The Mail-Journal, Volume 28, Number 2, Milford, Kosciusko County, 22 February 1989 — Page 1

£ «. 457-3666 -* \\ - . • -I ..,, , ? . - - . • < • • Consolidation of THE MILFORD MAIL (Est. 1888) and THE SYRACUSE-WAWASEE JOURNAL (Est. 1907)

VOLUME 28

Discuss house numbering — Syracuse denies zoning change for apartments near WHS

By GLEN LONG Staff Writer

With the Syracuse Town Board meeting room filled with area residents, the board voted unanimously on Tuesday night, Feb. 21, to deny the request of local realtor Harlan Steffen to rezone a three-acre tract of land near Wawasee High School from an industrial to a residential district. The board also scheduled a special meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 28 to work on details of renumbering Syracuse residences and their relationship to the planned county E-911 emergency calling system. The Steffen petition had been heard by the board on November 15 after the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission had recommended the rezoning be approved. At that time the board sent the case back to the APC for more information. It was then continued in December to the January meeting. Local attorney Steve Snyder presented the case for Steffen, who planned to build 12 apartment buildings for a total of 48 apartments on the south side of Chicago Street east of the Syracuse-Wawasee Road. One of his major points was that the rezoning would create a buffer of

Dana sales, profits up

Dana Corporation recently reported record sales of $4.94 billion for the fiscal year ending December 31,1988. The 1988 sales exceeded the 1987 sales by $756 million, an increase of 18 percent over last year’s record sales. Net income for 1988 was $162 million or 15 percent above the 1987 profits of $142 million. Earnings per share for 1988 were $3.99 or 23 percent higher than the $3.24 reported for 1987. Dana’s board of directors, meeting on Monday, Feb. 20, in Toledo, Ohio, declared a 40 cents per share quarterly dividend continuing the record high annual rate of $1.60 established in October 1988 The dividend will be paid March 15 to shareholders of record March 3. This is Dana Corporation’s 205th consecutive dividend payment. Fourth quarter 1988 sales of $1 24 billion were a record for any fourth quarter and the second

a Fi Ma* K. JiafV y 3 AREA RESIDENTS HONORED — Three area residents were honored at the Elkhart ( onnty Soil and Water Conservation District banquet last Thursday in the Mt. Joy Conservative Mennonite Church in froshen. , \ John Roach, left. Milford, a teacher at Eairfield High School, was named < onservation Teacher of the Year. He was selected for his work in des eloping the outdoor lab at the high school and for two major goals; constructing a pavilion in the lab to enable students to spend more time in the area and to extend use of the lab to the elementary schools in the district by setting up a fifth grade field day Joe and Donna Hibschman. center and right. Syracuse, received the Goodyear/SWf D Award for being Outstanding C ooperators The Hibschmans are conscientious, conservation minded dairy farmers They milk registered Hoisteins with a total herd of Itn cows They also have ’(•» acres of corn. I*» acres of soybeans. M acres of wheat, so acres of hay and pasture and 20 acres of woodlands

apartment buildings between single family residences to the south and industrial plants on Chicago Street. Snyder said the land had not been wanted for industrial use since it was zoned and pointed out the question before the board was residential versus industrial zoning rather than the presence of multi-family apartments in the neighborhood. After attorney Richard Green briefly stated again the traffic congestion concerns of several owners of businesses on Chicago Street who opposed the rezoning, member Carl Myrick said he is opposed to the rezoning after having talked with many people who Want the area to remain industrial. Barb Carwile, who also serves on the APC, stated she has been against the petition from the start because she is concerned it would increase traffic congestion in the area. Another zoning request, that of Judy Moser to rezone a property in North Syracuse to commercial. was continued to February 28 to give town attorney Bob Reed time to contact the BZA about a possible zoning exception to allow the Moser photography studio operation. Board members said they would rather go this way instead of rezoning to commercial, which would allow possible future other uses for the property. House Numbering Ron Weaver, who has been working on the town renumbering project for the town board for several months, said he

highest quarterly sales in the company's history. Net income for the quarter was $44 million of SI.OB per share. This compares to 1987 fourth quarter sales of $1.09 billion, net income of S2O million, and earnings per share of 53 cents. Fourth quarter 1987 earnings per share were reduced by 31 cents. This reduction was due to restructuring charges related to plant closings and adjustments in real estate market valuations These charges were partially offset by gains from the sale of a subsidiary. Gerald B Mitchell, chairman and chief executive officer, said "We have every reason to believe that 1989 will be another solid year of sales and profit Our pro jections for the markets we serve indicate that those markets will remain strong during 1989 and will provide us with additional opportunities in growth.” Southwood J. Morcott, presi-

