The Mail-Journal, Volume 17, Number 46, Milford, Kosciusko County, 3 December 1980 — Page 4

THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed., December 3,1980

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Editorials

December, 1980

Hail To December! say they all. It Gave To Earth Our Christ, the Lord! — J. K. Hoyt December, the last month of 1980, arrives with happy anticipation of Christmas, homecomings and celebrations. The children’s magic world of Santa Claus is played out on the anniversary of the birth of Jesus. December 7 is the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, in 1941. Martin Van Buren, Bth president, was born at Kinderhook, New York, on the sth in 1782. Delaware Day falls on the 7th. Wyoming Day is on the 10th and Indiana Day on the 11th. . Washington died on the 14th in 1799. On the 15th in 1791, the Bill of Rights became a part of the United States Constitution. The Boston Tea Party was staged on the 16th in 1773. On the 17th in 1903, man made his first flight in an airplane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. On the 19th in 1777, Washington encamped his 11,000-man army at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, after the British had occupied the capital, Philadelphia. The nation acquired the Louisiana Purchase on the 20th in 1803. Washington won the Battle of Trenton, N.J., on the 26th in 1776, the turning point of the Revolution. And Woodrow Wilson, 28th president and one of the great presidents, in the view of many, was born at Staunton, Virginia, on the 28th in 1856. Andrew Johnson, 17th president, was born at Raleigh, North Carolina, on the 29th in 1808. Shop at home — Santa always seems to know the right kind of gifts to choose, but what about you? If you’re like most people, buying gifts for everyone on your list can present quite a dilemma. When you shop local stores, you’ll find.help .. . lots of it! Local stores take pride in the fact that their knowledgeable staffs provide you with the kind of service you want and deserve. Great gift suggestions, help with sizes and lots more await you when you shop locally. Shopping locally saves you time, trouble and money. There are plenty of good reasons to shop at home. Area store owners, managers and clerks want you to be satisfied with your purchases. If you are they know you’ll return to buy other items and if you are unhappy, they expect you to return and ask for an exchange. This is impossible, or nearly impossible, if the gift was purchased in Chicago, Indianapolis or some other large city. Then too, we doubt that those clerks in the larger cities belong to the same church you do, or the same sorority, or the same service club or the same bowling league. Where do you go when you need a donation to your special project? Who do you go to when you need a sponsor for the bowling team? Who do you see when you want an ad in your high school yearbook? It’s a Lakeland area merchant, that’s who! Shop at home this year. The Senate turnover The unexpected Republican takeover of the U.S. Senate in the recent election is, in effect, a 20th century watershed in American politics. For the first time in a quarter of a century, the Republican Party once again controls a house of Congress. That means the steady drift to the left in social programs and spending is checked, temporarily at least. The effort by organized labor to repeal certain laws is checked, at least for a time. Right-to-work laws are probably secure. Welfare recipients may soon have to work more, or get less. The bureaucracy will not expand so rapidly, and may even decrease in some areas. Defense spending will get a higher priority. There will, in time, fewer federal regulations and, hopefully, less federal direction in some sectors of private industry. With a conservative Senate and a conservative president, these changes are probably assured. Republican control of the Senate also reduces the power of Democrat leadership in the lower body — because, as of January 20, it will be two-top-one odds in the legislating process — counting the presidential veto as one of the three power factors. ( The public must also now get accustomed to seeing Republican chairmen of powerful Senate committees. Chairmen control, to a degree, the flow of legislation to the Senate floor. They are centers of considerable power. Finally, the G.O.P. victory in the Senate removes Senator Edward Kennedy from his chairmanship, and removes a built-in news-making posture for the Democrat likely to emerge from the G.O.P. landslide as the leading Democrat contender for 1984. Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC) replaces Kennedy as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Advent Sundays The custom of using a wreath to enjoy the approach of Christmas, to keep in mind its meaning, is growing. The wreath contains four candles, one being lit on the first Sunday of Advent (November 30 this year), two the next Sunday, three the next and four the Sunday before Christmas. Our churches teach that one should prepare for the advent of the Savior oh the 25th; in some there are elaborate rituals. But there is doubt when the practice began. Aside from prescribed rituals, the custom of using a wreath with four candles has been adopted by more and more Americans, of all faiths, just as Santa Claus comes into almost every home. It’s a good custom, for the candles and wreath are reminders of a happy time to come. If lit at each of four successive Sunday dinner tables, they add a warmth and often a Christian atmosphere, in the home.

