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Warsaw Man Struck By Car

A Warsaw man was injured early this morning when he was struck by a vehicle on Old Road 30, Warsaw. Charles Aaron Slone, 18, Maple Street, told police that he was walking east on Old Road 30 to go home from work around 12:44 a.m.today.He was walking outside the marked fog line just west of Fox Farm Road. Slone told Warsaw Police officers that what he believed to be an early 1990s model blue Ford Bronco with silver details struck him from the back.The vehicle continued without stopping.Police have not found the vehicle. Slone was taken to Kosciusko Community Hospital, where he was treated for shoulder abrasions, back and neck pain, and wrist and hand pain.He was later released.
Staff Report- | July 28, 2016

Executive Sessions and A Right To Know

This week the Kosciusko County Commissioners proposed holding an executive session to talk to architects about building a new jail. The commissioners are trying to decide which architect will get the contract for the jail.It's a pretty significant chunk of county dollars. The commissioners wanted to meet with the architects individually, in private to discuss these matters. From a bargaining standpoint, that makes sense. Let's think about this for a moment.Say you want to buy a new Porsche 911 turbo slantnose cabriolet.You go to one dealer and negotiate your best deal.Then you go to a second dealer armed with the very useful information you got from the first and try to get an even better deal. Maybe you even fudge a little on what the first dealer offered you.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

Lifeline Hosts Open House At Blue Lion

PIERCETON - Lifeline Youth and Family Services is hosting an open house for the Kosciusko County community Thursday from 6 p.m.to 8 p.m.in the Blue Lion Coffeehouse, 105 W.Market St., Pierceton. The organization plans to build a juvenile housing facility and school in the town's industrial park, north of U.S.30 off CR 250S.In January, 60 acres in that area were rezoned from industrial 2 to a public use district. Lifeline operates juvenile facilities, providing living space and schooling for children ages 8-18.Lifeline does not accept children who need to be medicated to modify their behavior, although they may be on medication.Length of stay is from 90 days to nine months, as ordered by a judge. The proposed facility initially will house 60 to 70 male juveniles in three group homes.Future plans include two more group homes, a school, a chapel and recreational facilities.
TERESA SMITH, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Ed-Flex Is Good At All Levels

There is a significant debate going on right now over education, the federal government and something called Ed-Flex. That's short for education flexibility, of course.The basic premise is that the federal government will loosen up the restrictions on funds sent to the states for education.The idea is that states will have a lot more freedom to spend federal money as they like, on programs they believe will best benefit their particular school system. I think it sounds like a wonderful idea.It is akin to the block grant programs that have become popular around Washington in the past few years.In those programs, money is turned over to the states and the states administer the programs.This saves money because most of the cost of Washington bureaucracy is eliminated. This has always made sense to me. A shooting analogy comes to mind.The closer you are to the target, the easier it is to hit. I believe this is especially true when it comes to education.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

Christmas Decorating A Labor Of Love For Local Family

As Tina Conley and her daughter, Kasey, paint the bodies of two wooden reindeer, husband David looks on with a great amount of pride.These two pieces will finish the last of the season's decorations. The reindeer will be hung from a pine tree near the garage overlooking a yard filled with other creations that took just as much time.These wooden ornaments were each handcrafted by the Conley family. When David Conley decided to decorate his house eight years ago, he never expected to make his own decorations. "We decided we wanted to decorate so we bought some plastic ornaments.This is the first year totally away from plastic," said David. The ornaments are crafted out of wood and hand painted.Various scenes portray a nativity, a snowman family, a group of toy soldiers and a large snowman made of garland.The newest addition to the decorations is Santa's Toyland of elves building this year's Christmas gifts.
DAVID SOMMER, Times-Union Special Correspondent- | July 28, 2016

In January, Syracuse To Start Curbside Recycling; Glass Collection To Resume

Syracuse residents will have curbside recycling services beginning in January, according to a report given by Syracuse town manager Jeff Noffsinger.Noffsinger attended the joint citizens advisory committee and Kosciusko County Solid Waste Management District meeting Tuesday.As town manager he is a CAC member. Noffsinger said plans and approval for the program began a few months before he became town manager. The formal signing of a recycling contract with Stafford's Solid Waste also took place during the meeting.Last month the Stafford bid was awarded over that of Ameri-Waste. Stafford owner Jim Stafford said the recycling stations will be replaced with separate color-coded containers. Glass containers will be accepted at the district's recycling stations beginning in January.The board voted to initiate the glass collection option.The five-year contract is based on costs per ton, about 120 per month at a rate of $58.63 with glass.
TERESA SMITH, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

New Library An Asset To Community

I had a tour of the Warsaw Community Public Library this week. It is really quite an impressive facility. Even more impressive is the fact that it was a true community effort that pulled it together. Those who have been around awhile will remember that it has been a rocky road for the library over the past several years. There was a proposal back in 1992 for the library to move to the fairgrounds. But the local Taxpayers Action Network petitioned against it.They thought the price tag was too high. The TAN group won.They were successful in the remonstrance against the library's fairgrounds building plan. The debate caused a bit of a rift in the community.There were those who thought the library should move out of the aging Carnegie building. Others thought the library should stay downtown and renovate the existing facility. In the end, the stay-downtown crowd won and the library is here to stay.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

