The Mail-Journal, Volume 28, Number 25, Milford, Kosciusko County, 2 August 1989 — Page 5

ARE WE COOKING THE GOOSE THAT LAYS THE GOLDEN EGGS? In the Land of K there was a goose that laid golden eggs. The goose was owned by Mr. School, Mr. County, Mr. City-Towns, and Mr. Libraries-Townships. Upon receiving the goose, the owners got together to decide how they were going to divide the golden eggs (your local property taxes). The Goose laid 9 eggs per year. It was decided that the school would get 4 eggs, the county, 2; the city-towns, one and a half; townships-libraries would divide ‘/z an egg. And one egg was left to feed and take care of the needs of the goose. This division seemed to be fair and went on for a few years. Then Mr. County, with the urging of Mr. City-Towns, Libraries-Townships decided the goose could haul them to work. After all, the goose was just wandering around the lot. Why not use it more efficiently? So they purchased a saddle (local option tax), and saddled up the goose. They knew that with all that wealth coming in from the golden eggs, they would gain weight. Therefore, they made it possible every year to get a bigger saddle. By this means (increasing the local option tax each year) they could all ride in comfort. Well, this was good for a short time. Then they got a complaint from Mr. School: “I just can’t make ends meet. With all of this building I’m doing, I’ve got to have another egg.” This was a problem. No one wanted to part with his egg(s) or even a part of an egg. Mr. County said, “I need that for a new telephone and computer system.” Mr. City-Towns also had big things in mind such as athletic and park complexes. Mr. Townships-Libraries had their own modest requests. So someone came up with a brilliant idea. Why not cut the Goose’s share? After all, she could get along with half an egg. So, they cut down the Goose’s rations and gave the */z to Mr. School. Then someone suggested, “Why not feed the goose steroids (reassessment)? The eggs will get bigger, and then we can do all right with the present allotment.” This sounded great. Here was the answer. So, they loaded up the goose with steroids. The eggs were larger, but — there were only six. Mr. School, Mr. County, Mr. City-Towns, Mr. Townships-Libraries had a meeting. First off, Mr. School insisted he had to have 4 eggs. “You guys got the saddle (local option). You ride free. I didn’t get that. I built buildings. I must now pay for them. “I counted on four eggs when I was doing that building ($60,000,000, to$80,000,000).” Each one of them had counted on getting the same number of eggs — but bigger ones. Then someone came up with an idea befitting his intelligence: They would speed up the laying process — have less night, more daylight hours. And, why not purchase a treadmill? (This is a $1 tax on your telephone to pay for 911 number.) The treadmill could be hooked up to a generator that would light up the barnyard. The goose would become confused and lay more eggs. The cost of the treadmill would come out of the half egg, which is the goose’s share. (This would mean paying yourself interest from borrowing from yourself). In this way all could have the same number of eggs — and larger eggs. Well, this went on for a short time Then one night the lights went out when they were supposed to be on. Upon investigating the situation, the owners found their goose had died. They each pointed his finger at another and said, “You killed the goose!” However, there was hope. Two ordinary goose eggs were available. The four owners found a hen and placed the eggs in her nest to hatch. Everyday they checked to see if there were any results. At last, one morning, heads appeared from the goose eggs. Then it was noted that the two goslings had some imperfections. Neither had any wings (industry loss), but shucks, the wings didn’t have a thing to do with laying eggs, so why worry? They still had the rest of the goose (you the taxpayer and any industry or business that was left). The blow came when they discovered both goslings were male. End of story!. This is the saga of the land of K, rich with the goose that lays the golden eggs, then saddled with two geese with no wings and no possibility of any more golden eggs. —opquestion? How can auto license branches by a state commission run so far in debt — when under private supervision, they operated at a profit? \ This legacy left over from the Orr administration should be corrected. Why not fire the commissioners entrusted with managing and supervising the auto license branches? —o— COUNTY OFFICIALS ARE CONCERNED — County officials are concerned that they will not be able to meet the deadline for getting the new reassessment on the books in time to get out the tax statements due. March 1990. Various factors have contributed to this slow down. State vacillation, computer problems, etc., have created a major problem for local officials.

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Area residents booked at jail The following persons were booked in the Kosciusko County Jail during the past week on various charges: Lisa Renee Dickey, 26, r 2 box 288. Leesburg, was sentenced to 60 days in the county jail, with good time credit, for driving while suspended and leaving the scene of a property damage accident. Joan Dittemore, 57, 920 r 1 Camelot, Cromwell, was charged with conversion and held on $250 bond. Evan J. Hall, 38, r 2 box 49A, Syracuse, was released on his own recognizance after being charged with driving under the influence 0f alcohol. Larry King Kingery, 36, r 1 box 10, Leesburg, was charged with public intoxication and released on $175 bond. , Richard William Colvin, 22, r 2 box 410, Syracuse, was sentenced by Kosciusko County Court on Friday, July 28, to serve time for possession of marijuana. He was released on Monday, July 31. Dave R. Wysong, 54, 72227 SR 13, Syracuse, was charged with battery and released on $250 bond.

