Banner Graphic, Volume 19, Number 168, Greencastle, Putnam County, 23 March 1989 — Page 3

Senate panel passes House budget wanting meeting with Gov. Bayh

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Senate Republicans say they’re willing to let a House-passed budget bill go all the way to Gov. Evan Bayh’s desk with its hefty pricetag intact if the governor doesn’t meet with legislative leaders to discuss his spending priorities. Senate Republicans contended Wednesday that Bayh is providing no budgetary leadership and is trying to turn them into the bad guys by forcing them to cut a proposed budget the House never should have passed. FISCAL EXPERTS HAVE said House Bill 1410 could leave the state general fund with a $53 million deficit by the end of fiscal 1991. “We’re not going to let the Senate take the blame,” said Senate President Pro Tern Robert D. Garton, R-Columbus. “We can no longer go with generalities. We must have specifics,” he said. The Senate Finance Committee voted 13-1 Wednesday to send H.B. 1410 to the full Senate without amendment Sen. Lawrence M. Borst, R-In-dianapolis, said the bill will continue to move through the Senate as is until Bayh discusses his spending priorities during a meeting of House and Senate leaders from both parties. “I THINK THE governor has to be involved,” Borst said, noting that governors traditionally have told legislators what they needed and would consider acceptable in a state budget Borst said he believes the proposed meeting would lead to a reasonable budget and would put an end partisan bickering and finger-pointing. If no meetings take place and the Senate passes H.B. 1410 as is, Bayh would have to indicate his wishes by signing the bill into law or vetoing it, GOP leaders said. “It’s out of our comfort zone,” Borst said of the bill’s fiscal impact “But we didn’t want to reduce it We didn’t want to be the ones that were forced to do this ... “ALL WE IN THE majority are trying to do is to find that comfort

11 seek Bayh’s favor to fill Neal’s appellate court seat

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The successor to retiring Court of Appeals Judge Robert W. Neal will be chosen from 11 applicants, including three circuit court judges and a superior court judge who heads a state judicial group. The Judicial Nominating Commission announced Wednesday it received applications from four judges and seven attorneys for the court vacancy that will be created when Neal retires May 27. CIRCUIT COURT judges Don R. Darnell of Vermillion County, Frank Nardi of Owen County and James M. Redwine of Posey County applied for the $61,000-a----year job. Monroe Superior Court Judge John G. Baker, president of the Indiana Judges Association, also applied. Other applicants for the job in-

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SEN. ROBERT GARTON Not taking the blame

level,” he said. “And seemingly we must do it through legislative maneuvering, and obviously that’s what we are doing.” Bayh said later that he has “grave concerns” about the House budget proposal which, among other things, would spend revenues from a state lottery that hasn’t been approved yet “By itself, it engages in spending that would require a tax increase,” he said. “Secondly, there are other ancillary spending bills of an aggregate in the hundreds of millions of dollars that aren’t included in that budget. “WE DON’T HAVE the updated revenue forecast The lottery bill hasn’t been enacted. There’s no intelligent way to express an opinion with regard to that budget bill at this point in time,” he said. Bayh, who contends he has given the Legislature substantial direction to form a budget, said Borst had not given him an ultimatum about a meeting by late Wednesday afternoon. “It seems to me what Senator Borst is suggesting is a conference committee,” said Bayh, referring to joint House-Senate panels that resolve conflicts on bills at the end of the legislative session. “There’s a time and place for the conference committee, and I’m not convinced we’re there yet.” HOWEVER, BAYH said he would take action before the session ends, if necessary.

elude James R. Bunch, Attica; Ed Dunsmore, Knightstown; Michael Frische, Greenwood; James Komblum, Evansville; Harry S. Paynter, Jeffersonville; John T. Sharpnack, Columbus, and Anne C. Thomas, Evansville. THE NOMINATING commission planned to meet today to set a timetable for reviewing the applications and interviewing applicants. After the interviews, the commission will forward names of three finalists to Gov. Evan Bayh, who will appoint Neal’s successor. Bayh will be the first Democratic governor to name a judge to an appellate level court under the merit selectioh and retention vote system adopted in the early 19705. Before that, candidates for the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals ran as nominees of political parties.

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SEN. LAWRENCE BORST Looking for comfort zone

“l’m willing, if the Legislature is unable to fulfill its constitutional responsibility of framing a budget,

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to meet with them to make that process possible,” Bayh said. “I don’t think we reached an impasse yet. If it does, I will be willing to step in to resolve that.” Borst said he wants Bayh’s input on the budget, but “if it’s left to the Legislature to work it out, then we’ll work it out. No problem.” BORST ALSO stressed that the Senate, anticipating the evenly divided House would create an unacceptable budget, passed a spending and revenue measure of its own. GOP leaders have said Senate Bill 376, as written, would leave a budget surplus of about $146 million at the end of the biennium. “The House has the opportunity to pass that bill,” Borst said. “I don’t plan to abdicate my responsibility. There is no way we’re going to end up with something that doesn’t work,” he said.

Real Nightengales save man from burning wreck

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) Two nurses from the Jasper Nursing Center didn’t hesitate to stop and pull a 21-year-old man from his burning car. “We were just coming back from Evansville, and I noticed something up ahead that looked like a fire,” said Marsha Kukuch, 31. “I thought maybe somebody threw a cigarette out or something. But the closer we got, I noticed it was a car and it was burning.” THE TWO roommates pulled off Indiana 57 in northern Vanderburgh County, got out and hollered in the direction of the burning vehicle to see if anyone was trapped inside. “We heard a young man yelling, ‘Oh God, please help me,’ ” Julie Reynolds said. The screams were from Kevin R. Cole of Evansville. Cole’s father, David,

March 23,1989 THE BANNERGRAPHIC

telephoned Ms. Kukuch and Ms. Reynolds Saturday night to thank them for their help. “HE WAS LUCKY they were nurses,” the elder Cole said. “There are a lot of people who wouldn’t even go down there with a car on fire to save someone. They did a heck of a job just getting him out of there in one piece.” Cole said he fell asleep and lost control of his car while driving south on Indiana 57 early Saturday. The car went off the road, struck an embankment, rolled end-over-end and caught fire, according to a police report. COLE’S LEGS were trapped under the dashboard of his burning car, and his left arm was twisted in the steering wheel when the nurses found him. THE RESCUE occurred without a moment to spare, the nurses said.