The Mail-Journal, Volume 28, Number 37, Milford, Kosciusko County, 25 October 1989 — Page 5

TAX SALE PROPERTIES SCARCE — Auditor Pat Brown may have made history early this month when she sold only 40 parcels at a delinquent tax sale. This record was set not because there weren’t potential buyers but because there just weren’t any properties for sale. Kosciusko County property owners are paying their taxes rather than let their properties come up for tax sale. This year only 110 parcels were advertised for the annual tax sale for parcels on which taxes were due. Os the 110, all but 54 of these were paid prior to the sales. Os the remaining, 12 were on leased land. The taxes were owed on improvements. The purchaser can take only the improvements. When the lease runs out — if there still is any improvement on the property — you would need to renegotiate the lease or move the improvements. An example of this type was the Lincolndale Drive Theater east on Road 30, which had leased the ground. The theater was bulldozed down. The result is there would be no improvement (building) to purchase. Os the 42 remaining parcels of land, 40 were sold. Those who let their properties go delinquent can still redeem them by paying the purchase price. A deed for the property will not be given on a tax sale until two years have passed. Auditor Brown believes the 10 percent penalty on each installment has made it a costly practice to let the taxes go. In past years the penalty was much less than the 10 percent. Some left their money in the bank then paid off after the property sold at the tax sale. Total amount owed on property tax on real estate and sewer and ditch assessment was less than SIOO,OOO. This would represent about one half of one percent of the total property tax bill. The number of parcels and amount in dollars advertised in each taxing unit is shown below. Townships — Clay 3, $563.92; Etna none; Franklin 2, $1,246.16; Harrison 4, $943.47; Jackson 4, $577.62; Jefferson none; Lake 1, $472.39; Monroe 6, $2,616.82; Plain 6, $2,484.31; Prairie and Scott, none; Seward 6, $5,559.45; Tippecanoe 9, $3,486.08; Turkey Creek 24, $8,584.04; Van Buren4, $1,723.02; Washington?, $5,921.03 and Wayne 9, $18,504.32. Town-City — Burket 3, $1,291.26. The following had one each: Claypool $227.58; Etna Green $683.71; Leesburg $571.76; Mentone $565.76; Milford $1,297.66; Pierceton $345.88; Sidney $365.75; Silver Lake $1,777.67; Syracuse $376.80; Winona Lake $2,026'.21; Warsaw 13, $20,823.84. Also sold were ditch assessments totaling $6,629.56 and sewer for Warsaw, Winona Lake, Milford and Syracuse $6,160.22. —o— WEASLING OUT — All efforts are now being put forward to the idea that participation in the Indiana State Lottery is not gambling. If it is not gambling, what would you call purchase of ticket for $1 or $5 and not buying anything? Is it a game of chance? Webster defines Games of Chance as: “those decided by luck not skill.. “It doesn’t make any difference how you scrape off a label. That doesn’t require any skill or athletic prowess to determine if you have won SSOO or $5,000. So your money is going to enrich someone else. This is gambling! It is interesting that such a big deal is being made to attempt to classify purchase of a lottery ticket as something other than gambling. Perhaps a poll conducted by State Representative David Wolkins, of our district, explains this. In the poll Wolkins asked: Would you support legalizing parimutuel gambling? The answer was 69 percent, no. Would you support casino gambling? Answer, 72 percent, no. Gambling on purchase of a ticket in the “lottery" is like being pregnant. You can’t gamble just a little. Those “littles” become “biggies.” It’s interesting to see if sales tax collections drop in the state. Purchase of items other than groceries, and medical items result in paying sales tax. If lottery players cease to purchase other items, state losses in sales tax revenue could drop ten million dollars. Sales tax funds help support schools and other state services. (None of that windfall from the lottery is earmarked to support these services.) , Will this ten-million-dollar shortfall be made up with another sales tax increase? —o— LAND NOT UNDER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN - A check with County Auditor Pat Brown regarding the old freshman high school ground on East Main revealed that she has no record that any improvements made on the land is covered by any economic development plan. There was some discussion and some action taken by the Warsaw City Council a few years ago that would have placed the ground under an economic plan that would have resulted in the city of Warsaw receiving all the tax revenue on any improvement made on the ground. The auditor states that no such plan has been filed since she was in office. She said there is a law that would permit the improvements to be so designated, and the tax monies would be returned to the property owner to make further imorovements. This would result in taxing units — such as school, county, library, township, and city — not receiving local taxes on the improvements. Various rumors have been afloat that plans were that tax monies would ordinarily be designated for schools, county, library, and township would all go to the city of Warsaw — through an economic development plan. Papers would need to be filed with the county auditor prior to any economic development plan that would affect the tax structure. —o— WIN ONE FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM — The U.S. House of Representatives has been wrestling with an amendment attached to an appropriations bill. This amendment would exempt Washington, D C., religious colleges from the district code which prohibits financial discrimination on the basis of sexual preference. This code passed by the Washington, D C., governing body makes it mandatory for colleges to provide funds for all clubs, etc., on college campuses. This was brought to the forefront when Georgetown University, a Catholic institution, refused to place a gay group on the list receiving financial assistance on its campus. The Catholic opposes such practices as the gays represent. The gay group appealed to the Washington, D.C., governing body requiring that its organization be placed on the list for these funds. Congress can override this code by passing the amendment. The amendment passed the house by a vote of 262 to 154 against — no money for the gays. Fifth District Congressman Jim Jontz voted against the amendment. ' —o ' STATE TO REVIEW BUDGETS AND TAX.RATES — The State Board of Tax Commissioners has scheduled hearings on your 1990 taxes for Dec. 19, 20, and 21. Only time will tell if this will be a happy Christmas for property taxpayers. There is some indication that the reassessment figures just might be available by that time.

