The Mail-Journal, Volume 16, Number 5, Milford, Kosciusko County, 21 February 1979 — Page 1

Phones: 658-4111 & 457-3666

VOLUME 16

Milford Nursing Home gets HEW approval

Word has been received this week by N. John Perry, Milford, of approval by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare for a 60-bed nursing home in Milford. Perry is in receipt of a letter, dated February 2, 1979, from Dr. E. Frank Ellis, M.D., regional health administrator for HEW, of Chicago. Perry is one of the creators of the nursing home along with Orvil (Fritz) Kilmer. The State Board of Health gave its go-ahead last November. The idea of a nursing home had been in the works for five years. Architect Hired I Perry said an architect has been hired to draw up some plans. The architect, Joe Mullen, is with Design Consultants, Inc,, from Warren. Perry is now trying to obtain financing from the Milford Economic Development Commission in the form of a bond. He is also working on buying the land where the home hopefully will be built Property being considered is west of the Milford Apostolic Church on SR 15. If all goes well, ground should be broken sometime this spring.

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CITIZEN BALLOTS COMING IN — Julie Hickman, above, Doll’s Decorating Center, Milford, looks over some of the Milford Area Development Council’s "Citizen of the Year” ballots which are coming in. Deadline for castingballots is Friday, Feb. 23. The person to be honored will be announced at the annual banquet Saturday, March 3, at 6:30 p.m. in the Apostolic Christian Church fellowship hall. Members of MAD are requesting those wishing to attend the banquet reserve tickets by Wednesday, Feb. 28.

Town of Milford battlinq old water system

By LESLIE WHITMAN Bad water in Milford? Last June, townspeople reached the boiling point when they turned on their faucets only to discover rusty, discolored water pouring out. Is this still a problem today? And if so, what are some of the possible solutions? , [ This is first in a two-part series on the water problems in Milford. The first article will go into the history of the water lines and past problems while the second will tell what the Milford Town Board is trying to do to alleviate the situation. The water lines were installed in 1902. These lines are made of cast iron. In 1971, the town had 28,833 feet of water lines. The town also has two wells, one ten feet from the standpipe and the other feet from the first well. One well is enough to handle the town’s water needs. The second can be operated manually in case of a fire. A standpipe, two pumps, hydrants and a chlorinator complete the system. System Is Old The basic problem with the Milford water system is that it is old. Over the years, any water pipes fnade of metal will rust. The problems come when the

MailjSjournal L -as

Consolidation o/THE MILFORD MAIL (Est. 1888/ and THE SYR ACUSE-WAWASEE JOURNAL lEst. 19071

Forty of the 60 beds will be certified for Medicare and Medicaid patients. The remaining 20 will be private. A staff of approximately 30 people will be employed. Some of the services to be offered include physical therapy.

Ducks well cared for at Syracuse

The many ducks surviving in the channel area in Syracuse are undoubtedly having a happy time at present, with recent contributions made for their care. The bubble placed in the channel last week has kept the

Exemptions should be filed between March 1-May 10

County Auditor Jean Northenor’s office will begin taking exemptions as of March 1. A complete listing of exemptions and their qualifications follows: Mortgage Exemption SI,OOO A. Recorded mortgage (land contracts do not qualify) B. Legal resident of Indiana

hobbies, crafts, beauty parlorbarber shop facilities and church involvement. Need Name A name is needed for the nursing home. Anyone with suggestions should contact Perry or Kilmer.

water free of ice for the feathered friends, and recent contributions for food came this past week from the Syracuse-Wawasee Garden Club, Paul and Ann Van Dyke, Mrs. Chris Jensen, and Nancy Schrock of Lake Street.

C. Owner of real estate March 1, current year or prior D. File each year E. Fifty cent filing charge Over 65 A. Resident of Indiana B. 65 years of age December 31 prior to filing C. Total gross income when combined with spouse does not exceed SIO,OOO D. Applicant receives no other exemption E. Applicant shall be owner of real estate F. This exemption shall apply if either one or both his or her spouse be 65 years of age or more G. Assessed value of all real estate owned shall not exceed $9,000 A. No filing charge

