Banner Graphic, Volume 13, Number 103, Greencastle, Putnam County, 7 January 1983 — Page 1

Vandalism, not snow, bane of highway dept.'s existence

By ERIC BERNSEE Banner-Graphic Managing Editor Officially Robert Bain has been on the job only seven days as the new Putnam County Highway Department superintendent. And already, he’s seen enough. Wanton destruction of county property. Senseless vandalism. Outright thievery. Disgusting dumping of trash. Already they are the bane of the new highway superintendent's existence. "I JUST DON’T GO FOR it," Bain told the Banner-Graphic Thursday after receiving the backing of the Putnam County Board of Commissioners and new County Attorney Robert Lowe to prosecute anyone and everyone caught stealing or destroying county property, as well as dumping trash along our roadsides. “I’ve been out on the roads the last few days checking things out,” Bain added, “and you wouldn't believe some of the things that are going on.” What the new highway boss found were signs painted over, knocked down and pulled out of the ground. “THEY’VE EVEN USED some of them

$300,000 loan to help North Putnam meet its operating expenses

By BECKY IGO Banner-Graphic Area News Editor BAINBRIDGE-The North Putnam School Board took action at its Thursday evening meeting to accept a bid from the Tri-County Bank to furnish the corporation with a $300,000 temporary loan. Supt. Merrill Scott said the loan would aid the corporation in meeting its operating expenses obligations, particularly in the area of teachers’ salaries. THE STRUCTURE WITH which school corporations receive tax money from the state is also changing, causing delays of funds. “They are going to change the date on when they send the state checks,” Supt Scott told the board. “They are going to

First Citizens Bank President Robert Miller has announced the promotion of three banking employees. Mildred Phillips (left), Greencastle, has begun duties as the assistant vice president in the bank’s Loan Department. Doreen Braden, Greencastle, was promoted to assistant vice president and trust officer. Dan Doan, Greencastle, is serving as a senior vice president with First Citizens commercial and mortgage lending department. (Banner-Graphic photo).

Three named to vice president posts at local bank

Three employees of the First Citizens Bank, Greencastle, were promoted recently, according to an announcement by bank President Robert Miller. Dan L. Doan, Greencastle, will begin duties as senior vice president with the bank’s commercial and mortgage lending department. A NATIVE OF PAOLI, Doan joined First Citizens in 1977. He is a graduate of DePauw University and a graduate of the Purdue Agricultural School of Banking.

Put the skis in the attic

Partial clearing overnight. Cold, with low in the mid 20s. Cloudy and cool on Saturday. High Saturday in the mid to upper 30s. Little or no precipitation anticipated. Indiana Extended Weather Mostly cloudy and mild Sunday with highs in the 40s to around 50. The lows will be in the upper 20s to low 30s. It will be turning slightly cooler Monday, then warmer again on Tuesday. The highs will be in the low to mid 40s Monday.

Banner Graphic Putnam County, Friday, January 7, 1983, Voi. 13 No. 103 20 Cents

for target practice,” he said, using one sign on Fillmore Road as an example. “It looks like they shot .12 gauge deer slugs or used a .38 pistol on it.” The vandalism doesn’t stop there. “Sometimes they’ve taken up the sign, post and all and pulled it out of the ground,” he added disgustedly. “And sometimes they've run a vehicle right up on them and mashed them down for no reason.” PERHAPS THE LAST straw Wednesday night was the removal of the stopsign from the Bainbridge-Roachdale Road intersection at Carpentersville. The thieves took sign, post and all--an approximately $75 value-and left the intersection in a dangerous predicament, Bain said. “That Bainbridge-Roachdale Road traffic just whizzes right through there,” he said, “It’s lucky no one got hurt because of that.” Bain, a 35-year resident of Washington Township, heads a staff of 23 in the Highway Department. He said he's trying to save the county money by making as many

push back sending the checks until the end of the month. Normally, we would get paid the first of the month." Scott also noted that advance draws by school corporations from the county treasurers may also become staggered. “A lot of school corporations in the state have to borrow money until they get advance draws," he commented. The loan from Tri-County Bank was accepted at a 7.5 per cent interest rate. The corporation plans to appeal to the state, a necessary step since the state demands notification if rates exceed five per cent. The loan is to be repaid by Dec. 31. LATER, THE SCHOOL superintendent informed board members the state had

The senior vice president also has a M.B. A. from Indiana State University. Doan and his wife, Betsy, reside with their son and daughter at Fairway Drive, Greencastle. Mildred Phillips, Greencastle, a loan operations officer, has been promoted to assistant vice president in the Loan Department at First Citizens. Mrs. Phillips has been employed at First Citizens since 1969. She has worked previously in the loan department as the

