The Mail-Journal, Volume 21, Number 31, Milford, Kosciusko County, 15 August 1984 — Page 1

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VOLUME 21

Kh EARLY SIDEWALK SHOPPERS AT THORNBURG’S

■ PtiniiiKs PILCHERS’ DID LAND OFFICE BUSINESS AT 3 LOCATIONS

I T < fIFTI rhlSi^ -_~ ~ i RINKER’S AT NORTH WEBSTER A SHOPPER S PARADISE, TOO

Shoppers take advantage of Sidewalk Days bargains

Area residents took full advantage of sidewalk sales in Syracuse and North Webster this past Thursday, Friday and Saturday as merchants in both communities report sales were fantastic. North Webster Sidewalk Sales r brought in crowds of people and helped raise over SSOO for the North Webster Public Beach fund drive. Alice Rinker, owner of Rinker’s, gave this description of sales at her store, “great, it really was wonderful, the best one in five years.” Mrs. Rinker couldn't believe the crowds of people who came into town for bargains of all kinds or the heavy amount of traffic. Possibly contributing to the success of the sales was the weather . /Saturday was the best day of Aft, it was such a beautiful day,” commented Mrs. Rinker. John Kroh of Thornburg Drugs reported that at both North Webster and Syracuse sidewalk sales were the best ever. People were seen purchasing items by the cart and box toads. “It was super fantastic in both places,” commented Kroh. Larry Teghtmeyer of Teghtmeyer Ace Hardware com-

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Consolidation o/THE MILFORD MAIL lEst. 1888) and THE SYRACUSE-WAWASEE JOURNAL lEst. 1907) *

mented the overall traffic was good and had the same report of fantastic sales for both stores, in Syracuse and North Webster. Better Than Last Year “The feed back I have gotten is real good,” commented Jim Evans, president of the SyracuseWawasee Retail Merchants. He added there was a lot of traffic through town and people were stopping and buying. “It seems to be real successful and merchants are pretty excited about the sales.” He also added everything

$3.18 rote — No taxpayers at Syracuse hearing

By JO STURGIS Staff Writer No taxpayers were present at last night’s Syracuse town board meeting for the public hearing on the 1985 budget. Jennifer Lewis, clerktreasurer, read the total budget estimate amounts of the general,

he has heard has been positive. Steve Butt at Pilcher s Shoe Store, uptown Syracuse, reported shoe sales went just great and that sales were “definitely better than last year." Another uptown merchant, Mim Speicher at My Store, reporter her sales went very well. “I believe we topped anything we have had.” Ben Franklin’s store manager, Don Melton, reported sales at his store were “about fair” and that there wasn't anything colossal.

street and ambulance funds to the board members. The park, fire and police funds are included in the general fund totals. The estimated budget amounts are $473,287 for the general fund, $238,264 for the street fund and $26,200 for the ambulance fund. This is a total budget amount of (Continued on page 2)

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15,1984

BZA tables Camp Mack's petition In a marathon seven-hour hearing- Monday night, the KosciuskXroflnty Board of Zoning Appeals elected to table discussion over the controversial petition for a primitivecaniping area at Camp Mack. The BZA worked/until 2 a.m. Tuesday oitw-agdhda of over 30 cases in addition to the Camp Mack petition. After heated discussion, camp officials were unable to reverse a 1983 BZA decision that prohibited the the expansion of primitive camping priveleges to 139 acres of farmland near Waubee Lake, adjacent to the present campgrounds. A sizable protest by local property owners over the use of recreational vehicles on the primitive area led to the tabling. Arden Ball, resident director of Camp Mack, revised the original primitive camping area plan j cutting the number of acres to 44, and providing a' buffer from area ~ residents. Protests were raised, however, when Ball stated that several additional features, including a nature center, may be added to the property when need arises. Upon tabling the discussion, the BZA requested that Ball meet with the property owners, led by Waubee Lake resident Bill Stath, (Continued on page 2) New WPOA officers elected Three new members were elected to the board of directors of the Wawasee Property Owners Association at the organization’s annual membership meeting last Friday in the South Shore Pavilion. They are Robert Hampton and Robert Meyers, both year-around residents of the lake, and Harold J. Goebel of Lake Wawasee and Fort Wayne. Myers resides on the South Shore and Hampton on Cottingham Beach. Goebel is a seasonal resident of Ogden Island. The gentlemen will replace Verna Knauer of Cedar Point, Harry Isch of Bluffton and Cottingham Beach and Harry Bishop of the South Shore area, and now living in Bonnie Brae. Each had served a three-year term. Re-elected to the board was Ray Gans, a permanent resident of Highland View. Also re-elected at the meeting were officers of the Wawaseee Property Owners Association. They include Wiley W. (“Bill”) Spurgeon Jr., a Muncie man who has been a seasonal resident of the North Shore for nearly SQ, years. He will be serving his 12th term as president. Other re-elected officers were Jack DeHaven, of Fort Wayne, and a summer resident of Ogden Island. He will again serve as vice president. Robert Jones, a permanent resident of Nordyke Park, will again serve as treasurer, and Jane G. Nearing, secretary and executive director since 1978 will again hold that post. Some 100 members attended the annual dinner meeting and heard reports from President Wiley (Bill) Spurgeon, Secretary Jane G. Nearing and Treasurer Robert Jones. A. Hunter Colpitts and Bruce Ough gave a report on the plans for the Oakwood Conference Center, and Harland Steffen described the underconstruction Wawasee-Spink condominiums in the former landmark hotel.

