The Mail-Journal, Volume 23, Number 15, Milford, Kosciusko County, 9 April 1986 — Page 1

Phones: Milford 658-4111 & Syracuse 457-3666

VOLUME 23

Syracuse Retail Merchants discuss Flotilla Bucks Auction

By LESLIE MILLER Staff Writer Mike Skevington, vice president of the SyracuseWawasee Retail Merchants’ t Division and chairman of the Flotilla Bucks committee, said during the Friday, April 4, meeting that plans are well underway for the annual Flotilla Bucks auction. Advertising in ‘the PAPER’ will begin four weeks prior to the event. This will allow residents ample time to become acquainted with the items to be auctioned off on Saturday, July 5, as well as to begin collecting the Flotilla Bucks at participating merchants’ stores. For last year’s auction the Retail Merchants had 15,000 Flotilla Bucks printed up in denominations between $5 and SIOO. This year, however, it was decided to reduce that number to 10,000 and raise the denominations to include SSOO. As well as cohfirming a location for the auction, the only other major detail to finalize is obtaining an auctioneer for the event. Handicapped Parking In other business, the handicapped parking situation in downtown Syracuse was discussed. Although the retail merchants are aware of the lack of convenient parking space for the handicapped, they are unsure where spots should be provided as space is already tight for regular parking. The retail merchants decided to draft a letter to the town board stating the reasons why they feel handicapped parking is necessary in hopes of prompting a study on the parking problem in the downtown area. Sign Ordinance A summary on the town’s sign ordinance was presented during the meeting by President Jim Evans. Presently the town is

[A : <" 1 4 * *■ CHILDREN FINGERPRINTED — As part of a public service, the Syracuse Police Department fingerprinted students at Syracuse Elementary Tuesday through Thursday, April 1-3. Each student was fingerprinted and members of the Syracuse Parent-Teacher Organization assisted by filling out information on each student and attaching the student’s photo to identification cards. The fingerprinting was sponsored by the Syracuse PTO. Members of the PTO assisting with the fingerprinting were Trina Titus, Marsha Fryback, Rowena Impey, Arlene Berkey, Jan Keim and Carol Swartzendruber. Shown in the photo is Chief Robert Ziller fingerprinting elementary student, April Stevens as classmate Adrienne Weber awaits her turn. < Photo by Deb Patterson)

1986 year of robust growth: IUSB economics professors

The year WK waa a year at uyfestjgiyortii in ttte _ w*,. r* — d?- » mnf Ati/ig miw should S6C a reDUlluing oi inventories ana sugiiuy iimre growth in real terms. wmh» the madjctkms twad** Frwtav mnminfl bv three , •ItCafci were ciw [nwmiWß awiaj iibbiiwe j * AeMMwnhtttt tarn TnHiana University at South Hand, ih vision of t the approroncesft* the Spring Eeaaomic Briefing. JEE a whote wdfor Kosciusko CwntTin^rSufor

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operating by a county sign ordinance which the it feels meets the town’s needs. The retail merchants will suggest to the town board that the county ordinance be enforced. A copy of the ordinance will be sent to area merchants for their signatures in support of the town’s enforcement of the ordinance. Officer Nominations Before closing the meeting, Evans reminded those in atten-

Candidates work hard for mayoral plum

By MARK HUFFMAN Staff Writer Milford’s oldest citizen, 96-year-old Vera Schell, could be seen foraging for funds throughout town last week, laden in clothes befitting of a big city bag lady. However, Schell wasn’t looking for handouts, she was working for them. Schell is part of a coalition that has taken it upon themselves to help earn money for Milford’s sesquicentennial this year. With a culmination in June, the weeklong celebration is certain to headline the county’s usual parade of events if the early efforts are to be any indication; however, to assure that the 150-year birthday is a memorable one community participation is vital. “This isn’t just Milford’s sesquicentennial, it’s Van Buren Township’s as well,” sesquicentennial committee president Jean Treesh reminded everyone at an earlier meeting of the group. With that concept in mind; Schell, Arch Baumgartner, Margi Brooks, Andy Brown, Dan Brown, Elsie Free, Richard Miller, and Jean Treesh have

Consolidation o/THE MILFORD MAIL (Est. 1888) and THE SY RACUSE- WAWASEE JOURNAL I Ext. 1907)

dance to keep nominations for the 1986-87 officers in mind. Anyone interested in holding the position of president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer may contact Jim Evans between now and the end of June. The next meeting of the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce Retail Merchants’ Division will be on Friday, May 9, at 8 a.m. in the board room at the Syracuse Town Hall.

