The Independent-News, Volume 119, Number 50, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 28 April 1994 — Page 1

The Independent-News

VOLUME 119; NUMBER 50

WALKERTON TOWN COUNCIL MINUTES April 18, 1994 The Walkerton Town Council met on April 18, 1994 with the following members present: Gene Reese, Gordon Hartsell, Cheryl Rizek, Walter Heil and Leonard Jaske. Attorney Holmes and clerk-treasurer Judy Hiler were also present. The minutes were approved as read. Attorney Holmes reported that, in meeting held previous to this one, the Plan Commission voted to give a favorable recommendation for the re-zoning of the newly annexed property. This property had been zoned, by the county, for agriculture and manufacturing. The new zoning will be 1-1 for light industrial. Len Jaske made the motion to rezone the property as 1-1. Seconded by Gene Reese. Carried. Bids for sidewalks contracting were opened, and were as follows: Bau Construction, North Judson - 4’ wide - $7.40 per linear foot and 5’ wide - $9.25 per linear foot; Short's Concrete, Bremen - 4’ wide - $19.90 per linear foot-and 5' wide - $24.40 per linear foot; and Walsh A Kelly, Griffith - 4’ wide - $17.00 and 5* wide $20.50. The bids were given to assistant superintendents, Dave Bolze and Jeff Zehner for their review. They are to make a recommendation at the next meeting. MONTHLY REPORTS: President Rizek told the Council that one of the dispatchers had quit and chief Sobieralski had needed to immediately hire a new dispatcher. Sobieralski is going to bring in the name and the qualifications of the person he hired, to the next meeting. Sobieralski would also like the Council’s permission to send three of the dispatchers to school on May sth. There would be no cost to the Town, except for mileage. The Council agreed that this would be okay. Dave Bolze reported on the following: 1. Accumulated time — The Council reviewed and accepted the report. 2. Engineering for the electrical service to Rossborough Mfg. — Bolze had solicited three quotes, but received only one. He had received a proposal from Spectrum Engineering that had the job broken down into different categories, and we could stop at any point. The proposal had a not to exceed price of $12,800.00. After reviewing and discussing the proposal, Walt Heil made the motion to accept. Seconded by Gordon Hartsell. Carried. 3. The power factor meters have all been installed but one, and it can’t be done until July because the power will have to be shut off. Attorney Holmes is to get with Bolze to compose a letter to go to all the companies concerned. 4. Bolze had quotes for Christmas decorations for the downtown light posts, and they were: wreaths — $98.00 each or a total of $1,372.00 of $1,303.40 if paid within ten days of the order; candy canes — $225.00 for a set of two for each post. Len Jaske made the motion to purchase the wreaths at $1,303.40, with a check being mailed at the time of the order. Seconded by Gordon Hartsell. Carried. 5. Bolze and Jeff Zehner have reviewed the applications for summer help and (continued on Page 16)

WALKERTON, INDIANA 46574 THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 1994

SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION Tuesday, May 3 is Primary Election Day in Indiana. This year there isn’t a lot of “hot” races in the primary with the exception in St. Joseph County of the sheriff’s race, and of course in the John Glenn School Corporation area, the election of three trustees to serve the next four years. As is always the case in the primaries, many offices on a particular party side aren’t contested. Too many people think the primary isn’t worth the time of taking to vote, but actually, they might have more say and a closer contact with candidates on a primary level than in the fall at the general elections. People should still exercise their right to vote, despite of how they may feel about a particular election. In the John Glenn School Corporation district, the battle for tfaree seats has heated up and should, in itself, be a motivating factor to turn out a lot of voters. This is the third straight school board election that a particular subject has moved to the front and is causing a controversy at election time. Up for grabs in this year’s school board election, are three seats, one in each of the townships represented by two members, Polk, Lincoln and Liberty. Two of the incumbent board members are seeking another term, while Liberty Township’s two candidates are both newcomers to the game. The topic of controversy this year is the same as two years ago, the middle school issue of whether to renovate the present Urey structure or to build a new middle school. Despite the fact the 1028 hearing was held and the board voted 6-1 to proceed with the Urey renovation along with two other projects, this had also supposedly reached a conclusion two years ago but was reversed after the election of four new members to the then present board who had also made a decision at that time to go ahead with the new building. There is one thing for certain, a lot of time, study, factfinding, thought, planning, etc., has gone into this situation. And really no one has come up with a clear cut answer to satisfy the situation. It all depends on how you look at the situation and how you feel. Two years ago it was the voice of the taxpayer who was heard loud and clear in the election, following those who favored a much less expensive approach to the problem. Money to fund schools and education has been and continues to be a very big problem. Many school corporations are now finding that cutbacks must be made to satisfy all sides, and that includes more than just local citizens and students. So much is mandated by laws passed in recent years, that school corporations hands are somewhat tied and not a lot of relief is in sight at this time. There is no question something will have to be done about the junior high/middle school situation in our school corporation. And there are definite pluses and minuses on each side. It is going to take a board and administration with a lot of dedication and conviction either way to take care of this situation. However, one should not assume the fact that the Urey renovation or new middle school project is all that is at stake. Running the John Glenn School Corporation is a big and important job. The budget is around $lO million a year. The number of employees, both certified and non-certified, is large, making this one of the largest employers around. And the physical properties of the school system also enter in more than just in this one area. These things must proceed day in and day out and they are the responsibility of the board as much as offering the opportunity for youth of our school district a good and balanced education. The John Glenn School Corporation has been able to hold its head high as there are a lot of positives available through administration, faculty, curriculum, technology, extra curricular activities, etc. Basically we need leadership that will continue this trend. Making all this happen just does not happen by itself. It takes leadership and dedicated people to do this job. That is what we hope will be the end result of this election, not just a one issue matter of one building against another. There is one negative about this election in our mind, however. The public asked for an elected school board and they got it. We are all in favor of that. They also have been able to keep politics out of the picture and we greatly applaude that fact. But this is the second school board election in a row where “teams” or “sides” have been formed in the campaigning. That bothers a little bit. We would hope the people will still vote for individuals who they feel can and will do them a good job, not necessarily vote for someone just because they are on a “team” or are interested in only one issue. True, this issue is big. We are talking big dollars now and in the future. But as the last election displayed, a team was elected, got what they wanted, and within a little over a year, two of the four members were gone for what were stated as personal reasons. However, looking back, despite the fact the “teams” or “sides” were formed on one issue, this spilled over into other (confined on Page 4)

