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Covering Milford, Syracuse & North Webster, Indiana
New Police Officer in North Webster
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
One Nation Under God
Page 9
www.the-papers.com
Dukes, Smith compete for sheriff nomination
East Webster Lake, Knapp Lake looking to create sewer district Kosciusko County Council gave the OK Tuesday evening, April 14, for Ken Jones, president and CEO of Jones Petrie Rafinski Corp., to draw up a budget for an East Webster Lake regional sewer district. Jones presented a proposal for the sewer district to the county commissioners on Feb. 15.
On Tuesday Jones said, “So tonight I wanted to talk to you a little bit about another infrastructure project that is being advanced by a group of property owners at East Webster Lake.” He said part of the lake is in the town of North Webster and part is in the county. Almost the entire the lake has already had sewer made available to it, except for the east shore. “As we were going through
the public process of forming the district for the TippecanoeChapman Lakes Regional Sewer District, we were approached by a group of homeowners out there who had the same kind of issues,” Jones said. There are 183 to 185 homes on the east side of the lake that are “remote” from any sanitary sewer and are “completely” in the county, he said. JPR did a preliminary engineering review, he said, and
he began working with about 25 property owners initially. That has grown to a core group working on advancing the potential for building a sanitary sewer there, Jones said. They looked at the potential for extending a sewer from the town of North Webster, considered whether the property could be annexed into the town, but “both of those resulted in a negativity Continued on page 2
Wawasee Supermileage Team wins again Wawasee High School’s Supermileage Team has taken first place, again, at the 2022 Shell Eco-Marathon held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway earlier this week. This is the fourth year the team has won top honors. The team won first place in the Urban Concept Internal Combustion competition. A $1,500 prize
was received and will be put back into the program. At this point the team will not be traveling to Europe as it has in the past when winning the Shell Eco-Marathon. The regional DWC qualifier was rained out last week. This is the race the team won in 2019 to go to Europe. Additionally the Europe races are not the final races Shell is having this year, as it has in the past. According to Allen Co-
blentz, engineering and technology teacher, Shell has not made any indications they will have the DWC race that brings regions together. The ICE car competed Tuesday and Wednesday on the Indy 500 track. According to Coblentz, the competition is not only a timed event, but also obtaining the highest miles per gallon. “The goal is to complete the course in a set amount of time, using the
least amount of energy — fuel or battery,” he explained. Wawaseeblack, the ICE car, hit the track on Tuesday, which resulted in its best result of the competition, getting 619 miles per gallon on the first run, within the time limit. The second run was taken Wednesday morning before the rains began and the competition ending. That run resulted in only 589 miles per gallon. Continued on page 2
Republicans Kyle Dukes and Jim Smith will compete in the May 3 primary election for the office of Kosciusko County Sheriff. The winner will be placed on the ballot for the general election Tuesday, Nov. 8. The Mail-Journal asked each candidate to provide a brief bio and answer three questions about serving in the sheriff’s office. Here are their answers: Bios Dukes — I am 45 years old and have been married to my wife, Mindy, for almost 22 years. We have two sons, ages 18 and 15. I grew up in Kendallville and graduated from East Noble High School in 1995. I have lived outside of Milford for over 20 years. Smith — My wife and I grew up here and have two children. I’m a veteran, serving a 2003 tour of duty. A law enforcement officer since 2007, I started in Syracuse and have been with KCSO since 2011. I’m active in community organizations and am an elected official, president of Tippecanoe Township Board. What education, work and life experiences do you have that qualify you to run for county sheriff? Dukes — I hold a bachelor’s degree in business management from Tri-State University and an associate’s degree in supervision from Ivy Tech State College. I have over 23 years of law
enforcement experience. I spent 18 years as an Indiana State Trooper assigned to Kosciusko County. Before that, I was a reserve deputy sheriff for the Noble County Sheriff’s Department. I was elected sheriff of Kosciusko County and took office in January 2019. I am extremely proud of the direction we have taken the Sheriff’s Office the last three years and it would be my privilege to continue serving as your sheriff. Smith — I have seen what good leadership looks like throughout my 12-year military career, as a supervisor in the civilian sector for a local business, as a member of multiple civic organizations and as a law enforcement officer. Leadership to me starts with the core value of selfless service, putting others’ needs before one’s own. Selfless service is how I have strived to lead as current president of Tippecanoe Township Board and Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club, as past president of the North WebsterTippecanoe Township Chamber of Commerce and Leesburg Lions Club and as past vice president of FOP Lodge #149. What are the most pressing challenges facing the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office? Dukes — Kosciusko County, like so many communities within our state and across our nation, is faced with the challenge of controlling the drug epidemic — specifically meth, heroin and Continued on page 2
Indiana’s Largest Marina Over 90 Years of Exceptional Service and Products
Turkey Creek Sewer District discusses game changing new law Changes in the law that affect sewer districts were brought to the attention of the Turkey Creek Regional Sewer District Board
Monday, April 18. Two of the five changes were discussed. The new law, which was a surprise to many, could be a “game changer” for TCRSD and others. Andrew Boxberger, district attorney, pointed out the changes
were signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb on March 16. One of those changes involved prohibiting capacity fees, including contributions in aid of construction, while the other involved connection exceptions.
Up until the new law was signed, exemptions to connect to a sewer system were allowable for those with systems less than 10 years old. Homeowners could receive a total of a 20-year exempContinued on page 2
Warrior Field is here to stay During the reading of the Wawasee Community School Corporation superintendent’s report at the Tuesday, April 19, board meeting, Superintendent Steve Troyer spoke on the hot topic that is the Warrior Field located at Wawasee High School. Troyer had previously been tasked with forming a committee that included school staff and members of the community to weigh the opinions of and gain insight from those who would be most impacted
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by the name change. After overwhelming support from the committee, Troyer presented the results of their discussions: Warrior Field will still remain. Warrior Field has been a staple of the Wawasee community and has meant as much to residents of the city as it has to students, staff and sports teams in the local area. When the topic was first broached, one local citizen recommended the name
be changed from Warrior, which was considered offensive to those of Native American ancestry, to that of a WWII veteran Harry Michael who had resided in Milford. “The name ‘Warrior Field’ absolutely means something to this community and has been shown to be very important,” said Troyer. The committee, led by Troyer, didn’t want to stop there. While Continued on page 3
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