The Independent-News, Volume 121, Number 4, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 8 June 1995 — Page 4

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— THE INDEPENDENT NEWS — JUNE 8, 1995

|| EDITORIAL j

CAN WE WAVE THE FLAG TOO MUCH? Is it possible to wavie the flag too much? Provided of course if you wave it with integrity! Is it possible to read the Bible too much? The great, the good, the true ... are inexhaustible for inspiration, example and real strength. I believe we are not waving the flag enough, not nearly enough. It almost seems we are developing a tendency to be forgetful, timid and even apologetic about displaying the Stars and Stripes. Go up and down the streets on Flag Day, the 4th of July, or any patriotic holiday and count the flags. You won’t need a lot of assistance. Why aren’t more flags flying from buildings, roof tops, yards, homes and businesses? Is the complacent attitude a sign of patriotic decay ... or just laziness and lackadaisical attitudes? Over the years various inspirations have restored respect and attention to the flag. Os course war has. While conflicts are going on involving our troops, we become a more conscience people. The celebration of the Bi-Centennial in 1976 probably directed more attention than any single peacetime event to the flag. Flags from our history were displayed everywhere when this was being celebrated. Flags are always displayed in cemeteries on Memorial Day as we pay honor to those who gave their lives for our country. The flag is a symbol of our national unity. It is the spirit of our undying devotion to our country. It stands for the best that is in us as Americans . . . our loyalty, character and faith in democracy. Is our flag not a synonym of the United States of America? Does it not represent man’s noblest, most sublime dream? Is it not the zenith of achievement, the goal to which generations have aspired? I believe it is time for us, a fast-paced, mad-rushing, often very self-centered society, to once again remember our flag and country instead of just ourselves. Let us rest our near reverental admiration of material success and return to the spirit of our forefathers who forged this great nation for us over the years. Let us rekindle ourselves and our children in the oldfashioned way of patriotism and the principles and ideals upon which this country was founded. Isn’t the flag Patrick Henry, Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Nathan Hale, Paul Revere, Lincoln, Jackson, Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Pearl Harbor and other great men and battles over the years? Many gave their lives for our flag and what it stands for. Do we only honor and remember them once a year on a specific occasion? When you look at the flag you also see World War I, Pearl Harbor, Normandy, the Alamo, Corrigedor, Iwo Jima, The Monitor, The Merrimac, Wake Island, Korea, Vietnam, Flanders Field, Bataan, and on down the line? Even Babe Ruth, Lou Gerhig, Davy Crockett, Johnny Appleseed and John Wayne and many other great Americans who lived by and for the Stars and Stripes. They are America. The great people and events of our past and present are wrapped in our flag. It is a symbol of this great nation, a giant in industry, education, medicine, commerce, millions of fertile acres, steel mills, coal mines, wheat fields, etc. Wednesday, June 14 is designation Flag Day. Couldn’t we have Flag Day everyday? These things are what the flag really means. Can we wave the flag too much. I don’t think so.

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“No Fireworks In Walkerton?” It’s almost that time of year again. A time we all look forward to — the annual July 4th celebration in Walkerton. A carnival, parades, ball games, music and entertainment. And best of all, the fireworks! A lot of people in our town invest a lot of time, energy and money all year long to make this one weekend a success. It is the biggest event in Walkerton, drawing thousands of people from surrounding areas. Most come to see the fireworks; arriving in town early to spread a blanket out on the grass in hopes of getting the best view. Walkerton’s fireworks display is one this entire town should be proud of. It is one of the biggest and best in the entire state of Indiana, and in fact, far outshines displays put on in larger cities in other parts of the country. For as long as this town has had a fireworks display, the men of the Walkerton Volunteer Fire Depart-

ment have been responsible for putting on this show — the actual setting up and lighting of the fireworks. For 20 years or more, these men — mostly the same ones year after year — have put in the hard, exhausting work and dedication necessary to make the show a success. They have given up their holidays, forsaking their families year after year, for the benefit of this community. Hats off to these men! But now these firemen want a break. For once in 20 years, these men want to spend the holiday with their families watching the fireworks. They have done their time; built the Department up so this generation of volunteers could take over and eventually pass it on to future generations. They deserve a break. But it appears that the new generation of firemen — many of them the sons and grandsons of the firemen who have served our community for years; young men of

