From the files of the Kosciusko County Historical Society

This is a history column that will run a few times a month. 

Dec. 9, 1968 — A new post office for Warsaw was approved by the Post Office Department, according to then-Third District Congressman John Brademas of South Bend.

Information for this retrospective series is courtesy of the Kosciusko County Historical Society. For more history of Kosciusko County in the news visit yesteryear.clunette.com.

Specifications for the new facility called for substantial increases in exterior and interior space. Plans for the new building set the interior at 16,500 square feet compared to the 9,273 square feet within the old location; 1,300 square feet of the platform and 27,000 square feet of parking and maneuvering area in the new facility compared with 216 and 4,996 square feet respectively, in the present post office.

The old post office building, which was government-owned, was built in 1931. It is at the southwest corner of Lake and Market streets.

Dec. 9, 1977 — The Kosciusko County Commissioners declared a snow emergency at 8 a.m. on Dec. 9, 1977, after a heavy accumulation of snow was recorded along with below zero temperatures and whistling high winds.

A snow emergency means that absolutely no one should be on area roads unless it is an extreme emergency.

Kosciusko County Civil Defense deputies mobilized a command post at City Hall to prepare for another snowfall and assist stranded motorists.

Dec. 12, 1979 — Final testimony was in South Bend on Dec. 12, 1979, in a lawsuit filed by former Warsaw Community High School teacher JoAnn DuPont against the local school corporation, but the jury did not worry about making a decision.

Then-U.S. District Court Judge Allen Sharp dismissed the panel of four men and four women the previous afternoon after attorneys for the school system and DuPont settled their differences out of the public courtroom on the issue of damages. The school agreed to pay an estimated $9,000, as opposed to the $50,000 sought on Feb. 23, 1979 federal complaint.

DuPont, formerly a high school business instructor in Warsaw, alleged school administrators and the Board of Trustees had violated her First Amendment rights when she was fired from her position in March 1978. She maintained the board took the action because she publicly spoke out against the banning of textbooks and changing of curriculum. She also claimed her involvement with the Warsaw Community Educators Association helped lead to her firing.