Banner Graphic, Volume 19, Number 191, Greencastle, Putnam County, 19 April 1989 — Page 1

BannJHHhphic Greencastle, Putnam County, Wednesday, April 19, 1989, Vol. 19 No. 191 35 Cents HI

Commissioners subject of suit in federal court

Highway employees allege wages were cut over politics

By BECKYIGO Banner-Graphic News Editor TERRE HAUTE Two Putnam County employees have filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court, Terre Haute Division, alleging their wages were reduced by the county commissioners due to the workers’ political activities. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Putnam County Highway Department employees Brian and Emerson Phillips. They are being represented by attorney George N. Craig of Brazil. DEFENDANTS named in the lawsuit are Putnam County Commissioners John Carson, Gene Beck and Don Walton, as individuals and in their capacities as commissioners, and Robert Bain, superintendent of the Putnam County Highway Department. Information in the court file alleges that on Jan. 6 of this year, the “wages and incomes of the plaintiffs were reduced because of their political activities” and “voicing their preference for Democratic candidates in the 1988 election.” The lawsuit points out Walton and Beck, who were up for re-elec-tion in 1988, are Republicans, as is Commission President John Carson. It also specifies Walton and Beck were successful in their reelections bids. BOTH BRIAN AND Emerson Phillips are seeking a judgment “against the defendants for reducing their wages because of their political preferences,’’ the lawsuit states. Also, both employees seek monetary damages as compensation “for the injury to their reputations and their careers,”

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Li’l Abner, played by Mike Wilson (second from left) looks lovingly into the eyes of an embarrassed Daisy Mae (Deana Stephen) during a scene from the Cloverdale High School production of the musical “Li’l Abner,” scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday at CHS. Other main characters include Dale Grove (left) as

Weather cleans up its act

dear and cool overnight with low in the mid to upper 30s. Mostly sonny and mild Thursday with high in the low to mid 70s. Winds light and variable during the period. Indiana Extended Forecast Partly cloudy and mild Friday through Sunday with a chance of thundershowers each day. Lows from the 40s in die north to the middle 50$ in the south. Highs from the middle 60s in the north to themiddle 80s in die south.

along with punitive damages “to punish the defendants for willfully and knowingly interfering with their constitutional rights,” according to the lawsuit Court data further shows that Brian Phillips served as a heavy equipment operator, while Emerson Phillips was a brush foreman at the Putnam County Highway Department THAT WAS, THE lawsuit alleges, until Jan. 6 of this year “when their job classifications and wages were ’’reduced because of political activities/* Both employees, the lawsuit notes, are connected with the Democratic Party. The defendants, meanwhile, are all Republicans, according to the lawsuit which also notes that Highway Supt. Bain is “affiliated with the Republican Party.” The lawsuit further contends that during the 1988 general election, Walton and Beck, both Republicans, were commissioners in Putnam County. In addition, both were being opposed in the 1988 general election by Larry Modesitt and Wayne Buser, both Democrats. (Walton and Beck defeated the Democratic candidates and began four-year terms on Jan. 1). ACCORDING TO the lawsuit, Brian and Emerson Phillips “made known publicly they supported the Democratic candidates and for this reason their wages were reduced.” It is further alleged that in 1988, Brian Phillips was making $7.72 per hour. He was entitled to a 35cent per hour raise, which was to take effect cm Jan. 1 of this year. That would have placed his hourly Col. 4, back page, this section

Marryin’ Sam, Rebeccah Winnick as Mammy and Mitch Raney as Pappy. Reserved tickets are $3.50, with general admission at $2.50 for adults and $1.50 for students. Tickets can be purchased from any CHS Thespian or at the door. (Banner-Graphic photo by Gary Goodman).

Index Abby A 4 Calendar A 4 Classifieds A14,A15 Comics A 5 Crossword Al 5 Farm AlO Heloise A 4 Horoscope Al 5 Obituaries- Aid People A 5 Sports A11,A12,A13,A14 TV AS Theaters Al 6

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Racism hearing April 28 at DPU

WEST LAFAYETTE (AP) Racism exists at Purdue University, a group of students and faculty members have charged. The students and instructors were the first to speak out in a series of hearings by the Indiana Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People into racism on Indiana’s college campuses.

Owen to speak; WGRE feted

John Owen, a 1964 DePauw University graduate and news director of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Television, will deliver the convocation address “ Friday, April 21 at DePauw as part of the 40th anniversary activities for WGRE-FM Radio, DePauw’s student-operated campus radio station.

