Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 126, Number 36, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 2 September 2004 — Page 1

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Vol. 126 Issue 36

Inside This Issue •Family Wins Concert •Panthers Maul Lions •Kiwanis Soccer Results

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Wakarusa Work Session The Wakarusa Town Council will not meet on Monday, September 6 for their regular 5:15 p.m. work session.lnstead, the council will meet on Thursday, September 2 at 5:15 p.m. at the Town Hall. Wa-Nee School Board The Wa-Nee School Board will not meet on Sept. 27 at 6:30 p.m. The meeting has been changed to Thursday, Sept. 30 at 6:30 a.m. Watermain Work The S. Locke St. and Reed St. watermain rehabilitation project continues. Please use caution in the area of construction. There may be some temporary street closures as the streets are excavated. If you have any questions, please contact Gale A. Gerber, superintendent at the Nappanee Water Utility at 574-773-4623. Wakarusa Appreciation Banquet The Wakarusa Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its sixth annual Business and Community Appreciation Banquet on Monday, Sept. 20, at 6:30 p.m. at the Nelson’s Banquet Hall. The banquet is open to the general public as well as the business community. Ticket arrangements can be made by stepping at the Chamber office located at 100 W. Waterford, or by calling the Chamber office at 8624344. Tickets can also be purchased downtown at Cook’s Pizza and the Wakarusa Pro Hardware. Tickets are sls per person or a corporate table can be purchased for $l5O. Library Board The Board of Trustees of the Nappanee Public Library will meet in special session to adopt the proposed 2005 budget Friday, September 17, 2004, at 8:00 am in the library at 157 North Main Street. The public is invited to attend.

Contact Us Advance News 158 W. Market St. P.O. Box 230 Nappanee, IN 46550 Office Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday and Friday 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday Phone: 574-773-3127 (news) 1-800-933-0356 (ads) Fax: 574-773-3512 E-mail: [email protected]

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Stormwater problems aired to council

By Stephanie Middaugh Editor WAKARUSA About 30 people crowded into the Wakarusa Town Council chambers Monday for an informal meeting called to address recent storm water backups throughout the community. According to local citizens, basement flooding - especially from the floor drains - has increased drastically in the last 10-15 years. The situation reached its breaking point during the heavy June rains, where many residents recorded 18-48 inches of water in their basements. c Town Manager Tom Roeder called the meeting to brainstorm with the community possible solutions for the flooding. Town Engineer James Emans first addressed the area of Southwood housing addition. He reported that recent videotaping of the storm system in the area showed no buildup or blockage in the pipes. According to Emans, “it’s just an issue of more water getting in the system than can get carried away.” Elkhart County Deputy Surveyor, Steve Schweisberger pointed out that Southwood lies in one of the lowest elevation spots in town, and is a “natural retention area” for surface water runoff. He also noted that railroad area west of the addition, no longer drains like it did in the past. “There are tiles back there, but they’re probably not functioning properly,” he said. “The railroad is no longer maintaining the area. It’s like 10 fingers that used to run water away, are no longer there.” Emans listed the further possible reasons for increased flooding in the area in recent years; the removal of restrictor plates from two catch basins by request of some residents to reduce standing water in yards, surface water from S. Elkhart St. being drained into the addition’s storm system in order to build sidewalks south of town, and removal of a natural runoff

Nappanee Post Office mural restored to former beauty

By Sarah Middaugh Staff Writer NAPPANEE On Thursday, Aug. 19, two conservators from PARMA Conservation (Preservation and Recovery of Masterpieces of Art) began work to restore the Nappanee post office mural. In March 1938, Grant Christian informed the Section of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C. that he had mounted his mural to the lobby wall of the Nappanee post office. This mural, entitled, “Waiting for the Mail,” was commissioned by a New Deal Agency to provide “local flavor” for federal buildings, such as the post office. Postmaster Brian DeCraene first submitted a request for restoration of Christian’s lobby mural. Then on Aug. 18, the Federal Preservation Officer of the U.S. Postal Service notified Acting Postmaster Kim Howell that PARMA would complete the necessary restoration. Howell noted that the decision to restore the mural has been an ongoing process. “This restoration has been in the works for awhile,” she said. “It all depends on the funding.” Sue Burkholder, a Nappanee post office employee, when the artist returned for a visit nearly fifteen years ago. “Grant Christian came in with his daughter. He had been ill at the time and she wanted to see some of his paintings,” Burkholder said. “He told us that the woman in the mural was painted to resemble his fiancee at the time. It was neat talking to him,” According to Elizabeth Kendall, PARMA founder and conservator, Indiana is one of four states with over 40 post office murals. She said funding for mural restoration can come from either the district or national level. The post office murals were completed dur-

New editor, marketing specialist added to Advance News

NAPPANEE Stephanie Middaugh of Wakarusa has assumed duties as editor of The Advance News. Middaugh is a graduate of Purdue University and has worked for The Advance News as a news correspondent since November, covering Nappanee and Wakarusa council meetings, Wa-Nee School Board and writing features. “Wa-Nee is a vibrant community with so many stories to tell and an abundance of activities to cover. I am really excited about having the opportunity to learn more about the community I live in. 1 only hope I will be able to capture its rich traditions and heritage in my paper each week,” Middaugh said. “Stephanie brings to the job extensive knowledge, experience and enthusiasm,” said Managing Editor Jim Hekel. “But perhaps her biggest attribute is the passion she has for the Wa-

Nee community. We ire excited to have found someone from the community with such great qualifications." Middaugh is a graduate of Columbus North High School where she participated in 4-H, sports, drama and choir. “I'm a proud Purdue Boilermaker with a degree in agricultural communications,” Middaugh said. “What kind of degree is that, you ask? No, I didn’t team how to be a horse whisperer or how to soothe plants with positive messages. Instead, I took both science and journalism classes, hoping to write for a farm publication."

