The Independent-News, Volume 112, Number 34, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 22 January 1987 — Page 4

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- THE INDEPENDENT NEWS - JANUARY 22, IM7

I EDITORIALS E ■ , . • . ...

THE SEARCH HAS ENDED It is with regrets we report that the search for Mrs. Blanche Ricks has ended. The Police Department will still continue to follow any information or leads that might come in on this mysterious case, but after another area-wide search last Saturday failed to turn up any further information, the search, as such, has now ended. The mystery of the disappearance of Mrs. Ricks after apparently wondering away from Miller’s Merry Manor early Friday morning, January 9, still exists. With two organized searches on the two weekends, the hundreds of people from local and neighboring organizations of all kinds, as well as many individuals, nothing has been found one way or the other. The organization and leadership of the Walkerton Police and Fire Departments was outstanding. And the many neighboring groups, such as other police units, Tire departments, rescue squads of different nature, groups who searched on horseback and in various vehicles as well as aircraft, failed to turn up anything. But this didn’t take away any of the effort made by hundreds. Also greatly appreciated and almost unnoticed to those who weren’t involved, was the effort and expense put forth by the Walkerton Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary, who on the two weekends, served food and refreshments to the many who spent hours out in the various kinds of weather helping in the search. Without any direct asking or pleas for help, we understand this group has more than exhausted their treasury in this endeaver and although certainly unsolicited by them, it is our belief that they could use any support or donations anyone would care to make. Their job was monumental and a very important factor in this effort. The family of Mrs. Ricks has put up a $1,000.00 reward for any information leading to the finding of Mrs. Ricks. It is the hope of all, that somehow miraculously, Mrs. Ricks could be found alive and well. Even as the family has admitted, chances are slim, but the mental suffering they have gone through and will continue to go through until an end to this mystery comes about, most people will never know. It is with great sadness the concentrated evidence turned out negative, but it is with a very warm spot in the hearts of many, the effort put forth by everyone in this effort. It truly is an example of “people who care”. A JOB WELL DONE Another job very well done was the prompt and efficient job of snow removal done by the Town of Walkerton this week. With the heavy snow dumped on our area by the Monday storm, by time of publication. Jolly Back, in his first month as superintendent of the municipal departments, and his crew, has done a fine job in snow removal in the downtown area. The effort put forth means so much to the business area of a town. It cannot be realized unless you are involved. The moving and picking up of snow after a snowfall such as this, not only benefits the businesses and people of the area, it is a plus for the Town itself that will be remembered bv many. Getting the side streets of the town cleared and pushed back means so much in residential areas as well. It might be well to note that the Town of Walkerton does have a parking ordinance following such snow falls. We have inquired of the Clerk-Treasurer’s office and they are going to furnish a copy of the ordinance that we will publish in next week’s issue of “The Independent-News” for all to read and familiarize themselves with to further aid the Town in keeping up with these problems as they arise. But for now, we want to say “thank you for a job well done” in this really first heavy snowfall of the season. ; aL WHEN... jyy

1982 Congressman John Hiler on Monday, January 18, nominated 17 Third District citizens to U. S. Service Academies for the graduating class of 1986. From Walkerton William Michael Elkin, Rural Route 2, Boi 17, was selected for the Military Academy; and Anthony Paul Roberts. Route 1, Boi 44-B. was selected for the Naval Academy. Ray Chapman was re-elected as president of the Walkerton Industrial Fund at its annual meeting Monday evening at the Community Building. Donald King was elected secretary and Ed Walz, treasurer. Other members of the board directors elected were Jack Powers. Roy DeSimone and Rega Williams. On Saturday. Januars 30, the

two legislators representing the Walkerton area will be in town for a ‘ Town Meeting”. State Senator V. Richard Miller (R-Plymouth), and State Rep. Richard W. Mangus (R-Lakeville) will be at the J & J Restaurant at 10.30 a.m. to meet with any interested persons. This will be an informal session on which they will comment on the 1982 Indiana Legislature and also be available for questions concerning this session, the state, and anything in general they can help with. The John Glenn B-Team advanced to the finals of the Bi-County Journey for the second year in a row Tuesday night as they ran away from the Oregon Davis Bobcats 60-32 in gaming the final game. Die 1982 Indiana State Junior

