The Mail-Journal, Volume 20, Number 32, Milford, Kosciusko County, 24 August 1983 — Page 1

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VOLUME 20

Republicans to nominate Thursday — Syracuse Democrats field ticket

By GARY LEWIS It’s only the second time in 12 years they’ve met, so one might forgive them for being a little rusty. But rusty or not, the Democratic party in Syracuse met Monday night to slate candidates for the clerk-treasurer and three town board positions. And the message which followed was clear to the 20 citizens in attendance, Syracuse Democrats are for real in ’B3. Joe Hughes and James McClintic were nominated to run for town board, and Mark Tatman was selected as the candidate for clerk-treasurer, unanimously during the caucus meeting. Chairman Bill Coburn described the Democrats’ first meeting since 1971, when the Demos were sweeped by the Republicans, as a time to organize. “We’re here tonight to firm up our organization,” said Coburn to the Democrats in attendance. “Every member of our town board has been appointed,” Coburn explained, saying the Democrats cannot be too harsh on the Republican-dominated board because of their years of complacency in town elections. “Everyone here is either related to Republicans, and is acquainted with Republicans everyday. It’s tiifie now that they had a little help. I would prefer it come

■ \ i -k . * ft /A k-., '.'-■■■ Ml j READY FOR NOVEMBER — Mark Tatman, candidate for clerktreasurer; Joe Hughes, Ward 5 town board candidate, and James McClintic, Ward 4 town board candidate, were nominated by the Syracuse Democratic party Monday night in the Scout Cabin. The Ward 3 spot will be chosen by the Democratic officers later. (Photo by Gary Lewis)

It's Bock-to-School for county

It’s “Back to School” time for Kosciusko County area students, and the annual return back to the classroom means more than purchasing new clothes and supplies for area school officials. “Our biggest goal is organization,” says Warsaw Community Schools Assistant Superintendent Darrell Boling. “It’s bringing the kids back, getting the paperwork and getting everything set,” he added. Warsaw schools will begin Thursday, Aug. 25, for teachers, and students in grades K-10 will report for a half-day Friday, Aug. 26. Sophomores s are the only

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Consolidation of THE MILFORD MAIL (Est. 1888) and THE SYR ACUSE-WAWASEE JOURNAL <Est. 1907)

out that way as help,’' Coburn said in an interview prior to the meeting. In opening the meeting, Coburn described the basic purpose of the gathering. “Our main function is to institute an organization and to come up with the best candidate available,” he said. Coburn Chairman The first nomination of the meeting was for town chairman. Cqburn was nominated and unanimously approved, as was Joe Hughes for vice-chairman; Letitia Clevenger, secretary; and Opal Miller, treasurer. Tatman’s mother, Elgie, was originally nominated for the clerk-treasurer position but she declined to take the job. After he was nominated, Tatman received unanimous approval by the group. A 1972 graduate of Wawasee High School, Tatman attended two years of an accounting major at the International Business College in Fort Wayne, worked as a junior partner in Tatman & Tatman Accounting firm for two years, and has worked as chief accountant at Wawasee Electronics for four years. He is currently employed at Chore-Time in Goshen. The 30-year-old Tatman is from a politically active family, as mother Elgie tried unsuccessfully to win the nomination in 1971. Republican Betty Dust defeated

students required to report at the high school Friday. Juniors and seniors will report for the first full day Monday, Aug. 29. The starting date for most other schools in the Kosciusko County area was Tuesday. Whitko Community Schools, Triton Community Schools, and Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation began school yesterday, (August 23). Whitko began the first full-day of classes this week, while the others first day is August 24. The first day for students in the Lakeland Community Schools is Monday, Aug. 29, and Wa-Nee Community Schools will begin

Mrs. Tatman in that election. The clerk-treasurer’s race will be of special interest in this election, because for the first time the position will become a full-time job. The exact salary for the nominee will not be known, however, until final budget figures have been approved by the state board of accounts. The Syracuse Town Board has agreed to combine the current salary with the deputy, who is retiring soon. No Issues Coburn, who was defeated in a bid for the town board in 1971, said the Democrats have not yet discussed specific campaign

$3.14 levy — Syracuse budget OK'd

By GARY LEWIS Syracuse Town Board members approved the 1984 budget which totaled $692,996, with a total levy of $3.14, at Tuesday’s final budget hearing. The budget was okayed without any changes. The budget calls for $318,133 to be raised in the general, $174,973 in the motor vehicle highway fund, $8,837 in the cumulative fire fund, and $8,837 in the cumulative sewer. Also approved was a new cumulative building fund which will raise about $44,185, according to budget projections. The levies approved by the board are SI.BO in the general, 99 cents in the motor vehicle fund, five cents in the cumulative fire and sewer, and 25 cents in the new building fund. Syracuse Board of Zoning Appeals members Dee Stiver and William Pipp attended the meeting, and asked for the board’s opinion on the Turtle Bay Planned Unit Development. The board opposed any plan which would make the town responsible for monitoring the streets in the development or the sewer system. Board members agreed to bill the unit as a commercial enterprise, meaning the town will bill the development with one sewer and one water bill. It will be up to Turtle Bay to maintain the system within the development, and to take care of the streets. Joe Gray, representing the Syracuse-Wawasee Area Development Company, explained the town’s obligation to a proposed plan to raise funds for a bridge in the industrial park. The bridge, if constructed, would make available for development about 22 acres on the other side of Turkey Creek.

