Banner Graphic, Volume 13, Number 110, Greencastle, Putnam County, 15 January 1983 — Page 3

Coalition to fight gas prices INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana’s utility consumer advocate says he doesn’t need any prodding from Citizens Action Coalition to fight a rate increase sought by the state’s major natural gas supplier. “We’re very concerned about natural gas,” said Parvin Price. “In this case, there need not be a bug put in my ear,” At a news conference Friday, CAC spokesman David Culp urged Gov. Robert D. Orr to tell Price to intervene in the Panhandle Eastern Corp. case before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. If the rate increase is approved, Indiana natural gas customers will pay $172 million more a year, Culp said. Price said he met with Culp’s group two weeks ago and told them he was working on the possibility of intervening in the case. What’s more, Price said, he has asked the Legislature to give the utility consumer counselor's office more money so they can fight more rate cases at the federal level. The pipeline company, which supplies Citizens Gas & Coke Utility in Indianapolis, Kokomo Gas Co., Richmond Gas Co., Indiana Gas Co. and others, wants to pass on to consumers the cost of buying expensive Algerian natural gas. Under the petition filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the rate increases would take effect March 1. Culp said “aggressive intervention” by Indiana is in ordfer to block the increase. He' noted that with the current natural gas glut, it’s unnecessary to pay huge sums for imported natural ghs.

State told to refund $4.4 million in funds

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The director of the state’s Social Service office says the US. Department of Health and Human Services gave it tacit approval to spend more than $4 million in federal funds on noneligible sevices and facilities. The Chicago office of the HHS audited the state’s use of federal funds during July 1, 1979, to April 30, 1981. Auditors said the state was not eligible for the funds in six types of facilities and services. HHS has asked the Indiana Office of Social Services to refund $4,380,053 spent during the 21 months. The state agency is contesting the claim, saying most of the money spent was correct under law. Jean Merritt, director of the Indiana Office of Social Service in Indianapolis, said the problems arose from different interpretations and philosophical differences on what the money was spent for. “We had known this was coming, and we can appeal or pay the money back. We i haven’t decided which. Money 1 is available from carryover funr ds,’;’ she said. “We always have i had to submit spending plans, ' and received approval for spen- | ding plans HHS is now-

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REP. PHIL SHARP Asked to help

Panhandle Eastern, which made the contract with the Algerians in 1976, tried to get approval for the higher rates in November. But several groups intervened and managed to block it temporarily. “They only succeeded in delaying it. They have not stopped it,” Culp said. The CAC is also calling on Indiana Congressman Phil Sharp, the Democrat who chairs the House subcommittee on fossil and synthetic fuels, to support legislation to deal with the natural gas pricing problem. The measure would require pipelines to purchase the least expensive gas available. If they failed to do so. they couldn’t pass the increased costs on to consumers. “Both Governor Orr and Congressman Sharp have the responsibility to protect Indiana from the uncontrolled greed of these monopolistic pipelines," Culp said. Culp didn't have figures for all utilities. But for Citizens Gas customers, the Panhandle Eastern rate boost would raise their bills by 16 percent, or $132 a year on the average, he said.

questioning.” The services and federal costs covered in the audit were the reception and diagnostic center at Plainfield, $2.3 million: day activity programs, $1.2 million; orientation program, $308,960; juvenile residential treatment facilities at South Bend and Fort Wayne, $360,893; community re-entry program at the Marion County Community Correction Center. $85,361; diagnostic evalutions at 17 centers in the state, $76,661. The controversy over the largest claim, that for the Plainfield center, is whether the facility is a prison or a treatment center. “The center is a maximum security building, enclosed by a double fence,” federal auditors said in their report. Visits to the center must be planned, and only authorized personnel are permitted to enter it.” The report says the state agency claims the center is not a prison. The second largest claim, that of $1,199,149 for day activity programs, involves the state agency’s purchase of services from the Department of Mental Health to provide day activity programs to 516 disabled or mentally retarded residents of nursing homes.

Shielded theater screens asked Dirty movies, gay bills introduced

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Three Republican legislators want to make sure the only people who view X-rated movies at outdoor theaters are the customers. Reps. Lloyd S. Taylor, R-South Bend, Richard 0. Regnier, R-Tipton, and Rep. Patricia L. Miller, R-Indianapolis, have introduced a bill that would fence in drive-in pornographic movie theaters. Under the bill, outdoor theaters showing Xrated films would be required to shield the screen so it can’t be seen from neighboring property. Theater operators who don’t comply risk a SSOO fine. The bill was among 57 House bills and 29 Senate measures filed Friday for consideration by the 1983 Indiana General Assembly. Other measures would outlaw discrimination against homosexuals and classify prostitutes convicted more than twice as felons. Sen. Louis Mahern, D-Indianapolis, wants add discrimination based on an individual’s present or past sexual preferences to the violations of the Indiana Civil Rights Act. Current law bars discrimination based on racee, religion, color, sex, handicap, national origin, or ancestry, “since such segregation is an impediment to equal opportunity.”

