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Winona Guitartist 2nd In International Contest

When Patrick Woods submitted a demonstration video for international contest for guitar players, he was at a crossroads. Should he continue as a musician or secure a "regular" job? It turns out, he should keep playing. Out of more than 4,000 entrants, Woods was selected among the top 10 in the second annual Guitar Player's Guitar Hero contest, sponsored by Guitar Player magazine. He performed before an audience of fans who launched into a thunderous ovation in San Francisco's Great American Music Hall Sept.23. He took second place.The only acoustic guitarist in the competition, without a backup band, he just plugged into an amplifier and gave the judges "Time & Fire" off his "Power Strikes" CD. And he brought down the house. "They were all guitar fans, people who are really into it," Woods said of the audience.
TERESA SMITH, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Local Community Planners Meet With KLA Cadets

Continuing their education on local governmental procedures, the 25th class of the Kosciusko Leadership Academy met Tuesday at Zimmer's headquarters to hear presentations from several city and county planners. Dan Richard, Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission director, began his discussion by focusing on the history of development in the county.According to Richard, one of the first towns to originate in the county was Oswego, because of its accessibility to stone and running water, two essentials for grain production.Communities then moved to areas with railroad systems, creating communities such as North Webster and Warsaw. Eventually, a broader form of agriculture began to dominate the region, a situation Richard says is still "one of the strongest characteristics of our neighboring communities." Over the decades, Richard said Kosciusko has always ranked high in both the state and nation in terms of agricultural production.
Joe Kirkendall, Times-Union staff writer- | July 28, 2016

Warsaw Board Of Works Opens Bids For Gatke Demolition

Bids for demolition of buildings at the Gatke property were opened at the Warsaw Board of Works meeting Friday. Quotes for removal of the phenolic resin and bunker oil were expected but not received. Companies and their prices were: G&G Hauling, $350,000; Denny Excavating Inc., $250,000; Kelcon LLC, $165,000 and Saber Corp., $219,000.The bids were taken under advisement. Karla McDonald, of Quality Environmental Professionals Inc., recommended Hartland Environmental Solutions Inc.for asbestos removal at a total cost of $86,401.Heartland, Star Environmental and Environmental Assurance bids were opened and taken under advisement Oct.8. McDonald expressed surprise at the lack of waste removal bids.It is expected another call for quotes will be advertised.
TERESA SMITH, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Phone Scam

BY LAURIE HAHN, Times-Union Staff Writer Area businesses that receive calls from an alleged phone company representative should think twice before they comply with his requests. According to Linda Arnold, executive director of the Kosciusko County Convention & Visitors' Bureau, a man who identified himself as an AT&T representative called their office Wednesday morning to report that he was working on a report of crossed lines. The man told the CVB to hit "transfer," then dial 9102880, which would call up a recording that Arnold said sounded official.After the recording was reached, they were told to hit transfer again, at which time the man had access to their lines. She said AT&T security called today to alert them that because of the scam yesterday, the CVB will probably have to pay for almost 10 hours of overseas calls.
hit for 10 hours of long distance charges- | July 28, 2016

City Hears Feedback About Curb Project On Lilac, Brubaker

Residents of Lilac Lane and Brubaker Street filled the Warsaw city council chambers Monday, some questioning and complaining about changes to the streets, others making complimentary remarks. Don Kollman asked who put the curbs and gutters in along the street and whether or not the project was planned. Public works superintendent Lacy Francis Jr.replied that the street department did the work and it had been planned for years. "It was promised by the former mayor in 1990 and '92 to put curbs and gutters in where there was none at all," Francis said. Kollman said he called Jeff Plank, who was the mayor 14 years ago, "and that's untrue.He never promised anything like that." Kollman asked why the city didn't talk to the neighbors. Francis said there were fliers about the project placed on everyone's door. Someone in the audience said those fliers were rescinded a couple of days later. Mayor Ernie Wiggins said he didn't know what promises were made.
TERESA SMITH, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Townships get extension to decide school issue

Three county townships will have more time to decide whether or not to accept empty school buildings, the Warsaw School Board decided Monday. In response to a request from attorney Richard K.Helm, who represents all three townships, the board voted to give the townships six months from the date of the offer, Aug.17, to either accept or reject the former Claypool, Atwood and Silver Lake elementary schools. The original offer gave the townships 60 days in which to make a decision, a time period the township trustees said was not long enough to investigate grants and other forms of financing for maintenance and upkeep of the school buildings. Superintendent Dr.Dave McGuire recommended the extension with the provision that the townships pay for winterizing the buildings.He said the cost of winterizing would be approximately $2,200 for Atwood and Silver Lake schools, and about $4,400 for Claypool.
Laurie Hahn, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Manchester Schools Hopes New Equipment Isn't Used