What others say — A balanced budget Remember all that talk last spring about a balanced federal budget? The President had a plan. The House of Representatives had a plan. And the Senate had a plan. * But now all three are promising red ink, instead. And this looks like a promise they are going to keep. The White House says that instead of the sl4 billion surplus it predicted last March, there will be a S3O billion deficit. The $29 billion deficit they anticipated for 1980 turned out to be twice that much. The greatest single danger to our economic health is that Americans have beon more willing to learn to live with inflation than to cure the disease. Twenty years ago, an inflation rate of 3 per cent was considered disastrous, but we got used to it. Ten years ago, a 5 per cent inflation rate was unthinkable, but we learned to live with it. More recently, government has been telling us that anything under 10 per cent is acceptable, if not a fiscal victory. We may soon consider inflation rates of 25 per cent livable. Today, the President-elect and the new incumbent members of Congress must do more than talk about a balanced budget. Each must work to reduce nonessential spending — including defense and social programs — with the goal of achieving the balanced budget we were promised last spring. . Anything less will be unacceptable. — LAGRANGE STANDARD

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Santa is in the area checking on the boys and girls and reminding all t<> shop locally.

Voice of the people A column on the opinions of the people of the Lakeland area . . .

QUESTION: "Who do you include in your Christmas list?"

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JACQUIE COOK Syracuse Cook’s Rare Coins

“I’m limiting my Christmas list to only my immediate family this year.”.

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DIANA SMITH r 3 box 69 Syracuse

“I include my family, my kids and my loved ones. ’ ’

Letter to the editor

Who do they think they are?

Dear Editor: I said I would not say anything in public on the teacher negotiations, but who in the world do they think they are? Let them go on strike, bring in the “subs,” Court news SUPERIOR COURT The following claims have been filed in Kosciusko County Superior Court, Robert Burner, judge: Note First National, Bank vs Tom Leeka, r 1 Leesburg. Plaintiff seeks a judgment of $2,990.95 plus interest and attorney’s fees. Marriage dissolutions The following couples have filed for dissolutions of their marriages in Kosciusko County Circuit and Superior Courts: Reiff — Bill O. Reiff and Beverly A. Reiff, Pierceton. The couple was married November 5, 1955 and was separated April 10, 1980. Plaintiff seeks a dissolution, care, custody and control of the minor child and an equitable division of the property. Stamper — Susan E. Stamper vs Donald J. Stamper, Milford. The couple was married June 26, 1961 and was separated November 3,1980. Plaintiff seeks a dissolution, attorney’s fees, custody of and support for the three minor children, an equitable division of the property and costs.

DARLENE MILLER Milford (store clerk) “Welt, it’s just mostly family now.”

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ROSS ELIAS r 3 box 69 Syracuse

«‘I include my family, girl friends and school friends and oh, yes, my relatives. MARLIN RINGLER Milford (custodian) “All of my family.” MARY LAMBRIGHT (paper delivery) “I’ve got four children and my husband.”

maybe the kids will learn something then. It’s nothing to see teachers standing in the hallways, drinking coffee during class time and a child comes out to ask a question and the teacher yells at her to go back into the room and continues to talk and drink. I know very few teachers who don’t live in new homes and drive new cars, if they didn’t try to live so high, they could make ends meet. If they remember they were the main ones for putting up the new gym, which we didn’t need. If we hadn’t spent the money for that, maybe there would be extra for raises. I give Mr. Arnold and the others a lot of credit for holding their own. As for wearing the badges and arm bands, I think it’s disgraceful. The threats some of them are making are terrible, how would they feel if it were their children. Come on teachers straighten up and learn to live like the rest of us hard working people, who pay your wages. I think I’ll make up a badge to wear saying, “No Raise For Teachers.” A concerned parent

