Banner Graphic, Volume 20, Number 74, Greencastle, Putnam County, 30 November 1989 — Page 1

BannerG ' lie Greencastle, Putnam County .Thursday .November 30,1989, Vol. 20 No. 74 35 Cents

‘Free-standing’ middle school idea is out for North

By BECKY IGO

Banner-Graphic News Editor As North Putnam School Board members ponder what they want to do about a middle school, one thing is for certain: A free-standing building is out. That was the “consensus" opinion board members gave Wayne Schmidt Associates Thursday night, as three options were presented regarding a grades 6-8 middle school. AND EACH OF THE throe options revealed left the board and audience of 90-some patrons knowing a middle school will be an expensive proposition. However, North Putnam Supt. Tom Rohr said several times during the meeting cost estimates projected for the middle school were the

Trtpio-toamed by a trio Of local youngsters, Santa Claus tries io make room on his lap

for more than one visitor. Jaffray Kallner sits on Santa’s knee as Jennifer Kallner and Brandy Winkler await their turn at Santa's house on the east side of the courthouse square In Greencastle. Beginning Doo. 8, Santa wtN return to his house on tho square for holiday hours 5-7 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m, Saturday and 1 -3 p.m. Sunday through Christmas. (BannerGraphic photo by Eric Bernese).

Spanking takes beating from Rahe

By JOE THOMAS Banner-Graphic Assistant Editor • Dr. John D. Rahe says there is a simple way to discipline and punish school children, but not an easy way. Ho also knows there is a wrong way, and that way is with corporal punishment, he says. Rahe, superintendent of the Modiera school system near Cincinnati, was the featured speaker at a joint meeting of the Putnam County Family Support Services and the Putnam County Mental Health Association Wednesday night. His school system banned

Decent for December Mostly clear overnight with low from the middle to upper 20s. Increasing cloudiness Friday. High Friday in the low to mid 40s. No precipitation cxpccwo aunng me ported. Indiana Extended Forecast Saturday through Monday. Iteming colder Saturday with a chance of snow flurries north and central; partly cloudy south. Highs Saturday in the 30s; lows 23 to 30. Fair and cold Sunday. Highs in the 30s to lower 40s; lows 25 to 30. Increasing cloudiness and warmer Monday. Highs 45 to 55; lows around 30.

“optimums.” And that does not mean the actual dollars architects predict are needed to do the work will be spent. “There are questions the board must answer about the middle school,” architect Wayne Schmidt said, beginning discussion at the junior-senior high school auditorium. “FIRST, SHOULD IT be a free-standing building, or attached to the present (junior-senior high school) building?” Schmidt posed, saying there are budget and staff implications depending upon which way the board chooses to go. “Secondly, docs the board want to do the maximum or minimum?" Schmidt again questioned. “The cost difference between the two is about $3 million.”

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spanking about 10 years ago, he said, and he has since become a lobbyist to get a ban passed in the Ohio legislature. HIS PRESENCE WAS inspired by a months-long debate over the use of corporal punishment in the Greencastle Community School Corp, during much of the 1988-89 school year. Rahe admitted that if you accept his vision of school management, you have to accept his commandment “Kids behave when they feel good about themselves, like their teachers and like their school,” he

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Also, Schmidt said board members must decide if they want to complete the middle school project all at once, or phase in the construction over a period of years. That, the architect stressed, can also affect costs dramatically. SCHMIDT, WHO WAS joined in his presentation by business partner and middle school project manager Mike Eagan, also pointed out the current high school totals 110,000 square feet. And the architects, in putting together the three options, based two out of the three on a 113,000-square-foot middle school. Eagan began by noting “Option A” consists of a separate middle school extension to the north of the present gym, as a building would be added on to the current high

said. “All kids can succeed and we're the ones who make the difference." Rahe noted that “If we believe we can, we tend to do so." That means if a person thinks he can accomplish a goal, he is more likely to accomplish it ‘THE BETTER WE think we can perform, the belter we perform," Rahe said. He said the key to handling children without hitting them is good management techniques. He said he uses the ideas found in The One Minute Manager, the 1981 best-selling managerial guide

