The Mail-Journal, Volume 26, Number 51, Milford, Kosciusko County, 3 February 1988 — Page 4

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THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed., February 3,1988

Editorial State groups to observe child passenger safety week “The leading child killer in America isn’t cancer, or muscular ’ dystrophy, or liny disease at all. It’s adults. Adults who neglect children... by letting them ride unprotected in the car.” That’s the message from a new poster which exemplifies the theme of National Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week, Feb. 7-13. The theme is “Be a Valentine For Life: Buckle Up Your Family” by correctly securing children in car safety seats and safety belts and by parents buckling up themselves. Eighty-one percent of America’s children ride totally unprotected, according to the National Safety Council. Os those who are restrained, only 48 percent are done so properly. The Indiana State Police, the Automotive Safety for Children (ASFC) Program of Riley Hospital for Children, and Hoosiers For Safety Belts are joining to increase correct child safety seat and safety belt use. As part of the observation: ♦Hoosiers For Safety Belts is offering a poster, sponsored by Aetna Life & Casualty Insurance, entitled “The Most Common Form of Child Abuse” for use by businesses, physicians, hospitals, and other groups. “The poster is designed with the message that we at Aetna feel it is critically important to buckle up children regardless of the length of the trip,” said Henry Cole, general manager of the personal financial security division of Aetna’s Indianapolis’ branch office. Posters may be requested by writing to Hoosiers For Safety Belts at One North Capitol, Suite 1240, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204. *AFSC is distributing a buckle up information kit to all Indiana elementary schools. It includes student activities and resources and lists other available materials. Other organizations supporting National Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week include the Indiana Highway Safety Leaders and the Indiana Child Passenger Safety Association. Although correct use of child safety seats in Indiana exceeds the national average, there is still 38 percent of Hoosier adults who fail to buckle up their children properly, according to State Police Superintendent Larry D. Furnas, who credits Indiana’s higher correct use rate to a combined effort from law enforcement, media and educators. State Police issued 1,629 tickets for violation of Indiana’s child restraint law in 1986 and 1,387 tickets in 1987. “It is also important for adults to remember to buckle up. It’s a ludicrous contradiction when parents put their children in safety seats but don’t buckle up themselves,” Furnas said. “Too often, infants are crushed by their own parents who have failed to wear their 'safety belts.” Since 1983, when the child restraint law went into effect, the law has been credited with saving many young Hoosier lives. In 1987, fatalities for children under the age of five dropped nearly 60 percent from 1986. “Child safety seats are more than 70 percent effective in preventing death and 67 percent effective in reducing the need for hospitalization when used properly,” said Marilyn Bull, M.D., director of the ASFC Program. There’s nothing wrong with the idea that looking ahead and planning for the future is smart. If you make mistakes every day don’t feel discouraged; there is no one who doesn’t. What others say — Money for highways With the Indiana General Assembly at the halfway point, some people are trying to figure out who’s ahead or behind politically because of the defeat of the highway bill in the Indiana House. A more important question, though, is whether Hoosiers are going to get a highway bill out of the legislature this year. Indiana motorists should not be asked to wait longer. The pace of state highway construction is far behind our needs. Indiana ranks 47th per capita among the 50 states in spending for highways, although the state’s economic activity stands considerably higher. Highway legislation must be revived by the General Assembly in this session. Late Wednesday, a highway bill strongly supported by Gov. Robert Orr and Lt. Gov. John Mutz was defeated in the House, 44-55. The bill would have added* one cent to the state’s gasoline tax and permitted bond issues for highway construction. Since then, the political smoke has been thick. Before the purpose of the highway bill gets altogether obscured, a few basic points need to be restated: A one-shot injection of money from the state’s general fund would be too little to meet the needs. Any amount would help, of course, but the general fund can’t spare enough to make much impact. A cent or two on the gasoline tax is the price that has to be paid in order to obtain revenue to sustain a highway program. Most highway users recognize that they can’t have better roads without paying for them. Borrowing for highways is hard for some lawmakers to accept. But issuing bonds is commonplace for public works projects. It is the way to make headway on the largest number of needed highway projects in the shortest time. Before Wednesday’s vote, Orr released a list of about twice as many projects as could be paid for under the proposed funding. Either the funding needs to be increased or the list shortened. That can be worked out. Compromise is part of a - lawmaker’s job. However, what could cause highway legislation to truly die is too much concern over who gets the credit in an election year. Os the 48 House Democrats, 47, including Elkhart Rep. Bruce Carter, voted against the highway bill. It seems pretty plain that they were out to give a defeat to Mutz, who will be the Republican candidate for governor. But if Democrats are trying to block a highway building program in order to gain a campaign issue for the fall, they could end up hurting themselves. Voters can see through a tactic like that. / - THE ELKHART TRUTH

