Banner Graphic, Volume 12, Number 86, Greencastle, Putnam County, 17 December 1981 — Page 1

Six inches of white means 'Code Black'

By BECKY IGO Banner-Graphic Area News Editor And you thought it would never arrive. Well, it did -- nine days before Christmas - and true to form, bringing basement-level temperatures, gusty winds, hazardous road conditions and at last count, six inches of snow. Believe it, Putnam County, winter has arrived. THE NATIONAL WEATHER Service began issuing winter storm warnings early Wednesday afternoon, estimating Central Indiana would receive approximately four inches of snow. Updating that information, the Weather Service is now calling for the central part of the state to receive seven inches of snow. Travelers’ advisories have been issued for the entire state, with the heaviest accumulation expected to be in the mid-state area. Locally, all four Putnam County schools called off classes Thursday morning as state, county and city highway crews worked to keep roads clear. “WE’VE BEEN WORKING til midnight to get some of the equipment we need ready,” Pat Sager, Putnam County highway, related Thursday morning. “At 6 a.m. Thursday, we started plowing and we are sanding. We have plowed a good part of the roads now.” Sager pointed out two of the highway’s sanding trucks are operable, but one is in the process of being repaired. Phone calls to the department have been constant, she added, with county residents pinpointing their road as needing attention. “I’ve had approximately six calls since 8 a.m.,” Sager told the BannerGraphic. MANY OF THE CALLS pertained to trouble spots as an area near the Walker Motel on U.S. 40 and the West Walnut Street Road, west of Greencastle. But, the county highway spokesman said some persons even call to question if they should venture outside. “I even had one lady call to ask me if she should try to come to work,” Sager said. “I told her the road she was concerned about would be open in about an hour. She may be late, but she could get in. “WE’RE GETTING CALLS from every direction,” she added, “and it looks like we’ll be getting more, unless this snow stops by noon.” Sager said crew members were out spreading a sand-salt mixture, but if temperatures continue to drop, it can create more difficulties for county drivers. “Our problem will be if the wind picks up and it continues to drop in temperature. That’s when it will really get slick,” Sayer concluded. ACCORDING TO JOHN HARLAN,

Harsh reality Snow and cold with up to seven inches total accumulation likely. Snow diminishing to flurries. Cold and windy with temperatures falling to near 20. A chance for flurries and cold through Friday. Low around 10 above. High Friday mid to upper teens. Indiana Extended Forecast Very cold Saturday with a chance of flurries mainly in the north. Generally dry Saturday through Monday with a warming trend Sunday and Monday. Highs Saturday upper teens to low 20s, warming by Monday into the upper 30s to low 40s. Lows Saturday zero to 10 above, warming into the upper teens and 20s by Monday. Abby A 5 Bridge B 6 Calendar A 5 Classifieds 86.87 Comics B 5 Crossword B 6 Editorials A 7 Heloise A 5 Horoscope B 7 Obituaries A 8 People B 8 Sports 81,82,83,84 Supermarket Shopper B 6 TV B 5 Theaters A 8 Worry Clinic B 6

Banner Graphic Putnam County, Thursday, December 17,1981, Vol. 12 No. 86 20 Cents

Greencastle subdistrict supervisor for the Indiana State Highway, Putnam County is in the “Code Black” listing of the department’s own weather service. What's Code Black? “That’s the worst you can get,” Harlan responded. “Through our weather service, we became aware this was coming in about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. They updated it saying we would get 4-7 inches of snow with an alternate of 7-10 inches.” FOLLOWING WEDNESDAY’S alert, Harlan said the state highway’s general foremen met with him and all decided personnel would be required to stay to insure all snow routes were covered. “Some of stayed until midnight, making sure the 21 routes were covered,” Harlan noted. “The midnight crew came back to work at 7:30 a. m. Thursday. “We don’t know when we’ll get home,” Harlan said, chuckling but quickly noted the crews are limited to 16-hour shifts. “WHEN IT SNOWS THIS heavy, all you can do is keep plowing,” Harlan remarked. With a slim crew of three men -- which includes Street Commissioner Jim Wright -- keeping snow cleared on city streets is a real challenge for the Greencastle Street Department. “We’ve been out since 6:30 p.m. yesterday (Wednesday),” Wright said, during his first break from snow removal at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. “We’ll be going back at 2 p.m.” WITH TEMPERATURES expected to read 10 above, Wright says future crew breaks will be short-lived. “We’ve got to get most of this off before it freezes tonight. If we can’t get it off before it’s dark, we’ll have a sheet of ice.” The city department works with four trucks which includes a four-wheel drive vehicle. “We made some changes last year,” Wright pointed out. “We had some trucks that it took two men to operate. Now one man can operate each truck. I don’t know what we would have done if the changes weren’t made with only three guys working.” Rockville had six inches this morning, with Crawfordsville reporting five inches and Indianapolis recording a four inch accumulation by early morning. The National Weather Service said total accumulations of 2-4 inches were likely over northern Indiana with 1-2 inches in the south by noon. Some other snow depths reported included Columbus at four inches and Bloomington having three inches. Forecasters and police agencies urged motorists to drive with extreme caution as highways and secondary roads became slippery and hazarous.

