Banner Graphic, Volume 22, Number 115, Greencastle, Putnam County, 17 January 1992 — Page 4

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THE BANNERGRAPHIC January 17,1992

Sawdust ‘mountain’ still spewing incessant smoke in Morgan County

WHITAKER, Ind. (AP) Smoke rolls off “Mount Whitaker” like a thick fog. And every few hours, it erupts into flames, then dies down and smolders again. Mount Whitaker is no Vesuvius. ‘ It’s a giant pile of sawdust, wooden slabs and trash all that’s left of die Barnett Lumber Co., which went bankrupt and closed last fall. Connie Sample’s white stucco farmhouse is downwind from the smouldering pile, which is about two stories high and the size of a football field. Her windows are taped shut to keep out the smoke and flying ash. On windy days, she and her husband, Gary, have to pour water on their grass to keep the fires down. SHE REMEMBERS one flareup last fall. “The sparks were flying over our house. I was afraid one would get in my hair and ignite it.” In his eight years on the Paragon Volunteer Fire Department, Danny Dotson has spent a lot of time at Mount Whitaker, which is in Morgan County. He figures he’s responded to about 60 calls to the sawdust pile during those years. Each trip

Gulf War-

heavy air strikes on the city of Baghdad, intending to destroy Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s military offensive capabilities. Many Americans sat glued to their television sets while images of the war and the primary players involved flashed in front of them. Today Americans will remember the frightened faces of network news correspondents as they furiously slid their gas masks over their heads with the alarm sounding in the background, the news of the first American casualty, and the Israeli threat to join against Iraq after repeated Iraqi Scud missile attacks. AND TODAY Americans recall the three U.S. fighter pilots taken prisoner by the Iraqis and paraded on Iraqi television and eventually around the world, bruised and swollen, reading comments against the United States, written by the Iraqis. Americans also remember the thousands of American men and women who served their country well in Operation Desert Storm and who are now home or continuing their military service around the world. DeElte Alexander, Route 1, Gosport, a mother of two sons who served in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm, said she’s glad the war is over and her sons are back in the United States on this one year anniversary. BOTH OF HER SONS are continuing their military careers: Sgt. Ronald Alexander in the Army Air Force in Savannah, Ga., and Pfc. Jackie Alexander II in the Army at Fort Campbell, Ky. Mrs. Alexander said she backed her country and her sons all the way during Operation Desert Storm. “I would fight for my country, and I expect my boys to also,” she said. When she first learned that her sons were to be deployed to Saudi Arabia, Mrs. Alexander said she broke down and cried. Her eldest son, Ronnie, was deployed in August, and her younger son, Jackie, was deployed later in September. SINCE THE RETURN of her sons to the United States last summer, Mrs. Alexander said she and her family have become even more patriotic. Also, her youngest child,

City Council

which is not a tax increase but a tool by which municipalities can capture the increment increase new from development in a designated area and apply that increment to infrastructure improvements in the same area. The reality of the situation, ' Council President Sue Murray said, is that with state and federal funds becoming more scarce each year, finding new revenues is the responsibility of cities and towns. “It is certainly the challenge of this Council,” she added. Mayor Mike Harmless termed TIF an economic development “tool.” “REALLY,” HE SAID, “the only reason you have it in front of you is that every time we have an ongoing economic development project, the state (Indiana Depart- * ment of Commerce) asks if we have TIF. It’s more of a request from DOC as an economic development tool.” In previous economic develop-

puts wear on the equipment and drains about 30,000 gallons of water, he said. Dotson took over as fire chief Jan. 1 and inherited Mount Whitaker from former chief David Zoller. NOBODY SEEMS to remember when the sawdust pile first caught fire. “Some people thought maybe a train might’ve started it,” Zoller said. “Maybe it was spontaneous combustion over the years. You can reach down in it and it’s real hot, kind of like spontaneous combustion.” Dotson said Mount Whitaker is the worst thing about being a volunteer firefighter in the area. “We know any time the wind is acting up, we’ll be out there,” he said. THEY CAN’T PUT out the fire because the pile is compacted so tightly that water cannot saturate it And die pile is so huge that the cost of leveling it would be very expensive. Dotson said state environmental and safety officials never should have let the pile get so large.

