A Disappointing Plan Commission Decision

I was disappointed in the Warsaw Plan Commission's decision to deny Meijer's rezoning request. Meijer, a chain of superstores, wanted to build on land northeast of the Parker Street intersection on U.S.30. To do so, they needed a portion of the land rezoned from residential to commercial. The planners denied their request to rezone. I think the planners based their decision mostly on the objections of neighbors in the area.It was a classic case of NIMBY - not in my back yard. But I don't think the NIMBYs had the most compelling argument.I think Meijer did.And I don't think the plan commission acted in the best interests of the city of Warsaw.That, after all, is what they are supposed to do. I think they acted in the best interests of the NIMBYs. I know, I know.I heard it time and time again."We're not against Meijer.We just don't want them at that location." But the two concepts aren't mutually exclusive.In fact, they are inexorably intertwined.

Life In The U.S. Mirrored By A Giant Burger

I saw a commercial the other day that pretty much sums up life in America today. It's the one for the Hardee's Monster Burger. It shows a monk getting ready to eat a Monster Burger and a beam of light falling from the sky onto the burger. Then a voice from above asks the monk to give up the burger and the burger slowly rises. The burger then comes back down half eaten because "the big guy" can't finish it. The inference, of course, is that their burger is too much even for God to eat. Now, is it just me, or does that premise beg an obvious question.If the stupid burger is so big God can't eat it, why would anyone in their right mind order it? You almost certainly wouldn't be able to finish it. It seems as if Hardee's is trying to convince you to buy this thing and then throw away the unused portion.

Local Officials Share Hopes For New Year

A new year brings opportunity for fresh ideas, change, growth and new beginnings. This week, randomly chosen local officials were asked what they hoped the new year would bring to their departments, the county or their towns. "I know what it's bringing - a lot of changes," said Sharon Christner, clerk of the Circuit Court.Those changes will include a statewide voter registration system, new voting machines and a "new court package."She said much work will be required but in the long run, it will be worth it. The county has been really tight financially, said Avis Gunter, southern district county commissioner.For 2005, she said, she hopes the county's revenue goes up so the county doesn't have to scrimp and save and watch every penny.The county has been very conservative with its finances over the past few years to avoid the money problems other counties in the state have had.

Winona Lake Man Arrested After Alleged Carjacking

WINONA LAKE - An alleged carjacking led to the arrest of a Winona Lake man early today. Ricardo Vallin Hernandez, 25, of 2308 E.Winona Ave.#19, Winona Lake, is being held without bond in the Kosciusko County Jail on charges of theft, criminal confinement, battery, armed robbery and criminal recklessness. According to Winona Lake Town Marshal Malcolm Gilbert, a Warsaw man was beaten and robbed of his van at Hernandez's residence in Lakeshore Trailer Park.The shotgun was discharged into the floor of Hernandez's trailer at the time of the incident, according to police. Jose J.Pizano, 28, of East Main Street, Warsaw, suffered a lump to the back of his head and a bruise to his shoulder after he was allegedly struck with the shotgun.Pizano refused medical attention.

Triathlete Competes Despite Parkinson's

Like boxing legend Muhammad Ali or actor Michael J.Fox, Warsaw resident Mark Sharp, 42, has Parkinson's disease. Unlike Ali or Fox, though, Sharp can compete in a triathlon. In fact, just seven months after undergoing a seven- to eight-hour surgical procedure called Deep Brain Stimulation, Sharp ran three miles, swam 0.25 miles and biked 13.5 miles in the Eighth Annual Optimist City of Lakes Triathlon June 23. "I got Parkinson's about 10 years ago.I was diagnosed about eight years ago.I took medication and the first two years wasn't too bad of a deal.But about after three or four years, it got worse.The medicine quit working.I had on and off times big time.I coached Little League and everything but I couldn't really depend on it doing well or not.A couple of years ago, it got to a place where it was really, really bad," said Mark.

On The Court Basketball Previews

Squires Survive South Whitley Brickfest

SOUTH WHITLEY - The first question Gary Goshert is asked after his Manchester Squires outlasted Whitko 35-30 is, just how many years did your basketball team set basketball back in this game? Goshert laughs, then responds with a question of his own: "You mean, how many years did this game set me back?" Goshert said Friday he hadn't seen a game like this in his 15 years of varsity coaching.Here's why: The Manchester pessimist looks at the game and notes the 9-2 Squires made only 9 of 38 field goals against 1-8 Whitko.The Manchester optimist looks at the game and notes the Squires needed to shoot only 24 percent to beat Whitko. Of Manchester's nine field goals, one came outside the paint.The Squires won a basketball game where they hit one perimeter shot.

