The Mail-Journal, Volume 27, Number 13, Milford, Kosciusko County, 11 May 1988 — Page 2

THE MAIL-JOURNAL—Wed., May 11,1988

2

Jim Hughes joins APC

I By GLEN LONG Staff Writer At the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission on Wednesday, May 4, at the Justice Building in Warsaw, Vic Virgil, chairman, introduced James Hughes as a new member on the APC board. He was selected by the Syracuse Town Board to represent Syracuse. Hughes, president of the Syracuse Town Board, replaces Steve Butt on the APC board. The petition of Noel John Perry, Milford, to rezone ground from agricultural to residential district was tabled so it can be advertised again after it was discovered that the wrong legal description had been advertised for this meeting. The Perry property is located west of Perry’s Lakeland Loving Care Center, between CR 1250 N and Fourth Street extended, north of Elm Street in Van Buren Township. The petition of Valilios H. (Bill) Batalis, Thomas E. Smith and William R. Bibler was approved to rezone 75.8 acres fronr agricultural and commercial to commercial and light industrial district. The property is located on the north side of US 30, east of SR 13 in Washington Township. - Rich Helm, representing the developers, said sewer and water lines are near the area from Pierceton and hook-ons will need to be negotiated. He added that the new street to be in the area will improve the area for use. He said there will likely be a request to the Town of Pierceton for voluntary annexation by the town. Over 60 people were present to show their aversion to the petition of David M. Whitesell for preliminary plat approval for a planned unit subdivision. The group responded with rounds of applause as several remonstrators spoke against Whitesell’s petition. Whitesell had already secured a zoning change for the area from an agricultural to a residential area. His property is located on the east side of CR 175E and onequarter mile south of CR 175 N in Wayne Township. As stated in the county zoning ordinances a planned unit development allows smaller lot size, 6,000 sq. ft., than allowed for a normal residential district. After arguments had been

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heard on both sides of the issue and the public portion of the meeting closed, board member Don Ahrns moved to deny the petition. The seven board members, with a split vote of two for denial and four against, then voted to table the petition until the June 1 meeting in the hope that the five votes required for approval or denial will be available. Ahrns said his motion was based on his feeling that, as stated in the county subdivision control ordinance, “Properties adjacent to the unit plan shall not be ly affected.” Whitesell voiced his objection to the motion and asked that it be noted in the minutes of the meeting. Whitesell had said his plan is to sell minimum sized lots of 60x100 feet for manufactured homes of retirement aged homeowners. He said the development would have common sewer and water systems, a convenience store, gasoline pumps and recreational facilities — the type of environment he feels many retired people prefer. He added that there would be restrictions against mobile homes in the development. Marsha Barkey, neighboring -'"resident, read a letter from her husband, Philip, who could not be present. The crowd applauded loudly after she stated that the consensus of area residents, including those in Timberline and Hickory Estates, is opposition to the planned unit development. She said the smaller lots and manufactured housing will decrease the value of neighboring properties, pointing out that in Hickory Estates the lots are 1/3 acre or larger. She stated that there would be over $1 million loss in property value of neighboring homeowners. She added that there have been serious accidents in the area and said she fears these would increase with more traffic. Other concerns expressed included overcrowded schools and environmental concerns of the Pike Lake Property Owners Association that Deeds Creek would send more sludge into Pike Lake and that sewer effluent could find its way into the lake via Deeds Creek. In rebuttal, Whitesell said, “This is not a petition for a mobile home park.” He offered information about traffic studies which show moderate traffic jn the area and said water quality is controlled by the State Health Department and laws. He added that school overcrowding is not a

factor because most of the homes would be owned by retired people. After all cases had been heard, the APC voted unanimously to amend the procedures in the county ordinance on planned unit developments to improve and clarify movement of cases between the APC and BZA. Other Cases The board also voted to recommend that the county commissioners approve the rezoning of 40 acres of land from agricultural to residential district as asked by Robert C. Leiter. The property is located on the east side of CR 175E and 650 feet north of Center St. extended in Wayne Township. Leiter said he plans to restrict the area to conventionally built single family homes and that no modular structures or mobile homes will be in the area. The minimum size lot to be sold will be 15,000 sq.ft. Tim Meyer, representing Pike Lake Property Owners Association, expressed concern about increased sediment and septic system effluent running into Pike

