Banner Graphic, Volume 20, Number 277, Greencastle, Putnam County, 30 July 1990 — Page 1

Greencastle, Putnam B

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A new addition to Robe-Ann Park has been made to make sure people passing by know what greenspace they are looking at. The “Robe-Ann Park" sign, made by Steve Stamper of Greencastle, was donated by the Civic League recently. League members donated S6OO for the

Two-inch rain falls in Putnam area

From Staff, Wire Reports Nearly two inches of rain fell in Greencastle Sunday night, flooding streets and washing away a week’s worth fairgrounds dust and humidity. Only Otterbein in northwestern Indiana accounted for more rain Sunday than the Greencastle area, according to the National Weather Service. Official National Weather Service observer for Putnam County Grafton Longden Jr. reported 1.8 inches of rain in Greencastle between 7:30 and 11 p.m. Sunday. Only Otterbein, with 2.2 inches, reported more, he said. MOST OF THE RAIN fell locally in about a one-hour period, beginning around 7:30 in Greencastle. “The bulk of came down pretty hard,” Longden commented. Ironically, ominous black clouds began rolling through about 6 p.m., but the rain didn’t begin falling in

Friday deadline for Putnam storm aid from June 2 tornado

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The deadline for filing disaster relief applications is Friday for residents of Putnam and 29 other Indiana counties devastated by tornadoes in June, federal officials say. ASSISTANCE is still available to the counties’ residents whose permanent homes and businesses were damaged by flooding in May. Eight Hoosiers, including 56-year-old Dorothy Gerholdt of New Maysville (Route 2, Roachdale), died in tornadoes that swept the state June 2. The Gerholdt mobile home

A pleasant change

Becoming partly cloudy and cooler overnight with low in the low 60s. Partly sunny and pleasant Tuesday with high near 80 degrees. Winds northeasterly at 5-10 mph. Indiana Extended Forecast Wednesday through Friday: Pleasant . Wednesday and Thursday. Highs around 80 to the middle 80s. Lows in the middle 50s to middle 60s. A chance of thundershowers on Friday. Warmer Friday with

sign. On hand for the recent unveiling were (from left) Civic League member Pat Gauly, Park Board member Audrey Walton, Civic League member Joanne Haymaker, Assistant Recreation Director Shawn Gobert, Park Board member Leslie Hanson,

the city limits until about 7:30. One resident, driving south on U.S. 231, reported being caught in a deluge in the northern part of the county about 6:15 p.m., only to run out of rain completely as he hit Water Works Hill north of Greencastle. Other official NWS amounts includes 1.4 inches at Linden in Montgomery County and .92 at Cagles Mill Dam, southwest of Cloverdale. Indianapolis recorded only a half-inch of rain, Longden reported. “That half-inch seemed to be about standard across the state,” he told the Banner-Graphic. ALSO REPORTEDLY drenched in the rainstorm was Parke County. About 7:45 p.m. Sunday, Parke County issued a warning to all home monitoring stations, warning that many of its roads were flooded and considered hazardous. The dispatcher issuing that report

and a century-old farmhouse owned by Rev. Frank Bunn and his family near Coatesville were destroyed by the twister. THE 30 COUNTIES eligible for assistance are Brown, Clark, Crawford, Daviess, Dearborn, Dubois, Franklin, Floyd, Gibson, Greene, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Knox, Lawrence, Martin, Montgomery, Ohio, Orange, Perry, Pike, Posey, Putnam, Ripley, Scott, Switzerland, Vermillion, Warrick and Washington. Applications can be taken by calling toll-free 1-800-621-3362.

highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s. Abby AS Calendar AS Classifieds Alo,All Comics , A 6 Crossword All Editorials A 7 Heloise AS Horoscope All Obituaries Al 2 People Ab Sports A8,A9,A10 Theaters All

noted that “four inches of rain had fallen in a short time.” However, the National Weather Service had no report of that four-inch total Monday. GREENCASTLE’S wind-dri-ven rain, meanwhile, caused a few minor problems. Flood-prone locations like East Washington Street in front of the Clark Station were full of water about 7:45 p.m. as catch basins had difficulty keeping up with rainwater runoff. Assistant Police Chief Jim Hendrich had to assist several motorists who attempted to ford that high water on Washington Street The Street Department was called out to help remedy that situation and another that developed at the Bloomington-Seminary street intersection. THE GOOD NEWS, of course, is that the rain seemed to wash away the humidity that made Sun-

City salary measure set for 2nd reading

By ERIC BERNSEE Banner-Graphic Editor City department heads will get a $1,500 raise and all full-time employees a SI,OOO hike if the 1991 salary ordinance is approved Tuesday night by the Greencastle City Council. The ordinance was passed unanimously on first reading last week, setting the stage for adoption possibilities during a special 7:30 p.m. meeting Tuesday at City Hall. BESIDES SETTING the salaries of 66 city employees, the ordinance also adds one officer to the City Police Department, provides a new part-timer for the Street Department, doubles the building inspector’s salary (from $6,000 to $12,000) and sets aside a total of $39,000 for the possible hiring of a city engineer. During the budgetary process this year, the emphasis has been on salaries, Mayor Mike Harmless explained. “The reason we want to emphasize salaries,” he said, “is that we continue to have pressure from the new industries as they hire more people.” Boosting salaries will enable the city to retain more of its personnel, as well as make the positions attractive to the best-qualified people possible, the mayor noted. THAT CERTAINLY was the reasoning behind the $13,000 set aside in three areas (water, sewage and general) to fund a city engineer’s position at a collective $39,000. “When we went through the

seasonal greenskeepers Eric Harrold and Carol Braden, park and street swingman Shannon Hawthorne, Park Supt. Stan Lambert and Civic League member Diane Dose. (Banner-Graphic photo by Angie Howland).

