Banner Graphic, Volume 15, Number 53, Greencastle, Putnam County, 3 November 1984 — Page 3

Volunteers, board members and agency representatives rally 'round the United Way thermometer Friday afternoon to happily

Shaving cream-disguised bank robber left with only egg on his face

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) An unemployed Indianapolis man who attempted to rob a bank disguised with his head swathed in shaving cream says he “got up on the wrong side of the bed.” “I’d never do it again,” Jerry L. McKeller said as he sat in the Marion County Jail. “It was just one of those days.” McKeller, 24, carried a large bicycle lock during the robbery attempt Friday. Indianapolis police detectives described the incident as a “desperate” act, apparently prompted by the man’s mounting debts and recent loss of his job. “I figured I’d get just as much time robbing a bank as a store,” McKeller said. “I wanted to get it (money) no matter what it took.” McKeller entered the Midwest National Bank on the city’s northside shortly before9:3oa.m. Friday. Indianapolis rookie policeman Mark K. Rush, who was working parttime security at the bank, said

THE 1984 DEMOCRATS - THE BEST TEAM FOR INDIANA

wjßmgf * : '

LLOYD M. ELLIS Commissioner 3rd Dist.

VOTE DEMOCRATIC Need A Ride To The Polls? call 653-9595 Democrat Headquarters

announce that the Putnam County goal of $119,600 has been met. Campaign chairman Donna Bouslog (second from right) said

McKeller had a headful of shaving cream and was holding a chromecolored object he believed was a gun. After spotting Rush, McKeller reportedly bolted from the bank, leaving a foamy trail behind. The entire robbery attempt lasted about four seconds, Rush said. After McKeller fled from the bank, he ran to his parked car two blocks away, police said. But he drove into a dead-end alley and Rush apprehended him a short time later. At the end of the chase, McKeller called Rush by his nickname “Woody” and said, “I need help. Help me, man. Help me.” Rush said he didn’t recognize the man he had arrested, but McKeller said the two attended grade school together and often played baskeball. McKeller was charged with attempted bank robbery and fleeing from police. A court appearance is scheduled Monday. “What I’m hoping is I can go to court and tell the judge it will never happen again,” McKeller said.

SALLY GRAY County Court Judgo

„ .gmrr W%- CC‘ 'm j£^

WAYNE TOWNSEND Governor

S2O million Kokomo mill being built by Italians

KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) are building a S2O million billet caster mill at Continental Steel Corp. in Kokomo. Danieli Corp. of Italy is providing most of the money, and Kokomo’s building trades unions agreed to allow foreign workers to provide much of the labor. Richard Klein, president of the Northcentral Building Trades Council, said Friday his members agreed to the arrangement because “we were protecting the jobs of 1,300 union members at Continental and future jobs through additional expansion. We chose to look at the long term.” Thomas L. Sigler, president of the firm, explained that since Continental (formerly known as Penn- Dixie Steel Corp.) emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, it has embarked on an aggressive program of modernization.

ALFRED HEAVIN County Auditor

DICK REED Commissioner Ist Dist.

volunteers are still taking pledges to help meet special requests during the coming year. (BannerGraphic photo by Barbara Carhart).

state

I #

KENNY HARRIS County Council-At-Large

ANN DELANEY Lieutenant Governor

Paid for by the Putnam County Democratic Central Committee

“Modernization is essential for the hopes of any future,” he said. The firm recently installed a new rod mill. But the rod mill nearly exhausted the company’s financing capabilities. To get the new billet mill to produce steel bars, Continental had to find a builder willing to help finance the operation. “We searched literally all over the country for someone to provide the financing and found no one. We looked worldwide and spoke to any source with the slightest interest. Only one, Danieli of Italy, was willing and able to offer a firm proposal to Continental for both the major portion of the financing and the supply of the continuous caster,” Sigler said. As a condition of the agreement, Danieli insisted its own employees perform part of the work, Sigler said. American workers are being used, too.

mgf _ ... - -

WILMA ZIMMERMAN County Treasurer

IF wPIL

ART SMITH U.S. Representative Dist. 7

Moslems in Indiana adapting to customs

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. (AP) - About 75 Moslem families in Indiana have discovered one way to preserve their faith while living in a predominately Christian nation they adapt to the customs of the western world. Friday is the Sabbath in Islam, but it is difficult for devout Moslems who work during the day to observe it in the United States. So northwest Indiana Moslems hold a weekly “Sunday school,” with lectures, prayer services and religious instruction for children and adults. “Unfortunately, if you live in the West, if you live in the United States, it is not possible for adults or our children to take a day off and go to services,” said Hussein Hakim of Michigan City. Hakim said families come from as far away as Gary, South Bend and Elkhart to attend Sunday meetings at the Islamic Center of Michigan City. “We have more or less adopted the western ways and have Sunday schools,” Hakim said. The Islamic Center is located in Porter County, just west of the city. But some members also attend a regular Sabbath prayer service Fridays at a mosque off U.S. 20, he said. The group is usually small, consisting mostly of in-

ELVIN SMITH County Council-At-Large

JOHN W. TIPTON State Representative Dist. 44

November 3,1984, The Putnam County Banner-Graphic

NOVEMBER 6 ELECTION QUESTION? Should our elected treasurer be running for Auditor, when if eiected, she will NOT serve her last year as treasurer? Treasurer Term Ends Dec. 31, 1985 Auditor Term begins Jan. 1985 Paid for by Friends of Alfred M. Heavin

J*Ef? Ip p^f

TERRY BinLES Coroner

-ill

LLOYD ELLIS County Council-At-Large

dependent businessmen and others who can get away in the middle of the day. Hakim said attendance at weekly Friday services is less important for Moslems than the daily recitation of prayers. Moslems are required to pray five times every day in Arabic. It is better if the prayers are said at a mosque, but they can be said anywhere, Hakim said. “We think of it as very significant that our kids attend, because if they don’t attend you might say religiously they will lose their identity as Moslems, Hakim said. “We are Americans. We are Moslems. We believe in America. But we are Moslems, and we also believe in Islam. ” The Islamic Center has its origins in the early part of the century, when Lebanese and Syrian Moslems left their native lands for the United States. In 1914, Middle Eastern immigrants in Michigan City founded a non-profit religious organization dedicated to teaching and preserving Islam. In 1971, the group purchased an old Fraternal Order of Police lodge and moved to Pine Township. The converted police lodge now features an onion-shaped dome over the vestibule, a prayer room and classrooms. “Here, we’re a community,” Hakim said.

VOTE DEMOCRATIC Come Visit DEMOCRAT HEADQUARTERS 1132 Indianapolis Road