Miss Pageant is being held this week, January 17-24. in Frankfort. The Frankfort Jaycees welcome Dawn Elaine Swihart to the pageant upon her arrival. She is a senior at John Glenn High School who won the Walekrton Area Junior Miss title earlier in the fall. She will compete for more than SI 2.000 in cash scholarships. $5,000 in merchandise awards and scholarships to fine colleges and universities up to $13,000. 1972 Die Walkerton Dairy Queen, U. S. 6 East, will soon be opening their new facilities. The opening date has been set for Wednesday, February 2. The new store is owned and operated by Sam and Tom Frame. Playing at the Rialto Theatre this weekend is “Beneath The Planet Os The Apes”. Coming next week will be “The Living Desert” and “The Vanishing Prairie”. At the market round steak was selling for $1.29 a pound; sirloin tip steaks at $1.39 a pound; rolled rump roast at $1.29 a pound; a half gallon of Sealtest ice cream for 79 cents; two pound can of Sanka coffee for $1.78; five pounds of flour for 49 cents; three 300 size cans of tomato sauce for 79 cents; two bath size bars of Zest soap for 29 cents; sii cinnamon rolls for 59 cents; eight 16 ounce bottles of Coca-Cola for 79 cents; a pound of butter for 77 cents; two one-pound bags of carrots for 29 cents; five pound bag of grapefruit for 69 cents; and 10 pounds of Idaho potatoes for 79 cents. 1952 Troop 98 of Walkerton entered the Klondike Derby at Plymouth, on Sunday, along with troops from Plymouth, Bourbon and Bremen. The boys won second place in the derby. They will receive ribbons and patches. Dr. Bernard E. Vodnoy, of Walkerton and South Bend, will give a short talk on Polio and the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, at the intermission of the basketball game at the high school gym on Friday. Also in the week ahead a house-to-house campaign will be underway for the collection of funds for the annual March of Dimes drive. 1942 Walkerton will get an additional 12 men’s dormitories and 300 trailers to house defense workers employed at the Kingsbury Ordinance Plant. This new assignement of defense workers will give Walkerton a total of 16 dormitories, housing 1,250 men, three hundred families living in trailers and 200 families in fabricated houses, which will mean in the neighborhood of 3,000 additional population. Following the “freezing" on sale of new cars and new tires by the government, the Walkerton Motor Sales will dispose of its stock of used cars and convert its enlarged showrooms into a service shop according to Omer H. Ball, manager. The annual basketball tourney will begin tomorrow with the following line-up: At 2:30 p.m.. Woodrow Wilson vs. Greene Twp.; 3:45 p.m., Lakeville vs. Walkerton; 7:30 p.m.. North Liberty vs Wash-ington-Clay; and 8:45 p.m., New Carlisle vs. Madison.

OBITUARIES

ALBERT T. KEB Albert T. Keb, 86. of 502 Pine Street, North Liberty, passed away at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. January 13. at Miller’s Merry Manor Nursing Home, in Plymouth, after an illness. He was bom on October 8, 1900, in South Bend, and had lived in North Liberty for the past 35 years, coming from Mishawaka. He married Florence E. Ball, in October of 1923, who preceded him in death in 1950. He married Ruth Newcomer in July of 1950, in South Bend, who preceded him in death in July of 1984. He was a carpenter. Surviving is a daughter, Mary-

etta Gamer, of Argos; two sons, Charles, of South Bend, and Albert, Jr., of Bourbon; a stepdaughter, Rosemary Kagel, of Mulberry, Arkansas; a stepson, Dale Newcomer, of Walkerton; several grandchildren; several greatgrandchildren; a sister, Renata, of South Bend; and a brother, Erwin, of Edwardsburg, Michigan. Services here held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday at King Memorial Home, Mentone, with Rev. lucerne Hall, pastor of the First Baptist Church, Winamac, officiating. Burial was in St. Joseph Valley Memorial Park, Granger. LYLE D. MCCORMICK Lyle D. McCormick, 66, of 406 N. Lafayette. North Liberty, passed away at 7:09 p.m., on Friday, January 16, in St. Joseph’s Medical Center, South Bend, after an illness. He was born on September 13, 1920, in Urbana, Illinois, and moved to North Liberty from Tolono, Illinois, in 1948. He married Betty J. Bogol, on November 2. 1946, in South Bend, who survives. Surviving along with his wife are three daughters. Joyce Knepp, of South Bend. Karen Dregits, of Mishawaka, and Joan Garber, of Normal. Illinois; a son. Thomas, of North Liberty; sii grandchildren; six sisters, Glesna Ekholm, of McKeesport, Pennsylvania, Maude Dowell, of Crawfrodsville. Florence Coil, of Tolono, Illinois, Ruby McCormick of Nokomis. Flordia. Bonnie Barear, of New Albion. Illinois, and Lucille Castor, of Mahomet, Illinois; and a brother. Paul, of Tolono, Illinois. Services were held at 11:00 a. m., on Monday, at the A. M. Manuel Funeral Home, North Liberty, with Rev. Steve Conner, pastor of the United Methodist Church, officiating. Burial was in Westlawn Cemetery, North Liberty. He was a retired farmer. He served on the Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service for 13 years; held various offices in the Farm Bureau of Lincoln and Liberty Townships and St. Joseph County; was a member of the North Liberty Area Chamber of Commerce. North Liberty Community Building Association. the South Bend Disabled American Veterans. American Legion Post 365, North Liberty, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1954, North Liberty, and the National Farmers Organization and was a founding member of the Potato Creek Festival Committee. He was on the North Liberty Town Board for three years and was with the North Liberty Burial Ground Association. He was a sales representative for DaKalb & Callahan Seed Company. He served in the Army during World War 11. Memorial contributions may be made to the North Liberty United Methodist Church, of which he was a member. MRS. LOTTIE GIERLOWSKI Mrs. Lottie T. Gierlowski, 67, of Rural Route 1, Boi 72, Grovertown, passed away at 8:30 a.m., on Monday, January 12, at her home as a result of an apparent heart attack. She was bom on March 9, 1919, in Chicago and she had lived in this area for 30 years coming from Chicago. She married Edward Gierlowski. on October 28. 1944, in Chicago, who preceded her in death on August 19, 1980. Surviving are two sons, Frank, of Grovertown, and Mike, of Plymouth; seven grandchildren; a brother, Richard Smuszkiewicz, of Chicago; and five sisters, Mary and Frances Smuszkiewiz, both of Grovertown. Esther Drawal and Cecelia Smidowicz. both of Chicago, and Irene Hlavaty, of Fort Collins, Colorado. Services were held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. Walkerton, of which she was a member, with Rev. Anthony Letko officiating. Burial was in the Grovertown Cemetery. She was a retired assembly worker for Plastic Service Company, of

