The Kokomo Tribune from Kokomo, Indiana • Page 5

KOKOMO TRIBUNE STATE TUESDAY, JAN. 5,1999 A5 Pizza tycoon's 'Hut' Hearing completion The man and his wife say that they're not really sure just how large the mansion is. By The Associated Press FORT WAYNE, tnd. He started with a single Hut. Now the Pizza Hut king owns a castle.

Pizza Hut owner Dick Frecland's estate in western Allen County has been the subject of rumors and awe for years as locals have watched the construction of one of the area's largest, perhaps most unusual houses. On 42 acres of a former Christmas tree farm and cornfields, Dick and Deanna Freeland's dream.house is just a year shy of completion. Already the house is filled with antiques and artifacts from around the world, and each facet of the custom design has a special story behind it. From the Lithuanian-crafted doorknobs to the enormous granite-and- fieldstone exterior, this house is a product of not just its owners' wishes, but the creativity and hard work of hundreds. The house started as just the flicker of an idea about 20 years ago for Freeland and his wife, who are originally from Iowa.

Dick Freeland owns and operates all of the Pizza Hut franchises in this part of the state. Deanna Freeland, who has been collecting pieces for the home since long before the basement was ever poured, said she has imagined at least parts of the house through every apartment and house she has ever lived in. Construction on the main house began three and a half years ago, but other areas of the farm, such as the caretaker's house, the lake and the barn, began five years ago. This is the first house the Freelands have ever built. "It just evolved," Deanna 'My husband said he had made his living in this town and this is where we decided to Deanna Freeland Freeland said.

The couple had considered building their home on a prime piece of property in Florida but decided Fort Wayne was their home. 'My husband said he had made his living in this town," Deanna said. "And this is where we decided to build." The couple declined to say how big the house is today, and with so many additions and changes to the design, they say they really aren't sure. "I don't want to know," Deanna said. They also declined to discuss the cost of the French manor-style house.

The Freeland house of the future is really a thing of the past with its turrets and great stone facade, which includes New York granite, Pennsylvania fieldstone and Indiana limestone, and a slate roof. Designers have made slight alterations to roof lines, window trim, soffits and other features to make it look as though new additions have been built over time. "It looks as though the house has grown over the years," said Jim Saxton, a landscaper who has been working on the project since it began. Despite the Old World style, the house is decidedly modern. It includes a state-of-the-art sound system from their son Todd Freeland's Audio Video Lifestyles business in Fort Wayne, security and sprinkler systems and other amenities.

The Freelands have installed a "working kitchen," Deanna said, with granite and soapstone countertops in a roomy, warm area of the house. "My husband's become quite a cook since we moved into our apartment (in the main house) a year ago." And the conservatory, a glassed-in room overlooking part of the lake and woods, is filled with tropical plants and the family's feathered friends, lovebirds Lovey and Dovey, Katy the hyacinth macaw and Joey, an African gray. Oakleaf won't sell a conservatory unless its own crew comes and installs it, Kelly said. Only a few of the main house's five guest rooms are complete, and each has a unique theme: a masculine room with its dark woodwork, a feminine room with delicate furniture and soft colors and a white and cream room that Gloria Gelfius, Dale Kelly's design assistant, describeS-as "monochromatic." While the Freelands live in one part of the house, construction workers hammer and pound in another area. Still incomplete are the two-story library, the living room, the master bedroom and the main A lower level with a wine cellar, exercise area and a home theater-billiard room also is unfinished.

The estate has had as many as 90 workers on site at a time. Each week, the dozens of construction workers at the house are given a taste of warm, home-baked cookies from the Freelands. "We're all family," Deanna said. Dick Freeland, who is in his early 60s, jokes that someday he will invite all his friends to live with him. Eventually the house will go back to the community in some capacity, the Freelands say, but they have not decided who or what group will control it.

"It will be a long time before it is given away," Deanna said. Join us on the web at www.ktonline.com Secondary Teacher Study Tbiir to JAPAN The Toyota International Teacher Program is offering a fully-funded study visit to Japan in June 1999 for 9-12th grade teachers. For more call toll-free: 1-877832-2457 or: www.iie.6rg/pgrhs/toyota. Deadline: January JEFFERSON PLACE Chapel and Hall, Continental Ballroom and Office Suites weddings Keceptions Prows jPaittes Kewnions Westings Call 765-868-3149 to make reservations Now Two Locations! 920 Millbrook Lane Kokomo 202 E. Jefferson St.

(Corner of Jefferson Union) Josh Nines and Heather Shaw try to get the 20 snow shovels they bought at a hardware store in Lafayette back to their car. The two said they bought the shovels for their employer. (AP photo) It's snow going for the Itaiie of Indiana 'ml V) i l.nil -iti I More than 500 highway travelers stayed the night at a Lafayette church. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Indiana tried to dig out today from a winter storm that bombarded the state all weekend, leaving roads coated with ice and in some cases closed by drifting snow. The storm claimed at least four lives.

