Councilman's Christmas Wish Out Of Line

Warsaw City Councilman Dewey Lawshe could use a little sensitivity training. Don't get me wrong.As an elected official, he is entitled to his opinion. But frankly, the comment, "I'd like a new police chief under my Christmas tree" was a bit much. I suppose it was intended to be clever - a joke. Problem is, lots of people around town didn't think it was funny. I can see why. How professional is it to joke about significantly altering someone's career right before Christmas? Lawshe long has expressed discontent with Warsaw Police Chief Craig Allebach. Apparently, Lawshe's main complaint is that the chief spends too much money. And he doesn't like the idea of personal patrol vehicles.We know that. Now he says that because the chief is on the school board and serves as police chief, well, that's just too much power for one individual.

Triton Gives Valley A Second-Half Scare

BOURBON - Anyone who left the Triton-Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball game at halftime Friday night will be surprised to learn the final score was 79-72. The Vikings were up 47-23 at the half, but Triton fought back in the second half to make a game of it. "The second half was pure heart.Effort and heart," said Triton coach Mike McBride."They fought and competed.It was unbelievable.Our kids just refused to give in, it was a great effort." While Triton played an impressive second half, Valley played just as well in the first two quarters. The first quarter saw a lot of run-and-gun action.Triton's Josh Moore scored the first basket of the game, but Valley's Corey Vanlaningham answered quickly with a three-pointer. Tyson Blackford hit a Trojan basket to make the score 4-3 Triton, but Trey Eaton hit a long shot to put the Vikes up 6-4. Blackford answered again to tie the game at 6-all.Then Vanlaningham hit a basket to put Valley back up, 8-6.

Warrior Track Team Moves Record To 3-0

COLUMBIA CITY -ÊThe Wawasee boys track team traveled to Columbia City Wednesday night and came home with a 77-55 victory that sends the Warriors into spring break with a perfect 3-0 record. Wawasee took home first- place finishes in 10 of 16 events to send the Warriors to spring break on a high note. "They gave us some pretty decent competition today," said Wawasee coach Kerry Murphy."We still have a lot of work to do, but we saw some good performances." Several Warriors recorded personal bests at the meet as Jeff Moerchen (1600 meter), Jamie Salazar (shot put) and Tom Bryan (discus) each passed their previous best performances.

Triton Happy With Opportunity

BOURBON - Before the season began, Triton head coach Mark Heeter talked about an opportunity.That opportunity was a chance for his team to put Triton on the map as far as Class A basketball is concerned. When Triton opened the season at 6-1, it looked as if that opportunity may be realized.Then, when the Trojans lost six of their next seven games, it seemed that it had been squandered.However, Triton has now won eight of nine games, picked up the school's first girls sectional championship and will host a regional game against No.10 Morgan Township on Saturday. The Trojans can see that opportunity in clear view. However, standing in the way is quite an obstacle.The Cherokees are 21-3 and have a 16-game winning streak.They also have Karin Morrisroe.The senior guard averaged at least 17 points per game in each of her four years as a varsity player.She is scoring at a 21.9 clip this year.

ML Motorsports Team Finishes Fifth In Rain-Shortened Race

HAMPTON, GA - What became an otherwise dark day filled with clouds and rain, Saturday did have its bright spots for 26-year-old driver Jason Jarrett and his Warsaw-based ML Motorsports team. After qualifying third for the ARCA RE/MAX Series' Pork The Other White Meat 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the third-generation racer came away with a fifth-place finish when the 162-lap event was red flagged on lap 118 for rain. The AMS safety crews briefly circled the 1.54-mile oval with jet dryers, but the race never restarted. "It just wasn't meant to be," ML Motorsports crew chief Scott Eldridge said."We had a good car, we just didn't get to finish the race." Pitting on its own cycle, the ML Motorsports entry was the only car in the top five that could have made it on fuel had the race been completed.

Triton Storms Into State finals

BOURBON - Twenty-one seconds remained until tip-off, and junior guard Shelly Miller, in Triton's pregame huddle, danced in rhythm to cheers yelled by Triton fans dressed in blue and yellow. Saturday's girls basketball Triton A Semistate game against Lapel still needed to be played, but to Miller, this was a mere formality. "I was thinking, we're going to state, we're going to state," she said."I couldn't hold still." Like Miller, Triton (19-7) danced its way past Lapel (13-12) 64-38, and now the Trojans are where Miller predicted they would be: in the state finals.Triton faces No.4 Rising Sun (24-2), which knocked off No.1 White River Valley (25-1) 50-42 in the Loogootee Sectional. While Triton has sent athletes to individual state finals like cross country, this is the first time in school history a Triton team has advanced to the state finals.

