The Mail-Journal, Volume 29, Number 28, Milford, Kosciusko County, 22 August 1990 — Page 1

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Milford 658-4111 & Syracuse 457-3666

VOLUME 29

IO- wt JFfl| 11 'W’-VA | s iXC i - . ■| js i Bh IlflfllilflflfllflfliflflHflr NEW TO SCHOOL — Kyle Hubartt, a first grader at Milford Elementary, and his teacher Mrs. Karen Heminger look up from their work on the first day of class last Tuesday. The first graders in Mrs. Berninger's class were eager to begin the new school year. (Photo by Julie Moore)

—School begins Tuesday—

First day enrollment hits 3,434

By DEB PATTERSON Staff Writer

Tuesday was the first day of school in the Wawasee School Corporation and all indications are enrollment is up 82 students over the first day last year. Also yesterday was the first day for the new bus system to be put into effect. Dr. Roger Thornton, superintendent, stated “Yesterday morning went far better than we thought. There were afternoon problems especially with the Wawasee Middle School and high school routes.” He noted there was a problem with some sound equipment at the middle school, causing it not to work properly. “We had to dismiss students by going through the halls. This made some routes run late.” The corporation is continuing to work on routes. The unofficial first day total is 3,434 students corporation wide. Last year the beginning day figure was 3,391. The official enrollment will be taken on September 14. Individual school enrollments show that Milford elementary has remained steady with no increase in students; North Webster, up by 43; Syracuse down by 23. Wawasee High School has a decrease of three. The total number of middle school students is up 86 Milford Middle School has a decrease of 26 and Wawasee Middle School has an increase of 112 students. (This figure was derived by combining the total number of junior high students from North Webster and Syracuse. 1 The total first day enrollments are: Milford-464 North Webster — 711 Syracuse — 556 Milford Middle School — 160 Wawasee Middle School — 686 Wawasee High School — 896 Overall the highest increase of students over last year is in kindergarten with 43 more students, fifth grade with 32,

Waubee Lake Association to hold picnic on September 9

This year the annual Waubee Lake Association picnic will be held on September 9 at Camp Mack. Those interested in becoming members can join the picnic about 6 p m and are asked to take a dish and silverware At the association's public meeting on July 12. the following officers were elected: Ruth Angle, president; Bob Snyder, vice president; Cinda Gardner, secretary-treasurer Board members are Vernon Campbell.

eighth grade with 63; and 10th grade with 41. The corporation first grade student figures dropped by 23. The total number of students by grade, are: kindergarten, 283, up from 240; readiness, 37, down from 52; first, 264, down from 287; second, 282, up from 270; third, 274, down from 281; fourth, 281, down from 301; fifth, 298, up from 266; sixth, 282, up from 253;

WSTA discusses —

Asbestos, bus routes and school board candidates

By MARY J ANE LORTON Staff Writer

Asbestos, school bus routes, and school board candidates were among the topics of discussion at last Thursday’s session of the Wawasee School Taxpayers Association. President Bill Coburn opened the evening meeting by informing members that he has been doing some research on the laws with regards to asbestos. The question of whether or not asbestos poses a health threat was raised in previous discussions on the old Syracuse High School. Asbestos remains in the old structure. While Coburn admitted not yet having received the printed material on asbestos he had requested from the state, he reported, "asbestos has not proven to be as big a monster as it was thought up front." As long as the asbestos is dormant, Coburn said it does not present any danger. Cobum said there are two options on what to do with the asbestos It can be removed, or

Bill Robinson. Gene Robinson. Dee Kinney. Carol Hawkins and Richard Dunning. Any person interested in joining the Waubee Lake Association may do so for a annual fee of sls The fees are used for weed control, stocking fish and other items pertinent to maintaining Waubee Lake For more information, contact Cinda Gardner, r 1, Box 114A. Milford. 46542

Consolidation of THE MILFORD MAIL (Est. 1888) and THE SYRACUSE-WAWASEE JOURNAL (Est. 1907)

«S Sm ' 1 w t»4H ■j w< ' T ißt. {’*** I' wf •» ‘ p */ - * B WMS STUDENTS ARRIVE - The arrival of over 600 Wawasee Middle School students via bus went without a hitch Tuesday morning. The students met in the commons area where they were dispersed to their proper areas. Shown in the photo preparing to enter the new school are Vai Voland, Valerie Jeffrey and Abby Weiss. (Photo by Deb Patterson)

seventh, 268, down from 276; eighth, 288, up from 225; ninth, 254, down from 265; 10th, 253, up from 212; 11th 195, down from 208; 12th, 194, down from 214. The special education has a total of 20, up from 14. Milford Elementary First day figures by grades at Milford show: Kindergarten. 66, up eight; readiness, eight, down 11; first, 73, down five; second.

encapsulated. “(Encapsulation) is the most desirable option right now,” he concluded. Bus Routes In a discussion on this year's bus routes, one WSTA member described the routes as "a zoo.” Bus drivers were given a list of names, she said, and each driver was responsible for putting his own route together. In addition, the drivers were responsible for informing the kids on their routes as to the time of pick-up. No phone numbers accompanied the list of names, she said. With the new addresses in the Lakeland area, she Commented, it would be hard to find these new routes. In describing the reactions of the bus drivers, she said, "upset does not quite say it.”

