Banner Graphic, Volume 10, Number 228, Greencastle, Putnam County, 30 May 1980 — Page 1

Racial slurs preceded Jordan shooting, police say

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) - Three youths in a car shouted racial slurs at Vernon Jordan and his white female companion. but police said today they couldn’t have the fired the shot that seriously wounded the black Urban League president a short time later. That incident prompted an FBI investigation of a possibly conspiracy in the shooting, but local police spokesman Dan Gibson said, “There’s no way they would have had time." Doctors, meanwhile, said today that Jordan was in “guardedly good” condition after being shot by a hunting rifle in a motel parking lot early Thursday He was given a good chance of making a complete recovery

Summer city recreation to begin this Monday

The Greencastle park recreation program will begin Monday, June 2 and run through Aug. 15, according to Terry Beer, recreation director. The recreation program will run Monday through Friday from 10 a m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. THE PROGRAM consists of open recreation on a drop-in basis with no age limit for local children from elementary to high school. Children interested in participating should meet near the Bloomington Street entrance daily although some activities will be planned around shelter house No. 1. In case of severe storms the program will be canceled. During the summer months there will be weekly themes and special events such as bike shows, drama day and tug-of-war days for variety

Playhouse tryouts for 'Harvey' set for Monday

Auditions for parts in the Putnam County Playhouse production of “Harvey” will be held Monday, June 2, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Room 170 W of the DePauw Performing Arts Center. Director Jim Poor is looking for six men and five women to portray characters in the hit comedy play about a man who has an invisible six-foot tall rabbit for a companion. ELWOOD P. DOWD, who was played by Jimmy Stewart in the movie “Harvey,” is middle-aged, dignified but dreamy. Dr. Sanderson is a young man - good looking and attracted to his nurse Miss Kelly, a young woman in her early 20s. Veta Louise, the sister of Elwood, and her daughter Myrtle Mae are both good character parts for a mid-

Either way, it's all wet Warm and very humid with good chance of late-afternoon and evening thunderstorms. A few localized storms may be heavy, with strong, gusty winds. High temperatures in the upper 80s through Saturday, with overnight lows in mid to upper 60s. Southerly winds 1020 mph. Chance of rain 50 per cent through Saturday. Indiana Extended Outlook A chance of thundershowers Sunday through Tuesday. Lows in the 50s and 60s Sunday and Monday. Highs in the 70s and 80s. Lows Tuesday in the 40s and 50s. Highs in the 60s and 70s. Index Abby A 6 Calendar A 6 Classified 84,85 Comics A 7 Crossword B 4 Heloise A 6 Horoscope B 5 Obituaries A 8 Sports 81,82,83 TV C Section Theatres A 8 Worry Clinic B 4

The 44-year-old black civil rights leader, a 1957 graduate of DePauw University, is under police guard in Parkview Memorial Hospital’s intensive care unit. Jordan, elected to a four-year term on the DePauw Board of Trustees in 1977, was off the critical list, but he was still in very serious condition as of noon Friday. Gibson said Martha C. Coleman, a 36-year-old divorced Urban League worker, was driving Jordan back to the Marriott Inn when they stopped at a red light 2*4 miles from the motel. “Apparently they (the youths) were having a good time in the car,” Gibson said. “They looked over and saw a black-on-white situation and made some racial overtones. As the light changed, they took

Banner Graphic Putnam County, Friday, May 30,1980, Vol. 10 No. 228 20 Cents

and interest. Junior leaders will be chosen after a few weeks to assist the director with various tasks. General activities to be included in the summer program are: Badminton, tennis, ping-pong, croquet, marbles, cards, board games, basketball, whiffleball, kickball, bombardment, frisbee, volleyball and softball. OTHER ACTIVITIES will include a frisbee golf course, new games, team tennis, team volleyball, tournaments, acclimatization, educational session and possibly Jokari and Hotshot tournaments later in the summer. The weekly theme and special weekly activities will be posted every Saturday in the BannerGraphic preceding the events.

die aged woman and a young girl. Smaller parts include Dr. Chumley, a pompous and lordly man in his 60s, his good-natured, bustling wife Betty, elderly Judge Gaffney and Wilson, the attendant at the sanitarium. To round out the play, Poor is looking for two small character parts to appear only in one act -- a cab driver and elderly lady to portray the wealthy aunt of Veta Louise. IF ANYONE CANNOT attend tryouts but is interested in participating, he should call Poor at 6539756 during the day, or 653-6234 in evenings. The play will be presented July 1012 in Moore Theater of the Performing Arts Center.