Warsawan Critical After Sunday Accident

ATWOOD -ÊA Warsaw man is in critical condition following a Sunday morning crash near Atwood. Around 7:20 a.m.Sunday, Carlos Cabrera, 24, of Warsaw, was traveling eastbound on Old Road 30 in a 1999 Black Toyota when he lost control in a curve near Atwood.Police believe Cabrera overcorrected in the curve, causing the car to leave the southern edge of the roadway and hit a utility pole and a tree. Cabrera was pinned in the vehicle when the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department arrived at the scene.Once extricated from the car, Cabrera was taken to Kosciusko Community Hospital and later transferred to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne with back injuries. The Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department was assisted by the Atwood Fire Department, Multi-Township EMS, Etna Green Fire Department and Etna Green First Responders.The accident remains under investigation.
JEN GIBSON, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Utah, Lippo And A Little Quid Pro Coal

For those who think the flap over the Democratic National Committee's fund-raising and ties to Indonesia are muchado about nothing, I offer the following: Last September, President Clinton issued an executive order designating 1.7 million acres in Southwest Utah a national monument.It is called the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.At the time, Clinton talked about the stunning natural beauty of this very remote area. It has plenty of natural beauty.It is high desert country encompassing the Kaiparowits Plateau, the canyons of the Escalante River and the Grand Staircase - the Pink Cliffs, Gray Cliffs, White Cliffs, Vermillion Cliffs and Chocolate Cliffs.All together, the new national monument comprises 2,650 square miles of rock formations, desert creeks, springs, lava fields, slot canyons, natural bridges, arches, ancient Anasazi sites and historical sites of early pioneers. Clinton's executive order was a huge victory for environmentalists.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

Budget Deals Are For Optimists

Did anybody see the ceremony when President Clinton and selected congressional leaders signed the budget and tax cut bill? They nearly broke their arms patting themselves on the back. Now don't get me wrong.I am all in favor of lower taxes and balanced budgets. But I can't help but being skeptical.Especially when you consider the track the budget is on.Consider that the budget for the current year is around $1.62 trillion.In 1998, according to the latest, greatest plan, the budget will be $1.69 trillion.In 1999, $1.75 trillion.In 2000, $1.81 trillion.In 2001, $1.86 trillion.And in 2002, $1.89 trillion. Now consider that these are wildly optimistic assumptions of budget numbers - not real budget numbers. And consider that the aforementioned budget numbers assume that the economy will continue to steamroll right along as it is today, generating the revenue necessary to fund the growing budgets.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

More Things That Bug Me

Another installment in the continuing series of "things that bug me." +The Paula Jones case.President Clinton denies doing anything wrong and says he doesn't even remember the incident.He's the only one who doesn't.The troopers remember Clinton telling them to summon Jones.Jones' co-worker remembers Jones telling her about the encounter shortly afterward.Nobody - except Clinton - disputes that he was alone with her in the motel room.I guess everybody's lying but Bill.And they said Ronald Reagan had selective memory. The other night I was watching "Primetime Live."They were showing a taped segment from 1994 where Sam Donaldson was interviewing Paula Jones.A taped segment on Primetime Live? Oh well, that's showbiz.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

Time To Enforce The Rules On U.S. 30

Wouldn't it be nice if people didn't have to die in automobile accidents? I am not naive. I realize that anytime you place a human being into something made of metal that weighs 3,000 pounds and is capable of traveling 100 miles an hour or so, there's bound to be carnage. It's inevitable. What really gnaws at me is how absolutely preventable a couple of recent fatal accidents around here were. I know people fall asleep at the wheel. I know people have lapses of attention. I know people slide on slick roads. I know people make mistakes. But running a red light on U.S.30 or driving at a high rate of speed with a car full of teenagers is just inexcusable behavior. On May 15, Douglas Raber, 50, of Warsaw, was trying to turn left from Center Street onto westbound U.S.30. According to the Warsaw cops, witnesses said a truck driver ran the light, striking Raber's pickup broadside.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

U.S. Shows Compassion; Iraq Doesn't

I don't think anyone ever doubted that the U.S.coalition would prevail over the Iraqi army. I guess in most people's minds it was more a question of how long it would take. The more I watched the coverage on the television, the more apparent it became to me that our forces truly are well-trained and well-intentioned. I watched one of our soldiers carrying on his back an injured Iraqi soldier. The U.S.soldier was carrying the Iraqi away to receive medical treatment. I watched U.S.troops gingerly avoid destroying a mosque where a number of Iraqi soldiers had holed up.The Iraqis were firing at our soldiers. It would have been really easy for our boys to call for an air strike and level the place. Instead, they risked life and limb to secure the mosque without destroying it. I watched U.S.troops drop to one knee and point their weapons to the ground when confronted by angry civilians who thought the troops were going to storm a mosque.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

