The Mail-Journal, Volume 20, Number 27, Milford, Kosciusko County, 20 July 1983 — Page 1

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Phones: 658-4111 & 457-3666

VOLUME 20

Rinker suffers SIOO,OOO loss — Syracuse blazes call out three departments

Major fires at two sites in Syracuse kept firefighters from Syracuse, Milford and Warsaw busy for nearly eight hours late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. In all, a total of $130,000 damage resulted from the fires, which destroyed the Gale Force building of Rinker Boat Co., and gutted much of a house at 306 South Boston Street. The fire at the home, the second at the location in two nights, was believed to be the work of an arsonist. The fire that destroyed the Gale Force building was discovered shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday, and took over seven hours to bring under control. Damage was estimated at SIOO,OOO. Only a pair of exterior walls were left standing at the site. The house fire on Boston Street was reported at 11:27 p.m. the same evening, and investigators believe it was started by an arsonist who set a clothes pile on fire inside the home. A total of $30,000 damage was done to the house, with half of the downstairs area gutted and some damage upstairs. An almost indentical fire had been set in the house the previous night, but firefighters were able to extinguish that blaze before it did a great deal of damage. Taken to Goshen General Hospital from the scene of the second fire Wednesday after suffering smoke inhalation were Syracuse firefighters Scott Wallace, 24, r 3 Syracuse; Don Truck struck near Oswego An auto driven by Desra Signs, 39, r 2 Silver Lake, backed out of a driveway at the Ellis Ousley residence on Armstrong Road, east of CR 475E, Saturday afternoon and struck a passing truck. The truck owned by Ora Lockridge, 34, r 1 Leesburg, was westbound on Armstrong Road. The Signs vehicle was damaged between SI,OOO and $2,500, while damage to Lockridge’s truck was estimated between S2OO and SI,OOO. Car, truck coHide Beth A. Bloom, 30, Columbia City, was northbound on East Access Road along SR 13 at Pickwick Road recently when his car was struck by a truck driven by Joseph W. Hughes, 54, r 1, Syracuse. Hughes had pulled around a semi-tractor trailer stopped at the intersection, and then pulled into the path of oncoming traffic. Bloom’s vehicle was damaged between SI,OOO and $2,500. Damage to Hughes’ truck was less than S2OO.

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The Mail Journal

Consolidation of THE MILFORD MAIL fEst. 1888) and THE SYRACUSE-WAWASEE JOURNAL IE st. 1907)

Curry, 21, 301 E. John St., Syracuse and Tim Weisser, 23, South Harrison St., Syracuse. All were released from the hospital on Friday. Weisser, who also serves as the captain of the Syracuse EMS, said that he and his two fellow firefighters had been on the front line at the first fire and had taken a great deal of heat and smoke. When the report of the second fire

ji dfl SYRACUSE INFERNO — Pictured above is the scene at the Rinker Built Boat Cowl pony facility in Syracuse last Wednesday evening, when the Gale Force building was destroyed by afire shortly after 10 p.m. Firefighters from Syracuse, Milford and Warsaw fought the Naze throughout the night. A cause for the fire has yet to be determined. (Photo by Deb Fox) ■ ... . AFTERMATH — Shown above is the aftermath of the Wednesday evening fire wbirtt destroyed the Gale Force building of the Rinker Built Boat Company in Syracuse. The fire was one of two in Syracuse Wednesday evening, and one of three in the town within a 24-hour period. (Photo by Jerry Kuhl)

Four fatally electrocuted in TV tower accident

Three Frost TV & Antenna Service employees, and a Warsaw homeowner, were killed instantly last week when a 57-foot steel antenna tower they were working on came in contact with an electric line. Warsaw police confirmed Thursday that Cheryl J. Frost, 36, Syracuse* Bryan Kern, 18, Syracuse? and Jeffrey Wilhelm, 18, who lived in Syracuse and had a Leo, Ind., address, died while working Wednesday at the Edson Linn home, 701 W. Winona Ave., Warsaw. Linn, 45, was also killed while apparently assisting the three Frost employees. Mrs. Frost’s husband, Ray,

came in, the trio responded, but the second blaze proved to be more than they could handle. Syracuse Police and Fire Department officials were still searching for a suspect in the house fires on Tuesday. The home is owned by Albert Mast, an employee of the Syracuse Street Department who disappeared with his family from the area nearly a month ago. Authorities

watched helplessly from the roof of the house when the accident occurred. The couple owned the antenna repair service. Sgt. Ted W. Dobbins of the Warsaw Police Department said the electrocutions occurred at 3:58 p.m. while the Frosts and their employees were attempting to remove the tower from Linn’s roof. Dobbins said Ray Frost and another employee, Darrell W. Adams, 18, were on the roof while Cheryl Frost, Kern, Wilhelm and Linn stood on the ground helping, NIPSCo responded to the scene within eight minutes, but it took another 12-14 minutes for the

