The Mail-Journal, Volume 21, Number 9, Milford, Kosciusko County, 14 March 1984 — Page 4

THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed., March 14,1984

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Editorials

'Agriculture: Indiana's Strength' The theme of this year’s Ag Day is “Agriculture: Indiana’s Strength.” It is a fitting title for without agriculture in the state of Indiana the economy would differ greatly. Ag’Day is next Tuesday, March 20. On this day everyone should take a minute or two to thank a farmer — remembering that agriculture is not only Indiana’s strength today but it is also Indiana’s future. Today’s strength lies in many areas. The farm family, for example, produces a product more efficiently than anyone else in the world. There are also many ag related businesses and research and testing ... we could go on .. . Tomorrow’s strengths are to be found in technology and seed research and production as well as the youth of the state. The 4-H and Future Farmers of America programs promote farming and give the state brainpower and ingenuity for the future. Truly, ‘‘Agriculture is Indiana’s Strength.” St. Patrick's Day The natron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick, is honored on the anniversary of his death in this country by Irish and non-Irish alike and Catholics and Protestants The observance has taken on a festive nature, and few take the tales of old Ireland, about snakes and reputed miracles, very seriously today. But it is nevertheless true that Pope Celestine commissioned him to go to Ireland to do good work, which he did, beginning, probably, in the summer of 433. The most notable feature of the observance of St. Patrick’s Day in this country is that it demonstrates the legendary melting pot process of this nation. All celebrate the day and enjoy it. t On vending - An idea whose time has come is the reverse vending machine. In Sweden a program is underway which will utilize 10,000 vending machines, into which people put aluminum cans in return for coins. In this way aluminum is recycled and the high cost of manufacturing aluminum is avoided, to a degree. In this country also recycling is gaining in popularity. The recycling of beverage containers increased by 15 percent from 1972 to 1981, according to the Worldwatch Institute in Washing. Paper recycling is also on the increase. Two countries, Japan and Holland, now recycle half the paper used in those countries. Recycling is simply common sense and prudence. Continued progress in this direction is highly desirable. 'Best' list Each year we are subjected to announcements of a list of the best this or that. The clothes, cosmetics, hair grooming and other professions annually choose their best-dressed, best groomed, etc. We are now witnessing a blooming of many more lists. There’s a list of best books (chosen by whom?), of best all-time authors, films, etc. z A simple guide is to look carefully at the identity of those who compile each list. Some turn out to be, at least in part, PR and profit-motivated. Cleveland Grover Cleveland was the only American to serve two terms as president separated by a defeat (Benjamin Harrison defeated him in 1888). He was born at Caldwell, N.J., on March 18 in 1837, son of a Presbyterian minister. He rose to political fame in New York State though returning to his native New Jersey (Princeton) after an illustrious career. Memorial services have been held in his memory on the Sunday nearest anniversary for many years. Cleveland retired unpopular but soon became highly revered as his plain spokenness and political courage proved to have been prophetic. x His political career, which began in New York City, let him to Buffalo (where he was mayor) and then to the governorship of New York State. His election as president in 1884 marked the first time a Democrat had been elected since before the Civil War. In most of the years of that period, the states of the old Confederacy had experienced the ordeal of Reconstruction. A return to Democratic rule (the party of the South at that time) was a welcome development for the many in the old Confederacy Cleveland died June 24,1908. President William H. Taft eulogized him as one of the nation’s great presidents. Taft said he had “earned the gratitude of his countrymen ... as a man of high character, a patriot with the highest sense of duty, a statesman with clear perceptions and of the utmost courage of his convictions. ’’

What others say — A grand old building THE INDIANA Statehouse will be 100 years old in 1988. „ Its centennial should be very special. To that end. State Rep. Marilyn Schultz of Bloomington successfully introduced a resolution in the recent General Assembly urging that body and the governor to begin restoration of the capitol building. The Statehouse is a grand old limestone structure steeped in history and symbolizing the strength and character of Indiana and its people. But after 96 years it is showing signs of wear. While essentially untouched on the outside, the interior has been expanded, cluttered and gerrymandered with partitions until its grace is seriously compromised. One critic observed that a tree could grow from the first to the fourth floor faster than its elevators can cover the distance. And surely with time, the building’s mechanical systems have become inefficient and outmoded. The Schultz resolution asks that appropriate state agencies begin a program of beautifying and renovating the Statehouse for its centennial so that plans and estimated costs can be presented to the 1985 General Assembly. Private agencies and historical groups have been asked to participate. Their work surely will be a labor of love for those seeking to preserve and enhance this venerable Hoosier treasure. — THE ELKHART TRUTH