Economic Image Not Reality

I noticed John Kerry stopped talking about jobs. Maybe that's because the economy added 308,000 jobs in March. Retail sales in March, that had expected to be flat, rose 1.8 percent, the highest since March 2003. Economic indicators are positive enough that economists are predicting gross domestic product growth of at least 4.5 percent in the first six months of this year. I must admit that I am cautiously optimistic about the economy, but the whole thing could stall because of spiraling gasoline prices. Only time will tell, I suppose. What I have been noticing is that if you watch CNN and the major networks very much, that's not the picture you get - at all. It's almost bizarre.You get this overwhelmingly ominous sense of looming economic disaster. I want to tell them, "Lighten up guys, it's just not that bad." It's funny, because hour after hour they tell us how tenuous things are in the economy, then they do a poll on consumer confidence.

Winona Lake Vacates Chestnut Street Park

WINONA LAKE - Chestnut Street Park has been vacated with no plans to replace it, said Winona Lake Parks Director Jim LeMasters at the park board meeting Monday. Chestnut Street Park used to have a swing set but that has been taken down.LeMasters said the property will continue to be maintained and mowed but the Parks Department will be putting its resources into Southtown Park.LeMasters said there has only been one complaint about the missing swing set.He doesn't want to give the impression that there's going to be something new at that location. In other business: • The Parks Department is looking into options to destroy Cottage Three on Park Avenue in the Winona Lake Park.

Silver Lake Holds Year-End Meeting

SILVER LAKE - The Silver Lake Town Council tied up loose ends in its final meeting of 2004 Tuesday evening. After approving Resolution 12-01-04 that allows the transfer of money between appropriations to finalize the budget, the Silver Lake Town Council set aside funds to replace a bridge near the Lions Club Building in town.The project includes a 12-foot bridge and the grating necessary to drain properly.Once finished, the only way to get under the bridge will be by removing a grate, making the area safer for children.The council encumbered $9,795 from the storm sewer budget to cover the project.The council will propose sharing the cost of the replacement with the Lions Club at the Jan.3 Lions Club meeting.

Random Testing For Drugs Is Too Random

News that the Indiana Court of Appeals struck down a school's policy of performing random drug tests on kids in athletics and other extracurriculars rippled through the state's school systems this past week. School corporations around the state suspended their drug-testing programs following the ruling. The problem with the policy of Northwestern School Corp.in Kokomo was that it 'does not propose a direct correlation between drug use and its need to randomly test the majority of students for drugs," the appellate judges ruled. The policy also applied to students who drive to school.The school put it into effect after a couple students died of overdoses and another was killed in a car wreck after a huffing session. 'This is an unmistakable move toward randomly testing all students,' the 3-0 ruling stated. The case started last year when a couple students - through their parents - sued the school corporation.

Library Board Receives Entrance Renovation Update

The Warsaw Community Public Library is working to improve safety and accessibility to its library for visitors. The WCPL Board of Trustees received an update on the library's entrance renovations during its meeting Monday. Bob Wade, of Scearce Rudisel Architects Inc., showed design plans of the proposed entrance renovations and updated the board on interior stairway improvements. Wade said he has met with interior designers to look at new terrazzo tile for the library's interior. "This is the same tile that is used there now, but the existing seal has cracked over the years and needs to be replaced," Wade said. He said design plans also include a copper tone roof to compliment the gold letters identifying the building and make the new entrance stand out.

Highway Department Struggling To Keep County Roads Plowed

A trip from Indianapolis to Miami, Fla., is approximately 1,200 miles. There are 1,200 miles of road in Kosciusko County the county highway department has to maintain, Kosciusko County Highway Superintendent and Engineer Rob Ladson said today."Every time you plow, you double that because there are two lanes.It's like a trip from Indianapolis to Miami and back." So when it comes to snowplowing and salting/sanding of the roads, the county has more to maintain than towns or the state, he said, with fewer funds. "There's only so much you can do," he said. In Kosciusko County, the highway department does not receive any property taxes to maintain the roads.Their only funds come from the gas tax.And while Kosciusko County ranks third in the number of road miles of the 92 counties in the state, it doesn't receive a proportionate amount of funds from the tax.