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believe Mast and his family are now living in Alabama. The home was in the process of being sold by the First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Wabash at the time of the fires. Authorities have not connected the fire at the Gale Force building with the house fires, A number of highly flammable materials were routinely used inside the tori Ming

power to be shut off. No one could assist the four until the power was cut. As the workers lifted the antenna out of the roof holder, the two men on the roof apparently lost their grip, Dobbins said. The antenna slid down the gutters and then hit the high-power line while the four on the ground were bolding it, he said. The fom victims were announced dead at the scene by Deputy Coroner Ron Robinson. Aidfag Warsaw police were Kosciusko County police, Indiana State Police, the Warsaw Fire Department and Multi-Township EMS personnel.

Postmaster asks for dog protection With the arrival of the “Dog Days of Summer,” Syracuse Postmaster Anthony Rudasics has asked dog owners to help protect their pets and their letter carriers from the literal and figurative pain of dog bites. Rudasics said a total of 6,879 of die nation’s letter carriers suf fared dog bite injuries last year. “Dog bites can be disastrous,” said Postmaster Rudasics, “and that’s why we’re asking for cooperation from dog owners. We’re hoping they will help to protect both their pets and their letter carrier.” Rudasics suggested that dog owners keep their pets in an area away from the mailbox and areas used by the mail carrier for access to the property. “If the owner is not kept behind a secure fence, then we suggest the owner restrain the dog with a leash or keep it horidp during the usual hours of the carrier’s defivery,” he said. The Postal Service has the to protect its camera by refusing to deliver mail to a household with an unrestrained dog. hr the case where a dog is allowed to ran loose, delivery to the entire neighborhood could be affected. The Postal Service also riers wishing to seek action against the dog owners. “Things don’t have to go that 1 far,” Rudasics said. “We con- < stantly alert our carriers to the < problem, but the real solution to < dog bites in for the owners to help us. It’s the old story of an ounce of * prevention being worth a pound < of cure.” 1

I Lozano quits I

By DOUG WALKER Milford Clerk-Treasurer Maria Lozano has resigned her position effective July 25, it was learned earlier this week. Mrs. Lozano is presently taking the week of vacation time that was due her, and will not be returning to her position at the Milford Town Hall. In an interview with MailJournal reporter Deb Fox on Monday morning, Mrs. Lozano said her decision to resign was based on her unhappiness with the board’s decision to reduce the clerk-treasurer’s salary from SII,OOO tosß,sQo in 1984, and a lack of fringe benefits that are available to other town employees. In addition to the salary cut in 1904, Mrs. Lozano said she was unhappy with the fact that no type of insurance program, in(Continued on page 2)

The Frosts were well-known for their work with delinquent children as foster parents through their organization, the Frost Foundation For Boys, which closed last year due to lack of funding. Mrs. Frost Mrs. Frost was born December 8, IX fa Cromwell to Jack and Louise (Justus) Cottrell, and when her parents died, wm adopted and raised by her grandparents, Milton J. mri Thelma (Snyder) Justus. She had fived in Syracuse since 1988 and was married May 11, IMBtoßayFtwKt.

School budget up 6.9% — Consider disposition of school site at Milford

By GAIL WIDMOYER The Lakeland Community School Board of Trustees held a special meeting last night to hear varying views regarding the disposition of the old Milford Junior High School site, located at the corner of Emetine Street and SR 15, and to approve advertising of the corporation’s 1964 budget with a 6.9 per cent increase in the general fund and a 6.98 increase in the transportation fund. Close to a dozen people interested in the future of the vacant lot in Milford attended the “night of listening by your board,” as President Bill Little characterized the purpose of the meeting. Rev. Kenneth Greenwood from the Milford Umted Methodist Church and Robert Brown, Milford resident and neighbor to the site in question, were interested in the board’s plans for the site and the procedures of sale, respectively. Superintendent Don Arnold said there are two ways the board can dispose of the property. First, the board may “make a deal” with another governmental unit, such as the Town of Milford, or put the property up for bids and sell to the highest bidder. The second procedure can be done through advertising for bids or public auction.

