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Covering Milford, Syracuse & North Webster, Indiana
Wednesday, October 5, 2022
The Hanger Opens At WHS
One Nation Under God
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Ciriello and Lewis vie to represent County Council District 3 Two candidates are vying to represent County Council District 3 in the upcoming election. Republican Anthony “Tony” Ciriello is going up against Libertarian candidate David Lewis. Ciriello currently serves as the elected coroner of Kosciusko County. In addition to his coroner duties, Ciriello is the business manager for Mishler Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Milford, as well as the business manager for Heritage Monument
Company. He holds an Indiana insurance license in life insurance and assists families with funeral pre-planning. Prior to joining Mishler’s, Ciriello retired from a 34-year career in law enforcement, most recently serving as chief of police for the Syracuse Police Department. He started his law enforcement career as an arson investigator for the State of Indiana before joining the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office, where he Continued on page 2
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Enjoy the trails at WACF FallTastic Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation will host its annual FallTastic trail walk from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 8-9. The WACF Educational Center is located on SR 13, 1 mile south of Syracuse. The trails provide an opportunity to get away from the noise and hustle and bustle of everyday life. While walking the trails at your own pace, listen to the tranquility of the area and the sounds of nature while taking in the signs of fall. Who knows what woodland creatures you may encounter along the trails or what spectacular sites nature will provide. Make sure to dress appropriately for the walk. Every year since 2015 WACF
has hosted the trail walk on three trails, with 2 miles of the trails decorated for fall/Halloween. Each year more decorations are added. Along with the decorations, interesting facts about water quality and how animals prepare for winter can be found along the walks. This is a family-oriented event and kids are welcome to come in costumes. Even the family dog is welcome to come and walk the trails with owners, as long as the furry pet is on a leash. Free refreshments will be offered at the Ruddell Pavilion for both humans and dogs. Guests are asked to register at the pavilion (because numbers count), and enjoy the beauty of the fall season and the refreshments. See you at WACF.
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Two men are seeking Kosciusko County Sheriff seat %\ 3+2(%( 087+$57 6WDII :ULWHU Two men are vying for the top spot at the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office — James Marshall and Jim Smith. Marshall is running as an independent and Smith as a Republican. Kosciusko County Sheriff Kyle Dukes lost his re-election bid in the primary to Smith, the Republican party challenger. The election is Tuesday, Nov. 8.
Jim Smith Smith is a lifelong resident of Kosciusko County. He graduated from Warsaw Community High School in 2000 and served in the U.S. Army Reserve for 12 years, including a nine-month tour in Kuwait/ Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. From 2005 to 2007, Smith worked as a Syracuse Police Reserve Officer and became a full-time officer in 2007. He attended the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and graduated in 2008. He worked full time for the Syracuse Police Department from 2007-2011 before coming to Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office, where he currently works. His career accomplishments include a promotion to corporal in 2017, becoming a member of the rescue and recovery dive ream, becoming a certified hostage negotiator, being certified as an Indiana Law Enforcement Academy instructor for strategies and tactics patrol and emergency vehicle operations, and becoming a certified field training officer. He is a former Continued on page 2
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Trails are becoming a vital part of many cities and towns across the country. Regardless of the size of the region being served, government and public leaders are seeing the benefit of connecting areas deemed important to the vitality of the community, or communities being served via paths conducive for walking, running and biking. In North Webster, a committee of three community leaders has begun the lengthy and expensive process of building such a trail to connect the town with Wawasee Middle School, located a few miles to the north. The plan involves two stages: the first from Epworth Forest Road on the north end of town to the school, and the second from Epworth Forest Road to the bridge on the
Syracuse Fall Harvest Festival will be Oct. 8 The 14th annual Syracuse Fall Harvest Festival will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, at Lakeside Park. This family-friendly event is hosted alongside the final date of the Artisans and Farmers Market. The fall festival will feature several fall-themed activities, including hay rides, pumpkin decorating, bounce house, obstacle course, inflatable games, live music and food vendors. There will be more than 40
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south side of town. Dan Thystrup, Garet Becker and Steve Huffman have been meeting weekly since August to further the process of the ambitious plan. A feasibility study has been completed to help compel the project forward. The study was conducted by USI Consultants, the same Indianapolis firm that completed the feasibility for Syracuse-Wawasee Trail. The overall two-stage project is a serious investment for the proposed trail’s supporters and the community as a whole. It involves rights-of-way, utilities and land acquisitions, not to mention the actual physical construction of the trail. The cost for the first stage between the town and the middle school is estimated to be just more than $1 million. It will include a paved sidewalk all the way to WMS. USI estimated the
craft and food vendors. Hayrides will take place from Long Drive to Northshore Drive. There will be face painting, too, for children. The public can take part in pumpkin decorating and people can also make s’mores. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. there will be live music by Ivory West. “From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. clowns will be entertaining the crowd,” said Darin Lursen, program director for the Syracuse Parks Department.
total project cost, including both phases, to total $2.115 million. “The initial goal of the Webster Trail Committee is to build the trail connecting North Webster and Syracuse,” said Thystrup, “and then work on other trails that make North Webster a base for other bike trails and such.” Thystrup, who also serves as the president of the North Webster Town Council, said he initially brought the proposal to the council in early 2021 and received permission to pursue applying for grant money to support the project. Since then, the project has been granted $50,000 from the Shoop Foundation and $200,000 from the K21 Foundation. Thystrup said he is hopeful to soon receive word about a grant proposal submitted to the Dekko Foundation. If that grant request
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is approved, the project will have enough seed money to begin applying for larger federal and state grants to help fund the first stage of the project, Thysrup said the original thought was to create the path from south of North Webster to the stoplight as the first stage of the project. However, the committee was advised by the Michiana Area Council of Governments, that the path to the middle school would be the easier stage to initially complete as right-of-way has already been established following the path of SR 13. “For practical reasons, it will be a faster, smoother process to do the north section first,” Thystrup said. “Depending on the grants, we hope to begin work by 2024.” Additionally, the committee Continued on page 2
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See Page 7 See Public Notices On Page 11
CHILDREN MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT FOR MORE INFO VISIT WACF.COM & LIKE US ON FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM LEVINSON-LABROSSE LAKES & WETLANDS EDUCATION CENTER, 11586 N. SR 13, SYRACUSE, IN 46567
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