Don Bokhart, right, president of the Wawasee School Board, leads Tuesday’s board meeting. To the left is board member Mike Wilson.

By Tim Ashley
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — Some students don’t necessarily have problems requiring discipline, but rather have social or emotional issues that can prevent them from being in the right frame of mind to do well academically. The Wawasee Community School Corporation has placed greater emphasis on dealing with those issues in recent years.

During the regular monthly meeting of the Wawasee School Board Tuesday evening, Feb. 9, in Syracuse the board heard a report about the 5 Star program being utilized at Wawasee Middle School. Presenting the report were Brent Berkeypile, principal, and Drew Graber, assistant principal.

Berkeypile noted “Disciplining these kids is not the right thing to do because they are just not in the right frame of mind.”

Staff at WMS began researching programs that deal with social and emotional learning and discovered the 5 Star program. “The great thing about 5 Star is it originated in Elkhart,” Berkeypile said. “We have resources to use right in our back yard.”

He said academic achievement is the ultimate goal of schools, but social and emotional issues can get in the way of learning. And when the coronavirus pandemic hit last year, it was decided the 5 Star program would be offered to all students in the school.

The program is built around the core values of respect, responsibility, courage, sacrifice and integrity. There are four seasons for the 5 Star curriculum and Graber noted the school is in the first season. He said having a growth mindset, dealing with social anxiety, respecting yourself and your education, overcoming trauma and suicide prevention have been among the topics covered.

Graber noted in a typical week, 5 Star is implemented three to four times first thing in the morning. There is a journaling process students go through, discussion time and a weekly reflection time.

A short video was shown and a few WMS teachers noted the program has helped students to open up and be more willing to discuss challenges they face. A few students said 5 Star has made them realize there is help available and others may be going through the same problems they are facing. The program has also been a positive encouragement and can result in improved self-esteem.

Berkeypile noted it is a big part of the school’s improvement plan. Seth Maust, president and executive director of 5 Star, referred to as “Coach Seth,” will be visiting WMS in person Feb. 26.

In other business Dr. Stephen Troyer, superintendent of the school corporation, said 24 students and 13 staff members tested positive for COVID-19 during January and there were 168 total quarantines. But the trend recently has been more encouraging and the positive test rate has dropped considerably. He said the state department of health will no longer require quarantines if masks are worn at all times by students, they remain forward facing and stay 3 feet apart from others in classrooms.

Troyer requested a special school board work session be held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 3, at a location yet to be determined where he will present his “state of the school” report to the board.

He also thanked Mike Snavley, director of transportation, for his years of service. Snavley will retire from the school corporation effective March 2 and has accepted a position in the private sector.

Other agenda items included:

• Wawasee High School student Nyla White was recognized for being chosen to receive a Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship. Samantha Kolberg was also presented the scholarship and was recognized at the January board meeting.

• WHS teacher Traci Henn was recognized for being named the Indiana Council for Exceptional Children Special Education Teacher of the Year. It was also announced she has chosen another position outside the school corporation and is resigning effective Feb. 19.

• The Phillip Fawley Scholarship was reopened after a $1,000 donation was received from Nancy and Larry Stoner. Fawley was a language arts teacher and the scholarship had been closed in 1995.

• Wawasee High School’s super mileage car team received donations of $3,000 from Sally Mahnken and $500 from Main Channel Marina and the money will be used to update and modify one of the super mileage cars.

• Syracuse Church of God donated $500 to be used for the clothing closet at the high school.

• WHS basketball players Kameron Salazar and Ethan Carey were recognized for exemplary behavior during the Jan. 15 game at Mishawaka.

• Former WHS gymnastics coach Nika Prather received the NLC Outstanding Service Award Jan. 26.

• Korenstra Family Foundation donated $10,000 to the school corporation to be used by building principals as needed and also for the DECA program at the high school.

Dr. Steve Troyer, superintendent of the Wawasee Community School Corporation, speaks in the cafeteria of Wawasee Middle School. Photo by Tim Ashley.

By Tim Ashley
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — Opening up the channels of communication with the public and internally was a common topic of the third “Listen and Learn” meeting held by Dr. Steve Troyer, superintendent of the Wawasee Community School Corporation, Saturday morning, Feb. 20, in the cafeteria of Wawasee Middle School. A small group of about 15 people, several of them school administrators, came to the meeting.

Troyer held the town hall style meetings previously at Wawasee High School and Milford School and the fourth and final meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, at North Webster Elementary School.

Troyer gave some background information on himself and noted values he wants to emphasize are all students and staff can grow, integrity matters, taking care of people, focusing on success and communication is key. He said communication is something he has heard about repeatedly in the meetings.

“We want to be better at communicating and to grow,” he said.

Priorities include instructional leadership, building and maintaining relationships and strong strategic planning. “Strategic planning is something I feel like we need to grow in and have not done really well at,” he emphasized.

Troyer said part of his vision for the school corporation is becoming a premier school corporation in northern Indiana. “I absolutely want us to become a premier school corporation,” he noted, saying the use of professional learning communities will move Wawasee toward that objective.

His goals are to listen and learn, strengthen the school board’s relationship with the superintendent, engage in the Wawasee community and develop a systematic process of communication. He said more works needs to be done on how the school corporation responds to information coming in from the public.

“We do pretty well at getting information out, though I can’t say we are perfect at it,” he said, “but we can grow on getting information back in.”

Troyer said the greatest strength of the school corporation is its five school buildings. “We have great people and staff at Wawasee,” he said.

The biggest challenge the school corporation faces is declining enrollment numbers. Each of the last six years, enrollment has decreased.

He believes changing demographics is part of the problem, but more importantly students and families are choosing not to attend school at a Wawasee school. “We need to take a solid look at that and do it pretty quickly,” he said.

During public comments Dave Stookey, a long time coach of track and cross country at Wawasee High School, said he believes having a strong athletic program ties in with being a strong school corporation. “Our athletic program has been less competitive in recent years,” he said, noting as an example the photos in the hallways of the high school more often show teams from several years ago winning sectional tournaments.

Stookey said it is difficult to compete against schools with larger numbers, some of which are more than double the size of Wawasee. He feels a committee needs to be formed to do a comprehensive study of Wawasee athletics.

Troyer said “we will be taking a look at athletics because it makes sense to do that now.” Later he responded to a comment about athletics by saying he wants the entire school corporation to be stronger, just not athletics.

Don Bokhart, school board president, asked Troyer what it means to be a premier school corporation. Troyer said it involves many aspects and he started by saying he wants to see improvement in academics. He feels the letter grades issued to schools by the Indiana Department of Education “are not reflective of where we are really at and the work our teachers and staff are doing.”