Milford taxpayer questions budget

By MARY JANE LORTON Staff Writer

While past public hearings on the town's budget were generally void of any remonstrators, one “concerned citizen” turned out for this year's first meeting to discuss Milford's proposed budget for 1991. At Monday evening's session. Milford resident John Weiss asked the clerk-treasurer and town council for assistance in understanding the budgeting process Noting he had heard a couple of comments about the town's budget and tax rate that caused him some concern, Weiss explained. “I just want to see that the money is spent wisely.'* Remarking on his past budget experience. Weiss suggested council members go through the

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 1990

75, up one; third. 76, down five; fourth, 86, up 15; fifth, 73, no increase; special education, seven, down three. Milford Middle Unofficial enrollments by grades at Milford Middle School show: Sixth, 57, down five; seventh, 45, down 21; eight. 50, down two; special education, eight, up eight. North Webster Unofficial enrollments by

School Board “I want every kid who leaves that school to be able to read, write and balance a checkbook," explained lan Ross as he unof ficially announced his candidacy for the school board. While Ross, a resident of North Webster, had not yet filed for the upcoming election, he told members of the WSTA that he would run as a representative of Tippecanoe Township. An engineer with two degrees. Ross told members he currently works at Zimmer Inc. Explaining that it is likely he would retire in one year. Ross said he would have the time to devote to this new position, if elected And if elected, he vowed, "to make sure I know the facts . everyone in the school system would know the facts, too."

budget line by line, making certain each expenditure was necessary. In this way. he said, “you come up with a lean, mean budget that best serves the com pany." Council members assured Weiss that they do go through the budget line by line. “I can guarantee you there were long hours put into the budget. " said Bob Phillips, council president Weiss made other suggestions based on some of last year's ex penditures He questioned buying new when old equipment could possibly be restored using new parts Stressing that he was not in on the decisions to buy new when they occurred. Weiss said these very well could have been good decisions “I want to emphasize that I just want to put my two cents worth in as a taxpayer." Weiss said. “We should budget what we need." he said, adding, “so we can continue to act as a town, but

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FIRST DAY EXCITEMENT — These two Wawasee High School juniors took time to pose for a quick photo prior to entering the building for the first day of school. The school officially opened its doors for the initial day of classes on Tuesday morning, Aug. 21. Entering the school, from left, are Angie Aldrich and Dana Maggart. (Photo by Mary Jane Lorton)

grades at North Webster show: Kindergarten, 122, up 23; readiness. 12, down three; first. 110, down seven; second, 115, up three; third, 114, up six; fourth. 107, down 21; fifth, 131, up 42. Syracuse Unofficial enrollments by grades at Syracuse show: Kindergarten, 95. up 12; readiness, 17, down one; first. 81, down 11; second. 92, up eight; third, 84. down eight; fourth, 88.

Ross expressed the desire to work together with ad - ministrators and the public “A team is better than an individual any day of the week." he remarked. Permanent Date WSTA members selected the second Thursday of each month as the group's official meeting date. The group will convene at 7:30 p.m. in the meeting room of the Syracuse Town Hall. Although the group has slated its sessions for Syracuse's town hall, the association would like the public to know that it represents all taxpayers within the Wawasee Community School Corporation, not just Syracuse. The next meeting of the WSTA will be held on Thursday, Sept 13.

we need to give the taxpayers a break." Weiss pointed to the 11.15 percent increase over last year's budget and wondered if all the ex penditures in the budget were necessary • Monica Bice, clerk-treasurer, explained, "we need to keep our investments for grants. . matching funds are needed.” “We have big projects (coming up),” she continued, as she directed attention to Main Street beautification and running sewer south of town. Bice also commented, "it is hard to use the figures." because of the uncertainties with the boat tax. bank tax. and assessed valuation When Bice meets with the state board of accounts in late November she will be given the correct figures and the correct tax rate 1 < Continued on page 2 >

down 14; fifth. 94. down 10; special education, five, up one. Wawasee High School Unofficial enrollments by grades at Wawasee High School show: ninth, 254, down 11; 10th, 253, up 41; 11th, 195, down 13; and 12th 194, down 20. Wawasee Middle School Unofficial enrollments by grades at Wawasee Middle School show: sixth. 225, up 34; seventh. 223. up 13; and eighth, 238. up 65. Henry Smith, assistant superintendent for instruction, noted the official enrollment date is September 14. These figures do not include the NCI Co-op students. TCRSD to hire superintendent’s assistant Upon the recommendation of district trustee Gerry Dehner, the Turkey Creek Regional Sewer District will look into hiring someone to assist the superintendent. Vai Duggins. Trustees listened to Dehner s suggestion at a regular session of the district on Monday. Aug. 20. Dehner told trustees that if the present superintendent would become ill or take some vacation time, the district would be without anyone to oversee the system. It was also indicated that it would be advantageous to have an additional employee to help cover the vast area encompassed by the district. Dr. V. Logan Love, district secretary, asked that the personnel committee look into hiring an assistant, or class II operator. Duggins and Ray Kocher, engineer, will lend a hand to the personnel committee

