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

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Milford 658-4111 & Syracuse 457-3666

VOLUME 29

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STORM HITS AREA — There was very little damage caused by thunderstorms that rumbled through the Lakeland area yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon. The easterly storm came through in two different fronts which left scattered power outages and various sized downed limbs. Hail the size of quarters pelted the communities and at 4:23 p.m., Syracuse Firemen were called out when a funnel cloud was spotted southeast of town, however the report remains unconfirmed. The storms also brought with it rains that at some points left zero visibility and temporary flooding. Milford residents, businesses and the school, served by NIPSCO, were without power for approximately l‘j hours after a transformer was hit by lighting south of town. Some REMC customers were without electricity for a longer period of time. Also affected by the power outages were Wawasee High School and administration building. Lights were not restored there until shortly after 6 p.m.

KABS receives green light from county commissioners

I Bv SCOTT DAVIDSON Staff Writer The Kosciusko County Commissioners gave the green light yesterday (Tuesday) for KABS (Kosciusko Area Bus Service) to apply for state and federal grant funding for 1991. The action highlighted the regular commissioners’ meeting held in Warsaw. Lakes closed Due to high water levels in three area lakes the Indiana Department of Natural Resources have closed those lakes. Tippecanoe, Oswego and James Lakes remain closed to boat traffic. No date has been set for the reopening of these public lakes.

“We plan to continue to increase service even though we’re working with less funding than we’ve received in the past." said Terry Klowski, director of KABS. Klowski noted that KABS worked with an operating budget of $606,595 last year compared with a budget of $603,882 in 1990 Klowski commented that the public transit system will be looking into the possibility of a fixed route system in the city of Warsaw in the future. "This is an area that has been conveyed to us as a concern with some of our ridership and something that we will examine, ” he said. Concern Over Intersection In another matter, the commissioners heard from a Warsaw resident concerned about the intersection of CR 200S and County Farm Road, south of Warsaw Michael Wallen, who lives close to the intersection, expressed concern over the fact that a number of accidents have occur-

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

Syracuse Fire Department responded to three calls of possible fires after homes were struck by lightning. Firemen were called to the home of Ron Corson, Papakeechie Lake; an apartment on Dolan Drive; and the home of Brad Bobeck. County Line Road. In North Webster there were scattered power outages and the dispatchers for the North Webster Police Department lost use of their emergency phone after a transformer was hit on the Armstrong Road. However, a non-Cmergency phone line continued to give service. Shown in the top photo is a large tree that was downed across Boston Street by the high winds that accompanied the storm. The tree fell on pow er lines, knocking out electricity to the nearby homes. The bottom photo shows the area behind the parking area at Lakeside Park, at the bottom of Whitehead Hill, where heavy rains created a new lake. High water across the roadway was also found on South Main Street, Lake Street, as well as several locations on Huntington Street. (Photos by Deb Patterson)

red at the location in addition to many “slight accidents" and "near misses" that hadn't been reported to officials. “With the increased amount of traffic in the area with the new elementary school going in, safety is becom ing even more of a concern, " said Wallen. After discussing possible sug-, gestions for the problem, the commissioners advised Wallen that the problem would be looked into by county highway superintendent Ken Traylor and Sheriff Ron Robinson, both of whom were in attendance at the meeting. Approve Request In other business, the commissioners approved a request from Louise Truex to allow a sign to be placed on the courthouse lawn in Warsaw to promote a bazaar on October 27. | Truex, who was representing

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29,1990

the county extension homemakers, said that the sign would be in place from October 13-27 in order to promote the group’s bazaar. The next meeting of the com missioners will be Tuesday. Sept 11. beginning at 9 a m. in the old court room in the county court house in Warsaw. Smoke from fuse panel No fire was found after police were called to the home of Tammy Yoder. CR 133, Syracuse at 12 p.m. Thursday. Aug. 23. Police officials report they received a call of smoke in a house from the fuse panel They found one 20 amp breaker hot The breaker was turned off and the owner was advised to contact an installer about the problem.

