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Tax Breaks, Changes In Welfare Funding Proposed

County homeowners could be in for a small windfall if the General Assembly accepts a plan by Gov.Frank O'Bannon. The governor proposed a tax cut and reform plan Monday that would permanently remove welfare costs from local property taxes.Other provisions would raise the personal income tax exemption an additional $500 for individuals to $1,500 per adult, a 35 percent reduction in the inventory tax over the next four years; and restrict local tax levy increases to 4 to 8 percent per year rather than the current 5 to 10 percent.
DAVID A. BEALL, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Zoners To Review Sacred Heart Sign Variance

A variance from development standards for a second freestanding sign to identify Sacred Heart School and provide school information is being requested. The Board of Zoning Appeals will discuss the request at its meeting tonight. The second freestanding sign would be on one lot in a R-1 zoning district.The sign would be 7-foot high, with a double-sided, 4-foot by 8-foot copy area on the north side of the property at 135 N.Harrison St. The sign is proposed to be placed out of the right of way to allow for a vision clearance and be placed at the circle driveway off of East Fort Wayne Street at the entrance to Sacred Heart. Applicants Kent and Roxanne Wildman are requesting a variance from development standards to allow for a depth-to-width ratio greater than 3 to 1 for residential property at 925 S.Zimmer Road.
JENNIFER PERYAM, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Health Plan Shortfall Recouped Through Employee Pocketbooks

Syracuse - Town employees will have less to smile about when the new year rolls around. Town council, facing a $34,000 shortfall in its employee health care plan, chose to make up for it by making employees bear the brunt. The town's 30 employees will see their deductible rise from $250 to $500 and an increase in contributions reflected in their paychecks. Contributions under the family plan will increase from $35 to $42 per pay period.Single person health care contributions will rise from $15 per pay period to $18. During council's debate Tuesday night, several options were explored, but all depended on employees to make up the shortfall. Council president Barb Carwile said options were limited to the role of employees and not the town itself because the town's budget for 1998 has already been set. Representatives of the clerk-treasurer's office said they learned of the increase after the budget was approved earlier this year.
Dan Spalding, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Storm, crime, schools are year's top stories

Sept.11 terrorist attacks and their aftermath are the top news stories of the year nationally.The top local story is also one of destruction. However, the destruction caused locally was due to Mother Nature, not man. Each year, the Times-Union staff votes on the top local stories of the year.The top area stories for 2001 are: 1 - On Oct.24, tornadoes ripped through Kosciusko County. Two factories were among the damaged structures in the county, with Da-Lite Screen Co.Inc.on Ind.15N the hardest hit and R.R.Donnelley & Sons sustaining significant damage to the east plant.At least 14 people were reported injured at Da-Lite. The American Red Cross said 136 single-family properties were damaged by the tornadoes.
DAVID SLONE, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Tired Of Terror

Duct tape? That's what it's come down to? Duct tape? Are they kidding us? I couldn't believe it when U.S.Fire Administrator David Paulison described a list of stuff you should have around the house in the event of a chemical, nuclear or biological attack - just in case. Here's the list of stuff he recommended: Three days' worth of water and food for each person in your safe room. An emergency supply kit for both home and auto with extra batteries. Plastic sheeting and duct tape to seal off your safe room.He suggested you cut the sheeting in advance to fit over doors and windows quickly and easily. You're also supposed to make a plan for contacting family members in an emergency. And you're admonished to learn about the different types of attacks so you will know what to do in an emergency.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

On The Mend

When Rose Anderson began her course in physical therapy, she had no idea who one of her first patients would be. Her dog Beaner. Anderson, of rural Akron, graduated Saturday with an associate's degree in physical therapy from the University of Indianapolis.Her final graduation requirement was a case study of how she rehabilitated her 5-year-old Australian shepherd. On Aug.1, Anderson's last day of class in Indianapolis, her roommate Helen Talford went outside to feed their animals.Beaner kept trying to get up but couldn't move.Talford took him to the vet, who after observation diagnosed the dog with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. GBS is characterized by muscular weakness and mild distal sensory loss.It is not normally found in animals; Anderson's vet said he knew of just two cases where animals had contracted the illness.
DEB McAULIFFE, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Sports Fans Need To Act Like Grownups

I think the hockey dad needs to spend a long time behind bars. Maybe you have heard of the hockey dad. He's the guy - Thomas Junta, by name - from Massachusetts who killed his son's hockey coach. He killed him after a practice session that was supposed to be noncontact. Junta was watching the practice from the stands and became enraged when he saw body checking going on.Junta thought the practice session was too rough. I don't know if his kid got knocked down or what, but Junta didn't like what he saw. I don't really get that because hockey, generally, is a rough sport, but what do I know? Anyway, Junta goes down on the ice and accosts the guy in charge, Michael Costin. Both these guys are fathers of kids on the team, mind you. They argued on the ice and they brawled in a hallway.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

