The Newsletter of theWawasee Property

Owners Association

P.O. Box 427Syracuse, IN 46567-0427

Phone: 574.457.7172E-mail:

wpoapier0@wawaseepoa.orgWeb Address:

www.wawaseepoa.orgFax: 574.457.2907

Winter 2013

WPOA Officers & Directors

Kay YoungPresident

Carolyn AndersonSteve Snyder

James TranterVice Presidents

Janet HartleyAdministrative Officer

Kip SchummCommunications Officer

Jerry BabbAnn Bonifas

Jane FinchWACF Liaison

Sally GindlingFireworks Chairman

Garth McClainDan Morris

Cindy QuinnJim Silcox

Tom Tuttle II

Jim KroemerLakeViews Editor

David GrandstaffPast President

The Papers IncorporatedPublisher of LakeViews

In this Issue:• At The Helm

• Oakwood coming back to life• Fireworks subject of Artist Series

• Cottage Tours returning• Using the Neighbors directory

• Trail committee reorganized• Bald Eagles spotted

• WACF’s mission is good water quality• Low lake level

• Possibile dredging• Wide World Of Sports Flotilla theme

• Fund endows local scholarships

WINTER . . . It is another of those crazy winters,late ice after Christmas and then a thaw, more iceand a thaw and finally we have ice and fishermenand iceboating . . . the only thing missing has beenthe snowmobiles. We just have not had enoughsnow for good snowmobiling . . . and who knowswhat it will be by the time you receive this newslet-ter!

The one good thing is we have had rain and a lit-tle snow so the lake is coming up some. The “beach”we had in front of our seawall is no longer there andthe water line is starting to creep up the seawall andcover the rocks at its base. That is good news weneed all the water we can get for sure.

While we are all trying to figure out the weatherand water level we have also been working on plansfor 2013 and WPOA activities. Starting with a new(well new/old) venue for the breakfast, we are goingback to the Oakwood for our breakfast on Saturday,June 22. It will be great to be back on Wawasee andto see all the changes that have been going on thiswinter at the hotel. Mark your calendar for this tra-ditional opening of summer at the lake.

Next is what I like to call “Independence week.”We start with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic on Sun-day then the traditional display of fireworks onSyracuse on the 4th followed by our display on Sat-urday the 6th. Everyone should have their fill ofcompany, food, special events and fireworks for awhile at least.

Later in July we bring back the “Wawasee CottageTour” again this year. We have six great houses, all inthe Vawter Park, South Shore area for you to enjoy.Make your plans, gather your crew for your boatand be sure to join us for this evening of touringsome of the interesting homes on the lake. Not onlydo you get to see wonderful homes but you will alsobe supporting a great cause as the proceeds go onceagain to the Syracuse/Wawasee Trails project.

August brings more summer weather and our an-nual meeting. Plans are underway and we will give

you more details later in the year. But we look for-ward to seeing you there.

With the anticipation of things to come we haveto reflect on things that have occurred over the win-ter. Wawasee lost three of its strongest supportersthis winter.

We are sad to say good-by to the WPOA Chief oflast year Bob Dickinson. Bob passed away in De-cember surrounded by his loving family. Bob wasnot only the past President of the WPOA but amajor force in the planning and completion of theDry Hydrant project and one of our volunteer lakepatrol members who willingly put in many hours onthe water to protect everyone that uses the lake. Bobalways was available to talk things out when prob-lems would arise and his input will be missed byeveryone connected with the WPOA.

We will also miss Ted Rogers, “Mr. New York” formany of you that will remember him from eveningsof karaoke where he would entertain everyone withhis rendition of “New York, New York.” Ted was asuccessful businessman as well as a strong supporterof the lakes. He was a past director of the WACFand helped to restart the Flotilla in 1973 and servedon the committee for over 21 years.

