The Mail-Journal, Volume 22, Number 17, Milford, Kosciusko County, 24 April 1985 — Page 1

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VOLUME 22

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FIRST PLACE — The Syracuse Junior High Intermediate team took first place in the Indiana Future Problem Solving Bowl on Saturday, April 20.

The team will go to Cedar Rapids, lowa, in June as the Indiana

Local students take 'Problem Solving' honors

On Saturday, April 20, two area Future Problem Solving teams captured high ranking titles in ing Bowl in Indianapolis. .* ■ Placing first was the Intermediate team from Syracuse Junior High. Following closely behind was the Junior team from Milford Elementary. Both teams were coached by Connie Bailey. Narrowing down the competition at the state bowl to the top 10 teams in Indiana, each had to compete against the 250 statewide teams. The two coaches who accompanied the the teams were Mrs.

KCH updateX—

Plan $1,3 million improvement

The Kosciusko Community Hospital board of directors Monday night voted approval of an expenditure of $1,298,000 for a substantial addition and remodeling of the present hospital facility, located at 2101 Dußois Drive, Warsaw. The successful bidder on the project was H. G. Christman Construction, Inc., of 850 South Fellows Street, South Bend. The

Alas, water level drops!

By DEB PATTERSON Staff Writer The water level at the Syracuse Dam has dropped .36 inches since Saturday, April 13, when the reading was 9.74 feet. However, reports have indicated the water level on Wawasee is

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TEMPORARY POSTMASTER — Janice K. Ryckeart, Elkhart, was sworn in last Friday as officer in charge of the Milford post office. ' A nine-year veteran with the postal department, she will hold this position until a postmaster is named to succeed Charles Spillman, who is retiring. (Photo by Glen Long)

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Consolidation of THE MILFORD MAIL <Est. 1888) and THE SYRACUSE JOURNAL <Est. 1907)

Bailey and David Stookey. Mrs. Stookey, also, escorted the group. The parents from Syracuse who assisted during the overnight trip were Mrs. Rick Schaekel, Mrs. Marty Gerstner, Mrs. Doug Schmahl, and Mr. and Mrs. Don Impey. Milford parents assisting in the trip were Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Haab, Mrs. Donald Bice, and Mrs. William Meyers. •> Also assisting was Mrs. James Hormann, a North Webster parent. As the representatives for Indiana, the Syracuse members will be competing with 500 young

firm was one of seven firms submitting bids, which ran from the accepted bid which was low to a high bid of $1,448,400. Year’s Undertaking Work is expected to begin within 30 days and be completed in 330 working days. The project at the 111-bed, nine-year-old hospital will include an addition of 7,500 square feet,

still eight to nine inches above normal and Department of Natural Resources officials stated earlier in the month the legal reading should be 9.02 feet. The one gate at the dam remains opened at 18 inches where it has been for the past 11 days

i WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24,1985

state representatives in the 12th annual International Future Problem Solving Bowl. Pictured are Jennifer Carty, David Schmahl, Brad Gerstner, Coach Connie Bailey, Alicia Schaekel, and Principal Marion Acton. See additional picture on page 2. (Photo by Leslie Miller)

problem solvers from all over the United States and Canada. Assembling in Cedar Rapids, lowa, during the first week of June, the nationwide teams will work on problems associated with the “Militarization and Industrialization of Space” as part of the 12th annual International Future Problem Solving Bowl. With Coach Bailey, the Intermediate team is composed of Jennifer Carty, Alicia Schaekel, Brad Gerstner and David Schmahl. The Future Problem Solving Program is a year long educational program in which capable

remodeling of the x-ray and emergency rooms, storage facility, physical therapy facility and maintenance shops, according to KCH Administrator L. Milton Holmgrain. The building and remodeling is a part of a long range plan to constantly update the medical facility and to bring the latest in modern health care to Kosciusko County.

