Friday, August 7
6:00 - 9:00 PM
Central Park, Warsaw

The entire family will enjoy festive carnival games, the inflatable giant slide, moonwalks, a magician, roving entertainers, a clown, face painting from Possum Ranch, a caricature artist and stage performances! Game tickets are $0.25 each, but entertainment is free. Punch cards sold in $5 increments in advance at the Boggs Recreation Building beginning August 3rd -- sorry, no refunds.

Saturdays, June 6, July 18 & August 15
Dusk - approximately 9:00 PM
The Glover Pavilion, Central Park, Warsaw
FREE!

Back by popular demand outdoors! Bring your lawn chairs and blankets for a wholesome evening in Central Park!

• June 6:  Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D, Rated PG
• July 18:  Kung Fu Panda, Rated PG
• Aug 15:  High School Musical 3, Rated G

Saturday, June 6
7:30 AM
Center Lake at Municipal Park, Warsaw
FREE

To celebrate National Fishing Week, a fishing derby will be held at Center Lake for kids! Prizes awarded for the biggest fish and more. First 100 kids will receive a FREE fishing kit (does NOT include a fishing pole)!  Register in advance at the Boggs Recreation Building or additional registration will be taken at the event. Advance registrations receive priority for fishing kits.  DON’T FORGET to bring your fishing pole, bait and a container to keep your fish!

Youth will be granted prizes according to the following age groups:
     4 years old & younger
     5 to 8 years old
     9 to 12 years old
     13 to 16 years old

In order to participate at park department programs, a registration form must be completed per household.  One form may be used to sign up for multiple programs.  Thank you!

Click on the link for the registration form needed.

http://02adf28.netsolhost.com/DotNetNuke/Portals/0/ParksDepartment/Program%20Registration%20Form.pdf

1. It is available to first-time home buyers only, but that means people who have not owned a home in the past three years. The home must be the principal residence and there is a recapture provision if one moves out or sells before three years.
2. It is limited by income and starts to phase out for individuals at $75,000 and couples filing jointly at $150,000. Consult your tax professional for more details.
3. It expires on November 30, 2009. For existing home buyers, you must close by that date; for new construction buyers, you must occupy by that date.
4. It is not available directly at the closing table.
5. A new home buyer does not need to wait until 2010 to claim the credit. It may be claimed on their 2008 taxes by filing an amended return after they close on their home. The credit is 10% of the price of the home or $8000, whichever is less. If more than one eligible person is making the purchase, the credit must be divided. In other words, it is up to $8000 per home purchased, not first-time home buyer.
6. There aren’t any restrictions on the type of home, even houseboats are included; however, one cannot purchase a home from a close relative.

Many opportunities to catch bluegills, largemouth bass, and yellow perch, as well as well as one of the largest northern pike populations in the state, await anglers in Lake Wawasee, Indiana's largest natural lake.
 
The Department of Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) surveyed the lake last June and July. Sampling included 5½ hours of electro-fishing along the shore with a boat-mounted electrical generator that temporarily stuns fish. In addition, 18 gill nets and 15 trap nets were set at various locations throughout the lake.

Biologists caught 2,278 fish during the survey, 47 percent of which were bluegills. They also caught 269 largemouth bass and 186 perch.

Several bluegills were 8 inches long, some up to 9½ inches. Their growth rate is typical of northern Indiana natural lakes, with bluegills reaching 6 inches at age 4 and nearly 8 inches by age 6. Bluegills were captured during electrofishing at the rate of 140 per hour, a rate also typical of Indiana natural lakes.

Largemouth bass caught during the survey were 4 to 19½ inches long, including 35 that were legal size (14 inches or larger).

Most of the perch were 6 to 8 inches long, some up to 11 inches.

Eighty-six northern pike were caught during sampling in June. Another 22 pike were caught in July. The pike ranged from 14½ to 33½ inches long. Their combined weight made up 25 percent of the weight of all fish captured in the survey.

Based on comparisons to previous surveys dating back to 1975, biologists say the overall fish population in Lake Wawasee has been relatively stable, with the exception of the increase in white bass. Three white bass were captured in a 2004 survey; 18 were caught last summer.

"By most accounts, white bass were not native to Lake Wawasee," said Jed Pearson, a DFW biologist who has worked on the lake since 1975. "An old document from 1875 says white bass were present, but no records after that ever verified it."

Pearson said that white bass were probably stocked illegally sometime before 2004.

"If white bass continue to increase, they may eventually compete for food with other sport fish and could eventually affect the growth rate and size of other fish," he said, "That's why permits are required to stock fish in a public lake."

More information: Phil Bloom, director of communications, (317) 232-4003