Acting mayor procedure bill ready for full Senate vote

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Legislation that would allow businesses to advertise on highway signs and set up a procedure to appoint an acting mayor is ready for a final vote in the Indiana Senate. Both bills cleared the amendment stage in the Senate Friday, ninth day of the 61-day session. The House and the Senate will reconvene Monday. The mayoral succession bill was introduced after LaPorte Mayor A.J. Rumely was shot last May. He was hospitalized until his death Thanksgiving Day, and there was no state statute to guide city officials on how to operate. Sens. Dennis Neary, DMichigan City, and Ernest Niemeyer, R-Lowell, want to

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Mahern wants to add “sexual orientation” to the list. Sen. Virginia Blankenbaker, R-Indianapolis, wants to raise the penalty for more than two prostitution convictions. Currently, prostitution is considered a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison and a $5,000 fine. Under Mrs. Blankenbaker’s bill, anyone convicted three times or more would face a felony penalty of up to four years in prison and a SIO,OOO fine. College students would be helped under two proposals introduced by Sens. Gregory Server, R-Evansville, and Michael Gery, D-West Lafayette. A SIOO,OOO fund would be set up to help repay loans of math and science teachers and instructors in other subject areas where there is a shortage of teachers. Another bill would set up a state-funded program to repay up to 50 percent of the federal minimum wage to organizations that employ college students an average of 19 hours a week during school or up to 40 hours of week during the summer. Work-study employers would include colleges or universities, state or local government, and private, non-profit organizations that work for the public interest.

state

prevent a recurrence of that confusion. The bill says that if a mayor is disabled, he can appoint someone to serve in his place for 15 to 60 days. The mayor also may designate an acting mayor if he plans to be out of town for an extended period. If the mayor is too ill to make the appointment himself, the president of the city’s legislative body may ask a circuit court judge to order a temporary replacement. A similar measure has been introduced in the House. In the highway sign bill, businesses would be allowed to put their logos on exit signs that provide information about food, fuel and lodging. The measure, sponsored by-

Sen Michael Rogers. R-New Castle, is part of the Orr administration’s economic development package. In the House, Democratic Minority Leader Michael K Phillips urged colleagues to cooperate on a project to put Indiana’s 350,000 unemployed back to work. The Boonville lawmaker said his party will unveil a plan next week on how to accomplish the task. “I realize there’s a lot of political pizzazz in a rainy day fund concept,” Phillips said, referring to the law the Legislature passed last year to set aside -tax money in good economic times to be used when times are bad.

Utilities that use out-of-state coal would have to recover costs of transporting that coal as part of the regular rate process, under a bill sponsored by Reps. Michael Phillips, DBoonville, Edward Goble, D-Batesville, John J. Thomas, R-Brazil, and Dennis Avery, DEvansville. Currently, utilities can include coal transportation costs in requests for a change in their fuel adjustment charge, which doesn’t go through the normal rate hearing process. Utilities would have to apply for Public Service Commission authorization before building new power plants under a measure sponsored by Reps. Gordon Harper, R-Indianapolis, Goble, and William Soards, R-Indianapolis. Gov. Robert D. Orr endorsed the concept of proving need during his ‘ ‘State of the State’ address on Wednesday. Other bills introduced Friday would: —Exempt insurance companies from nivil liability in certain mishaps following inspections for casualty, fire and marine insurance. —Require lawsuits over civil rights or constitutional violations to be filed within five years of the date of the alleged violation. —Allow sheriffs to close schools or delay school openings in bad weather.

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January 15,1983, The Putnam County Banner-Graphic

—Require freight railroads to give employees at least a 30 minute break to eat a warm meal every six hours. If employees have to leave company property and travel more than one-fourth of a mile, the firm would have provide transportation. —Make it a felony for a motorist with a suspended license to drive if his license was suspended as part of a drunken driving penalty. —Prevent losing candidates in primaries or town nominating conventions from running for the same office in the general election. —Return property tax relief payments to local governments and schools to what was basically the schedule that was revamped during the Indiana General Assembly’s special * session last month. —Provide for a local-option individual and corporate income tax. —lncrease property tax levies of school corporations. —Make it a misdemeanor to kill an animal to alleviate suffering by any means other than lethal injection —Allow non-profit corporations to file only once for property tax exemptions and notify the county auditor if they lose their tax exempt status.

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