By Carol Anders Staff Writer
LAKEVILLE — The Union-North School Corporation can now more forward with their plan to erect a new intermediate school and renovations to the two existing schools.
The $19.6 million project was delayed for several weeks after opponents filed a remonstrance.
The final vote for those in favor totaled 1,781 while opponents claimed 1,313 votes. These totals reflect only the signatures that could be validated.

Proponents handed in petitions with 1,984 votes. Opponents gathered 1,410 votes.
Both sides had gone door-to-door and held numerous town meetings in order to get their message out. Marshall County Clerk Julie Fox said the votes that could not be validated were either not registered voters or property owners or one petition carrier could not be validated.
The signatures on petitions were verified by voter registration offices in both St. Joseph and Marshall County offices and by the auditors in both counties.
New legislation at the state level made it possible for registered voters, not just property owners, to sign a petition either for or against a school building project. Signatures were first verified by voter registrations and then any not on an active list were forwarded to county auditors for verification as property owners.
The next phase will be to get the approval of the financing plan from the Department of Local Government Financ-ing (DLGF). The first step in the process will be to appear before the DLGF at a hearing before the School Property Tax Control Board.
Following the hearing, that could be held as early as June, the DLGF gives either a favorable or unfavorable decision the project.
DLGF Commissioner Cheryl Musgrave could also decide to change the amount of financing that could be permitted.
Hebard & Hebard Arch-itects of South Bend had provided several different designs for consideration to alleviate overcrowding and inadequate facilities for the corporation.
The Union-North School Board could sign a contract with the firm as early as this week to proceed with the schematic phase of the project.
An opponent of the project, Lakeville business owner Dave Grenert had called the remonstrance period a “civil war.” In earlier interviews, Grenert said, “Wives and husbands, brothers and brothers and friends are working on different sides.”
George Moffett, who had spearheaded the opposition efforts, had said during the petition drive that they could at least get the DLGF to take a close look at what is really necessary.
After the totals were released, Moffett said, “It’s over. We fought a good fight. Wait until people get their tax bills. They will wish they had listened to what we had to say.”
Neither side disagreed with the need for renovations. However, the timing and the extent of a project caused the division of the two groups of petition carriers.