Another supporter we will miss is Bill Beemerwho lost a long battle with cancer this winter. Billwas a past Flotilla Commodore, successful business-man, head of the Sesquicentennial in 1987 andPresident of the Syracuse Museum. Bill and his fam-ily have lived on Wawasee since 1961 and have allbeen supporters of the WPOA.

Each of these gentlemen will be missed not onlyby their families but by many of us here at the lake.

Looking forward we hope that each of you arehaving a good winter and making plans to comeback to the lake when the weather breaks. Accordingto “Punxsutawney Phil ” we will be having an earlyspring . . . sure hope he is right and it is not onlyearly but WET! . . . . . . . . . . . . see you soon at thelake!

AT THE HELM — WINTER 2013

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By Jim KroemerLakeViews editor

For four long years, the Oakwood Inn haslanguished in limbo, cold, dark and empty, itsfate in the hands of courts and lawyers andwould-be developers.

In fact the future of all the amenities andbuildings of Oakwood Park, a haven of rest andrenewal on Lake Wawasee for people of faithfor most of the past century, were also mired inuncertainty.

No longer. Since last October, carpenters, electricians,

plumbers, painters and carpet layers have beenworking feverishly to bring the inn and otherbuildings in the park back to life, and the goodnews for lake residents is that the inn and itsrestaurant will be open for business by thissummer.

Late last year, Buckingham Properties of In-dianapolis backed out of a tentative deal topurchase the property.

It was then that Dr. Rex Parent and hisfamily, a fixture on Lake Wawasee for threegenerations, stepped up to buy the park and itssignature inn. After reaching agreement withcourt-appointed receiver Ian Rolland and Oak-wood property owners, Parent Associates, Inc.closed on the deal to buy Oakwood Park.

J.R. Parent, Dr. Parent’s son, has taken thelead in directing the refurbishing of the Oak-wood Inn and Jeremiah Heierman has beenhired as manager of Oakwood Resort and is incharge of the day-to-day details of getting theinn ready to open.

He said the plan is for a “soft,” or gradualre-opening of the hotel. On the weekend ofMay 18, an open house is scheduled for all thecontractors and sub-contractors who haveworked on the building since the projectstarted in late October.

Then on Friday and Saturday of MemorialDay weekend, May 24 and 25, members of theWawasee Property Owners Association will beinvited to an open house to view the refur-bished hotel.

“We realize this is a very aggressive timeframe,” Heierman said, “But we will do ourvery best to open by Memorial Day. We don’twant to let people down.”

When completed, the inn will have 77guest rooms, 10 of them suites. Heierman saidthe Oakwood would begin accepting reserva-tions in late February or early March.

All the rooms are getting complete over-

hauls including new ceilings, paint and carpet.There will be wireless internet throughout thehotel and flat screen television sets in everyroom.

“It will look and feel like any other high-end hotel people have stayed in,” Heiermansaid.

The public areas of the hotel like the cen-tral rotunda, hallways and other common areaswill “have an old-time, lakey feel to them,” hesaid, including personal photos of life on thelake from all time periods. Lake residents whowould like to submit framed family photosfrom all generations for use in the inn’s décorare asked to contact Helena Rensberger at He-lena@oakwoodresort.com or send them to 702E. Lake View Road, Syracuse, IN 46567.

The inn will also have a high-end restaurantand bar open to the public. Heierman said anannouncement about who will run the restau-rant will be made as soon as all the details of anagreement are finalized. Instead of buffet styledining, the new restaurant will have platedmeals, he said, and there will also be outdoordining on a patio just outside the restaurant.

Although the project has been approved bythe DNR for 120 pier spaces, Heierman saidthe hotel will not use that many initially andwill leave the front shoreline facing the mainpart of the lake open. Piers will be placed be-hind the hotel, facing Conklin Bay for use byhotel guests and patrons of the restaurant.

And it’s not just the hotel that is undergo-ing renovation. The Oakwood property in-cludes 10 vacation homes and eight cabinsavailable for rent, and all 10 homes are beingremodeled. Also open this summer will be the

Hilltop Banquet Center, the old WawaseeAcademy building, with seating for up to 500people, perfect for wedding receptions andother gatherings.

