Banner Graphic, Volume 15, Number 197, Greencastle, Putnam County, 18 April 1985 — Page 1

Cohn leaving State Farm for Pendleton

By BARBARA CARHART Banner-Graphic Staff Writer PUTNAMVILLE-Edward L. Cohn will be leaving his post as superintendent of the Indiana State Farm Friday and will be assuming the position of superintendent of the Indiana Reformatory at Pendleton Monday morning. Cohn replaces Norman G. Owens, who was head of the male maximum security prison for the past seven years. INDIANA STATE FARM assistant superintendent Phil Badger will become acting superintendent until a replacement for Cohn is found, according to the outgoing Farm administrator. Cohn, who was assigned to the Farm in December 1983 from his post as assistant

It was an outdoor slumber party overnight at the University Christian Center at Seminary and Springs streets on the DePauw University campus. In order to be at the head of the line Thursday to register for one of the Chaplain's Living Council's Winter Term excursions, more than 120 students brought sleeping bags and refreshments and spent the night on the lawn. Affectionately known as "The DePauw Peace Corps,” the group makes annual treks to Africa, Guatemala and other areas in need. (Ban-ner-Graphic photo by Bob Frazier).

Velton takes court waiver under advisement

By BARBARA CARHART Banner-Graphic Staff Writer Special Judge Ernest Yelton of the Clay Circuit Court indicated during a Wednesday afternoon hearing he will have to research the law to determine whether it is both in the best interests of Terry Haltom, 16, 713 Castleton Drive, Greencastle, and the community as a whole to waive the juvenile proceedings into adult court. It was Haltom’s 1978 Chevrolet truck which police said struck and killed Gina Dawn Sutherlin, 17, Greencastle, April 2 as she was walking on East Washington Street en route back to Greencastle High School. Miss Sutherlin died of head and other injuries at Methodist Hospital shortly after the 11:37 a.m. accident. ACCORDING TO THE probable cause affidavit filed in the cause, Haltom would have committed the crime of reckless homicide (a class C felony) if he had been an adult. Putnam County Prosecutor Delbert Brewer told the court Wednesday afternoon that the state would not seek an executed prison term even if Haltom is waived to adult court. Judge Yelton, who assumed jurisdiction April 8 after Putnam Circuit Court Judge William C. Vaughn 111 excused himself from the case, heard testimony from

Florida forecast Fair and mild overnight with low near 60. Sunny and very warm on Friday. High Friday in the mid to upper 80s. Southwesterly winds at 10 mph during the period. Indiana Extended Forecast Unseasonably warm Saturday through Monday. A chance of thunderstorms Sunday and Monday. Slightly cooler Monday. Lows in the mid 50s and low 60s Saturday and in the 60s Sunday. Lows cooling into the mid 40s and mid 50s by Monday. Highs in the mid 70s and low 80s Saturday. Highs mostly in the 80s Sunday and cooling into the upper 60s and lower 80s by Monday. Abbv A 5 Calendar A 4 Classifieds AIO.AII Comics A 7 Crossword AlO Heloise A 4 Horoscope All Obituaries Al 2 People A 7 Sports AB.A9 TV A 6 TTieaters Al 2 Worry Clinic AlO

Banner Graphic Greencastle, Putnam County, Thursday, April 18,1985, Vol. 15 No. 197 25 Cents I

superintendent of the Indiana State Prison at Michigan City, leaves the Putnamville facilty as the physical evidence of the Farm’s master plan begins to unfold. Construction workers are currently leveling grounds west of the present athletic fields to provide additional recreational facilities. The old fields, Cohn told the Ban-ner-Graphic Thursday, will become the site of the new vocational educational building and dormitory. Cohn said he leaves his Farm post content that the facility “is on the road” toward completion of the master plan begun under the Donald Hudkins administration. Hudkins was superintendent of the Farm for 20 of his 27 years in the Department of Corrections.

