City Plans Holiday Events

The weather outside the new Warsaw Community Development Corp.'s office couldn't have contrasted more with discussions taking place during Tuesday's meeting. Rain fell constantly as Director Carmen Lock discussed plans for the downtown area to prepare for the coming Christmas season.Throughout this week, workers will decorate the downtown and Central Park with Christmas lights, wreaths and other holiday garnishes. Carriage rides will be available downtown Dec.3 from 5 to 9 p.m.Rides will be $5 per person (ages 3 and up), or $4 with a non-perishable food donation.All food collected will go to the Salvation Army food bank.Rides will start in the National City Bank parking lot. Downtown shops also will have special hours and sales during the weekend of Dec.2. Lock also reported the October Spooktakular was a great success.The event drew its biggest crowd, and Lock said there were few complications in overall operations.

TAN Forum Thursday Features1 Candidate

Kosciusko County voters planning on hearing sheriff candidates Jeff Bronsing and Aaron Rovenstine will be missing one if not both opponents Thursday night. Rovenstine, Republican candidate, told the Times-Union today he will not attend the event because of conflicting campaign events. "...Aaron Rovenstine will be unable to participate in the scheduled forum sponsored by TAN (Taxpayer Action Network) for Oct.22, 1998, at 7 p.m.," the press release delivered by Rovenstine stated.

Plans For Accessory Structure Approved

Eric Wynn's plan to construct an accessory structure on his West Center Street property was given the go-ahead and his variance request was dismissed by the Warsaw Board of Zoning Appeals Monday. When Wynn appeared before the BZA last month, he said a relocated barn would be 25 feet high, which exceeds the city's 18-foot height standard. Because the roof is a gambrel style, the roof measurement for height between the eaves and the ridge and Wynn's roof is 18 feet. Dorothy Adkins appeared before the board to remonstrate against the building, saying it is too close to the driveway at 512 W.Center St.and too tall. In other business the board: • Approved a request by Living Stone Preschool, 315 Cedar St., for a variance from developmental standards for a daycare/preschool with no outdoor play area. Norma Prater, the school administrator, appeared before the board saying daycare hours may be as late as 6 p.m.The indoor play area is 900 square feet.

Local GOP Gathers For 'Hall Of Fame'

LEESBURG- More than 60 Republicans attended the Kosciusko County Republican Hall of Fame Dinner Wednesday night.

KOSCIUSKO COUNTY AREA PLAN MAY 13 VARIANCES

Planners Deny Bayview Rezoning Request

No one was sure how the property at 560 N.Bay Drive was changed to residential zoning. But, now that it is, the Warsaw Plan Commission thought it was better to leave it that way, and denied a request Monday by Jim Eisenbraun to return it to the original commercial zoning. "When we purchased the property at 600 N.Bay Drive in 1979, it was zoned commercial.Then it was changed sometime after," Eisenbraun said."The property has been in continuous commercial use since 1979." The issue arose when Eisenbraun wanted to purchase the building that now contains Warsona Printing Co., 560 N.Bay Drive to expand Eisenbrauns Inc., an educational book publishing and distribution firm. Be that as it may, several homeowners along Bay Side Drive want the property to remain residential to preserve the residential character of their neighborhood.

YMCA Closes Deal On Former Racquet Club

The Kosciusko Community YMCA board of directors closed on the purchase of the Warsaw Racquet Club. The center is currently open to YMCA members and guests.A formal dedication of the YMCA Racquet Center is planned Oct.10, which marks the 40th anniversary of the YMCA's main facility opening. The Y board signed an agreement with Garry and Sherry England to purchase the Warsaw Racquet Club in May.The K21 Foundation board of directors, recognizing the YMCA's role in the health and wellness of the community, approved a grant of $500,000 in June to assist the Y financially.Garry and Sherry England also donated an adjoining 10.76-acre parcel of land as well as the equipment at the Racquet Club to the YMCA. Steve Jungbauer is the YMCA's chief executive officer. The YMCA re-opened the Racquet Center in June, offering court rentals and fitness facilities to members and non-members.Drew Ummel will offer classes and leagues for the youth, teens, adults and seniors.

Warsaw BZA OKs Plans For Wellness Center

Warsaw Board of Zoning Appeals heard and approved three requests Aug.27 during its regular meeting. The board heard about Amanda Nichols' plans for a wellness center at 805 E.Market St.Formerly the chiropractic offices of Joe Orr, D.C.Nichols also requested a use variance and a sign to advertise the business. City planner Kristy Mehlberg said New Moves Wellness Center will occupy the chiropractic clinic and the sign will be placed where the current Orr sign is now. Because the property is zoned Residential-2, a commercial use variance was needed.Three lots to the west also were purchased as part of the parcel. Members Alan Clingman, Bruce Woodward, and Richard Keevan approved Nichols' requests with Dan Hampton abstaining since he is the corporation's attorney. Rosella Hawkins' request for a special exception for a home occupation and a variance from developmental standards at 1503 E.Fort Wayne St., was unanimously approved.