/ Be a Valentine for Life: Buckle Up Your Family CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY AWARENESS WEEK February 7-13,1988

Court news

County Court The following persons have paid fines and costs in Kosciusko County Court, Judge James Jarrett presiding. Speeding — Rick Harter, 30, Leesburg, $65; Carol Wagoner, 37? Leesburg, $80; Stephanie Rogers, 16, Leesburg, $65. Disobey Stop Sign — David Kuhn, no age given, North Webster, S6O. Operating While Intoxicated per se — Amy Moist, 18, Syracuse, $303, driver’s license restricted 180 days, K.C.J. six days gtc. Operating While Intoxicated — Joe Melendez, 19, Milford, $353, driver’s license restricted 180 days, K.C.J. six days etc. Public Intoxication — Donald Kintzel, 25, Leesburg, $153. Illegal Transport — Joe Melendez, 19, Milford, dismissed. Illegal Consumption — Joe Melendez, 19, Milford, dismissed. Illegal Possession — Joe Melendez, 19, Milford, dismissed. Goshen Division The following fines plus court costs have been levied and paid in Elkhart County Court, Goshen Division: Speeding — Kevin L. Chiveil. 24, North Webster, $63; Donald E. Ritter, Jr., 18, Syracuse, SSB; Clee N. Weldy, Jr., 16, Warsaw, SSB; Diane P. Jackson, 46, Syracuse, $56 No operator's license in possession — David D. Huff, 21, Milford, $54 False/ficticious registration — Doyle Edward McGrew, 24, Milford, dismissed upon the motion of the deputy prosecuting attorney pursuant to plea agreement Driving while suspended — Doyle Edward McGrew, 24, Milford, dismissed upon the motion of the deputy prosecuting attorney pursuant to plea agreement Driving with BAG in excess of .10 percent — Doyle Edward McGrew, 24, Milford, $125 plus costs, 60 days in jail suspended on the condition the defendant be on probation for. six months, follow standard probation terms, pay user’s fees, obtain an ECADAP assessment within 30 days and follow recommendations, defendant is to reimburse the county through the clerk of the court for the court appointed attorney, driver’s license suspended 90 days Circuit Court The following petitions have been filed in Kosciusko Circuit Court, Judge Richard Sand presiding. Complaint Gerald Greene and Virginia C. Greene, Kosciusko County, vs Tony A. Blackburn and Angie J. Blackburn, r 1, Milford. Plaintiff seeks judgment requiring defendants to specifically perform the contract for purchase of real estate, plus attorney’s fees and costs of this action. Complaint For Injunction And Violation Os Zoning Ordinance Kosciusko County Area Planning Commission vs Royce Myers, r 2, Syracuse. Plaintiff seeks (Count I) mandatory injunction against defendant from further use of real estate inconsistant with the zoning ordinance of Kosciusko County, and conditions and restrictions of Kosciusko County Board of Zoning Appeals, for all further and proper relief. (Count II) Plaintiff prays a penalty be accessed in amount consistant with Section 4.12 of Kosciusko County Zoning Ordinance; for costs and all further relief. Superior Court Complaint Wawasee Service Center, r 3, Syracuse, vs Mary Helen Burns, r 1, Warsaw. Plaintiff demands $270 and all proper relief.x Complaint Wawasee Service Center, r 3, Syracuse, vs Jacalyn A. Norris, r 1, North Webster. Plaintiff demands $315 and all proper relief. Complaint State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. vs Aaron Baugher. Plaintiff seeks $1,343.75; prejudgment interest to date of judg-

