Manchester Revises School Calendar

NORTH MANCHESTER - Changes to requirements at the state level prompted the Manchester Community Schools to revise the calendar for the 2004-05 school year. Because the state now mandates that all kindergarten students attend 180 days of school like the other grade levels, MCS adopted an alternate kindergarten schedule at its regular meeting Tuesday night.The alternate schedule ensures that kindergarten students get the required numbers of days even if there are weather or scheduled delays.Four schedules have been designed to establish procedures for weather delays, early dismissals for parent-teacher conferences, late arrivals for parent-teacher conferences and early dismissals for professional development days.The alternate schedules and new school calendars will be distributed to parents in the next school newsletter.

Valley To Add Extended-Day Kindergarten

MENTONE - Tippecanoe Valley will add an extended day kindergarten program beginning in September. Mary Ann Irwin, Burket Elementary School principal and Tippecanoe School Corp.curriculum director, presented information regarding the program to board members Monday. She said the program is designed to help students who need additional schooling.Cost for the program is $5 per day per student or $25 per week. "We do not anticipate making a profit on this," Irwin said."We just want to make our expenses." She said the program is self-funding and she plans to get sponsorship to help with the costs. Board members approved the program Monday.Irwin said she anticipates the program will begin Sept.1. In other business: • Justin Warstler, Akron Elementary School, was recognized for being chosen the 2001 winner of the David Deuter Memorial fifthgrade essay contest, sponsored by the Indiana Troopers Association.

Wawasee Teachers Get New Contracts

MILFORD -ÊWawasee teachers now have contracts. Tuesday, the Wawasee Community School Corp.Board of School Trustees approved the contract agreement.Superintendent Mark Stock said the Wawasee Community Educators Association membership ratified on Friday the agreements the two sides reached in mediation. Key points of the contract include: 2.75 percent increase on the salary scale plus increment; 2 percent increase on extracurricular positions; three-year contract with openers each year for two language items in addition to wages and fringe benefits; sick leave reimbursement; federal, state laws and school board policy were included as grievable items but are only grievable as far as the school board and not subject to binding arbitration; changed prep time for teachers to a minimum number of minutes per week; provided a reimbursement for unused family illness days at one-half the substitute rate; and one payment holiday on group health insurance for all employees.

Inventor Of Meteorology Had Many Bold Ideas

Francis Galton is widely regarded as the originator of the early 20th century eugenics movement.

Kosciusko County Additional Appropriations

Palace Of Sports Pledges $$$ For Old Webster School

NORTH WEBSTER -- The International Palace of Sports pledged $750,000 toward renovation and operation of the elementary school as a community center.The donation was announced during the town council meeting Wednesday. To begin, a lump sum of $250,000 will be given for use in renovation projects; an additional $50,000 per year for 10 years is to be used for operating costs. "It was Homer Shoop's mission in life to help the youth of the community and this center would certainly fulfill that mission," wrote Jon Sroufe, president of the IPS Foundation."We would be pleased if the community and recreation center would be named in his memory." The offer is contingent upon the town securing the property for development. Town council president Kay Andrews said a meeting is scheduled for Oct.29 at 4 p.m.in the school.The meeting will include a tour of the facilities for all interested organizations and individuals.

KDI Hears From County Redevelopment Panel

Lowell Owens talked about the goals of the Redevelopment Commission of Kosciusko County Wednesday, as an invited Kosciusko Development Inc.speaker. Owens, vice chairman of the commission, said the five-member panel was reactivated by the county commissioners in January. Commissioners are Max Courtney, Bill Warren, Bruce Woodward, Larry Teghtmeyer and Owens. The board spent the first half of the year learning about economic issues from others. "We've heard from accountants, lawyers, Dan Richard, Jeff Noffsinger, Joy McCarthy-Sessing and Dan Harstine," Owens said.Richard is director of the Area Plan Commission; Noffsinger is Syracuse town manager; Mc-Carthy Sessing is president of KDI and the Warsaw-Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce and Harstine is the Integrity Real Estate Group broker.

Red Cross Details Planning Efforts In New 'Together We Prepare' Brochure

More than 21,000 people received training in first aid, CPR and HIV/AIDS prevention or became a lifeguard through Kosciusko County American Red Cross training programs last year, according to executive director Larry Peppel. "We help residents prepare for potential emergencies that occur in their homes, streets, workplaces and communities," he said. Volunteer instructors not only teach scheduled courses, they will take the training classes to schools and businesses. This year the ARC has presented a "Together We Prepare" brochure detailing five actions for emergency preparedness.The nationwide program suggests families have a disaster response plan in the case of fire, tornado or earthquake and that they build a kit with enough supplies for everyone in the household for at least three days. Part of preparedness is knowing how to respond in an emergency, and training is part of the "Together We Prepare" theme.ARC classes are available to anyone.