He also noted more work needs to be done in addressing the social and emotional learning needs of students and the perspective on customer service needs to change. “We need to look at that (customer service) more, we have some work to do,” he said.

Rob Fisher, school board member, asked what will happen with two way communication when this series of meetings is finished. Troyer said it is only the beginning. He wants the public to have more chances to give feedback.

He added improvement is needed on social media interactions and it would also probably be good to have someone on staff who can focus on communication issues.

Troyer also said an open school board work session will be held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 3, likely in the high school auditorium though that has not been confirmed yet. He will present his “state of the school” report to the school board at the meeting. An open work session, he said, would at least give the public a chance to see the school board interacting with him and other administrators.

A question was posed about AP and dual credit courses at the high school and if they are really preparing students for college. Troyer said part of the problem is the administration at the high school is still fairly new, but they are trying new ideas such as the AP TIP-IN program, which is designed to make the AP program “more robust.”

Another question was asked about talking to the students at the high school and finding out why they are going to other schools instead of Wawasee. Troyer said it is a real issue to him and “we have never asked why.”

He said there about 250 students living in the Wawasee district attending school outside it, but about 150 are coming in from other districts.

Seth Maust (in purple T-shirt), or “Coach Seth,” visited Wawasee Middle School to get feedback on the 5 Star Program he co-founded. Photo by Tim Ashley.

By Tim Ashley
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — Students lined the halls of Wawasee Middle School forming an indoor parade fit for a dignitary. But in the minds of some of those students, Seth Maust, most often referred to as “Coach Seth,” is comparable to a dignitary.

Coach Seth, who lives in Granger, visited WMS for a couple of hours Friday, Feb. 26. He is the co-founder of the 5 Star Program, which is used in schools to address negative mindsets through academic, leadership and character programming. The program is used at WMS and students who had only seen Coach Seth in videos were able to meet him in person Friday.

After arriving at the school with two of his staff members, Coach Seth walked in the classroom hallways and greeted students with fist bumps, signed a few autographs and paused to have several selfies taken with students. He then visited two seventh grade classrooms and asked for student input. In Angela Bontrager’s math class, a student asked if drug abuse could be addressed, noting the house next door to where he lives had been boarded up but was broken into and used to manufacture crack cocaine. Though it was reported, nothing was done about it, the student said.

Another student said 5 Star has been helpful because it has helped him understand what a friend has been going through who has parents abusing alcohol. Bontrager said the program has caused students “to dig down deep” and talk about things they normally wouldn’t talk about.

Coach Seth later took time to mingle with the sixth graders in the cafeteria. He then met with 15 students — five from each grade level — for a student panel to receive more direct feedback, such as what students say to their friends in the hallways.

His visit was wrapped up with brief visits to two classrooms in both the sixth and eighth grades.

During the Feb. 9 Wawasee School Board meeting, WMS Principal Brent Berkeypile and Drew Graber, assistant principal, gave a presentation to the board about 5 Star. Several students and teachers gave positive testimonies about the program in a video.

Coach Seth asked for student input in Angela Bontrager’s seventh grade classroom at Wawasee Middle School.

Press Release

SYRACUSE – Warrior Swimming will be conducting American Red Cross swim lessons at Wawasee Middle School in June.

Scarlett Pfenning was excited to take swim lessons at Wawasee Middle School in 2019, and the Warrior Swim program is excited to be hosting lessons again in 2021. Photo provided

There are two session dates available for the summer swim lessons. The first session will be held from June 7-17 on Monday-Thursday, the direct registration link for Summer Session 1.

The second session will be held from June 21 to July 1 on Monday-Thursday, the direct registration link for Summer Session 2.

Additionally, registrations can be made by visiting the Team Unify homepage and clicking the “Swim Lessons” tab.

Registration is ongoing for both summer sessions but space is limited. Signups may also be available at the start of each session based on available spots. There are five different class levels available for registration.

Parent and Child (6 months to 3 years) classes are available at 9:00, 9:50 a.m., and 5:00 p.m.
Level 2 (Fundamental Aquatic Skills) classes are available at 9:00, 9:50, 10:40, 11:30 a.m., 5:00 and 5:50 p.m.
Level 3 (Stroke Development) classes are available at 9:00, 9:50, 10:40, 11:30 a.m., and 5:50 p.m.
Level 4 (Stroke Improvement) classes are available at 9:00, 9:50, 10:40, 11:30 a.m., and 5:50 p.m.
Level 5 (Stroke Refinement) classes are available at 9:00 a.m.

Each class is scheduled to last 40 minutes. The cost per session is $65 for the first child, $55 for the second child, and $50 for each subsequent child. Parents can enter through the south entrance of the building near the pool (door 9).

Questions may be directed to Angie Metcalf at warriorswimlessons@gmail.com

Staff Report

SYRACUSE – Wawasee Middle School is sending students home because of a power outage.

Parents are currently picking up students at the school and students who cannot get home will be shuttled over to the high school for the remainder of the day, according to school officials.

The line of motorists seeking to pick up their children is causing a backup in traffic along SR 13, according to one parent.

Staff Report

SYRACUSE – Wawasee Middle School will remain closed Friday, Aug. 13, due to a power outage, the school district announced.

Superintendent Steve Troyer announced the news in an alert to parents Friday morning.

Troyer said Friday will not have e-learning.

All other schools in the district will remain open, he said.

A line of storms that passed through north-central Indiana early Thursday morning caused the outages.

According to NIPSCO, hundreds of customers in Bristol, Goshen, Syracuse and Warsaw and other areas could remain without power until late Friday night. Those areas include:

BRISTOL
CROMWELL
GOSHEN
MENTONE
MIDDLEBURY
NAPPANEE
SHIPSHEWANA
SYRACUSE
TOPEKA
WAKARUSA
WARSAW

By Tim Ashley
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — Wawasee Community School Corporation recently announced the five applicants for the school board vacancy that will be created at the end of October due to Mary Lou Dixon’s departure. All five applicants live in Turkey Creek Township.

The applicants are Vicki Morton, Nancy Nelson, David Rosenberry, Rob Chalk and Andy Cripe.

A forum for the five applicants is scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 28, in the lecture room at Wawasee Middle School.

Morton serves on the Wawasee Junior Achievement board of directors and has also served on the board for Cardinal Services in Warsaw. She also serves as a volunteer for CASA and Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

She has a Bachelor’s degree in accounting and a Masters of Business Administration from Indiana University. Morton spent more than 36 years in internal auditing and financial management roles in several companies.

