The Mail-Journal, Volume 19, Number 6, Milford, Kosciusko County, 24 February 1982 — Page 4

THE MAIL-JOURNAL - Wed., February 24,1982

4

Editorials

Good luck Warriors With Wawasee sending five swimmers to the state finals at Ball State on Friday and Saturday and the basketball team preparing to enter sectional play it is time once again to say “Good Luck Warriors.” Another state championship would be great and we know the five boys who are going to Muncie will be doing their best to make this possible. With the Warriorettes winning the girls’ sectional it only seems fitting that the boys win their’s too. And, they can do it. Wawasee is sporting a very talented team under Coach John Wysong and a sectional championship is very possible. So, again we say, “Good Luck Warriors! ” March, 1982 With rushing winds and gloomy skies The dork and stubborn Winter dies; Far-off. unseen. Spring faintly cries; Bidding her earliest child arise. ‘ March I — Bayard Taylor. March is a turning-point month, when winter begins to give way to warmer weather and the first signs of spring appear. In early colonial days, the year began in March. The name of the month comes from Mars, which in ancient Roman, was the name of the God of War. - Spring officially begins on the 20th of March this year, Saint Patrick’s Day is the 17th. Maryland Day falls on March 25. Albany became the capital of New York on March 10,1797, and the United States Military Academy was established at West Point on March 16,1802. In Massachusetts, Evacuation Day in Boston is commemorated on March 17. The evacuation took place in 1776, by the British. The Boston Massacre took place in March 1770. On March 2, 1836, even while Santa Anna was besieging the Alamo, Texas was declared independent of Mexico. March 6 is Alamo Day in Texas, anniversary of the fall of the Alamo, on March 6,1836. Several major birthday anniversaries occur in March. March 3 is the birthday anniversary of Alexander Graham Bell; March 7, that of Luther Burbank; March 8, that of Simon Cameron, who founded a political dynasty in Pennsylvania which lasted for decades; March 16, that of President James Madison. „ March 17 is that of Roger B. Tanney, 15th justice of the United States Supreme Court; March 18 that of Grover Cleveland, the only American president to serve two non-consecutive terms. March 19 is that of William Jennings Bryan; March 29, that of President John Tyler, loth president of the United States. Also in March comes Girls’ Scout Day, on March 12, and Seward Day on March 30, in Alaska, the anniversary of the day, in 1868, when Russia sold Alaska to the United States for $7,200,000. TV polls One of the flies in the ointment today is the overuse of polling. An example might be as follows: President Reagan decides to reduce the rate of growth of the food stamp program — to eliminate waste and fraud. The local TV station reporter, who may not know much about the program to begin with, embarks with camera man to main street, where he or she stops people on the sidewalk and asks if they like food stamps. • Os course, all those getting stamps want them, and profiably more. Over half probably don’t really know what Reagan is trying to do. Neither the reporter nor the modest chaps questioned really know what is going on. More misinformation, more ignorance than light is thus spread in such polling. The moral is that TV reporters should poll people who are supposed to know something about the issued if more light than misinformation is to be disseminated. Chester Nimitz The towering figure of World War II in the US Navy was the late Admiral Chester Niipitz. Nimitz was born on February 24, 1885, at Fredericksburg. Texas. As a youngster he leaned toward West Point but won an appointment to Annapolis in 1901. After graduation in 1905, Nimitz was sent to China and though he asked for duty aboard battleships, he was assigned submarines. When the First World War overtook America he served on the staff of the commander of the submarine force in the Atlantic, and was commended for his wartime service. By 1939. he was an admiral, and chief of the Bureau of Navigation in Washington, already considered second in the Navy only to Admiral Harold Stark. Following the Pearl Harbor disaster, he was sent to that Pacific base to take command of the Pacific fleet. He served there for the rest of the war, eventually commanding the largest and most powerful naval force ever assembled. The Navy began World War II badly prepared and with inferior torpedoes; though the Japanese won many of the early naval engagements between the fleets, the US Navy gradually emerged during 1942 and early 1943 as the more effective fleet. Submarines of the US Navy — Nimitz’s old specialty — were outstanding and did more than air power or surface units of the fleet to strangle the economy of Japan. But air and surface forces were also brilliantly utilized; architect of the ocean triumph was Chester Nimitz. If you have something to do “one of these days,” you might as well get busy and do it, or you won’t have time to do it.