irient; for costs, and all other relief. Complaint On Note Assocjates Financial Services Co. of Indiana, Inc., vs Robert M. LaFollette, Warsaw. Plaintiff seeks $4,153.23 plus interest to date of judgment; costs and all other proper relief. Complaint On Note Associates Financial Services Company Inc., vs Seth N. McMillan, Leesburg. Plaintiff seeks $3,050.38 plus interest, costs and allrelief proper. Complaint Blue Flame Gas Corp., vs Doug Collins, r 1, North Webster. Plaintiff seeks $1,286.39 plus interest at the rate of 12 percent per annum from and after rendering of services and goods to defendant, until judgment; plus costs and all proper relief. Small Claims The following judgments have been awarded in Small Claims Division, Kosciusko County Court, Judge James Jarrett presiding: Judy Ann Brown vs Sherrill Hill. Judgment for the plaintiff $655 plus costs. Judy Ann Brown vs Pat Whitaker. Judgment for the plaintiff $560 plus costs. Suburban Acres Mobile Home Park vs Chris Wagoner. Judgment for the plaintiff $324 plus costs. Joe R. Claassen vs Dennis Kessler and Chad Curtis. Judgment for the plaintiff $1,113.92 plus costs. Rockhill, Pinnick, Pequignot, Helm and Landis vs Nona Annette Akers. Judgment for the plaintiff $777.50 plus costs. South Whitley Elementary School vs Ronnie Angelika Peconga. Judgment for the plaintiff $40.65 plus costs. South Whitley Elementary School vs Paul and Joan Fitzpatrick. Judgment for the plaintiff SB7 plus costs. South Whitley Elementary School vs Charles R. and Betty Collins. Judgment for the plaintiff $19.45 plus costs. Homer Ousley Jr. vs, David E. and Kitty Brown. Judgment for the plaintiff S3OOO plus costs. James Foreman and Lesa Regenos vs Mike and Connie Jackson. Judgment for plaintiff $90.82 plus costs. Comfortemp, Inc. vs Richard Plotner. Judgment for the plaintiff $74.12 plus costs. Otis Bowen Center vs Leeta B. Newsome. Judgment for the plaintiff $1,783 plus costs. Kenneth Breeding vs Dorothy Sue Elrod. Judgment for the plaintiff S4OOO plus costs. Marriage Dissolutions The following couples have filed for marriage dissolutions in the Kosciusko Superior and Circuit Courts: Clark — Pamela L. Clark, Syracuse, and Gary L. Clark, Syracuse. The couple was married February 17, 1968 and separated January 11, 1988. There are two minor children. Cattron — Brenda L. Cattron, Kosciusko County, and Shane Cattron, r 2, North Manchester. The couple was married November 13,1987 and separated January 8,1988. Halsey — Deborah K. Halsey, Kosciusko County, and Lamar W. Halsey, Syracuse. The couple was married December 24, 1985 and separated January 11, 1988. (Continued on page 5) THE MAIL-JOURNAL (U.S.P.S. 3258-4000) Published by the Mall-Journal every Wednesday and entered as Second Class matter at the Post Oftlce at Syracuse, Indiana 46567. Second class postage paid at 103 E. Main Street, Syracuse, Indiana 46567 and at additional entry offices. Subscription: sl7 per year In Kosciusko County; $23 outside county. POSTMASTERS: Send change of address forms to The Mall-Journal, P.O. Box 188, Milford, Indiana 46542 ow

"CRUZIN •. ' f AROUND 'CUSE"

