Editor, Times-Union: Much has been said concerning EDIT. I'm not for taxing us more, we're already taxed too much but it was turned down Saturday at 3:00 at the meeting. I know Warsaw is growing, I think too fast. Growing means a second sewer plant. All the big government people come up all the time with something new to tax us more and make more money for them and less for us.
The other day I went down to the Kosciusko County Historical Society Jail Museum, 121 N. Indiana St., our first and old jail. It had 14 cells, these cells were 7' wide and 9' long with 2 steel platforms up above and 2 below for bunk beds on each side for 4 males per cell with a thick pad to sleep on your back. No TV or card playing in a room. A room to eat in and back to the cell. A stool and wash basin in each cell.
Aaron Rovenstine gave me a tour of our present jail, which houses 88. I can see why we need a new and bigger jail for 300, 3 meals a day, clothes washed, TV to watch, play cards and socialize, shoot baskets, sickness is taken care of. I think if the jail was like the old jail they wouldn't want to be in there and we wouldn't need a new jail and have to hire more police and buy more police cars. It's pretty dangerous out there, police are getting shot.
In Goshen, a man shot a police officer. The Prosecutor said he would seek the death penalty, rather then a life sentence without parole or 65 years with parole possible after half the sentence was served. A group of Goshen ministers are asking not for the death penalty, which I think is wrong. If you murder someone, you should be put to death and not spend a lot of money to protect the guilty one.
There is 21 year old John King and 2 other white men in Texas that beat a 49 year old black man and lashed him to the ankles with a 24" logging chain tied to a truck and dragged him 3 miles down an asphalt road, his head and arm were torn off. His father asked the jury to spare his son.
Then Clinton said that since he's been president that crime is down, I think it's worse or we wouldn't have to build more jails and prisons. There are more drug and intoxication accidents, in these cases their cars and drivers license should be taken away from them.
I didn't get to see Monica Lewinsky on TV, but I think she is just as guilty as Clinton. I read an article, this wasn't her first time with a married man, but got pregnant by another and had an abortion. After all, she wasn't a teenager and was old enough to know better. Well, she will make a lot of money with her book. The first time Clinton was on the witness stand last year he said he wasn't guilty of having sex with her, that she performed oral sex on him. The second time on the witness stand, he said he was guilty and was very sorry that he had 3 loves in his life, God, his wife and his daughter. He's the biggest talker with a glitter in his eyes and the biggest liar. On the witness stand when he couldn't think of a lie concerning his relationships, he waited and then said he couldn't remember. He goes to church with a Bible in his hand.
When women get in their middle 40s and 50s and go through menopause, nervous tension and hot flashes, Clinton went through hot sex.
Now the government wants different seat belts for children. Next they will want seat belts for the Amish in their buggies.
I talk to a lot of teenagers, I find there are a lot of good kids out there.
Kathern Wolford, Warsaw
Missions Trip
Editor, Times-Union: I just returned from a missions trip to the Dominican Republic, where I probably had the greatest week of my life.
Breakfast around 7 a.m.; morning devotions following; and to work on the missionaries' home until 1 p.m. Then a short lunch break and back to work until 5 p.m. Then supper and showers. Then in the village ministering in streets, ball parks and prison until 11 p.m. Then start over the next day. Many souls were saved - over 50 souls in one prison.
Some of my friends helped me to go. I would like to say a great big thank you and God bless you to those people: Bob and Chris Haywood of the United Baptist Church of Tippecanoe; David and Jane Mayhew, Warsaw; Oliver and Linda Marshall of Sidney Church; Mr. Joe Fulks of First Freewill Baptist of Kosciusko County; Mr. and Mrs. Ray Salmons, Akron; and Mr. and Mrs. Shular J. Hurd, Ivel, Ky. May God richly bless your life.
Graden Hurd, Mentone
Zoning Concern
Editor, Times-Union: The County Commissioners are meeting on March 16th at 10 a.m. on the 3rd floor of the courthouse. As a property owner in the Chapman Lakes area, I have many concerns over the decision to rezone this farmland including:
- Obvious traffic concerns on 450 North, a heavily traveled county road and a main artery between Warsaw and North Webster.
