The Mail-Journal, Volume 27, Number 23, Milford, Kosciusko County, 20 July 1988 — Page 10

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THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed., July 20,1988

Summer

Don't miss 'Company'

By WHITNEY SPURGEON EDITOR’S NOTE: Substituting for his father, regular MailJournal reviewer Wiley (Bill) Spurgeon, Whitney Spurgeon is a theatre graduate of Syracuse University, where he had acting, directing and stage-managing experience. He has also directed for The Vagabond Players, a summer theatre group in Muncie, and has had major roles in Muncie Civic Theatre and Ball State University summer theatre productions.

Drought shouldn't affect area fishing

Despite the record breaking heat wave and drought, state fisheries officials don’t expect fish populations in Northeast Indiana lakes to be hurt by the harsh weather conditions. Water is an excellent insulator, due to the chemical makeup of its molecules. So while surface water temperatures are - ap ; proaching 80 degrees on most area lakes, water temperatures 10 to 15 feet below the surface are cool and comfortable for fish. /‘Although water levels are about a foot below normal, lake water temperatures are average,” says Gary Hudson, Department of Natural Resources fisheries supervisor. Hudson says several fish kills were reported in late May and believes the combination of warm temperatures ajid spawn-

U.S. Traveler's in semistate

LIGONIER - U.S. Traveler’s softball team advanced into next weekend’s semistate round with a second place finish in district X&Ction last Saturday. The squad, . comprised of Wawasee High 'School graduates, won four-of-five games in district play. U.S. Traveler’s has a 13-11 record, including a 9-7 regular

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He is a former reporter and copy editor for the Muncie Evening Press.) a Much has been said regarding the talent of the new Enchanted Hills Playhouse troupe. Courage and must be added /to the list of qualities these actors and their director can claim. Courage because they have the guts to take on a show as difficult as Stephen Sondheim’s “Company,” a very tough musical to stage and perform. Determination because although the show is not flawless, it features some excellent performances by actors giving it

ing stress was the cause. However, few fish kill reports have been received in recent weeks. Another negative aspect of this summer’s weather has been an increase of aquatic vegetation due to the number of sunny days. In contrast, Hudson says there may be some positive benefits of fish from this year’s weather. Most game fish spawned earlier this spring, so young fish this fall should be larger and better fit to survive the winter. Second, fish have not been exposed to runoff, silt and other materials into area lakes because inlet stream flows have been low. “We won’t know the full impacts of the weather for several years, but we don’t foresee any serious problems,” says Hudson.

season slate. The team will open semistate action Saturday morning at 9 a. m. in South Bend. For the season, Todd Roberts is the teams, leading hitter with, a .547 clip. He’s ripped six triples, five doubles and clubbed one home run. Jeff Parker is the only other player with a .500 batting average.

everything they’ve got. Actually, there is only one prominent problem with the current EHP production. The pacing is off a bit. “Company” is unique in the way that one scene often flows directly into the next, uninterrupted by blackouts. The story zooms along at full throttle, a pace the EHP group seemed unable to maintain. The result is a kind of occasional stumbling, which lessens the impact of the Play. The players seem unaffected by this, however, and many fine performances make this an evening of theatre one shouldn’t miss. The story is simple. Robert, 35, unmarried, and surrounded by . friends who have tied the knot, is in a personal dilemna. Part of him wants the love and security available through a wife, while the other part is afraid of being “tied down.” His friends aren’t much help. They continually ask him when he’ll settle down and arrange unwanted dates for him. Any relationship Robert does begin always seems to crumble. Scott Hillenbrand, an EHP veteran recently graduated from Northwestern University, is a terrific Robert. He combines stage presence and a fine singing voice to create a character the

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‘ JSSaat ■* AeK«- »*. B w Wl W ; » WOMtau ■* 4 ■»/■<' INDIVIDUAL WINNERS — Pictured above are winners from the Maxwelton ladies golf league tournament held last week. From left, are Deanie Free, low net; Jane Musser, low gross; and Jackie Wortinger, low gross.