become mayor candidates in an effort to raise money for the celebration, while securing the opportunity to become the town’s first mayor at the same time. With the candidate earning the most money slated to become honorary mayor, faces have been placed on cans throughout the town, names put on savings accounts, and pleas made to area residents. However, some of those pleas have not been answered. “We hope everyone votes for (contributes to) their favorite candidate eventually,” said John Replogle, mayoral committee cochairman with Elmer Sorensen. Votes can come in the form of a coin dropped in a candidate’s can or a deposit to special accounts at the First National and Lake City banks. Fundraisers are also evident throughout April, providing residents with activities and services, while allowing them to contribute to “their” sesquicentennial at the same time. Included in the fundraisers are a bike-a-thon (with proceeds going toward Dan Brown), scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m., Saturday, at the Milford Junior High School. Riders and sponsors are still welcome, according to the Milford Kiwanis Club, which is undertaking the task of running the event. A bake sale at Thornburg’s Super Drugs, Syracuse, is also planned for Saturday, with proceeds geared to elect Schell. The Milford Jaycees is also collecting aluminum cans to help Andy Brown to the mayoral seat, while t-shirt decals with the sesquicentennial logo, t-shirts and several other novelties are available from the Lions Club, which is sponsoring Miller for mayor. A parchment of a poem entitled “Old Milford” is also available at Mail-Journal office, which is sponsoring Baumgartner. Through these sales and various activities the eight candidates hope to make the sesquicentennial a memorable one, although, as evidenced by the vibrant campaigning, the mayoral title (which will be awarded April 26) is also revered. Kindergarten Roundup April 17 Dr. W. Winston Becker, principal at Milford schools, announced recently that they are conducting a survey to determine the number of children who will be

5? "z ,« ' ‘RobustGrowth* •/•■■■;• Dr. Bartholomew, no newcomer to these briefings, said there would be a “robrot rorommir growth to 1986“ to thecounbtottatta 1986 this would reach 3 2%. He said the “farm «ihw>tinn has bottomed out. and in some - ■’■■■*• ****** ******* ' ~* * rlkm-il ruriaririitniiE Aim in and ft QISmMCU* Bro lro*llrovVsa© VW *a* unvivw* Via *■ "* sasssr** a “ combin<<i 10 make corp given consumers more money to their pwavw> W.«wsn^-*.*W. W» I ..111 tiros lU-H winrTWwnr.r • fe'• ‘"nTfl, fa has been the *M femt UP unemployment for 1986 would range from 7% in toe first quarter S. aww- # j \ s -i ■. —— ■",,„„„ —_—

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9,1986

NIPSCO program for Kiwanians Bob Westfall, local NIPSCO manager, presented a program for the Milford Kiwanis Club Friday morning, April 4, showing a film about the country’s energy needs. Westfall is a Purdue University graduate and is active in several community activities in Syracuse. “People don’t expect energy, they demand it,” Westfall said, adding, “Most people never think about gas and electricity unless they don’t have it!” Fort Wayne was the first city with gas lights, installing them when it had about 4,200 residents. NIPSCO serves 30 counties in northern Indiana and has about 20 million customers, according to Westfall. “Sixty per cent of our usage comes from industry, 30 per cent residential and 10 per cent commercial, ” he said. “One of the reasons our service is expensive is that when we put in new facilities we have to abide with the Environmental Protection Agency standards and that, costs money. We spent over 167 million dollars on ‘cleaning up our act’,” he added. “We’ve been here in the past and we feel we’ll be ready for future needs as well.” Westfall also mentioned that the fact that the U.S. wasn’t leaning toward nuclear energy was a mistake. “Most foreign countries are ‘going nuclear’ and in the future it will really hurt us,” he remarked. Special guests for the presentation included Kirk Dewart and Harold Henry. Dan Brown, Kiwanis president, encouraged members to help support a bike-a-thon the club is sponsoring, scheduled for Saturday, April 12, at the Milford Junior High track. The event is scheduled to begin at 9:30a.m. Lions sell T-shirts for sesquicentennial Milford Lions club members have waded into the “Sesquicentennial Spirit” with both feet, and are promoting souvenirs throughout the community. It is an effort to raise money for the 150-year anniversary of the town, plus a chance to support its favorite mayoral candidate, Richard Miller. Among the items being sold by Lions are T-shirts, T-shirt decals with the sesquicentennial logo, and pins. Club members plan to “set up shop” at Campbell’s Market and at an uptown location Friday to sell their wares. Coming Events At the club’s next meeting, Monday, April 21, special guests will be members of the local Boy Scout Troop, according to scoutmaster Terry Thompson, and a special Eagle Scout Award will be conferred upon Eagle Scout Mark Ray. The dinner will be at 6:30 p.m. and all Lions are urged to attend this important meeting. The' club’s annual hearing screening, for pre-school youngsters of the community,, ages 3Vj to 6 years, will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Milford Elementary School, with a qualified audiologist on hand to conduct the tests. Guest at the Monday night meeting was Robert Burke.

