Banner Graphic, Volume 22, Number 119, Greencastle, Putnam County, 22 January 1992 — Page 1

B an n o i* c Greencastle. Putnam County. Wednesday. January 22.1992, Vol. 22 No. 119 35 cents

With a little help from friend Mike Dean (right), Silverwood Signs owner Steve Stamper hoists one of 10 panels into place to form the new sign adorning the Ephraim Dukes Antique Emporium at 2 N. Jackson St. in Greencastle. The antique business is housed in the old J.C. Penney building on the west side of the square. Dressed in a top hat to capture the persona of Dukes, the founder of Greencastle, proprietor Lou Fontaine greeted passersby and watched the sign take shape Tuesday afternoon. (Banner-Graphic photo by Charity Singleton).

Council OK’s redevelopment move

By ERIC BERNSEE Banner-Graphic Editor Building additional local controls into its ordinance, the Greencastle City Council Tuesday created a Redevelopment Commission by adopting Ordinance 1992-3 unanimously during a special meeting at City Hall. While the ordinance creates the five-member commission composed of three mayoral and two Council appointments the Council’s work is not done. STILL AHEAD ARE designation of an area that could be used as a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district, appointment of board members and development of a plan for the area and the captured increment increase in assessed valuation through any new development within its boundaries. When the ordinance was first introduced at the Council’s final regular session of 1991, it was with the idea that all elements of the Redevelopment Commission could be approved by March I. That way, the city could capture the incremental change in assessed value on the Wal-Mart distribution center prop-

Pearson taking aim at Bayh

By JOE THOMAS Banner-Graphic Assistant Editor Indiana Attorney General Linley Pearson made it clear Tuesday night he knows who he is running against in this year’s gubernatorial race. Although Valparaiso businessman John Johnson and Supt. of Public Instruction H. Dean Evans have tossed their hat into the GOP ring, Pearson is keeping his sights on incumbent Democrat Gov. Evan Bayh. Pearson, in Greencastle for a $25-per-person fundraiser at city GOP Chairman David Masten’s home, sounded upbeat about a race against an incumbent who, one year ago, was described as the proverbial 800-pound gorilla of Hoosier politics. “WE HEAR GOOD things,” Pearson told about 40 GOP faithful. “We hear that Linley Pearson is the candidate who can beat Evan Bayh; that we are the one who ho.ds him

Periods of precipitation

Periods of rain mainly before midnight. Overnight low in the middle 30s. Winds becoming westerly at 10-15 iph. Chance of rain 100 percent overnight. Mostly cloudy Thursday with a 40 percent chance of light snow developing. Temperatures falling to around 30 degrees in the afternoon Thursday. Indiana Extended Forecast Mostly cloudy Friday through Sunday with snow likely statewide on Saturday. Daily highs will range from around 30 in the north to 40 in the south on

v I jfluw .

Legislative update slated Feb. 1 at Farm Bureau

The entire Putnam County contingent in the Indiana General Assembly is currently scheduled to attend a legislative update session at 8 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 1. The meeting, co-sponsored by the Putnam County Farm Bureau and the Greencastle Chamber of Commerce, will be held in the board room of the Farm Bureau

erty for taxable-1991, payable-1992 figures. That would allow the city to finance $l.B million in public improvements through a TIF district. HOWEVER, Tuesday afternoon Mayor Mike Harmless said “March 1 is not a date etched in stone.” Council President Sue Murray had even stronger assessment after City Attorney Larry Wilson had termed the timetable “tight.” “I don’t think it’s going to hap-

under 50 (percent).” And he hears of a lot of disenchantment with Bayh. “There are a number of people dissatisfied with Evan Bayh’s broken promises,” Pearson claims. And those people are inside the Democratic Party as well as outside of it, the GOP hopeful contends. PEARSON ALSO HAS some numbers that make his hopes even more buoyant. He cited the Cook Report, a Washington D.C. political handicapping sheet, that in May, 1991, showed Indiana was likely to vote Democratic in this year’s gubernatorial race. But by last month, the report had changed that to show the state is only leaning Democratic and that Pearson was the acknowledged leader of the GOP field. That report also quoted officials in Bayh’s office as saying they expect a close fight in November perhaps within just two percentage points. In 1988, Bayh beat GOP Lt.

