The Independent-News, Volume 103, Number 37, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 16 February 1978 — Page 4

FEBRUARY 16, 1978 - THE INDEPENDENT-NEWS

EDITORIALS

EVERYONE’S HELP IS NEEDED The seriousness of the electrical shortage due to the dwindling supplies of coal in several states, especially Indiana, parallels a lot the energy crisis of last year when natural gas was at a peak usage that might have exhausted supplies in the hard cold winter of 1976-77. It is similar because the situation could grow very serious in a few days and all are being asked on a voluntary basis to conserve electricity, which is 95 percent supplied by coal in Indiana. In fact Tuesday morning new stones moved from the voluntary to the mandatory conservation for businesses as Northern Indiana Public Service Company stated that all outdoor lighting, advertising signs, decorative lighting, etc., of its customers must be cut off. Any business operating at night would be allowed on lighted sign, plus a minimum of light for safety and security of life and property. These arc measures that could easily be taken by most businesses without any problem. Yet. traveling at 6:00 a.m. thru several towns both Monday and Tuesday of this week and living •‘uptown’’ in Walkerton where the business district is mostly visible, it was not only obvious. but also disappointing to see that many merchants had not “voluntarih" turned off unnecessary lights at night as well as during the day. Perhaps the Town of Walkerton, who buys their electricity from MPSCO to resell to the Walkerton customers, or maybe the Walkerton Chamber of Commerce, who met just last Thursday when the energy pleas were already out. should take a little of the blame for not approaching the merchants and ask. or even tell them, that electric conservation is very necessary. Evidently too many merchants either feel that their little contribution isn't going to mean that much or else thev just didn't give the matter any thought at all because a glance up and down the street sees large display outdoor signs burning all night or maybe until late hours when timers turned them off. window displays glowed in the night and during business hours no apparent effort was being made to conserve the valuable electricity. It does seem hard to believe that a few lights here and there, or restricted use of appliances or machines could save much, but when one multiplies it by the number of people and places involved, the energy experts know what they are talking about and it is just one’s duty to try and help. It certainly won't be any little matter when pay checks stop going to individuals or many small businesses are forced to limit business. Already this year the severe weather has had to hurt business that in manv instances can never be recovered. The economy of the area won't shatter, but it has to hurt from the bad weather and certainly doesn't need another jolt because of a power shortage. Regardless of one's feelings . . . toward the miners . . . toward the mine companies and management . . . towards elected officials who may or max not be doing what you would desire, the situation is for real. Simple neglect won't make it go away and even though we are not to the real critical stage now, every little bit of fuel conservation can and will help should the matter become more serious in the near future. You can help. Everyone can turn off that light, check the heat a little, use more common sense with electric appliances, etc., and remind those who forget, that there is a situation at hand where each and every one of us can pitch in and help out. The light you save may be your own! /^rememberT^ when...

1973 Mr. and Mrs. Agnew Ludwig, Walkerton, have received a plaque and a letter telling them their son. S.P. 4 Stephen R. Ludwig is the recipient of The Bronze Star Medal from the U. S. Army. The award read as follows: "The Medal is given for Meritorous achievements in ground operations against hostile forces in the Republic of Vietnam Januarv 1972 to November 1972. Market prices show smoked picnics at lb. $9 cents; T-bones at lb. SI 49; sirloin at lb. 51.39; smoked sausage lb. 99c; Libby’s tomato juice, 3 46 oz. cans for SI .00; Brim coffee, 2 pounds for 51.74; medium eggs. doz. 49 cents; cherry pie. 51.09; and bananas at 12 cents a pound. The John Glenn Falcons won an undisputed title in basketball of the Northern State Conference on Friday as they completed their clean sweep of the teams with a 69-56 victory over LaVille. 1963 Playing at the Rialto Theatre is El Cid for four big days. Fnday thru Monday with admission for adults at SI 00 and children 50 cents Al the Rees is Damn The Defiant on Thursday-Saturday and Sunday to Tuesday is Advice and Consent. Miss Mary Ann Biasics, North Liberty, has been chosen to represent St. Joseph County for five months m Greece as part of the International Farm Youth Exchange. The art classes are making

