The Independent-News, Volume 105, Number 43, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 3 April 1980 — Page 4

APRIL 3, 1980 - THE INDEPENDENT-NEWS

EDITORIALS

HAVE YOU BEEN COUNTED? Have you been counted? The 20th decennial counting of America . . . the U. S. Census ... is very important to each and everyone of us. The forms have been mailed out and on most parts, completed and returned by this time. Every household in America is to receive a questionnaire to be filed out and returned to the bureau. A lot of emphasis has been placed on basing the forms mailed back immediately and the date of April 1. 1980. was named the official census day. However, if you did not meet this deadline, the census bureau is asking everyone to at least have responded by April 10. After this date, personal contact will be used to complete the information. If you do not mail your questionnaire in by April 10. a census worker will call upon your household. This is expected to last through May. It also is a very expensive way to compile the data sought as it is figured that for every one percent that has to be contacted inperson, it will cost 2 million extra dollars. The government will be spending around a billion dollars over a ten year period to conduct the 20th decennial census. The savings of prompt response will be very large and important. The reasons for a census are almost as numerous as the people the census is trying to count. The counting of the census and reporting the figures to the president was set forth in the constitution of the United States to be done every ten years. With the census such programs as social security, special programs for the elderly, mental health centers, highway safety, housing and community development, unemployment insurance, energy research and development and vocational rehabilitation programs depend upon the data provided by this count. Each person counted means about S2OO contributed to the county that they reside in. You are important .. . fill out that questionnaire and mail it in to the Bureau. Also, the census will provide a fair basis for the apportionment among the states for seats in the House of Representatives. Reapportionment of House seats has taken place following each decennial census since 1790. The number of House seats, determined by a state's total population. has risen from 105 after the 1790 census to the current 435 seats, the norm since 1912. Indiana is not figured to change much, but other states will change with this count. Your questionnaire will be treated in a confidential manner. Only sworn census workers have access to the records and no one else may see them. If such confidence is broken, a census worker may face a $5,000 fine and up to a year in prison if they are convicted of revealing census information. Names, addresses, phone numbers and social security numbers are never entered into any computers. Your social security number is not even asked for in the questionnaire. /X toll free number is available to those who need any assistance in filling out his or her questionnaire or if any other problems arise. Some households have been missed, but this does not mean they are not wanted. The number is 1-800-342-5740. The office of the Census Bureau is at 221 W. Wayne, the third floor of the Emmco Building, South Bend, phone 236-5028. Our district includes LaPortc, Starke. Marshall. Porter. South Lake and St. Joseph Counties. Do your part if you already haven’t . . . stand up and be counted!

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE We, the staff of Urey Middle School, would like to express our views on the handling of the remodeling project at our building. We feel that the public should have been made aware last fall of the proposed renovation plans. Even though funds were not available at that time, public awareness was needed to prevent the present situation. An agreement must be reached as to the actual needs of our corporation and we feel that plans should be initiated immediately to incorporate the community and the school board in making these decisions. As things now stand the money has been allocated for no reason as nothing can he done to the existing building for at least a year. We only hope that during that time period nothing happens to make those citizens who signed the remonstrance regret their actions. At this point we would like to respond to some of the issues brought out in the editorial column of last week's "IndependentNews". I he Urey staff members, not the school board, were the people who made the vast majority of phone calls and visits to homes of people who had signed the remonstrance. We felt a very strong obligation to see that those who had signed the remonstrance were given a clear picture of the situation. We found in many instances, that people had been given sketchy details of the proposed plans and were unaware of the reasons behind the renovation project. We would like to thank those people who were willing to listen to our side of the