Friday and Saturday, warming to the middle 30s to middle 40s by Sunday. Lows will range from the teens in the north to the 20s in the south. Abby A 5 Calendar AS Classifieds Alo,All Comics A 4 Crossword • All Farm A 6 Heloise A 5 Horoscope All Obituaries Al 2 People A 4 Sports A7»AB,A9

building on North Jackson Street in Greencastle. Coffee, juice and doughnuts will be provided by the two sponsors, while the political talk will be offered by Sen. Richard Thompson (R-North Salem), Sen. Ed Pease (R-Brazil) and Rep. Susan Crosby (DRoachdale).

pen, Larry,” she said shortly before making the motion to adopt Ordinance 1992-3 on second and final reading. IF CITY OFFICIALS miss the March 1 cutoff, they will lose the increment on the Wal-Mart real estate but will still be able to capture the increment off the building. “Distinct possibilities” for inclusion in the TIF district, in addition to the Wal-Mart distribution center property, are the new development

Gov. John Mutz by six points. And Pearson has a message ready to capitalize on all of this. “EVAN BAYH I§ the biggest spender in state history,” Pearson claims, saying Bayh’s ocean of red ink is $1.2 billion deep. The governor has signed three budgets that have racked up as much deficit as every other budget in state history, Pearson contends. And Bayh cannot continue to blame the Bush recession for Indiana’s budgetary woes, Pearson says. After all, Bayh began his administration with SBOO million in the bank a larger surplus than any other American governor. And his spending curve has been 27 percent greater than other states, Pearson alleges. And though Pearson is making his bid from an office that is not directly responsible for setting or raising tax rates, he says his administration of the attorney Col. 2, back page, this section

Putnam Patter

To grandma’s house by cold carriage

By DAVID BARR Banner Graphic Civic Editor As the crow flies, it was less than 10 miles to grandma’s house, but by gravel roads that twisted and turned, the distance was at least a third farther. And what made the route seem even longer than this was our means of transportation a twoseater carriage pulled by a couple of plow horses. IF ALL WENT well, we made it to grandma’s in a little over two hours. With a tail wind, an airplane could be halfway across the country in less time than that.

areas on the East Side, the old, never-developed industrial park and the site of the old zinc mill, Mayor Harmless said. The Council was advised Tuesday on the elements of establishing a Redevelopment Commission and the related TIF district by a number of experts. Karen Little Arland and Buddy Downs of Ice Miller Donadio & Ryan, Indianapolis, and Lauren Rooney and John Seever of H. A. Umbaugh Associates, Indianapolis, addressed the fine points of creating a Redevelopment Commission, while Greencastle School Supt. Gary Druckemiller explained his corporation would not be adversely affected by TIF' under Ute 1991 school funding formula. IN EXPLAINING TIF, Rooney said it is not a tax increase and will “never lower the assessed value that’s in place.” Instead, it can capture the difference (increment) between the assessed value in place and the added assessed value from new development in a specific area for use in financing infrastructure projects in that designated area. Col. 1, back page, this section

/ . If*?

LINLEY PEARSON Gubernatorial hopeful

In the summertime, we “ate” dust kicked up by horses of other travelers. Rarely did we meet an automobile to scare the horses or occupants of the carriage who didn’t always trust motor driven contraptions. The occasional gas buggy did, however, help break the monotony of slow travel when there was little to do but count telephone poles or dead birds hanging by their toes from electric wires. WHEN WE GOT the itch to go to grandma’s in the winter, travel took on a new dimension. Travel time was longer, and the prospects

Jail site property owners reject county’s offers

By ANGIE HOWLAND Banner-Graphic Staff Writer Monday night the Putnam County Commissioners went O-for--2 in first-round attempts to purchase land to locate a new county jail. Commissioners Gene Beck, Dennis O’Hair and Don Walton learned that the owners of 14 acres of land and four lots along Keightly Road have rejected the county’s offers of $95,000 and $28,000, respectively. The commissioners originally offered $95,000 to William and Helen Hurst for their 14 lots along Keightly Road, located south of the Veterans Memorial Highway and west of U.S. 231. The Hursts countered with an asking price of SIOO,OOO (which is the maximum amount the county can pay based on the appraised value). The commissioners have until March 1 to accept or reject the Hurst offer. THE COMMISSIONERS also offered $28,000 for four lots, located south of the Hurst property, and co-owned by Robert and Sharon Evans and Frank and Sharon Hutcheson. Evans, a Putnam County councilman, wrote a letter to County Attorney Robert J. Lowe stating that although discussion on the purchase of the land may continue, the four lots are “not actively offered for sale” and “it may take more to motivate us to sell.” Evans suggested if the county continues to want the property, that eminent domain be used to take it over. COMMISSIONER O’Hair questioned a potential conflict of interest over the county buying land from a councilman who would be casting a vote on granting county money for the jail project “I don’t know what the right procedure for this is but regardless of where we build the jail, we have to get started somewhere,” O’Hair said. County Attorney Lowe told the Banner Graphic that no conflict of