my own generation — do not want to have a fireworks display in Walkerton this year! Why? Because there is a lot of work involved in setting up and shooting off the fireworks. This new generation of firemen complain that they "get hot and tired and dirty’’, and they don’t want to have to do all that work. And along with that work is the pride, honor and prestige that comes with being a fireman and in representing our community. These are the young men who want to wear their uniforms, drive the fire engines in the parades, and let everyone know who they are. It seems they want all the glory, but they don’t want to pay the price for it. And a question perhaps we should all ask is, does this sound like the type of individuals our community wants to depend on when our homes and our lives are at stake? If these young men do not want to expend the energy to light the fireworks, what can we expect from them when someone’s home is on fire? Will that also be too much effort? It’s time for these young men to step up and take responsibility, to accept the role that has been passed down to them, the role that they have in fact “volunteered’’ for. And if they do not choose to do so, then they should step down. And they should be prepared to explain to their own children someday why the Town of Walkerton no longer has a fireworks display. A Concerned and Disappointed Citizen “Thanka” I had better get my thank yous in for the silent auction held recently by the Walkerton Chamber of Commerce, at our second annual Pancake Breakfast. The Chamber would like to thank the following merchants and businesses: Richard Parker, CPA; Walkerton Shopper; Preferred Auto; Allen’s Carpet Outlet; Hair Shack; Ray & Kenny’s; Ist Source Bank; M.J. Package Store; Kabelin’s True Value; Little Joe’s; Success Realty; Ross Engineering; Walkerton Sale Barn; The Blue Lagoon; Creekside; Liberty Drugs; Mr. Shrimply; Sunshine Holiday Laundry; Walkerton Independent; Teachers Credit Union; Al’s Diner; Koontz Lake Laundromat; Koontz Lake Supermarket; Hamilton’s Service; Subway; Stanley Marine; Five Star; Chamber of Commerce; Holland’s Plumbing & Heating;. Jeanie’s Redhots; Marsha’s; and of course I can’t forget Larry'S Quickmart. He’s always the first one that I hit up for everything and he always is very generous. Thank you one and all, we did very good on our Silent Auction, and it was because of your largess. Well summer is here and our garden is pretty much planted. The peas are podding and the weeds are doing great. I am getting tired of mowing the lawn twice a week. Be sure and leave plenty of fresh water for your pets. Happy Birthday Gaude Nowakowski, you sure don’t look your age, you don’t even look the age that you claim to be! Sincerely, Nedra Williams

To Your Good Health I by Paul G. Donohue, M.D. |

DEAR DOCTOR DONOHUE: Could you please explain the cause and dangers of hemangiomas? My daughter was born with one on her face. Since then, she has had surgery to remove it. There is some residual scarring, but I am glad I had it done for her. I waited until she was 5 for the surgery. I couldn’t get my doctor to do it earlier. DEAR READER: Hemangiomas are tangles of dilated capillaries, our tiniest blood vessels. A hemangioma (hee-MAN-jee-OH-muh) begins as a pinkish-reddish skin discoloration that grows in the first months of life. We’re not certain just what causes it. Growth usually stops by 10