'What others say— Expense of defense While I was working on a recent article, my wife commented to me that she knew we had to spend “all these billions” for defense, but that it was a shame we couldn’t spend it on something more productive or beneficial. That started me thinking. It’s a shame that we have to pay good money for locks on our homes. That money could go to buy fine paintings, good books, and work-saving appliances. But if we didn’t buy locks, someone might walk in while we were away and steal all that we have. It is a shame that we have to have keys for our cars. Wouldn’t it be far more convenient if, instead of an ignition key, there were only a button marked “start?” After all, there would be no fumbling for keys In tight pockets and no locking ourselves out of our own cars. But the absence of ignition locks would be treated as an invitation by thieves and adventurers. \ It is a shame that I felt it necessary to spend S2OO (that might have bought a new encyclopedia) to buy a good revolver, but there are people who own guns who might use them to take the lives of my family and everything that I have. — RE VIEW OF THE NEWS

z■ 1 I r Xi' VB * The Warriors are getting ready to do battle in the sectional tournament. We wish them luck. See sectional supplement in this issue for tourney details.

Court news

SUPERIOR COURT The following complaints have been filed in Kosciusko County Superior Court, Robert Burner, judge. Complaint Jan Moore vs David Miller, r 1

Unsung heroes —

|F JHBB \ SUE MITCHELL

Sue Mitchell has many jobs

Many people know this week’s unsung hero, or should we say. heroine. Sue Mitchell of North Webster, as the North Webster Township Clerk Others might recognize her as North Webster's Deputy Assessor and still others who are involved in Emergency Medical Services might recognize her as being an EMT trainee for the township. Mrs Mitchell is all of the above and community involvement seems to be away of life for this very busy lady who decided to become an EMT aft a- realizing a need for the training when emergency situations came through the town hall for dispatching Previously, unable to assist in the emergency medical treatment for incoming calls, she now rides with the seven other EMTs having finished her CPR course in the first couple of months of her training “I could see the need of the community during the day. working in the office for five years, I thought I could help.” says the township clerk She began the EMT course on November 17 and she will take her state test on June 8 of this year . She is one of six others from North Webster currently taking the course Marti Likens of North Webster will also take the state test in June and join the North Webster EMS three-woman and four-man volunteer team. THE MAH-JOURNAL (uses PvMshed by TM Mail Journal Wednosday and entered as Second Class maner at Me Post Ottice at Syracuse Miana easat Second class postage paid at 1«3 E. Mam Street. Syracuse Indiana easat and at additional entry offices. Sotacription; SIZ per year io Kosciusko County .114 outside county POSTMASTERS Send ctsanpe of address forms to The Mad- Journal. P.O. ■ex tM. Milford Indiana 04S0Z.

box 359 North Webster Plaintiff seeks a judgment of $2,330.61 plus costs. Support Teresa A. Harrington vs Billie P. Harrington, r 5 Syracuse. Plaintiff seeks support for the couple’s minor child.

When asked why there were so many women involved in North Webster’s EMS volunteers, Mrs. Mitchell said it goes back to the days when only North Webster’s volunteer fire department responded to calls of an emergency situation. There were no women involved until the fire department got its first woman EMT. Since then the volunteer force has grown and works in cooperation with the fire department. Mrs. Mitchell says that responding in an emergency situation is almost like foltowing an instinct one has in which to help and she believes “good old fashioned common sense” is very important in answering emergency calls. Os course, she also recognizes the vital importance of the book learning part of the course and the medical training provided forming the resulting combination of know how that can save lives. The EMT trainee says. ’’You learn from every run you make and no two runs are ever the same.” Originally from Anderson. Mrs. Mitchell has lived in North Webster for 11 years. She resides with her husband. Richard D. Mitchell, and two children, Alyssa Ray, who attends the fourth grade at North Webster Elementary School, and Jason Ray, a first graderat the school. One of the projects the town clerk has been working on recently along with her husband is the lane numbering system for roads by the lakes including the Webster. Tippicanoe, and Barbee chain. They are working in conjunction the lake association of each. Mrs. Mitchell does not accept an auto or clothing reimbursement for any EMS runs she makes while on the job as township clerk. She feels this is important to the public. Besides her many duties in the township, she is also involved with the Mermaid Festival, in which she will serve as chairman of the queen's contest this year; she is active in Giri Scouts, in which she will bead the Saint Patrick’s Day Carnival along with Anita Sincroft of North Webster; and secretary of the recently formed PTO organization in North Webster.