Putnam Patter

Tales often taller than mushroom finds

By DAVID BARR Banner-Graphic Civic Editor Perhaps many of life’s situations could be documented with proof which might stand up in court, or at least conform to an old adage that a man’s word and his bond should be one and the same thing. When mushrooms are in season, however, otherwise honest men have trouble separating fact from fiction when they emerg from the woods with more of these tasty morels that the rest of us have

THE HEARING AT Purdue was the first of six hearings, which will result in a report to be presented to the governor, said Arthur Jordan, chairman of the NAACP’s state education committee. An 11 a.m. meeting will be held on the matter Friday, April 28 at DePauw University, site of the well-publicized “Ghetto Party” this past fall. Other hearings are slated

OWEN’S TOPIC will be “That Isn’t the Way It Is —Necessarily” at 11 a.m. in East College, Meharry Hall. The address is open and free to the public. When WGRE “signed on the air” in 1949, it was the only radio station in Greencastle. It was the first 10-watt FM station approved by the Federal Communications Commis-

Authorities have suspect in second theft at Cloverdale

By LISA MEYER Banner-Graphic Staff Writer CLOVERDALE Police have a suspect in a second Cloverdale house burglary and safe theft reported in two days, according to Indiana State Police at Putnamville. Trooper Bruce Canal said a burglary was reported Tuesday at the Route 1 home of Theodore Willis, 57, located about two miles west of Cloverdale on Burma Road. A safe valued at S3OO and its contents were reportedly taken some time between April 8 and 10:30 a.m. Tuesday from a bedroom closet in the home, Canal said. THE SAFE CONTAINED a collection of silver coins, mostly dimes, with a face value of SI,OOO. Canal said that the possible value of the coin collection was SIO,OOO. The investigating officer, Sgt. George Schneider, believes two people might be involved in the burglary, Canal said, since the safe weighed about 150 pounds and was awkward for one person to carry.

found in a lifetime. AT LEAST THAT’S the story they tell, and safely so, since many of these crafty combers of hill and meadows are lone hunters. So who is to know their veracity, or lack of it, when there is none to take the witness stand on their behalf. There’s another old saying that seeing is believing, but those who break the monotony by telling tall tales from the forum of courthouse loafing benches have already stashed their fabulous finds in

for Wabash College, April 27, and at Ball State University, April 24. Hearings have also been held at Indiana State University and Indiana University. Jordan said the inquiries are a response to recent reports of increased racial activity on college campuses, including Purdue, where a cross was burned in front of the Black Cultural Center in 1987.

sion for education purposes, but the station now has 114 watts. WGRE WILL HOLD an open house during the afternoon on Friday. The community is invited. Among those returning for the 40th anniversary is Elizabeth Turnell, professor emerita of speech and one of the founders and first advisers for WGRE.

“Due to the nature of where it was located, it gives us a good idea of who it might be,” Canal said of the suspect possibilities. THE EXACT DATE of the burglary is unknown, he said. The loss was discovered Tuesday morning. Since police found no sign of forced entry of the house, Canal said, the burglary is not believed to be related to another incident that occurred Monday on County Road 850 East, about a half mile north of 1nd.42. In the Monday burglary, a safe and its contents were taken from the Mildred Cooksey residence, Route 3, Cloverdale, sometime between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m., Canal said. THE BACK DOOR of the Cooksey house was kicked in and a floor safe valued at S3OO, and its contents worth $1,700 were taken from a bedroom. Police have no suspects in the Monday burglary.

places others have no rights of trespass. To stand the test before the court of public opinion, there should be some form of disclosure acts requiring those who brag in public to produce evidence to separate truth from “hot air.” BEWARE OF THOSE who boast in numbers. Be advised that often mushrooms barely emerge above the turf, many of which are but slightly larger that the erasure end of the old-fashioned penny

It was a dark and stormy well, foggy, at least morning Wednesday as Putnam County residents made their way through pea soup as they headed to work along U.S. 231 on the north side of Greencastle. Although the fog made travel inconvenient locally, there were tragic results in southern Montgomery County, where an earlymorning accident reportedly claimed at least two lives. The accident, reportedly involving a coal truck and a Parke County passenger car, occurred approximately five miles north of the Putnam-Montgomery county line, at the Ind. 234-U.S. 231 intersection. (Banner-Graphic photo by Gary Goodman).

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JUDGE SALLY GRAY President in 1993-95

Judge Gray earns office in association Putnam County Court Judge Sally H. Gray has been named secretary-treasurer of the Indiana Judges Association. A two-year position, Judge Gray will then become president of the association from 1993-95. JUDGE GRAY IS the first woman and first County Court judge to be an officer in the judges association. She has served on the Board of Managers of the association for the past two years. The Indiana Judges Association was instrumental in the preparation of the Judicial Reform Bill that was unsuccessfully presented to the Indiana State Legislature this session. JUDGE GRAY HAS just completed a one-week course at the National Judicial College on the subject of automation in the courts. In addition to “hands-on” time with personal computers, the course focused on planning for automation, how to negotiate with vendors of hardware and software, and how to implement computerization in the courts.

pencils. Legally, of course, they can be included in the bragging count. Also, be doubly aware of those who are free with information where mushrooms can always be found. In the first place, you would probably be wasting shoe leather to visit such designated places, and in the second place, few legitimate finders would be dumb enough to reveal their favorite finding places. At this time of year, many ol those who measure their mushCol. 1, back page this section