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of the roadsigns as possible. But if the vandalism continues, he may be hard pressed to keep up the pace. “IF IT TAKES prosecution to stop it, yes, that’s what we’ll have to do,” the 60-year-old superintendent said. “We’ve got a lot of good citizens who will help us watch out for county property. After all, every one of these (incidents) costs our taxpayers monev.” Persons found dumping trash will also be prosecuted, he said, if they are caught, or the rubbish they leave behind can be identified. “We want to try and make people proud of our county roads,” said Bain, who also has had crews busy adding gravel to many county roads in preparation for wetter days ahead. “But we need their help, too." FORTUNATELY. THE most likely foe at this time of the year, the weather, has not compounded Bain’s problems. The bad weather, however, is almost a certainty to arrive sometime. “We could use all the help we can get then, too,” he said, at last managing a laugh.

sent the corporation its final budget order for 1983 The assessed valuation for the North Putnam community was announced as $35,719,050. The general fund is to be operated in the amount of $2,520,000 with $146,000 bemg transferred to that fund from the cumulative building fund. The tax rate for the general fund is $2.32. slightly higher than last year. However, the total tax rate decreased approximately 20 cents over last year, Scott revealed. Established in 1983 as $4,167, the tax rate last year was $4.37. Finalized rates included: Debt service. 83.72 in 1983 from 83.6 in 1982; cumulative

head clerk-teller. MRS. PHILLIPS IS a graduate of Fillmore High School and is a member of the Fillmore Christian Church. She and husband, Charles, reside at Route 4, Greencastle. Doreen Braden will begin duties as an assistant vice president and trust officer at First Citizens following her promotion. She is the treasurer of the National Association of Bank Women of Indiana and

PSI lays off 97

Public Service Indiana said today that it has notified 97 employees that they would be given indefinite layoffs, effective Feb. 6. THE ACTION brought the total number of layoffs by the electric company to 173 and is the result of the sluggish economy and the need to sharply reduce costs. Earlier, 73 power plant employees were notified that they would be laid off in mid-January. Three substation construction employees also were given indefinite layoffs prior to this latest action.

Showing the telltale signs of being used for target practice is a curve marker on the Fillmore Road east of Greencastle. New County Highway Department Supt. Robert Bain, aiarmed at the number of such incidents of vandalism locally, is prepared to prosecute anyone caught destroying county property. (BannerGraphic photo by Rick Combs).

building fund, retained at 65 cents; general fund, $2.32 in 1983 from $2.31 in 1982; and transportation fund, 47.7 cents in 1983 from 57 cents in 1982. A DECLINE IN THE RATE is always good news for the taxpayer, but is a con cern to school corporations who depend on the revenue, Scott pointed out. In other action, the board approved a resolution for a $24,000 additional appropriation to the cumulative building fund to replace boilers at the Roachdale Elementary School. The board also: ’Appointed J. Carroll Fordice as president of the Board of Finance and

has served on various banking committees in Indiana. MRS. BRADEN SERVES on the board of directors of the American Cancer Society and is a delegate to the state. She also serves as a board member to the Putnam County Area Vocational General Advisory Committee and is an active member of the Business and Professional Women’s Club. Mrs. Braden, and her husband, Howard, reside at Route 5, Greencastle.

The company says it has no timetable for the eventual rehiring of employees being laid off. THE MOST RECENT layoffs are scattered throughout the utility's 50plus field locations across some twothirds of the state, “We regret the need to take such drastic steps but they are a necessary part of an overall cost reduction program brought on by reduced growth in kilowatt-hour sales," explained Willard Twyman. senior vice president in charge of customer service.

Medford Mcßride as secretary. ’Accepted the recommendation of Transportation Director Jack Wright concerning bids on motor oil, grease and antifreeze ’APPROVED A MEDICAL leave for the 1983-84 school year for Kenneth Miller. ’Approved a maternity leave from Feb 25 to May 2 for Marsha Davidson. ’Gave Supt. Scott permission to advertise for two 66-passenger school buses and one bus with wheelchair accessibility accommodations. ’Approved a GED diploma for Sharon Ann Passwater Dean. ♦WAS INFORMED BY Supt. Scott that

