Banner Graphic, Volume 21, Number 196, Greencastle, Putnam County, 23 April 1991 — Page 11

Banner Graphic Greencastle, Putnam County, Tuesday, April 23,1991 Vol. 5 No. 33

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After posting a state championship-qualifying score of 21 out of 25, the Greencastle High School science team is congratulated by GHS Principal Bob Harbison (right). Harbison shakes hands with David Huffman as teammate Beth Haymaker and captain Ryan Ward await con-

Three GHS academic teams earn trip to vie for state titles

By JOE THOMAS Banner-Graphic Assistant Editor Three academic teams from Greencastle High School are now in pursuit of state championships in this year’s Academic Super Bowl. The school has received word that its science, math and fine arts teams have qualified for the championship round, set for Saturday, April 27 at Warren Performing Arts Center at Warren Central High School, Indianapolis. GREENCASTLE’S SOCIAL studies and English teams finished first in area competition held Tuesday night at GHS, but their scores were not high enough to advance to the championship round. This will be the second trip to Warren Central for the school’s science team, which will be defending its Class 111 state championship. The social studies squad finished third in last year’s state competition. The science team prepared to defend its title by posting the best score at the area competition Tuesday at Greencastle High School. The five-per-son science squad correctly answered 21 of 25 questions posed in the area event. The GHS science team posted the highest score of any team from any school at the local contest site. The 21-of-25 effort not only topped local Class 111 competition but was higher than anyone in Class IV. The next-best score in science at the Greencastle site

Judge rules residents in area of race track a class

By ANGIE HOWLAND Banner-Graphic Staff Writer The battle to halt construction of a 1.8-mile race track in southern Putnam County is heating up after a Morgan County judge declared that residents living within one mile of the site can be certified as a class. Morgan County Superior Court Judge G. Thomas Gray stated in his April 5 ruling that the class will be comprised of residents living within a one-mile radius rather than three miles that was originally requested by the residents. TIM BOOKWALTER, volunteer attorney for the 31 residents said the private suit to stop construction of the track was filed as a class action since all their concerns were alike and a class would be the most practical approach. Book waiter said that about 100 residents live in that one-mile radius. In the next month, all of the residents in the “class area” will receive a letter inquiring whether they wish to be included in the suit. THE BATTLE BEGAN last August when residents discovered that Richard Diasio, an Indianapolis businessman, purchased 202 acres of land east of County Road 550 East and north of County Road 550 South near Mt. Meridian with the intentions of building a

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gratulations. Plainfield High School coach Ray Saxman (left) monitors the GHS table during this week’s competition in area Academic Super Bowl contest at GHS. (Banner-Graphic photo by Eric Bernsee).

was 15 registered by Plainfield and Avon on Class IV. THE GHS MATH TEAM scored 18 of 25 and the fine arts team posted a 17-of-25 mark. Greencastle’s English squad correctly answered 18 of 25 questions and the social studies team posted a 14-of-25 score. Both marks were tops locally, but not good enough to qualify for the championship round. During Saturday’s finals, the teams will respond to 20 regular, multiple-choice questions and five tiebreaker questions. Determining the winner is easy: The team with the highest number of correct answers to the regular questions will be state champion. QUESTIONS FOR the finals, as they were for the area competition, are based on the theme, “The Renaissance: Luminary of the Modem World.” The math team is coached by John Fallis and comprised of Chris Geckeler, Taro Hagashide, Brad Rcsner and Ryan Ward. The science team is coached by Karen Swalley and made up of captain Ryan Ward, Beth Haymaker, David Huffman, Reid Snellenbarger and Drew Swalley. The fine arts team is coached by Bob Berry (arts) and Nancy McFarland (music) and consists of Andrea Ott, Susan Stark, Drew Swalley and Kara Thompson.

race track, officially named Putnam Park. Diasio intends for the 1.8-milc course to be used for high performance driving car courses and to hold car club races. Plans for the facility also call for individuals to rent out the track for car testing. But the residents did not feel comfortable with Diasio’s plan for the track to be located in a predominantly quiet agricultural area. THE PRIVATE SUIT against the developer alleges that by constructing and operating the facility, the race course would create a nuisance for the resident’s quality of life through noise, air pollution and traffic. Bookwalter told the BannerGraphic Tuesday that being certified as a class is a “big victory for the small landowners.” Now, he said, they are ready for a trial. Bookwalter, who is also a Mt. Meridian resident, said that when the case goes to court, he will first ask the judge to stop the development of the facility and if that does not work then he will ask that severe limitations be placed on the operation of the facility. THOSE LIMITATIONS, the lawyer said, would include that cars not run when a local day-care cen-

ter operates, on Sunday mornings, that there not be any spectators or drag racing. Diasio told the Banner-Graphic Wednesday morning that he explained to the residents last August that if they did not file a private suit against him that he would promise that no chemicals would be dumped on the property; no drag racing would be allowed; no alcohol would be allowed; no Indianapolis car races would be held; no permanent bleachers, lights or loud speaker systems would be erected. But, he said, the residents did not believe him so they filed the suit “WE HAVE TRIED from day one to get a reasonable restitution and are willing to submit to every restriction that they (the residents) ask for but no one will talk to us,” Diasio’s attorney Erwin B. Levin said. Diasio said he expected the judge to certify the residents as a class and that the certification will also help his case since the judge did not state anything in his findings that the track would be considered a nuisance. Levin also said that he hopes the numbers of people in the class have dwindled and that they would like to settle the matter out of court “I WANT TO BE a good neighbor to them, and unfor-