“I have been in numerous classrooms in the Wawasee schools,” she said. “I have observed dedicated Wawasee teachers, administrators and counselors. Due to my involvement in CASA and BBBS, I have educated myself on childhood trauma by attending various webinars, seminars and reading books.

“Prior to the COVID shutdown, I had been asked to be a community member of the Wawasee schools childhood trauma taskforce.”

Morton has also taught numerous JA classes.

Nelson, a graduate of Ball State University, began working for the school corporation in December 1966 when it was still known as the Lakeland School Corporation. She worked for nine different superintendents before retiring after 46 years.

She was a classroom teacher, reading coordinator, media director, audio visual computer chairman and taught GED night classes for 28 years. Nelson still keeps score at Wawasee girls basketball and volleyball games and has worked at academic competitions and other school events.

She also helps with the school science curriculum trips to the Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation.

“As you can tell, I might bleed green and gold,” Nelson said. “I am interested in working on the school board because of my pride in Wawasee. I have been a part of this corporation in many capacities, however I never knew the operation of the school board.

“I would like to complete my circle of knowledge.”

Rosenberry is a 1990 graduate of Wawasee High School. He served for many years in public safety and is currently employed by a Leader in Next Generation 911 services. He served with the Kosciusko County 911 Dispatch Center for 21 years and was the 911 director.

He also served 28 years with the Milford Fire Department.

“I have an eight-year-old son who is enrolled in the Wawasee school system,” he said. “I have a vested interest in seeing that the performance of our schools continues to grow and excel. I feel that together with my experience as a parent, a public safety professional and a volunteer, that I can join our current school board members and help Wawasee Community Schools be a great educational experience for all our children for years to come.”

Chalk graduated from Wawasee High School in 1995 and owns and operates Track & Trail Powersports in Columbia City with his wife, Jessica.

“My interest in applying for the vacant position is to create a stronger connection, increased communication and transparency between the school board, administration and the Wawasee community,” he said.

Cripe is a graduate of Northridge High School and has college degrees from Indiana University. He is the owner of QES/Beta-Con and Hammerhead Enterprises and executive vice president of Horizon Transport. Through the years he has managed six product managers and 11 production facilities.

He has coached youth football, basketball, baseball and soccer for many years, is a board member for Loveway and has also volunteered at Boomerang Backpack, with PTO and the Lakeland Youth Center. He received an Entrepreneur of the Year award from the chamber of commerce.

“I want to help tell our story and assist in any way possible to help us to improve on, what I believe to be, a great ‘product,’” he said. “I do have an ‘agenda’ and that is to do my part. My wife and I feel that we have a responsibility to actively serve our community. If we really want what is best for this place we call home, then I can think of no better way or place to serve than our schools.

“I am not a teacher or an administrator, that leaves positions like the school board as an avenue to give back and get involved. Simply put, I want to serve, help and offer any guidance that I can.”

From left are David Rosenberry, Nancy Nelson, Vicki Morton, Andy Cripe and Rob Chalk, the five applicants for the Wawasee School Board soon to be vacant position currently held by Mary Lou Dixon. Photo by Tim Ashley.

By Tim Ashley
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — Five Turkey Creek Township residents hoping to serve on the Wawasee School Board gathered for a public forum Tuesday evening, Sept. 28, in the lecture room of Wawasee Middle School. The five applied for a soon to be vacancy on the board when Mary Lou Dixon retires effective Oct. 31.

Applicants for the board vacancy are Rob Chalk, Andy Cripe, Vicki Morton, Nancy Nelson and David Rosenberry. Chalk and Cripe are business owners, Rosenberry works in the public safety field, Morton is a retired accountant and Nelson is a retired educator. The person chosen to replace Dixon will serve the remainder of her term through Dec. 31, 2022, and officially start Nov. 1.

Tuesday’s forum was sponsored by the Wawasee Community Educators Association and Dina Coverstone, a teacher, was chosen to moderate the forum and she asked each candidate a total of 11 questions after they gave opening statements.

The 11 questions covered a wide range of topics including, but not limited to, how the candidates would view their role as a school board member and the ideal relationship with other board members, how they feel about educating all children, even those with disabilities, what are the outcomes derived from an education mattering most, how they will know if a program has been successful, how they feel teachers should be evaluated, how they would enlist public support for referendums or bond issues among those who don’t have children in school and what they see as challenges and opportunities.

As the evening progressed, it was apparent all five candidates had many similar views. None of the five expressed they had a particular agenda or would try to “fix” things, but rather shared a desire to serve the community and try to improve on the good programs already in place.

All five also stated more needs to be done about getting the word out on what is offered in Wawasee schools. “We need to toot our own horn,” Nelson said. “Wawasee has been known for a long time for its programs and we need to get the word out. We need to be our own advocates.”

There was also unanimous agreement on some of the challenges faced by the school corporation such as a lack of state funding and declining enrollment numbers. Morton noted the declining enrollment can affect what and how many programs Wawasee can offer to students. Cripe said the lack of funding can make it more difficult to find and keep teachers who have a strong passion to teach kids.

Chalk said a challenge, or possibly an opportunity, is to find out why kids who live in the Wawasee school district are attending schools outside of the district. “We need to figure out why kids in our district are not going here,” he said. “They need to be in our buildings.”

Rosenberry said a possible challenge is parental backing of schools and also making sure both middle schools are doing equally well in preparing students for high school, though he emphasized he doesn’t necessarily feel it is a problem now. He also added he is a strong advocate of career and technical education programs and wants to see those continue as they are.

Wawasee has good facilities, the CTE program is strong and there are good teachers and administrators in place was also expressed by each of the five candidates. Each candidate also emphasized the importance of utilizing the “chain of command” when confronted by parents who have concerns about athletic issues or even teachers. “It’s not my role,” Nelson said. “I bypass that. It’s somebody else’s role.”

Chalk also noted it is important “to be a good listener” and follow up with the parent to make sure the issue was resolved properly. Morton added using current school board policies is also an option for addressing some issues.

When asked what the district has done well or poorly, Chalk said the use of solar panels has saved the school corporation a lot of money. He noted sometimes there has been a failure to communicate properly, but he cautioned “we are on the outside looking in and don’t see all of the details.”

Morton said Wawasee has a lot of teachers who have been teaching a long time and has a lot of male teachers who can be good role models for kids growing up without a father in their home.

All were in agreement community support needs to be sought for bond issues or referendums and the public needs to be educated on the details well in advance of when voting will take place. “It is naive to think if your kid is not in school it doesn’t impact you,” Cripe said, noting the success or failure of schools has a ripple effect on the community.