Council discusses —

Town manager would help with mounting demands at Syracuse

I By MAKK HUFFMAN Staff Writer With town business becoming more and more of a demand on the Syracuse Town Council, the concept of a town manager was approved during initial budget meetings this year. Barring a cut by the state board of accounts, the town of approximately 3,500 should have such an official in 1991. “It’s been the thinking of some of the council members that the job is getting too big for a volunteer — which is what we (council members) are,” Council President Jim Hughes said, noting that town business often requires a person to be on call throughout the day. While the funding for such a position has not been requested before, previous councils have acknowledged growing responsibilities placed on the clerktreasurer, as well as council members. Middlebury and Wakarusa recently added a manager's position to their payroll after mounting demands, while other towns of similar size are also looking at the option. “The reasons (for creating a manager’s position) vary from town to town,” said

$4.5486 levy adopted by the Wawasee School Board

By DEB PATTERSON Staff Writer Power failure didn’t stop last evening’s special Wawasee Community School Corporation Board of School Trustees meeting to adopt the 1991 budgets. Board members adopted budgets for the general fund, debt service fund, transportation fund and capital projects fund, via candlelight. The tax levies adopted by the board are: general fund. $2.2754; debt service fund, $1.3818; transportation fund. $ 5187 and capital projects fund $.3727 for a total levy of $4.5486. These are the same rates as the board approv-

Recycling for Labor Day Party

By JENNIFER WOODWARD Staff Writer

What better way to celebrate the end of the summer than to have an “End of the Summer/Labor Day Party" on Lake Wawasee. And to make the party even better, why not recycle and use the money to pay for the party. That’s what Phil and Jan Keim have been doing for the past six years. “We got the idea about the time people started considering recycling." explains Jan. “We’re taking the money from the recycling to spend for the party, instead of out of our pocket.” With the growing concern about the environment the Keims have noticed a stronger effort throughout the neighborhood to recycle, “People are more conscientious now," agrees Phil' Approximately 120 people attend the annual party. In order to attend, everyone must contribute his or her cans to the cause. Saving cans starts the day of the party and runs throughout the year. “I’ll find grocery sacks filled with cans outside my door when I get home from work," explains Phil, noting that sometimes he has no idea who left them Each year at the party there is a contest guessing how many pounds were recycled during the course of the year. Last year the total count came to 1.772 pounds

Roger Krider, who was chosen as Middlebury’s manager January 1. “I’m aware of an experience where a town hired a manager because they were having personnel problems, but that didn't work out and they dismissed him,” Krider added. “In our situation, as in Syracuse, we were acting rather than reacting — looking at the added business demands.” Krider, a public accountant, serves his town on a part-time basis, spending the morning hours in the town office five days a week. “I’m mostly in there to pick up loose ends, handling correspondence and communicating with attorneys,” he said, noting that he also attempts to coordinate grants and other financial matters for the town. A position approved by the state legislature in 1971, town managers are becoming more apparent in small towns and municipalities, although some larger metropolitan areas are also providing such posts to accompany their mayors. While town manager responsibilities often mirror those of a mayor, Wakarusa Town Manager Tom Roeder noted, “We’re not elected and have no contract, per se, where we have a certain number of years. The town (council members) could get rid of me at any time if

ed to be advertised earlier in August. Also board members adopted a plan for the capital projects fund for 1991, 1992 and 1993. This plan will be reviewed each year. A notice of adoption will be published for taxpayers to review. In other business the employment of Linda Nicolai as North Webster School LPN, Janet Perzee, as Chapter I Resource Room Paraprofessinal and Betsy Spiegel as job coach at Wawasee High School were approved. Roger Kryder, business manager, gave a brief summary dealing with the transportation. He stated he is still refining two elementary routes and some high school routes. Also there has been a need for the purchase of three additional used buses to use as shuttle busses and for extra cur-

