Banner Graphic, Volume 20, Number 295, Greencastle, Putnam County, 20 August 1990 — Page 1

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Magic Circle Corp. recently held ground breaking ceremonies for a 25,000 square foot expansion of their lawnmower producing business. Checking out the building plans and an example of the

Community coalition pulls together to improve playground at Ridpath school

A coalition of school officials, parents and local business leaders have come together in an effort to make the Ridpath Elementary School playground a safer place for children. The Ridpath PTO has been raising money for the past two years to buy new playground equipment from the Miracle Co. And the GCSC administration is assisting with some funding of its own. THE PTO HAS SLATED a playground workday for Aug. 25 as M nc’xt step in the playground Improvement process. Chores listed for the day include painting and spreading wood chips. There will be a picnic at noon with drinks provided, as well as entertainment for the children. The PTO has purchased a piece of equipment for the playground that is expected to draw students all

Saving the environment Rep. Thomas releases list of area recyclers and specialties

Anyone who would rathef recycle than throw away their garbage now has a list of businesses and organizations that will accept recyclable products. Putnam County has four businesses and two organizations on a three-county recycling list compiled by Rep. John Thomas (RBrazil), and some of the services offer pick-up of the recyclable items. The Greencastle community has four sites for recycling. THE GREENCASTLE Recycling Center located at Baker’s Transfer Station on West Columbia Street accepts newspapers, computer paper, file and ledger paper, corrugated cardboard, steel and aluminum cans, liter bottles, plastic milk jugs, automobile batteries, and brown, green and clear glass. Cash is paid for aluminum cans. The recycling center’s hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, and 8:30 a.m. to noon MARSH SUPERMARKETS,

Keep the umbrella handy

Showers and thunderstorms likely tonight with locally heavy rainfall possible. Highs Tuesday in the lower to middle 80s. Low tonight will be near 70. Likelihood of showers is 60 percent tonight and Tuesday. Indiana extended forecast There is a chance of thundershowers early Wednesday and again by late Friday. Conditions will be dry on Thursday. Lows from around 60 north to near 70 in the south. Highs from around

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during the school year. It should be in the ground before the scheduled work day. It has a six-foot hexagonal deck which is coated with PVC plastic to prevent injuries from sharp edges. Attached to separate sides of the deck are a twister slide, a ski slide, a tic-tac-toe board and a set of steps. THE SLIDES ARE made of durable plastic which, unlike metal slides, do not become hot under the sun. There will be 12 inches of shredded wood chips under the structure to create a resiient falling surface which prevents the types of injuries that occur when children fall onto hard surfaces, such as asphalt. But this is only the beginning. Each year, the PTO hopes to add on to the structure, eventually creating one large, interconnected play

1033 Indianapolis Road, will accept aluminum and steel beverage cans and plastic bottles on Friday, Aug. 31 from 1:30-4:30 p.m. First Southern Baptist Church, 1028 S. Indiana St., will pick up plastic liter bottles and steel and aluminum beverage cans. For pickup call 653-6354. RSVP-In-Putnam County, 630 Tennessee St, accepts clean aluminum cans from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Reelsville has two recycling locations available. BROWN ENTERPRISES, Route 1, Reelsville, accepts aluminum and steel beverage cans, glass containers sorted by color, all colors of plastic containers and old car batteries. Cash is paid for class containers. The business, operated by John Brown, is open from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesdays. U.R. Recycling (Use it Return it), on U.S. 40 in Reelsville, will pick up metal cans, plastic and

80 in the north to near 90 extreme south. Index Abby A 4 Calendar A 4 Classified AB, A 9 Comics A 5 Crossword A 9 Heioise A 4 Horoscope A 9 Obituaries AlO People A 5 Sports A 6, A 7 Theatres AlO

local craftmanship are (left to right) John Zeiner, Gary Pershing, Jim Ross, Art Perkins and Norman Knights. (Banner-Graphic photo by Angie Howland).

structure. BUT ALONG WITH the central piece of that large playscape, the PTO will add a tire tree, a tire tunnel and a zig-zag balance beam this year. All of those pieces are also expected to be in the ground by Aug. 25. The school system is chipping by encasing the slide and merry-go-round with railroad ties. These will then be filled with shredded wood chips to create a safe falling surfaced The school system is also providing a fresh coat of paint for the merry-go-round, and will add games like hopscotch and foursquare to the playground. AND THE administration’s committment stretches into the future with a promise of $60,000 of funding for playground improvements in 1991-92. And the

tifrceze bottles. Newspapers should be clean and dry, and tied into bundles or put in sacks. Newspapers should not be mixed with magazines, flyers or telephone books. Rep. Thomas recently mailed out a recycling newsletter to area residents listing recycling locations in Clay, Vigo and Putnam counties. He compiled the list from information he requested in July to make it easy for area residents to begin or continue recycling. “I AM PLEASED TO see so many businesses and organizations in our area take such a vital interest in our earth’s future,” Thomas said. “Our landfills are at or near capacity and by recycling we can all do our part to minimize the amount of trash we discard.” Statistics on recycling show that every person discards more than 3.5 pounds of trash every day. Experts say that if everyone recycles, the amount of trash discarded can be reduced by up to 45 percent.