- Increased traffic on 100 East, already too congested by the recent development of the North Winds addition that still has over 100 building lots remaining!
- The run-off for the land in question flows directly into Chapman Lake! What is the run-off going to be like when the property is covered with homes and streets? Who is going to manage the flooding?
- Our fire department and EMS is all volunteer. An increased population could require a full-time unit to be established, costing huge tax dollars.
- Setting a precedent for the rezoning of our precious farmland. If I wanted to live in town, I would have moved there. I resent anyone trying to bring the town to me.
Area residents are welcome to attend the County Commissioners meeting. I'm going to be there and encourage anyone who feels this rapid development of the county's farmland as a threat to our community to join me.
Tom Ott, Concerned Plain Township resident
High School Theater
Editor, Times-Union: The Warsaw Community High School theater program is getting ready to present "Alice In Wonderland," the weekend of March 18-21. I would like to encourage the Warsaw community to attend this delightful play. We have over 70 students involved in the production, colorful costumes, fun special effects and the story line is humorous and entertaining.
When "Alice In Wonderland" was chosen for the spring play, I was very excited about the possibilities. We have new lights that should be able to create neat effects, our sound is new, my assistant director, Jean Beeson, is a wonderful seamstress, the WCS Theater Boosters always chip in to help sew, etc. I was very excited about the show! Then I started to see advertisements for the NBC version of the show. Here I had chosen a children's show that is not done too often and NBC steals our thunder! For a month and a half, I anticipated the NBC version, wondering if it would make people compare our production to the high tech digital special effects used and the expensive costumes worn, let alone the "big stars."
Needless to say, I was disappointed that the NBC version was not funnier. After having researched the story line and author of "Alice In Wonderland," I can say that the television version followed the storyline more closely than most versions of the book. I just thought it would be more child-friendly. As an adult, I thought it was "OK." When I talked to the students who have parts in our play, they responded with comments like, "I turned it off, I was bored" or "It wasn't nearly as funny as ours."
Here I thought people might not come to our high school production because they wouldn't think it could compare to the high quality of the televised version. My thoughts turned to thinking people might assume our show would be boring, not child-friendly, or scary. The fact is, our show is the opposite of the televised version. Our show is funny. Our interpretation of the characters is humorous, creative and upbeat! We do have some special effects, but our characters are people in creative costumes acting on stage in wonderful settings. We have trees, cats, flowers, playing cards and some other very entertaining aspects in the production.
Please come and join us for a fun family night of entertainment on March 18-20 at 7:30 p.m. or on March 21 at 3 p.m. in the Lakeview Auditorium. Tickets are $3 and can be purchased at the high school bookstore or at the door, just get there early! You won't be disappointed!
Jennifer K. Shepherd, Play Director
Taxes
Editor, Times-Union: It is a sad indictment of our society that so many people try to earn what they live on and make no attempt to live on what they earn. This is reflected in the record number of personal bankruptcies at a time when jobs are plentiful. It is also reflected in a community government that builds a beautiful park and then wants to raise taxes to pay for, what may very well be, needed improvements to its sewer system. When are we going to learn that for most of us, including government, we cannot have everything we want. Until we learn this as a country, we will continue to get deeper and deeper in debt. The word is priorities.
It is being said that we are going to spend 10 million dollars on jail improvements. Even in today's tax-and-spend government, that sounds like a lot of money to me. I read in the Times-Union recently that the majority of prisoners in the jail were there for alcohol or drug-related offenses. Ten million dollars for drunks and drug users? This ought to have every taxpayer in this county angry. May I make a suggestion? How about taking their car keys and driving them home? That 10 million dollars is coming from something a lot more important than dealing with a few drunks. It's coming from our grandchildren's future earnings. That is too high a price and I refuse to accept it.
After having said this I want to say that your County Council did the responsible thing last Saturday, March 6. They voted the EDIT tax down. Not all members however voted against the tax. Write their names down so you know how to vote when they come up for re-election. Don't count on your neighbor to do it, in fact, he may support the tax.