Hoosier Com Is Going Places... fl F Farmer 4 Bevalor| W Grain Terminal 4 Gulf Ports 4 /<S k By Ship 4 J ' i/ 7 Foreign Markets —*"* " Celebrate Indiana Ag Day March 20th . . . . 457-3666 Or M-J PUISe Ca 11658-4111, Ext. 17

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Do you feel taxes are too high? Why — why not? Results of last week’s question: Where’s your favorite chuckhole? Just down the road from Wawasee High School.. . Over in Plymouth. You can’t travel on Main Street in Plymouth without ruining your front end alignment... I really do not have a favorite chuckhole. My car and I have become close friends with all of them throughout Indiana that I’d hate to single out one over another... just down the street from my bouse .. out on SR 19 going towards Nappanee ... what a drop off ... I don’t know... at the west end of the MilfordSyracuse road. For about aVz mile it’s a continuous chuckhole... On Armstrong Road near Oswego. It is beginning to get pretty bad over there... near Commodore Corporation. That road is terrible, you never stop bouncing... I don't know, there are so many around here. ..

Court news

MARRIAGE DISSOLUTIONS The following couples have filed for marriage dissolutions in Kosciusko Circuit and Superior Courts: Inks — Constance Joan Inks vs Thomas Norman Inks, Los Angeles, Calif. The couple was married August 14, 1965 and separated January 10, 1984. There is one minor child Troup — David R. Troup vs Nancy Lou Troup, P. O. Box 362 Leesburg. The couple was married July 12, 1975 and separated January 1, 1984. There are two minor children CIRCUIT COURT The following complaints have been filed in Kosciusko Circuit Court, Richard Sand, judge: Reciprocal Support Debra Jean Roose vs Donald Wayne Hicks, P. O. Box 81 Milford, for reciprocal support of minor children Complaint On Account Michigan Wholesalers, Inc. vs Jack L. Smart, r 2 Syracuse. The plaintiff is seeking a judgment against the defendant for the sum of $6,026.75 plus interest, attorney's fees and cost of action, for a past due account SUPERIOR COURT The following claims have been filed in Kosciusko Superior Court, Robert Burner, judge: Complaint On Note State Bank of Syracuse vs Burdette Strombeck, North Webster. The plaintiff is seeking against the defendant for the sum of $20,112.45 plus interest, attorney’s fees and costs of action for a promissory note Complaint For Damages Walter D. Crowell, and Helen L. Crowell vs Webster Lake Conservation Association, The Town of North Webster, and Charles Parker, North Webster Town Marshal. The plaintiffs are seeking judgment in the sum of $50,000. for damages allegedly caused to the plaintiffs’ residence when a dam on Webster Lake was sandbagged by the defendants. According to the plaintiffs’ claim, the sandbagging caused the water level on the lake to rise 24 inches above its normal level and caused flooding to the plaintiffs* residence resulting in damages TNI MAIL-JOURNAL (U.S. PS. 3258-4000) Published by The Mail-Journal every Wednesday and entered as Second Class matter at the Post Office at Syracuse. Indiana Second class postage paid at 103 E. Main Street. Syracuse, Indiana Ms*7 dno a? dOGiiFonai enrry ovrtccs. Subscription: SIS per year in Kosciusko County; SIS outside county. POSTMASTERS: Send change of ad dress forms to The Mail-Journal. P.O. Box IM. Milford. Indiana MS42.

