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Air National Guard, Army veteran named Veteran of the Month
A Warsaw man who served in both the U.S. Army and Indiana Air National Guard was named August’s Kosciusko County Veteran of the Month.
James Whitaker was honored at the Kosciusko County Commissioners meeting Tuesday, Aug. 1, in the courthouse’s old court room. Kosciusko County Veteran Service Officer Darryl McDowell presented Whitaker with a certificate and read biographical information on him, including the following.
On Aug. 7, 1944, Whitaker was born to Albert and Cynthia Whitaker in North Manchester. He was a member of the Silver Lake High School Class of 1964, with his brother, Sam, noting Whitaker “excelled” in basketball.
In December 1964, Whitaker joined the U.S. Army. He did his basic training at Fort Knox in Ken- tucky, with his advanced individual training at Fort Dix, N.J.
From April 1965 to July 1966, Whitaker was stationed in Korea near the Demilitarized Zone. Afterward, he was sent to the home of the United States Army Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. There, Whitaker arranged bus transportation for academy Army cadet events located in the lower 48 states.
In December 1967, he was honorably discharged, with the rank of sergeant/E-5.
Whitaker would serve in the military again when he entered the Indiana Air National Guard in 1979. He was deployed to Kuwait during the Gulf War.
Whitaker retired from the Air National Guard in 2003, having attained the enlisted rank of master sergeant/E-7 and a combined 24 years of military service.
In his civilian life, Whitaker worked as a mechanic for Uniroyal.
He then was employed by W.J. Carey Construction Co. for five years. In 1976, he started his own construction company, D and J Con- struction, retiring in 2003. Whitaker and his wife, Barbara, spend their winter months in Florida.
“I’m not very good at speaking, but … thank you for everything,” said Whitaker, after he received his certificate.
APC ponders pod problems, possibly draft new ordinance
Pondering pod usage, violations and possibly a new ordinance were discussed at the regular meeting of the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission Wednesday, Aug. 2.
APC Director Matt Sandy said, “They are showing up everywhere. A lot of them,” Sandy shared, “are on commercial and industrial properties.”
Contractors often use pods, he said, for a variety of reasons.
Pods are defined as shipping containers, such as a standardized, pre-fabricated, reusable steel structure designed for transportation such as a rail car.
“The prices are so low at $3,000 per unit sometimes,” Sandy explained as to their popularity.
Under the current zoning ordinance, some are in violation. Sandy said, “We are currently enforcing them now.”
However, Sandy said his goal is to not have any violations.
“It’s about where they are placed and use is the key,” he said. “There’s factors that need to be addressed. It (new ordinance) is basically (needed) to clear up some current problems.”
Other counties do allow pods but with limits. For instance, Sandy said Wabash County has quite a detailed, four-page shipping container condition policy. Wabash has regulations for agriculture, industrial and commercial permitted uses.
However, two board members said those regulations would not go over well in this county.
After reviewing Wabash’s official conditions, Mike Long and Mike Kissinger agreed.
“We want to be business friendly,” Long said.
APC board member Bob Conley suggested Sandy draft a new ordinance based on the board’s suggestions, and it will be reviewed at the next meeting.
Timothy Postima’s petition is for preliminary plat approval, a two-lot subdivision, for an agricultural II tract of ground. The property is located on the north side of CR 300 North, north of CR 175 East in Warsaw.
One remonstrator said he had some concerns. Mark Tenner, who lives on CR 300N, said he doesn’t want anything that will affect his property value.
“I don’t want to see a mobile home or a trailer on there,” he said.
Sandy said his office could not regulate the usage since it is zoned agricultural II. Mobile homes are allowed, he said.
Postima’s request was eventually approved.
The board gave a favorable recommendation to rezone Matthew and Lindsey Dunithan’s property from a residential district to an agricultural district.
The property is located on the south side of CR 900 North, east of CR 550 East in Syracuse. There are four lots rezoned residential already. Only two parcels need to be rezoned ag.
The couple has a home-based business, Denny’s Pump Service, in order to fix fire truck pumps on occasion.
Neighbors said they don’t have a problem with the rezoning nor do two fire chiefs, Mickey Scott and Jeremy Likens. The case was approved.
Marcia Borkholder’s petition is to rezone five acres from an agricultural district to an agricultural II district. The property is located on the east side of CR 150 East, 200 feet southeast of CR 350 North in Warsaw. Her son wants to buy three acres and she wants two acres to live close to him. The case was approved.
Both rezonings go before the county commissioners at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 15.
Sandy introduced Andy Heltzel, the county’s new assistant planner. He is an Akron resident and Tippecanoe Valley High School 2019 graduate. He is from Fulton County.
The next meeting is at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 6.