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STATE AND MERCHANTS MEET — A meeting between two state highway representatives and merchants effected by the removal of advertising signs from the state right-of-way in Wawasee Village was conducted Thursday, April 3, at 5:30 p.m., in the town hall. The meeting was called by Robert Westfall, president of the SyracuseWawasee Chamber of Commerce, on behalf of the state to discuss the

April 17 deadline for moving signs

Bv DEB PATTERSON Staff Writer Merchants with advertising signs in the state right-of-way along SR 13 in Syracuse have until April 17 to remove the signs voluntarily. This was the outcome of a meeting of two representatives from the state highway department and approximately 20 concerned merchants last Thursday in the Syracuse Town RaU. '* Barnard Drerup, engineer, and Bruce Masters, field representative, for the Fort Wayne District, were introduced by Robert Westfall, SyracuseWawasee Chamber of Commerce President, and discussed encroachment onto state highway property. Drerup remarked his office first received a memo from the central public relations office stating a “complaint” had been received concerning encroachment of advertising signs. This was prior to receiving a letter from the local chamber. He stated whenever a complaint is received it has to be followed through. The right-of-way line on the east side of SR 13, according to Drerup, is 50 feet from the center of the highway and 40 to 50 feet on the west side, from the south city limits to Chicago Street. Backing up the encroachment issue, Drerup briefly cited the main pqints of the state law, Indiana Code 8-12-4-1 through 4. He said when they become aware of the situation, the state is required to contact those in violation, explain the situation and ask the matter be taken care of. This, he said, was the purpose of the meeting. The next step, Drerup stated, was to give written notice. Then if the object is not removed within a set time period the state has the right to remove it. He said if this takes place the signs would be removed and taken to the subdistrict office where the owners can pick them up. The subdistrict office for the Fort Wayne District is in Goshen. He pointed out the cost of the sign removal can be billed to the property owner. If this is not paid within 30 days a lien against the property can be filed through the circuit court.

to 6.4 in the fourth quarter. Most economists are projecting a five percent current base rateof inflation, Dr. Herschede commented. Kosciusko County Employment to Kosciusko County has continued to rise, reflecting a rosy picture, said Dr. John E. Peck. The labor force has risen from 27,706 jobs to January 1983, to 28,250 to January 1984, to 30,000 in January 1985. and should reach 32,700 in 1986, wfth curront unrmnloyment to 1,700, or 5.2%. There towutfd be frwwi wwhu wsroddfriroal fobs to the county this year. <|WrW jr***** The county ' has many strengths and few weaknesses, ’ ’ he coiruneiiteu, stating Kosciusko county is less sensitive to nur mat hiisinotK cyrbxt noting its diversity of industry. . »* PnpntaHnn growth to Kosciusko County has been steady ai» m wh« « Mood .1 <iw.«o wn tab,.By IMS 1 "'——— ——■ ■' ■

V* The full text of the Indiana Code referred to appears on page 2 in this issue. “This puts us and you on .the spot,” Drerup commented, adding he is not enthusiastic about enforcing this matter and stressed he was not picking on this particular area. He remarked, concerning the signs in the village, it is “one of the worst spots in our area.”