Potential road closings for TCRSD The Turkey Creek Regional Sgwer District announces the following potential road closings and areas of work activity for the next 30 days: Catherine Street — watch for flagmen along work areas. Willow Grove Area — watch for temporary road closings (8 a m to 5 p m.) and flagmen along work areas. Morrison Island Area — watch for temporary road closings (7a.m. to4p.m.) and flagmen along work areas Kale Island Area — watch for temporary road closings (> a m to 5 p m. l and flagmen along work areas

Toters still topic for Syracuse board

By MARK HUFFMAN Staff Writer

A familiar topic on the Syracuse Town Council agenda for the past few months, sanitation service for 1990-91 witnessed yet another twist last night (Tuesday). While council members had planned to open bids for 90-gallon toters that will be used to collect garbage, town attorney Bob Reed noted that specifications used for bidding ruled out some manufacturers, while there were some questions whether a semi- or fully-automated system would be more cost-effective. “Apparently this research is never done,” council member Kenneth Johnson said with a hint of frustration. Johnson, whq z teamed with fellow council member Carl Myrick to examine various methods of sanitation pick-up, noted that he leaned toward a semi-automated system since fully-automated toters ’ would require that they be placed in a uniform direction at roadside. However, the city did receive some good news from Reed, who noted that lease-options were available for the town to buy the toters on a time basis. Reed noted that equipment loans were available through the Indiana jg~7 : CURTIS JORDAN

Deadline Aug. 31 —

Jordan, Troup only two to file for school board

By DEB PATTERSON Staff Writer

William Troup and Curtis Jordan are the only candidates thus far who have filed for the three seats up for election this year on the Wawasee Community School Corporation Board of School Trustees. Both candidates are seeking rerelection. Troup, from District 3 (Van Buren and east half of Jefferson townships', filed on August 3. Jordan, from District 1 (Tippecanoe Township) filed on August 13. The other seat up for election would be that currently held by Phil Payne. District 1. who is not seeking to run for that position. The seat is open to any qualified resident of the school corporation no matter which district he or she resides in. It has been learned that two other persons, one from Turkey Creek and one from Tippecanoe Townships, are interested in running. however, neither has filed and there is just over a week left before the deadline Should no one file for the third seat, the vacant seat will be filled by appointed by members of the board of school trustees Also, should only one other per son file his her candidacy and reside other than in District 3. there will not be a school board race. (The school board is comprised of five members with at least one from each district, but no more than two from the same district Currently there is one board member. Carolyn Anderson from District 2 and one board member. Dennis Mikel, from District 3 whose seats are not up for election J - The deadline to file a person's

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Bond Bank while the town could also pursue a payment plan through an area bank. Interest rates for such an option currently fall between 7.6 and 7.7 percent. “I’m now convinced that the money is there, but I'm just confused with what toters we want to use,” Reed said. After further discussion, the council agreed to invite those companies offering toters to bring some to town for a trial period. “This would allow citizens to see them in use and give us a better idea of what we want,” Reed said. Decision Delayed In other business, the council delayed a decision on the purchase of a wood chipper for the town until a full council could act. Carl Myrick and Carol Koble were both absent during Tuesday’s session. However, it appears that the town will ultimately allocate funds (approximately $13,000 to $15,000) for the purchase after it was determined that an air curtain destructor cannot be used to burn town brush. While council members admitted their displeasure with town residents who take advantage of the current collection system, they also noted that there are those who have no other way to get rid of fallen limbs and brush. Street superintendent Ron Conley noted that a wood chipper would (Continued on page 2) aaHb; . T!| f * VW!*.-. WILLIAM TROUP

candidacy is noon Friday, Aug. 31. Curtis Jordan Jordan. 63, r 1 box 605-5. Leesburg, is seeking his second term in office. “I'm seeking reelection because I feel the first four years of experience on the board is an educational process. Given the knowledge gained in the last for years, it would be fair to the patrons to seek election to continue using what I have learned in the last four years " Jordan, who is a retired businessman, graduated from Broadripple High School and attended two years at Butler University, majoring in business. He is active in the Lakeland Kiwanis where he is past Lieutenant Governor of the club and is District Chairman of Interclubbing for Kiwanis. He is also a member of the United Methodist Church. North Webster Jordan and his wife. Lee. have one son. Stephen, who resides in Franktown. Colo. They have two grandchildren. William Troup Troup. 47. r 1. Milford, is also seeking his second term in office. "I have the gained the experience and knowledge of what it takes to be a board member and wish to continue to serve the community.” he stated. He noted it takes a while to get that knowledge and to know what is going on. Troup is a Northern Indiana Public Service Company Lineman and a 1962 graduate of Milford High School. He spent four years in the United States Air Force and is a member of the Apostolic Christian Church of Milford He and is wife. Anna, have four children. Angie Higgenbotham. Milford; Cristi McDaniel, Milford; Tim Troup with the U.S. Air Force in Hawaii; and Kimberly, age 10. They have five grandchildren.