Two men died moving snow. Two more people were killed when their snowmobile hit a truck. Many schools, local governments and workplaces did not reopen today after holiday breaks. Those who did head to work struggled to get there. Legislative leaders decided Monday to postpone the beginning of the 1999 session from Tuesday until at least Wednesday because snow and ice made it difficult for some lawmakers to get to the capital city.

Sections of 14 highways remained shut down this morning. An 81-mile, stretch of Interstate 65 from Lafayette to Merrillville reopened at 8 a.m., but only with extra state police to keep drivers under control. Traffic at times backed up miles this morning from the terminal at Indianapolis International Airport as people stranded for days went back again to try to get a flight. The storm left snowfall totals ranging from 22 inches at Plymouth in north-central Indiana to a mere 3 inches in Scottsburg in the southern part of the state. Biting cold posed the newest troubles, the National Weather Service said, High temperatures won't climb much above freezing this week, only to plummet into the teens and single digits overnight.

Winds of up to 20 mph this morning sent wind-chill indices plunging well below zero. Another band of light snow was possible at midweek. Road crews grappled with a hardened layer of ice and compacted snow and no warmth in sight to help melt away the mess, "The salt and the calcium chloride stops working at a little less than 10 degrees so it has a very limited, effect on what we're able to do," Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith said (his morning. A fleet of. 700 state snow trucks have been scraping, salting and applying chemicals in 12-hour shifts now for four straight days, Department of Transportation spokesman Roger Manning said.

Purdue University in West Lafayette canceled all classes today for the first time since 1984. City halls and county courthouses across the state were planning to stay closed today, too. Thousands of travelers were stranded at airports, truck stops and shelters because of the storm, Indianapolis International Airport closed for three hours Saturday, the first time the airport shut down since a January 1978 blizzard, but air traffic was recovering today. "I'm looking put the window and watching lots of airplanes move around and taking off," Dennis Rosebrough said. "That's a wonderful sight." Interstate 65 from Lebanon to Merrillville was closed for about 20 hours before reopening at 9 a.m.

Sunday. State police closed the 81- mile stretch from Lafayette to Merrillville again at 4 p.m. Sunday and kept it closed until 8 a.m. today. More than 500 highway refugees stayed at Faith Baptist Church in Lafayette, many sleeping head-to-toe on church pews and floors.

They rushed for the doors this morning when the highway reopened. "They had blankets, they had cots, they had soap, they had food, they had everything," said a thankful Kathy Colvin of LaPorte, who was on her way home from Indianapolis when state police ordered her off 1-65. At midnight, Gov, Frank O'Bannon lifted a statewide state of emergency, with the exception 42 counties and seven cities that remained under local emergency status today. just keep digging out and get the roads passable," O'Bannon said during a visit Sunday to the State Emergency Management Agency's operations center in Indianapolis, where some workers had not left since Friday. Snow drifts more than 2 feet high closed South Shore Railroad, which carries more than 12,000 daily commuters from northwestern Indiana to Chicago.

"Everything's just buried," said John Parsons, a spokesman for the railroad. "You can't move." Power outages affected at least 22,000 customers over the weekend, said Cinergy spokeswoman Angeline Prptogere. Hardest hit areas were Princeton, Madison, Kokomo, Sullivan, Noblesville and Greencastle. About 60 Cinergy customers statewide had no power this morning, including 35 in Terre Haute, Protogere said. Authorities said at least four people died because of the storm.

Bernard Small, 81, of Fort Wayne died Saturday of a heart attack while using a snow blower, officials at St. Joseph Hospital said. Paul Van-Daele, 6P, of Pendelton collapsed in his garage after shoveling snow, In Marion, two people on a snowmobile died Sunday night after the vehicle hit a truck. The snowmobile driver died at the scene, The passenger died about 4 a.m. today at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne.

Their identities were withheld pending notification of relatives. heatthffife Wool fka faiilonl Feel the pulse! 9 It takes more than apples to ensure healthy living today. Healthfile magazine offers local features combined with national health and fitness related news. This monthly magazine is keeping residents in Howard, Grant Miami Counties informed and fit. Look for it in your Kokomo "Ribune 3rd Wednesday of the month.

ADVERTISERS: Give your business a booster shot! Advertise in bealthfile. Reserve your space today! call (765) 459-3121 or 1-800-382-0696 Deadline for January 1999 issue is January 6th. Publishes January 20,1999. 28,500 copies are distributed throughout Howard, Grant and Miami Counties, KOKOMO TRIBUNE 300 N. Union Street Kokomo, Indiana 46901.