Banner Graphic, Volume 21, Number 28, Greencastle, Putnam County, 5 October 1990 — Page 1

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With next week celebrated nationally as Fire Protection Week, Kiddie Corner Day Care students get an early start in learning about fire prevention Wednesday morning at the Greencastle Fire Department. Lt. David Varvel (above) gives a grinning Jimmy Means a lesson in what it’s like behind the wheel of the big engine. Meanwhile, firefighter Cynthia Becht shows the visiting youngsters what’s involved in putting on protective firefighting gear from head to foot. In all, 23 preschoolers toured the Greencastle Fire Department facilities. (BannerGraphic photos by Angie Howland).

Housing affordability addressed here

By ERIC BERNSEE Banner-Graphic Editor Exactly how affordable is “affordable housing?” That’s an interesting question these days in the growing City of Greencastle. Recent figures released by the Indiana Association of Realtors assigns a Housing Affordability Index (HAI) of 189 to Greencastle, which means that a median-income family here can afford to buy a home that is 89 percent more expensive than the median-priced home. And it is an HAI exceeded in Indiana only by Marion (244) and Vincennes (198). MEANWHILE, according to those same figures for the second quarter of 1990, the median home price in Greencastle is $46,000. Those figures were included in a brochure provided to visitors at Hoosier Hospitality Days this week

Saturday? It’s the ‘berries’

Clear and wanner overnight with low around 55. Sunny and even wanner on Saturday with high in the mid 80s. Indiana Extended Forecast Warm and pleasant Sunday through Tuesday. Lows from the middle 50s to around 60 on Sunday morning and from the middle 50s to around 60 in the north and from around 60 in the north to the middle 60s in the south on Monday and Tuesday mornings; highs will be in the 80s on Sunday, and warm into the middle

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in Indianapolis. The information is provided by local boards of realtors and compiled by the Indiana University Center for Real Estate Studies. But they are incredibly timely figures, for a panel discussion on “Affordable Housing” in Greencastle is scheduled Monday night at City Hall. FEATURED PANELISTS will be John Wood of John D. Wood Builder Inc., Greencastle; Ron Fisher, Timber Park Development, Indianapolis; Maggie Stephenson, board member of the Indiana Manufactured Housing Association; Charlie Davis, Davis Homes, Indianapolis, and Chuck Henderson, Melody Homes, Indianapolis. The 6-7:30 p.m. informational session, which is open to the public, is sponsored by the City Plan Commission.. The panel discussion is designed

70s to around 80 in the north and in the 80s in the south by Monday and Tuesday. Abby A 4 Calendar A 4 Church A 5 Classifieds A9,A10,A11 Comics A 6 Crossword All Heloise A 4 Horoscope All Obituaries Al 2 People A 6 Sports A7,A8,A9 TV B section Theaters Al 2

to present the Plan Commission and local resident with a realistic idea of the opportunity for developing affordable housing in Greencastle. Such related topics as financing, size and cost of an entry-level home, infrastructure, land and site work will be addressed during the 90-minute session led by Michael Shaver, the Wabash Scientific planner who is conducting the revision of the city’s comprehensive plan. MEANWHILE, following the panel discussion, the Plan Commission will meet in regular session at 7:30 p.m. to hear the petition of Brad Cross for secondary (final) approval of a one-lot subdivision on Franklin Street. Cross wants to erect a two-unit office building (30 by 80 feet) on the site next to Cross Cuts on Franklin Street, just west of Indianapolis Road. The Cross project

College Night slated Monday at DePauw

College admissions counseling, financial aid information, and representatives of more than 30 Indiana colleges will be available during the ninth annual Putnam County College Fair on Monday, Oct. 8 at DePauw University. Students and parents from Cascade, Cloverdale, Eminence, Greencastle, North Putnam and South Putnam high schools are invited to attend the college fair in DePauw’s Lilly Physical Education and Recreation Center from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Parking will be available on the west side of the Julian

Woman fatally injured chasing lost dog on 1-70

By ANGIE HOWLAND Banner-Graphic Staff Writer CLOVERDALE An Oklahoma woman apparently chasing her dog onto Interstate 70 was struck and killed early Thursday morning near Cloverdale. Authorities said Wilma Bernice Powell, 49, Muskogee, Okla., died of massive internal injuries at 3:39 a.m. after she was struck by a car driven by Albert Simpson, Route 1, Reels ville. The accident occurred about 500 feet from the U.S. 231 exit ramp, near the 42-mile marker of the interstate. THE WOMAN WAS on her way to Washington D.C. to begin a new job as a drug and alcohol therapist, according to Indiana

Putnam’s unemployment rate one of state’s 10 best

From Staff, Wire Reports The latest unemployment figures are out and Putnam County has cracked the top 10 of the state’s lowest unemployment areas. Unfortunately, state officials are taking little stock in the latest numbers. The good news is that Putnam County is 10th overall in lowest unemployment percentage (or 83rd in the 92-county rankings listed worst to best). The Putnam labor force is listed at 11,900 for August in the survey, with 11,290 employed and 610 out of work. However, July totals show a 12,190-person labor force with 11,670 employed. THE BAD NEWS IS the figures indicate an unemployment rate of 5.1 percent in Putnam County for August, compared to 4.3 percent in July. Putnam figures have been as low as 3.5 percent in 1990. The new figures show a sharp increase in unemployment throughout Indiana from July to August, and state officials take exception to the numbers. The Indiana Department of Employment and Training Services said Thursday Indiana had an unadjusted employment rate of 6.5 percent in August a jump of nearly 1 Vi percentage points from July.

has already received primary approval by the Essential Services Committee. The Essential Services Committee report indicates zoning of the site is proper and the number of parking spaces meets or exceeds the required number. The parking lot will be concrete paved and the entrance-exit will be placed so as not to coincide with the entry-exit of Cross Cuts or businesses on the south side of Franklin Street. TERRY HALL CHAIRS the Plan Commission with Warren Harlan, Robert Breese, Jim Harris, Jim Gram, Mayor Mike Harmless, Sue Murray, William Wieland, Charles Miles, City Engineer Jim Frazell and county representative Jerry Masten (ex-officio) as members. The City Plan Commission regularly meets at 7:30 p.m. the fourth Monday of each month at City Hall.