L“C —— UMINARY” FRIENDS: Syracuse Lake residents shed a new light on the 1988 Winter Carnival by — setting out glowing luminaries (or bagged candles). A very special lady, Mary Bushong, led the enlightenment by creating nine luminaries and setting them along her seawall! TAKE A look at the new type of homes that our own Liberty Homes is producing. If you haven’t checked out manufactured double-wide homes lately, you should stop by the Liberty plant and view the turnkey homes they are creating! DON’T DRINK the water? Three Wawasee High School teachers have been in and out of the hospital lately. Phil Metcalf recently underwent , surgery; Pam Schumm is recovering at home from pneumonia, and Hal Traviolia is recovering from injuries suffered in an auto accident. —o— WATCH FOR a Wawasee Village business to change ownership in the near future. MY FAVORITE quote from Reader’s Digest: The difference between dogs and cats is that dogs come when they’re called; cats take a message and get back to you. HE GETS around. Well, the correction was no sooner printed when the announcement came in that Ron Hibschman has returned to Miller’s Merry Manor in Syracuse. Can’t keep up with that man! —o— * ONE OF the best attended Winter Carnival events is always the Enchanted Hills Guildsponsored dance, yet there is never any media coverage. With over 300 people packed into the American Legion’s ballroom — dancing, visiting, and enjoying themselves — here, indeed, is a “crowd scene”! AND, the Guild took opportunity of this occasion to present a check in the amount of $2,000 — proceeds from their cruise fundraiser in conjunction with ABC Travel — to Bob Decker, one of EHP’s new owners. —o— IF YOU ever wondered whether the Carnival was good for Syracuse businesses, you should have tried to be served dinner in local restaurants between the fireworks and dance (7-9 p.m.)! Lots of folks eating out. E9ll (H.B. 1062) awaits action by the State Senate. If passed, counties will be allowed to charge a monthly fee for each telephone line with phone companies collecting the user fees, capped at 5 percent of standard rate for phone services. Monies collected are earmarked to fund installation of the enhanced 911 emergency number, such as Kosciusko County is proposing. Some are looking into tapping these funds to help implement the baseline rural numbering being proposed by the county commissioners. There is some question as to whether funds can be diverted. —O’AN UPLIFTING little card from a friend at the end of a stressful week: “No challenge is so big that it can’t be met with the help of a hot fudge sundae!” Thanks, Fran. I needed that — and such a “tasteful” message! ASK BARBARA Wells about Jack’s “X---rated” legs when he dances the Twist! SNOWMOBILE DRAGS and Enduro are rescheduled for February 6 and 7 on Syracuse Lake. The Wawasee Kiwanis will be setting up the tracks once again this week. It is hoped that\ ice fishermen will be a little more thoughtful this time and not drill holes inside the obviously marked racing areas. Someone is liable to flip a speeding machine if a ski catches in one of those innocent-appearing little fishing holes! NEWS UPDATE. According to Tom McClain, owner of the building which formerly housed the Ben Franklin Store, the G.L. Perry store officially opened for business Monday, Feb. 1. In approximately one month from now, the store will be entirely restocked and will be pleasantly surprised by the variety of items and their pricing. JACK MASON of Syracuse will be a guest speaker at the International Convention of Hypnotherapists at its February 5-7 meeting in Anaheim, Calif. With over 1,500 hypnotherapists from all over the world scheduled to attend, this is considered the world’s largest convention on the specialty. Mason will be speaking on Pain Control with the Terminally 111, and Stress Management. HATS OFF! to Carlos Porter and Bud Haner who donated time, talent and materials to build a large inside storage box for the Lakeland Youth Center’s equipment. LOTS OF hammering going on in the former NIPSCO office in uptown Syracuse. Attorneyowner Jim Howard has his remodelling crew going full blast behind the boarded up picture windows. When will the results be revealed? ANOTHER HATS off to the Syracuse Town Board for the manner in which they handled a potentially disasterous situation at the 11th hour of the Winter Carnival. It seems that their insurance carrier, First Charter Insurers, called them oh Thursday before Saturday’s event and laid out several exceptions to the town’s insurance coverage — the board called a special emergency meeting that evening with members

