Banner Graphic, Volume 21, Number 158, Greencastle, Putnam County, 9 March 1991 — Page 1

BanneißMM>hic Greencastle. Putnam County. Saturday. March 9.1991. Vol. 158 35 Cents

City reviving plans for water rate hike of 9%

By ERIC BERNSEE Banner-Graphic Editor It will be try, try again this spring for a nine percent water rate increase, first discussed by the City of Greencastle 15 months ago, the Board of Works learned Thursday. The rate increase was reportedly within one day of going into effect last year through a simple Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (lURC) approval process. THE PROCESS, however, came to a halt, Mayor Mike Harmless said, when the Reelsville Water Corp, intervened. The case thus has never been formally considered by the lURC. Reelsville Water Corp., one of several rural water corporations that purchases its water from Greencastle, “questioned the propriety of our wholesale rates,” Harmless said. “They don’t feel the wholesale pricing we now have is fair,” he said of Reelsville officials. “In a sense, they said ‘prove it,’ and this will amount to their day in court.” SO INSTEAD OF going through a simple lURC process used by small water utilities, the city will have to “do a full-blown water rate study now,” Harmless said. And Thursday afternoon, the Board of Works entered into an agreement with H. J. Umbaugh & Associates Certified Public Accountants, Indianapolis, to tackle that chore. “It $20,000 we shouldn’t have had to spend,” the mayor added, disappointed that the intervention occurred when it did. THE RATE-HIKE request, however, remains the same as it

Fillmore studying town problems; hires Kendall as marshal

By ANGIE HOWLAND Banner-Graphic Staff Writer FILLMORE The Town of Fillmore will be studying its standing water and sewage disposal problems. Town board members voted Wednesday night to have a feasibility study conducted to study the problems. Clerk-treasurer Maxine Davies said that anytime it rains, the north end of town floods and many people have their basements flooded out. THE BOARD WILL begin contacting engineers to get proposals for the study. Davies said the board is hoping that by helping correct the town’s water problems, will help keep Fillmore Elementary School open. This hope comes in connection of the South Putnam Community School Corporation’s proposal to possibly consolidate Fillmore with Central Elementary school. The school corporation is currently having a feasibility study conducted on the Fillmore building to determine the cost of bringing the building up to code and adding on needed classrooms.

Sunny side of the street

Mostly clear and colder overnight with low in the lower to middle 20s. Sunday mostly sunny with near seasonable temperatures. High Sunday in the lower to middle 40s. Northwest wind during the period, diminishing to 10 mph. Indiana Extended Forecast Monday through Wednesday. Dry and mild Monday, then turning cooler Tuesday and Wednesday with a chance of showers. Highs will range from the 50s on Monday and Tuesday to 45 to 50 on Wednesday. Lows will range

was some 15 months ago. The additional funds generated by the rate increase will go toward creation of a new well and the replacement of the original “pitcast” waterline constructed in 1887 from the plant to the center of town. “That 104-year-old waterline, feeding the whole system, is the one that broke Christmas Eve 1989, the mayor reminded the Board or Works and its City Hall audience. “Everyone remembers when that line broke (the temperature was about 15 below zero) and how we lost pressure in the whole system. It’s really more of a public safety issue than anything to do with water quality or anything else.” THE NEED FOR a new well, however, is also vital to the future of the water utility, Water Supt. Leon Phillips reminded the mayor. “You’ve already been warned by the State Board of Health (that an additional well is needed),” he commented. John Seever, the Umbaugh CPA who recently assisted the city in its water and sewer bond refinancing, said hopes to file the water-rate increase request with the lURC by April 1. However, it could take until April 15, he cautioned. THE RATE HIKE, as explained to the City Council in January 1990, would generated an additional $56,000 in revenue for the water department. However, city customers who pay the minimum billing presently would see only a 23-cent increase monthly (from $2.59 to $2.82), city officials said last year.

Rj* " nV K

TERRY KENDALL Accepts Fillmore post

ALSO DURING the Wednesday meeting, the board accepted the resignation of Fillmore Town Marshal Jim Bennett and appointed Terry Kendall to the position. Kendall is a former Greencastle City Police officer.

from 25 to 30 on Monday morning to the upper 30s to lower 40s on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. Index Abby A 3 Classifieds A6,A7 Comics A 3 Crossword A 7 Horoscope A 7 Obituaries A 8 People A 3 Sports A4,A5 Theaters AS

1 .4-. / Ln- w// It Jit &j. r?;-: >l. "“I iSBSBBKSnSXI - "■

A new section of six-inch waterline is installed by Water Department workmen along the south side of Avenue E on the City of Greencastle’s Greater Eastside. Don Moore (in ditch) and Ron McMains

Water workmen escape injury in Avenue E cave-in

By ERIC BERNSEE Banner-Graphic Editor A pair of Greencastle Water Department workmen escaped injury Friday morning when a 30foot section of trench they were working in collapsed and pinned them briefly. Don Moore, a 30-year veteran of the department, and Bud Carpenter, the newest member of the utility crew, were taken to Putnam County Hospital for observation, but were treated and released, Water Supt. Leon Phillips confirmed Friday afternoon. “THEY DIDN’T HAVE any broken bones or anything like that,” Phillips said, “but they’re going to be sore.” The incident occurred along Avenue E about 10:30 a.m. as Moore and Carpenter were working in an 18-inch wide ditch. The crew is laying new six-inch waterline as a precursor to the city’s Greater Eastside sewer-separation project. The waterline, Phillips explained, is installed four feet below the surface of the ground to be below the freeze line. However, when the crew encountered a sewerline, a deeper section was necessitated to provide adequate space between the two lines. A wall of that deeper trench, however, gave way, temporarily pinning the two men. “MOST OF THAT ground has been filled out there,” Phillips said, explaining that the deeper ditch disturbed enough area that “it caved off, and about 30 feet dropped off.” The two men, however, were never in serious danger, the supervisor stressed. Their heads were

