The Mail-Journal, Volume 21, Number 41, Milford, Kosciusko County, 24 October 1984 — Page 4

THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed., October 24,1984

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Editorials

Spooks, ghosts, more important things It’s time to think of spooks, ghosts and of more important things, Halloween is coming and Thursday and Saturday will be special nights in the Syracuse and Milford communities. On Thursday the Syracuse merchants are holding a Moonlight Madness Sale. This is a special sale to allow shoppers to take advantage of late hours and special prices. In honor of the coming Halloween night, merchants will dress in costume aijd will be judged and there is a pumpkin decorating contest underway. Saturday the Milford Community is holding a big Halloween Party It will be complete with cake decorating contest, pumpkin decorating contest, creatures of the night and a supper. Donations from the event will go towards the purchase of a JAWS unit for the Milford Volunteer Fire Department. Seven service organizations from the community are joining in sponsoring the event which will be held at Campbell’s IGA. All in all, two interesting evenings are in store, so plan on spending Thursday night in Syracuse and Saturday night in Milford. Mixed feelings Be it right or wrong, Kosciusko County has made national headlines with the indictment of Hobart Freeman. The leader of the Faith Assembly has been charged with aiding and inducing reckless ’ homicide, aiding and inducing criminal recklessness and aiding and inducing neglect of a dependent in connection with the September 16 death of Pamela Margaret Mennes, whose parents are members of Faith Assembly. James and lone Menne, r 4 Warsaw, parents of the dead girl, were also - Freeman appeared before Judge Robert Burner last Thursday. He was released on his own recognizance. Feelings are mixed as to the charges against Freeman. Barbara Clouse, Kosciusko County Health Nurse, is pleased with the action. She has been working for years to stop the untimely deaths of youngsters whose parents belong to the Faith Assembly and who shun medical attention. The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, in an editorial entitled, “Religious Freedom and Freeman’s Indictment,” talks about the grand jury coming very close to the prosecution of a man for his ideas. While the Fort Wayne editor notes he is distressed that some Faith Assembly members apparently have withheld medical treatment from their children because of the teachings of their church and because of the lack of treatment children have died and those teachings are profoundly mistaken, that newspaper will defend the right of these people to exercise their own religious beliefs — mistaken though they may be. The Journal Gazette editor stated the indictment bears some marks of religious persecution. And noted it skates on some very thin constitutional ice — jeopardizing Freeman’s rights of the free exercise of religion and freedom of speech. Patricia Seitz, on the other hand, thinks it is time something was done. Her husband died last August at his home at Dewart Lake. A diabetic, he stopped taking his insulin. The family had left theiFaith Assembly and moved to Ohio following the death of another diabetic who had stopped taking his medicine. Seitz, however returned to the area and the teachings of the Faith Assembly. Fruits, nuts This is the time of year many enjoy homegrown apples, grapes, nuts, etc. And in many areas of the country this year there is a bumper crop, especially of apples. Many with a full harvest fail to make cider, grape juice or wine — so the harvest can be enjoyed for months. Limited amounts of cider and wine production are legal. Apples and nuts can also be stored for long periods. If recent September cold snaps mean anything, the coming winter may be severe. Fruits and nuts might be missed in months ahead if not put away. That’s also true of potatoes, onions and .other crops which can be stored, canned or frozen. In. other words, October is the last call for storage of many fruits, vegetables and nuts. / < ■ Camera hunting A popular, sensible form of hunting is camera hunting. Rather than killings game, it’s photographed with a camera, and survives —for other hunters to enjoy. Cahnera hunting makes sense with many wildlife species now endangered. With big animals, such as bear, very much endangered in some areas, camera hunting is especially desirable. Camera hunting demands the same or greater skill. It’s often easier to kill an unsuspecting animal at long range with a rifle and telescopic sight than to photograph him successfully.

