Banner Graphic, Volume 19, Number 60, Greencastle, Putnam County, 14 November 1988 — Page 1

—VH ST''Tr--140 N SENATE LIBr 4F<Y _ _ Barilla. raphic Greencastle, Putnam County, Monday, November 14,1988 Vol. 19 No. 60 25 Cents

Tax abatement issue next up for City Council

By ERIC BERNSEE Banner-Graphic Editor The City Council has passed an inducement resolution, authorizing tax-free industrial revenue bonds be used for a new apartment development, but the more controversial topic of tax abatement still awaits. On a motion by Councilman Sheri Roach, the Council vote 4-0 Thursday night to adopt Resolution 1988-46 authorizing an inducement to proceed with the financing of a $7.5 million, 208-apartment complex known as Greencastle Village Apartments. Councilman Tim Conway disqualified himself from the vote, noting that he is an apartment owner in the city. THE PROPOSED apartment development is a 13-building com-

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Senior members of the North Putnam High School Marching Cougars pose with the 14 trophies they have won this fall in district, regional and state competition and two individual contests. The 143-

Cougar band marches into living rooms

By ERIC BERNSEE Banner-Graphic Editor The North Putnam High School Band, which has marched its way into local hearts, will march into local living rooms Tuesday night. Greencastle cable TV subscribers will be able to witness the Marching Cougars’ award-win-ning performance at the Hoosier Dome when the 10-minute segment airs on the community access channel (Ch. 19) on the citywide cable system at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. NORTH PUTNAM BAND fans can call on friends or relatives linked to the Greencastle cable to relive moments from the performance that allowed the 143-member NPHS Band to take fourth place in its Class D division in the Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) Marching Band Contest. Programs on Channel 19, of course, can also be taped if your VCR is connected to the local cable. Not a bad idea for posterity sake. “I’m really pleased they’re doing this,” band director John T. Wilson told the BannerGraphic, explaining that the videotape was made by a company hired by the ISSMA. The film was taken from high atop the press box area of the Hoosier Dome, which should al-

Toasty Tuesday pops up

Clear and mild overnight with low 45-50. Partly sunny and warmer on Tuesday, with high 65-70. A 40 percent chance of thundershowers developing. Indiana Extended Forecast Wednesday through Friday: Rain and scattered thunderstorms ending Wednesday. Mild with lows in the mid 40s to low 50s and highs in the 50s to low 60s. Partly cloudy Thursday and mostly clear Friday. Cooler with lows in the upper 20s and mid 30s and highs in the upper 30s to about 50.

plex planned for the west side of Round Bam Road, just north of its intersection with Indianapolis Road. Gerald K. Pedigo of Indianapolis is the developer. The apartment project is being planned for 17 acres of ground optioned from the Longden family. Some of the amenities include a clubhouse, pool and one or two tennis courts. Pedigo, by way of attorney Phillip J. Stoffregen, is also asking for 10-year tax abatement on the project. Tamed the “toughest issue” by Mayor Mike Harmless during consideration of the project, tax abatement is scheduled to be addressed at a special Nov. 22 City Council meeting. Other pending issues, not conconsidered as potential problems,

member band, under the direction of John T. Wilson finished fourth in the recent state contest at the Hoosier Dome. Their 10-minute Indianapolis performance will be shown, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

low viewers the opportunity to watch the intricate Marching Cougars’ formations unfold. “IF YOU’RE USED TO watching the band from the bleachers, which have about eight rows, this will be a much better chance to see the formations more clearly,” Wilson said, noting that the Hoosier Dome is 50 or more rows high. He said 44 different formations were used during the four-number Oct. 29 performance. Wilson said various free forms and patterns synchronized to music are included in the award-winning effort. The Cougar band played “Ventura,” a Spanish number; ‘Tex Your Eyes Only,” from the James Bond movie of the same name; “Trepak,” from the Nutcracker Suite; and “The 1918 Overture.” Viewers will also be treated to periodic closeups of bandsmen and members of the flag corps, as well as the full-field view of the band’s performance, Wilson said. He said viewers can look for the colorful purple flags unfurled in the second number, as well as some 10-foot flags used in the finale as notes of interest. THE FOURTH-PLACE state finish is the highest ever for North Putnam, which is on an every-other-year cycle of competing in the dome. The Marching Cougars were ninth in