U i I 1111 V* * lifilftf / -rg-^ b ft* Ti * *ELr- iISe »yijj. _ -' v _ 4F * JC w- ■ ~—«sti *£s- -

Gavel Award nominees needed

The Putnam County Bar Association is currently taking nominations for the 1985 Gavel Award to be announced May 2. Judge Sue V. Shields of the Indiana Appellate Court will speak at a luncheon that day on the 1985 Law Day

defense counsel Stephen S. Pierson indicating the 16-year-old juvenile was functioning on a mental level of a 13-year-old, Pierson subtantiated his contention by calling Dr. Thomas Henderson, clinical psychologist for the Katherine Hamilton Mental Health Clinic, Brazil, to the witness stand. Henderson said he administered a battery of psychological, intelligence and achievement tests to Haltom April 11-12 and found the juvenile has a mental age of 13 years, 11 months and was functioning four grade levels behind the norm for his chronological age. CITING VARIOUS intelligence and achievement scores from both his testing and other tests routinely administered to students by school officials, Dr. Hen-

Meter's running... City weighing downtown parking alternatives

By ERICBERNSEE Banner-Graphic Managing Editor The future of Greencastle parking meters appears at the crossroads. That was the feeling generated Tuesday night as the Greencastle City Council discussed the issue, but agreed to delay any action until after Main Street Greencastle Inc. unveils its urban design plan at a May 2 gathering. The suggestions Tuesday night ranged from removing the meters everywhere but on city parking lots to towing cars for violating the two-hour limit. What precipitated the discussion was Police Chief Jim Hendrich’s disclosure that the city wrote 2,600 parking tickets a year ago, yet realized only SI,BOO in collectible finesall while paying a meter officer approximately $9,000 to administer the program. IT IS HENDRICH’S contention that the fines and fees collected should virtually pay for the operation of the program. The fines basically don’t cover the maintenance costs. At present, the city is in need of 45-50 meter heads to replace stolen or broken equipment. Hendrich said the town of Sullivan will part with the heads at sls apiece because it dissolved its meter program. Normally, the meter heads costs

“WE HAVE A GOOD master plan,” said Cohn, who received a call from Department of Corrections Commissioner Gordon Faulkner Tuesday, informing him of his new assignment. “I thought I would be here to see it through but I have all the confidence in the world that the staff will continue the work.” When the Gary native replaced Hudkins, he brought with him a team concept philosophy. This team concept is one which Cohn said he has implemented successfully among the State Farm’s 400 employees and which he hopes to introduce at his new assignment at the Pendleton Reformatory. “I think I will attempt the same procedures and philosophy at Pendleton

theme, “Liberty and Justice for All.” Nominations for the Gavel Award recipient should be forwarded to Larry Wilson, president of the Putnam County Bar Association, by 4 p.m. April 24.

derson said it is his opinion that Haltom should not be waived to adult court, but remain in juvenile court where more dispositional alternatives are available to the court. In addition, the clinical psychologist said he interviewed Haltom and his family and noted the family was “intact” and that possible enrollment into the Gibault School, Terre Haute, may help Haltom overcome learning disabilities. Also taking the witness stand Wednesday was Det. Lt. Charles Wood of the Greencastle Police Department. Wood, along with other city and state police officers, investigated the accident. Wood testified that Haltom had waived his rights and had given a statement to Det. Sgt. Rodney Cline, describing his involvement in the April 2 accident.

S2BO apiece, Hendrich said. Increasing the fine, Hendrich said, would serve as a deterrent and also help fund enforcement. A $5 fine, he noted, would generate SIO,OOO on 2,000 tickets. Meanwhile, for chronic offenders of the two-hour violation, the chief suggested a tow-in effort. With the meter officer a victim of the city hiring freeze, Hendrich noted that consistent enforcement is virtually impossible at present. IT IS CONSISTENT enforcement of the downtown parking situation that best solves the problem, according to Ken Eitel, owner of Eitel’s Flowers and president of Main Street Greencastle. “I agree the whole parking situation needs review,” Eitel said, calling for a study committee to look at all aspects of the problem. “The costs have all escalated, and from the enforcement standpoint, when we have consistent enforcement of the two-hour limit, we have not had a parking problem in Greencastle. “As a merchant,” Eitel continued, “if you raise the fine, you’ll kill us. Consistent enforcement is the way to solve the problem.” Councilman John Stevens, a former city police chief, took the process a step further. He suggested consistent on-foot enforcement of the two-hour limit. However,

that I had at the Farm,” Cohn offered. “The first priority will be to work with staff.” COHN BELIEVES BETTER communication between staff members is always essential in a prison setting. “I just believe that my team concept philosophy works when everybody works as one,” he added. Next on his priority list for the reformatory is to “attack the inmate problem. ” At Pendleton, Cohn may find the toughest challenge of his corrections career which began 20 years ago as a parole officer. In addition to attempting to beat a May I court order mandating the reduction of the prison population, Pendleton officials also face putting the pieces