Drug bust suspect is right man, judge says

By JOE THOMAS Banner-Graphic Assistant Editor Putnam County Court Judge Sally Gray decided Wednesday afternoon that Ronnie Underwood is the person accused of dealing in marijuana, whether he uses the name Underwood or Lowrimore. She also lowered his bond to SI,OOO cash, allowing for a 10 percent surety bond. That means he can pay SIOO to a bail bondsman and be released from jail. HE WAS ARRESTED in a Thanksgiving holiday drug roundup that netted four suspects, all of whom were charged with dealing in marijuana as class A misdemeanors. During his initial hearing Tuesday, Underwood/Lowrimore said his name was actually

school. Eagan did point out Option A is based upon a 113,000-square-foot middle school building. One of the purposes in looking at a middle school is to, as much as possible, separate junior high and high school students. That, in turn, will allow junior high students to have more of an identity of their own. “The only shared spaces (between the junior high and high school) would be the pool and auditorium,” Eagan told the board. THE NEW MIDDLE school section would have its own administrative area, cafeteria, media center, classrooms, etc. Cost estimates for Option A ranged from a minimum of approximately $9 million to a high of $12.4 million. “Option B" allows junior high and high school students to share

36-student Fillmore class worries parents, educators

By LISA MEYER Banner-Graphic Staff Writer The large number of students in the fourth-grade class at Fillmore Elementary hinders the children's learning, and the teachers and parents of those students want something done about the problem. The South Putnam School Board agrees that 36 students is too many for one classroom, but members ray the school system does not have the money to hire another teacher and split that class. The school board met in special session Wednesday night to discuss the crowded classroom condition at the request of the the South Putnam Classroom Teachers Association and concerned parents. SEVERAL PARENTS said their fourth-grade children who did well in kindergarten through third grade have suffered in the large class because the teacher cannot spend enough time with each child. And those children will continue to suffer, they said, as the large class continues in the fifth and sixth grades. Thmmy Thomas and Barbara Bennett of the CTA pointed out that the large class does not have enough equipment for all students during science class. They said student also find it harder to master all of the material covered in the state ISTEP tests, resulting in lower scores.

authored by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson. There are three keys to oneminute management, Rahe explained. Those keys are goal-set-ting, praisings and reprimands. FIRST, A MANAGER or teacher must establish clear goals of behavior for the worker or student. Then, the manager must set out to find his subjects doing something right. Once an employee or student does something right, the manager should offer public praise for the accomplishment. Continued on Page AS

Lowrimore, and Judge Gray set Wednesday's hearing to make a determination on his identity. “I'm convinced that he has, and to this day still does, under some circumstances use the name Underwood," Judge Gray said after hearing testimony from Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Richard Lyon. Under questioning by Prosecutor Bob Lowe, Lyon told the judge a police informant gave a description of Underwood/Lowrimore, who was reportedly videotaped and audio taped during an undercover investigation as allegedly selling marijuana to the informant. A WARRANT WAS issued under the name Ronnie W. Underwood, Lyon said, and he went to Underwood's mother's house to Col. 3, back page, this section

home ec. art, music and auditorium spaces, according to Eagan. “There would actually be no separation," he pointed out, as construction would mesh with the current high school structure. A difference, however, is that Option B deals with a 104,000-square-foot middle school, instead of a 113,000-square-foot building. Cost relative to that proposal went from a low of $8,3 million to a high of $11.9 million. FINALLY, “OPTION C” dealt with a free-standing, 113,000-square-foot building. “It does not attach to the high school," Eagan pointed out. In fact, new construction was proposed for an area behind the football field. Although Option C is a free-