has made good progress and asked the board to determine which two streets will be the baselines for the numbers. He suggested possibly Huntington and Railroad streets. Jerry Rumple, representing the Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, and Steve Maenhout. who is working on the E-911 system for the county APC, pointed out that some areas such as North Shore Drive and Oakwood Park should have town numbers for continuity even though they are outside the town. Weaver said implementing the new number system can be accomplished this spring if the baseline question is answered soon. Rumple suggested that perhaps local civic groups will donate manpower to check some corners to determine which streets houses face. Kenny Johnson, who chaired the meeting in the absence of board president Jim Hughes, said these topics will be discussed at the special meeting on February 28. . Other Business Johnson said a letter has been received from Triax Cablevision which states that a new channel. TNT, will soon be available to area cable TV subscribers. The basic service charge will be increased and customer service hours will be extended. Greg Stoddard, a member of a consumer group called Midwest Consumer Alliance, referred to a cable subscriber “bill of rights" as he asked the board to sign a resolution to uphold cable

dent and chief operating officer, noted, “Dana benefited this past year from a strong truck market which increased our highway vehicle component sales by 20 percent. While sales of components to the light-truck market were up again, our greatest growth in original equipment vehicle components was in the medium- and heavy-truck markets due to long-term con tracts and the new business ob tained during the past two years. "International sales, for the second straight year, ncreased at a faster rate than domestic sales," Morcott said "Sales from Dana's international subsidiaries and affiliates were up 30 percent over 1987 and now account for one quarter of total sales Profits from our international operations reflect the improved operating results in our European. South American and Canadian opera tions.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1989

subscriber rights and help repeal the government’s Cable Deregulation Act of 1984 so competition in the cable industry can help subscribers. The request was taken under advisement. The board voted to accept the proposal of TenEch Engineering to do the initial engineering on the project to move a sewer line at the SR 13 and Palm Drive planned location of the new McDonald’s restaurant. The engineering cost will be $4,000. Carol Koble, park board liaison member, reported that paperwork is in progress to establish a "Friends of the Parks" group in Syracuse. Johnson said a letter has been received from Bob Penick, who owns farmland north of Syracuse, which stated he will not allow the town to dump sludge from the waste water plant on his fields as had been discussed. Town Marshal Bob Ziller reported that civil defense building repairs have been completed and that the new police car will be picked up on February 23. He said the new multi line phone system at the fire station and police department is in and working well. The board gave fire chief Jerry Byrd approval to pay $75 for installation of a new radio in ambulance number seven to replace one which has been sent for repairs. Mark Tatman reported that a government audit of the Com munity Improvement Project (CIP) is complete and no fines were noted on this grant project. The board voted to approve payment two of $15,947.76 to Dye Plumbing and Heating on the sewer enhancement project The board also voted to refund $1,379.40 to Century 21 for sewer assessments pa id over about nine years. Ron Helman, sewer department head, has verified there is no sewer within 100 feet of the business.

Effective On March 1 The subscription price of The Mail-Journal will increase to $lB per year for incounty subscribers and $24 for out-of-county subscribers, effective Wednesday, March 1. The counter sale price will increase to 40 cents per copy. Subscribers will have until March 1 to renew their subscriptions at the current rate. Persons over the age of 65 will continue to receive a 10 percent discount on subscrip tions.

Thornton expresses concern over educational proposals

I By DEB PATTERSQN Staff Writer

Concern over the new educa tion proposals has been voiced by Dr Roger Thornton. Wawasee Community School Corporation Superintendent. "I'm awfullyconcerned’with what we end up with It should be what is good for the kids and what is good for politics But. I'm afraid the priorities are switched I'm concerned how political this thing has become ." The Indiana House Ways and Means Committee endorsed Governor ESvan Bayh's $24 million education bill last Friday Also the House Education. Committee approved a bill scraping the new 180-day minimum stan dard for the school year, chang ing it to more class time spread over 175 days —Governor Bayh's education bill

St a I

BARN DESTROYED — Fire destroyed a small pole barn on the property of Steve Hasse. CR 650 N, Syracuse. Tuesday. Also destroyed in the blaze were two vehicles, a Datsun and Toyota, garden tractor and hay. Three Holstein calves were able to escape the building and were not injured. The amount of damage has not been determined. Syracuse Fire Department was notified of the fire at 9:27 a.m., by a neighbor who was told of the fire by a passerby. Firemen arrived at the scene. 10-11 minutes after receiving the call but could not save thestructure. The unidentified neighbor told firemen he had looked out his

At Oakwood Park — United Methodists approve proposal which may lead to condominiums

