The Independent-News, Volume 111, Number 22, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 31 October 1985 — Page 4
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- THE INDEPEN DENT-NEWS - OCTOBER 31, 1966
EDITORIALS |
A $235,931 RIP-OFF At a recent meeting of the Walkerton Town Board, an accountant with an outside firm, told the members of the Board that the electric department has been overcharging electric customers for a period of 12 months ending May 30, 1985. It is no secret to anyone paying Walkerton’s electric rates that they are extremely high, in fact a survey earlier this year showed them to be the highest in the State of Indiana. Then comes this fact that for a 12 month period the customers have been overcharged by 11.33 percent, that breaks down to $235,931 according to the accounant’s figures. This is almost a quarter of a million dollars and that doesn’t even include the time from June 1, 1985 through present and/or until the new rate requests are granted by the Public Service Commission. It was emphasized that new rates were scheduled by the Board for approval of the Public Service Commission and that this would result in lower electric rates when they are approved, probably sometime within a three month period. It was further stated that the reductions would not be retroactive “because the rates charged were approved by the Public Service Commission”. Since when does two wrongs make a right? The Town set and applied for the rates that were ruled overcharges. It was not the consumer who had anything to do with it. Certainly if the Town found out they were being overcharged from their supplier, they would try to recover the illegally collected money. The consumers deserve the same right. We feel the Town of Walkerton owes their electric customers something . . . first of all the money overcharged. If by some quirk of fate the legal aspect of this situation would allow the Town to keep the money, the Town still would owe the consumers many things ... an explanation of the entire situation and also tell the public where this money went. Not only is the electric department ahead the quarter of a million dollars plus, they also have been collecting interest on much of this invested in different ways. They should be made to account for every bit of the overcharges, interest, etc. We would encourage the Town Board to address this situation at once. It is their duty, to oversee this entire situation. They owe it to the people and need to once again take control of running the Town and its different departments. For a Board that a couple of years ago was campaigning so hard on some departments over spending, they have been more than lenient with certain departments in their tenure of office. This is still their responsibility, not the employees who are involved in this situation. The Town Board is the elected body to run Walkerton and its various departments. This must be done for the good of everyone. If nothing is forthcoming from the Town one way or the other, this will just further prove the decline in recent times of handling the responsibility of doing the job properly. It is no secret that in the last couple of years more complaints, more apparent mistakes, less cooperation and very little effort is forthcoming to assist the consumer and public and help solve the problems that occur. These employees should be there to do these things, and that is not consistently the case any more. It is no wonder that some actions of recent months have been the way they are. With this kind of a windfall, it is not too difficult to make purchases, plan new salary schedules that are overly generous, and do basically what they want to do, it is not their money they are using. Unless some kind of satisfaction can be resolved in this incident, the confidence and trust given the elected officials is not being returned to the consumers and people of Walkerton. WHEN...
1975 The United Methodist Church of North Liberty, will host its 50th annual bazaar on Saturday, November 1, opening with brunch at 8:30 a.m. A turkey dinner with the trimmings will be served from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Gifts of all kinds will be sold. Some members of the community who enjoy creative writing have expressed an interest in forming a writer’s workshop. An organizational meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 4, at 7:30 p.m., slow time, at the Koontz Lake Library. At the market round steak was selling for $1.59 a pound; swiss steak at $1.59 a pound; rolled rump roast at $1.59 a pound; cube steak at $1.59 a pound; beef shanks at 89 cents a pound; smoked picnics at 89 cents a pound; smoked sausage at
$1.29 a pound; beef franks at 79 cents for a 12 ounce package; German slicing bologna at $1.29 a pound; an eight inch frozen pumpkin pie for 69 cents; a pound of Parkay margarine for 49 cents; a three pound box of buttermilk pancake mix for 95 cents; a two pound jar of grape jelly for 89 cents; a gallon of bleach for 59 cents; a package of 10 trash can liners for 79 cents; four roll pack of bathroom tissue for 69 cents; cabbage at 10 cents a pound; and pink or white grapefruit at 10 cents each. The opening of the American State Bank, Koontz Lake, will be held on November 1, and everyone is invited to stop in and visit this new addition to the growing community of Koontz Lake. 1970 This Sunday, the last Sunday in