MARRIAGE LICENSES The following couples have filed for marriage licenses in the office of Kosciusko County Clerk, Jean Messmore: Fisher-Smith z Reggie Allen Fisher, 28, r 5 box 362, Syracuse and Denise Darlene Smith, 30, r 5 box 362, Syracuse Bryan-Woods James Allen Bryan, 25, 212 E. Washington, Syracuse and Tammy Jean Woods, 25, r 3 box 416-B, Syracuse Long-Schultz Jeffrey Lee Long, 21, r 1 Milford and Joni Kay Schultz, 19, r 1 box 131, Milford Leazenby-Bell Reuben Leazenby, 70, P.O. Box 54 Syracuse and Alice Rose Bell, 57, P.O. Box 54 Syracuse Smith-Wieczork Jay C. Smith, 31, r 1 box 125E, Milford and Patricia A. Wieczork, 36, r 2 box 513, Syracuse CITY COURT The following fines have been levied and paid in the Goshen City Court: Illegal consumption of alcohol — Craig A. Cripe, 20, Syracuse, S4O, five days in jail, suspended on condition defendant not commit an alcohol offense for one year, attend five AEP sessions Syracuse woman escapes injury as cars collide Pamela V. Hutton, 29, Syracuse, was not injured in an accident at US 6 and SR 15, Thursday, March 8. The accident occurred at 12:51 p.m. The Syracuse woman was unable to brake her 1978 Ford mustang on icy pavement and slid into the back of a 1972 Pontiac driven by Susan A. Sherrill, 22, Shamrock Meadows, Nappanee. The Nappanee woman was westbound and had stopped on US 6 for the traffic signal at SR 15. Elkhart County Sheriff’s Ptl. Dean Neterer set the damage at more than $1,200. Paul Sands in accident Paul V. Sands, 48, r 5 Syracuse, was involved in a rear-end collision on Thursday, March 8, at 5:26 p.m. in Goshen. Sands was stopped on Purl Street, at Eighth Street in Goshen, when his 1978 International Scout was hit from behind by a westbound 1978 Chevrolet Chevette driven by Jodi L. Vandenburg, 18, 118% S. Sixth St., Goshen. The Vandenburg auto slid on icy pavement. Goshen City Ptl. Gary Penland reported damage was minor. Amended The average husband is one who lays down the law to his wife and then accepts all her amendments. — Record, Columbia, S.C.

"CRUZIN ARpUND 'CLISE"

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JOE BAUMGARTNER, Dana retiree and school crossing guard at the comer of South Huntington and Carrol Streets for the past eight years, has found a new interest to keep him busy. He has taken it on himself to feed the ducks on the channel in Syracuse. Monday morning, at the appointed hour, Joe parked his lit tie compact at the Railroad Park, lifted the trunk hood, then rang his hand bell vigorously. There were no ducks in sight. “There’s a down wind,” said Joe, accounting for the ducks not hearing his call. But suddenly here they came, flying over the "Honkey Bridge” in a large circle before landing at Joe’s feet. Others came waddling under the bridge. “There must be at least 300 of them, of many and mixed breeds,” said Joe, as he reached into his car’s trunk for the five gallons of shelled corn and large sack full of broken bread. Joe says he has received 1227 in the mail from a large variety of people to feed the ducks, and has spent $235. “I’m out of pocket,” he noted, adding, “but that’s all right. I don’t mind.” He has a pocket full of letters he received with checks enclosed. He has asked the folks at the State Bank of Syracuse if they’d set up a “Feed The Ducks” account where checks could be sent, and they have kindly consented. Baumgartner says the ducks fend for themselves n the summertime, but this has been a long winter and many would simply have died if he hadn’t fed them. —o— THIS COLUMN has two Hawaiian “shoppers” on its desk, thanks to former newshen Nancy Searfoss, who made a recent trip to California and Hawaii with her mother, Mrs. Earl Treadway, both of Syracuse. They’re the Big Island Trading Post and the Island Advertiser, both free and both weekly - sort of like ‘the PAPER,” as published by The Papers Incorporated in this area. Nancy and her mother left South Bend on February 13 for San Jose, Calif., where they stayed briefly at the home of Robert Treadway, a brother and son, respectively, then flew to Hawaii for two weeks with Robert and his wife Joan. Their first week was in Kauai, the second week at Kona on the Big Island. Nancy, an employee at Fred Byland’s jewelry store in uptown Syracuse, has kept herself busy extolling the glories of our nation’s 50th state. —o— THE TOWN of Syracuse is considering building a new building on the southeast corner of South Huntington Street (SR 13) and Henry Street. The board must take into consideration the cost they have in this tract of land in their overall expenses. By the time the building is completed the Town of Syracuse will have spent from December 1978 on a grand total of approximately $607,251.57, not including finance charges or interest on the new building cost. This total is only an estimated guess to some point since bids on the proposed town hall have not been received or decided upon. How did one come with this outrageous figure? Simple, and here are the facts. In December 1978 the Town of Syracuse and Syracuse Rubber signed a purchase agreement or contract for $87,500, as the initial price of the building. Because of contract default, Syracuse Rubber sued for payment plus approximately $20,065.83 in interest. This made the total purchase price of the town hall $107,565.83. Don's Excavating and Wrecking Service, Syracuse, was hired for $8,999 to demolish the old building and then contracted for an additional $2,000 to remove the cement slab and fill in the foundation. Schmidt Associates Architects, Inc., Indianapolis, was paid $36,930.74 for design work and a space need study on the first proposed town hall. In April of 1983 all bids on the town hall were terminated and the town board started from scratch again on a new town hall. The second time around, James Associates, Fort Wayne, was hired for a cost of $29,596. To date the town has received a Mil of $2,100 for the firm’s rervices, leaving $27,400 still to be paid. The projected cost of the new building is $417,(». Midwest Educational Services, Inc., will be proriding financing for the project and will be charging the town 1.5 percent of the project cost. If the cor stays at $417,000 the fee will be $6,255. So iodate the town has spent $150,500.57 on the purchase, demoiitioa, clearing, and architectural fees. Twy will owe approximately $450,055 for architectural fees, actual fonstrurtian and financing fee charges, once construction b completed. This total dees net include finance charges and interest, or If the cost of the construction b higher THIS COLUMN has been attempting to keep