One of the vacation homes and KimmellHall will not be open, along with the programcenter, until 2014.

Heierman also said activities associated withthe Oakwood for years will still take place andpossibly expand under the new ownership.Boat-in worship will be a fixture on the lake infront of the hotel again every Sunday this sum-mer, beginning on May 26.

In addition, a wooden boat show has al-ready been booked, and the Fort Wayne Phil-harmonic will play at the Oakwood again thissummer.

The Oakwood will also be the venue formuch of the greatly expanded local Chau-tauqua program, possibly including a week-long program as part of the nationalChautauqua tour.

Many on the lake are delighted the Oak-wood is coming back to life, and Heiermansaid the feeling is mutual.

“The support of the local community hasbeen phenomenal,” he said. “That’s the reasonwe’ve been able to be as aggressive as we havebeen.”

Although Heierman couldn’t say exactlyhow many employees the park and inn will re-quire when everything is up and running, heexpects it to be a force in the local economy.Much of the remodeling work is being done bylocal contractors, he said, and added, “it is im-portant to the Parent family to employ localresidents.”

Oakwood coming back to life; open this summer

A semi-trailer delivering construction supplies is the only external evidence of all the workgoing on at the Oakwood Inn. Inside is a different story as many workers prepare the hotelfor re-opening this summer.

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The fireworks over Lake Wawasee every Julyare widely considered to be among the mostspectacular Independence Day displays in theentire Midwest, and now the annual show hasbeen memorialized for the WPOA’s annualArtist Series.

The fifth and final print in the series, enti-tled “Grand Finale,” was created by Lawrence-burg artist Sandy Maudlin.

Mary Beth Gadus, who heads the annualartist series, said this year’s painting is magnifi-cent.

“Sandy came to Wawasee for the fireworksand took hundreds of pictures,” Mary Bethsaid. “The result is a breathtaking painting ofone of Wawasee’s greatest summer moments.She captured the aura of the evening perfectly,and the colors in the painting are so real youcan almost hear the fireworks.”

As in past years, the original work of art willbe on display in Syracuse at the Water LilyGallery, 801 N. Huntington St. It will also beon display at major events like the WPOABreakfast June 22 at the Oakwood Inn.

Silent bids on theoriginal will be acceptedbeginning on Memo-rial Day weekend.Prints of the work arealso available with allproceeds from thesale of both theoriginal and printsgoing to the Syra-cuse/Wawaseetrails project. Be-cause of the pop-ularity of theartist series, MaryBeth suggests you re-serve your signed and numbered printearly.

“Since 2009 the Artist Series has raisedmore than $40,000 for the trails project,”Mary Beth said. “We feel confident that‘Grand Finale’ will bring WPOA’s contribu-tion from the series to over $50,000.”

Last year’s work by Larry Rudolech was en-

titled “Lake Worshipers” and depicted a scenefrom the weekly boat-in worship in front ofthe Oakwood. The first three prints in the se-ries include “Conklin Bay,” by Douglas David;“Connections,” by Susie Brandes; and “Re-gatta,” by Andrea Bojrab.

Sandy Maudlin, the artist who created thisyear’s “Grand Finale,” earned her degree in arteducation from Indiana University and hasstudied under many nationally known artists.

In addition to the Water Lily in Syracuse,her work is also displayed at galleries in Fair-field, Ohio, and Oldenburg, Indiana. Addi-tionally, she has put on exhibits of her workover the past 20 years in a number of Midwestcities including Cincinnati, Indianapolis andNappanee.

She has won numerous awards and honorsat art shows in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentuckyincluding Best of Show in Kokomo and Lo-gansport. Her work has also been featured in aBetter Homes and Gardens special interestpublication.