Foundation To Survey Manchester Sophomores

NORTH MANCHESTER - The Community Foundation of Wabash County wants a foothold on the perceived importance of education to the county's young citizens. Manchester school board Tuesday approved the foundation surveying its students. To get that information, the foundation is seeking to survey all of the county's high school sophomores, and Manchester High School's 10th-graders will be first. The survey is about academics and career planning, Manchester High School principal Nancy Alspaugh told the school board. The community foundation is working with the Indiana Center for Evaluation in gathering the "educational attitudes" from different sectors of the county, the foundation's director of the Community Alliance to Promote Education, Michael E.Stone, said today. The organizations will survey 400 randomly selected adults and as many as 60 employees from county business along with the high school sophomores, he said.

Solid Waste Board Approves 2001 Budget

By a vote of 3 to 1, the Kosciusko County Solid Waste Management District board approved the 2001 budget. County commissioner and board member Brad Jackson voted against the budget. "All along I've had a problem with the increase," Jackson said."That's just me, I'm just one member." Voting in favor of the budget were county commissioner Avis Gunter, Winona Lake Town Councilman David Delp and Warsaw City Councilman Joe Thallemer.Board members not present were county commissioner Eddie Creighton, Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins and county councilwoman Kathryn Teel. The total 2001 budget was approved at $341,160, which includes money for the permanent household hazardous waste site facilities on Union Street, Warsaw, if approved.The 2000 budget was $289,615.SWMD Director Marsha Eikenberry said she will meet with the state tax board on the budget Monday. Of the budget, approximately $261,000 is for providing services to the county, Eikenberry said.

Syracuse Buys New Leaf Collector

SYRACUSE - Syracuse Town Council heard a slew of proposals Tuesday, most of which involve beautification and public works. Most of the items involved the street department, which will have a more efficient way of collecting leaves this fall. Just in time for the fall cleanup, the department was given approval Tuesday night to purchase a leaf collector. Instead of placing leaves in boxes that are three and five square cubic yards, the town will use a leaf collector five times as large.The 25-cubic yard collection system that will be towed behind a truck will cost $8,500 and will improve the town's efficiency in the annual task, said public works superintendent Tom Miller. Miller said they hope to obtain the leaf collector today. Town council also approved plans to purchase a stepside van for the street department.The van will cost $6,890 and will be used to transport materials needed in infrastructure repairs such as pumps, hoses and portable lights, Miller said.

Fair Board Finalizing Plans For 2002 Event

The county fair will begin in three weeks, and the fair board Monday finalized plans, settled details and heard committee reports in preparation for the big event. "We are three weeks from D-Day," said Paul Kuhn, fair board president."It's crunch time, folks." The major stumbling block, according to board treasurer Brent Hoffman, is that the fair's insurance carrier recently canceled all of the fairs it covered, and the fair right now has no liability insurance.Hoffman has contacted several agencies and expects to have quotes by Wednesday. The quotes, however, may be a lot higher than what the board has paid in the past.Hoffman said he contacted Elkhart County's fair association, and the cost of their insurance has doubled. "So this could be a pretty expensive transition," he said. The current $1 million policy expires July 1, and the company won't extend it, he said.

County Closes Zoning Loophole

Kosciusko County Commissioners eliminated a zoning exemption Tuesday that was being heavily abused. The exemption was intended for families living in agricultural areas to sell off adjoining tracts of land to family members. However, eight of 10 requests in recent years came from people who in turn sold the land to people other than family members. Clusters of residential subdivisions on prime farm ground were the result. The abuse went unchecked until two weeks ago when a property owner discovered a neighbor was attempting to circumvent the ordinance's intent. The move was being made after the county's zoning board denied a request by the property owner to rezone the land and allow him to sell residential tracts.

Warsaw Gets $960,000 Grant For Bike Trail

The planned biking/hiking trail from the City-County Athletic Complex to Winona Lake received a major shot in the arm this week. Warsaw was awarded a $960,000 grant under the federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act for the construction of the eight-mile project, according to Warsaw city planner Jeff Noffsinger. "This grant will be used for the construction of the trail system from Chinworth Bridge, near the CCAC, to Winona Lake Park," he said."The next step is to talk with Zimmer and R.R.Donnelley about getting some right of way for the trail." Noffsinger added the trail system will be a mixture of newly constructed trails along donated rights of way and the designated bike paths on existing city streets and along side rail lines, where the right of way is wide enough to allow for the bike paths.

