The Mail-Journal, Volume 18, Number 6, Milford, Kosciusko County, 25 February 1981 — Page 2

THE MAIL-JOURNAL —Wed., Feb. 25.1981

2

Cancun to compete with Acapulco —

(Continued from page 1) Much has been written in recent years about the advanced culture of the Mayans, only to be lost and now rediscovered It’s more than the winter sun. however, that has brought this area to the attention of the - American people Large oil and gas deposits have been discovered along the gylf side of Mexico, and with all the problems in the Mid-East in recent years, there’s little doubt but that the United States will be looking to Mexico for gas and oil Hold your hats! A gallon of gasoline here ranges from 54< to 58# and yet the cars they drive are small gas-savers Another bargain was a ride on public transportation It cost five pesos, or 224 cents, to ride the six to eight miles into Cancun from our hotel on a somewhat rickety bus with small, springy seats. We were told. "Enjoy it. for it’s one of the few bargains you’ll get in Cancun” By nding the public transportation system, you’re truly rubbing elbows with the

Gring& . . . its meaning If you now hoard she word utod then you hove never heard the popular name u»ed by most Memcon* when they rotor to on American Il at ano time the word gringo wos considered on insult it con solely be said that its modern usage is just o statement ol fact a gringo is an American ond if is ’he words ’hot precede or Io how if that decide ' whether o good one or bod for otomplo That gringo smy best fnbnd' The two most accepted theories ol where the word tomes *rgm both involve the Winhold Scott invasion ol Mexico m 184? One version soys the popular tong' of the American troops s’orted with the hno green grows the gross , which the Mexicans merpre’fed OS sounding )ikk gr ngo the gross The second inferpre’o’ron is the U S marines m General Scott s army *roro green coots so the Mexicans referred to them os green coots or gr ngoes Take your pick but be prepored to be colled o gringo without taking odenijp Meanwhile d nothing else you ore now aware thot the United States mvoded Mexico from tho Halit ol Mocteiuma to the shores of Tripoli goes the morme song m fact on more than one occasion ond •*..» alono s not the bes’ rooton fpr Mexicans to take kindly to Americans even though they will d youoro not completely unbearable os o person You ore probably alto awore that there is a good cbanco that where many Americans l<ve >n the States most likely belonged to ,Mex ■co not that long ago

natives The government has mandated that not more than 45.0Q0 Mexican people are allowed to reside in Caiicun, thus keeping the tourist flavor, of the resort Back To Cancun But back to Cancun The tiny island is 14 miles long and only a quarter mile wide. The hotel where our convention is being 1 held the Camino Real, is on the far tip of the number 7. and surrounded by water The island is connected to the mainland by a 200-foot bridge at its north end Enclosed by the island is Niehupte Lagoon, covering an area of 18 miles Just six years ago the population of the area was only 117 fishing folk, but today the city of Cancun. on the mainland, boasts a population of over 50.000 and is growing like gangbusters It bodes to provide real competition for Acapulco as Mexico's Sun city What has happened is the result of a master development plan sponsored by the Mexican government to promote tourism, so important to the country’s economy. The development is well controlled to create the ideal ambiance for a Caribbean resort Both the height and sue of buildings and the density of hotel rooms are regulated to avoid the beach-chair-to beach chair crow mg of some Honda areas And yet the growth on this tiny island seems to go on and on Our hotel, the Camino Real, has an open design and the overall structure erf a Mayan Temple The area is booming with new hotels, and inany of them tout a similar design in keeping with the area s glorious history Os all the hotels we've seen being built, we saw only one with , a construction boom to hoist concrete_arid steel up to the workmen Others walk up make shift/planking. with cleats for steps Concrete is being taken up in what looked like five-gallon drums, carried on the shoulders of workmen We also noted very little steel going into these buildings Pushing Time Sharing These developers learn fast. Many of these buildings are condominiums and are being sold on a timesharing plan, whereby one only buys several weeks per year, and has exchange privileges with owners of timesharing condominiums elsewhere in the world. This is a concept that is being promoted in Honda and elsewhere where people flock to vacation We heard a fellow refer to these condominiums as "the white man's pueblo" For the benefit of anyone who has not visited the American southwest, a pueblo is an adobe structure the American Indian devised years ago to live in their separate homes but close together. We were told, “One can bargain in Mexico." and we found this to be eminently true with small vendors, particularly the roving entrepreneur, man-on-the-atreet merchant We encountered one such colorful merchant in Cancun one