Serving Nappanee & Wakarusa

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area with the development of the day care. But he was quick to point out that all these problems existed before any development started in the area. Plus, a storm system using gravity pipes (as in Southwood) is inadequate when the storm water system backs up. Emans explained that in a gravity system, a smaller pipe connects to a house at the foundation sloping downward. This pipe carries water runoff out to a large stormwater pipe under the street. If the storm water pipe backs up, in the case of a large rain, the water will flow back up into the house. All the recent flooding resulted from surges in the storm water system, the engineer said. “In today’s construction, a gravity system wouldn’t exist.” For a long-term solution, he suggested disconnecting the gravity pipes at the street and capping them with concrete. Then homeowners should install sump pumps to draw any normal water overflow out away from the house on the surface. Now that the town has a map of where each property taps in the storm system, Manager Roeder offered to have the town dig and place concrete in the pipes, if advised. But those in the audience were concerned with the $3,000-$6,000 price tag to install a check valve (which could still flood in an extreme storm water surge) or a sump pump system outside the house. Plus, those without a sump pump would now need one if disconnected from the storm system. Cliff Reynolds, 503 S. Washington, then asked about trying the less expensive solution of placing restrictor plates on the remaining catch basins on Sunset Ct. and S. Washington St. This solution would leave more surface water in yards, and possibly the street, but it could prevent basement flooding. “I guarantee that water wouldn’t stand out there for more than a day,” Reynolds said.

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Advance News Photo/Sarah Middaugh PARMA Conservators Peter Schoenmann (left) and Elizabeth Kendall-(right) dean the Nappanee post office mural as part of the restoration process

ing the same time as the art of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Kendall said. “These murals are more prestigious because every post office had a competition for artists,” Kendall said. “Artists submitted mural sketches and the local postmaster had the final say over die artist’s design. The artists would come to town, wanting this art to inspire people.” To begin work on the mural, Kendall and Conservator Peter Schoenmann glued down all inches of paint that was flaking. They also cleaned the muralof dirt and grime, using products of the highest museum quality, removed a varnish, and added a non-yellowing and pro-

Thursday, September 2,2004

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Stephanie Middaugh Editor

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Advance News Photo/Stephanic Middaugh Elkhart County Deputy Surveyor Steve Schweisberger and town resident, Cliff Reynolds, discuss solutions to Wakarusa's recent storm water problems.

“Let’s see how high it floods.” Terry Swihart, 308 Sunset Ct. agreed, stating, “ I have pictures from 30 years ago showing my children ‘fishing.’ My basement never flooded then.” “There has always been a lot of water, but now there’s-rierwaTer on the streets or yards,” she said. All in attendance agreed to try it. And Emans agreed it could be.a-long-term solution if property owners are content with standing water for a period of time. But he did express concerns about standing water on the town's streets, citing possible safety issues and surface degradation. “It’s a clear litigation issue for the town."

tective coating to the canvas. “We had examined this mural four or five yean ago, and the paint had not started flaking yet,” Kendall noted. “When we have finished, this mural will be in excellent condition.” Schoenmann added that they had to match colors exactly in areas of missing paint. “We want to be as pure as we can in matching the colors,” he said. “Pigments fade differently over time so you want to use the right color.” —Slfice Tts inception in 1998, PARMA has restored hundreds of murals of the Depression period, Kendall said.

(During her time at Purdue, Stephanie wrote for two college newspapers and an agricultural trade organization while in college. She received an outstanding writing award and scholarship from the Farmer's Exchange during her junior year. After school, Middaugh began work in advertising where she wrote marketing materials and managed advertising accounts for agricultural companies such as, Pfizer Animal Health, Elanco Animal Health, Land O’Lakes Feeds. DowElanco and Caterpillar. Jobs took her to Indianapolis and then Minneapolis-St. Paul. But she decided to stay home after the birth of her first child. Cooper, to be a mommy. A second son, Wesley, came 17 months later. "After we had two children, Jeff and I realized we were too far from family and chose to move back here. We wanted our kids to grow up like Jeff did," Middaugh said. “Jeff is an ait director in advertising and found a job in South Bend, but was adamant about living in the Wa-Nee school district. We moved to his hometown,

Trish Turner

rather than mine or Indy, because I like snow and would not go any further south. I actually enjoyed Minnesota winters, always white Christmases." •* * * Trish Tunter has assumed the duties as chief marketing specialist for The \dvance News. Turner brings more than 10 years of marketing experience to the job and is eager to meet more and more people in the community. “It’s a great community," she said. "People have been very friendly and really helpful." Turner is married and has five sons.

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the engineer said. “If the town places restrictor plates on the remaining catch basins in the area, it should pursue easements for the properties that will be temporarily flooded," he added. ‘That way, the next property owner can’t demand the removal of the restrictor plates." He concluded. ‘There is still some risk of flooded basements, unless you totally disconnect from the system. As long as you use a gravity system, there is still a risk of an overflow.” Restrictor plates will be manufactured this week and placed on the remaining catch basins in the housing addition. See Water on Page 3

“Most of the murals of this period were mounted over the postmaster’s door,” she continued. “Some murals relate to the history of the town, the farms or the mail.” Kendall added that the postal system is making a large effort to conserve these murals. “It’s essential to save these post office murals because the Depression was such a unique and important period of American his-tory"-Kendall said. “The idea was to create a democratic art that all people could relate to and understand. The post office is the perfect place to do just that.”

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