Banner Graphic, Volume 21, Number 92, Greencastle, Putnam County, 20 December 1990 — Page 1

Banner GHHHiic Greencastle Putnam County. Thursday. December 20 No 35 Cents

Getting Into the holiday spirit, Brfttny Williamson teaches her grandfather, Chet O’Neal of Greencastle, how to decorate a tin Christmas tree ornament. Brittny is a student at Peace Lutheran Preschool. As part of "shape week” the preschoolers invited their grandfathers to school to teach them about triangles and to help make the special ornaments. (BannerGraphic photo by Angie Howland).

State approves excess levy for Library Board

By LISA MEYER Banner-Graphic Staff Writer A happy Putnam County Public Library Board learned Wednesday night that the state has granted a tax levy appeal that will allow the library to support its 1991 budget of $210,775. Library director Ellen Sedlack told the board that on Dec. 12, the state granted the excessive levy requested by the library board. The 1991 budget is an eight percent increase over the 1990 budget BY APPEALING ITS tax levy, Mrs. Sedlack said, the board was able to gain SIO,OOO to SII,OOO more than it otherwise would have raised through its tax levy without the appeal. But Putnam County taxpayers will not notice the increase in their property tax bills. The library director said the tax rate is still flexing and will be until the end of 1990. The tax rate for 1991 will be around five cents per SIOO of assessed valuation, Mrs. Sedlack said. The 1990 rate was a little more than

It’s only rain ... for now Increasing cloudiness this evening then with periods of light rain after midnight. Overnight low in the middle to upper 40s. Friday periods of rain with high 50 to 55. Chance of rain 80 percent through the period. Southeast wind at 10-15 mph. Indiana Extended Forecast Cloudy Saturday with a good chance of rain statewide and snow in the northwest cm Saturday, followed by snow in the north, snow or rain in the central and rain in the south on Sunday. Colder Monday with a chance of snow showers in the north. Lows will range from the upper 20s in the north to the lower 40s in the south on Saturday morning, from 20 to 30 on Sunday morning and the teens on Monday morning; highs will range from near 30 in the north to near 50 in the south on Saturday, the upper 20s to the middle 40s on Sunday and 25 to 30 cm Monday.

■Ljsl *| F A

six cents per SIOO of assessed valuation. She encouraged the board to consider appealing its levy again in three years. The state allows library board’s to appeal their tax levy every three years in order to overcome the tax freeze of the 1973. MEANWHILE, the board dealt with the the tighter financial matters of ending 1991. Mrs. Sedlack reminded the board that the library has a $40,000 loan that must be repaid by Dec. 31. The final tax draw of the year of about $45,000 is expected around Dec. 28. Another loan, however, will be needed by February to keep the library operating, Mrs. Sedlack said. The library has only $3,625 in its checking account after paying its November claims Wednesday night. AND WHILE THE savings ac count shows a balance of more than $16,500, the board voted to invest $12,000 of that balance in certificates of deposit

Happiness is giving apresent to a close friend.

El 1 i ci

5 shopping days to Christmas Index Abby A 5 Calendar A 4 Classifieds 82,83 Comics A 6 Crossword B 3 Heloise A 4 Horoscope B 3 Obituaries A 8 People A 6 • Sports 8132,84 Theaters A 8

That $12,000 consists of gifts made to the library for the purchase of books and other items. The board chose to invest that money since it did not want the gifts to become mixed in with the regular cash flow. The library will receive about $36,000 from the County Adjusted Gross Income Tax next May, Mrs. Sedlack said. She also showed the board that some end-of-the-year transfers will be needed to cover overspent accounts. Enough funds exist in the budget to cover the transfers among the appropriations, she said. The board authorized Mrs. Sedlack and member Betty Easton to make those transfers. THE BOARD ALSO authorized the transfer of $5,000 into the library improvement reserve fund. That transfer will bring the total of that fund to $25,366.73. The LIRF is an account that the board has set-aside to accumulates Continued on Page A 7 Local job picture still promising A promising employment picture is foreseen for the Greencastle area heading into 1991, according to the first-quarter employment outlook survey by Manpower, Inc., the world’s largest temporary help firm. THE GREENCASTLE area hiring forecast for the three-month period ending March 31 shows that 23 percent of those questioned intend to add personnel and 13 percent foresee workforce cutbacks. An additional 61 percent plan no changes and 3 percent are undecided. “Hiring expectations are moderate for the upcoming quarter,” said Jackie Temple of Greencastle’s Manpower office, “and are comparable to results from one year ago, when 20 percent projected increased employment rolls and 10 percent intended to reduce staff size.” Temple said that typically a dropoff in hiring activity occurs from fourth-quarter levels, although Col. 6, back page, this section