No further report on fire, explosion

No further report has been rendered yet this week on the probable cause of the explosion which completely demolished the home of Wanda Moser near Wawasee High School during the early morning hours of Saturday, Jan. 6, according to a spokesman with Northern Indiana Public Service Company this week. Mrs. Moser escaped with burns of the face and hands in the explosion which left her homeless and without all personal belongings. Michael Dielman, division supervisor of personnel safety and claims with the utility company at Goshen, said several weeks ago that an Indianapolis private investigator had been brought in to render an impartial

flow of water, is interrupted causing the accumulated rust to stir up. Dr. T. A. Miller, town board member, commented, “We always have had rust and we always will have. The people aren’t aware of the rust until something interrupts the flow of water in the main. This stirs things up.” He added, “The only time we get people thinking about the water is when they turn on the water and get rust or get nothing.” Marion Deeter, former street and water superintendent, feels one reason for the rust is too much chlorine in the lines. He said, “The chlorine is cutting off the rust. You can smell that chlorine.” Even Miller said chlorine causes some problems, but added the town is required by the state to use it. “It does cause iron to be more easily suspended, accumulate more. But, without chlorine, you would still have a rust problem, only it wouldn’t be so bad.” Terry Beatty, present street and water superintendent, said between two to three pounds of chlorine are used in a 24-hour period. He added, “We’re running it as low as legally allowable. ” Miller went on to say the hard water in town also causes some rust. The water has a high mineral content.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21,1979

MAIL-JOURNAL EFFECTIVE MARCH 7 The price of The MailJournal will increase to *lO for in-county subscriptions and to *l2 for out-of-county wiscripttons, effective March?. These price increases are caused by a continuing rise fa the cost of newsprint and other general production costs, according to Arch Baumgartner, president of The Papers Incorporated. Subscribers will have until March 7 to renew their subscriptions at the current rate. Over-the-counter cost for single copies of The MailJournal will remain at 20 cents. Persons over the age of 65 will continue to receive tbeir feper cent discount. I. ✓

Solar Energy A: The owner of real property, or a mobile home which is not assessed as real property, which is equipped with a solar energy heating or cooling system may have deducted annually from the assessed value of the real property or mobile home an amount which is equal to the j remainder of (1) the assessed value of the real property or I mobile home with the solar energy heating or cooling system included, minus (2) the assessed value of the real property or nubile home without the system . B. The state board of tax ■ commissioners shall promulgate rules and regulations for determining the value of a solar (Continued on page 2)

opinion on probable cause, however, the report has not been seen as yet. Speculation followed the tragic explosion that there was a possible gas leak in the main near the roadway, and that inasmuch as the ground was frozen, the gas had followed either the gas or water line into the Moser home, causing the explosion. Gas also found its way into a neighboring house occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Richard Firestone and two children, and was said to have reached the 60 per cent level, however, did not erupt into an explosion and fire. The Firestones had to evacuate their home for several days for the gas to clear.

Old Valves One area where the rust accumulates is by the valves used to shut the system off and on. These valves should be opened frequently, but many haven’t been opened or closed for 15 years. Miller said, “Many of these valves are inoperable. When we have a problem, we have to shut the system down completely.” The whole town then goes without water for a few hours. The fire hydrants are also old, and as a result, many don’t operate. This causes problems, too, especially in case of a fire. Beatty commented, “The large majority of the hydrants are in sad shape. The parts are hard to get. If we had a severe fire, I don’t think the water system could handle it.” He added there ’ is an effective fire pressure in the hydrants for five hours. Miller said, “The efficiency of our water is poor. This is because we have a standpipe. The water loses pressure when it goes down. This is bad for fires. We can’t supply the number of gallons required by the Indiana Fire Prqtection Bureau.” The standpipe only has about 82,(MM) gallons. A minimum of 100,000 gallons are required by the state for insurance purposes. This doesn’t cause any major threat

Hr . Immml Ami

NEW SYRACUSE BOARD PRESIDENT — Paul M. Isbell, center, was chosen new president of the Syracuse Town Board at the February board meeting last night. He fills the spot John M. Cripe, left, had last year. With Cripearid Isbell is Forrest ( Bud) Smith, right. Not shown is Darrell Grisamer.