readers abreast of the progress of international cross country participant Kathy Gibson of Bozeman, Montana, granddaughter of Helen Harper of Cromwell. We reported on December 28 that Kathy, a -high school junior at Bozeman High School, was to compete in Singapore in an international 10 kilometer (6.25 mile) cross country event in January. She is a member of the U.S. International Sports Exchange Team, and as such placed third in the Singapore competition, no small accomplishment. She was scheduled to compete in Lake Placid, New York, from February 23 to March 6, competing in the U.S. Junior National Cross Country Ski Championship meet. According to her grandmother, Kathy “didn’t do too well” at Lake Placid, and was “very disappointed,” but certain the young athlete got a world of experience from her participation there. By virtue of having won the Junior I Girls’ Northern Division championship, she was given a berth on the Northern Division team. Kathy is a member of the relay team as well as racing in the five-kilometer and 7.5-kilometer events. —O—BANK BOARD Chairman Bill Cable is true-blue to his several commitments and he shows it. He even shows it in how he dresses. Bill is immediate past Rotary District Governor of District 654 (with 55 clubs, 3,400 members) and for this he wears a Rotary Club pin in one leaf of his shirt collar. In the other leaf is a kernel of yellow corn, emblematic of Migro, his hybrid seed corn company across the line in Elkhart County, which he founded in 1963. It was here that Bill made his big bucks. If that shirt just had another leaf, he could wear the distinctive insignia of the State Bank of Syracuse, where as board chairman he spends a good deal of his time in the well appointed second floor office. (Note: The Cables sold their prosperous hybrid seed company recently to Royal Dutch Shell Petroleum Co. and Olen-Mathieson Chemical Co.) -oWHAT DO the people of Syracuse think about a tree-planting program for the uptown business district? This is a question being asked around, as merchants spar around to “do something” to spruce up this somewhat static section of the retail community. Several towns have done this with good results. Ligonier and Goshen for two neighboring cities have planted trees in their uptown area and they look nice. One thing for sure, the flower pots literally went to pot in uptown Syracuse. For whatever reason, the flowers didn’t grow", and the containers became recepticals for all sorts of debris - unsightly to say the least. Good try, for sure, but it didn’t come off as expected. Anyone with a sober thought along this line is asked to contact Jeanne Gardiner at the bank’s front desk. —o— WISH WE’D thought of this quote which comes from an area accountant: Upkeep: One of the principal causes of downfall. -oKEEPING UP with Pete (“Choo Choo”) Savage in his extended tour around the globe is a chore unto itself. We’ve tried to duly report this as “dispatches” come in. The latest comes from the Fiji Islands, and enclosed is a bright 1 Cent piece with a photo of British Queen Elizabeth II on the front, and on the flip side is a stalk of wheat and the words Grow More Food. We had no idea agriculture was such a big thing in those tiny islands. He arrived home February 19 from his three-month odyssey. - -o— IT’S NOT at all too early to announce the various events and the theme of the forthcoming Sunday, July 8, annual Lake Wawasee Flotilla. A letter went out recently from the sponsoring S-W Chamber of Commerce announcing the theme as “Songs of Yesteryear” and listing the following categories: Commercial, industrial (manufacturers) institutional (schools, churches, services and veterans* clubs, etc.), residential families, not sponsored by any commercial enterprise), youth (not over 18, may be driven bv adult, but must be built by kids) classic and antique boats, Earl Money award; and commodore’s trophy. The early announcement is to give potential participants an opportunity to consider the type of entry they want to go with. —o— EDWARD R. MURROW, our idea of a good journalist, once said, “To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful.” THORNBURG DRUGS is moving to stake out ■ a new image — the “Your Home Town Team’’ image, and has engaged a Fort Wayne ad agency to (Continued on page 5)

the cost