Epicenter said near Eminence

Quake measuring 3.4 jolts Greencastle area

By ERIC BERNSEE Banner-Graphic Editor It’s not Dec. 3. It’s not the New Madrid Fault. And it certainly wasn’t The Big One. But Putnam County did record an earthquake Thursday morning. The Seismic Center in the Indiana University Department of Geology confirmed that for the Banner-Graphic. “WE DID RECORD an earthquake,” Terry Stigall of the Indiana Geological Survey said. “It occurred precisely at 9:04 (a.m.) for 25 seconds.” There were no immediate reports of damage in Putnam County or any other affected area. At noon Thursday, Stigall said quake experts were divided between two epicenter locations Stinesville (west of Ellettsville) and Eminence. “WE’RE LEANING toward the Eminence one,” she said. “The epicenter, we believe, was somewhere between Greencastle and Mooresville or a little farther south. If you found the midpoint between Greencastle and Mooresville and went about 5-10 miles south, that would be it” John Minsch, geophysicist at the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo., said the

•w L< “ ■■'>' » '». '' >»3 \Wv*' W 1 * ** *

Jason Asbury, prosecution attorney for the State of South Putnam, shows the jury (foreground) the jacket of a 15-year-old girl found dead near raHroad tracks after a drinking spree. Asbury and 20 other South Putnam High

Trial run Mock proceedings at South yield lessons

By ANGIE HOWLAND Banner-Graphic Staff Writer It was the State of South Putnam versus a 25-year-old man charged with manslaughter and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. And last Thursday morning, an eight-member jury convicted the man of contributing but found him innocent of the more serious crime. Luckily this case did not actually occur in Putnam County, but it did happen in Minnesota. AND LAST WEEK, the South Putnam High School library became a courtroom where 21 students became lawyers, jury members, a judge, witnesses and other court personnel to prosecute and defend a 25-year-old man. The real-life Minnesota case centered on the man who threw a party at his home where alcohol was served. A 16-year-old girl who attended the party, got drunk, left the party and walked around in the cold. She died later that night of exposure. The mock trial was the idea of SPHS business law teacher Paula Birt who learned that a teacher in Minnesota had developed a project where students could get a hands-on experience in court. The Minnesota project came with a story line,

official designation is a quake of magnitude 3.4. He said the affected area ranged from Bloomington to Indianapolis northwest to Rockville. “A magnitude of 3.4 is usually below the level at which damage occurs unless the structure is in very poor repair. It’s something most people would feel if they were very close to the epicenter,” said John Hill, of the IU Geological Survey. THURSDAY’S MILD quake presumably is unrelated to the New Madrid Fault, which was the focus of climatologist Iben Browning’s infamous Dec. 3 earthquake prediction. “They don’t consider that area part of New Madrid,” Stigall told the Banner-Graphic. “There are a number of faults that run through Indiana; some of them are inactive.” Minsch agreed. “The northern end of the New Madrid Fault is pretty well in southern Illinois,” he said. LIKEWISE, THE Earthquake Center spokesman said the quake had no correlation with one centered early Monday morning in Delphi (Carroll County in northcentral Indiana). “I don’t think there’s any fault

School students assumed the roles of lawyers, jury members, witnesses and other courtroom personnel during a mock trial that was based on an actual case. (Banner-Graphic photo by Angie Howland).

fictitious names and explanation of Minnesota laws that applied to the case. A verdict, however, was not included in the lesson plans—that was for a student jury to decide. THE STUDENTS BEGAN preparing for “their day in court” about two weeks ago. The class researched the Minnesota laws and learned about how the court system operates. Some of the student lawyers even consulted professional ones for advice and opinions. And during the two-day trial, the three defense lawyers, Debra Scaggs, Natalie Overshiner and Dan Lundy studied notes, cross-examined witnesses and professed the innocence of their client Meanwhile, the State of South Putnam prosecutors, Jason Asbury, Cindy Lakin, Tricia Porter and Angela Fox introduced evidence, questioned witnesses and affirmed that the defendant was guilty. Nervous at first, the student lawyers slowly warmed up during opening arguments. But once they got comfortable with questioning the witnesses, both sides took on the appearance of a real-life courtroom battle. At times, the both sides of attorneys would lead Col. 3, back page, this section

that continues for that length through that area,” he said. Having two quakes in Indiana in one week, however, is out of the ordinary, he agreed. “We do have earthquakes in Indiana,” Minsch said. “But two in one week? That is kind of unusual. But what it means? ... I don’t know.” TO SOME PEOPLE in Greencastle, the trembler was experienced more as a blast than a shake, rattle or roll. Equating the quake with a blast is “fairly common for earthquake in that region,” Minsch said. Several Thursday morning calls to the Banner-Graphic office from inquisitive residents started with: “What was that blast?” “Or was there an explosion? It shook my whole house.” “We had calls from Martinsville (and) Indianapolis that they felt a shaking, and calls from Greencastle where they felt a sharp thump,” Hill said. “Where a sharp thump occurs, that would indicate close proximity to the epicenter.” “Something happened,” one Greenbriar Addition resident said. “The house shook and the neighbor’s dog started running around with his tail tucked between his Col. 1, back page, this section