Putnam Patter

Jail open house attracted innocents

By DAVID BARR Banner-Graphic Civic Editor On a late August weekend more than 50 years ago, there was the potential for everyone in Putnam County and thereabouts to spend time in the Putnam County Jail. And it was assumed that all would be released on their own recognizance and with enough good behavior points to put them well out of the reach of the parole officer. THE EXACT DATE was Aug. 26-27, 1939, and the occasion was open house for the newly-com-pleted Putnam County Jail, a struc-

maneuver the length of pipe as co-worker Charles Wells operates the backhoe. Moore was one of two workers involved in a minor cave-in at the site Friday. The water system work, being coordinated in

never covered and neither ever lost consciousness. One was covered to the waist and the other to the shoulders, Phillips said. “The boys jumped in right quick and dug them out,” he said, adding that Operation Life and the Greencastle Fire Department were also summoned to the scene for rescue efforts. “IT COULD HAVE been worse,” the water superintendent conceded. “They had just been in there with their heads down greasing a gasket.” Had the cave-in occurred at that point, the men might have been buried under the fill dirt. Phillips and Mayor Mike Harmless agreed Friday to slow the pace of the work and take maximum safety precautions, like boxing in deeper ditch areas when necessary. THE PROJECT IS “slowgoing” anyway, Phillips said, as his crews have begun replacing the old two-inch lines in Commercial Place with six-inch lines that will provide more water pressure and allow for the installation of 15 fire hydrants in the area. Presently, there are only three hydrants along Fifth Street and another on Avenue E, he said. Laying the pipe and placing the hydrants will be followed by testing of the system in anticipation of State Board of Health approval. The Water Department will then have to rerun all the service lines off the main lines before the project is completed. Phillips estimated a June finishing date.

ture which at the time cost $61,000. Official hosts open house were Lawrence Graham, Putnam County sheriff, and Tom Vandevier, his deputy. The invitation was spread by newspapers of that date. For the visitors, the jail doors were set to swin 6 open at 9 o’clock and swing shut at 5 p.m. A second visitation was set for 1 p.m. on the following Sunday. THE NEW PENAL structure contained 27 cells for those who would be coming to the jail by invitation of the law for stays of undeterminate durations. Cells were said to be equipped with modem

33 ■ f loPSfe Kk *-^ : KI

KEVIN WALTMAN

Who’s news

KEVIN WALTMAN, a senior at Greencastle High School, has been notified that he is a National Merit scholarship finalist. Earlier this year, National Merit announced the names of 15,000 semifinalists. Six thousand became finalists. A finalist has the distinction of being in a group representing fewer than half of one percent of high school seniors. Kevin is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Royce Waltman, 719 J-Mar Drive. MATT RITZ and MIKE REYNOLDS have been named Roachdale Elementary January Optimist Students of the Month. Both students are second-graders at the school. Matt, the son of Sandra Ritz, is a student of Mrs. Wood. Mike, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Dale Nciner, is a pupil of Mrs. Stafford. Three Putnam County residents were named to the 1990 fall dean’s list at Marian College in Indianapolis. The students who earned the honor include: COLLEEN B. JANSSEN, Route 1, Cloverdale. She is the daughter of Harley H. Janssen and is a freshman majoring in accounting.

prison plumbing and lighting fixtures. George E. Roth of Stuart Iron Works, a nationally-known constructor of state and federal prisons, had been superintendent for the local facility. Under his direction, a special locking device was installed entirely outside the cells. Concerning security, he said: “The new Putnam County Jail is as secure as any state or federal prison in the United States.” IF THE PUTNAM County people came to the jail to see what their money had wrought, they were indirectly within their rights.

conjunction with the Commercial Place sewer-separation project, is expected to take until June to complete, according to Water Supt. Leon Phillips. (Banner-Graphic photo by Gary Goodman).

''" j

MATT RITZ

TAMARA K. PRICE, Route 1, Cloverdale. She is a senior majoring in early childhood education. STACY JO RECEVEUR, Cloverdale. She is a senior majoring in business administration. DONALD H. BROWN JR., a senior majoring in mechanical engineering at the University of Rochester, has been named to the dean’s list for academic achievement. A Greencastle High School graduate, Brown resides at 2065 Fairway Drive. RONALD (RON) LOUIS SUTHERLIN, son of Roger Sutherlin, Route 2, Greencastle, has been named to the fall honor roll at Oklahoma Christian University of Science and Arts. KATHERINE A. EMERY, 709 Highridge Drive, Greencastle was named to the president’s list at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Emery. DEAN E. PATTERSON, the son of Paul Patterson, Greencastle, has been promoted in the U.S. Army to the rank of staff sergeant. Patterson He is a cavalry scout at Fort Bragg, N.C.

The facility had been built with Works Progress Administration funds. L. B. Utterback, resident engineer for WPA, reported that his part of the work had been completed with the exception for a few finishing touches by contractors. J. R. Kinder, state inspector of state prisons said: “The blueprint approval office in Washington, D.C., reported to me that this building has the best plan arrangement of any jail in the United States that has been constructed by WPA. THE BALANCE OF the jail fund was to be used by county Col. 3, back page, this section

’ fr

MIKE REYNOLDS