Each of the five also stated they feel teachers are not evaluated fairly and too much emphasis is placed on testing results. Chalk said “we still need students who want to learn” and it is not fair to say a teacher didn’t do their job if a student is not learning. Cripe said there are different ways to measure the success of students such as getting a student “to come out of their shell” regardless of what their grades are.

Morton said some students can get good grades, but not do well on testing. “I don’t like using test results to evaluate teachers,” she said. Rosenberry noted NWEA testing used in the school corporation is “better than what the state does.”

Each candidate gave a closing statement before the forum was adjourned. The applicant chosen will be announced at the Tuesday, Oct. 12, regular monthly meeting of the school board.

News Release

SYRACUSE — Wawasee Middle School Parent Teacher Organization Christmas Craft Bazaar is one of the largest craft bazaars in the area, featuring more than 250 vendors filling the commons area and other parts of the school.

This year’s bazaar will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4. Admission is free.

The event is ideal for craft lovers or Christmas shoppers alike. Handmade crafts, baked goods, jewelry, scarves, holiday decor, glassware, pottery and wood products are just some of the items available.

The craft bazaar is WMS PTO’s only fundraiser for the year, and the money goes back into the school to help pay for field trips for every grade, teachers’ supplies, the scholarship fund, science labs and more.

The middle school is located at 9850 SR 13, south of Syracuse.

For updates or other information visit Wawasee Middle School PTO on Facebook.

By Tim Ashley
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — Sometimes good news comes in unexpected ways.

After six straight years of declining enrollment, the Wawasee Community School Corporation was informed in early January by the Indiana Department of Education there was an error in determining how student enrollment was calculated. As a result, Wawasee’s total enrollment number as reported by the IDOE for the 2021-22 school year is 2,937. Instead of it being 2,834 as first thought, the number grew by more than 100 students.

“We are still corresponding with the state to determine if this impacts our ADM (average daily membership for school funding) or not,” said Dr. Steve Troyer, WCSC superintendent. “Regardless, we are somewhat encouraged to finally see a rise in enrollment rather than another year of loss.”

By school building the enrollment numbers for 2021-22 are as follows: North Webster Elementary, 460; Syracuse Elementary, 524; Milford School, 475; Wawasee Middle School, 530; and Wawasee High School, 948. Compared to the 2020-21 school year, North Webster had an increase of 100 students and Milford had a decrease of 22 students. Syracuse and WMS both had gains of 12 students and the high school had a decrease of one student.

But the pandemic figured significantly into the numbers. “Last year during the fall count day we were still allowing virtual enrollment for elementary students (we have since stopped offering virtual programming for elementary),” Troyer said. “Because of the way our program was structured, all the virtual students were either enrolled at Syracuse Elementary or Milford Elementary, based upon the location of the virtual teacher for that specific grade level. That meant all the virtual students from NWES were taken off their books and put on the books of the other two buildings.

“Hence, the big loss of enrollment last year, and the corresponding big gain in enrollment for the spring count, and this year.”

For the 2019-20 school year, which had in person learning until March 2020, North Webster had 410 students enrolled before dropping to 360 for 2020-21. Milford went from 532 in 2019-20 to 497 in 2020-21 and the high school from 920 to 949 during the same time period. Syracuse had a modest gain from 501 to 512 and WMS remained exactly the same at 518.

Troyer noted several students were homeschooled and returned to school this year “so that has been an additional factor in the gain in enrollment.”

Last year during the public meetings he held one of the issues brought up repeatedly was the number of students living in the Wawasee school district who choose to attend other schools. It has been a point of emphasis for the school corporation to address.

“We lose 262 students to other public schools but gain 191 students to Wawasee, which is a net difference of -71 students,” he said. “It is becoming increasingly important that we find ways to connect with these families and develop an environment and culture where they want to remain here in our local school community. We feel we can best serve the students in Syracuse, Milford and North Webster by keeping them in our local schools.”

Statewide Enrollment Numbers

IDOE reported enrollment in Indiana’s public and accredited non-public schools grew to 1.12 million students for the 2021-22 school year, a modest increase from the previous school year.

A 5.25% increase in kindergarten enrollment was a significant part of the enrollment growth. “This strong growth comes as some families are enrolling their children in a K-12 school for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” it was noted in a news release from IDOE.

Of the 1.12 million, 1.03 million students are enrolled in public schools. Enrollment calculations are based on a statewide count of students in attendance in an Indiana school Oct. 1.

Dr. Steve Troyer speaks to the Wawasee School Board.

By Tim Ashley
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — Brent Berkeypile, principal of Wawasee Middle School, summed it up when noting “there are a lot of good things going on at Wawasee Middle School,” but in a brief report only a few things could be shared. He gave a report on a few of those good things during the regular monthly meeting of the Wawasee School Board Tuesday evening, Feb. 8, in Syracuse.

For the past few months the board has heard reports about each of the schools in the district. This month it was Wawasee Middle School’s turn.

Berkeypile focused on Tier 2 social and emotional learning interventions. More specifically, Tier 2 is for those students who are struggling or behind in their learning for various reasons. “We pull them into small groups and reteach them,” he said.

Teachers and other staff members refer students in need of Tier 2 to a committee that looks at the specific needs and then groups students together according to needs. Berkeypile said it is hard to measure how successful Tier 2 intervention is, but many of the students who go through it say they want to be in a small group again.

Angie Bontrager, seventh grade math and science teacher at WMS, talked about math interventions and said “we are seeing success translate into the classroom,” adding the students are getting more practice on their math skills during interventions.

A few National Junior Honor Society students at WMS also spoke and said students earning all A’s or B’s are eligible to become members but must be recommended and are required to perform community service of some type.

In other business, during the patron comments Rich Rhodes again spoke about his desire to see Warrior Field, the Wawasee High School football field, be renamed Harry J. Michael Warrior Field in honor of the World War II Medal of Honor recipient who grew up west of Milford. Rhodes read a letter from U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski who is in support of renaming the football field.

Rhodes also read briefly from a few other letters, including one submitted by Harold Young, the principal of Milford High School at the time Michael attended there in the 1940s. Young offered condolences to the family after Michael was killed during the war. Another letter was from State Rep. Curt Nisly who supports the renaming of the football field.

Becky Tusing also spoke and said she disagrees with renaming the field, saying all veterans should be honored not just one. She suggested putting in some type of a tribute wall to WHS graduates who served in the military.

Also on the agenda, the board approved utilizing EduStaff to operate the substitute management system and Red Rover to operate the absence management system. Dr. Steve Troyer, superintendent of the Wawasee Community School Corporation, said trying to find substitute teachers especially since the onset of COVID has been a major problem. He noted on some days principals are teaching in classrooms or paraprofessionals must be brought in.

