Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 130, Number 2, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 11 January 2007 — Page 2

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• Advance News • Thursday, January 11, 2007

Dwtti Notices Dorothy L Pippenger Dec. 26, 2006 WAKARUSA Dorothy L. Pippenger, 93, of Wakarusa died on Thursday, Dec. 28 at 7:38 a.m. at Miller's Merry Manor in Wakarusa. She is survived by two sons: James Pippenger of Bourbon and Richard (Claudia) Pippenger of Findlay, Ohio; one daughter: Mary (Garry) Croy of Bremen; 10 grandchildren; 25 greatgrandchildren and three great-great grandchildren. Visitation was Friday, Dec. 29 from 4 to 8 p.m. at ThompsonLengacher & Yoder Funeral Home and one hour prior to services. Services took place on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 10 a.m. at the funeral home. Burial was at South Union Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Gideon's. Sharon M. Mullet Jan. 4, 2007 BREMEN Sharon M. Mullet, 27, of Bremen, died at 8:15 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 4 at Memorial Hospital, South Bend. She is survived by her husband, Lavem A. Mullet of Bremen; parents: Marvin and Sarah Miller of Bremen; sister, Erma (Marlin) Mullet of Nappanee; and brothers: Howard (Loretta) Miller of Nappanee, Duane (Lora) Miller of Bremen, Clarence Miller of Bremen, Paul (Loretta) Miller of Milford, Marlin (Rosella) Miller of Bremen, Lonnie Miller of Bremen and Arlen Miller of Bremen. Visitation was after 4 p.m. Friday and all day Saturday, Jan. 6 at the family's residence, 16 E. 4th Rd., Bremen. Funeral services were Sunday, Jan. 7 at 9:30 a.m. at the Samuel Yoder residence, 299 4th Rd., Bremen. Burial was at the Weldy Cemetery. Thompson-Lengacher & Yoder Funeral Home, Nappanee, assisted the family with arrangements. Candidates accepted for local 2007 primary elections

The Elkhart County Election Board will be accepting major party candidate declarations for the 2007 primary election beginning at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 24. The deadline to file a declaration of candidacy is noon on Friday, Feb. 23. All filings will take place in the circuit court clerk's officp in the courthouse in Gosnfn. Declarations must be filed in the office of the county election board located in the county seat. A candidate's voter registration record must be current at the time of

TIKI, from front

Zealand, Todd eventually moved to England, where she worked as a massage therapist just north of London. She arrived in the United States five and a half years ago, first renting a place in Nappanee for a short time before moving to Syracuse. However, Todd still finds herself drawn to the pace of Nappanee life. "It's quaint. That's probably the best way to put it," she said. "It's got a nice town feel to it." Angie Martin of is an employee at Tiki Hut. Formerly a photographer, Martin spent several years as a stay-at-home mom before pursuing a part-time position as a tanning consultant and receptionist at Tiki Hut. Martin looks forward to working with customers in the future. "I love people," she commented. Jessica Ferrell also works at Tiki Hut. She will be working mainly with spray tanning and will be on hand to answer customers' questions about tanning, including making a tan last longer and how long an individual can safely tan, as well as about the various products available. "I'm really looking forward to seeing all the people come in, seeing how successful it will be," she said.

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filing. Below is a list of city and town offices to be included on the primary election ballot for Nappanee and Wakarusa: CITY OF NAPPANEE Mayor City Clerk-Treasurer City Court Judge Common Council: Districts 1,2, 3 and 4 Common Council-At-Large (one seat) TOWN OF WAKARUSA Town Clerk-Treasurer Town Council: Wards 1, 2 and 3

Community

MAYOR, from front

S.R. 19 improvements between Nappanee and Elkhart. Continued intersection improvements are anticipated this year. We will continue to support widening of S.R. 19 and the extension of C.R. 17 to U.S. 6. U.S. 31 improvements will begin, which should be a big help to both Elkhart and St. Joseph counties. Improvements to our water, sewer and drainage systems will continue. With Gale Gerber's and Commonwealth Engineers' direction our Combined Sewer Overflow System improvements will continue. New technology and better cooperation with Indiana Department of Environmental Management may allow us to meet the mandates at a much lesser cost than expected. Our plan to make better use of our workforce and equipment will continue. Cross training and sharing of equipment between departments will allow us better service and equipment without greatly affecting costs or changes in manpower. Our utility and street department employees are to be complimented on their willingness to accept change and continue to serve our citizens. Nappanee's streets are cleaner, snow removed sooner, leaf pickup always completed on time, one only needs to compare to other cities to appreciate our efforts. Our utilities' ability to take care of general maintenance and meet IDEM requirements will continue to be a challenge. Our goal is to meet these challenges while at the same time keeping our utilities affordable. Our park system continues to provide many activities to all age groups. Our park board with Wayne Scheumann's leadership does an outstanding job. We mark the retirement of Jim Sumpter Sr. after many years of service. Over his career, Jim has served our city well, including acting as park superintendent prior to the hiring of Wayne Scheumann. The improvements during his employment here is simply incredible. The park department will continue to develop new areas and play a major role in the appearance of our downtown. As a former park board member I am very proud of our park system. Few cities of our size have a system like