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Margie, just completed basic training in the Navy. “It’s unusual to have three children in the military since my husband and I weren’t,” she said. Another mother of a Desert Storm soldier, Doris Ferguson, Route 1, Greencastle, said she is thankful on this one-year anniversary. “I am very thankful ... just thankful that there weren’t more casualties. I am sorry that anyone on either side had to die, but so many people had anticipated that the war would be a horrible slaughter, and it wasn’t,” she said. While Ferguson supported her son, Pfc. Scott Wilkes, in his involvement, and agrees that Americans should defend their country, she was bothered by some aspects of Operation Desert Storm. “I THINK THAT as Americans we ought to defend our country and do what’s right, but I don’t know how necessary this war was since they (the allied forces) didn’t do anything to Saddam ... when he was killing his own people,” she said. Ferguson said her son told her that he was going to be deployed while she was driving the car, and she had to pull off the road. “I think I was in hysterics, or close,” she said. Wilkes arrived in Dahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 16, 1991, and returned home in April. ACCORDING TO a pamphlet titled “When the Yellow Ribbon Comes Down,” compiled by the National Mental Health Association in cooperation with the American Red Cross, “One of the most unnatural things in the world is for a parent to lose a child, and (the parents of the returning Desert Storm soldiers) have been living in fear of this possibility for the past few months.” It was under this type of fear that Ferguson also lived during the four months her son was stationed in Saudi Arabia. “I stayed close to the Lord during this; I would thumb through the Bible for answers, and somehow I knew Scott would come home,” Ferguson added. BOTH ALEXANDER and Ferguson were part of a Desert Storm support group that consisted of parents, relatives and friends of

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ment projects, the city’s share of infrastructure improvements has come from water and sewer funds when applicable. By having TIF, the city would be able to fund infrastructure improvements through the incremental increase in taxes in that area. “Tax abatement and TIF actually fight each other,” Mayor Harmless told the Banner-Graphic. “Tax abatement excuses the tax (on a sliding 10-year scale for real estate and five years for manufacturing equipment) while tax increment financing captures the taxes and spends it on infrastructure. “IN THE SIMPLEST of cases,” he added, “tax abatement is the more controversial, but we’ve gotten so used to using it that we don’t think about it that way. “I think in the future, what we will see is that sometimes we will use TIF and not offer tax abatement” Interestingly, the mayor noted, a tax abatement issue passed the Council unanimously Tuesday

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management recently fined Barnett Lumber $6,000 for open burning, said Deputy Commissioner Tom Rarick. Various state agencies are working with the Morgan County commissioners to come up with a longterm solution to the problem, since the company is in bankruptcy, Rarick said Wednesday. “THE PERMANENT solution may be that they will have to level it,” he said. Dotson said the problem is that “nobody wants to say they’re responsible for it, and I don’t blame them. There’s quite a bit of cost involved in either getting rid of the pile or spreading it out.” Meanwhile, the sheriff’s department gets several calls each night from alarmed motorists on Indiana 67. The sawdust pile is just a few feet off the highway. “You should see it some night when the wind is blowing. It looks like a small volcano,” Dotson said. “At night, it looks like something out of ‘Star Wars’ with all those sparks flickering in the dark,” Mrs. Sample said.

soldiers of Operation Desert Storm from throughout Putnam and surrounding counties. According to Ferguson, a few of the members of that group still meet about once a month in each others’ homes or at a local restaurant. “We decided to continue meeting when there was the threat of the war starting again. We wanted to be there for the new ones who would be sending sons and daughters,” she said. Ferguson’s son, Wilkes, will soon be entering active duty in the Army. WHILE MANY of the soldiers involved in Operation Desert Storm, like Wilkes, will continue in their reserve or active units, nearly 80,000 Desert Storm veterans have joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United Stated (VFW). According to Robert Wallace, VFW national commander-in-chief who visited the Greencastle post of the VFW earlier this week, the oneyear anniversary of any war reminds the participants how thankful they are that it is over. “On the one-year anniversary, Desert Storm vets are saying: ’Hey, we did it; we did it right and it’s over,”’ he said. BUT WALLACE said some Desert Storm veterans are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTS), an emotional condition found in many of the veterans of the Vietnam conflict because of the strcssfulness of participating in a war. “They are getting treated for that, and their families, too. PTS affects everyone involved,” he said. According to Wallace, some issues that the Desert Storm veterans are facing nearly one year after the war is over are the possibility of a desert parasite in their blood and the concern that effects of the exposure to the smoke inhaled during the oil field wars will surface years later, as did some of the chemical effects of the Vietnam war. SO WHILE the one-year anniversary of the start of Operation Desert Storm reminds Americans of their position in a major international war, they must also remember the U.S. cease-fire ordered by President Bush, and the faces of the exuberant Kuwaiti citizens as they reclaimed their capital city.

night without two minutes of discussion. That involved a state of benefits presented by Happico in regard to the expansion of its plant on Indianapolis Road. New manufacturing equipment valued at $9 million was abated for a five-year period. ACCORDING TO the statement of benefits approved by the City Council and forwarded to the State Board of Tax Commissioners, the Happico expansion project will ultimately mean 150 new jobs with additional salaries of $1.7 million. Prior to the expansion, Happico reported 330 employees with a payroll of $6.3 million annually. “This represents a tremendous investment,” Mayor Harmless commented, explaining that Happico officials looked at sites in Tennessee and Kentucky for possible expansion before deciding to add to their Greencastle building. A resolution to approve the statements of benefits passed unanimously following a motion by Councilman Calbert.