''CRUZIN aroundCUSE'' IM niHM'WVfeW - 'JI * will L., hl DONNA AND JERRY JOHNSON AS BEARDED LADY AND CLOWN

(Continued from page 4) BILLED AS the greatest show on Lake Wawasee, the Ringling Bros, and Tuttle & Wilson Circus presented a special performance Saturday evening under the Big Top at the South Shore Golf Club Pavilion. Tom and Jane Tuttle and Larry and Amanda Wilson of Lake Wawasee and Indianapolis, entered over 400 clowns, dancing girls, Indians and assorted big top performers at an evening of music, dancing and the usual circus fare, including peanuts, popcorn, snow cones and cotton candy. W. Kevin Priebe, Indianapolis, was in the center ring displaying his skills as a magician, inviting members of the audience to assist him as he intrigued his onlookers. Pickwick Park’s own Mike Kiley, dressed in a pink tutu, proved to be a favorite both with the magician and the audience, assisting Priebe in several feats of magic to everyone’s delight. THE FISHING expedition of three Syracuse residents, who are also administrators for the local school corporation, is one that will not easily be forgotten. Not only did one of the men come down with the rare disease of “Lake sickness,” the trio ran short of fishing worms, and a mechanical failure left them strand 'd three miles from shore for l>/ 2 hours. Henry Smith, Roger Kryder and Dr. Roger Thornton traveled to Lake Erie on Saturday, July 29, where the three embarked on a fishing expedition. It seems that Thornton caught the rare disease after leaving shore on the 22-foot fishing boat, but there was no time to run the man to a doctor’s office, as the other two were in a fishing mood. The real problem came when the boat, owned by Smith, had a mechanical failure, and they had great difficulty getting help. The boat was equipped with a citizen’s band radio, but no one would respond to their cry of help on Channel Nine, the emergency channel. Finally, switching to channel 19, contact was made with a truck driver who said he would contact the Coast Guard. But the Coast Guard never showed. Another fisherman, coming back from his trip, towed the stranded school officials back to shore. Fortunately for them, they were only three miles off shore instead of the 10 miles out they had been earlier, and almost into Canada. At one point during their attempt for rescue, Kryder offered a suggestion. “Tell them to bring more worms.” ■» All of this, and they only caught five walleye between the three of them? JACK AND Janet Elam, Pickwick Road, Syracuse, just returned home from two weeks in England. During the first week the couple took a tour from top to bottom of the country. Now if you know Jack, you can imagine how the second week was spent. Jack is interested in genealogy. So his second week was spent researching the Elam family. He did find quite a bit of information on his ancestors and pinpointed the family to the county of South Yorkshire. While Jack was doing the research, Janet spent time shopping in the world’s largest department store, Harrads, where there was a half price sale going on. She did see a nice dress, on sale for $275. Needless to say she didn’t make any purchases. —o— DON’T FORGET the Lake Area Community Band will host its first concert on Thursday, Aug. 3, at 7:30 p.m. in Lakeside Park. The evening will also include a chicken barbecue and dessert buffet, being served from 6-8 p.m. All proceeds from the buffet will go the community band. —o— 1 DURING THE account of the school corporation leasing office space in the Huntington Building, for Larry DeWeese new middle school principal, the original rental price was not mentioned.

Thefts reported . Two thefts were reported in jElkhart County last week. The first one was the theft of a Becker kicker box containing three speakers. The box, which was covered with black veil., was valued at S2OO. Christopher M. Buckner, Syracuse, told police that the box was taken from his locked vehicle sometime between 9:30 a m. and 11:3a,am. while it was parked at Paragon Interiors, 521 E. Lincoln Ave., Goshen. . e ' In the second incident. Chuck Bontrager reported to police that a blue colored 1984 three-wheel vehicle, owned by Art VanFange. 72876 CR 29, Syracuse, was stolen from the Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds between 7 p.m. and 10 p m. Friday.