PSC chops out $15.4 million

GTE granted 'only' S3O million rate increase

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Public Service Commission has in effect given Indianapolis Power & Light Co. and Public Service Indiana a green light to trade customers in adjacent service areas. The PSC also tentatively granted a S3O million rate increase for General Telephone Co. of Indiana. The PSC shaved about sls million from the $45.4 million rate increase General Telephone sought. In September 1980, the utility received an 11 percent increase, or $12.9 million, compared with the $22.5 million sought. The company serves 486,000 customers around Fort Wayne, Goshen, Elkhart, Connersville, LaPorteand Greencastle. The PSC tentatively granted a 13.6 percent increase with the stipulation a comprehensive study be conducted of the utility’s overall service. Additional hearings will be scheduled to discuss details of the study, but if final results show the telephone service is below PSC standards, the utility will have to pay for the study and might have to refund part of the $30,199,233 increase. OF THE $45.4 MILLION requested more than sl7 million was intended for improved capital recovery procedures, over $lB million to pay increased taxes on the increased revenues and expense changes and only a little more than $lO million for improvement of General Telephone’s rate of return which has been eroded by rapidly increasing costs of doing business ac-

Facing a car or truck with a thick blanket of snow early Thursday morning, probably made several persons wish they had accommodations similar to

Accidents, death blamed on first snowfall

By The Associated Press Ten school children were injured early today when a car skidded at a snowpacked Indianapolis intersection and plowed into a crowd of students waiting for a bus, police said. None of the injuries were believed lifethreatening, according to a medical aid at the scene. He said some of the children between the ages of 10 and 15 had received multiple fractures, back and neck injuries. They were taken by ambulance to three city hospitals. The driver of the car was not immediately identified. The accident on the city’s northeast side occurred about 7:40 a.m. as the largest snowstorm in two years left five inches of snow in the Indianapolis area. A total ac-

PCH occupancy continues above estimates

By DAVID BARR Banner-Graphic Civic Affairs Editor Occupancy at the Putnam County Hospital during the past year is well ahead of that which had been projected for budgeting purposes, Rick Norwood, hospital accountant, told members of the board Wednesday. FOR THE FIRST PART of December, occupancy has been at 80 per cent, however, it is anticipated that this figure will drop during the holiday weeks. American and state hospital association

Holiday ad deadlines set

Because of the Christmas holiday, the Banner-Graphic will not be published Friday, Dec. 25 or Saturday, Dec. 26. Consequently, advertising deadlines have been advanced. The deadline for ads scheduled to appear Monday, Dec. 28 will be at 2 p.m.

cording to company president Albert Beckwith. The proposed increase in rates for a oneparty residential customer with a dial telephone were expected to range from $2.35 to $7 per month. For single-party businesses, the monthly increase was to go from $5.08 to $15.08, both depending on the number of and distance to message tollfree calling area points. Those consumers with more toll-free calling points will receive larger increases. However, individual customer rates will also vary depending upon the type of services and equipment making up their telephone service.” UNDER THE PROPOSED RATE hike, Greencastle phones were to be affected monthly as follows: One-party, increase from present $8.34 to $10.69; two-party, in crease from $6.85 to $8.89. Business phones would increase from $18.49 to $24.50 for one-party rates and from $26.52 to $34.96

these two youngsters. With all county schools closed for the day, Tony Mitchell (left), 315 Ohio St., and Eric Rogers, 716 Crown St., both of

cumulation of seven inches was forecast. Meanwhile, one person died in a weather-related traffic accident in northwest Indiana’s Lake County. State police said Chris Richardson, 19, of Lowell died when his car collided with a forklift being used to aid a stranded motorist near the town of Schneider in Lake County. The accident occurred about 8:30 p.m. Thursday when Richardson’s car hit the forklift on U.S. 41 about a half-mile north of Schneider. Police say Richardson apparently did not see the machine, which was operated by Alvin Grammon, 57, of Schneider. Gammon was not hurt seriously A winter storm warning remained in effect for central Indiana today.

dues for 1982 for various services to the local hospital are $10,265.81, Norwood reported. The amount was approved with the provision that extent of these services be evaluated during the coming year. Norwood reported that the Medicare audit would be held in January with the annual audit by the State Board of Accounts scheduled for February. Dr. Robert Marvel, chief of Medical Staff, received board approval to accept Dr. Ruth C. Goodell, opthamologist, on a part-time basis. He also received approval

