy McCarthy-Sessing approached the county council this month, requesting $100,000 each year for the next four years to bring new companies to the county. The funds are available in the economic development income tax money.The county receives $2.5 million in EDIT funds; most of that, $1.9 million, is allocated to pay for the Justice Building renovation including the jail expansion.About $600,000 is left to spend on economic development, Courtney said.
Daniels Says State Moving Forward
AKRON - Governor Mitch Daniels visited Akron Tuesday, stopping by Sloane's restaurant for a discussion with local media. Topics ranged from Indiana's new ethanol production plants to Major Moves to illegal immigration. Even the April 2 move to daylight-saving time was mentioned, though Daniels believed the early reactions from Hoosiers will change given time. "It's still pretty early to know how people will truly feel about this," Daniels said."People that are against something are a little more passionate about it." And when asked about his popularity in the state and recent criticism of Indiana's time change, Daniels said he has been achieving goals he first addressed during his election campaign.
Klan Quiz Flunks Out At Wawasee
SYRACUSE - A worksheet distributed by Syracuse Elementary teacher Lera Reinholt has parents angry at its racist overtones. The handwritten two-page worksheet deals with the Ku Klux Klan, asking fourth-graders to, among other things, define Klan terms and give five reasons to join the Klan.It also contains a word search with several Klan-related terms, including "nigger" and "commie." Pastor Sarah Tuttle learned of the worksheet from someone in her church whose daughter is a student in the class.When she first heard of the paper, she thought maybe it was explaining about the Klan, but "when (the parent) showed it to me I was absolutely horrified." Tuttle said she faxed the worksheet to Wawasee Schools Superintendent Mark Stock because the teacher did not respond satisfactorily to the parents' requests for an explanation of the paper.
WHS Takes Two Firsts In Academic Super Bowl
SYRACUSE - Wawasee High School staff members were all smiles at Tuesday's school board meeting.They were there to announce that two WHS teams are state champions in the Hoosier Academic Super Bowl held last Saturday at Indianapolis. The math team, coached by Kristi Harris, was tied going into the final question, and answered 22 of 25 questions correctly to win.The science team, coached by Holly Sautter and Sarah Freed, took first-place honors, answering 20 of 25 questions correctly. Math team members are Jonathan Trojan, Jesse McDonald, Jon Dingledein, Luke Speakman and Joey Doherty.Science team members are Dana Carr, Paul Strycker, Ryan Cox and Trojan. Beth Hursh, who coached the fine arts team and coordinates the program, explained that the students have studied the Roman Republic and Roman Empire all year to answer the questions correctly.
Silver Lake Resident Claims Town's Water Quality Is Poor
SILVER LAKE - Accusations of poor water quality being overseen by an unschooled water superintendent kicked off the town council meeting Tuesday. Silver Lake resident Al Hatton came forward with a laboratory report regarding a sample of town-treated water and a time sheet indicating the time Phil Shalley, town superintendent, spent at the water treatment plant. Hatton also claimed Shalley did not spend enough time with a certified plant operator to get his license.He also said Shalley did not backwash the filters correctly and that is why the water is orange. Shalley, in his defense, said he did not need to constantly monitor the filters during the backwashing process and could begin the cycle and check it periodically. Board president Donna McCune said she would look into Hatton's accusations and would have a report at next month's meeting. Dave and Joan Abbott returned to the board regarding their water bill.
Warsaw Resident Remembers Guadalcanal After 65 Years
Warsaw resident Clyde Smith Jr. has four flags that fly outside his home on Hartzler Street, reminding him of the lives lost in the Battle of Guadalcanal.
Young Lancer Off To Quick Start
WINONA LAKE - Jessica Stolle is young, but she's the one making the opposition restless.