Originally the corporation was offered the space for $475 per month, however, due to negotiation efforts of the school superintendent, the corporation was given a 20 percent price reduction. LAKELAND ANIMAL Clinic has erected a new sign at its SR 13S location. The new sign includes the saying, “Where love is the best medicine.” DURING THE June Chamber of Commerce meeting, Jeanne Gardiner was quoted as simply stating that Tim Kroh did not want the presidency of the Retail Merchants Division. She adds that Tim said that, due to job responsibilities and having recently married, he felt this was not a good time to have this position. THERE WILL be a fund-raiser carnival put on by Miller’s Merry Manor on August 19 from 1-8 p.m. Many activities are planned inviting and welcoming the public to participate, giving the community the opportunity to be involved with the folks who are residents. One feature will be a “Jailathon.” Here’s how it works: You can jail your boss, employee, mother-in-law, friend, foe or spouse! If you are interested in locking up any of the aforementioned, contact Miller’s Merry Manor. They can be released on bail with a minimum pledge of $25 to Miller’s Merry manor activity fun, or Ronald McDonald House. Other activities for the day will be the Grassy Creek doggers, Ronald McDonald himself, a dunk tank (which hopefully will dunk some prominent Syracuse citizens), games for ALL ages, face painting, and clowns. At one point in the day, there will be a balloon launch, and a BBQ Port-a-Pit with all the picnic trimmings will be served from 4-7 p.m. Tickets for the BBQ can be purchased in advance and plans for the jailathon can be made by calling Sandy or Marge at 457-4401. —o— THERE WASN’T quite as good a turnout for the Larry Ford Jazz Quartet Thursday night in the park, as there has been for other functions, but not because the music wasn’t good. The evening threatened showers and storms, but they never came. And so for those present, it was listening pleasure to the fine saxophonist, good xylophone vibes, and excellent drum and guitar accompaniment, creating a very professional jazz performance. Folks listened while munching on the "elephant ears” provided by the Syracuse Gamma Sigma Sorority, and quenching thirst with the orange drink donated by McDonald’s. Some of the new park lights were up and on, giving a soft, old-fashioned glow to the night. The dedication of the lights and gazebo will be August 10. After the jazz program, Shelley Sanders sang a selection of songs, entertaining with her clear, beautiful voice and special style. Shelley was first runner-up in the 1989 "Miss Indiana” pageant. Besides the song which she called "her song,” which won her talent preliminary in the pageant, she sang a Peter Allen tribute song to Judy Garland, Gershwin’s “Someone to Watch Over Me,” the gospel number "His Eye is on the Sparrow,” made famous by EtheUfcaters, and several new songs. S-/ —O—DICK CONROY, on a steering committee to investigate the county development income tax, reported on the recent economic development meeting of the Syracuse Chamber of Commerce with the Warsaw Chamber. Representatives from Wabash and Miami counties told of their counties’ response and benefits from having used this tax advantage. The results of the meeting were very much in favor of Kosciusko County supplementing this tax for economic development. Conroy said, “Kosciusko County is progrowth and pro-development and it’s natural for us to be positive toward this. We are a progressive county.” There will be a follow-up meeting in a few weeks moving toward attempts to pursue the possibilities of taking advantage of this tax. -

I State Bank of I Syracuse n I Bar * I Member FDIC

Driver blacks out, hits 3 parked vehicles

Syracuse Police investigated a number of accidents and thefts during the past week, including three more theft of items from boats. Evan J. Hall, 38, Pierceton, was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated following a four-vehicle accident Wednesday, July 26, at 12:16 a.m., on Harkless Drive, south of South Kitson Drive in Syracuse. Hall was traveling soutfi on Harkless Drive in a 1986 Ford Fl5O pick-up truck. He stated all he remembers was blacking out for a short time, coming to shortly after the accident occurred. Police report Hall’s truck went off the roadway hitting three parked vehicles. The truck first hit a 1987 Chevrolet pick-up registered to K.J. Secrist and/or D. D. Kimbrell, Cromwell; which was pushed into a 1983 Chevrolet van registered to A. R. and/or E. G. Lowe, New Castle. The van was then pushed into a 1983 AMC registered to Richard A. Taylor, Syracuse. Damage to Hall’s truck was estimated up to SIO,OOO, up to $2,500 each to the Chevrolet truck and van; and up to SI,OOO to the AMC. There were no witnesses.to the accident. Randy D. Hostetler, 19, Syracuse, was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, public intoxication and illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor, following an accident Saturday, July 29, at 9:27 p.m., in the parking lot of Wawasee Service Center. Hostetler had parked his 1979 Chevrolet pick-up next to a 1984 Mercury Lynx registered to Myron K. and/or Sandra Dickerson, Ligonier. When he went to leave, by making a right turn, he struck the left side of the Dickerson vehicle. Damage to Hostetler’s truck was estimated up to SI,OOO and up to SI,OOO to Dickerson’s car. Unsafe backing caused a twovehicle accident Monday, July 31, at 5:52 p.m , on Pickwick Road at the alley between Hooks Drugs and Dairy Queen. William J. Steffen, 40, New Haven, was attempting to turn his 1984 International semi right into the alley, but was unable to complete the turn without backing up. When he backed his semi he hit a 1987 Pontiac Grand Am driven by Joel L. Beers, 16, Cromwell. Steffen told police he looked in the mirrors but did not see any other vehicle. There was no damage to the semi or trailer, registered to Summit City Transfer, Fort Wayne. Damage was estimated up $2,500. Two-vehicles collided in the parking lot at Dana Corporation Monday, July 31, at 3:33 p.m. Jeffery P. Taylor, 21, Syracuse, was