morning, flashing a white cane and hawking Panama and straw hats. He had about 15 hats on his head. His price began at $lO each and quickly came to half of that. In another such encounter, at a Mexican Fiesta held in our hotel by the pool side, a vendor showed us a beautifully hand-engraved leather golf bag It was a delight. His price began at s2ss, came down to S2OO and finally he said. "Oh. all right. I’ll throw in my profit. you can have it for SIBO. While this type of bargaining is actually expected with small vendors, it is not done in better shops, nor in the hotel. In the mainland city of Cancun where we went to shop and eat on several occasions. "street merchants.” usually young folks, hawk colorful Indian blankets, plus a host of other items, and its an exercise in wit and merchandising to reach a “bargain" with these young experts. We learned a lesson the hard way in the big park at Merida, (more on this trip later ) where we purchased several hammocks

from a young vendor We brought his price on the first one down from S3O-odd to $27 and thought — wow. what a bargain Only to find in a small store they were selling them for sl2’ There are certain things one just must do in a vacation spot like Cancun Here the boat trip to Isle Mujares 1 Island of the Woman) is one of them We made the trip with several hundred other brave “personas ’’ Once we got there, there was little or nothing to do but eat a bite at a small, dingy ““restaurant” there Several of the passengers hired a taxi for a 30-minute trip around the island. and reported devastating poverty On board the boat was a small four-piece band, loud and distracting. but forcing passengers to speak up if indeed they were interested in conversation When we came back to the pier across from the El Presidente Hotel to disembark, it was raining in torrents. The literature told us it rained only in drizzles, then quickly ran off We can tell you otherwise The natKMial drink in Mexico is a marguerita. made of tequila, which has its prime substance from some sort of cactus plant. Around the rim of the glass of this native drink is a glaze of salt, to make the taste of the tequila more bearable, we surmised Had to try that-once-and once was enough And the Manachi bands . . ever the Mariachi bands They float about the cocktail lounge, going from' table to table, move on into the dining room, again from table to table, then move on to the hotel's large dining room. They are fancily suited, and play typical Mexican tunes, and while the words elude most of us. the bands provide a cacophony typically Mexican The Mariachi band was on hand one night at the Mexican Fiesta, the hotel's finest display of pageantry, at which we figured well over 300 attended. It marked our 38th wedding anniversary, so it was special and will be long remembered Three king lines passed buffet food tables and picked over the gourmet Mexican food, hot by American standards, to be sure The large outdoor area where the Fiesta was held was beautifully appointed, and large, colorful balloons lined the outer perimeters. A Mexican musical program delighted the audience, including the inimitable "hat dance.” and a Now,The Price And of course it all must be paid for. We have found costs very expensive here. Room, very modest: $125 per night, phis the mandatory 10 per cent Mexican sales tax. Breakfast buffet, for two. good: sls, plus tax. Dinner, for two, good: S3O to SSO, plus tax, always plus tax Suntan lotion at the hotel 140 pesos; 72 pesos at a little shop walking distance away. A marguerita. made of tequila: $4.50. Copy of the Miami Herald, abbreviated International edition $2 50 And so on. We should note that the rate of