October, is the day to move the docks once again as the time will revert to Standard Time. At the market shank half or whole hams were selling for 59 cents a pound; butt half of ham at 69 cents a pound; center cut slices at 99 cents a pound; chuck roast at 69 cents a pound; swiss steak at 89 cents a pound; boiling beef at 59 cents a pound; franks at 69 cents a pound; bacon at 79 cents a pound; smoked sausage at 99 cents a pound; a can of salmon for 89 cents; an eight ounce frozen pumpkin pie for 49 cents; a gallon of ice milk for 89 cents; a half gallon of buttermilk for 39 cents; five loaves of bread for 89 cents; a 14 ounce can of lemon pledge for $1.19; 20 pounds of Michigan potatoes for 89 cents; and two pounds of bananas for 29 cents. 1965 The Board of School Trustees of Polk-Lincoln-Johnson School Corporation are in the process of selecting a site for the district’s new high school. The North Liberty cross country team won their third trophy of the season by placing second in the 11 team Triton Invitational last Friday. In a few days, Halloween will summon boys and girls to the streets of Walkerton to show off their newly acquired personalities of ghosts, goblins and spacemen. The youth of the EUB Church and Methodist Church will not be coming for themselves, but to help the world’s needy children they will be collecting for UNICEF. 1960 Official Trick or Treak time in Walkerton is on Saturday, October 28, as announced by the Walkerton Chamber of Commerce. This is the first time a date has been selected to trick or treat hopefully trying to cut down on the several evenings of young callers running around the town. It is now open house now for the sidewalk engineers in Walkerton as the busy hum of activity on the corner of Van Buren and Illinois Streets has attracted a lot of attention as work has really started on the new post office building. 1955 Walkerton and North Liberty teachers will attend the annual convention in South Bend or Indianapolis, Thursday and Friday, with the schools being closed for Teachers Institute. The North Liberty Women’s Gub attended traffic court on Friday. Golly Ned, here it is Thursday and there are still four more days left until Sam Spook can go to the Halloween party at the Liberty School. The festival with costume judging is being looked forward to by many of the area children. Basketball will begin on November 1 according to the IHSAA. 1950 The Walkerton Band Parents Association is planning an Amateur Show to be held on November 10, at 8:00 p.m. in the high school gym. Any amateur talent, young or old, is welcome to participate with the exception of baton twirlers. There will be lots of spooks and goblins afoot next Tuesday eveing when the kiddies of the community march in a Halloween parade and compete for cash prizes. LaFeber & Son Supermarket will be celebrating their 37th anniversary on October 28. 1945 Indiana’s 1945 corn crop, estimated at 243,376,000 bushels is the largest ever produced in the state, it was revealed by Purdue University and federal statisticians. William Divers and Orville Olmstead, of the Federal Housing Authority offices in Chicago, in company with Harry Schneider, area housing manager, of Kingsford Heights, met with a company of about 25 representative businessmen and members of the Walkerton Town Council, Wednesday, to consider future plans of dis-
posing of the FHA housing project in Walkerton, known as West Your and the dormitories. Lt. Colonel Thomas H. Bradley, commanding officer of the Kingsbury Ordnance Plant operated by Todd and Brown, Inc., revealed today, October 18, that decontamination of this huge explosives plant was started the day after the war with Japan was officially ended. Farmers in St. Joseph, Elkhart and Starke counties of the Kankakee river watershed are asked to meet at the Walkerton grade school gym on Monday evening, October 22, to consider the feasibility of organizing a soil conservation district. 1935 Way back in 1859 one little A & P Store was established in New York City. George Huntington Hartford, father of John A. Hartford, president of the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, began his business through the importation of a quantity of tea which he sold direct to his customers. Seventysix years later, there are almost 15,000 stores, making A & P the largest retail orgainzation in the world. War broke out in Walkerton this morning when Nickle Plate railroad closed the alley driveway along its tracks between Bth and 9th streets by putting T-rails down in the ground at the entrances to stop all cars. All the residence owners along the alley found themselves hemmed in, not able to get their automobiles out to the street. The alley driveway has been used by these lot owners for over 50 years without a complaint from the railroad company. The business owners in the block between Bth and 9th streets at different times have paid SIO.OO per year to the railroad to use the alleyway, but not all of them have done so. The residents have never paid and it is believed that the railroad company intends to close up the business section alley also. A truck load of cocoa caught fire and burned early Wednesday morning on Ave. F. in front of the Perry Lawrence Market. The driver had parked his truck and had been asleep at the Bob and Hazel Case when he was notified of the fire. The local fire department was called and were able to extinguish the flames only after putting a large quantity of water on it. The driver was able to cut the motor with its 55 gallons of gas, loose from the cargo and move it to safety.
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VOICE OF THE PEOPLE Where Were You When We Needed You? Last Friday night John Glenn High School hosted Rochester in the new IHSAA playoff sectional football game. Our players and coaches performed well in the game and received many compliments form their opponents following their loss. The team really expected more loyal fan (students and adults) support during the game — taking for granted the excellent support they received for all their regular home games this season. Our home bleachers were half empty! The weather was great — many volunteers gave of their time and effort in the preparation for this event — the only negative aspect from the “kids” was where were you when we needed you? Dick Kickbush, J.G.H.S. A.D. (proud of our coaches and their athletes) ui ■ii ; r nr' WK LIVES || H Thanks to you... it works... for OF US