The Independent-News, Volume 110, Number 14, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 6 September 1984 — Page 4

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- THE INDEPENDENT-NEWS - SEPTEMBER 6, IM4

[EDITORIALS,

NOT AT WAR! Perhaps Voltaire said it best when he made his statement about not agreeing with one’s opinion, but defending until the end of time the right to express it. That is how we feel also, but for some reason, because our opinion has differed with that of the Walkerton Town Board, some seem to feel we are “at war” with the board. This could not be further from the truth! We are concerned about Walkerton! We have been concerned about Walkerton for a good many years, having been in business in Walkerton since early 1957 and hoping to be in business in Walkerton for many more years to come. The success of our future here lies in Walkerton, the governing of the town, the taxes, the utilities, the support we get from the residents and area. The last thing we want is problems with the various governing units. Any business person must be concerned about their overhead. We are concerned about the taxes we pay ... we are concerned about the utilities we pay ... we are concerned about the services we get and we simply want to get the best possible in all areas for the money spent. On two occasions this year we have expressed through this editorial column, some concern with two important decisions the Town Board made. The reasons, we feel, in both cases, were more personal of nature than weighing the facts on both sides of the picture and coming to a decision after careful consideration. We were concerned about a completely new board taking office this year, an occurance that will not happen in the future as now it has been set up by the previous board to have the terms staggered. Add to this the changing of the town attorney at the same time when several key issues were in progress, and it was true that a lot of learning had to be done while key issues were progressing. We are very glad the board did get action on the properties on Jackson Street that presented not only an eyesore but also hazardous conditions. We were glad to hear that (even though it wasn’t reported in the board minutes) that the board just recently did not accept the sewage treatment plant as “substantially complete subject to the preparation of the detailed inspection punch list to accompany the substantially completion certificate”. We understand this was done after the advice of the town attorney was taken under consideration to get the punch list completed. There are other avenues we think the board is progressing along as they get more experience and we have previously and will continue to offer to the board any space they desire to inform residents about their activities and will strive to help them make Walkerton “that better place to live” and also to be in business. We hope this may clear some air. We haven’t been satisfied completely with the actions of the first eight months, but also, we are “not at war” over these items or any general or other principles. We hope things can continue to progress as Walkerton has seen a lot of progress in recent years. This trend, we hope, can continue, on an industrial, retail and residential basis, under this board’s direction and the boards of the future. ^^REMEMBE^^W WHEN...

1974 The John Glenn Falcons football team opened their 1974 football season on Friday night at home against the Bremen Lions and after the dust had cleared, the visitors took a come from behind victory home on the basis of a late four vard touchdown scamper. The final score was 20-16. The North Liberty Shamrocks opened their football season on a losing note Saturday evening as they traveled to North Judson only to return home with a 14-0 loss. John Glenn High School will have an open house on Monday, September 9, at 7:00 p.m., for parents of the students. The parents will have a chance to go through a modified schedule of their children’s classes and have a chance to talk with the teachers. The Grand Opening for The Brass Lion will be held on Friday and Saturday, September 6 and 7, with many specials on sale also. At the market center cut pork chops were selling for 51.09 a pound; first cut chops at 89 cents a pound; boneless rolled pork roast at $1.49 a pound; country style ribs at 89 cents a pound; smoked sausage at 99 cents a pound; ground beef at 78 cents a pound; franks at 97 cents a pound package; slicing bologna at 89

cents a pound; Keebler 14 ounce dub crackers for 59 cents; five pound bag of flour for 79 cents; a duster of six pan rolls for 29 cents; three loaves of white bread for 89 cents; Banquet buffet suppers at $1.19 for a two pound container; a half gallon of ice cream for 69 cents; sweet com at 59 cents a dozen; celery at 29 cents a stalk and 20 pounds of white potatoes for 99 cents. 1969 The enrollment. Kindergarten through grade 12 for the P-L-J Schools totals 1303 according to figures released on Tuesday by school officials. Enrollment is 18 less than last year. At the market pork steak was selling for 69 cents a pound; semi boneless ham at 79 cents a pound; ham slices at 99 cents a pound; bulk sausage at 49 cents a pound; bacon at 69 cents a pound; pork tenderetts at 89 cents a pound; old fashioned loaf at $1.09 a pound; three 18 ounce jars of Kraft jelly, jam or preserves for $1.00; Dove liquid for a 22 ounce bottle for 54 cents; seven ounce package of creamettes spaghetti, shells or junioretts for 10 cents; apple or peach pies at 29 cents; shrimp cocktail at 89 cents; lettuce at 23 cents a head; celery at 29 cents a stalk and three pounds of yellow