Winona Approves Planned Unit Status For Village

Winona Lake - The Village at Winona will become a planned unit development to allow completed structural improvements to be recorded. The Winona Town Council approved the planned unit development for the Village with a plat change to allow for curb extensions along Terrace Drive at the Winona Town Council's meeting Wednesday. The planned unit development will include rededicating Terrace Drive and a section of Park Avenue from 9th Street to Kings Highway. The plan also will include recording downtown Winona Lake structural building improvements including structure improvements to the Boathouse Restaurant, hotel and parking areas in the town. Brent Wilcoxson, managing director for the Village, presented design plans for the planned unit development at the council's Dec.12 meeting.

Dean Damaging To Demo Dollars

Unfortunately, politics in America is completely and utterly dependent on cold, hard cash. It's true. Sad to say, but it's to the point where you pretty much need to buy your way into office. The ability to raise money is a highly prized and necessary skill in politics. Which is precisely why I think the Democratic National Committee chose Howard Dean as its chairman.

BOW Approves Change Order, '07 Contracts

The city of Warsaw has agreed to pay $4,400 for a change order to cover labor costs for concrete flat work being completed on the city's streetscape project on Market Street. The Board of Works approved the change order payment at its meeting Friday. Reggie Smith, project manager for Phend & Brown Inc., Milford, attended the meeting and requested an additional $8,800 payment from the city, but Mayor Ernie Wiggins recommended the city pay half. Wiggins said the $8,800 requested payment was an increase in additional cost already agreed to for layout of the curb, winter concrete material and insulated blanket. The change order will cover the additional labor costs for detail forming work to block out decorative bricks and planters on the streetscape project.The company did not include the amount of forming and the detailed type of forming required for the brick blockouts in the original concrete price for flat work.

Planners To Discuss Menard's Petition

The Warsaw Plan Commission will hold a public meeting tonight to discuss a request from Menard's to rezone approximately 21 acres from R-1 residential to C-3 commercial along Husky Trail and Patterson Road. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m.on the third floor of the county courthouse, and will allow the public to provide input on the rezoning proposal. Menard's is requesting a map amendment for the zoning ordinance in order to accommodate the development of a Menard's store with additional commercial lots. The remaining property to the west will be zoned R-1 residential for a future single-family residential development. The plan commission had the topic on its Nov.13 agenda where more than 20 residents showed up to voice their opinions about the rezoning proposal. The discussion was tabled because there were not enough commission members present to make a unanimous vote.

On The Court Basketball Previews

City Council Gets Menards Petition, OKs '07 Ordinances

The Warsaw City Council received a petition opposing the request by Menards to rezone 21 acres along Husky Trail and Patterson Road at its meeting Monday. There are about 20 names on the petition. The Warsaw Plan Commission held a public meeting Dec.12 where Menards representatives, citizens and commission members discussed a proposal to rezone approximately 21 acres from R-1 residential to C-3 commercial along Husky Trail and Patterson Road. City councilman and Warsaw Plan Commission member Jeff Grose presented council members with a petition from Silver Fox Ridge residents opposing the rezoning request from Menards for the property intersection at Parker/Patterson/Husky Trail during Monday's city council meeting. The City Council will hold a public hearing to discuss the proposal at a meeting in January whose location and date is still to be decided.

Squire Girls Lose First In TRC

DENVER - The Manchester Lady Squires basketball team, who traveled to undefeated North Miami Monday, played well at the beginning and played pretty decent at the end. But it was the stuff in between that did them in. North Miami, who improved to 12-0 overall and 3-0 in the Three Rivers Conference, beat Manchester 55-39.The conference loss was the first one for the Squires, who dropped to 9-4 overall and 4-1 in the TRC. The Warriors, who have 6-foot-4-inch senior All-State candidate center Ruth Riley, entered the season as a strong preseason favorite to win the TRC. The first quarter the Squires, who have already won nearly twice as many games this year as they did last year, matched the Warriors shot for shot.They made good cuts and delivered crisp passes. Erin Groombridge hit two three-pointers for the Squires, and when the dust cleared after one quarter, North Miami held the slimmest of leads at 17-16.