THE MAIL-JOURNAL (U.S.P S. 325-840) Published by The Mail-Journal every Wednesday and entered as Second Class matter at the Post Office at Syracuse, Indiana 44547. Second class postage paid at 103 E. Main Street, Syracuse, Indiana 44547 and at additional entry offices. Subrcription: sll per year in Kosciusko County; sl3 outside county. POSTMASTERS: Send change of address forms to The Mail-Journal, P.O. Box IM, Milford, Indiana 44542. 10l i’ll

tOJZIN AROUND

M. WALES MACY, longtime Syracuse resident who died last week at the age of 81, was a taciturn man with a wide acquaintanceship. A native of Converse, he came here more than five decades ago to operate the Wawasee Slip, a boat livery and dealership on the west side of Wawasee in facilities that were originally built to transfer marl dredged from the lake into railroad cars for the Sandusky Portland Cement Co. here. As did many of his generation, Wales Macy had a fascination with the internal combustion engine. He grew up in an era when automobiles were still a novelty, and gasoline-powered boats came of age at about the same time as he. He served the Chris Craft Corporation, a manufacturer of quality pleasure boats, as a dealer longer than anyone, and he built a wide following among lake residents and others who dealt with him. And Wales Macy loved Wawasee. Not a drum-beater or a typical civic activist, he could always be counted on sor 1 help in any effort to do constructive things for his community. If someone were needed to go to Indianapolis to a legislative committee hearing on boat laws, for instance, Wales Macy was ready. He volunteered willingly, and his thoughtful contributions to the good of the community live on. He was a man who did things not for public credit, but because he believed in them. His adopted community will miss him. —O'comments HAVE been heard about how nicely local retail stores have decorated for the Christmas season and how they have stocked their shelves for what they expect will be an excellent Christmas retail season. It has usually been the case that local stores gear up for a big holiday season. The lakes area banks heavily on the summer season for peak sales, but no one wants to overlook the holidays either. Bob Marion, manager of the Ben Franklin store in the Village, for one, says his store usually does well in June, July and August, but he said 15 per cent or more of his year’s volume is done in December. The Ben Franklin store is well stocked and beautifully arranged for Christmas business. Gene Smith, owner with his wife Marise of Marise’s Town and Lake Shop, also in the Village, said this week that “the snow that fell late last week would be beneficial to their business.” Likewise, he said a large percentage of their business is done in the summer months, yet they look forward to Christmas trade. Gene said the snow was sure to help their business, as it does merchants in all small towns. He said 1980 has been a good year for their store, in spite of recessionary trends throughout the country. Twila Cox, who has been employed as a retail salesperson at Tom Socks Sportswear ever since Phyllis and Ron Roberts have owned the popular sportswear store in Wawasee Village, said their store is stocked with many handsome gift items in the area of sports clothing. While the Roberts’ history in the store is not long, they concur with the others that their big retail season is in the hot summer months when the area is flooded with people coming to the area’s lakes, they still anticipate a good Christmas business throughout December. A heavier snow is obviously in the dreams of most retail merchants, to keep shoppers at home, and yet no one is asking for another “Blizzard of ’78.” — O’SHOWING UP in a Main Street window of Stout Boutique late last week was an animated Santa Claus, the cause of considerable attention from passers-by. Jean Rogers and Bonnie Workman, owners of Stout Boutique, purchased the attractive animation in Chicago, and already have been surprised at the attention it has received. They plan to add another, similar animation next year. Jean Rogers said they are ready for a good Christmas shopping season, noting that customers are "buying close,” and that customers are looking items over. She said they are also looking to match items of clothing they already have.