What others say/Good or foolish ? ’ You don’t know whether to laugh or to cry. A recent news item reported that some Americans, to the best of their means and capabilities, are trying to do something about a national debt in the $1.5-trillion range. They send in contributions —a dollar, five bucks, sometimes a few thousand — to something called the Public Debt Reduction Fund in the U.S. Treasury.'The fund was begun after a Texas multimillionaire willed S2O-million of her estate to help the government get a handle on deficit spending. Since 1961 a little more than $1 million has come in to the fund, mostly in small amounts from people who had a few extra dollars and figured that even a tiny contribution toward retiring the national debt would be constructive. In a sense, the fact that any person has contributed as much as a nickel to this fund is a tribute to the good-heartedness of the American people. Whenever there is a problem, you can find Americans who want to help solve it and who are willing to give of their time and treasure to contribute to a solution. Perhaps, however, the fact that some people have contributed to such a fund is a tribute to the everlasting foolhardiness of the American people. It wasn’t the people who created the national debt. It was politicians'tatent on buying votes with government programs, who lacked courage and, or, the integrity to raise the money through increased taxes. The people have been the victims of this irresponsibility — yet some of the victims have been willing to contribute, voluntarily to try to solve a problem not of their making. < Are such people foolish or noble — or both? Are they victims who deserve sneers because they willingly participate in the process of victimization or heroes to be applauded whether their drops in the fiscal bucket help or not? » You decide. It’s beyond us. - CRAWFORDSVILLE JOURNAL-REVIEW

. This "friendly" ghost has plans to visit Syracuse's Moonlight Madness on Thursday and the Community Halloween Party to raise funds for a JAWS unit at Milford on Saturday. Won't you join him?

Court news

Superior Court The following complaints have been filed in Kosciusko Superior Court, Judge Robert Burner presiding: Complaint For Damages NIPSCO versus Horacio Hernandez, P.O. Box 44-C, Milford. The plaintiff is seeking judgment against the defendant for the sum of $750 plus attorney’s fees and costs of action for damage to a NIPSCO utility pole. Bad Check Augsburger’s Super Valu versus Greg Armstrong, 200 S. Huntington, Syracuse. The plaintiff is seeking judgment against the defendant for the sum of $329.71 foi* a check returned for insufficient funds. Circuit-Court The following complaints have been filed in Kosciusko Circuit Court, Judge Richard Sand presiding: Reciprocal Support Romanic French versus Donald French, r 2 box 78-B, Syracuse, for support. Mandatory Injunction Syracuse Board of Zoning Appeals versus Geraldine Smith, 3107 Stardale Dr., Ft. Wayne. The plaintiff prays for a mandatory injunction enjoining the defendant from any further use or for the removal of dwellings upon defendant’s real estate in compliance with the zoning ordinance of Kosciusko County. The plaintiff further seeks penalties in an amount consistent with Section 4.12 of Kosciusko County Zoning Ordinance, plus all costs of action. Plaintiff alleges that the defendant is in violation of said ordinance by keeping two residences on the same tract of land. City Court The following fines have been levied and paid in the Goshen City Court: Failure to yield right of way—- — V. Moser, 68, Syracuse, S4O Malicious trespass — Don . Burkholder, Syracuse, dismissed by prosecutor Marriage Dissolutions The following couples have filed for marriage dissolutions in

No tax in state on Social Security

Senior citizens are not required to pay state income taxes on Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits, according to State Representative Gregory Mishler (R-Bremen). In the last session of the Indiana General Assembly, a law was passed prohibiting the state from collecting taxes on Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits. The legislation was in response to changes in the federal tax law. “A lot of people receiving these benefits have not been informed of the new changes. I believe it is important to emphasize that Indiana does not tax Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits,” said Mishler. The federal government, however, imposes an income tax on a portion of Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits if a person’s income meets certain income levels. “I believe people have earned these benefits after having paid into the system. It would be grossly unfair to especially ask our senior citizens to twice pay taxes on these two programs. When they have spent years investing into Social Security or Railroad Retirement, it doesn’t seem right to take more money away from them,” said Mishler. Each year the General Assembly passes a bill updating