Russellville to get copper metalworking enterprise

By ANGIE HOWLAND Banner-Graphic Staff Writer It is no longer a secret: Industrial development is branching out into Putnam County. This time, Russellville is the recipient. Thursday afternoon, the Putnam County Council unanimously adopted a resolution designating a part of Russell Township as an Economic Revitalization Area. THAT RESOLUTION will bring a copper metalworking business into the area. Pollard Staley, a partner in the new business, told County Council members Gerry Hoffa, Gene Clodfelter, Kenny Ames, Max Nichols, Nancy Michael, Robert Evans and Frances Harris Evans that the business would be established in the old International Harvester building and employ 15 people from Parke, Putnam and Montgomery counties. Staley would not officially name the business until after the 10-day remonstrance period required by law. He said an official announcement would be made at that time. NONETHELESS, Staley said that the business will manufacture a copper product that has been in production for 30 years. They hope to be in business by June or July of this year. As with the Wal-Mart distribution center being built on Greencastle’s East Side, Staley said one reason he and his business

Graduation requirement changes okayed by North Putnam board

By LISA MEYER Banner-Graphic Staff Writer In an effort to better prepare students for life after high school, the North Putnam Community School Board accepted some changes in graduation requirements for students at North Putnam High School. Principal Darrell Durham told the school board Thursday that while the new curriculum challenges students no matter what their post-graduation plans, it is flexible enough to let students cross over from one area of study to another. FOR INSTANCE, the collegebound lane is tailored toward students who will enter state-sup-ported universities, Durham said.

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Soon, much more than this sign and weeds will be standing in this field as construction crews will begin excavating tunately I think they are being dragged along with this suit,” Diasio said. The businessman said if weather permits, construction crews will begin excavating the land next Wednesday. He also said that the private suit has no bearing on starting the construction. “They are at great risk when we go back to court because we will

partners were attracted to the county was of the opportunity for tax abatement. That abatement will run for five years on the business’ machinery and 10 years on the real property. STALEY SAID THAT at the end of those 10 years, the taxes of Russell Township residents will decrease by $.lO. He also explained that the business will not place a strain on the small Putnam County town because the facility will operate its own closed loop waste treatment system and will also work off their own water wells. “If we expand, we may eventually hook up to the town’s sewer and water systems but if we do that, we can get monetary assistance,” Staley told the council. AN INSTRUMENTAL catalyst in attracting the business to the county was the Greencastle Development Center. And its involvement earned high praise Thursday afternoon by members of the Council. “I am glad to see Greencastle Development out in the community—it makes me proud,” Council member Kenny Ames said. “Greencastle needs the support out in the county and we need to support them.” MEANWHILE, in other business Thursday, the County Council received a cry for help from the

But the curriculum can be modified for seniors interested in attending a private college. At the same time, a student on the practical arts lane or focusing on agriculture can broaden their curriculum by picking up electives in the areas of math and English. Durham said that even though there will no longer be a general lane of study, the students who do not want to pick one particular curriculum can switch directions. “STDUENTS IN THE ninth and 10th grades still have time to change into the academic lane,” Durham said. He also reported that the requirements for the academic honors diploma has changed.

land next week to build a 1.8mile race car track near Mt. Meridian. (Banner-Graphic photo by Angie Howland). win,” Diasio said. “I have invested too much money into this project to loose.” Diasio said that to date, he has spent more than $350,000 on buying the land, engineering fees, constructing a road on the property and legal fees. A motion to dismiss the case has been filed by the Putnam Park Corp.

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director of the Putnam County Welfare Department. PCWD Director Catryna Shipman sent a letter to the Council stating that for the first three months of the year, she has spent $153,000 of the total budget allotment of $298,000 for taking care of wards of the court and the welfare department. In April alone, Shipman said that $58,244 has been spent on wards in institutions; $44,553 on probation wards and $13,690 on welfare department wards. SHE STATED THAT if the trend continues, the welfare department will be operating in the red by the end of the year. She said that because of this outlook, she has begun the paperwork for drafting a bond or to borrow money to fund the department. “We see children in need and we need to take care of that first but to do that costs money,” County Attorney Robert Lowe said. County Auditor Myrtle Cockrell said that the department usually has heavy bills at the beginning of the year anyway but if the trend continues, the department may be in trouble. VISIBILY UPSET AT this information, Council member Max Nichols said that taxpayers need to know how their money is spent for people on welfare. He made a moCol. 4, back page, this section

Keeping in mind that sometimes freshmen do not understand that system, Durham said, the state has asked schools to give freshmen a break if they change their curriculum direction. That means that a freshman who starts on an agriculture future and takes basic English, for example, but later decides to work on an honors diploma can be given a waiver on a required course such as freshman honors English. “STUDENTS CAN start out on a lane,” Durham said, “and if their goals change they have more flexibility in classes.” The changes will not affect the current junior class much, he said, Continued on Page 3

Contractor, Cloverdale ponder plans By JOE THOMAS Banner-Graphic Assistant Editor CLOVERDALE The CCSC School Board made two things clear Monday night. First, they are happy with their contractors and feel they are getting a good quality of work on the renovation/expansion project at the elementary school and at the Jr./Sr. high school. SECOND, THEY believe there have been too many change orders to date, and they feel that have been left holding the bag in too many cases. Change orders are a crucial part of a building project. They can either increase or decrease the cost of the job. But when they increase costs, the money comes for the building project’s financial reserves. That is critical because once the work is finished, the school system can use those reserves to buy a variety of equipment for the schools. It becomes a simple formula. The more money that is left at the end of the job, the more things the school system can buy without spending its own money. Change orders that increase the project’s cost dip into that account, meaning the school system has less money to work with. Cliff Huggins, project architect Col. 1, back page, this section