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Covering Milford, Syracuse & North Webster, Indiana
Wednesday, October 26, 2022
WHS Fall Production
One Nation Under God
See Page 8 themail-journal.com
Three seats available on Plain Township Advisory Board %\ .(,7+ .1(33 6WDII :ULWHU Four candidates are seeking seats on the three-member Plain Township advisory board in the general election to be held Tuesday, Nov. 8. Gaynor Worden is the lone Democrat on the ballot, joining Greg Anderson, Robert Bishop and Larry Kammerer. Incumbents Bishop and Kammerer have served as advisory board members for 16 and four years, respectively. Voters will have the option to vote for up to three candidates on their ballot, with the top three vote-getters earning seats on the board. Following are brief profiles and statements provided by each candidate, listed in alphabetical order.
Greg Anderson Anderson, 43, was born and raised as part of a family of nine in Leesburg. He is a member of the Leesburg Lions Club, NRA and American Legion Post 49. “It would be my honor to give back and serve the community I have grown up in,” Anderson said. “I am aware of the uncertain times we live in. I am running because conservative leaders need to step up and lead to protect our conservative values. “Silence is loud. I felt it’s my responsibility to give back to my own community, to help it continue to be the community I’m so proud to be a part of. “I have reached out to several of the current township board members and respectfully told them I am just here to serve in any way I can. I want to come Continued on page 2
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Halloween weekend
The following is a list of Halloween events that will take place over the upcoming weekend: Milford Trick-or-Treat, 6-8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31, town of Milford. Trunk-or-Treat, 6-8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31, Kosciusko Masonic Lodge 418 parking lot, 404 W. Syracuse St. North Webster Trunk-or-Treat, 5-7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, North Webster Church of God, 302
N. Main St. Trick-or-Treat, 6-8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, town of North Webster. Syracuse Creature Crawl fun run and walk, registration at 4 p.m., beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, Syracuse Community Center, 1013 N. Long Drive. $25 per person for the 5K run and $15 per person for the 1-mile walk. Early registration is available at runreg.com/creaturecrawl or Syracuse Community Center.
Trick-or-Treat Trail hosted by Syracuse Parks and Recreation, 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at Lakeside Park. To participate, contact the Syracuse Community Center at (574) 457-3440. The Wizard of Oz Halloween trick-or-treat program, 6-8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31, Syracuse Public Library children’s department, 115 E. Main St. Trick-or-Treat, 6-8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31, town of Syracuse.
Milford Council explores fixes for economic shortfalls %\ '$9,' +$=/(',1( 6WDII :ULWHU '(67,1< 6&277 :(//6
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Five candidates seek secretary of state seat %\ 3+2(%( 087+$57 6WDII :ULWHU Five candidates are seeking the Indiana Secretary of State seat. Destiny Scott-Wells is a Democrat, Jeffrey Maurer is a Libertarian, and Diego Morales is a Republican. David Wetterer (Green Party)
and Andrew Straw (Disability Party) are both write-in candidates in the general election. The election is Tuesday, Nov. 8. Destiny Scott-Wells She grew up in Morgan County. She attend Indiana University and is a U.S. Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel. She enlisted in the Army
National Guard and later joined Army ROTC. She was deployed to Afghanistan in 2016-2017. She is a military intelligence officer. Outside of the military, she is a lawyer and an entrepreneur. She’s worked at all levels of government — local, state, federal Continued on page 2
Democrat, Libertarian challenge incumbent State Auditor Tera Klutz %\ 3+2(%( 087+$57 6WDII :ULWHU
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chairwoman where she oversaw and directed the association’s legislative priorities. In 2016, Klutz was named Auditor of the Year by the Indiana Auditors’ Association for her
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dedicated and tireless work. Before serving in the public sector, Klutz was a senior accountant at Crowe and PWC, Fort Wayne. As state auditor, Klutz manContinued on page 2
Two seek office of state treasurer %\ .(,7+ .1(33 6WDII :ULWHU Both the Republican and Democrat parties have nominated general election candidates for the office of Indiana State Treasurer. On the Republican side, Daniel Elliott, chairman of the Morgan County Republicans, has been selected, while the Democrats have chosen Monroe County Treasurer Jessica McClellan. Daniel Elliott Elliott presently serves as chairman of the Morgan County