Council ready for Wal-Mart, budget review on Tuesday

By JOE THOMAS Banner-Graphic Assistant Editor The Greencastle City Council will meet at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall for their second reading of the proposed 1991 budget, and to consider a resolution for the justannounced Wal-Mart distribution center. The resolution will declare an economic revitalization area passed by the council for Wal-Mart’s nearly 1 million square-foot plant that was announced just one week ago. It will be built along Tenth

school system will utilize a grant to install a fitness center for the 199192 school year. Ridpath Principal Paul Luken approved of these plans, saying: “Building a great playgound is a process, not a project. To complete the first step in the process, many parents will be needed to participate in the Aug. 25 workday. The PTO has offered its thanks to Maurice McKee for many hours spent removing asphalt and unsafe equipment, as well as hauling away debris. Pingleton Saw Mill is donating 24 tons of shredded wood chips, while Black Lumber Co. is donating wood to make new equipment, and Goodyear is donating tires. The PTO also thanks Brad Cross for hauling wood chips and Jerry Masten for hauling gravel, as well as McDonald’s for donating drinks.

glass containers, newspapers, cardboard and auto batteries for residents of Washington, Warren and Cloverdale townships. THERE IS A $4 per month charge for pick-up. For more information write P.O. Box 12, Reelsville, 46171. All material to be picked up or dropped off should be prepared for recycling. Steel and aluminum beverage cans should be separated, empty, dry and clean. Glass should be rinsed and clean, with metal rings and lids removed. Metal food cans should be clean, with labels removed. The steel cans should not be mixed with the beverage cans. PLASTICS SHOULD BE clean and empty, with metal and plastic lids and rings. Plastics should be separated into three categories: milk, water or juice jugs; plastic soft drink bottles; and other plastic containers such as detergent, shampoo, lotion, motor oil and an-

Street, behind the Pool’s store. Construction is expected to being in about three weeks. THAT S3O MILLION plant will open in about 12 months and employ 400 people. Within three years it is expected to employ some 800 people. Although 60 Wal-Mtut trucks will be based at the Greenastle plant, as many at 150 trucks will go through the distribution center daily, according to company officials. The building will be about three Col., 2, Back Page, this section

Magic Circle’s dream is now an expanding vision

By ANGIE HOWLAND Banner-Graphic Staff Writer For every business person, the dream of inventing a machine, producing it and making it a successful business is what working is all about. For Fillmore residents Art and Jean Evans, the dream of having a successful, one-of-a-kind lawn mower business began about 9 years ago and is currently taking a 25,000 square foot leap. FRIDAY, GROUND breaking ceremonies were held on the property of the Magic Circle Corp. in Fillmore for the construction of a 25,000 foot facility. The Dixie Chopper lawn mower is produced by Magic Circle. The home-founded, homeoperated industry is located one mile east of Fillmore, just over the Putnam-Hendricks county line. The new building will hold the assembly line type of production for the zero-turning radius Dixie Chopper. “We’re just a couple of good ol’ Fillmore farm boys who want to make lawn mowers,” company controller Art Perkins said. THE NEW BUILDING will house the finished parts and the production line. The finished machines will also be stored in the new facility. Total cost for the construction will run about $259,000 and is set to be completed by the end ot tms year. Jean Evans said the company purchased three buildings from Public Service Indiana’s defunct Marble Hill plant in southern Indiana and will transport them to the property for assembly. The building will be a big improvement from the current one which has housed the machinery assembly including all the welding, painting and the assembly line since the Evans began. The building, located behind the Evans’ home is a total of 10,000 square feet. “We were so crowded and thought we could go ahead and build another facility,” Jean said.

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With new pencils and crayons in hand and folders and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles notebooks under their arms, Central Elementary school students bounded off the school buses early this morning to begin another

THE ORIGINAL building will continue to house the welding and painting end of the production. For the last nine years, over 6,000 Dixie Chopper lawn mowers have been produced. The mowers feature a hydraulic system, specifically designed by Art Evans. Before starting the business, Evans distributed Grasshopper and Dixon mowers. “They kept breaking down and he wanted to figure out how to make a dependable mower,” Jean said. So the Evans began making their own and since 1981, and production of the mowers has taken off. SHE EXPLAINED when they first began producing the mowers, the larger lawnmower companies would not help them. “Now they are really after us.” She said the Dixie Chopper will remain operated locally. Jean said the mowers are purchased mainly for commercial grass cutters since it is the fastest lawn mower available. She said many mowers are purchased from companies all over the country. Companies in Florida purchase the most machines, she added. Soon, two mowers will be shipped to Australia. THE MOWERS RANGE in price from $6,000-SB,OOO based on size and horsepower. Perkins is estimating beginning in 1991, about 1,000 mowers will be sold a year. So why lu-ep a booming business in Fillmore? Jean says because she sees the community continue to grow. “We are hoping that a direct road will be constructed between Coatesville and Greencastle on the Old Conrail railroad track,” Jean said. But for now, Jean is just happy about getting the new building. “A lot of people in business think you can’t be honest and build a good product But my husband and I are out to prove the skeptics wrong by being honest and producing a quality product.”

school year. About 170 Central Elementary students will begin hitting the books, seeing friends and meeting new people during this school year. (Banner-Graphic photo by Angie Howland).