College Roundup

GOSHEN - Grace College's men's and women's track teams competed in the Goshen Track and Field Invitational Saturday, with the men finishing second and the women coming in third. Jerid Stoffel led the Grace men with a first-place time of 4:08.62 in the 1500-meter run.Stoffel's time set a new Eigsti Field record and qualified him for the NCCAA national championships. Dennis Simmons also qualified for nationals with a winning time of :51.12 in the 400.He also placed third in the 200. Freshman Barry Meisel placed in five events for Grace, taking second in the long jump and high jump, third in the 100 and fifth in both the 200 and triple jump.His performances in the long jump and high jump qualified him for nationals. Michael Schaadt qualified for two events at nationals, placing second in the 400 hurdles and fourth in the high jump.

Demos Better Be Careful About Setting Standards

I watch the news a lot.Sometimes my kids even give me grief over it when I flip on CNN at home in the evening. "Dad, stop, you watch that stuff all day, you work at a newspaper, you need to move on," they say. They may be right, but I do like to see how the networks handle the news. I can tell you watching the Trent Lott story unfold over the past three weeks has provided more concrete evidence of an overt liberal bias than I have seen in many years. It was stunning. As we all know - how could we not, it was top-of-the-page and top-of-the-hour news almost every day - Lott was at a birthday party for retiring Sen.Strom Thurmond.Thurmond turned 100 this year. Thurmond, a Republican from South Carolina, ran for president as a Dixiecrat in 1948.OK, that's 52 years ago.

Morgan Township Ends Triton's Season

Triton boys basketball coach Joe Bennett knew what his team had to do to beat Morgan Township in Friday's Class A regional championship at Warsaw Community High School. He said so Wednesday night. What Bennett said the Trojans had to do was make the Cherokees turn the ball over.Morgan Township was victim to 13 turnovers last night, while Triton committed just eight turnovers. Mission accomplished. The second thing Bennett said Triton had to do was its downfall. The first-year coach said his team had to run an efficient offense to have a chance at advancing to the Kokomo Semistate. Mission failed. The Trojans ended their season at 14-10 with a 48-39 loss after a dismal 13-of-51 shooting performance from the field.

People Don't Scoff At My Car Anymore

People used to make fun of my car. Well, I guess people still do make fun of my car.Frankly, people always will probably make fun of my car. That's OK. You see, I drive a 1991 Geo Metro convertible.I love it.It was inexpensive to buy.It's fun to drive.It's cheap to maintain.And - here's the best part - it gets crazy gas mileage. Mary and I drove it to Bloomington to see the kids on parents' weekend a while back.My fuel efficiency for the trip was 48 miles per gallon.That included highway miles and driving around Bloomington for a couple of days. (It would have been over 50 mpg if I drove 55 mph.I took I-69 south of Marion to I-465 around Indy.Most of that was in the 75 mph range.) When I drive back and forth to work, I get around 38 mpg. So with gas around $3 a gallon, at least some of the people who used to make fun of my choice of car are now thinking maybe it wasn't such a dumb automotive selection after all.

Tigers Can't Knock Off The Giants

LAFAYETTE - It only happened two times in the 1990s, but it happened this year and it cost Warsaw's varsity boys basketball team a trip to Saturday's state championship game at Conseco Fieldhouse. This being Warsaw losing to the same team more than once in the same season.In the 1992-93 season, South Bend St.Joe topped the Tigers three times, the third coming in the semistate championship.In 1996-97 Plymouth clipped Warsaw twice, the latter coming in the regional semifinal game.And this year it was Marion's turn. Second-ranked Marion beat the Tigers by eight on their own floor back on Jan.28.In the championship game of Saturday's Lafayette Jeff 4A Semistate, the Giants finished Warsaw's season with a 51-38 outcome.

Warsaw, Wawasee Play Role Reversal This Year

John Blunk and Will Shepherd closely resemble each other.Not only do Blunk (the Wawasee baseball coach) and Shepherd (the Warsaw baseball coach) have similar looks, they are also close friends. During and after the season, they talk a lot.Last year, Blunk had the upper hand in the conversations, having swept the season series from the Tigers 3-0, including a sectional win. But this year might be Shepherd's turn. Where Shepherd returns every player, yes every player, from last year's 13-16 squad, Blunk will have holes to fill with four key players missing and most of the leadership from last year's 18-13, regional squad. Warsaw After having no seniors on last year's team, the Tigers look at experience as a big plus for this season.

Goshert Named Times-Union Boys BB Coach Of The Year

NORTH MANCHESTER -ÊGary Goshert received the phone call, one that would inspire a team to an 18-3 record, before the basketball season started. The coach (who Goshert wanted to remain nameless) on the other end of the line told the Manchester coach his team was throwing a party since the Squires had lost Eric Swan. Swan led Manchester with 13 points per game as a sophomore the year before and was widely regarded as the Squires' best player.But he and his family moved to California before this season started.

