The Independent-News, Volume 112, Number 45, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 9 April 1987 — Page 9

WALKERTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL REGIONAL SCIENCE FAIR ENTRIES Aimee Christensen, Kim McCormick and Steve Snell represented Walkerton Elementary School in the Regional Science Fair which was held at Notre Dame Saturday March 28. _______ Iff* '' * "*** I X s r - k* HBmi- z_ Aimee Christensen, 4th grade, Walkerton Elementary School 1 u ■ I Kim McCormick, sth grade, Walkerton Elementary School run ‘ 1 " h WWI ■ - • mi ISf j ■ J» M I « P <. ij» Steve Snell, sth grade, Walkerton Elementary School

Spring Brings Full Schedule To Potato Creek Perk As the landscape around Potato Creek State Park comes alive with the arrival of warmer weather, so do many of the park's recreational facilities. The following is a brief listing of the many recreational opportunities awaiting you at Potato Creek State Park this spring. The Main Gate at Potato Creek State Park, currently operated only Friday p.m., Saturday and Sunday, will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily starting April 10. A fee of $2.00 per vehicle admits the driver and passengers. For SIB.OO, an Annual Entrance Permit may be purchased. Senior citizens (60 years of age and over) may purchase a Golden Age Passport for $5.00. Both the Annual Entrance Permit and the Golden Age Permit may be used at any Idniana Department of Natural Resource property. 50 cents admits a pedestrian. bicyclist or passenger in a commercial vehicle. Additional fees include: $2.25 for a daily boat

launch or SIO.OO for an annual boat launch permit. These park fees are user’s fees that go to maintain Indiana State Park properties. For a pleasant tour of the lake, rowboats and canoes are available at the Boat Rental for $1.75 plus tax per hour. Oars and anchors are included in the rental fee. A daily boat rental is available for $9.00 plus tax. Paddle boats are $4.00 plus tax per hour or $2.00 plus tax per half hour. There is no daily fee for paddle boat rental. Boat Rental will be available on Fridays. Saturdays and Sundays from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. beginning on April 3. Boat Rental will be available on a daily basis beginning May 8. If you prefer to pedal your way through the park, bicycles are available at the Bicycle Rental for $2.50 plus tax for the first hour and $2.00 plus tax for each additional hour. Bikes may be rented for SB.OO plus tax for the day. Tandems may be rented for $3.50 plus tax for the first hour and $3.00 plus tax for each additional hour, or SIO.OO plus tax for the day. A 3.2 mile paved bike trail tranverses a variety of the park's natural habi-

tats. A valid driver's license. Annual Entrance Permit or a $20.00 deposit is required. Bicycle rental will be available on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. beginning on April 3. and will be available daily beginning May 8. To meet the needs of campers and other visitors to the park, the General Store will be open weekends, Friday, 4:00 p.m. • 9:00 p.m.; Saturday, 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.; Sunday. 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., beginning April 3. Available at the General Store is food, firewood, fishing licenses and souvenirs. The General Store will be open fulltime beginning May 15. For those looking forward to a swim in beautiful Worster Lake, you will have to be patient a while longer. Potato Creek's Beach opens Memorial Day Weekend and will be open 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. daily through Labor Day. To deepen your experience of Potato Creek State Park and its resources. join the Naturalist at any of the various programs currently offered on Saturdays and Sundays or visit the Nature Center on weekdays from 1:00 p.m. -5:00 p.m. and weekends from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sec Nature close-up as you view honeybees at work in an actual beech tree in the Nature Center, the only display of its kind int he nation (maybe the world). At Potato Creek's Nature Center you will find something for all ages! So come, and partake of the opportunities awaiting you. HOUSE HIGHLIGHTS By Rep. Richard W. Mangus By Rep. Richard W. Mangas Though there were disagreements over the structure of the program passed by the House and the one offered by Governor Robert Orr and Superintendent of Public Instruction H. Dean Evans, the House version of the education package kept alive some of the most sweeping reforms of the state’s primary and secondary education system in decades. Senate response to the House education package indicated the eventual likelihood of a conference committee since most members of the Senate leadership indicated they are more closely aligned with the Governor’s proposal than with the House version. Areas of contention between the Orr/Evans package and the version passed by the House include: • The number of educational days in a school year (the House version calls for 175 days, the Orr/ Evans plan for 185 days). • How to establish greater accountability on the part of schools, administrators and teachers. • What form and how much money to use for awards based upon the performance of schools and their students. • The extension of Prime Time (reduction of the teacher-student ratio) into the fourth grade. • When schools will give the I STEP (Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress) test to their students (the House gives the option to local school officials, the Orr/Evans plan seeks a statewide date in the spring). The ISTEP test is an integral part of many provisions of the Orr/Evans plan. Health Bills Result From Public Concerns The House passed over 20 bills directly or indirectly related to public health concerns. One key provision approved by the House would limit smoking in public buildings to specified areas, to reduce the risk of secondary smoke damage to non-smokers. Two bills aimed at separate health concerns received House approval, one of which would address the concerns of Alzheimer’s disease victims, the other of which would study the concerns of those suffering from autism Another bill passed by the House would make the drug Dronabinol,