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80° t 764 700 - • 600 " 300 ■ 197 200- ’ ioo0 1 Claimed SSOOO Total SSOOO Winners In Game #1 Winners In Game #1

Hoosier Millionaire TV show filmed Saturday

A Mount Vernon man who won $5,000 during the first day of Hoosier Lottery ticket sales had good luck again on Friday: He was selected to appear on the first “Hoosier Millionaire” television show. Robert Mattingly of Mount Vernon was one of six contestants selected at random from 12,000 entries during a preliminary drawing conducted at the State Lottery Commission of Indiana meeting. His television show “entry ticket” was one of the 500 free tickets he received from the Lottery for winning $5,000 during the first 24-hours of ticket sales, which began shortly after noon on October 13. Other contestants whose entry tickets were selected Friday are: Mary Wilburn of Indianapolis, Fred Kunkel of Indianapolis, Loren Bodnar of Hammond, Margaret Scherrer of Fort Wayne, and Jimmy Mitchell of Anderson. Lottery players may enter a

Red Cross meeting emergency needs of Hugo

The American Red Cross was designated recently by Warsaw Mayor Jeff Plank as the volunteer agency to meet the Break-ins occurred in Milford Sunday Two homes were broken into in Milford Sunday; both were left unlocked. Sometime between 8 a m. and 12:30 p.m., the home of Lois McMillen, South Main Street was broken into. The thief of thieves entered the victim’s unlocked back door while she was attending church. The upstairs apartment was ransacked and drawers and a purse were found open but nothing was found missing. A Citation, possibly gray in color, was seen driving away from the scene. A second home was entered Sunday between 9-11:30 a.m. Delbert Moneyheffer, 307 W. Fourth St., reported a thief or thieves entered his home through an unlocked door while the family was at church. Taken was a Tashiba VHS VCR, valued at S4OO, from off the top of his TV. Nothing else was taken. Again, a possible gray Citation was seen driving away from the scene. The Milford Police Department is asking that if anyone has information on the suspect or suspects and has seen the vehicle in the area to call them immediately. Also, the officers are asking all residents to lock their doors when not at home. Senate on immigration The Senate approved an overhaul of the immigration system that would limit new arrivals to 630,000 in each of the next three years and expand the number coming from Western Europe.

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HOOSIER LOTTERY Number of SSOOO Winners Claimed

preliminary drawing for the television show if they find three TV symbols on their “Hoosier Millionare” instant tickets. Other instant games also will have the TV symbols. Players mail those “entry tickets” to a special address in Anderson. The first 12,000 tickets received at the address formed the pool from which the first six television contestants were selected. The entries were placed randomly in six mailbags, each of which contained 2,000 entry envelopes. Each entrant has an equal chance of being selected as a TV contestant. On Saturday morning, Oct. 28, the first “Hoosier Millionaire” game show will be taped and aired on stations throughout Indiana. Lottery Exceeds Goal Director Jack F. Crawford stated that the Lottery exceeded its first week sales goal by almost $2 million. An estimated 535,000 tickets — or about 2.5 percent of the 21.799 million sold — were purchased by

emergency needs of victims of hurricane Hugo. In a proclamation, the mayor stated that he recognized the Red Cross “as the agency to meet the immediate human needs of individuals or families affected by the disaster” and further urged other agencies to give the organization their full support and cooperation. In the declaration, the mayor pointed out that the U.S. Congress named the Red Cross as the nation’s primary voluntary agency for disaster relief in a charter granted in 1900 and revised in 1905. The proclamation pointed out that the Red Cross is already providing assistance to disaster victims free of charge as a gift from the American people and “will continue providing this assistance in coordination with other private organizations and government disaster recovery agencies.” The mayor further urged those wishing to make financial contributions for disaster relief to send them to the Kosciusko County Chapter of the Red Cross. “All such cash donations will be used by the Red Cross in the humane task of providing assistance to those people who have disastercaused needs," he said. Meanwhile, Norma Anglin, executive director of the Kosciusko County Chapter, expounded on the mayor’s comments on the emergency disaster assistance now being provided by the Red Cross to victims of hurricane Hugo. She said 541 shelters are currently in operation, providing housing for 192,000 people. Victims and emergency workers are being fed by Red Cross disaster workers at fixed centers and by mobile canteens. The Red Cross is also providing funds for those affected by disaster to cover the costs of food, clothing, medical and health needs, rent, transportation, occupational supplies and other immediate needs. To assist the Red Cross in its disaster relief efforts, send a