posters, cartoons or other items to emphasize the abundance of red tart cherries. The government has asked the school lunch rooms to have a Cheery Cherry Day during the month of February. A winner from each participating class will be awarded a free lunch on Februarv 22. 1958 Walkerton's Indiana will be the first team in the state to try to dethrone the defending state champions, the Central Bears of South Bend, as they meet on Thursday in the beginning of the Hoosier Hysteria. Also playing in the sectional will be St. Joseph and WashingtonClay followed by South Bend Riley and Lakeville on Wednesday and the winner of these two games will play the winner of the North Liberty and Greene Township game. On Thursday it will be Madison Township and South Bend Washington followed by the Walkerton and South Bend Central game. The winner of these two games will play the winner of the South Bend Adams and New Carlisle game. The games begin at 1:15 and 2:30 p m with the action beginning at 7 00 pm in the evening. Only one topic is on the tongues of the people in Northern Indiana these days, and it is not only on the tongues, but also the roads, sidewalks and every place else. The weather that has hampered many things m Northern Indiana since the week end, shows little signs of a rapid change for the better in the immediate future Hardest hit, as

all in this area know, was Michigan City. They have been digging out of the 54 inches of white stuff that fell over the week end with a state of emergency being declared. In Walkerton there was from 16-20 inches of the white stuff that fell. The roads are being plowed but the winds blow them shut just as fast as they are opened. At the first business meeting at the entire group of the Walkerton Chamber of Commerce, some very interesting facts and helpful information for many were disclosed. The Walkerton group took to task the comparative rates ot all kinds, taxes and benefits of Walkerton and all surrounding towns and cities. It was finally agreed by all that Walkerton is as economical a place to live or have a business as is to be found in this area. 1948 The practice of parking cars along Road 6. in the Walkerton business district, and leaving them there are day or for several hours at a time, is being frowned upon hv the Walkerton Town Council. Air Products, me., who opened a plant in Walkerton in April. 1947. is adding new machinery which will double its capacity here according to F. L. Higgins, local manager. The national shortage of fuel oil which has been everywhere effective. has been felt locally for the past several weeks with the result that local dealers have been forced to curtail their deliveries as much as possible. 1943 The Town of W'alkerton will have a city building worthy of the name within a few months according to an announcement by the City Council. The Council has consumated a real estate deal whereby the town becomes the owner of the Apple Garage building at the corner of Roosevelt and Michigan at a cost of $17,000. Marvin Stahly, who had purchased it of Mrs. W. B. Apple last fall. A goodly percentage of the New York Central System’s employes are expected to go all-out for victory gardens this year. The road is ready to issue licenses per milling employes to cultivate un occupied portions of its 11.000 miles of right-of-way for their gardens. In view of the coming rationing of various kinds of food supplies. it is expected many will take advantage of this opportunity to grow food for home use. Voice Os The People I would like to insert a few positive remarks in behalf of that much maligned medium, television. I just read that Dr. Marjorie Farmer, President of the National Council of English Teachers, has stated that children are learning to read by watching television, where it is properly controlled. She and many of her colleagues feel that television should no longer be viewed as the enemy of instruction. This article prompted me to relate my observations as a librarian. In full realization that television is a library's most formidable competition, I would still like to point out a few facts of which the general public may be unaware. Long before the televised "Roots” caused such a run on the libraries there were innumerable cases of children and teenagers coming into the library' and asking for books they had seen or were going into the library and asking for books they had seen or were going to shortly see on television. "Winnie the Pooh ”, "Wind in the Willows”, "Charlotte’s Web”, "The Incredible Journey” and most recently "Black Beauty” are just some of the books which might never have been taken off the shelf by some children it not for the boob tube! Many parents would never have introduced these to their youngsters for the simple reason that they, themselves, had never been exposed to them. Some of

them were stories that my generation read but that didn't seem to appeal to today’s kids until television with its fantastic production skills, its color and imagery, turned its hand to these fine examples of children's literature. The kids, teenagers and many adults, enjoyed the productions and wanted to know more about them. They knew they had started from a book and so — to the library! So they are reading more good literature. No parent, teacher or librarian can fault that, whatever its source. I'm certainly not trying to make a case for uncontrolled TV watching where children in front of the set; where they come to identify with and believe TV characters. But even Nat Rutstein. author of "Go Watch TV!” in which he says the expression. "Go Watch TV!" is pretty much the same as "Go play in the road!" — even Mr. Rutstein makes it clear that television has great value as a teaching device. So let's not put television down entirely. And when a good show is enjoyed, let the network know! the National Congress of Parents and Teachers have a campaign to improve television, to promote

