The Mail-Journal, Volume 27, Number 17, Milford, Kosciusko County, 8 June 1988 — Page 1

Milford 658-4111 & Syracuse 457-3666 *8

VOLUME 27

- , t j , i ■"•* >dfiHK£ * WRMbjs-- * BJB 081 I^^/ 4.V ~4 * ■L . *-’ r -‘-3~?-» /CSfe^\ / A Z'^R3y^<’-® *. I- *'. ■ l'.' f<£ * ' i | -_. . — teM£riK ; I £C MH' I ?y '’ ''"■-AiW4. zZA—# ~ 9 1 J 8« a, w I'TB^d^* ' aa^Bb^La ■■■■<•<. ..-.-Jb^-." -AijMiifc ~.' »^’-“' " ■< ’i«f s — •»• ■’ •.;'>>• *•■ ■ * ** ,i^^^f^?^^ il ’"'-S^ s ';-^* : 7«'^»-j','. '■? & '’ ,

CONSTRUCTION AT SYRACUSE — Changes and growth are evident in Syracuse this year with the Syracuse School remodeling and addition project and the building of the new Fisher’s Big Wheel store. Both are slated for completion by fall. The top photo shows work being done at Syracuse School. Workers are still preparing the site for actual construction. The playground equipment, which used to be in this area, has been removed and grading is underway.

Perry, Kilmer and CTB get OKs from area plan commission

(By GLEN LONG Staff Writer

The Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission, at its June 1 meeting in the Justice Building in Warsaw, voted to recommend to the county commissioners approval of several zoning changes in the Milford area. In one of these petitions, APC members voted to recommend to the Town of Milford approval of the petition of John Perry and Orvil Kilmer to rezone ground from an agricultural to a residential district. Perry was present and said that 11 acres west of his Lakeland Loving Care nursing home in Milford are involved. Perry said he plans to subdivide the area, located between CR 1250 N and Fourth Street extended, north of Elm Street in Van Buren Township. APC members also voted to recommend approval by the Town of Milford of the petition of CTB Inc. to rezone ground from a commercial to a light industrial "district. Chris Chocola represented the petitioner and said the back part of the existing building will be used for a small research and development area where prototype equipment will be tested. Chocola added that in addition to the Lake City Branch office, CTB plans to use part of the building for offices of advertising, product management and research and development offices. The vote was six in favor and one abstention. In another petition, continued from a previous meeting, the board voted six to one to recommend that the commissioners ap-

TiK J I Mail-Journal y I «100> ' i ztM^ i U * * * r~jx"jj)(f.iL " ' ~~t V";’ ?A 0 / . iff r

prove a petition to rezone ground southeasLpf Milford from an environmental district to a residential district. Guy Fisher presented the case for Khristine Marie Fisher, trustee for Paul S. Fisher. He had presented the petition several months ago, but at that time the APC had tabled it to see if the All procedures governing minifarms would be adopted by the county commissioners. Fisher said the land is presently being used for horseback riding trails. Fred Carey was given approval to rezone ground from an agricultural to a residential district. His property is located on the west side of Forest Glen Avenue, 1,290 feet north of Armstrong road. Other Cases The APC voted to hear no further comments from the floor on the petition of David M. Whitesell for a planned unit subdivision north of Warsaw. The large group of neighbors tokWhitesell’s land > north of Warsawlistened quietly, but when the board voted against the petition, five io three, there was a loud round of applause as I the audience rose to leave. [ The case had been discussed in May with the APC unable to get [ the five votes needed to approve [ or disapprove. Don Ahrns I restated his motion to not recommend commissioner approval based on incompatibility with i neighboring properties, George , Miller seconded it* and the vote • followed. ■ David Whitesell requested a poll of the members voting against him to hear reasons for the incompatibility designation. Not getting this, he stated for the I record his objection to the ruling, : which he said was based on the lot sizes in his proposal being - smaller than normal, but

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

The bottom photo shows the progress being made at the Big Wheel store north of Syracuse on SR 13. Harley Kirker, Georgetown, Ohio, job supervisor, stated work began on the new store the first of May with excavation of the land. Masonry construction began May 26. Despite being one-week behind schedule, completion is still set for October 1. Kirker noted a majority of the construction work will be handled by firms in the Syracuse area. (Photo by Deb Patterson)

allowable under the county zoning ordinance. The Whitesell property is located on the east side of CR 175E and one-quarter mile south