No Remorse, Nor Apology Forthcoming

I guess I am supposed to apologize to President Bill Clinton. After all these years of thinking he was a pathological liar and a philanderer, I have come to understand that it was really all his grandmother's fault. Hillary told me so. Now, enlightened by this recent revelation, I am to feel remorse for Bill. She blamed his infidelity on a desire to please women that can be traced to his childhood. Hillary: "He was so young, barely 4, when he was scarred by abuse.There was a terrible conflict between his mother and grandmother.A psychologist once told me that for a boy being in the middle of a conflict between two women is the worst possible situation.There is always a desire to please one." That's what she told the London Sunday Times over the weekend when they queried her about her Talk magazine interview. Poor Bill.His entire adult life he just hasn't been able to stop trying to please women. Come on.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

It's Always Tough When You Go To War

If there was ever any doubt in my mind - and there really wasn't - about how the Iraqis felt about 9/11, it was erased this week. You know how in Iraq there are all these giant portraits of Saddam and other mural-like displays all over the place? Well, this week while watching the war on TV I saw one of those murals.It was a depiction of the Twin Towers in New York with a jetliner streaking toward them. I really don't think the Iraqi who painted it intended it as a memorial for the victims. More like a tribute to the bombers. I suppose it's that kind of sentiment that worries me the most about the war in Iraq. I am afraid that there is the potential for us to underestimate just how much the Iraqis - and lots of other Arabs - really hate us. And how willing the Iraqis are to fight and prolong the war. We underestimate because I think it's difficult for us to understand that level of hatred.That level of fanaticism.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

Charge For New Ambulance Service Fund Starts In January

NORTH MANCHESTER - General Ordinance No.7 passed unanimously Wednesday, and North Manchester residents will see the $2.50 monthly charge in January. The town council approved the law without dissent during the public hearing. The charge is based on a per-dwelling unit and will pay for the new ambulance service fund.Residents will see the increase on their water bills. In November, local business owners opposed the ordinance's initial wording.Commercial businesses were to be charged $30 per month per water meter.Industrial businesses could have seen a $75 monthly charge. The three tax-exempt organizations - Manchester College, Timbercrest Church of the Brethren Home Inc., and Peabody Retirement Community - stepped in and doubled their monthly contributions.That, in turn, lowered the cost for residents and businesses.
Matthew Weigelt, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Responsibility Should Cut Both Ways

While I was on vacation, Congress passed legislation with regard to corporate responsibility. I think that may be the biggest, most blatant example of "do as I say, not as I do" in the history of mankind. Don't misunderstand.Corporate CEOs and CFOs need to be held accountable when they create debacles like Enron, WorldCom and Xerox. I have no problem with any of that.Corporate responsibility certainly is a worthy goal for American business and the economy. But how about a little congressional responsibility while we're at it? Congress has budget caps to guide them as they relentlessly spend our tax dollars. But Congress routinely passes what they call "supplemental spending bills" to get around the caps.Then they go a step further and call it an "emergency" bill or a "stopgap" bill.Then they say that the stopgap or emergency spending doesn't really count against the budget during the year when the "emergency" occurred.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

The True Spirit of Santa Claus

Continuing an annual tradition, I searched the Internet for an inspirational Christmas story. I hope you enjoy this year's installment. An Adventure With Grandma (Author anonymous) I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma.I was just a kid.I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered at me."Even dummies know that!" My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been.I ran to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me.I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her world-famous cinnamon buns.I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so.It had to be true.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

FDA Prescription; Bill's Fast Track

I was happy to see the President Clinton's administration put some cancer drugs on a fast track for approval. The program was announced last week.It could cut one to three years off the time necessary for testing around 100 cancer drugs now in development. It could also cut in half the 12 months the Federal Drug Administration usually spends deciding if a cancer drug is ready for sale.And it allows dying Americans special access to cancer therapies approved in Australia, Canada or Europe, even if they're not on the market here yet. Here's a quote from the president: "The waiting is over.We cannot guarantee miracles but at least now hope is on the way." I couldn't agree more.I frankly never understood why we forced dying cancer patients - completely devastated and distraught by their struggle with the disease - to travel abroad to get the last-hope treatment they desired.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

Traviolia, Landrigan Receive NLC Award

Retired Wawasee High School athletic director Hal Traviolia and retired Warsaw Community High School assistant principal William Landrigan have been honored recently as the latest recipients of the Northern Lakes Conference Outstanding Service Award. Traviolia will be honored prior to the Northridge at Wawasee boys' basketball game Jan.17.Landrigan will be honored prior to the Concord at Warsaw boys' basketball game Jan.24. Both will be presented a plaque and a lifetime pass to all NLC activities. Traviolia served as the Wawasee AD for 15 years, 1982-96, before retiring last year.Traviolia was also the football coach at Wawasee, Lake Central, Muncie South, and Bicknell.He also coached track and basketball. Landrigan was the assistant principal at WCHS from 1991-96 when he retired.He also served as freshman high school principal, junior high counselor, and social studies teacher.In all, Landrigan was involved with Warsaw schools education for 32 years.
Staff Report- | July 28, 2016
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