The Mail-Journal, Volume 23, Number 51, Milford, Kosciusko County, 17 December 1986 — Page 12

12

THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed., December 17,1986

Recount underway in Elkhart County

EDITOR S NOTE With the re count underway in the race bet ween Thomas Ward and John Hiler for the,Third District U. S Congressional seat, we tee/ the following article written by one of our staff members for the Elkhart County editions of the PAPER' is worth sharing with Mail-Journal readers. It should also be noted that Robert Price is a Milford native and Dean Mock is a native of North Webster 1 I By JUDYSTECKLY Staff Writer Will the moving of the election materials in Elkhart County without following all of the correct procedures be a factor in the recount*? That’s a decision the Recount Com mission will have to make. After ail counts were tallied, in the November 4 election, three candidates, who had all lost by a

.IfcAKnl / ■ BSI br jubhbb LIONS MAKE DON \TION — The Milford Lions Club recently made its second donation to the Milford Public 1 ibrary when it presented a check for the sum of $675 to Becky Doll, president of Friends of the Library. The money donated by the Lions Club was made possible through the proceeds collected from the Halloween dinner held by the Lions on Saturday . Oct. 25. at Campbell's IGA. The food and supplies for the dinner were donated by Campbell’s with the Lions serving the diner which is held annually the Saturday before Halloween along with other festivities. Donations from the free dinner are alway s gix en to a community project. Pictured are Kent Doty. first v ice president of the Lions Club and chairman of the project; Becky Do president of Friends of the Library ; Phil Campbell, owner of Campbell's IGA; and Denny Wuthrich, president ot the Lions Club. (Photo by Leslie Miller)

■F v* ' Wi K's *\C-*W

Holidays and cookies go way back

I IXKIETTA F. HENK\ I E.'x tet sioti Home Economist In many kitchens., holidays' aj?d eockies' are nearly synonymous, each carrying over many traditions from one generation io the next. Cookies are generally defined a" .-.'mail sweet cakes, usually-flat and unleavened The first c<:okies. it is said, according to the American Dairy- Association, v.ere called Simmel Cakes and were baked in England during the sixteenth century Leafing through old cookbooks, one can find recip< s for 'small cakes, whi ■■ u'c similar to modern kook'; recipes European immigrants to America brought rolling pins and wooden boards which were divided into squares carvecf in the shapes of birds, animals and flowers. The boards were pressed ■nto cookie dough and the finished cookies were called springerles' or little jumpers. The word, koekje’ or little cake,' first appeared in print in 1703 and came from the Dutch people who had settled in New York. In the British Isles the

(Dux cvii at all tfze. joy* of t&ii. ItoluLay ieaion Ije. youzi. dfiztitmai.'. Bodkin Abstract 122 W Main, Warsaw 107 Pickwick, Syracuse Merry Christmas To Our Employees And Customers

small number of votes, asked for a recount to be sure that the will of the majority of the voters prevails. Democrats Tom Ward, (for the 3rd Congressional District), and Bob Price, (for the sth state House District), and Republican Dean Mock, (for the 3rd state House District), are the ones who requested the recount. The State Recount Commission impounded all election materials. The Indiana State Police was ordered to secure the materials by changing the locks on the rooms.where election materials were stored The ISP placed a seal on the door, and no one was to enter the room without following the procedures outlined in state law. Seal Broken I'he seal was broken when Clerk Peter Sarantos asked the ISP to move the materials. The county offices were hampered in daily routines because of nonaccess to the rooms sealed. But

uUaftietta s

ijUemos

term cookie' was popular in the nineteenth century. Anthony Trollope mentioned cookies several times in his novels, but todav the term has dropped out of use in England in favor of ;sweet biscuit.' , ()ne reason for the popularity of cookies throughout their history has been the fact that they are so easy to vary and personalize. Competition at agricultural fairs has always stimulated cooks to develop their own special cake and cookie recipes in anticipation oi winning blue ribbons. *Bake sales, sponsored for one’s favorite charity, have been another stimulus. Before the development of baking powder and soda, eggs were used as the leavening agent. A southern favorite, the sugar cookie or tea cake’ was made with fresh butter, flour, sugar

W Joyce W 4 Sweaters Qf ■■■■ z rj 3 20% OFF JiLr W ALL HOLIDAY ]& T\ dresses w (J INSTORE WJjW ® Vi 1/j7KBonnie Qene’s n boutique S3f n 05 W. Emetine, Milford •SMITT/r

