MENTONE – For decades a World War I era cannon has sat in Mentone. Now that it needs repairs, the questions of who is going to repair it and how those repairs will be paid for were brought up at the Mentone Town Council meeting Monday night. Council President Tim Croy said the cannon was moved from uptown to the cemetery once the American Legion disbanded in Mentone. Town Marshal Jim Eads said it’s been in the cemetery for at least 25 years. Croy said he contacted the U.S. Army in Michigan and it said the town didn’t have a cannon. He first talked to a man named Jim Frederick, who referred him to a Paul Symon who then referred him to “Mail Server 419,” an unidentified woman. During the discussions, Croy was told that if the cannon needs repairs, it was the town’s responsibility to repair it and not the Army’s. However, the town needed to get pictures of the cannon before and after the repairs and provide them to the Army. If it’s up to the town to pay for the repairs, Councilwoman Jill Gross asked why it had to send photos at all. Croy said he signed a contract with the U.S. Army in 2009 for the cannon through a loaner program in which the Army deeded the cannon over to the town for as long as they wanted it. However, the unidentified woman told Croy the Army wouldn’t have done that. “It’s ours until we no longer want it, then they will take it back. We’d have to pay for them to come and get it and haul it back,” Croy said. A few men may be interested in helping repair the cannon. Croy said Mike Yazel told him he would be interested in fixing the cannon for Mentone but hasn’t yet given an estimate for the work. Clerk-Treasurer Barb Ross said Ron Scott mentioned he would be interested in helping repair the cannon. As for repainting it, Croy said Jeremy Lybarger may be interested in doing that. Eads said the cannon is surrounded by three feet of concrete and he remembered helping move it to the cemetery more than 25 years ago. While it is probably a World War I cannon, Croy said it never went overseas because cannons then would have been left or dumped in the ocean. It is an “M1918 155 ml Howitzer, serial #41,” Croy said. “Hopefully, that will be repaired this year,” Croy said. He later reported on the blue building at 123 E. Main St., previously owned by Richard Surface. Croy said he found out they had to test for asbestos, which cost $500 to do. Asbestos was found in the basement piping and in the stucco on the outside of the building. The asbestos will increase the price of demolishing the building by about $10,000 to $50,000, but that price is not set in stone, Croy said. The Mentone Chamber of Commerce is wanting to help the town with the expense of taking the dilapidated building down. Croy also reported he is applying for grants from the Kosciusko County Community Foundation and Kosciusko REMC to help pay for the demolition. “I’m trying to find more funds to help pay for that,” he said. Ross said Utilities Superintendent Josh Shepherd is working to get another estimate for the demolition, too. In another matter, Croy said the town is running out of money for storm tiles. He said the council needs to look at imposing some type of fee for people to help fund repairs to storm tiles. “I think we need to come up with something that won’t be a burden,” he said. Currently, the only money for storm tile repairs comes from the town’s budget, but that’s only $8,000 a year. A recent storm tile repair at the Dollar General Store cost $4,000. Because it’s tax dollars, Ross said they can only budget so much each year. Warsaw is working on implementing a fee, Croy said, which will be $2.95. Councilwoman Shelly Krueger said Mentone’s didn’t need to be that much, but Gross reminded her that Mentone doesn’t have as many residents to pay the fee. Ross said Mentone has about 360 houses in town. Krueger asked if there was any grant money available for storm tile repairs. Ross reminded her the town just got a $1 million grant for the repairs it made to the north end of town. Croy said the storm tiles have been underground for “hundreds of years” and they’re collapsing and people are tapping into them. “We need to think about it and come up with something,” he said. Croy later provided an update on Shepherd. Mentone Police Department officers responded to a two-vehicle collision Feb. 27 at approximately 12:45 p.m. just outside of Ace Hardware on Main Street in Mentone. According to a crash report, the driver of the truck – Chad M. Turner, 28, East Main Street, Mentone – believes he may have fallen asleep while traveling eastbound on Main Street. He lost control of his vehicle and struck a second vehicle parked on the roadway. The driver of the second vehicle – Shepherd – was standing at his driver’s side door getting into his vehicle at the time of the impact. Shepherd was thrown under his vehicle and Turner’s truck came to rest on a snow pile. Croy said Shepherd went to a Fort Wayne hospital Monday to see a specialist. It looks good, but Shepherd will be off work another week. While Shepherd told Croy he plans to return to work Monday, Croy told him to take the time he needed to recover. Shepherd broke a rib in his back and bruised both of his lungs, Croy reported. “He’s still really sore, but he’s doing better,” he said. In other business: • Councilwoman Shelly Krueger requested the council revisit its ordinance regarding signs on the sidewalk left out after business hours. She said after thinking about it further, the ordinance wasn’t needed because it only affected the barbershop. Croy said they could review the ordinance further. • Council heard the cost to upgrade the camera system at the Mentone Emergency Services Building will increase from $4,316 to $5,125 because of additional upgrades the council requested. The fire control board will pay $2,158 of the expense. • Croy reported he needed homeowners within the town limits to apply for grant money the town received through the Housing Opportunities of Warsaw. The town has about $150,000 of the $300,000 left. People who could qualify include single parents, low-income residents and the elderly. If Mentone doesn’t spend it all, it has to give the money back to the state. The money can be used for any kind of improvements, such as furnaces, windows, roof work or water heaters. Applications are available at the Bell Memorial Public Library or through Croy. “They do this all across Indiana, but Mentone is the first ever to receive the maximum grant amount, so I would hate for us to not use it all and have to give it back,” Croy said. There is only about six months left on the grant. • Eads reported he and deputy Terry Engstrand will be attending active shooter response training April 14-15 in Fort Wayne.