Frivolous Lawsuits Hurt Everyone

Last week the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that a lawsuit filed by the city of Gary against gun manufacturers could move forward. This just really seems ludicrous to me, but what do I know. If you apply that logic to all products that can be abused or used illegally, there would - literally - be no products safe from litigation. How about the infamous Ken Lay of Enron or any of the other notorious bilkers of stock programs? I'm sure they all used personal computers to do their shady business deals. Better sue the computer manufacturers.And how about the software they used? Sue those companies, too. What if somebody bops you on the head with a ball bat? Watch out, Louisville Slugger. What if they use a tire iron or a monkey wrench? Tool-makers beware. You get the picture.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

Police Release Details Of Syracuse Murder

A Syracuse man allegedly killed his father because he did not want to travel to Florida with him. Tracy Dietzen, 35, is accused of murdering his father, James A.Dietzen, 75, on Saturday.According to police, Dietzen and his father argued over his father's trip to Florida.James apparently wanted Tracy to go with him, and Tracy did not want to go.An argument ensued, and Tracy shot his father several times. Dietzen is being held in Kosciusko County Jail without bond.He was to be arraigned at 1:15 p.m.today in Kosciusko County Circuit Court before Judge Rex Reed.The judge will read to Dietzen the charge of murder against him and enter the not-guilty plea required by state law.Dietzen will have 20 days to change the plea if he desires.
TIFFANY SHAW, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

People Who Live In Trailers Are People, Too

An amazing thing happened a while back. A Newsweek editor confessed - more or less - to being biased about the Paula Jones case. He said - more or less - that the media weren't very fair in their treatment of Paula Jones. Basically, the media portrayed her as tramp, he says, and that was not right. "In media accounts, she tends to be portrayed as a trailer park floozy digging for money and celebrity," writes Newsweek Editor Evan Thomas.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

Downtown Merchants Plan Holiday Weekend

Warsaw's Downtown Merchants Council has planned its third annual Hometown Holiday Weekend for Dec.10 through 12, featuring carolers, carriage rides through Central Park and a Holiday Ball in the Center Lake Pavilion Friday night. The Jolly Old Elf will hear Christmas wishes on the Kosciusko County Courthouse lawn this year and the Warsaw Parks Department has scheduled a children's Christmasfest on Saturday. This year a crafts show will be in the former Fox Vog building. Tickets for the Hometown Holiday Ball are $35, or $120 for a table of eight.Tickets are available at Kaleidoscope.The dance is semi-formal and features the music of the Dick Seeger band at the Center Lake Pavilion Friday night. Q and K Carriages' white horse-drawn carriages will offer rides through the downtown area and into the illuminated Central Park.Tickets are $5 adults and $1 for children.
TERESA CARRANO, Times-Union Lifestyles Editor- | July 28, 2016

Alito Likely, Rightly To Be Confirmed

Eighteen hours and more than 700 questions later, Judge Samuel Alito's inquisition has ended. And despite all the wailing and gnashing of teeth by the Democrats, it seems as if he will be confirmed to the U.S.Supreme Court. There won't be a filibuster.There will probably be delays and obfuscations, but he will be confirmed. And frankly, he should be. By all accounts - and by all accounts I mean the Democrats couldn't find anybody to say mean stuff about him - Alito is eminently qualified. He has the intellect.He has the judicial temperament.He has the judicial philosophy.He has it all. But, gasp, he might be a conservative. And for heaven's sake we can't have any more of "those people" on the court.It might tilt the court to the right. You know what? That's absolutely correct.Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts might tilt the court to the right. To that, I only have one observation.
GARY GERARD Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

The Troubles With Terry McAuliffe

I think Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic National Chairman, is one of the the most disingenuous, hypocritical men alive. Every time I hear him talk it makes me want to retch. OK, that's overstated, I just want to gag. Just the other day he was on CNN talking about how the Democrats are going to take over the White House. And that's cool.After all, that's his job.He's paid to live in La-La land. Look no further than the last election to see how out of touch with reality he really is. The Republicans made hay.They got the House.They got the Senate.They got somewhere around 20 of the 36 governorships that were up for grabs. W's popularity was high. But going into the election, McAuliffe was giddy with anticipation."Jeb Bush is gone," McAuliffe blustered. Tim Russert, of "Meet The Press" fame, asked McAuliffe if he would donate $2,000 to charity if his predictions of certain Senate wins for Walter Mondale and Jean Carnahan didn't come true.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