Parks Board, Sorority At Odds Over Fountain At S. Whitley

SOUTH WHITLEY - All the sorority wants is to replace the drinking fountain in Town Park, a memorial to Delta Theta Tau sister Mary Crahen. The fieldstone structure stood in the park from 1964 until October 1998, when a runaway truck hit and destroyed it. The park department has a grander vision.A drinking fountain with a $12,000 12-by-24 pavilion for picnic tables has been proposed and a plan of this scheme was forwarded to the Whitley County Foundation in January, which secured a $3,000 grant for construction. The sorority, responsible for the drinking fountain, was not in favor of this plan and submitted one with a drinking fountain and gazebo. Margaret Gilbert, of the Delts, spoke at the town council meeting Monday with a dateline of events detailing the sorority's efforts to communicate with park department members. Glee Eberly, town council president, and Delt stepped down from this portion of the meeting with Tony Starkey and Tom Rudd to mediating.

Wawasee Board Looks At New School Plans

SYRACUSE -ÊFloor plans don't always make it easy to picture a building as three dimensional. Tuesday, Wawasee school board members didn't need to imagine what the new North Webster Elementary School will look like in 3-D as the architects presented 3-D images of the school. Gary Watkins, of Barton-Coe-Vilamaa Architects & Engineers Inc., Fort Wayne, presented the board with floor plans and 3-D images of the building.Included were the mechanical plans of the building. Entry to the building would be on the east side.The media center is centrally located, with the gym and cafeteria on the west end. If the building is locked down, Watkins said, the front door is the only entry and anyone who enters the building will have to pass by the administration window.This, he said, will provide better security for the school. The gym includes two full basketball courts, cross-court. The classroom sizes vary from 925 square feet to 1,100 square feet.

Baker Youth Clubs Continues Plans For New Facility

Tracy Furnivall, director of Baker Youth Clubs, appeared before the Warsaw City Council Monday requesting the city apply for a state Community Development Block Grant.If the $500,000 Indiana Department of Commerce grant is approved, BYC plans to nearly match those funds with $400,000. This is the second request for the funding.In June, Bob Murphy of R.P.Murphy and Associates, Larwill, talked to the Warsaw council during a public hearing regarding the grant.Monday, Murphy's grant writer Phyllis Greene attended the public hearing. Furnivall said plans are to build in Boggs Industrial Park on the current Mantis Skate Park site, owned by the city and operated by the parks department.BYC would help provide funding for the skate park's move across the street, which is in a flood plain.The skate park may relocate there, but the state wouldn't fund any project located in such a district.

Warsaw is Finalist in Stellar Communities

Warsaw was named a finalist this morning in the Stellar Communities Designation Program.

Pierceton Town Council Approves Strategic Investment Plan

Triton Bus Replacement

Unique Bee Drone Developed By Syracuse Native

Anna Haldewang turned a college project into an innovative device that spotlights the plight of the shrinking honey bee population and has gained significant media buzz.

Indiana Housing and Community Development

Residents Object To Tax Increase If North Webster-Tippecanoe Township Fire Territory Formed

Prep Football Previews

Numbers Adding Up In '98 For Warsaw BY GREG JONES, Times-Union Sports Editor Warsaw is playing a numbers game this year. In the third year of his reign, Tiger coach Phil Jensen is getting closer to his ultimate goal - a two-platoon system.Even with a school of 2,000 students, players exclusively on offense or defense have not been seen around much in these parts. Jensen would like to see that changed.And he might be getting the support he needs. With more than 100 kids in the program this year (grades 9-12), it may be only a short while before Jensen will have those two separate units.The turnout for the Tigers is up 10 percent from last year and 25 percent from Jensen's first season two years ago. "It is not just numbers," Jensen said."It is kids who have actually worked in the program, lifting weights and working out in the summer." Of the 63 varsity players, about 56 of them put time in this summer in Jensen's regimen.

Wheee!

Lisa Francis (L) pulls her son, Jacob, back up a snowy slope as the 3-year-old recuperates from his latest descent.The tot (R) was making the most of his red sled on a hill at the corner of Mineral Springs and Chestnut in Winona Lake Friday afternoon.

Throwing A Tantrum

Dewart Lake resident Jeb Freeman is shown midway through a wakeboard maneuver known as a "tantrum" - a back flip across the wake of the boat. He landed the trick cleanly. Freeman, who will be a senior at Wawasee High School in the fall, is the son of Darwin and Kim Freeman. Photo by Gary Gerard, Times-Union