Science and Mathematics Center and south side of the Lilly Center. IN RECOGNITION of the importance of early planning for college, DePauw invites all interested high school students as well as eighth grade students and their parents to attend. The college fair will include three sessions: The College Counseling Session will be presented by David Murray, DePauw’s director of admissions, from 6 to 7 p.m. in rooms 204 and 205. This session will inCol. 4, Back Page, this section

State Police Public Information Officer Sgt. Bruce Canal. She had stayed overnight at the Dollar Inn and had driven to the Cloverdale Travel Plaza about 2:50 a.m.. As she exited the car, her dog jumped out. Witnesses at the truck stop told ISP troopers the woman seemed like she was looking for something. Canal said officers presume she was looking for a gray dog which was found on the interstate. Reportedly, Powell got back into her car and drove onto 1-70. She parked her white car in the median and got out The dog had been hit by a car in the slow lane of the interstate. Canal said the woman then went onto the highway and hovered over

The state’s top ten The top 10 counties ranked via unemployment percent for the month of August, according to latest statistics from the Indiana Department of Employment and Training Services. 1. Boone County, 3.2 2. Hamilton County, 3.4 3. Hendricks County, 3.7 4. Tippecanoe County, 3.7 5. Monroe County, 4.1 6. Johnson County, 4.2 7. Hancock County, 4.4 8. Dubois County, 4.6 9. Porter County, 4.8 10. Putnam County, 5.1

“THEY’RE REALLY not worth the paper they’re printed on,” Stephen Sellers of the employment agency said of the statistics. “They ran very contrary to historical trends and other data we have.” Despite the statistical jobless rate increase, unemployment claims dropped in August. There was an

Small business workshop slated at Walden Inn Oct. 24

The Small Business Development Committee of the Greencastle Chamber of Commerce will sponsor an “Opportunity Knocks” seminar/workshop Oct. 24 at Walden Inn. The third such workshop sponsored by the Chamber group in recent years, it will begin with registration at 8 a.m. and conclude at 4:30 p.m. SEATING IS limited and the cost is $25 per person, which covers lunch, morning and afternoon refreshments and a workbook, “Thinking About Going Into Business.” Brochures detailing the seminar are available in all local banks. According to Nelson Ford, chairman of the Chamber’s Small Business Development Committee, the session is designed to assist prospective entrepreneurs. “BASICALLY,” Ford said, “what our mission involves is to provoke thought We will help people ask the right questions as they think about going into business. We’re not going to be providing the answers, just urging them to ask the right questions.” I ocal talent will be utilized during the workshop with Mike Rokicki of State Farm talking about insurance considerations, attorney J. D. Calbert focusing on the forms of business organization, accountant Gary

the dog. Simpson, reportedly traveling within the 65-mph limit in a 1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88, momentarily turned his head as he spotted the white car parked in the median, police reported. Within an instant, he struck the woman. “HE NEVER HAD a chance,” Canal said of Simpson and any opportunity to avoid a collision. Relatives of the victim have been notified and an autopsy will be performed at the I.U. Medical Center. ISP Tpr. Garry Clark headed the investigation and was assisted by Troopers/Accident Reconstructionists Mark Keisler and Doug Perry and Officers Ken Grundlock and Jeff Cox of the Cloverdale Police Department.

average of 32,018 jobless claims in August, down from the 33,994 average in July. ALSO, THE NUMBER of jobs in Indiana was up 5,500 in August, to 2.53 million. “You don’t have a 1 y2-point increase in the unemployment rate without unemployment claims going up,” Sellers said. The unemployment rate is determined by a formula. The biggest part is a U.S. Census Bureau survey of 950 Indiana households. State officials say the census survey is inaccurate. For example, it indicated the percentage of unemployed Hoosier women rose from about 3 percent to 8.6 percent. “We know that ain’t so,” Sellers said. HERE ARE THE unemployment rates for larger Indiana cities, with the first figure the August total and the second that for July: Anderson, 8.6, 6.5; Bloomington 4.1, 3.1; Elkhart-Goshen, 6.8, 4.7; Evansville, 6.1, 4.5; Fort Wayne, 5.0, 4.6; Gary-Hammond, 6.3, 5.3; Indianapolis, 5.3, 4.7; Kokomo 10.1, 5.7; Lafayette 3.7, 2.8; Muncie 7.1, 4.9; New Albany 5.7, 4.3; South Bend 6.6, 5.7, and Terre Haute 5.5,4.5.

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NELSON FORD Provoking thought Pershing speaking on accounting and record keeping, Gene Milner of GMI Computers addressing computer needs and Ford, senior vice president of Central National Bank, talking on developing a business plan. An afternoon panel discussion is also scheduled. It will feature Ken Eitel and Jim Headley addressing retail business, Jack Hayman focusing on franchise possibilities, Bob Clark addressing real-estate concerns and Steve Hendershot talking about advertising. REGISTRATION deadline is Oct. 19. The seminar is open to anyone.