The Mail-Journal, Volume 16, Number 8, Milford, Kosciusko County, 14 March 1979 — Page 1

Phones: 658-4111 & 457-3666

VOLUME 16

NIPSCo refuses to reveal expenses, group to fight

In papers filed with the Public Service Cornmission yesterday, the Northern Indiana Public Service Company refused to provide details of its advertising and political expenditures to the Citizens Energy Coalition Education Fund, which is one of the parties in the pending 13.5 per cent rate hike. The statewide consumer group had earlier asked to NIPSCo to provide a detailed budget for the Indiana Electric Association and the Indiana Gas Association, two industry lobbying groups that were among the recipients of over $1.7 million from NIPSCo in 1977. The utility has refused to comply with the request, claiming that the lobbying budget information is "not relevant to the proceeding, and is a fishing expedition.” CEC coordinator for the rate case, Fritz Wiecking,,<said that the utility is clearly wrong: "If NIPSCo wants to ask the ratepayers to subsidize their lobbying and political activities, they should at least be required to tell us where this money is going. For them to refuse only makes us believe that NIPSCo is trying to hide something from the public:

_) I—-"rttV1 —-"rttV i **9*^;; > ■ . . .'•**** : ■ >'PO, tlf 1 - SPRING IS NEAR — Springtime can’t be far away, if the melting of ice and snow is any indication. The coming of spring doesn’t just mean warm weather and green grass, however. With springtime, comes the perennial problem of large ruts in the road called chuckholes. Above, these chuckholes were spotted in front of Syracuse Elementary School. Street departments have been out patching up these holes making the roads safe for motorists.

Joe Grays find tropical island paradise

By LESLIE WHITMAN Looking for a different vacation in a tropical island paradise? It is not so hard to find, according to Colonel Joe and Joan $: Gray, r 4 Syracuse. The Grays have returned from a month-long visit to the Micronesia Islands in the North Pacific. :j: Colonel Gray, a retired U. S. Marine officer, was stationed on the island of x Majuro in the Marshall Islands during £ World War H. The Marshall Islands are part of the Micronesia complex. He said 3 he wanted to go back and recapture some of the beauty he found then. He commented, “People think there are no more frontiers. They are wrong. This area is completely unspoiled.” The Grays made the trip with John :£ and Anna Sudlow, also of Syracuse. S Shell Collecting One of the main activities the Grays participated in on the Micronesia Islands was shell collecting. The couple brought back almost 1,000 different kinds of :£ shells. Collecting shells has been a long time | hobby of the Grays. Mrs. Gray said,

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Consolidation of THE MILFORD MAIL lEst. 18881 and THE SYRACUSE-WAWASEE JOURNAL ( Est. 1907)

it's outrageous! How can they spend our money and then claim it isn’t relevant when we want to know how they are using it?” Wiecking says that the CEC will appeal this NIPSCo refusal to the P.S.C. and that they are ready to take both the utility and the Public Service Commission to court, if necessary, to obtain the requested information. ’ NIPSCo also refused to provide the group with a detailed listing of their advertising expenditures or with copies of any advertisements they want their customers to pay for, claiming that the request is "vexatious and burdensome.” Wiecking said: "They have a lot of nerve, claiming that giving us information on their advertising costs if "burdensome" The real burden is on their ratepayers, who they expect to pay for advertising, despite the rules qf the Public Service Commission which clearly state that the utility’s stockholders must pay advertising costs unless the company can prove those advertisements provided a direct benefit to ratepayers?%NTPSCo hasn’t presented any proof, they refuse to give us the Evidence, and yet they expect us to pay for

their PR. If the commission lets them get away with this, it will make a total mockery of the whole regulatory process. The PSC must order NIPSCo to give us these documents.” In both cases, Wiecking points out that NIPSCo has been complaining about how its income was $4.5 million lelfe in 1978 than 1979 - but that the utility spent at least $2.5 million on the accounts that we believe contain advertising and political expenditures during the year 1978. Without documentation from NIPSCo w-e can only assume that they could have improved their losses by over 50 per cent if they hadn’t been spending so much money on advertising and politics. The Citizens Energy Coalition Education Fund, a formal intervenor against NIPSCo’s proposed rate hike, is the educational arm of the statewide Citizens Action Coalition. CAC has over 60 member organizations around the state, including a variety of groups in .the NIPSCo service territory. CAC has two full-time staff members in Lake County, John Santos and Robert McCrary, who are working to organize citizen opposition to the rate increase.