CENTER, from front

them. They would show brochures." Other available positions include packing boxes, running errands, dusting and cleaning, answering phones, working with the computers, answering questions and a variety of others. In addition, volunteers may choose when they work and

ours. I challenge our park board to continue their efforts. Never before in our history has zoning and code enforcement been so important to us. The future quality of life here, the conditions of our neighborhoods, the appearance of our city and our property values are all directly related to good zoning and code enforcemept. I have instructed Don Lehman to present to us a plan to help maintain our city. Today's citizens are different from yesterday's and are sure to be different form tomorrow's. Together with gentle changes we can maintain our neighborhoods and property values and be tomorrow's home to our grandchildren and to all who choose to call Nappanee home. Signage on our highways, cars in front yards, junk in backyards all will be a focus of Don's office. We have registered almost 900 rental units in Nappanee and all have been inspected. As we begin a new two year cycle of rental inspections, we must also pay greater attention to our abandoned homes. These homes quickly become the neighborhood's problems and negatively affect our neighborhood values. These homeowners, while absentee, must be held accountable. It is our duty as Mayor and council members to be engaged in these decisions. Our board of zoning and plan commission deserve our input and more importantly our support. Together we will accomplish these goals. Chamber, redevelopment, Elder Haus what do they have in common? Change. Each has a new and expanded home. While change is difficult, each has faced the challenges of change and their future seems bigger and brighter. The founding of the new Heritage Center overnight allowed our Elder Haus Jo double in .square footage. Connie Fink and her staff are now challenged to provide more opportunities for Seniors. A priority I have asked Connie to again pursue is providing some type of meals for our seniors, perhaps a senior lunch program at the center. Transportation, trips, cards, puzzles, quilts and just good company to each other is our continued goal. The Chamber of Commerce, the Nappanee Redevelopment Commission

the number of hours they will work. "This is not like a job," Andrews said. "If they can work an hour or two, that's fine." There are no requirements for Nappanee Center volunteers, just that they be willing and able to give a Jittle bit of their time and talent. "You don't need ing," said Andrews. "The Chamber of Commerce will teach them." - In addition, volunteers will be allowed to choose what they want to do.

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and/ the Nappanee Public binary are to be commended for accepting the challenge of a new day, at a new building, with new partners and agendas. Together these three groups will allow this Welcome Center to become a focal point for thousands of tourists who frequent our community every day. They will bring the past to life and the future to the present. I want to personally thank our council, clerk-treasurer Kim Ingle, Linda Yoder, r Larry Andrews, Connie Fink and their boards for allowing this wonderful place to become a reality, a place to honor our past, to meet the challenges of today and to plan for tomorrow. Thank you! No group has worked harder to plan for our future than our emergency services. Our continued efforts to update our city's emergency plan are ongoing. Combined in-ser-vices, individual training, new and better equipment, with the continued dedication of both full timers and volunteers, each appreciative (■ the other, we strive to meet every need. We begin a second year with a south-of-the-tracks fire station, a new tanker truck to serve Nappanee and adjoining townships, a new ambulance and continued updates to our police and 911 center. The presence of police in our schools and our commitment to the drug task force will continue in 2007. All emergency services must be aware of better ways to provide services, to support new strategies, to work with our neighboring cities and towns and to be an active voice in Elkhart and Kosciusko County emergency planning. No one knows when or where disaster will strike or what form it will take. We can and will be prepared should it occur. I challenge Jim Sumpter, Tom Anglin, Mike Anglin and Todd Schmucker to take us to a new level of emergency preparedness. What have we said in this 2007 State of the City? •To be on the offensive: being prepared for anything that might come our way. To have a game plan: our comprehensive plan, new ordinances to protect our neighborhoods, NEMAP for emergency services. •To create: improve our streets and encourage: demand that our state do the

"We want to find out what they want to do and then we'll find a job for them," said Andrews. Volunteers can be of any age, and Andrews invites families to volunteer together. The library, too, is in need of willing individuals who would like to volunteer to work at the museufh. Volunteer curators, tour guides and others are needed to help with show visitors around and explain the various items in the collection. The center is also currently in need of a volunteer coordi-

same, to use our new expanded TIF district and its funds to further enhance our downtown and beyond. •To pursue vision: new areas to be developed and the continued development of existing areas within the city, development of new industrial areas along our loudest corridor: our railroad, to develop towards our ever-expanding airport. •Release our gifts: to welcome families that will benefit from our parks, schools, library, churches and other quality of life benefits we offer. •Proactive and protect: to be proactive in everything we do, to protect our assets, our neighborhoods, our way of life. •Seize opportunity and multiplication: be positioned when growth comes our way to make sure it compliments our future planning and not to conflict with it. •To be dynamic and open to change: to encourage all boards and commissions, from the Chamber of Commerce to the dog catcher, to think outside our limits, to have a vision for today, tomorrow and beyond, to seize opportunities for good growth and new ideas and neighbors. •Win-win: By working together, planning our future, adjusting our direction when needed, accepting and directing change. Be aggressive and conservative at the same time. Nappanee will be a win-win. Yesterday, today and beyond we salute our leaders of yesterday whom we have lost this year, from President Gerald Ford to Nappanee Mayor John Mellinger. Those who gave so much is what makes us who we are today. I end with the words of John F. Kennedy: "Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." My goal with your help is to guide and direct Nappanee and to be proud to embrace our pace, making Nappanee a great place to live, play, educate, work and worship. May God bless Nappanee and Nappanee bless God. Thank you.

nator. This individual will be in charge of recruitment, retention and promotion. According to Dianne Debelak, while there are no strict requirements for the volunteer coordinator, the person must be comfortable working with people. The position itself will be a volunteer position. Those interested in volunteering in the Welcome Center can call the Chamber of Commerce at 773-7812. Those interested in volunteering in the museum can contact the Nappanee Public