"CRUZIN around 'CUSE"

ffOITOffS NOTE. This week's Cruxin' column was written by Wawasee High School's new principal. Dr. Haword J. Hull. Dr. Hull joined the Lakeland Community School Corporation s staff on January 25. coming from Elkhart Control High School) By DR. H.J. HULL IT IS a rare opportunity to be asked to guest write a column for a newspaper; especially because it provides an opportunity for the new man in town to tell the communities he works for how much he is enjoying their kindness and hospitality. Many people told me how much we would like the atmosphere of the small towns that go to Wawasee, and so far they were quite correct. The many kindnesses extended to us by the people of this area have done much to make us feel welcome. I hope that I can perform satisfactorily in my new capacity as Wawasee High School Principal, so that those efforts are not wasted on us! It was not easy to give up solid job security and an unmortgaged house for the unknown; however, so far the choice was a good one. ... . / Some of my colleagues view my acceptance of WHS as a stepping stone to a bigger high school. But I do not I am looking for a home in which 1 can be satisfied for a loris time; so it is ail the more important that you. the community, and I communicate. It has been my experience that a bigger high school may afford less opportunity for a principal to serve the most effectively. Bigger does not necessarily mean better, as one deals with many necessary levels who must enforce consistency among the high schools. The opportunity to effect meaningful change, and to become a genuine, authentic, effective administrator is what drew me to Lakeland Community Schools and specifically to Wawasee High School. A tot of investigation and tours took place before my coming for the full day of interviews; and what I found was an excellent system and a very well thought of school, not only by people in the area, but also by educators around the state. Mr. Smith has done a very good job with this school and the faculty’s reputation is excellent. Mr. Arnold and the board have madie it possible to attract good teaching candidates and the community is most supportive. In this situation, the students will benefit and in turn so will all of us. As I told my staff, the students, and their parents, I am not promising to do a better job than Mr. Smith, for he was very well thought of and is responsible for the good situation I am inheriting; what I am promising is that I will try very hard not to do worse — and that is where you come in. If you hear a rumor, have a complaint, a concern, or need information, by all means contact me. We want to make this the best school in the state and we already have the tools to do that, but we need your input. Citizens are more active, more involved, and better informed than in the past, and this makes for better decision making by all of us. I expect to run a consultative school. While there is no doubt as to who is responsible for the school, I also believe that a good leader can trust others with some authority. Authority, but not responsibility, can be delegated. I am coming in at a fortunate time, that I will have a semester to survey the situation, people and policies, before any changes are considered. I do not believe in fixing anything that is not broken nor in tearing down fences without knowing why they were erected. The philosophy for any changes made is based upon many experiences and much research in education. The community is very important to Wawasee; financial support for athletics is totally dependent upon the community. The advertisements in programs, newspapers, and yearbook are solicited from the people. As a school this kind of support is most obvious, but the good will that is generated through communication is most important. My communication will be real, not window dressing on already decided matters. I expect to participate in the Lions chib and other worthwhile community services and or charities and will encourage my staff to do the same., The board of education is very impressive, both individually and as a group. After my final interview with them, I had made up my mind to take the position, if offered. They share my belief that they make the policy and we enforce it; and that policies made deserve the school’s input as well as the communities'. Often an elected school board may have members run on the platform of “getting the high school principal.’’ As I said before, I wish to and expect to, do a good job so that this does not happen. To avoid this, they will have periodic meetings with me; and it appears good communications are already established. The central office staff has a good reputation among its peers and I’m looking forward to working closely with Mr. Arnold. Mr. Gilbert and company. In some corporations having the central office across the parking lot may provide for interference. With this staff, I am certain that will not be the case. That brings us to Wawasee itself and its two most important entries: the staff and the students. I am fortunate to inherit a good staff, professionals at their jobs A good staff is one that is self-motivated, efficient and willing to go the extra mile for the sake of the students. Any school administrator is only as good as his staff. They must, therefore, be consulted when changes, theirs or mine, are considered; they must be trusted and they must be expected to perform professionally. That includes, but is not limited to, being on time for and preparing for school, class, and meetings, contributing to the school through regular duties, and voluntary acceptance of other duties, and expecting nothing less than excellence from students — while devising ways of drawing excellence out of them. This applies to all staff, but naturally is more readily applicable to the teaching faculty