onions for 39 cents. 1959 Labor Day can be variously defined as: The End of the Summer; the beginning of the school year; a national traffic jam; or simply an excuse for a long weekend away from the office. The founder of the holiday, Peter J. McQuire, a leader in the Knights of Labor, proposed that a day be set aside to honor the working man in 1882. He conceived it as a tribute to “the industrial spirit, the great vital force of every nation.” He suggested the first Monday in September, since it came almost midway between Independence Day and Thanksgiving. The Central Labor Union of New York adopted his proposal and held the first Labor Day Celebration on September 5. As McQuire had suggested the union paraded through the streets of Manhatten to show the strength and spirit of trade and labor organizations. Shortly after, the Knights of Labor voted for an annual celebration national. The first state to make Labor Day a legal holiday was Oregon, in 1887. The legislature of Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York quickly followed suit and in 1894 Congress made Labor Day a national holiday. Don Blosser, freshman trumpet player from North Liberty is among 192 candidates invited for tryouts on September 8, at Indiana University’s annual Marching Hundred Hoosierettes band camp. Enrollment for the Liberty Township Schools for the new year shows a slight increase over last year. The total this year is 780 as against 770 last year. 1944 An arrangement has been worked out by the schools of the county concerning action to be taken when an armistice is signed ending the war with Germany. If official news of such action is received in the morning a short program will be held immediately, then the buses will take the pupils home at noon. If news comes in the afternoon similar action will occur, or if the word comes after school there will be no school the following day. Melbourne, Australia, has a population of 1,076,000. In 1940, home building in that city was valued at $21,000,000. Last year because of shortages of labor and material, home building expenditures total $39,000; about enough for 12 six room houses. To help meet the acute shortage in housing in which will have to be faced after the war, the Victorian State Housing Commission has drafted a five-year program, providing for 50,000 homes at an estimated cost of $150,000,000. The first shipment of food to be stored in the Atchison, Kansas, mine coverted into a huge cold storage warehouse, are ready for moving according to reports from the War Food Administration. The new storehouse is located two miles from Atchison and will provide storage space for a wide variety of agricultural products. There are only 20,000 new passenger cars in the country today. OPA announced the quota of new automobiles available for rationing in September will be 3,000 with another 300 as regional and 300 as national emergency reserves. This is the smallest quota since passenger car rationing began and a 40 percent cut from the August quota of 5,000. 1934 With an impressive Avenue of Flags and with 11 foreign villages and with entertainment extraordinary, the spacious grounds at the John Gark home took on the appearance of a World's Fair in miniature last Friday evening, the occasion being the annual Garden Party sponsored by the ladies of the Philathea Gass of the Methodit Church. Eleven booths were provided, arranged in a semi-circle representative of "foreign” villages from which appetizing and delicious foods were dispensed to the

hundreds of visitors as they made their way from one village to another. The Chinese village sold chop suey; the Spanish village, Spanish chicken; the German village, wieners and sauerkraut; Irish village, potatoes; Indian tepee village, com on the cob; Holland booth had cottage cheese; the American booth had salads; the Alaskian igloo had ice cream; the French village had pasteries and at the Japanese booth were ice cream and coffee and at the Dixie log cabin was watermelon. Only the quick action of local firemen, well directed and the use of efficient fire fighting appartus saved the town of Walkerton a very costly fire last Thursday evening at about 9:30 o’clock when an old wooden structure warehouse back of the Smith Coffee Shop and Tuttle Shoe Shop caught fire and spread to nearby store buildings in quick order. The building was the property of Garence Casad. When firemen arrived it looked like the hole buiness block was engulfed. It took only eight minutes for the firemen to bring the water to the scene from the time the alarm was sounded until the truck arrived. Six hose connections made, 900 feet of hose out and three streams of water playing on the burning buildings, from then on it was only minutes for those to see that the fire would be contained. Garence Shultz and Joe Kerchaert, firemen, suffered painful bums on their arms, legs and faces as they stood on top of the Dupler store building manning one of the water hose at close range. The new fire truck proved to be just the ticket since the old truck would not have been able to contain the blaze. The Post Office Department has announced that a change in the rural service from the Walkerton office will take effect September 1. Carriers are Gaude Stull, route 1; Charles Snyder, route 2; and A. E. McKesson, route 3. The change is to more equalize the routes and to improve on service as well as to add on three new customers. 3-Year Contract Settled For J. 6. School Teachers The John Glenn Education Association and John Glenn School Corporation have jointly announced settlement of a three year contract agreement covering salary, fringe benefits and language items effective August 15, 1984 through August 15, 1987. A summary of terms follows: 1. Salary increases for 1984-85 range from 9.0% at the beginning level with a BS degree ($14,390) to 7.1% for teachers with a MS degree and 20 years experience ($24,560). Salary increases for 1985-86 range from 7.3% at the beginning level with a BS degree ($15,445) to ■ 5.4% for teachers with a MS degree and 20 years experience ($25,880). Salary increases for 1986-87 l range from 6.0% at the beginning • level with aBS degree ($16,370) to 4.6% for teachers with a MS de-

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gree and 20 years experience ($27,060). 2. Extracurricular and summer school salary schedules have been increased to reflect a total dollar increase of 10.3% in 1984-85, 5.4% in 1985-86, and 4.2% in 1986-87. 3. Fringe benefits include a $30,000 life insurance policy in 1984-85 (no increase), $35,000 in 1985-86, and $40,000 in 1986-87. Health insurance benefits include $650 for a single plan in 1984-85, S7OO in 1985-86, and $735 in 1986-87. Teachers taking a family plan will receive $950 in 1984-85, $1,020 in 1985-86, and $1,070 in 1986-87. Health insurance benefits in 1983-84 were $587 per teacher. Teachers will continue to receive a long term disability income insurance policy and may purchase other group benefits, at their own expense, through the school corporation's insurance broker. The John Glenn Education Association and John Glenn School Corporation Board of Trustees have also agreed to a memorandum of agreement extending the current Board policy on reduction in force through the 1986-87 school year. According to the agreement, if the school corporation experiences a reduction in its ability to levy and collect taxes or a reduction in the monies received from the state educational funding formula, the Board shall have the right to reopen negotiations on salary and fringe benefits. Both parties to the agreement concur that the excellent working relationship experienced during negotiations can only serve to enhance achievement of their common goal: the best education possible for each John Glenn student. By laying aside yearly negotiations, the John Glenn Education Association and Board of Trustees hope to direct all energies toward that goal. Aside from excellent salaries and fringe benefits for the staff, the agreement shall help to provide stability, common dedication of purpose and educational progress for the entire John Glenn educational community. Gassifieds begin at $1.50. "God made the country and man made the town.” — William Cowper The first English dictionary was published in 1604. Called The Table Alphabetical! of Hard Words, it included about 3,000 words. 55 SAVES LIVES