So far this year the total has reached 1.400 pounds. The money raised varies depending on the price of aluminum at the time. Through the recycling effort S6OO was raised for the Labor Day party last year. The cans on an average ran at 50 cents a pound. This year, however, cans are only 44 cents a pound. Phil can even recall that during 1988 aluminum was at its highest at 60 cents a pound. Phil also points out that he is noticing more and more steel being mixed in with the aluminum cans. He notes that he can pretty much pick out the steel laced cans because they crush differently than the all-aluminum. He even keeps a magnet on his work bench so that he may detect any steel. Steel can be a problem when it comes to recycling. Most recyclers, like Lewis Salvage in Warsaw, request that the steel cans be separated. It takes 24 cans to make a pound, and onlytwo cents is given for each pound of steel cans The Keims are looking forward to their upcoming weekend party. The day is filled with a chicken barbecue and corn roast and plenty of good times People spend the day socializing and recalling the wonderful days of summer And yes. those manyaluminum cans that are used throughout the day are saved and recycled for next year’s party

they’re not pleased with the work.” . Roeder has been at the helm of Wakarusa for 2‘a years. “It used to be, in many towns, that the clerk-treasurer .and manager were one person, but it got to be too much,” he said, adding, “I have all of the responsibility for personnel and all decisionmaking responsibilities, other than financial (letting of money).” Roeder also handles all of the complaints from residents, which he describes as “the sweetheart of the job,” while he handles utilities, goodwill, the budgeting process, and works in conjunction with the chamber of commerce. While Syracuse Clerktreasurer Elgie Tatman told the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber Os Commerce that the “approved post,” as planned by the council, would incorporate a town manager/chamber executive director position, Hughes contends that no such decision has been made. “There has been no decision to go with the chamber. That will be the council's decision at a regular meeting,” he said, noting that a job description for the post has not been formulated. The town has approved $20,000 to be allocated for such a position. while the chamber of commerce placed $2,500 in an “ex-

ricular as well as a spare. Because of the gymnasium not being ready, nor the athletic field, students participating in football, volleyball and several other activities are being shuttled from the new middle school to North Webster and Syracuse for practices. This will be for several months. Henry Smith, assistant superintendent for instruction, reported a gain of 107 students corporation wide as of Friday evening with most of the increase coming from Wawasee Middle School and kindergarten. It was noted that had the middle school not opened this fall there would have been well over 1,000 students at North Webster. Official enrollment figures will be taken on September 14.

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HANDY CAN SMASHER — Phil Keim is pictured with his handy can smasher, A friend developed the idea by using an air compressor. Phil and his wife. Jan. recall the days when they would spread cans throughout their drive-way and smash them with a sledgehammer. The Keims use the money from their recycling of aluminum to hold their annual Labor Day Weekend Party. (Photo by Jennifer Woodward »

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ecutive director’s fund.” The chamber has also expressed hope that local industries and businesses would add to such a fund. Krider noted that town managers may work for more than one municipality; however, he expressed reservations about a combined town-chamber post. “I have a problem with someone who is being paid by tax dollars also working for the chamber, where you work with private funds. It would have to be agreeable with everyone for me to do it,” he said. The benefits of a town manager are documented, with the added attention given to town business often translating into income. “We’ve secured $450,000 in grants since I’ve been here and I don’t think we would have gotten that if the jobs (clerk-treasurer, town manager) hadn’t been separated," Roeder said, adding, “With all of the red tape, anymore you have to have someone in a separate role to oversee such things.” With the increased workload, a town manager appears inevitable in Syracuse, although the next move lies in the hands of the state board of accounts. A decision on whether to allow the $20,000 allocation should be made by late November.

The next meeting of the board will be Tuesday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. License branch closed for Labor Day The Syracuse License Branch will be closed Saturday, Sept. 1, and Monday. Sept. 3. in observance of Labor Day. The branch will resume normal business boors on Tuesday, Sept. 4. Because of being dosed on Monday, the branch will be open this Thursday only from Ba.m.-12:Xp.m.