According to police records, Haltom told Cline that he did see Miss Sutherlin and a 15-year-old female Greencastle High School student just prior to the accident at McDonald’s Restaurant parking lot. It was during this initial encounter that Haltom told police he drove his truck two feet behind the girls, which reportedly caused the 15-year-old pedestrian to call Haltom’s 17-year-old girlfriend (who was a passenger in the truck) an obscene name. HALTOM ALLEGEDLY added that he did not see the girls leave the parking lot but spotted them coming back up the steps toward Washington Street. At this point, Haltom allegedly told the police that he decided to drive down to Chuck’s Rental, turn around and proceed back toward McDonald’s. The juvenile further told police he was westbound on Washington Street while the two pedestrians were walking eastbound. Haltom allegedly drove on the north side of the road then proceeded “right toward the two girls” who were walking next to the curb, according to his statement. According to Haltom, he thought the girls would jump out of the way as he proceeded closer. The 15-year-old did jump into the grass but Miss Sutherlin was Col. 2, back page, this section

he also suggested removing all meters from city streets. The money from meters on city lots could be used to retire the bonds outstanding against the parking meters, he added. “YOU TAKE THE METERS out,” Stevens said. “They’re eyesores. They’re upkeep.” Councilman Larry Taylor agreed. “It doesn’t make sense to try to maintain them. I think the time has come to take a look at this. We’re fortunate to be getting the parts for sls this time. At a nickel a shot (fed into the meters), a meter head is going to rust off before it’s paid for (at $280).” Taylor also agreed that there has to be a two-hour limit to keep persons from occupying the same downtown spaces all day. THE THREAT OF BEING towed away for violation of the two-hour limit might be just the enforcement necessary, Hendrich interjected. “I don’t ever want to do anything detrimental to the downtown,” he said, “but we do have a chronic problem. And there are two separate offenses (the meter violation and the twohour violation) with the two-hour violation the biggest offense. “I’m ready to tow ‘em in now,” the Continued on Page A 7

back together after a Feb. 1 uprising. Two of the alleged leaders in the cellblock takeover, Christopher Trotter and John Cole, have since been transferred to the maximum security unit at Putnamville. “We’ve been talking about it for two or three years,” Faulkner said. “I just didn’t want to move him. I’ve been reluctant to move him because I thought he maintained stability there and did a good job.” Owens had reiterated his request since the uprising, Faulkner said. “He’s been there a long time, and he’s been under a lot of pressure,” the commissioner said. “He’s been there seven years, and that’s a long time to ask a man to serve in that kind of stressful situation.”