Gingrich And The Ethics Drought

What a week for Newt Gingrich, eh? To me, his re-election as Speaker of the House of Representatives is symptomatic of the moral decay in our society. We've all heard of situational ethics.That tells us there really are no absolutes.That in any given situation, what's right for you may be wrong for me.Or what's right in one situation may be wrong in another.I think that is mostly nonsense, of course.There are absolutes.There are rights and wrongs, believe it or not. But this Gingrich thing goes beyond situational ethics, as politics often does.Now we have a sliding scale of situational ethics. The House of Representatives basically told us Tuesday that even though Gingrich has some ethical problems he can still ascend to one of the most important leadership positions in our government.His breach of ethics wasn't quite bad enough for him to step aside.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

When It's Slick, Slow Down

Slow down, people! I live at Dewart Lake.So for the past couple weeks I have been driving approximately 15 miles one way to work each day over some pretty nasty road conditions. But that's OK.I can deal with that.I can keep my car on the road.I have a pretty heavy old, rear-wheel drive sedan.It goes pretty good as long as the snow isn't too deep. So me getting around isn't so bad.I made it to work every day.It's all the nut cases I see out sharing the roads with me that blow my mind. I mean really.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

Roe v. Wade: 30 Years And 39 Million Lives

Last week I was listening to some pro-abortion people talking on CNN about the 30th anniversary of Roe v.Wade. They also were talking about how horrible it would be if W would appoint a conservative judge or two to the Supreme Court and Roe v.Wade would be - gasp - overturned. Hey, to me it's a case of the old "what goes around comes around." For nearly 200 years abortion was illegal in this country.Back in 1973, the makeup of the Supreme Court was such that abortion became legal - constitutionally protected, in fact. If 30 years and 39 million abortions later the makeup of the Supreme Court changes again, well, I guess all I have to say is, boo-hoo. I mean really, how horrible would it be if the right to kill unborn children was taken away? I hear the pro-abortion folks talk about a woman's right to choose, a woman's reproductive rights and a woman's dignity. Dignity? I guess I never really considered abortion dignified.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

The Evolution Of Entertainment

When I looked at the photo of the giant cup of cappuccino with two grown men in it, I chuckled. I mean, after all, one of them was the mayor of our city, the other was a city councilman.It was good-natured fun, or course.They were going for a record.A Guinness world record.The world's largest cup of cappuccino.They may even succeed. It made me think about those Guinness shows on television and all the weird stuff people do these days for a little notoriety. It's really bizarre. Some of those people go way over the line.Piercing all manner of body parts and hanging weights from the pierced parts, walking on broken glass, squirting milk out of their tear ducts, lying in a box with 30 or 40 rattlesnakes, swallowing and regurgitating all manner of objects, lighting themselves on fire, hurling themselves over cliffs.The list goes on and on. I see the promos for this stuff all the time.It does really well in the ratings, too.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

County Officials Define Holidays

Times-Union Staff Writer What's the meaning of Christmas? What do you hope the new year brings? And, what do you want for Christmas? These three questions were asked to the Kosciusko County elected officials, employees and department heads this week.While they answered the questions differently, their answers were pretty similar in their themes - peace, family and security. Stephanie Essenwein, county treasurer, said, "I think the meaning of Christmas is different to different people, and hopefully we can all dig deep into our hearts and find the peace and happiness to fulfill the new year." First and foremost, said county auditor Sue Ann Mitchell, Christmas means the birth of the Christ child.That, she said, should be the center of our lives.Second is family.As an only child, Mitchell said, family has always been important to her.
David [email protected] | July 28, 2016

Workers Are Consumers, Too

Ford Motor Company sees the need to lay off around 30,000 workers and close a dozen or so factories. Ford is the latest in a rush of companies seeking to downsize. They need to downsize to stay profitable. There are other things companies do to stay profitable these days. Things like outsourcing to foreign lands where labor costs are much lower, and cutting health care and pension benefits of workers. Let me say for the record that I am rabidly pro-capitalism.That's why, while I really am not a fan of how Wal-Mart does business, I don't favor restricting it as long as it isn't breaking any laws. So as someone who favors capitalism, I am a firm believer in the phrase, "what the market will bear." But in my simple little Hoosier mind, sometimes I wonder just how much the U.S.market can bear. It seems to me that these corporations, in their necessary quest to become more profitable, are eliminating the very markets that generate those elusive profits.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

A Few Things That Bug Me

This week, a few things that bug me. ***** In the O.J.Simpson cases - both criminal and civil - the defense continually painted the L.A.detectives as inept bumbling fools who mishandled evidence and botched the investigation. But at the same time they painted those same investigators as devious, cunning, industrious people who were capable of planning and carrying out an elaborate plot to frame poor O.J. Aren't those mutually exclusive characterizations? Also, O.J.'s defenders spent a lot of time trying to convince jurors that the blood evidence in the case wasn't reliable.That DNA is just junk science and jurors couldn't be sure that the blood really was O.J.'s. But at the same time they were telling jurors the cops were sprinkling O.J.'s blood around.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016
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