StarJuly1'99

LOFS hires manager By Karen Caffarini Star Editor LAKES OF THE FOUR SEASONS — The Board of Directors of this private community Monday introduced to members their new community manager, a Valparaiso woman with extensive background in community government.Anne Pinckney, 52, will formally assume the role on July 6. She relieves Frank Staudohar, who has acted as interim community manager since Frank Banyai resigned in early April.Pinckney, the first woman manager for the community, will earn $40,000 a year.“She’s an excellent choice,” said Board Director Peter Holevis after the meeting. “We had many candidates who were excellent choices.”Holevis said Pinckney was the unanimous choice of the board from more than 40 applications.While Pinckney has never worked as a community manager before, she has worked as a budget analyst, assistant to the mayor in Annapolis, Md. and deputy to the mayor in Salt Lake City, Utah. She moved to Valparaiso 2 1/2 years ago with her husband, who works at Bethlehem Steel.Pinckney said she was doing independent consulting work while looking for a job in community government when she saw the ad for the LOFS’ community manager position.“This is one of the best kept secrets in Lake and Porter counties,” Pinckney said of the community. “No one told me about this when we moved here.“I hope this will be a good fit,” she added.Pinckney said she has had several meetings with Staudohar and believes she is ready to tackle the big issues facing the community, including hiring a new chief of security, which she sees as her first priority.Chief Larry Juzwicki announced last week that he was leaving the position to take a job with the Merrillville School Corp. He was hired for that position about one year ago, replacing long-time chief George Thomason. “The person chosen will need to be sworn in in the state of Indiana and have chief of police background,” she said of the requirements sought. The salary for the position has not yet been announced.One community members urged the board to rehire Thomason for the position. Thomason was demoted to master sergeant and still remains on the department. “When George Thomason was here we had structure and dressed security. He deserves recognition and an apology,” the member said.“We brought in someone who leaves us high and dry on the busiest day of the year,” she added, noting that Juzwicki will leave before July 4, traditionally the busiest day in Lakes of the Four Seasons. The board, and community members in attendance, applauded Staudohar and the work he has done in the interim.“Frank has put in megahours on the job. As board president and resident, I really appreciate the work he’s done,” President Rodney Williams said.	Jennifer Jacobs and Robert Stockton, both of Hebron, exchange marriage vows before Crown Point Clerk-Treasurer Pat DeMure outside the old Lake County Courthouse Friday night. Family and friends were joined by hungry attendees of the annual Taste of Crown Point, which also was taking place on Friday, in watching the ceremony. Food, wedding on Taste's Menu
	By Erin O’Deen Star Staff Writer CROWN POINT — People flocked to the square of the old Lake County Courthouse last weekend to sample the different varieties of foods the city has to offer and to watch a couple exchange marriage vows. Both events were part of the Greater Crown Point Chamber of Commerce’s Hometown Festival Days. Everything from shish-ka-bobs to strawberry shortcake to fruit smoothies were available for the tasting at the annual Taste of Crown Point. “The Taste used to be only on Friday,” said Gayle VanSessen, executive director of the chamber. “We added Thursday as an extra day about four years ago and now it is as busy as Friday.” Some people came out to sample the foods during their lunch breaks, saying the square was easier to get to than driving to a restaurant. Others made it one of their stops on a day of going to garage sales. The chamber also sponsored a city-wide garage sale as part of Hometown Festival Days. “Since we were out hitting all of the garage sales, we thought we would stop here to rest and to get something to eat,” said Sandy McClard of Crown Point. Carriage Café in Crown Point received an award for Best Food Presentation and and Eli’s Steak House in Lakes of the Four Seasons won for Best Food and Booth Appearance.	“This has been Eli’s third or fourth year at the ‘Taste,’ VanSessen said. “They just keep getting better and better.” Volunteers from Meals on Wheels, a non-profit organization that delivers meals to the elderly, sold homemade cookies to raise money for the organization. “It’s nice when the non-profits come out because it gives them a lot of exposure,” she said. “It may not be a huge money-making venture for them, but they get the exposure they otherwise may not have had.” VanSessen said about 15 couples came to the courthouse steps Friday evening to renew their wedding vows as some 150 spectators watched. They were all witnesses to the marriage of one couple who chose to be married on the steps. “They had all the makings of a real wedding,” VanSessen said of the couple. “The flowers, candelabras, and arches were all donated by local businesses. They were also given a one night’s stay at the Radisson for their honeymoon.” The Man and Woman of the Year Award was given to Bob and Peggy Harvey for their years of community service. “They have been involved and have spent every waking minute volunteering their time at the senior center and the YMCA,” VanSessen said. “They are the type of people that would do anything for anyone who needed help. ”The Harveys were chosen by the number of letters that were sent to the Chamber of Commerce and based on their community service efforts.