Banner Graphic, Volume 20, Number 90, Greencastle, Putnam County, 19 December 1989 — Page 1

Greencastle, Putnam County, Tuesday, December 19,1989, Vol. 20 No. 90 35 Cents

GHS senior, 17, dies in U.S. 231 crash Monday

By LISA MEYER Banner-Graphic Staff Writer BRICK CHAPEL A 17-year-old Greencastle High School senior died Monday evening of massive head and neck injuries he received in a car-truck accident that also injured four other people on U.S. 231 at County Road 350 North. Clint Sutherlin, Route 5, Greencastle, was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:04 p.m. by Deputy Coroner Richard Lyon. The victim apparently died instantly, he said. Lyon reported that Sutherlin’s head, upper chest and right arm had been pinned by the passenger side of a pickup truck in which the youth was riding. A later examination at Bitties and Hurt Funeral Home disclosed a broken neck. FUNERAL SERVICES will be conducted at 1 p.m. Thursday at First Baptist Church, Greencastle, with burial in Forest Hill Cemetery. Friends may call 4-9 p.m. Wednesday at Bitties and Hurt Funeral Home, Greencastle, and after noon on Thursday at the church. (A complete obituary is on Page A 10). Sutherlin had been one of four occupants of a 1978 Ford pickup truck driven by Chadd Everett Morris, 17, Route 1, Reelsville. Also injured were Morris, who complained of neck pain; Nicole Garl, 14, Route 5, Greencastle, who suffered bruises to her neck, left shoulder and left leg; and Melisa Lamb, no age and address available, with a broken arm. BETTY L. WILLIAMS, 46, Route 1, Greencastle, also suffered minor facial bleeding. She was driving a 1979 Cadillac involved in the accident Morris and Williams were transported by Operation Life to

Fondling case yields two years in prison

By JOE THOMAS Banner-Graphic Assistant Editor Arthur Ahlfeldt, 42, Route 1, Reclsville, was given a two-year prison term for touching and fondling a five-year-old girl while he was babysitting her and her older sister between June 1 and July 16. Under the terms of a plea agreement reached between Prosecutor Bob Lowe and defense attorney James Houck, Ahlfeldt accepted an eight-year prison term with six years suspended, leaving two years to serve. UNDER INDIANA law, he will be granted credit for the time he has served since his arrest in October, as well as two-for-one credit for the time he will spend in prison. It all adds up to reduce Ahifeldt’s sentence to less than one year. However, after he is released from the DOC, he will spend six years on probation.

Naughty, not nice Partial clearing overnight. Continued cold with low 5-10 above. Mostly cloudy and continued cold Wednesday. High near 20 with a 30 percent chance of afternoon snow. Northwesterly winds at 5-10 mph during the period. Indiana Extended Forecast: Bitterly cold Thursday through Saturday. A chance of snow showers north and flurries central and south on Thursday. Highs Thursday 5 to 15; lows zero to 5 below. Partly cloudy Friday with a chance of flurries in the north. Highs Friday 5 to 10; lows 5 to 10 below. Mostly clear Saturday. Highs Saturday 5 to 10; lows 5 to 10 below.

Putnam County Hospital. Garl and Lamb were also treated at PCH. According to a report by Putnam County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael J. Biggs, Mrs. Williams was driving northbound on U.S. 231 when the eastbound Morris truck pulled out in front of the car. Mrs. Williams said the truck failed to stop at the intersection of County Road 350 North and she had no time to avoid the collision. MORRIS TOLD BIGGS he had stopped at the intersection before continuing east, but did not see the oncoming car or its lights until the impact A witness to the accident, Lisa Thompson, Route 1, Fillmore, told police that she and Sharon Clifford, Route 2, Cloverdale, were in a car following the Morris truck. Thompson said she thought she saw the truck stop before crossing U.S. 231. She said she then saw the car hit the passenger side of the truck. The truck flipped over and landed on its passenger side. Morris, Garl and Lamb then crawled out the back window of the truck. IN A VOLUNTARY statement to Biggs, passenger Garl said that the group had met at the Putnam County Fairgrounds fcr a 4-H meeting around 6 p.m. Monday. They had went to the homes of two friends and were headed back to Greencastle when the accident occurred. Damage to both vehicles was also not available. Biggs and Lyons were assisted at the scene by Indiana State Police Troopers Jason Fajt and Terry Collinsworth, Vanßibber Lake Fire Chief Cleo Yarber and the Bainbridge Fire and Rescue Department.

The agreement also calls for him to complete a psychological/psychiatric evaluation as well as a treatment or counseling program that might include in-patient care. He is barred from contact with any child under 16 unless supervised by an adult approved by his probation officer. He cannot have any contact with the victim or her family. In a quiet voice and spending most of Monday morning’s hearing looking at the ceiling or out a courtroom window, Ahlfeldt admitted he touched the five-year-old’s genitals. According to court records, the child told Indiana State Police Master Trooper Dick Rice that Ahlfeldt put his hand on her inside and outside her swimsuit. The defendant Col. 2, back page, this section

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Abby AS Calendar AS Classified AB.A9 Comics A 4 Crossword A 9 Heloise AS Horoscope A 9 Obituaries AlO People A 4 Sports A6,A7,A8 TV A 4 Theaters AlO

A glowing December sunset, coupled with the lights of passing vehicles, sets off the "Canopy of Lights," illuminating the courthouse square in Greencastle. While the downtown display makes for a colorful