story and to reconsider their decisions. We feel that it is important to note that a significant number of people were willing to remove their names from the remonstrance once they had a better understanding of the proposed expenditures and of the existing conditions in the Urey building. We also feel that it should be noted that many of the "luxury class" items in the proposed plans would have been cut because of the .2 million dollar difference between the total cost of the proposed plans and the total amount of funding available. Now the necessary improvements and repairs cannot be made and the taxpayers' money will continue to float out the windows with the uncontrollable heat. It is also significant that the "soice of the public" is roughly 230 citizens who signed the remonstrance. There are mans other people affected by the actions of these 230 who were relegated to becoming an "unheard voice" because of a lack of communication. We think it sad that so few people (in relation to the size of the three townships involved) were allowed to make such a far-reaching decision that affects the everyday life of each student in our building. We would like to make one final note in response to the previously mentioned editorial's closing line. Oh yes, it is also obvious that in all this talk and all these dollars the word education’ has failed to surface We wonder where the editor was sitting at the public meeting of the PL J. School Board on Thurs.. March 20. The fact that the conditions, as they exist at the present time, are a definite dcterent to the performance of our students was mentioned many times by school officials, teachers, and concerned parents of the corporation Io assert that this was

not the main issue in an action such as this is a slap in the face to those of us concerned with the education and well-being of our young people. The entire renovation project was not designed as a wav to spend money. It was designed to assure the students of our corporation safetv in an atmosphere conducive to learning. Signed by 20 staff members of The Urey Middle School In response to the editorial printed in the "Independent-News” March 27. 1980. Many of the people signing the remonstrance petition are people who do not have children in the school system. We feel they were mis informed as to what they were signing, and in our opinion, a total of 230 taxpayers (less than 5% of the total taxpayers of our school corporation) does not represent the total taxpayers of our school corporation. As for no one knowing what the plans for the renovation project were, it certainly was no secret, but no one showed enought interest to attend a board meeting and ask questions pertaining to this project. The group of interested taxpayers who put the remonstrance petition together consisted of less than 10 people. There was mention of the money spent on tennis courts and fence and maintenance on the buildings. We can only say this, the fence has saved the taxpayers several thousands of dollars in damages to the athletic fields, and as far as the tennis courts are concerned, we felt they would be of benefit to the community as well as the school system, and this has proven to be true. It should not have to be pointed out that maintenance on buildings must be performed in order to have facilities for the child ren to learn in. We are sure if you arc a home owner, you have to perform maintenance on your home at various times or it would eventually become in very bad shape. There was mention made of luxury items that money was to be spent, but there was no mention made as to the Handicap Act that is to be enforced bv the summer of 1980. This act requires there be access to the buildings and also restroom facilities. By complying with this act. we felt it was necessary to blacktop the parking lot in order to better facilitate any wheelchair patrons. Also, we felt the drive should be install to deviate possible congestion at the ramp area. As for the carpeting of various classrooms that seems to be noted as a luxury item, there was no mention made of the fact the present floor coverings are. in most cases the original and are worn out, and do require some sort of new covering, and that carpeting has proven to be the most economical covering to maintain and also cuts down on noise in order to help the learning process. The false ceilings w ere to enclose the much needed electrical system, and to help in the installation of insulation to lower future heating cost and energy savings. The antenna that was mentioned is a very small componet of a sound system similar to the systems in our other buildings, which has proven to be very helpful in our educational system. The new doors are part of the building code items that would be required on a project of this pro portion. They would be fire rated doors as required by State building codes. The message we felt we got last year was this: Dont' raise the cumulative building fund, if you need to renovate Urey School, borrow the money and do it. Now, it seems, there are some who seem to forget this part of our last year's meeting. The board did not make an effort to have names removed from the remonstrance petition. This was started by a group of teachers at Urey School on their own time, be