classes Tuesday, Aug. 30, with a half-day followed by the first full day Wednesday. Boling predicted an increase in the number of students in Warsaw’s eight elementary, high school, middle school and freshman high school to 5,346. “We’ve anticipated a little growth in the next five years,” be said. At Whitko, the student enrollment figures are on the decline according to superintendent J.O. Smith. “We’re anticipating another drop. We’ve dropped for the last five years in a row and expect another 15 fewer children that last year,” he said.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24,1983

points or issues. He did say, however, that the town hall issue will be one of the issues. “They (the Republicans) have relegated us to a rental property,” Coburn said. The temporary town hall in Wawasee Village, the site of the former Anchor Man store, is currently being rented to house the Syracuse government. “We will get together with our candidates and discuss the issues and what our stand will be,” Coburn said. e James McClintic, 68, is a lifetime resident of Syracuse and serves on the Syracuse Fire Department and the EMS. He has worked at Liberty Coach (16

If a business would agree »<v move into the area, Gray said, and would hire local employees, then about one-half of the project would be raised by the private sector, which would be about $29,050. f The town would then apply for matching funds from the Rural Development Fund. The town would be under no obligation to finance any portion of the project until after the funding is raised by the development company. The Rural Development Fund, Gray explained, is a stateoperated program which has set aside $250,000 for towns the size of Syracuse for road, sewer and water work. New Jobs The board agreed to grant preliminary approval to the Commodore Corporation’s plan to purchase a building located south of Brooklyn Street, east of the present corporate offices, in the industrial park. The Syracuse Economic Development Council granted approval to the Commodore expansion last week. The company plans to add an additional 10,000 square feet for a Classic Formed Products operation. Classic Formed Products is a division of Commodore Corporation which manufactures bath fixtures. The plastic forming division of Commodore uses a heat-forming process to mold bath tubs and walls. The expansion, once production is fully underway, will employ 40 to 50 employees and would add an additional $500,000 in payroll annually to the town. Bob Hatley, director of cash management, and Ed Mclean, vice-president of finance, represented Commodore at the meetings. The project will now return to the EDC and the town board again for final approval.

Whitko expects 2,036 students to attend classes at the four elementary, two middle and one high school in the corporation. Two new principals in the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation will begin this fall. The enrollment last year was 2,032, and superintendent Baxter Paige expects little change for the 1983-84 school year. Teachers reported early at Triton, Whitko and at Tippecanoe Valley with teacher orientation Monday. At the Lakeland schools, teachers will meet Thursday, Aug. 25, and Friday, Aug. 26 and Wa-Nee teachers

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years), Vega (10 years), and Penn Electric (10 years). He has served on the all-volunteer fire department for 22 years. Joe Hughes, also a member of the fire department, is a lifetime resident of Syracuse and has served on the Syracuse Board of Zoning Appeals and the Area Plan Commission. He has worked on the fire department for 32 years. McClintic’s wife, Laura, was appointed to serve as the representative on the election board. Hughes will run for election in Ward 5, and McClintic will run in Ward 4. The third position open for election is Ward 3, a ward the Democrats could not fill at Monday’s meeting. The group unanimously voted to give the board of officers the power to appoint a candidate for Ward 3. Attending the meeting was Kosciusko County Democratic chairman Don Bixel. In 1971, 'the Democratic candidates were, in Ward 1, Ralph Hammell; Ward 2, Bill Coburn; Ward 3, William Pipp; Ward 4, Gerald (“Jake”) Bittner; and Ward 5, Joe Baumgartner. All of those candidates, and Mrs. Tatman, were defeated in a Republican sweep. The winners, in order of wards one through five, were: Thomas Prickett, Noble Blocker, Louis Kuilema, Darrell Grisamer, Forest A. (“Bud”) Smith and Mrs. Dust. Schools open tomorrow The Lakeland Community Schools will open for the 1983-84 school year tomorrow (Thursday) as teachers and other staff members report to their respective buildings. The first student day will be next Monday, Aug. 29. Kindergarten orientation will be held on Monday and Tuesday with the first day of classes for kindergarten students being Wednesday, Aug. 31. There will be no school on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 5. Persons wishing to contact the schools should call the various principals’ offices. They follow: Milford Elementary — Ned Speicher, 658-9444 Milford Junior High — Marion Acton, 658-4221 North Webster Elementary — Richard Long, 834-7644 North Webter Junior High — G. Wendell Bryant, 834-4132 Syracuse Elementary — John Naab, 457-4484 Syracuse Junior High — Charles Haffner, 457-3611 Wawasee High School — Dr. Howard Hull, principal; Donn Kesler, vice principal, 457-3147

meet Monday, Aug. 29. Academy Meets Students attending the Lakeland Christian Academy in Warsaw will meet for a half-day session this Thursday, Aug. 25, and the first full day of classes begin Friday, Aug. 26. Wa-Nee schools superintendent Bill Dorsey says the corporation will feature several new programs for students. “We’ll be offering a gifted child program in mathematics this year. At the middle school level, algebra will be offered. We also have expanded the amount of hardware in the computer programs at the schools,” he said.