If classrooms can’t be covered by a teacher, they are sometimes combined. Utilizing EduStaff will at least allow Wawasee to draw from a larger pool of substitute teachers in the area.

During his report to the board, Troyer said the school corporation had 206 positive cases of COVID in January due to the Omicron variant, which easily was a larger number than most recent months. But he noted “it is crashing out as quickly as it came in” during February so far and the trend indicates things will return to normal soon.

Also during his report, Troyer talked about CARES/ESSER funding to schools from the federal government. The first round of CARES funds must be spent by September 2022. Wawasee received $380,014.64 and has spent $289,984.40. The remaining $90,030.24 will be spent on science of reading training for teachers, a partnership with the Bowen Center, after school remediation and more.

Troyer said it is often asked how much of the funding is actually helping students, but he said nearly all of it is such as for curriculum and resources, operational supplies, technology, stipends for staff and more. There is a button that can be clicked on the WCSC website, www.wawasee.k12.in.us, with regular updates on the spending of CARES/ESSER funds.

Other agenda items included (all approved by the board):

• Wawasee Early Learning Centers received the first round of Build, Learn, Grow Stabilization Grants totaling $54,800.

• Wawasee Early Learning programs received a $25,000 grant from the Dekko Foundation.

• Wawasee FFA received donations totaling $1,500 to enable students to attend leadership conventions.

• Wawasee High School super mileage team received a $1,000 donation from the Rosema Corporation of Fort Wayne.

• Shoop Sports & Youth Foundation donated $750 to the Boomerang Backpacks program.

• Wawasee Robotics received $3,500 in donations.

• Blackboard will be the new host for the WCSC website for a term of three years at a cost of less than $10,000. This will allow the number of pages used on the website to expand.

• The 2022-23 school corporation calendar will include a full week for fall break instead of only two days as had been the norm.

• School improvement plans will be developed during a summit June 1-2, in addition to being discussed March 1 during a meeting of building instructional leadership teams.

Sarah Bauer, middle, head nurse for the Wawasee Community School Corporation and also the daily nurse for Wawasee Middle School, was joined by the nurses she oversees. On the left are Tisha Powell, Syracuse Elementary, and Kim Hollopeter, North Webster Elementary. To the right are Kari Schlabach, Milford School, and Kallie Harris, Wawasee High School. Photo by Tim Ashley.

By Tim Ashley
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — On a day off from work, Sarah Bauer received a most pleasant surprise. She was informed Monday, March 7, she had been named School Nurse of the Year by the Indiana Association of School Nurses.

Bauer, the head nurse for the Wawasee Community School Corporation and also the daily nurse for Wawasee Middle School, was nominated by her co-workers and also by Tracey Akers, nurse coordinator for Warsaw Community Schools.

On Monday afternoon Bauer walked into a conference room at WMS filled with her co-workers, WCSC Superintendent Dr. Steve Troyer, Jennifer Phillips, special services coordinator for Wawasee and others. Bauer did not know about her being named School Nurse of the Year until Monday.

She not only handles the day to day functions at WMS, but also oversees school nurses and the health functions at Syracuse Elementary, North Webster Elementary, Milford School and Wawasee High School. And she handles contact tracing and quarantine situations for COVID.

But she was quick to credit the nurses she works with, saying “this happens because of these four ladies,” adding “they’re the best.”

“Even during this difficult past two years she has worked many hours before, after school and on weekends to ensure everyone has been taken care of no matter the time of the day,” said Cindy Jonsson, main office secretary at WMS.

“Her leadership is one that stands out because she cares and has a heart of gold,” said Kimberly Hollopeter, nurse at North Webster Elementary.

“It’s really hard to put into words how she impacts our school corporation,” Phillips said. “Her presence is felt in every building because of the support and leadership she offers to her nurses and our leadership team.”

Akers said Bauer reached out to her when she became the coordinator for Wawasee “because she wanted to find out how to improve the position and to make sure she was efficient in her role.” The two met regularly with the nurse coordinator at Tippecanoe Valley, who was also new in her role.

Bauer has been a nurse at Wawasee since December 2012. She will represent Indiana at the national conference for school nurses in June in Atlanta, Ga.

Sarah Bauer with her husband, Dan Bauer.

Dakota Garman, right, looks on as Isaac Gibson, left, filters water through his device for testing. Photo provided by Wawasee Middle School.

News Release

Seventh-graders at Wawasee Middle School closed out the year by putting into practice the information they had learned about water this year during a May 24 field trip to the Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation Education Center.

With generous funding through the Wawasee Education Foundation, the school supplied water testing kits and materials to make water filtration devices from recycled water bottles. Students used these materials to test the lake water for contaminants before and after filtration.

Volunteers from the WACF led a discussion on wetlands and the watershed. Students also participated in a water bucket relay, a mini-sailboat race using recycled milk cartons, launched desktop catapults and had a scavenger hunt along the trails of the Education Center. The goal of the field trip was to develop a greater understanding of, and appreciation for, one of our area’s greatest natural resources.

Dr. Steve Troyer, superintendent, left, presented a request to begin formal discussion on combining Milford Middle School and Wawasee Middle School, during Tuesday nights meeting of the Wawasee Community School Corporation Board of Trustees meeting. Board members Rebecca Linnemeier and Mike Wilson are shown on the right. Photo by Deb Patterson.

By Deb Patterson
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — Formal discussion has begun to combine Milford Middle School with Wawasee Middle School into one facility.

Superintendent Dr. Steve Troyer, alluded to the pending discussion in a newsletter emailed out to parents of corporation students last week. He officially started the discussion with a presentation to the Wawasee Community School Corp., Board of Trustees Tuesday evening, Aug. 9.

“It is really important to get on the table right now and just be honest and upfront about this. I’ve had a lot of people ask me about ‘Hey, you’re going to close the school at Milford’ and the answer to that is absolutely not. We have no plans and I would say that the board, I’ve never heard plans from the board, for any decision related to closing the school at Milford. Our intention is there will be a school in Milford and there will be a school in the town of Milford for that matter.” stated Troyer.

Low enrollment at Milford Middle School affecting the academic possibilities for students is the main reason for the discussion to begin. Approximately 148 students are enrolled at MMS to begin the 2022-23 school year, with over 500 students at WMS. He stressed the reason was not financial but educational.

During his presentation, Troyer stated there has been discussion at length for many years of combining the two middle schools for various reasons, but there’s never been a change structurally. Troyer feels it is time to “take a hard look at the reality of Milford Middle School continuing.”

