The Mail-Journal, Volume 23, Number 10, Milford, Kosciusko County, 5 March 1986 — Page 1

Do you think the mobile home park at Milford should be approved by the county BZA ?

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JOHNPAMER Milford “My wife, Bette, and I would like to see the mobile home park come in. It would provide needed housing.”

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Phones: Milford 658-4111 & Syracuse 457-3666

VOLUME 23

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STUDENT AJ WORK — Wawasee High School sophomore Jamie Kizer is one of the students working with art teacher Cynthia Bryan in keeping the sign board on the school grounds current. Events are normally posted on a weekly basis, according to Jamie,

John Lehman to represent Milford on county BZA

By MARK HUFFMAN Staff Writer The Milford Town Board chose town resident John Lehman to represent the community as a member of the Kosciusko County Board of Zoning Appeals in the wake of animosity surrounding the organization. ~ With it’s decision yesterday afternoon, Town Board President Jean Treesh noted the responsibility and patience required of a BZA member, stating that Lehman appeared to have both qualities. z Lehman inherits a position on the board reserved to help decide a controversial subject entangling Milford for the past few weeks. A proposed zoning exception to allow the development of a 70-unit mobile home park to be developed on the south side of CR 1250, at the northwest edge of Milford, was filed by Harlan Beer, Nappanee, Feb. 18. The BZA is slated to decide the issue at its next meeting on March 10.

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DORAL HAAB Milford “I think it should be approved to provide young people starting out in life housing they can afford. Everybody can’t afford a $70,000 home when they get married.”

After weeks of searching for a replacement for the deceased George W. Hoppus, the board ultimately decided on Lehman who announced his candidacy after a special meeting of the board Feb. 25. Only two persons had entered their names as viable applicants. Lehman, who owns and operates laundromats in Milford and Syracuse, lives with his wife (Pamela) and three children, Heide, 13, Michele, 10, and Kevin, 7, at 109 Higbee Street, Milford. Born in Warsaw in 1949, Lehman served with the Warsaw Police Department, attaining the rank of lieutenant, for eight years before moving to Milford, where he has lived the last four years. Syracuse Retail Merchants to meet The Retail Merchants Division of the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce will hold its monthly meeting on Friday, March 7, at 8 a.m. in the Syracuse Town Hall. Meetings are open and all merchants from the area are encouraged to participate.

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BENLINIGER Milford “I think the mobile home park would benefit the community. I think the BZA should approve it.”

Consolidation o/THE MILFORD MAIL (Est. 1888) and THE SYRACUSE-WAWASEE JOURNAL (Est. 1907)

who was caught at work Monday morning. Jamie is the daughter of Jan and Connie Kizer of r 1 Warsaw, and the granddaughter of former Milford postmaster Paul and Katherine Kizer, now Florida residents.

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LIBRARY HISTORY TOLD — Virginia Ditmer, a member of the Syracuse Library Board spoke to the Wawasee Kiwanis on March 1 about the history of the library. Mrs. Ditmer stated the library started in the old school building. Then in 1916 a grant of |IO,OOO was received from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation for a new building. With an additional 34,000 the new library building was built and dedicated on November 15,1921. It has been remodeled and added to since then. The library serves the community in various ways in addition to books such as newspapers, magazines, recordings, paintings for rent, video equipment, copier service, and story hours for children. Shown in the photo is Mrs. Ditmer with Herschel Wells, presidentelect of the Wawasee Kiwanis.

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NORMA STARK Milford “Mobile homes are the most affordable way for young people to start out in. I think it should be approved.”

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 1986

MERNE WRIGHT Milford “I think the west part of town would be a good location. It should be approved. ’ ’

Sesquicentenirial banners to go up

** . By MARK HUFFMAN Staff Writer The sesquicentennial committee took another step toward its June 1-7 celebration last night, as Ralph Owens displayed four street banners that had been produced for the occasion and various members of the steering committee talked of plans that were in the final stage. The banners, to be placed at the north and south ends of SR 15 and Main Street in Milford, were painted by Owens in red and black colors — announcing the dates of the celebration. Owens agreed to cut small holes in the banners to make them more wind-resistant and Randall Dewart suggested the banners be sold to the highest bidder at the conclusion of the celebration. ✓ See photo of street banners at head of Milford Main Street on page 16. Committee members also looked at glass items, brought by a Lafayette man who specializes in providing memorabilia. Bill Vaugh, director of a Lafayette museum, displayed various items for committee members previous to its meeting. After examining the articles the group decided to form a committee at a later date to deal with the purchase of such collectibles. John Replogle and Elmer Sorensen, mayor committee chairmen, outlined the progress of the mayor’s race, emphasizing that each candidate had a savings account at one of two Milford banks, where donations can be placed. Candidates with accounts at First National Bank, include Arch Baumgartner, Andy Brown and Elsie Free, while Lake City Bank has set up accounts for Margi Brooks, Dan Brown, Richard Miller and Jean Treesh. Sorensen urged members to donate to their favorite candidate, adding, “We hope to raise ‘a lot’ of money.” It was also announced that candidates would have their pictures placed in Bill Leemon’s (town attorney) office window within the next few days and Replogle urged committee members to submit their requests for tickets to the Mayor’s Banquet, April 26, as soon as possible. ‘ ‘We figure we’ll be out of tickets by the first of April,” he concluded. Historical Items Needed Charlotte Siegfried, of the historical committee, commented that the sesquicentennial museum may be open a few Saturdays previous tokhe week-

