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www.the-papers.com
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Five run for Wawasee school board election %\ &$/(,*+ %<5(5 6WDII :ULWHU The deadline to file for the Wawasee School Board of Trustees passed on Friday, Aug. 26. There are now five overall candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot, resulting in a race for District 1 and District 3. The last to file were Neil Lik-
ens, 8163 E. Backwater Road, North Webster, who has filed for the District 1 seat; and Brian E. Weideman, 2968 E. LaPoint Drive, Milford, who has filed for the District 3 seat. Likens will be running against Heather Coy for the District 1 seat. Weideman will be running
against Steven Baut for the District 3. Andy Cripe will be unopposed for the District 2 seat. Likens filed for the District 1 seat on Aug. 26. He is a husband and father of three Wawasee School Corporation students. Likens and his wife, Megan, are also small business owners within the
school district. Likens himself was born and raised in the Wawasee community, as were many generations of his family. He has dedicated his life to public service as an EMT and fireman and he is currently a Detective Sergeant with the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department.
Likens currently serves on the Board of Directors for Lakeland Youth Center and recognizes the importance of what they are doing for the youth in the community. He believes that, for the youth of today to succeed, they need to be taught strong family values, provided with a quality Continued on page 2
%\ '$9,' 6/21( 7LPHV 8QLRQ Drug overdose deaths, which have been up this year in Kosciusko County, were reflected in the county coroner’s proposed 2023 budget. While presenting the county coroner’s proposed budget Thursday, Aug. 25, to the county council for 2023, Coroner Tony Ciriello said he decreased the other equipment line item by about $2,000 but increased emergency supplies to $9,000 from the 2022 adopted budget of $4,102. Continued on page 2
Turkey Creek Conservancy tax rate expected to drop %\ '(% 3$77(5621 (GLWRU ,Q &KLHI Freeholders of the Turkey Creek Dam and Dike Conservancy District will get a pleasant surprise in next year’s tax bill if the district’s 2023 budget is approved. The proposed tax rate for 2023
will be less than 2 cents, with the final rate expected to be even lower, if the district’s assessed value increases. The 2022 tax rate was just over 4.5 cents. Ross Hagen of Baker Tilly went over the 2023 budget Saturday morning, Aug. 27, at the quarterly meeting of the conservancy Continued on page 3
Commissioners approve $1.2 million for HELP projects %\ /($+ 6$1'(5 6WDII :ULWHU 1(: )281'(5 62&,(7< 0(0%(56 ³ 6KRZQ DUH WKH QHZHVW PHPEHUV RI WKH :DZDVHH $UHD &RQVHUYDQF\ )RXQGDWLRQ·V (OL /LOO\ /LIH WLPH )RXQGHUV 6RFLHW\ 6HDWHG LQ IURQW IURP OHIW DUH 1DQF\ <RGHU 0DLD +LQULFKV 6DOO\ 5HHO -RDQ 0DUFXFFLOOL 3DW 0DUFXFFLOOL &DURO\Q $QGHUVRQ DQG 'RXJ $QGHUVRQ
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Large group added to conservancy’s Lilly Lifetime Founders Society %\ '(% 3$77(5621 (GLWRU ,Q &KLHI The largest number of individuals to be inducted into Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation’s Eli Lilly Lifetime Founders Society took place Friday evening, Aug. 26, at WACF’s LevinsonLaBrosse Lakes and Wetlands Educational Center, followed by a celebration at Oakwood Resort. The inductees into the society were each presented a WACF flag, medallion bearing Eli Lilly’s image and their name on the society’s wall. The wall is located outside the WACF office. Inducted this year were: Doug and Carolyn Anderson; Ron and Tami Baumgartner; Tom and Nancy Cottrell; William A (Reno)
Freihofer; Joe and Maria Hinrichs; Andrew, Sarah and Anna Hinrichs; Jim and Pat Marcuccilli; Tom and Joan Marcuccilli; Joan Buletty Slocum, posthumously; and Tom and Nancy Yoder. The society recognizes those who have reached the threshold of giving $100,000 financially or other contribution, such as contracts brought to the WACF’s attention to help solve problems on the lakes, projects that have longterm programs, time and efforts, steadfastness and support. Terry Clapacs, board member, gave a brief background on the society and of Eli Lilly. Anderson The Anderson family has a long and rich history at Lake Wawasee. Doug Anderson’s grandparents bought their 67-acre property adjacent to Lake Wawasee in 1897 to get Anderson’s great uncle, Joe, who had developed tuberculosis, out of the city. He recovered when he came to the lake and lived at the family farm. In 1977, Doug and Carolyn bought the Wawasee Boat Company and moved to Lake Wawasee permanently in the summer of 1978. Baumgartner Ron Baumgartner is president of The Papers Inc. in Milford. He attended and graduated from Milford High School and went on to Indiana University, where he earned a journalism degree in 1966. Returning to his hometown, he joined the family business and