exchange is 22.50 pesos to one American dollar, or about 4.5 cents per peso. We made excellent use of a pocket calculator to keep track of our expenditures. Bob Walton, of the Pompano, Fla, paper, said, “Forget about it; it’s only Monopoly money." After a while one begins to think this is true. It seemed to spend so easily. One thing we found at the hotels we stayed at in Cancun — the food was good The morning, buffets had four different juices, huge platters of pineapple, watermelon, muskmelon,, papaya, oranges, bananas, pancakes, scrambled eggs and Mexican scrambled eggs, fried eggs, fried potatoes, black Mexican beans, bacon and sausage, the works In all cases we found the service good, the use of men being exclusive. The happy little fellows, always dressed in white, good-naturedly put up with our experimental Mexican. We’re to leave here soon for a trip through Mexico that will take us as far inland as Mexico City where we had visited in 1961. We re looking forward to visiting the storied Maya ruins elsewhere in the Yucatan Peninsula, but don’t anticipate much of a drop in our cost of living If we do find that place in Mexico where one can live cheaply, we’ll let you know. > OK — (Continued from page 1) possibilities of .a central building Philip Payne said they had and the North Webster and Syracuse facilities were in good repair with only the Milford building being in need of repairs Payne also stated persons in the communities wanted their junior high schools kept at a local level He concluded by saying while, they had not evaluatedl the project dollar and cents w rise. the board has evaluated it > and is satisfied the new building at Milford is best for the corporation. There being no further comments from the floor attorney Robert Reed read the proposed lease, noting payments would not begin until February 15. 1983, or until the building is occupied, whichever is later. The lease provides for equal semi-annual payments of rent in an amount not more than $325,076. subject to reduction in accordance with the terms of the lease The lease was set as such so the original lease on Wawasee High School will be paid off prior to the beginning of the new lease Following the reading of the lease, a motion was made by Payne, seconded by Kroh and passed by all three members present that the agreement be signed So nslwne is I iorom€ Sunshine, a three-year-old golden retriever, is one of those extra special animals who deserves a medal of honor The pet of Steve Giles. Sun shine, saved a young girl from possible serious injury during a recent week end outing to the lake The Giles family resides in Indianapolis and are summer residents of Lake Wawasee They were at the lake on t»»e week end of February 14 and 15 and Steve and Sunshine were on the ice on a snowmobile on Sunday when they observed a six-year-old girl fall off another snowmobile onto the ice. The woman who was operating the other snowmobile also fell and the snowmobile continued running It headed for the young girl. The dog ran to the front of the run-away snowmobile and jumped on it The snowmobile knocked the animal down but tipped over, stopping some three to four feet from the girl. Had the Snowmobile hit the unidentified girl she would surely have been injured

Syracuse woman may have been involved in hit-skip fatality

A Syracuse woman, whose identity is being withheld. may have been involved in a hit-and-run accident. Saturday. Feb. 21. at 6:30 a.m. in Fort Wayne. Fort Wayne Police have sent samples of blood found on the woman’s car to the police lab for tests. The woman notified the Syracuse Police Department, two hours after the mishap, after she beard the news of the hit-and-run accident and informed them it may have been her. Syracuse police reported to Fort Wayne, the woman told them she thought her auto struck an object in that vicinity about the time of the accident, but she thought it was a deer. The body of 71-year-old Foy L. Phelps. Fort Wayne, was found Saturday morning in the 1900 block of Goshen Road, but las identity could not be determined until Sunday. Traffic accident investigators Sgt. Dwayne Hartup and officer Ron Smith

A Contract — (Continued from page 1) township 35 per cent. At Tuesday’s meeting, Wuthrich, the township advisory board. Fire Chief Bill Leemon and several firemen felt the township and town should no longer share the Jefferson Township funds because the township fire truck is used more often than the town's truck. Whereas the township truck goes to both town and township fires, the town’s truck is never used for township calls, because it does not have tanker capabilities and would leave the town unprotected. Consequently, it was felt the township should keep all the Jefferson Township money to cover the additional upkeep on the township truck. Town Board President Steve Miller, who is also a fireman, said he did not have any qualms over relinquishing $250 of the Jefferson Township funds He agreed the township truck is used more and. therefore, the township should keep the full SI,OOO of Jefferson Township money. Town Board Trustee Jean Treesh disagreed, pointing out the townspeople also pay township taxes. But she stated, “I think the biggest thing is that we cooperate" Wuthrich said he would approach Jefferson Township Trustee Harland Wuthrich about paying more money • for fire protection, explaining the Jefferson trustee has had to work with tight finances “I don’t think ' he’s been unreasonable I think he’s just been strapped (financially).” added Van Buren Township Clerk Martha Wuthrich The Milford Town Board voted to accept the 1981-1983 fire contract with Van Buren Township and the Van Buren Township Advisory Board also voted to accept it Members of the Van Buren Township Board are Merrill Rink. Harold Young and Bob Beer, who was not at Tuesday's meeting Town Board Trustee Bob Auer. Mrs. Treesh. Miller and Clerk-Treasurer Maria Lozano make up the Milford Town Board