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Wed., August 2,1989 — THE MAIL-JOURNAL

driving his 1986 Chevrolet Iroc-Z south in the parking lot when it collided with a 1986 Chevrolet S-10 pickup driven by Larry D. Dull, 42, Syracuse. Taylor stated he looked both ways beL r e proceeding across a drive area in the lot, but his view was blocked by a truck parked on his left. Damage to each vehicle was estimated up to SI,OOO. Distraction by a barking dog in the vehicle and driver in attention caused a two-vehicle accident Saturday, July 29, at 10:40 am., on SR 13 north of Chicago Street. Steven L. Malle, 18, Wawaka, was traveling south on SR 13 in a 1986 Oldsmobile Delta EightyEight when his dog began to bark. Malle said he looked at the dog, taking his eyes off the roadway. In doing so he struck the back of a 1983 Datsun Sentra that had stopped in front of him. The Sentra was driven by Barbara J. Meyer, 26, New Jersey. Meyer had stopped for a vehicle in front of her vehicle to make a left turn. Damage to Malle’s vehicle was estimated at under s2oo.and up to $2,500 to Meyer’s vehicle. Driver inattention was the cause of an accident Tuesday, July 25, at 11:22 am., in the parking lot of the Syracuse Post Office. Mary R. Meyers, 53, Syracuse, was attempting to drive her 1980 Cadillac Fleetwood into a parking space when it struck an open driver’s door of a 1986 Plymouth. Meyers told police she was watching the vehicle on the left, of her vehicle, and did not see the driver of the Plymouth, Irma Sink, Syracuse, open the door. Damage to the Meyers car was under S2OO while damage to the Plymouth was up to SI,OOO. A truck driver turning his semi around at the Standard Station struck a light pole causing up to SI,OOO damage to the pole and under S2OO to the semi-trailer. The accident occurred Tuesday, July 25, at 1:11 p.m. Jeff S. Bole, 23, Elkhart, was driving a 1983 International semi tractor and trailer, and had turned the semi into the service station parking lot to turn around. He did not realize he was as close to the light pole as he was, causing the top of the trailer to hit the light pole. Damage was estimated up to SI,OOO to a 1986 Mercury Sable after it was hit by a tree limb. Lorena Carlson, Syracuse, reported the damage to police at 5:15 p.m., Thursday, July 27. The limb fell from a tree across the street from the Robert Carlson home onto the hood and left side and roof of the vehicle. The limb was approximately 25-30 feet long and about seven inches in diameter.

Police were notified by Rhonda Ridenour, Syracuse, that air had been left out of the tires on her 1987 Ford Escort. Authorities were notified Tuesday, July 25, at 9:40 am., and it is believed the incident occurred Monday, July 24, ground 11:30 p.m. Thefts Three more thefts of items from boats docked in the channel north of Henry Street were reported to police on Wednesday and Thursday, July 26-27. Timothy L. Stonger, Warsaw, notified police at 3 p.m., Wednesday, July 26, that a stereo had been taken from his 1988 Bayliner Cobra while docked in the channel. He states the theft occurred on July 22. Howard Helmuth, Etna Green, reported tackle, fishing rods and fishing reels were taken from his 1987 Bass Tracker while docked in the channel. These items are valued at SI,OOO. The theft occurred between July 15 and 6 p.nfiqj July 27. Approximately S7OO worth of fishing rods and reels along with a tackle box were taken from the 1987 Bass Tracker owned by Delbert L. Slabaugh, Nappanee. He reported the theft at 5:45 p.m., Thursday. The theft occurred during the past Uz weeks. The theft of a grill, transmission lever and gear box from a 1985 Ford Ranger XL is being investigated by police. Lorenzo M. Bucher, Syracuse, reported the theft at 8:15 am., Wednesday, July 26. The items were removed from the truck while it was parked to the side of Bucher’s home. The items are valued at SSOO. Jason Martindale, Syracuse, notified police Friday, July 28, that someone had stolen his 10-speed bicycle. The bicycle was parked near the drive-way of his home. The theft occurred between 9 p.m., Thursday, July 27, and 1 p.m., Friday.

THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION WERE FIGHTING FOR TOUR LIFE American Heart This space provided as a public service.

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