Since there is a master contract, this will be followed both in the letter and the intent. As an experienced negotiator, both on the teachers* and administrators’ sides, I know that many problems can be worked out if the teachers are treated professionally, humanely, and the way 1. myself, would expect to be treated. Evaluation of every teacher will occur annually, a time-consuming but very important job. Through this evaluation any problems can be corrected. If not. then due process is called for, though of course not desired. I believe that the whole staff should not be made to suffer for the problems a few are having; furthermore, no one recognizes a teacher with problems faster than other teachers. They appreciate and expect administrators to keep their profession a profession. I hope to generate a loyal and happy staff that entrusts me with the job of being their instructional leader. I hope not to generate a situation where my leadership is thrust upon them. Again this comes back to communication. Student’s education and development is the reason we are here. Educationally, the curriculum should provide a solid basic education with room for exploration into areas of interest. The seven-period day is somewhat unique at the high school level; but it certainly allows greater opportunity for exploration of courses and smaller class sizes than would the more common sixperiod day. I believe that any student who graduates from Wawasee must have satisfactorily completed certain reqtrements according to specified standards. 1 do not advocate social promotion. Along with inclass education. I strongly encourage field trips, contests, tours, and the like that bring the students into the community. Such excursions make school more interesting and contribute to the student’s total educational experience. Involvement in extra-curriculars and athletics, it has been found, lead to better grades in regular classroom work —a phenomenon we want to encourage. Club sponsors and coaches are special people and they must be particularly sensitive to communication with administration. Their effect on students in building their character would have precedence over a winning season. Put another way, a winning season is of extreme importance in retaining a coach; however, a coach that influences students improperly would not be retained regardless of the record. As principal, I am not a supercoach who will pick out plays or second guess. The coach is the coach. I do expect to be consulted on scheduling and especially on dealing with students. In this area, as in every area, I am responsible for the total operation of the program; specifically named, according to the State Department of Public In- , struction and the Indiana High School Athletic Association. Further, I believe in student involvement in th* school whenever possible; it is their school and they need to be a real part of it. not an exercise in mock reality. To this end we expect, in fact demand, that they be good school and community citizens. There are too many fine students for the school to receive a blackeye because of the actions of a few. Hence, complete adherence to school rules is expected, regardless of race, sex. social status or wealth. All rules and punishment will be known in advance and students will be treated fairly, firmly and consistently; due process and hearing procedures will be the rule. Students should be less upset about a punishment when they, in effect, choose it by their action. I expect students to live by the saying, “if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.*’ My rules on behavior and attendance were much stricter in Elkhart. For example, if a student was in possession of any non-prescription drug from marijuana to caffine pills to alcohol, they were expelled from school for the semester and out of extra-curriculars or athletics for one calendar year. If they missed class more than 10 times in one semester they were removed and placed in a study hall. While 1 enacted these rules there, it was a bigger school with different students, so it does not mean that these specific punishments would be called for at Wawasee. Some encouraging items are the honor study hall and the vandalism report. It speaks very well for the maturity of the student body and the discipline enacted by the total staff, that such a study hall could exist and that vandalism is so low. 1 count myself as very fortunate to have come into a good situation and expect to maintain this quality of students. Finally, a specific word about what the role of an administrator should be. Generally speaking I have already alluded to our function in the school. As the chief administrator, I feel very comfortable with the quality of my fellow administrative team members, Mr. Kesler, Mr. Dickerson, Mr. « Traviolia and the other team members. These people will subscribe to my own educational philosophy as enumerated above. Specifically, we view the total program, the big picture, and act according to the best interests of the school. The principal is the man in the middle. From the singular viewpoint of one student and parent to the widespread viewpoint of the board and central office, the principal must function between them for the best interests of his school. His involvement in the community must extend beyond mere public relators and in fact be-a genuine concern for his school and community. This is why I had to be sure of my feelings before accepting the position. There must be a proper mesh between the educational community and the high school principal and I believe that there is. My door is open at all times for your conferences, concerns, and questions. I believe in being present at as many after school events as humanly possible and not being absent from school when classes are in session. I am available not as a cheerleader, but a spokesman. I realize also, that the number of hours on a job may be due to inefficiency as much as dedication: so this is not the criteria on which I will evaluate my staff. Finally, let me reiterate that should you come in, I deal with people as I hope they deal with me: openly, frankly, honestly, and humanely. Thank you again for your kindness, I hope to serve you well!