“Ours is just a fun collection.” Col. and Mrs. Gray have been collecting shells for almost 20 years. To find most of the shells, the Grays did a lot of scuba diving over coral reefs. Mrs. Gray said most of the water in Micronesia is crystal, clear blue, adding to the tropical beauty. Os course, some time was left to sightsee the various islands. The following was the itinerary of the Syracuse couple: The Grays left on February 9 and flew from Chicago to Los Angeles. The next stop was in Honolulu, Hawaii, which they left on February 10. Then it was on to Johnson Islands for a brief stop. The Marhsall Islands were visited for two days and then it was off to Kwagalein for a half hour layover. The island of Truk was the next stop. This island is where a major battle of World War II was fought and almost 60 sunken Japanese vessels can be found in the harbor. The Grays stopped in Ponape for nine days. Pepper farming is a major industry here. This island is also noted for the large amount of rain it gets.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14,1979

SI9V 2 million released to local governments State Senator John B. Augsburger has informed this newspaper that approval came today for $194 million in highway emergency rehef funds for local governments. The money has been tied up in the state highway’s fund. Augsburger said the house, senate and governor were in agreement that the monies should be sent immediately to city and county governments to help with road repair. Augsburger further stated a total of $229,723 would be coming to Kosciusko County. He did not have the total break-down of what percentage of the total amount each town, city and the county would receive of the above amount.

Bids being considered for fire truck for Turkey Creek

Turkey Creek Township Trustee Joe Shewmon and his advisory board met last Wednesday evening to open bids for a new fire truck to service Syracuse and Turkey Creek township. The following five bids were received: Mid-West Fire and Safety, Indianapolis, $66,529.94; Fessco Fire and Safety Equipment, Inc., Niles, Mich., $61,977; Shamrock Emergency Vehicles, South Bend, $56,864.69; Hoosier Fire Equipment, Inc.. Valparaiso, $61,700; and Hawk Fire Apparatus, NoblesviUe. two bid.#*

Dana announces record six months

Dana’s board of directors continued its current practice of increasing quarterly dividends, approving the tenth consecutive quarterly cash dividend increase in the last 24 years. Ren McPherson, chairman and chief executive officer, reported that the new quarterly dividend of $.36 per share, to be paid June 15, raises Dana’s annual rate to $1.44 per share, compared to the yearago rate of $1.28. Dana’s record sales rate for the first six months of its 1979 year, ending February 28, was $1,369 billion, compared to $1,051 billion in 1978. Gerry Mitchell, Dana president, pointed out that the six months sales figure was more than Dana’s total sales for the entire year of 1975. The 30 per cent increase in sales was surpassed by the 35 per cent increase in Dana’s six month profits — from $59.2 million last year to SBO.O million for the first six

After another brief stop at Truk, the Grays went on to Guam, a Japanese naval and air force base. They finally visited the island of Koror in the Pallatines. Yap and Palau were two other places visited by Col. and Mrs. Gray. Gray said, “We were looking for something different. Somewhere where we could get away from the snow and cold.” Beautiful People The couple found the trip to be quite a beautiful and interesting experience. The island natives were especially unique, said Mrs. Gray. She commented, “The people were beautiful, especially on the island of Ponape.” Each island has its own language, but most of the natives do speak some broken English. Anotherttiing noted by the Grays was the friendliness of the natives. Gray said, “The people don’t want to disappoint you.” The main activities on the islands are food gathering and fishing. There have been past efforts to commercialize some (Continued on page 2)

Milford board considers water system expansion

Members of the Milford Tow n Board discussed several means of expanding the town’s water system at its regular monthly meeting Monday night. Robert Murphy and Dave Lehman, of Murphy and Associates, Inc., water consultants, were present. Murphy conducted a survey of the town s water system to see if lines could be run out to Brock Manufacturing, Inc ~ and the Meadow-view Addition. Brock would need a water pressure of 1.000 gallons per minute for its fire insurance.

$64,393. and $57,973, both for tryeks in stock and which do not meet local specifications Shewmon. his advisory committee comprised of Virgil Bobeck, Jackson Ridings and Harry Alfrey, along with Syracuse firemen, will study the bids and specifications going with the bids before a decision will be made as to where the true* purchase will be awarded. RETURN TOWAWASEE Mr. and Mrs. Earle Waltz of Lake Wawasee have returned after a winter vacation in Lake Worth, Fla.

months of this year. Earnings pe:share were $2.50 for 1979, compared to $1.87 during last year’s six month period. Mitchell added that because of - legal restrictions in connection with the pending Wix-Danu merger, Dana could not predict for shareholders the financial outlook for the last six months ol 1979. However, the general trend in Dana’s markets remains strong. Describing what made Dana’s second quarter earnings 49 per cent higher than 1978, on second quarter sales that were 37 per cent above last year, Mitchell said this year’s winter season, unlike last year, had no adverse effect of Dana’s performance. He concluded that demand for Dana products through the first half of this year was vigorous, and that continued productivity gains have made 1979 an excellent year.