North Putnam building program awaits superintendent

By BECKY IGO Banner-Graphic Area News Editor BAINBRIDGE -- The North Putnam School Board continues to remain on a holding pattern concerning its possible building program until a new superintendent is selected. This conclusion was reached Thursday night during a special meeting of the board at the superintendent’s office. AT A MAY 22 MEETING of the board, Supt. Larry Williams revealed he had accepted a position with the Peru School Corporation. His resignation will become effective on June 30. In attendance at Thursday’s meeting were Phillip Howard, president, and Eugene Alberson, director of planning, of the Interdesign Group Inc., the architectural firm that recently completed a feasibility study for the corporation. Both men were prepared to give a rundown of the financial options available to

Bainbridge stoplight destined to become f lashinq siqnal

BAINBRIDGE - The State Highway Commission will replace the traffic signal at U.S. 36 and Washington Street in Bainbridge with a flashing beacon as a result of a traffic engineering study, State Sen. Joseph Harrison (R-Attica) has learned. HARRISON SAID HE has been informed

off ahead of Mrs. Coleman.” The police spokesman said the youths pulled into a the parking lot of a fast food restaurant and would not have had time to get to the motel ahead of Jordan. Despite the FBI investigation —lO more agents arrived in the city today to join 10 others “We still feel there was no conspiracy involved,” Gibson said. Dr. Jeffrey Towles, who operated on Jordan for more than four hours after he was shot in the back by a .30-06 rifle, examined the civil rights leader this morning and said, “We are extremely gratified at his progress. He’s doing very well.” The surgeon said it is unlikely Jordan will suffer any lasting paralysis. President Carter, addressing the

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Inmate admits setting Farm fires

By G. PATRICK GRIMES Banner-Graphic Staff Writer An Indiana State Farm inmate, charged with setting fire to two of the Putnamville institution’s farm buildings last year, changed his plea to guilty Thursday during a Putnam Circuit Court jury trial set to hear his case. Gary L. McDonald, 32, Goshen, accepted a plea-bargan agreement with Putnam County Prosecutor Del Brewer, and pleaded guilty to the lesser included offenses of the charges against him. McDonald still faces up to eight years in prison for admittedly starting a fire at both the calf barn, where three small Holstein calves were killed, and a quonset hut where hay was stored. Prosecutor Brewer and McDonald's pauper attorney, David Houck, disagreed about how value of the building burned should be determined when McDonald was on trial Thursday for the cattle barn fire. He was also facing another jury trial next week for the quonset hut fire before the plea bargain was made. During the legal argument between Houck and Brewer, the jury was asked to

the board in case renovation or new construction is pursued. FOUR FINANCIAL alternatives were suggested to board members. They included financing by utilizing either a public or private holding corporation, general obligation bonds, cumulative building funds or a common school fund loan. Alberson did stress the corporation should increase its cumulative building fund to generate more revenue if a building program is established. Currently, the cumulative fund generates around $78,000 a year with a rate of 23 cents per SIOO of assessed valuation. If the board increased that amount to $1.25, approximately $412,500 would be generated with an assessed valuation of $33 million, he said. “MANY SCHOOL DISTRICTS are getting this now,” Alberson said of the $1.25

by Highway Commission officials of the results of traffic engineering study which revealed a change in traffic patterns over the years to the point where the present signal is no longer needed at the Bainbridge intersection. “The Highway Commission believes the

congregation of the Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland during a campaign swing Thursday, said he believed the attack “was an assassination effort” and that he was “filled with a sense of outrage and a sense of sadness.” FBI Director William H. Webster said in Washington on Thursday night that the shooting apparently was a premeditated act. a possible conspiracy, and the bureau was investigating the possibility of a federal civil rights violation. In answer to a question, Webster said reports that some persons in another car had shouted racial epithets at Jordan on a highway a mile from the motel provided the legal mechanism by which the FBI could enter the case.

Landowners win appeal

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana Court of Appeals Thursday reversed a Putnam Circuit Court decision in favor of landowners who claimed their property was flooded because of alterations in a dam made by other individuals. Bernice Wegner. David Beryl Moore and Mary E. Moore claimed their land was flooded because of dam alterations by Robert C. Riley.

return to its chamber so the attorneys would not damage their impartiality. Brewer asked Houck about accepting the plea bargain in which the defendant would admit to both fires, thereby saving the expense of another jury trial. THE PROSECUTION would allow him to plead guilty to the lesser charges of criminal mischief. The prosecution also agreed to not press the habitual criminal charges which McDonald could face

figure. “But you have to show good cause for these funds.” In some instances of possible renovation, Alberson suggested the board consider a public holding company. “Is there any difference on the rates between the private versus the public holding company?” board member John Crosby asked. “THE RATES WON’T vary that much,” Alberson answered. “The public company involves the community and this is very, very important. But you have to have good legal advice with the public company,” he noted. “With a private company, you could move a little faster,” he said of the comparison. The discussion then turned to the questions concerning the construction aspects of a building program. “Would a construction manager make a difference?” Supt. Williams questioned.

installation of the flashing beacon will eliminate many unnecessary stops that U.S. 36 traffic is being required to make at this intersection,” Harrison said. “They also believe that the elimination of the stops will help conserve gasoline and should help improve the overall efficiency of traffic flow at this intersection.