NORTH MANCHESTER -ÊManchester Community School Corporation's newest piece of technology is one they hope stays unused. Thursday afternoon, Dan Redmond, vice president of sales and marketing at Save-A-Life, demonstrated the use of two Zoll Automated External Defibrillators to administrators at Manchester High School. "Hopefully, all of this collects dust," said Redmond."You can't save everybody, but if you get to someone (having a heart attack) within the first two minutes, there is an 80 percent chance of survival....After five minutes that rate drops drastically." Thanks to a $4,071.42 grant from the Community Foundation of Wabash County, Manchester Community Schools purchased two AEDs, two alarmed cabinets to store the devices and an AED training unit.The devices will be installed in the Manchester High School and Manchester Junior High School buildings.
JEN GIBSON, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Tax Increment Finance District Created Around Gatke Area

Redevelopment of the blighted Gatke Corp.property proceeded Monday with a Warsaw Redevelopment Commission resolution to create a tax increment financing district in the area. The resolution incorporates several tracts south of Warsaw's Durbin Street and along Winona Avenue, between Argonne Road and Harrison Street. While the Gatke land has been a topic of discussion for more than a year, Monday's meeting was the first time the other properties, besides the former state highway garages, were considered in any public forum for rehabilitation. In addition to the Gatke property, the proposed Winona Interurban Redevelopment Area includes tracts owned by Warsaw Chemical Co., S&S Realty Corp., Smith Appliance of Warsaw, the Ray Bockman Revolving Trust, Dalton Foundries Inc.and the state of Indiana, totaling 13 acres.
TERESA SMITH, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

WCS Takes Steps Required For Building Program

Legal steps required for Warsaw Community Schools' building program got under way Monday when the Warsaw school board gave the superintendent permission to hold a preliminary financing hearing at the November school board meeting. Called a "1028 hearing," the public meeting is required by the state.However, the administration has made some changes to the building and renovation projects approved last spring, and those changes will be discussed at the 1028 hearing as well. The approval to hold the 1028 hearing at the Nov.18 meeting followed the board's approval of WCS finance manager Rande Thorpe's request for a preliminary bond resolution.Thorpe requested a bond for $5.87 million.
Laurie Hahn, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Buyer To Appear On 'Nightly News'

Indiana 5th District Congressman Steve Buyer will appear on NBC's nightly news tonight. Buyer, a Gulf War veteran and member of the House National Security Committee, will discuss recent developments involving the Persian Gulf War illness.
Staff Report- | July 28, 2016

ISBA Names Whitko An Exemplary Board

PIERCETON - Whitko School Board members were recognized as an Exemplary Board by the Indiana School Boards Association recently, the highest recognition a school board can receive. Of the 270 school boards in Indiana, 20 received the honor this year.Members must earn points by attending at least one ISBA core meeting, already be a "master board," and conduct a self-evaluation for the exemplary nod. During Monday's regular board meeting, three teams of Whitko FFA members also were recognized as state champions of the State Animal Science Skill-A-Thon Contest. Congratulations were sent to Whitko cross country athletes Cameron Walter and Veronica Jersey for advancing to semi-state competition. The board attended to several items of business regarding the upcoming Whitko High School Improvement Project, recognizing Roger Boggs, Joe Kessie, Sidney Baker and Barb Smelzer as officers of the building corporation.
TERESA SMITH, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Planners Look At Stormwater, Erosion Ordinance

Stormwater runoff and erosion control are two issues the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission has been concerned about for a number of years. There is no ordinance in place that deals with either issue.However, at the next plan commission meeting - at 1 p.m.Nov.3 - the plan commission will hold a public hearing on a stormwater runoff and erosion control ordinance that it hopes will solve the county's problems. An ordinance amending the zoning ordinance and subdivision control ordinance of the county also will be discussed.Complete copies of both ordinances are available at the plan commission's office in the courthouse. If the plan commission approves the ordinances Nov.3, the county commissioners may hear them as early as Nov.23. "This (ordinance) is new.We've never had anything like it before.As far as being new - this is it," said assistant planner Matt Sandy.
DAVID SLONE, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Camp Good News Completes 2nd Season Under New Leadership

NORTH WEBSTER - The good news is the property is still called Camp Good News. Better news is that the beautiful wooded facility is open and better than ever. And the best news is that underprivileged kids have a place to camp. Located off Backwater Road on the shores of Backwater Lake and bordered by wetlands to the east, the 42-acre Camp Good News is open to disadvantaged campers six weeks in the summer. Cleaned up and under construction, the camp has new owners, the coincidentally named Good News Ministries based in Indianapolis. Camp director Herb Gaines said 212 kids attended this summer, absolutely free of charge. The kids participate in activities provided in the lake, the pool, the facilities and off-site tours.Neither snack shop nor the craft shop cost anything.
TERESA SMITH, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

