WARSAW — A Syracuse town council member wants to see the town grow but contends it is landlocked by lakes to the east, uncooperative farmers to the west and challenging soils to the south.

The answer, he said, is to leapfrog further to the south using what is often called non-contiguous annexation.

[caption id="attachment_105092" align="alignleft" width="335"] Syracuse Town Council Member Larry Siegel appealed to the Kosciusko County Commissioners on Tuesday to support annexation legislation currently being considered in Indianapolis. News Now Warsaw photo by Dan Spalding.[/caption]

Town Council Member Larry Siegel says they’ve been able to do that to the north with the support from Elkhart County officials and he wants Kosciusko County officials to do the same.

Siegel on Tuesday asked if the county commissioners would provide a letter of support that could provide impetus for state lawmakers to adjust legislation involving noncontiguous annexation that's already in the pipeline.

One option would be for the town to piggyback onto House Bill 1472 which would allow the city of Plainfield to move forward with non-contiguous annexation under certain circumstances.

In general, the General Assembly has traditionally opposed noncontiguous annexation in the past.

A year ago, State Rep. Dave Abbott authored a bill that would have allowed towns to leapfrog unincorporated property specifically to annex a proposed residential property. At the time, the town was trying to support development involving the land formerly known as Southshore Golf Course, which is south of town limits.

The plan was viewed as controversial because the town council president was directly involved in the development. The legislation failed to gain momentum.

Siegel said the current plan is more open-ended and declined to discuss last year's proposed development.

Siegel said the town is currently working through a second major annexation in Elkhart County and said neighbors to the north have been happy to realize additional tax income.

At the same time, he said several developers have walked away from nearby projects elsewhere because there is no ground within the town to develop.

"Do we want to fix this problem or do we not," Siegel asked the commissioners rhetorically. "Do we just want to keep growing into Elkhart County or not?"

"Our home county is Kosciusko County, but we have to have some non-contiguous annexation. We have a unique situation where we're landlocked," he said.

But time is short for legislative cajoling and county commissioners chose not to take immediate action and instead took it under advisement.

Commissioner Bob Conley was blunt about the circumstances.

"I know time is of the essence, but you can't close the barn door after the horses are out. That's kind of what you're trying to do here," Conley said. "I wouldn't want to put my name on something I know nothing about."

Commissioner Sue Ann Mitchell argued the town is not truly landlocked, pointing to farm ground to the west that could be an option. Siegel said they've tried to work with two farmers who own that land and they have had no cooperation, which he said he understands.

Mitchell pressed Siegel on whether the town council had approved a letter specific to the new legislation and Siegel said council's outlook had not changed.

All three county commissioners expressed a willingness to work with the town in the future on the issue.

The post Syracuse turns to county to support annexation legislation appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

WARSAW -- Here are the final results from Tuesday’s primary for contested races in Kosciusko County:

• In Winona Lake, Heather James defeated incumbent Laurie Renier for the Republican nomination for clerk-treasurer by a vote of 346 to 163. James captured 67.9 percent of the vote.
• In Syracuse, incumbent Virginia Cazier won 73.9 percent of the vote over Larry Siegel for the Republican nomination for clerk-treasurer by a vote of 122 to 43. Kazier captured 73.9 percent of the vote.
• In the Syracuse District 4 race for town council, incumbent Nathan Scherer defeated Brian Woody and David Rosenberry for the Republican nomination. Scherer collected 83 votes. Woody had 40 and Rosenberry had 31. Scherer captured 53.9 percent of the vote.

The post James, Cazier and Scherer win Republican primary races appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

WARSAW -- Today is primary election day in Indiana, but In Kosciusko County, there are only a handful of races -- but none in Warsaw.

Warsaw’s primary was canceled because nobody is opposing a full slate of Republican candidates.

The only races are in Winona Lake and Syracuse.

In Winona Lake, there’s a race for clerk-treasurer between incumbent Laurie Renier and Heather James, who currently sits on the town council.

In Syracuse, there is a contest for clerk-treasurer between Larry Siegel and Virginia Cazier

There’s a three-way race for Syracuse Town Council's District 4 where incumbent Nathan Scherer faces a challenge from David Rosenberry and Brian Woody.

Vote centers for the primary are at Christ Covenant Church on Pierceton Road in Winona Lake and Syracuse Community Center in Syracuse.

Early voting was way down this year compared to four years ago. Only 57 early ballots were cast in person for the entire county. That compares to 149 four years ago, according to the county clerk's office.

In Warsaw, City Councilman Jeff Grose heads the ticket of Republican candidates in a run for mayor. Juergen Voss is running for Grose's seat in District 2.

The remaining Warsaw ballot is filled with incumbent Republicans

The post Voters head to the polls in Winona Lake, Syracuse appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw

WARSAW -- Warsaw won't have any contested races in the upcoming May primary.

And as a result, the Kosciusko County Election Board will determine whether a formal primary election in Warsaw is necessary, according to Kosciusko County Clerk Ann Torpy.

According to the county clerk's office, this year's lack of contested races in Warsaw is the first that's happened since at least 1975.

Syracuse and Winona Lake both have contested races and will have an election on May 2, said

While Democrats and Libertarians could still slate candidates later this year, the primary ballot in Warsaw is once again dominated by Republicans.

The lack of competition sets the stage for a potentially easy electoral process for Jeff Grose who has announced his intentions to run for mayor after Mayor Joe Thallemer announced he would not seek another term.

Juergen Voss filed last week to run for the District 1 seat being vacated by Grose.

In Winona Lake, there will be a contested race for clerk-treasurer between incumbent Laurie Renier and Heather James.

In Syracuse, there will be a race for clerk-treasurer between Virginia Cazier and Larry Siegel.

Also in Syracuse, three people filed for District 4, which is currently vacant after councilman Larry Martindale resigned recently. Those three candidates -- David Rosenberry, Nathan Scherer and Brian Woody -- have all also filed to fill the immediate vacancy, which will be filled on Tuesday in a Republican caucus.

Friday's deadline was for races in Warsaw, Winona Lake and Syracuse. Filing for the general election in Claypool, Etna Green, Leesburg, Mentone, North Webster, Pierceton, Sidney and Silver Lake continues until Aug. 1 for Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians.

Other candidates who have filed:

Warsaw

• Jeff Grose, Mayor
• Lynne Christiansen, Warsaw, Warsaw Clerk-Treasurer
• Juergen Voss, City Council, District 1
• Josh Finch, City Council, District 2
• Mike Klondaris, City Council, District 3
• William G. Frush, City Council, District 4
• Diane L. Quance, City Council, District 5
• Cindy A. Dobbins, City Council, At-large
• Jack Wilhite, City Council, At-large

Winona Lake

• Laurie Renier, Clerk-Treasurer
• Heather James, Clerk-treasurer
• Austin Reynolds, Town Council, District 1
• Ashley McGinnis, Town Council, District 2
• Barry Andrew, Town Council, District 4

Syracuse

• Virginia Cazier, Clerk-Treasurer
• Larry Siegel, Clerk-Treasurer
• Cindy Kaiser, Town Council, District 3
• David Rosenberry, Town Council, District 4
• Nathan Scherer, Town Council, District 4
• Brian Woody, Town Council, District 4
• Bill Musser, Syracuse, Town Council, District 5

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