and there is approximately one foot of water flowing over the spillway, which is 1% feet below the legal lake level. The other gate, which is not open, has been un-operable since the 19605. Dave Heckaman, owner of Sudlow’s Pier Shop, Inc., stated the lake level is still eight to nine inches higher on Wawasee than at the dam. He suggested a gauge be put on Wawasee Lake to get an accurate reading instead of near the gate’s opening. Heckaman stated his company is just beginning to install piers in a few protected areas. “We’re waiting on the forcasted rain tonight,” he commented Tuesday, adding if more than one inch falls “we’re sunk.” Some pier installation has taken place on Syracuse Lake but work is “terribly behind.” Marinas are feeling the effects of the water level. Doug Anderson, Wawasee Boat Company and Southeast Bay Marina, commented the season is going to be condensed, however, boats are being launched on the channels and sailboaters are getting out. He said, the channel water level had decreased five to six inches from several weeks ago. The delay in pier installation at the marina has allowed Wawasee Boat Company to preprep more boats before the season begins. Business at Main Channel Marina has not slowed down. Sue White commented water has gone down quite a bit, yet the (Continuedon page 2)

students are challenged to solve problems related to five different topics. Each year the topics for that year are selected by a vote of students in the program. During the current academic year the young people will have worked on.*, “Drunk Driving,” “Nuclear War,” “Education,” “The Green House Effect,” and “The Militarization and Industrialization of Space.” Approximately 100,000 students from all 50 states and 14 foreign countries are involved in this challenging and demanding program.

Green light for speedway

New Paris Speedway owner Rollen (“Joe”) Hamsher was given the green light for racing operations this year after an injunction filed earlier in the month to halt racing events for this year was rescinded. Elkhart County building officials determined the facility is in basic compliance with an order requiring repair of unsafe conditions. Electrical work required at the speedway was completed last week and a roof structure for a stage has been removed. David Saunders, attorney for the building department and Rick Mehl, representing Hamsher, reached an agreement Thursday, April 18, that entitles Hamsher to resume racing at the speedway. Elkhart Circuit Judge pro-tern Loren Sloat continued a restraining order against the speed way of Friday, April 12, as an injunction and prohibited racing until last weekend.

NIPSCO to pass on purchased power refund

HAMMOND - Northern Indiana Public Service Company filed a petition Thursday, Apnl 11, with the Public Service Commission of Indiana requesting permission to pass along to electric customers a $2,119,524 refund resulting from Indiana & Michigan Electric Company’s recent decrease in wholesale rates to NIPSCO. If NIPSCO’s petition is approved by the Public Service Commission of Indiana, a residential customer of the utility using 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month will be billed about 33 cents a month less for this service, for a three-and-a-half-month period effective about April 17, 1985. A residential customer using 1,000 kilowatthours of electricity a month will be billed about 65 cents a month less for the same period.

New cross-county bdnking low —

Bound to have effect on State Bank of Syracuse

The full impact of the new cross-county banking law, passed by the recent session of the Indiana General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Robert D. Orr, is not known at this time, most bankers seem to agree.

The law goes into effect July 1, at which time one can reasonably expect “tender offers” will be made for the purchase of small banks in contiguous counties by larger, more aggressive banks. Any and all such acquisitions would be termed “friendly;” Otherwise, a purchasing bank would be entering into a no-win situation. Action At Syracuse At mid-year 1984 the First Indiana Bancorp, holding corporation of the First National Bank of Elkhart, purchased the legal limit (21 per cent) of the stock of the State Bank of Syracuse, signaling a desire to purchase controlling interest of the bank if and when the new cross-county law became effective. The law had been opposed for a good many years by the Independent Indiana Bankers’ Association, thinking it would spell ’ doomsday for small banks. The "law failed in the last session of the state legislature, although Governor Orr and Lt. Governor John Mutz strongly supported it.