A Commodore Division — Classic Formed Products, Inc., in Vega Industrial Park, sold

Five months of serious negotiations culminated on Monday of this week in the sale of one of the Syracuse community’s major industries. The transaction was handled in Chicago. Classic Formed Products, Inc., located at 350 West Brooklyn Street in Syracuse’s Vega Industrial Park, was sold by Commodore Home Systems to three people who have been operating the profitable Commodore arm since its inception. The new owners include Larry Kaercher, president and finance officer; Dan Brodhead, vice president and secretarytreasurer; and Dan Arthur, plant manager. A Unique Concept The concept Tor the-company was realized three and one-half'' years ago to serve as the principal supplier of Commodore plastic bath tubs, shower walls, whirlpools for manufactured housing and the do-it-yourself market. In this brief span of time, the company has grown to the point where it has manufacturing facilities in Fort Worth, Texas, Douglas, GA, and a plant they recently purchased from a competitor in Haleyville, AL. The small company has 113 customers in 40 states. Total employees stand at 100, 85 of whom work at the Syracuse home plant. According to President Kaercher, the company has 25 percent of the total plastic bath tub business in the mobile home industry, shipping 20,000 bath tubs per month. Monthly sales: $1,200,000. And the new owners virtually sparkle with new ideas for their company. Syracuse Lake association has election Syracuse Lake Association held its annual meeting on Monday, Aug. 6, in the south Shore Pavilion, South Shore golf Course, Syracuse. Directors elected to serve for three years include: Pat Bitner, district one; Kay Caskey district two; and Cap Johnson, district three: Continuing two-year directorships are Elaine Schenck, Bob Knudsen and Clayton Preston. Directors in their final year of service are Herschel Wells, Larry Swank and John Naab. Members of the Enchanted Hills Playhouse cast entertained the group during the dinner. The cast performed skits and popular selections from this year’s playhouse productions. Included in the program were selections from “Camelot,’’ “The King and I,” “Peter Pan,” and “My Fair Lady,” Reports presented to the membership included lake boueys by Clayton Preston, Strobe and ski warning light by Dick Wysong and the Kosciusko Lakes Presentation Association by Bob Knudson. The board of directors will be meeting in September to elect officers for the 1984-1985 lake season.

■&K ar ■ jo CLASSIC FORMED PRODUCTS PRINCIPALS — New owners of Classic Formed Products. Inc., in Vega Industrial Park, are shown here. Seated is Larry Kaercher, president and finance officer. On the left is Dan Brodhead, vide president and secretary-treasurer, and on the right is Dan Arthur. plant manager.

Approve $4 million budget for Lakeland School Corp.