Sharing of ideas an important step

Editor’s note: This is the second segment in a three-part series written by Susan Price, director of the Putnam-West Hendricks Special Education Cooperative. The series w as requested and presented by Janett Boling, director of special programs, Greencastle Schools. *** On Monday, Oct. 1, Mrs. Marilyn Jones received a call from her child’s principal. “Hello, Mrs. Jones. This is Mr. Johnson, principal of your son’s elementary school. As you know, Todd has been having some problems lately, and his teachers and I would like to meet with you to discuss ways to help him.” Arrangements were made for Mrs. Jones to meet with Mr. Johnson and Todd’s teachers on the next afternoon. ON ARRIVAL AT THE school, Oct. 2, Mrs. Jones was greeted at the door by Mr. Johnson and he took her into his office, where they were joined by Todd’s teachers. The principal started the meeting by saying, “You know Mrs. Grey and Mr. Thomas, Todd’s teachers. We’ve invited you here today to talk about Todd and look at ways to help him. We will be brainstorming ideas' on what to do to improve Todd's learning.” (Systematically each person described the symptoms that Todd exhibits at home and at school.) Though the sharing of ideas it was found that Todd was good in some school work but had trouble in other areas. The group discussed ways to help Todd immediately, but the most important idea that came out of this meeting was the recommendation to test Todd formally to see where his learning strengths and weaknesses are and to see if he qualifies for extra special education help. After that meeting the principal, Mr. Johnson and Mrs. Jones completed the necessary paperwork in order to schedule Todd for a psychological evaluation. The paperwork which often scares the parents is made up, first of all, of parent rights. This document outlines state law and is helpful if certain questions arise during the testing procedure. AFTER THE PRINCIPAL and Mrs. Jones go over the parent rights, the

Not guilty is Capps' plea By BARBARA CARHART Banner-Graphic Staff Writer Putnam Circuit Court entered a preliminary plea of not guilty for a Greencastle man charged with two felonies and two misdemeanors during an initial hearing late Friday morning. EDWARD L. CAPPS, 22,1149 Avenue E, Greencastle, answered to charges of burglary (Class B felony), attempted battery with a deadly weapon (Class C felony), resisting law enforcement Class A misdemeanor) and public intoxication (Class B misdemeanor). Capps had Stephen Pierson appointed as pauper counsel and a trial date was set for 9 a m. March 14, with an omnibus hearing scheduled for March 4. Bail was set at $25,000 cash or surety bond. The suspect was remanded to the custody of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department. The state, represented by Prosecutor Delbert Brewer, indicated that there is a possibility that two of the four counts may be amended. ACCORDING TO THE probable cause affadavit signed by the arresting officer, Cloverdale Town Marshal Kenneth Richardson, the suspect allegedly broke into the Phillip Barnes residence, Cloverdale and threatened to kill the victim at knifepoint. Capps was allegedly intoxicated at the time of the incident.

approximately 30 applications had been received for the principal’s vacancy at the Roachdale Elementary School. Screening is to take place with interviews being conducted in the near future. Preceding the meeting, board president Fordice welcomed Mary Martin and Joe Crosby to the meeting. Both successful school board candidates in the November election, each will begin their terms in July. Attending Thursday’s meeting were Fordice, Mcßride, Harold Alcorn, Guy Clones, A 1 Gray, John Crosby and Ted Britton.

referral form, which show the teacher’s concerns, is discussed and the parent grants permission for an evaluation. Also the parent receives a form which describes the types of tests which will be given. All this information is then forwarded to the special education office and a psychometrist (test administrator) is assigned to the case. The psychometrist will give a group of tests which include the Wechsler Intelligence Test for Children-Revised (WISC-R) which helps determine if a child has a normal intelligence quotient score (the State of Indiana guidelines are 90-110 for an average score). The Wechsler test is made up of three major scores - a performance score, a verbal score and a full scale score. THE PERFORMANCE score has the following minor parts: ’Picture completion-seeing the difference between essential and nonessential detail, memory. ’Picture arrangement-social alertness, common sense, planning and anticipating, putting in order, ability to synthesize. ’Block design-visual understanding, analysis, synthesis, reproduction of abstract designs (logic and reasoning applied to space relationship). ’Object assembly-visual understanding, visual motor coordination, spatial relationships. ♦Coding-mental speed, eye-hand coordination, pencil manipulation. ♦Mazes-problem solving, ability to plan, visual motor coordination. THE VERBAL SCORE gives a child a chance to “tell the answers.” Below is a description of some of the minor test parts. ’lnformation-range of information picked up through the years, long-term memory, verbal comprehension. ♦Comprehension-verbal comprehension, judgment, understanding. ♦Arithmetic-arithmetic reasoning, concentration, memory numerical fluency. ’Similarities-concept formation, abstract reasoning, verbal comprehension. ’Vocabulary-word meaning, verbal comprehension. Col. 3, back page, this section