Mentone Seeks Grant For Library

MENTONE - No remonstrance was voiced during a hearing Monday regarding reapplication for grant money for the Bell Memorial Public Library project. The town will be the recipient of the grant, and the hearing took place during the Mentone Town Council meeting. The project was twice denied by the Indiana Department of Commerce, first because the day care center hadn't acquired its nonprofit status and second because the actual plans for the day care weren't established. The library, with the support of the town, has been trying to secure funds for the property for more than a year.Plans for the new location in the old Frank Mfg.building include room for the library, a day care center and a senior citizen center. The IDOC grant being sought is for $500,000.The library also is pursuing a grant from the Dekko Foundation.The total cost of the project is anticipated to be $1,138,868.18.The state grant will be administered by Murphy & Associates, Larwill.

Knispel, Whitaker Reiterate Their Views

Two candidates for sheriff used live television Thursday night to highlight their campaigns, while at least five others seeking the same office chose to avoid the camera's glare. Lt.Steve Knispel, and Detective Sgt.Sam Whitaker, both of the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, exchanged viewpoints for nearly an hour during a live televised forum on VSP-TV. Both candidates used their time to outline reasons for seeking the office and plans if they would be elected. Unlike a recent forum for the prosecutor's race, Thursday's forum remained upbeat and devoid of any negativity. Knispel and Whitaker said later they felt they performed well despite their unfamiliarity with the television medium. Both candidates reiterated their viewpoints and neither made any new proposals. Both candidates said more patrols are needed and the drug task force needs to be reinvigorated.

KCH Opens Cancer Center

"This is beyond the dream I once had to serve the needs of cancer patients," said Dr.Neal Van Ness during Center of Hope Cancer Care dedication ceremonies Thursday. Van Ness is a general surgeon on the Kosciusko Community Hospital's medical staff. The Center of Hope was unveiled as the hospital's full-service cancer care facility.It is designed to serve the needs of area patients with the latest equipment and experienced oncology specialists.The cancer program consists of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Van Ness talked about the facility's IMRT - or Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy - equipment he called a revolutionary guided computer system. "It is the ideal cancer treatment plan offering an accuracy never before available," he said.The technology controls doses of radiation to the exact cancerous area in the body.The technology focuses on the cancer tissue without affecting healthy tissue.

Lakeland Names Top Students

Patrick Lee is the valedictorian for Lakeland Christian Academy's class of 2003, with Kathryn Marie Stine as salutatorian.The Timothian award will be shared by Lee and Allison Bollman. The son of David and Marcia Lee, Warsaw, Lee will graduate with a grade point average of 97.66 on a 100-point scale.He has participated in Richard Lugar's Symposium for Tomorrow's Leaders and Student Leaders' Day at the Indiana Legislature, been president of student senate, a member of National Honor Society, co-captain of the varsity soccer team and a member of the homecoming court.He served as the student body chaplain, received the Christian Character and Christian Service awards and has been on the all-A honor roll and received a gold honor cord.Lee attends Pleasant View Bible Church and has volunteered in preschool class.He plans to attend Grace College to major in mathematics and computers and received from Grace the Dane and Mary Louise Miller Merit Award.

Winona Hit By State Cuts

WINONA LAKE - The town has been caught up in the state's budget woes. Town coordinator Craig Allebach announced at this morning's council meeting the governor's plan to shift more than $247 million in Build Indiana Funds for the state's general fund means a $50,000 cut for the senior citizen center. The money would be used to equip the building, although now it's doubtful the money will come through. The State Board of Finance must approve transfer of the money appropriated for BIF to the general fund.That body is expected to meet April 8.Along with Gov.Frank O'Bannon, state Auditor Connie Nass and state Treasurer Tim Berry are on the State Board of Finance. Allebach said the good news is that Kosciusko County Foundation has granted $5,000 toward computers for the center.However, the BIF funds would have covered unexpected construction costs.

EDIT rate to remain at $0.068

Last year, the Kosciusko County Council voted 6 to 1 to eliminate the county's inventory tax. Wednesday, by a unanimous vote, the Kosciusko County Council voted not to increase the Economic Development Income Tax.With this decision, the property tax rate will increase by approximately $0.06827. This means a house with a $100,000 assessed value will pay $68.27 more this year and an additional $68.27 more next year. Every taxpayer will see their property tax rate increase the same because of the loss of inventory assessed value. Before the council took the vote, discussion was open to the council.Councilwoman Charlene Knispel said her in her opinion, "I think it's best not to raise EDIT." John Kinsey, councilman, agreed, saying the council could wait a year and see what, if anything, the state plans to do.