OL Board members pledge support of central dispatch plan

By BECKYIGO Banner-Graphic Area News Editor The Putnam County Operation Life Board of Directors pledged its continued support Wednesday evening to work with county and city officials in seeing a central dispatch communications system come into being in 1985. The plan calls for OL, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department and the Greencastle Police Department radio communications to function in one locale. The city, which has the necessary radio equipment on hand, wants to see central dispatch operate from the city police station. THE COUNTY, HOWEVER, proposes central dispatch be placed at the jail. Sheriff Gerry Hoffa will donate his personal office for that purpose. The office is proposed to be remodeled to accommodate the system. But at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the city made it very clear it does not intend to move any radio equipment from the police station. “Either the county doesn’t trust us, or they feel slighted that the city’d be running the service,” Greencastle Police Chief Jim Hendrich said Tuesday. Hendrich has helped to author past central dispatch proposals, but told Board of Works members Tuesday he was not contacted regarding the latest commissioner-sponsored plan. Hendrich believes moving the communications equipment to the jail is a mistake due to possible “security” problems. The police chief’s concern most likely deals with the IDACS system, which allows only authorized personnel and law enforcement officials to have access in gaining an individual’s past vehicle and criminal history record. WHEN DISCUSSION regarding central dispatch arose on OL’s agenda Wednesday evening, OL Director John Bachmann turned to Commissioner John Carson, one of the county’s representatives to the ambulance service board. “I feel beaten and bruised,” Carson related in an obvious reaction to the city’s Tuesday discussions concerning central dispatch. “I personally am hopeful it can all be worked out,” OL Board Chairman Byron Snyder commented. “I hope central dispatch can be accomplished. It cannot be accomplished unless there are considerations all the way around with the other entities. No one can have everything.” BUT CARSON VOICED the opinion of more than one official, when he stated personal feelings may be clouding the issue. “If one person went in and said: ‘This is the way it’s going to be,’ we’d have central dispatch taking place in 10 minutes. “There’s just personal feelings there about their personal organization and not willing to give anything up,” Carson said. “I have felt that the sheriff and OL have given up a lot. But there are always going to be hard feelings if things aren’t given up equally.” “I just hope those that gain the most is the general public,” Snyder responded. “Everyone has to think beyond their own department and organization. We have to decide how we can have the best, most efficient, cost-effective system regardless of what our personal goals and gains are. We have to look beyond our own little world.” CARSON SAID IT IS his hope the representatives, appointed to serve on a negotiations panel to discuss central dispatch, will keep an open mind. “They all need the attitude of what each of us (city, county and OL) can do to make this thing work. “If they don’t have that attitude,” Carson reasoned, “then central dispatch probably won’t come about.”

. y.MM- H #■ rl

EDWARD L. COHN Leaving State Farm

Cataract's rates rise The Indiana Public Service Commission Wednesday approved a $21,460 rate increase for the Cataract Lake Water Corp. The average residential customer will pay $2.93 more a month with the 17.6 per cent rate increase, the PSC said. It is the utility’s first increase since December 1978. Cataract Lake Water Corp. serves 800 customers in rural areas of Putnam, Clay and Owen counties.

“We have to go in with the attitude that we have to make it work,” Snyder, who is one of OL’s appointees to the negotiations team, agreed. Snyder will join fellow OL Board member David Bray. Also appointed to serve on the negotiations panel are Commissioner Gene Beck, County Councilman Dick Asbell, Mayor Gerald Warren and City Councilman Bobby Albright. CARSON NOTED THAT some proposals do begin on rocky terms, but later prove to be successful. He pointed to OL as an example. “Take Operation Life,” Carson began. “When that started, a few of us got together and made this thing work. “And,” the commissioner added, “look where OL is now. When we started this I had no idea it would be what it is today.” In other discussions, board members endorsed Director Bachmann’s suggestion to rate OL to see if the organization is meeting objectives to be established. “That way from month to month, and year to year, we can evaluate how we are measuring up,” Bachmann related. That set the wheels in motion for a lengthy discussion on informing the public better on what OL is all about. “A lot of people don’t really understand OL,” Carson said. “I think one of the goals should be how we can best inform the public about what emergency medical services are available. “MOST PEOPLE DON’T think of OL until they have a problem,” Carson added. “Then, they get to see it firsthand. I think there should be a goal every month to educate the people in the community, and possibly doing programs in the schools to educate the youth.” Agreeing, Snyder interjected, “Most people will never see OL function. If they do, it will probably be one time in 10 years. When they do see it in action, they will see the dedication, the knowledge and how it is used. “Sometimes people will hear something and they will base their opinions of OL on hearsay,” Snyder remarked. “If they take a negative attitude, they will think negatively about OL.” Board member John Fajt, director of the Putnam County Hospital, indicated public awareness of an organization is very important. “We’re taking that same attitude at the hospital now,” he said. “We are becoming more involved in community activities. It’s all a process of education.” HAVING KNOWLEDGE of an operation can make for better decisions, according to Carson, who was a former Putnam County auditor. “I always made it a point, when I was auditor, to make sure I had the County Council informed. “I made sure I took them to the airport, or to the Green Acres County Home, or to the jail, so they could see what goes on. That way, they made their decisions on fact, rather than on personal things that may have affected their lifetime.” One area that Putnam County residents Continued on Page A 7