Index Abby A 5 Calendar AS Classifieds AIO,AII Comics A 4 Crossword All Heioise A 5 Horoscope All Obituaries Al 2 People A 4 Sports A8,A9,A10 TV A 4 Theaters Al 2

are annexation and zoning. Stoffregen said Pedigo “looks forward” to voluntary annexation of the property. City officials, of course, see that as a benefit in receiving CAGIT funds from future residents of the 208 units. Zoning, meanwhile, is presently C-l (commercial) and a change to R-2 (multi-family residential) will be requested. Again, no problem is seen since the Plan Commission has often expressed the opinion that apartments in the area being considered would create an ideal buffer zone between the commmercial development on Indianapolis Road and agricultural and single-family residential areas beyond it AS STOFFREGEN explained, the request the Council approved

Customers asked to dial long-distance future

On Oct. 30, GTE North mailed a customer information and ballot package to each of the approximately 5,800 customers in Greencastle and 450 in Morton, who will be served by Equal Access beginning Jan. 29, 1989. All business and single-line residential customers in the area should receive the packages. EQUAL ACCESS is the process which allows private-line customers to select a preferred long distance company to handle “1Plus” long distance calls. Eric Meister, southwestern division manager for GTE, said each package contains complete Equal Access information including a consumer checklist, a question and

for tax-exempt bonding will allow the developer to set up a bond issue on the project. A public hearing will then be held by the Greencastle Economic Development Commission (which passed the identical inducement resolution on OcL 18) and a bond issue resolution considered. The city will have no obligation in the tax-exempt bondir g procedure, it was stressed. However, the inducement of taxexempt bonding and the specter of tax abatement prompted concerns from Don Gedert, owner of Ottawa Instant Homes, and local apartment owner Charlie Cooper. COOPER SAID THE resolution passed by the EDC, and then the Council Thursday night, deter-

Tuesday on Channel 19, the community access channel on the Greencastle cable TV system. (Banner-Graphic photo by Gary Goodman).

1984, sixth in 1986 and fourth this year. “We’d like to break that streak next year,” Wilson said, hoping for a return trip to Indianapolis for a group that won 14 trophies in competition this fall at district, regional and state level, in addition to two other individual contests. The band moves inside, however, to prepare for the coming concert season that begins with a holiday performance in about three weeks. The ISSMA also holds concert contests in the spring, with NPHS readying for participation there. Wilson said preparation for the the 1989 marching contest will begin as he indoctrinates eighth-graders into the effort next May. Wilson will then conduct his annual summer band program and have his Cougars in the Putnam County Fair Parade next summer before late July summer camp really starts preparation for the annual contest THE BAND WILL LOSE 30 seniors who were veterans of two Hoosier Dome appearances. But with Wilson at the baton, the tradition undoubtedly will continue. And a chance to glimpse what makes the North Putnam Band so special is as close as your TV set Tuesday night in Greencastle.

answer section and a ballot listing the long distance companies which will serve customers under Equal Access. Those companies are: One Call Communications, AT&T, US Sprint, Litel Telecommunications and MCI Telecommunications Corp. Customers will be required to select one company as their preferred carrier, note that choice on the ballot and return it to GTE by Dec. 14. Customers who do not make a selection by Dec. 14 will temporarily be assigned to AT&T when the area converts to Equal Access. But the process doesn’t stop there. ABOUT ONE MONTH after Equal Access takes effect, cus-

mines that no adverse competitive effect is foreseen on existing similar facility. “I feel like it’s going to create a lot of empty apartments,” Cooper said, adding that he was not offered tax-exempt status when he developed apartments in the area. “It’s more likely to force present apartment owners to reduce rates to keep apartments full.” Gedert, likewise, was against the tax-exempt status. “I invite the competition,” he said, “but on a equal basis.” Gedert said when the Castlebury Apartment complex opened, he had residents leave Ottawa Park and move to subsidized housing (of which the proposed park is not). He said he presently operates with a 10