4ML MH M REED READS AGREEMENT — Lakeland School Board Attorney Robert Reed is shown above, second from left, as he reads the lease-rental agreement for the new Milford Junior High School. A large crowd was on hand to show approval to the board's actions on the new school and to hear about proposed cuts in the summer recreation programs of the corporation. F rom left are Phil Gutman, representing the holding company: Reed: Lakeland Board President Bill Little: Board Member Philip Payne: Board Member John Kroh: Superintendent Don H. Arnold; and Business Manager George Gilbert. (Photo by Arch Baumgartner)

Two injured as car hits tree Donald D Bice, Jr., 21, Milford and Meredith A Plikerd, Syracuse, 22. a passenger in the Bice auto, were treated at Kosciusko Community Hospital following a one-vehicle accident The mishap occurred Sunday. Feb. 22, at 2 a m on CR 1275 N andCR6SOE Bice sustained minor bleeding in his head and Plikerd sustained a bruise on his head ’ According to Kosciusko County Police. Bice was eastbound on CR 1275 N and slid through a stop sign and into a tree. County Patrolman Thomas Brindle estimated damage in excess of $2,000. LEESBURG MAN BOOKED Bud Eugene VanScak. 30. r 1 Leesburg, was booked at the Kosciusko County jail recently. He was charged in county court and released on his own recognizance

said the man was walking along Goshen Road about 6:30 am when he was struck by a car and thrown approximately 50 feet His identity was learned when a man who had arranged to provide him with transportation Saturday morning realized Phelps may have walked instead and could have been along the road. He checked with the family and later identified the body, Tyler said.

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. ' ■ i | *4——— -■ -I h>, I .) - INSTALL STITCHER-TRIMMER — A new Minuteman stitcher-trimmer, manufactured in Switzerland by the Muller-Martini Corporation. was recently installed at The Papers Incorporated printing ptent in Milford, According to publisher Arch Baumgartner. A new division of the publishing business will be built around the new piece of equipment, Baumgartner stated. It has four feeder pockets, and is capable of collating, stitching and trimming booklets of a maximum thickness of three-eights inch. It has a maximum capacity of 7.2 M books per hour. Marti Baumgartner, shown in the above photo, will have the responsibility of running the machine, assisted by Alice Cone, also shown.

Budget cuts to reduce summer programs

ByJERISEELY Probable cuts in the summer programs of the Lakeland Community School Corporation were discussed at length during the Lakeland School Board’s meeting Tuesday night. Superintendent Don H. Arnold noted the school corporation is being forced to reduce its budget some $37,000 because the amount it will be receiving in excise taxes has been reduced. \rnold said equipment replacement has been reduced $20,000. supplies have been reduced $4.8Q7. audio-visual has been reduced $7,736 and summer programs have been reduced $4,924. He further stated something will have to be cut even further because of additional losses amounting to approximately $17,000 and the fact the teacher negotiations resulted in $35,000

more than budgeted He said some $52,000 will have to be rearranged so these monies can be found. Charles Koser asked about a reduction in supplies at the Syracuse school and was told the cutback in funds is for next year and there should be no additional reductions there. That fund was taken back to where it currently stands.. Arnold said that Prin- . cipal Robert Hamman recently made a change in procedure at the school, giving each teacher a dollar amount to spend with the teachers deciding the best way to spgrt their monies during the year 5 This is also the policy in the Milford and North Webster Schools. Milford Town Boardchanges March meeting date Although the Milford Town Board has switched its regular meeting night to the second Tuesday night of each month. March’s meeting will be Monday. March 9. In the February 11 issue of The Mail-Journal, it was announced the Milford Town Board will meet on Tuesday nights instead of Monday nights, beginning with the March meeting However, the March meeting has been changed to Monday. March 9. for that month only Beginning in April, the board will regularly meet the second Tuesday night of every month. . The Milford Town Board will meet at 7:30 p.m. at the Milford Town Hall.