Laninaii, ciigmcci , luiu* mented, "We can get the water supply out to Brock. We can get 1.000 gallons per minute, but it’s going to cost an awful lot of money.” He proposed three different solutions. The first would be to install a water tower at a cost of $200,000 Twelve-inch water lines could then be run down Fourth Street and down the field to Brock Total cost w ould be $244,000 The second proposal would use no water tower. Twelve-inch lines would again run down Fourth Street and down the field to Brock. Also needed would be sixinch lines running down Main Street and eight-inch lines down the Syracuse-Milford Road to Brock Cost of this proposal is $142,000. The third proposal would only cost $126,000 Twelve-inch lines could be run down Main Street to the Syracuse-Milford Road. Then another 12 inch line could run down the Syracuse-Milford Road 'to Brock The Fourth Street water line would be closed. On all three of these proposals, an additional sl2-15,000 would be needed to run lines in the Meadowview’Addition. Set Priorities f Dr. T. A. Miller, boiLcd member, said. "We’ve got to look at all the possibilities and come up with one that has the best advantage. We’ve got to set some priorities. W’hat w-ould be the most efficient.” Miller asked Lehman if a new water tower would be needed, or if the standpipe and wells could handle the extra pressure. Lehman replied, “You might as well design for the future. You’re going to eventually have to put one (a water tower) in." Lehman also told the board a wastewater treatment plant might be needed in the future. He said, “Your water is one of the hardestin the state.” EDA Grant Murphy said there is a possibility of getting a grant to pay for a new water tower and line expansion. This grant might be obtained through the Economic Development* Administration In order to receive this grant, a town must meet certain eligibility requirements. Murphy said the main basis for eligibility is a town’s unemployment rate and tax rate. Only 10 towns in Indiana are eligible, one being Winona Lake. Murphy has sent a letter to the EDA asking that Milford be reviewed for eligibility. He said, “The money’s there. You wouldn't be competing with other towns.” Another grant possibility would be an Urban Development Action Grant, through the Housing and Urban Development Center. This grant is used to increase the tax

SHELL COLLECTING — Collecting shells was one of the primary reasons Colonel and Mrs. Joe Gray, r 4 Syracuse, traveled to the Micronesia Islands in the North Pacific for a month-long vacation in February. n " ..i Above, the Grays look over some of the shells the> brought back from the island paradise.

base fob communities for the purpose of constructing an industrial park or other such developments. Murphy said he should have an answer on both grants in 30 days. “I can’t see going any farther on this unless we know you've got the money to pay for it," said the consultant. Murphy will come to the April meeting with an answer on the grants. Miller said if no grant can be obtained, the town might have to bond the system This would probably include a water rate increase The board will check with H. G. Umbaugh and Associates, rate consultants The board will also look into what land is available for the placing of a water tower and a possible water treatment plant The town already owns land w here a well could be placed It is located across from the elementary school and has been tested Deeter Speaks Out Marion Deeter. former street and water superintendent, had a few comments to make about the -town water system He said. "I've been hearing a lot about the water system. There’s no need to replace the water mains. The east is eternal.” The board told Deeter it is only considering improving the system and not replacing it, since that would be too costly. Miller said. "We need to replace the hydrants and run mains to parts of tow n not having them. "

Dog round-up in town of Syracuse

A dog round-up was scheduled at 12 noon today (Wednesday) in the town of Syracuse. Syracuse police sergeant Louis Mediano scheduled the dog pick-up due to increased complaints to the department on dogs running loose about the town. The department was assisted by the Kosciusko County Humane Society who transported the dogs to the society pound at Warsaw. After today (Wednesday) the Syracuse Police Department is offering a $1 reward to persons bringing in stray or loose dogs running in the town. These dogs will be placed in the town dog pound for the owner to pick up. prior to being taken to Warsaw. There is a fine imposed on the owner to retrieve his dog. There is a town ordinance regarding keeping dogs confined to premises and an ordinance on harboring dogs without collar

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Miller added. "1 appreciate the fact of people coming in with imput. We’re not locked into anything." Deeter has also heard that some of the seals on the water meters have been broken Terry Beatty, street and water superintendent, said, “I’ve changed 20 meters since I started and only one was sealed." Beatty will make sure all the meters are sealed » Other Business In other business, the board heard a request from Bob Ruch concerning payment for work done on his mother's water lines. Ruch asked. "Does the town plan to pay for thawing out my mother’s water?” Since every indication shows the water line was frozen Under neat h the street in front of Ruch’s residence, the town agreed to pay for part of the work done. The town will pay SBS of the sllO bill. Bill Leemon. fire chief, was concerned about traffic on Main Street on Friday afternoons He said, "If there is to be a fire call, there’s no way we could get through Main Street " He said he has talked to Marshal David Hobbs, who said nothing could be done about the situation. Miller said when the weather clears, the bank will be putting up a new drive-in window on the corner lot. This, he said, should alleviate part of the problem Hobbs will be attending the police academy starting March (Continued on page 2 >

and tag The latter ordinance reads in effect: SEC It shall be unlawful for any person to own. harbor or keep any dog which is more than six (6) months old that does not at all times wear a collar with the metal tag attached thereto as herein provided, or for any person, except the owner or authorized agent, to remove any license tag from a dog. or for any owner to allow any dog to stray beyond his premises, unless under the reasonable Control of some person or when engaged in lawful hunting accompanied by the owner or custodian Whoever shall violate any of the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not exceeding twenty-five dollars ($25.00). Formerlv: (Acts k 937, c. 133, S.U>.