Members of the North Indiana United Methodist Conference gave the go-ahead recently to further develop a proposal which may ultimately see erection of seven 30-unit condominiums at the conference-owned Oakwood Park Center on Lake Wawasee in Syracuse. The gathering at Logansport High School, with nearly 900 in attendance. was the conference's first special session in 11 years. At issue is a proposal being ad vanced by the board of directors of Hamilton Grove, a United Methodist related retirement facility at New Carlisle, near South Bend It calls for the con ference to continue use and ownership of Oakwood, but with operations turned over to Hamilton Grove under a 99 year lease With proceeds from con

was supported 20-6 The proposa J calls for increase funding for pro grams for at-risk children and summer school, while starting a new system of incentive grants to encourage local schools to be innovative Funding for at-risk students would be increased by S2O million in the second year of the next two year budget period with $8 million to go toward pre-school at-risk programs The program currently receives S2O million per year The incentive grants for local schools to be innovative would be funded by scraping the $lO million per year performance awards program for schools The increase in summer school funding would be $5 5 million over two years Later the group delayed a vote on the more detailed and expen sive educational program endors ed by H Dean Evans, superinten

dominium sales a new hotel would ultimately be erected Officials of Hamilton Grove and the conference will now have 14 weeks to refine and perfect the plan for presentation to the regular annual session of the conference on May 24-27 at Purdue University in West Lafayette. This will include a marketing study to determine sales poten tial for the condominium units Many observers noted that those advancing the proposal are facing a monumental effort in the coming 14 weeks The plan not only needs considerable perfecting, but will also entail convincing the conference to give its final approval. Approval is by no means a certainty A number of those present had serious reservations, including a representative who said he spoke for approximately 100 residents who have cottages at the site. Those raising questions

dent of public instruction, and the state board of education At tempts to change Governor Bayh's proposal by Republicans were defeated by Democrats during the debate The education committee voted 8-3 to base the minimum standard for length of the school year on hours not days As amended ■House Bill 1286 would increase the minimum numbers of instructional hours required from 900 to 910 for grades one through six and 1.080 to 1.092 for grades seven through 12 A school that met the minimum number of hours could hold classes on 175 days instead of 180 Parent teacher conference days could be counted against the 175-day total as long as 40 percent of the parents in the school at tended the conferences Evans calls the new proposal a considerable step back from other states, who are moving

window and saw that one end of the barn was completely destroyed and heavy smoke rolling out of the other end. before firemen were call* ed. There were 12 firemen at the scene until II a.m. Firemen used 5.000 gallons of wk ter to extinguish the fire. Fire Chief Jerry Byrd stated a coil heater, placed in animal water tanks to keep it from freezing, is believed to have caused the fire. The heater floats in the tank and animals have been known to accidently nget tangled in the electric cord and pull the heater out. (Photo by Deb Patterson)

noted concerns about current plans to erect a condo building on the site of the present hotel, in ad dition to the length of time it would take to begin construction of a new hotel. Others questioned whether the available land at Oakwood would support the buildings, plus park ing and additional facilities. Several raised concerns about the possibility of construction damaging the center s character and scenic beauty. Ultimately the conference gave nearly unanimous approval to further study the proposal for action in May.. Bishop Leroy Hodapp. who presided, has been empowered to name a special committee to work with Hamilton Grove to prepare a detailed use plan. The plan will likely include a comprehensive conference-wide older adult ministries program to be based at Oakwood Park. Older adult programs are considered a

ahead from 180 days. , "My first observation is education remains a very political topic in legislation. " noted Dr Thornton "No one has contacted public school administrators. that I know jn. for opinions of going back to 175 days " He noted it was the taxpayers who footed the bill to add the five days and does not think "anyone is pleased to lessen the days he attended No one is saying 175 days is better than 180 days We heard for years 180 days is so much bet ter than 175 I don't understand it " Dr Thornton voiced He added no one is talking about increases to sustain the general education programs, noting it takes a fivr percent increase in funding just to keep programs where they are at now This is diie to higher enrollment numbers, inflation, utility costs, operating expenses, and wages I believe somewhere they need

NUMBER 2

prime ministry need for religious groups as the nation’s population continues to age. The action also puts a recently launched $4.8 million capital funds campaign on hold until the 1989 conference session. That campaign is to provide for improvements at each of the conference's camp and retreat sites, including Oakwood Park. Oakwood was developed initially in the 1890 s by the United Brethren Church, one of several predecessor denominations now forming the United Methodist Church. Oakwood has long been a popular retreat site in Northeast Indiana, but needed improvements have been stalled in recent years. With approximately 135,000 church members, the North Indiana Conference includes more than 600 congregations in the state's 37 northernmost counties. Conference offices are based in Marion

to begin to talk about that ." L’nsuccessfully Republicans in the Ways and Means Committee tried to add to the bill proposals to spend S4O million for two school days devoted to parent-teacher conferences, spend approximately $9 4 million annually for instructional material and increase state funding for Prime Time by sl9 million over the next two years This bill called for $228 million on specific education programs in new spending money and $358 million in increased general funding not tied to specific programs Dr Thornton stated he didn't really know what direction education is headed. "The house is doing it this way and when it gets to the Senate, they may look at it another way His final comment was that the issue was political instead of educationally sound 1 wish kids were the focus, but. they're not."