Pilcher to head retail merchants

By DEB PATTERSON Staff Writer

Bob Pilcher will head, the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce Retail Merchants Division with Tim Kroh serving as vice president. Pilcher and Kroh were elected during the monthly meeting of the retail merchants Friday, June 3. Official duties will begin July 1. Carol Wallace and Jeanne Gardiner were both re-elected to their posts, as secretary and treasurer, during the brief election. Donna Conder, president, presided over the meeting. In other business during the brief meeting, plans were finalized for the July 2 chicken barbecue at Lakeside Park. Chicken will be sold from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p,m. with baked goods available also. To accommodate those persons who may want to eat at the park, it was decided to sell individual pieces of pie and cookies or brownies. Mrs. Conder announced that a representative from the Department of Natural Resources will be asked to attend the August 17

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8,1988

of CR 175 N in Wayne Township. The board also voted to recommend to the Town of Pierceton approval of the petition of Thomas Rouch to rezone a lot in

quarterly luncheon of the chamber to discuss lake pollution. She encouraged persons to attend. The new chamber map was shown, noting that more maps were available at J.A. Business Service. Jim Evans questioned when the pictorial maps would be

Milford woman injured, driver dies

Logina A. Wright, 19, Fourth Street, Milford, complained of pain to her abdomen after the motorcycle she was riding hit a dead animal in the road causing the driver to lose control. The driver of the cycle, Timothy E. Vuittonet, 18, 427 West Perry St., Warsaw, was pronounced dead at Fort Wayne Parkview Hospital at 1:19 a.m. Monday. The accident occurred Sunday at 10:37 p.m. Cause of death was listed as massive head injuries. Wright was treated at Kosciusko Community Hospital and released. Vuittonet was eastbound on CR 200N west of Boeing Drive, near

$197,600 project — < o> ; ' . Syracuse takes steps to reduce back-up, flooding

By GLEN LONG Staff Writer

The Syracuse Town Board met in special session on Tuesday, June 7, to receive a progress report on the Community Improvement Program project it began in November 1987. Ron Bonar, president of Bonar & Associates Inc., a Fort Wayne engineering firm, was present to discuss the improvements needed to reduce sewage back-up and basement flooding experienced during high water times irr the past in a large area in southwest Syracuse and to presents estimated costs to complete them. The board voted to accept the proposal as presented and signed it so bids can be received. Bonar reviewed the fact that after the EPA grant project costs in the target area, there remains $257,551 of the CIP grant from the state for the planned sewer project. He then itemized the steps his firm has determined to be needed to avoid flooding problems as in the past in an area bordered by Huntington St. on the east, the CSX railroad on the south and North St. on the north. He pointed out that it was . ecognized that the project would require close coordination with the EPA-funded project now in progress to achieve greatest benefits for the target area. After the sewer line was cleaned on sections of North, Main, Boston and Huntington streets, televised analysis was done to determine what repairs are need-

Pierceton from a residential to a commercial district. He said he plans to remodel the house into an antique store and a small ice cream shop.

available and where they would be available. Mrs. Wallace noted the maps were to be available by July 1, but further information has not been discussed by the chamber board. The next meeting will be July 8, at 8 a.m. with the location to be announced at a later date.

Classic Car Centre, Warsaw, when the motorcycle hit an animal lying in the road. The driver then lost control, throwing Wright off the motorcycle. Officials believe the motorcycle started sliding and apparently went off the side of the road with the rear fender going into the ground, flipping the driver off the vehicle. Neither Vuittonet nor Wright were wearing helmets. Vuittonet was the son of Antonio and Manda (Davis) Vuittonet. Services will be held today, Wednesday, at 2 pm. in McHatton-Sadler Funeral Chapel, Warsaw.

ed. These phases were completed on March 18-20. The project phases and estimated costs are to replace sanitary sewer on Portland St., $34,500; replace sanitary sewer on Boston St., $55,200; construct storm sewer on Portland St., $17,600; install sanitary manhole on Ash St., $4,600; install new water main valves, $3,500; storm sewer improvements on Main St., $26,600; water service replacement on Main St., $29,900; and sewer joint grouting on Boston and Huntington streets, $25,700. The total estimated construction cost of these eight items is $197,600. An additional item that Bonar states should be done if adequate grant funds are available after the first eight steps due to low bids, etc. is storm sewer con-