Sunday 6:27-38 5 4 Monday WSSs 5 IRK • * Proverbs ’V 'T& , 'aP* 22:1-16 dHr ' ' Tuesday Proverbs h” 19:16 r Wednesday P Genesis ' I Thursday w 24:1-27 ~ . X Friday /v. " “ Saturday ' - ; Deuteronomy y ; - | -4 : ii 8 SANCTUARY This young lady views the winter world with a smile, for she knows she is protected from the bitter cold by the windowpane, reflecting the warmth of the sun. . . providing refuge. . .sanctuary. • P. K. Thomajan has referred to the church as a "soularium”. Truly, God's house is a sanctuary for the soul. . .a refuge for the spirit. . .a protective shelter from the storms of life. "Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary." (Ps. 96:06) Ps. 150:01 urges us to "Praise God in His sanctuary." As you worship God each Sabbath, may your blessed experience echo the sentiments of Cyrus Albertson, as he wrote. . . t "A room of quiet.. .a temple of peace. The home of faith.. .where doublings cease. ~ a house of comfort.,. where hope is given; A source of strength.. .to make earth heaven. A shrine of worship.. .a place to pray— Secures byZ awe Soo«y 1 8,1 ChUKh " Copyright 1992, Keister WfHtams Newspaper Services. P O Box 8005, ChariotteswNe. VA 22906

GREENCASTLE OFFSET PRINTING Terry & Pat McCarter, 20 S. Jackson, 653-4026 CASTLE CHEVROLET BUICK GEO, Inc. “Wkne sou ‘n Trialed Likf ' Greencastle, IN 653-6435 HUMPHREYS’ OUTDOOR POWER Sales & Service, US 231 N. 653-3019 LOYAL ORDER OF MOOSE LODGE 1592 212 West Franklin St., Greencastle, 653-5456 BOYCE’S RED & WHITE SUPERMARKET Steve 4 Beth Boyce 4 Employees 309 East Franklin St., Greencastle, 653-2159 GREENCASTLE SHELL FOOD MARKET Linda Trueblood 4 Staff, 701 N. Jackson, 653-8372 JOE ELLIS HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING, INC. 116 W. Franklin, David Masterr, 653-6712 CENTRAL NATIONAL BANK Officers, Directors 4 Staff, 1 Central Square and Putnam Plaza Branch ROSEWOOD CRAFTS Peggy Thomas and Susan Coffey 25 S. Vine St., Greencastle, 653-9659 VICKI’S FAMILY RESTAURANT Vicki Nees and Staff, U.S. Hwy. 231 North, Greencastle, 653-4288 ROSEWOOD HEALTHCARE FACILITY Tom Ashley, Ex. Dir., 4 Staff, 1306 Bloomington, 653-2406 SHUEE & SONS TV & APPLIANCE Sales and Staff 24 N. Jackson, Greencastle, The Shuee Family and Staff LONE STAR INDUSTRIES Greencastle, Indiana SYSTECH CORPORATION Quality Control Analysis of Flammable Liquids, Greencastle, IN BRACKNEY’S WESTERN STORE The Brackney Family, U.S. Hwy. 231 N. 653-9464 HARMLESS COIN LAUNDRIES Tony, Betty and Mike Harmless 3 convenient locations to serve you. DREAMSCAPE LANDSCAPING & NURSERY At Wagoner's Christmas Tree Farm, 3 1/2 mi. off U.S. 231, North of Greencastle, 739-6135 compliments of the GREENCASTLE NURSING HOME 815 E. Tacoma, 2 blks. N. of Armory MONON CAFE 814 N. Jackson, Greencastle, 653-8012 MACE BROS. General Contractors Residential 4 Commercial 124 N. Jackson, 653-5539 IBM (Lexington) EMPLOYEES FEDERAL CREDIT UNION 13 Putnam Plaza, 653-9731 VANBIBBER LAKE, INC. Mobile Home Sales 739-6441 Linda Vanßibber, Anita Byasee, Arnold Fenwick, Bill Vanßibber COLDWELL BANKER PUTNAM REAL ESTATE CENTER 1001 S. Bloomington St., Greencastle, 653-5158 QUANTUM MECHANICAL INC. Heating "Air Conditioning •Refrigeration RR 6, Box 45 Greencastle 739-6222 C. F.EID PRIEST Attorney at Law Free Consultation Estate Planning Center 653-5686 110 W. Walnut, Greencastle PUTNAM INN RESTAURANT Ron Hansen 4 Staff, 400 N. Jackson, Greencastle, 653-8777 B & E ELECTRIC SERVICE Electric 4 Commercial Refrigeration, 1108 So. Locust, 653-3953 CHARLIE BROWN’S BARBEQUE Charlie 4 Susie 4 Staff, 424 Bloomington, 653-2282 HATHAWAY’S CAFE 18 South Jackson St., Greencastle, 653-1228 PIZZA KINQ 653-3184 or 653-3185, 400 Bloomington, Greencastle