MEMORIES .... FROM OUR FILES I

1985 MINI LIBRARY OPENS IN NORTH LIBERTY — Debra Davis Futa, coordinator of the new North Liberty Branch Library, and Jeanne Mickels, South Bend Library clerk, are helping train volunteers at the Library. The branch is temporarily located at 400 High School Drive and is open Monday through Friday from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday hours are 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Everything is computerized and sent to the South Bend Library where all records are kept. More volunteers are needed to continue this program. Interested persons call the North Liberty Branch during the above hours, phone 656-3610. SPRING CLEAN UP DAYS SET FOR JUNE 6 & 7— The annual late spring clean-up for Walkerton is June 6 and 7. Acceptable items are old furniture and appliances, brush if on the curb, and other items cleared by the clerk-treas-urer’s office. Please call the clerktreasurer’s office to be put on the list for pick-up, 586-3711. FEATURING LITTLE MISS FIRECRACKER AND MR. SPARKY CONTESTANTS — Again this week we are featuring the Little Miss Firecracker and Mr. Sparky contestants. Remember for each penny donated counts as one vote for their youngsters. Featured this week are Kim Phenis, Sonyia Haines, Heather Thomas, Tommy Turner, Tommy (T. J.) Hiler, Danielle Wagers, Lisa Robinson, Amanda Gark, Fawn Collins, Shannon Bottorff, Heather Hiler, Scott Hall, Louis Richter, Kimberly Kaminski, Jeremy Lowe, months, and the patch starts shrinking. By age 9, some 90 percent of hemangiomas have disappeared. That is why most doctors opt to leave them alone. There are exceptions. A hemangioma might during its growth period enlarge so much that it interferes with neighboring tissue. Or it might ulcerate, become infected and bleed. Then, the wait-and-see option is cut short, and emergency surgery considered. Was that the situation with your child? In any event, surgeons today have access to tools and procedures for effective hemangioma removal. Sometimes, the dilated vessels can be blocked with an injected clotforming substance, then removed. At some institutions, laser-beam surgery is used to remove a hemangioma. DEAR DOCTOR DONOHUE: How long can a woman stay on Zovirax to keep her herpes in control? My doctor put me on it for my outbreaks — one attack a month. It is helping. A friend has used it for a year, with no problems. My doctor is non-com-mittal. DEAR READER: Your doctor’s stance reflects the fact that the matter is still being investigated. But there are reports of patients using the medicine for years, with no lessening of effect or adverse side effects. One recent study followed more than 1,000 patients on long-term therapy and reported good results in suppressing the herpes virus. For more information, see the herpes report I am sending on. Others can Srder a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue — No. 17-WS, Box 5539, Riverton, NJ. 08077-5539. Enclose $3 and a selfaddressed, double-stamped No. 10 envelope. ©1995 by King Feature* Synd. An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less. —Nicholas Murray Butler The cymbal — around since at least 2500 BC — was first used by an orchestra in an opera in 1680 in Hamburg, Germany.

Jennifer Richter and Jennifer Hoover. 1970 1 INVITATION TO WALKERTON, ; ONTARIO CENTENNIAL — The foliowine letter was received from the Office of the Gerk, Walkerton, Ontario, the only other Walkerton on the North American continent, by the town clerk’s office in Walk1 erton. The interesting contents are passed on to you to read and * consider. A few years ago, the ' editor of the Walkerton, Ontario 1 newspaper was in our town and ran a nice article with many pictures of ’ our town at that time. Walkerton, ' Ontario is not too distant from here, probably 400 plus miles. The letter read as follows: The Town Gerk Walkerton, Indiana * Dear Sir: 1 Greeting from Walkerton, On--1 tario, which will be celebrating 10C years of incorporation in 1971. I have been asked by our Cen tennial Committee to contact you> town, as our enquiries have beer able to ascertain that your town o' Walkerton is the only other incor ' porated municipality in Nortf America with the same name a: 1 ours. We would like to invite as man | of your citizens, who would find i possible to visit with us during ou celebration, which will be held a various times throughout the yea of 1971. If you could send me your may or’s name and address our mayc would like to extend a person! invitation to visit on a specific date We also understand that a Mi Urey, the discoverer of the princ: pie of heavy water is a citizen * your town. As there is a heav water plant now under constructio just 28 miles from our town, po* sible Mr. Urey could or would lik to pay us a visit. Perhaps yo could supply me with his addres as well. Thanking you in advance, I am: Very truly yours Geo. H. Tremaim Gerk-Treasure 1945 TO REMOVE SUGAR FROb ‘FROZE’ LIST — An emergency meeting of the Indiana OPA loca: board chairman’s advisory committee has been called by James D. Strickland, District Director, to expedite a plan for coping with sugar supply situation described as "critical’’. The committee is scheduled to meet Friday afternoon to make recommendations which will lift the "freeze" of canning sugar issuances at the earliest possible date. All war price and rationing boards in the Indiana OPA District have been notified to discontinue all home canning sugar issuances until further notice. Mr. Strickland issued these instructions upon receipt of word from the Regional OPA Office in Geveland that suspension of canning sugar rationing has been made necessary by the supply situation. The suspension will continue until a plan has been perfected which will insure Indiana and the other four states in the region of keeping within the greatly restricted quotas allotted to OPA by the War Food Administration. ALBERT ADAMS LANDS BIG TROUT — Albert Adams is the envy of all local anglers since he landed a nice big German trout at the Kankakee River last week. Weighing six pounds, the finny beauty had to be big, it measured 24 inches in length and six inches across. Being the variety that is not easily taken, this trout lived up to its reputation, and fought for half an hour to free himself from the hook. However, Mr. Adams skillfully met every attempt to escape and finally convinced the fish that he could not get away.