Kosciusko Superior and Circuit Court: Gagen — John F. Gagen and Barbara S. Gagen, Cromwell. The couple was married Oct. 30, 1981 and separated Dec. 27, 1983. Smith — Michael B. Smith and Debora L. Smith, 712 Pittsburg St., Syracuse. The couple was married Jan. 14, 1983 and separated Oct. 5, 1984. There is one minor child. Willis — Diana L. Willis and Donald L. Willis, r 1 box 283 W, Syracuse. The couple was married Jan. 10, 1970 and separated Sept. 23, 1984. There are four minor children. Marriage Licenses The following couples have applied for marriage licenses in the office of Kosciusko County Clerk Jean Messmore: Rollins-Orten Richard DeWayne Rollins, 20, r 3 box 264, Syracuse and Carolyn Jean Orten, 18, r 3 box 264, Syracuse Snyder-Snyder Daniel Reed Snyder, 28, 112 Allen St., Syracuse and Patricia Jean Snyder, 29, 112 Allen St., Syracuse Rinker-Reinholt Jan Ensley Rinker, 51, r 3 box 29A, Syracuse and Lera Lou Reinholt, 49, r 3 box 21, Syracuse Finkenbiner-Warnacutt Kim Stuart Finkenbiner, 30, P.O. Box 295 Warsaw and Vicky Lynn Warnacutt, 31, P.O. Box 143 Leesburg Harbison-West Byron Harbison, 57, P.O. Box 548 Syracuse and Alice Marie West, 56, Summertown, Tenn. Miller-Yoder David J. Miller, Jr., 24, r 2 box 99. Milford and Bertha Yoder, 23, r 2 box 1331, Nappanee Mock-Noble Daniel Jay Mock, 31, 718 S. Lake St., Syracuse and Sharon Gail Noble, 23, 718 S. Lake St.. Syracuse z Crabtree-Amsden Timothy Wayne Crabtree, 18, r 1 box 125 H, Milford and Rhonda Lea Amsden, 16, 211 N. Shaffer, Milford Mettler-Probizanski Jeffrey Lynn Mettler, 27, r 1 Cromwell and Rosalind M. Probinzanski. 19, 977 Excalibur, Cromwell

references made to the Internal Revenue Code in Indiana's adjusted gross income tax laws. This “updating” is done to assure 'easier administration of the adjusted gross income tax and makes it possible to cross-check state tax-returns with federal tax returns. Chernenko speaks MOSCOW - Soviet leader Konstantin U. Chernenko recently criticized the United States for what he aid was its failure to respond to Moscow’s initiatives on arms control and for “flagrant interference” in southern Africa.

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"CRUZIN AROUND 'CUSE”