Wednesday, Dec. 23. Deadline for ads slated to appear Tuesday, Dec. 29 will be at noon Thursday, Dec. 24. The Banner-Graphic editorial and business offices at 100 N. Jackson St. will close for the holiday at noon Christmas Eve and will not reopen until 8 a.m. Monday, Dec. 2'B.

for a key trunk system. At Morton, monthly base rates would go from $8.34 to $10.43 for a one-party line and $6.85 to $8.63 for two-party rates. The increases will undoubtedly be adjusted since the PSC did not grant the full increase. Beckwith said the need for more rapid capital recovery is a critical issue being faced by General Telephone and the telephone industry. ‘‘The cost of capital is at a near record high level. If we can generate more of the capital we need to improve, modernize and expand our telephone system internally, we can avoid dependency on high-cost external financing, which will hold down our customers’ future bills. This,” said the company president, “can be accomplished through changes in present depreciation rules.” ACCORDING TO BECKWITH, the new rates reflect proposed new depreciation schedules for equipment. “Before existing

The snow came from a low pressure system that moved through Indiana from the southwest. Forecasters said the snow would slow to flurries in most of the state by afternoon. A storm that brushed the Midwest with up to 7 inches of snow threatened another whitewashing today for the Northeast, which was hit by more than a foot of snow in two storms this week. Five people died in snow-related accidents Wednesday. Motorists abandoned their cars on Interstate 91 in Massachusetts, hundreds of schools were shut down and thousands of homes temporarily lost power in the snow-muffled Northeast. The Midwest storm spread up to 7 inches in Nebraska, up to 4 inches in Missouri and 3 inches in Kansas. Schools were closed

for reappointment of dental and medical staffs and the transfer of Dr. David J. Harrow from associate to active staff member. Board approval was given for purchase of a gamma counter, using the lowest bid, $11,994.85. Bids on other equipment will be considered at the January board meeting. Hospital Executive Director John Fajt requested that performance incentives for wage and salary personnel be continued at the same level as last year and that Jerry Calbert be reappointed legal counsel.

telephone equipment can economically be removed from service and replaced with more modern and more efficient telecommunications equipment available, we must be allowed to recover the capital investment in the existing equipment through faster depreciation rates. Present capital recovery policies have their roots in practices established 60 years ago, during times of low inflation, no competition and slow technological changes,” he said. “The proposed depreciation schedules would mean slightly higher prices now, but they will allow us to offer more sophisticated service at lower rates than would otherwise have been possible in the future.” Commissioner Larry J. Wallace said Wednesday the agency had no authority to decide whether PSI and IPL could trade customers in adjacent service areas in the Hamilton-Johnson County area. Commissioners decided that a purchase, not an exchange of territory, was being proposed, and the PSC has no jurisdiction over purchases. The decision leaves PSI and IPL free to swap customers. Under the proposal before the PSC, PSI was to pay IPL $319,000 for loss of customers and some equipment, and about 1,100 new PSI customers would pay 37 percent more. A PSI spokesman said he would expect the move to proceed.

Greencastle, literally took a few spins around the city, enjoying the county's first true taste of winter. (Banner-Graphic photo by Becky Igo).

throughout the affected regions and some state offices were shut early. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch today for parts of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Maryland, and snow was forecast in Connecticut and New York. The steady snov falls follow two seasons of little or no snow for Massachusetts and other parts of New England. Concord, N.H., already has had 21.5 inches of snow this month more than twice as much as it got in all of December 1980. More than 200 schools were closed in New York state Wednesday as up to 14 inches of snow choked the Catskills and winds gusted up to 46 mph. The Albany area had a foot of snow, one day after a storm dropped up to 6 inches of snow.

PLANS HAVE BEEN MADE for election of board officers at the January meeting. Currently, John R. Long is president. Board members present Wednesday were Long, Noal Nicholson, Frank Ross, Dr. Keith Ernst and Charles Whitaker. Also present were Larry Roberts, plant engineer; Barbara Dreflak, director of nurses, and Jerry Beer of materials management. The next regular board meeting will be held Jan. 13.

McCullough pleads guilty to charges TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) - A former Putnam County farmer faces two five-year terms in federal prison for converting to his own use more than 20,000 bushels of corn pledged as collateral for a government loan. The ex-farmer, James H. McCullough, 28, Reelsville, who pleaded guilty in Terre Haute federal court, is free pending a presentence investigation. The government said corn McCullough sold at four elevators for nearly $48,000 was pledged as collateral for a 1978 crop loan from the Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Credit Corp. Proceeds from the sales were not used to repay the loan, federal authorities said. They said McCullough who also faces a $20,000 fine, received a $45,000 loan in 1978 to provide operating capital while his 1978 corn crop was in storage on his farm. Such loans are made so farmers may store grain in hopes of selling it long after harvest at a price higher than that prevailing at harvest time. McCullough pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of a four-count indictment returned in October