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audience identifies with. Three young ladies sitting in front of this reviewer also seemed to enjoy the part where Hillenbrand takes off his shirt. Several stand out in the roles of Robert’s married friends. Gary Simmers and Daniella Sando are quite funny as the co-antagonistic couple of Harry and Sarah. Becky Roberts is charming as the sweet, southern Susan. Particularly hilarious is Jerry Boyle as the deadpan David. Elizabeth Richmond shines in the role of one of Robert’s girlfriends. She endows the spaced-out stewardess April with genuine life, creating a real character from one written in a somewhat two-dimensional manner. There really isn’t a bad performance in the show, and Brian Loeffler, Lisa Geraci, Cynthia Suarez, Kent Matthew Lewis, Wendelin Lovegrove, Anthony Powers, Melissa Paris and Kellie Blanchett round out a cast which richly deserves applause. The orchestra backing up the players is terrific, the finest I’ve heard at EHP in my many years of attendance. They’re powerful without being overpowering. It’s nice to be able to hear the actors and actresses sing.

John Jay Shoup’s set is nothing to sing about, but it is functional and succeeds in providing the actors with plenty of levels to play from. Lighting by Riic Stouder complements the mood of the show perfectly. Katy Scukanec’s costumes are visually attractive and true to the 1970 s setting. Kellie Blanchett contributes to the show not only through her acting, but through her high-energy choreography as well. In a show full of songs, the best of the evening are “SorryGrateful,” a touching piece about the realities ,of marriage, “Getting Married Today,” featuring Suarez as a wife-to-be who isn’t really sure that’s what she wants to be, and “Barcelona,” with Hillenbrand and Richmond as a couple who can’t decide if they’re coming or going. All in all, this is a fine show, especially considering how difficult it can be to produce. If director Earl Reimer has tightened things up a bit, it will be even better. As it is, it’s well worth the price of a ticket. “Company” continues its run tonight through Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m. at the barn theater east of Lake Wawasee.

How to analyze bass cover

It’s a cold, beautiful late spring morning. The water’s calm and the secluded cove behind the shoreline point looks like the fishiest spot on the lake. A half hour of untouched casts later, you’re not only questioning your judgement at choosing fishing spots, but your decision to even spend time bass fishing. What’s wrong? “Basically, there weren’t any fish in the cove, afterall,” explains Ken Cook, well-known member of the Evinrude Pro Staff. “Sometimes, the fishiestlooking places aren’t really that fishy. An angler should learn to , look at more than the water to really determine if bass are present.” The ability to visually analyze bass cover before ever stopping to fish it is something Cook has learned to do well. As a former fisheries biologist for the state of Oklahoma, he spent years studying bass and the type of conditions they prefer, and he’s used this knowledge to become one of the top money-winners on the professional bass circuits. The best part, however, is that visually analyzing productive bass water is easy to learn for any angler. “The first thing is to look at more than the visible cover and casting targets, such as grass, trees, stumps or boathouses,” explains Cook. “To really analyze bass cover an angler should study water clarity, baitfish activity, depth, and even the shoreline configuration.” Shorelines, for example, says Cook, can tell an angler far more than simply where the water ends, it tells the bottom composition, which is important to anglers since bass prefer hard sand or gravel rather than mud and decaying vegetation. Even the trees growing along the shoreline can help show the type of bottom. Pines grow in the sandy-type soil bass like, but oaks and other hardwoods frequently grow in moister, softer ground bass don’t like. “Irregular shorelines are nearly always more productive than straight, featureless ones,” says Cook. “They provide more cover. If you see a shoreline with many little points, cuts and indentions,