Sarantos did not notify the State Recount Commission, the candidates, political parties, or even Mayse, of the county election board. He did not follow the procedures. Detective Ray Carich, ISP, was involved in both moves of the election materials. He indicated that an officer was with the materials at all times, and that the materials were handled with care. The new locations were immediately locked and sealed. Sarantos maintains that once the ISP was put in charge, they were in charge, and “it was nothing more than a simple move.” Mayse said. “It’s a non-issue, because there’s nothing better to raise. The Democrats are trying to find something wrong in Republican Elkhart County.” Mayes also expressed confidence the election results will stand. Elkhart County Republican Chairman Roy Rogers, Jr.

and eggs. It was rolled paper thin and cut in favorite shapes to decorate the family Christmas tree. Butter has always been an imoortant ingredient in cookies not only because of its natural flavor but because the flavor improves with age; an advantage when quantities of cookies are baked in advance of the holiday season Even dried-out cookies can be freshened in a warm oven. Today the variety of cookies from public or private stock seems endless. Whether large or small, filled or unfilled, sweet or semi-sweet, flat or mounded, cookies enjoy an enduring popularity that renews itself without fail every holiday season If you are looking for some interesting Christmas cookie recipes, do call the County Extension Office. 267-4444.

agrees the recount will give the same results, with the only chance of different totals being if some ballots were found that had not been initialed by the precinct workers. Democratic Chairman Al Nich. however, said, “We have felt this system doesn’t accurately count the ballots. We prefer the counting to take place in the precincts. That leaves an audit trail.” Nich also commented that people should not be discouraged from voting, and that he felt the “off-handed way of moving the election materials” did not inspire confidence. Secretary of State Evan Bayh, another Democrat, and a Republican, are now the State Recount Commission members. Bayh asked David Link, the Dean of the Law School of Notre Dame, to direct the recount. Auditors from the State Board of Accounts, under the direction of Larry Ernest, are tabulating the votes. By agreement, the tables are arranged so that the auditors can stack the ballots of one precinct at a time on tally sheets with many options. Each table has two auditors, and two congressional and two Indiana House can didates’ representatives. As an auditor holds a ballot in front of the representatives, they make sure it is a proper ballot. Manyballots have ‘.‘hanging chads." Ernest said, “There is no question of the intent of the voter on most ballots with hanging chads I am personally dealing with all of them, and maintaining consistency.” Few ballots with hanging chads have been challenged by an observer. But some tables have up to 30 different stacks of ballots challenged for various reasons, such as no precinct workers’ initials Ernest answered a question about the boxes of ballots by say ing that all of the varying sized cardboard boxes were closed with packing tape around them They all had to be opened to see which precincts were inside them, since they were not label ed. On Dec 12, Earnest was pleas ed with the progress thus far. "It’s considerably smoother than at the beginning." he said “New procedures have been agreed upon, and all involved have been trained. We’ve had some bumpy spots, but we’ve worked together and resolved the bumps. ” The way has been cleared for a computer recount of the precincts already hand-counted Providing the totals agree, other precincts can be counted by corn puter. The ballots will still be scrutinized by the observers Dean Link emphasized that the process is very open He wants tlie voters to know that the svstem works

pletcalf & Payne, lnc.H "Since 1955" | II Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning I License No. 101263 | — Camelot Square - Downtown North Wobstor IHI ■■ ■■ ■!

SNOWTHROWER SWINGS EVENT! FREE ELECTRIC START KIT • NO DOWN PAYMENT NO MONTHLY PAYMENTS FOR 90 DAYS* FREE 120 V ELECTRIC START KIT with the purchase ot a SNAPPER 4 or 5 HP two-stage intermediate snowthrower at the regular retail price. It's a super value on this tough SNAPPER workhorse See your SNAPPER dealer today and ask about our convenient Snap-Credit plan with no down payment and no monthly payments tor 90 days V ft It’s a snap with %sw*> 6 " \ A division of Fuqua Industries v\ vl At A Reduced Price By * 2 YEAR UMITED WARRANTY H & H Repair Shop 1 MILE SOUTH t % MILE EAST OF NAPPANEE ONCRI3SON- 773-24 M