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4H LI ■ K ■ ■ I r jm ■ IL». '"^Q 5 ~ -/■;> a SK <1 tUk .a w< ■ ■ ■*> ' >1 \ bX 'x -' Jh jW; . a A 1 ! IF'X it-* *n wKI <• vtJ w V mMB A X dL * ' > wM L »7!Hb. 'A vv . A » INcil W ? A ' 1 w r SPre -X /< ] ■ « 'am / w -U QB '■ ®C°l i 9 FINALLY MADE IT — After a lengthy delay caused by bureaucratic red tape, Dr. William Percy has finally opened up his family practice on South Main Street in Milford. The Canada native is pictured above with his wife, Debra, and five-month-old daughter, Kathryn. The Percy family will be residing near Leesburg. (Photo by Doug Walker)

Reception Saturday^ — Milford's new physician hails from Canada

By DOUG WALKER After a delay of several months caused by bureaucratic red tape. Dr. William Percy, a native of Canada, is finally settled in Milford, and has opened his family practice on South Main Street. “There were no irregularities at all with any papers or anything like that,” said Dr. Percy of the delay in moving from Canada to the United States. “It was just that the bureaucracy had been cut back, with the current government becoming understaffed, and it was just brute bureaucratic delay. There were no actual tie-ups, it was just slow.” Z? Dr. Percy, who will reside in the Leesburg area, brings with him a wife, Debra, and their five-month-old daughter, Kathryn. “My wife is a registered nurse who did nursing for four years in a hospital just outside of Toronto,” he said. “My daughter hasn’t done any nursing yet.” Dr. Percy is a native of Rockville, Ontario, and later moved to a suburb of Toronto prior to beginning his medical training. “I did my pre-medical education in London, Ontario,” he said. “I continued on to do my MB in London at the same place, at the University of Western Ontario. I graduated in 1976. “Then I went on to do some post-graduate training in Montreal, Quebec, and then I practiced in Oshawa, Ontario, near Toronto, for five years. I practiced there in a 34-man multispecialty group.” How did a Canadian physician end up in Milford, Indiana? “I got in touch with the executive search group that had been contacted by Kosciusko Community Hospital, and after looking at a number of places, I decided on Milford,” Dr. Percy

Reception Saturday Members of the Milford Area Development Council will host a reception in honor of Dr. and Mrs. William Percy on Saturday, Aug. 27, from 2 to 5 p.m. in the Milford Community Building. The community is invited to attend and meet the new doctor and his family. During the open house Dr. Percy’s office will be open for those who wish to tour the new facility. expired. Err Percy will be affiliated with Kosciusko Community Hospital, and he said he was looking forward to that association. “I think it’s great,” he said. “It’s Clean, well equipped, and the staff seems good. I’m really pleased.” Percy’s office will employ one nurse-receptionist from the outset, with theaddition of extra staff members a possibility in the future. “Right now, I have one nursereceptionist, Esther Hoover, and depending on the volume of my practice, I might have to add another full-time receptionist, or another part-time girl,” he said. Percy conceded there would be a few differences in operating a family medical practice in Milford, as opposed to his previous experiences in Canada. “The big difference is not the country,” he said. “It’s not the difference between Canada and the United States, it’s the difference between a big city practice and a small town practice. > The biggest difference I think I’m going to come across is the fee for service and the free enterprise aspect of the billing here, and the accounting system.

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“But other than that, people are people. Most of my medical background is American oriented. We used American drugs and American texts and what not. So as far as the medicine goes, there’s not a big difference.” Dr. Percy sees himself and his family remaining in the Milford area for an extended period of time.. 1 “We looked around, and we really think we’ll be here for the duration,” he said. Truck leaves roadway A truck driven by Gregory P. Day, 18, r 2 Syracuse, failed to negotiate a curve on Crooked Mile Road, west of Lancelot Lane, recently. The vehicle went off the road and into a ditch. Day suffered abrasions to his head. His vehicle was damaged between $2,500 and $5,000. County council ! approves cable TV for Milford Cable television in Milford came one step closer to reality Thursday evening, when the Kosciusko County Council approved a resolution allowing Noble Cable TV to install a cable television system in the town. Milford town attorney Bob Kirsch appeared before the council and pointed out that the Milford town board recently granted a franchise to Noble Cable TV.