day’s official 88-degree high feel at least 12 degrees hotter. The National Weather Service said a belt of high pressure moving across the state Monday was bringing with it welcome relief from muggy conditions. Cooler and more pleasant weather is expected to enter the state along with partly cloudy skies this evening and Tuesday. There will also be a chance of thundershowers in the south overnight, and lows statewide will dip into the 60s. The rain will clear by Tuesday, leaving mostly sunny and pleasant conditions and highs from the middle 70s to middle 80s. MOSTLY SUNNY, hazy and humid conditions made for an uncomfortable weekend. Sunday’s highs across the state ranged from the middle 80s to middle 90s with humidity levels above the 50 percent range across Indiana.

hiring process last year, we were told that $30,000 (budgeted in 1990) simply was not enough,” the mayor said. Thus, Jim Frazell of Triad Associates, Indianapolis, has been serving as acting city engineer. Frazell, however, is not being paid a city salary. Instead, his firm is paid for consultation and engineering work performed on various projects. All engineering fees are then approved by the Board of Works. MEANWHILE, budding inspector Bill Lawrence has been paid as a part-timer ($6,000 per year), but puts in the hours of a full-timer. The ordinance doubles his salary. Building permit fees and planning/zoning appearance fees justify the increase, City Clerk Judy Berry said. Through June, she reported, such fees have totaled $7,200. During the initial salary ordinance discussion on July 10, the biggest stumbling block appeared to be the City Police department, which will benefit from the addition of a 12th officer. BESIDES THE chief and assistant chief, GPD will have budgeted salaries for three captains, three sergeants and four patrolmen. However, there are only two officers holding the captain’s rank at present. The new officer will be paid at a patrolman’s level. Councilman Sheri Roach, the Council’s liaison to the police department, commented that “adding one person is a step in the Col. 5, Back Page, this section

Aug. 31 deadline in Selch lawsuit

From Staff, Wire Reports A former supervisor of the Greencastle subdistrict of the Indiana Department of Highways told Federal Judge John Tinder that he was fired from his job because he is a Republican. Officials for Democrat Gov. Evan Bayh’s administration admit politics plays a role in who they hire, but not who they fired. And Christine Letts, Bayh’s highway director, said the GOP supervisors were too closely tied to an inefficient bureaucracy that she was trying to change. Former Greencastle subdistrict supervisor John W. Selch sued the state after he lost his job. He joined the highway department in 1984 and was given the Greencastle job in 1986. Both assignments came during the Republican administration of former Gov. Robert Orr. SELCH LOST HIS job after the Bayh administration took over the executive branch of state government in January 1989. Federal law prohibits firing employees for their political beliefs unless they are policy makers or hold confidential jobs. Selch claims

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Doug Parent receives the Thomas Hendricks Trophy from Putnam County Fair Queen Tara Regnier following Friday night’s round-robin showmanship championship at the Putnam County Fair. Parent, who represented the Beef Barn, was selected the top fair 4-H showman from a

Library Board votes to advertise 7-cent rate

By LISA MEYER Banner-Graphic Staff Writer The Putnam County Public Library Board voted in a special session Monday morning to advertise a tax rate of about seven cents to support the 1991 library budget. A budget of $207,394 can be funded by the proposed rate of 6.89 cents per SIOO of assessed valuation, library executive director Ellen Sedlack told the board. A HELD EXAMINER from the State Board of Tax Commissioners figured that rate for the library budget Thursday, she said. However, the board decided to advertise a budget of $210,775 in

his job did not qualify as either of those. Bayh’s attorneys dispute that, claiming that Selch’s interpretation of his own job was one reason he was fired. Bayh won the governor’s office in 1988 campaigning on a promise of ending politics as usual in state government. Selch’s attorneys have been hitting that campaign promise hard throughout the trial in federal court. Bayh administration officials testifying in the case said Bayh described the GOP-led highway department as bankrupt and portrayed the dismissals as Bayh’s fulfillment of another campaign promise “to straighten out the highway department” LETTS TOLD THE court she decided to dismiss Selch and 36 other supervisors because they were part of a heavily centralized bureaucracy that did everything by the book. “We didn’t want bureaucrats who were doing everything by the book,” Frederick Glass said durii.g his testimony. Glass is Bayh’s exCol. 3, Back Page, this section

field of six candidates, who showed goats, sheep, horses, swine, dairy and beef. Other senior showmen competing were Karlynn Shultz, goats; Lisa Thompson, sheep; Lori Grimes, horses; Kerry Phipps, dairy, and Brent Fowler, swine. (Banner-Graphic photo by Gary Goodman).

case the library can receive more funding than anticipated. Mrs. Sedlack said one example of that unknown funding is the County Adjusted Gross Income Tax. The library receives several thousand dollars annually from CAGIT, but the amount changes each year. The board reviewed the $210,000 budget last week. It includes $3,000 for legal fees, consulting fees and non-print materials such as audio-visual items. The legal and consulting fees were included in the budget since the board is considering undertaking a Col. 3, Back Page, this section