The Mail-Journal, Volume 28, Number 1, Milford, Kosciusko County, 15 February 1989 — Page 5

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(Continued from page 4) A UNIQUE “dumpster?” This unlikely trash container was spotted “docked” behind a building near the town hall on South Huntington Street. The Town of Syracuse has no ordinance covering this type of trash container, nor restricting boat storage on property. The only or-

From the Syracuse Police Log — Curfew times are requested

From the Syracuse Police Log is a weekly feature which presents a sampling of the incidents the officers from the Syracuse Fire Department and Syracuse Police Department are called upon to deal: WEDNESDAY, FEB. 8 A woman dame to the dispatcher’s office to report loosing a purse. A description of the purse was given and the woman’s phone number taken, in case it was located. A state highway department employee reported, to the dispatcher, there was a car sitting north of the post office. The car is sitting on the roadway. THURSDAY, FEB. 9 A Syracuse Police Officer reported to the dispatcher there was a car with Elkhart County plates sitting along the berm of the road on SR 13. The car, a Monte Carlo, is near Tranter Graphics. The officer reported the car’s emergency flashers were on however, the flashers were almost “shot.” Garrett Police were asked to ■relay a message to CSX Railroad, after an officer reported the railroad crossing lights at East Shore Drive and Pickwick Road were malfunctioning again. FRIDAY, FEB. 10 An officer was sent to a business after thc seeurity guard reported a vehicle was parked in the wrong area. The officer went to run a title check on the vehicle to find out the owner's name. Curfew for a 15-year-old is 1 a.m., Friday and Saturday; and 11 p.m., Sunday through Thursday and not before 5 am., daily. This information was given to a caller by the dispatcher after the curfew times for that age was requested. SATURDAY. FEB. 11 An employee at a business reported a fight was going on between two people outside and the people involved were ready to leave. The caller gave police a description of the vehicle. Three minutes later the officer reported he had the situation well in hand. The officer on duty requested a

i_i | I | j^ | \i r i IT i BOy ?' Mjk Bl hi FATHER HYNDMAN ENTERTAINS ROTARY — The SyracuseWawasee Rotary Club enjoyed a humorous speech given by Father David Hyndman at the February 14 meeting. Father Hyndman, pastor of All Saints Episcopal Church, Syracuse, spoke of "Everything You Don’t Want to Know About My Life As a Student, But You Are Going to Hear. Any w ay.” Pictured are Father David Hyndman, program chairman for the day. and Tom Jackson, acting president of the Rotary Club. (Photo byBob Troutman *

dinance, found at this time, dealing with unsightly items around a residence or business is for “junk cars.” Maybe the town fathers should follow the footsteps of neighboring town, Milford. Milford has an ordinance concerning trash, refuse and garbage which would cover this situation.

business be contacted as a gate was opened on the property. Contact was made with someone from the business who reported there were people working late. SUNDAY, FEB. 12 A reserve officer notified the dispatcher after he was told there was a property damage accident on the Syracuse-Milford Road. The officer also requested an emergency medical technician met with him at the station to check on the person who was injured in the accident. Kosciusko County Police were notified to investigate the accident and the person in the accident was taken to Goshen Hospital. If a vehicle, reported to be parked part-way on the sidewalk, is there again, the owner would be advised to move it. The on-

Letter to the editor

Eulogy to Mike Johnson

Dear Editor; Today we said goodbye to Mike Johnson, husband, father, minister, and friend to all. To the family he dearly loved: Many times he spoke of his love for his family, the joys that God had implanted in His plan for family. We also talked many times about the heartaches that we all experience in raising a family. But, always, love overshadowed all heartaches. To the Syracuse Church of God, whom he cared about very much: I don’t know of anybody who was not personally touched by Mike’s help and inspiration. It didn't make any difference what the hour, he was always willing and ready to help. There were times, at two and three o’clock in the morning, he would get a call to come to the hospital, jail, or just to the home, and he would always go. Yes, in some way. he touched all of our lives. To the Indiana and General Conferences of the Churches of God: He would never say “no.” Whatever the job or committee he was called to sit on, he would

duty officer reported this after he was sent to ask a person to move the vehicle that was parked onehalf on the sidewalk and one-half on a person’s property. The vehicle was not at that location when the officer arrived. The dispatcher for Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department requested Syracuse Police assist in the apprehension of a person wanted on a warrant. The person fled on foot after hitting a county officer’s squad car, with his vehicle, head on. One-hour later the person was apprehended and taken to jail. MONDAY, FEB. 13 The Kosciusko County Humane Society’s telephone number was given to a caller after he requested who to contact regarding inhumane treatment of animals.

always find time to do it. I asked him on one occasion if he didn’t think he was trying to do too much, and his answer was, "The job needs to be done.' ’ To the Syracuse Community: He truly cared what happened in the community. This was one of the reasons he joined the Wawasee Kiwanis Club. He served on the committee to study the need for the new junior high school buildings because of this caring. But most of all, he cared about the people. On many occasions he would mention that he had a counseling session with someone from the community who had a problem and neededhelp At times, it’s hard for us to say “goodbye." But, we would like to thank God for allowing us to cross paths with Mike, however brief that time was in life’s span. Yes, we have a void and a great loss in our lives today, but because of the promise of our Savior, Jesus Christ, heaven has a much greater gain. Jerry Stutman, Elder Syracuse Church of God