Poland man hurt in one-car crash

CLOVERDALE A rural Owen County man was taken 'o Methodist Hospital Saturday with a head injury after a one-car collision on Indiana 42, near Cloverdale. James R. Boatright, 50, Route 2, Box 63, Poland, suffered a head injury in the accident, and now faces drunk-driving charges after his 1985 Chrysler New Yorker slammed into tree on the rural highway, authorities said. ACCORDING TO Reserve Deputy Gerald Ensor’s report, Boatright was westbound on State Road 42 when he came into a curve in the road. He reportedly saw a little red car oncoming in his lane and told police he hit his brakes and began skidding, causing his to lose control of the New Yorker. Boatright’s car slid across the road on wet pavement, leaving the road and striking a tree head on. According to Ensor’s report he was taken to Putnam County Hospital by Operation Life and later transferred by OL to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. A blood test allegedly revealed Boatright had a blood-alcohol level of .1046. A blood-alcohol level of .10 is the legal minimum for drunk-

Cloverdale chief warns of possible funds scam

CLOVERDALE An unidentified voice with a southern accent lurks on the telephone line in the Cloverdale, seeking money for a firefighting program that Cloverdale Chief Herman Cox thinks might not exist. It all sounds like the latest fundraising scam in Putnam County, Cox said. COX SAID HE HAS been getting reports that the person calls people in the Cloverdale area asking them to donate $35 or $39 to a firefighter program. Asked if the program aids the CFD, the voice claims their group helps with the department’s medical training. Not so, says Cox, who says his department does not receive funds from any such group. Cox said the Cloverdale Fire Department is not currently engaged in any fund raising activities. The last time the CFD raised money was when coupons for free photographic portraits were offered for a sls donation.

tomers who did not make a choice will receive a second mailing that includes the name of the long distance carrier randomly selected for them by GTE. The packet also will include a second ballot for customers who would like to use a long distance company different than the one selected for them. Meister explained that each long distance company will be allocated a percentage of subscribers who did not select a long distance company equal to the percentage of customers it attracted during the signup process. “We’ve tried to anticipate many of the customer questions in the information accompanying the ballot. We urge our customers to read the

percent vacancy rate at the mobile home park on the city’s south side. AGREEING THAT he has no argument with the project providing additional housing, Gedert said the tax-exempt nature of the bond effort defies the spirit of the law governing it Gedert cited the “disproportionate share” involved in the creation of three jobs at the apartment site in return for $7.5 million in tax-exempt financing. Both Stoffregen and Councilman Bob Sedlack, however, had other opinions on that point. “It’s not creating jobs sure,” Stoffregen said, “but it’s creating opportunities for gainful employment ... And it not only fits under the letter of the law, but also the Col. 3, back page, this section

No. 20 for Roachdale VFD Nov. 19 ROACHDALE The 20th annual Roachdale Volunteer Fire Department Ham and Bean Supper is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 19 at the Roachdale firehouse. Sawing will begin at 5 p.m., with proceeds going to equipment and maintenance for the fire department The public is invited.

driving charges to be filed in Indiana. ENSOR’S REPORT indicated Boatright was wearing a seat belt, though it was not effective in preventing his head injury. However, he was not thrown from the car. Police estimate damage to Boatright’s car at between $5,000 and SIO,OOO.

BUT THAT WAS at least six months ago, Cox says. And, his firefighters identified themselves. Cox said he also had the event publicized by newspapers that carried photographs of him and the fundraiser standing side-by-side, just so people would know it was a legitimate activity. None of those things are happening this time, Cox said. THE UNIDENTIFIED caller is apparently getting names from the telephone book. Speaking in a southern accent, he asks for the donation, saying they will be in the area this week to collect the money. Cox said the person does not identify what area he will be in, leading the chief to think it could spread to other Putnam County communities. But it won’t spread far if residents will recognize it for a scam and not a legitimate, firefighters fundraiser, authorities said.

information carefully and return their ballots by the deadline.” CUSTOMERS WITH questions regarding the services offered by the long distance companies in their area may call the companies using the telephone numbers listed in the boxes located on the left-hand side of the ballot. General questions about the Equal Access conversion and the balloting process can be directed to GTE at one of the following numbers: —All residental customers call: 1-800-321-9636. —Single-line business customers call: 1-800-354-6950. —Multi-line business customers call: 1-800-421-9358.