COAL CONSERVATION TIPS Kitchen and Houseware • If something is using electricity and you're not using it. shut it off . . appliances, radio, television and unused rooms. • A little maintenance can save a lot of electricity. Avoid dirty furnace filters, leaky faucets, clogged clothes dryer exhausts and worn refrigerator seals. • If you need to wash clothes or dishes, wait for a full load and conserve electricity. Dishwasher energy consumption can be reduced by one third by turning off the dishwasher after the final rinse and before ihe drying cycle. • Cook to conserve. Countertop cooking uses less electricity than stovetop cooking. • Do household work, laundry, dishwashing, vacuuming, etc., during the evening hours when business and industry are not using electricity. • Adjust refrigerator controls to medium or below medium setting. • Reduce cooking time of casseroles and main dishes by turning off the oven 15 minutes before the prescribed cooking time and leaving the oven door closed for the remainder. • Reduce energy consumption by using pans that entirely cover the healing element. This way more heat enters the pot and less is lost to the surrounding air. • When using your oven, save energy by minimizing pre-heating time. If you're using the broiler, there is no need to pre heat at all. • Use glass or ceramic dishes in the oven — you will find you can cook at temperature settings 25 degrees lower than those required for cooking similar meals in metal pans. • When cooking of baking, avoid frequent "peeking' in the oven Every time you open the door the oven temperature drops 25 to 50 degrees and wastes energy. • Clean the heat reflector below the heating element on your stove — it will reflect the heat better and shorten cooking time. • Iron two batches of clothes at once instead of one or two items. • Iron low temperatures fabrics first. This will save energy by reducing the warm-up time needed to iron linens and other fabrics requiring higher ironing temperatures. • When possible, cook complete meals in the oven of your range, or better yet, cook in one of the efficient small appliances. • Cook vegetables in a small amount of water and always cover pots when cooking. • Thawed or partially thawed foods cook faster than frozen foods, using less energy. • Let left-overs cool off before putting them into the refrigerator. Putting hot foods directly into the refrigerator makes the unit work harder to cool the air inside the compartment — and wastes energy. • Hot water is cold water plus electricity. Avoid letting hot water run while washing dishes, shaving or performing similar chores. Take showers instead of baths. Keep showers down to five minutes. Heating • Keep tabs on the temperature. Set your dial to save. Each degree you turn your dial down can save about two-and-one half percent of your fuel cost. • Use fireplaces on those ’ ’in-between” days to take off the chill, but cold weather fires waste heat. More heat goes up the chimney than the fire gives off. Keep the damper closed when the fireplace is not in use. • Keep attic and basement doors as well as doors to unused room closed to confine and hold in the heat. Open the draperies when the sun is shining. Close them at night to reduce heat loss through the windows. • When arranging furniture be careful not to block heating units. Drapes should be arranged so that the air flow is not restricted. lighting • Keep lamps clean to make sure that the maximum light is obtained. • Select low wattage bulbs for decorative lighting. Clothe* Washer • Use hot water only when absolutely necessary. Dry era • Dry full loads of clothes and remove before they are completely dry. • Select temperatures for the fabrics being dried. Water Healer • Set back temperature on a water heater to the lowest setting possible. It is usually hot enough for most house usages. Oothing • Wear warmer clothes. "Wear” less electricity.

more entertaining and wholesome programs. One of their methods of doing this is to praise as well as pan, the positive approach. We can help them do this. We all feel free to criticise; let's be just as willing to make the effect to make television measure up to its tremendous potential for good. Nadine Kciper Koontz Lake Library BIRTHS Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Slicker, Route 1, Box 415, Walkerton, are the parents of a son born on February 11. in the LaPorte Hospital. Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Hostetler, Walkerton, are the parents of a son born on Monday. February 6 at Parkview Hospital, Plymouth. A daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Roland Lichtcnbargcr, Route 1. Walkerton, on Thursday. Febru ary 9, at Memorial Hospital. South Bend. A son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Doug Finch on February 2. He has been named Jason Andrew and weighed six pounds and 13 ounces. The proud grandparents are Mr and Mrs. William Graves. North Liberty and Mr. and Mrs. Orville Finch. North I ibertv.