players who live out of state, Crawford said. The Lottery’s first week per capita sales totaled $3.82, meaning that $3.82 worth of Lottery tickets were sold for every man, woman, and child in the state. Region 1, which is heavily populated and includes 15 counties in central Indiana, had the highest per capita sales figure at $4.97, Crawford said. Region 2. composed of seven counties in northwestern Indiana, had the lowest per capita sales at $2.70. Crawford attributed that to the fact that residents there are used to playing on-line games in Illinois that have higher jackpots and are not as drawn to instant games. Crawford also announced that 197 of $5,000 prizes in the Hoosier Millionaire game had been redeemed to date. That left 567 of the top instant prizes still unclaimed. Os the 9,838 tickets containing SSOO prizes, 2.411 had been redeemed by midday on Friday.

check to Kosciusko County Chapter earmarked “American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund."

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"CRUZIN AROUND CUSE"

(Continued from page 4) Vicky Tippman and Mary McVey and their families, from Indianapolis. Vicky’s daughter, Katie, will be four years old. Fay's mom was 88 years old on Oct. 19. Husband, Brice, and son, John, also have October birthdays. Fay said during their visit they did a lot of catching up on news, eating, and also antiquing — they always check ‘the PAPER’ for auctions. Her mother noted that, considering the strange weather Indiana has, perhaps they should make this annual traditional pilgrimage a little earlier in the season. PEOPLE WHO work in downtown Syracuse have probably noticed Emma Rock cleaning and tending to the landscaping at the old Syracuse Elementary School location on Main Street. Many Syracuse residents spent their early years at that school and the spot holds sweet memories. Emma seems to have taken this area to tend to in her concern for the town. She is also said to do a lot of nursing home visiting and checking on people who are sick, showing she is a very caring person. By the way, the bricks from the old school house were used to build the Treadway Apartments on Dolan Drive back in the mid-50s. When Earl Treadway, his son, Bob, along witj> Cliff Cripe, were contracted to tear down the school house, they were told to do whatever they wanted with the material so that everything was either reused or sold. Bob said some of the older retirees in town cleaned the bricks for the apartments. The in-

Huntington man charged for three sex offenses

Richard Earl Blake, 30, 228 LaFountain, Huntington, has been charged with three counts of a sex offense, child fondling. A warrant was issued for his arrest on Friday, Oct. 20, and he turned himself in on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 9:10a.m. The incident occurred at a YMCA camp in North Webster and involved three youths from the Huntington area. Huntington City Police handled the investigation, aided by Kosciusko County Police. According to Randy Girod, deputy prosecuting attorney for Kosciusko County, Blake was a summer camp counselor during the summer of 1988 and 1989. Charges stem from fondling incidents that allegedly occurred during both summers. The first charge stemmed from

Wed., October 25,1989 — THE MAIL-JOURNAL

side, softer red bricks, Cliff used for fill when the Roller Skating Rink was built. The white columns from the front went into the law library Seth Ward was building in his home, Seth being the town’s noteworthy lawyer at that time. The lead plumbing was melted down and sold to the plumbers in town for use. And so the history and memories of the old school house are still in viable form around the town. Bob and his wife, Joan, are visiting his sisters, Nancy Searfoss and Sharon Myers (up from Indianapolis), for a few days. They are from Hollister, Calif., and happened to be traveling at the time of the earthquake. They were assured their area had no losses but felt the quake. AS WE hear it, the state highway department is quietly and methodically closing all rest areas in the state. This would include the area on the northeast corner of US 6 and SR 13 north of Syracuse. If you remember, members of the Hex Grange put in a lot of time and effort sprucing up this rest area in time for Syracuse’s Sesquicentennial in 1987. Could it be that the state is giving motorists the impression Indiana is a pass through state? STUDENTS AT Wawasee High School are preparing for the 50s Rock ’N Roll musical “Grease.” The performance will be in the Waxyasee High School Auditorium on Friday, Nov. 10, and Saturday, Nov. 11, at 7:30 p.m. Contact the school for ticket information.

a 1988 incident involving an eight-year-old boy. This summer he allegedly fondled an eight-year-old boy and a six year-old boy. Girod noted Blake was suspended during this past summer from the camp and did not work the entire season. Blake is a third grade teacher at Huntington Central Elemen-

Equal access for pay phones

In mid-November, most owners of locations that have pay telephones will be asked to select a primary long-distance carrier to handle “0+” calls made from their pay United Telephone of Indiana officials have announced. y. . i: . ... AH “o+,” or operator-assisted interLATA calls, made from towns that have equal access will

tary School and has been suspended with pay. If convicted of all three class C felony charges, Blake faces a maximum jail term of 24 years. Why is it? Anyone who is in condition to jog doesn’t have to.

then be handled by the selected company. Today, such calls are handled by United of Indiana or AT&T. Other long-distance calls, such as “I+,” where coins are used, will be handled as before. While this conversion will not take place until February, United officials said they wanted their customers to know that the balloting process for pay telephones is underway.

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