Against reassessment firm

County invokes SSOO-a-day fine

By BECKY IGO Banner-Graphic News Editor A letter is being sent to the com pany doing Putnam County’s reassessment, stating a SSOO-per-day fine will be invoked since it has not met a Dec. 1 contract extension for completion. The Putnam County commissioners decided unanimously to do so, after receiving input Monday night from county attorney Bob Lowe, who reviewed the agreement between Putnam County and ATEK. ATEK WAS HIRED in midJune 1987 to not only do Putnam County’s reassessment, but approximately 41 other Indiana counties hired it to do the same. According to the original pact with Putnam County, ATEK was to have completed the work by April 30, 1989. However, company officials came to the commissioners in

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Courtenay Crawley stars as Della, with Mark Davis as Jim in “The Gift of the Magi," to be presented at 8 p.m. Wednesday by Greencastle High School and Thespian Troupe 1098. Tickets for the McAnally Theatre production are $1 each and will be available at

scene, Putnam County residents are virtually assured of a white Christmas now that Mother Nature added another two inches of snow to the ground Tuesday morning. Temperatures are expected to con-

December 1988, asking for an extension of time to Dec. 1,1989. Although that was agreed upon, the company, who subcontracted with Appraisal Research to do the work, has yet to finish the work. And that was one of the main topics the commissioners’ addressed during a meeting at the courthouse. (Other action taken by the commissioners will be published in future editions of the Banner-Graphic). “I BELIEVE WE HAD a meeting with them (ATEK) when the commissioners and trustees met to discuss the extension,” Carson said, initiating the discussion. “Do you remember that?” he asked the county attorney. “Yes,” Lowe responded. Carson then noted although the extension was given, and the commissioners signed the agreement, not all 13 Putnam County township trustees did so. Because of that, the

the door. The cast also includes Troy Cummings as the narrator, Rhonda Hansen as Felice, Melanie Marley as Madame Sofronie and Kim Archer as Mrs Boyd in the O. Henry classic. (Banner-Gra-phic photo by Eric Bemsee).

commissioner said some have questioned whether the amended contract is actually valid or not. LOWE RESPONDED by saying that the two contracting agents are actually ATEK and the commissioners. “Only the Board of Commissioners can enter into contracts for a county,” Lowe explained, “so the Board of Commissioners have actually asked for the extension.” But county Auditor Myrtle Cockrell noted the original agreement with ATEK states if there arc any modifications, etc., all parties signing the original agreement must also sign any revision. However, Lowe said that makes no difference since, again, the commissioners are the contracting agent for Putnam County. CONTINUING THE discussion, the commissioners were trying to establish what date in which to impose a SSOO-pcr-day fine. The fine, specified in the

Proceedings begin in school marijuana case

By JOE THOMAS Banner-Graphic Assistant Editor No delays, no continuances, no waiting around. Tuesday morning a 19-year-old rural Cloverdale man began facing charges that he tried to deal marijuana at South Putnam High School on Oct. 6. At his initial hearing in October, Judge William C. Vaughn 111 set Jerry Lee Berry’s trial date for Dec. 19 and Tuesday morning defense attorney James William Phipps and deputy prosecutor Del Brewer began selecting a jury to hear evidence in the case. PHIPPS FILED ONE request for a continuance, claiming that depositions taken for the trial could not be transcribed in time to Tuesday’s start. Vaughn overruled the request, clearing the way for the trial to start this morning. Berry, 19, Route 2, Cloverdale, is charged with the class C felony of trying to sell marijuana in the halls at South Putnam High School. If he is convicted, he faces up to eight years in prison and a maximum of SIO,OOO in fines. Shortly after Berry’s arrest, Prosecutor Bob Lowe said that Berry, an SPHS student, allegedly tried to sell a joint to another SPHS student The transaction was somehow interrupted by an unnamed faculty member, who reported the incident to Principal Ken Tilford.

tinued unseasonably cold, with more single-digit and below-zero arctic air due in at the end of the week. (Banner-Graphic photo by Jeff Siner).

original agreement, can be assessed if ATEK does not finish reassessment by the contract date. “Then we can go back to the Dec. 1 date?” Commissioner Gene Beck asked Lowe, referring to the contract extension deadline. “Right,” Lowe answered. “If we can assume they haven't completed reassessment by the due date, the county can go for the SSOO-per-day fine.” Lowe then asked Auditor Cockrell if the company had ever indicated either verbally, or via letter, that its effort to finish had been hindered in any way by Putnam County. “NOTHING LIKE that has ever been told to me personally and I’ve never received anything (written) like that,” she answered. Beck then pointed out the copy of the ATEK-Putnam County amended agreement he had a copy of did not include a signature of an Col. 3, back page, this section

No paper on Monday Because of the Christmas holiday, the Banner-Graphic will not be published next Monday, Dec. 25. Consequently, advertising deadlines have been advanced. The deadline for ads to appear Tuesday, Dec. 26 will be 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 21. Meanwhile, the deadline for ads slated to appear Wednesday, Dec. 27 will be noon Friday, Dec. 22.

Berry reportedly confessed his guilt to Indiana State Police SgL George Schneider. THE DEFENSE HAS taken depositions from Tilford, Master Trooper Dick Rice, SgL Schneider, Carl Coons, Milton Krahn, Tim Swanson and Steve Gcxxlpaster. Phipps could call any or all of them during the trial. The state has listed Rice, Schnieder and Tilford as witnesses, although Brewer is expected to call the youth who allegedly was trying to make the buy from Berry that was interrupted. The trial could last two days in Putnam Circuit Court.