$12,000 fire damage at Steve Arnold home

An electrical short in a basement freezer caused an estimated $12,000 damage to the recently remodeled Steve Arnold residence Friday morning, April 19. Syracuse firemen were called to the home, located on CR 850E north of CR 1000 N, at 3:09 a.m. Firemen were returning to the

Charge Syracuse youth with multiple offenses

Brian Hibshman, 19, Syracuse, was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail Monday evening on initial charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, public

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SPRING AT LAST! —- In case you haven’t looked out lately — It’s Spring! That’s right, it’s spring at last! And that means the grass is turning green, the trees are budding out, and the birds are in evidence with their songs of joy. In Kosciusko County and elsewhere in the “great American breadbasket,” it means the farmers are in the field. In spite of farmers* reported financial woes, so widely paraded in the national media, large farm tractors are belching a funnel of smoke as they groan and grind under the ponderous load of tugging a six- and eight-bottom plow through some of the nation’s moat fertile and productive top soil. The heavy rains of several weeks past, which left some low fields

It should be noted, however, that banks can purchase banks only in continguous (or adjoining) counties. Since the First Indiana Bancorp purchased 21 percent of the State Bank of Syracuse last year, it has had three members on the Syracuse bank’s board of directors. They are: Thomas L. Dustimer, James E. Pettit and Don P. Ross. Other officers are: Paul A. Levernier, Charles M. Harris, Paul E. Phillabaum, Gaylord E. Jones, Harry D. Alfrey, Michael D. Umbaugh, J. Michael Mangas and James E. Caskey. The additional stock in the local bank the First Indiana Bancorp hopes to purchase would be that of the bank’s chairman William H. Cable, a resident of 30 North Shore Drive, a well known area farmer and businessman. Under the aggressive leadership of Tom Dustimer, the First Indiana Bancorp has been looking for smalL profitable banks to purchase on friendly terms. It looks upon the State Bank of Syracuse as one such bank.

fire station after extinguishing the fire when they were called back to the home at 5:13 a.m. when smoke was noticed coming into the second story. Firemen were excused from the scene at 5:30a.m. Approximately 500 gallons of water was used during the fire. No one was injured in the blaze.

intoxication and resisting law enforcement. Bond was set at $2,000. He was bailed out Tuesday evening at 7:20 p.m. (Continued on page 2)

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THOMAS L. DUSTIMER $42,900,000 In Assets With its December 31, 1984 assets at $42,900,000, the State Bank of Syracuse is considered one of the best run small banks in the area under the leadership of its president, James E. Caskey and is the third largest bank in Kosciusko County. This fact wasn’t lost on the board of directors of First Indiana Bancorp. The First National Bank of Elkhart had assets as of the same date of $649,400,000, and as such is the 11th largest bank in Indiana. The First Indiana Bancorp last summer opened a loan processing office on the corner of Center and High Streets in Warsaw, which they now plan to re-open as a branch of the State Bank of Syracuse. Under the new arrangement, the State Bank of Syracuse will keep its present officers and board of directors, and the banking functions will continue on a daily basis much as they are now. The name will remain the same/ too. . Since the stock acquisition last year, the First National Bank of Elkhart employees with expertise in certain fields have helped the State Bank of Syracuse serve customers it would not have been able to serve prior to the stock purchase, according to Tom Dustimer. It is a practice that will continue. The new law allows a bank to establish only two branch banks in contiguous counties within a

flooded, have subsided, and there’s even talk of dry soil as strong winds have swept over the landscape. One motorist, driving last week on State Road 15 between Milford and Warsaw, reported encountering blinding sheets of top soil in the air caused by a westerly wind of gale force. It was cause enough for motorists to turn on their lights, he reported. Early this week a Mail-Journal reporter caught Steve Beer in his camera’s eye along County Road 750E, plowing in an eighteen-acre field using a large International tractor to pull a six-bottom plow. Steve said it would take just three hours to plow the large field. Watching the fertile black dirt turn over before glistening plow shares was indeed reminder enough that Spring is here — here at last!

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NUMBER 17

■ JAMES E. PETTIT

DON P. ROSS

five-year period. Dustimer said he is “not happy” with this limitation on branching, but said he is satisfied with the new law because “it is a compromise and it is a lot better than we had.” After next January 1, the new law also will allow banks from adjoining states to buy Indiana banks, if those states permit Indiana banks to do the same in their states. So far only the state of Kentucky has such reciprocal legislation and would allow Indiana banks to buy Kentucky banks, and allow Kentucky banks to buy Indiana banks. This is expected to have little interest for northern Indiana banks.