“Painting adds to my sense of excitementabout the world and helps me express whatI’ve experienced,” she says. “Although I’vepainted with oils, acrylics, pastels, inks andcolored pencil, my favorite medium is defi-nitely transparent watercolor.”

Sandy also teaches adult watercolor classesat her home gallery in Lawrenceburg, andsays, “I find it very rewarding to see other peo-ple discover the artists within themselves.”

Fireworks subjectof 2013 Artist

Series painting

After a one year hiatus, the popular pon-toon tour of some of Lake Wawasee’s mosthistoric and beautiful homes and cottages willreturn this summer. The event is sponsored bythe Wawasee Property Owners Association.

The tour will take place this year on Satur-day, July 27. Six homes in the Vawter Parkand South Shore area will be featured andopen for viewing by tour participants.

As in the past, attendees will assemble theirown crews and meet at the Wawasee Boat

Company to enjoy an assortment of appetizersbefore heading out on the lake to visit the fea-tured homes. Each boat and crew is responsi-ble for providing their own “refreshments.”

In the past, as many as 500 of our Wawaseeneighbors have participated in the tour. ManyWPOA members and area businesses gener-ously support the tour through sponsorships,and the cost per individual attendee is $45.

All proceeds from the tour go to supportthe Syracuse/Wawasee Trails project, and com-bined with proceeds from the annual ArtistSeries, the WPOA has donated more than$69,000 to the trails project over the years.

Also, the WPOA sincerely thanks the homeand cottage owners around the lake who gra-ciously and generously open their homes forthe tour.

Gather your crew now and mark your cal-endar for July 27 for the 2013 return of thehome and cottage tour.

Popular cottage tour returns

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— Trail committee reorganized —

Using the Neighbors directory to do goodThe annual Neighbors directory of Lake

Wawasee property owners has become an in-valuable tool for many living on the lake.

Last summer, one of our neighbors used thedirectory to find the owner of a lost wallet. Inhis note to Janet Hartley, WPOA administra-tive officer, the Good Samaritan asked that hisname not be used because he was not lookingfor any credit.

He wrote, “I’m grateful to the WPOA andall of the individuals who are involved in thecreation, printing and distribution of theNeighbors directory which made it much easierfor me to do the right thing and have thiswonderful story as a result.”

Here’s the story:Last week I went to a local convenience

store to put air into one of my tires. When Iarrived, there was a young man just finishingdoing the same thing. He was in the process ofhanging the hose back up when I asked if Icould have the rest of his air.

He said okay and handed me the hose. Istarted to pump up the tire and just before Ifinished, the compressor shut off. I chuckledand went to put in my four quarters as he wasfinishing putting the caps back onto his tires.

I said “Nothing’s ever free, is it?” He smiledand nodded his head in agreement. When Iarrived home that evening, I noticed sometrash across the road and went to pick it up. I

also noticed something in our driveway andstopped to pick it up as well. It was someone’swallet.

I looked at the name on the driver’s licenseand recognized it from the Neighbors directory.There was also an insurance card with a lady’sname so I then knew that it was either thegentleman’s wife or mother. I got out our cur-rent edition of the Neighbors directory, lookedat the alphabetical list and located the lady’sname. Her husband’s name was different fromthe name in the wallet so at that point, I knewit was (the wallet owner’s) mother.

I was able to locate their address and drovethere with the wallet. When I arrived, I dis-covered there was no number on the mailboxso I wasn’t positive that I was at the correct lo-cation. There were several cars in the drivewaybut there was nobody around.

I was at the point of putting a note in themailbox with my name and phone numberwhen I noticed a boat coming along the shore-line, towards the boat lift on this property. Iwent to the lift and asked if they were comingto that lift and the driver said yes. I then asked“Are you Brandon (name changed to protectthe innocent)?”

He said, in a rather challenging tone“Why?”

“Well,” I replied “I think I have your bill-fold but I don’t think I can give it to you since

you don’t have any ID and are unable to proveto me that you are whoyou say thatyouare.” Ialsowinked atone of hisfriends when Isaid this.