This weekly message is sponsored by these local businesses:

KERSEY MUSIC COMPANY David 4 Sandra Fanning 4 Staff 11 N. Indiana St., Greencastle, 653-6824 BLACK LUMBER CO. 501 North Indiana, Greencastle, 653-5171 GREENMARK INSURANCE A Full Service Agency, 1 N. Locust, Greencastle 317-653-4141 or 1-800-321-3436 SKELTON-SKINNER LUMBER CO. Retail-Wholesale-Transit Shippers, 1221 S. Bloomington 653-9705 TRI-COUNTY BANK & TRUST CO. member FDIC-Roachdale-Bainbridge-Russellville HERITAGE HOUSE CONVALESCENT CENTER OF PUTNAM CO. 1601 Hospital Drive, 653-2602 SERVICE GLASS Merle 4 Carol Dixon 4 Staff, 1104 N. Jackson, 653-9452 ALBIN’S POOLS & SPAS Norma 4 Tom Albin, Albin Pond Rd., 653-3228 TRI-COUNTY AGENCY, INC. Roachdale-522-1000, Bainbridge-522-6202 WAL-MART DISCOUNT STORE Management 4 Associates, 653-2481, 25 Putnam Plaza, Greencastle THE WALDEN INN Matthew O'Neill 4 Staff, 2 East Seminary, 653-2761 RIBBLE’S MAYTAG Home Appliance Center, 316 N. Jackson St., Greencastle, 653-1297 CRYSTAL GRAPHICS The Jakeway Family 210 West Elizabeth, Greencastle, 653-2367 A. HUBER & SONS PLUMBING Heating 4 Air Conditioning, Indianapolis Road, 653-3133 BUDGET MOTORS Used Cars 4 Trucks 608 Bloomington, Greencastle, 653-4461 ROUND BARN MANOR APARTMENTS “THE New Apartments in Greencastle" West of Wal-Mart, 653-7871 MALLORY CAPACITOR COMPANY A Div. of Mallory Components Group, Emhart Industries, Inc. COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION OF INDIANA “The Telephone Company" Roachdale, Indiana GREENCASTLE HOG MARKET John McCorkle, Mgr. 4 Staff, Greencastle, Indiana KROMME PLUMBING & HEATING 1111 S. Locust St., Greencastle, 653-4694 POOL’S 8:30a.m.-9p.m., Mon.-Sat. 11-5 Sun., Indianapolis Rd., 653-8414 LOBDELL-EMERY Manhattan Road, Phone 653-2611 MUFFLER CONNECTION Jim 4 Cindy Robinson 4 Staff, 816 N. Jackson, greencastle, 653-4424 JENKINS STANDARD SERVICE Indiana 4 Walnut Streets, Greencastle. 653-9933 B. VIDEO HEAVEN Sales 4 Rental 653-8789, 24 S. Indiana, Greencastle CASH CONCRETE PRODUCTS, INC. “Since 1919’ Webb Road, 653-6533 McQUIK’S OILUBE 805 Indianapolis Rd., Greencastle, 653-2180 HEARTLAND AUTOMOTIVE, INC. 310 South 10th St., Greencastle, Indiana AMERICAN TV & APPLIANCE Rent to Own 4 Sales -Movies Wal-Mart Plaza, S.R. 240 East, 653-2883 GRIFFIN’S CONVENIENT GROCERY Open daily 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., 608 Tennessee, Greencastle, 653-2545 GIRTON’S BOOK SHOP Bob Girton 4 Staff, 12 W. Washington, Greencastle, 653-2665 YORK PONTIAC-OLDS-GMC TRUCKS Indianapolis Road, Greencastle, 653-8426