Under estimate — Construction bids total $1,236,178

I By DEB PATTERSON Staff Writer Construction bids • totaling $163,822 less than the architect’s projected costs were approved last evening (Tuesday) by the Wawasee Community School Board of Trustees. Richard Barton of Barton, Coe and Vilamaa, Fort Wayne, estimated the project would cost $1.4 million. The total of all low base bids came to $1,236,178. Bids on the project were opened and tabled Thursday, May 5, at 2 p.m. with 21 bids received for general, mechanical, and electrical constructions as well as plastic laminate and library cabinetry work. The board was able to accept the base bids in all five areas, keeping to the original specifications and not having to make concessions. 9 Simerman Construction Company, Inc., Fort Wayne, won the general construction contract with a base bid of $848,700. The firm also indicated general construction would be completed six months after the start date. Ehmen Contracting and Engineering, Inc., Warsaw, was awarded the mechanical construction contract with the low base bid of $186,380. The electrical contract went to Scanlon Electric, Co., Inc., South Bend, for a bid of $106,200. The contract for plastic laminate work was awarded to Riddle Equipment Company, Fort Wayne, submitting a bid of $54,000 and the library cabinetry work contract to Handgen Equipment Company, Inc., Warsaw, with a bid of $40,898.

Two feet needed to get off on the right foot

(Continued from page 1) A police report was submitted in the absence of Town Marshal David Hobbs. The police department fielded 212 complaints April 8 through May 6, while five traffic accidents, accounting for $7,500 in damage, were investigated during that same time period. Twenty-two warnings were issued for junk cars, nine traffic arrests and nine misdemeanor arrests were made, while the department logged 2,125 miles at a cost of $163.81. In another matter, the board instructed Ronald Fisher of North Main Street to apply for a building permit from the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission (APC). A neighbor had expressed concern over the appearance of a gutted 8x35-foot moniie home Fisher has on his property. While Fisher assured the board

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Lake via Deeds Creek. Chuck Brower, county surveyor, stated that Deeds Creek is a mile away from the Leiter area and only surface water would flow there. The board voted to not recommend approval of the petition of Roy R. and Lora L. Russell, Pierceton, to rezone ground from residential to a light industrial district. The property is located on the north side of CR 250 S and 580 feet west of CR 700 W in the Town of Pierceton. The APC staff had been told that the Pierceton Town Board had discussed this case, feel it would be spot zoning and would object to the rezoning if asked to vote. The APC also voted to approve the six final plats which were presented. These included The Dells, near the Warsaw airport; Highlands at Goose Lake; Rolling Ridge seventh addition; J A & L Subdivision, north of Dewart Lake; Willie’s East Ridge second addition, east of Warsaw; and a commercial subdivision on the east side of SR 13 south of Armstrong Road.

Other Base Bids Other base bids are as follows: General — Carl J. Reinke & Sons, Inc., South Bend, $867,600; Hamstra Builders, Inc., Wheatfield, $1,030,130; Ira C. Mast & Son, Inc., Elkhart, $897,628; W. J. Carey Construction Corporation, South Whitley, $928,000. Mechanical — A. Hattersley & Sons, Fort Wayne, $219,912; Industrial Piping & Engineering, Fort Wayne, $241,900; R. A. & S. Inc., New Haven, $220,500; Burton Mechanical, Rochester, $279,000; W. J. Carey Construction Corporation, South Whitley, $283,000; and R.A. King, Inc., Elkhart, $216,379. Electrical - Delp Electric, Inc., Plymouth, $121,300; George Thompson Electric, Inc., Elkhart, $106,220; Herrman & Goetz, South Bend, $124,940; and W. J. Carey Construction Corporation, Sbuth Whitley, 1 $168,000 Plastic laminate — Architectural Products, Franklin, $58,600; Lee Company, Inc., Terre Haute, $61,310 Library Cabinetry — Architectural Products, Franklin, $52,000; and Lee Company, Inc., Terre Haute, $51,280. In all areas open for bids, bidders were given two prevailing wage scales. Wage Scale A was established by the board in April and included in the base bids. Wage Scale B was a required alternate bid and based on union wages. Other alternate bids included: carpet over concrete in lieu of terrazzo, Manville single-ply in lieu of Carlisle, Trocal single ply in lieu of Carlisle, and excluding library cabinetry for Room 117.