He got out of the boat and said “I didn’teven know I lost my billfold.” I looked at thepicture on the driver’s license and confirmedthat it was him and handed him the wallet.His friend said “Dude, your billfold fell out ofyour car.” They asked me where I found it andhow I was able to find them. I answered theirquestions and explained how helpful theNeighbors directory was.

He then exclaimed “You’re the tire guy!” Ilooked at him rather perplexed, thinking thathe was referring to an inner tube and had meconfused with someone else.

I asked “What do you mean, I’m the tireguy?” He responded, “You’re the tire guy, atthe gas station!”

When I heard that, my mouth droppedopen, my eyebrows arched and I said “Thatwas you?”

“Yeah,” he said. We laughed and gave eachother a high five.

Spike Ford, the long-time champion ofthe Syracuse-Wawasee Trails Committee,stepped down after last year’s constructionseason ended, leaving very big shoes to fill.

At a recent meeting of the Syracuse-Wawasee Park Foundation, reorganization ofthe trails committee was the main item onthe agenda.

Park foundation board member MikeBuhrt presented a plan that calls for the trailscommittee to continue to be under the di-rection of the park foundation, but withmore specific guidelines on what is expectedof each member so that duties can be moreevenly divided among members.

With the committee under the jurisdic-tion of the park foundation, the board willcontinue to have the final say on committeedecisions and the acceptance of committee

members. They will also have the opportu-nity to change Buhrt’s plan if needed in thefuture.

The plan calls for seven to 13 people tocomprise the trails committee, and boardmembers discussed ways to get different or-ganizations involved in the committee, in-cluding the lake associations. It was notedduring the meeting continuing the trail com-mittee under the park foundation makes iteasier to get grants for the trail.

The plan was approved by the boardmembers, who also recommended setting an“Introduction to the Trails” meeting to reachout to organizations, including the RotaryClub, Lions Club and lake associations, toidentify potential members for the commit-tee. A tentative date of March 19 was set.

Earlier in January, the park foundation

board, along with representatives of the Syra-cuse-Wawasee Trails Committee, WawaseeProperty Owners Association, Wawasee AreaConservancy Foundation and the Tour deLake Bike Ride, met with John Yoder, presi-dent of the Friends of the Pumpkinvine.

The Pumpkinvine Trail runs betweenGoshen and Middlebury along an aban-doned railroad bed and is one of the mostsuccessful and popular hiking/biking trails inthe state. It’s a good example of a public/pri-vate partnership and Yoder gave the groupinterested in continuing the work of theSyracuse-Wawasee Trails Committee thebenefit of his long experience.

Topics discussed included ideal trailwidth, committee composition, governance,fund-raising and liability and event insur-ance.

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Large birds of prey tentatively identified as immature bald eagles have beenspotted soaring over Lake Wawasee and Syracuse Lake this winter. SteveSnyder, one of the WPOA board’s vice-presidents, shared these photos. In onepicture, two of the birds are seen about to swoop in on a flock of coots. In theother photo, geese and ducks give a wide berth to a young eagle on the ice en-joying his lunch of fresh coot. Steve sent a number of photos to the IndianaDepartment of Natural Resources, and in an e-mail response, John Castrale,bird biologist for the DNR, said “I couldn’t definitively identify all the eaglesin the photos, but I believe they are all immature bald eagles. Americancoots are a favorite prey item of bald eagles. Golden eagles occur in the state,but are much less common than bald eagles (for example, I counted 281 baldeagles during four days of aerial surveys within the past week and only onegolden eagle). They prey primarily on mammals, but I’m sure they couldcatch a coot.” Thanks, Steve, for this fascinating look at nature on the lakeduring the winter.

Bald Eagles spotted

By Heather HarwoodWACF Executive Director

The Wawasee Area Conservancy Founda-tion’s main mission is good water qualitythrough preservation and enhancement of ourwatershed.