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Senate Bill 139 —

C average a must? Meeks and Thornton comment

By DEB PATTERSON and MARY JANE LORTON Staff Writers

Will lack of participation cause better grades or encourage a drop out? These are two issues Dr. Roger Thornton, superintendent of Wawasee Community School Corporation, hopes legislators look at before voting on Senate Bill 139. Senator Robert Meeks, District 13, believes “one of the goals of education should be to keep the kids in school...and sometimes extracurriculars are the only” way to achieve that goal. Senate Bill 139 requires the minimum grade for extracurricular school participation be a C average in certain courses to be eligible to participate. The bill, which is still in committee, was sponsored by Senator Louis J. Mahern, Jr., DIndianapolis, and if and when passed would be effective July 1, 1989. This bill would be added to Indiana Code 20-10.1-21 as a new chapter, entitled participation in extracurricular activities. Senate Bill 139 states: “Sec. 1. Each school corporation shall require students who participate in extracurricular school activities (including school related athletics) to maintain at least an aggregate C average, ’ or its equivalent, relative to the grading system of the school corporation, in the following subject areas in which the student is enrolled: Mathematics; English or language arts; social studies, including history and govern-

\ \ it ’ 11 jmMMI ■" “Professionals w\ wetrust F 7 j \\ Sue Bob Brennan remembers depositing a nickel or dime every — week to his first Lake City Bank savings account. That was 55 years ago. Since that time, he and his wife, Sue, owners of a local drug store, have had many different types of accounts at Lake City Bank including an Individual Retirement Account. Because Bob and Sue realized the importance of saving for retirement and the benefit of tax deductions, they started their IRA in 1976, shortly after the account became available. And although it was sometimes difficult, they made their S2OOO contributions every year. It’s not too late to open or add to your 1988 Individual Retirement Account and start saving for your retirement while receiving tax advantages. Call or visit any Lake City Bank office for all the details. J ■ . w FD.I.C.: I

ment; and science. “Sec. 2. If a student fails to maintain the aggregate grade average required under section 1 of this chapter, the student is ineligible to participate in extracurricular school activities (including school related athletics) for the period adopted under section 3(2) of this chapter. “Sec. 3. (a) Each school corporation shall adopt a written policy concerning: (1) the dates on which grading periods begin and end; and (2) the period of ineligibility (which may not be less than one grading period) resulting from the student’s failure to maintain the aggregate grade average required under section one of this chapter, (b) This policy shall be included in the written materials required to be provided to the student, the student’s parent, or otherwise given general publicity as required under IC 20-Bxl-5-3(c).” Senator Meeks Comments Republican Senator Robert Meeks does not think that only educators should put effort into keeping students in school. “We (legislators) should also be concerned with keeping the kids in school.” He believes that the bill may limit the number of students in extracurricular activities. “By limiting them, you put them in jeopardy of becoming an ‘at risk' student, he stated. Senator Meeks added that. There are enough pressures on young people. There is the pressure of drugs, the pressure of alcohol and we don't need to put more pressure on them.” , Given that the bill is still in committee, Senator Meeks noted

that he has not yet “heard both sides of the testimony, but after having spent four years on a school board, right now I can say I don’t support it.” Meeks added that he would be interested in hearing more about the rationale behind the bill, when Senator Mahern is able to bring it before the Senate. He thinks that there was a similar bill, now law, in Texas, and is anxious to hear how that is going. Senator Mahern was unavailable for comment. Superintendent Comments “The fact of the matter is, extracurricular participation is some times the thing that keeps kids in school and at some point, some of them actually catch on and begin to do far better in academics,” stated Dr. Thornton. Extracurricular activities include sports, music, drama and all clubs associated with the school. Currently Wawasee follows the guidelines established by the Indiana High School Athletic Association in which students must be passing in four solid subjects. The passing grade is a D. Dr. Thornton stated he does not think educators feel particularly the IHSAA standard is one that can be pointed to and said it points towards academic excellence, but there has to be a standard of some kind. He pointed out statistics that show in 1950, 50 percent of the children who entered school graduated, today 75 percent will graduate and of those who don’t graduate, 87 percent will have a high school diploma or GED certificate before the age of 23. “We re holding on to 25 percent more of the students today than

Wed., February 15,1989 — THE MAIL-JOURNAL

we held onto in 1950. Some of those students find school awfully tough,” he stated. He commented he would not argue to support a D average, as a standard, but “I’d like to do everything we (educators) can do to keep kids in school. I’d like to see them take more of the difficult courses than easy courses that would ensure a The school superintendent noted the bill is approaching the educational program from the wrong way, stating educators do not want students to barely pass courses. “But for somekids a D is all they can do. That may be their best. If a kid stays in school, giving us their best and we say their best is passing, I’m concerned about taking away things that may keep that kid in school.” Participation in extracurricular activities is a lot more complexing than an average grade. “I would much rather see a student who earned a D play basketball, if the D is the best he can get, than I would see a student with exceptional ability play basketball getting an A by taking an easy course and maintaining a Caverage,” he said. Dr. Thornton is not defending the low standards, but is seeing the public and legislators putting all kids in a large group and saying they all measure up the same way when they do not start out

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with equal ability or opportunity. “I think we all agree, some kind of change is needed in some instances, but I’m not sure a new law is the answer.” What are extracurricular activities? Dr. Thornton noted these activities are in addition to regular programs at school. He mentioned that these activities sometimes teach students a lot about living, working together and giving extra efforts because they want to. He did state that if a student is not doing his/her best and not achieving the way he/she should be in the classroom, then the guideline would be a good idea. Yet he noted there are students in the schools today who would not have been in school 10-25 years ago, due to extracurricular activities. “Participating in some extracurricular activities makes sitting through tough classes, for them, bearable.” A suggestion on what the statute should say was offered by the superintendent. “Students receiving lower than a C average would have to be reviewed by an academic review team, before participating to determine if the student is achieving at or below his/her ability level.” This would make a new arbitrary standard to a new statute that leaves no way to deal with individuals who will be cut out by this law.

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