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LIGHTS GO UP AT NORTH WEBSTER

THE CHRISTMAS season is not lost on the town of North Webster to our south. A MailJournal photographer caught three members of Webster’s street and sewer department putting up decorations at midweek last week, and took the shot that accompanies this article. They are from left, Lee Penn and Paul Hardin, with Harry Minnick on the ladder. — o — WE AREN’T alone in thinking that teachers and administrators ofttimes don’t get the credit they deserve for doing a good job. They themselves wonder at times if indeed they have done a good job of instructing their students. This has been dispelled in good part at WHS this week when principal Henry Smith received a letter with the following comments from Warren Vander Hill, director of The Honors College at Ball State University: “A recent study conducted by our Office of Student Affairs Research indicates that a significant number of those students from your high school who come to Ball State University are eligible to enroll in the Honors College. Since I teach most of these talented young men and women in a freshman core honors course in Social Science, I want you to know how impressed I have been with their thorough academic preparation.” ‘‘On behalf of the Honors College, I wish to extend my thanks to you and your faculty and staff for playing such a crucial part in preparing these young people to do quality work at this university.” — o — U.S. SENATOR Dick Lugar (RInd.) today announced that Paul Diegfried, Nancy Norman. Randy Clark, Ronda Black. Stephen Nyikos, Susan Geyer, Cindy Myrick, Tom Harvey, Beth Walker, Jerry Littleton. Denise Moore, David A. Culbertson, Angie Laub, all from Wawasee High School and Laura Widman and Duane Schuman from Whitko High School, have been selected to attend his SYMPOSIUM FOR TOMORROW’S LEADERS at Indiana Central University in Indianapolis on December 6th. Every high school in Indiana has been invited to select two outstanding juniors to attend the all-day conference. Last year, over 600 students, representing high schools in almost all 92 counties across the state, attended the event. Participants will enroll in three sessions during the day. At each session, leaders from business, labor, academia, and government will debate one of the ten topics selected for the symposium. Debaters will argue such controversial questions as the Restriction of Foreign Imports, Military Draft vs All Volunteer Force, and the Right to Life Amendment. Lugar will address the opening session of the symposium at 10:00 a.m„ speaking on current issues facing the United States. — o — DON’T BLAME age on missing

preparation.”

an appointment. Many of us couldn’t even remember to do our homework when we were in school. — Nov. 24 Nipscofolks. — o — BARBARA RUSH, a 1972 WHS grad and a 1976 Manchester College grad and daughter of North Webster Junior High teacher Paul and WHS teacher Norma Rush, began a new job Monday morning as controller of the Athletics Congress (formerly Amateur Athletic Union) at Indianapolis. She will be in charge of all accounting procedures the Athletic Congress is in charge of in U.S. field and track athletics pertaining to International competition. — o — THE ENTIRE family will enjoy the art, theater, music and Yuletide goodies at “The Winter Art Fair," Saturday; Dec. 13, at the Hyatt Regency Merchant’s Plaza Atrium from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The popular event is being hosted by the Merchant’s Plaza Assn, and the Hyatt Regency at Indianapolis in cooperation with the Metropolitan Arts Council, is open to the public, and is free of charge. — o— - BRUCE WRIGHT, president of the Lake City Bank. Warsaw, and usually of a serious nature, has his flights of levity, like when he asks the board of directors of Kosciusko Community Hospital, of which he is also president, to approve a motion with a resounding “Right On," instead of the traditional ‘aye.” — 0 — THE WAWASEE Property Owners Association are certainly getting their money’s worth from a request, they made recently through tEeir energetic president Bill Spurgeon for crossing gates at the East Shore Drive crossing. In a page 1 story in this issue, it is noted tjhat assurance has been given that safety gates have been authorized in response to the WPOA request. This has long been considered a dangerous crossing. In fact, on Thursday, Oct. 23, a 21-year-old Warsaw youth, Samuel Tillett, unfamiliar with the crossing, lost his life when an eastbound train struck his car there. It all goes to prove what gently applied pressure at the right point can accomplish. — o — HANDSOME, GREGARIOUS Bob Knudsen, 167 North Shore Drive, has been mighty secretive about a promotion he received from the DuPont Company about three weeks ago. He was promoted from Research and Development Manager to National Non-Destructive Imaging Manager. Bob has been with DuPont 29 years and does considerable traveling. — o — GOOD TO see Jay Peffley back at his desk at the NIPSCo office in Syracuse Monday morning following an illness of several weeks. He\will check into the (Continued on page 5)