UREY MIDDLE SCHOOL REGIONAL SCIENCE FAIR WINNERS Trish Bottorff and Tim Pletcher, students at Urey Middle School, were participants in the Regional Science Fair that was held at Notre Dame last Saturday, March 28. £ Vw • F *" I I ■ ■ S v • ■J L a Trish Bottorff, 6th grade, Urey Middle School I I j Tim Pletcher, 7th grade, Urey Middle School

currently prohibited form use by law, available for doctors to use in treating cancer patients. The handling of hazardous waste also generated concern in the House, in the form of several bills dealing with the storage and handling of such materials and in paying for the clean-up or accidents involving hazardous materials. Drinking, Drags Attacked By Hoose One of the most highly-publi-cized issues of the 1980 s, the House addressed several areas involving both drinking and drugs in the early phases of the session. The House voted in one bill to give additional help to victims of drivers convicted of driving while intoxicated through the state's assistance program. The House also passed a measure which toughens the sanctions against people convicted of driving under the influence. The House approved a bill which would provide greater financial assistance to both state and county drug enforcement officers in their efforts to catch and prosecute violators of the state's drug abuse statutes. House Sapporta GOP Ban On LMS The House voted unanimously to support a GOP-initiated ban on telephone company charges for local phone calls until at least 1989. The measure passed by the House would also require that phone companies provide a certain percentage of their customers with comparative billilng before initiating local measured service. The dual billings would provide customers with an idea of what their costs would be under current billing systems and under LMS. Enticing New, Helping Current Bustaeeaes Vital To State’s Economic Growth Enticing new businesses and industries to Indiana and helping the state’s current business community keep up with advancing technology and increasing competition in the economic world has been a

APRIL 9, 1987 - THE INDEPENDENT-NEWS

hallmark of the 1987 House. In all. the House passed 15 bills directly or indirectly related to the various components of economic development, including bills aimed at facilitating the construction of the proposed Fuji-Isuzu plant in Lafayette. Other bills vital to the continued economic growth of Indiana that have receive the House stamp of approval include: • A bill to allow counties to impose a county economic development income tax up to 0.5% to facilitate local developmental projects. The legislation would allow local leaders to become even more actively involved in the development of their own areas. • A bill to establish the Indiana seed capital revolving loan fund. The fund would make possible procedures to identify entrepreneurs with marketable ideas, to conduct conferences and seminars to help give Indiana businessmen access to specialized expertise, to set up a statewide network of resources to assist the development of new enterprises and to operate a small business assistance center to provide managerial and technical assistance to those Hoosier businesses that need and want such input. • A bill that offers new hope for development to Indiana counties that have suffered through economic declines The bill would establish a growih investment program fund and would provide up to $250,000 to businesses proposing projects that meet predetermined developmental goals. - The rocking chair was invantod by Benjamin Franklin

9