KOSCIUSKO COUNTY BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS - SCOTT

Warsaw Listens

Editor, Times-Union:Monday night was the first public meeting the city called to discuss the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance.

Mayor To Present State Of The City At February Meeting

Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer will present the annual state of the city address during the February Warsaw City Council meeting.

Cops Kept Busy With 'Slide-Offs'

Icy conditions throughout the area kept local police and sheriff's department personnel busy this morning.

Tigers’ Patton Signs To Play Baseball At Wabash

Warsaw senior Liam Patton will continue his academic and baseball careers at Wabash College in Crawfordsville.

Funds For Food

Winona Lake Fire Department “Hosers” and the Willie 103.5 “One Hit Wonders” competed in a volleyball game Monday at Jefferson Elementary School to raise funds for the school’s lunch program.

BSA Troop 715 Visits The Justice Building

Frantz Led Platoon Into Saipan

The 4th Marines hit the Japanese stronghold of Saipan the morning of June 15, 1944.Hitting the beach under heavy artillery, the 4th was escorted by an Army amphibian tank battalion. One platoon was led by Don Frantz, now 87, who makes his home on Harrison Street in Warsaw. "I was the senior first lieutenant at the time and I had the honor of going in first.That is as hot as it gets," Frantz said of the start of a 24-day battle that left 4,200 U.S.soldiers dead and 12,000 wounded.The Japanese were ready for the invasion, fighting viciously to hold their long-established strategic position on the 14-mile-long, five-mile-wide island.

Health Care Costs Rising

As someone who works at a small business, I can say with certainty that health care insurance premiums are on the rise.

French Students Set To Return Home

According to Audrey Baroan and Charlotte Huijgen, they had a great experience despite some culture shock.

Longtime Highway Employee Tilden To Retire At Year’s End

Retiring After Almost 19 Years

Warsaw Approves Contracting Engineer, Cell Phone Policy Change

Warsaw City Council approved contracting an engineer for the city during Monday night’s meeting.

2 Residential Rezones Approved

Time after time, the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission hears that agricultural land in the county needs to be protected. Wednesday, the board heard three petitions to rezone ground from agricultural to residential.Two were approved, but the third was denied because it was in an area zoned agricultural. On rezonings, the plan commission is only a recommending body to the Kosciusko County Commissioners, who have final say on all rezonings.The commissioners will hear all three rezonings at 9:30 a.m.in the county courthouse, Warsaw, Dec.14. The petition that the plan commission will recommend the commissioners deny belonged to Stanley Custer.Custer wanted to rezone property on the south side of Bowser Road, zero feet east of CR 375E in Van Buren Township, from agricultural to residential. "My grandson wants to develop some land, so I thought this was a good location," said Custer.He said the homes would be "pretty good" ones.

Manchester Bike Trail Plans Put On Hold

NORTH MANCHESTER - Plans for North Manchester's non-motorized trail throughout the town have been placed on a temporary hold, parks director Brian Wagner told park board members Wednesday. Deane Rundell of Rundell Ernstberger Associates, Muncie, was hired in 1998 to develop a master trail plan for the parks department.The plan was completed in 1999. Cost for the first phase of the trail was estimated at $4.5 million, which exceeds the cap for individual projects by approximately $3.5 million. The first phase was broken down into four phases, with the first consisting of a loop along Eel River that travels across the covered bridge, to Mill Street and around Manchester Elementary School.Cost for this phase is estimated at $1,200 and was approved by board members Nov.29 to be taken out of the park board's 2001 budget.

Warsaw Planners Recommend Changes In Sign, Banner Rules

Banners and off-premise sign allowances were discussed at the Warsaw Plan Commission Monday with the board recommending restrictions and a temporary moratorium. The board is recommending to the city council that banners be limited to one per lot and only banners describing public or commuity events, sponsored by not-for-profit organizations, be located off-premises. The size of the banners is limited to 36 square feet in display area, except banners over Center Street which would be no larger than 4-feet by 20-feet.The Center Street banners would only be available for not-for-profit agencies. Noffsinger said Noblesville, Bloomington and Valparaiso prohibit banners and other attention-getting devices. The recommendations came from a plan commission task force including Jim Gast, Trish Brown, Bill Rhoades, city planner Jeff Noffsinger and assistant city planner Kristy Mehlburg.

Souder Visits Local CCS Office

U.S.Rep Mark Souder (R-Ind.) is doing his homework. Yesterday he visited Kosciusko County Combined Community Services, continuing to familiarize himself with the newly formed Third Congressional District, its citizens, businesses and organizations. Arriving in the morning, Souder spent more than an hour talking to CCS executive director Jim Coons, director of development Darlene Redinger, CCS North director Ron Wright and staff members. Souder has a special interest in faith-based organizations, sponsoring a bipartisan bill last year outlining certain aspects of the faith-based agency proposals. He got an earful at the 18-year-old faith-based charitable agency. The biggest problem CCS clients must overcome is lack of education, not necessarily alcohol or drug abuse, Redinger told the congressman. When someone comes into CCS for a bag of groceries, the staff interviews them to see if any of their eight major programs also would apply.

Courtesy

Editor, Times-Union:I continue to be amazed at the lack of common courtesy in neighborhoods, in public, on our streets and highways.

Webster Signs Contract To Sell Accident Reports

NORTH WEBSTER - The town council approved a proposal Tuesday from Town Marshal Greg Church to sign a contract with Holt's, Sheets & Associates for the town to receive $8 every time an accident report is sold.

Dancing is a Sport

Editor, Times-Union:How many times have you thought of dancing as a hobby instead of a sport? Well, I’m here to prove you wrong.