Troyer stated with the low enrollment is is hard to offer a full middle school experience at Milford. He had spoken with teachers at MMS at the end of the last school year indicating it was time to have “pretty serious conservations about what we’re going to do with Milford Middle School and what would be the considerations that we have to really think about, plan for and run through if we are going to in fact look at combining the middle schools.”

He admitted the district is spread out, which presents a challenge as there is no real direct route between Milford and WMS. “There are challenges to take a look at … There’s a lot of details we have to figure out, plan for and identify if we look at moving forward as a viable option.”

He stated due to the low enrollment at Milford, educational programming at that school is beginning to suffer. “We can’t offer the same things, experiences, access to programs we have at Wawasee Middle School. This is a big disservice to our students.”

Troyer proposed over the next couple of months, he along with the district leadership team explore the problem formally and put together real “what ifs” and begin to address the real possibility that it is something that needs to be done at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year.

He also addressed comments that once the middle schools were combined a new school would be built halfway between Milford and Syracuse. This, he stated he has never heard from the board. “The board values having a building in that town. It may just be a K-6 or pre-K to five instead of K through eight.”

Community conversations are targeted for October to get the information out and in front of the community. “It is important to us to really communicate well with the community.

“Ask your blessing on spending the next couple months on this topic and bring a recommendation (to the board) at the latest the second Tuesday in December. I would make a recommendation for you to consider and that would be a recommendation for the following school year.”

Don Bokhart, board president, requested Troyer provide specific examples of how educational programming has been affected by the loss of students.

Troyer gave two examples. One example was eighth grade math. He stated out of 50 students, which is the number for several middle school grade levels, there are 15 students ready to take algebra in eighth grade, while the remainder are ready for regular math. This would call for a split to two math sections. One would have a very small class while the other would be a large class. “This puts students at a disadvantage. He also referenced several years ago when geometry was offered for eighth graders. MMS could not offer an in person class due to less than five kids interested and in one instance several students transferred to WMS so they could take the course.

Project Lead The Way was also discontinued at Milford not only due to staffing issues but also not enough kids to support a full time teacher. “When you have a building with 500 kids maybe you have 25-30 kids in a class, but when you have grade levels of 50, it is just so much more challenging to offer similar offerings,” Troyer said.

“Part of the community conversation the last time it was discussed was Milford was going to be more of an ag focused school and WMS engineering focused. Those are things that I don’t feel great about, not being able to have students have access to the same program because of where they live. … It’s not fair to the kids …”

Shown is a blue print of Milford School showing the original building and the four additions since 1960. Milford School is the oldest school building in the corporation.

By Deb Patterson
InkFreeNews

WAWASEE — A group of 46 people from Milford, North Webster and Syracuse met five times from Feb. 27 through March 25 to learn about Wawasee Community School Corporation, its finances, curriculum, facilities and demographics. The final task was to put aside emotions and focus on what was best for the students and make suggestions to the school board. An executive summary will be presented at the April 18 school board meeting.

This group was called the Community Engagement Committee.

Each meeting, held at a different school building, also consisted of a facility tour by administrators of that school.

The group consisted of parents, elected officials, clergy, business leaders and teachers. Members of the group appeared to take their task seriously as attendance ranged between 90% to 95%.

Dr. Steve Troyer, superintendent, stated the group was tasked with two objectives: take a look at educational programming and how Milford is different than the other schools and help identify options for the board to consider in making decisions relating to facilities. “It is an opportunity to invest into the facilities and input priorities,” Troyer stated.

The five meetings were facilitated by Dr. James M. Halik, Compass-Keynote Consulting LLC. The former superintendent, noted the group was to help the school board be proactive, be a think tank and provide transparency. He stated the purpose of the group was to prepare options for the board based on the process of tours of the facilities and study data.

“Your focus is to use the data. Your primary reason, we are here for the kids, what is the best interest for the majority of kids – safety, curriculum, appearance, facility use,” stressed Halik.

The role of the board and its responsibility were reviewed — conduct public business meetings, represent the community, over all perspective and provide adequate facilities.

Finances

The presentation on the corporation’s finances, including bond and debt capacity, was presented by Dr. Brandon Penrod, acting business manager and financial consultant. The focus was an overview of factors impacting school finances, historical data for the corporation, and trends, forecasts and financial impacts. It was noted the corporation tax rate is $0.5399 per a $100 assessed valuation, one of the lowest in the state.

The four major components noted were finance, operations, curriculum/instruction and promotion/relations. Each of those areas were detailed. Tax dollars are only received for the operation and debt funds. State funds are used for the other funds.

Overviews explaining revenue from state funding and property taxes were provided. Information was also made available on the assessed value and tax rates for schools throughout the county.

Information was also provided showing a decrease in the corporation’s debt service funds as previous debt service is being paid down. In essence the corporation has approximately $80 million available over the years without raising tax rates.

Enrollment

Enrollment figures from 2013 to current were provided by grade levels. These figures showed a decrease in students in seven of the 10 years. Only 2014-15 and 2015-16 showed any increase with the highest in 2014-15 at 2.2%. There was only a 0.3% increase the following year.

Enrollment for other schools in the county was also provided, showing all schools were seeing a decrease in students.

Education

Educational program was presented by Assistant Superintendent Shelly Wilfong. Programs range from infant/toddler to 12th grade. Middle school information was provided showing the current inequity of learning experiences between Milford and Wawasee. Offering similar programs and cross-building collaboration is becoming difficult due to differences in Encore classes, a difference in schedules and class times and student numbers. Enrollment, number of teachers and the student/teacher ratio along with advanced programming challenges at Milford Middle Schoolwere presented.

Wilfong noted the teachers at Milford Middle School are teaching two to three subjects and it is difficult to find teachers willing to teach that many subjects. If a teacher has a job choice of teaching one subject throughout the day compared to two to three subjects, they will take the one subject choice.

Details on alternative programs, graduation pathways and career and technical education programs were also presented.

Facilities

Another eye-opening presentation was the facility study, provided independently by Barton Coe Vilamaa, architects and engineers. Staff toured each of the facilities, providing floor plans, dates building plans were created, design, building capacity, additions, room usage and recommended improvements.

Syracuse and North Webster are the corporation’s two newest schools. Syracuse, with a capacity of 558, is near its limit. North Webster, however, has only reached just over half of its capacity of 641. Milford School has a capacity of 660 and as of 2020-21 enrollment was 497. Wawasee Middle School, with a capacity of 944, is 518 and Wawasee High School, with a capacity of 1,306, is 949.

The study provided areas of improvements to each school, including external improvements such as extending drop-off and pick-up areas, more parking, fencing, sidewalks and improved entrances.