|*ar ww I H tmi r.ir jm_.. MARIA LOZANO

In addition to her husband, she is survived by two sisters, Mrs. Richard (Lea Joane) King, Boca Raton, Fla., and Mrs. Charles (Judfy) Weaver, Mesa, Ariz,, and one brother Robert Justus, Harris Funeral Home, SR 13 Lai CR 10NN, Syracuse, with the Rev. Donald Ross officiating. She was buried in Syracuse cemetery. Kern Services followed far Kern, with burial in Mock Addition at North Webster cemetery. A resident of Syracuse far two

New board member, Henry Smith, was skeptical about making the land available through public auction because “you lose all control.” In routine board matters, board members are not required to accept the highest bid for advertised needs. However, in the sale of real estate, procedures vary and Arnold was unsure of legal obligations. The 2.55 acres in Milford have been appraised at $46,500 by three certified appraisers, based on utilization of SR 15, four commercial sites and four residential sites on West Street. Vice President Philip Payne expressed the sentiments of the entire board, “I’m interested in dollars. ” , Jean Treesh, member of the Methodist feasibility committee, Milford Area Development Corporation and the Milford Town Board, told visitors and board members that MAD and the town board were working together to organize a public hearing “to get the public’s feelings.” Three Proposals Three proposals for land use were expressed at the meeting including: commercial development by Mr. and Mrs. Phil Camp-

Set special meeting Jean Northenor, county auditor, has called the precinct committee people from the Town of Milford to a special meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 2, at 4:30 p.m. to discuss the resignation and replacement of Town Clerk Maria Lozano. The meeting will be held in the Milford Community Building. This is a public meeting and all interested persons are encouraged to attend. However, a secret ballot of the precinct people will occur, according to state statute.

Camp Mack files appeal The attorney representing the Kosciusko County Board of Zoning Appeals confirmed Tuesday that Camp Mack will file an appeal before the Kosciusko Circuit Court protesting the BZA’s decision last week. The BZA voted unanimously to deny the Waubee Lake church camp from expanding 139 acres it owns into a primitive campground area. The BZA vote was based on the planned use of recreational vehicles on the property. Warsaw attorney Max Reed, who represents the Area Plan Commission, said he was contacted by the camp’s attorney Monday. Camp Mack had 30 days to file the appeal, which will be heard by Kosciusko Circuit Court Judge Richard Sand.

years, Kern has formerly resided at the Frost Home For Boys and was employed by the Frosts and Martin Brothers. He was born September 13,1964. He was married May 21, 1963, to Leeann Denise Hale. In addi tion to his wife, he is survived by his parents, Ron Kern, Bedford, Ind., and Mary Sue Davis, Bowling Brook, III.; two sisters; one brother; and his paternal grandparents. Um Services for Linn were held Saturday at the McHatton-Sadler Funeral Home, Warsaw, with the Rev. Lamar Imes officiating.

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bell; an interest jfa park development by Levi Beer and Jean Treesh; and utilizing the site for possible Methodist Church parking. Since the feasibility commmittee from the church is in a primary meeting stage and has no concrete proposals for the land if they try to bid on it, representatives were present to hear other views from people interested in the site. Mrs. Treesh would personally like to see a park development at the site, but she was more concerned that whatever developed at the location would be favorable to the town. “There is enough personal interest in what it (the land) will do for the town. Even if it is just as an advertisemet for how we care.” Phil Campbell of CampheM’s IGA Market candidly stated, “I’m interested in putting a grocery store there.” Neighboring residents are concerned that such a move would cause a devaluation of their property and when Secretary Marguerite Hoerr asked Campbell if he would need the entire area, he replied, I don’t want to be land locked. Yes, I’m interested in the whole area.” If he acquires the land, Campbell plans to construct a 10,000 foot, one-level block structure with three sides of brick veneer at an estimated cost of $630,000. Steve Yoder, property neighbor, was interested in how the corporation acquired the school property since circulating rumors claimed the town had given the property to the corporation. Den Hartog, another neighbor, wanted to know why the board didn’t “give” the property to the Town of Milford and let them decide on further development. In this instance, the definition (Continued on page 2)

Born March 16, 1988, ia Warsaw, he was the son of Fred and Itura (Sipes) Linn. He was married to Geraldine Perkins She survives. For the past five years, he was an employee of Rajowalt in Atwood. He was a lifetime resident of the Warsaw area. He was buried in Oakwood cemetery. Survivors include his wife Geraldine; his mother, Mrs. Itura Linn, Warsaw; and one daughter, Mrs. David (Tonya) Underhill, Leesburg. V. helm 1 Wilhelm's body was taken to Paukfing, Ohio, for burial.