CALENDAR OF EVENTS THURSDAY, APRIL 28 4:30 p.m. — John Glenn girls tennis team to travel to La Ville for matches. 4:30 p.m. — John Glenn golf team to play Jimtown and Bremen at Bremen. 4:30 p.m. — John Glenn JV baseball team to visit Triton. 7:00 p.m. — Walkerton Business and Professional Women's Cub to meet. FRIDAY, APRIL 29 4:30 p.m. — John Glenn JV baseball team to visit La Ville. 4:30 p.m. — John Glenn varsity baseball team to host La Ville. SATURDAY, APRIL 30 9:00 a.m. — John Glenn golf team to play in the Marshall Co. Tourney at Culver. MONDAY, MAY 2 4:45 p.m. — John Glenn boys and girls track teams to participate in the Lancer Relays at La Ville. 5:00 p.m. — John Blenn varsity baseball team to host Jimtown. 7:00 p.m. — Walkerton Town Council to meet at Town Hall. 7:30 p.m. — Walkerton Rebekah Lodge to meet at 1.0.0. F. Hall. TUESDAY, MAY 3 Election Day. Polls open 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m., John Glenn golf team to play at Argos against LaVille, Argos and Goshen. 4:30 p.m. — John Glenn JV baseball team to host South Central. 4:30 p.m. — John Glenn tennis team to visit New Prairie. 7:30 p.m. — John Glenn School Board to meet at John Glenn High School. WEDNESDAY, MAY 4 4:30 p.m. — John Glenn varsity baseball team to play at Culver. 4:30 p.m. — South Bend Washington girls tennis team to visit John Glenn. 4:30 p.m. — John Glenn girls track team to host Plymouth. 4:30 p.m. — John Glenn golf team to travel to Jimtown. 7:00 p.m. — North Liberty Town Council to meet in Town Hall. THURSDAY, MAY 5 4:30 p.m. — John Glenn tennis team to host LaLumiere. WALKERTON SETS SPRING CLEAN-UP MAY 9, 10 & 11 The Town of Walkerton will hold the annual spring clean-up on May 9, 10 and 11th. The Utility Department personnel will collect items from the street curbs. There will be no alley pick-up. Items to be collected include appliances, furniture, televisions, water heaters, etc. Refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners will not be picked up unless the Freon has been removed from them. The time is to be certified by the company that removes the Freon, that the Freon has been removed. No tires, brush, hazardous materials, or building materials will be picked up. Homeowners can contact the clerk-treasurer's office for more information at 586-3711. NOTICE The Walkerton Clerk-Treasur-er’s office will be closed Tuesday, May 3, 1994 for the Primary Election.

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JOHN GLENN SCHOOL BOARD MINUTES April 19, 1994 Regular Seaaloo CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The Board of School Trustees of the John Glenn School Corporation met in regular session on April 19, 1994 at 7:30 p.m. in the John Glenn High School. All members were present. The School Board, superintendent and approximately 60 observers began the meeting with the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The School Board minutes for the April 5, 1994 regular and executive sessions were approved by unanimous consent. APPROVAL OF CLAIMS 595 through 714 A motion was made by Rob Keck, seconded by Shirley Anderson, to approve claims numbered 595 through 714. The motion was approved by a seven to zero vote. PATRON RESPONSE Jeff Johnson expressed appreciation to the School Board for the improvement made in the John Glenn High School auditorium. RECOGNITIONS 1. Report on North Liberty Elementary School’s Fifth and Sixth Grade Trip to Washington, DC. North Liberty Elementary’s report on the fifth and sixth grade trip to Washington, D.C. was postponed until the May 3 School Board meeting. Mr. Kaufman, principal at North Liberty Elementary School, announced the third nine weeks North Liberty Honor Roll. The Honor Roll covers grades 4-6 and 44% of the students achieved honor roll status with 14% listed as distinguished. Mr. Kaufman thanked Miss Pam Klodzinski, a John Glenn graduate, for her donation of a Drug Abuse Program to North Liberty Elementary School. The program includes booklets, a video tape and various rewards for completion of the program. North Liberty School outdoor lab, after sponsoring a spring tree sale, has scheduled a planting day for April 30. The public is invited to participate by signing up to plant one of the purchased trees from the spring tree sale or by bringing your own tree. A motion was made by Janice Ryan, seconded by Tom McCormick, to approve the gift of the Drug Abuse program to North Liberty Elementary School. The motion passed by a seven to zero vote. NEW BUSINESS 1. Approve Revised Home Economics and Technology in Education Curriculum Tom McCormick made a motion seconded by Gene Knowlton, to approve the revised Home Economics and Technology in Education Curriulum as presented to the School Board and commended the teachers and staff for their fine work in developing the curriculum. The motion was approved by a seven to zero vote. 2. Conduct a 1028 Public Hearing Regarding the Renovation and Expansion of Urey Middle School. Renovatin and Construction of Outdoor Physical Education and Athletic Facilites st John Glenn High School and Construction of a New Administration Building. (continued on Page 2)