Nifong Wins Mental Attitude Award

BOURBON - This fan, one of the more than 1,000 gathered at Sunday's celebration at Triton High School, spoke for himself, the rest of the fans, coaches, teammates and everyone else gathered in the gym. His shout came during one of those hushed moments, so he was heard loudly and clearly. "Missy, you're the bomb," he yelled. He was referring to senior Missy Nifong, and just how important she is to Triton became evident Sunday when her teammates gave her an impromptu standing ovation as she sat in a chair. Nifong, who received the ovation at a community celebration at Triton High School, hit two key three-pointers to help Triton rally to win the Class A state title 57-54 over No.4 Rising Sun.But Sunday her teammates stood up to honor her for winning the Patricia L.Roy Mental Attitude Award.

College Roundup

WINONA LAKE - The Grace College softball team traveled to Indiana Wesleyan Thursday for a doubleheader.Indiana Wesleyan entered the game with an 18-7 record and won the opening game 9-0.The Lancers bounced back and won the second game 2-1. The opener was close early, as the Wildcats led just 2-0 after three innings.In the fourth inning, Indiana Wesleyan blew the game open by batting through the lineup and scoring seven runs to cruise to the win.Becky Rider pitched a five-inning no-hitter for Indiana Wesleyan. In game two, Nikki Chessum went to the mound for Grace coming off a one-hitter against St.Francis Tuesday.She continued to dominate, holding the Wildcats to just four hits over seven innings and striking out 11 batters. In the third inning, Christina Clark drove home Kelli Irish, and in the fifth Shannon Haskins drove home the Lancers' second run. Grace is 4-12 overall and 3-3 in the MCC.The Lancers will compete this weekend in the Judson Tournament.

First-Half Comeback Key In Manchester Boys Win

NORTH MANCHESTER - After trailing 16-8 in the first quarter Tuesday evening, Manchester's varsity boys basketball team came back and led by 10 at the half en route to a 62-49 win over visiting Churubusco. The host Squires outscored the Eagles 17-6 in the second stanza, picking up a 32-22 lead at the break. The 13-point win improved Manchester to 9-10 on the season going into Friday's game at Huntington North. Barry Hicks led Manchester with 21 points, while Keaton Patrick added 17, Blake Harper eight and Jon Cable seven. MANCHESTER 62, CHURUBUSCO 49 Churubusco 16 6 12 15 - 49 Manchester 15 17 14 16 - 62 Churubusco - Parker 0 0-0 0, Royser 5 3-6 13, Ruckman 0 0-0 0, Oler 3 1-2 9, Millikan 1 2-2 5, Hyndman 1 5-6 7, Herron 0 0-0 0, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Wyss 1 0-0 2, Bowser 0 0-0 0, James 5 3-4 13.Totals 16 14-20 49.

Whitko Shocks Valley At Plymouth Sectional

PLYMOUTH -ÊWhitko junior Alan Robbins had something to prove against Tippecanoe Valley in the Plymouth Sectional. After the underdog Wildcats defeated the No.10 Vikings by two points earlier in the season, the Whitko squad wanted to prove that it wasn't a fluke. Wednesday night in Plymouth, the Wildcats, led by Robbins, did just that by topping the Valley team 48-45 to advance to the sectional semifinal against Knox Friday night. "I wasn't the one who did it, the kids did," said Whitko coach Don Zawlocki."They wanted this, and they played hard." Former Wildcat Alex Frantz scord the first basket of the game at the 7:37 mark, but Whitko's Drew Spangle and Brad Walpole hit back-to-back three-pointers to make the score 6-2 in Whitko's favor. Then Andrew Kramer hit a basket and Trey Eaton and Frantz netted back-to-back three-pointers to give Valley an 11-6 lead with 3:46 left in the first quarter.

On The Court Basketball Previews

Wawasee Ends Sectional Drought

NAPPANEE - For the Wawasee faithful, the long wait is finally over. After a 10-year waiting period, the Warriors won their first sectional title since 1995 in one of the most exciting games in school history - a 58-53 win over the Lakeland Lakers Saturday night at the NorthWood Panther Pit. It almost didn't happen for the Warriors as two final minute turnovers could have turned a close lead to disaster. With 1:43 left on the clock and a five-point lead in hand, all Wawasee needed to do was bring the ball down the court and wait for the ensuing game-lengthening fouls that always seem to come. But twice senior Austin Kaiser was charged with traveling.After the first turnover, the Lakers came down and brought the game to within three on a Tom Pechins' jumper. It was the second turnover, however, that was the costliest.

Valley Avoids Letdown To Win Title

PLYMOUTH - For Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball coach Bill Patrick, Saturday's Plymouth 3A Sectional championship game with Culver Military Academy was a dream come true that could have turned into a nightmare. It's the scenario of a major league baseball team having champagne on ice before the game has been played.After the Vikings knocked off 16-6 Plymouth Friday in the semifinals, this is what Patrick said was his worst fear, that fans would take 10-11 CMA too lightly. Valley won 51-40, but like those baseball teams, the Vikings had their championship shirts on less than five minutes after the game had been played.