Morton High School - Top Hat Yearbook (Hammond, IN)

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TOP 10 IN REGION NEWS The following article ap¬ peared in The Times on Janu¬ ary 1, 1984. Top Hat would like to thank The Times Staff for their permission to reprint this article. The ailing steel industry was the Calumet Region ' s top story in 1983. Soaring health care costs and utility rate hike battles also lead the list of the Re¬ gion ' s top 10 stories for 1983, as chosen by The Times’ edi¬ tors. The year also saw political history in the making with the election of a Republican may¬ or in Hammond and the first black mayor in Chicago. And the long, hot summer of 1983 won’t soon be forgotten by Indiana and Illinois farm¬ ers, some of whom lost up to half of their crops because of the drought. The top ten stories for 1983 are: STEEL When the 1983 industry losses are tallied, they are ex¬ pected to reach the $2 billion mark — an improvement over last year’s $3.6 billion in¬ dustrywide loss. The United Steelworkers union lost, too, when it signed a historic concessions agree¬ ment on March 1, giving back $1.25 an hour and a portion of the benefit package. The biggest story was at U.S. Steel’s South Works, where the battle for a rail mill and the fear of a shutdown plaughed workers all year. Last week, U.S. Steel said it will not build the rail mill, but it will not shut down the two operating departments there either. The company offered no committments as to how long the mill will continue op¬ erating. On a more positive note, Jones Laughlin Steel Corp. unveiled a continuous caster at its Indiana Harbor Works, while Inalnd Steel Co. and U.S. Steel Corp. announced plans to build similar facilities at their plants in East Chicago and Gary, respectively. Inland and Bethlehem Steel Corp. began operating their new heat-treating lines, which will help them meet their new higher quality stan¬ dards of the auto industry. The industry has operated at about 55 percent this year, up from 48.4 percent last year. HEALTH COST An exhaustive, six-month study by Times Staff Writers Lori Olszewski and Timothy Bannon revealed that most of the Calumet Region’s not-for- profit hospitals make a profit above the national average for hospitals. St. Anthony’s Medi¬ cal Center in Crown Point was the most expensive place to stay among 14 Regional hospi¬ tals in Indiana and Illinois studies by The Times from 1978 to 1981. Following the series which was published in March, St. Anthony began lowering its rates. Lawrence T. Filosa was removed as the hospital’s ad¬ ministrator on May 31, and the 16-member board of directors was dissolved. The Times re¬ ported in August that Filosa headed a network of not-for- profit corporations associated with the hospital which paid him $344,193 from July 1,1981 and June 30, 1982, including $180,000 a year as president and chief operating officer at St. Anthony’s hospital. UTILITY COST Indiana ’s Public Service Commission granted North¬ ern Indiana Public Service Co. a 20 percent, $161.6-million rate increase in August. On December 21, however, the PSC began reconsidering if NIPSCO’s construction costs for the $543-million Schahfer Unit 17 power plant are rea¬ sonable. PSC members said if the rates aren’t reasonable, re¬ funds will be ordered. Commonwealth Edison filed a request with the Illinois Commerce Commission to in¬ crease revenues by $462.2 mil¬ lion annually starting April 1984. ELECTION For the first time in 32 years, a Republican was elect¬ ed mayor of Hammond. Thom¬ as McDermott defeated Ed¬ ward Raskosky — the incum¬ bent two-term Democrat — with 61 percent of the vote on Nov. 8. Raskosky’s campaign manager. Brad Bodney, said he was aware three weeks be¬ fore the election that Ras¬ kosky wouldn’t win. Thomas McDermott was elected in Nov. 1983 as the first Republican mayor of Hammond in 32 years. 26 Local

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lenata Plahtaric, Gail Hatfield. Pom-Port — Front Row: Tammy Banks, Traci Brandenburgs Do¬ reen Reyes, Donna Harakal, Tina Poe, Lisa Contreras, Shelly Pul- kowski, Leslie Soto, Second Row: falski, Pam Wojcik, Angie Vasic, Michelle Taylor, Donna Tutush, ■Monica Stage arid Kareh Steven- •son. | Gina Bachmeier, Vikki Shanahan. Mary BethTCarinon, Kim Haley! Elvira Guerrero, Pam Peardon. Back Row: Linda Brown, Joni Ra- Cheerleading Camp — Front Row: Kathy Csicsko, Bridget Vela, Ann Melton, Kathy Verme- jan. Back Row: Cindy Batliner, Ann Thomas, Angie Keutzer and Cathy Williams.