It is a federal crime “to injure, oppress, threaten or intimidate” persons traveling on public highways. The FBI cannot yet determine if there were personal motives for the attack or whether it was a political assassination attempt, he said. Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti said, “The indications are and we have only scattered facts that it is not related to his civil rights activities.” Gibson on Thursday said authorities initially were investigating the assault as a “domestic type thing,” but by nightfall had changed their focus. “The domestic situation has been completely ruled out,” he said. “We’re looking at an individual, possibly involved alone.

Alfred R. Shipley and Richard Endicott. The appeals court, in ordering a new trial, said Circuit Judge Francis N. Hamilton based his decision, in part, on a telephone conversation he had with a witness after the trial ended. The appeals court said that information should not have been used by the trial judge.

having been convicted three times of felonious crimes. Houck and McDonald accepted the offer, and the defendant took the stand and admitted setting both fires. He stated under oath that he told his supervisor he was going to the calf barn on Aug. 29,1979 to get his ID card. “I was working at the calf barn and they took me out and put someone else there, and I left my I D. card,” McDonald ex-

“A PERSON WHO IS there full-time can be beneficial to check and see if everything is being handled correctly,” Alberson said. Howard also noted many corporation’s will hire an individual or ask the architectural firm to provide an inspector. “You need a field superintendent construction person,” he said. “That’s the strength you’re after -- a support person who represents the school corporation during the construction itself.” “Does that take some of the responsibility off of the general contractor then?” Medford Mcßride, board secretary, asked. “THAT DOESN’T RELIEVE us of liability,” Howard answered. “That adds more protection to the project. That person becomes the day-to-day watchdog.” “Will you have someone there daily?” Crosby asked. Howard said Interdesign would be on the job once a week on a regular basis with bi-

“As state senator in this area, I want to let residents and motorists who will be affected by this action know of the Highway Commission’s planned action for this intersection,” Harrison continued. “If anyone has any comments about this proposal, please let me know and I will forward their thoughts to the Commission.”

as an isolated type incident.” There was “possibly a local involvement” in the shooting, he said. “I can’t get into the details on this. We’re looking at one individual.” A bullet struck Jordan in the lower back just left of the spinal cord and damaged his intestine, and a second bullet grazed his right leg, Towles said. “As soon as the projectile entered, there was an explosive effect like nothing I have ever seen before. It was purely a miracle that it missed the spinal column. Had it exploded a millionth of a second later, there would be absolutely no chance for survival,” he said. Police said the assailant apparently had Col. 4, back page, this section

Assistant Police Chief Paul Wilson (pointing) gets Harold Williams, 48, Ohio Street, Greencastle, to give his side of a mishap at the busy Washington and Jackson street intersection Thursday afternoon. Catherine Gedert, 43, Bloomington St., was driving a 1977 GMC pick-up when it collided with Williams' Ford car as she was turning right and trying to avoid a State Highway paint crew, police said. (Banner-Graphic photo by G. Patrick Grimes).

plained, adding that once inside he noticed the huge mound of straw near the east end. “I put a match to it,” he said. THE DEFENDANT did not state Thursday why he set the buildings on fire, but an Indiana State Police report records McDonald as admitting to the cattle barn fire by saying, “I wanted to see the excitement and watch the fire trucks.” McDonald admitted igniting the quonset hut fire on July 26 of last year, as well, and stating that he again used matches to start the blaze. The jury was recalled to the courtroom and Judge Francis N. Hamilton explained what had taken place. The 12 jurors had spent almost the entire day inside the courtroom, listening to the prosecution's testimony before the new plea was entered at about 3 p.m. MCDONALD WILL BE sentenced sometime next week as soon as a presentence investigation is filed by the Probation Office. He faces the eight-year maximum sentence because he is charged with two class D felonies, both carrying a maximum of four years.

weekly construction meetings to detail the progress. “It is not a day-to-day possibility,” he added. TURNING THOUGHTS back to the financial aspects, Howard noted there were three matters which the board could address itself to during the transition of hiring a new superintendent. He told the board paperwork should be completed to request a common school fund loan. “It’s a process that shouldn’t wait,” he said. Howard also suggested the board meet with the corporation attorney to review the feasibility study and the financial options. THE FINAL SUGGESTION was that the board pursue “putting together a general obligation bond issue to earmark monies that could be used for a building program.” Mcßride suggested the board meet in the near future to discuss what renovation Col. 4, back page, this section

HARRISON NOTED that should the flashing light be installed, the Highway Commission would monitor traffic flow to ascertain if the new signal is appropriate. After six months of surveillance, the location will be re-evaluated to determine what the appropriate permanent traffic controls should be.