that the mobile home was going to be used solely for storage and that he would put vinyl siding on it to improve the appearance, he was told that certain specifications must be met with APC approval. In final business the following was decided: — A door and door jamb will be purchased for the utility room at the town hall at a cost not to exceed S2BO. — The hiring of Wawasee High School senior Shanna Dimmick for a part-time position in the clerk-treasurer’s office was approved retroactive to May 4. — Monica Bice will be allowed '.to travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., May 25 and 26 to install a ledger program on the town computer. The board will meet tonight at 6:30 p.m., while the next regular meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 13, in the town hall.

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AWARDS PRESENTED TO CCC AND RETIRING TEACHERS — Awards were presented to charter members of the Corporation Curriculum Committee and retiring teachers of the Wawasee Community School Corporation during last evening’s (Tuesday) meeting. There are five members of the CCC who are charter members and served the three-year term from 1985-1988 who were recognized and presented tokens of appreciation by Dr. Roger Thornton, superintendent. Charter members included Tracy Sumpter, Bill Kitson, Charles Haffner, Dr. Winston Becker and Dr. Howard Hull. Billy Little, board president, had the honors of presenting three teachers, Ruth Rowe, Rudy Cesco and Dr. Becker, with plaques honoring their retirement from the teaching profession. Mrs. Rowe, a fourth grade teacher at North Webster, has spent 24

At 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. —

Public reviews of the new middle school plans Tuesday

(Continued from page 1) tracts for Nance Ashpole, Bill Kitson, Ron Corson and Don Story were approved for the Wawasee High School Summer School. Currently all but one summer credit course, science/math, have met the minimum enrollment of 15. Approval was given by the board to establish the remediation implementation plan for summer school in math, reading and writing for grades, one, two, three, six and eight, based on the Indiana Statewide Test of Educational Proficiencies. The summer school will be 20 days for four hours beginning June 1 and ending June 28. All classes will be at North Webster School. Dr. Hull noted that individual official results of the ISTEP tests have not been received, however, the corporation results have been received and indicate the classes are expected not to be above 10 students or call for a large number of teachers. The corporation results indicate the total battery average national percentile rank shown indicates Wawasee is where it should be. A 50 percentile rank is average and Wawasee received corporation-wide between 64-75 in the various grades tested. Approval was given for the electronic transfer of funds from the corporation to the state; to apply for Chapter One grant; use para-professionals in Project Primetime for grades kindergarten through third next year; and advertise for tax anticipation warrants in an estimated amount of $1,500,000. The board approved the filing of a conflict of interest disclosure by Roger Kryder as required by state statute. Kryder’s wife, Marjorie, is a teacher within the corporation and a member of the Wawasee Community Educator’s Association. Kryder noted there has been a change in the statute to include school employees whose spouses also work for the school. The General Educational Development school equivalency certificate was approved for Denise Barrett Jackson. Courtney Blue asked if the gifted and talented program would continue with the hiring of a director for the program. Dr. Thornton responded one year ago a full time director was hired with the intention of establishing a start-up program, however, the funds are gone and the purpose of the grant funding was met and

there was no intention for a full time director. It was noted a new grant is available with the deadline sooner than anticipated and there was concern the instructor did not have adequate time to prepare the paperwork. Dr. Hull