31,621 Vote

On Nov. 4, 1986, 31,621 Elkhart County voters cared enough to follow election procedures to select representatives for the state and national level. As they signed the voter registration books, some may have thought of the high price paid for the secret ballot they received. Starting with the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United States, a new type of government relied upon individual citizens to collectively decide the future of all. Tremendous courage and creative thought launched a nation of liberty. Barriers within the borders were broken as all U.S. citizens were given the right to vote, regardless of whether they owned property, or of what national origin, sex. creed, or educational level they were Threats from those outside the nation who tried to topple the free society were repelled by our armed forces. The sacrifices the troops made, even to loss of lives, make the cost of democracy immeasurable. Most Elkhart County voters on Nov. 3 took their ballots without much thought of the privilege they were enjoying. But they were voting because they knew which persons they felt would best represent their philosophies of government. And they were confident their votes would be counted. Precinct workers made sure all voters knew how to use styluses to remove chads, leaving holes in the ballot card in the numbers for the candidates. To preserve the ballot secrecy, an envelope covered them as the precinct workers tore off the numbered top Elkhart County Clerk Peter Sarantos. chairman of the elec tion board by virtue of office, said that the precinct workers did the tearing to prevent a piece of the ballot itself from being taken, making the computer unable to read that area. Both major political parties are represented by workers at each precinct. After the polls closed, they bundled the ballots with rub ber bands, and sealed them in a transfer case to take to the Career Center of the Elkhart Community Schools There Low Associates, a private firm that runs the computer equipment for the school system, was ready to use the computer to count the votes Kim Newman and Kirk Prchlik were the computer operators on Good insulation We all want to get the most of furnace consumption The best way to do this is to reduce the de mand of heat put upon your fur nace This is very easy to accomplish with good insulat’on. weather stripping, storm sash, and fireplace dampers

election night. They had precinct header cards ready for the counting. Before the ballots from a precinct were run through the computer, the header card gave the computer necessary information — the ballot numbers assigned to the candidates in that area. For example, a number would be for one person running for state representative in some precincts, and for another candidate in precincts of another district. Newman and Prchlik also made sure that the modum for the computer was disconnected, guaranteeing that no one could assess the computer via telephone while votes were being counted. Sarantos told how a mutilated ballot stops the computer. This happened less than 10 times, he said. Newman verified that number, and said that she or Prchlik would take the ballot to the election board members. Only two ballots were mutilated so greatly that the intent of the voter could not be determined by the board. The two ballots were voided. The other few were corrected by the board members and put back with the other precinct ballots. Election board member William Mayse commented that approximately 10 times the computer stopped because of a loose chad that had to be brushed away. Mayse had been with the operators as the rubber bands were removed from the ballots which were then fed through the computer, and he said that he could watch the computer being operated. Mayse. Sarantos, and Newman all stated that they believed that a recount of the ballots by the computer would give a tally identical to the election night count William Nye, the Democratic member of the election board, was unavailable for comment. But Indiana law allows an official representative of each party to be present at the ballot counting. The Elkhart County Democratic Central Committee appointed David Stutsman, and checked twice with the Indiana State Election Board to be sure he would be allowed to observe The local board was aware of the state approval But during the counting, he was ordered, under threat of arrest, to stand in an area of the room where he could not see the computer in operation. Stutsman said that no election official Watched the computer being run at any time Newman said the ballots were given to her or Prchlik by election board members, by precinct, in rubber banded bundles The

(Rejoice - T i ' /K T 1 ’ I mU| ' v ' May the star of Bethlehem light your way throughout the year, as it did for the shepherds of long ago. EM. . Pacific Molasses Company Syracuse

1 BF * * - UNANIMOUS AGREEMENT REACHED - David Link. Dean of the University of Notre Dame Law School, is addressing the group involved in the recount of the Elkhart County ballots from the I»H6 general election. He's announcing that the representatives of the candidates have reached agreement of how to proceed w ith the recount.

poll workers had included the were run through the computer, number of ballots sent from the Newman said, they were rebund! precinct, and the computer ed with rubber bands,land placed operators were to note any in cardboard boxes which were discrepancies. Once the ballots taped shut with packing tape

I w HOMESTYLE DOUBLE BURGER f '/3 Lb. Brazier Burger With Catsup, Mustard & Pickle Sandwiched Between A Sesame Seed Bun Good Thru Fri., Dec. 19 "We Treat You I - New Winter Hours uFBZIBL Mon Thur ’ WfWfcfWfi 11A.M.-9 P.M. SYRACUSI Fri ASwf DAIRY QUEEN ’ ’ 1 SR. 13S4S7MSI 11 A.M.-10 P.M. H WAWASH VIUAGE Sun.U-gP.M. J