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Oakwood Hotel renovation

I By JENNIFER WOODWARD Staff Writer Some filings never change, and the Oakwood Hotel may very well be one of those things. Though plans for restoration in the early 1990’s have been approved, the same old fashioned values will still be found at this United Methodist based hotel. The grounds of the hotel have been owned by the church since 1893. The present hotel is' the third to be built on the grounds and much of the interior i& the same as it was when is was first built in 1926. The Oakwood Hotel is the home of a variety of church camps and conferences. People from all over the country travel to the Lake Wawasee hotel the summer. Individuals and family reunions are also welcome hotel. These groups may rent a room when a conference is not in session for a weekend or even a week. Roberta Johnson, director of program and operation, stated that plans have been approved to renovate the hotel and four other United Methodist camps; Ep-

your chances of finding bass there are much better than if that shoreline were straight. ’ ’ Another thing a shoreline can do is provide an indication of depth and bottom configuration. A wide, flat shoreline often mens the lake bottom will also be relatively flat and featureless, while a steep shoreline and bank means the water probably drops quickly into deeper depths. » Cover is always extremely important to bass, and the absence of it tends to concentrate fish around whatever cover is present. When cover is abundant, bass frequently locate around some unusual feature of that cover. This can be an isolated patch of grass away from a larger grassbed, the point tree on a row of flooded timber, even one stump located a few feet from a field of stumps. A basic rule concerning cover that Cook and many of the successful tournament pros use is: the thicker and more shallow the cover, the more shallow bass will

>1 it Mu. & JUS Sr- p 11 l < • w "wir * f ■■■ ■ SEMISTATE BERTH —He U.S. Traveler’s softball team, comprised of Wawasee High School graduates, earned a semistate berth with a second place finish in last week’s district tournament. Pictured above in front, from left, are Ron Roberts, Phil Price, 7 Dave Roberts, Jeff Parker, Ron Martin and Scott Baker. Standing in back, from left, are Todd Roberts, Kyle Swartz, Jon Vitaniemi, Jeff Morgan, Ryan Wuthrich and Kevin Parker. - Semistate action will begin Saturday, July 30, at 9 a.m. for the squad.

MSHHHHWfT f DINING HALL — This photo shows the current dining hall. After renovation the dining hall will face the beautiful waters of Lake Wawasee. (Photo by Jennifer Woodward)

worth Forest, Camp Adventure, Camp Lakewood and Pinecreek. The Oakwood Hotel and Epworth Forest will receive the greatest amount of renovation. Basically a summer hotel, after completion the hotel will be winterized. Present plans call for

be. Water clarity and color can also tell an angler a lot about the possibility of finding bass in a spot, because it provides clues to the overall productivity of the area. Bass anglers like water commonly described as “stained,” which is a mixture of greenishbrown. The green is produced by phytoplankton (microscopic plant life), and the brown comes from zooplankton (microscopic animal life). A lake must have both of these before it will ever support a healthy bass population, because they provide the basic starting point in the food chain. “You can actually see plankton in the water,” says Cook. “They suspend in the water and look like particles of sediment or grains of sand.” Seeing baitfish activity in an area is another positive sign bass may be nearby, Cook points out, and anglers should watch for minnows whenever they ease into a new spot. Boat movement mav

a private bath in each room and a new kitchen and dining hall facing the lake. The construction will be done in two separate phases. The first phase will consist of the inner renovation of the rooms and the second phase will be the addition of the dining hall and and kitchen.

scare minnows but keep an open for jumping bait trying to‘ escape larger feeding fish. Active baitfish, as well as bream and other species you may see, usually means you can use a faster-moving lure for bass, such as a crank bait or spinnerbait. “Even if you don’t actually see minnows, you can see signs of their presence,” notes the Evinrude pro. “Egrets and herons walk the shorelines or perch on logs waiting for minnows to swim past, so whenever you see one of these birds you can guess baitfish and bass aren’t far away. Inactive baitfish can tell you the bass aren’t really active, either, so you should use a slower-moving lure, like a worm or jig.” Analyzing bass cover like this is easy, notes Cook, and it becomes even easier with practice. Sometimes those fishylooking coves do hold bass, and sometimes they don’t, but by following Cook’s advice, it’s possible to know before ever making a cast.