Milford School is the oldest school in the corporation. A layout of the school showed the original building was built in 1954 with additions in 1960, 1977, 1981 and 2001. Numerous challenges in the elementary and middle school areas were noted regarding classrooms, office, specialty areas, corridors, entrances and areas underutilized.

The high school is the second oldest building in the corporation. Like Milford it has had numerous additions and renovations. The high school was originally designed in 1967. Additions were made in 1971, 1977, 1991, 2010 ad 2011. Among the challenges for this building was the office, C-wing classrooms, storage, performing arts, lecture room and CTE area. Other challenges included the athletics area. It was noted the natatorium, lecture room, LRC Rooms/Surge and some classroom spaces are underutilized.

Demographics

Demographics for the corporation were provided by McKibben Demographic Research LLC, Rock Hill, S.C. Jerome McKibben’s study provided corporation forecast assumptions, population based on the 2020 census and enrollment projection for each school through 2032-33.

The demographics showed the largest population age groups were between 55-69, with those between the ages of 10-19 the second highest. The smallest groups were those between birth to 4 and 70 tand up. The study showed people are remaining in their homes longer instead of downsizing. These are the homes, it was stated, younger families would normally move into.

Committee members were also given a view of where students live throughout the district and per school, created by Wilfong.

This graph, created by McKibben Demographics, shows the population of the Wawasee Community School Corp based on 2020 figures. The graph shows the age groups of young children are not as predominate as the over 45 to 75 age groups. The demographic coincides with the reduction of students enrolled in the elementary schools.

News Release
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — Warrior Swimming is offering summer swim lessons. There are two sessions to choose from with classes at 9:00 a.m., 9:55 a.m., 10:50 a.m., 4:40 p.m. and 5:35 p.m.

Session one is scheduled from June 5-15. Session two is scheduled from June 19-29.

Classes are 40 minutes and will be held at Wawasee Middle School.

The cost per child is $70 for Levels 2, 3, and 4. The cost per child for preschool is $80.

Children enrolling in preschool should be at least two years old and must be able to sit on the edge of the pool and wait their turn.

If there are no open spots for your child, scroll to the bottom of the sign-up and select “waitlist.” Check back often as new classes are added.

Sign up by clicking here:

Session One: signupgenius.com/go/10c0d45a9a823a3fbc61-20232#/

Session Two: signupgenius.com/go/10c0d45a9a823a3fbc61-20233#/

If you have any questions, please contact Angie Metcalf at warriorswimlessons@gmail.com.

Wawasee Community School Board member Steve Baut shares his thoughts on consolidating Milford and Wawasee Middle Schools. Photo by Deb Patterson.

By Deb Patterson
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — “It’s a difficult, difficult decision. Trust in your hearts, the board is making this decision with the students best interests at heart,” commented Don Bokhart, president of the Wawasee Community School Corp. board of trustees.

This comment preceeded a vote by school board members Tuesday night, May 9, to consolidate Milford Middle School with Wawasee Middle School at the start of the 2023-24 school year.

Each board member gave a statement prior to a motion being made by Andy Cripe. A unanimous vote followed.

Administrators will be working with staff at both schools and transportation to work out details.

Dr. Steve Troyer notified staff and parents following the meeting of the board’s decision.

Cripe noted making such a decision “is not a fun thing .. it’s not a topic that’s fun. It’s an issue against declining enrollment. It is not something fun for anyone on this board … For me this is hard. It’s a hard topic. There’s a lot of fun stuff to talk about. This one isn’t fun.”

Mike Wilson, who has served on the board since 2007 recalled several prior discussions on merging the middle schools. “When the decision time came .. data showed it was still viable to have two schools through shifting resources, realigning staff and altering some opportunities, it would be possible to offer a reasonable education experience for all middle school students.” He noted during those time, the cost per student was similar between the two schools and the board decided to keep both school’s open.

“This time it’s different. We are being advised, and the data reflects the enrollment at Milford Middle School has declined to the point that providing equal educational opportunities for all our middle school students has become unsustainable. The cost per student between the two schools has become significantly skewed.”

Steve Baut, who has been on the board since January, noted this decision was personal for him as his two older children attended Milford schools and his youngest is in fourth grade at Milford. He noted it was good to see the discussion with the community engagement committee and hear the consensus. “This is not easy. It is hard. It is the hardest one of my personal experience here,” he said of making a decision. “We all take this very seriously .. benefit for the whole is so important. This is the best opportunity for our students … this is what we are here for. To give the greatest benefit for our students.”

Neil Likens, who has also been on the board since January, noted the engagement committee discussions were weighed hard and was heart felt. “It’s not a popular decision, but it is what is best to keep moving forward.”

Bokhart concluded before calling for a motion a comment Dr. James Halik had stated to the board, which he paraphrased. “All of us on the board … you’re elected to do what is best for the students.”

Troyer issued this statement, in part, to the staff and parents in the school corporation:

“Earlier this evening, the Wawasee Board of School Trustees unanimously voted to merge Milford Middle School with Wawasee Middle School for the upcoming school year. This consolidation is an exciting opportunity for us to bring together two great schools and create an even stronger learning community for our students.

“While this process may bring about some uncertainty, please know that we are committed to making the transition as smooth as possible for everyone involved. We will be seeking input from stakeholders throughout the remainder of the school year to help us understand their concerns and idea about how to make this process successful.

“Planning at the administration level will continue throughout the summer, with a focus on ensuring that students, families and staff members have the resources they need to adjust to the changes that will come with the merger. We understand that you may have questions or concerns about this process, and we encourage you to reach out to us with any thoughts or feedback you may have. Our goal is to keep you informed and engaged throughout the consolidation process and we appreciate your partnership as we work to build a strong and supportive learning community for our students.”

The Western Golf Association and amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans Jr. established Evans Scholars Foundation to send deserving caddies to college. Shown is Western Golf Association Evans Scholars Foundation Representative Chris Hoke, left, and scholarship recipient Sydnee Keith. Photo by Blair Baumgartner.

By Blair Baumgartner
InkFreeNews

LEESBURG — When Sydnee Keith attended Wawasee Middle School, two guys visited her classroom and told students about a summer job caddying at Tippecanoe Lake Country Club.

Keith, who grew up on Dewart Lake, went home and told her parents about the caddying opportunity. Her dad asked if she had ever seen the movie Caddyshack. She watched the movie and ended up going in for caddy training the very next weekend.

She said caddying was difficult at first. She didn’t know much about golf. There were many successful people and she didn’t quite know how to talk to them. It took a couple years to build a reputation and understand how to build rapport with the golfers.

