$1.50
Covering Milford, Syracuse & North Webster, Indiana
Giving Back To The Community
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
See Page 5 One Nation Under God themail-journal.com
Dike project moving to bidding process %\ '(% 3$77(5621 (GLWRU ,Q &KLHI Memorial Day weekend is the goal to have renovations completed for the Lake Wawasee Dike. Construction cost estimates and plans received final approval Saturday morning, Feb. 7$/.6 $%287 $%$7(0(17 ³ .RVFLXVNR &RXQW\ &RXQFLO 3UHVLGHQW 0LNH /RQJ ULJKW WDONV DERXW D WD[ 11, from the Turkey Creek Dam and DEDWHPHQW UHTXHVW E\ ,*'% %LRJDV 7KXUVGD\ DV &RXQFLO 9LFH 3UHVLGHQW .DWKOHHQ *URQLQJHU OHIW OLVWHQV 3KRWR Dike Conservancy District Board of Directors. E\ 'DYLG 6ORQH 7LPHV 8QLRQ Officials with Lawson Fisher Associates, South Bend, will be finalizing the bidding specifications this week. No date has been announced for when bids will be received and awarded. A public hearing on the project was one of two meetings conducted Saturnot seen before,” he said. “They recently suggested the day by the board. The annual meeting %\ '$9,' 6/21( The property is at 9194 N. establishment of one of these di- of the district was also conducted. 7LPHV 8QLRQ No remonstrators were heard at Orn Road, Milford, known as gester systems in Dekalb Counthe hearing. Aaron and Marty MeyKosciusko County Council the Beer Dairy Farm, southwest ty. That was approved and that er, 807 S. Harkless, and David and was approved with a 10-year tax President Mike Long usually of Milford. Snyder said IGDB has devel- abatement on personal prop- Sherry Elliott, 806 S. Koko Drive, isn’t too supportive of tax abatement requests, but he voiced his oped a process of taking “valu- erty,” Snyder said, adding that were present to obtain further inforsupport for the one presented able stuff” out of manure. “The for Kosciusko County IGDB was mation regarding noise, construction Thursday evening, Feb. 9 be- end product is what is called looking for a five-year tax abate- traffic, future flooding and goal for cause it was related to agricul- renewable natural gas. Manure ment on a $4.5 million project. completion. The Elliotts have given goes into the digester. It’s trans- The project will include two di- perpetual easement on their property ture. not only for construction but mainteAttorney Steve Snyder pre- formed into methane. The meth- gesters and the scrubber. “One of the other keys to this nance. sented the five-year tax abate- ane is then scrubbed and made Bill Pipp, district board chairman, ment request to the Kosciusko into renewable natural gas,” he project is you’ve got to be close explained the renovation will include to a natural gas line because County Council on behalf of said. 500 feet of steel sheeting, 32 feet high, There are certain things that when that methane is scrubbed IGDB Biogas LLC, an Ohio comdriven into the ground. Construction obviously have to occur, he said, and renewable natural gas is pany. “Which, I think is bringing and that requires the digester to created, it needs to go directly will start at Koko Drive North and something to the county you’ve be located next to a dairy farm. Continued on page 3
County approves first steps for IGDB Biogas tax abatement
5(9,(:,1* 6,7( ³ $DURQ DQG 0DUW\ 0H\HU VHDWHG WDNH D ORRN DW WKH /DNH :DZDVHH 'LNH ORFDWLRQ DQG FRQVWUXFWLRQ DUHD 'DYLG -RKQVWRQ 7XUNH\ &UHHN 'DP DQG 'LNH %RDUG 0HPEHU LV VKRZQ VWDQGLQJ 3KRWR E\ 'HE 3DWWHUVRQ wrap around to the Elliott property. The steel sheeting will overlap and include a 2- to 2½-foot cement cap around the dike. The same type of construction was completed at the water control device at Veteran’s Park, Syracuse. Additionally it was noted traffic will be more on Koko Drive, Palm
Drive and Pickwick Drive. Regarding the noise, Pipp stated that is part of the cost of things needed or wanted to be done. “There will be noise,” he said noting pile driving of the sheet metal will occur, but there were not many, if any, complaints with the water control device project. Continued on page 2
County BZA not happy with contractor’s change in plans %\ /$85(1 =(8*1(5 6WDII :ULWHU Lucas Zartman came before the Kosciuko County Board of Zoning Appeals during its regular meeting Tuesday morning, Feb. 14, seeking a variance to permit a residence to be reconstructed. Zartman has been before the BZA board twice before regarding renovations to his prop-
erty in Tippecanoe Township. Zartman had received a permit to replace the sill plate on his home without removing the “existing structure.” He told the board his plan was to jack up the walls of the home, replace the sill plate, put in floor joists and lower the walls back down. However, when he attempted to do that, the walls would not come
up together. He ended up taking the walls down with the plan to remove and replace the sill plate from the walls, install the joists and then put the walls back up. However, this would have also required a permit, which he neglected to obtain. Board member Randy Cox accused Zartman of lying to him during an earlier meeting. Zartman Continued on page 2
Wawasee School Board hears plea for performing arts center %\ /$85(1 =(8*1(5 6WDII :ULWHU