The Conservancy considers threats to ourwater and works toward lessening the bad im-pacts. Work includes studies, constructingerosion control and stabilization projects,restoration and mitigation, educational agtours, canoe trips down the 10-lake chain andintroducing lake topics to the community.

Thus summer WACF plans to continue itsseries: “Lake Talk and Eats.” Join us the onthe first Saturday morning of June, July andAugust for a light breakfast, coffee and laketalk.

Learn how our lakes were formed andtheir geology; invasive species, why they arebad news and how to slow them down; andstresses and benefits to the health of our wa-tershed. In July we will have our annual WaterBug Catch for grandparents, parents and chil-dren. Kids will be surprised to learn that thetype of bug they catch indicates the quality ofwater.

On the Agriculture Tour with Russell An-derson we learn about farming practices andgood land stewardship.

Canoe Trips down the 10-lake chain are a

fun way to spend a summer morning. Lakeecology, Indian history and some fresh air allhelp to make the canoe trips a favorite.

WACF has been busy installing erosioncontrol projects. After completing projects inDillon Creek and Village Lake Stream lastyear, WACF was fortunate to continue themomentum with our ongoing GLC grant anda new DNR/LARE grant at Ritter Branch.Ritter flows into Hindman Lake upstream inthe 10-lake chain. The WACF canoe trip trav-els through Hindman Lake about halfwaythrough the trip, and it is one of the mostpristine lakes in the watershed.

The exotic plant species, Starry stonewort(SS) and Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM) con-tinue to be problems in our watershed.WACF has partnered with the Syracuse LakeAssociation (SLA) on a DNR Lake and RiverEnhancement (LARE) grant for an update onthe Aquatic Vegetation Management Plan forWawasee and Syracuse Lakes.

The first Aquatic Management Plan forWawasee was completed in 2006, focusing onannual control of EWM in areas of highrecreational use. SSW had not yet been dis-covered. Large scale EWM treatments (25-50acres) were made on Wawasee in 2007, 2008,and 2009.

Starry stonewort was first identified in2009 in a channel off of Johnson Bay. Thatyear, total acreage in Wawasee was estimatedat 15 acres and treated for SSW control.

In 2011, the IDNR received a grantthrough the Great Lakes Restoration Initiativefor the control of exotic weeds. Since then,the IDNR has fully funded numerous SSWtreatments in both Wawasee and SyracuseLakes, ranging from 11.29 acres to 67.39acres.

However, despite large scale efforts to con-trol SSW, its acreage has increased steadilyeach year since 2009. The total SSW acreagein Wawasee in the fall of 2012 was estimatedat 159 acres. Chemical applications temporar-ily control SSW, but long term control re-mains an issue. Multiple applications areneeded in the same treatment area throughoutthe season to keep SSW suppressed.

From WACF Chairman Sam Leman andthe entire WACF Board of Directors — thankyou for your support. Your conservancy isworking hard to keep the lakes clean andhealthy.

WACF’s mission is good water quality

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By Nate BoschKosciusko Lakes and Streams

The drought of 2012 left Lake Wawasee’swater level down about 18 inches and evendropped nearby Lake Michigan to its lowestwater level in recorded history (since 1918).Curiously, however, this water level drop wasnot seen in all of the more than 100 lakes inKosciusko County.

This past year was a perfect storm (or un-storm) for lowering lake levels in several ways.Warmer than average temperatures led tomore evaporation during the summer and theprevious winter (normally, ice cover wouldstop evaporation during winter), lack of pre-cipitation dried up three of the four inflowingstreams to Lake Wawasee, soils were so drythat they soaked up the little precipitation thatdid fall, lower local water table likely causedgroundwater springs in lake to reverse flowand become drains out of the lake, and in-creased irrigation usage led to more evapora-tion losses as well.