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Republican Party, which is located just southwest of the Indianapolis metro area. He also is president of the Morgan County Redevelopment Commission, a former Morgan County councilman and owner of a software company in Martinsville. He and his wife, Laura, share four children. As president of the Morgan County Redevelopment Commission, Elliott works to create economic development opportunities in Morgan County. Serving his community in this role, Continued on page 2
Inside
Three candidates are seeking the position of state auditor: the current auditor, Tera Klutz, ZeNai Brooks and John Schick. The incumbent, Klutz, is a Republican. Brooks is a Democrat, and Schick is a Libertarian. The election is Tuesday, Nov. 8. Tera Klutz Prior to becoming auditor, Klutz served as the county auditor in Allen County. First elected in 2010 and again in 2014, Klutz streamlined local government processes, reduced debt and maintained a balanced budget with responsible reserves. Between 2013 and 2016, Klutz was very active in the Association of Indiana Counties’ Legislative Committee, serving as the
Milford Town Council held a special administrative meeting Monday, Oct. 24, during which members questioned LWG Consultant Jim Higgins on how best to maintain economic stability in the years to come. Specific concerns included how to pay for a new fire truck and the Milford Police Department, which faces a roughly $200,000 budget
deficit in 2023. “You’ve got needs and funding and there’s a gap,” observed Higgins, “so you’re in the same boat as just about every community around the state.” While the town’s revenues are mostly fixed, with funding coming from property taxes capped at a 5% levy growth, current inflation is 4%-8%. “Levy growth is eaten up by rising costs,” said Higgins, who added the situation has become exacerbated in recent years by the
state cutting back on motor vehicle and highway funding to towns and capping the gas tax, which also goes to towns. According to Higgins, many towns are able to use utilities revenue to fund other departments; however, as council member Ken Long noted, Milford just recently adjusted rates to bring utilities back into balance. “We aren’t in the best shape to begin with.” On the plus side, said Higgins, Continued on page 2
Milford Middle School — ‘there is something in the water’ %\ &$/(,*+ %<5(5 6WDII :ULWHU Wawasee School Board held a work session Tuesday, Oct. 25, at which 24 patrons spoke in favor of keeping Milford Middle School open. Superintendent Dr. Steve Troyer opened the session with a presentation on the growing inequity between Wawasee Middle School and Milford Middle School. Milford Middle School has been operating for 32 years and in that time, there has been one
formal discussion about closing the school. That occurred in 2016 following a climate audit. Deliberation on the school’s functionality has continued ever since. Two disclosures were announced before data was presented: Dr. Troyer assured that Milford Elementary will remain open regardless of what becomes of the middle school, and bus transportation times will stay relatively the same. Dr. Troyer provided a comparison of programs that showed the educational variation between
the schools in which the core program is the only one to be offered equally in both schools. Only Wawasee Middle School students have access to Project Lead The Way, which consists of pre-engineering and biomedical sciences, an alternative learning program, athletics, drama club, the planetarium, the pool and the greenhouse. A family and consumer science class is available to all Wawasee Middle School students for a full year, but only a nineweek course is offered at MilContinued on page 3
County seeks grant for family court attorneys %\ /($+ 6$1'(5 6WDII :ULWHU More kids whose parents are going through custody cases in Kosciusko County may soon have help from special attorneys. At its meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 25, the Kosciusko County Commissioners approved a request from Kosciusko Superior Court 4 Judge Chris Kehler to apply for a $72,000 grant. The grant would cover the cost of salaries of the attorneys, with each one known as a guardian ad litem. They’re “similar to a CASA (court appointed special advocate),” said Kehler. “They are attorneys who are appointed by the court to assist in mostly high conflict custody cases, parenting time cases involving families who do not have … the
Deep Rooted Love See Page 7 See Public Notices On Page 11
funds to hire their own GAL.” Kehler said he is seeking the
grant after consulting with local Continued on page 3
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