MORE ON the illusive Phillip Frederick Keidaish, 42 and formerly of neighboring Cromwell where he graduated from high school in 1959. Obviously, he has successfully eluded police in several states and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents for several years through phony business fronts and aliases, in his drug trafficing operations. He was taken into custody at the Kansas City, Kansas, airport a week ago and returned to Florida where he will face charges of “orchestrating a S9O million marijuana-smuggling and money-laundering operation,” according to the Kansas City Times. Parts of the Times article is reprinted here: “The last leg on his three-year run from the law began when a leased DC-6 made an uneasy landing at a county airport in Western Pennsylvania last April. “Police were not far behind. Officers had been alerted to the DC-6’s suspicious activities by two U.S. Air Force jets that trailed the plane when it entered the country without proper clearance near the Gulf of Mexico. “Air traffic controllers had kept tabs on the , plane for hours, watching as the DC-6 passed over several Southern states and made its way north before dropping from the sky near Johnstown, Pa. “No one was aboard when police reached the plane, which sat at the edge of a dark runway at Johnstown-Cambria County Airport. But investigators found records, fingerprints, maps, automatic weapons and 10 tons of baled Columbian marijuana in the DC-6. “It was those discoveries that led to the arrest Thursday at the Johnson County Industrial Airport of Mr. Keidaish. “Two weeks ago, police agencies in the Kansas City area were asked to look for a Rockwell Commander twin-engine, plane. An informer had told investigators in Pittsburgh and Florida that Mr. Keidaish had the plane, which needed a specific type of electrical repair. “‘lt was apparently special work that only a few places can do,’ said Max Geiman, spokesman for the FBI in Kansas City. ‘And that kind of work is done in this area.’ “The information given police contained the plane’s serial number, agents said. And when police checked with airports in the metropolitan area, they found the plane. Mr. Keidaish was arrested Thursday afternoon when he arrived to pick up the airplane after its repair work was done. ‘“When he walked up to the airplane, our agents were there waiting,’ Mr. Geiman said, adding that Mr. Keidaish at first gave agents his name as Bill Carpenter, one of at least a dozen aliases that authorities said he used. “Mr. Keidaish had only been in*the Kansas City area for several days before he was arrested at the Johnson County airport, federal agents said, and no charges were filed against him in Kansas City. “Mr. Keidaish first attracted the attention of law enforcement officials in Florida in the late 19705, when an abandoned DC-4 was found laden with marijuana in a field east of Tampa. “During an investigation of that incident, which ultimately led to the arrest of 28 persons, agents found Mr. Keidaish. The strikingly blond man of Italian and German descent was described by agents as living extravagantly on an 880-acre ranch in rural southwest Florida. “Mr. Keidaish listed his occupation as land developer and owner of a gun shop in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. But agents’ testimony and court documents indicated that he was a marijuana smuggler. “Along with three Miami attorneys, Mr. Keidaish was at the center of a ‘highly financed criminal structure,’ according to a Florida indictment filed in March 1981. The indictment alleged that the men smuggled more than 300,000 pounds of marijuana into the United States on 22 occasions from 1975 to 1981. ‘“lt is the biggest and most complex marijuana smuggling effort this agency has ever investigated.’ Phil Ramer, a special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in Miami, said. ‘“His flamboyant lifestyle was over,’ Mr. Ramer said. ‘He was keeping a very low profile, but still there was that urge to smuggle.* “Using a string of aliases and post office box numbers, Mr. Keidaish eluded drug enforcement investigators for more than three years after his indictment, authorities said. “When he disappeared in March 1981, his trail was followed through several Caribbean islands, Mexico, Florida, California. Arizona and Kansas, federal and state agents said. “‘Catching him was our No. 1 priority,’ Mr. Ramer said. ‘Chasing him was more than a fulltime job.’ “In one instance, Mr. Keidaish posed as a revivalist preacher in Jacksonville, Fla., and offered to ‘save souls,’ investigators said. And in several instances, Mr. Keidaish set up dummy corporations that gave the appearance he was legitimately employed, according to a recent federal indictment in Pittsburgh. “That indictment alleges that Mr. Keidaish used phony companies in a scheme to smuggle Columbian marijuana into Pennsylvania even as federal investigators were searching for him on the Florida charges. “In the indictment and the warrant issued for his arrest Oct. 3, Mr. Keidaish allegedly plotted the smuggling operation and was eopMot of the plane* when it tondedi in Johnstown. Ms fingerprints were found fa;-the plane, the indictment said, and two automatic weapons in the DC-4 were registered to the gun shop that Mr. Keidaish own-, edin Fort Lauderdale. *