Agricultural to residential —

Plan Commission OKs rezoning of 68.67 acre Zimmerman tract

Virgil Zimmerman, Milford, was successful last week with his petition to rezone 68.67 acres of land west of Milford. The Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission voted unanimously to recommend the rezoning the land from agricultural to residential to the Kosciusko County Commissioners. Part of this acreage was the tract for which the county board of zoning appeals last month denied a special exception request by Harlan Beer for the purpose of building a mobile home park in the same location. Zimmerman said the land, which is most of his farm, will be sold because he cannot afford to develop it himself. He said, “Milford needs the residential growth and I need the money.” Zimmerman added that he isn’t sure what specific use will be made of the land if it is rezoned. Cheryl Brunjes, a neighboring resident, expressed concern that if no deed restrictions are placed on lots sold, the area could still be used for mobile homes. Board member Ron Baumgartner, Milford, explained that if the rezoning was approved the APC would have no control over the use a developer would put it to. Board members stressed that approval of the petition would be based on whether the land would be appropriate for residential use. Other Cases Considered A petition by William Bibler to

advertising sign issue as requested by the state. Approximately 20 merchants who are effected by the removal of advertising signs were present to here the state’s position on the matter and what could be expected. The merchants were given two weeks to voluntarily remove their signs before enforcement of the state law would be enacted. (Photo by Deb Patterson)

“We do get complaints from the traveling public. Most of the complaints are portable signs,” he said, adding there is a serious problem with the flashing arrow signs. • It was noted Masters had taken 20 to 26 pictures of the signs in question when he was in the area in March and talked to some of the merchants. The photos were turned over to the Indianapolis office. Drerup noted the advertising

rezone 75.51 acres of land from an agricultural to a light industrial district was tabled for 30 days so Bibler and remonstrator Jerry Helvey can work out an agreement on what type of sight restricting buffer would be suitable. Bibler said the property should be rezoned because Warsaw has insufficient land zoned for light industry. He said the location by US 30 would help attract industries to the area. Helvey’s major concern with the change in zoning was that a natural existing buffer between his 56 acres of land would be removed and his land would be a new buffer area between the industrial area and the Five Oaks residential area to the north. He also was concerned about surface water drainage because part of his property is lower than the Bibler area. Bibler stated he could go along with commercial rather than light industrial zoning, but Helvey countered that in his view this would be just as bad. The Five Oaks Property Owners Association was represented in its remonstrance by Mike Martin, president. He said the residents of the neighborhood did not expect surrounding areas to be rezoned when they built there. Another remonstrator, Rex Hogan, said he was concerned about the effect of a zoning change on the 50 families who live

should be 64,400; by the year 2.000. 73.300; by 2.010. 84,600; and by pretoetfons read, with an increasing number The total earnings by industry to Kosciusko County came firam manufacturing, their report reveals, amounting to 58 4% of labor and properties income. Wholesale and retail trade WMimts to 11.1%, and services at 12.1% In neighboring Wabash Cnntoy employment stood at 20,150 in January 1979, and dropped to 17,775 in 1985. It is projected to drop even further, to 17,400, to 1986. Unemployment to that county was 9% to January 1985, and is expected to level out at 7 J in lAAe ■■■■' Likewise, populetim m Wabash County stood at M.SOO in 19K, J6,™> in IMS, and by the year 1«» should be at a mere ”’^s t ringbrleanßisa l »Mieservice by the Lake City Bank which has offices to Warsaw, Silver Lake, Winona Lake, North ■ ■■■ ■ - ' '■ - ■ ■ ■■ ~ : - -j.,:-... —■ ' ■

NUMBER 15

signs could be placed behind the utility poles and/or markers. However, after being told there is no room for this, he stated, “I can’t offer any solution, it’s between the city and the merchants." He did state the problem of encroachment is not just in Syracuse but in other areas around the state as well. He added in the last few years the state (Continued on page 2)

in H & H Mobile Village, which he owns. Hogan said he could live with commercial zoning, but not light industrial. His objections had no bearing on the decision to table the petition which was reached since the buffering for which a solution is sought will be on the other side of the Bibler acreage. A petition by Roger Buss to rezone 62.43 acres from an agricultural to a residential district was approved. The property is located on the north side of CR 1350 N and 255 ft. east of SR 19 in Jefferson Township. The board approved a petition by Don McCulloch to rezone 5.2 acres of land from agricultural to residential use. The property is located on CR 1250 N, west of SR 13A in Turkey Creek Township. The board denied the petition of Max Fahl to rezone 48.35 acres from an agricultural district to a residential district, the property is located on the west side of CR 100E, 850 ft. south of CR 450 N in Plain Township. Several neighbors spoke in remonstrance to the petition because of their concern that the area might be used for a mobile home park or sold to individual mobile home owners. Fahl was not definite in what he planned to use the land for but said he probably would lean toward development of manufactured homes. He did no| rule out the possibly of mobile home sites. (Continued on page 2)