Why then did some of our county lakes notsuffer the same low water levels like LakeWawasee or Lake Michigan? Lake Wawasee isunique compared to most other lakes inKosciusko County (other than maybe DewartLake). Because it sits near the continental di-vide, it has a relatively small area of land thatdrains into it — called a watershed. This ishelpful when we are worried about unwanteddirt and nutrients coming into the lake, whichgrow algae and weeds, but it is harmful when

we want more precipitation and ground waterto come from that drainage area into the lake.

A helpful analogy might be your house’sroof and gutter system. A small roof area(drainage area) would be nice if you want tocut down on the amount of leaves and twigsthat clog your gutters and downspouts. But, ifyour goal was to get lots of water through yourgutters from your roof, you would be at a dis-advantage with that small roof. Lake Wawa-see’s small drainage area is helpful in keeping itclean in normal years, but in drought years itexacerbates the dry weather and makes thelake more sensitive to lower water levels.

The only influences on the water level thatwe can change is irrigation usage around thelake and in the lake’s surrounding drainagearea as well as how the lake level control struc-ture is operated throughout the year. GraceCollege’s Kosciusko Lakes and Streams centeris hoping to study those influences in the fu-ture.

We will also continue our research on LakeWawasee this coming summer, and we are stillmonitoring the inflowing streams to see whatmaterials they are bringing into the lake aswell now that more water is flowing throughthem again.

Numerous factors led to low lake level

‘Wide World of Sports’ Flotilla theme

Possible dredging of main channel discussedLast summer’s drought was devastating to

our lakes and has exasperated an already diffi-cult situation in the channel between SyracuseLake and Lake Wawasee, with shallow waterin many spots making navigation difficult.

In November a group of people includingrepresentatives of the WPOA, SLA and localbusinesses along the main channel met to dis-cuss this and the possibility of dredging toopen up the area of the channel where it con-nects with Syracuse Lake as well as the areawhere it connects with Lake Wawasee.

Topics of discussion at the meeting in-cluded cost, who would handle permits andhow the operation of the dredging would behandled. Three bids were opened and re-viewed, and one was chosen, if the projectshould proceed.

It was decided to move forward with thepermitting process as well as applying for aLARE grant. All of this will take severalmonths, and even after all approvals are se-cured, additional funds will need to be raised.At that time further discussions on fundingwill be held with one option being to ask fordonations from the residents of both lakes aswell as the businesses that are along the mainchannel.

As this moves along we will continue tokeep you up to date on a solution to thisproblem. The main channel between thelakes is a vital part of the life here at the lakewith most of our residents as well as SyracuseLake residents using the channel frequentlyduring the boating season.

The Wawasee Flotilla will celebrate its 52ndparade during the 2013 Fourth of July week-end, beginning at1:30 p.m. on Saturday, July6.

This year’s theme is “Wide World of Sports”where floats and homes on the lake are invitedto celebrate their favorite sport, team or ath-lete.

As in the past, individuals can use banners,balloons, streamers, plywood, etc. to trans-form their boats and piers into sports themes.The judges cannot wait to see what “WideWorld of Sports” entries will appear, saidHolly Tuttle, flotilla chairwoman.

She also said the committee is accepting de-

signs for the annual Flotilla T-shirt. You cansubmit your design to hollytuttle@yahoo.comor mail it to Holly’s attention at 813 S. Hunt-ington St., Syracuse, IN, 46567.

This year’s awards will include the covetedCommodore Cup, the DNR award, theWPOA award, as well as category awards forNeighborhood, Youth, Wawasee History,Most Patriotic, Commercial/Business andNon-Profit. An award will also be given forbest on shore display.

And once again this year, there will be a di-vision for vintage and wooden boats.

For the latest information please visit theflotilla web site at www.wawaseeflotilla.com.