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DON WOLFERMAN Milford “I think a mobile home park is needed, but it would be in the wrong place west of town. The south side would be better.”

long celebration to allow people to bring in historical items. Siegfried also pleaded for additional collector’s items, asking that anyone having an interesting historical entry to contact her or Ruth Hoppus by phone or mail. “There will be people at the museum and there are locks on the doors so the items will be safe,” Siegfried emphasized. It was also agreed that Fay Hollar be designated to gather people to help collect items for the museum. Arch Baumgartner showed the group entry forms for the 10-kilometer run and one mile walk, slated for Saturday, April 19, at the Big Boulder Golf Course, SR 15. Jean Treesh, sesquicentennial committee president, added that t-shirts, to be given to participants, would have “Big Boulder” printed on the front and the sesquicentennial logo on the back. In separate reports, Carolyn Welker, home tour committee chairman, announced that she would be sending out questionnaires in an attempt to get homeowners included in the home tour and Jo Ellen Free, queen contest chairman, asked that eligibility rules be clarified. After discussing the matter it was agreed that all candidates must be a resident of Van Buren or Jefferson (with a Milford address) townships. Solicitation Extended Marion Acton was chosen to head a search committee for sound (PA) equipment, while Dave Antu, secretary-treasurer of the Filadelfia Evangelical Spanish Assembly of God, agreed to check into the possibility of amassing a Mexican hat dance group and some SpanishAmerican music, after a suggestion by Dewart. Antu also pleaded for help from committee members to serve food at a Mexican combination plate dinner, to be held Saturday, March 22, from noon until 6 p.m. at the community building. Dewart, chairman of the solicitation committee, commented that some businesses had still not responded to the committee’s query for donations, necessitating the extension of the March 3 deadline. Dewart, who is also a member of the parade committee, announced that Lake City Bank had agreed to provide watermelon and soft drinks at the conclusion of the June 7 parade free of charge. “We’ve also contacted the governor’s (Robert Orr) office about participating in the parade, but they won’t make a commitment until the first week in May,” Dewart said, assuring the (Continued on page 16)

PETE AVALOS Milford “I think it would be a good idea and should be approved. I’m all for helping people.”

'Who'll be mayor?'

Eight candidates are vying to become Milford’s first mayor, through monetary donations given by the public, in an effort to raise money for the town's sesquicentennial celebration June 1-7. ; Following is The Mail-Journal’s first installment of “Who’ll be mayor?” — giving the public a view of the candidates and his or her background. The section also provides a forum for candidates* race platforms and goals they wish to attain if elected. Milford will be afforded it’s first mayor on the strength of donations given to individual candidates. The position is honorary, with the candidate raising the most money becoming mayor for a year. Three runners-up will serve as honorary town council members. Having kicked-off Feb. 26, the race will run until April 26 — at which time the winner will be announced at a banquet staged at the community building. All candidates have savings accounts set-up in their names at two area banks, where donations can be made, for more information on the race one may contact mayor committee chairmen John Replogle, at Chore-Time Equipment Inc., SR 15, or Elmer Sorensen, at 658-4807. Arch Baumgartner and Elsie Free are profiled below. Other candidates include: Margi Brooks, Andy Brown, Dan Brown, Rich Miller, Vera Schell and Jean Treesh.

, ; -B ELSIE FREE Urging Milford residents to help the town grow, mayoral candidate Elsie Free hopes to become mayor for a year in an effort to encourage that idea. “Milford has grown mightily over the years and has potential to grow bigger — let us all join together to make this a reality, not only for this generation, but for the generations to come,” she commented. Sponsored by CTB Inc. and Campbell’s IGA, Mrs. Free hopes to raise the most money, enabling her to become mayor and “meet more of the elderly and young people and learn about their needs.” Having worked for ChoreTime Equipment Inc. for over 25 years, Mrs. Free is semiretired, working part-time at Campbell’s IGA. She is also a member of the Milford Christian Church and the Order of Eastern Star. Mrs. Free and her husband, Woodrow, have one daughter,

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GEORGE L. CASTO A Milford “It’s the biggest farce I ever heard of. They should put houses in that area, not trailers.”

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■B ' , Mi W > ARCH BAUMGARTNER A longtime resident of Milford, Arch Baumgartner, hopes to bring the experience of a leadership position to the mayor’s office. While it’s only an honorary position, Baumgartner stated that if he’s chosen, through donations given on his behalf, an effort to “implement a broad program of community improvement” would be undertaken. Publisher of The Papers Incorporated, from which he is sponsored, Baumgartner and his wife (Della) are the parents of Ron Baumgartner, president of The Papers Incorporated, and Mrs. Michael (Jane) Yoder, who lives in Indianapolis. Baumgartner is also a member of the Milford United Methodist Church and Lions Club and has taken an active part in the planning for the sesquicentennial, June 1-7, as chairman of the parade committee. While he alleges that there