CCS, Bowen Receive Grants From State

Kosciusko County Combined Community Services and the Otis Bowen Center will benefit from grants awarded by Gov.Frank O'Bannon. O'Bannon awarded nearly $23.7 million in grants Oct.11 to prepare more Indiana residents for finding employment. "Indiana is a national leader in moving people from dependency to self-sufficiency.When people have jobs, they feel better about themselves and they set a much better example for their children," O'Bannon said."This is simply one more step to help Hoosiers grow out of welfare once and for all." "These grants prove we're serious about helping working families continue their progress beyond dependency on public assistance," said first lady Judy O'Bannon. The Indiana Manpower and Comprehensive Training program of CCS will receive $46,600, according to O'Bannon's list of organizations receiving the grants.Director of development Darlene Redinger said the IMPACT program is phenomenally successful this year.
Staff Report- | July 28, 2016

Public Snubs Tippy Valley Facility Meeting

AKRON - Despite the fact it was a community forum to discuss the facility needs of Tippecanoe Valley High School, no members of the community were present Thursday. School corporation board members, Superintendent Dr.Karen Boling and several teachers were present, but that was all.At one point, Boling said the number of people present at the meeting was "very disappointing." TVHS principal Charlie Mills led the discussion on the needs of the high school.He first went over a list of 13 facility goals for the high school. "The goals that are listed are goals that a committee put together," Mills said.The committee consisted of teachers, parents and administrators.He said the list isn't exhaustive but includes some of the most pressing issues. The first goal is to have a secure building.
DAVID SLONE, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Congress Shortens Cycle For FDA Approval Process

Federal legislation passed Tuesday that reduces approval time for medicines and medical devices may eventually spur development in the orthopedic industry. "I think in time it will improve the environment in which we develop and market our products," Dane Miller, president of Biomet, said Thursday. Keeping in mind that "nothing in Washington happens overnight," Miller said the legislation is part of an apparent change in attitude at the Food and Drug Administration. "The regulatory process had become an adversarial process instead of a collaborative process," he said.The new legislation is a step in the right direction for a more streamlined and quicker approval process of new medical products, he said. The bill passed Tuesday by the House of Representatives, which was co-sponsored by Indiana Congressman Steve Buyer, shortens the time required by the FDA to approve pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
Laurie Hahn, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Demos Gather For Hall Of Fame Dinner

SYRACUSE - Kosciusko County Democrats gathered Saturday at South Shore Golf Club, Syracuse, for the fourth annual Democratic Party Hall of Fame dinner. Four Democrats were inducted into the Hall of Fame, including Jody Pearl, Dick Mitchell, Gerald Romine and Donna Custer-Ruch. Dale Tucker, former Warsaw mayor, was guest speaker.Other speakers included Congressman Tim Roemer; James P.Perron, Elkhart, on behalf of Gov.Frank O'Bannon; and Kosciusko County commissioner candidate Joe Banks. Tucker said that in the last election there was a low voter turnout."I think that's pathetic ...that's only 6 percent of the population."He said many people lost their lives for this country to be free and we repay them by not voting. He said people don't vote because there's no patriotism anymore. It is thanks to the Democrats, Tucker said, that we have Social Security, Medicare and a surplus, but Gov.George W.Bush wants to take it back if he is elected.
DAVID SLONE, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Biomet Touted As Good Financial, Social Investment

Being financially successful and socially and environmentally responsible doesn't have to be mutually exclusive. In fact, one local company is being recommended by a national mutual fund as just one such company. Citizens Trust Inc., of Portsmouth, N.H., is a mutual fund management company that actively seeks funds that have a strong bottom line and a big social and environmental heart.
DAVID A. BEALL, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Paragon Acquires Instrument Manufacturer

PIERCETON - Paragon Medical Inc.signed a letter of intent to acquire the orthopedic implant and general instrument business unit of Brimfield Precision Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Image Guided Technologies Inc., Boulder, Colo.
Staff Report- | July 28, 2016

City May Request Mileage Reports From Officers

Warsaw police officers who use personal patrol vehicles may be required to record their personal mileage each month for approval by the city council if a proposed resolution passes next month. As requested by councilman Dewey Lawshe, the purpose of the resolution is to be sure personal mileage of official vehicles "doesn't get out of hand." The proposal was opposed by councilwoman Tammy Jo Rockey, because city department heads who drive city-owned vehicles would not have the same requirement. Warsaw Mayor Jeff Plank said the resolution is not because PPVs are being abused, but for informational purposes. "It's not a big thing, but we would like to know how many personal miles are being used," said councilman Ernie Wiggins. "The problem is with take-home cars outside the city limits," and with taxpayers paying for those officers who use official cars to drive back and forth, Rockey said.
Laurie Hahn, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016
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