Milford firefighters report a ‘busy year’ %\ '$9,' +$=/(',1( 6WDII :ULWHU Milford Town Council held a monthly public meeting Monday, Feb. 13, wherein Assistant Fire Chief Steve Farber reported a “busy year” for his department over the last year and requested residents check their smoke detectors to help stay safe. “From last February to this February we’ve had 17 fires, structure fires. Only five of those /22.,1* $+($' ³ 'U 6KHOO\ :LOIRQJ DVVLVWDQW VXSHULQWHQGHQW were assists to other towns and IRU :DZDVHH 6FKRROV GLVFXVVHV ZD\V WR PDNH VXPPHU VFKRRO PRUH LP townships. Twelve of those were SDFWIXO IRU VWUXJJOLQJ VWXGHQWV GXULQJ WKH :DZDVHH 6FKRRO %RDUG PHHWLQJ in our territory. Seven of them 7XHVGD\ QLJKW )HE 3KRWR E\ /DXUHQ =HXJQHU were here in town, five in the
township. That’s quite a few fires for our area,” said Farber. “It’s been a busy year.” “We’d like to remind everybody to check their smoke detectors. If they don’t have smoke detectors, we have them. They can leave a message at the fire station and we’ll get back to them,” he added. Farber also reported the station’s siren has not been working consistently and he is seeking quotes for maintenance. Second Assistant Chief Brian Haines added the installation date of the siren’s controller was 1957. Maintenance is also needed on the town fire engine, which has
a cracked screen on its remote throttle control, rendering it unreadable, said Farber. The town approved a quote from Dunning Pump Service to perform the repair for $3,157.52. The fire department has applied for ARPA funds from the Kosciusko County Council to purchase more handheld radios. Upcoming events for the department include a multi-agency active shooter training at Milford School in March. Farber also said flyers will soon be posted with details on the department’s picture fundraiser expected to take Continued on page 2
Conley to serve on county opioid committee %\ /($+ 6$1'(5 6WDII :ULWHU Kosciusko County Commissioners has chosen its representative to serve on a committee regarding spending funds the county received from a national opioid settlement. At its Tuesday, Feb. 14, meeting, commissioners chose Vice President Bob Conley for that role. He will serve alongside Kosciusko County Council representatives Kathy Groninger, the council’s vice president, and Sue Ann Mitchell. Commissioners learned last month the county had received $266,561.25 as its first installment from the county opting into
5IF .BJM +PVSOBM
an agreement Indiana and other states reached with Johnson & Johnson, Cardinal Health, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen for their contribution to the national opioid epidemic. As part of the payout requirements, monies will be split into restricted and unrestricted funds, with the former to be used for dealing with and combating drug abuse, including Narcan distribution and training, medication-assisted treatment for addiction and treatment for infants suffering from drug withdrawal due to their mothers using drugs while pregnant, among other things. A full list of usages for restricted funds may be found here.
Inside
Kristin Bonner, a language arts teacher at Wawasee High School, made an impassioned plea for a performing arts center during the Wawasee School Board’s regular meeting Tuesday night, Feb. 14. Bonner noted years ago she served on a committee looking at facilities for the corporation because she wanted a performing arts center. Instead, she voted for the construction of a new North Webster Elementary School. She went through a list of additions at the high school while also noting there has been a marked increase in the number of students participating in the school musicals and plays. “Tuck Everlasting,” the spring production, has 50 students involved. Bonner noted the current auditorium no longer works for the following reasons: There is no workspace for sets so they have to be built on stage; the stage is landContinued on page 3
0((7,1* 83 ³ )ROORZLQJ WKH )HE 0LOIRUG 7RZQ &RXQFLO PHHWLQJ &OHUN 7UHDVXUHU 7ULFLD *DOO FRQIHUV ZLWK &UDLJ %ORXJK RI %DUWHO &RPSDQ\ 5HDOWRUV DQG $XFWLRQHHUV %ORXJK·V FRPSDQ\ LV ZRUNLQJ ZLWK 5RQ 'DYLG KL]DU ZKR UHFHQWO\ ÀOHG D QRWLFH RI DSSHDO LQ UHVSRQVH WR WKH FRXQFLO·V GHFLVLRQ WR SURFHHG ZLWK WKH GHPROLWLRQ RI WZR SURSHUWLHV KH RZQV LQ 0LOIRUG 3KRWR E\ 'DYLG +D]OHGLQH
The committee held its first meeting Tuesday after the commissioners’ meeting. Daffodil Sales Commissioners also heard from American Cancer Society representative Janet Wartman, Carol Huffer and Jan Callaghan. The three women spoke about the society’s Daffodil Days. People may pay a $25 donation to give the flowers to cancer patients or $10 to receive flowers themselves. Orders are due Tuesday, Feb. 21, and may be made by contacting Huffer at bchuffer@ comcast.net or (574) 858-0051 or Wartman at janet.wartman@cancer.org or (219) 614-3282. Continued on page 2
Ball State Singers Visit
See Page 9 See Public Notices On Page 8 & 9
<RXU 3ULQW
VROXWLRQ • Full Color Circulars/Inserts • Newsletters • Postcards • Booklets/Catalogs • Full Color Brochures • InkJet/Bulk Mailing Service • Saddle-Stitch Bindery • Newspapers • Magazines • Perfect Bind
Rodger Salinas Ext. 2432 rsalinas@the-papers.com
1-800-733-4111 206 S. Main St., Milford • themail-journal.com