The audio-visual services from the film library are not affected under the current policy, however, the $2 per pupil film strip allowance and 50-cent per pupil film rental has been cut since there are lot.s of free films available. Arnold noted the staff should take advantage of the free films. Bill Troup began the discussion on the summer program, wanting to know what had been cut. Arnold said the program was currently set at $26,400 with $4,924 being cut. Additional cuts are currently being studied and the program will probably have to become self supporting in order to survive. This. Arnold said, could be done by fees, township trustee’s adding to their recreation funds and booster clubs. Arnold said these cuts were the effects of the economy, noting.

“when funds are cut back they have to find away to balance the budget.” He said he is concerned about 1982 and if they don't cut now, they will have to make even bigger cuts next year. Mrs. John L. Miller questioned the board on whether one summer program would be cut ora little would be taken off each one Arnold said that was what is being checked. The programs run as high as $72.91 per person for girls' high school baseball to as low as $4.92 per person for open gym He said one of the programs he hopes to continue is swimming. It is the major summer program with 1.109 of the 2.692 persons participating in summer programs being in the swimming program The program cost the school corporation $12,720 last year with an additional $202.30 being taken in in fees The total cost per student was $11.65. Arnold said each student was charged $4 to participate in the swimming program last summer. This fee may have to be raised. He noted Goshen charges sls per pupil in its summer swim program but since he does not know how the Goshen program is conducted it will have to be studied before recommendations are made. The superintendent continued by saying North Webster has handled its summer ball program through community efforts with only the afternoon T-ball program being funded by the

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school corporation at a cost of $842. This he said would compare with close to $5,000 being spent in the Milford and Syracuse communities Adjustments will have to be made Arnold said if persons and booster organizations will organize and finance the programs, the equipment purchased by the school corporation and the facilities would be made available at no charge He said the high school program is a continuation of the spring sports program and can not be dropped He also said there may be a problem with the Pony League and it may have to be funded. They are currently looking at each program individually Mrs. Miller questioned Arnold on the music program and was told he was working with the music teachers in the corporation. They will not drop the beginning program, however, the seventh and eighth graders mayhave to go to joint practice sessions once a week with students wanting private lessons having to pay for them. The high school may be handled likewise. He is still looking for suggestions and has meetings planned with staff members to work on this problem Jefferson Township Trustee Harlan Wuthrich questioned Arnold on putting these funds back Pinto the budget another year. Arnold said that will have to be looked at when they build the next budget. He said replacing equipment could be put off for a year or two but not forever, this has to be built back into the budget. Arnold said all staffing positions are bang looked into as are class sizes He noted the staff includes teachers, administrators. secretaries and aids. Again he noted it would be tough in 1982 if something isn't done He said the board would have to make decisions on the staff Mike Manges asked when this would be done and was told not until April although temporary steps may be taken before then Arnold noted. “It’s not going to be a pleasant year for any of us.” Business manager George Gilbert requested permission to accept classroom supply bids at

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the April meeting This will be done. Jim Redslob noted that it was one year ago that the board and parents had met and discussed the future of the football program on the junior high level. He noted coaching staff changes but said the program at the time had been shelved for a year The year’s up. he said, it should be discussed Arnold said the coaches had not brought up the consolidation of the junior high teams into one so he felt it was shelved. He did, however, note the corporation’s cross country team, stating the three schools had enough interested students for one team but not three. Redslob agreed this was a good idea Redslob went on record as saying the students were disappointed because basketball competition between the corporation schools had been discontinued. He said the students had been sad because they hadn’t had the opportunity and he would like to see it back because of the students. The board said it would be discussed at a future meeting " The board will meet again on March 10 for its stated meeting GOP plans caucus at North Webster A Republican caucus will be held in the North Webster Town Hall Tuesday, March 17, at 4:30 p m. to fill a North Webster town board trustee vacancy. Kosciusko County Republican Chairman Jean Northenor will preside at the caucus The new member will succeed board member Greg Smith, who recently announced he will resign from that post effective March 1. Alice Beamish. Tippecanoe 1 and Duane Leedy. Tippecanoe 2. precinct committeemen. will elect a new town board member Mrs Northenor will vote only to break a tie The caucus is open to the public. Pod says he*s going •to learn howtafe pictures cf us Kids with our heads in them, at the Home and Sport ShowAT THE ARMOUR , IN A ANSA* /