LaPorte. The Rannells Funeral Home, Koontz Lake Chapel, were in charge of the arrangements. P.T.A. Reflections Contest Winners For 1-5 Graders The P.T.A. Reflections Contest was held last Thursday, January 15. Entires were received from students in first through fifth grades. All entries were creative artwork of the students and related to the theme: “In Celebration: a Past to Remember, a Future to Mold”. The top three winning entries in each category. Visual Arts, photography and Literature will now be sent to the Indiana State P.T.A. Office and will be entered in the Indiana State P.T.A. Reflections Contest. All entries will be displayed at State Convention 1987 in Indianapolis. Visual Arts Winners — State Entries: Steven Savoie, 3rd grade; Darcie Nowatzke and Steven Snell, Sth grade. First place: Nathaniel Pariritz, David Guseilla, Margie Hensley, Jacinda Pairitz. Jason Richeter. David Guseilla, Aimee Christensen and Kyle Betz. Second Place: Jimmy Kearney, Brian Snell. Ray Chapman. Brandon Hostetler. Mary Metz. Holly Amor. Lee Bussie. Dawn Elkins. Kathy Gillham, Jesse Herndon, Jennifer Keck, David Lewis. Lisa Matz, Jessica Abair. Jason Bannister, Nanna Bussie. Heather Erdelyi. Tony Gilleand and Sadie Pairitz. Third Place: Suzanne Drews. Kristina Guseilla. Joe Pletcher. Scott Tribbey. Crystal Bloomfield, David Glon and Shelly McCarty. Photography Winners — State Entries: Suzie Kearney, 3rd grade; Kyel Betz and Steven Snell, Sth grade. Second Place: Eric Stafford and Christa Fry. Literature Winners — State Entries: Holly Amor, 3rd grade; Debbie Gilleand, 4th grade; and Steven Snell, sth grade. First Place: Jonathan Strahm and Heather Erdelyi. Second Place: Cathy Arce, Aimee Christensen. Christa Fry. William Shouse and Jessica Abair. Third Place: Crystal Bloomfield and Dennis Mark. We congratulate all winners and thank all students for participating in this year’s contest. We also thank the teachers for their cooperation in supporting this P.T.A. project. Good Luck to our State Entry Winners in Indianpolis. SENATOR MILLER AND REP. MANGUS TO VISIT SATURDAY, FEB. 21 Senator V. Richard Miller has announced the schedule for the weekly legislative coffees for Senate District 9. Senator Miller urges the citizens to attend these weekly sessions, stating, “The only way I have to effectively represent the District is to have input from constituents. By attending the coffees, the people can make their concerns known to me before action is taken by the General Assembly on a measure and I can respond accordingly. I need to know the concerns of the citizens,” Miller concluded. Senator Miller and Rep. Mangus will be in Walkerton on Saturday. February 21, at 8:30 a.m., at the Town Hall. At 10:30 a.m., they will be in North Liberty at the Town Hall. Coffee and donuts will be served at each meeting. Weekly updates will be issued to the media in order to keep the citizens advised of meeting places and time schedules. Save a life. Learn CPR.