Buhrt sentenced

Phillip R. Buhrt, 28, r 1, Milford, was sentenced last Thursday to 50 years each for attempted murder and robbery resulting in serious bodily injuries, each Class A felonies. These sentences, which will run concurrently, will be served either before or after a 20-year sentence for rape which is a Class B felony. x Buhrt was convicted of a September 13, 1987, incident where he asked a woman, whom he knew, for a ride home from the Goshen cocktail lounge where she worked. At some point, he ordered the victim to stop her car in the 800 block of Logan Street near the Conrail tracks. He then took her to a pile of debris, raped her and struck her in the head with a piece of asphalt. She also received an arm and skull fracture. The woman, who was 5% months pregnant, was left un-

jL ••*■ KB* wK S r„ I ■ V' * B NEW CHAMBER OFFICERS — Pictured are the four women who were recently elected officers of the North Webster-Tippecanoe Township Chamber of Commerce. They are, left to right, Nadine Gooding, president; Jeanne Thomas, vice president; Debora Singray, secretary; and Kay Andrews, treasurer. _

years in the teaching profession, 19 of which have been with the Wawasee Community School Corporation. Her husband, James, |s a professor at Manchester College and they have three children and three grandchildren. Cesco, started with the corporation in 1970 as building trades inspector and industrial educator. He will be inducted into the Indiana Hall of Fame for Golf Coaches this summer. His wife, Marty, is a teacher at Fairfield High School, and they have a son, Randy. Dr. Becker, principal at Milford Schools, will retire after 39 years in the teaching profession, and joined the school corporation in 1985 as principal. Shown in the photo are Dr. Hull, Kitson, Dr. Becker, Mrs. Rowe, and Mrs. Sumpter. (Photo by Deb Patterson)

commented there was every intention for filing for the $12,000 grant and if the teacher had a problem he was to be contacted. Rex Rymers noted his diving program at the high school will be hurt due to one of the diving boards being broken. He said he was told it would not be replaced

conscious. Buhrt then drove her car back to the lounge and left in his own vehicle. She managed to get to a house close by and police were notified. Buhrt was arrested on September 14. Buhrt was also jailed in Kentucky for attempted robbery. He had started to rob a store but changed his mind. During the trial last week, the victim said she still suffers problems with her vision, has lost her sense of smell, and has only partial use of one arm since the attack. She also stated she has headaches and emotional problems. During the morning’s defense motion, Buhrt asked that his guilty pleas be withdrawn. He claimed he was confused on February 25 when he entered his guilty pleas and now wished to go to trial. Judge Gene Duffin, examin-

Syracuse sets new billing date

Mark Tatman, Syracuse clerktreasurer, has announced that Syracuse sewer and water billing procedures are being computerized in May. June bills will be mailed on June 1, with sewer usage bills calculated to reflect the new sewer rates adopted by the Syracuse Town Board at its April 26 meeting. Future billings will be mailed on the first of each month. The clerk-treasurer said it will take slightly over two hours to create the new bills on the computer, while it has been taking

until the new middle school was built. Dr. Thornton reminded Rymers of the proper channels to go through to get the need addressed, however, he noted there was some conflicting information. The next regular board meeting will be June 14.

ing the motion during a break, denied the request. He agreed with deputy prosecutor Benjamin Pfaff that Buhrt had ample opportunity to change his mind. The defendant has asked for and received delays of pre-trial conferences, pleas and sentencings since charges were filed on September 15. R. Brent Zook, public defender, stated that Buhrt was first arrested when he was 17. He was an accessory to a friend shooting a motorcyclist. He received a 15-25 year term for murder. The judge in that case said he would have suspended the charges if he could. He later wrote the governor for clemency, which was granted, after the defendant had spent 5% years in prison. While in prison, Buhrt, himself, was raped. Zook stated that if it hadn’t been for that conviction/ Buhrt wouldn’t be in the position he is in now.

five days to do the billings by hand. He added that the time saved will not be wasted, but will be used to work on other necessary and beneficial town projects. European space aid The European Space Agency has agreed after two years of contentious negotiations to take part in the U.S. space station project and provide a laboratory module to be permanently attached to the Earth-orbiting facility.