STAR May 25, 2000

General manager new to Star

Star Staff Report

CROWN POINT - The Post-Tribune recently announced the appointment of John Schoon as the Star's new General Manager.
     Previously the classified advertising director for the Post-Tribune, Schoon will be in charge of overall operations of the Star and Shopper.
     "John (Schoon) will be the face of the Star to the public," said Boni Fine, publisher of the Post-Tribune.
     "He brings a unique mix of experience to this role combining his daily advertising expertise with his firsthand knowledge of the market," Fine said.
     "I look forward to the opportunity to work in the communities I grew up in and currently live in," said Schoon.
     The Star is a part of the Hollinger Newspaper company's Chicago Group, overseen as a division of the Post-Tribune.
     The Post-Tribune officially took over the Star in January of 2000.

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Play Ball
Macker Mania grips Northwest Indiana

By Sean McNab
Star Staff Writer

HOBART - Now that summer is approaching, some say that America's national past time is bringing out the leather glove, throwing around the hardball, and swinging the bat.
    Don't tell that to the over 25,000 spectators and 1101 teams that participated in the ninth Annual Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament this past weekend.
    Attendees young and old had visions of 'being like Mike' for a day or, more realistically, hitting a game winning three-pointer like Reggie Miller does so many times for the playoff Indiana Pacers.
    Three elementary girls took this attitude to the court Saturday afternoon 'schooling' the opponents in their first two games of competition.
    Known under the alias of the 'Crown Point Crushers', sixth-graders Kaitlin Sautter and Stephanie Poulos of Winfield Elementary, and point guard Allison Frank of Solon Robinson put on their 'game faces' for the biggest basketball tournament of the summer.
    "We're here for the competition. We want to cream everybody," stated Frank brewing with confidence.
    Her comrade Sautter seemed to take a more political approach to the event by adding that she "was there just for the fun of the sport."
    Co-chairman Speros Batistatos, who helped bring the event to Lake County nine years ago, explained, "The purpose of Gus Macker is to bring notoriety to Lake County and generate business for commercial establishments in the area."
    Batistatos, who is the President of the Lake County Convention & Visitors Bureau (LCCVB) - the entity sponsoring the event, was proud to mention that this year spawned the most teams of any year since the inception.
    "We had 23 more teams participate than last year's record of 1079."
    Batistatos added that he was pleased with the controlling of tempers and professional sportsmanship by the players.
    "I think a lot of it has to do with the cool weather we had today. It seems from past experience that when the weekends are hotter, tempers flare up a lot quicker because of the intense heat."

THIS STORY CONCLUDED IN NEWSPAPER FORM

Winfield passes water measures
Ordinances designed to hold line on current problems

By Sean McNab
Star Staff Writer

WINFIELD - Because of the recent water problems within the town, the Town Council passed two ordinances May 16 with the hopes of containing the present problems until they are able to be remedied.
     Ordinance 71 was adopted prohibiting residences from attaching sump pump or rain leader connections to the present sanitary sewer system.
     Town Treasurer Ed Graveline asked if anyone was presently in violation of this of which Wilbur Cox, the Building Administrator and Inspector, stated "no."
     Town Attorney George Patrick added, "This ordinance protects the town and all our constituencies from possible problems in the future."
      The motion was adopted but was placed on next month's Town Council agenda for publishing purposes because of the ordinance subtext of fees and scheduling.
    Ordinance 72 provided regulations for well-digging within the town limits.
     "The purpose of this is for licensed water well drillers and water well drilling to conform to the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the town," explained Patrick.
     Included in this is that each well digger is required to keep accurate records of each well drilled in the town including its location.
     "This involves the possibility of Conservation Officers and other representatives from the Department of Natural Resources coming into town and inspecting particular pumps."
     Graveline questioned if there was a time frame in which inspections where to made.
     "There really is no time frame for this and, basically, it will be done on an 'as needed' basis. This ordinance provides a remedy for someone who has a question as to why a well was dug. It gives residents some 'teeth' to have inspections done," stated Patrick.
     The Town Council suspended the rules for this ordinance and passed it with a unanimous vote.

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