has been employed there for the past 56 years. Baumgartner is past president of the Kosciusko County Plan Commission and served on the board of directors of
the Lakeland Youth Center and the Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation. He has been president of the Milford High School Continued on page 2
Kosciusko County Commissioners have approved spending $1.2 million of the county’s American Rescue Act Plan funds from the federal government on Hoosier Enduring Legacy Program projects. The commissioners’ approval at their regular meeting Tuesday, Aug. 30, follows the county ARPA committee’s similar move at its Monday, Aug. 29, meeting. The county was one of a handful of communities selected by the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs to participate in the HELP initiative. HELP is meant to assist Indiana counties and
communities with spending their ARPA funds on projects to better their communities in four specific areas: advancing e-connectivity; enhancing quality of place; promoting community wellness; and strengthening local economies. Through HELP, the county has a community coordinator, Amy Roe, who is helping guide those in the area through the process. At the Monday ARPA committee meeting, leaders working to help decide on projects using HELP funds gave presentations. Though the groups have narrowed down the focus for the projects, no specific projects have been decided on yet. Kosciusko County CommisContinued on page 3
Should Wawasee Schools combine the two middle schools? Enrollment Figures Tell A Story %\ '(% 3$77(5621 (GLWRU ,Q &KLHI DQG &$/(,*+ %<5(5 6WDII :ULWHU Discussion is underway to combine Milford Middle School with Wawasee Middle School. A presentation by Wawasee Community School Corp. Superintendent Steve Troyer is expected by the end of the year. This discussion does not affect Milford Elementary School. Community meetings will also be planned. No dates have been set. The problem: Milford Middle School has seen a 41% drop in students over a 10-year period. There’s been a 46% drop in students since 2003.
This low enrollment is affecting the academic possibilities for students at Milford Middle School. But there has also been a decrease in students at Milford Elementary. Yet a look at enrollment shows the loss of students at Milford is not being picked up at other schools in the corporation. Where are the students going? “I think the enrollment in Milford has declined, not because students have left or moved,” said Troyer. “It’s a population issue,” he said. Over the last 1015 years people living in Milford have had fewer children or the residents in the area do not have children. Continued on page 2
Milford leaders offer thoughts on proposed consolidation %\ .(,7+ .1(33 6WDII :ULWHU During the Aug. 9 meeting of the Wawasee Community School Corp. Board of Trustees, it was announced that formal discussion has begun to combine Milford Middle School and Wawasee Middle School into one facility. Low enrollment at Milford Middle School, which affects the academic possibilities for its students, is the main reason for the discussion. While 139 students are enrolled at MMS to begin this school year, more than 500 students are at WMS. During his presentation to the school board, Superintendent Dr. Steve Troyer
stressed the reason was educational, not financial. We asked several leaders in the Milford community about their thoughts on the to-be-discussed merger. Opinions varied and some people who were asked chose not to respond at this time. Julie Frew, director, Milford Public Library — “I would need a lot more information about the consolidation before deciding if it’s the best thing for our students or not. How would they keep students from spending way too much time on a bus? How would they handle class size at Wawasee Middle School if they were conContinued on page 2
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