Please send all correspondence regarding LakeViews to Jim Kroemer, editor, at jim.kroemer@gmail.com

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WPOA DUES RECEIPT ($75.00 per year)

Name: __________________________________________________________________________________________

Home Address: (City, State & Zip Code) ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

Home Phone: _____________________________________ Cell Phone: __________________________________

Lake Address: (City, State & Zip Code) _______________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________ Pier No. ___________________

Lake Phone:________________________________ E-mail Address: ____________________________________

Check No.__________________________________ Check Date: ________________________________________

Lake Patrol Boat Replacement Fund: Amount of Contribution $______________________

Credit Card Payment: � Discover � MasterCard � Visa

Card Number: __________________________________________ Exp. Date (MMYY)______________________

V Code Number: ________________________________________ Total Due: $___________________________

Card Holder Signature: __________________________________________________________________________

Home Address, City, State and Zip Code: ________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________ Phone No. __________________________

Lake Patrol Boat Replacement Fund: Amount of Contribution $______________________

Please tear off and return: to WPOA • P.O. Box 427 • Syracuse, IN 46567

What does your WPOAmembership do for you?

We are your VOICE with Indiana state gov-ernment, the City of Syracuse, the DNR, theKosciusko County Sheriff ’s Department, theboard of Zoning Appeals and other lake asso-ciations.

• We liaison with WACF (in fact they werecreated by WPOA when members saw a needfor greater conservancy efforts).

• Lake safety is our high priority. We patrolthe lake in boats owned and managed byWPOA.

• We provide continuing support for the de-velopment of the Syracuse/Wawasee Trails.

• We sponsor the Artist Series as well as thepopular Cottage Tour.

• We provide and maintain the “pump anddump” stations at the public boat launch tohelp keep our lake clean.

• We provide funding for educational proj-ects in local schools.

• We provide street lights at many darkpoints around the lake for safety.

• We havedeveloped, in-stalled andmaintain dryhydrants forcontinued fireprotection around the lake.

• We saw the need and helped develop se-vere weather warning systems around the lake.

• We develop, coordinate and implementthe annual Fourth of July Fireworks display.

• We print and distribute a newsletter fourtimes a year.

• Your directors are your neighbors, volun-teering many hundreds of man hours to makeall this happen at a reasonable cost.

Fund endows localscholarships

The WPOA-David F. Lichtenauer Memo-rial Scholarship Fund was established at theKosciusko County Community Foundation asan endowment fund in 2010 in memory ofDave Lichtenauer, who served the WPOA inmany capacities, including editor of thenewsletter.

Dave’s leadership paved the way for theWPOA to play an active role in giving back tothe Wawasee community. His vision, and thatof the WPOA, is to increase the number ofscholarship awards given to local students eachyear as well as the amounts given. An endow-ment lends permanency to this vision, provid-ing an opportunity for steady growth andcontributions help this effort to sustain “thegift that keeps on giving.”

Donations by check may be made payableto KCCF (with WPOA-David F. LichtenauerMemorial Scholarship Fund included in thememo line) and mailed to KCCF, 102 E.Market Street, Warsaw, IN 46580.

For credit card donations, please visitwww.kcfoundation.org/donate. Your supportwill make a difference in the education of ourfuture leaders from the Wawasee community.

NOTICEOnly dues paying members

will be receiving theNeighbors book this year.

P.O. Box 427 • Syracuse, IN 46567-0427

First-Class MailU.S. Postage Paid

Syracuse, INPermit No. 7

Calendar of Events for 2013May 18 WPOA Board of Directors Meeting

May 24-25 Oakwood Inn Open House for WPOA MembersMay 26 Boat-In Worship BeginsJune 8 WPOA Board of Directors Meeting

June 22 WPOA/SLA Family Breakfast (Oakwood Inn)July 4 Fireworks — Syracuse LakeJuly 6 52nd Wawasee FlotillaJuly 6 WPOA Fireworks Lake Wawasee

July 13 WPOA Board of Directors MeetingJuly 27 Home/Cottage Tour

August 10 WPOA Board of Directors MeetingAugust WPOA Annual Meeting (Date to be determined)