cause they are aware of the conditions at the school that this board is trying to correct, and they are also aware of the educational profits that could have been derived had this project not been stopped. We are sure this board makes mistakes such as the poor selling job that was mentioned, but then on the other hand, the public makes some by not inquiring as to what it really means to sign such a remonstrance petition. We think it any one would take the time to attend a few school board meetings, they would be aware of the fact there is no member on this board that feels they are there for no reason as stated. We understand the legal action taken, and that is not as hard to swallow as all of the mis-statment of facts — as they are not as some people think they are. It is the opinion of the board and its advisors that to come up with an acceptable alternative next year for the renovation of Urey School, which would mean a lot less renovation being performed, will probably cost some where around 18% to 25% more. We do not feel this board has even been un-wtlling to work with the people of this school community. Also, it should be pointed out that this is a five person board and not a three. We feel it was very obvious this whole project has to do with the betterment of the educational program of our school system, so obvious in fact, that you would have to be very naive to think otherwise. Yes. we think a lesson has been learned here, and it seems to be the fact that a very small minority of mis informed people can set the advancement of the education of some 280 children back approximately 2 years bv not allowing them to have their learning facilities updated. It has also been brought to our attention through thi^ remonstrance proceeding that there is a feeling that this project should be put off until North Liberty makes their decision on what they are going to do. Our opinion is that we are board members of the PolkLincoln Johnson School Corporation at this point in time and we are striving for the betterment of our educational programs. It is hard for this board to understand why an editorial such as the one of March 27. 1980. was written

Tips For Safe Bicycle Riding

It’s estimated more than one thousand bicyclists are killed in traffic accidents each year while another fifty thousand sustain injuries. What's more, the number of bicyclists is growing at an incredible rate of close to ten million annually. Experts say there are now over one hundred million bicyclists in the U.S. — close to one half the total population. "Anyone riding a bicycle should know and obey all the same traffic laws as a motorist,” says Milt Nachbar, a traffic safety expert at CNA Insurance. “Parents can do a lot to help their children learn and use safe bike-riding practices,” Nachbar commets. “For one thing, children learn from observing.. . how do you drive your car or your own bike?" He offers these tips for safe bike riding: • Be sure the bike is in good condition. Many local police departments provide a free bicycle inspection — often coupled with a safety program and riding skills test. • Make certain the bike and its rider can be seen and heard. Reflectors visible from all four sides, a good headlight and a loud bell or horn should be standard on all bikes. At night, the rider should wear light colored clothing with reflective strips on the arms and legs • One of the most dangerous practices is to ride a bike

without checking the facts first. One wav to check the facts would be to attend some of the school board meetings, and in this case in particular, the meeting of March 20. 1980. Reporters were in attendance from the Plymouth PilotNews and the LaPortc Herald-Ar-gus. but we noticed no one from our local new paper in attendance at this meeting. We hope this will clear away some of the clouds hanging over this issue, and hope we can all get on with the job at hand, of giving the children of the Polk-Lincoln-Johnson School Corporation the best possible education, in the most functional and practical surroundings. Board of School Trustees Polk-Lincoln-Johnson School Corporation (EDITOR S NOTE: Not wanting to get into arguments over the many pros and cons of the bond issue remonstrance, and there are many. I feel that I must however state that I can truthfully state that not one person I have talked to who signed the remonstrance, or in any way was the intention of this newspaper to direct any criticism or, attack on the faculty, staff and/or students of the Urey Middle School ever intended. The actions was taken against the PLJ School Board in the only legal recourse the taxpayers had.) J3ZG7GZB fem OF THE CIRST HEliCom? rt IM THE U £ T£»K PLA£E IN 19/2, WHEN APL^R BERLINER COT THE uahime TO RAi^E ITMLF TO A MfiOMT OF tJN AWECeaFT MAINTENANCE CORP'S, (pVAUFIfcP MfN ANP CAN ADVANCE TO SKiufP Positions POWaRTFAINS, ^PCAULIC MS, TUC ELECTRICAL STSTEMS AM* Al Rf RAMIS’

while listening to “earphone” type radios This prevent* the bike rider from hearing both auto and pedestrian traffic. JSaiHl7nl • Tricks and "daredevil” type stunts should be done only by the professionals on bikes that are built specifically for this purpose. A bike can be easily damaged by stunts and result in a serious accident at a later date. • Yield the right-of way to everyone. . . including pedestrians. Even though you must obey all traffic laws, a bike is no match for a car, truck or bus. • Contact your local •chool, police department or bike shop for illustrated brochures explaining the many safety rules pertaining to bikes. “Bicycle riding is popular with all age groups," Nachbar points out, “and everyone who rides a bike, from preschoolers to grandparents, should be familiar with the safety rules "