Now she has golfers exclusively requesting her caddy services.

“I didn’t realize at that time I could eventually get a scholarship,” Keith said. “I was just trying to make some money in the summer and not put an extra burden on my parents.”

“Sydnee checked all the boxes,” said Western Golf Association Evans Scholars Foundation Representative Chris Hoke.

“We recruit caddies in the spring and a handful emerge as potential candidates. Currently, there are 15 total caddies at Tippecanoe Lake Country Club and Sydnee is the current scholarship recipient. Austin Fleming is working in the pro shop now and is at Purdue on the Evans Scholarship.”

Hoke noted there may be more scholarship recipients emerge from the group.

Keith applied for the scholarship during the fall of her senior year of high school.

The scholarship provides four years of paid tuition and housing to 24 leading universities nationwide. Keith decided to attend Indiana University in Bloomington.

She said, “I’m really excited about living in a house (Evans Scholars house) for four years. Everyone is very smart, talented and a good influence on others.”

Keith is currently unsure about her major, but would like to minor in sign language interpreting.

She had a teammate on her Concord High School swim team who was deaf. She felt like her teammate didn’t have a lot of people who could communicate with him and he was often overlooked. She wanted to be there for him and be able to communicate with him, so she dropped her Spanish class and took four years of sign language in high school.

Hoke, who outside of his role with WGAESF, is the superintendent of schools for Northwestern Consolidated School District of Shelby County, said, “This scholarship opportunity fundamentally changed my life and most of the people of significance in my life are directly related to this scholarship.”

Hoke was a past scholarship recipient and studied engineering at Purdue.

“I learned about being a leader and understanding that people are from different backgrounds, but we’re really very much alike. Communal living will teach you that.”

Keith laughed as she said, “I’m an only child, so they said I’m going to have 50 new brothers and sisters.”

In 1930, the Western Golf Association and amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans Jr. established Evans Scholars Foundation to send deserving caddies to college. The first two Evans Scholars enrolled at Northwestern University.

Since then, 11,815 men and women have graduated as Evans Scholars. There are currently 1,100 Evans Scholars enrolled at 24 leading universities nationwide. Hoke said it’s one of the largest private scholarship foundations in the country.

“It’s a financial need based scholarship, it’s based on academics, caddy record and community service,” he said.

“With the upperclassmen in the house, they can always help me with whatever I need, so I think I’m set up for a pretty good freshman year,” Keith said.

A Wawasse school bus was involved in a two-vehicle accident on SR 13 on Wednesday, Aug. 9. InkFreeNews photo by Keith Knepp.

By Keith Knepp
InkFreeNews

The end of the first day of school ended in an unexpected way for some Wawasee Middle School students. Bus No. 44 was involved in a two-vehicle accident on SR 13 at the intersection with CR 1000N, just north of the school, which also involved a silver sedan.

No injuries were reported and the students were transferred to another school bus. The sedan was placed on a flatbed truck for transport away from the scene. The school bus remained on the shoulder of the northbound lane of traffic.

Turkey Creek Township Fire and EMS Territory responded to the scene, along with Syracuse Police Department and Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office.

Syracuse Town Councilman Nathan Scherer, left, chats with Council President Cindy Kaiser while Councilman Paul Stoelting chats with Mark Aurich, public works superintendent, prior to the council’s August meeting held Tuesday night. Aug. 15. Photo by Lauren Zeugner

By Lauren Zeugner
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — The Syracuse Town Council approved introducing two new ordinances raising water and wastewater rates during its regular meeting Tuesday night, Aug. 15. A public hearing will be held at the September town council meeting with the ordinances coming up for passage at the October meeting.

The proposed increase for water is $9.17 per 1,000 gallons. For wastewater there will be a fixed billing charge of $5.57 per month with $15.71 per 1,000 gallons per month, and a minimum monthly charge for sewage services in the amount of $21.28.

Mark Aurich, public works superintendent, explained the town’s infrastructure dates back to 1902 with the newest infrastructure dating to 1986. Along with infrastructure maintenance, there has been an increase in state and federal regulations required for water and sewer the town must meet — all of which requires capital investment.

Aurich said the need to replace the infrastructure is essential, along with preparing for future growth of the town. He noted the proposed increases are still lower than what surrounding communities pay for water and sewer.

Jeremy Hardy of Commonwealth Engineering, the town’s engineering firm, reported the contractor for the Oakwood lift station project intends to mobilize after Labor Day, moving materials in and prepping the site to start work later in September.

The council approved an extension to the Main and Railroad streets project. Due to a CSX flagger not being available until next week, the project is now slated to be completed by Friday, Aug. 25, with restoration work and punch list items to be completed after that date. The project’s completion date was originally Tuesday, Aug. 8.

David Wilkinson, town manager, reported a company recently came in to do soil testing on the Dolan Street property where the new library will be built. The cost of the testing was covered by a grant from Michiana Area Council of Governments.

Chad Jonnson, park superintendent, reported the parks department has been asked to host Wawasee Middle School’s seventh grade football games at the Schrock Fields. The first game will be Tuesday, Aug. 29. Lakeland Youth Center’s Pee Wee Football will have its first game at Schrock Field Saturday, Sept. 9.

Construction continues on the new pavilion and restrooms in Henry Ward Park.

Quotes for a new roof for the Syracuse Community Center have been obtained. Jonsson explained he wanted to discuss the project with the contractors and asked the council when he should bring a request for final approval.
The council suggested he make a request for final approval at the September meeting. The Syracuse Park Board hopes to have a new roof installed on the community center by the end of the year.

Aurich reported the last of the decorative lights have been shipped. He hopes to have decorative lights in Technology Park by the end of September.

A water leak was found near the north water tower. It should be fixed by next Tuesday, Aug. 22. Aurich said the plan is to do the repair so it will not require the water to be shut off and a boil order issued.

Fire Chief Mickey Scott asked the security deposit for water and sewer to station 1 be waived. The council approved. He reported once painting was completed at station 1 and phone and internet was transferred, the fire department’s administrative assistant’s office and the Turkey Creek Trustee’s office will move to station 1.

Firefighters have also been training with the new fire boat.

Town Attorney Jay Rigdon reported he received a letter from the Syracuse Public Library’s attorney requesting a reversion clause be changed from indefinite to five years. The clause would state if the property is not used as a library within five years, ownership of it would revert back to the town.

With the current indefinite reversion clause, should the library have to move its location anytime in the future, ownership of the property would revert back to the town, rather than the library being able to sell it and use the proceeds for a new facility. The council approved changing the reversion clause to five years.