First-day filings for 2 local candidates

By JOE THOMAS Banner-Graphic Assistant Editor Only two candidates were anxious enough to get their campaigns under way that they filed their declarations of candidacy early on the first day of the filing period Wednesday. Incumbent Republican Commissioner Don Walton, Route 2, Cloverdale, formally filed his intent to seek another term as the third district’s representative. He has held the seat since 1976. And Sharon Freeman, 353 Lincoln Ave., Cloverdale, filed her intent to seek the Republican nomination for Putnam County Treasurer. AS OF PRESSTIME Wednesday, no other candidate had filed a declaration for office. The filing period extends until Feb. 21. The entire ballot that will be put before Putnam County voters in the

of freezing to death were but little more imaginative than real. Before we loaded up, mother took hot bricks from the stove and wrapped them in newspapers. These were to be foot warmers. The rest of our bodies were bundled up with several layers of clothing, beginning with long underwear and working out. The hot bricks felt friendly to our toes, but not for long. Within a few miles, all the stored up heat was gone, and, as I well remember, there’s nothing colder than a cold brick. Eventually, there was only numbness from the knees down.

interest has occurred between Evans and his official county office because he has not accepted an offer for the land. Lowe also said that the commissioners went to Evans for his land instead of Evans approaching the commissioners. “It is unfortunate that the county is looking at big property owned by the Hursts and they decided to pick up a small piece of land to make the jail fit right, that happened to be half-owned by Bob Evans,” Lowe said. THE ATTORNEY said that if Evans accepted an offer for his partly-owned land, by Indiana statute Evans would not be allowed to cast a vote on any decisions relating to the purchase of the land for the jail. Walton explained that on the advice of project architects from the Odle, McGuire & Shook Co., the extra lots are needed to have room for future expansion of the jail at that location. Without the lots, Walton said, the building would be put in the middle of the land instead of in a front section. Meanwhile, the architects have been fine-tuning preliminary designs of the jail at the Keightly Road location. But, if the money is not appropriated by the County Council for the land purchase, or the zoning of the land is not granted by the City of Greencastle and if a legal description of Keightly Road is not found, those drawings may have to be thrown out. COUNCIL MEMBER Nancy Michael, who attended the Monday evening commissioners’ meeting, suggested waiting on any more architect’s drawings. “I think it would be worth our while before the architects do any more drawings to have our property in hand and have the situation settled,” Michael said. The commissioners explained that drawings and soil borings for the Keightly Road location have only been done since it was their No. 1 choice and doing borings at Col. 3, back page, this section

May 5 primary will include races for president of the United States, U.S. senator from Indiana, Seventh District congressman, governor, state representative in the 44th district, state senator in the 24th or 37th district, Circuit Court judge, auditor, treasurer, coroner, commissioner in the first and third districts, three at-large seats on the County Council, state delegates to the respective party conventions and precinct committeemen. While President Bush is virtually certain of being on the May 5 primary ballot, it is almost impossible to tell which of the five Democrats will still be in the race. Those five include Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, currently considered the frontrunner in the race, lowa Sen. Tom Harkin, Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, former California Gov. Col. 5, back page, this section

WHEN WE FINALLY pulled up at grandma’s gate, all feeling was gone from my pedal extremities and I stumped into the house walking as gracefully as a frozen-toed rooster. Bricks were reheated for the return trip and fizzled out in about the same length of time. There was a little auxiliary heat in the carriage, but it didn’t help our toes. Father kept his pipe going which warmed the air as long as its load of tobacco held out, and on one of these reloading attempts there was enough excitement to make us forCol. 2, back page, this section