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The Hammond election also produced another unique twist-a tie vote in the 4th Dis¬ trict Council race that was de¬ cided on Dec. 23. Lake Superi¬ or Judge Cordell Pinkerton ruled in favor of Republican Janet Moran and declared Democrat Mark Scholer ineli¬ gible to serve because he is a police officer. Scholer is ap¬ pealing the ruling. CH. ELECTION In a radically charged elec¬ tion campaign, Rep. Harold Washington was elected Chi¬ cago’s first black mayor on April 12, defeating Republican Bernard Epton with more than 51 percent of the vote. Soon after taking office, Washington’s 21 black and liberal aldermen squared off in council chambers with a group of 29 white aldermen led by 10th Ward Alderman Edward Vrdolyak. WEATHER With the exception of Cook County, every county in the Calumet Region was declared an agricultural disaster last summer because of the long, dry spell. Corn and soybean yeilds were 30 to 50 percent lower than last year’s levels in most Region counties. New¬ ton County crops were the hardest hit, with a 70 percent loss reported. Because of agriculture di¬ saster declarations farms are eligible for federal assistance for 1984 plantings. But tighter federal restriction on disaster loans mean the number of peo¬ ple who can apply is limited. WILLARDO Lake County Coroner Dr. Albert T. Willardo, convicted of theft by a Lake County jury, resigned May 22. Lake Criminal Judge James Clem¬ ent reduced Willardo’s felony conviction to a misdemeanor, then suspended a one-year prison sentence on the condi¬ tion that Willardo resign. Clement also ordered Wil¬ lardo to make restitution for $4,299 in fradulent milage claims which were diverted to his campaign in 1978. Willardo’s successor — Dr. Daniel D. Thomas of Gary — was elected June 4. KOMYATTI A Hammond mother and son, a Morton graduate, each were sentenced to 100years in prison on December 28 for the March 20 dismemberment¬ slaying of Paul Komyatti Sr., whose badly decomposed body was found buried in six plastic bags along the Lake Michigan shoreline in May. Lake Criminal Court Judge James Letringer sentenced Rosemary Komyatti, 58, and Paul Komyatti, Jr., 18, each to 55 years for murder and 45 years for consipiracy. Mrs. Komyatti is to serve the time consecutively; Paul Jr. is to serve the sentence concur¬ rently. William Vandiver, 35, the elder Komyatti’s son-in-law, faces the death penalty for his December 19 murder convic¬ tion. Vandiver’s wife, Mar- iann, testified against her mother, brother, and husband. Charges against her were re¬ duced from murder to a lesser felony in exchange for her tes¬ timony. ANTON Lake County Sheriff Chris Anton died Oct. 9 of cancer after serving just nine months in office. In an election decided by Lake County Democratic pre- Former Lake County Sheriff Chris Anton died of cancer last year while serving in office. cinct committeemen on Oct. 29, former Lake County Com¬ missioner Rudy Bartolomei was elected sheriff over An¬ ton’s widow — Anna Nuzzo Anton — by 10 votes. DRUG BUST A total of 41 persons were indicted in July after a five- year federal drug investiga¬ tion, dubbed “Operation Sky- Caine”, revealed that 120,000 pounds of marijuana and 2,300 pounds of cocaine valued at $139 million were illegally im¬ ported. It was the largest drug conspiracy case in Indiana’s history. Federal authorities charged two Calumet Region men — Ronald Markowski, 44, of East Chicago and George Chiatello, 42, of Burnham — with oper¬ ating a continuing criminal enterprise involving the il¬ legal importation of cocaine and marijuana. Local