of the carnival committee and worked out a satisfactory solution.'Attorney Bob Reed should be especially commended for his research and recommendations. -JOG WE UNDERSTAND that the WHS faculty and support staff finished the 3-hour video presentation of Massey’s “What You Are Is What You Were When”, purchased by the school corporation — and some of them were glad ; glad not to have to listen to the foul language in that “leadership lesson”. We can only hope that the teachers who were required to listen and view that rhetoric do not use that as> an endorsement to use similar language to their students. SEVEN-YEAR-old Karissa Babe Evans is learning early how to upstage her grandfather. She was in the state senate chambers last week with her grandfather, Senator John B. Augsburger, and when it came time to vote on an important bill, she pressed the vote button. A true politician, she would not tell if she pushed “yea” or “nay.” An alert Associated Press photographer , caught her casting the vote, resulting in a touching photo that ran the next day in many newspapers. Karissa’s middle name “Babe” comes from her late grandmother, Mrs. John (Dorothy Bird) Augsburger, Sr., who was commonly known as “Babe”. « Karissa is the daughter of James and Kim (Augsburger) Evans and is an accomplished musician, using the famous Suzuki Method. She was a subject of a Profile in this paper on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 1985, for her work as a budding musician. Karissa has two younger brothers, Jonathan James (or J.J.) and Drew. —o— FURTHER DETAILS that we planned to write this week relative to Turkey Creek Township Assessor Charlene Knispel’s possible entrance into state government will not be forthcoming, due to Mrs. Knispel’s absence from her office. Mrs. Knispel and her two deputy assessors, Susan Myrick and Charlene Hefty, attended the Indiana State Board of Tax Commissioners’ Annual Assessors’ Conference in the Hyatt Regency at Indianapolis. The conference was Thursday and Friday, Jan. 28 and 29. Friends have urged Mrs. Knispel to seek the office of state representative held the past 22 years by Thames Mauzy of Warsaw. Mauzy will not be seeking re-election. Mrs. Knispel, assessor for the past seven years, has been a Republican Precinct 2 committeewoman for 12 years and is thought of as an excellent vote-getter. ■ I? < WE HEAR that youthful looking Paul Yeager of the Syracuse Post Office will soon be hanging up his mail satchel. Paul, whose age is somewhere on the upper side of the six-0 mark will be retiring around the first of June. It is doubtful that a pastime of jogging or walking will be Mr. Yeager’s cup of tea. The present eight to ten mile walk with a 35 pound satchel of letters and catalogs will probably last him for quite sometime. A hobby of trying to outsmart a few blue gills will be more to his liking. This writer predicts that Paul and wife, Rhudelle, will be doing a lot of traveling when the fish aren’t biting. ALTHOUGH SENIOR citizen, Ethel Hamilton, is not seen walking her faithful mile each day during bad weather, she manages to get her required daily exercise another way. During bad weather 82-year-old Mrs. Hamilton prefers not to hike through Woodland Acres. Instead, Ethel purchased an exercise bike in December and at this writing she has ridden nearly 1,200 miles in the warmth and comfort of her own home. This should make a lot of “couch potatoes’ ’ half her age hang their head in shame. BILL FISHER, apart-time" Syracuse police officer for the past eight years, is no longer a member of the squad of the Syracuse Police Department. His sudden resignation in a letter dated January 15, 1988, resulted when the department refused to consider him for a full-time post that opened up when officer Danny Gallmeier, an officer of some 10 to 12 years’ standing, resigned to take a janitorial job at Wawasee High School. The department interviewed several applicants, who turned down the position for reasons of their own, at which time Bill Fisher applied for the full-time police job. Fisher said he was told he was “too old” for the job. Fisher is 46. He told this column, “I don’t see how I could be too old to do a job full-time that I’m now doing part-time.” Fisher’s letter of resignation, which appears elsewhere in this issue, states he is resigning “with deep regret.” Fisher owns FisJjer’s Mower Service in the Village. GOOD TO sit in the Syracuse Case coffee shop on Saturday morning to be brought up on all the latest happenings, following an absence of several weeks. “The old gang” was still there: Jack Vanderford to keep us up on the latest political trends (he thinks the final GOP/DEMO tickets will include Howard Baker and NY Gov. Mario Cuomo); Bill Beemer on local chamber goingson; Tom Jackson, the Tom Selleck lookalike, on commercial and residential developments; and John Naab and Dick Wysong on happenings at the school. Naab’s efforts (along with a lot of others) put the “Just Say No” program across (Continued on page 5)