Residents speak out —

Parking on Boston Street major issue at Syracuse

A heated discussion arose Tuesday night at the Syracuse ?Town Board meeiing concerning an ordinance adopted last month changing the parking on Boston Street. Several Boston Street residents were present and spoke out. Due to the congested traffic on Boston Street, the ordinance was adopted to prevent parking on the south side from SR 13 to McConnell Ditch. The board was supposed to have decided on preventing parking on the south side from McConnell Ditch to Main Street last night. Chris Koher, Boston Street resident, said he was not notified the parking was going to be changed. He said. “I got the impression this thing had been kicked around for a while. No one talked to me. There are some ways to resolve this thing. I don't think it’s a proper and prudent thing.” Koher was especially concerned with parking in the first block from SR 13 to Third Street. He said by preventing parking on the south side, this might take away some business from the Golden Razor Barber Shop. Koher added no one parks on the north side of the first block, anyway. John Nemeth and Joe Hughes also had a few comments to

make. Nemeth was concerned with changing the parking from McConnell Ditch to Main Street. He said. "I don't see any reason for it.” Hughes commented. "I'd rather see no parking on the north side, especially in the first block.” Representatives from the police, fire and street departments said they would have no objections to changing the parking in the first block They were concerned with the traffic problem the rest of the way down the street. Paul Isbell new board president "It is an unexpected honor.” stated Paul M. Isbell. Syracuse, who was unanimously elected Syracuse Town Board president at Tuesday night's meeting. He is replacing John Cripe, who has been board president since June 1978. Cripe filled the vacancy left by then president David Nine when Nine resigned from the board. Isbell plans on continuing the board meetings in the best possible manner and to do wnatever the entire board wishes. He feels "every board (Continued on page 2)

to the town due to the efforts of the fire department, said Bill Leemon, fire chief. The department has a ready supply of water on hand in the form of two pumper trucks and Turkey Creek. And, Leemon added, “Usually we can get tankers in here from all around. ’ ’ Boiling Point The town’s water problems came to a head last summer when rusty, discolored water started pouring out. The chlorinator had broken down, causing the rust. After the chlorinator was fixed, the lines were flushed. Deeter, Beatty and Miller all agree the lines weren’t flushed long enough. Miller said, “We had some * problems, some complaints. Now we’re trying to notify people the week before we flush.” To keep too much rust from settling in the lines, flushing should occur on a regular basis. Beatty said he will try to flush the lines a minimum of eight times a year. The lines can only be flushed in warm weather,. above the 25 degree mark. Beatty said, “There really isn’t anything else you can do to get the settling out of the pipes. ’ ’

Safety Reasons Paul Isbell, new board president, commented. "The board’s interest is to engender safety. We thought most of the people had been contacted. We were doing our duty . " John Cripe, board member, said, "It seems the solution would be to stagger parking." The board will wait until next meeting before it makes' a decision since Darrell Grisamer, board member, was absent. Robert Reed, town attorney, will draw up an amendment to the ordinance changing the parking on the first block of Boston Street Meanwhile, the police will not enforce the parking ordinance. TenEch Report Representatives from TenEch of South Bend were present and made their final report. TenEch had been studying the problems at the waste water treatment plant and proposed some recommendations last night. Paul A. Turpin, project engineer from TenEch. said the main problem seems to be in the primary clarifier and digester. This clarifier is used to settle out heavy solids in the water. The digester holds all the solids. Turpin said he believes these solids are coming back up into the system and are not staying in (Continued on page 2)

Due to the problems last summer, the board obtained a 10 per cent reduction in the water billing from that period from the Public Service Commission. Water Shut-Off Another problem with the water system occurred this January, when the standpipe had to be repaired. All the water in town was shut-off for several hours while repair work was made. Beatty commented, “The standpipe is not in very good condition. It’s design was probably fine for 1902 for the number of people it had to serve. It isn’t adequate today.” But what is the condition of the water today? Beatty said, “I’ve any complaints. Every week I take a water sample and send it to the state board of health. We get satisfactory reports every week. We know the water’s safe to drink.” The Future It would seem the present water situation is not threatening the health or well being of any town resident. But, what about the future? And, what about the townspeople still waiting to be serviced by water? Next week, I will look into some of the possible solutions and the efforts being made by the town board.

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What's ... W Church Classified - Legate 14-17 Cruzin • ■ 4 Community Corner ...... 6 -7 Editorial 4 Main Street 3 Sports 8-9 The Wawasee High School swimmers are sending four to the state swim meet this week end at Ball State. See photo and news item on page 9 and merchants’ good luck ad on page 18. Spring must be on the way! Hattie Becker called to say she had 25 — 30 robins in her yard on Tuesday afternoon. Have you seen any signs of spring? It’s time for Hoosier Hysteria! A special section in this issue lists information on teams participating in the Triton Sectional. Read it . . . attend the sectional... support coach Mike Jones and his Warriors.