By TOM CHARLES Staff Writer The Lakeland Community School Board of Trustees gave approval to its $4,179,800 budget for 1985 at the regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 14. The 1985 figure, which represents a 9.1 percent increase over the current budget, was unanimously approved and no remonstrators were present at the meeting. Tax rates under the new budget are estimated to be $4.07 per SIOO of assessed valuation as compared to $3.77 under the current budget. However, Superintendent Don Arnold has noted that the actual rate could drop below $4. The corporation has budgeted $2,423,720 for its general fund, $1,191,320 for the debt service fund, $256,750 for the cumulative building fund and $308,100 for the transportaion fund. Teacher Contract In other news related to the upcoming school year, Assistant Superintendent George Gilbert informed the board that the cor poration and the Lakeland Community Educators Association have reached a tentative agreement on a master contract. According to Gilbert, no details of the contract will be made public until a final agreement is ratified by the teachers. He expects that process to take two weeks. Renovation Work The board unanimously approved the circulation of patron petitions for a general obligation bond issue of $990,000 to support the cost of renovation and reroofing projects at Syracuse, North Webstar and Wawasee schools. The project, which is scheduled to be undertaken in the summer of 1965, involves reproofing at the North Webster and Syracuse schools, Wawasee High School and the corporation office, as well as blacktopping the parking lot and resurfacing the track at WHS and renovating the beating system at North Webster.

The total cost of the project is estimated to be in excess of $1,000,000. Funding for the project will come from the general bond issue and the corporation’s cumulative building fund. Everett I. Brown Company. Indianapolis, will serve as the contractor and architect for the project. Phend and Brown, Inc., Milford, will handle the blacktopping and track resurfacing work. The reroofing is necessary due to drainage and leekage problems which appeared in the spring of this year. Workers from Everett I. Brown are currently inspecting the roofs to determine what type of new roofing should be installed. Plans for renovation of the heating system at North Webster call for the installation of hot water heat in the 1971 addition. Currently, this portion of the school uses electric heat —a method which has proven to be quite expensive. “The cost for heating the one* North Webster addition is the same as the cost for heating the entire Syracuse building,” Gilbert noted. “This change could save us SIO,OOO a year.” The new heating system will be connected to the existing boiler at the school. Other Business In other business, the board: • Awarded the contract for providing milk products to the corporation for the 1985 school year to Allen Dairy of Fort Wayne. The dairy bid 11.7 cents per halfpint of milk. Burger Dairy, the only other bidder, bid 11.8 cents per half-pint. • Approved a one-year maternity leave of absence for Josette Abrams, art teacher at North Webster. Paula Mitchell was hired to fill the position for the upcoming school year. • Approved the hiring of Annette Mock and Wendy Anderson for the first semester of the 1984-85 school year. Mock will fill in for Kim Conrad in the kindergarten at Syracuse and Anderson will fill in for Jerri Mahnensmith in the third grade at Syracuse.

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• Approved the hiring of Mitchell Willaman and Philip Wyss. Willaman will teach grade 5 at North Webster and Wyss will teach grade 5 at Syracuse. < Continued on page 2) Accidents in Syracuse Syracuse police investigated a one-car accident occurring at the intersection of SR 13 and Pickwick Road, Syracuse, Thursday, Aug. 9, at 6:02 p.m. According to police reports, Peggy Boyd, Syracuse, was turning off SR 13 when Ashley Boyd, 23 months old, fell out of the front passenger window. The child was struck by the rear right tire of the car, causing abrasions to the left leg and foot. Mrs. Boyd refused ambulance treatment at the scene for the child and informed police that would transport the child to Goshen General Hospital herself. At the time of the accident, no safety restraint seat was being used. Backing Accident In another, accident, Sharon Clevenger, North Webster, was backing away from the Frog Tavern, Syracuse, when she hit the gas pedal instead of the brake and ran through a fence at the corner of 1200 N and 530 E. No damage figures were reported for the car or fence. Hit From Behind On Friday, Aug. 10, Jolene Campbell, Kalamazoo, Mich., was northbound on SR 13 and she was slowing down for traffic ahead of her. Sheila Kleinrichert, Syracuse, failed to adjust her speed, and ran into the Campbell vehicle. Damages for both cars were estimated between S2OO to SI,OOO. James Schaaf, Warsaw, was northbound on SR 13 on Friday, Aug. 10, when the car driven by Patricia Hoffert, Pierceton, hit Schaafs in the rear. Between S2OO and SI,OOO damage was estimated for both vehicles.