Supt. James Hammond said the school board is aware of and concerned about the large Fillmore class, but money is not available for another teacher. THE SCHOOL SYSTEM already spends 85 to 87 percent of its annual budget on salaries and benefits for all employees, he said. For example, the December payrolls for employees totals about $220,000, The remaining money must be spent on operating costs such as supplies, utilities and equipment, he said “We really don’t have any excess money to operate on," Hammond raid. “We’ve tried to provide good benefits for our staff. We’ve tried to provide good working conditions for our staff." And unfortunately, extra money will not be available for the next school year, he said, since the 1990 budget has already been set. Setting a student-teacher ratio as recommended by the National Education Association is one possible solution, a parent suggested. SUPT. HAMMOND agreed that would be nice to the have NEA’s suggested 15:1 ratio. “I’d buy that in a minute if we could fund it. That would be ideal," he said. The slate’s Prime Time education program does set such a limit for kindergarten through third grades, Hammond said. But while it limits class size, he raid, state legislators

Annual tree-lighting program to begin at 6:30 p.m. Monday

A Christmas tradition will continue Monday night when the Greencastle Civic League presents its sixth annual “Lights of Love" tree-lighting ceremony at the Putnam County Courthouse. The ceremony will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the courthouse rotunda. The public is invited to attend. Again this year, the Civic League is encouraging members of the audience to bring a can of food to donate to the Food Pantry. SPECIAL MUSICAL performances, speeches and awards will highlight the ceremony, followed by the actual lighting of the “Lights of Love” Christmas tree, now located on the northeast comer of the courthouse lawn. Greencastle Chamber Orchestra ensembles will open the inside portion of the program with pre-ceremony music. Diane Barber of the Civic League will welcome the audience, followed by Rev. William Wieland’s invocation. After the audience participate in singing “Jingle Bells," Green castle Mayor Mike Harmlesi will make brief remarks. The Greencastle After School Enrichment Chorus, under the direction of Carole Waltman, will sing “Light Up the Tree"

standing building, Eagan did ray that middle school students would share the high school pool and auditorium. However, there would be separate parking at the middle school, which would be located between the new building and football field. Cost estimates for Option C were listed at a minimum of $8.2 million to a maximum of $12.6 million. AT THAT POINT, the architects requested input from the board and David Ferrand responded. “We’re going to have to eliminate some of these options because some aren’t practical,” he said. “I’d like to see us build a freestanding (middle school), but with the cost implications, I think that’s CoL 1, back page this section

never gave the schools enough money to build extra classrooms needed under that program. To alleviate the current problem, Hammond suggested that a parent tutoring program for slower-learn-ing students could relieve some burden on teachers. Another untapped resource, he raid, was retired teachers who could be used as aides. The Fillmore fourth grade has an aide helping with that class, as does a large sixth grade a Central Elementary School. PARENTS ASKED if the aides could be replaced with extra teachers, but Hammond quoted figures showing that it costs more than three times as much salary to hire a teacher than an aide. The school system pays SIB,OOO to $20,000 per year plus benefits for a teacher, as compared to $5,500 to $6,000 for an aide, he raid. The board has also looked at the possibility of transferring some of the Fillmore students living close to the school boundary to Central Elementary, which only has a 22student fourth grade. But no students live in an area where they could easily be picked up by Central school buses, he said. But the ultimate solution to overcrowded classrooms lies with state legislators, board members Continued on Page As

and "Tiny Little Baby." GREENCASTLE Chamber of Commerce President David Jackman will then present the “Spirit of Christmas" award to the local business whose decorations best reflect the holiday theme this year. The musical portion of the program will continue with the “Praise Ringers" hand bell group from First Baptist Church. Directed by Jason Holm, the group will play "Christmas Carol Fest" and "Rudolph." Betsy Doan, Civic League president, will then announce the winner of the Middle School Literary Award, in which students competed for prizes and the honor of lighting the small tree by writing an essay. Another audience sing-along will be followed by Betty Tryon, a DePauw University housemother, singing “I Wonder as I Wander." KIWANIS CLUB President Ollie Reynolds will then announce the honorary tree lighter, selected from the senior class at Greencastle High School. The Greencastle High School Classics, led by Geoff Price, will sing “O Come Little Children," after which closing remarks will conclude the indoor program. Continued on Page AS