“‘lt was the Johnstown case that confirmed to us that he (Mr. Keidaish) was back in the smuggling business,’ Mr. Ramer said. ‘We had almost lost track of him before Johnstown. ’ “Mr. Keidaish does not have much to return to in Florida. The federal government foreclosed on his ranch, and it has collected more than $1 million from the sale of his assets, investigates said. Agents also have seized his airplanes. “The state of Florida has filed a claim seeking $3.5 million from Mr. Keidaish. The Internal Revenue Service also has a claim for sl2 milljon. “‘That’s the money the government says he owes from his drug smuggling profits,’ Mr. Ramer explained.” UPTOWN SYRACUSE is about to undergo a welcomed face-lift. Forrest and Lil Cook, owners of the popular Anchor Bar for a number of years, have purchased the building located on the southwest corner of Main and Huntington Streets. The purchase was made last Thursday from the estate of the late Gladys Morris, who died June 3. The Cooks want to totally renovate the outside of the old building to blend with the Pickwick Place buildings, to include a new front with double door entry way and new windows. Nothing will be done to the interior. They hope to begin work in several weeks. “We feel it will be a great addition to the uptown area,” said Lil on Friday. Real old timers remember when that building housed a Jet White grocery store, then in 1933 Nate and Carrie Insley sold their pool hall and moved into the corner building where they sold beer and sandwiches. They called the place,, simply, “Nate’s.” When the sale of alcoholic beverages (beer at that time) became legal, Nate's proved a * popular place. Their daughter, Rowena, now Mrs. Robert Laird, who resides on the south side of Lake Wawasee, began working there at 13 years of age. “Nobody cared about age in those days,” she recalls. Mrs. Insley died in an auto accident at Paton’s Corners in 1951 and Nate died-in a Clearwater, Fla., hospital in February 1981. The building had several owners between the Insley ownership and the Cook ownership, but not much has been done during all these years to upgrade the building. —o— KASH VANOVER, of 51207 Gumwood Road, Granger, is a happy man. He won a new 1984 Chevrolet Camaro valued at $15,845 by making a hole-in-one at the Townsend fund-raiser at the Wawasee Golf Club last Thursday afternoon. Giving away a new car is a real gimmick a golf event, but rarely does anyone make the hole-in-one and get to claim the car. But Kash fooled the experts and walked away with keys in hand. A He made his once-in-a-lifetime shot on the second hole, a 135-yard, par 3 hole, using a nine iron. With Kash were Tony Hicks of the South Bend area and Jerry Harvey of Greenwood. HERSCHEL AND Charlotte Wells, owners of Kentucky Fried Chicken and Gropp’s Famous Fish of Stroh, both in the Village, are jumping for joy over the success of their new Kentucky Nuggets, introduced two weeks ago at their KFC. Wells claims the new product is 16 percent of their total sales. He says they offer white and dark meat, dipped in the Colonel’s own recipe and deep fried to a turn. We asked, “would you call it a mini success story?” “We sure would,” Herschel replied. OVER LEESBURG-way rural mail carrier Ed Charlton, who resides on Prairie Street, just one street south of Van Buren (or Main Street) has a 16x32 swimming pool in his back yard. He put up a fancy sign, reading, “Charlton’s Physical Fitness Center.” GAYLORD JONES and Evelyn attended a Beaver Dam alumni gathering Saturday night at Stacey’s at Leesburg. Gaylord, a 1940 Beaver Dam graduate, said 30 people attended, including former Warsaw Mayor H. Dale Tucker, now of Jeffersonville, Indiana. There is no longer a town or school at the Beaver Dam community, but the memories linger on for this diminishing band of BD grads. Time was (1933 and 1934 > when Beaver Dam had the good basketball team and found its way to the “Sweet Sixteen” at Indianapolis. IN A recent Letter to the Editor, townsman • Ron Sharp found it interesting that his photo appeared in the Warsaw paper two times in five days, writing, “News must be slow this week because you have printed my picture twice in five days, which ranks me second to Mayor Plank.” Sharp was pleasantly surprised to get a copy of his letter as it appeared in ‘the PAPER,’ the M-J’s sister publication, with His Honor’s writing with his magic marker across the item, “Ron, I must admit that it bothers me to have my picture in the paper so often. until I ask others why there are so many requests for pictures. What do you think is the answer?” AN AREA man thought he had a better idea as to how his estate should be settled. He set aside in his will the sum of SIO,OOO as a perpetual fund, the interest from which could be used each year on the anniversary of his death for a party for his heirs and their families. If no party is held, the funds build up. What eventually happens to the fund if the party idea runs aground, we have no clear idea. A LOCAL woman was excited over the fact that she had quit smoking six weeks ago, and was duly congratulated by her friends. She replied, “Oh, I didn’t ’quit* smoking; I ‘stopped’ smoking. My dad always tdd me when you quit something that makes you a quitter. So I decided I’d ‘stop* smoking.’’ (Continued on page 5)