Worst drought in 50 years —

Farmers look for rain

(By MARK HUFFMAN Staff Writer

Experiencing the worst spring drought in over 50 years, Kosciusko County farmers are hoping, begging, and praying that the next rain is a full fledged storm, with two to three inches of topsoil needing a good soaking. “If you look at past records they show that we’ve started out (the growing season) the same way as we did in 1934 and 1936 — the last years we had critically dry springs,” says Vic Virgil, county extension agent. While 1974 also posed some early dry conditions, this spring far surpasses anything area farmers have witnessed. “This is the earliest I’ve seen anything like this, I’ve never experienced a spring this dry,” says Don Bailey, branch manager of the Milford Co-op. Claiming to be “awful close” to the critical stage, Virgil notes that the county was three inches behind spring moisture averages last week. “It’s probably more than that now. The period from mid-April to now is when we’ve really been short (on rainfall), which is the critical point,” he says. With moisture failing to absorb into the top two to three inches of soil, seeds are having trouble germinating. “Some farmers waited to plant, but they couldn’t wait any longer and just planted hoping that the crop will come up,” Virgil remarks. With small roots having trouble breaking through the drv soil, only one-third to one-

i '' '■ ■■ '"I & , r 1 W ■ *** ** - 1I B ■■ 71 L / / ’ y I , ~ ■ / * — I _____BB ■■■■■■■■■■■■ CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION — Randall Dewart, left, chairman of the planning committee for this year’s Milford High School Alumni Association meeting on Saturday evening, presented a special award to Arch Baumgartner for all the things he has done for the alumni association. Ron Baumgartner, right, accepted the certificate for his father who was unable to attend. The certificate reads: “Presented to Archibald Baumgartner for your proven dedication and unselfish generoisty to the alumni association. June 4,1988. —, Milford High School Alumni Association.

struction on Boston St. at an estimated cost of $73,000. The engineer said it is felt that extending the storm sewer on Main St. to the east on Boston St. to the alley east of First St. would decrease the amount of storm water ponding and flooding within the target area. Bonar said item nine should be held until last so it may be even partially completed if funding is available. Joe Dock, utilities superintendent, stated he has studied the proposal extensively and the work will definitely benefit the target area. He pointed out that this work is paid for by the CIP grant and is not a factor in sewer rate increases. After Myrick asked if the estimated construction costs include putting the streets back into good repair and received an as-

half of the average hay crop in the county was yielded after the first cutting this spring. With such conditions, livestock farmers are feeling the crunch. “There may beless hogs raised by the smaller farmers because the price of corn has skyrocketed in the past few days,” says Bailey. With the county becoming one of 10 in the state to be declared a disaster area earlier this week by the U.S. Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, farmers will be allowed to utilize forage set aside in a one-year acreage conservation reserve program. The land may be used for animal grazing or making hay. “This will help as far as livestock is concerned,” says Virgil, who is still concerned about those farmers raising corn, wheat, and especially soybeans.

Water table steady

While drought conditions have strapped Milford farmers, town dwellers are experiencing no repercussions from the sunny conditions, other than some brown grass. “The water table level has stayed steady, while the level hasn’t dropped at the well,” says Utilities Superintendent Dallas Winchester 11. However, the town has used 40 percent more water this year than last spring. “We averaged about 110,000 gallons of water per day last year, while we’re pumping approximately

NUMBER 17

firmative answer, he moved that the board sign the proposal and it was unanimously approved. Bob Reed, town attorney, asked how soon the bids on the project will be received and Bonar responded that the anticipated date is Sept. 15. Other Business Jim Hughes, president, said the meeting with the Syracuse Park Board has been deferred and the board agreed on June 28 at 7:30 p.m. for this meeting. Myrick, liaison )oard member with the police department, reported that Bob Houser Sr. will be in charge of the department during the vacation of Bob Ziller, town marshal, from June 14-28. The town board met in executive session after the public meeting adjourned.

“The first part of June is when a lot of soybeans are normally germinated and we’re losing out on that,” he says. Bailey echoes Virgil, noting, “The beans will show more stress, there are more spotty fields than what corn is. ” While Milford farmers normally cultivate more corn than beans, they won’t know the full effect of the drought until August, but the lack of rain may allow more pests to enter their fields during the critical growing period. “Weed chemicals we’ve used haven’t worked yet and they won’t until we get some rain,” warns Bailey, while Virgil adds, “Herbicides aren’t working because they need moisture to activate.” Hay yields were aplenty in (Continued on page 2)

160,000 this spring,” he adds. Syracuse Utilities Superintendent Joe Dock sees similar conditions in his town, “We’re experiencing a very high volume usage compared to usual, but the water table level remains steady,” he echoes. Neither superintendent forsees the respective town boards placing a.limit on water use, although if conditions persist, Winchester notes, “We may ask people to voluntarily slow down the watering of their yards.”

35 c